Being a sports fan is as akin to an epic battle between good and evil as most of us will ever get. Sports are supposed to be black and white. In a world where everything is a shade of gray, sports continue to be that haven where we know who the good guy is (our team) and who the bad guy is (our rival) and that is one of the things that makes sports great, this clear dichotomy. There aren't any questions, no blurred edges, just simple absolutes.

Think about a sports world without rivalries, without this completely made up scheme of good and evil teams. Think of college ball without Duke and UNC hating each other, the NFL if Packers fans suddenly rooted for the Bears, if the Yanks and Red Sox went out and had a BBQ together. It's not only boring, but scary, almost sickening. It would kill sports, taking the suspense and emotion out of the game. Sports need heros, but even more importantly, sports need villians. Without the villians, without that guy, that team to root against, to, dare I say, HATE, our heros become nothing. They have nothing to fight against, to define themselves with. If we lose our villians, we lose our heros as well. Imagine Batman without the Joker, Frodo without Sauron, hell, Harry Potter without Voldemort, and what do you have left, a dude in a lot of spandex, leather and a cape, a short guy with big feet prancing about and worrying about his ring and a nerdy kid in glasses.

I wrote a blog a couple days ago blasting Kobe for not getting the surgery done on his finger, I called his decision stupid and short sighted, which it is and I confessed to being a Kobe hater, to which a number of people took major offense and explained to me why Kobe is great and why I suck harder than Paris Hilton on a Friday night. The truth is, I need a guy like Kobe to "hate" on and Kobe perfectly fits the bill.

I'm a Jazz fan, at first because of John Stockton and now because of Jerry Sloan. They worked hard, fought every night, put everything on the table and got the most out of their talents. Out of any person, any player, coach, manager, etc .  . . currently in the league I respect Jerry Sloan the most. He embodies everything I think is great about sports: defense, teamwork, a hard nosed, put your shoulder to the wheel work ethic. He took his minimal talents and turned them into a carrer at Chicago in which he got his number retired. He's also loyal, having stayed with the Jazz for a couple decades now. Because of him, I love the Jazz, and due to our continual lack of championships makes us Jazz fans fairly insecure. . .  and then there are those dang blasted Lakers who have more banners than anyone except Boston (who are on the East coast so a rivalry is impossible) and still want more, more, more. Them with their Hall of Fame coach and continual stream of exceptional talent. Everyone wants to play for the Lakers. No one wants to play for the Jazz and of course, the Lakers don't even realize Utah is their rival, we hardly come up as a blip on the radar. You can see where this is going. They're the Goliath to our David and we're pretty darn jealous. So  the Lakers are the team I must hate. They're the villian in this league.

I've felt this way forever, hating on Magic (whom I respect and consider one of the five best players in the history of the league) when I was a kid, then Shaq, then Kobe, even Vlade Divoc was in there at one point, the chain smoking ####. But Kobe made the best villian of them all. He's good. He's cocky. He was selfish (notice the past tense). He blew off a screen by Karl Malone in the All-Star game to go one on one. He thinks he is better than everyone, which makes him a perfect fit for the Lakers. The league had its villian and he played the role perfectly. The perfect villian on the perfectly de####able team. Its every sports fan's secret dream.

But the truth of the matter is that Kobe is that good. The truth is, as much as I hate on him, I respect him. He holds most of the qualities of Jerry Sloan. He believes in defense. He plays smart. He works hard, harder than almost anyone in the league. He's gotten the most out of his talent. He goes to work everyday and puts it on the line. But he was still selfish, that was until last year, when he finally learned to pass and get his teammates involved. He can be a bit of a nut case, but when you get down to it, when you take away all the animosity and just look at him as a basketball player, you cannot help but respect him. You may not like him as a person, but if you truly like basketball, if you love sports, you cannot help but be amazed by him, or dare I say, like him.

Really, at this moment, my dislike for Kobe stands mostly on his being a Laker, for him playing for that most gastly of teams. If I close my eyes and imagine Kobe in, say, a Sun's uniform (a team I like) I can see myself liking him. Put him in a Jazz uniform and I'd love him and that scares me. I'm losing my villian. I'm losing that guy to hate on. I need Kobe to be a jerk. I need him to go off on his teammates. I need him to be a villian as much as I need Jerry Sloan or Deron Williams to play the hero and I suppose I'm reaching out as far as I can to hold onto it because if all of us "Kobe haters" lose our villian, the story is over, the NBA becomes far less interesting. We bemoan Kobe. We call him classless. We profess our hatred of him, but really we need him in order to complete our sport's world. Without Kobe the villian all of us non-Laker fans lose the best bad guy the league's seen in years. It's like Star Wars without Darth Vadar and who wants to see that. Not me. So Kobe keep being a jerk, start being selfish again and play that villian role you fit so perfectly because I can hardly keep myself from turning to the dark side.

I'm not a Laker fan. I'm not a Kobe fan. In all truth, I always relish the Lakers getting their backsides served on a silver platter, but that doesn't mean I hate watching Kobe play. He's as smart and as amazing of a ball player since Jordan and, truth be told, I need someone to hate, I mean, what's sports without the bad guy anyway. But, I just cannot stand it when great players let their egos get in the way and they make stupid decisions: Hakeen the Dream playing two too many years, Ewing doing the same, almost every decision Stephon Marbury has made in the last five years, the list goes on and on and on and on, that's why I hate to see Kobe putting off this surgery, that and if he were to go under the knife the Lakers would be even better in the long run.

I know this because I've had essentially the same injury (a little bit worse) as the Kobester on my left middle finger. When I was 15, I played football, reciever, not that I was any good, of course. I was too slow to play anything above thrid string. You might as well have given me a towel and a few bottles of water and I would have been more helpful to my team, but I liked playing, so I went to practice, worked my butt off and got yelled at by my coach, who didn't seem to realize I just couldn't run any faster. In practice one day I was running a slant route with the starting quaterback, who threw the ball much, much faster than the scrubs I was used to playing with. I turned my head and the ball was just there. I put up my hands and grabbed the ball, but my finger was still bent as I made the catch. In about ten minutes my later my finger was three times bigger than it was supposed to be and my left had was all but useless. I told my coach I thought my finger was broken. He told me to walk it off and sent me into the weight room to do pull-up, which are virtually impossible without a working middle finger (he yelled at me for this too, but what kind of coach would he have been had he not). I showed the finger to my dad when he picked me up from practice. He told me it was sprained. I showed it to my mom. She said she'd take me to the doctor the next day if it didn't look better. I went outside and played basketball. The next day my finger had somehow gotten even bigger and was now a rather remarkable shade of violet.

Several X-Rays and a specialist later, I was told my finger was broken in two places, the top part of the nuckle was floating about half an inch from where it should have been and there was significant ligiment damage. The prognosis was surgery to be scheduled within the next week and no, I repeat, no football, no basketball, no karate, no boxing, or no fun, in other words. Long story short, somehow my doctor was cinvinced the surgery was not needed, so he set my finger back to somewhat normal, gave me a splint and told me to take it easy, which I did not, being a stupid 15 year old. I found myself playing a full on game of tackle football without pads the next day, basketball the next and so on and so on.

I am now 26. The finger took six months to become funtional again. For a year the ligaments would tighten up if they weren't in use for more than a minute and I would have to manually bend my finger with my other hand, which hurt like breaking it again, every dang time. Eleven years later that finger still gives me problems. It doesn't quite bend right, nor does it move as fast as my other fingers (killing my guitar hero dreams). It isn't as strong and if I use it very much I still hurts. Simply put, the ligiments did not heal correctly and I've been paying for it ever since. Had I taken that summer off, had I gone in for the surgery, done therapy and actually let it heal as oppossed to reinjuring it over and over again, never letting it get better, my finger might actually work right. Not wanting to take 12 weeks to take care of it then had caused me problems for 11 years and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

And this is where Kobe comes in. If he gets the surgery now, he's out for 12 weeks. That means he'll miss the first month of the season. Big freakin' deal. The Lakers are good enough without him to hover around .500 and then go on a run when he gets back and ending up as the 3rd seed in the West. If he doesn't get the surgery he risks limiting his effectiveness as the finger gets worse, increasing the damage and therefore increasing his recovery time for when he absolutely must fix his finger, which could be in the middle of the season or right before the playoffs or even in the playoffs. The best time of the year to miss games is at the first, so if you have to, do it then, don't put it off so you are out longer, when it matters. What's worse is that an injury like Kobe's can potentially shorten his career or at the very least limit his effectiveness, unless he gets it taken care of. Kobe's refusal to get the surgery is not a valent show of strength, it is not to be praised. This is a classic case of someone morgaging the future for a very short term oppurtunity. I absolutely gaurantee that if Kobe doesn't get the surgery within the year he'll regret it and he'll regret it for the rest of his life, just like I do with my own stupid decision with a surgery of my own

I'm sorry Nellie and everyone out in the Bay area, but the playoff seedings are fine just the way they are. I wouldn't change a thing.

I know its not fair. I know that if Golden State were in the East that they would have finished with the fourth best record. Blah, Blah, Blah. I know. I know. And I know I'm a week late about the post, but in the last couple days I've watched some absolutely fabulous playoff basketball (and some not so good ball) and all it has done has reconfirmed my belief that the best thing that could have happened this year would have been for a 48 win team to miss the playoffs.

There is, of course, the most obvious reason why the current seeding structure is great, that the last 20-25 games of nine of the teams were all incredibly important and many had that incredible playoff atmosphere and that alone should make us all happy that we don't just get the top 16 teams in the league. Yet, there are smaller, hidden reasons why this was so great and the first is that Golden State fans should be incredibly pleased.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Nellie ball, while interesting to some is not a very effective way to play and as such is dependent far too much on wild shots falling. As well, the team is incredibly dependent on the magnificence of Baron Davis who, much like Rasheed Wallace, can be a top five player in the league, but only when he feels like it. He's got to be properly motivated. Last year when it looked like they wouldn't make the playoffs, he turned it on and they scraped in. This year when it became apparant that a .500 record would likely be a ninth or tenth seed, he (and the rest of the team) had to keep their focus and the result was better play. They ran out of steam at the end, but as a result, they probably won five or six more games than a less focused team would have. This team also is a playoff level team who has a lottery pick and a chance at the first pick. In the long run, if they can keep the team together, this helps them and come on, they probably wouldn't have made it out of the first round anyway, since they wouldn't have played Dallas. (They probably would have played San Antonio) When you look at it, assuming they won 5 extra games (as guess I know) chances are they ended up winning more games than they would have had they gone to the playoffs, since they probably would have lost without making up those five games. So there you go, a silver lining.

It isn't just the Warriors who should be happy either. The same goes for the Jazz. When you look at the teams they've lost against, you realize they play far better against the best teams and much worse against the bad teams. This means they play to their competition and, to an extent, in response to the pressure put on them. If they are placed in must win situations, they play great. If they're placed in a situation where there is no external motivation, they come out flat and lose. As a result, Utah probably won 5-7 more games than they would have otherwise due to their  increased focus. I think the same is true for New Orleans, just not quite to the same extent.

San Antonio fans should also rejoice. Due to the competive nature of the West they don't have a huge target on their heads and are, to an extent, flying under the radar. Sure people say they have to go through them, but these people are also thinking of every other team too. No one is getting overlooked (except for maybe Denver)

Then there is the East where we get to see another Washington/Cleveland series (I enjoy rematches) and the better teams in the East don't have to worry about any of the teams in the West knocking them out early. This is great for ratings too since the majority of the people in the U.S. live in the East. Take out two eastern teams altogether and then all but 3-4 after the first round and ratings drop.

As for the seedings, assuming I'm wrong about certain team's records being better because of the added motivation, lets look at how the seedings would have worked out. I'm going to assume that since they get rid of the conferences, they'll also get rid of the rule that gives teams at least a fourth seed for winning their division. As such, Utah's seeding drops quite a bit and Houston and Pheonix go up. I'd work out a system where division leaders still get this bonus, but that'd take too much time and I don't know how they'd work it out. It's easier this way. Here are the first round match-ups

1. Boston vs 16. Portand

2.Detroit. vs 15. Toronto

3. L.A. vs. 14. Washington

4. New Orleans 13. Cleveland

5. San Antonio 12. Golden State

6.  Houston 11. Denver

7.  Pheonix 10. Dallas

8. Utah 9. Orlando

Granted, this should make some people in the West happy, especially Utah, because they'd get homecourt and there are some interesting match-up, but all around I just don't see as interesting of a playoffs coming out of this, aside from the Portland-Boston first round match-up. The Detroit-Toronto series has potential, but Philadelphia matches up well against Detroit and as the first games suggested there is much potential in Philly, but how could anyone tell me Utah against Orlando is better than Houston-Utah. There is so much history between those two teams that goes back fifteen years from the times when they faced each other every year and the winner went on to win the west. Or how about the San Antonio-Pheonix series that just had perhaps the most entertaining game of not just these playoffs, but in years. There is so much hatred in those two teams right now,that its a shame that they probably wouldn't face each other at least until late into the playoffs, and possibly never (I do guess Pheonix-Dallas is a good consolation prize, but there is a good chance they'll meet in the second round anyway and and an even better chance of seeing a San Antonio-Dalls rematch from two years ago). And speaking of San Antonio, really, does anyone in Golden State want to make the playoffs just to get killed by the Spurs. There are two, maybe three teams in the league they absolutely do not match up against and one is the Spurs (the other is the Jazz).

The truth is that if we were to desolve the current playoff sceme, no matter how unfair it may seem we'd kill far too much history. Rivalries would die. The chances of seeing rematches would diminish simply because the chances of meeting the same team over and over again would mathmatically drop in half. Sure this year two teams with sub-.500 records made the playoff, but statistically one team below .500 is going to make the playoffs anyway (There are 30 teams and a mathmatically average team win exactly half its games. A completely average team averages out to be the 15th seed over a long enough time line, thus the 16th best team is slightly below average with a record of around 40-42) The current situation is not much different and if we'd changed it, we would have missed out on a hell of a lot of good basketball.

Finally, I'm reminded of a scene from The Simpsons. A teacher says, "Now children, what do we call it when everyone is equal." and the children reply, "Communism" The current system creates competition on multiple levels. This year it resulted in the West being important for a quater of the season, but every year we see double the amount of teams vying for the last spots (two spot vs. one spot), which causes double the amount of teams competing to just make it into the playoffs, which at the end of the season are historically the most important, and as such the most interesting, games. As well, you see twice the amount of teams fighting for the first spot. Make it a 16 team all out playoff and you lose some competion and, as the capitalist I am, I just don't like that idea. Sure occasionally, you get a 48 win team that doesn't make it, but then again, you get a 48 win team that doesn't make it and just how awesome is that.

With the All-Star break upon us I believe I am legally obligated to make my predictions for the rest of the season, remark on all of the giant trades and otherwise say a whole lot of stuff people will disagree with. These people are then legally bound to call me an ####, question my sanity and accuse me of using drugs. Who am I to boldly scoff in the face of the law. So here we go.

(Due to my longwindedness, I've bolded each topic making it easy to skip any prattle you don't give a rat's #### in the wind about)

Let's begin with the major trades and how they are going to work out.

Shaq to Pheonix - Whether or not this trade works out, it will be very interesting to watch Shaq try to keep up with Nash, but if you were to ask me, I'd say I think this is going to hurt Pheonix more than helps it. Why? Because the playing styles do not match. Remember when Memphis was a playoff team instead of a joke. They got there with an offense set up around Pau Gasol who is a half court player. When they tried to go to a run and gun style, Pau (although his numbers were still good) was no where near as effective. This is probably going to happen here and on a couple of major fronts. The most obvious is that Shaq is too old and too slow to run, run, run. But the second has far more to do with Steve Nash. Nash is not a half-court, set offsense type guard. Sure, he can run the pick and roll with the best of them, but he is at his best and most creative in the open court and with Shaq in the mix, they are going to become a far more half-court based team. I think Nash will struggle if he has to be more disicplined. Shaq and Nash simply are not suited to play with each other. Of course there is the obvious upside of having Shaq in his defense and rebounding, except that Marion is a better rebounder than Shaq and guys like Duncan and Boozer are quick or fundamentally sound enough to exploit Shaq's lack of lateral movement. A better move for the Suns would have been to try and get Elton Brand from Golden State. But I could be wrong and if I am, then yeah for Pheonix.

Gasol to the Lakers - This, in my opinion makes the Lakers the team to beat in the West, but what is most intriguing here is that everyone thinks that Memphis got completely hosed and I disagree. Gasol was not happy in Memphis and it showed in his game. They simply had to move him. So, why not trade to Chicago who could give them more players? The reason, Marc Gasol, Pau's younger brother and the MVP of the Spanish league. Chicago couldn't offer him. I know he was a second round pick and who knows when he'll come to the NBA, but some scouts have said he's better than his brother. Throw in Javaris Crittenton, a potentially excellent point/shooting guard who can give them some depth and the cap space that will be opened up after Kwame's nine million dollar contract runs out at the end of the season and Memphis's future isn't all that bad, (assuming Marc can make the transition from Europe to the NBA). I still would have rather have had Pau go to Chicago, but that's mostly because I hate the Lakers.

Why Kidd should go to Dallas - I know it doesn't make much sense to trade an up and coming speedy point guard, multiple veterns, a three point threat and a pretty decent big man for an old, jaded, slow point guard, who can't shoot and has never won a championship, but it needs to be done. Why? Because Kidd possesses one thing all those other guys don't have, a set off nuts the size of your head. Dallas's biggest biggest problem is not their talent or the abiltiy of the team to work together. It is their heads. They don't have that killer instinct you need to win and Dirk is not going to develop it. Kidd gives them that ruthlessness, that lust to go for the throat when their enemy is down. And when you think about it, it's not a bad trade for Dallas. They lose a decent point guard, but get a better one. George and Stackhouse are old role players, etc. . .  and they don't have to give up any of their three best players; Dirk, Terry and Howard. Trust me, if they don't make the trade they'll make an early playoff exit again. They could get the the Western Conference finals and maybe, if they are really lucky, to the finals, with him. Could they win the championship? Anything is possible, but don't bet on it.

The long-term effects of these trades and the Western Conference - No matter how you look at it, the Shaq trade in Pheonix will leave the Suns a lottery team in two years. Expect them to be in rebuilding mold soon. Dallas will have to do the same thing in the next year or two despite the results of the Kidd trade. If they get him, they'll have to rebuild in two years. If they don't they'll blow the team up this year or next. The Lakers appear to be the new powerhouse in the West and for the next 4 years are going to be scary good. In three years the top five teams in the West will be L.A., Utah, Portland, New Orleans, Spurs. (S.A. is here because of Pop.)

The West wins the All-Star Game. No one cares

MVP - Kobe: Although I hate to say it, Kobe wll probably be this year's MVP. His Lakers are serious title contenders, they're exceding expectations and he's finally seeming to have grown up and become a leader instead of a scorer. His points are down, as are his shots, but the offense is not being so bogged down with him handling the ball too much and he's been playing steller defense because he doesn't concentrate so much on offense.

Runners up -

LeBron James - James's numbers are as good as there is and at such a young age he already has the maturity and knowledge to know what his team needs and then he gives it. He wants his teamates involved and is one of the best passing forwards in the game. He's become clutch and his free throw shooting is somewhat improved, but he still is a liability on defense (due not to his inablility to play defense (he locked up Kobe earlier in the year) but because he has to focus so much on offense). He's also really young and will probably win an MVP later on so those who vote for this award will be less likely to vote for him over Kobe.

Kevin Garnett - Garnett should probably get it because of how he is the anchor for the Celtics, but his numbers are down and the C's are still winning in his absence. Plus, he's already got an MVP trophy which will probably sway a few voters away from him.

Coach of the Year - Doc Rivers - It's kind of a no brainer. He's got the best team in the league and is making three super stars work together.

Runners up - Byron Scott - In all reality, he should be the coach of the year, but he has two things working against him. He doesn't coach in Boston and his Hornets won't even be the best team in the West. It is a shame that people don't see that Doc's ability to keep his superstars playing together has to do more with Garnett's attitude and lack of ego than anything else.

Nate McMillan - Portland's run a month ago speaks volumes about their coach. They have exceded expectations further than any other team (they were figured to maybe win 25-30 games) and for such a young team they are poised. It's a shame that Portland is in the West, because if they played in the East they'd be the #3 seed (they'd have more wins) instead of a lottery team and McMillian would get serious consideration.

Sixth-Man - Manu Ginobli - Just because I can't spell his name doesn't mean he won't win it. Everyone loves Manu, (except everyone who doesn't like the Spurs)

Runner up ; Kyle Korver - I know he won't win it, or probably even get any votes, but he is one of the main reasons Utah is the hottest team in the league. (They are 17-3 since he came on board. They were 16-16 when they traded for him) No bench player in the league is more important to their team right now than Kyle Korver. He should win this.

Most-Improved Player - Dwight Howard - He's a superstar now. He wasn't last year.

Runner up - Ronnie Brewer - He went from a bench warmer to the starting two guard on one of the best teams in the league. His minutes are doubled and his production has tripled. He won't win the award because he plays in Utah and Howard's improvement has been advertised much more.

Defense Player of the Year - Kevin Garnett - He's holding down the league's best defense.

Runner up - Marcus Camby - How can the league's best defender be on such a cruddy defensive team. He can't, so he won't win that honor again.

Rookie of the Year -Kevin Durant - No rookie even comes to his production, but, of course, no rookie shoots as much, gets as much time, touches the ball as often or has been so hyped.

Runner up - Al Harford - Yeah, let's put him as the runner up. Why not?

Most surprising good team - Hornets - Most of us figured them to be near the bottom of the playoff picture. No one expected them to be this good. I still can't quite grasp it.

Runners up - Portland - Much better than advertised,

Most Disappointing Team - Chicago - I had them picked as the third seed in the East. Holy #### was I wrong.

Runner up: Miami - Yeah, i figured they'd be bad, but this bad?

Playoffs

West

1. Lakers - With Gasol, Bynum, and Odom, they have a top three front court in the league. With Kobe and Fisher, they have a top three backcourt . Their bench is also pretty dang good.

2. Spurs - Expect San Antonio to steam roll the competition after the All-Star break. Their Rodeo Road Trip was a success and the time off should allow them to heal.

3. Hornets - I'm going out on a limb and expecting them to stay healthy. If they do, they'll be as dangerous as any team out there. However they are young and are bound to drop a couple games they shouldn't and will get bumped out of first place.

4. Jazz - The best thing that could have happened for Utah (aside from picking up Kyle Korver) was Deron Williams getting snubbed at the All-Star game. Dude's been on a tear and Utah will continue to thrive while he's got a chip on his shoulder.

5. Mavericks - Whether or not they pick up Kidd, the West is just too tight. If they don't get Kidd, they'll slip. If they pick up Kidd, they'll lose a couple games in the transition. In the West that will drop you a couple spots.

6. Suns- They're 3-2 since the trade but one was a one point win at home against a depleted Washington. They could have easily been 2-3 or worse since the trade. You can't afford to do that in the West. Shaq's transition into the team will also cost them a game or two and who knows if two diametrically oppossed playing styles (Nash and Shaq) can work together.

7. Rockets - I think they're finally hitting their stride and have figured out the new offense. Now if McGrady could just stay healthy . . .

8. Nuggets - It's hard to imagine a team with two of the four best scorers in the league and the leagues best shot blocker not making the playoffs, so here are the Nuggets, just scraping in past the Warriors by a game.

Almost-rans - Golden State -The Warriors will be 7-10 games above .500 and not make the playoff. Portland - They will finish with a record of 43-39 and are the tenth seed. Wow!

1st round

Lakers v Nuggets - Lakers in six games, but man alive will they be great games.

Spurs v Rockets - Spurs in seven. McGrady fails to make it past the first round again.

Hornets v. Suns - The Hornets have the Suns number. New Orlean in six.

Jazz v Mavericks - If Kidd is there, Dallas in seven. If not Utah in six. We'll say Utah because Kidd probably won't be traded.

2nd round

Lakers v Jazz - Utah cannot guard this team, Lakers in five.

Spurs v Hornets - Experience will win. Spurs in six.

3rd round

Lakers v Spurs - Timmy plays a stellar series but cannot hold the fort. Lakers in seven.

East

1. Boston - It's a no brainer. Oh, yeah and their bench is not too shabby

2. Detroit - Still the team to beat in the East. Their bench is getting better and better. They just don't have the best record.

3. Orlando - They aren't really the third best team in the East, that's Cleveland, but as of right now they are three games ahead of Cleveland and Cleveland won't quite overtake them.

4.  Toronto - They're the best team no one is talking about.

5. Cleveland - With LeBron they are the third best team in the East. With out him, they might as well be Miami. LeBron will miss another game for a sprained something and it will cost them two seeds and homecourt in the first round.

6. Hawks - Bibby will give this team some leadership and experience, which might make them halfway decent on the road.

7. 76ers - I keep telling people they're better than they look. The new A.I. is a Scottie Pippen wanna be, Andre Miller is an underrated point guard and Dalembert is a beast. They will sneak into the playoff and everyone will be stunned.

8. Washington - They're a lot better than this, but injuries to Caron Butler are going to kill them. Luckily they're in the East and can afford that. If Gilbert comes back, he's going to put a cramp in their sytle and mess up  not only the offense but their defense. They need to trade him for Elton Brand.

Also Rans - New Jersey - How quickly the mighty have fallen. With or without Kidd, they're going to free fall. That's what they get for giving Carter twice what he's worth.

Bulls - They just are not going to be able to overcome their atrocious start with this mediocre play.

1st round

Boston v. Washington - Assuming Washington is healthy by then, this will be a decent series (i.e close games) but Boston wins in five.

Detroit v. Philidelphia - Detroit will manhandle the overachieving 76ers in four games.

Orlando v. Atlanta - Orlando isn't as good as their record and Atlanta is probably better. This has upset written all over it. Atlanta in six.

Toronto and Cleveland - Toronto is the better team and has homecourt advantage. They should win it. Unfortunately for the Raptors, Lebron won't allow it. Cleveland in six.

2nd round

Boston v Cleveland - LeBron v Pierce should be good and Lebron will win that matchup. Unfortunately for the Calves that's the only thing they'll win. Boston in five.

Detroit v Atlanta - Atlanta's luck is going to run out. Oh yeah, and Detroit is really good. Detroit in five.

3rd round

Detroit v. Boston - No one is surprised by the matchup. What will surprise people is when Boston's bench out does Detroit's and Boston wins this in six games. Detroit blows up their roster during the offseason as a result.

Finals

Celtics v Lakers - It's like the 80's all over again. The Lakers will lose the first game in Boston and then win the second and  their first game in L.A, putting them up 2-1. At this point, however, fatigue is going to catch up with them after battling in the extremely difficult west. Boston takes the next game, loses the next and then forces a game seven. It is close until the last few minutes of the fourth when Boston pulls away and wins by five. The final score is 102-107. Garnett is named finals MVP.

Remember who won the All-Star game last year? No? Yeah, me niether. I'm guessing it was the West, but well, oh, who cares. I always turn the dang thing off after the first couple quaters anyway and watch the Simpsons.  And that's a shame. Here I've got arguably the best 24 basketball players in the world all in the same game and I'd rather watch a rerun of Homer thinking Bart is ####. Shame on me.

But, really,  it makes me sad that no one cares about the All-Star game. In fact, it's gotten to the point to where I'm far more interested in who wins the skills challenge than the game. So with this in mind, I have some suggestions that I believe would make for a far more entertaining weekend, and maybe, just maybe help me care again. 

(Important notice: This list is not a joke.)

1. The One-on-One challenge - As far as I can tell, the point of the All-Star game is to showcase the skills of the best players in the game and maybe add to the on-going argument of who is better than who. What better way to do this than a good old fashioned half-court one-on-one game to 15 or 21. Think it's stupid, then consider this. Pit Kobe against LeBron, or T-Mac against D-Wade, Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams,  Amare Stoudemire vs. Kevin Garnett or the hundreds of other match-ups we'd love to see. Just imagine the fan boys in the blogs railing at each other about who's better after LeBron and Kobe match up and Kobe destroys LeBron or LeBron beats Kobe with a thundering jam. I know I'd watch and, best of all, the game would be short enough that I wouldn't lose interest.

2. Legends Challenge - This idea may be either stupid or brilliant and is probably impossible, but I'd love to be able to see a bit of a rematch between legends. What I'm thinking here is a 3 on 3 game where we get to see old rivalries renewed. Is it possible that we could get Jordan, Pippen and Rodman to play against Malone, Stockton and Horneck again? I know there are a lot of legends I'd like to see again. Of course, there is the problem that some of these guys wouldn't want to play and I'm guessing we'd watch it and say, "Goooo! They suck now." and end up feeling sorry for them, but I think it would be worth a shot. If it doesn't work out, then don't do it again and we'll all forget about it.

3. H-O-R-S-E - I believe they do this in the D-League All-Star weekend and I think it's a decent idea, at least worth a try. Take the best shooters in the league and have them play a game of H-O-R-S-E. Of course, to make it interesting, there would have to be a time limit and the players would be encouraged to make trick shots (like, a shorter version of Arenas's famous, I can make more college 3's with one hand than you can make regular 3's with two.) I'd watch this too, and if done right it would go a least as quickly as the dunk contest.  I think, if done right, it could be as entertaining as the 3-point contest, which I generally watch. If anything, it would bring back memories of Jordan and Bird's famous, "Nothing but Net" commercials.

4. Increase the All-Star rosters to 15 instead of 12 - Everyone and their dog has suggested this one, but it needs to be done. There are 30 teams in the league. Most contenders have at least 2 All-Star calliber players and sometimes three or four, while any decent team has at least one. Heck even Miami has Wade. It is about time the NBA expanded the rosters when the likes of Deron WIlliams, Baron Davis and Tony Parker all do not make the All-Star team.  Not to mention, this would increase the chances of players from your home team playing, and that will increase your likelyhood of caring.

5. Make the game mean something - As currently situated, the game has no meaning, and aside from being named the game's MVP there are few bragging rights. For the fans it's pretty much the same. Sure I'm pulling for the West, but if they lose, so freaking what. So here are a number of suggestions.

5.a - I don't particularly like this one, but you could have the conference that wins the game get home court advantage in the finals.

5.b - I think this has more potential. Give a play off spot from the losing conference to a team in the winning conference. Essentially, it would break down this way. If the East lost the game, then the 9th ranked team in the west would get the last spot in the East or vice versa (That team would play in the losing conference's playoffs. So, say Houston is the 9th seed in the West and they won, then they would most likely play Boston in the first round.) Think of the possibilities. In this year, for instance, if the West won, then you would make the playoffs fair, since in the West a team who is 7-10 games above .500 is going to miss the play-offs and in the East a team 5-7 games below .500 is going to make the playoffs. Or better yet, the West loses and the race in the West gets even tighter. Imagine if that 9th seed made it through

5.c - If the last two suggestions are too extreme, there is this. The conference that wins get the game in a city in their conference next year. You could also stipulate it so the MVP's city gets the game the following year.

I know none of this will happen, and the game will continue to be boring, but one can hope.

I still love basketball. I love it and all the Stephon Marburys, ref scandals and idiotic actions by one David Stern's NBA cannot and will not change that. Basketball remains my favorite sport, a release, an outlet, an art as beautiful as any Michelangelo created on the roof of the Sistine Chapel. It is orchestrated chaos, constantly drilled and practiced improvisational a ballet where you are only told half the steps and are asked to change the dance at a moment's provocation.

It is sport, the embodiment of an ageless game, played by all throughout the history of mankind, some deep within hidden instinct to compete, to fight, to move, to become better, faster, stronger. It is the ultimate motivational speaker, that screaming voice that screeches, "Get up off your #### and get down on defense."

Put shortly, I love sports. I love the competition, that fire that boils in my belly. There is something arcane and perfect about sports, a simplicity that simply does not exist in the real world. You either win or you don't. The guy you are playing against is the enemy. It's that black and white. Your teammates are the good guys and it doesn't matter if you don't like Bob, as long as he's hitting his shots. In the heat of battle you'll risk serious injury for a stupid little ball. You'll talk smack. Push someone around. Knock them to the ground, try with all your might to humiliate them, make them look bad . . . and then, as soon as the last bell rings, shake that mortal enemy's hand, pat him on the back, tell him "good game" and maybe, say if he's your best friend when he's not on the wrong side of the ball, take him out to lunch. Where else in the world can forgiveness be found so easily. How often do you go to war with someone and then call them your friend an hour later.

I love sports and I love basketball most of all. Football is great. Baseball too. Can't think of a sport I don't like, but basketball, in my humble opinion, is the best. I'm not talking about the NBA or college, high school, Pee Wee leagues. I'm talking about the sport. The one where a simple round orange ball brings together past-their prime never weres and in their primes not-gonna-bes any given night of the week in gyms, playgrounds and churches across the country. I can't think of another sport that quite does that. All respects to football, but you need too many people to play. Give me two, three, four guys and I've got a basketball game. Not gonna happen with football. Baseball is the same deal. Hockey? Who has a hockey rink in the driveway?Tennis and golf, they're a little economically exclusive, but I play basketball with guys who make bank and others trying to make ends meet every week, IN THE SAME GAME and often on the same team. I don't care what Troy makes when he gets me the rock just where I like it.

It's a unique game, one in which the professionals are the best all-around athletes in the world. They must be fast, strong, have endurance, quick reflexes, quick feet, great hand-eye coordination, be able to play both offense and defense, run, jump and (contrary to some people's opinions) take a tremendous amount of physical contact. Yet everyone can play, from Jake, my 5'3" 32 year old buddy to a kid in my scout troop with very little physical coordination, and although we all know we'll never make a dime, we try to get just a little better each night, work on that jump shot, jump a little higher, finally make that behind the back pass. To me, that is admirable self-improvement and if that were it's only redeeming quality that makes basketball (and any sport that motivates you) worth while.

But more than anything, I love basketball because it brings people together who otherwise wouldn't talk. A bunch of friends of mine got another friend of ours to stop smoking because he couldn't keep up with on the court while he was still sucking down the smokes. Another guy, a guy who had recently gotten out of jail, turned his life around and started coming to the local church because he met a bunch of nice guys at our weekly pick-up church game. And basketball brings my dad and I together.

I know I'm not alone in this. I can see you nodding in agreement that you've gone through the same thing, that you know exactly what I'm going to say before I write it, so it's no surprise when I state my dad and I, especially when I was a teenager, have not always gotten along. He's a republican. I tend to lean towards the left. He's a statistician at a air force base. I teach history and writing. He hasn't read a book in years. I just finished writing a novel. There aren't very many things we can talk about, but there has always been basketball.

When I was a kid, he taught me to shoot and would spend countless hours playing one on one with me, letting me win every so often, just to keep me interested, but never just giving me a game. I had to work for it. As I got older he taught me defense, rebounding and how to make the most of my limited athleticism via hustle and grit. Did he know he was teaching me skills I'd value the rest of my life, I don't know, but I could always count on a game or two three times a week where all our differences and the tension melted away as I slowly, but surely became better than him. Today, he's too old to play, but we can sit in front of the T.V. and watch a game and talk for two hours about nothing and everything and I wouldn't give that up for the world.

So, yes, the world of basketball has seen better days and sometimes I wonder why I will still drop the grocery money for the week on a game or spend my Friday night in front of the tube watching a bunch of genetic abnormalities dribble a rustic, orange globe around a court in some inane attempt to put it through a hoop ten feet above the ground, but I still love this game and I always will.