Michael Phelps is Aqua Man. Enough said. He is a hero in the water...but does anyone care about swimming any other time of the year?

The Red Sox and Rangers played a preseason football game last night. 19-17 was the final with bean town on top.

Georgia football lost another player...this time it wasn't to the legal system.

Laveranues Coles still hasn't done an interview since the acquisition of Favre and the release of Pennington. Reports say he even dropped the F bomb towards a fan the other day at practice when a fan yelled something like "Pennington could never throw that far"...seriously Coles? Do you have baby hands and can't handle Favre's heat or something? My little sister can throw harder than Pennington, don't get butthurt about the truth.

The Rays only scored one run in a loss to Oakland last night...has the clock stuck midnight for this year's Cinderella?

Also is it just me or is the AL and NL starting to look like the Western Conference and Eastern Conference in the NBA and AFC and NFC in the NFL? It's eerie how it seems one conference seems to be more dominate in sports now-a-days -- although a NFC team won the Super Bowl last year and an Eastern Conference team won the NBA Championship...which team from the NL could win it all this year?

With all this talk about NBA players going global, could basketball be the next soccer in Europe?
and could the NBA turn into the next MLS?

Stay Classy.

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.

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.

Images courtesy of Google Images and nba.com

The Golden State Warriors. I wanted to do this post after they win in Dallas tomorrow night, but it just couldn't wait. I'm that confident in this team. I will be the first to admit I didn't buy them as a sleeper to beat Dallas as some predicted, but then again I forgot Baron Davis is 100% healthy for the first time since he played in Charlotte.

Let me just throw some career play-off stats at ya first.

2001 NBA Play-offs: 18 ppg 4 rpg 6 apg...Ok not so great, but his season average was 13 ppg 4 rpg and 7 apg. Credit his assists went down he was scoring more.

2002 NBA Play-offs: 23 ppg 7 rpg 8 apg...his season average was 18 ppg 4 rpg 8 apg...again improving and stepping up.

The Hornets made the play-offs every year he was on that team His rookie year he didn't get much ticks and even though he played in the play-offs the following two seasons on the Hornets after the stats I listed he stayed there wasn't much improvement from the regular season because one year he only played 50 regular season games, the last year only 18 due to injuries. Still in 2003 he averaged 20 ppg 3 rpg and 8 apg and in the following year (remember only 18 reg season games) he averaged 18 ppg 4 rpg and 7 apg in the play-offs.

So what about this year on the Warriors and HEATHY again...

26 PPG 6 rpg 5 apg and around 3 spg and his FG% is 54%

I don't know how many of you watched Baron Davis in Charlotte, but this is vintage Baron Davis here in Golden State. I forgot how great o####uard he is when healthy, arguably one of the best point guards in the league behind Nash, Kidd, and Arenas. People are saying he's old? He is 28, but people talk like he's in his 30's. I'll take Arenas out of the conversation because he's injured, but right now I would want Baron Davis on my team OVER Jason Kidd or Steve Nash. Stats aside, I just don't think ANY PG in the league can stop Baron from creating without a double team. Davis may not get as many assists, but that's because the ball gets swung around a few more passes after he creates the play. And honestly, who can cover him? Every time they didn't bring a double team he went straight to the hoop or even popped an arrogant jump shot (which he can make, 54%) in Terry's or Harris' or both their grills. I still can't believe 54% though, have you watched the games? Have you seen some of the shots he's taken that have gone in? He's had a lay-up line in some situations against Dallas, but most if not ALL his jumpers are contested. I would LOVE to see this team play the Suns in the Western Conference Finals. Bell on Baron, what a match-up that would be. (There's no way they'll throw Steve Nash AKA Canadian Bacon on him)

Lets not forget about the rest of this team. If Richardson and Davis had been healthy all year along with the addition of Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington this team would have been a Top 5 contender in the West. I mean you're crazy if you don't think this team could take Houston, Utah, or even San Antonio and Phoenix in a series, or atleast give them a run for their money. Throw out the season record against these teams, this team wasn't healthy until it made their play-off run. They only lost ONCE in April. 16-5 in their last 21 games.

Lets not forget maybe their most important player. The Sixth Man on the court. The crowd. Have you seen their two home games? All this team has to do is take homecourt advantage (Like they did against Dallas) and I don't think this team will LOSE at home. They've only lost ONE home game since March. Right now The Oracle (sounds like something from LOTR, it'd be perfect Frodo came from New York and played for G State) is the hardest place to play in the NBA.

If you don't BELIEVE this team can not only take care of the Mavs in five games, you should believe this team could easily knock out Houston or Utah in the next round and I think they'd be the first 8th seed in NBA history to make it to the Conference Finals. I wouldn't be surprised.

Images Courtesy of nba.com and Google Images

A parody of the hook from Juelz Santana "The Second Coming" was used as the title.

I'm at work right now until 4:30 and it's such a slow day I thought I'd get a rant off. An exciting weekend in sports is on the way with the NFL Draft, NBA Play-offs, and the Yankees and Red Sox are playing.

Lets start with the NFL Draft. I'm a diehard NFL fan, but I never really get into the draft. I used to, but I haven't really watched college football the past few years. Of course I'll still watch the First Round, but after that I'm about sick of it. I know everyone will be making their predictions and Mock Drafts, but I guess I'll just spit out what I think the Top Five picks should do.

1st Overall: As crazy as this sounds, but I think the Oakland Raiders should pass on Russell, Quinn, and Johnson and draft Adrian Peterson. I think Peterson is the best running back to come out of college since LaDanian Tomlinson and in that draft the Chargers passed up on Vick to draft LT. The Raiders should do the same thing and pass up on Russell for Peterson, maybe even try to make a trade with one of the other Top 5 teams that have picks.

2nd Overall: Now the Detroit Lions should pass on Calvin Johnson and draft JaMarcus Russell. Why get another receiver?

3rd Overall: The Cleveland Browns will take Brady Quinn. I think in the longrun Quinn will be a better quarterback then Russell and with Braylon Edwards and an improving defense in Cleveland he may bring this team back to glory (Even though these particular Cleveland Browns never had glory since they're the expansion one...The Ravens Browns had the glory years)

4th Overall: It'd be perfect for the Bucs now to get Calvin Johnson. Maybe they make the trade with Oakland to get the 1st overall and get Johnson then. Everyone knows this is who Tampa wants, Detroit, Cleveland, and Oakland should try and use that to their advantage.

5th Overall: The Arizona Cardinals will draft Joe Thomas. Once they get an O-Line in store and maybe a younger running back this team will finally be a play-off contender.


Let's move on to the NBA Play-Offs. What a great postseason it's been all ready. What games I'll make sure not to miss this weekend will be:

Game 3 and Game 4 between G-State and Dallas. This is going to turn out to be an amazing 1 vs 8 match-up. Due to injury ridden years since CHARLOTTE I've forgotten about Baron Davis and how ill he is, especially in the play-offs. Do you remember the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 Hornets teams with Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn? That's what this Golden State team reminds me of, with Jason Richardson playing the role as Mashburn. Baron was insane in the play-offs those years and I see him playing the same in this series (aside from the foul trouble and ejection in Game 2). I think Dallas will win this series, but it's going to be a lot closer then I thought.

Game 3 and Game 4 between T-Dot and Jersey. This is the best match-up in the East. I'm feeling both these teams as teams being slept on in the East. You got talent all around on both these teams and it's always interesting to watch a non-experienced play-off team against an experienced one.

Game 3 between Denver and San Antonio. This series IS going to be the opposite of what people thought. It's going seven games. Game 1 and Game 2 between these two have been two of the most exciting games this postseason and I don't see either of these teams getting blown out in this series. Denver is a lot better then what people thought and they may be one of the few teams that can give San Antonio's defense problems.

Game 4 between La La and PHX. After Game 3 I'm thinking the Lakers aren't completely out of this series, I predicted a seven game series, after Game 2 I was thinking sweep, but I feel the Lakers still have fight in them and it's going to be a punch for punch type series.

Game 4 between H-Town and the Jazz flutes. Will Houston rebound from that awful performance in Game 3. This IS the best match-up in the postseason and these teams won't disappoint.


Onto baseball.
Ah the Red Sox and Yankees. I always looked at this rivalry as a David vs Goliath because for as long as I can remember the Yankees have always been the favorite, but lately I've think the roles have flip-flopped. Yes, NY still has 26 'ships, but the Sox have won the 'ship more recently then the Bombers. The Sox have the better pitching rotation, are the division leader, and have gotten the better of the Yankees recently with the sweep this year. So how come the Yankees can't play the role of underdog against the big, bad Bo-Sox?

What a weekend of sports it'll be.

Yes ladies and gentlemen they're back. The Awards You Probably Won't See Anywhere Else. I did this midseason, time to do some new ones (and some old) for your entertainment. We're going to mix it up this time.

Presenting the Worst Hair of the Year Award is Dennis Rodman. I couldn't get comment from Rodman, but I'm sure he'd tell you to check out his reality show where he teaches shy people to be themselves. I have no idea what channel it's on. Earlier in the year Drew Gooden held this title, but times change and the winner is...

Mr T! Nope. That's Matt Barnes. Congratulations.

Noteable runner-ups were: Chris Kaman, Carmelo Anthony (playoff style cornrows looked ridiculous), and Mike Miller

Scottie Pippen is here to present the Wingman of the Year Award. Scottie is still looking for work folks, so Los Angeles you're looking down right now maybe you should give him a shout. Anyway, the winner is...

Josh Howard. Playing along-side Dirk he averaged 18 pgg and 6 rpg.

Noteable runner-ups were: Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion, Antawn Jamison/Caron Butler, and Larry Hughes.

Britney Spears is here to present The What the F... Were They Thinking Award. Sorry. Haha. Ok well the winner is...

The New York Knicks and whoever behind the scenes guy extended Isiah Thomas' contract BEFORE they waited to see if he'd bring them to the play-offs. 4-15 in their last 19. The Knicks ONLY won ten more games then they did last year, not that big of an improvement.

Noteable runner-ups were: There WERE none. This may be the worst move of the decade.

For the next award we don't have a presenter because I couldn't think of one...but the award is for I Would Be an MVP Candidate if My Team Was Winning Award. And the winner is...

Kevin Garnett! 22 ppg and 12 rpg. 'Nuff said.

Noteable runner-ups were: Elton Brand, Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson, and Zack Randolph.

And last, but not least Flava Flav is here to announce my favorite award, the Quote of the Year Award. I know everyone gets a kick out of Flava Flav when he talks, same has to go with the winner of this award who is...

DELONTE WEST. I'll never forget his memorable sock quote when asked about the transition from the New ball back to the old ball:
"You know I never really paid that much attention to it, you know what im saying. I'm just a player. I'm a player Greg. And I just play with whatever, we gonna play with a sock we gonna play with a sock."

Youtube Delonte West and you'll be sure to find it. He also has commercials for FSN Boston, hilarious ####

There were definitely no runner-ups here.

That's it for the show. Thanks for stopping by folks. You will be receiving a Gift Bag with Dennis Rodman's reality show on DVD, a Scottie Pippen throwback jersey, Britney Spear's head shine, a Flava Flav clock necklace, AND a CD with Delonte West interviews and commercials.

Oh and on a sidenote when I googled Delonte West on Google Images on the 2nd page there was a picture of Fat Joe from one of my blogs. I don't know I just thought that was pretty sweet haha.

Pictures courtesy of Google Images.

A great NBA season has come to a close and now sixteen teams remain fighting to be named Champion. Before I get into some West play-off predictions lets look at my yearly awards.

MVP: Kobe Bryant.

Even though he probably won't win it, Kobe has proved yet again to be the best player in the NBA. Yes the Lakers fell to a seventh seed, but KB24 scored about double his number every game down the stretch and this team would have easily missed the play-offs without him.

Coach of the Year: Don Nelson.

Warriors in the play-offs. Enough said.

Sixth Man of the Year: David Lee.

Even though he missed the later part of the season, Frodo was a guaranteed double double off the bench and his injury was one of many things that went wrong with New York and it's play-off run that turned into a run in the opposite direction.

Rookie of the Year: Andrea Bargnani.

He only averaged 11 ppg and 3 rpg, I don't know the exact numbers, but in the second half of the season he atleast averaged 15 ppg and was a great wingman for Bosh and the surprising Raptors.

Most Improved Player: Kevin Martin.

Without a doubt.

Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Camby.

11 rpg and 3 blocks per. No one was close to him defensively this year.

I think I got all the awards covered.

Now onto first round play-off predictions. Let's start with the West.

1 Dallas vs 8 Golden State

Keys for Dallas in the Series: Not giving up homecourt advantage and Defense. They need to prove to this team why they are the #1 seed in the toughest conference in the NBA.

Keys for Golden State in the Series: Taking homecourt advantage (more importantly winning game one). They swept Dallas in the regular season, I think if they can get into Dallas' head early they have a chance of winning the series.

My prediction: A lot of people surprisingly like G State as an underdog, but not me.

Dallas in five.

2 Phoenix vs 7 Los Angeles Lakers

Keys for Phoenix in the Series: Amare Stoudemire. Feed him the ball. This was an amazing series last year, but Amare will be the tipping point. Also, PHX needs to get in Kobe's head. Last year the series was close because he became a 28 ppg and 10 apg guy rather then a 40 ppg and 3 apg guy. If he doesn't trust his teammates it's going to be an early exit for La La Land.

Keys for Los Angeles in the Series: Compliment players need to step up. That's you Odom, Kwame, Parker, Walton, and Bynum. And of course I'll say this about every road team, take homecourt advantage.

My prediction: It'll be an even better series then last year, but the result will be the same.

Phoenix in seven.

3 San Antonio vs 6 Denver

Keys for San Antonio: Win early and win big. Denver will give up if you blow them out in the first few games. Also, make sure Crawford's not reffing.

Keys for Denver: AI and 'Melo have to be on their game obviously, but Camby is the most important guy in this series. When he plays well, Denver plays well. If he can put up some stat sheets like he was at the end of the year (over 20 ppg over 11 rpg and over 4 bpg) San Antonio better look out.

My prediction: I think THIS will be as exciting as last year's Phoenix and LA match-up and as much as I like Denver, they will keep it close, but..

San Antonio in seven.

4 Utah Jazz vs 5 Houston Rockets

Keys for Utah: They have to stop McGrady and Yao. They need big games from Deron Williams and they have to prove to people talent can beat experience in a play-off series...sometimes.

Keys for Houston: Of course take homecourt advantage. I think Battier needs to have a good series as well as T-Mac and Yao. They need to win early, show experience prevails in the playoffs.

My prediction: Utah looked good in the regular season up until the last month. Houston has been playing great ball.

Rockets in six.

Tune in tomorrow for my Eastern Conference play-off predictions and some 'other' NBA Awards.

 

Images courtesy of Sports Illustrated and Google Images

I like the sixth seeded Denver in the West as a sleeper, and I'm looking to the sixth (most likely, maybe 7th) seed in the East to be a sleeper too. The Leastern Conference better look out. Just a few weeks ago this team was fighting for the eighth seed, now they just about have the sixth seed locked. What a first round match-up they would put up against the Raptors. The storylines too, Vince's former team. He was known as a choke artist in the play-offs, could he prove this wrong against T-Dot? Not many teams have a three headed dragon like the Nets do with Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson. Not Toronto or Chicago.

Lets talk about Jason Kidd. Lets talk about 13 ppg 8 rpg and 9 apg. Where's MVP talk for him? You want to talk about contributing to your team, he's close to averaging a triple double. Kidd has lead this team to the finals before, I don't think the Nets have a chance to make it this year, but I'm definitely not sleeping on them.

The Nets have experience. Other then Detroit and Miami the play-off teams in the East don't have a lot of play-off experience. The Bulls, Wizards, Cavs, Magic, and especially the Raptors lack the experience and play-off basketball is a whole different game. Records set aside, every team is 0-0 when this starts. The only thing that has me worried about New Jersey is after their big three they're not very deep. I like Nachbar coming off the bench, but that's about it. I love what Toronto's done this year, but I wouldn't be surprised if they get upset and sent home early if they end up facing the Nets in the first round.

Pictures courtesy of Google Images

Well I'm not too into the baseball season just yet, and basketball was a pretty dead night last night. The NHL play-offs are FUN to watch, but I don't know anything about hockey really so I thought I'd do something different today. I'm going to list my top ten flashiest athletes of today. On this list will be the biggest show-offs, trash-talkers, and jokesters in sports today.

10. Rafer "Skip to my Lou" Alston

Alston was the pioneer of And1 basketball. Nicknamed Skip to my Lou for his dribbling skills, he's an And1 Legend. He's one of the few And1 players to actually be successful with And1 and the NBA. He doesn't do too much talking, but his dribbling and passing are some of the flashiest the NBA has ever seen.

9. Joey Porter

Joey Porter was shot in, well the butt a few years ago outside of a bar in Denver. He is known for taunting opposing players by flashing his stomache (as seen above) before games during warm-ups. A funny thing a friend told me was Joey Porter was being interviewed and he said he never trash-talked in his life until during warm-ups before a game a player had shouted "It's too bad you didn't get shot in the -exploited deleted- face!". Joey Porter's mouth has had plenty of well known incidents, even with the president of the United States. He definitely can back up his mouth on the field though, he's one of the premiere linebackers in the NFL.

8. Randy Moss

Randy Moss would be higher on the list, but he's been dying down lately. He's been known for celebrations and his mouth. He hasn't done anything too controversial lately because well he hasn't got in the endzone a lot.

7. Gilbert Arenas

I love Arenas man. He went from a quiet, underrated guard to an outspoken overrated guard. He's a great player, but some people make him out to be a player he's not. He's nicknamed Hibachi, which is some kind of Japanese grill that keeps heating up and up. It's said that whenever Arenas used to hit a jumpshot he would say "Hibachi" out loud.

6. Shaq "The Big Aristotle" O'Neal

Shaq diesel. The Big Aristotle. Superman. The list of nicknames goes on and on. Shaq can almost always be seen talking, laughing, and smiling while playing basketball. After dunking he has had a bunch of different goofy taunts. One thing I'll never forget is when he got a rebound against the Clippers and then went coast to coast for a dunk. He did this like shake thing when he was jogging back on defense. One of the funnies things I've ever seen.

5. Joe "Hollywood" Horn

Joe Horn is best known for the time he hid a cell phone on the goal post and made a phone call after scoring a touchdown. He also always likes getting in the spotlight having something to say to the media, and of course he has a signature touchdown dance that I don't even know how to explain.

4. Ron Artest

Ron Artest. The bad boy of the NBA. One of the guys who was suspended for a whole year for fighting because a fan threw something at him. He had asked for a year off to work on his 'rap career' before AND he had predicted himself to be MVP one year.

3. Terrell Owens

NO one has been more controversial with his touchdown celebrations. From the celebrating on the midfield star in Dallas to the sharpie incident to the Ray Lewis imitation, it just goes on and on.

2. Ronaldinho

No one in all the world is as flashy as Ronaldinho. His cocky grin could be seen from the nosebleed section. His handle his flashy, his goals flashy, and his celebrations always have some flair. The only reason he's not number one is because soccer's not so popular here in the states.

1. Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson

A book could be written on the antics of Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson. From pulling out a sign where he begged the NFL not to fine him again after scoring a touchdown, he had the mouth to mouth to the football, the goody bag, the river dance, it just goes on and on. He has his "Who can cover me" checklist, and he even had shoes where had photo's of himself on the heels.

Chad Johnson may be at a stalemate with the celebrations and talking as T.O. had, but Chad Johnson's celebrations and taunting all seem to be in good humor and that's why he's my #1 flashiest player today.

Honorable Mentions: Martin St Louis, Vince Carter, Torry Holt, Jason "white chocolate" Williams (more to be added as I'm sure someone will remind me of someone OR i'll think of more)

Images courtesy of google.com and ESPN

It's all smiles in Denver. January 24th, 2007 I posted saying everyone should hop on the Nuggets bandwagon. For awhile, I thought I was going to eat those words, but a few months later this team is playing how I predicted them to play. Seven straight wins, five of them against play-off teams (Credit I'm counting the Clippers as a play-off team since they are the 8th seed). If you're the three seed in the west (PHX or San Antonio, one of them will be it by the end of the year), you should be scared of this team. Of course you can credit this to Iverson and Melo playing good, but a lot of the credit has to go to Marcus Camby.

You want to talk about blocked shots, talk about Camby. Other then the first game of the seven game streak (where he had no blocked shots), he's had three or more blocked shots each game. Having seven blocked shots in TWO of the games. You want to talk about a beast on the boards, six out of the seven games he's had over ten boards, getting twenty of more boards in two of those games.

Some more impressive numbers these Nuggets have put up during this streak:

Melo has dropped thirty or more five out of the seven games.

Iverson has dropped twenty or more six of the seven games and he's dropped seven or more assists four out of the seven games.

Five out of the seven games they've scored over 110 points.

Ok so I know the Suns, Spurs, and Mavs have had longer winning streaks (the Nuggets still have games left), but this team is trying to make a statement. They're not that push-over that was flirting with not making the play-offs a few weeks ago, they ARE a presence in the west, they are the team people thought they would have been (even without Iverson they had high expectations) and no one should overlook this team, especially come play-off time.

Images courtesy of Google Images

Let's talk about the NBA today. It's the home stretch and play-off match ups are almost set.

Lets start with a team not making the play-offs. The New York Knickerbockers. Ever since they extended Isiah's contract they've been worst then usual. Last night Chicago blew them out the building, and then a fight almost broke out because Chicago tried to run up the score because if a team scored 100 points in the game everyone in the crowd would get a Big Mac. Hell, I'm a Knicks fan, but if I was in the crowd I wouldn't have minded a free Big Mac. Actually, I'd want money back for my tickets. Credit the Knicks are injury bound (I think if healthy they'd have that 8 spot), they can still try and play. Nate Robinson is actually not doing too bad, he dropped 24 last night and I'm definitely missing Frodo.

Philly beat the play-off looking in Pacers last night. The 76ers have won 27 games since they traded Iverson. They only won five games before that. They are only four games out of the play-offs, so they might not make it this year, but I'm definitely seeing this team making a play-off run next year.

How sick has Jamison been since Arenas and Butler have been out? The Wizards fell short last night against the Nets, but Jamison went off with 26 and 11 boards. The past three games (without Arenas) before last night Jamison dropped 37 and 11, 27 and 4, and 25 and 11. I think Agent 0 is a great player, but maybe if he played more like an actual point Jamison could do this every night. The question is, can Jamison lead the Wiz through the first round of the play-offs?

How about those Hornets? They're a game out of the West play-offs and CP3 and David West have looked ill. This team WILL make the play-offs. Sorry La La Clippers and G-State.

I just wanted to post these kicks I saw when looking up the Hornets logo on Goggle, they're pretty sick. I'm definitely checking out the website after I'm done with this post.

Let's get back to business.

Unfortunately, the Jazz flute isn't hot right now. The Utah Jazz have lost FOUR straight. I had a feeling this team was going to fold, but I thought it would have been earlier. They may be losing more then just homecourt advantage in the first round of the play-offs, they may be losing their season by the way H-Town has been playing lately.

On the contrary, the Denver Nuggets have been the hottest team in the NBA. They've won a quiet six straight games where they beat the Lakers twice, the Mavs, Seattle, Sac-Town, and the Clippers. I think the Spurs will be NBA Champs and right now they'd be facing the Nuggets in the first round, but Denver will give them a run for their money, AND if the Spurs catch the Suns and the Suns play Denver in the first round I think Denver over PHX could be a possible upset in the first round.

Images courtesy of Google Images

Athletes are glorified as hero's, champions, and legends. What about the ones that fall short, or the ones who end up on the other end of the spectrum. This my friends is the other end of the spectrum.

Nick Anderson was born on January 20th, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois. Tragedy struck early for Nick Anderson when his best friend and high school teammate Ben "Benji" Wilson was shot and killed during their senior year of high school. Benji Wilson was the most highly recruited high school player that year. Nick Anderson played his college ball at the University of Illinois where he wore #25 in honor of Benji Wilson.

In 1989 as the 11th overall pick Nick Anderson was the first player ever drafted by the Orlando Magic. He really started to come into his own in the 91-92 season where he averaged 19 ppg and 6 rpg. Before they drafted Shaquille O'Neal in the 93-94 season he was Orlando's leading scorer. The year before the Magic had drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. Along with Dennis Scott, this looked like a promising team to make a run in the mid nineties.

In 1995, the Magic reached the NBA Championship. In the second round they faced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. In game one, Nick Anderson played hero. With 20 seconds left the Magic were down by a point. Nick Anderson stole the ball from Michael Jordan which set up a game winning lay-up.

The Magic went on to win the series against Chicago. After defeating the Pacers in the next round they were set to play the defending NBA champions, the Houston Rockets. In Game One of that series, Nick Anderson single-handedly fell off from mountain peak that his career was at. The Magic had home court advantage throughout the series, and in Game One in Orlando they were up by three points with less then a minute left. Nick Anderson missed four consecutive free throws. I wish I could find the picture of him after missing the free throws, it's been stuck in my mind forever. The Rockets ended up tying the game up with a three pointer and winning in overtime. The Rockets swept the Orlando Magic in the series.

Nick Anderson was around a 70% free throw shooter before that series, since that series his free throw percentage was never higher then 63%, going to as low as 40% one year. The Magic broke up with Shaq and Penny Hardaway eventually leaving.

Shaq headed west to Los Angeles after the 1995-1996 season. In 2000, Hardaway went to the Phoenix Suns and Nick Anderson was traded to the Sacramento Kings. Nick Anderson was the last player of the original roster of the Orlando Magic to leave the team. He went on to have career lows with the Kings where he spent two NBA seasons. He spent his last year in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2001-2002 season.

Nick Anderson was actually revolutionary for the concept of Sports Psychology. He had seen a psychologist that specialized in sports because of the trauma that missing four consecutive free throws in the NBA Finals caused him. In 2006 the Magic held a tribute to Nick Anderson and against popular demands his jersey was never retired. Actually the franchise has never retired a jersey to this day.

This has been a sports tragedy brought to you by Verbal Intercourse. Pictures courtesy of nba.com and Google Images. Some information and stats were borrowed from Wikipedia and databasebasketball.com

Yes this title is a movie reference to You, Me, and Dupree. I'll give it credit just in case of some infringement. Haven't posted in awhile, NCAA Tourney hangover, or maybe Spring Break hangover. No I didn't go anywhere cause I'm broke. So I'll just spit out seven short topics today.

Smoke #1

The San Antonio Spurs are the best team in the NBA. Sorry Phoenix. Sorry Dallas. These are your champs. They own the Suns winning eleven out of their last fourteen meetings against Phoenix. Last night they held Phoenix to 85 points. I'm not really worried too much about Dallas either.

Smoke #2

Ah Baseball. The Twins, Mets, Braves, and Pirates are the teams who haven't lost yet. Yes, it's early, but it's always fun following the undefeated teams until they lose. I think the Pirates will be the first of these teams to lose, but then again the Braves and Mets are playing tonight so one of them is bound to go down. I haven't watched too much baseball this week, but atleast the season is here.

Smoke #3

60% of the time it works every time... 68% completion percentage...it lands you as a Carolina Panther. Good move? Yes. I still think Carr can be a franchise QB. What's Delhomme done lately? Carr won't start, but I see him starting by the end of the season. Good move by Carolina, I like them in the NFC South to compete with New Orleans.

Smoke #4

Lady Vols take the women's crown...again. I think that's seven championships for them. I guess Rutgers happened to my Duke girls. I didn't really follow this tournament, but congrats to these girls.

Smoke #5

The Mavericks...sign Kevin Willis? He was born in 1962. Is this your answer for Duncan? Or is this an invitation to Pippen who was in the same retirement home as Willis.

Smoke #6

That's where I'm putting my fantasy NBA team. The genius owner forgot to put in an IR, it's the semi finals in the playoffs and I'm without Zack Randolph, Gilbert Arenas, Joe Johnson, and Dirk has a stomache flu. Just great.

Smoke #7

Madden 2008. Ah yes. Can't wait. It was reported that Devan Hester is going to have a speed of 100! If you're a Madden gamer you know no one has EVER had a rating on anything above 99. What is this? It's garbage. I'm sure there's guys in the league faster then Hester. Credit he's a great return man, Dante Hall never got a 100 speed.

That's all. Sorry if some of these stories are a bit outdated I just had to get these rants out.

 

Lazy today: All images courtesy of Google Images.