So many names fly under the radar in everyday conversation. The main reason could be that the names aren’t spelled exactly the way they sound. Another reason is that the names are in sports so the association isn’t made when saying the names. This is by far not the type of work I am most proud of but I just had to say something didn’t I?

Below is a list of names. They are separated by starters and bench players from all type of sports. The starters are the athletes with the best names most likely to have robes and special colognes off of the field. The bench players are close but should be happy to be on the team. The list could have been called pitchers and catchers but that may have been to much innuendo.

All the names below are current athletes and their names are real. I know I missed someone so let me know by commenting below. I would hate to leave anyone out.  You may also have to click on some of the names to allow the names to show up.  The names are in no particular order.

Starters:

 

 

"The Big Unit" Randy Johnson

Kerry Wood

Grady Sizemore

Albert Pujols

John David Booty

Kosuke Fukudome

B.J. Upton

Chase Headly

Reggie Bush

The Bench:

Pudge Rodriguez

Nick Swisher

Rich Harden

Jake Long

James Hardy

Nick Harden

Johnny Dingle

Dominique Foxworth

 Assistant coaches are very important too. Which is why the list has former MLB players Rollie Fingers, Rusty Kuntz, and #### Pole along with former "baller" Magic Johnson. #### Butkus is the assitant to the traveling secretary.

Head coach is former NBA coach #### Harter

So I had to take a break from all the places I write because it has been a busy year already.  I have some NBA stuff I need to get off my chest.  I need to smack some dime droppers and draft action as well.  First lets get to a few free-agents.

First off it bothers me that it is so acceptable, almost like no big deal (pun intended) when an above average players gets $60 million to play basketball for a few years.  This is also the cause to my problem of only getting to one game a year now because of ticket prices.  Really does a hot dog of that quality really justify $5 and beers for $9?

1. Rashard Lewis- Will he stay or will he go?  I think he goes.  He may not want to sign on as the lone gun on a team in rebuilding mode. The Sonics just drafted Kevin Durant who plays the same position.  Lewis may get short term max money such as the new common 4 years $60 million deal, but he could get that in a sign and trade almost anywhere.  Which teams could make the move?  Portland, Miami, and Orlando are the commons teams you here on him.  What about Boston?  They just got Ray Allen from Seattle why not Lewis also?

2.  Chauncey Billups - He is unrestricted but the chances of him leaving Detroit are restricted.  Orlando's name again pops up on this one.  The Pistons can offer more money to stay and the Magic would have to do a sign and trade.  These teams did it once before with Grant Hill.  I thought there was no way Grant would leave Detroit but a sign and trade deal that sent Hill to the Magic the Pistons got Ben Wallace and Chucky Adkins.  Maybe in this sign and trade deal the Magic would send Grant Hill and Darko Milicic back to Detroit.  All three players are free agents currently, Darko is restricted.

3.  Kurt Hinrich's mama is ugly.  He isn't a free agent but I had to say that.

4.  Gerald Wallace - he is probably going to remain a Bobcat.  He may get a little over rated by some because he carried the Bobcats most of the year.  Someone had to do it!  Although if he does stay and they solidify the roster around him they may make a playoff run.  He may still be a player on the rise.

Cleveland - take this time as a chance to get better.  Dont overpay for your own mediocre not supporting players you have as free and restricted agents.  Take this chance to get Lebron two guys that are going to step up and take the pressure off of Lebron.  They went all the way to the finals but got slammed by a team like San Antonio who plays 9 deep and as a unit.  The Cavs still stand around watching Lebron hoping he may kick it out to them at some point.


Greg Oden will be a solid player?  He looks like he has all the tools to be a two way player in the NBA.  Well actually he looks like "Grandpa Lebron" in the Nike commercials but that was another blog down the line.  I wish he could have played two more years in college to refine his game.  This may have been his fathers decision to come out early and go pro.

Kevin Durant is another player that two more years of college basketball would have helped immensly.  He has the shot and skills but doesn't have the "NBA body" that he needs to play with men instead of kids on the court.  Like they say on Wall Street though is "sell high" and their stock has never been higher and was at its ceiling.

UPDATES:

Rip Hamilton to Seattle?  Frank Hughes, Sonics Insider for The News Tribune, quoting a source from local radio station WXYT, says the Pistons are considering shipping Richard Hamilton to Seattle, for Lewis?

Gerald Wallace, one of the hottest names in free agency, has drawn interest from the Pistons.  According to the AP- The Charlotte Bobcats face heavy competition in their effort to re-sign leading scorer Gerald Wallace.   The Bobcats were one of eight teams that contacted Wallace when the NBA's free agency period began at midnight Saturday. Dallas, Orlando, Milwaukee, Detroit, Miami, Portland and Golden State all made inquiries, a person close to Wallace said Sunday.

All Star games are terrible.  They have become a popularity contest and have been for some time now.  Current proof, Steve Nash, may be on his way to his 3rd straight MVP award, is not even in the starting line up for the Western Conference at this point!  Maybe it is because he has such bad haircuts sometimes, I don't know.  Dominik Hasek who had the best GAA in the Western Conference for the Detroit Red Wings was 24-7-3 with six shut outs wasn't even on the All Star team!  Every year in all of the sports we hear about and see players getting "snubbed" based on numbers.  Would it be better if it wasn't voted on by fans?  I think so.  Besides the only All Star game that is watchable in the MLB All Star game, unless they tie.  The NFL has thiers after the season is over.  This may be the worst of all.  How about sports change to just an All Star list?  Just name the All Stars with out even having a game.  What could happen as well is they could use the best players based on stats.  Now there is a concept.

The Phoenix Suns are doing it all this year with two tremendous winning streaks.  There are truly firing on all cylinders right now with Amare Stoudemire.  They are currently on a 17 game winning streak.  Amare may be the missing piece they were lacking last year when they just couldn't get past the Mavs.  They all look fresh and energetic and they need to be to carry on through the playoffs.  The Pistons were tearing up the league like this last year and got burnt out in the playoffs by the Heat last year.  The Pistons after the last playoff game last season had played 82 playoff games in three years.  That was equivalent of an entire extra season, like playing four seasons in three years.

The Super Bowl does not seem to have the hype in it this year than it has in the past.  I have heard WAY too much about the Patriots getting screwed by the refs in the AFC Championship.  Patriot fan is definitely crying.  Patriots fan Shut up about the refs.  This is what happens.  Try being a Lions fan and seeing how many times a year this happens.  I wrote about the NFL ref staying out of my life back in August.  How about you think about Raiders fan as well when you got the benefit of the biggest scam call I have ever seen with the "tuck rule" garbage they pulled out which led to Vinateri's field goal and later getting you into the Super Bowl in which you won.  What goes around comes around so get ready for the balance to tip the scale back the other way a little.

Here is a new one to me.  The Seattle Supersonics may move out of Seattle at the end of the season the the WNBA Storm if the taxpayers do not assist with $300 million in taxpayers subsidies.  I was reading this in sleeplessineattles blog and couldn't help but get a little upset about another team holding their city hostage on a new arena/stadium.  Art Modell did this to the city of Cleveland with the Browns.  He used the stadium and its revenue as a means to get out.

It takes a lot of stones to actually have the nerve to demand a city grant $300 million to help a multi-Billion dollar company build its own facility.  The Sonics like almost every single team in any sport are NOT owned by the city but by an investor or investment group.  The Packers are the only team I even know of that is own by the citizens.

The part that really takes it over the top is that when you do go to watch your hometown team that you helped build a facility, they charge you 600% more for every item in the building and parking too!  Shouldn't everything be cheaper?  Seriously, how can they charge $8 or more for a beer and $3.50 for one hot dog.  Even McDonalds and other fast food chains have gotten into this scam.  Last season at a Tigers game I went into McDonalds to get a Big Mac meal and saw it was $9.50!  and you couldn't even get it special made.  I am not even sure if they made the food at this McDonalds.  It could have been driven there from a real McDonalds outside of the stadium.

  I can not phathom the reasons that the NFL seems to be able to have so many crimes every year and personel being arrested, but it doesn't outrage fans, hurt attendance, or hurt TV ratings?  This year alone The Bengals had 13% of their roster arrested.  Chris Henry of the Bengals has his own rap sheet that would send any common street criminal to county jail.  At some point Marvin Lewis is going to have to get the attention of his team and get it into their heads that they are blowing it.  They only have a short window of their lives to play NFL football and make all that money.

Tank Johnson of the Bears has to get special permission from a judge to get clearance to go to the Super Bowl in Miami because of gun charges against him.

My Detroit Lions well known for being backasswards didn't even have any players arrested and they are in the city that was #2 on the highest crime rate in America list (I live in the city ranked #3).  Oh wait......there was one of the coaches who was arrested twice in a two week period. Once on charges of driving nude through a Tim Horton's drive thru.  Although he was just merely using "it" as a bagel holder because he didn't have a drink holder for his coffee and had to drive with his other hand.  Then he had a DUI about two weeks later.

Shawne Merriman was caught using steroids as well as a few other players.  If theses guys played baseball, hockey or were in the NBA they would be shunned by their fans and crucified by foes.  Merriman even though he missed four games from the steroid violation was still actually a finalist for the league MVP.  He did have 17 sacks, but he was juiced up for most of them.

Michael Vick gets caught with a "residue"?  What the hell does that even mean?  You can get busted for residue now?  I think they should have just arrested him for being so stupid.  This is what should concern the Falcons more than anything.  He has $117 million left on his current contract.  He can afford to drop anything in the garbage and buy more when he gets home!  Also, did he not think that they would check for drugs in the Miami Airport?  You can't even take bottled water through security.  It isn't like he never flies anywhere so he should have known.  Vick's crime is that he has everything in the world that money can buy, but none of the things it can't.

Between the two coaches in their respective sports, these two, Nick Saban and Larry Brown have been with more teams than Paris Hilton has.  I have seen them both close up as they have both made stops on two teams I follow closely.  When they left I was not surprised.  The two have the equivelent of one pro and two college championships.  Brown won a college and pro championship while Saban recently won with LSU in NCAAFB. 

Dolphin fans that are upset, get over it.  How did you get Saban in the first place?  It is like a girlfriend you stole from someone you knew, not well, but didn't think it would happen to you.  Once a cheater always a cheater, or liar as it really is.  From now on when either of these two say unequivocally that they are not going to do something, it means they are going to, just not yet.


These two coachs have now made more money over the last 5 years than they may have their whole life.  Maybe the reason why they leave teams so fast is commitment?  I think what it really is, they both have everything money can buy, but they don't have anything it can't.  Anyway, good luck Alabama fan with Nick, y'all gave him an eight year deal, so at least you have him locked up for the next three years!  Roll Tide Roll!

To me these two define the new term coined here, because they are both coaching ####!  I wish I could be a coaching #### with the kind of cheese these two have now, but I have most of the things money can't buy!

Chicago White Sox trade Brandon McCarthy to Texas and it appears they have started consulting with Matt Millen of front office moves.  They have now traded away two starting pitchers this off season.  McCarthy was not a starter last season but is a starting pitcher.  After trading away Freddy Garcis it appeared that MCcarthy would then move into the rotation, not so.  If I were a White Sox fan I would be upset at this deal because of the five players that were included in this deal.  The Sox traded away a minor leaguer from thier Venezualan team who hit .338 last season and is only eighteen, but they get back a minor league pitcher in Jacob Rasner that in his minor league career thus far is 7-21 with a 6.14 ERA.

Yaouch - Yao Ming is done for at least six weeks after fracturing the bone under his right knee in Houston's game against the Clippers.  After he was finally starting to make some noise in the NBA and making a name for himself as one of the best all around centers in the game today, he gets hurt.  He will be back though.  Before he got hurt he was averaging 27 points and nine rebounds, both career bests, and had topped 30 points in four consecutive games before scoring 22 in Friday's 97-78 victory at San Antonio.

Lions fan walkout against the Bears should get some more national attention if they can get it on Fox.  CBS carried much of the Lions/Bengalks game last year when the fire millen chants were loud and security tackled a fan that had a fire Millen sign.  He was tackled because Lions officials said his sign created a safety issue and it was not pre approved by the Lions organization.  More to come on this as a local congressman is working on a bill for stadium and fan rights and in Michigan the alchohol to be sold five hours earlier on Sundays, but like I said more to come on this.  We wil have to see if any results come of the walk out and national media attention in Detroit. 

So, Happy/Merry (insert your holiday here) to everyone - except Matt Millen

The votes are in and the top ten athletes of all time list is complete. The list is across all sports and all eras. Based on hundreds of votes we actually had a tie. This means the list is actually made up of eleven athletes because 10th and 11th place tied right down to the hundredth of a percentage point. The list actually has someone from almost every sport as well. There are three running backs, and only one basketball and baseballer on the list which was a little surprising. My personal top ten list was a little different but read and and see what you and others voted on.

11. Pele - Only the great soccer players go by one name. Pele has been the most recognizable name in soccer. His real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. In Brazil he has been hailed as a national hero and may be the most prolific ambassodor for the game of soccer ever. He won three World Cups for Brazil and may be one of the greatest stories ever as well. When he was spotted by a scout for the Brazillian national team he was playing withhout shoes as many of the players did where he was from because the area was so poor. His famous number 10 has been worn by many players like Jordan’s number 23. He is the all-time leading scorer in Brazillian history which says a lot.

10. Barry Sanders - My all time favorite player of any sport because of the pure excitement every time he touched the ball and when he scored he just simply handed the ball to the ref. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1988 after one of the most prolific college careers ever in which he lead the nation in rushing yards (2,628; 2,850 if you include the bowl game), total yards (3,250), touchdowns (39; 44 if you include the bowl game) and scoring (234 points, 264 if you include the bowl game). Then as a Detroit Lion he rushed for over 2,000 yards in 1997. At the time of his retirement, Sanders' 15,269 career rushing yards placed him second behind Walter Payton's 16,726 yards. At Sanders' then-current yearly yardage pace, he would have eclipsed Payton within one or two years. He retired early and it crushed most Lions fans. The results of his departure have been horrific as his presence and class left so have the Lions good fortunes.

9. Jesse Owens - He went to Germany for the 1936 Olympics to compete for the United States in the Summer Olympics. Adolf #### was using the games to show the world a resurgent #### Germany. He and other government officials had high hopes German athletes would dominate the games with victories. Meanwhile, #### propaganda promoted concepts of "Aryan racial superiority" and depicted ethnic Africans as inferior. He won four gold medals as did Carl Lewis. However Carl Lewis was not in Germany during the #### regime and in 1984 times were so different. Some athletes looked the world in the eye when the world was shaking their fists at them. Owens was one of these athletes. He looked them all in the eye and showed them why he was and still is a true world class athlete.

8.Jim Brown - Being number eight originally sounded a bit low to me for the player widely known as the greatest running back ever by so many. Jim Brown was a man amongst smaller men. Brown was 6-2 and 232 lbs which even by todays standards would be considered a big back. However the average size of NFL lineman in those days was only 228 lbs. By todays standards that is a safety or a nickel linebacker. He only played nine seasons as well but when he did play he was unstoppable backs by averaging 6.4 yards per carry in 1963. He was selected by Sporting News as the best all time football player and was selected to the Football hall of fame as well as the Lacrosse hall of fame. He is in his own league for being selected to more than one sports hall of fame.

7. Walter Payton - The standard for which many backs have been measured. He was the all-time leading rusher for many years until Emmitt Smith over took him. Walter was a high stepping, stiff arming game breaking work horse who led the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl. He was elected to the college and pro football hall of fame. He rushed for 16,276 yards and scored 110 touchdowns along the way. Payton like Barry Sanders showed class and connected so well with his fans. He will forever be known as one of the two greatest Chicago sports legends of all-time along with some other guy named Michael.

6. Jim Thorpe - Jim was another Olympic hero is considered one of the most versatile athletes in modern sports. He won Olympic gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon, starred in college and professional football, played Major League Baseball and also had a career in basketball. He was the original all sports athlete. In his era he may have been the best athlete ever at the time. Some one had to set the bar and it was Thorpe. Considering there was no T.V. at the time he was still a house hold name and even to this day most sports fans have at least heard of him and have some knowledge of him. That really does say a lot since most of his accomplishments were in the early 1900's. He gained nationwide attention for the first time in 1911. In 1912 as a running back, defensive back, place-kicker, and punter for his school's football team; Thorpe scored all of his team's points—four field goals and a touchdown—in an 18-13 upset of Harvard.

5. Tiger Woods - Some say golfers aren’t even athletes. Some can’t hit a ball of a tee to save their life either though. Tiger is setting the new standards for which golfing legends are made of. He is the only athlete on the list who is still competing as well. He has broken down barriers in the golfing world and has been winning anything and everything since turning pro. Woods won his first Major in golf by an astounding 12 strokes by winning the Masters in 1997. Over two calender years from June of 1999 he won 17 tournaments and 32 over five years through that span. He already has 54 tour wins and 12 Majors by the age of 31as of New Years eve (born 12/30/1976). He even has a term coined in his honor. Since he started playing many courses have tried to become "tigerproofed" by adding length to their tees. Sounds kind of "stupified" when you consider he outdrives everyone, so the longer the holes the better for Tiger in my opinion. Tiger has a long way to go in his career and will be known as the player who changed golf, for the better.

4. Babe Ruth - the first name in baseball and also number one on MY top ten baseball players of all time list that I wrote back in May. He was a pitcher, outfielder, and the ultimate slugger for any era. He was a world wide figure in baseball and all of sports. Everyone knows of Ruth and he was known for a reason. He had power that no one had seen before. He had more Hrs than many teams had total and some teams combined. I can’t imagine what kind of player he would be today with the work out and healthy routines of modern day players. Having said that there weren’t black players in baseball yet either. However he would have still been the most dominant player of his. During his 22-year professional career, Babe cemented his name as the most prolific home run hitter of his time. In 1927, he hit 60 home runs during a 154-game stretch. This record stood until 1961, when Roger Maris hit 61 homers in an expanded 162-game schedule. Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick decided Maris' record would enter the record books with an asterisk denoting the difference in the schedule. He may no longer be the career home run king, but his record .690 lifetime slugging percentage may never be topped. Writers attempted to capture the essence of his greatness by giving him nicknames like "The Great Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat". There is also the famous called shot. Perhaps the most famous moment in baseball history, and certainly of Babe's career, came during Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. In 5th inning, after he had already hit one homer, Babe came up to bat. He ran the count to two balls and two strikes. Before Cubs pitcher Charlie Root hurled the next pitch, amid the heckling of Cubs fans, Babe pointed to the center field bleachers. Then he slammed what is believed to be the longest home run ever hit out of Wrigley Field, directly above the spot where he had pointed. This story has been as debated as often as it has been celebrated. Did he really call his shot, or was he simply pointing at the pitcher? The world may never know. However, to many fans this moment symbolizes the golden age of baseball. The Yankees went on to win the 1932 World Series, their third sweep in four years.

3. Wayne Gretzky - "The Great One" -The greatest hockey player in history. Gretzky was always the best player on the ice even as a kid in Canada. He always played at levels above his age and still dominated. The footage of a young Gretzky playing against players 2-3 years older than him are amazing. He set so many NHL records along his way through the Pros and was part of the biggest trade in NHL history as well when he was sent to Los Angeles it was is known as "the trade" in which Edmonton sent Gretzky, Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski by the Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15-million cash, and the Kings' first-round draft picks in 1989, 1991, and 1993. This trade pissed off almost all of Canada and to the extent that Democratic Party House Leader Nelson Riis demanded the government to block it. He played for Edmonton, Los Angeles, St.Louis, and New York. He is best known for the Edmonton Oilers days in which he was a part of four Stanley Cups. Wayne Gretzky held or shared 61 NHL records upon his retirement on 4/18/99 including 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 all-star records. The regular season records include most goals in a season (92), most assists in a season (163), and most points in a season (215). He finished with 894 goals 1963 assists and 2857 total points. Almost a full 1000 points ahead of number two on the all time points list Mark Messier.

2. Muhammad Ali - well, he said it best when he said "I am the greatest!" Because he really was. He was also a very important person in American history. He was an outspoken opionated man who floated like a butterfly but stung like a bee. He was a gold medalist and named the sportsman of the century by Sports Illustrated. He was also known as Cassius Clay as well. He is the victor in one of the most famous photos of all time standing over Sonny Liston. He was part of the "fight of the century" when Ali lost to Frazier at Madison Square Garden and was also the man who fought George Foreman in the "rumble in the Jungle" in one of Din Kings biggest hype driven bouts ever. Ali was considered to be done as a boxer and really had no shot in the fight. No one gave Ali a shot in the fight. The announcers commented that Ali was going to have to fight at a distance throwing a lot of jabs to keep the champion Foreman off him. However Ali the strong minded great fighter he was did something completely different. This is where the term "rope a dope" was coined. Ali sat back against the ropes taking shot after shot and still kept taunting Foreman. He wanted to get Foreman pissed to use more energy. By the end of the eighth round Foreman was clearly flagging and Ali made his move, turning Foreman off the ropes and executing a combination for the knockout. Allegedly asking the young champ "is that all you got" before launching the final knockout combination. Foreman failed to make the count, and Ali had regained the title. I would have to kick my own #### if I would have left out the "thrilla in Manilla" In 1975, Ali was again slated to fight Joe Frazier. The anticipation for the fight was enormous for the final clash between these two great heavyweights. Ali's frequent insults, slurs and poems increased the anticipation and excitement for the fight. After 14 grueling rounds, Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch refused to allow Frazier to continue. Frazier felt betrayed and never talked to Futch again. Ali was quoted after the fight as saying "This must be what death feels like" Ring Magazine called this bout 1975's Fight of the year, the fifth year an Ali fight had earned that distinction. This fight has been called the greatest fight of all time by many. Ali won many of the early rounds, but Frazier staged a comeback in the middle rounds. By the late rounds, however, Ali had re-asserted control, and the fight was stopped due to Frazier's eyes being closed. Ali will be forever known as the greatest.

1. Michael Jordan - There have been many NBA players to be compared to or said to be the (next Air Jordan) "air apparent". There has been and only will be one Michael Jordan though. He won six NBA titles and was the most dominant player in NBA history at both ends of the floor. He had a career average of over 30 points per game. Jordan won 10 scoring titles, and was league MVP five times. He was named to the All-NBA First Team 10 times, All-defensive First Team nine times, and led the league in steals three times. ESPN named him the 2nd greatest athlete of all-time only to Babe Ruth. He was part of two three-peats in the 90's. He also played baseball as well for the White Sox minor league system, but we won’t go there. There really have never been too many tall baseball players that were any good though anyway, especially at 6 foot 6 inches tall. Jordan also won two Olympic Gold medals as well. He was the most exciting and toughest players to ever play. He did it all with his defense, shooting inside and outside, and high flying dunks. As a freshman in legendary coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system at , Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year. He was an exciting if not dominant player, but the Tar Heels were led by All-American and future Hall of Famer James Worthy Jordan made the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown. He was drafted by Chicago where he was later named Rookie of the year for the Bulls. Michael Jordan is to Basketball what Ruth is to Baseball, Gretzky is to Hockey, Ali to boxing, and Tiger is to golf, the greatest ever.


Other athletes who get honorable mention for being mere percentage points off the list are Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Wilt Chamberlin, and Larry Bird.  One thing is for sure though, there have been so many great athletes, and there will be many more in the future.  We will always remember the names that are synonomous with a sport because they were so great at it.  Tiger, Jordan, Babe, Ali and Gretzky will always be remembered as the greatest.

special thanks to wikipedia.com, NHL.com, baseballreference.com, a lot of my older blogs, all the people who voted, my baby mama,  the word athlete, and freedom of speech.

The votes are all in and upon review of hundreds of votes the results are a little suprising.  This list will be completed soon so check back in a few days.  Last time I did a top ten list I released them one at a time.  This time the whole list will be revealed at the same time.  The top ten list actually has eleven athletes on it because number 10 and 11 tied right down to the same one hundreth of a point.  No women made the top ten so all you Rebecca Lobo fans don't have to come back.  But hey she is the centerfold in this weeks breeders cup preview magazine though!  Brett Favre didn't make it either so John Madden you don't have to come back to read the list either.

  Ok so I put together lists all the time and have a poll currently up on another site to see who the all time greatest athletes are.  All the sports combined, who is the best.  So I thought about this one, the top ten hottest women in the WNBA.  So here they are:



10.  Michele Griffiths
9.    Maria Stepanova


Well that is it, they were the only two even remotely hot.  Even these two are questionable but I couldn't shut out the whole league. I always thought Cory Hlede was hot but she has been out of the league a few years now, oh well.

  So Miami got their NBA rings on opening night and the preceeded to get POUNDED by the new look Chicago Bulls 108-66.  Something other teams will witness this season.  The Bulls are much improved this year.  The other suprise will be the Detroit Pistons returning to the NBA finals.  They lost Ben Wallace and that will make them better.  Washington Wizards will try to make a move this year in the right direction, but they still don't have it yet.  Lets breakdown some teams and make some predictions.


NBA Eastern Conferance playoff teams for 2007

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Washington Wizards
3. New Jersey Nets
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. Miami Heat
7. Philadelphia 76ers
8. Boston Celtics


Those are my predictions for the playoff brackets.  Teams 1, 2, and 3 are the division winners.  Boston will sneak back in this year, so will Philly.

Detroit will suprise people by not taking a step back from losing Ben Wallace.  He was the heart and soul for a few years but could never seem to get any better on offense.  Wallace is only a 41% free throw shooter for his career.  Wallace likened air balling to free throws to Paris Hilton say "thats hot!"  Enter Jason Maxiel for the Pistons.  He is a defensive player who actually can shoot.  They still have four of the same starting five they have had all along and also are looking to bring in Jalen Rose this week.  And they also have the X factor as well, ME, you can clearly tell by my picture that I play for them.

Washington will onlystep up to the second spot in the bracket because they will suprise everyone and win their division over Miami.  Washington has been on the rise for a few years now but still may not be ready to move deeper into the playoffs.  Only time will tell.  New Jersey is still the best in the Atlantic Division but that isn't saying too much, although I do have three teams from that division making the playoffs.

Chicago has been on the rise the last two years and may have added the one piece they were missing all along.  A player who will play like he has a pair and he will actually use them if neccesary.  Ben Wallace will be the heart and soul on defense with his great defensive ability, they just better not pass him the ball when it is time to shoot.  Alley oops only for Ben.  But when you need to get a stop on defense or get a huge blocked shot into transition he is your man.

Miami will take a step back with an aging roster that was old last year, but won the NBA title.  Shaq may have lost some weight but they will be beat by their own injury bug again but it may be worse this year.

Cleveland is blowing it.  They made a push last year giving Detroit all they could handle but fell short.  They bring in David Wesley who will just be version two of Damon Jones a player they already have at the same position.  They needed a big man, a dominant one.  They have Larry Hughes coming back but he has to get reaquainted with LeBron.  They may work out well for them once they make the playoffs.

Philly and Boston will both also be back to the playoffs but only for a few minutes once they get waxed in the first round.  Indiana has so many team issues on and off the court they won't be beating too many teams this year.  They may end the season with more players in jail than in the All-Star game.

  Conflicting interest?  When Dan Gilbert bought the Cleveland Cavaliers it did not come as a big shock.  He had been looking to buy a sports franchise for quite some time.  He was very close to buying the Milwaukee Brewers before he bought the Cavs.  He is the owner of Quicken Loans/Rock Financial.  Quicken is marketed to 49 states, Rock is marketed to one, Michigan.  As the owner of the Cavaliers he renamed the arena Quicken Loans Arena.  I was there with my family and witnessed one of the greatest company parties of all time.  It was held on the floor of the arena and had a concert performed by Black Eyed Peas with a late appearance from Kid Rock.  As I went through the night in awe of everything the owner had put together for the party at the newly named arena I had to wonder.  Why does he own the Cavs and sponsor the Pistons?  He sponsors his hometown team with Rock Financial, the same company he used to buy the Cavs.  Why would someone own a team and sposor the competition?  Gilbert also has a copycat the Pistons philosophy, he got an arena announcer like Mason of the Pistons, and recently hired the Pistons play-by-play announcer Fred McCloud.  NBA officials must question this conflict of interest and look into it. 

Conflict of interest?  Is it just me or is Terrell Owens reality T.V. show getting old.  I don't want to see him every time I watch something football on T.V.  This cuts out time on getting interviews and thoughts from so many other teams in the league.  The current conflict, T.O. and Bill Parcels.  To me it seems that the media asks too many questions that pertain to stirring up the two men.  I don't want to see T.O. working out in his driveway, Drew Roesenhaus screaming like Jerry McGuire or him riding that exercise bike.  Lets get away from this ASAP.  Lets get back to talking football and not soap operas.  I really have not seen any stories or very little about several teams and players like, the defending NFC Champs (Seattle), or Philly's WRs, Green Bay's RB situation, Detroit's new look, Tampa Bays chances this year, or Arizona's situation of looking toward the playoffs for the first time since 1998 (before that was 1982 when they were still in St. Louis), they did get a new stadium though!