One of television's longest-running hits is professional basketball. The concept is one of the most brilliant ever conceived. There are 30 teams, and they can be divided into two categories: "The Lakers" and "Other". The main question each season is whether the Lakers can play together, deal with injuries and get past the villainous "Other" teams to win the championship. It makes for compelling drama and it's all filmed in front of a live audience.

The ensemble cast of characters is part of this show's appeal. There's head coach Phil Jackson, who's constantly trying to uphold his reputation as a genius. He's a good character study, as it's not always clear whether he's as arrogant as he acts or if he's insecure about the fact that he's clearly not invincible, as he was once thought to be. There's star player Kobe Bryant, who's constantly trying to prove that he's the best in the league. He's had trouble with Jackson in the past, so the question of how long they can peacefully co-exist adds some tension to the mix. There's Derek Fisher, a cast member who left the series for a while to do some untelevised roles. He returned this season, much to the delight of longtime fans who like the chemistry he brings. There's also Lamar Odom. He was one of the guys brought in four seasons ago to replace the top-billed Shaquille O'Neal. While some fans had a hard time accepting him at first, he's established himself as a key element to the show's success.

As the Lakers are the focal point of the entire program, it always seems wrong when the protagonists get eliminated from the Playoffs and one of those "Other" teams succeeds. Part of the show's genius is that they sometimes televise a game where the Lakers aren't one of the two teams playing. The reason for this is to give the viewer an idea of how tough the competition will be when the Lakers play those teams. You can't fully appreciate the antagonist without proper background, and this show cares about character development. As is common knowledge, almost nobody actually roots for those "Other" teams except a few contrarians. Just look at the front page of the FoxSports Blogs. Every post in the pro basketball section is usually related to the Lakers. You occasionally get those intellectual types that want to analyze the bad guys, but most people just want to talk about the success of the good guys.

There are several notable villains on this series. First and foremost, there is LeBron James, the supervillain who plays for the Cleveland team. Kobe and LeBron are always competing for the title of "Best Player in the League". While Kobe is the hero, some believe that LeBron could defeat him if it came down to just the two of them. It's a scary thought, but so far we have yet to see it reach that point. Until it does the debate will continue and the threat of it happening will be an undercurrent to each season. Another villain is the aforementioned Shaquille O'Neal. He used to be one of the good guys, but he eventually went to the dark side. Fans have had to watch bitterly as he won a championship playing for the Miami team two years ago, and more recently as he joined the Phoenix team that has eliminated the Lakers from the Playoffs the past two seasons. You also have the San Antonio team that wins with machine-like efficiency and the Boston team that used to be an annual rival back in the 80's. The Boston team has been getting many of its games televised this season, so perhaps the producers are trying to foreshadow an NBA Finals matchup between them and the Lakers. Of course, you have to watch, because you never know when they'll flip the script on you.

There have been a few cases where one of the "Other" teams got its own spinoff. Back in the 90's the Chicago team developed sort of a cult following and even got more media attention than the Lakers. Some even thought that they could supplant the Lakers in terms of overall fan popularity (similar to the way "Family Matters" went on to be much more popular than "Perfect Strangers"). Still, people eventually lost interest in the Chicago team (mainly due to excessive cast changes) and once again the Lakers had the spotlight all to themselves.

The Lakers are looking like a threat to win the championship this season, but the race is so close right now that there's no telling what will happen in the Playoffs. If the Lakers should lose in the postseason, it's a safe bet that 99% of pro basketball fans will be disappointed. The remainder of the Playoffs, which will only be televised for curiosity's sake, will most likely be a total bore. If this program's decision-makers know what they're doing, they'll cheer the fans up this year and let the Lakers capture the title. If they're not careful, the villains might become more popular than the heroes again.




(Note: I realize it's somewhat subtle, but this is a satirical piece. I am not a Lakers fan. At all.)

Barry Bonds is without a doubt one of the most polarizing athletes of all time. To many he has become the face of everything that's wrong in sports. They say he's arrogant, a cheater, and an overall de####able person. Some defend him, pointing out that he's never failed a steroid test and that he was already one of baseball's greatest players before his alleged steroid use, but there remains a large number of sports fans who think he deserves nothing less than to be the object of eternal contempt. What's sad to me is that one simple fact seems to be lost in the midst of this ongoing controversy: Barry Bonds is a human being.

I'll admit that I hate certain athletes. Take Kobe Bryant for example. He's long been my least favorite player in the NBA (part of the reason I don't want the Bulls to acquire him). I hate the guy, but it's more his NBA persona that I hate than Kobe Bryant the human being. Sure, he's cocky, he's selfish, and he plays for the Lakers, but I harbor no ill will toward him as a person. Kobe Bryant is ultimately just an athlete, and anything he does on the court is just part o####ame. I can dislike his bad qualities, I can root against his team, but as a fellow human being I should wish him well. After all, there are certain things we all have to deal with in life, and no amount of fame or athletic ability makes them any easier. If something bad happens in the personal life of a famous athlete it's no different than if it happened to the average Joe.

That brings us back to Barry Bonds. A look around the internet shows that many people seem to delight in his recent indictment. They're glad his baseball career is most likely over and that he might end up in jail. "He's an arrogant jerk" they say, even though most of them have probably never been the object of said churlishness. "He's a cheater" they say, though there are thousands of things one could do far worse than cheating at a sport. Certainly a person doesn't deserve jail time based on those reasons alone. The fact that so many people seem to be hoping his life is destroyed completely because of offenses that probably hurt him more than anyone else is upsetting.

I wonder how many people have ever thought that (hear me out) Bonds could deserve our sympathy? After all, he's been unfairly targeted in the whole steroids discussion, he's possibly taken several years off his life with drugs, and despite his great career achievements he's reviled by many who see them as tainted. Some would scoff at the very idea. They'd say he brought it all on himself and deserves whatever he gets. They'd say he doesn't care what any of us think about him, so he doesn't need our sympathy. The truth is though, that none of us knows the real Barry Bonds. We only know the persona presented to us. We don't know if deep down he just wants to be loved and respected. We don't know if he regrets any of his past mistakes. We don't know if his hostile exterior is just a defense he's put up around himself because he doesn't know how to deal with certain aspects of life. It's easier just to label him as a bad person than to worry about who he really is.

He may or may not care, but my heart goes out to Barry Bonds right now. He might be guilty of the charges being brought against him, but it's nothing to be happy about if he is. Some people think it serves him right for tarnishing baseball's record book, but no athletic record is more important than a man's life. I highly doubt that Bonds is happy with the way his life has gone over the past several years, and this indictment is yet another difficulty he has to face. It makes a sad story no matter how disagreeable a person it happens to. I can understand why people don't like Bonds. I can understand why they don't like him holding several records. I can't understand though, why anyone would take joy in seeing his life fall apart. If we can't be sad for his situation as fellow human beings, what does that say about us?

Every year when we get deep into the NBA Playoffs I start thinking. I think about which players' careers will be defined by what happens over the next month. I think about which teams' histories will be affected. I also start weighing in my mind who I should root for. There are plenty of factors that go into that decision. I thought I'd write them down to see where each team stands in my mind. As long as we're doing this exercise I'd like to note the LTRP (Longest-Tenured Ringless Player) on each team's roster, because it's interesting to know that one of these guys will finally get the NBA's ultimate reward this year.

Utah Jazz. The Jazz are currently the team I'd most like to see win the NBA Championship, but I have a feeling that they're not going to be able to beat the Spurs. One can always hope though. They're in the Conference Finals after having missed the Playoffs the last three years.

Pros:

• They've never won an NBA Championship, and their fans have been waiting a long time.
• Deron Williams and Dee Brown are two former Illini, and Illinois is the only college sports program I consider myself a fan of.
• Jerry Sloan is a great coach (not to mention a former Bull), but he's never won an NBA Championship.
• Their team has some exciting young stars.

Cons:

• This current Jazz team hasn't really paid its dues as much as certain other teams in the West have (like Dallas and Phoenix). You could argue that they don't deserve to win a Championship so abruptly.

LTRP: Matt Harpring

Overall, I'd say that there's not much reason for me to root against the Jazz. The only "con" I mentioned is a weak one, and I really only included it to give a somewhat balanced perspective. I think the Jazz have an uphill battle ahead of them, but if they can pull it off I'll be happy for them.

Detroit Pistons. Currently number two in my rankings is the Pistons. The Pistons are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth straight year. Even though I'm a Chicago guy, there's something about the Pistons I've always liked. Let's weigh in for them.

Pros:

• They play team ball that isn't star-driven.
• Despite their success, they often seem like they don't get the credit they deserve. A second Championship might help them gain some respect.
• They beat my Bulls, so if the Pistons win it all I can say my team lost to the best.
• I'd like to see Antonio McDyess get a ring.

Cons:

• Their main players have already won a Championship.
• It might be boring to see the Pistons in the NBA Finals again.

LTRP: Dale Davis

I'm still rooting for the Pistons in the West, because even if they don't have much underdog appeal, you appreciate greatness more when you can see a stat like 3 NBA Finals appearances in 4 years.

Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers are in the Conference Finals in what is just their second Playoff appearance with their current core of players. I find it hard to root for them though.

Pros:

• The Cavaliers have never won an NBA Championship, and their fans have been waiting a long time.
• The city of Cleveland has suffered a lot in sports. Their last major sports championship was by the Browns in 1964.

Cons:

• LeBron James is too overhyped for my liking. If he leads a team to the NBA Championship at age 22, a lot of people will start arguing he's even better than Michael Jordan.
• The Cavaliers ended up with the #2 seed that should've been the Bulls' (OK, it was the Bulls' fault for losing their last game of the season, but still).
• Anderson Varejao is one of the NBA's most annoying players.
• I like team efforts better than one-man shows (Don't call me a hypocrite because I'm a Bulls fan. Michael had Scottie for every one of his Championships).

LTRP: David Wesley

I normally root for teams like the Cavaliers, since their city and franchise have suffered a lot, but LeBron James negates their underdog appeal. I actually predicted before the season began that the Cavaliers would win the Championship, since the NBA wants to see one of its bright young stars win a title. It seems that more often than not things go the way the NBA's powers that be want them. Last year Dwyane Wade got his championship, so don't be surprised if LeBron starts getting a ton of calls. The media's love for him will be unbearable if he leads the Cavaliers to the Championship. I can only hope my prediction is wrong.

San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have been one of the best teams in the NBA over the last decade, winning three Championships during that span. They always make the Conference Finals in odd-numbered years, which explains why they're there in 2007.

Pros:

• Like the Pistons, they play consistent, team-oriented ball.
• If they win it, Tim Duncan will have more rings than Kobe Bryant.

Cons:

• They've won three Championships already.
• Their consistency can be pretty boring sometimes
• Warranted or not, their reputation has become one of a dirty team full of whiners.
• I'm tired of Robert Horry.

LTRP: Michael Finley

This is the first year where I've really hated the Spurs. I used to root against them in a non-emotional way, but now I'm just sick of them. When we look back on this Spurs team someday, they'll have an odd legacy of winning without much fanfare, personality or bandwagon appeal.

Being somewhat pessimistic, I'm inclined to predict that the NBA Finals will be between the Spurs and Cavaliers, though the favorites are the Spurs and Pistons. My ideal, Jazz vs. Pistons (with the exciting storyline of Mehmet Okur going up against his old team) seems like a longshot, but as the saying goes, they play the games for a reason. If it were Jazz vs. Cavaliers, this would be the second straight year the NBA Finals was between two teams that had never won an NBA Championship. So many possibilities. Whichever one happens, it should be interesting.