BACK, IT’S THE INEVITABLE

The Spurs rolled to their 4th championship in 9 years a little easier than I thought they would. I thought Cleveland had the chance to win at least one game in the series, I predicted two, but San Antonio was too much. The Spurs are a well oiled playoff machine. Even when they don’t win the title they’re in the mix. The Cavaliers are a franchise with a Superstar and a subpar supporting cast. They could be title contenders for years to come but they’re gonna have to shake up the roster.

The Spurs deserve their congratulations.. Tony Parker earned the Finals MVP award. Parker’s penetration, steady jumper, and clutch shots made him the hands down winner. Robert Horry picked up his 7th ring. That’s nuts. Guys are happy to play 7 seasons, Horry has 7 RINGS. Barkley, Stockton, Malone, KG, and Elgin Baylor 0 rings between ’em. Robert Horry 7. Wow.

Props to the San Antonio Spurs, the NBA Champions.

Spurs/Cavs Game 4 recap. Courtesy of ESPN.com

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THE BIG THREE

MLB

Bud Selig wants Jason Giambi to talk to the MLB steroid busters “or else”. Or else what Bud? You’re gonna suspend Jason Giambi for talking about something that happened in the past, that he already kinda admitted to, for what? I’m not even sure where this steroid scandal investigation is going. If every player that ever used steroids came forward today and admitted it, then what? Nobody is gonna shutdown MLB.. And MLB officials might not have been doing the roids, but they were well aware of what was going on. The new rules are in place, so it’s time to focus on current steroid users, the dummies that slip up now. Threatening punishment for Giambi is lip service that really serves no purpose. Let’s look forward instead of living in the past.

Selig may reportedly suspend Yank’s slugger Giambi. Courtesy of ESPN.com 

NBA

Baseball is known as the “numbers” sport but Jason over at Ball Hype has picked up where Bill Simmons and John Hollinger left off for basketball statistical analysis. Breaking down who was the best player for every ten year period of the league from ’51-’61 to ’97-’07 was a great idea and produced some interesting results. The rankings are based on Hollinger’s PER formula and most of the names you would expect to see there are there. If you take a look at the total number of ten year spans dominated by MJ, only centers Chamberlain, Jabbar, and O’neal are in his class. Guys like Olajuwon, Malone, and Garnett have the misfortune of playing in eras dominated by bigger stars.

Passing the torch: From Dolph to Duncan. Courtesy of Ball Hype 

NFL

Pacman Jones’ ill-fated trip and “rain making” at a strip club during the NBA All-Star weekend was one of the reasons he ended up being suspended for the season by new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Yesterday the news broke that Jones’ DNA tested negative, twice, when compared to DNA obtained from a stripper that was bitten during the February fracas. So the DNA doesn’t match and you have Lt. George Castro saying that the police still have not connected what happened inside the club to the shooting that took place outside of the club. If Adam Jones is cleared of everything except for being a 81k idiot, will/should the NFL reduce his suspension?

Agent: Pacman samples come back negative. Courtesy of ABC 7

2ND THOUGHTS

The Wild Wild Central. Courtesy of The Houston Chronicle

Robert Horry says 2007 Spurs better than 80s Lakers, Celtics. Courtesy of Larry Brown Sports

Jet: Dog fights equal horse races. Courtesy of the NY Daily News

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SPURS/CAVS GAME 3 RECAP: I WAS WRONG

Remember when these “Trophy Love” commercials were all the rage? The thing that always bothered me is that the name of the NBA trophy is the “Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy”… It seemed weird to me that all of those cats were in love with someone named Larry. Anyways…

The San Antonio Spurs are on the verge of capturing their 4th LOCT, and LeBron James is about to have a long summer. In a game that was viewed by many as Cleveland’s best chance to take one from San Antonio, both teams put the scoring on hold and locked down on coughcough defense. Tim Duncan played only 33 minutes and Cleveland still couldn’t capitalize meaning my predicition of Spurs in 6 is gonna need a miracle in order to see the light of day.

Here’s a few other things I was wrong about:

1. “Tim Duncan is the Finals MVP”. I’m not completely wrong on this but Parker is probably the leader for the award right now. If the Spurs wrap up the series in game 4 and TD has a big game, Duncan could still be the MVP.
2. “Cleveland wins their first game at home”. It was all there for the Cavs to take but they couldn’t hit an open shot to save their lives… Or their series. Tim Duncan had the foul trouble that I thought he would, but Cleveland’s scoring trouble was the bigger factor.
3. “We are all entertained”. The ratings suggest that very few of us are entertained but let’s not rush to make this an NBA issue. People just aren’t watching sports the same anymore. You can look at the World Series declining ratings here or flashback to 2006 when game 1 of the World Series flopped. Everyday can’t be Superbowl Sunday.

As for LeBron handing off to Anderson down the stretch of game 3, I honestly believe he expected to get the ball back. Unfortunately for LBJ, Floppy Jao took matters in to his own hands and frankly, he’s gotta make that basket… And LeBron was fouled by Bruce Bowen at the end of the game. There’s no question about it. The continuation call could have gone either way but James should have gone to the line for at least two free throws.

The biggest thing I’m taking away from this series is that if Cleveland’s front office can get LeBron a Scottie Pippen, the Cavs will rule the East for years. All of the players on the Cavalier roster are role players. There’s no Scottie Pippen, there’s no Dennis Rodman. There’s nobody else on the roster that the other team has to truly worry about. Michael Jordan was surrounded by the right mix of players to highlight his talents. Danny Ferry and company need to do the same for LeBron.

Cavaliers And Spurs Final(ly)

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THE SOPRANOS FINAL EPISODE AND SPURS/CAVALIERS GAME 2

It was set up as a great night to watch television if you’re a fan of mob shows and the NBA. I had to decide what I wanted to record and what I wanted to watch live. I ended up watching The Sopranos, and when the show was over I flipped over to the basketball game just in time to catch San Antonio putting the finishing touches on a first half beatdown. Needless to say, I didn’t go back and watch the first 21 minutes of the game that I missed.

Before I go on and talk about Tony Soprano and the rest of the gang, I’m saying loud and clear, **SPOILER**.

If you’ve already seen the show or don’t mind having some of it ruined for you then go ahead and proceed.

CAVALIERS AND SPURS FINAL(LY)

Tonight’s the night that it goes down. Two legacies are in the making. LeBron will become the legitimate face of the league or the Spurs will reach official dynasty status. Gone are the Kobe Bryant trade demands (maybe), no more “the Suns got screwed” (hopefully), and hasta la vista to Flip Saunders (wishfully). It’s time for the NBA Finals.

The Cleveland Cavaliers: I didn’t give them a shot against the Pistons until about 12 points in to LBJ’s final 25 points of game 5. Even when I saw the Cavs outplaying the Pistons earlier in the series, something wouldn’t let me change my mind about Detroit advancing to the Finals. That something is stupidity. Sometimes you have to face the facts and in this case the fact was: Cleveland was the better team. I didn’t believe that going in to the series.. I mean, who couldn’t beat a wounded Wizards team and then Jason Kidd and the Heartless? It was hard for me to fathom that the Cavaliers poor shooting, insufficient role players, and questionable coaching would be able to take down the battle tested, finals focused Detroit Pistons. I was wrong.

The San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs were my true pick to make it to the NBA Finals, but I tried this little experiment at the beginning of the playoffs so I had to ride with the Rockets. You can take a look at my brackets over at BallHype (who has some nice t-shirts btw) and see that I had the Spurs over the Suns. The Spurs have been the best team in the league since the All-Star break, but everybody was caught up in Phoenix and Dallas. It didn’t matter to me that Amare and Diaw got suspended during the Spurs/Suns series.. What I mean by that is the Spurs were gonna beat Phoenix if it went 6 or 7. They were better. The San Antonio/Utah series was a sparring match. SA wanted to get some good work in and then take a rest before matching up with the Eastern Conference… Have you noticed that I made it this far without mentioning Tim Duncan? That’s how it is for the Spurs.. Not a lot of hype, but great execution and the ability to match styles with any team. Wanna slow it down and play half court ball? San Antonio will run everything through TD and slowly dissect you. Wanna speed up the tempo? Parker and Ginobili will run wild on you while the 3 point bombers camp behind the line for a kick out. Pick your poison.

HOW WILL IT END?

If you don’t want to know how the NBA Finals end then stop reading now. For those of you brave enough to stick with me, here it is. The San Antonio Spurs win the championship. It goes 6 games, with San Antonio winning games 1,2,4, and 6. Cleveland wins their first game at home and their last game at home. Tim Duncan is the Finals MVP, but Parker and Ginobili have their moments. Robert Horry hits a big shot down the stretch in one of the games, but I don’t want to give away which one. Cleveland wins game 3 because Tim Duncan is saddled with foul trouble, and they win game 5 because LeBron goes nuts. The Spurs celebrate and the Cavaliers learn a valuable lesson and we are all entertained.

For a really good listen check out The Finals Preview Podcast. Courtesy of The Basketball Jones

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BLOGGAS BE TYPIN

A recap of Suns/Spurs game 5. Courtesy of The Basketball Jones podcast

49 year old track coach plus 17 year old girl equals jail time. Courtesy of With Leather

Henry Abbott of True Hoop interviewed. Courtesy of The Big Picture

Sarah Shahi aka Tony Soprano’s Vegas vixen. Courtesy of I Fux is Hip Hop…

Ike Turner wrongfully arrested..this time. Courtesy of Concrete Loop

R.I.P. DeAndre Adams. Courtesy of Ladiesdotdotdot

Deadspin’s Will Leitch speaks. Courtesy of The Starting Five

Amy Winehouse Rehab remix featuring Jay-Z. Courtesy of Nah Right

Ted Turner de-cartoons Miss Gossip. Courtesy of Miss Gossip of AOL Fanhouse

NAMBLA, The NBA, and David Blaine. Courtesy of Straight Bangin (scroll down)

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THE NBA BENCH CLEARING SOLUTION

The next time there’s a near scrum in an NBA game the refs should make both teams line up facing each other at half court and have a rap battle. That way, the balance of a series isn’t jeopardized, and the fans get treated to some music other than YMCA or Gary Glitter.

The Phoenix Suns will be short-handed for game 5 but don’t be shocked if they rally together and pull off a stunner. With what we’ve seen so far in this series nothing would surprise me now.

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DIRK, PHOENIX, AND SAN ANTONIO

Game 4 between the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs was a classic. Great plays, comebacks, and a tussle… All of the things that make sports fun to watch. It’s really great to take in the action without being attached to either team. I don’t care who wins the series I just want great action and I haven’t been disappointed yet.. Well, that’s not exactly true.

I know this is a tired take, but the NBA officiating is not fantastic. Basketball is one of the hardest sports to ref, especially since the rules are pretty easy to comprehend by anyone watching, leading to people arguing over what is a foul and what isn’t. With that said, I found myself saying the league must have made “the call” to the refs at the start of the 4th quarter. San Antonio, the home team, couldn’t get a call. I’m not big into conspiracy theories but if the Spurs had went up 3-1, the Suns could have gone ahead and cancelled Christmas. With the league’s best story (the Warriors) already on the ropes, the NBA needs it’s favorite team the Phoenix Suns around for as long as possible. I thought I was alone in seeing the referee bias but True Hoop and the story Henry linked to felt the same way.

Another thing I’m disappointed with is all the whining that the Phoenix Suns’ fans are doing. I hate to say this but SHUT THE HELL UP. Jeezus. First, you want the NBA to change the rules so Steve Nash can have 4 hours to fix his bleeding nose. Thank God he didn’t break his leg because Suns fan would be asking the NBA to suspend the playoffs until Steve healed. Second, Amare and the Suns’ fans calling the Spurs dirty while Raja Bell still suits up for Phoenix is beyond funny. Yes, you can slow down some tape and show Bruce Bowen intentionally/unintentionally stepping on Amare’s heel. Yes, you can argue that Bowen kneed Nash in the nads on purpose, but you don’t need to slow down anything to see Bell’s clothesline of Kobe Bryant last year, a play dirtier than ANY violation in this year’s playoffs. Including Baron Davis’ Horry-like take-down of Derek Fisher.

Speaking of the Horry take-down.. I was pretty sure that the league would suspend Big Shot Rob for two games to balance out the fact that two Suns were getting suspended for game 5. I’m not glad that I was right, but I am somewhat familiar with how the league thinks. I would have been cool if Horry got a game and Amare got a game but Diaw was allowed to play. Boris did leave the bench but not with the same intensity as S.T.A.T. If Stoudemire had made his way to the melee, something bad might have happened. Boris probably would have done the baseball square dance. The NBA “leaving the bench” rule needs to be, and probably will be, examined at the end of the playoffs. As the rule stands, the NBA made the right decision. And before you say what about The Big Fundamental, I’ve seen the footage of Duncan stepping away from the bench but that’s not nearly the same thing. As a matter of fact, that happens all of the time. When you see a big play down the stretch in a tight game, watch the bench. Guys are jumping up and down and celebrating..Some of them spill onto the floor. Check out the bench when a team knows it’s about to call a timeout.. You’ll see a player or two wander out onto the floor. It’s not malicious. It doesn’t carry the same intent.

And finally I’m disappointed in everybody sweating Dirk Nowitzki for winning the NBA MVP award. Like I’ve said before, it’s a regular season award. Dirk was the man in the regular season. It’s strange that when Shaq (or Shaque Cousteau) said the NBA MVP award has been tainted lately, everybody jumped down his throat.. Claiming he said Steve Nash’s MVP’s are tainted when he clearly said the last 4 or 5 years. Some people even went as far as to call Shaq a racist. Now that Nash didn’t win, people are saying the award is meaningless, the voting is a joke, the voting should take place after the playoffs, blah blah blah… Enough already. Do people realize that if the MVP voting came after the playoffs, Steve Nash would have ZERO MVPs? Dwayne Wade would have won the MVP last year and Tim Duncan would have won the year before. Dirk was the best player on the best team in the regular season. The exact reason that Nash won the MVP his first year. I don’t care if Nash had a better statistical season this year than last year. The players aren’t competing against themselves for the award. Follow this example.. A man wins salesman of the year two consecutive years at his company. In the third year, he sells more than he did the first two years, but another employee sells more than him. Who’s gonna win salesman of the year? The other employee. It’s the exact same thing. Steve Nash not winning the MVP doesn’t take away from his status. There were years when Michael Jordan could/should have won the MVP and didn’t. It happens. Nash is a great player.. better than Nowitzki.. And I guarantee you, if Phoenix wins the championship Steve Nash won’t give a damn about his two MVPs or “the one that got away”.

NBA suspends Stoudemire, Diaw for leaving bench. Thank you ESPN

Phoenix Got the Calls. Thank you True Hoop (ESPN)

Oh, Why Not. Thank you Section F Sports

Shaq says recent MVP awards ‘tainted’. Thank you MSNBC

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BLOGGAS BE TYPIN

Arash Markazi goes fishing with LT. Thank you Fan Nation

I hope you didn’t buy an Akili Smith jersey. Thank you Just Call Me Juice

Lindsay Lohan nip slip. Thank you Larry Brown Sports (NSFW)

An unhappy mother’s day in the bay. Thank you Golden State of Mind

Visual proof that the Spurs are a dirty team. Thank you Miss Gossip at AOL Fanhouse

Rapper The Game released from jail. Thank you All Hip Hop

The rich get richer in Utah. Thank you Our Book of Scrap

The real worth of your favorite baseball team. Thank you The Hardball Times

Shaun Livingston is walking again, fiending for snack food. Thank you Yay Sports

Suge Knight is shooting.. a reality tv show. Thank you XXL

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THE ROCKETS, THE PLAYOFFS, AND THE MVP

 **EDITOR’S NOTE** I started working on this post well before Midnight. I got a call from an out of town friend and missed my “daily” Rockets post. I hope this doesn’t have serious repercussions for the Houston Rockets. **END EDITOR’S NOTE**

Let me make one thing clear: I AM A PHILADELPHIA 76ERS FAN. I am only supporting the Houston Rockets in the playoffs because of this post. When the Rockets win the championship or are eliminated from the playoffs, I will revert back to my normal self. There’s no need to email me and call me a traitor or a phony. I ride with my teams do or die and nothing can change that. On to the playoffs….

The Houston Rockets lead the Utah Jazz 3-2: The Rockets don’t take the court again until Thursday night and I can’t wait. I’m feeling Houston closing this series on the road in Utah. I don’t know what would make me feel that way since the H-Town O has been MIA in SLC. I believe that Tracy McGrady is gonna do everything in his power to advance to the second round… as soon as possible. My perfect Thursday scenario: Gabrielle Union comes over to watch the game with me and brings a bottle of JWB (Johnny Walker Black). The Rockets beat Utah and Dallas beats the Warriors giving Houston a little rest before the next series. I know this scenario is highly unlikely… Dallas probably won’t win in Oakland. Positivity time: THE HOUSTON ROCKETS WIN THE SERIES IN 6 GAMES.

The Detroit Pistons over the Orlando Magic 4-0: I was wrong with my prediction for this series. Get used to hearing that. I picked Detroit in 5 for some unknown reason. Orlando was in a tailspin for the last half of the season and they finally crashed in the playoffs. Nothing much to say about this series. It was like watching a varsity-junior varsity scrimmage. The Pistons get the feisty Bulls in the next round. It’s like the 80s all over again. How long til Rasheed says “if Hinrich were black, he’d be just another player” or something to that affect?

The Chicago Bulls over the Miami Heat 4-0: I was wrong with my prediction for this series (I’m not done yet). Don’t laugh too much, I was only off by 3 games with my Miami in 7 pick. The adolescent Bulls dominated this series in the regular and post-season. I know Wade wasn’t 100% but it wasn’t gonna matter. Luol Deng and Ben Gordon provided the offensive punch, Ben Wallace supplied the “D”, and the team as a whole out fought the old and tired Miami Heat. The Bulls’ sweep of the Heat marks the 6th time a Shaquille O’Neal playoff team has been swept to elimination.

The Cleveland Cavaliers over the Washington Wizards 4-0: Guess what? That’s right, my prediction for this series was wrong too. I had Cleveland in 5 even with Arenas and Butler sidelined for the Wiz. I didn’t think the Cavaliers were mentally tough enough to close out any team in 4 games. I was wrong. Even though I watched this series I didn’t learn a whole helluva lot. The Cavs coasted through the series and should make it to the Eastern Conference finals having lost no more than 2 games. Cleveland’s sweep of Washington completed the Central division’s dominance over the Southeast division… A perfect 12-0 record.

The Phoenix Suns lead The Los Angeles Lakers 3-1: I’m right on pace in this series. I picked the Suns in 5 and I’m sticking to it. I knew Kobe would be good for one win and one win only. I’m sure the Lakers’ Mitch Kupchak is trying to figure out a way to trade Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd before Wednesday’s game. I doubt that would help since the Suns have the most talented top six in the league. Nash, Bell, Marion, Diaw, Stoudamire, and Barbosa are the murderers row of hoops. You could combine a couple of teams and still not have that much talent on your roster. The Pistons have the second best six with Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Wallace, Webber, and McDyess. In comparing the two, which match-up would you say favors Detroit? Sheed over Boris is the only one I see. Another positive for Phoenix: No team that has gotten rid of Shaq has won a playoff series since his departure. Orlando 0-6 and the Lakers soon to be 0-2.

The San Antonio Spurs lead the Denver Nuggets 3-1: I picked San Antonio in 6 so I’m still alive which is more than I can say for Denver. The Nuggets game one victory got everybody pumped.. Unfortunately for the Nuggs everybody included the Spurs. SA doesn’t win pretty.. They don’t get the hype that some of the other teams get.. They’re like the sheep dog in the old school cartoons. They come to work, punch the clock, whoop your ass, and punch out. San Antonio has managed to win 3 games and stay on the good side of the referees.. Kinda.. Denver has been whistled for 71 fouls, San Antonio for 73, but I’ve seen Duncan fouled at least 10 times with no call. Timmy looked so distraught over the lack of calls in game 4 that I thought he might actually brush his hair.

The New Jersey Nets lead the Toronto Raptors 3-2: I’m looking good here. I got New Jerz in 6 even though they shoulda closed this series out in 5. Vince Carter is the male exotic dancer and his fiance to the Raptors fan’s Payton, Cassell, and Caffey. If you don’t follow, the Toronto fans have been abusing Vince. Jason Kidd has been doing his thing, and it’s good to see RJ back in action. I like the Raps team and the direction they’re headed in. GM Bryan Colangelo is as bright as they come. Look at the moves he made with the Phoenix Suns, Tim Thomas and Eddie House, as compared to the moves the Suns made this year, Marcus Banks and Jalen Rose. Bryan’s number one priority is to sign or replace coach Sam Mitchell. If and when the Nets advance I can’t see them getting past Cleveland. Of course, as you can see, I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about.

The Golden State Warriors lead the Dallas Mavericks 3-2: I picked Dallas in 6 games and at this point the Mavs would be lucky to see game 7. The most exciting series in the playoffs has also been a coming out party for Baron Davis and the Warriors fans. BD has averaged 26 points, 5 boards, 5 assist, and 2 steals while the Warriors fans have produced Jessica Alba. The rest of the fans have been outstanding but who cares, Jessica Alba is there…

The Mavericks started the series on a bad note when head coach Avery Johnson decided to start his small lineup to match-up with Golden State. Why is the 1 seed adjusting to the 8? I’m seriously asking you because I can’t figure it out. Nellie and crew need to be given a ton of credit for the defensive scheme they’ve used against Dallas. Putting a smaller, quicker player on Dirk, and then rushing him with double and triple teams from a variety of spots has worked well to this point. So well that people are calling for Dirk to return the MVP trophy that he hasn’t won yet. This really bothers me.

Dirk Nowitzki or Steve Nash are/were the only MVP candidates this year. The MVP is a regular season award. What do Dirk’s playoff successes and failures have to do with the regular season? Nothing. Does anybody hold the fact that Nash is only the second (Kareem 75-76 & 76-77) back to back MVP to not appear in the NBA finals in either year that he won the award? Nope. Nowitzki led his team to 67 wins and now everybody wants to run him out of the league because of a sub-par series against his former coach. What if Steve Nash was going up against a team coached by Mike D’Antoni? I’d have to guess that Mike and his staff would have a good idea of how to create problems for Steve.

I don’t care who wins the MVP trophy, but it seems to me that people are grinding some sort of personal axe against Dirk. People knock him for his style of play and at the same time celebrate Mehmet Okur or the rookie Bargnani for basically playing the same way. I don’t know if it’s because Nowitzki sings Hasslehoff at the free throw line or our country’s past problems with Germany, but this guy takes a lot of flack. If Dirk and the Mavs can find a way to win the series against G. State how many people will give the MVP trophy back to Dirk? I’ll bet zero.

This is why I’m rolling with the Rockets. Courtesy of yours truly

You can take a look at my brackets here. Courtesy of Ball Hype

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