1. I'm sure Adam 'PacMan' Jones (my bad, Adam Jones) will be on his best behavior this inaugural season in Dallas (on and off the field) but my quesion  is how will be perform from a skill and talent point of view? As much as analyst want to portray Jones as some kind of All-Pro player with the Titans before he was suspended for a year, my memory doesn't serve me in that way. Adam was an 'ok' defensive back and he returned a couple of punts for touchdowns in his brief NFL career but to say he was anything more than slightly above average athlete is a stretch.  My point is this, Adam still needs to prove that he's an every Sunday quality defensive player in the NFL, something he hadn't yet proved in Tennessee. It'll be interesting to see if he can earn a starting 'd-back' position on this Cowboy team that has most of their defensive starters in place

2. Venus Williams and Serena Williams are playing well in this years Wimbledon (they should meet in the Finals) one could only wish they will continue to focus on Tennis and not the off-the court periphery items. They can go down in Tennis history as the best to ever do it but they have to stay in shape and keep that fire burning to win every Major championship

3. Griffey Jr. hit his 600 home run recently and is a certain Hall of Famer but I can only think what could of been with Griffey if he stayed in shape and worked out more often through-out his career. If so he would of had the all-time home-run record by now and looked at as the best baseball player of all time

4. The NBA draft just concluded and I couldn't help but think and be reminded of the great collegiate Maryland Terrapin player LEN BIAS. He was drafted #2 overall by the Celtics in '86 and was on par to be another great clog in that 80's Celtics machine. An impromptu night of post-draft partying ended Len's life prematurely and the enormous potential Bias was carrying into the league. You never want to definitively project what a sports player 'would of' or 'could of' done on the professional level but its safe to say Len would of eventually been a perennial All-Star and All-Pro, and the Hall of Fame would of put him on their ballot immediately once he qualified. Len Bias was all-around skilled beast in college and couldn't be stopped, he got better every year and he was humble and appreciative of his talents...R.I.P Brotha

5. Plaxico Burress of the NFL's New York Giants is asking for more money and he should get it but again he's adding to a number of #### football players. thru the years, who go about it in the wrong way (i.e. Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens). Plax is a very good receiver who deserves a bump up in his salary but he's no All-Pro and you could argue he's not even the best receiver on his team. I'm sure eventually, once he reports to camp, the Giants will give him an increase in loot and extension but they won't pay him the max like he foolishly thinks he deserves

6. Who knew that Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, whom have been known to 'hate' on each other in the past, would have so much in common at the end of their careers

7. Andy Roddick overrated...Check!  Michelle Wie extremely overrated and shouldn't even be allowed on a professional golf course....Check! 

8. Tiger Woods probably jeopardized at least a few future Majors by playing with a fracture leg and torn ACL, winning the 2008 U.S. Open, but it was great sports theatre nonetheless. The Greatest off all-time put on another Great Show

9. Lets hope the coaching staff and QB coach at The Ohio State Buckeyes find a way to coach their new freshman phenom Terrele Pryor in a way that makes him a quarterback who looks to throw first and run only when necessary. If they do that, he should have a great college and promising NFL career. He's an extremely talented player who can run and throw with great ability but unfortunately history has proven that college coaching staffs rely more on the pure athleticism of a qb who can do both instead of coaching up the most important skill a QB must possess; Throwing. I rather see Pryor be more like the 49er style Steve Young instead of becoming a Vince Young type of player

10. If Karma has any real effects on life and potential activity, the Dallas Cowboys moving into their new stadium in a year or so are going to have nothing but bad luck and losing seasons. During the 3 year construction of their new over-priced billion dollar stadium 1 construction worker has died and numerous more have been seriously hurt

11. We all know Lakers coach Phil Jackson is a first ballot hall of famer once he retires for good but here's hoping that the architect of the Triangle Offense and the man responsible for all the success Phil has had, Coach Tex Winters, gets in to the hall of fame too (he retired 5 years ago but still consults for Jackson and the Lakers) he's in his 70's and should of been in the hall years ago, I credit him for changing the face of basketball offensive scheming...he's a legend

12. Can the commissioner of MLB and the NBA find a way to cut back on games so we don't have the baseball regular season and post-season drifting into late October-early November and the basketball playoffs starting in April and ending in middle of June. We're halfway through the NFL season by the time baseball officially ends and we're a little less than a month away from the baseball all-star game by the time basketball ends....its ridiculous

12. Lets put this false 'rumor-statement-belief' to rest once and for all. The Portland Trail Blazers did not miss out on drafting Michael Jordan. There was no reason to draft M.J. who was projected as a 2-guard because they drafted Clyde Drexler a year earlier-who was also a 2-guard. Plus nobody knew how great Jordan was going to be in the NBA, I'm sure if the Blazers had a crystal ball and could see in the future they would of drafted Jordan and traded Drexler immediately but that's not humanly possible so lets all chill out on the infamous '84 draft and realize every team drafting in the top ten that year, drafted in terms of need

13. I know it's way to early to project on this recent '08 NBA draft crop but I'm going to take a leap of faith and say the only 2 players that have potential to be perennial All-Stars in the league are Derrick Rose and Kevin Love. Westbrook, Mayo, Gordon are tweener players who aren't pure points or off-guards which will make their life difficult in the NBA. Because they were all picked in the top ten, they have the high potential to be labeled 'bust' in a few years. I think all three along with the Lopez twins will eventually be good off-the bench role players during their career

14. WNBA right now is where the NBA was during their early years (decade of the 50's); nobody paid attention much but they stuck around anyway and eventually became relevant. With players like Candace Parker in the league the WNBA is headed in the right direction and will rival the NBA in popularity and profitability in 10 years

NON-SPORTS RELATED PASSION ITEM:

15. Is it me or are there way too many TV and Radio commercials during sports programming these days? It's very distracting and it makes every game an extra 15 to 20 minutes longer (this specifically applies to the NBA and NFL...in addition National-Local sports talk shows are interruped with a bevy of 'Male Enhancement' infomercials) I know these companies got bills to pay and journalist to appease but 'come on fellas' ease back on the countless beer ads and car commericals , the U.S. economy is in a recession and nobody really cares anymore

1. Congratulations to the Boston Celtics for winning that 17th Championship Ring, they did it in a very uninspiring way, letting the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers take them to 7 game series...not to mention their most inspired player Kevin Garnett disappeared for nearly half of all the games, but nevertheless they beat and battered the soft-minded Lakers and got the job done. Good job, you can't say the Celtics didn't earn it

2. Since I'm on the topic of the NBA Finals, lets dispel the thought that adding Andrew Bynum next season to the Laker roster is going to solve all their physical play problems. Bynum had barely started to turn that 'on-court maturity corner' before he went down with a serious knee injury. Which means he still needs to prove his worth as a quality NBA Center before we anoit him the next combination of 'Russell-Kareem'. For the Lakers to improve next year there going to have to go out and find 2 mid-level players who can come off the bench and play down and dirty in the trenches, find a way to trade the soft/disappearing act Lamar Odom (how about a straight trade of Shawn Marion for Odom?), tell Pau Gasol to gain some upper body muscle and hope Bynum picks up where he left off last year before he got hurt....all of those wishes are extreme long shots but it's the only way the Kobe-led Lakers will win another Championship

3. What could be with the Lakers if Lamar Odom had ever played up to his huge talent level that he possess's. Kobe and Lamar are no Jordan/Pippen but they could of came damn close and considering the overall team skill level in the NBA last few years have been little less than average, they had a chance to steal a few championships as another dynamic duo. Too late for that, Odom is best suited for the WNBA

4. After careful consideration and studying I'm going to disagree with all the critics and most fans and take the side of the Memphis Grizzlies when it comes to who got the best of the Pau Gasol trade back in February of this past NBA season. Yeah the Lakers got Gasol and Memphis's 2nd round draft choice in 2010 but the Grizzlies got considerable more ( Memphis received forward Kwame Brown (who cares), guard Javaris Crittenton (solid young guy), guard Aaron McKie (who cares), the draft rights to Marc Gasol (the best european player rt. now-he'll be in the NBA soon) and first round picks in 2008 and 2010) and if dealt with properly could orchestrate a dynasty of a team. With the Hornets and Trail Blazers coming on strong in the West starting next year and years to come there's no guarantee that Pau/Kobe and the Lakers will make it back to the Finals, depending on who they add this summer they might not get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs next year(depending on the health of Bynum and the physical wear and tear of Kobe's long tenure in the NBA the Lakers window of championship opportunity could close in 2 years). But on the flip side Memphis is setting themselves up to be major players in this league in about 3 years

5. Phil Jackson was again out-coached in a NBA Finals (the fist one being against the Pistons during the '03-'04 Finals). He's mostly praised for his laid-back Zen-like coaching scheme but I've always look at it as being extremely lazy and arrogant. Doc Rivers worked his Will on his team and they showed up and outplayed the Lakers. Phil J. needs to look himself in the mirror and find a new way to inspire his team next year

6. Shaquill O'neal's raps and career is extremely overrated. He's always sucked as a hip-hop artist and his inability to stay healthy and blame players for his bad play is 'tired'. Shaq has a total of 1 League MVP award during his career (spanning 16 yrs), and this is for a guy who calls himself the Most Dominat Ever, not hardly, the Most Laziest(Fattest) Ever is more like it

 

For most of his career Shaquille O'neal has come across as a laughable-lovable guy but truth be told he's a Hater and has always been a Hater. He crapped on Penny Hardaway and the coaching staff on his way out of Orlando, crapped on Phil Jackson-Jerry Buss-Kobe Bryant on his way out of L.A., he crapped on Pat Riley and every player except Dwayne Wade on his way out of Miami and I'm sure he's planning a way to 'rap-####' his way out of Phoenix. That's why I'm going to take a few moments to Hate on him

 

 

I'm not a Kobe Bryant apologist and would never pretend to be, I have my own issues with Bryant, mainly his continued lack of on-court maturity despite just completed his 12th NBA season and winning the league MVP award. But somebody has to step up and let Shaq know his recent diss of Kobe, thru some horrible rap lyrics, on his failed attempt to win the NBA Championship against the Celtics is Wack and Immature. I’m sure most of the NBA world thought Shaq and Kobe had reconciled their differences and their most recent actions before every Laker/Heat game proved to be true. But even if they were shaking hands and hugging for purposes of political correctness, their feud is so old that it makes no sense for either one to re-hash old news unless one is extremely jealous and resentful

 

 

So I guess that’s where Shaq comes in, The Big Jealous One, how else can you explain it? He wrote one of the worse raps I’ve ever heard and posted it on Youtube for the world to see. He laughed at Kobe losing in the Finals but he fails to realize that if D.Wade doesn’t put up a Superman Effort in the Finals a couple years ago, he wouldn’t be sporting a 4th ring now. Shaq did little to nothing against the Dallas Mavericks; his best effort was sitting on the bench cheerleading the rest of this team to victory. And since we’re on the topic of effort, let’s talk about Shaq’s inability to stay healthy for ¾ of his career; he hasn’t played a full healthy season in 7 years. He’s also never won a scoring title, rebound title, blocking title, 1st team all defensive position, and has never won defensive player of year award. He has won 1 league MVP award but for a guy who says he’s the best center of all time you would think he would have at least 6 or 7. To his credit he did win 3 straight NBA Final MVP’s but that was mainly by default considering he went up against the Pacers Rick Smits, Sixers Mutombo and New Jersey Nets Jason Collins respectively. 2 of the 3 will never be mistaken for a NBA quality center and Dikembe for all intent purposes was well past his prime. The Most Dominant Ever is a joke, if he played during the hey-dey of the 80’s he would be the 6th or 7th best center in the league and for as much as he thinks he was better than Chamberlain, Kareem and Russell during the 60’s and 70’s he’s not even in the same neighborhood let alone block when u talk about those legends

 

 

Shaq has already loss his 2 honorable mention Sheriff badges (still don’t know what type of integrity an ‘honorable’ badge carries) and here’s hoping he’ll lose his remaining tenure in the NBA by being ‘waived’ or ‘cut’. Maybe one day Kobe Bryant will write a rap about the Phoenix Suns trade for Shaquille O’neal going down as one of the worst in NBA history (he can rap half of it in Italian and get Tyra Banks to sing back-up again)

 

 

 

 

P.S. ‘Food for Thought’

 

 

Shaquille O'neal and Mike Tyson have 1 thing in common, if nothing else, sports history will prove that they did less with more and were the most overrated athletes of all time. Tyson beat a bunch of no-name boxers during his brief 4-year dominant era and Shaq put up average numbers during the prime of his career (’98-’04) when his biggest Center competition was Rick Smits, Greg Ostertag, Alonzo Mourning and some guy named Vlade Divac (Tim Duncan doesn’t count officially, he played Power Forward, but even still he outplayed Shaq for most of his career)

 

 

 

6-4-08

1. As much as I want to believe this 2008 version of Lakers vs. Celtics NBA Finals is another chapter in the long history of great Championship matches it's just not the same. Neither one of these teams today would win one game vs their own predecessors and most importantly there's not enough tenureship on either one of these teams to make it seem that much important. Outside of Kobe Bryant and Derrick Fisher (and he left via free agency for several seasons and is now in his 2nd stint with the team) for the L.A. Lakers and Paul Pierce for the Boston Celtics the remainder of the respective roster players have either just arrived recently or was acquired this season

2. The NHL Stanley Playoff Run and Cup Finals is proving once again to be the Best when it comes to playoff excitement and unpredictability amongst any of the professional sports organizations here in the good ole U.S.A.. To bad most sports fans in this country are to narrow-minded to give this sport a chance, we all know Gary Betteman has to do a better job at marketing his sport and players but  in the mean time while he's gearing up to improve in those categories the best athletes in all of sports (outside of football) are giving us 'Must See TV'

3. The best all-around basketball athlete in professional sports, outside of Kobe Bryant , is not in the NBA, she currently resides in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks. Her Name is Candace Parker and she is arguably the best player in her league and she's only played 6 games into her rookie season. Parker is better than half the players currently on the entire NBA rosters; and she's only getting better. Basketball fans may diss her and the league she plays in but none of those guys would have the balls to play her one-on-one. The WNBA is taking a slow climb to respectability in this country but it's gonna happen, sooner rather than later, and players like Candace Parker will be at the fore-front

4. OJ Mayo continues a tradition of over-rated star athletes who will be marginally good at the Pro level and at the same time leave a tarnished legacy at their alma mater. USC deserves to take a hard fall for continuing to let players like OJ, Bush and Leinart (to only name a few) enter their sports program and run wild with arrogance, rules-breaking and brute showmanship. I know USC has a storied tradition of putting out great talent at the next level and there's no arguing their impact, especially at the NFL, but that tradition has changed within the last 5 years due to many allegations of star athletes getting paid and preferential treatment from outside sources. USC is no longer a shining example of professionalism

5. There are moments when watching Kobe Bryant that you are reminded of Michael Jordan (brief moments but a few none-the-less) but what if there was an athlete that reminded you of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson combined. Well there is and his name is Lebron James. He hasn't reached that plateau yet, starting next season ('09-'10) we'll all be witness to it, but he's on his way and is very scary to think about. Barring injury Lebron will be able to put on a nightly show of inside and outside dominance that will be unmatched for the for-seeable future. He can pass and lead a team like Magic and he can slash to the hoop and humble his opponent like Jordan. And he'll be able to do it from all 5 positions on the court. He's still a work in progress but soon enough the rest of the league will helpless to his wide array of skills and talent

6. There are so many examples of athletes gone bad who were once at the 'top of the mountain' in the NBA you would think David Stern would make examples out of them at the annual Rookie Symposium--hopefully he's doing it already. The Steve Francis's and Shawn Kemp's of the NBA world are spokesman for what you'll become when start believing the hype and stop working out-literally and figuratively

7. Danica Patrick did herself and women fighting to be respected in a male dominated industry (sports) a favor by finally winning her first race earlier this year. She can now continue to blaze the path of respectablility in Open Wheel-Racing and in racing overall. She will win again and her 'fire' and 'determination' will have to be dealt with as long as she keeps getting behind that wheel

8. The NFL is in a public relations funk right now and I'm sure they can't wait until Training Camp opens in late July. But commissioner Goodell is a good man and is learning on the job and he should be able to weather the storm up until the first kick-off of the season on Sept. 4th when everything we're talking about now will be forgotten and the best sport in the world will be revving to go

9. Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps is on pace to do something this Summer in China that no athlete has ever done in the history of sporting competition and most of the world has never heard of him. He's the best althlete in the world, by definition of the word, and he's being severly over-looked by the mainstream sporting medias. He's on pace to break Mark Spitz's 7 gold medals in one Olympic competition and break it by a long shot and we all should be standing up and ready to witness such a feat with Dog-ged anticipation. He realistically could win 8, 9 or 10 gold medals this summer. Lets hope the casual fan outside of the swimming genre tunes in to watch history being made

10. Stephon Marbury of the NBA's New York Knicks is scheduled to make 22 million dollars in salary next season; is there anybody less deserving of that money than this mal-content (of course its hard to justify anybody in professional sports or life for that matter getting that much for 1 calendar year). I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that, he's a horrible teammate and a coaches nightmare. He's hardly worth the direct deposit bank fee the Knicks will have to pay for sending his checks

11. The New England Patriots escaped this spygate situation somewhat unscathed but there reputation and their dynasty will be forever in question because of the cheating that was being done for who knows how long. If taping the opposing coaches signals wasn't suppose to give the Pats an advantage (from which I keep hearing the Pats front office, Pat fans and the NFL front office continually saying) then why were they doing it in the first place?

12. The Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys have spent a ton money this offseason in acquiring players thru trades and free agency; more than they should have considering most of those players were huge distractions on the team they left.  Lets hope they get their monies worth because considering the amount of cash they spent, the only satisfying end of season result for both should be a birth in the Super Bowl

13. When it's all said and done and Shaquille O'neal's career is over and we've all had time to analyze his career, he should go down as the most Over-rated NBA star of all time! He and Mike Tyson should be mentioned in the same sentence as athletes who had glimpses of superiority but overrall career stats and impact is under-whelming to say the least. Here's one Shaq stat that u might not know...Shaq hasn't completed a full healthy season of play since 2000-'01

14. Two NBA veterans who came into the league around the same time with huge promise will leave with little less than a mur-mur. Chris Webber (who retired early this NBA season) and Grant Hill, who should be retiring this offseason if he's smart, are guyz who will get lukewarm NBA first ballot Hall of Fame consideration but ultimately might not ever get in till late in life. Despite Grant's spectacular first couple years in the league, he quite never lived up to the hype coming out of Duke, he was non-chalant and never aggressive enough on the court to be a true leader and legend of the game; and once his foot ailments took over he was never nothing but a complimentary role player for the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns. Chris Webber on the other hand didn't have any major physical problems until late in his career and came out of Michigan with a ton of momentum; he even garnered the Rookie of the Year Trophy. But the duration of his career would ultimately label him as being 'mentally fragile and unproductive in big games'. He put up decent NBA career numbers but I always felt if he would of stayed one more year at the University of Michigan (instead of leaving after his sophomore season he would played thru his junior year) he could of matured more as a person and player but leaving school after that disastrous 'timeout mishap' in the NCAA championship game against North Carolina jinxed him forever on the professional level; he was never the same...'clutch' he was not

In one of the most unprecedented moves in professional basketball history the best player in the NBA, Kobe Bryant, has demanded and received a trade for the best rookie and arguably the best player in the WNBA, Candace Parker. It has yet to be formally announced but word from NBA and WNBA officials state that starting next year the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks will receive Lamar Odom and 4 consecutive 1st round draft picks (2009-'12) from the NBA Los Angeles Lakers and in return Candace Parker will immediately start next to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum at the Small Forward position. The reasoning for this trade was explained with grace and grandeur by general manager Mitch 'cupcake' Kupchak: "after watching Lamar Odom 'soft-feminine' like play over the years we figured why don't we go ahead and trade for a real girl to play the position, not to mention Candace doesn't even have to change locker rooms"

Most NBA analyst agree Candace Parker will be an immediate upgrade at the position and she will come at a much cheaper price. Although Candace has yet to complete her first season in the WNBA she is already regarded as the best player in the WNBA and barring any injury would soon be considered the best to ever play the game, making Cheryl Miller's (considered by most the best to ever play at any level of womens basketball) accomplishments look slightly above average

Kobe Bryant was quoted recently as saying "I'm esctatic that Candace will be playing with us next year, hopefully we can beat the Celtics and bring a championship back to L.A. this year and then start our repeat with Parker next season, it'll be great to finally have a compliment player who has the heart and desire to be the #2 scorer and on some nights when I'm not clicking be the #1 scorer". I heard from one Laker insider, who chooses to stay anomynous, that Lamar Odom is happy to be going to the Sparks because he really really likes their uniforms. On the other hand Lisa Leslie was quoted as saying, upon hearing of the potential trade, "Who is Lamar Odom?"

I had a chance to interview some L.A. fans, before the trade was officially announced, and after the shock and awe had subsided they realized that it would be best for the team even though they had to give up Odom and 4 first round draft picks. Charlie from Orange County said "I didn't know a professional womens basketball league existed but after going to YouTube and watching highlights of Candace I'm totally down with the trade, Lamar plays scared, disappears for half the game and never wants to shoot the ball when he does get it, so why not get a girl to take his place...plus she's hot looking too" 

So there you have it, the inside scoop on a trade that may not make the headlines until the NBA Finals dust has settled. And for all you Laker and NBA hardcore fanz that don't know much about womens hoop take it from me Candace Parker is the real deal.  I've been following womens college and professional hoop for 10 years and despite the harsh criticism from most radio and tv journalist it's a great sport with great fundamental skills on display every night. David Stern should consider himself lucky that he's gotten a player like Candace who at the level she's playing now is better than half the men on the entire NBA roster....and she's only getting better!!!

It's no coincidence that Kobe Bryant received the MVP honor during a year he put together his most complete all-around season ever. He definitely deserved it for how he played this year and if your a 'Laker Apologist', like I know many of you are, then u can say that his receiving the award makes up for the many he should of had during past seasons (I don't agree with the latter)

The shame comes in the fact it took him 12 NBA seasons to do it when in fact it should of only took him 4 to 5 years to get his first most valuable player award if not earlier. But once Kobe decided to skip college and go straight into the NBA he instantly retarded his maturity process (on and off the court) therefore u had a player go through a lengthy growing pain process in the Pros that was not only painful for Bryant but for his fans and coaches alike. This year Kobe finally put all the pieces together when it comes to playing team ball, and Yes the Pau Gasol trade was important and it that definitely helped turn the team around, but ultimately it still came down to Kobe leading this team with care while believing and trusting his teammates. That's why there on an incredible playoff winning streak now and have a bright future in front of them

There's a good chance this will be Kobe's first and last MVP seasonal award, with the likes of Chris Paul and Lebron James breathing down his neck as the best all around player in the league. But when its all said and done if Kobe can raise a few more championship banners those MVP's won't mean all that much but I can't help but wonder what could of been if an already super-talented High School senior from Philadelphia would of taken that Duke scholarship and played 2 years under Coach K; at this point and time in Kobe's career Michael Jordan comparisons would of been valid without an inch of doubt because Jordan would of have personally passed the torch to Kobe Bryant instead of passing it to the league in general 

 

Whatever happens in todays Game 7 between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics will ultimately be effective for one team and one team only: the ATLANTA HAWKS. The team, organization and city has been officially revitalized during this unexpected and surprising first round series against the overall #1 seeded Boston Celtics

After last years NBA draft the whole NBA world was upended when Boston pulled off one of the great transactions in professional basketball history by acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce and become the self titled trio The Boston Three Party. Everybody penciled these guys into the NBA Finals and for all intent and purposes receiving the teams 17th NBA Championship and this was before the '07-'08 season had begun. Every person I talked to had the same opinion, "Boston is the team to beat in the entire NBA" but I felt differently and today as I type this blog, while also listening to Game 7 on the radio, my feelings and predictions of apprehension back then have come to fruition in this series; although I have to admit I didn't think it would come this early in the playoff season

I basically felt like neither one of the Boston 3 had demonstrated any playoff fortitude or big game composure individually to rightfully predict that they could come together as a group and 'win it all'. Yes, each player is arguably one of the best at their postion during this current generation of NBA Players. Yes, they each have won big regular season games at different moments for their respective teams in the past and they've been crowned franchise type players upon being drafted into the league. But with all of that being said, the Big 3 still lack the 'Killer Instinct' it takes to win 'Big' in the playoffs. And these 3 are seasoned NBA veterans not early 20-something players

I never bought into the hype and finally the reasonings behind it are in front of every NBA fan, High Def style! Kevin Garnett might be called the Big Ticket, but ask him to cash that ticket at the end of important games and he won't do it. He's been so unselfish thru the years that it has made him a player who's now scared to take the 'big' shots. In this series KG has put up decent numbers and has pounded his chest quite a bit on defense but he's yet to take advantage offensively against a Hawks team that has no equal in the low-post to his talent.  A little of the same can be said for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, each are great streaky jump shooters with little to zero of a defensive presence; but there not on the court to play great defense, there around to put the ball in the hoop but during these playoffs neither one has been scoring consistent enough to eliminate a young-inexperienced-shaky Atlanta Hawk team. Pierece is cocky and has never been as good as he thinks he is and Ray is a good person and teammate but he's always been a one-dimensional player--a jump shooter who has never been comfortable with creating his own shot. It all comes down to this, Boston should have ended this series in 4 games, a 1 seed against an 8 seed, and been well rested for the 2nd round. But now there going to enter the 2nd round tired and mentally wary; with Lebron James and the Cavaliers waiting to apply more pressure to the Big 3 

It looks like the Celtics are going to avoid the biggest upset in NBA Playoff history (there crushing the Hawks by 34 towards the end of the 3rd qtr.) and avoid joining their cross town peers, New England Patriots, as the biggest 'choke jobs' in professional sports history. But there not out of the woods yet, anything short of the NBA title will be a disaster in the eyes of Bostonians and once again they'll have to travel over to Fenway Park to see how a real Championshipteam closes the deal. 

Atanta Hawks have nothing to hang there head about, there playing with House Money right now, nobody expected this group to be playing a game 7, they've exceeded expectation and in doing so have jump-started a franchise that was boring and lifeless for the last 15 years. Expect to see the Atlanta Hawks making a lot of 'noise' in the Eastern Conference for the forseeable future and in 5 years time they'll be able to look back on the 2008 playoffs and thank the Championship-less Boston 3 for indirectly re-starting the ascension of their Franchise

 

Here are some team evaluations and predictions now that the 2008 NFL Draft is over

Miami: Jake Long, a nice safe/reliable pick but he's already to stiff and slow to play left tackle in the NFL and he hasn't even attended his first OTA....he'll eventually be moved to the less pressured side of the line Right Tackle, I say in 2 years time, but by then the Dolphins will have paid him the amount money that's equivalent to a Hall of Fame expectant career of a Left Tackle. But does all of this really matter because when it's all said and done Miami wil still be n last place in their division for the next few years(Parcells has a huge player personnel hole dig out of). Doesn't John Beck sound more like an Insurance Agent than potential starting NFL quarterback

 Atlanta:  It really didn't matter who the Falcons chose as a quarterback in the draft, he automatically became better than Michael Vick, just by walking up to the podium and shaking the commissioners hand. The Falcon organization is so ready to move on from the failed 'Vick' experiment. They gave a lot of money to a guy who was great athlete, avg. qb and who might not of been the starting qb this season anyway, even if the court issues and suspension never arises. Remember Mike was on a short leash heading into last seasons training camp with the new coaching staff because of his inability to become a all-around complete qb. Well they won't have to worry about that with their new qb Matt Ryan, he might not  be the next Tom Brady but he should at least be a Jim Kelly pro-type and the last time I checked J.Kelly was a Hall of Famer

Raiders: I guess u had no choice but to take McFadden, even though u have a ton of RB's on your roster already. He was arguably the best talent in the draft and if Al Davis passed on him and somebody like Jerry Jones scooped him up, Al would never live it down, he would be spinning in his coffin like grave-bed every night; wondering how a dynamic talent like McFadden is scoring touchdowns in a Cowboy helmet. But since Davis has been in a giving money mood all off-season, Darren comes along at a perfect time, but Raider fans I must throw caution to the wind...McFadden is a up-right hard runner, which means he's going to take a lot of hits in the NFL not to mention a few tough injuries along the way. Your lucky if u get 6 strong years out of him (by the way Viking fans are in the same predicament with their phenom Adrian Peterson)...p.s. I can't help but think that the bad karma and consistent losing won't entirely go away until they find a way to remove Mr. Al Davis from his perch, his presence alone causes a lot of uncertainty and insecurity, if you don't believe me ask coach Kiffin, Grim Reaper Davis is Bad Company

Chiefs: You had arguably the best draft of any team...alot of great talent and 5 of your picks could start on day 1 of the 2008 season. But here's the issue: you don't have a skilled all-around competent starting quarterback and your head coach is one of the worst in-game coaches the NFL has ever had under it's umbrella. NFL teams who do well year in and year out have 2 things in common, strong qb play and coaches who excel at 'game planning' and make great decisions on 'the fly', and if a team doesn't have it, the playoffs and super bowl aspirations aren't realistic at all. I'm sure we'll c the Chiefs, along with the Dolphins, picking early once again in the 2009 NFL Draft

Jets: Great job in free agency and decent draft class but unless you start Clemens at QB this year all that was done in the offseason will go to waste. Kellen is your best available and most talented on your roster and he deserves the chance to start and lead this team to respectability

Jaguars: You gave away alot in draft picks this year and next year just so u can draft 2 Defensive Ends in the first and second rounds; not a smart move considering you needed wide receiver help but that won't be the reason you guys don't succeed this year if indeed you don't make it to the AFC Championship game or Super Bowl as many analyst are predicting. It will be because your upstart qb David Garrard turns into Kordell Stewart instead of Doug Williams/Warren Moon. Garrard has good leadership skills and is very capable of managing the team  but to take the next step he's going to have to show he can Win games instead of Not lose them. This coming season will be his 2nd full season as a starter and this is the year where most starting qb's have their most difficult adjustment

Bengals: I would comment on your draft but the players on your current roster continue to make more interesting news each and every offseason. Here's a suggestion that will make this coming season and next offseason a whole lot smoother: Trade the always disgruntled and disruptive Chad Johnson now and get as many draft day 2009 picks you can and while your at it, get rid of coach Marv Lewis---his words are no longer effective in that locker room. He's flip-flopped so much thru the years that no player or employee of that organization can respectively look him in the face and say "we're behind you 100%"

Patriots: Who needs a draft when u have hidden video-cameras helping you out

Bills: Good draft, you went out and got help for your upstart newly crowned franchise qb Trent Edwards; he's showed more poise in his rookie year than J.P. Losman did his entire career

Panthers: I guess somewhere in the draft meeting rooms of Panther Pantheon there is a formula where getting a ton of  Running Backs out weighs draftng a QB in the early rounds. Jake Delhomme is in the twilight of his career and it was time to draft a prospect to replace him instead Steve Smith will be seen, once again, frustrated and pissed on the sidelines because come week 10 of this season the Panthers will be well out of playoff contention

Bears: Hey Lovie!! Your entering the year with Rex GRossman as your #1 QB, and you had the nerve and audacity to not draft a QB in either the first or second round. ARE YOU CRAZY?! No wonder Brian Urlacher is screaming to get out of town. Thank God you have Devin Hester on your squad because if u didn't there would be no reason to look at any Bear postgame highlights this coming season

Cardinals: U have a new stadium, new coach, several new talented draft picks  and new-found energy within your fanbase and organization. But what u don't have is a Franchise QB and I feel sorry for the other hard working players on the team because they deserve better than that. I know you Drafted Matt Leinart to be that franchise qb but he's far from it, he's already a bust but I'm sure he's going to get several more chances over the next 2 years to refute that 'Bust' title but unfortunately his 'Hollywood-ism' will spoil all attempts. What I see is a guy who's unfocused and undisciplined; he also has soft throwing mechanics, immoble in the pocket and worst of all likes giving alcohol to underage college girls...that has the career of Ryan Leaf written all over it

Ravens: I  like the QB choice in the first round, he has a great arm-tall-and great leadership skills...the only problem is by the time he develops into a franchise QB, your defense will be old and outdated

Saints: I can't say I dislike anything you did this year or in years past in relation to the draft. My problem has no direct person or situation to blame thats why I feel ackward making this statement but it has to be made. As much as u and a lot of other people in the NFL world want Reggie Bush to be this dynamic all-pro future hall of famer player it is most certain not to happen. At best he'll be a super-sized Eric Metcalf type of 15 years ago. Bush does a lot things well but he's not great at any one thing, which means when the dust settles (which should be somewhere towards the middle of this season) you can expect him to be a High Profile utility player who will see the ball come to him only during special team moments and 3rd down situations. That's quite minimal and 'bust' like for a guy who was drafted #2 overall

Steelers: You had 2 dream-like gifts drop to you in round 1 and 2. I don't blame you for passing on your glaring needs of an Offensive and Defensive Linemen. Mendenhall and Sweed will only make Ben Roethlisberger that much better this year and believe me he's going to need it, your schedule is the toughest in the entire league on paper. Expect a lot of fireworks at Heinz Field this season

Game 4 is over and the Nuggets just got swept by the Lakers and everybody on that team, including coaching staff, should be fired and replaced…for various reasons...but mainly for this: selfishness; arrogance; individualism; cry-babying and the overall ability to look like a high school J.V. team when it comes to playing defense

George Karl should be fired because the team is no longer listening or responding to his aloof style of coaching; Carmelo Anthony should no longer be considered a Star or Young Super Star on the 'come up' in this league....He's one dimensional, lazy and a '*hit-talker', I now consider 'Melo just a regular NBA Player that's getting way too much $; Allen Iverson should be allowed to play out the rest of his contract and then 'walk' in free agency....His style of play doesn't fit and his attitude is crappy. The only player that might can be spared on that team is Marcus Camby, he plays hard most of the time and he's essentially a 'one-man band' on the court, his teammates can't and won't help because they have no discipline.

I'll give much credit to the Lakers because they played well and they deserve the win but most of the blame goes to the Denver Nugget Players and that horrible coaching staff. David Stern should disband that team (along with a few other select NBA Franchises) and let it be known, they won't be allowed back into the league until they display professionalism on and off the court

 

 

Let me be the first, or nearly the first, to predict that the 2008 Summer Olympics in China are going to be a total disaster from a P.R. perspective. After watching the many roadblocks the 'Running of the Olympic Torch' went through over the last few weeks due to protesting of China's human rights laws, that is the only logical conclusion. And to be quite honest there's nothing the Olympic Committee, Beijing Law officials or NBC (who's airing the entire Olympics) can do about it

The only people to blame in this whole debacle is the committee who chose China as a host city 10 years ago, if they didn't see the protesting, marches and fights coming then, they do now. Of course it's debatable that protesting in the 21st century is still an effective force to get your point across to the 'MAN', like it was in the 60's and early 70's but it really doesn't matter at this point becaue organizations across this vast world continue to do them and you best believe they will be in full force during those 3 1/2 weeks this August....even if NBC chooses to avoid airing any coverage of it, like we know they will, the protestors will be LOUD AND DISRUPTIVE off camera 

In a way I support the protestors mission statements, the China human rights laws need to be dealt with immediately, but for the most part I side with the many athletes from around the world who will be attending these Olympics to fullfill a life-long dream, they will have to deal with this distraction literally and figuratively and it's not fair to them and their families who will be there to support. The Human Rights issue in China should of been resolved before any privelege of Olympic Hosting was considered for Beijing

There will be a ton of Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals handed out this Summer but there will also be a fourth--only this one will be covered in Blood

Nobody on this planet is given the Denver Nuggets a prayers chance in this first round series against the Lakers. That's why I believe they have every bit of an opportunity to stretch this series to 6 or 7 games and run off with a series win

There's no pressure on Denver at all, there suppose to get  crushed by the more superior Laker Team (I"m not sure how that analysis is possible, the only players on the Lakers team who has experience of being clutch in the playoffs is Kobe and Fisher and the rest of the crew is either inexperienced or have shown no ability to hold gut-check composure in a playoff atmosphere), so the Nuggets will be playing care-free, u best believe that!

We all know the Nuggets have zero team discipline and no-championship type defense to speak of but they can Score with the best, so I'm expecting a 100 plus point a night output from them, lets see if the Lakers can keep up and play like a #1 overall seed!!!

Wow, what a difference 8 months makes for a star athlete like Mr. Kobe 'Bean' Bryant. He's enjoying another All-Star season, a potential MVP of the league season, his team is arguably the best the NBA has to offer-as I write-and most importantly Kobe seems to be smiling and having fun while playing the game he grew up loving. That's great to see but it's a stark contrast to what Kobe was feeling and saying during the summer of '07, when he was crying and ####ing about 'not wanting to be a Laker'

Nobody wants to hold Kobe accountable but I will

If Kobe would of just shut his mouth, kept things internal and played out the string of his contract then at least he would of shown more maturity and team leadership as oppose to going on every radio station in America crying the 'blues' about being misled and lied to by Laker mgt. I'm sure there was truth to some of what Kobe was saying but in my opinion if u feel as though your team is not following through on their promises then exercise the 'opt-out' clause that all Stars have specifically written into your contract (Players like Tim Duncan, with D. Wade and L. James next in line, have used that leverage wisely by letting his team know that 'yes' I'll sign a Max deal but I'm going to put my opt out at 3 or 4 years just in case u decide to NOT give me help in trying to win a championship )

Kobe will have the option to be a free agent after the '08-'09 season where he would be free to sign with any other team willing to pay him big bucks (and lets be honest there would of been plenty of teams reaching for her services) so last summer, during the heat of his frustration, all he had to do was keep cool, do what he's been doing, play out the last 2 years then opt out at the age of 31 and be done with the Laker organization. And you know who would of looked like the fools in the whole ordeal, the Lakers, not Kobe. But instead Kobe at this point and time is playing the 'Fair-Whether' player; happy and gleeful because the Lakers are winning but with that he's already proven he can pout, moan and refuse to shoot the ball for an entire 2nd half with the best of 'em when the team isn't doing what he thinks it should be doing

Super-star players are built with the strong mindset that they know they can endure the bad and good of an organization with extreme poise. Decision making is high on their list, that's what made Magic, Jordan, Russell and Bird great...On and Off the court. Fans are ready to anoint Kobe in that category but I'm not sure he should be, he hasn't earned it

 

p.s.

I really hope Kobe Bryant gets his much deserved MVP trophy this year because starting next year ('08-'09 season) Mr. Lebron 'King' James is going to start a string of MVP seasons that might not ever be matched (can u say 4 or 5 in a row). Lebron, is starting to show the skilled dominance that I predicted he would have once he mastered the superior focus on the defensive and offensive ends of the court. I'm not sure how many championship rings he's going to win but I know barring any major injury, starting next year Lebron will clearly be the best the NBA has to offer in terms of individual effort   

Every off-season NFL fans are sent into a state of 'Player Acquisition Fanatical Frenzy' because they see their respective team acquire players that, on paper, look like they are the missing piece to a Super Bowl Run. To that I say, "slow down, breathe and don't drink all the championship kool-aid"; you can drink a little bit of it but most of it u should leave in the cellar and let it mature some more before re-opening

As a fan I use to fall into that frenzied player mindset but thru time I've learned that for the most part, players added during the off-season are only a small complimentary, albeit sometime effective, piece to a team; and if ur team doesn't have a strong base of players already and a solid-firm Draft philosophy, you'll be sitting at home during the playoffs watching another team succeed

(The Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos are a good example of teams that have made a  lot of noise during free-agency but continue to come up empty in the Vince Lombardi Trophy category)

So look at these added players with a bit of skepticism NFL fans, u don't really know until the first ball is drop kicked in week 1 of the regular season and even then u still might not know. It might take another 4 to 6 weeks until u properly evaluate if that free agent player ur team signed in March is really helping or hampering the overall team effort

And history has repeatedly told us that most of these free agent signings err on the side of disappointment; ur better off looking at ur teams 2nd and 3rd string players if u really want immediate help!

 

With deep sadness I, along with countless other Die-Hard Steeler fanz, say 'bye now' to a sports icon that I only got a chance to know though reading the varied Pittsburgh Newspapers online. Not growing up in the 'burgh and only visiting a few times in my voyeuristic life I was cheated out of one the biggest pleasures a native Steeler fan could hang his hard-hat on every Sunday: 'Myron Cope-ism's'

THAT RASPY VOICE AND DOUBLE YOI CATCH PHRASE ARE ONE OF THE BEST IN RADIO BROACAST HISTORY....you'll never hear anything like it again, so many of the present day and up and coming TV journalist go out of their way to say unique phrases because of pioneers like Myron, Harry Carey, and others of that era

Damn! I'm jealous and envious, I never had a chance to be in his presence, never heard a full Steeler cope-by-cope broadcast, didn't even meet a person who had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Cope or shake his hand; All I get of Myron are a few audio soundbites and numerous articles written in his behalf detailing his brilliance as a columnist and radio personality

Well that's what I get for being born somewhere instead of Western Pennsylvania, I guess some things in life aren't Free!

Wuz Upper Laker Fanz

You have every reason to be in a state of euphoria right now, Mitch Kupchak turned into Jerry West for a day and turned a trade that will benefit the Lakers for years to come!

 (And to give more credit where credit is due, I'll compliment Mitch 'one more' for not making that Jason Kidd trade that the whole world felt like he should of did a year ago...Jason is a great point guard but he's a liability as a scorer and some nights he's good for ZERO pts and 10 assists, that's down right horrible on a team like the Lakers where they needed a consistent 2nd scorer more than they needed a distributor--and before you say it, I'll stop u right now and say 'No, Lamar Odom is not the 2nd scorer most Laker Fans thing he is, Odom is overrated and to passive to be the dominant player fans keep saying he's going to become'...Kobe alone is the floor leader for the Lakers and a Pt. Guard like Jason would have only made things uncomfortable on the court)

But before u book championship victory parade tickets for the Lakers your going to have to wait another year becuase despite what the critics are barking (especially here in L.A. where everybody and their mother is drinking the purple and gold kool-aid) the Lakers HAVE NOT ARRIVED...Pau Gasol hasn't completed an injury free season in 3 or 4 years and despite Bynum's early season success before his injury, he's just now learning how to play like a real 'big man' and he has a few more learning curves to drive around before it really starts clicking in his head that he's 'the man'. Not to mention he's only 20 and never benefitted from learning from a great college coach on the fundamentals of hoops--he's just learning that now as a 3rd year pro

In the meantime Laker Fans, enjoy a nice, much longer playoff run this year but start printing the 08/09 NBA Western Conference Champ. Round tickets now and expect your team to make an appearance and u never know they might be in position to hang another World Champ. Banner @ Staples...U think that will be enough to prevent Krying Kobe from opting out of his contract?