As we prepare for another Major Championship tomorrow, let's look at what we have presently...

- Greg Norman leading a major tournament is almost unheard of at his age and at this time period.  He has managed to stay atop the leaderboard despite the playing conditions and the fact that he will not out-drive people in this tournament.  Not in this day in age.  But let's remember who we are dealing with; a guy who's had a knack for urinating a championship on a Sunday.  How many major titles SHOULD Norman have?  The answer is more than what he already has.  I don't expect him to hold up tomorrow, but this does not mean he won't win.  He could shoot 75 tomorrow and still win the title because there is no Tiger Woods to test his mettle.  Nonetheless, tomorrow's tourney will be interesting.

Speaking of Woods, he must think he can win this Major without arms or legs.

- Are the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers going to change their names to Golden State Clippers and Los Angeles Warriors?  Seems like these two teams are swapping players left, right and center.  What's the deal with that?  And how strong does Utah look with Denver getting weaker?

- Maybe Michelle Wie should have paid more attention in math class if she is making errors on her scorecard.  That is just brutal.

- The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten back on track thanks to the scheduling of the Toronto Blue Jays.  I should have bet on this series.  Stupid me...

- The Los Angeles Angels are handling the Boston Red Sox and now I've heard a couple people talk about whether or not they are the team to beat in the American League. 

Look, I like the Angels.  I will always remember them for being the FIRST team to bully the New York Yankees over the last 15 years.  Arizona may have beaten them in 2001, but the Angels bullied them in 2002.  The Yankees would beat down teams the way the Angels beat them down in the ALDS that year.  The Angels have had a knack for beating the Yankees consistently over the year.  The problem is, Boston has owned them in the playoffs.

So looking at a couple of victories in July is nice, but that does not say that much.  Let's factor David Ortiz since he has punished Los Angeles over the years.  The Angels may own New York, but the Red Sox own Los Angeles until we are proven otherwise.  I will say, however, that the Angels may be the best team to beat Boston in a best of 7 series.  Let's hope they avoid eachother in round 1.

- As of right now, I bet Green Bay is wondering if they should have let Brett Favre walk a couple years ago just so that Aaron Rodgers would be absolutely ready to take the 2008 Packers team to the promise land.  Maybe, maybe not.  But right now this team has received so much publicity over this that I would not be surprised if Green Bay lays an egg this year.  Favre has always craved attention and he's gotten that much.  But not all of this is his fault.  Although if he had stayed retired there would be no gun to the head of the Packers organization. 

- Whenever I watch Ken Rosenthal on Saturday Fox baseball games, I think of how much better he is over Keith Olbertool.  WAY better.  Sideline reporting can be pretty lame at times but Rosenthal's good.  The only memorable thing the previous #### bag ever had was when Chuck Knoblauch hit his mother with a throw.

I know I know, you guys are going to come in and talk about how great "The Big Show" was.  We'll see how bad it is when NBC tries to revive it for Sunday Night Football.  They will be nothing more than just half-wits and you can book that.

...Are you guys sure you don't want any hockey news?  Never mind.  Have a super Sunday.

Break out the hometown flag as this writer is playing the role of homer. 

It couldn't be further from the truth as the Toronto Raptors shocked the Boston Celtics Wednesday night in Beantown.  The game-winning basket was scored by the man who began the year as the second-fiddle to starting point guard T.J. Ford, who suffered a career-threatening injury when he was accidentally hit in the head by Al Hortford that triggered a neck/spinal cord injury that has plagued his young career.

What Calderon has done in place of Ford has not only been remarkable, it comes to no surprise to this writer who has watched a young man with a lot of talent find himself and his abilities to be a very effective point guard in the NBA.  In fact so effective that he should be going to the NBA All-Star game this year.

My gut feeling is he won't.

Heading into the game against Boston, Calderon was scoring just under 12 per game and roughly 8.5 assists per game to go with a shooting percentage of over 50%, free throw percentage over 91% and a 3-point shot at 42% - a significant increase from last season.  Let's also remember that his assist-to-turnover ratio is over 5.5 to 1 - best in the NBA.

But you must remember that he was the backup at the beginning of the season which will naturally keep his averages low for an All-Star calibre player.  That said, Calderon has averaged 14 per game, 9.5 assists per game, 50% shooting with over 96% at the free throw line and a 41% 3-point shot over the last month.  His assist-to-turnover ratio?  It dropped to 4.7 to 1 - still incredible.  It's also incredible to watch a guy adjust to the significant increase in playing time and having to be the man in crunch time which he has done gracefully.

Despite having a much better year than Jason Kidd, Kidd will represent the East at the point guard position.  That comes to no surprise as Calderon was not on the ballot and even if he was the All-Star selection process is a popularity vote and the best player does not always get voted in.  The next spot (or two) will be filled by Chauncey Billups who is having another solid season.  If a 3rd point guard is selected it gets tricky; Joe Johnson could be asked to slide to the point guard position if he is picked to go (as could Dwyane Wade), and the other true point guard candidate that could take that last spot is Mo Williams of Milwaukee, who's having a very good year in his own right.  Jamaal Tinsley would have gotten consideration before the new year but he has begun to fade.  Honourable mention to another guy who is having a solid year is Andre Miller.  However, I don't know if he would be producing like this with a team that was going somewhere.

If there were no ballots and they stuck the vote in my hands, Billups and Calderon would be the two point guards going out of the East.  Then again, I'd probably ask to move one of the stud guards from the West into the East.  I want to run down the loaded guns they have: Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Baron Davis, Tony Parker, Jason Terry and Steve Nash.  Not too shabby.  Nash, Paul and Williams would be my first 3 picks out of the bunch.

Perhaps the late opportunity to start and the lack of publicity for Jose Calderon will be the reason he sits at home during this year's All-Star festivities.  Make no mistake about this young man because he has come a long way since his rookie year with the Toronto Raptors.  If his improvement in his game continues he will be an All-Star next year - unless we witness an incredible comeback from T.J. Ford that would spark discussion as one of the best feel-good comeback stories of 2008.

 

This week has been slack for yours truly so I want to take the time frame I have today to talk about some random events occuring everywhere in sports...

- Last Sunday: Chicago v. Chicago had an interesting play which exposed baseball and it's commentators who know nothing about the game.  When you watch basketball or football games you generally hear a color commentator know exactly what's going on with a random play and why a call was made.  Well in this baseball game the commentators didn't know and neither did the sports guy on the desk in Toronto knew either.  That also means nobody in that network knew it either.  Because I still umpire, I can clear that play up easily:

The runner collided with the shortstop at second base in an attempt to go to third, which is interference.  A defensive player cannot make contact with a runner as he/she is still running, whether they are running from one base to another or going back to a base when the fielder is not attempting a play. 

The White Sox got the runner on 3rd base in a rundown and got him out, as well as the guy between first and second.  So instead of 2 outs, all runners were sent back because of Juan Uribe's stupidity around the bag at second base.  But here is where the commentators and Toronto sports network dropped the ball...

The desk #### said the play should have been called dead which is absolutely false.  The play must play out because if there was an overthrow and a runner scores on that play, the play stands.  Best example I can give you is this: When a defensive player is offside in football, do they give the offense a free play?  Yes.  So if Peyton Manning throws a TD does it count?  Yes.  If they call the play dead while Marvin Harrison is wide open I would bet the Colts would be really ticked right?  Well, the same rings true with baseball as that kind of play warrants the teams to finish the play before making the call.  If the team committing the foul benefits, the umpires will not let them.  But if the team being hindered benefits with the play continuing, the play will stand and the call would be null and void. 

The Chicago commentators we're yelling about the game being played under protest.  "Hell yeah this game will be played under protest!".  Great, too bad your team will lose the protest.  As for the network in my neck of the woods, not having one person in that building sure about this call means they are not taking their sports not named hockey serious enough.

- Frank Thomas is a hall of famer regardless of playing more games at DH than First Base.  His statistics at first base were incredible during his time.  Ken Griffey may have been a better homerun hitter and Barry Bonds may have been the best all around player during Thomas's prime, but was there a more dangerous hitter than Frank?  He was one of the first in our time to personify the importance of challenging for the Triple Crown.  He was Albert Pujols before Albert Pujols, and Big Hurt's On-Base Percentage was always high.  He would have played more first base had the DH rule not existed and probably would have ended his career a few years back.  And even then I thought he was a Hall of Famer because of the dominance he had during the prime of his career.

- I don't care about his career batting average being 12 points better than the average second basemen or the fact that he just got to 3000 hits, Craig Biggio is no better than Barry Larkin who will not go to the Hall of Fame.  Biggio has to be credited for his longevity in the game of baseball, but the Hall of Fame is a bit extreme.  Look, he is a guy you'd have on your team in a second and would love to have him without a doubt.  He has been a very good player and second baseman, but the Hall of Fame?  I realize he's as solid as they come and his consistency is incredible but when I think of solid players at their position I think of Biggio as a Barry Larkin.  I also think if Biggio gets into the Hall of Fame then an argument can be made for Jeff Bagwell, who's impact for Houston was felt just as much as Biggio's. if not more.  If solid is another way to get in, then the Fred McGriff hype-train should start now.  And let's also remember that the best second basemen during Biggio's time were Roberto Alomar and Jeff Kent.

- The Boston Celtics got one of the best pure shooters of our time, Ray Allen.  The guy can absolutely stroke the rock and despite his ankle surgery he should still be more effective than the next option Boston has.  Only problem I saw with the trade involving them and Seattle is this: What will Seattle do with 3 point guards who are neither great or bad, and which ideal shooting guard will Boston move to play the point.  Each candidate are better suited at the 2 but they feel one of them can play the point.  Otherwise they would not have traded Delonte West. 

- Great move by Charlotte to get Jason Richardson.  The guy is very underrated and he's the best dunker I've ever seen.  Vince Carter may get all the hype but remember that J-Rich did all of Vince's dunks with greater difficulty and without a helper in the 2003 and 2004 slam-dunk contests.  And before last season J-Rich had improved his game every single year until injuries derailed his season last year.  If he's healthy he should thrive in the East.

- If Rashard Lewis goes to the Miami Heat you can pencil them in as the favourites to win the East Conference (keywords: East Conference).

- Good morning KG and Kobe.  How are you gentlemen feeling this morning?

- To anyone that is from or currently resides in Kansas City: Can you guys and gals honestly support an NHL franchise.  I'm really curious as to why the NHL would like to have a team in that market.

...If I don't get the chance to say this tomorrow, I wish Canada a happy 140th birthday on July 1.  Have a great long weekend my fellow Canadians! 

This is your reigning blogging king (for the last few hours or so, that is).  The excitement of playoff basketball is upon us as it appears to be a very anticipating playoff run, especially in the West Conference.  Out of all of my years of watching basketball, which dates back to Chicago's first dynasty, I have never seen one conference possess as much talent over another in any other year.  However, this may prove to be a critical factor for the East as it does not erase the possibility that they can take the NBA title.  The winner of the East Conference may have the easier road to the final than the winner of the West.  Could the grueling matchups of the West powerhouses zap the energy of the West victor?  It may just be the case when it's all said and done.

To preview the preview, here are some awards I'd like to hand out:

Coach of the Year: Avery Johnson - Lots of good coaching performances this year but he had this team making a potential run at 70 wins after losing the first 4 games of the season.  Also, he could have lost this team after starting the season 0-4 and that did not happen.  He has turned a franchise that prided itself on offense to a team that has the capabilities of playing shutdown defense at times.

6th Man: Leandro  Barbosa - Could I give it to someone else?  Maybe.  But whenever someone tells me how valuable the 6th man really is, I think of Barbosa.  If a player can be the first thing on your mind based on a certain keyword, then the award has to go to him.

Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Howard - The big reason of Dallas's resurrection on defense has been the emergence of Howard.  It's his time now.  Honourable mention goes to Shane Battier, who has helped Houston's defense tremendously and the Rockets are very underrated in that department.

Rookie of the Year: Brandon Roy - Has there been another rookie who has played as consistent as he has?  Rudy #### may be the closest, and Andrea Bargnani was hurt at the end of the season so the award falls into Roy's hands.

MVP: Dirk Nowitzki - Perhaps the toughest player to stop on offense, and Dirk has been helping his teammates moreso this season than he has before.  You can tell when he's busting his tail for rebounds and his passes.  I have to say, his passing has been better this season than I can ever remember.  He's earned the award this year and very few can argue.

PREDICTION TIME!!!

East Conference

(1) Detroit v. (8) Orlando: Detroit in 4

- Everytime I try to convince myself that the Magic can make this a series, I come back to the simple fact that the Pistons have an answer for each player that can be a scoring threat on Orlando.  Now, Dwight Howard is a beast and Grant Hill is a battler, but that's still not enough.  It reminds me of the Minnesota Timberwolves with a beast (KG) and a battler (Ricky Davis - somewhat).  Maybe Orlando takes a game, but Detroit will no doubt take the series.

(2) Cleveland v. (7) Washington: Cleveland in 4

- A rematch of last year's matchup with the exception of Gilbert Arenas.  Caron Butler may be back for the series but I don't think it even matters.  Psychologically and physically the Wizards are beaten up.  What began as a promising season ended in disaster for them.  Cleveland should expose that in this series and be happy that Chicago blew second spot.

(3) Toronto v. (6) New Jersey: Toronto in 7

- A dream matchup for Vince Carter to stick it to his former team.  Toronto fans want blood out of Vince and his mom.  A healthy NenadKrstic and a more sharp Richard Jefferson and I give the series to New Jersey, but Toronto had the 2nd best home record in the Conference and the lively crowd will push them to victory, thus burying the ghost of Vince Carter in this city for good.  WATCH FOR: Anthony Parker - He could gain recognition if he locks up Carter, which he has done this year.

(4) Miami v. (5) Chicago: Chicago in 7

- Am I kidding myself here?  I don't know.  This is the one series I felt I could go out on a limb.  Flipping a letter, Miami comes into the playoffs on a limp.  However, will the difference between last year and this year help Chicago prevail?  Well they went 6 games with them without Ben Wallace and against a healthy Dwyane Wade.  They have to take full advantage.

West Conference

(1) Dallas v. (8) Golden State: Dallas in 5

- For one game, the Warriors led by former Mavs coach Don Nelson will stun Dallas with a win playing their high-tempo style.  Then Dallas will show why they are the better and more polished squad and dispatch them.

(2) Phoenix v. (7) LA Lakers: Phoenix in 6

- Last year these two teams went 7 games with the Lakers blowing a 3-1 series lead, thus a terrible blow to the alleged most clutch player in the NBA, Kobe Bryant.  The difference this year is a healthy Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas in the linuep against the same old Lakers.  Also, which team possesses the kind of championship hunger Dallas is feeling right now?  The Suns would be the correct answer as they have not even made it to the NBA finals.

(3) San Antonio v. (6) Denver: San Antonio in 7

- If there was an upset game, this would be it.  Denver has finally gotten their full squad together (minus Kenyon Martin) and showed their talents near the end of the season playing some great basketball.  San Antonio is a confident team, which should help them prevail in the very end.  But I am counting on Denver to make this a series, and would not be surprised if Denver were to shock everyone.

(4) Houston v. (5) Utah: Houston in 7

- This is the best matchup of the first round.  I cannot wait to see this one.  Couple of factors: Houston has home-court advantage, Tracy McGrady is determined to get this team past round 1 and they had the better season against better competition in their division.  Utah is a very good team and if we see the good team in this series it will be a wild one.  Utah can take this series, they have the talent to do so.  But who will stop Yao?

Future rounds will be visited when the time comes.  But this is what we've got right now.  Let the NBA Playoffs begin.

So far in the NHL Playoffs, I am 3-0 with team predictions.  With a bit of help from New Jersey, Detroit and Dallas I can go 8-0.  It feels good to think about it. 

Have a great weekend.

The Western Conference is still deeper, better and more watcheable than the East.  You might disagree with that notion but over the past 5 years or so two of these teams have been regarded as the most exciting team to watch: Dallas and Phoenix. 

Some of the teams that will miss the playoffs this year will have enough talent where if they were shipped to the East they would be in the playoffs.  That is something I truly believe in.  However, you cannot choose the division to play in so you have to make due.  Let's break it down:

SOUTHWEST:

- This has to be the best division in basketball.  Last season, the injury-plagued Houston Rockets were in last place.  The same team that has studs like Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.  There are really 2 questions that surround this division: 1) Who will take first. Dallas or San Antonio?  And 2) Will all 5 teams make the playoffs?  Stay tuned for that answer but here is answer number 1...

Dallas
San Antonio
Houston
New Orleans
Memphis

- The answer to question number 2 will be addressed but let's read on...

NORTHWEST:

- Considerably weaker than the other two conferences, it boasts the most questions and parody out of any division.  Looking at all 5 teams, they have all been a division winner since 1999.  With this division, its all about staying healthy, making clutch shots and getting off to a good start to the season.  Then again, every team in the NBA would like to do that...

Denver
Utah
Seattle
Minnesota
Portland

PACIFIC:

- Phoenix will dominate.  They are one team that can play through the adversity of injuries as they experienced a few key injuries last season and during the playoffs (Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas to name a couple).  The next few spots will depend on how the teams hold up together: Can the Clippers maintain that high level of play in the regular season?  Will the Lakers be more than just a Kobe-led team?  And will Sacramento be better with a full season having Ron Artest?  And is Golden State ready to take the next level?  I keep looking at the Warriors and think they are too loaded to not be a better team.  They just might be a victim of a deep Western Conference...

Phoenix
LA Clippers
Sacramento
LA Lakers
Golden State

- Now, from 1 to 8 here is how the playoff structure will stack up:

Phoenix
Dallas
Denver
San Antonio
LA Clippers
Houston
Utah
Sacramento

This will be a dogfight for the final few spots between a bunch of teams.  I can see every team in the Pacific division competing for a spot, and if Pau Gasol get's back with Memphis in the playoff hunt then all the Southwest teams will be a factor as well.  Remember one other thing: Seattle is only two years removed from winning their division.  This will be a very interesting and compelling Western Conference battle for the playoffs this season.