So I'm over here in Vietnam, looking up sports news and it's absolutely mind blowing, to see my Detroit teams. The Pistons drop three in a row to the Cavs!!! The Tigers run off 7 straight and move into first place in the league!!! How does this happen?

Well my friends, it's the beginning of a theory that I'm working on: City Mojo. Maybe, just maybe, every city has a limited pool of mojo that can be used by it's sport's teams. It works like Karma, everything has to balance out. Let's look at the following examples.

1. Detroit - For a number of years now the Tigers have had two great teams (Pistons and Red Wings) and two awful teams (Tigers and Lions). That's balance. Except now the Tigers have gone hot. And look what happens: The Red Wings lose in the first round of the playoffs, and the Pistons struggle mightily in the second round. The Pistons losses coincided with the Tigers win streak, but just as the Tigers streak comes to an end the Pistons eek out a game 6 win in Cleveland.

2. Boston - In all those years that the Red Sox went without winning the Series, how many championships did the Celtics win? And now that the Sox and Patriots have had so much recent success, the storied Celtics have floundered greatly. And I think the Bruins suck, but I'm not sure.

3. Los Angeles (I just had to look up how to spell "Angeles") - Sure they've put out some good baseball and basketball teams, and even the Clippers are looking good now. But that's just making up from all of the bad mojo from not having a football team to begin with.

4. Chicago - You have the Whitesox, and then you have the Cubs.

You might wonder how this would work out for a one-sport city. Well, I've thought that out and I'm pretty sure that the city mojo is cumulative over a period of time, as evidenced by:

Portland - How many consecutive years did they make the playoffs? Well, welcome to the big suck for the next umpteen years.

You might think that this theory falls apart when you look at the mighty San Antonio Spurs. All I have to say is get ready for a long cold streak. Starting in game 7 with the Mavs.

And in the next few days, I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping that the Tigers will drop a few more games so the Pistons can blow out the Lebrons in game 7.

I spend too much time trying to figure out the best possible 12 man team that could be made using current players. I thought I'd give it a go and write it out on the blog.

I don't want a team of superstars, because obviously a superstar as the 11th or 12th man will be very unhappy. So it has to be a mix of stars, role players, and those last couple guys that would be great practice bodies and have a good attitude riding the pine.

This list goes from the easiest selections to the hardest. So my first pick isn't neccesarily a starter, but just someone I know I would want on the team.

1. Rasheed Wallace - Easiest selection by far and here's why:  He is the most talented big man in the league, who would be content coming off the bench if it was neccesary. He might get a couple T's, but by all accounts he is a great teammate. He probably is the first man off the bench, backing up the 4 and 5.

2. Jason Kidd - With Kidd being back in top form, I just know that he's on the team. I think Nash is great, but Kidd brings it on both ends. If I get to hand pick all my players, then I don't need Nash to help along a Boris Diaw or Raja Bell. And we'll have plenty of scoring to make up for Kidd's shaky shot. He might come off the bench, but he's a definite.

3. Chauncey Billups - The only reason Kidd might possibly come off the bench. It's a toss-up and I'll leave it up to the coach. But these are both team first guys that will pass and defend. And they could easily play in the backcourt together for long stretches. Plus Chauncey is Mr. Big Shot.

4. Tim Duncan - I'm stealing Mr. Rosen's quote here. "Nothing succeeds like success." Duncan is another team guy, but he can be the top scoring option when needed. And injury woes won't kill us, because we have other big bodies that can help keep his minutes low.

5. Bruce Bowen - He can hit open threes, but he won't care if he doesn't get the ball. And don't you want to have the guy that drives the rest of the league nuts?

6. Dwayne Wade - This is not an easy choice, because I think you can only take one player from the group of D-Wade, Kobe, and Lebron. Wade beats Kobe because he isn't a headcase, and Lebron because he works harder on defense. I think Lebron is better offensively, but we don't need that with all of the other options. Wade is still the go to guy on this team.

7. Elton Brand - There isn't a center in the league that I like for this team, so TD will play center and Brand will start at the 4. Brand can score and rebound and he gets his blocks. Tough call, but he's in over Dirk because I think he can survive with less shots. He beats KG, because I think KG would be so intense he ruins the team chemistry.

8. Shawn Marion - He's in for energy. Of course he's more than a hustle player, but the boost he would be off the bench would be considerable. Plus he has a 3-ball that will help spread the floor for D-Wade. That's important if Kidd is in at the point and not Chauncey.

9. Shane Battier - We know he's a good teammate and we know he won't complain coming off the bench. Which is good since he won't get many minutes. But when he is in, he will contribute with defense, rebounding, and effort. Does a little bit of whatever is needed. Probably gets Wade's leftover minutes

10. Antonio McDyess - Same sort of reasoning. He can come off the bench without complaint and he can contribute points and boards inside. Good insurance if TD goes down. Then we have Dice off the bench behind Brand and Sheed.

I'm cutting it off at 10 because I'm getting kicked out of an internet cafe in two minutes. But here's the team so far.

PG - Chauncey                J-Kidd

SG - D-Wade                  Battier

SF - Bowen                     Marion

PF - Brand                      Sheed

C - Duncan                      Dice

Dice and Battier probably don't get many minutes at all, so the other 8 are the main rotation.  This was done hastily, so give me some feedback. I'm sure someone might be more suitable than McDyess, but I am a Pistons' fan after all.

More than two weeks ago now, I was watching game two of the Spurs and Kings. I was in Thailand at the training center/cafe that I worked and lived at. As the game got close in the fourth quarter I ran and got my Thai friend, Nok. He is a huge sports fan, particularly soccer, and I knew that he liked basketball.

Nok was utterly incapable of watching the end of the fourth and the ensuing overtime. He would wander away and work on other things before coming back for a few seconds and then leaving once more.

What was the problem?

Television timeouts.

Longtime basketball fans are used to the final five minutes o####ame taking up to a half an hour. But to someone in Thailand with only a casual interest, this is more than enough to warrant changing the channel or walking away. And as a fan, trying to promote the game I love, I was embarressed as I watched a great game unfold.

There is little doubt that the NBA is making strides around the world. The fanbase is growing, but that could easily be chalked up to the success of international stars such as Dirk, Manu, and of course Yao. Is the game itself actually appealing enough to draw in fans, if they don't have a local star taking part? I would argue that it is, except for those darn commercials.

Fortunately, I have a shining example to contrast to the NBA: Barclay's English Premier League (EPL). Thailand has no players in the EPL, but everyone in the country from adults down through children know of Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal. Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and others are household names. That's just among average people. Many football fans would know the names of every team in the Premiership and all of the relevant players. On the other hand, more than 75 percent of the Thai population would likely be unable to name a single NBA team or player.

And guess what. Barclay's English Premier League is commercial free. And trust me, its popularity is not limited to Thailand.

Obviously many factors are involved, that allow the EPL to air games commercial free. If ESPN were to show the games commercial free, then they would lose income for all of those commercials. British Sky Broadcasting that owns the television rights to the EPL, somehow manages to turn a nice profit even without commercials except at the half, before and after games. I don't know the numbers, but in all likelihood they simply pay much less to the EPL than ABC/ESPN/TNT pay the NBA. This is made up for by the fact that the EPL has a sponsor (Barclay's EPL) and individual teams have sponsors.

ManU's shirt has "Vodafone" printed on the chest. Liverpool's shirt reads "Carlsberg". And my Tottenham Hotspurs' shirts proudly sport "Thompson" across the front. In the past I have heard praise for David Stern, because he has managed to keep NBA jerseys free from corporate logos and names. But who cares. Apart from a sense of nostalgia that I would quickly recover from, I would love to see a corporate sponsor on the Pistons' jerseys. Assuming that is, that the games would be aired commercial free.

This whole discussion applies to all of the major North American sports with television timeouts. I use the NBA, however, because I believe it is the worst offender and because I think it has more inherent appeal than the other major sports.

I don't actually believe that eliminating commercials would immediately make new NBA fans at home and abroad. Other issues such as timing and frequency of games is also a factor. But I do believe that commercials are a major hurdle that will prevent the NBA from ever reaching the number of fans that Barclay's English Premier League enjoys.