The NBA has been ran by repeat champions and dynasties for the past twenty years (and that's as far back as I did my research on, it's probably even longer). In the past twenty years there have been six different teams to win NBA champions, and the only team out of the six that didn't win more than one within the past twenty seasons was the Miami Heat. There hasn't been per say a dynasty in the NBA since the Bulls of the '90's, except you can make an argument for the Lakers that three-peated at the beginning of the decade and even the Spurs who have won three of the last five championship.

But this year's Finals isn't just a rematch of an old Finals rivalry against two dynasties of the past, it's the rekindling of this dynasty because Boston and L.A. will meet again numerous times in the finals within the next three to five years.

A lot of people will want to make arguments that in these days with players moving around and so much talent in the league it's impossible for a dynasty to emerge, let alone two, but look at both these teams. They each have a "big three", where all the players that are part of the big three are thirty-two years of age or younger.

Lakers: Kobe (29), Odom (28), Gasol (27).
Not to mention Farmar is only twenty-one and Bynum is twenty.

Celtics: KG (32), Allen (32), Pierce (30).
and Rondo's only twenty-two.

You say there's other teams that can take the reigns of these two teams? Let's start out west.

The San Antonio Spurs have their own big three in Duncan, Parker, and Ginoboli. But look at the rest of the players in their rotation. Finley's old, Horry will probably retire, Barry's old, Oberto's garbage.

The Dallas Mavericks also have a big three in Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard. This team just flat out can't play defense and Kidd doesn't have too many years left in him.

The New Orleans Hornets made a nice run this year, but Paul and West really can't carry them with the role players they have. Stojavic, Peterson, and Chandler could do a commercial with Shaq where they ARE the icy-hot patch the way they go from cold to hot and vice versa. They may have been a one-year wonder like the Warriors were last year.

I really don't know what the Phoenix Suns were thinking when they made that trade for Shaq. Shaq is well past his prime and Marion was peaking at his. I don't see this team making the finals in the near future.

The Jazz, Rockets, and Nuggets are other notable teams or any team in the west since the conference stays strong, but the Lakers are on their way to greatness.

Now onto the East to make an argument on how teams won't be able to knock off Bean Town in the upcoming years.

The Detroit Pistons have no depth and all their stars are thirty and up except for Tayshaun Prince. They play great team basketball, but it won't be enough to knock off Boston.

The Orlando Magic don't have enough star players outside of Dwight Howard to even come within punching distance of Boston.

The Cleveland Cavaliers need a scoring post threat to compliment Lebron to have a chance to win a championship. Ilgauskas is a decent player, but he's not the type of player Lebron needs. If Boozer never left Cleveland this team would have probably won a championship by now, but that's a what-if.

The rest of the East is JV compared to the west and the teams I mentioned.

Oh and another prediction.
Lakers over Celtics in six.

Stay classy.

Even if the New England Patriots beat the New York Giants they still shouldn't be considered one of the greatest teams of all time. They don't even compare to teams like the Bears and Niners of the 80's. The '72 Dolphins or the Steelers in the 70's. This team is the '99 Rams. That's it. Yes they broke all these offensive records, but so did those '99 Rams. Hell, the '99 Rams are a better football team because THEY were world champs. They didn't get upset.  If the Rams' division was as weak as New England's was this year they would have been undefeated too. Not ONE team in the AFC East had a winning record except for the Patriots. The Giants were undefeated against the other teams in that division too. If the Patriots were in ANY other division they would have had at least one loss. That's why I think the Giants had the edge in this game. Even though the Patriots beat every team from the NFC East, they only had to play them once. A backup QB in Philly SHOULD have beat them. The NFC East produced THREE play-off teams. The AFC East, just the Pats. This team shouldn't be remembered as one of the greatest ever. It should be remembered as the most overrated team in NFL history. Not in the sense that they weren't great,  just every one blew them up to be this God-like team, which they weren't.

Oh yeah the new slogan:
18-1.
The Giants are Super Bowl Champs, how's that for PERFECT.

So let's talk about Chad Johnson wanting out of Cincy. Now even if I wasn't a Giants fan I'd believe that the Giants have a puncher's chance to pull the biggest upset of all time, but let's just say the Patriots do go 19 and 0 for this post's sake.

Chad Johnson can be the player to tip a team over the top to take down New England next year. Let's look at my top five prospects of teams Ocho Cinco can go to and be the "Randy Moss" to that team to take them over the edge to dethrone the Pats.

5. The Minnesota Vikings
"What are you smoking?" is probably the first thoughts that came to your mind, but think about it. Tarvaris Jackson has made some stupid mistakes, but this team drops more balls then a group of boys hitting adolescence. They have one of the best running backs in the league, an under the radar defense, but their top receivers wouldn't start in NFL Europe. Adding Chad Johnson to this team would make this team an immediate Super Bowl contender, especially in the NFC. Teams would not be able to show Minnesota that 8 man box with Ocho Cinco out there so teams will have to pick their poison. Chad Johnson or Adrian Peterson. They both can kill you.

4. The Denver Broncos.
Let's face it this team with the St. Louis Rams were the biggest busts of the past NFL season. Other than their awful run defense, Jay Cutler had no one to throw the ball to. Marshall and Stokeley are both slot receivers, not go to guys. Chad Johnson would be the receiver to make Cutler into the great quarterback that he can be. They still have Bailey and Bly in the secondary and some good linebackers in Denver. You don't have to worry about the run game in Denver with their blocking schemes, add Ocho Cinco as a receiver, fix your run defense (which Shanahan is probably doing right now) and this team will be back into the contender they should be.

3. The Tennessee Titans.
You have a great quarterback in Vince Young, a solid defense, and an improving run game. You add Chad Johnson and this team can make a lot of noise. No explanation needed.

2. The San Diego Chargers.
You have LT, Gates, and a great defense. The receivers showed show improvement and Chris Chambers was their "super star" edition, but even when he was in Miami I never saw him as that go-to reliable receiver. Add Chad Johnson to this team and you may have an offense that can break the records that New England put up this year.

1. The Jacksonville Jaguars.
David Gerrard is the quarterback that was MADE for Chad Johnson. They could wear matching pimp suits during post game interviews. They all ready have the two running back attack you say? Well how much juice does Fred Taylor have left in him? Yes he's had some of his best years recently, but that injury bug could bite again, and even if it doesn't Chad Johnson would be the player to set this team over the top. They all ready have a suffocating defense. Gerrard doesn't make mistakes, but he doesn't have that big play receiver. You can't always rely on your two running backs to break one for a touchdown, Chad Johnson would give them the perfect play action game. This team WOULD be Super Bowl bound with Ocho Cinco.

The New England Patriots are a GREAT, GREAT team. They have deserved every win they got, they have talent. They probably are the greatest team of all time in ANY sport. I do think they are a dirty team, but what team isn't. They're good enough to get away with it for the most part.

BUT I am completely convinced that the San Diego Chargers threw that football game on purpose. Before you jump into assumptions just hear out why I think so.

Philip Rivers played after undergoing a surgery not many players would play a week after having.

LaDanian Tomlinson, whose injury was MUCH less severe took two snaps and then sat out the game.

On the Chargers first drive (I believe) when they had a 3rd and goal from the one or two yard line Norv Turner made one of the WORST play calls I've ever seen by running a stretch play instead of trying to pound it up the middle in a spot that would have been four down territory if they didn't lose 2-3 yards on the stretch play.

On a play earlier when San Diego was in the redzone on that first possession, Tedi Brushci was basically bearhugging Antonio Gates' arm on a crossing route that would have left him open in the endzone and Rivers still tried threading it in, probably trying to get the ref to throw that little yellow flag.

On a clear defensive holding play on Ashante Samuel no flag was thrown and Jim Nantz said "You're allowed to WRAP YOUR ARM around a player as long as you don't turn him around"...ok yeah that's not pass interference, but it would be called defensive holding any other time.

On the Chargers I believe last possession Richard Seymour pushed Philip Rivers down after the whistle was blown on a running play RIGHT in front of the ref and you could see the ref's eyes were RIGHT on Seymour and he didn't throw a flag. After the play Jim Nantz goes "That's a good no call you don't know what Rivers could have been saying to Seymour"...What? Since when has retaliating because a player was "trashtalking" been legal?

Here's the play that convinced me this game was thrown by the Chargers. It was 4th and I believe 8 or 9 on the Patriot's 35 yard line. There was around six minutes left and they had ONE time-out left and they PUNT THE BALL. Why?! This may be the worst coaching move since Rick Pitino had someone cover the man throwing the ball in on that play where Christian Laetner gave Kentucky the buzzer-beater in the early 90s (can't remember the year). For one, they needed a touchdown and a field goal anyway, they could have taken the chance with a field goal even if it was probably a little bit out of Kaeding's range, but they should have WENT for it. I bet a team in the first half would go for it on a play where they're out of field goal range, but in a spot where it would be ridiculous to punt. This just boggles my mind. He was giving the ball back to the Patriots anyway with a punt, why not go for it? You're down nine points in the biggest game of your coaching career and you punt?! On a team that's been RUNNING all over your defense all day?

I'm not one to believe these stupid conspiracy theories, but I seriously think the Chargers threw that game on purpose and if they didn't Norv Turner should be canned like Marty got canned last season.

April 30th 2007 I said

 

"Steal of the draft was actually in the Top 10. Minnesota got a gift with Adrian Peterson still being available. Trust me, this guy's got future Pro Bowl-possible Hall of Famer written all over him."

 

All day Adrian.

 Over 300 net yards and 3 tds against the bears.

nfl's leading rusher.

lets just hope he's not another cadillac williams.

Ok so everyone is talking about the 4-0 Packers.
Everyone is talking about the 1-3 Chargers and Bears.
The Bucs and Lions are being thrown into the mix.

but what about...

The Greatest...slump on turf. That's the only way I can explain the St. Louis Rams right now. They are the biggest surprise in the NFL right now. Not because of their record, but their lack of scoring. A high school AV club is scoring more then this team. The last time the Rams scored an offensive touchdown was in the FIRST quarter of week two. So you can try and blame injuries...I don't care if Stephen Jackson AND Marc Bulger are out you still have Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Randy McMichael AND Drew Bennet is a good slot. It's not looking any better for St Louis either. They play a hot Cardinals team next week in St Louis where Arizona beat them last year. Then they play at Baltimore and at Seattle. They will be 0-7 by Week 8. This was a team that was suppose to contend in the NFC West. The only team that has scored less points this season then the Rams are the Saints...who have scored 38 all year...Rams have scored 39...oh yeah the Saints have only played three games though.

What about the Bengals? Ok so half their team is in jail, but they still have Carson Palmer, Ocho Cinco, Who's ya mama, and Rudi Johnson on offense. Their defense is definitely beat up and missing Odell Thurman, but they still have speed on defense. They're not as bad as they've been playing. I know Marvin Lewis is the guy who turned this team around, but I think if the Bengals don't make the play-offs within the next two years you have to can him.

DA RAIDERRRSS. How about the black and silver. Yes, they've only beat the Brown and Dolphins, but they kept pace with what looks like an overrated Broncos team. Look at their schedule too, if you look at teams records at the moment they play only four teams with winning records in their remaining games (credit it's teams at the moment with winning records...Colts, Titans, Texans, Packers). This is a resurgence of Culpepper it seems, and a team that hasn't been able to run the ball...hell I don't remember the last time the Raiders could run the ball even in the Gannon and Tim Brown days. Look out for Da Raiders.

The Raiders are in first place in the AFC West and could easily be 4-0 if it weren't for fourth quarter collapses against Detroit and Denver. I saw Vintage Daunte Culpepper yesterday...remember when he was in arguments to be MVP back in Minnesota?

Jeckel and hydes of the NFL:
Browns offense.
Giants defense.

Tony Romo might be the next Tom Brady...didn't they both back up Bledsoe ? What a coincidence.

Arizona looks good with a two qb system. Who would have thought...bad for Leinhart fantasy owners.

Remember when San Diego was 1-15 the year before they drafted LT? It might just happen again.
Maybe they should have kept Shottenheimer...Hell they should have kept Drew Brees.

The Bucs, Lions, and Packers all have winning records.

Brett Favre also has the most INTs in a career for a quarterback...kinda forgot about that record.

News flash: The Packers can't run the ball...they may be one of the 20%(i think) of 4-0 teams in the history of the NFL that don't make the play-offs...sorry cheese heads and Favre fanatics.

Where did the Rams offense go? They have scored 39 points in four games. The Lions scored 34 in a quarter. (so much for them winning the nfc west...what kinda #### would predict that).

The Bears have the Super Bowl hangover...the INJURY one that plagued Philly, Carolina, and Seattle. Yes, they're offense sucks. But they're defense is trading physical the#### numbers.

Why is Minnesota trying to split the carries between Peterson and Taylor. Taylor sucks. Also, Jackson has started their only win. He was dressed in uniform yesterday, but how healthy is he ?

Don't count the Giants out.
-They haven't allowed a touchdown in six quarters.
-Both of their losses have come to undefeated teams.

Jeff Garcia is a good quarterback...really.

David Carr had bright eyes with getting to start for the Panthers forgetting those sack ridden days in H-Town...yet he got this start against the rejuvenated Bucs D...owch. He was sacked three times.

Speaking of which there was a Gus Frerotte sighting yesterday (they didn't show the headbutt replay which was disappointing)
Also, a Trent Dilfer sighting.

Where did the Ravens defense go?

The Broncos run defense is awful.

The Bills won with a rookie QB and rookie RB. Losman should get benched anyway.

Where have all the top name running backs gone? If I did fantasy football this year I'd definitely be looking to stack up on receivers (Dwayne Bowe from KC may be a good pickup for you fantasy fans).

The Falcons actually won a game...yeah.

oh and a Monday night upset. Bungals over Pats 42-38.

Last minute picks this week so no explanations.

Last Week's Record: 8-8.

Season: 17-15.

Upset Picks: 1-1.

Ravens over Cardinals.

Jets over Dolphins.

49ers over Steelers (UPSET SPECIAL).

Bucs over Rams.

Lions over Eagles.

Vikings over Chiefs.

Chargers over Packers.

Pats over Bills.

Colts over Texans.

Broncos over Jags.

Browns over Raiders.

Bengals over Seahawks.

Panthers over Falcons.

Redskins over Giants.

Cowboys over Bears.

Saints over Titans.

Last Week: 9-7

Season: 9-7

Upset Picks: 0-1

 

 Bengals vs Browns

Not much to say about this game. After watching the Bengals performance on Monday night, not only is their offense something to look out for, but their defense is playing aggressively as well. Look for Ocho Cinco to be jumping in the dog pound...numerous times.

Winner: Bengals.

Colts vs Titans

This WILL be a close game, but the Colts look like the best team in football right now.

Winner: Colts.

49ers vs Rams

The Niners defense looked impressive...or maybe Zona's offense never showed up to that game. The Rams will rebound from last week's performance and put up some points at home.

Winner: Rams.

Packers vs Giants

If Eli is playing or not I think the Giants will win their home opener over a Green Bay team that just barely got by Philly last week.

Winner: Giants.

Saints vs Bucs

Saints will bounce back from that opening night embarrassment and beat on the Bucs.

Winner: Saints.

Falcons vs Jaguars

I don't think ATL will win a game all year.

Winner: Jaguars.

Bills vs Steelers

Everett is in all of our hearts and prayers, but Pitt will run away with this in a blowout.

Winner: Steelers.

Texans vs Panthers

Expect this to be a close game, but Carolina is looking like a NFC juggernaut once again. 60% of the time they win every time.

Winner: Panthers.

Cowboys vs Dolphins

I like Dallas, not so much Miami this year.

Winner: Cowboys.

Seahawks vs Cardinals

UPSET SPECIAL 

Winner: Cardinals.

Vikings vs Lions

Although the Lions looked impressive last week at Oakland, it was just that...impressive at Oakland.

Winner: Vikings.

Raiders vs Broncos

No brainer.

Winner: Broncos.

Chiefs vs Bears

KC looked awful against Houston last week...it'll get worst this week.

Winner: Bears.

Jets at Ravens

No Pennington against the Ravens D ? Yeah.

Winner: Ravens.

Chargers at Patriots

LT will put up some interesting tape material for the Pats.

Winner: Chargers.

Redskins at Eagles

I think both these teams are on route to have a disappointing year...I'm going with the home team...McNabb is also 10-4 I believe against the Redskins in his career.

Winner: Eagles. 

The Patriots and Colts are still every one's Super Bowl Favorites. (I like the Pats, but I want to see Cincy go the Super Bowl--think Chad has that celebration scripted? I think he'll streak).

The NFC is just as bad as it was last year.

On that note the AFC is ridiculous. The NFL has turned into the NBA in that sense. West over East...AFC over NFC.

The Eagles AREN'T good.

Is Thomas Jones going to come near to the season he had with Chi Town in NY this year?

The Lions, Raiders, Cardinals, and Niners all played each other so anyone who has any of these teams as a sleeper will have to wait for Week Two to see how good any of these teams are.

Maybe the Jaguars made the wrong decision by getting rid of Leftwich.

Maybe I was wrong on my predticion about Seattle this year.

The Vikings defense is underrated--especially linebacker EJ Henderson who had 108 tackles 3 sacks and 2 ints last year. He had 7 tackles and 2 sacks against the dirty birds in Week 1.

Speaking of the Vikings, I know it's only week one but I have a feeling I was right about Adrian Peterson. Definitely Offensive ROY...I had to look back on my blog all the way to April 30th to find this quote I said after the draft "Steal of the draft was actually in the Top 10. Minnesota got a gift with Adrian Peterson still being available. Trust me, this guy's got future Pro Bowl-possible Hall of Famer written all over him. I like how Minnesota's rebuilding their franchise, I see them surprising people within the next few years especially in that division." Boo ya.


The Bears are questionable.

Receivers are back: Moss, T.O., and Chad Johnson put up some crazy numbers...along with Plaxico Burress and Antwaan Randle El.

What happened to running backs? LT, Stephen Jackson, and Larry Johnson combined didn't gain as much yards as Chris Brown (guess he can Run it Run it).

Turner led the Bolts with 41 rushing yds...but LT still scored all of the Super Chargers' points.

The AFC North is the best division in the NFL--minus the browns.

Speaking of the AFC North the battle for first will be between Cincy and Pitt, not Cincy and Baltimore.

Speaking of Cincy, Ocho Cinco's celebration was subpar--and contradicted his statement that he made in the past where he said he wanted to be the first player to reach the Hall of Fame while still playing. If you don't love this guy you're not a fan of football.

The Rams aren't as good as myself and everyone thought.

The Texans may be this year's sleeper.

What will be higher by the end of the year: The Giants win total or the number of Giants injured?

--Either way 285 lb QB Jared Lorenz is going to be fun to watch against the Packers next week.

Eli Manning looked like Peyton against Dallas before he went down with the inury.

Romo didn't look too shabby either.

Brady Quinn will start by Thanksgiving...maybe Halloween.

Since the season always gets an early kick-off with a thursday game I'll have to do my picks now. For one, has anyone looked at the week one schedule? The NFL really went all out for giving us, the fans, some AMAZING match-ups in week one. You have TWO possible Super Bowl scenarios: Colts vs Saints and Bears vs Chargers. You have some great division games: Jets vs Patriots. Giants vs Cowboys. RAVENS VS BENGALS (the game I'm most looking forward to watching).

 Lets start with the picks. (Note I'm not doing any spread with these games, I'm not a gambler)

Saints at Colts.

What a great game to open the season. The defending Super Bowl champs matched up against last year's cinderellas. Both teams have offensive's that will have the nation watching tonight. I really want to pick the Saints, but I don't think they're defensive backs will be able to handle Peyton and crew at Indy.

Winner: Colts.

Broncos at Bills.

This game is one of the few mismatches in Week One. Broncos defense is just ridiculously this year and JP Losman will be throwing to Bailey and Bly instead of his receivers.

Winner: Broncos.

Steelers at Browns.

Brady Quinn won't be starting for Cleveland, but I still see this being a close game. It IS one of the most intense rivalries in the NFL. I feel this game is a team that's one the downfall, the Steelers, against a team that's on the rise, the Browns. Both teams are toss-ups for success and/or failure this year. I'm going to go with Pittsburgh though because I have a feeling the Browns have one more dismal season ahead of them.

Winner: Steelers

Eagles at Packers.

Honestly I think this is a match-up between the two worst teams in the NFC. A lot of people are praising Philly's D but I don't see anything in their defense anymore. This team is on a plunge and who knows how healthy McNabb is. I do want to pick the Eagles because the Packers are the lesser team, but I don't see Favre losing a season opener at home this year.

Winner: Packers.

Chiefs at Texans.

The Texans show a glimpse of hope every year, but the Chiefs are winning this game.

Winner: Chiefs.

Titans at Jaguars.

What a game this is going to be. I really wish I had DirectTV here at school because this would be the early sunday game that I would be watching. I'm taking the Jags though because I believe in the Madden Curse. Sorry Vince Young.

Winner: Jaguars.

Falcons at Vikings.

Vikings are going to blow A-Town out. I think Minnesota has an underrated defense, they're O-line will push them around, Jackson, Williamson, and Peterson are the future of this franchise on offense.

Winner: Vikings.

Patriots at Jets.

Another great match-up. Everyone's Super Bowl favorite versus a promising Jets team. It's going to be close, but the Pats will pull out the W.

Winner: Patriots.

Panthers at Rams.

I'm telling you, another great match-up. This is two promising play-off teams and when these teams play it's always a close game. I can remember that overtime play-off game from a few years back. I like St Louis in the dome though.

Winner: Rams.

Dolphins at Redskins.

I'm really not feeling either of these teams this year, but the Dolphins D is definitely one of the bests in the NFL.

Winner: Dolphins.

Lions at Raiders.

Snooze fest. Oakland can't cover Detroit's wideouts.

Winner: Lions.

Bears at Chargers.

This is a heavyweight match-up. The Bears run defense vs the Chargers run offense. What a game of chess this will be to watch. I REALLY like the Chargers this year, and I think the Bears may be one of those one year wonders.

Winner: Chargers.

Bucs at Seahawks.

UPSET OF THE WEEK.

Winner: Bucs.

Giants at Cowboys.

This is another GREAT match-up. NFC East rivals. I think the Giants will prove it's their year to take the East.

Winner: Giants.

Ravens at Bengals.

WHO DEY?! The Bengals are going to prove their late year collapse last year was a fluke.

Winner: Bengals.

Cardinals at 49ers.

This is going to be a more exciting game then people think. These are two future teams going up against one another. I really like San Fransisco, a lot, I didn't pick them to do a lot this year, but I think within the next 5 years BOTH these teams will be atop the NFC west. I like Leinhart and his receivers pulling out a W in this game though.

Winner: Cardinals.

 

That's it for my predictions. Be sure to visit my blog every week hours before or the day before the week's games.
 

Well what's going on everyone I've been away from blogging since the NBA play-offs...oh and I called the Spurs winning the title all along...just to get a little gloat about that in. You know I'm not really a big fan of baseball, but college football kicked off last weekend and the NFL kicks off in TWO days. So right now I will do my SEASON predictions. No statistics or reasoning but I will pick every division and pick my super bowl winner, yes.

AFC EAST

Patriots

Dolphins

Jets>

Bills

AFC NORTH

Bengals

Ravens

Browns

Ste
elers

 

AFC SOUTH

Colts

Jaguars

Titans

Tex
ans 

 

 

AFC WEST

Chargers

Broncos

Chiefs>

Raiders

NFC EAST

Giants

Cowboys

Redskins>

Eagles

AFC NORTH

Vikings (laugh now...SEASON SLEEPER SPECIAL)

Bears

Lions

Packers

NFC SOUTH

 

Saints

Panther
s

Bucs

Falcons

 

NFC WEST

Rams

Cardinals (SEASON SLEEP SPECIAL...sorry seattle)

Seahawks

Niners

SUPER BOWL OUTCOME:

Patriots

 

over

 

Saints

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well I'm finally done with finals and I leave school tomorrow. Although I've been crammed with studying and essays I have had time to watch the play-offs or a least catch the highlights.

I predicted the Spurs would win the NBA championship, which I still think will be the case. Especially with Amare suspended a game that'll give the Spurs an edge in Game Five.

Lets forget my prediction and look at what would be good for the NBA.

AS crazy as this sounds but what would be best for basketball would be if the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets or Phoenix Suns won the NBA Championship.

Why? You ask. Diversity. I don't know the exact numbers, but NBA ratings have been down since the Jordan Era, and since it's doubtful another Jordan era would happen the NBA needs a resurrection similar to the NFL's after the Cowboy era...Diversity of champions.

FOR THE PAST TWENTY (YES TWENTY) YEARS THE NBA HAS HAD ONLY SIX DIFFERENT TEAMS WIN NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat.

Lets look back at the past Champs:

86-87: Lakers

87-88: Lakers

88-89: Pistons

89-90: Pistons

90-91: Bulls

91-92: Bulls

92-93: Bulls

93-94: Rockets

94-95: Rockets

95-96: Bulls

96-97: Bulls

97-98: Bulls

98-99: Spurs

99-00: Lakers

00-01: Lakers

01-02: Lakers

02-03: Spurs

03-04: Pistons

04-05: Spurs

05-06: Heat

Dynasties and repeats seem like a dying fad, the Patriots were great for the NFL, but that's because they started as an upset story beating the heavily favored Rams. Predictable has become boring in sports. Other then the Patriots, the last time an NFL team repeated was in 1999 when the Bronco's did it, the last time in baseball a team repeated was 2000 when the Yankees did it. Okay, so there's no repeat for the NBA, but if the Bulls, Spurs, or Pistons take the crown it'll follow the continuing trend of these cities dominance in collecting titles in the NBA.

SO even though Phoenix isn't too much of an underdog this year, history says they are. So lets route for the underdog and bring the NBA championship to another new city (Miami pay be the pioneer of this trend) this year.

Oh and I want to give a shout out to UAlbany Men's Lacrosse who won their first NCAA tournament game in the history of the program and we're well on our way to becoming NCAA LAX Champs.

Information of past NBA champions courtesy of databasesports.com

Picture courtesy of Google Images

If Dirk Nowitzki wins MVP no one should complain. The MVP is for the regular season. Not the play-offs. Nash is probably going to get it anyway.

I know there's going to be plenty of posts about this upset, but lets talk about Dirk and all the criticism he's going to get for this game and series.

The first point I'd like to make is if it wasn't for Dirk Golden State would have been celebrating on Dallas' home court the other night. He sparked that 15-0 run that ended the game. The block, the threes, the huge offensive rebound on a freethrow that got knocked out of his hands, but went out of bounds so Dallas held possession. Blame Dirk ALL you want, but he was part of the reason Dallas kept pace in this series.

Ok so last night he had an AWFUL game. Even though Dallas won the game before it was evident Golden State had the momentum from that home crowd in Oakland. Barkley ripped Dirk for not driving, but Dirk is a jumpshot first drive second type player. I doubt Dirk driving to the basket really would have changed how the Warriors played. Dirk may have choked in some people's minds, but Golden State actually played defense on him. He couldn't get open ANYWHERE inside. He had to lurk at the perimeter. Who knows Dirk better then Don Nelson? He coached him since he was in the NBA before he left Dallas. He made the adjustments to stop Dirk.

Even though he's probably my favorite coach in the league, Avery Johnson is partially to blame for the Mavericks early exit. He got outcoached. I wonder what he tells this team in the locker room at halftime? In Games 5 and 6 they played AWFUL in the third quarter.

Let alone Dirk's teammates. Harris, Howard, and Stackhouse stepped it up, but then again they were hit and miss. Sometimes they were hitting a lot, other times they were missing a lot. I don't think they got Dirk the ball enough. Harris drove A LOT more then usual, and last night after Stackhouse hit those four threes he decided to just heave them up all night. I don't think Dirk had that many touches because of these guys trying to step it up instead of giving it to their super star.

The only criticism I have of Dirk is he said if they didn't win Game 4 their season was over. I don't know if that was some kind of motivational comment, but it backfired. AND he didn't seem to ask for the ball. If I was in Dirk's position last night being still in the game in the first half and only scoring two points I would be begging Avery Johnson to run plays for me and for my team to feed me the ball.

Ah bandwagons. In sports, EVERY one has jumped on a team's bandwagon in his or her lifetime. If you haven't, you're not a true fan or you're so biased to your team that you can't stand any other team. The BIGGEST bandwagon right now is the Golden State Warriors. I almost want to jump it because Dallas seems like the underdog now. That's how crazy this series is when the 1 seed becomes the underdog. I'll give credit a lot of people said this was a possible upset over Dallas in the first round, but NO ONE has been talking about the Warriors prior to April. People have assumed I'm a Warriors fan due to the fact I jumped on the bandwagon. I'm a KNICKS fan. You know why I like the Warriors? Even though it doesn't seem like it now, or atleast before last night, they're the underdog. If this was a 4-5 series I would still be routing for the Warriors because I'm a Baron Davis fan, but I wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. This is HISTORY if the Warriors win Game Six tomorrow night or if it goes seven and they pull out a win. I think even Dallas fans should understand what's going on here. This is as rare as a 16 seed beating a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. NEITHER has ever happened. An 8th seed has NEVER beaten a 1 seed in a seven game series.

I'm just wondering where all the fans of the Golden State Warriors who's been routing for this team their whole lives are I would like to hear some of their opinions on this series. I'm excited for Golden State, but if this was the Knicks being an 8th seed and upsetting a 1 I'd probably be going crazier then I was when Albany was given a chance against Virginia in the NCAA tourney.

If the Cinderella slipper doesn't fit you can always put on the flip-flops. If Dallas pulls out the series comeback I wonder how many sports analysts are going to flip flop and get back on the Mavs bandwagon. Other then Dallas fans and Charles Barkley, I think every analyst and blogger for that matter has buried this team. I still don't think Dallas is going to pull through, but it would be funny to see how many analysts will have Dallas winning the next series after counting them out against an 8th seed. If the Mavs end up winning the series I think I'll do an experiment and see how many analysts flip flop back to the Mavs.

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