This series between the Cavaliers and the Celtics is really only showing me one thing.  The Detroit Pistons really look like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

In my opinion, Boston has no chance whatsoever unless they can win at least ONE road game in a series.  It doesn't matter whether they've got home court advantage or not in each series.  One tiny lapse at home, and it could spell the end for Boston's playoffs. 

The same goes for Cleveland.  Granted, they have won two games on the road (in Washington), but their play in Boston has been absolutely atrocious.  How can any team be taken seriously with those types of performances?

Lakers/Pistons in the finals.  Lakers take it all.

This just in.  The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Paul Maurice.  I'm not particularly surprised by this because someone has to be the scapegoat for the poor decisions made by management and ownership.

Maurice was the fall-guy for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) and their incompetency just like Pat Quinn two years ago.  MLSE should have realized two seasons ago, when they fired Pat Quinn, that the GM, John Ferguson Jr, was more to blame.  How can a coach be expected to succeed when he is provided with sub-par talent on the ice?

It is a pitiful situation with the Maple Leafs now.  They don't really have anything in the way of prospects (because they have all been traded away for aging players on the edge of retirement).  The players they have now just aren't good enough to go anywhere.  They've got tons of money wrapped up in essentially useless players, and the only players with any value have no-movement clauses in their contracts.  Bleak times indeed.

Where do the Leafs go from here?  Maybe they can get lucky in the draft.  Do they make an offer to any young free agents?  Jeff Carter is an RFA, and is someone worth making an offer to in order to start building the team around, but will Cliff Fletcher (or whomever his replacement may be) risk the ire of opposing GM's by sending Carter an offer sheet?

I'll admit I'm pretty embarrassed to be a Leafs fan.  Ownership has jerked us around so much with false promises, and only doing "just enough" to get the team into the playoffs and help line their own pockets.  Leafs fans have been jerked around for over 40 years now.  And it looks like we'll be jerked around another 40 years...

All that money and no sense...

I just want to take a little time to talk about one member of the Toronto Raptors organization who many Raptors fans would agree has been fun to watch and listen to.

I just learned that the Raptors television play-by-play commentator, Chuck Swirsky, has accepted a new job with the Chicago Bulls (as their radio commentator I do believe), thus ending a 10 year employment with the Raptors.  This is a return for Chuck to the city that he started his broadcast career in.  This also helps his family life as well.

Listening to Chuck call a game, and just talk about it in general, it was totally obvious his absolute love of basketball.  He had a great intelligence of the game subtleties, and its nuances, and it was a pleasure listening to him.  Whenever he was teamed up with colour commentators Leo Rautins (Coach of the Canadian basketball team) or Jack Armstrong, he always had some great insight into the game that really gave them the chance to shine with their knowledge.

What we'll mostly remember Chuck Swirsky for are his uniquely quirky catchphrases which made their way onto t-shirts and fans poster-boards, and into television commercials.  Sayings such as:

-  "You can ring it UP..." then give a shout out to a Raptor fan watching after the first 3-pointer scored

-  "Onions, baby, onions!!!" after the Raptors would go on a run

-  "Get out the umbrellas!  It's raining trays!"  after scoring a few 3-pointers

-  yelling "Oh my BOSH!" after a highlight real play by the one and only Chris Bosh

And probably his most well known:

-  "Get out the salami and cheese, mama!  This ballgame is OVER!" when the Raptors win the game

Chuck will be a tough act to follow, and I wish his successor the best of luck.  Chicago, you got a great person working in the Bulls organization now, and I think you'll grow to like him as much as he was liked in Toronto.

I'll miss Chuck here, but wish him all the best in Chicago.

I'll keep this nice and short.

Let's be honest, who does NOT sometimes find themselves rooting for the underdog?  Did you find yourself rooting for the 76ers last night?  Are you going to be rooting for the Hawks?  A little part of me was...