That said, as Wes Welker was being introduced as a member of the Denver Broncos yesterday afternoon. It occurred to me that as big of a weapon he will be for Peyton to have at his disposal. He may, and most likely isn’t what Peyton and the Broncos needed to compete for a Championship. In fact, he isn’t……

I know it may be hard for some if not most to see or understand what I’m about to say as we live in the “Madden Generation” of sports. Where it’s not about if you score, but how fancy you can score because it’s more important to be able to make Sports Center’s “Top Plays” than just score and do what you can to win the game. #JustSaying

That said, signing Wes Welker to a 2 year deal, albeit a very financially sound deal, was a mistake. Yes, I said it, a mistake. The upgrade of Welker over Brandon Stokley looks very good on paper and I’m sure it will on the field too. But was the passing game the reason Denver didn’t get past the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs? Was it the reason why the Broncos won 11 straight after starting the season 2-3? No, it wasn’t.

Last I checked, the Broncos ranked in the top five in offense and defense. The wide out trio of Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas and Brandon Stokley were very potent as it was somewhat expected to be as Peyton Manning has the ability to make chicken salad out of chicken “you know what”. I’m not saying that wideout trio is trash, but you and I know that Peyton can make it happen with just about anyone. Hence the “Blair White Project” and making a 6th round pick named Pierre Garcon a household name back in Indy a few years ago.

Where Denver needed the most help on offense is in the running game, especially since it was an issue going into last season. The guy they should have gone after was none other than former St. Louis Rams, now Atlanta Falcons running back Steven Jackson. Most likely he has another two good years in him and considering the Broncos are really trying to win NOW, he would be a good “rent a player” type fit.

Yes, I know the Broncos drafted Ronnie Hillman and have high hopes for him. But as we saw, he has issues in pass protection and can’t run between the tackles which is what you need to be able to do to have an effective run game. That’s how you move the chains and kill the clock. Remember “Clock Killin” Corey Dillon? New England signed him late in his career and he helped them in a big way to win a Super Bowl?

Jackson would solve a lot of issues the Broncos offense had at times this year, including the playoffs, along with saving Peyton’s arm strength. In case you didn’t know/hear/read, according to reports after the playoff loss to Baltimore. Rumor has it that the reason John Fox didn’t try and score with 30 seconds left on the clock and two timeouts in regulation, is because Peyton’s arm was fatigued. If true, that may explain the entire 4th quarter as the Broncos couldn’t seem to get any rhythm on offense and didn’t have an effective run game to kill some clock and force the Ravens to do something they hadn’t been able to do all year long. Defend the run.

Steven Jackson very well could be a new version of “Clock Killin” Corey as he can run between the tackles and is a much better pass blocker than any running back the Broncos have on their roster. A solid run game is something Peyton needs at this point in his career, due to the unknown of how strong his arm truly is and how long it can hold up. Reducing the amount plays that are rely on his arm to win games is very important, and may be the key to Denver winning a Super Bowl with Peyton at QB.

I would think John Elway who he himself didn’t win a title until he was in his twilight years and had a great run game behind him, would see this being more of a priority than adding to a passing game that was already great. In fact, back when John was playing, he had one of the most famous lines ever spoken by a QB when he said….

“I don’t get paid to make plays on 1st and 2nd down. I get paid to make plays on 3rd down.” -John Elway

However, it seems as if he thinks its okay to let Peyton make plays on every down instead of providing him with a good running game that can help him make plays. Even the pass happy 2009 New Orleans Saints won a Super Bowl by still being able to run the ball when they needed to. Denver really can’t.

Since Elway has taken over personnel decisions for the Broncos, he has done a great job of putting a very good team on the field. But if there is one thing you can nitpick at right now. It’s his lack of being able to address the run game which is the key to not only getting to, but possibly winning a Super Bowl with a QB that isn’t who he used to be physically.

I will acknowledge that Matt Ryan has finally elevated his game to that next level, and those two Pro Bowl wide outs they have, Roddy White and Julio Jones, are flat out ballin’ to go along with that defense that is very much improved. But that’s where my props begin and end when it comes to the 2012-2013 Atlanta Falcons.

Last Thursday Falcons tight end, Tony Gonzalez made a comment to a USA Today reporter about how if the Falcons were the Patriots, Eagles or Giants, they would be getting a lot of publicity/respect for their 7-0 start (at the time of his comment) to the season and great play on both sides of the ball. Most people agreed with that statement including myself. However, people who aren’t Falcons fans such as myself, knew that we have seen this from the Falcons before. Why should anyone give respect to a team that has yet to do something to earn it?

(To steal a line from Dennis Green, “We might as well crown their ass”!)

Like anything in life including respect, you have to earn it. Don’t expect for respect to be given just because you have gone now 8-0 for the first time in your franchise history during the regular season. Respect is earned in the playoffs and in championship games no matter what sport or league it is, or on any level. As long as Tony Gonzalez has been in the league, you would think he would know this. What Tony fails to realize is that the Pats, Giants and Eagles have at least won a playoff game in the past 4 years. The Falcons…….not so much.

As I said earlier, I and many people have seen this movie before when it comes to the Atlanta Falcons. They win 9 to 13 games, get into the playoffs, and get smoked!

No one who is a fan of the game of football, except for delusional Falcons fans, are wondering on which one of the many streets in Atlanta that are named “Peach Tree”, will the parade route start and end on.

Remember that 2010 season when the Falcons went 13-3, dominated almost every week. Then come playoff time, a 9-7 Green Bay Packers team, who the Falcons had just beaten a few weeks before, beat the snot of them?! If you don’t remember, let me jog your memory….the game was basically over at halftime. Matt Ryan threw a pick six to Tramon Williams on an out route with about a minute and some change on the clock right before half time.

So, it’s kind of hard to get all “giddy” about the Atlanta Falcons when they have had seasons like this before and have yet to win a playoff game over a four year period. I mean hell, the Texans made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last year and won their first playoff game with a 5th round, backup, 3rd string rookie QB. And he almost beat Ravens in Baltimore the following week!

Tony G……. Dirty Bird fans….no one, including me, has hate for your team, nor says your team isn’t noteworthy. Its just that your team hasn’t done anything noteworthy enough for us, (non-Falcon fans) or the national media to give you the respect you’re looking for, as your team has yet to do anything REALLY “noteworthy”. Until you do….(like win a playoff game or a Super Bowl)… the Falcons will continue to get a really nice “Participation Ribbon” like kids who compete in the school science fair, but don’t win get.

See you in the playoffs…

By now you have all seen the new Nike NFL uniforms and I am sure some of you have already pre-ordered yours from Nike. Earlier this month when Nike unveiled the new NFL Elite 51 uniforms, they introduced chapter 1 of “Fast is Faster.”

Well, if you have chapter 1, you have to have chapter 2 right?

Later tonight during first round coverage of the 2012 NFL Draft, Nike will introduce the sports world to the next chapter of their “Fast is Faster” concept.

Here is a full length clip of the new commercial that will be aired tonight. And if you haven’t seen the first installment of Nike’s “Fast is Faster” campaign, be sure to click on “NFL Elite 51 uniforms” above.

1. Indianapolis Colts – Andrew Luck – The Colts continue to rebuild post-Peyton.

2. Washington Redskins – Robert Griffin III – The Redskins get maybe the best player in the draft.

3. Minnesota Vikings – Morris Claiborne – Leslie Frazier wins out in the war room and gets his shutdown corner.

4. Cleveland Browns – Ryan Tannehill – It shocked everyone last year when Locker and Ponder both went in the top 12.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Stephon Gilmore - He’s drawing comparisons to Charles Woodson.

6. St. Louis Rams – Mark Barron – He’s liked a lot more by the NFL than most realized (including me).

7. Jacksonville Jaguars – Justin Blackmon - The Jags continue to give Gabbert all the help they can.

8. TRADE UP – Cincinnati Bengals – Trent Richardson  - The Bengals can afford this trade because of the extra 1st round pick they have.

9. Carolina Panthers – Ryan Kalil - He joins his brother on one of the better offenses in the NFL.

10. Buffalo Bills – Michael Floyd - They went hard after Meachem, which says they’re very much in the WR2 market.

11. Kansas City Chiefs – Fletcher Cox - The Chiefs get an active 3 down athlete and pass rusher.

12. Seattle Seahawks – Melvin Ingram - Pass rush is a clear need for the Seahawks and Ingram is one of the best in the draft.

13. Arizona Cardinals – Riley Reif - A good safe pick for the Cardinals that fills a big need.

14. Dallas Cowboys – Michael Brockers - Brockers could go even higher than this.

15. Philadelphia Eagles – Jerel Worthy - The Eagles need a penetrating interior DL and this guy fits their scheme very well.

16. New York Jets – Luke Kuechly - He could go as high as 10, but plenty of scenarios could have him dropping here.

17. TRADE BACK - Miami Dolphins – Chandler Jones - We’re just now learning how much the NFL loves him (and allegedly has all along).

18. San Diego Chargers – Shea McClellin - This defense needs a motor like this on it.

19. Chicago Bears – Kendall Wright - Lovie Smith had dinner with him in Waco when visiting him for his pro day.

20. Tennessee Titans – Nick Perry - He can contribute right away on the edge for the Titans.

21. Cincinnati Bengals – David DeCastro - He could go higher than this, but in the end the other positions will be valued over interior o-line.

22. Cleveland Browns – Rueben Randle - Tannehill gets his #1 receiver.

23. Detroit Lions – Dre Kirkpatrick - The Lions have to add a difference maker at CB.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers –  Dont’a Hightower - The Steelers add a thumper next to their star ILB Timmons.

25. Denver Broncos – Dontari Poe - Fox will like the challenge of the raw Poe and could turn him into a Kris Jenkins-type.

26. Houston Texans – Stephen Hill - The Texans add a tall fast WR who can separate and take attention away from Andre.

27. New England Patriots – Quinton Coples – What better coach for the motor-challenged Coples than Belichick?

28. Green Bay Packers – Whitney Mercilus - Hard to leave him out of the first round with the way his stock has risen.

29. Baltimore Ravens – Courtney Upshaw - He could play inside or outside linebacker in this Ravens defense.

30.San Francisco 49ers – Cordy Glenn - Slots in right away at right guard and could kick out to tackle later.

31. New England Patriots – Bruce Irvin - The word around the campfire says someone late in the first will take him and this is my guess.

32. New York Giants – Jonathan Martin - Good fit at right tackle in their style of o-line play.

-Ben Layman

Follow me on twitter @houtexmajorin

The NFL suspended James Harrison for one game for his hit on Browns QB Colt McCoy. The hit has been hotly debated in various media outlets, by writers, broadcasters as well as former professional players turned analyst. It is clear that the NFL is taking a hard stance on protecting QB’s, I ask the question, at what price to the NFL game.

Football is a violent game, riddled with injuries, broken bones and certain future debilitating health issues for players. That being said, players enter the world of professional football fully aware of what the current and future ramifications are and will be.

Where is the line between a good clean hit and vicious intent? A clear definition of helmet to helmet contact needs to be defined. Can a defensive player possibly determine where an offensive player will place or duck his head? Therefore a hit that is lead with the head, clearly meant to strike with the crown should be an offense; other helmet to helmet contact is mere incidental contact.

Obviously the offender here has a history; therefore I believe this incident was greatly magnified. Some QB’s when they leave the pocket are deemed to be runners, and at times are even battered in the pocket, yet the league doesn’t extend that same protection or penalty that’s been meted out here. This was a clean hit, occurring simultaneously with the release of the ball.

Offensive players know where they are going by pre-designed plays; defensive players must read and react to stop offenses. People who have played the game know that the great equalizer from the inception of the game for a defense is the intimidation factor. Football is a game of the psyche as well as a game of a physical will, these dynamic are being taken away from defensive players.

The end result I believe is an all out assault on the scoring and passing records of the NFL. This season is probably on pace to be the highest scoring season in NFL history. I understand that offense creates excitement, fills seats and creates fan interest, but fans love and connect with stout defenses as well, and defense is always a necessity for Lombardi Trophies. I see the future of the game being changed to the point where defensive players will be an insignificant part of the game; it’ll solely be about which team can basically outscore the other. 40 points a game or more will become the norm rather than the exception.

Let the players play, injuries have always been a part of the game, that will never change. From the beginning of camp everyone is hurting and some will suffer injures, next man up has always been the mantra. Something’s can be changed, some can’t, but in the best interest of the game, the things that have made the game great should not be removed or you lose the tradition and essence of the game.

To the NFL and the gentlemen who make the rules, even those who form these rules having never worn the uniform, need to acknowledge and realize that this is a violent game, and while I applaud their efforts to protect players, the fact is this game will always have its share of injuries and some cannot be avoided. You cannot train players to be aggressive and play all out, and then penalized them for doing what they’ve been trained to do.

Seth Joyner

1. Indianapolis Colts – Andrew Luck – Stanford QB – A lot will change between now and the draft, but this pick won’t.

2. Cleveland Browns- Robert Griffin III – Baylor QB - RG3 won’t be a Ram, but I believe he will be picked here by someone trading up. A trade with the Browns makes sense because of all the picks Cleveland has, and by going down to 4, the Rams can still get one of the elite guys they were targeting here.

3. Minnesota Vikings – Matt Kalil – Southern California OT - I still think the Vikings should be looking WR here, but it’s clear they’re going to take Kalil. Not that Kalil isn’t one of the top 3-5 prospects in the draft; I just prefer to build my offense around a dominant WR threat if the opportunity is there. Has having 2 of the top left tackles in the NFL helped the Browns and Dolphins become top offensive units?

4. St. Louis Rams – Michael Floyd – Notre Dame WR – At this point, Floyd and Blackmon are neck and neck. Both will be outstanding #1 WRs in the NFL, and I see Floyd’s size and speed winning out here in the St. Louis draft room. There is no wrong answer between the two.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Morris Claiborne – Louisiana State CB - This is pretty convenient for the Bucs. At a position of need, they get maybe the best defensive player in this draft.

6. Washington Redskins – Trent Richardson – Alabama RB - The Redskins draft plan here should be to take the best offensive skill player on the board. Their skill positions need upgrading more than maybe any team in the league. Why reach on Tannehill here when you can add a player who could instantly be one of the top RBs in the NFL? If they can find their QB elsewhere and dip into the deep WR free agent market, all the sudden the Redskins could have the makings of a great offense.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars – Justin Blackmon – Oklahoma State WR - The Jaguars’ offseason plan will be full-blown Operation Save Blaine Gabbert. I doubt any veteran free agent receiver of any worth would want to come catch passes in this offense, so they’ll have to find their #1 receiver through the draft.

8. Miami Dolphins – Melvin Ingram – South Carolina DE – He’s a versatile rusher, he killed double teams in college, he tossed around the Georgia offensive line – there’s a lot to like about Ingram. I think he’s the safest DL prospect in the draft. The Dolphins can begin to build their 4-3 around Ingram.

9. Carolina Panthers – Dontari Poe – Memphis NT – Poe is the most physically gifted player in this draft. The way he moves at his size combined with his strength is really, really special. This isn’t a reach; he’s one of the 10 best players in this draft.

10. Buffalo Bills – Kendall Wright – Baylor WR – The Bills could be losing Stevie Johnson via free agency, and even if they don’t this is an excellent pick. Wright is a special vertical threat and will be able to get behind NFL secondaries right away.

11. Kansas City Chiefs – David DeCastro – Stanford C – You’ve heard this before I’m sure, but DeCastro is the cleanest offensive prospect in this draft. A technician at such a young age is super rare, which is why drafting an interior OL isn’t a reach here.

12. Seattle Seahawks – Ryan Tannehill – Texas A&M QB – Tannehill has been a trendy QB amongst scouts because of his natural “tools.” I’ve seen plenty of Tannehill going back to last year, and I don’t believe he’s worthy of a pick this high. Tannehill doesn’t throw receivers open, he’s inconsistent and turns the ball over too much. I’d like to see a QB dominate the college level more before investing a top 15 pick in him. Nonetheless, I’ve heard too many top 10-15 pick rumors for him to leave him out.

13. Arizona Cardinals – Courtney Upshaw – Alabama OLB – Much is made of the Cardinals needing to fix their offense, but if they don’t continue to upgrade that defense they’re going to continue to be an average team in a bad division. They need more pass rush to go with the finesse WILL rusher Sam Acho, and a strong bull-rusher like Upshaw would be the perfect compliment at SAM linebacker.

14. Dallas Cowboys – Fletcher Cox – Mississippi State DE/DT – Cox’s buzz is out of control. He’s drawing comparisons to Gerald McCoy. He’s scheme-versatile, as he played all over the place at Mississippi State. He has really good hands, sheds well and plays fast. He can be an every down player right away.

15. Philadelphia Eagles – Luke Kuechly – Boston College MLB - If the Eagles are lucky enough to have an opportunity to get Kuechly like this, they’ll be elated. Their linebackers lack discipline; they read plays poorly and get washed by lineman way too easily. They lack a real intelligent leader on their defense and Kuechly would be just that.

16. New York Jets – Quinton Coples – North Carolina DE – The Jets can afford to take a risk on Coples. He’s the best talent available here. The Jets need more athleticism on the edge of their front 7. Coples is a tall lean athlete with some ability to turn the edge. I think he’s in serious need of NFL coaching, and could be sculpted into a pretty good NFL pass rusher. He reminds me of the Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson.

17. Cincinnati Bengals – Janoris Jenkins – North Alabama CB – Jenkins was on his way to being a top 10-15 pick last year before choosing to stay in school. By everything I’ve seen, the Bengals are really looking hard at the CBs in this draft. It would make sense, as they have yet to find a legitimate replacement for Jonathan Joseph.

18. San Diego Chargers – Michael Brockers – Louisiana State DT – Last year’s 1st round pick Corey Liuget was underwhelming, a trend amongst recent Chargers 1st round picks. They aren’t stout on their defensive line, and their front 7 in general lacks talent. Brockers has been called the best run stuffing interior DL in the draft, and he has the tools to become a better pass rusher.

19. Chicago Bears – Dre Kirkpatrick – Alabama CB – The Bears love big zone corners and they need to infuse some young talent into their secondary. Lovie Smith coaches DBs better than anyone in the league, and I see Kirkpatrick moving into an impact role down the line on the edge for the Bears.

20. Tennessee Titans – Nick Perry – Southern California DE – He’s dominated some high talent in Stanford’s Jonathan Martin. He has a quick twitch and plays with really good leverage. He looks like another USC stud. The Titans need edge rush and this is a rusher who fits their DE mold.

21. Cincinnati Bengals – Riley Reif – Iowa OT – There’s a lot of mixed opinions on Reif. I think he’s at worst an above average starting right tackle in the NFL. I don’t see the Bengals paying Andre Smith, which would leave a big hole at right tackle for the Bengals.

22. Cleveland Browns – Rueben Randle – Louisiana State WR – It’s no secret. The Browns need receivers desperately. Randle was underutilized like most offensive skill position talent at LSU. The Browns will be looking to upgrade their skill positions with this pick and their next few picks in this draft. They must infuse talent on the edges of this offense.

23. Detroit Lions – Jonathan Martin – Stanford OT – Like Reif, Martin is a pretty polarizing player. Some people have him top 10; most have him between there and the 20s. With all the talent in this 1st round, I can see him falling here. He’s got the NFL build and athleticism to start for years, but some question his physicality and how great he can really be.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers – Cordy Glenn – Georgia OT – The Steelers offensive line is going to be overhauled this offseason. It already started with the release of Kemoeatu and moving Marcus Gilbert to left tackle. Glenn is a massive power OL like the Steelers prefer. He could be plugged in at guard or right tackle on this line and solves a lot of the Steelers problems.

25. Denver Broncos – Devon Still – Penn State DT - I’m not a fan of Still’s. He has a poor motor and doesn’t make enough plays. He also has a very scary medical history. I’m not even convinced a team should spend a 1st round pick on such a high-risk player. I’ve heard way too much buzz about him to leave him off this mock though. He might even go higher than this, but personally I am not a fan. He would fit what the Broncos do, however, and could find success in John Fox’s 4-3.

26. Houston Texans – Stephen Hill – Georgia Tech WR – Hill is very easy to sleep on. He’s probably the last WR left on the board with #1 WR potential. He blew up the combine with his 4.3 speed, but that was expected. He has great body control for 6’4 and doesn’t have the bad hands you might expect from a height/weight/speed guy. The downside is he rarely played against press coverage in college, and a lot of his catches are wide-open deep balls. However, it’s hard to discredit a guy for doing what his college scheme asked him to do. This is a guy whose stock will only go up from here, and very well could be higher than this come draft day.

27. New England Patriots – Peter Konz – Wisconsin C – The Patriots are always one of the more difficult teams to predict. They’ve had success drafting offensive lineman before in the mid to late part of the 1st round, and Konz is worthy of this selection. He’s a typical Wisconsin lineman – good technician, plus blocker in the run game and very mature. He’s a safe plug and play pick.

28. Green Bay Packers – Jerel Worthy – Michigan State DT - I like Worthy more than most. He has special athleticism and mobility for his position. He’s a pretty decent point of attack DT and has adequate strength. His motor isn’t great, but in the NFL he won’t be asked to play as many snaps as he did at Michigan State. I see him playing that Cullen Jenkins-type role in this defense.

29. Baltimore Ravens – Dont’a Hightower – Alabama MLB - The Ravens usually don’t reach and they won’t with this pick either. Hightower could play either of the Ravens ILB positions. He could redshirt for a year under Ray Lewis and eventually take over the middle of this Ravens defense.

30.San Francisco 49ers – Stephon Gilmore – South Carolina CB – The Niners will look really hard at WR. Dwight Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and Alshon Jeffery will all be looked at here, but in the end there are too many questions about that bunch and far fewer about Gilmore. He has the potential to be a really good starting CB. He ran a lot better than I expected at the Combine too, which will only help him.

31. New England Patriots – Joe Adams – Arkansas WR – Even if the Patriots bring back Welker, they have a serious need at WR. I can see Adams coming in right away and being a catch machine for Brady. I don’t think he’s just a slot WR either, he can get open out on the edge. He may not necessarily be that “1st round talent,” but he can instantly produce in this Patriots offense. Like with the Niners, Jones/Sanu/Jeffery will be talked about a lot here, but I don’t see them as better fits than Adams.

32. New York Giants – Mike Adams – Ohio State OT – Quietly, the Giants offensive line was kind of a mess last year. They haven’t been able to figure out tackle for a few years now. Mike Adams can come in and play right tackle right away, and when the Giants inevitably play musical chairs and switch guys around on the line, Adams could eventually settle in at left tackle.

-Ben Layman

Follow me on twitter at @houtexmajorin

Just a heads up, if you are a fan of the eye candy I post on here, you will notice that these pics are a little “tame” compared to others. But I have been away for awhile. I will get back in a groove.

- David Johnson

Bud Selig is a stubborn man. A gentleman of his age, and I use that term lightly, has trouble adapting to new situations. Selig wants to stick with what he knows well. He wants to turn down that awful sounding auto-tune on MTV and keep that Bing Crosby record on the player.

The Dodgers are now in turmoil but Selig still isn’t going to do a damned thing about it. He doesn’t want Cuban rattling any cages. He likes things just the way they are. Bud Selig is once again ignoring a wonderful opportunity to improve his fading product.

The NFL and NBA are taking over the sport of baseball yet Selig doesn’t mind being a spectator. He has the ultimate power to make a difference but chooses otherwise. It’s as if Batman decided that he wasn’t going to protect Gotham.

Maybe Batman is a bit farfetched for the black-hearted nature of the Bud. However, the amount of power that he consistently fails to utilize isn’t.

Mark Cuban would give fans a reason to tune in to watch Major League Baseball.

In a league where the salary cap exists as much as the aliens at Area 51, Cuban’s spendthrift ways would bring the Dodgers to new heights. He would bring Steinbrenner money with a Hollywood personality. Mark Cuban is LA.

Bringing a major market franchise back to relevancy is no doubt high on Selig’s priority list. Without Mark Cuban, the task becomes significantly more difficult.

Love him (which you should) or hate him, a Mark Cuban led team would draw interest. For fans, half the fun of professional sports is finding teams to root for and against. With Mark Cuban, the casual fan will tune in to see how his team fares.

Creating a buzz around a sport that is dominated by LeBron James TV specials and Tom Brady hair talk is exactly what baseball needs. It’s about time someone ruffled a few feathers. Opinionated, arrogant and brash. What more could the sport ask for?

Related: Something’s Gotta Give

This would be like the New York Yankees acquiring Ozzie Guillen to be their head coach.

Bud Selig has finally found some steadiness in baseball with steroids becoming a thing of the past.

Admitting that he was wrong for not allowing Mark Cuban to buy the Cubs two years back would take away from the steady path that Selig covets but it would give him plenty of street cred around North America. People would start putting Bud Selig and the game of baseball a bit higher in their books. Hard to believe that this can all happen because of one man.

The amount of excitement that merely talks of Mark Cuban possibly landing an MLB franchise is astounding. The amount of hope a software geek can bring to America’s pastime is evidence in itself. The LA Dodgers going bankrupt is the best thing for baseball if it means that Mark Cuban could be part of the exclusive club.

People get the message. Fans want Cuban in. The only person that doesn’t want to listen is Bud Selig.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

This debate was extremely interesting to say the least, to hear from current coaches, former players collegiate as well as professional, conference commissioners and broadcasters was quite insightful.

I don’t think that much was really resolved, but the first step in resolution is always conversation. As a former collegiate and professional football player I could relate to all sides of the argument.

I’m of the opinion that the coaches and colleges face many problems and issues, but at the end of the day things always boil down to the all mighty dollar. The argument with regards to education is thoroughly agreed upon, but the reason we encourage kids to go to college and get a degree is for the future betterment of themselves to be good people and beneficial to society. And yet the prize is always to make money in the end.

All of their goals and hopes point to money, that’s what, is assumed a good education will provide for the person who attains it. For the lion share of collegiate athletes, turning pro and getting a handsome contract is the fulfillment of going through four years of college. We do live in a new world as it pertains to collegiate sports and as old school as some of the panelists claim to be, the old world of college sports they knew has drastically changed forever and no longer exists.

The money has grown immensely and the marketing of star players has contributed to that growth. The players now realize their worth to universities and their revenues, and rightfully want a share, legally or illegally. Why should the universities and the BCS make millions, if not billions while the players who create the wealth, live in virtual poverty? I realize that it is a difficult problem to solve, but a scholarship-ed athlete according to NCAA rules is not allowed to work, so how are they to attain money for the basic needs of life? As long as there is alum who will offer them the money, they will take it.

I can remember being a college athlete and never having money for a thing. I took deodorant and soap from the locker room for my needs at the dorm. Yes we got room and board, paid tuition and 3 square meal per day, at 7 AM, 12 PM and 7 PM, by 9 PM I was hungry again. I was 17 yrs old with no option or money for a snack or additional meals between that 12 hour window until breakfast. And while the coaches and those who oppose paying these college kids are sitting at home in their cushy million dollar homes, with refrigerators fill to the brim, I was starving in my 10 x 10 dorm room.

Much talk has gone on about the cost of attendance, and while that would be a start, some schools would be at a greater advantage than others. $2000-$3000 per year, divided by 40 weeks, comes out to $75 per week or $10 per day. Hardly enough to make a difference or stop a kid from accepting money from a willing alum.

Clearly something needs to be done, it is an issue that will not go away and has come to a head in college athletics. I’m not saying that we should make these kids millionaires in college. But a sufficient stipend that allows them to take care of their basic needs, go see a movie or take a young lady or gentleman out on a date would go a long way in rectifying this problem.

- Seth Joyner

First off, we know the Eagles are gearing up and are all in for a Super Bowl run. They will be so cap strapped after the next 3 years, they will either have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy or Andy Reid will be fired and the Eagles will be in rebuilding mode.

The Packers seem to still be the team to beat. If they could win it all with all of the injuries they endured last year, what might they do at full force and Aaron Rodgers confidence at an all time high?

The Patriots have loaded up in a sense as well, with Brady getting older; their window seems to be closing, although they’ve gotten younger on defense. The jury is still out on whether Belichick can work his magic and squeeze the last bit of talent out of Chad Johnson and the much maligned Albert Haynesworth.

The Colts seem to have just treaded water. We all know that as Peyton goes, so goes the Colts. Although he has all of his weapons back, now he’s on the shelf. This certainly cannot be good for his timing with his receivers. Curious to see if they’ve manned up any on defense or are they the same old softies vs. the run with two of the best book end pass rushers in the league?

The Steelers didn’t look to good in the preseason opener, but you know that they will be there in the end. Big Ben will need to step up his game and create more production on the offensive side of the ball. Strange to even have to say that about a two time Super Bowl Champ, but it is what it is. Defensively they are still the cream of the crop, although the Packers may have developed the blueprint for beating them; spread em’ out, and if you can protect on the edges you have a shot at beating them.

Even with the addition of Julio Jones on the offense, the Falcons didn’t address their greatest need, defensive stability. Offensively they can score with anyone in the league, but come playoff time, the defense is this teams Achilles heel. They may have to blow up the scoreboard in order to win in the playoffs, yet with the Packers and Eagles offenses, which can score on just about every possession, they’ll have their work cut out for themselves. And both the Packers and Eagles have far superior defenses.

The jury is still out on the Jets as well. Rex is and always will be his old brash and braggadocios self, but can the players ever cash the check he writes year after year. A lot will ride on the development of QB Mark Sanchez and how much he has progressed. If that offense cannot open wide the playbook and take off his reigns, we may very well watch the Jets not even make the playoffs this year. The defense should be ranked among the best again, but the rest of the league is figuring out ways to beat and counter this aggressive attacking style of defense.

The Saints look good in their preseason debut. Anytime you have Drew Brees and a surrounding cast, you have a shot at the title. Now that they have moved on past the Reggie Bush mistake (10th pick overall), they have a truly diverse backfield with Pierre and Ingram. The question mark for this team will be its defense, Gregg Williams certainly will have them ready to play their best, but have they addressed enough issues to make them a contender again?

The rest of the league hasn’t done very much to get better. The Cards finally have a QB (Kolb), but the Rams may very well contend for the NFC West crown. The Bears and Vikings will play second fiddle to the Pack, aaaagain. The Cowboys still lack athleticism, speed and talent defensively to compete with the Eagles, and the Giants stood pat, not really improving in many areas from last season. And the Colts will dominate even with a D-Coordinator change with the Texans, too much to learn too soon, and standing up Mario Williams will diminish his sack numbers and do little to improve the team overall.

With no OTA’s and mini camps to implement new systems, and shortened training camps putting rookies at a distinct disadvantage, football will look sloppy for the first half of the season. Particularly on the defensive side of the ball, where communication is key. New players will be adjusting to new teams and systems, second year players having not really improved much because of the lack of off-season training and rookies will be trying to learn on the go, the quality of play will be ugly for a while. This will give the teams, good teams that have retained the majority of their veteran players an edge on the rest of the league. One thing’s for sure, it will be interesting to watch how teams develop and come around as the season progresses.

- Seth Joyner

But then it got me thinking. What if I had unlimited funds and could build the backyard of my dreams? And I am not talking a Yard Crashers episode with 5 tons of crushed gravel and a fire pit. A real dream of a backyard. So here are a few things I would put in my yard before a golf course.

• Go Cart Track! Fun for all ages, low maintenance yard work minus a few strategically places bushes, and you could even make your money back on it if you felt like charging the neighbor kids. The only drawback I can come up with is the sweet smell of gasoline in the morning…ugh
• Replica Stadium! Really you DON’T wanna wake-up and have morning coffee in the Horseshoe every day?? Of course you do! I would even customize the P.A. system to cheer me on. “Yay Racheal is up today” (massive cheering). Not only would it be a confidence booster but your local pee wee league would fall over themselves to use it. Once again, money maker. The only drawback, when my team loses in an awful and stupid manner I would have to resist the urge to knock it all down in a fan fit of rage.
• Roller Coaster! No more waiting in line smashed between a guy still rocking a mullet and the kid with black hair and more piercings than everyone in line put together. Plus you can ride in whatever car you wanted whenever you wanted. It is a definite money maker but you would have to put up with people screaming in your backyard roughly every 3 minutes.
• Olympic size swimming pool complete with a separate diving pool. This is purely for my enjoyment. And i don’t even enjoy swimming that much. But can you imagine how many pool boys it would take to care for that thing? Daily? Yeah awesome.

So while Rory thinks about work every single morning when he wakes up and looks out his back door, I will be enjoying my go cart/stadium/roller coaster/pool….in my dreams.

- Racheal Sayers

Ian Mahinmi thinks Kobe Bryant is more arrogant than LeBron James. So what?

Again, the media wants to blow things out of proportion. The media thinks a backup center shouldn’t be calling out a “once-in-a-generation superstar.”

Calling out?

Mahinmi probably speaks the truth. Mahinmi didn’t say that Dirk Nowitzki is better than Kobe Bryant. He didn’t call anyone out. He voiced an opinion and is drawing attention to something that he feels is true. It may very well be.

That’s not the point though.

Ian Mahinmi is another example of a player run down for giving a sound bite that isn’t as bland as a microwave dinner. Athletes learn that saying nothing is always smarter than saying something. Athletes learn from guys like Mahinmi.

No one wants to be ripped to shreds by the media. On certain occasions, players can’t help themselves and they pay for it dearly. The media complains that athletes aren’t interesting enough. However, when an athlete gives them something that is remotely controversial they pounce on it.

It’s like a flock of vultures waiting for the dying animal. It has become instinctual for them to immediately prey on those who give us something to talk about around the water cooler. The media can’t help themselves either.

“Kobe is super arrogant but everybody loves him. To me, Kobe is more arrogant (than LeBron James).”

Kobe Bryant is super arrogant. The dislike ability factor of LeBron may skew our view but it is very possible that James is less arrogant than Kobe. It’s a close race.

This is probably a statement that Kobe Bryant wouldn’t necessarily dismiss. Bryant switched his number from 8 to 24 because 24 is one higher than 23. A 1st grader can put 2 and 2 together.

Ian Mahinmi sees what we all see but he’s getting ridiculed for it. This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have any respect for Kobe Bryant as a player. You don’t have to respect the person to respect the player.

Mahinmi’s stupidity alone might be grounds for criticism but it shouldn’t be. When we criticize these players we don’t let them voice their opinion. It means that we receive quote after quote from athletes who have gotten their degree from the Crash Davis School of interviewing.

Do any of us know the context of Mahinmi’s comments anyways? I have looked at multiple reports of the story and have found nothing that mentions the context of Mahinimi’s comments.

In my poorly translated high school French, the question asked was whether LeBron James is arrogant. Mahinmi responded with a straightforward answer of how he felt and said that he prefers Michael Jordan’s style more. Then came the dreaded answer.

One sentence in a simple interview that will haunt Ian Mahinmi for the rest of his career. He’s coming off a world championship for heaven sakes. Give the guy a break.

Of course, that will never happen. The media will always victimize those who have a short lapse in concentration.

Sometimes people deserve it. LeBron James deserved it when he essentially said that all the people criticizing him would still have to go back to their terrible lives and he would still be living the good life. He took a shot at the general public that was uncalled for.

Maybe Kobe Bryant can tell the media that when Ian Mahinmi wakes up tomorrow morning he will still be a 3rd string center.

It’s hard to believe that Kobe Bryant doesn’t know he is arrogant. He knows he is the best player of his generation. He lets the world know it with the way he carries himself. He thrives off of his arrogance.

It might be a good idea for us to chill for a bit. Mahinmi didn’t accuse Kobe Bryant of using performance enhancing drugs or being a rapist.

Nothing happens if a sports writer speaks out about the supreme arrogance of Kobe Bryant. At least Ian Mahinmi is an NBA player. He has experience playing against Kobe Bryant. His team swept the Lakers a few months ago.

In a country that is proud of its constitution, freedom of speech for athletes is a joke. Athletes are free to say anything that isn’t controversial. They can’t say anything about anything without getting a hefty fine from their league.

The contradictory nature of the media is incredible. Be boring or be hated. It’s your choice.

The truth? The media can never handle the truth.

John Buck was calling the pitches at the 2010 all-star game when Brian McCann hit the game deciding 3-run double in the 7th inning. What does John Buck have to do with anything? John Buck represents what is wrong with Major League Baseball’s mid-summer classic.

It probably wasn’t John Buck’s fault that Brian McCann whacked a double giving the National League home field advantage in the 2010 World Series. It also probably didn’t matter to John Buck who was playing for the perennially mediocre Toronto Blue Jays last season. He was calling pitches in a game that he probably didn’t expect to be in before the season had started.

Bud Selig’s attempt to inject more life into the slowly dying lure of all-star games should be applauded but this isn’t right.

Baseball’s all-star game is flooded with an excess of players and a need to get each one into the game. Those guys deserve it. They deserve the opportunity to play.

It’s the World Series teams who don’t deserve it. They don’t deserve what the all-star game now stands for. The most important game is decided in the most chaotic way possible by a majority of players who couldn’t care less. At least one player has to be chosen from each team and they could possibly be the most important player in the game. Most important, not most valuable.

The all-star game is a circus but it’s still a good circus. All the best players in the world are put on one field to showcase their talent. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that.

I don’t mind seeing managers struggle to find playing time for position players while having to protect the arms of pitchers.

I can’t bear watching mangers try to organize a circus all while facing the pressure of winning a potentially very meaningful game.

The all-star game is played run more like a high school PE class yet the implications are more like a World Series title. Oh wait, it is a World Series title.

The math doesn’t add up.

Baseball is the one sport that doesn’t have to worry about their players giving a full effort. Baseball is the one sport where players will give their full effort because it’s almost impossible not to. Just ask Pete Rose.

All-star games are made to be fun but the never-ending drive for higher ratings has attempted to create real meaning where there isn’t meant to be any. Throwing together 50 guys for one game and telling them that the outcome of a world championship could depend on them is incredibly illogical.

In the end, you have 3rd and 4th string “all-stars” playing in crunch time. John Buck could be behind the plate not getting on his knees to block a ball with a guy on third base with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. No, that didn’t actually didn’t happen but it seems like something Mr. Buckaroo could pull off.

All-star games are going the way of MySpace but there are other ways to fix it. Since 2003, when the home-field advantage rule was implemented, ratings have not increased in the slightest. The ratings have fluctuated from a 9.5 in 2003 to an all-time low of 7.5 in 2010. No more, no less.

To put that into perspective, ratings throughout the 90’s never reached below an 11.8 and were as high as 17.4.

Obviously, this ploy hasn’t done anything to improve the all-star game’s ratings. The controversy and buzz generated from the rule still isn’t bringing fans to watch the game.

This failed attempt to boost ratings has to be scrapped. They aren’t letting the people who should be deciding their fate do the deciding for themselves. The all-star game may only decide one game but its one game that the team’s playing in have virtually no control over. Home-field advantage should be determined by how the respective teams have played throughout the year.

Contract rosters, change the way players are chosen, pay the players, drop the fan vote. It is anyone’s guess on what the best way to fix the all-star game is. I have no idea.

All I know is that home-field advantage should not be on the line at the annual mid-summer classic.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

Being unable to challenge our current beliefs, it’s a black mark on our society. We continually accept things because it’s the way it has always been done. I wish we could change that.

Related: Significant Injury?

Sports are similar to life in so many ways. The elite of society get the benefit of the doubt. For example, rich men get beautiful women and the beautiful women are so often let off the hook.

In this sense, professional sports are no different.

The Wade’ and Kobe’s in basketball get more fouls called, the Brady’s and Manning’s in football get more yellow flags tossed in their favor and the Roy Halladay’s of the world get a bigger strike zone.

And here I am thinking that equality was something society strived toward.

The Blue Jays-Phillies game today featured Roy Halladay’s long awaited return to the city of Toronto. The game also featured some very inconsistent but typical game calling from home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez.

The fans sure let him know it and more so than any regular season game I have ever seen.

For 9 innings, Alfonso Marquez was giving the benefit to Roy Halladay while Blue Jay pitchers were forced to pitch in a confined strike zone. It all culminated in Blue Jay reliever Jon Rauch’s very amusing ejection. He had reason to be upset considering a 3-2 curve ball that caught the knees on Ryan Howard, which would have ended the inning, was called a ball. He blew up after the next batter, Shane Victorino, hit a single to drive in a run.

He didn’t blow up because of the one call though. It was the frustration of an entire game in which the better team and the better pitcher received better treatment. According to Pitch FX, the Blue Jays had 10 strikes called balls while the Phillies had 1.

The typicality in this kind of umpiring is nothing new. It is everything that is wrong with the mentality of society and how we see people above us. These people are special and we believe they should be treated in that way. Apparently, they have earned something that puts them above the rules.

Greg Maddux built a career on being able get strikes called on pitches thrown 3, 4 and even 5 inches off the plate. These were Pitches that batters had less of a chance at hitting than a chess champion has at picking up Jessica Alba. I guess umpires felt bad for Maddux and his perfect control. He needed extra room off the plate too.

The plate is supposed to be set in stone. It is there for a reason yet umpires continually choose to expand it for stars like Roy Halladay and Mariano Rivera. It makes great pitchers absolutely unhittable.

Star players haven’t earned the right to bend the rules and rookies shouldn’t have to earn the right to get calls within the rules. The rules are put in place to ensure fairness. Every single player should have earned the right to get the same call as the next no matter how many years they have played in the league or how many 0’s are in their contract.

Referees, umpires, fans, players, former players, writers and analysts all seem to find this appropriate. That should make us livid.

We expect superstars to get better treatment when it should not be the case. It is another one of those instances in society where we accept it because it is the norm and always has been.

Do you think it’s fair when multi-bizzilionaire Alex Rodriguez gets out of paying a speeding ticket and you don’t when you’re struggling to pay the bills with 2 kids and a second mortgage on the house? I didn’t think so.

It also isn’t fair for Carlos Villaneuva to have to fight for every strike when his considerably more talented counterpart Roy Halladay does not.

I’m not sure what makes me angrier. Star players receiving every edge imaginable or people unwilling to challenge completely illogical societal norms.

When are fans going to step and say that this isn’t okay? When are fans going to step up and say that we can’t ignore this any longer?

Talent across sports will never be on an equal plain but there is no reason why the rules can’t be. Stop excusing the problem with “he has earned it” and start challenging the issue at hand.

As similar as sports can be to life it still isn’t the real world. This might be a fact of life but it doesn’t have to be a fact in sports.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

Grunting is ruining tennis.

Grunting, or shrieking as it is known on the WTA, has grown in volume in recent years. It is not only the decibel level that is rising but the amount of players choosing to make the repulsive noises.

It has gotten so bad that BBC has launched a tool that allows viewers to fade out the sound of grunting. If that’s not a signal for change I’m not sure what is.

People are sick of it. I’m sick and tired of it. I think I even heard Prince William mumbling something along those lines to Kate Middleton.

If only the networks had a say in this. The BBC has been receiving complaints regarding this at a higher rate than angry mother’s writing letters to the FCC. This year’s Wimbledon has finally made grunting an issue worth delving into. It is a problem that has gone unnoticed for too long.

Wimbledon is a beautiful tradition. The pointless noise has made Wimbledon filthy. Tennis, like all professional sports, is not about the players. It is about the fans and bringing them a product they feel is worthy of their 3 hours in front of the television. This is entertainment and grunting is slowly but surely taking away from the potentially high entertainment value that each match brings.

Grunting may sometimes be an uncontrolled reaction. We’ve all experienced it. The grunting displayed in tennis is completely under their control.

Whether its Marcos Baghdatis whimpering like a dying bull or, as much as we might enjoy the visual, Maria Sharapova screaming to audition for the next Ron Jeremy flick, the constant noise is largely uncalled for.

As much as the Williams sisters try to prove it, the backhand slice and forehand volley do not necessitate ear-splitting shrieks on any and every occasion.

I don’t need a professional tennis player telling me that grunting helps them hit the ball harder. Or that, proved by one study, it creates a psychological advantage that would seem to compromise the integrity of the game if true.

Roger Federer is as quiet as a mouse out on the court. If one of the best players of all-time can stay quiet, why can’t you?

Women’s tennis is already being compromised enough by the lack of notoriety among the dominating presence of European players with an excessive number of k’s, v’s and z’s in their names as well as the instability of the revolving door of top seeds. They don’t need the casual fan changing the channel to Maury because they at least want some form of entertainment with their screaming.

A person can mute their TV for only so long. If muting the TV means I don’t have to hear another spiel from Pam Shriver about the emotions of the match then I might be okay with it but in the end I want to hear the genuinely intelligent comments coming from John McEnroe. I want to hear the ball hitting the racquet and the crowd roaring.

Each match we see Wimbledon spectators jumping on the bandwagon of the player who shrieks the least. They don’t have the luxury of muting their TV’s.

The men’s game doesn’t face the same problems that the women’s game does simply because their product on the court is so much greater with the abundance of elite talent they have been blessed with in the last decade. It helps that the men don’t grunt as much either. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the men’s side could still use the change.

Thursday’s semi-finals featured two of the loudest females in Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. Two women who can make a rock concert look like a library and screams that give teen boys across the country a reason to watch tennis.

Tennis has been getting evidence that even the jury of the O.J. trial couldn’t overlook.

It would be fitting to see the grunting’s swan song sung by Maria Sharapova in Saturday’s final.

Tennis has gotten on the slipperiest of slopes by allowing grunting to escalate to a point where it might eventually be out of their control. Grunting is an epidemic in the sport, become more contagious with each week.

Tennis can put a stop to this now though. Penalize players for grunting. They may complain but let them deal with it. They don’t need to do it and the sport doesn’t need it. Unless viewers tuning out from the game of tennis altogether is what the ITF is aiming for.

Letting the issue slide like the slope that tennis is already on can only do harm.

The Hawkeye system that has been introduced could be the greatest thing since sliced bread. It showed that the International Tennis Federation isn’t afraid to implement drastic changes amid mixed feedback.

It’s time to cut out grunting before it becomes an issue too difficult to fix.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

Don’t back down now. It’s time to go all-in.

Bryan Colangelo has to push his chips in the middle and hope for the best.

In a draft class where sifting through the talent is about as difficult as getting the Raptors to play good defense, there is no better opportunity for the Toronto GM to make a bold move.

The Raptors should take Kemba Walker.

With each mock draft miles apart from the next, there’s no telling what player each team is going to draft. Even though the Cleveland Cavaliers, who hold the 1st overall pick, are reported to have decided on Kyrie Irving, sources are also saying that is far from a guarantee. The talent level for this draft class was already sparse before 3 of the top 5 prospects decided to delay their trip to the NBA. All that’s left in the lottery is supposed to be the scraps.

Okay, maybe not quite the scraps, but this draft is not the 2003 class by any means. That’s why the Raptors need to make a big splash. With each player even farther from a sure thing than usual, the best bet for Bryan Colangelo would be to put his money on a guy who has the ultimate boom or bust potential.

A college superstar who theoretically doesn’t have the attributes to translate those skills to the NBA. You hear the story every year. That’s Kemba Walker in a nutshell. Walker has the intangibles that others don’t have though. His great character and leadership are unquestionable while his upside is sky high.

Colangelo has failed as a GM. He must carry a pretty big rabbits foot around because he is awful lucky to have received a multi-year extension. His bold moves have fizzled. The European movement, Jermaine O’Neal, Hedo Turkoglu. Nothing has worked for Bryan Colangelo.

The Raptors essentially fired their defensively inept coach Jay Triano and have reportedly hired Dallas Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey thus ushering in another new era under Colangelo.

The era needs to be started off with a bang. Kemba Walker might not possess all the qualities of the Raptors’ change towards a more grinding defensive philosophy but he does have exactly what the Raptors are missing. Star potential.

On a team lacking any direction, Kemba Walker could be the player to guide them to where they want to go.

Andrea Bargnani is a faux star. He wants to be considered the best but doesn’t want to put in the effort. The Raptors are getting away from that, the horrible pasta commercial and all.

Kemba Walker should love the letter ‘e.’ He’s explosive, exciting, exhilarating and electrifying. Jaw dropping handles, cheeky floaters and freakish quickness. Kemba and his 6″1 frame aren’t close to being considered a true NBA ready point guard but he is an unselfish player, which is always a good place to begin.

Small forward may be the Raptors most glaring need but drafting another slasher with limited shooting range would be redundant and uncalled for. The Raptors don’t want another Demar Derozan. They shouldn’t shove just anybody into that small forward spot. They can wait another year to find a guy that fits the mold.

Drafting another big man would be wrist cuttingly painful for a front court that is already over capacity. Ed Davis and Amir Johnson will require more playing time in order to develop properly and Andrea Bargnani is still under contract for 3 more years. Stretching to find a legitimate big man in this year’s draft would be silly.

A team in the modern NBA must have a floor general. Jose Calderon cannot be a starting point guard on a contending team and Jerryd Bayless has proved that he can’t make the transition. Kemba Walker has the ability to be the Raptors very own General MacArthur.

Kemba Walker is not the safest choice. However, assuming Brandon Knight is unavailable at the 5 spot, Kemba is the right choice. Taking the safe route up to a certain point will only get you so far. The draft is where franchises can make-up for previous wrong doings. It can heal the wounds that have been left by the ghosts of seasons past.

The Raptors were unlucky not to be rewarded for their terrible season. The 5th pick in a weak draft doesn’t seem fair for a team that lost its franchise player. Maybe in the end it will all be for the best.

If they draft Kemba Walker.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

No chance of choking. Rory McIlroy is on the path to putting the dark days behind and beginning his new era of being golf’s next superstar. Quite fitting that he did it in Tiger Woods fashion.

The PGA needed a star to break out sooner rather than later. They were due. The ratings probably weren’t all that great for a Sunday afternoon at the US Open but over these 4 days Rory McIlroy has made sure that people will be glued to their television sets for the next major.

It’s no secret that golf has been faltering with the absence of Tiger Woods. With 11 different winners in the last 11 majors there is very little reason for the casual fan to tune in. Nobodies winning isn’t very much fun. This 11th different champion changes the whole landscape of golf though.

Rory McIlroy can single handily launch golf back into relevance. He may not be American or have the flare of Tiger Wood but let’s face it, he is a golfer. You can’t expect Tiger Woods charisma out of every PGA star. McIlroy is likeable and isn’t boring. He’s a nice kid.

What more can you ask for?

Dominance can be boring but not when you haven’t seen it for a while. The rarer the flower, the sweeter it is. Dominance is exactly what the sport is begging for right now.

Boring is waiting for the next superstar to arrive but finally realizing that you are only setting yourself up for disappointment. Can you really blame me for being so skeptical towards McIlroy’s mental make-up?

The commentators were drooling over McIlroy and his “Adonis” looking follow through. The crowd was digging every shot and already chanting “Rory!” after he almost holed his tee shot on the 10th hole. Even his colleagues are in awe of his astonishing talent.

If Tiger Woods can come back healthy, which at this point looks unlikely, it would be wonderful to see the Irishman and the American go head-to-head against each other. That’s something that Tiger has lacked his whole career. He has lacked a true competitor that could go shot for shot with him. All the great one’s had it and Tiger never did. It takes away from his greatness.

Rory McIlroy is in a similar place to Tiger. He has the opportunity and talent to take the PGA tour by the throat. Guys like Ryo Ishikawa and Rickie Fowler are still young but haven’t shown the signs the McIlroy is giving us.

McIlroy could be alone at the top like Tiger Woods. Golf would be fun again. You need someone to root for or, at least, root against each weekend to make it interesting. Someone who is a real threat to contend each and every week. Love it or hate it, a dominant superstar is undeniably intriguing.

Rory McIlroy is doing for golf what Lindsay Lohan does for late night talk shows. With the annual summer sports lull, this couldn’t have come at a better time. He is the ultimate water cooler material right now.

Everyone at the PGA head office is breathing a little bit easier.

Even though Congressional played easier due to the heavy rain, Rory McIlroy made golfing a US Open course look like child’s play. He made the weekend an absolute laugher in a manner that could only be accomplished by a superstar. You don’t see Luke Donald or Lee Westwood doing much of that.

The past 4 days should have convinced the world that there is a reason to watch golf and his name is Rory McIlroy.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

The night began with such promise but, like downtown Vancouver, it ended in a burning wreck. A chance to end a franchise drought of 40 long years without a Stanley Cup victory was gone as fast as rioters could say “f*** the police!” The opportunity took so long to come back to Vancouver but was taken from them in a heartbeat.

The Vancouver Canucks are supposed to be a team that is built for annual Stanley Cup runs. This isn’t supposed to be the last time. In fact, this is supposed to be the beginning. General Manager Mike Gillis has much of his core locked up for multiple years including the Sedins, Ryan Kesler, Roberto Luongo, Dan Hamhuis and Alex Burrows.

Championship hangover is something most seen in hockey and football. Makes sense, they’re the 2 most physical. It takes a lot out of a team to make 1 championship run, much less 2. This might not be a championship hangover for the Canucks but it might as well be.

Only 5 teams in the last 20 years have reached back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and 2 of those have gone on to win in consecutive years. They say that hockey is the hardest championship to win. 4 grueling series, 16 victories, all over a long 2 months. Brutal.

However, bodies aren’t the only thing that the players invest. It’s how much they invest emotionally.

The Canucks have invested as much and probably more than most teams have in the past. It was their year and it was time to get the monkey off their backs. Everyone was tired of being the city without a championship. Tim Thomas just got in their way.

The team was battered, bruised and decimated. Alex Edler played on broken fingers, Kesler on a torn groin, Higgins possibly on a broken foot and the list goes on and on. They left it all on the line and fell short.

It’s hard to imagine that they have one more in them next year.

This season was too much for the entire team. The drive they had to bring the team and the city of Vancouver a Stanley Cup was enormous. It showed throughout the playoffs. The toll that this run will take on the team is going to be all too evident next year.

The one guy you wouldn’t expect to suffer from a hangover is Ryan Kesler. This true warrior, who skated as hard as he could through the drug-masked pain even with a minute to go in a 4-0 game 7, was teary eyed. “I really thought we were going to win this one” said Kesler following the loss, “I can’t put it into words right now.” He gave it everything he had but it wasn’t enough. The whole team did.

Roberto Luongo has had to battle through so much. Mentally he must be drained. His psyche must be like one of those flipped, flaming cars on Robson Street.

Justifiably he has been berated by the media and toyed with by the fans. A Stanley Cup would have shut them all up. Now it’s another long year of having to answer question after question about his mental toughness and ability to come up clutch.

He’s thinking of giving Lebron a call for some advice.

For a guy whose psyche is as delicate as a newborn baby, Roberto Luongo is going to have trouble shrugging this one off. His continual inability to play well on the road, the more overpaid by the day 12 year contract, a red sea parted five hole and the cardboard blocker he tries to pass off as a glove on his left hand all add up to one messed up goalie. This coming after new goalie coach Rollie Melanson completely remodeled his game prior to the season.

3 words: 11 more years.

More bad news for the Canucks comes from the thought that 3 of their top 6 defensemen are coming off the books in the summer. Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, and Sami Salo have expiring contracts. With no way to sign all 3, the Canucks will have to find a way to compensate in that regard. The fantastic play of rookie Chris Tanev is a good start.

If the Chicago Blackhawks are any indication of what lies ahead, the Canucks should be worried. Although the Blackhawks roster was decimated, it was apparent during their round 1 series with Vancouver that they weren’t playing with their hearts fully committed during the regular season. This was a team that underachieved greatly but had the talent and ability to turn their play up when the season was on the line.

The core of their roster stayed intact, which gave them arguably the best team in the Western Conference. They couldn’t muster up enough for the regular season though. The toll their championship run had taken on them was too drastic to overcome.

Vancouver will likely be seeing much of the same next year.

The Canucks have the team to contend next year, at least on paper they do. This is their small crack in the window of opportunity. In spite of that, nothing can make up or account for the roller-coaster that the team has gone through this year. The roller-coaster that will ultimately lead to the team’s downfall next season.

In theory, being that close to winning a championship should motivate them more. In practice, the thought of retribution won’t be enough to toil through the grind of another deep run into a 2nd consecutive Stanley Cup Playoffs.

- Chris Ross

I remember in 2006 every time I wore a Mavericks jersey or cap they would lose. Seriously it was so crazy I would be so excited about my Dallas Mavericks being in the finals but couldn’t show it with the gear. Then we took a 3-1 lead in the finals I broke out the Mavs stuff and loss after loss piled up and we lost them all and the Championship slipped away.

They say planning the parade route that year made things go wrong too. There was so many things that fans believed with every fiber of their being was making things go wrong for us. Today game 6 the game I predicted the Mavs would win the series in before it began I grabbed that hat and that jersey and wore it all day. People said why?

I responded with the curse is lifted. Honestly had it gone the wrong way many people would have had much to say to me about my bold predictions and the jersey’s would have then been quarantined yet again!

As I watched the quote unquote joke directed at the media dubbed as cough gate here in Dallas I knew that my prediction would come true. Why? I wasn’t because the villains of this series D Wade and LeBron showed how classless they can be. It was the response of Dirk Nowitzki in which he said “No, this will not motivate me if you need more motivation than the Finals then you don’t need to play.”

Dirk showed what a gutty player he really is in that game four with the 100+ degree temperature. Even in a game like tonight in which he couldn’t get the ball to go in the net he still found a way to make his shots and finish with 21 points.

The term soft has to officially be taken away from this team and its leader. Soft teams would have rolled over and quit in many of these games where they found themselves down 15 in the 4th quarter or down at all. A gutty team that can face adversity and stand there in the end is a great team. This team is a great team I admit it doesn’t always look pretty in fact if this Championship was won on fantastic earth shattering shots and dunks the Miami Heat would have won this hands down.

The Heat’s awesome dunks filled the highlight reels all summer long but in the end as the great Bob Sturm has tweeted many times it’s still only worth 2 points. While I’m talking about Twitter I have to say I am so glad I don’t have to see Dirk Noringski anymore! I kept quiet because we hadn’t proven anything yet but now that can never be uttered in a sentence again.

This team has battled adversity throughout this series and season but has just found away to come away with the wins they needed. They lost Caron Butler for the season and people wrote them off. They blew an 18 point lead in game 3 against Portland and people wrote them off. They had to face the mighty Lakers and people said it couldn’t be done.

They fought their way back against Portland, they convincingly took down the mighty Lakers making Phil Jackson’s retirement bittersweet. They took down the young ins’ in Oklahoma who people said were just spectacular. Then finally this Mavericks team faced the high flying Superstar Frankenstein 3 headed monster in the Heat and they still prevailed. Dirk and these Mavs went through Kobe, Durant, and Lebron, Wade and Bosh as I saw one twitterer say that is respect.

These Mavericks optimized what a team really is while that project in Miami ultimately failed. Now Heat fans don’t get me wrong this is a team that is built to compete but, not to prevail this year. They will have their year I am sure of that they are young and have some years to together. I think the problem is the mindset that Miami kind of seemed like they deserved umm …multiple Championships to kind of quote Bron Bron, but Dallas earned this one!

Dirk earned the MVP trophy this series even in an off game he has 21 points. Dirk led this team and believed it was time. Dirk made the rest of this city believe it was time with his play in this playoff run. Even those of us with the sinking feeling when Mavs are up in a game began believing that Dallas could close these teams out. The come from behind wins made games even easier to watch because we believed we could come back from any deficit.

The curses of losing great leads are over. The jerseys can be worn without fear. I want to also say to my friend Blake you can watch those games now! All of us superstitious fans can quit feeling like our team is cursed. I even read how one fan is glad that he can now change his underwear!!

Mavericks Insanity indeed but if I am this insane fan I sure am glad for the ride! Thank you Dallas Mavericks for bringing home the trophy to Dallas and making it fun to be a Mavs fan. We here in Dallas can proudly say we are MFFL MAVS FANS FOR LIFE!!!!

- Chase Russell

First credit must be given where it’s deserved! The Dallas Mavs were simply the best TEAM in this year’s NBA finals. Lead by finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs have a tremendous bench, which in my opinion was the difference in the championship.

While I still am of the opinion that the Heat are a more talented team, the Mavs proved that the title cannot be won on talent alone. Jason Terry carried them in the first half when Dirk couldn’t find the hoop, sprinkle in JJ Barea and DeShawn Stevenson, Tyson Chandler’s tenacity on the glass, Jason Kidd’s basketball IQ, and great team chemistry, which gave Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks their first title.

The Mavericks success came on their ability to find their shooting touch. Hitting 50% from the field and 46% from the 3 point line is the same kind of shooting that sunk the Lakers in 4 straight, and it seemed like they found their rhythm in game 5 and it carried over to game 6 to clinch it.

Kidd, Terry, Nowitzki and Marion slayed their demons in the finals, all 10 plus year veterans who have all experienced playoff and finals disappointment, can now call themselves champions.

The Miami Heat put the heat on themselves from the beginning of the season. With Bosh, Wade and James, making a proclaimed championship or fail mandate, the pressure was too much to overcome. Where do they go from here? For all of the talent they have, 3 great players do not a team make. They will have to get a true point guard and a big man who can intimidate and rebound in the middle, as well as additional depth across the board. They will surely be active in the free agent market if they are to get back to the finals. They simply didn’t have enough fire power to close. The emotional and physical toll was just too much for 3 players to bear.

LeBron became the NBA villain, wrongly I would say, why because of the manner in which he decided to depart Cleveland? Again his finals performance was less than stellar, one has to ask why? I have some opinions of my own. LeBron is a drive player, credit the Mavs for taking away his ability to drive, as well as intentionally fouling him on break aways. The next thing is, he will need to develop a mid-range and pull up jump shot. The Mavs just evaluated the strength of LeBron and made a team effort to take it away. One on one has never worked against a team and the Mavs help defense was as outstanding as their offense

In the end, the same growing pains that plagued the Heat all year long reared its ugly head in these finals. One thing is for sure, you may be able to hide your inefficiencies and weaknesses during the regular season and maybe even the early rounds of the playoffs, but once the finals begin, head coaches really make a name for themselves by finding ways to exploit your those weaknesses to beat you. And your weaknesses will manifest themselves in pressure situations.

Rick Carlisle and staff made great adjustments, line-up changes and decisions. A coach with a complete team and he knew exactly what to do and how to get it done at the right times. Erik Spoelstra at times seemed to have no answer or remedy for the adjustments made by the Mavs coaching staff. Even when the Heat offense seemed out of rhythm and he rarely came out of a timeout with a clear cut adjustment or play. I’ve said all year, the Heat have had to overcome the best of every team in the league (opponents), as well as I believe coaching inefficiencies.

As the Mavs celebrate, the Heat are left to ponder what could’ve been and what will be necessary for the outcome to be different the next time they are on the finals stage.

- Seth Joyner

Last week was a crazy week for College football. First the BCS strips USC of its championship and now the drama with Terrell Pryor and Ohio State.

I’m still trying to understand how cash payments off the field gave Reggie Bush such an unfair advantage that it warranted the BCS stripping the entire Trojan team of the reward of years of hard work. Secondly why does Pete Carroll get to ride off into the NFL sunset and double his salary without any repercussion? Everyone pays but Pete, Reggie Bush is vilified, former players lose their championship and the current players suffer because of NCAA infractions.

Everyone’s vilifying Reggie, but what young kid in college, and broke wouldn’t do what he did. If people think that it doesn’t happen at every major college they’re smoking something. Recruiting is way too competitive not too, most schools and alumni are smart about it.

Terrell Pryor same situation, you have a student athlete that comes from humble beginnings and he has the opportunity to put some cash in his pocket, drive nice cars at no expense and you expect him to not except it? Because these two guys were the most high profile guys on their team, and played for national powerhouses they became the focal points.

Neither Reggie nor Terrell are or were the only players receiving money. If the NCAA could dig far enough into both of these programs and most of the programs of the national powerhouses they would all wind up like SMU.

I have a level of respect for Jim Tressel because he did all he could to protect his players, could he have headed this off at the pass, probably, but once the damage was done, how many people would’ve blew the whistle on themselves? All he could manage was damage control hoping the cat wouldn’t get all the way out of the bag.

The NCAA and BCS are the hypocrites here. It’s OK for you guys to make a mint off of these players without compensating them anything. Even at UTEP when I was there, some players had a sugar daddy and we could beat a drum with a drumstick. People will say, well we’re providing them 3 squares, living quarters and a free education, fair enough, but what about the bare necessities of life. What if a young student athlete wants to take a young lady or gentleman out on a date, where are they to get money, as a scholarship athlete you cannot work except for summer months. Are these kids to survive the entire semester without cash? A monthly or semester stipend would go a long way to curb some of these issues and justify penalties for wrong doing.

Money drives our society, college football is big business, and even the Federal Government is looking into the BCS. These institutions wouldn’t exist if big money wasn’t achievable. Why not share the wealth with these kids who make the game what it is. I’m not talking about a lot of money, but enough to allow them to function. How are the alum and perpetrators penalized as well? The kids shouldn’t be the only ones punished, and what about the kids who do nothing wrong?

This issue will never go away, with wealthy alumni desiring bragging rights, Head Coaches needing to win to secure their multi-million dollar salaries, and the Universities, NCAA and BCS driving this big cash printing press, the only person not feeling the love is the athlete. So when the potential for cash presents itself you can best believe they will take the money, like everyone else and to some extent, rightfully so.

- Seth Joyner

LeBron isn’t being defined by what he has done or rather hasn’t done in the 4th quarter. He wasn’t given a blank sheet to start a new legacy when he uttered the now most overused phrase in sports. When LeBron James took his talents to South Beach his legacy was already partially defined no matter how many championships he won.

The Chosen One has already given up his opportunity to be considered one of the best champions in NBA history. He gave it up when he decided that he needed help to be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan and Bill Russell. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can’t elevate him to that status. They’re the reason he can’t reach it.

If LeBron James ever does win a championship they should put an asterisk beside his name in the record books.

He doesn’t deserve to be given the full credit like other superstars have been given. He could win a few championships. He could win 10 championships but unless the other superstar and perennial all-star on his team vanish, then LeBron’s place among the true greats is cemented at least a notch lower.

Championships aren’t the measure of a man.

LeBron James doesn’t understand a lot of things. He didn’t understand how many people he had hurt leaving the only team he ever knew the way that he did. LeBron cannot comprehend that winning some championship wrongs won’t right all his wrongs. He didn’t understand that joining forces was the worst possible decision he could make.

It’s not just his now humpty dumpty public image that made the decision so poor. He has yet to realize that, given his talent level, taking the responsibility to win championships on his own back is the most important quality a superstar can have.

Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen. Scottie Pippen says LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen has trouble seeing, you know, with his green eyes and all.

Scottie Pippen didn’t get as much press, maybe less than he deserved, but there’s a reason for that. He was a bonafide second fiddle, Michael Jordan’s second fiddle. LeBron James can also be a second fiddle in his own right, depending on the night.

A guy can’t be a second fiddle on a semi-regular basis and still be considered one of the all-time greats. It doesn’t work that way. He can be one of the great talents of all-time but not one of the all-time greats.

LeBron’s championship mentality was questioned when he first became “His Quitness” against the Boston Celtics in game 5 last season. James’ lack of a championship mentality became clear after the decision. It’s crystal clear now.

Where would LeBron James be without Chris Bosh averaging over 23 points a game against the Chicago Bulls or Dwyane Wade pouring in 28.4 a game in this year’s finals?

The passiveness LeBron has been content to play within these NBA Finals is consistent with his mentality. His passiveness told him to wave the white flag and decide that he wanted to take the easy way out. If LeBron James cared at all about his legacy, he should never have bothered to start singing “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

LeBron thinks he can prove the critics wrong by winning championships. However, each year that LeBron plays will be one more year that he didn’t win a championship, a real championship.

If Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire want to team up it won’t be the same. They aren’t going to be judged like LeBron James. They don’t have the Jordan comparisons flying at them from every angle. I don’t remember any of them proclaiming themselves to be the king or get “CHOSEN1” tattooed across their back. A championship for those guys wouldn’t have an asterisk. It would be legit.

I always thought that a King was a person who leads, not a person who follows. You would think that a chosen one wouldn’t give in so easily when the road gets a little bumpy.

Giving up his number wasn’t a gesture out of respect for Michael Jordan. It was LeBron trying to stop the comparisons but it ended up being a metaphor for his legacy. By going to Miami he gave up any chance he still had left at reaching his ultimate goal and his number went along with it. He tried to be Michael Jordan but fell short. So he gave it up.

No one will ever know what LeBron James was capable of. Who knows if he had 6 championships in him all by himself? Maybe he would have been the greatest of all-time. We can always speculate but it won’t give us the answer.

It’s why any and every championship that LeBron James ever wins should have an asterisk beside it. Like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, we will never know what could have been.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

I am perplexed, although have been extremely entertained with the NBA finals. It has been said that the finals are about runs and adjustments, yet I don’t see the better team making the proper adjustments after 3 games.

I give Dirk his props, throw in Kidd, Marion and Terry’s desire to win a title the fight has been entertaining, but talent wise the Heat should be up 3 games to none and drooling at the prospect of winning one more to send the Mav’s fishing.

The Heat jump out to these double digit leads then fall asleep at the wheel and let the Mavs make it a game down the wire. Whatever they do in the first half to limit Dirk should be done in the second half. I’m sorry I know Haslem may not have the endurance to play the whole game considering how little he’s played this season, but considering what’s on the line, if Dirk is in the game he has to be in.

With Haywood out they can make rebounding a huge advantage, Tyson Chandler is very aggressive blocking shots and rebounding. The Heat need to take advantage of this aggression. Dirk uses the pump fake to live at the line, why haven’t the Heat learned from that, pump fakes in the paint to get Chandler into foul trouble, and the second chance points for the Mav’s disappear.

In Chris Bosh they have a consistent 18 pt, 10 rebound guy, but as the series progress the Mav’s are going to put more pressure on him in crucial situations to make a play. He came through last night, but does he have the confidence to come up big in game 4?

I think the minutes Wade and James have to play in the first half takes a toll on their ability to close, they seem to have no energy left to go to the rack in the 4th quarter that they’ve had in the opening quarters. The Heat have gotten some bench help from one player each game, Chalmers in game 1, Bibby in game 2 and Chalmers again in game 3.

Someone else is going to have to make something happen, it’s clear that Wade and James will see the double team. Likewise the Mav’s have been a one man show, but Haslem has done a good job and I like LeBron on Terry to keep him under control. Marion has played great and has been a problem defensively for the Heat, who can they put on him with LeBron on Terry and Wade on Kidd?

They are by far more talented a team and still should wind up winning it all. Considering what they have, can you imagine the Heat with a big man to intimidate in the middle and a consistent 3 ball threat? The Heat would shut up all the naysayers and haters and strike fear in the rest of the NBA for the next few years.

Erik Spoelstra needs to come up with a better plan for the Heat to sustain a lead, but most people feel as though the big three have overcome coaching all season, they are 2 games away from winning it all, the question is can they hold up and make it to the finish line?

- Seth Joyner

Humans are social beings and as social beings our lives are overrun by emotions. Emotions cloud our judgment. Emotions change our perception of what we see and how we react to events.

Naturally, when a person is lying on the ice seemingly unconscious and having to be carted off our emotions get the best of us. No self-respecting person wants to see a person badly hurt no matter the circumstances.

Seeing Nathan Horton immobile for a good ten minutes following a devastating hit by Aaron Rome is a scary sight. As humans, we want revenge on the guy that did it. The Boston Bruins fans showed their displeasure by booing for a considerable length after watching the replay. Luckily, Nathan Horton was reported to have had movement in all his extremities while at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The sight of a motionless Nathan Horton led to a 5 minute penalty for Aaron Rome and a game misconduct. That wasn’t the end of it though. Today, Aaron Rome was suspended a whopping 4 games for his hit on Nathan Horton. The reason given by NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy was that “The hit by Rome was clearly beyond what is acceptable in terms of how late it was delivered after Horton had released the puck and it caused a significant injury.”

Significant injury?

This is yet another critical error in their method of determining suspensions. As humans, we feel that the length of a suspension should be correlated to how hurt the victim is.

Our emotions get the best of us. The sight of a severely injured player brings out the emotions that we don’t want to feel like fear, anger and horror. The emotion of a seeing fellow human being in distress can bring out the worst in us. Despite the many angles that advancement of technology allows us, the replay of a hit is suddenly far worse in our eyes when we know that the player has been brutally injured.

If you subtract the Horton injury from this equation and look at the hit from an objective standpoint it really isn’t all that bad. The hit is obviously late and is deemed late based on the timing criteria utilized by the NHL. The hit was 28 digital frames (whatever that means) from release of the pass and the NHL standard for a late hit is longer than 15 frames which equals 0.5 seconds. Rome’s hit does not qualify as a blind side, even though Horton is not looking, because Horton is moving in the direction of Rome and Rome simply steps up on him. Most importantly, there is no intent to injure. The elbow in no way flies out and Rome’s shoulder makes contact with Horton’s head because Horton is admiring his pass while smack dab in the middle of the ice.

The hit isn’t pretty but it is nowhere near some of the worst hits we have seen recently in the NHL. Intent to injure with a hit to the head has been a major issue in the NHL, with a terrible amount of inconsistency regarding the handing out of suspensions.

Aaron Rome isn’t one to dish out dirty hits and this wasn’t intended to be one. Rome has been on the receiving end of a couple of big hits in recent memory and has suffered a concussion because of it. Rome’s agent said yesterday that “Aaron told me he was sad to see Horton lying on the ice because he’s been that guy twice within the year and would never intend to injure another player. He hopes Horton is OK and is sorry.” Rome also texted Horton today telling him that it was never his intention to hurt him.

Now the fact that Rome apologized shouldn’t be a factor in the decision-making process either but it’s a gesture that most likely shows there wasn’t any malicious intent. The replay of the hit shows that too.

There have been too many instances over the past couple of years where players have been on the receiving end of very dirty hits but were not injured. The players who dished out the dirty hits have constantly avoided a suspension of considerable length in large part because their victim was not injured.

It doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t make any sense that the statement given by Mike Murphy (who has taken over for Colin Campbell temporarily) includes the reasoning that the length of the suspension was determined because it caused significant injury.

The action should define the suspension not the result.

You can “dig” through the archives from a month ago and remember Raffi Torres’ filthy hit on Brent Seabrook. Torres got 2 minutes for interference and avoided suspension. That hit was from the blind side, he was gunning for his head but Seabrook got up and continued to play.

The issue here is that if Seabrook had lain motionless in a similar fashion to Nathan Horton than we no doubt would have seen a suspension given to Raffi Torres. It is completely illogical that the same action can result in a different penalty based on the injury of the victim.

The NHL isn’t alone in their ill-fated logic but I guess this is all a part of their endless display of contradictory messages. Contradictory message #243 — Hit but don’t hurt.

There are at least a dozen hits that immediately come to mind that are much worse than the hit by Aaron Rome. Steckel on Crosby, Kunitz on Gagne, Downie on Lovejoy, Downie on McAmmond, Cooke on Savard, Cooke on Mcdonagh, Cooke on Tyutin and well Cooke on pretty much everyone. Listing everyone is pointless because there are just so many but you get the idea.

The city of Montreal wanted blood for all the wrong reasons when Zdeno Chara accidentally nailed Max Paciroetty into the stanchion. Boston fans now want blood for what Aaron Rome did. They want blood for the wrong reason.

Aaron Rome is now out for the rest of the Stanley Cup Final and all because his hit caused “significant injury.”

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

Let’s go…

I have to take advantage of this opportunity to write about Shaquille O’Neal. By now you know that Shaq has retired from the NBA. Hopefully you caught the self-hosted press conference. I have to admit it was kind of cool. I was skeptical to see how it was going to look, but O’Neal executed it beautifully. Hopefully LeBron was taking notes for Decision 2(sorry couldn’t resist that jab).

Now that his career is over it’s a perfect time to reflect. Shaquille O’Neal is a first ballot hall of famer, and arguably one of the top 10 players of all time. For a 5 year stretch Shaq was the most dominating player ever (that’s right I said it). Let’s take a look at the numbers: drafted #1 overall in 1992, MVP in 2000, 15 time All-Star, 2 time scoring champion (1995, 2000), 4 NBA Championships, 3 NBA Finals MVPs, 5th on the all-time scoring list. Now those stats are great but dude underachieved.

Now I’m not one of those guys that are going to underscore his career. Some people say, “If he would have gotten a jump shot Shaq would have been the greatest of all time.” To those people I would say, Shaquille didn’t have time to develop a jump shot, because he was too busy dunking on people. Look he was a beast. He didn’t need a jump shot. With that being said, Shaq could have been a better player. Think about the fact that Shaq never led the league in blocks or rebounds in a season. Why, because he didn’t want to.

That’s the only explanation.

It’s obvious that he had the talent. Look at his playoffs numbers. He averaged 30 and 15 during the 2000 and 2001 playoffs (Dikembe Mutombo led the league in rebounding both years. Say it with me, “Wow”). Couple that with the 3 Finals MVPs and you have a guy that clearly could have dominated at any time of year. If that doesn’t fully convince you then take your note from Phil Jackson (who said Shaq didn’t like to work), Kobe Bryant (who said Shaq didn’t like to work), or O’Neal himself who stated that the playoffs are the only thing that matters. So Shaq could have been a better player. Would it have won him more championships? Probably not, but it would have given dopes that pass judgment and try to rank players after their career more ammunition.

Shaq’s All Time Ranking Amongst centers

(I’m only ranking centers here for a full list click anywhere in this obviously blue section)

1. 1. Bill Russell – He’s just number one. Made it to the finals every year of his NBA career.
2. 2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Probably the best center of all-time, but I don’t feel like arguing right now so I put him second.
3. 3. Shaquille O’Neal – You can put Shaq lower, and I wouldn’t argue. I just believe if all centers were in their prime, Shaq would be third best.
4. 4. Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon – Dude was a beast on both side of the floor. You could argue that he’s the second best defensive center of all-time behind Bill Russell.
5. 5. Wilt Chamberlain – I’m not high on Wilt (today at least). He had great regular season numbers, but with only 2 championships it’s just tough to put him higher. Feel free to shake me from my weak argument.

Shaquille O’Neal Retirement

Dude got it done for 19 years in the NBA…well maybe 16 years. Let’s be honest the last few years weren’t great. Personally I’m glad he retired. Not only were his skills diminished, but he wasn’t able to get healthy. Watching him limp up and down the court in a Boston uniform was disheartening. I literally got emotional (I wasn’t crying, just misty. However, if the wind wasn’t blowing, and I wasn’t wiping my eyes, I would have been crying). I wanted to see Shaq be the dominate guy he was for the majority of his career. Maybe he stayed too long? Then again don’t all the greats stay to long? So I will chalk that up to being a competitor, or just greedy for rings. I think I will remember Shaq for being the player and entertainer that he was. Whether he was the Big Aristotle or the Big Shaqtus, he understood that basketball was a game that was meant to uplift people. So, I’m glad Shaq played. It wouldn’t have been the same without him.

So thank you, Shaquille “The Diesel” O’Neal

-Kortney Shane Williams

Comedian and Writer

www.kortneyshanewilliams.com/thekortneyshanepillar

www.twitter.com/kortneyshane

www.facebook.com/kshanecomedy

The city of Vancouver is in a state of bliss. Nothing else matters to anyone right now. School, work, love, the NBA Finals? Nope, everyone is talking Canucks.

It has been 17 years since the Canucks have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and 40 long years without ever having won a Cup. This will be the first time in three appearances that they will go in as favorites.

The biggest buzz around town is the seemingly inevitable return of 3rd line center and one of the best faceoff men in the league. Manny Malhotra was deemed out for the season in March when lost his vision in his left eye after puck hit him square in the eye. His status has now shifted from” a return this season would be miraculous” to “cleared to play in game 1.”

It’s euphoria in Vancouver.

They say that ignorance is bliss. That phrase couldn’t ring truer for Canuck fans right about now.

News flash for Canuck fans: Ryan Kesler, your Selke and Conn Smythe candidate, is still injured. He most likely pulled a muscle in game 5 against the Sharks and after the injury, despite scoring the all-important tying goal, was moving more like a wounded soldier than a hockey player. A wounded soldier with a rifle.

Virtually all Canuck related news is overshadowing his injury and I can’t understand why. Whether people are talking Malhotra’s imminent return, Luongo’s game 5 brilliance or just taking in the Sedinery, Ryan Kesler’s injury is only being mentioned in passing.

The injury is cause for concern. He pulled one of those vulnerable muscles. The muscles that need time to heal. The muscles that re-injure most easily when you come back too early from them.

Kesler may have scored the tying goal in game 5 but aside from that he was simply a liability on the ice following his injury. He couldn’t fight for the pucks on the board, needed excessively wide turns to build up any speed and could not keep up with the pace of a Conference Final game 5.

Kesler looked helpless at times. Even with the 8 day lay-off I can’t imagine that he will be 100% healthy.

It’s the NHL playoffs though. You need to have one of your limbs falling off to keep you out of a game. It isn’t heroic to play on an injury, it is expected.

Ryan Kesler’s status for game 1 isn’t the question because we all know that he will suit up. This is a matter of Kesler being able to play anywhere near the level that he has this post-season.

Too many people are complaining about the long layoff and how the Canucks have lost any advantage that they gained from finishing off San Jose in 5. If anything, the Canucks should be thanking their lucky stars that NBC decided to play Wednesday. I’m sure Ryan Kesler is.

The thought re-injuring that leg will be weighing on his mind. Contrary to popular belief, Ryan Kesler is not Superman.

It will be near impossible for Kesler to match the physicality of this modern day version Big Bad Bruins. A coast-to-coast rush or game saving back check at full speed will in all likelihood be out of the question early in this series.

Sometimes being tough isn’t enough. Ryan Kesler doesn’t have a cracked rib or a bruised thigh. You can’t play through a pulled groin like you do with other things. Players don’t get warrior status from playing through a pulled muscle but the effects of it can be as severe as those glorified injuries.

To the Vancouver Canucks, he is as essential as any player can be to a team. He is a 40 goal scorer who is a lockdown defender. He’s as tough as they come and if I were a major media outlet I would also feed you a bunch of crap about Kesler being a great presence in the dressing room.

It’s odd that more people aren’t worried about this. A Stanley Cup is practically unfathomable without a healthy Ryan Kesler.

It would be nice if ignoring our problems would make them all go away but life doesn’t work like that. Ignorance is bliss until you have to face reality and the reality is that Ryan Kesler’s injury could prevent the Vancouver Canucks from winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

- Chris Ross

Really it’s about 1/3 the size of the whole tree.

Gives it that haunted feeling.

Also featured in the tree are angels…seems innocent enough right? But they seem to be holding toilet paper…no lie. I mean they aren’t but given the creepiness of the tree it is easy to draw that conclusion. I am by no way saying this is the worst tattoo ever. It is original. I don’t know anyone else who has a giant tree, baby head, toilet papered angels tattoo. There have been worse…

• Any tramp stamp, especially those with flowers and butterflies
• Barbed wire. Who decided that was cool anyways?
• The panther on the shoulder-blade with scratch marks as if it were holding on. They were cool once….about the same time as Skid Row….
• Anything on a woman’s boob. That dove will eventually turn into a buzzard and the rose will either wilt or have the longest stem ever

So Monte’s is not the worst thing ever but definitely something I am glad I didn’t get or have to look at every day!

- Racheal Sayers

Dirk Nowitzki is cementing his legacy in the 2011 playoffs. There’s no denying that. I wrote about it last week. He brought his Mavericks back with 9 straight points in the final 2:43 of the 4th quarter to cap off a stunning 22-5 run, which included the game-winning lay-up with 3.6 seconds left on the clock.

It’s the kind of stuff that happens to legends. No big deal.

Still, the run that saved Dallas’ championship hopes is overshadowing the fact that Dirk Nowitzki has to play better. Dallas is awful lucky to be going home tied 1-1. Other than the final 2:43 of game 2, Dirk Nowitzki has been rather ordinary. The Miami defense has done more than its part to shut him down.

Nowitzki has averaged 25.5 points a game in the finals but has done it shooting well below the 50% plateau.

Bosh was terrible, LeBron missed clutch shots, and the bench went back to being invincible. Almost everything fell into place for the Mavericks in game 2 yet they were only able to squeak out an unthinkable comeback victory.

The Dallas Mavericks don’t have a roster to make-up for a less than outstanding Dirk Nowitzki. Jason Terry played about as well as he can with LeBron guarding him and they are squeezing virtually every ounce of juice left out of 33-year-old Shawn Marion’s size mismatches.

Dirk Nowitzki needs to play as well as Michael Jordan did in the second half against the Monstars. There is no other alternative. Miami will not give up another lead like that. If Dirk continues to score at this pace the series will be over before you can say “Nowringski.”

It’s surprising that the Mavericks have been able to keep pace at all with Nowitzki playing in this manner. That 4th quarter extra gear that the Heat possess but forgot about in the last 7 minutes of game 2 is a major difference between these two teams. Although they gave the illusion that they have a similar gear, game 2 should not cloud our judgment. The reality is that only one man on the Mavericks who can reach the clutch to shift into that extra special gear.

That man shifted into overdrive late in the 4th quarter when it was just about too late. That can’t happen again. Nowitzki has to be in that gear for 40 minutes, not 2:43.

The Mavericks by themselves don’t have the ability to pull away from the Heat. It will only come from Dirk Nowitzki. The Heat have been toying with them, holding out for their opportunity to thrown the hammer down. It’s a cat and mouse game but the Mavericks don’t get to be the cat. On Thursday night, the cat took a 7 minute nap.

A brief mental let down from an inexperienced and immature team has kept the Mavericks in this series. From here on in though, an out of this world Dirk Nowitzki will be the only thing keeping the Mavericks from another disappointing summer.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

In one of the most famous plays in baseball history, Pete Rose trucked catcher Ray Fosse in the 12th inning to win the 1970 all-star game. The all-star career of Ray Fosse was never the same.

As far as notable collisions at the plate go the Rose-Fosse crash ranks at number one. Notable collisions leading to career threatening injuries? The Rose-Fosse collision is the only one I can recall without taking a peek at Google. There’s a reason for that.

Until May 26th.

Last Thursday, Buster Posey was run over by Scott Cousins, which lead to one of baseballs bright young stars fracturing his leg. Everyone from Buster Posey’s agent to the local butcher is now clamoring for the MLB to make a rule change.

Give me a break.

Hear me out on this one and then make your decision on how insensitive you think I am. I understand that the reigning Rookie of the Year was brutally injured in a play that some of you obviously think is unnecessary.

However, why has this suddenly become such a hot topic? It happened because of an extreme event. In other words, something that doesn’t occur on a regular basis. This cry for a rule change is a classic overreaction to a problem that has been virtually non-existent for a very long time.

This isn’t an epidemic like head shots are in the NFL or NHL. This is a single incident that people are reacting to in a completely illogical fashion. Unlike other more important things, catcher collisions haven’t been a persistent problem over the years.

Remember when 1st base coach Mike Coolbaugh died after being struck in the head with a line drive? That was a tragic incident. Nevertheless, the fact that all base coaches now have to wear helmets because of one freak event is ridiculous. One coach gets struck in the head and its panic everywhere. I don’t mean to be insensitive but it isn’t only professional baseball where base coaches are at risk, it’s also baseball being played around North America and the world. One coach, that’s it.

Buster Posey was never at risk of dying on that play. Catching isn’t for the weary and Posey was involved in a typical baseball play. Catchers are aware of what they sign up for when they play professional ball.

Head first slides have become somewhat of a problem around baseball so why isn’t everyone clamoring for head first slides to be made illegal? Cold hard facts will tell you that more guys get hurt sliding head first than colliding with a catcher. No risk of death, but serious injuries are involved. Just ask Josh Hamilton or Aaron Hill.

Many of you have probably been to the airport and recently been patted down or had your bag checked excessively by your friendly neighborhood TSA agent. It’s kind of amusing when the 80-year-old lady is examined in front of her two little granddaughters because all this nonsense stems from the governments nonsensical reaction to a couple of radical incidents. At least people’s lives are on the line here.

A more apparent issue that the MLB is facing, that most are oblivious to, is baseball’s own version of the head shot. Intentionally beaning a player merely for revenge or because they are crowding the plate much should be scary thought yet to most fans it isn’t.

It will be a scary thought when someone dies. This is a part of baseball culture that should be banished. A 95 mph heat seeking fastball to the head is a much more important issue than collisions with the catcher. Nothing has happened yet but when something does you will see that similar panic reaction from around the country and rightfully so.

The thing is, throwing at someone’s head is far different from colliding with a catcher or a foul ball hitting a base coach. A collision with the catcher doesn’t pose nearly the same risks and a foul ball is entirely unintentional. A pitcher who chooses to aim for a vulnerable part of the body is something that can be controlled. If a line drive can kill a base coach than a fastball can too.

It’s okay though, nothing has happened yet so we shouldn’t worry about it. Right?

Old school NFL fans feel that the new rules are ruining the integrity of the game of football. They don’t care or understand the real danger that is concussions. With all the information we are learning about concussions, having a player knocked out each week because of an unnecessary hit is, well, unnecessary.

Buster Posey may not have been blocking the plate but this is a baseball play that certainly does not carry the same great risk. Excessive preventative measures are not in order here. By changing the rule the MLB would be putting its own version of the “may cause drowsiness” label on the bottle of sleeping pills.

This isn’t little league folks, where I’m sure you would be happy to learn that initiating contact with a catcher is illegal.

What’s almost worse is that this silly reaction is because Buster Posey is a star player. If this was Rod Barajas the issue would be swept under the rug.

The whole logic behind the reaction to Buster Posey’s injury is misguided. An insignificant issue wrongly thrust into the spotlight because of a rare accident involving a star player.

Last year, Kendry Morales suffered a broken leg celebrating a walk-off home-run. Suddenly, rowdy walk-off celebrations became a thing of the past because of another freak incident. Doesn’t make any sense does it?

Major League Baseball does not need to respond in this type of manner to the Buster Posey incident. Contrary to Harold Camping’s belief, the apocalypse is not upon us so let’s not react to this as if it is.

The rule doesn’t need to be changed. This isn’t helmet-to-helmet NFL style. Buster Posey was the victim of a legal baseball play that has to stay legal.

- Chris Ross

Let’s go…

Conference Finals Runner Ups (Did you fall for the Okey-Doke)

Let’s start with the losers first (I use the word loser in the most respectful manner).

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a great year. As a matter of fact they over achieved. If at the being of the season you told OKC they were going to lose in the Western Conference Finals, they would have taken it with a smile (why did I have to give them a smile? “LAME!”) So, can we please stop blaming Russell Westbrook for the Thunder not making it to the Finals? Dude could have shot 100% and they still would have lost in six. Now I will concede that his decision making is mind boggling at times, but is he really the reason they lost? If you look at Westbrook’s playoff numbers, they will look eerily similar to his regular season number. So you can complain about how many shots he took, but that what he did all season. With that being said, he should get the ball to Kevin Durant more…if Durant can get open. That brings me to one of the Thunders biggest problems, Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant has been prematurely crowned as a superstar in the NBA (Spoiler Alert: Derrick Rose has also been prematurely crowned, but we’ll get to that later). He is a great player, but he’s not a superstar. Durant is a set shooter that relies on a lax defense creating spacing for him to be effective. So at the end of games when defensive intensity picks up, he can’t get open (I don’t know if you noticed, but superstars are able to get open at the end of games. I’m not saying, but I’m saying). Consequently Russell Westbrook takes terrible shots, and the chances of the Thunder winning extremely diminishes. If I could give Durant some advice I would tell him to stop worrying about which back pack to wear to the press conference, and start lifting weights. As a matter of fill your back pack with ankle weights, a bible, and a steno pad full of triple threat drills.

The Chicago Bulls also had a great postseason, and in the next couple of years they should be a title contender. The problem the Bulls have is obvious. Outside of Derrick Rose they don’t have anyone that can score consistently.  So when they add a scorer or two, they will be ready. The problem is they have a lot of money locked up in their current roster. That means they’re going to have to sign someone willing to take less, probably a veteran player that has already gotten paid, and just wants a championship. So Chicago, brace yourself for (drum roll please) Richard Hamilton.

Now let’s talk MVP (Did you think I forgot? “Ya’ll must have forgot” – Roy Jones Jr…why did I just reference that). Derrick Rose is a great player, and he is a future star in the NBA. Now I beg you to please give him some time to develop into the MVP, everyone has preordained him to be.

If Rose is going to be the guy, he must work on his shot…EVERY SHOT. That means jump shot, free throws, and finishing at the rim. I don’t want to hear people tell me about how Rose is the best finisher, because guess what? I watched the games, and dude couldn’t get it done. At the end of games Derrick Rose was not able to make the plays, to propel his team to victory. Whether he was at the free throw line, or taking fade away jump shots over LeBron, (BTW How many times does Tom Thibodeau have to draw up that fade away jump shot over LeBron play before he figures out, “This Caca doesn’t work?”) dude couldn’t get it done. Once he improves his shot. Then he’ll be ready to lead a team to the finals, and join the likes of Isiah Thomas and Allen Iverson. Until then let’s keep him in the class of Kenny Anderson and Stephon Marbury. Marbury…that’s way too harsh. Strike him and insert Tim Hardaway.

The NBA Finals

“So you made it this far, heh, we upstairs, I let you up here. You special, Marley, don’t shoot, you know what this is?”

The Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat have proven that they are the two best teams in the NBA. Now the stage is set for something epic. We have a rematch. Well kind of like a rematch… actually it’s nothing like a rematch. The only players remaining from the 2006 Finals are Dwayne Wade, Udonis Haslem, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and a complete bum in Erick Dampier (The fact that Dampier and Joel Anthony have a chance to win a title, kind of makes me want to throw up in my mouth “pink vomit”). You also have Pat Riley and Mark Cuban (anytime Mark Cuban is involved you’re going to have a good time). So there is plenty of star power. At the same time there are an abundance of scrubs, which isn’t good for the NBA. I guarantee there’s a D-League team somewhere creating cap room, hoping to get 3 guys to take less money, so they could go to the Finals. If Miami wins the tile they should only order 7 championship rings. Give LeBron, Wade, Bosh, and Pat Riley one each, and let the rest of the team argue over the last three (that’s right Erik Spoelstra get in there. Earn your keep for once).

This NBA Finals has great story lines. On one side you have the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Cuban, two guys that desperately want a championship. One guy that needs a championship to solidify his place among the greats, while the other guy just want to shove it in everyone’s face as he flips David Stern the bird.  You also have the underling story of Jason Kidd, a first ballot hall of famer that is going to the Finals for the third time in his career. Will he finally get that elusive ring?

On the other side you have LeBron James wearing the black hat of the NBA that doesn’t quite fit (I think it’s because he’s scared to remove his headband and expose his loss age). This guy has validated his decision and Cleveland’s outrage last offseason. To all the people wondering why someone would burn LeBron’s jersey, and what makes a fan base have so much venom for a guy? “Did you see that last series? That’s why.” After dominating this year’s MVP, and leading Miami to a finals appearance. Can we collectively say, that’s a bad boy, or as Mark Jackson would say, “Mamma there goes that man.”

LeBron James is the best player in the NBA, and it’s not close. Not only can he score on anyone, but he can guard anyone (If you disagree please see Derrick Rose in the fourth quarter of the last four games). So, let’s stop acting like he has to prove that he’s the best player on the Heat. He is better than Wade, and the alpha dog of that team. Now excuse me while I vomit.

Finals Breakdown

I’m not going to sit up here and act like I know who is going to win the Championship. I will make a prediction, because I have to, but I have no idea who is going to win this series. With that being said I do see some advantages.

The Miami Heat’s biggest strength is their biggest weakness. They rely on 3 players for all their offense and defense intensity. Now when all those guys are on, you’re just not going to beat them. It’s that simple. Those three guys are better than every starting lineup in the league. You couple that with the fact that they are playing the best defense in the playoff, and their practically unbeatable. However, if you can just get one of those three off their game you have a great chance to beat them. Both the Celtics and Bulls were able to limit one of the big three at times, but they weren’t able to capitalize on the other end. So, what does that mean for Dallas?

The Dallas Mavericks will be able to stop Chris Bosh with Tyson Chandler. Don’t overreact to the fact that Bosh had a great series against the Bulls, because let’s be honest, the Bulls interior defense was putrid at best (The Bulls should have petitioned the league to only play offense…oh yeah, they couldn’t do that either). You have to give Bosh credit for taking advantage of that weakness, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to translate. I aspect the Mavs to limit Bosh, but can they take advantage?

Offensively the Mavericks have always been great. So, I don’t think they will have a problem scoring for the first 40 minutes of the game. My question is, what are they going to do down the stretch? We all know they have Dirk, but let’s say LeBron guards him down the stretch. Who is going to be the guy to take over? Are you going to bank on Jason Terry or J.J. Barea? Is that going to work? You can try to point to their performance so far in the playoffs, but the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers gagged away games at the end. So, I don’t think the Mavericks won as much as those teams gave it away.

So, both of these teams are highly flawed. Whichever team is able to cover up their flaws the best will win this series. I think the Mavericks will be that team. Their margin for error is higher than that of the Heat. The amount of scoring options the Dallas Mavericks have will create problems the Heat can’t fix. Miami will not be able to hide Mike Bibby/ Mario Chalmers/any other useless defensive player they put on the court. Them cats will be exposed, and Dallas will walk away with the Championship.

Mavericks win, 4-2

Have your iPhone ready to catch Mark Cuban celebrate in a toddlers t-shirt.

Then again the Miami Heat may win. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James could play like the hall of famers they are, and rip the Larry O’Brien trophy out of Dallas’ hands. We will just have to see.

-Kortney Shane Williams

Comedian and Writer

www.twitter.com/kortneyshane

www.kortneyshanewilliams.com/thekortneyshanepillar

The great modern poet of our day Jay-Z has put this situation the Mavericks are now in into perspective through song. He says “On to the next one” As the fans went nuts after Jason Terry dunks to throw the final proverbial nail in the coffin, Dirk simply walked off without spending too much time with the Western Conference trophy. The sideline reporter looks up after the owner Mark Cuban has stated, “We ain’t finished!!” and could not find a player left to interview. When asked why Dirk didn’t spend much time on the trophy his reply was “We already have THAT trophy I want the OTHER one.”

Dallas knows they have not accomplished anything until they hoist the World Champion Trophy and when this moment occurs, there will be plenty of players to interview. The insanity continues, but I can say I welcome this kind of insanity. The kind where they take the best a team has to throw at them and are only down 5 points at the half. The kind of insanity that we see these Dallas Mavericks battle their way back in a game that they were clearly losing and find a way in game 3 to tie it and head to overtime leaving the Durant, Westbrook and company sitting on the bench shocked.

This is the kind of insanity that in the final game where they trailed almost the entire game they just find a way to battle back and in the last part of the 4th quarter we see the “Ghostface Drillah” the Big German hit the critical 3 that takes the lead and begins the Dallas Mavericks ascension to Western Conference Champions.

I do not want to put too much emphasis on this feat because like Jay-Z and the Mavericks both believe it is on to the next one. I just really want to see that rematch of 2006. This IS a different Dallas Mavericks than you may be used to in a while.

It is pretty amazing that in the Dallas area we have now had The Rangers in a World Championship, a Super bowl and now The NBA Championship all in the same year. We are certainly being spoiled and wow I guess it’s your move Jerry! Let’s not ruin this wonderful sport high with football talk though…

I wonder if all the LeBron haters will now be backing my Mavericks or if they will return to being the witnesses for Bron Bron they always have been. I never really gave my opinion about him leaving because quite honestly it never really mattered since he is in the East, but now if The Heat shut out the Bulls, I truly look forward to this match up and a chance to avenge 2006.

So now that we get to sit back rest, I am certainly rooting for 7 games for the East and a good and tired team to play in the finals. Seems only fair since they get 3 days rest between games but hey that’s another soapbox for another night on Twitter.

Alright Mavs let’s get it, and ON TO THE NEXT ONE!!

- Chase Russell

Muhammad Ali once said “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.”

Dirk Nowitzki and, as hard as it is for me to say it, LeBron James are proving themselves to be champions.

Dirk Nowitzki though has carried the weight of the world on his own shoulders year in and year out trying to get his Dallas Mavericks a championship. That weight will stay with him until he gets that ring to put on his finger but no matter what happens Dirk is finally receiving the accolades that he deserves.

This isn’t your everyday run-of-the-mill NBA star. Not to say that guys like Jordan, Magic, Bird and Kobe are. However, Dirk Nowitzki is a once in a lifetime player. Not once in an era or generation but lifetime.

We have almost taken Dirk for granted throughout his career. This is in large part because of his inability to win the big one. No one is taking him for granted anymore. What the big German is showing the world right now in these NBA playoffs is something to tell the grandchildren. He is moving towards legendary status.

The ridiculous shots are one thing. The ridiculous shots under the immense pressure that Nowitzki carries is quite another.

When the Mavericks needed him most, Nowitzki has done what all legends do. Against Oklahoma City he shot an incredible 56% from the field while missing only 2 free throws in 61 attempts. Oh yeah, 2 of those free throw makes came in game 4 to tie the game with 6.4 seconds left in regulation. Did I mention that he swished them both?

Regular season dominance means greatness but post-season dominance creates a legend.

I can say with an immense amount of confidence that there won’t be another player that can do the special things that Dirk Nowitzki does 7 feet off of the ground. He’s not considered one of the top 10 best players of all-time but his truly unique abilities are 1 in 7 billion special. Those 1 legged rainbow jumpers may get all the attention but it is just a microscopic sample of the extraordinary things Dirk does.

This is not coming from the euphoric passion of riding the Dirk Nowitzki 2011 playoff MVP bandwagon. This is popping the cork of that bottle of champagne that has been shaking for the last decade.

If anyone deserves a ring it’s Dirk Nowitzki. He doesn’t need it though and there is a good chance that he won’t get one against his likely opponents, the Miami Heat.

If the Mavericks come up short it won’t be Dirk’s fault and I think he has established that. Like many big market sports, basketball is a team one and playoff underachieving has been a theme among Dirk Nowitzki led Maverick teams.

Should that mean anything for a guy who has averaged 3.0 points a game better in his entire playoff career than his regular season career? Should playoff underachieving mean anything for someone who hasn’t had a legitimate center to clog the lane until his 13th season in the NBA?

For one reason, Dan Marino’s achievements are still belittled to this day. It’s unfair that Marino is punished for something that was out of his control to such a large extent.

Championship or not, Dirk Nowitzki should be considered a legend in his own right. It is wrong that people have considered him a failure, to a certain degree, simply because he lacks the infamous ring.

LeBron James is showing signs that he is clutch like a champion. However, unlike Dirk, his legendary status will have an extended stay in purgatory while the basketball Gods attempt to figure out what could have been for the self-proclaimed King.

Unlike LeBron, Dirk Nowitzki didn’t have to sell his soul for a championship and in the end that will make all the difference.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

Consistency is arguably the most important quality of a referee. It’s too bad the 2011 NHL playoffs have been mired by inconsistent reffing.

The new rules after the lockout were supposed to free the game up for the skill players of the league and they have done just that. No more ticky-tacky hooking and grabbing. The elite players were allowed to be elite players again.

The early rounds of this year’s playoffs were a different story. It went back to the old rules. They might as well have had the police out on the ice because you had to assault someone in order to get a penalty.

Fast forward to the third round and suddenly the game has switched back to the regular season. In fact, at times it has been worse than the regular season. Penalty after penalty being called as players are constantly marching in and out of the sin bin. A player losing an edge seems to be enough to warrant a tripping call.

The players have no idea what to do. First they can get away with murder and suddenly a tap on the shin is a penalty.

There has been no consistency among each crew and frankly I’m sick of it. You all should be too.

Honestly though, the consistency line should be drawn where they call it during the regular season. All the hooking, holding and tackling should be out of the game. Let’s not give the game back to the grinders.

I don’t mind all the penalties as long as that’s how each crew is calling every game. Players need to at least know how the game is going to be called.

The Nashville-Vancouver series featured bad hockey. Not only are the Predators one of the most boring teams in the NHL but their defensive style was catered to by the referees who decided to lock up their whistles and throw away the key.

The San Jose-Vancouver series, on the other hand, has been dominated by the referees. Game 4 had the Sharks receiving 5 penalties in the first 25 minutes while that was followed by 3 consecutive 5 on 3 power-plays for the Canucks. The difference is astounding between what we saw in the first couple rounds of the playoffs.

I guess the NHL is consistent in its own way though. Their remarkable ability to consistently waver on key issues is always quite impressive. I mean, if they can’t set a precedent with the “oh so important” problem of head shots then why should we expect any standardization with their refereeing?

I was ready to call conspiracy in the Chicago series and prior to the 3 consecutive 2 man advantages I was ready to call conspiracy in game 4 yesterday. Well, it looks more like a product of bad reffing.

The NHL is your typical deadbeat dad. For some reason you always expect something more from them even though you realize that will never get anything. I have no idea why I still expect change for the better.

The great extent of this mounting problem isn’t realized by most people. Color commentators and analysts should not be content with what is happening on the ice. Laughing off bad/non-calls and on a rare occasion pointing out a mistake sure isn’t going to invoke any change.

For fans to realize the problem on the ice, the one’s calling the games need to make it their business to show what is wrong with the refereeing. Once an outcry comes from fans and analysts maybe the NHL might start to listen. Okay, that might be a pipe dream of mine but it still shouldn’t be alright for people to be oblivious to or satisfied with the officiating.

The NHL has enough trouble generating an American audience and this year’s inconsistent garbage we see from the referee’s is enough to turn the casual fan away from the game. Fans have to know that this isn’t how the game is always played.

Call a penalty when it is a penalty. Sounds simple enough right?

Don’t let them play or call an excessive amount of penalties. The rule book is there for a reason so how about we have everyone follow it for a change?

It will not only make the game better for the players but more importantly it will make the game better for the fans.

Ray Lewis –

“Do this research,” he said, “if we don’t have a season — watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game.”

While Lewis may know something about crime, (he was famously indicted on murder charges in 2000 but the charges were dropped when he decided to testify against his friends) but he may not know much about the cause of crime. To think that fans are going to go on a crime spree if their favorite team is not playing is ridiculous. It may happen out in Oakland, but I submit to you that Raider fans were probably going to commit those crimes anyway.

Ray Lewis –

“There’s too many people that live through us, people live through us. “Yeah, walk in the streets, the way I walk the streets, and I’m not talking about the people you see all the time.”

I think Ray Lewis is vastly overestimating his and every other professional athletes, importance in people’s lives.

I understand that NFL players have to make a case for ending the lockout and getting the 2011 season started, but this argument doesn’t pass the Laugh Test. Of course, maybe he is talking about the NFL players going on a crime spree if there is no football to occupy their time. That may actually make some sense considering some of the high profile arrests of pro athletes that have been made in recent history.

But I doubt that is what he was talking about. His argument seems to be, “Let us play and nobody will get hurt.” This sounds more like a threat than anything else.

Fears mongering to get your way will most assuredly backfire for the players. America will not descend into a Mad Max post apocalyptic terrors cape just because there is no football on Sunday. I want football back as much as the next guy, but I’m certainly not going to go out and wreak havoc on society if there isn’t.

Now, if there is no NBA season, that’s a different story.

- Israel Soliz

Let’s go…

Recently Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came out and said he felt under appreciated by the Lakers. He gave detailed reason for why he felt slighted. Most of his reason seemed practical, and even justified. One of the reasons he felt “slighted” was his lack of a statue outside of the Staples Center.

Now the act of erecting a statue is ridiculous. I mean come on, this isn’t the Roman Empire. No one is storming the Bastille.

The need for a statue is primitive, and calling for a statue is one of the most pretentious things you can call for (pretentious rankings 1. Saying “Do you know who I am?” 2. Calling for a statue 3. Anything Kanye West does).

With that being said, if the Lakers are handing out statues Kareem should be on the short list. And under no circumstance should Oscar De La Hoya get a statue before him (I don’t know what pose they used for the Oscar statue, but it should be him getting helped up off the canvas by a pile of money).

I don’t think people realize how great Kareem was. I would argue that he’s the greatest basketball player of all time and the second greatest NBA player to Michael Jordan (maybe 3rd, I probably spoke too soon). Just look at Jabbar’s numbers: 6 Championships with two different franchises, 6 MVPs, NBA all-time leading scorer, 3 NCAA Championships, Naismith College Players of the Year, and 3 high school championships.

Couple that with the fact that he invented a shot that was unstoppable, and hasn’t been duplicated since. There’s a great argument for him being the greatest player ever. So for the Lakes to understate his value is ridiculous. Unless this has something to do with whom he was off the court.

Kareem not feeling appreciated by the Lakes organization had nothing to do with basketball. I think he has compromised his relationship with them because of who he is. Jabbar is a quiet guy with an introverted personality that decided to convert to the nation of Islam at a time of high racial tension in America.

As much as people like to think there is freedom of worship in America. There is a certain stigma that surrounds black Muslims. Now consider what the city of L.A. is (fake), and it brings you to the reason why Kareem and the Lakers don’t see eye to eye…”controversy.”

The Lakers are an organization that is sponsored by large companies, and sponsors don’t like to be affiliated with controversy. Now I don’t blame the Lakers or Kareem for feeling the way they do. As a matter of fact I back both of them. Kareem should feel slighted l. He’s Kareem “bleeping” Abdul-Jabbar (man that was clunky).

On the other side the Lakers reserve the right to honor whomever they want to honor. They haven’t done anything wrong. If all Jabbar’s checks cashed, he only has the right to kick rocks.

Look if you want to be honored by people you have to make safe popular decision. Don’t stir up controversy. Now if you decide to go against that you have to accept the fact that you may be ostracized from certain arenas. With that being said, under no circumstance should Oscar De La Hoya get a statue outside of the Staples Center before a legend. He shouldn’t have a statue at all.

Ranking top ten of anything is always interesting. I wanted to rank my top ten NBA players of all time, but I didn’t want to write another post. So, I will just put it here:

Top 10 NBA Players All Time:

1. Michael Jordan: The consensus greatest NBA player of all time.

2. Bill Russell: I don’t think we need numbers. Let’s just say he went to 13 championships, and won 11. He was a player/coach for 2 of those championships. I have to put him tied at second. He played in an era where there wasn’t a lot of competition, but he went to the championship every year of his career. That just can’t be over looked. By the way dude never lost a game 7…“Huevos”

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: You’ll know the numbers. If you’ve forgotten already please read above.

4. Tim Duncan: 4 NBA Championships, 2 MVPs, 13 time NBA All Star, 8 time Defensive First Team. That’s right Timmy is 4th. He was the focal point of 4 Championship teams, and play with one hall of famer for the first one.

5. Magic Johnson: 5 NBA Championships, 3 MVPs, 12 time All Star. It’s a close call but I got to put Magic here. He could play all five positions. Went to 7 NBA finals and won 5. Arguably the greatest point guard of all time. Arguably the greatest Lakers or all time.

6. Larry Bird: 3 NBA Championships, 3 MVPs, and just flat out filthy. He owns one of the top 5 moments in all-star weekend history.

7. Kobe Bryant: 5 NBA Championships, 1 MVP, 9 time Defensive First Team, 13 time All Star, 2 time scoring champion. When it’s all said and done Kobe has the chance to be the second greatest Laker of All time.

8. Wilt Chamberlain: 2 NBA Championships, 4 MVPs, 13 time All Star, 7 time scoring champion.

9. Jerry West: He’s the logo. I NBA Championship, 12 time NBA All Star, 9 appearances in the NBA Finals, 1 NBA Scoring Title. West would be higher on the list, but I have to dock him for the number of finals lost.

10. Oscar Robertson: “The Big O”. I NBA Championship, 1 MVP, 12 time NBA All Star. Oscar is most famous for averaging a triple double in the 1961 – 62 season.

11. Hakeem Olajuwon: 2 NBA Championships, 1 MVP, 12 time NBA All Star, 2 time defensive player of the year. Hakeem was the best skilled big man since Kareem. He was the only Hall of Famer on two championship teams.

12. Shaquille O’Neal: 4 NBA Championships, 1 MVP, 15 time NBA All Star, 2 time scoring champion. For ten years Shaq was the most

Okay so I lied, and went top 12. Feel free to argue.

-Kortney Shane Williams – Comedian and Writer

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It’s understandable why Mets fans would be frustrated and want change. With Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes becoming free agents after the season and Francisco Rodriguez needing to finish at least 55 games to have his 2012 option vested, the Mets have movable pieces that could return potential building blocks for the future.

But hold on a minute. Jose Reyes should be their building block for the future. He’s the type of player that you build around at this point in his career. He’s only 27 (28 in a few weeks) and appears to be back to his dominating ways at the top of the order. There is no reason the Mets shouldn’t be looking to re-sign the star shortstop as he should have at least another 3-4 prime years remaining and a few more solid seasons after that.

Yes, the Mets have financial problems that will require them to cut payroll a little bit next season. But they can do that by shifting Beltran’s $20 million to Reyes and cutting the $11 million that Reyes makes this season and also trading Rodriguez or keeping him from achieving his option. That would cut another $8.5M off of the payroll from this season. They also have Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo and a few other former players coming off of their payroll at around $20 million. The Mets can realistically re-sign Reyes at between $16-18 million and still cut the payroll by over $30 million.

The popular potential destination for Reyes is San Francisco. But what do the Giants realistically have that would make the Mets better in 2012 instead of keeping Reyes? Unknown and unproven prospects are fool’s gold in sports and unless the Giants are willing to part with first baseman Brandon Belt and/or left handed starter Madison Bumgarner in a deal, the Mets can’t possibly get better in the short term, and would have to hit a home run with the prospects that they receive in the deal to even make it worth it.

As for the guy the Mets should shop, Carlos Beltran should be immediately on the trade block after they determine that the playoffs are out of the question in 2011. Beltran has recovered from his injuries and could be the most valuable bat available on the trade market during the trade season this summer. Also, there are going to be teams who are going to need bullpen arms and might be willing to risk Rodriquez’ option becoming vested in order shore up their pens for the stretch run. Both of these players should net prospects close to the majors.

The Mets can turn around their fortunes a lot easier by avoiding the top level free agents (except their own) and filling in the holes in their lineup and rotation with modestly paid players making between $4 and $8 million. The days of reaching for older players who are way past their prime (re: Jason Bay) have to be over for the Mets to return to the top of the NL East. They should be much improved in the personnel department under the leadership of new GM Sandy Alderson.

In the end, gutting a franchise of elite players in their prime to support a rebuilding effort isn’t the most efficient method to retooling a roster. The Mets have work to do, but unlike smaller market teams, like Cleveland, they don’t need and shouldn’t need to rip apart the core of their team to return to the playoffs. They just need to retool by cutting ties with the older players on the downside of their careers and retaining their top performers who are still in their prime, like Jose Reyes.

If Johan Santana can return to being a good pitcher again and the Mets can get some production from their prospects that are close, then they might be in position to be a surprise team in 2012, if not sooner.

- Brian Wason

But the Phillies have just put 5th starter Joe Blanton back on the DL while their bullpen continues to be perilously thin. Eighth inning stalwart Ryan Madson has been closing since interim closer Jose Contreras got hurt a few weeks ago. Madson has been great in the role, but there’s really nobody left to handle the 8th inning. Rookie Michael Stutes has done well when called upon but manager Charlie Manuel hasn’t shown that he’s completely confident in handing the 8th inning to Stutes yet.

The back end of the bullpen doesn’t necessarily hurt top teams during the regular season, but a lack of quality depth for the Phillies in the pen will be felt if they reach the playoffs again.

The Phillies offense showed signs of slowing down last season, especially during the NLCS against the Giants, and this year they look rather ordinary. They should improve substantially if Chase Utley is able to return to his all star form, but the lineup is still extremely vulnerable to left handed pitchers.

The Braves exploited the Phillies weakness against lefties last weekend with their THREE lefty relievers George Sherrill, Eric O’Flaherty, and the unhittable Jonny Venters. Make no mistake, the Braves built their bullpen to beat the Phillies in September and maybe October.

With Shane Victorino heading to the DL with a strained hamstring, the lineup becomes even more vulnerable to lefties. Carlos Ruiz and Placido Polanco are the only regulars who hits right handed as Jimmy Rollins isn’t that bad from the right side but isn’t even close to the all star and MVP that he was a few years ago. Jayson Werth’s big right handed bat is gone and that vacancy has become a major hole in the Phillies lineup.

This is where the lineup holes and the bullpen issues intersect. When the Braves or another opponent is creating situational matchups entirely one-sided in their favor, the Phillies lack of bullpen depth leaves them susceptible to blown saves and losses as the games go deeper.

In St. Louis a few days ago, the Phillies were forced to go to Danys Baez in the 9th inning because of their lack of depth and Baez isn’t capable of shutting the door in the 6th or 7th inning anymore, let alone the 9th.

The Phillies will get healthier, maybe, as the season goes on. Contreras and Brad Lidge are expected to return at some point. Utley and Victorino should be back in the lineup in a few weeks with Utley’s maybe coming back next week. But the Phillies age, bullpen, and hitting against southpaws will still remain an issue until GM Ruben Amaro addresses them.

With a payroll of almost $166 million, there’s probably not much more salary that can be brought on board. Also, the team has traded many good prospects over the past few seasons and they might be reluctant to deal their top prospects this season.

If they aren’t willing to deal top prospects, then they’ll probably end up like they did last season, losing before the World Series. They need to address the three major issues that they have. They can’t really get younger but acquiring quality depth would help them rest their aging stars more with little drop in performance. The lineup depth needs to be centered on acquiring a pair of right handed bats to help them against left handers, preferably an outfielder who can play all three positions and an infielder. 

One name that was mentioned in a Philly paper was Mike Cuddyer of the Twins. Yes, he’d be a really good fit because of his incredible versatility. He’s able to play the corner outfield positions and all of the infield positions except short. But he’s making over $10M in the last year of his contract. If the Twins are to eat the remaining money on his contract, they would have to receive a top prospect in return, probably a pitcher. Are the Phils willing to deal one of Colvin, Cosart, or May for Cuddyer?

As for the bullpen, they have to get an experienced setup man or closer to pair with Madson. Manuel really loves Madson in the 8th inning so the Phillies might want to go after a closer. But, like the Cuddyer-type move, that kind of player is going to cost prospects, heavy duty prospects if salary eating is involved.

Maybe the Phillies can get the Twins to split the cost on Cuddyer and Matt Capps while only giving them one of those pitching prospects with a marginal prospect?

Whatever the Phillies decide to do, they don’t want to be late to the table when dinner is called and find out that the best players have already been traded.

- Brian Wason

What’ve we learned about the four remaining teams in the NBA conference Championships? It’s going to be a dogfight. While the Bulls after game one looked like they may sweep the Heat, LeBron stepped up big time last night and Miami’s savior may have been Udonis Haslem. It’s clear that the Heat only have two players whom they can count on.

Bosh is a one dimensional player who the Bulls have eliminated, but Haslem gives them toughness in the paint with rebounding, physical play and mid-range scoring. Head Coach Erik Spoelstra has to hope that the rest of the Heat bench will be inspired by the play of Haslem. The question is how long Wade, James and Haslem can carry the load of Bibby, Chalmers, Miller and Bosh. Bosh may reemerge with the presence of Haslem, it seemed to be a chemistry issue with Haslem being in the lineup with new undefined roles.

The Bulls received a wakeup call that this will be a battle. Derek Rose is the truth, but the Heat did a good job defending him last night. All season the weakness of the Bulls, if you can call it that, was the inconsistency of the Bulls role players. Deng, Boozer and Noah played lights out in game one combining for 44 points.

Game two was a different story they combined for just 29 points and this may be the key to this series. The Bulls will win the rebounding game, but if they are to beat the Heat, they will have to continue to dominate the offensive boards and second chance points. They shot 43% in game one and 34% from the field in game two as a team, and you know that Rose will not have another 7-23 night the rest of the series. Shooting percentage and offensive boards may determine this series.

The story of the Western conference finals seems to be Dirk Nowitzki and the Thunders ability to guard JJ Barea. So much talk of not being able to stop Dirk and no one has yet, but when I look at his game, yes he is a tough to almost impossible guard. But if you know he’s going to fade why not play it and go to the right hand, he fades because he can’t elevate.

Most players are right handed and try to distract or block with the right hand, but a player who can use the left and pressure the shooting hand would seem to cause some distraction to his shot. I thought James Harden could be the answer given the fact that his is left handed, but he is too short to be effective and drew 2 quick fouls trying to guard him.

The other thing, as great a shooter as Dirk is I find it hard to believe that he can continue to shoot at such a high percentage, everyone has an off night or an average night. The other obstacle and I think the dagger for OKC was JJ, they had no one to guard him and he was having his way the other night scoring 21 points. Russell Westbrook seems to be the only Thunder player with the quickness to guard him and by the time he was inserted back into the game the damage was done. I would back off and make him shot the 3 ball rather than allowing him to drive the lane.

That being said, the Thunder was still in the game late down by 5 with minutes to play. Westbrook had probably as bad a night shooting as he will ever have and the Mavs defense smothered everyone else except Durant (40pts). Although Dallas is content to play zone until the Thunder heat up from the outside, OKC will have to take the ball to the basket to get the Dallas bigs in foul trouble in order to win game two tonight.

Jason Terry and the rest of the Mavs can create and get their own shots. I am assuming the plan will be to double Dirk and get the ball out of his hands to prevent him from going to the charity stripe 24 times, and make everyone else beat you. I would put the pressure on Jason Kidd, you can’t leave Terry or Stojakovic, Kidd has just become a scoring threat, so I would let him take 10 3 pointers and live with the result rather than allowing Dirk and Terry kill you.

One thing’s for sure these playoffs are some of the most intriguing in recent years. I’ll be glued to the tube to see how the Thunder respond and more important, how Dirk will respond after a record setting game one.

~ Seth Joyner ~

Things are heating up as we are finally down to the NBA conference finals were the boys from the East and the West are battling for the honor of playing in the NBA Championship Finals in hopes of taking home the coveted Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

The past two months have been chalked full of exciting sporting events from a couple of great upsets in boxing and MMA to the start of baseball season, and let’s not forget the Kentucky Derby was only over a week ago. I could name more sporting events than I have room, but the point is, there’s a ton! So In case you have been a little busy like the rest of the world, and haven’t even been able to keep one eye on the games, I have broken down the NBA race to the Finals to keep you in the know,

Starting in mid April, right after the excitement of March Madness, the first round match-ups of the NBA were full of intrigue as we kicked off the first round.

So block out a few minutes, come with me and let’s get started so you can get back to your busy schedule. Once you’re caught up, you can then relax and enjoy the race to the finish. No worries, if you’re late, you’re just in time for the part that gets everyone’s blood pumping.

I have made a few comments from the 2010/2011 season for each time that made it the first round, and I’ve listed the winners of the series. As I continue into the conference semi-finals, I will shorten the buzz down and give you the winners.

Western Conference:

San Antonio Spurs (1) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (8) –The Spurs finished with the West’s best record. Some penned them as a playoff team before the season, and some doubted the Texas team would make it to the playoffs. In spite of the babble, the Spurs packed their bags, and faced the Grizzlies. At the end of the day, Michigan State’s Alum, Zach Randolph ripped through the Spurs by making the paint his personal domain; in game 6 of the playoffs, the Grizzlies’ won their first playoff series. The San Antonio Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons after their loss to Memphis.

Los Angeles Lakers (2) vs. New Orleans Hornets (7) –The Lakers are usually the fan favorite to come out of the West. They have always seemed to get the job done. As far as New Orleans, once you look past the first-year with Head Coach Monty Williams, who did a nice job with the bad news bears of basketball, the history and talent, except for Paul and West hasn’t been present to beat the Lakers, as predicted. The series went to game 6 where the Lakers eliminated the Hornets.

Dallas Mavericks (3) vs. Portland Trailblazers (6) – The Dallas Mavericks finished second in the West for the season equaling the Lakers 57 wins. The Blazers are a good defensive team that doesn’t turn the ball over; a dominant home team that shot well 80% from the stripe. Dallas has been known for fading in the playoffs; eliminated in the first round in three of the last four seasons. Some predicted that the victory would go to Portland especially owning impressive wins down the stretch, including one over the Mavericks. However, in game six, Nowitzki had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks withstood a furious Portland comeback to beat the Trail Blazers 103-96 and claimed their spot to advance to the conference finals by eliminating Portland in six games.

Oklahoma City Thunder (4) vs .Denver Nuggets (5) –The Thunder led by former Houston Rocket, Scott Brooks knows what it takes to win, not one, but two NBA Finals back to back, as the Rockets did in 93/94 – 94/95 seasons. This team seems to have a strong fan base, as well. The addition of Kendrick Perkins for the Thunder was thought to pay off in the postseason. Between Perkins and Ibaka, the Thunder has an a good defensive front court, add in the killer duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and offensively they make the Thunder nearly unstoppable The Denver Nuggets were the top scoring team in the league this season, but their defense wasn’t good enough to facing the likes of the Thunder. The Thunder had the best offensive weapon in the league on their side this season and all things that work together for good has put the Thunder on top so far. Oklahoma won the series over Denver in seven games.

Eastern Conference:

Chicago Bulls (1) vs Indiana Pacers (8) – The Pacers are considered the mediocre team of the Eastern conference, donning a 37-45 record; yes, they made the playoffs as the lowly 8 seed. The Bulls, on the other hand, finished the season with the NBA’s best record. The Bulls lived up to their reputation this season with MVP Derrick Rose and the smothering defense the Bulls play under Tom Thibodeau. From the beginning I thought that this series was just a great tune-up for the Bulls to get ready for the other bad boys of the NBA. I’m almost sure that I wasn’t alone in my though process here. The Bulls eliminated the Pacers in game five, but it wasn’t as easy as fans hoped…

Miami Heat (2) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (7) – I can’t resist saying, if you can’t take the heat, then you probably shouldn’t get on the court. Hard to believe anyone that has watched the magic of the Big 3 in Miami would predict that the Sixers could pose a threat. A few positive critics stated that it may not be as easy for Miami to beat the guys from up north as thought. On the flip side, props to the Sixers for being athletic with good defense, but we all know it takes more than athleticism and one of those rubber energy bracelets all of the players wear, to be donned beast. At the end of the day the three superstars, LeBron, Wade, Bosh working in harmony with their teammate are too talented and work beautifully together to not get the crowns they deserve. The Miami Heat eliminated the 76ers in game five of the series.

Boston Celtics (3) vs. New York Knicks (6) – Boston and New York has a fan base that is forever present; the face off between the two were expected to be the most intriguing first round series of the NBA Playoffs. After the Celtics traded Kenneth Perkins they haven’t seemed to get their groove back. The end of their regular season was a tough one to watch. The Knicks played well down the stretch; winning seven of their last nine games even though they were that were not their toughest competition. In 2010 the Celtics landed a spot in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers and in sports history, the past is a factor. That coveted position led many to believe that the Celtics would be able to pull off a win off against the Knicks, and the Celtics fourth quarter defense would lead the way in hopes of repeating 2010. The men in green eliminated the Knicks in game four.

Orlando Magic (4) vs. Atlanta Hawks (5) –Atlanta entered the series coming off a six game losing streak. The Knicks, Dwight Howard usually controls the court as he has in the past against the Hawks, which was predicted to be a threat, landing the Hawks back in the losers circle. Many critics did not believe the Atlanta Hawks had a win left in them since they were viewed not any better than the Sixers or the Knicks, and undeserving of a 5 seed. In the Magic vs. Hawks, fans witnessed an upset in game five when the Hawks eliminated the Magic to advance to the Eastern semifinals.

Western Conference Semi-Finals:

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma Thunder – Thunder Wins

Dallas Mavericks vs. the Los Angeles Lakers – Mavericks Wins

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals:

Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks – Bulls Wins

Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat – Heat Wins

On May 17, 2011 the East and the West began their race to be the best as they compete in the Eastern and Western Finals to see who will advance to the NBA Finals.

In game one of the Western finals, Mavericks beat the Thunder 121-112 and will play again May 19, 2011.

Last night in the Eastern Finals the Bulls faced the Heat. The Bulls dominated the Heat 103-82 and play tonight, May 18, 2011.

Check back to read my commentary on the Eastern and Western Conference Finals.

Consider yourself officially caught up!

Hope you’re picking up what I’m putting down

- Charlene May

Imagine if the world’s most self-absorbed athlete had something besides the sniffles? The good news for LeBron is that he’s now the leading candidate to receive an endorsement from Kleenex. Think of all of the ways that LeBron can use the soft tissue. He can use it when he’s got a cold, after losses, and while looking at pictures of himself. He’s a natural fit for this endorsement.

Game Two could potentially expose LeBron’s ingrown toenail if he ends up getting twisted around while guarding Derrick Rose. After that, LeBron can angle for a Tylenol endorsement by stealing Dwyane Wade’s headache excuse. Finally, isn’t a book on coming back from adversity in the works if he ever wins a championship?

The newest LeBron charade shouldn’t be surprising as the Heat were just called out by Charles Barkley yesterday for being whiners. He said this BEFORE LeBron’s cold became public. LeBron’s guilty conscience regarding his former team was on display again today as he congratulated the Cavaliers and the city for winning the draft lottery.

Whiner, sensitive, and self-absorbed

Whatever day of the week it is, LeBron has something to say in order to return the spotlight to his fabricated kingdom. If you thought the NFL lockout was annoying for made-up coverage, wait until LeBron is locked out this summer. Although, instead of hopping on a bull for a split second, LeBron will just continue to spew his self absorbed bull-bleep.

LeBron better get it in gear tonight for the Heat, or the focus of offseason scorn from Heat fans won’t be directed at lightning rod Chris Bosh, but at the King.

- Brian Wason

Family, friends and fans will have the chance to show their last respects to Harmon Killebrew on Friday, May 20, 2011, at a funeral and memorial service for the Hall of Fame slugger at a funeral service at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, Ariz. The Killebrew family will then stage a private burial service in Payette, Idaho in the 13-time All-Star’s hometown on Monday, May 23, 2011.

After those services Harmon Clayton Killebrew (June 29, 1936 –May 17, 2011) will be remembered Thursday night May 26, 2011 in a public memorial service at Target Field. That service will take place on the field at Minnesota’s new park, and additional details will be released when they become available.\

If you missed the details and history reported by www.helmetandpadsrequired.com yesterday, please peek the article on Harmon Clayton Killebrew that pays tribute to the great baseball legend that was published May 17, 2011 written by Charlene May http://helmetandpadsrequired.com/major-league-baseball-legend-harmon-killebrew-dies/

- Charlene May

History may not have repeated itself for the men in green, as well as for Kobe and Crew, but nevertheless, the Celtics have a bright outlook on the future, and I’m sure the Lakers are already on the mend.

The head coach of the Boston Celtics has faced a few challenges in his career and personal life these past few weeks. This week was full of endings, new beginnings, and a surgery. When it rains it pours and Rivers, a man that is busy for a living has found himself making embracing change with the promise of a bright future.

The Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round by the Miami Heat on May 11 after a tough push to the finish line. Two days later, on May 13, news surfaced that Rivers, the former professional basketball player and head coach signed a five-year extension worth a reported $35 million with the Celtics team that he has lead for the past seven years.

Fans can expect to see Doc Rivers standing courtside as his boys run up the court, down the court in hopes of giving him another run at a title with this current roster. This move also keeps Rivers in Boston to help rebuild the franchise when the Big Three era is done.

Rivers contract was set to expire with an option for next season. Although he had not committed to returning to the Celtics as of May 11, when the team was eliminated by the Heat, Rivers was expected to return on a short-term basis to make one more run at a title with the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Today, May 17, just four days after signing his 5 year extension, Doc Rivers underwent surgery to remove a benign polyp from his throat. The NBA has reported that Rivers is recovering from surgery tonight and is thankfully, cancer free.

The NBA reported that Rivers joked that his family will be happy that he can’t talk for two weeks. But he also urged all coaches to get their throats checked after the stress put on their vocal cords during the season. Good advice, Doc!

- Charlene May

Boston coach Claude Julien told the NHL after Tuesday’s morning preparations, “As far as Bergeron is concerned; if he is in, I think you will see him in warm-ups. The Boston forward hasn’t been able to play since last Friday’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals when he suffered a head concussion from a hit by Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux.

However, Bergeron has skated the past four days with no reported setbacks. The NHL has reported that on Monday, Bergeron skated for almost an hour which has been his longest time on the ice yet, including some power-play work at the start of practice.

Bergeron left just before the team started some battle drills and down-low work in the offensive zone. This morning, he took part in the optional morning skate doing drills. While the forward has come out and skated in the morning, he has not taken part of any contact drills while he is on the mend.

- Charlene May

The NBA wants a hard salary cap of $45 million in order to help their teams get their costs under control. This is sure to affect the start of the 2011-2012 NBA season as there is no way that the players will roll over and accept an initial offer that would severely limit their earning power.

What remains to be seen is whether the NBA is willing to ”go to the mattresses” like the NHL did and cancel an entire season. A lost season would damage the league’s relationship with not only their fans, but partners like ESPN and TNT, along with anybody who covers the league in the media.

As the NFL is learning, an offseason of court appearances with the threat of missed regular season games can incite a fan base that is dealing with a bad economy and the employment problems that go with it. Nobody likes to hear about millionaires and billionaires whining over a few million dollars when people are stressed out about their lives in these current times.

It could be a Midsummer’s Night Nightmare for the Heatles

Another effect of a hard salary cap will be the dismantling of high salary teams and the potential for a team like the Miami Heat to have to break-up their Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

If the salary cap for next season was only $45 million, then the Heat would be forced to renegotiate one or all of those players’ contracts or cut one of them to comply with the cap. Next season, the Heatles are set to make over $47.5 million between the three of them. Even if the cap was at, say, $48 million, the Heat would still have to maneuver to fit another 9-12 players onto their active roster.

Of course, the Heat aren’t the only team who will have players facing the chopping block in this situation. The Lakers have over $25 million tied up in Kobe Bryant all by himself. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to play with $20 million worth of teammates next year.

The Celtics have over $21 million wrapped up in Kevin Garnett and the three other all stars will make over $35 million next season. Rajon Rondo played with one arm after his injury against the Heat; would he be willing to play for half the money next season? These are the hard questions that will be posed and many players will have to check their egos and bank accounts at the door if they want to remain with their current teams.

How this plays out is anybody’s guess. But the first shot has been fired in the upcoming labor dispute in the NBA and it looks like the owners are going to put extreme pressure on the players to help them drastically change the current system. Think of it as a full court press. Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson used to describe his team’s style as “40 minutes of Hell”. Well this upcoming labor dispute could be many months, if not a year of Hell for everybody involved, especially the fans. Expect this dispute to last longer than the NFL’s and expect a hard cap between $52 and $55 million to start next season.

- Brian Wason

Today is a moment that will always be part of sports history. There is nothing I can say that would be more worthy than the wise words of the Major League Hall of Famer, himself, Harmon Killebrew.

“Life is precious and time is a key element. Let’s make every moment count and help those who have a greater need than our own.”

That being said, May 17, 2011 is a day to remember in the world of sports. Harmon Clayton Killebrew, born on June 29, 1936, passed away in his home this morning under the care of hospice at the age of 74.

Harmon Killebrew’s biography is so full of accomplishments; his life so full of joy that I can’t begin to give his legacy it’s due. Killebrew was a major league baseball player that was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984 after his fourth year of eligibility, as we often see.

In 1965, Leo Durocher said in the New York Time’s,

“You don’t save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain.”

Killebrew didn’t save anything for the next day; he lived in the moment and did his best when the opportunity presented itself. Living a life that was full and one made of dreams. He lived a career on the diamond that span over two decades and built a family and home. Killebrew is survived by his second wife, Nita, and nine children from two marriages.

Nicknamed “Killer” and “Hammerin’ Harmon”, the legend was one of many who have dreamt of hitting a baseball for a living. Killebrew saw one out of few that made it to the big time. Killebrew, one of the most prominent names in the game’s long history. He was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer, a rare disease that attacked the humble legend quickly. Once the diagnosis was made public in December 2010, he began treatment in his adopted home state of Arizona. Last Friday, May 15, 2011, Killebrew went under the care of hospice to ensure that his last days were comfortable in his home.

The MLB press release issued a statement quoting Killebrew saying,

“I have exhausted all options with respect to controlling this awful disease. My illness has progressed beyond my doctors’ expectation of cure.”

Killebrew lived a full like and career, a nomad defensive player that played first baseman, third baseman, as well as left fielder. He is one of three players to have hit at least 100 home runs at each all of three positions. Killebrew is generally recognized as the first player to admire the parabolic trajectories of self-launched baseballs.

Killebrew played for the, Washington Senators, Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins. He was second only to the great Babe Ruth in American League home runs and retired as the American League career leader in home runs by a right-handed batter. Killebrew’s record has since been broken by Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees in 2009.

The Killer was known for a swing that generated tremendous power and was as one of the league’s most feared power hitters of the 1960s, racking up 40 homers in a season, eight times during an era in which pitching was dominant.

The baseball legend that was known for quick hands and amazing upper-body strength didn’t only have the ability to break a bat with his powerful hits; he could break distance records, as well. He hit the longest measured home runs at the Minnesota Metropolitan Stadium and the Baltimore Memorial Stadium. The long distance slugger was the first of just four batters to hit a baseball over the left-field roof at Tiger Stadium.

His career doesn’t stop there. Killebrew’s record boasts a 1,584 career RBIs rank in a tie for 36th place all-time and led the league in RBIs three times, establishing his personal high, 140, in 1969, when he won the MVP. He placed in the top five in MVP balloting in five other years.

Killer was revered in Minneapolis and St. Paul. One can drive down the street near the Mall of America that is named Killebrew Drive, in the legend’s honor. The street is built on the site of the Metropolitan Stadium where the Twins played.

Additionally, His No. 3 was the first uniform number to be retired by the Twins in 1974, the year the team released Killebrew at age 38. His congeniality and unblemished personal resume only reinforced the popularity produced by his on-field achievements. He appeared in 2,435 games during his career and was never ejected from a game. When his cancer was announced in 2010, former Twins teammate, Tony Oliva said, “I tell everybody he’s too nice to be a baseball player. He’s a gentleman.”

A man that made in history in a sport he loved definitely stood out during his time, and for years to come. Killebrew was a man with an easy going, humble persona, however, he was known to have been the first player in MLB to delay his race declaring his homerun, in order to monitor, and perhaps admire what his power could do with a ball and bat.

Admiring one’s accomplishments is truly valuing the talents you have been afforded. In later years, the likes of baseball greats such as Reggie Jackson, Dave Parker, Rickey Henderson and Barry Bonds boasted launches greater than those once launched by Killebrew, but all of the great men was mimicking the great slugger from the days when people packed the stands, popcorn and peanuts in hand, and set at awe at launches made me a rarity such as Killebrew.

Today, Twins president Dave St. Peter said,

“No individual has ever meant more to the Minnesota Twins organization and millions of fans across Twins Territory than Harmon Killebrew,”. “Harmon will long be remembered as one of the most prolific home run hitters in the history of the game and the leader of a group of players who helped lay the foundation for the long-term success of the Twins franchise and Major League Baseball in the Upper Midwest.”

According to the MLB press release, Killebrew is the fifth Hall of Fame inductee to pass away, in a little over a year. The passing of Robin Roberts last May has been followed by the deaths of Sparky Anderson, Bob Feller, and Duke Snider.

Please remember these great men, as well as the all of the people who have left loved ones behind. In the meantime, enjoy your life to the fullest.

As Yogi Berra would say, It ain’t over till it’s over.”

- Charlene May

Over and over again we are punishing him for something that we regular Joes and Joe-ettes do on a regular basis. Really, it isn’t all that different. I worked hard, got job at company A where I thought everything was great, and thought I would never leave.

Then along came company B who offered twice the opportunities of company A, and what happened, duh of course I went to company B. The only difference is we are obsessed with LeBron’s job. He worked hard, got job with company A then saw better potential at company B and went.

Now I refuse to change my way of thinking that the way he did it was tacky and tasteless, and as Cleveland fans what do we attribute that to? Oh yes his massive ego.

Where did THAT come from?

We acted as though he should be grateful for what we gave him. “He can’t go look at what we have put into this kid”! “His ego got in the way!”

Ok now take a deep breath before thinking about killing me…..better? Good.

Now where do you suppose LeBron got this ego that we blame so much? We gave it to him. All of us in Northeast Ohio who pay attention to our basketball. I live in Canton/Akron and had the opportunity to watch him grow up.

Here are just a few examples:

• Who packed his high school gym for every game?
• Who stood outside practices and games waiting for autographs?
• Who flocked to local parks on rumors he would be in pick-up games?
• Who parted the Red Sea at the malls and movie theatres?
• Who told the kid he was the best ever?
• Who told him that he was the King?

That’s right we did. We helped build the king and the ego that went with it. And in typical fan fashion no one cared or made a peep until he left. Then out came the claws. I know it is a part of being a fan, but now that the fire has died down it’s time to move on and see things for what they are.

- Racheal Sayers

A few weeks ago, Ryan Braun signed a long-term deal with the Brewers that will keep him in Milwaukee through at least the 2020 season. Braun expressed a desire to finish his career where he started and declared his love for Milwaukee.

Prince Fielder hasn’t signed a new contract and has not professed his desire to remain with the Brewers. Reading the baseball tea leaves, that isn’t going to change, either. Fielder is highly unlikely to remain with the Brewers for two related reasons. First, he hired Scott Boras to represent him and Boras ALWAYS takes his clients into free agency. Second, every Boras client goes on the auction block and signs with the highest bidder, period. The only player that Boras has recently negotiated a contract for without being a free agent was Carlos Gonzalez last winter. But CarGo only gave up three free agent years to get his $80M guaranteed and he wasn’t scheduled to be a free agent until after the 2014 season.

Boras’ history is to negotiate landmark contracts both in terms of length and money. Notable contracts negotiated by Boras include both of Alex Rodriguez’ free agent contracts, Mark Teixeira, Matt Holliday, every JD Drew contract since he was drafted, and most recently, Jayson Werth’s contract with the Nationals. In addition, Boras has represented the past two #1 picks in the draft, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper of the Nationals.

Boras makes no bones about his negotiating style and teams know exactly what his stance will be with his clients. Unless the Brewers are willing to outbid the entire market for Fielder, they will be looking for a new first baseman during the winter.

In Fielder’s first five full seasons before 2011, he averaged 38 HR, 105 RBI, and 95 R along with 32 doubles. His percentages are .279/.386/.536. There aren’t many better hitters in baseball over the past five seasons than Fielder and he just turned 27 earlier in May. That kind of production and the potential for even more improvement is what Boras will be selling to all 30 teams in the winter.

Fielder is going to command a contract in the 8-year, $200 million or more area. If Boras can entice a second team into the bidding, either real or imagined, the contract could approach $250M and be worth over $30M annually. Those aren’t numbers that the Brewers or most teams are going to be willing to spend. But some team will step up. With Boras, that’s always the case.

So who might spend that kind of money on a superstar with prime years remaining?

1. Washington Nationals

Don’t laugh. Historically, Boras deals with a small handful of teams and he’s developed a very nice relationship with the Nationals over the past few years. As mentioned earlier, Strasburg, Harper, and Werth are all Boras clients and while Werth’s signing seemed to come out of nowhere, observers should have seen it coming due to Boras’ recent relationship with GM Mike Rizzo and the Nationals owners. That budding relationship will enable the Nationals to be ”in the loop” on Fielder and they could either drive up his price or become his eventual destination.

The Nationals will be looking to make a big splash in the offseason with Strasburg expected to return from Tommy John surgery next season. In addition to a big bat like Fielder, expect the Nationals to target a free agent pitcher, like Edwin Jackson, to bolster their chances for success in 2012. Jackson, coincidentally, happens to be represented by Scott Boras. Jackson and Fielder to the Nats could become a package deal.

2. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs currently have a Boras client, Carlos Pena, manning first base on a one-year deal. The Cubs are also the team most-rumored to likely pursue Albert Pujols when the season ends, but it might make more sense to target the first baseman on their NL Central rivals to the north.

The Pujols/Fielder choice for the Cubs, if they have a choice is intriguing. Fielder will most likely be a few million a year cheaper and he’s four years younger. Pujols isn’t a slam dunk to leave St. Louis either and could just use a team like the Cubs to drive up his price.

So if you’re the Cubs, why not drive up his price? One of the biggest reasons why Pujols hasn’t re-signed with the Cardinals is because they don’t want to allocate such a large portion of their payroll to one player; at least not before they have to.

The Cubs could help Pujols get the $30M annually that he’s seeking, help to hamstring the Cardinals payroll, and then come in and get Fielder for $26-$27M over 7 or 8 years. They have the money available as they can use Kosuke Fukodome’s $14M and Carlos Pena’s $10M to pay for most of the salary. That would be a win-win-win for the Cubs as they would hurt two division rivals and add one of the best bats in baseball. Unfortunately, as Cubs fans know, out-strategizing other teams is not a Cubs trademark.

3. St. Louis Cardinals

This only becomes a possibility for Fielder if Albert Pujols leaves the Cardinals. But if he does, the Cards could go after Fielder and they already have a pair of high priced Boras’ clients on their roster with Matt Holliday and Kyle Lohse. They know his style and have been willing to play ball with him in the past and might determine that Fielder fits their payroll better than Pujols will four or five years down the road.

The Cards have money available, just not the $30M that Pujols reportedly wants. But if the bidding for Fielder doesn’t go above $25M and Pujols gets a $30M+ offer, wouldn’t it make more sense to go with the younger, cheaper option?

While the speculation regarding Fielder replacing Pujols can be fun, the only realistic way that could happen would be if the Cubs completely outbid everybody on Pujols and gave him over $300M for at least 10 years. That could be too much for the Cardinals to stomach and redirect them to Fielder. Otherwise, the Cards will most likely re-sign Pujols after both sides compromise a bit.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers possibility is contingent on them getting new ownership before free agency begins. If they do, they have Rafael Furcal’s $13M coming off the books along with a few others and would be able to move James Loney and the $5M or so that he would probably get.

The Dodgers are a far cry from the Lasorda and Alston days when they would always have rookie of the year candidates and compete for the NL West titles and NL pennants. It’s been 23 years since their last NL pennant and they’ve only been to the playoffs six times since that 1988 World Series championship.

The Angels now draw more fans and much more successful than the Dodgers. Signing Fielder would at least help them win the offseason in Los Angeles. With all of the PR problems that the club is having under the current ownership, a new owner can begin to earn the trust of the fans with a big signing like Fielder.

5. Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles? Yes, the Orioles are getting better with some very good young pitching and have Derrick Lee playing first base on a one-year contract. The Orioles have close to $30M coming off of their payroll going into the winter and they will have a need for a big bat in the middle of the order.

The Orioles have a chance in the Fielder sweepstakes because their division rivals, Boston and New York, don’t have room for Fielder as a first baseman. Unless the 27-year old Fielder is interested in becoming a full-time DH, then he’s not going to those two teams, Detroit, or the Chicago White Sox.

The Orioles have couple of very good young everyday players with Nick Markakis and Adam Jones and also have a shortstop prospect that’s being compared to Alex Rodriguez, Manny Machado. Their young pitching is showing signs of becoming really good and adding Fielder would make them a winning team immediately and give them a chance to contend in the AL East.

Owner Peter Angelos has been quiet in recent years, but has a history of spending money on big name free agents. Perhaps a chance at a stud hitter in his prime will entice him to pull out his checkbook for Fielder.

Others

Fielder’s biggest problem will be the lack of the Red Sox and Yankees in the bidding process. It’s highly unlikely that those two teams will be involved. Also, ownership issues with the Dodgers and Mets could eliminate both of those potential big market teams. The Phillies already have a huge bat at first base and the White Sox have two players who can play there.

Even though the market will be limited, Scott Boras’ history has shown that he can create a bidding war for anybody. If he can get Jayson Werth $18M annually, he should be able to get the prolific hitting Fielder at least 30-40% more than Werth. Now he just needs to find the right owner.

-Brian Wason

Even with the home court advantage, the Bulls are going to have problems outscoring the Heat in each game as the Heat match-up really well with the Bulls scorers.

The match-up of either underrated defensive star Dwyane Wade or defensive stud LeBron James on Derrick Rose at key moments in this series will ultimately be the deciding factor as Wade has shown the ability to shutdown quick penetrating point guards (see Rondo, Rajon) and we all know what Bron can do.

Rose is going to have to continue to get help from Carlos Boozer, matched up with Chris Bosh, and Luol Deng, matched up with LeBron. Those are match-ups that favor the Heat when the Bulls have the ball and when LeBron and Bosh are motivated defensively. Last night neither seemed to motivated.

As the series goes on Bosh’s length is going to wreak havoc on Boozer and LeBron’s outrageous athleticism and size will be too much for Deng even though last night both Deng and Taj Gibson outplayed LeBron. I don’t expect Gibson and Deng to continue to out play LeBron throughout the series.

So with the Bulls dominating the Heat in the second half on both ends of the court to go up 1-0 in the series, the question that many non-Bulls fans have is can the other supporting players for the Bulls continue to step up and help Rose the way they did last night?

Maybe so, but they haven’t shown all year long that they can. Joakim Noah just isn’t a talented enough offensive player to have plays run for him and Kyle Korver, while a great shooter, can’t create his own shot and in a series like this. You can’t rely on these two guys to be there for you night in and night out when they are limited in what they can do for you on both ends of the court.

My pick is the Heat in 6, but that’s because I see the Bulls also taking either game 2 or 5 at home. The first game was the Heat’s wakeup call, which they always seem to need and the Bulls will win another game because of their defense and Rose will go off for 40-something. Otherwise, the Heat should have a relatively easy time as their stars are more talented and physically superior to their Bulls counterparts.

One intriguing storyline of this series is a potential match-up between Joakim Noah and Chris Bosh.

Based on how these two teams are assembled, wouldn’t it be better for both teams if they were to swap Noah and Bosh following the season? Think about it. Bosh is being asked to do a lot of what Noah does best, play defense, rebound, and get put backs on misses by LeBron and Wade. His offensive skill set isn’t being utilized and for good reason. Why would you give Bosh the ball instead of the two other stars?

For the Bulls, Bosh could play more like Robin to Rose’s Batman where as he’s more Arnold to LeBron and Wade’s Batman and Robin act. Bosh could easily get 15-18 shots a night in the Bulls system and revert back to his 25 and 10 numbers that he got as a Raptor. A swap of these players could make both teams better and would be an intriguing subplot if they were to meet in next season’s playoffs and help fuel a potential rivalry.

- Brian Wason

It may have taken 7 games but it looks as though Robin, in Oklahoma City’s very own Batman and Robin combination, has finally realized his place.

For some odd reason, the mentality of Kobe Bryant, Terrell Owens and Randy Moss have rolled into one man’s brain. Highlighted by a triple overtime win against the Grizzlies in game 4, it was apparent that Russell Westbrook’s ego had expanded as large as Jared before he got on Subway.

Even though the Thunder won game 4 and Westbrook scored 40, the alarm bells were ringing loud. Time after time, Westbrook felt it was his duty to play the isolation game while Batman played spectator. He took 33 shots compared to Durant’s 20, while Durant still poured in a very efficient 35 points.

Throughout the year, Westbrook has played as if he has the talent and burden Derrick Rose possesses. This has been a problem for Oklahoma but the bright lights of the NBA playoffs have magnified the situation. Westbrook had to change. Prior to game 7, Westbrook had taken 134 shots compared to Durant’s 105. That just ain’t right.

In game 7, Westbrook took 12 shots compared to Durant’s 25. Well that’s more like it.

Thunder fans better hope that this is a sign of things to come in the Western Conference Finals.

Westbrook is one of the most explosive players in the NBA but he is not one of the best. It baffles me that playing beside the league’s leading scorer hasn’t kept that massive ego from swelling. Obviously no one else in the Thunder organization has been able to keep his ego in check either and it almost cost them an early exit.

It doesn’t matter if Westbrook figured this one out on his own. All that matters is that he changed. He was able to resign himself to the fact that he is Robin and that Robin is the sidekick.

Kevin Durant showed us all that he has the heart of a champion but he couldn’t have done it without his sidekick doing his job. Westbrook had 14 assists and became one of only a select few NBA players to have put up a triple-double in a game 7.

Putting all of this on Westbrook might not completely fair because Durant has to be more assertive. Kevin Durant is the boss and Westbrook needs to know that.

Coming up as clutch as he did had to show Russell Westbrook whose team it really is.

Russell Westbrook is becoming one of the NBA’s premiere point guards but he will always be second fiddle as long as Kevin Durant is around.

Game 7 cannot be an anomaly for the Thunder. It has to become a recurring theme not only for the immediate prospects of the franchise but also for the future. It’s scary to think that Durant and Westbrook are both 22. However, the Thunder are not nearly as scary if Westbrook has any intentions of continuing his campaign to be top dog.

We all know that Batman and Robin can be a lethal team but if Robin wants to be Batman then the whole dynamic is thrown out the window. If the Oklahoma City Thunder want the future to be now, Russell Westbrook needs to decide which character he wants to play.

Hopefully he knows that there is only 1 choice.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

The highway to hell looks pretty good right about now.

Prior to the beginning of the playoffs it was almost inconceivable that the Miami Heat could be staring at a title after two rounds without Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in their way. The Lakers were supposed to be the final obstacle but an inevitable meeting with the Boston Celtics meant that the team built to win 5 championships might not even get out of the second round.

Screw logic.

The Heat ousted a Celtic team that probably needed an M.A.S.H unit on site more than anything else. L.A. was swept in convincing fashion by a Maverick squad desperate to remove the dreaded choke label that has surrounded the Dirk Nowitzki era.

It wasn’t unimaginable in any sense to see the Heat overcome the Celtics. However, taking down a Boston team that has been able to turn their game on with the flip of a switch was undeniably impressive.

The Heat are now the favorites to win the 2011 NBA championship and there isn’t any reasonable logic that should suggest otherwise. Everyone knows their two biggest hurdles have been overcome, with a little help from the Dallas Mavericks.

Due to a bit of an Oprah mishap, the Heat and Bulls are forced to start their series a day earlier than expected at the United Centre on Sunday. Wait, the Chicago Bulls?

Oh yeah, the number 1 seed out of the Eastern conference.

My personal favorite writer, Jason Whitlock, recently wrote a column on FoxSports saying that the Heat are no match for the Bulls. It may be plausible but it sounds like Mr. Whitlock just wanted to turn some heads and add some extra page views for Fox’s website.

He says that “the popular narrative is the Bulls look terrible, particularly on offense, against an IQ-challenged Atlanta squad.”

Really? I think the story goes more along the lines of a number 1 seeded team struggling against a 37-win Pacer team absent of any serious firepower. The Bulls are a one man show. Carlos Boozer has been a sorry excuse for a sidekick and the absence of consistency on his part isn’t going to change under the bright lights of the Conference Finals.

The emotional high of overcoming the Celtics is nothing like the Jets advancing over New England contrary to what Whitlock attempts to point out. The Jets weren’t nearly as good a team in relative terms compared to the Heat. It’s as simple as that.

Miami is clicking as a team and the fact that the wins came easier because of the dislocated elbow of Rondo and lack of a healthy Shaquille O’Neal shouldn’t overshadow the evidence right in front of us. More importantly, the Heat have now proved that they can win meaningful and challenging playoff games.

The popular narrative coming from the Heat players is that the 3 losses to the Bulls during the regular season don’t indicate anything. They’re saying that this is a different Heat team that we are seeing.

As much as I hate clichés, they’re exactly right. Despite the brutal play of supporting cast members like Bibby and Miller, the Heat have found a rotation that works. Starting Joel Anthony at centre instead of Big Z has injected some real life into the front court.

Rose has shot 42% from the field and a sad 25% from beyond the arc in the playoffs. If Derrick Rose is off for the Bulls it’s game over. That’s not the case for the Miami Heat.

The Heat have been blessed with a ridiculously straightforward path to a championship compared to what they could have faced. It was supposed to get harder, not easier.

It’s almost as if we are handing the Heat a championship on a silver platter. No one is doing that. Not yet. Winning a championship is never easy and I’m sure the Heat have learned that by now.

Any of the 4 other remaining teams in the playoffs can and most likely will give the Heat trouble. It’s just not the magnitude of trouble that we expected.

If the regular season has told us anything, it’s that we should have believed a lot of what we saw. There are no dominant teams and seeing last year’s NBA finalists knocked out of the second round clarified that.

Anyone would be a fool not to believe that the Miami Heat are the team to beat. Two pre-season favorites are gone and the Heat have suddenly transformed from the bunch who took the low road to the team with the easy road.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

Eastern Conference Finals The Chicago Bulls vs. The Miami Heat

In the Eastern Conference we have the top 2 seeds battling it out for the right to go to the NBA Finals. When this season started I wouldn’t have dreamed of this being a possible scenario (which probably says more about me). However after some injuries and bad trades (shout out to Otis Smith and Danny Ainge) here we are.

Don’t be prisoners of the moment. We have seen Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls accomplish great feats throughout the regular season. At one time it was believed that they were the odds on favorite to go to the finals, but as the great Notorious B.I.G. said, “Things Done Changed.” During the post season the Bulls have been proven to be a limited team that does everything right. They’re kind of like a good looking guy with a limited vocabulary. Dude looks good, smells, and has good hygiene, but at the end of the day he going home alone, because he doesn’t have the mouth piece needed to get it done before last call (anyone can get it done after last call. At that point only low hanging fruit is left. You get no points for landing grenades). You can point to the Bulls and they’re defensive intensity, but everybody is playing with intensity at this time of the year. In addition Miami is the best defensive team left in the playoffs. So, Chicago’s two biggest strengths are null.

Now the Bulls definitely have the advantage at point guard. And when I say advantage, I mean it isn’t close. Derrick Rose will embarrass any point on Miami’s roster. Rose probably relishes the opportunity to go up against Mike Bibby. Heck I relish the opportunity to go up against Mike Bibby. Miami should petition the NBA to have the point guard position stricken from NBA rosters, and propose 4 on 4 as an alternative. So everyone would agree that Rose will have his way. Then what?

The Bulls don’t have anybody consistently outside of Rose. Carlos Boozer would be great in this series, but he’s not healthy. So, you’re left with an energetic Joakim Noah, a good player in Luol Deng and a specialist in Kyle Korver. If Miami is smart they will defend Korver and Deng with LeBron and Wade. Bosh will guard Boozer, which is a wash, because Boozer is injured and Bosh is…Bosh. The Bulls are then left with Noah at an advantage at Center. That’s just isn’t enough. You can point at depth as a means to offset this problem, but what happens when LeBron and Wade play 40 minutes…oh yeah they drop 30 on your 7^th and 8^th men (Depth can be the most overrated thing in the playoffs, especially when the other team’s core is young).

The only way the Miami Heat will lose is if LeBron James and Dwayne Wade have bad games. Those two guys must play great simultaneously for 4 games. The Heat don’t have the margin of error to get by without either of those guys. If the Bulls can somehow find out how to get one of those guys off their game, they will win this series. Now can they do it?

The Bulls problem this series will be offense. Defensively they will be fine. They may even be great, but if they can’t score they will lose (please see the Boston Celtics). This series is summed up perfectly by a friend of mine who said, “If you take away the 3 best players in this series. The Bulls will win this series hands down, because of their depth.” The problem is the 3 best players are playing in this series, and Miami has the best 2.

The Miami Heat win 4 – 1

-Kortney Shane Williams

Comedian and Writer

www.twitter.com/kortneyshane

http://thekortneyshanepillar.wordpress.com/

It was a long week, but luckily Showtime has a great fight night in store for fans as the network replays the Pacquiao-Mosley fight from last weekend before the two Super Six semi-finals. Andre Ward and Arthur Abraham, tonight’s contenders will touch’em up in the semi-final bout that will decide who will go on to fight the winner in June 2011 between Carl Froch and Glen Johnson.

The Super Six has seen its share of challenges, but in no way has the network, donned for bringing boxing back to casual fans, failed to produce a great, drama filled boxing tournament.

The tournament has set the stage for all that is true of boxing. The square circle is the grandest stage of all where drama unfolds one jab at a time, basically as it does in life. We have witnessed a plethora of exciting action and mind boggling dilemmas during this journey, and the end is near.

There has been very little consistent about the Super Six Tournament, which is the essence of the sport. The sport of boxing is unpredictable; one of many reasons we love it. As we get down to the last two fights before the tournament finals of crowning the best fighter at the end, Showtime deserves accolades for delivering such a great production. Hats off to Showtime for bringing boxing back.

That said, We are only hours away from the WBA super middleweight champ and former Olympic gold medalist, Andre Ward (23-0, 13 KOs) who will be making his third defense title against former middleweight champ, Arthur Abraham (32-2, 26 KOs). Tonight’s match is the beginning of the semi-finals for Showtime’s Super Six super middleweight tournament that will be held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, a neutral location for both fighters. The event will air on Showtime at 10pm ET/PT.

Andre Ward is a 6/1 favorite coming in to the match against Abraham. Ward has a record that boasts consecutive wins over Allan Green, Mikkel Kessler, and Sakio Bika in the tournament.

Ward’s opponent, Arthur Abraham, has lost two of his last three fights and has shown signs of frustration when faced with losing. Abraham moved up in weight, but his punching power didn’t seem to follow. The loss of Abraham’s mental control and situational intelligence in the ring for his fight with Andre Dirrell and Carl Froch seems to be an important factor in why he has lost 2 of his last 3 bouts.

In March 2010, Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOS) fought Arthur Abraham at the Joe Louis Arena in Dirrell’s home state in the Super Six bout that was engulfed by drama and shock. The fight was full of action as the talented Dirrell came to fight with his technical prowess in tow and his head in the game. Dirrell is a rarity in the fight game that is afforded exceptional boxing skills and intelligence that shows once he steps onto the canvas.

Dirrell transitions seamlessly between southpaw and orthodox styles that have left many opponents other than Abraham confused and frustrated. Frustrated and desperate are two words to define Arthur Abraham’s actions when he faced the slick Michigan boxer.

The action in the ring was plentiful and exciting in March, Dirrell kicked it up a notch and dropped Arthur Abraham for the first time in Abraham’s career with a hard counter left hand. However, the shock of the night was when Abraham’s frustration became worse when the Matrix was not so easy to figure out and dominate. Andre Dirrell was backed into a corner where water was on the canvas causing him to slip and fall.

While Andre Dirrell was down, attempting to get up, one knee on the canvas, the aggressive Abraham walked quickly into Dirrell and threw a punch to Dirrell’s head. The punch knocked out the boxer. I spoke to Laurence Cole, the referee of the night, and Cole told me that he had never quite witnessed such, and that Dirrell was out cold.

Cole quickly recruited medical help because signs of seizing were present. The ring was rushed by the crowd. Dirrell woke to an arena of chaos thinking he had lost the match and was still not completely coherent. The night ended in shock and concern from fans, doctors, viewers, announcers.

Everyone but Abraham seemed to be confused by the moment, but the man that threw the illegal punch danced around the questions. In the post interview, even after the replay was shown to Abraham, he refused to take accountability for his bad and dangerous behavior, denying the punch.

Arthur Abraham lost in a eleventh round disqualification, the punch that knocked out Dirrell, leaving him disoriented caused Dirrell to take a temporary medical leave from the sport on the advice of his doctors due to neurological problems that appeared shortly after the bout. Fans are awaiting the return of Dirrell to ring. The sport has missed this talented warrior.

Again in November 2010, Arthur Abraham was once again out-boxed by the British boxer Carl Froch (27-1, 20 KO’s) where the grossly underestimated, talented Froch showed boxing fans that he’s a contender; not to be underestimated. Carl Froch seems to make boxing seem easy and he did quite the job using his cool mentality and technical prowess to frustrate Arthur Abraham. Froch dominated by UD.

Three months ago in February 2011, Abraham stepped back into the ring for a tune-up fight against Stjepan Bozic (24-5-0, 15 KO’s) which has also been knocked out 3 of his 5 losses. Abraham won the fight by way of TKO due to Bozic injuring his left hand when hitting Abraham’s right elbow.

After an examination by the doctor the referee stopped the bout. I am not sure how much of a tune-up those 2 rounds proved to be for Abraham, but it was an easy win added to his record. Bozic is certainly not a familiar name to hardcore boxing fans, but nevertheless, his left hand colliding into Abraham’s elbow sounds like the clash of school boys at recess and he got the W.

Frankly, the 2 round tune-up fight intended to help King Abraham get his mojo back that ended fist to elbow could not have helped Abraham tune-up anything. He didn’t leave his battery running long enough to see if it had enough juice to perhaps get him through his next journey in Carson, California this weekend, or find out if his battery is shot and doomed to die again in the ring tonight against champion Andre Ward.

To fight a great fighter and champion such as Ward, one should first be in control of their mind and body. Their head must first and foremost be in the game to win, but by way of dominating by control. I can never write enough about situational intelligence. Again, it is a must against an intelligent, slick fighter as Andre Ward.

Andre Ward, like Dirrell does not boast am incredible record of knock outs, but both of these fighters are so skilled in the sport of boxing, similar to Manny Pacquiao, where one punch power doesn’t have to be their biggest and best weapon in their arsenal. Ward has proven he is the man to beat in this division.

Eventually, Ward and Dirrell will chase the same belt which could be a mega fight in the making. To understand the greatness of the “Two Andres” one must see them float in the ring. One must analyze the inherent talent and hard work that these two fighters have invested in their craft.

For Andre Ward to win this fight, he must stick to his game plan of fighting the Andre Ward way. In his last couple of fights the crowd seemed to lacked entertainment, but it takes 2 fighters to entertain. That said, Ward should tune out the crowd, and just do his part. He should fight his fight that has proven to be successful. Ward definitely is superior in technique and footwork. I also give Ward the advantage of having superior mental control and situational intelligence to Abraham’s rough tactics and instincts.

Abraham has gone on the record saying that he would not be as cautious fighting Ward tonight and would be even more of an offensive fighter rather than using his high guard defensive style, which may or may not work for him.

Changing a long time fight style at this point in his career could really confuse him. Abraham stalks his opponents and has a good jab when used, but prefers to break a man down if possible when he least expects it. Considering that Ward has never been knocked out tonight will be a good night for his chin to be tested by the heavy fisted Abraham.

If Abraham finds a window of opportunity to land a punch in hopes of flipping the switch, I hope it is a legal punch and not similar to the fist that Abraham landed to Dirrell’s head while he was on his knees on the canvas.

While the King has moved up in weight, I am not convinced that his punching power chose to follow, but considering Abraham knocked out Jermain Taylor in the 12^th round, I think the iron fist of Abraham is his strength tonight. I give the advantage of power to Abraham.

Abraham is fit and athletic, but I do not think speed his one of his competencies; considering that Ward has won all of his fights and has demonstrated the proper technique in which to do so, showing superior footwork, balance, and speed I give all of those important factors to Ward as an advantage.

I think both men are good defensively, neither has been knocked out, but it only takes one punch to change a fight. I think that if Abraham has a chance to do well it will be early on. If Abraham falls behind on the scorecards early, he may become frustrated and forget the game plan, thus handing over his crown to Andre Ward.

I predict Ward by unanimous decision to advance to the finals to face either Froch or Johnson in quest of the best. The Super Six will be then become the “Greatest One.”

- Charlene May

On Wednesday night, Dwyane Wade officially solidified his rightful status in the series clinching game 5 against the Boston Celtics.

I wrote in July, shortly after Lebron’s decision, that Wade was still the man in Miami. There were times during the season where it was hard to believe that. I mean, LeBron James is the best player in the world.

Then the 4th quarter happened. LeBron James couldn’t close out a game to save his life. He admitted after another disappointing loss that he wouldn’t let his team down again. Too bad for King James that it wasn’t the last time. Charles Barkley said on national TV that Dwyane Wade needed to have the ball in his hands at the end of games.

LeBron tried to step in as a leader but the damage was already done. The sentiment in Miami was D-Wade all the way and no matter what LeBron does in these playoffs that is not changing anytime soon.

Dwyane Wade has already brought a championship to the Miami Heat organization behind a Finals MVP performance. No one can take that away from him.

Both guys can tell you that there is no competition between them but every time LeBron has a great game, Wade is ready to come out with a brilliant performance the next time. Wade might not be doing it for the fans but he isn’t going to let them forget who the sheriff in town really is.

In the first half game 5 versus the Celtics, Wade carried the Heat on his back. LeBron struggled to start the game, going 0-4 as Boston jumped out to an early 10 point lead. Wade on the other hand went into the locker room at half time with 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting, making baskets from all angles possible. Fade-aways, no lookers, you name it. In the series clincher, Wade was the one who came out firing on all cylinders.

Sure, LeBron took over in the second half with 23 points of his own while nailing a couple of 3’s in the final minutes of the game to virtually seal the deal for the Heat. He finally closed a game.

LeBron finished what Dwyane Wade started. It’s the beauty of the big 3. It’s also the reason why LeBron will always be second fiddle to Wade in the hearts of Heat fans everywhere. When the moment called for someone to step up, Dwyane Wade rose to the challenge on Wednesday.

LeBron can rack up all the MVP’s, triple-doubles and highlight reel dunks that he wants. However, all those things combined will still be overshadowed by the questions of his true character. Like a needy girlfriend, he had to have Wade. Wade never needed him.

Throughout the year, whenever the Heat were in trouble the media looked to LeBron James for a sound bite but it was Dwyane Wade who was looked to for guidance. The guidance wasn’t expected to come from a reclusive GM, an inexperienced coach, a timid thing 3 or an immature LeBron James.

It’s all different now. Times have changed, kids have grown up and there is harmony among the Heat organization. I don’t think anyone could have imagined in February that the road to an NBA championship could look so easy for the Miami Heat. In spite of everything that has happened though, Dwyane Wade has remained the constant.

On the court he may not always be the go-to-guy but I said it before and I’ll say it again. Miami will always be King Wade’s town.

- Chris Ross

My wife saw all the men on Facebook who typed “Sweep” after the most decisive win I believe in Mavericks history. She said “Well if all these men really feel the need to do housework here’s a broom!”

The Mavericks played an amazing game four in which the bench of the Mavs almost out played the Lakers starters. Terry hit 9 3’s after which he said, “Some of those shots I know Dirk don’t wanna hear this but, I didn’t even see the rim I was just putting them up there.”

If we travel back to game one and think about how the Mavs basically win when Kobe misses the last shot, I would never have believed we would sweep this team. In fact I was sure that “The Black Mamba” would be so ready to strike in games 2 & 3. This team did not look like the Lakers teams we have come to expect to see. I didn’t really even see Kobe all that much in those games like one would think we would have seen.

On the other hand Dirk was completely on the money every game. I remember the Portland series when Kidd went off and people said for the Mavs to advance he would have to play like that every game. However that is not what had to happen to move past the Lakers. All the Mavs needed was for Dirk to remain constant which he did, and for the bench to put up numbers which they did. Barea, Brewer, Stajakovic, and Terry all had huge games in this series which contributed to this series.

I recently wrote of the insanity of being a Mavs fan which I still contend we all are just a little crazy. This series however has shown me and the fans in Dallas that maybe just maybe this is not the same old Mavs who blow 23 point leads and find ways to lose games they should win. This team found a way to win the close games they really needed to win and kept the lead throughout games and in the end was willing to put the nail in the coffin.

So Mavs fan enjoy those brooms for as long as you can. Realize we are not finished and there is a hungry Memphis team that is very good defensively and probably will not let you just post up Peja or Terry for 3’s all game. While the Lakers went home with that little phrase Missy Elliot used to say in her first big hit “I can’t stand the rain.” The Mavs will be waiting to see which of the two hungry teams they will be facing next week.

It’s starting to feel a little like déjà vu here in the DFW with the Mavs winning this series. The Rangers and the Yankees series a few months back last year. Now of course everyone in this town is a Mavs fan. Sunday I had the Terry jersey on before the game and commented to friend that the Mavs lose when I wear a jersey but I was trying to break the curse. Curse broken in a big way!!!

The Mavs have played solid this series here’s to hoping they remain solid throughout and maybe just maybe get that second shot at Miami. I believe this time many more will be pulling for the Mavs if it plays out this way. It sure would be fun to watch.

I hear Caron Butler is making good progress in rehab. It sure would be interesting if we could add him to the mix. The future is now for the Mavs and as I have seen they stole from the Rangers so is the time.

I say yet again GO MAVS!! MFFL!!

- Chase Russell

The new policy also adds medical life insurance and dental coverage for fighters. Additionally, Zuffa, LLC. has agreed to pay 100 percent of the premiums for fighters under contract.

As independent contractors, fighters were covered by event-related insurance for injuries suffered in bouts, but did not previously have coverage for injuries suffered while training for fights.

There has been talk of a fighter’s union since Zuffa purchased the Strikeforce brand just two months ago in March. Clearly, a move such as this will help relations between the powers that be and fighters.

This decision, among other good business decisions made by Zuffa to protect their investment is one of the reasons that UFC is the premier MMA promotional brand. UFC puts on entertaining, competitive productions and keeps the rules relatively simple for fans. Building fan, fighter, press, and sponsor loyalty is always a smart move and should be part of every company’s mission statement.

“Our athletes are some of the very best in the world and we’ve committed significant financial resources to provide them with insurance that compliments the gold standard we have set for event-related coverage,” UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said in a press release. “We’re pleased to provide coverage that enables our athletes to seek and receive treatment for injuries sustained while preparing for bouts.”

“As this sport continues to grow, we have been working hard to secure additional insurance coverage so that our athletes can perform at the highest levels,” UFC President Dana White said. “We’re proud to give our athletes access to this type of insurance.”

Once again, the triple threat team of White and the Fertittas is leading the way in the evolution of the sport.

- Charlene May

Edgar (13-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) suffered a rib injury while Maynard (10-0-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC) is nursing a knee injury. He is also healing from a facial cut that required stitches, according to Dana White. “It was odd timing,” White said of the concurrent injuries.

The highly-anticipated bout would have been the third rematch fighting for the lightweight championship. Frankie Edgar is the current champion, having defeated BJ Penn by way of unanimous decision at UFC 112.

Maynard is the only fighter to defeat Edgar during his UFC career in their first 2008 bout. Most recently they faced off at UFC 125, when Edgar was the defending champion which ended in a draw; only the third draw in a championship fight in the history of UFC. A third rematch at UFC 130 was announced just hours after that result at UFC 125.

The former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt “The Hammer” Hamill will step up into the main event slot. Moving to the Pay-Per-View card will be the Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story welterweight showdown according to the UFC announcement.

In Spike TV prelim action, Tim Boetsch’s middleweight debut against Kendall Grove will join the bantamweight fight between Miguel Angel Torres and Demetrious Johnson.

UFC 130 also includes matchups between Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne matchups round out the main card.

- Charlene May

Let’s go…

As much as I love being right you have to admit when you’re wrong. And I was/am/maybe wrong about Dwyane Wade (still can’t admit it).

Now I’ve always thought the hype that surrounded Dwyane was premature and unwarranted. Granted he was the MVP of the 2006 NBA Finals (what a shot to my argument), but what did he do in the playoffs without Shaquille O’Neal or LeBron James (I will give you time to think)…nothing.

One of the untold stories about Wade’s career is without Shaq and now LeBron James, he’s only been out of the first round of the playoffs one time. This has been one of my main sticking points with Wade (sticking point?? Who do I think I am?).

If you’re going to be viewed as the one of the top 3 players in the league, you have to get out of the first round. However, I’ve never looked at the other side of that equation, which would go something like this, “When he does have help he gets the job done.” Now I would admit that perhaps I overlooked this.

Winning is an ability. I’m not sure if it’s a skill, but it is an ability. While it may be easy to dismiss this notion, there is something to be said for winning. Winning is why players become Hall of Famers (please see Robert Horry.

By the way I’m looking for a Horry jersey. Somebody hook ya boy up). Winning is one of things we hang over players careers as a means to diminish their accolades (please see Charles Barkley). One of the best examples of winning amplifying a players career is Kobe Bryant (excuse me I have to vomit).

Let’s think about Kobe’s career for a minute with the championships aside. He’s been the MVP, the scoring champion a couple times, and a perennial all-star. Now look at Wade. He’s never been an MVP, but he’s a perennial all-star and has also won a scoring champion. So what’s the difference between Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade…nothing (that’s right I said it)?

If Kobe Bryant had played with the same teams that Dwyane Wade has played with. The results would be the same. That’s a fact. Without Hall of Fame Players around him, Kobe Bryant made it out of the first round of the playoffs one time (eerily similar to D-Wade). So, if we’re going to hail Bryant as winner guy, the same should be done for Wade.

So I was wrong about Dwyane Wade. He is a great player, and a future Hall of Famer. My only question is can he win without Shaq…Kobe did it.

-Kortney Shane Williams

Comedian and Writer

www.twitter.com/kortneyshane

http://thekortneyshanepillar.wordpress.com/

We are only five months into twenty-eleven and it has been a year filled with upsets in the sport of boxing. The history of boxing is filled with notorious upsets. Boxing is unpredictable, yet we do our best to analyze the most important factors in an attempt to calculate who will be the winner between two men that are both fighting to win by escaping injury or inflicting injury.

Survival is jump-started by one’s will and passion. Courage, physical prowess, skill, focus, stamina, and situational intelligence fuels a fighter, driving him to outlast his opponent to be donned the winner.

The fact that boxing doesn’t have a minimum time limit and could end at any moment by knockout once the bout begins doesn’t give a fighter any time to waste by stepping into the ring unprepared. A good training camp evolves the boxer into the best he can be and prepares his body to do what his mind tells it. A great fighter has to always be thinking about the here and now, as well as his next move, so he doesn’t miss an opportunity, or be caught off guard.

The entire game is based on limiting the opportunity an opponent has to predict one’s next move. Tonight, two successful men in the sport of boxing will enter the ring to face each other in a highly anticipated fight that is sure to make history.

The sold-out event will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The eight-division World Champion Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) will defend his WBO welterweight title against three-division World Champion Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) in the main event of a four-fight telecast produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Both fighters have impressive records with two different boxing styles and now that May 7, 2011 has finally arrived, all of the questions and accusations that have been flying regarding this matchup should be put to rest. Tonight, we will see who can outlast and outsmart his opponent in the square circle.

Two fighters, both of which have been an important part of boxing history; elevating the sport during a period that it needed an infusion of excitement, will prove which factors are most important to be donned the champion in this clash of talent.

That said, we can analyze past fight stats, chins, stamina, styles, skill, weigh-in results, and on and on, but I believe that the mentality of each fighter on the night of the fight is the number one factor that controls the outcome of a fight. If an athlete’s head isn’t in the game, neither is his body. If both fighters’ head is in it to win it, then the question will be: who will have enough of the other remaining factors to take home the win?

I predict that tonight will start similar to the November 14, 2009 fight between Pacquiao and Cotto. Like Cotto, the best chance of Mosley presenting any danger to Pacquiao is in the early rounds. Cotto fought his best early in the night, as he came out and showed signs of strength landing several hard punches.

However, Cotto began to fade after he was dropped in the third and fourth rounds. Cotto’s offense became nonexistent and he spent the rest of the night fighting off Pacquiao’s onslaught. Cotto could not deal with Pacquiao’s speed, and tonight we shall see if Shane Mosley can do any better.

Manny Pacquiao has evolved into an athlete and boxer that have steadily improved despite blowing through weight classes. Athletes normally get better with experience and training, but the mystery here is that Pacquiao has gained 35 plus pounds over the past years without compromising speed. In fact, he gets faster. Speed is clearly one of Pacquiao’s core competencies. Mosley is quick and has good instinct, but even at Mosley’s peak, he doesn’t seem to have been as quick as Pacquiao is today.

Mosley is known for his great punching power and precision. Shane Mosley has never been knocked out and I don’t see Pacquiao knocking out Mosley with one punch. Pacquiao works more in punch flurries and wears a man down. Pacquiao has been knocked out twice, the last time twelve years ago by a body shot, which isn’t even relevant at this point. However, Mosley does have the advantage here, but Mosley’s best shot of doing damage is early on.

Both men appeared to be in great shape at the weigh-in. Pacquiao weighed in at 145 pounds and Mosley at 147. Pacquiao works fast. He gets in and out, takes a rest and goes in for more. If Mosley has to spend a lot of time being defensive, his stamina would have to be off the charts to last twelve rounds against the likes of Pacquiao.

Although both men are intelligent fighters, I believe that Pacquiao is the stronger of the two. Manny Pacquiao has repeatedly displayed a high level of situational intelligence. He also sticks to his game plan and listens to his trainer.

One easy prediction is that Pacquiao will come out smiling tonight as he enters the ring. He is in control of his mind and isn’t distracted by the unnecessary. He isn’t angry and fueled by a killer instinct that can make a fighter lose his situational intelligence inside of the ring, as we have seen from fighters like Arthur Abraham.

In fact, when Pacquiao fought Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito, Pacquiao asked the referee to stop the fight when both men had clearly taken their limit of abuse. When referees did not stop the fight, Pacquiao throttled back. He did not go in for the kill. Mosley also has a kind persona of also being in control; highly intelligent, but there is no doubt that this is one of Manny Pacquiao’s core competencies that will help him prevail.

I predict that tonight’s fight will end with Manny Pacquiao as the winner by way of TKO in the late rounds, after the ninth. Respectively, I think that Pacquiao’s speed and intelligence will be more than Mosley can handle. My prediction in no way strips Mosley of his past accomplishments or implies that he isn’t a great fighter and man. However, in predicting a winner, I choose to check my emotions at the gate and attempt to predict the nearly unpredictable based on facts.

This is a fight that isn’t consistent with Sonny Liston’s famous quote: “A boxing match is like a cowboy movie. There’s got to be good guys and there’s got to be bad guys. And that’s what people pay for — to see the bad guys get beat.”

This is a fight between two great men and fighters. There are many that would love to see Manny Pacquiao continue being a super hero in the ring. There are those that would like to see him in a very competitive fight and see Shane Mosley defy the odds. We all love an upset, and we all love a good fight. Tonight, we definitely want a winner, no one is ever happy with a draw.

Things change. There are many athletes that have their time at being donned the best. Nothing lasts forever, and when a star’s time expires under the bright lights, their record doesn’t. An ending is nothing more than a new beginning and doesn’t change history and the record books.

Emmanuel Pacquiao and Shane Mosely’s time in the ring will forever be part of history and their names will be among the names of great kings of the sport. It is all part of the evolution of the sport of boxing. With that said, here’s to the man who fights the best fight and deserves to be crowned the champion of the night.

- Charlene May

This weekend is the Kentucky Derby. And don’t think I am a crazy vegan, because I’m not. Nor do I have pet chickens with names like Norbert. But beating an animal to go fast really isn’t my sport. It gets the same reaction from me as when my friend says “I watched a cake decorating show on PBS”…..ummm why. But since it is technically considered a sport, people watch. And I admit I wait until the next day to see photos. Not of the horses, jockeys, or actual race but those hats!

If the British wear those ‘fascinators’ which is a fancy way of saying ‘ugly thing that goes on head’ the Kentucky Derby is definitely the redneck version. While on display at the Royal wedding top designers put works of ‘art’ on ladies heads, the Kentucky derby will feature the American version. And by that I mean someone will glue a stuffed animal horse, drink glass, and fake flowers to a hat.

So for rednecks everywhere who need craft ideas here is a list of top hat themes and how to make them:

The stuffed animal hat:

• Go to dollar tree
• Buy horse toy
• Hot glue onto hat
• Wear

The casino hat:

• (This one is more pricey)
• Go to Wal-Mart
• Buy home poker starter kit
• Hot glue a deck of cards, poker chips, and a drink glass onto hat
• Wear

The I robbed the flower factory hat:

• Go to flower factory
• Purchase over the top obviously fake flowers
• Cut off stems
• Hot glue flowers onto hat
• Make sure to cover the ENTIRE top of the hat
• Wear

The I own birds hat:

• Get a friend with birds (yes turkeys and chickens are fine)
• Pluck feathers
• Hot glue onto hat
• Steal a flower from a friend’s flower factory hat
• Glue on middle of feather display
• Wear

So there you have it. Who needs high society horse racing when you too can own a piece of fashion history without the price tag. And while you are at it make a hat for your horse two, because those cloths with the numbers on them are so yesterday!

- Racheal Sayers

Art Ross, Hart and President Trophies have defined the career of Joe Thornton. For most players that would be a good thing.

Not for “no show.”

Thornton’s ability to pick apart and dissect defenses around the league is his trademark. Threading the needle would be an understatement to describe what Joe Thornton does. At least during the regular season.

The playoffs, where legends are made, have been a different beast for Thornton. All the awards and accolades that Joe Thornton has received during the regular season have defined him because of his inability to duplicate that success in the playoffs.

Thornton is your typical underachiever. It may be cruel but he has rightfully been dubbed “No Show Joe.”

Despite consistently leading his teams into the playoffs as high seeds, Joe Thornton has never reached a Stanley Cup Final. Early exits at the hands of heavy underdogs are nothing new to him.

Even “No Show Joe’s” all San Jose line for Team Canada at the 2010 Olympics failed to live up to expectations. They were the worst trio for Team Canada. Luckily, Canadian hockey has more depth than an Olympic sized swimming pool.

This year looks to be different though. Seeded 2nd in the Western Conference, the San Jose Sharks have jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the perennial Stanley Cup contending Red Wings.

Joe Thornton is finally doing his thing. Average Joe isn’t a bad thing for him.

Thornton scored the overtime winner against the L.A. Kings in game 6 of the first round that advanced his Sharks to the Conference Semi-Finals. It doesn’t matter that the puck fell into his lap off of a lucky bounce. All that matters is that he put the puck in the net.

Roberto Luongo said that the feeling of defeating the Blackhawks in game 7 was better than winning the gold medal. That feeling couldn’t have been too far off for Joe Thornton.

His career .74 points per game average in the playoffs is quite far off his career regular season average of 1.01 per game. However, it isn’t just the points average rather it has been his lack of presence in the big games. Thornton carries on his even keel demeanor, while other players turn their intensity up a notch or two. His play suffers because of it.

In the pivotal game 3 against the Red Wings on Wednesday, Joe Thornton had 3 assists in a 4-3 victory.

A lot of fans’ knees are jerking as they are already shedding the choke label off of Joe Thornton.

Not so fast there folks.

Thornton is going to have to do a lot more than sweep the Red Wings in round 2 to shed the label. He is also going to need more than taking down the Predators or Canucks in the Conference Finals, the spot where the Sharks were beaten by the Blackhawks in 2010.

Joe Thornton needs to win a Stanley Cup.

“No Show Joe” will live on unless the captain can finally lead his team to the Promised Land.

Championships shouldn’t define players in team sports. I’m a big believer in that. Hockey, basketball and football are all team games. You can’t win a championship all by yourself.

Joe Thornton is one of the exceptions.

“No Show” has played on some great teams. He has played for good coaches. He has played with outstanding players. The missing link to these championship runs hasn’t been a mystery.

Showing up this year will exorcise the demons for Joe Thornton. He doesn’t need to carry the Sharks on his back but a Stanley Cup victory would sure take the weight of the world off his shoulders.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

The second problem is Derek Fisher is to slow and old to defend Terry or Barea, and Steve Blake shouldn’t even be in the NBA, he can’t score, defend or assist. Ron Artest has the movement of a 50 year old man, is an intelligence liability and a shadow of his former self. Lamar Odom needs to eat a bowl of gunpowder, he has the aggression of a poodle. The only help Kobe has is Andrew Bynum, but his 18 pts and 15 boards won’t be quite enough either.

All of that said, between the aging of the Lakers and the improvement of the Mavericks, not even Kobe’s greatness can save them. The Mavericks have produced the blueprint for defeating the Champs. The rest of the team is such a minor threat that it’s become increasingly more difficult for Kobe to get his shot off. The one thing MJ always had was guys that could knock down shots when he got doubled or dribble penetrated, Kobe can’t even get in the paint, the defense collapses with no care about the Lakers 3 point shooters.

After a 2 for 20-something night from behind the 3 point arc, it doesn’t look too good for the 2-time defending champs. As a matter of fact, in the infamous words of an old college coach, “Boys you can call in the dogs and pee on the fire, the hunt is over.” I’m sure this is not what Phil Jackson envisioned as his swan song.

- Seth Joyner

The Chicago Bulls vs. The Atlanta Hawks.

After the Chicago Bulls struggled to dominate games in the first round, there is reason to believe that they could struggle this round. This may seem like blasphemy, but Derrick Rose is not the second coming. That right I said it. In the playoffs you can’t win with a small guard being your leading scorer. There is only 1 small guard to lead their team to a championship, and his name is Isiah Thomas. By the way Thomas would wipe the floor with Rose. Dude isn’t in his league (Another notable small guard to lead his team to the finals is Allen Iverson, and he would wipe the floor with Rose too). With that being said, this isn’t the championship. This is the second round against the Atlanta Hawks.

When looking at the Atlanta Hawks you have to like some of their matchups. In their starting lineup they have the advantage at 3 and maybe even 4 of the five positions. Chicago will not be able to match their interior toughness. With the combination of Zaza Pachulia and Al Horford will overwhelm Boozer (which is nothing new, just take a look at the last series). Henceforth the Bulls will not be able to rely on post scoring. I also think the Joe Johnson vs. Luol Deng matchup could be interesting. Johnson has all the tools to exploit Deng, but he is Joe Johnson. So who knows?

I think the Hawks would be a no brainer to win this series. The problem is Atlanta is the most unreliable team in the playoffs. The Chicago will breeze through this series in rout to the Conference Finals. Derrick Rose and the Bulls live to fight another day.

Chicago wins 4 – 1

The Miami Heat vs. The Boston Celtics

YES YES YES, finally it’s on. The basketball community has been waiting on this since LeBron announced his decision to take his talents. Will LeBron quit once again during game 5 (You know Delonte West will be in the building and Gloria James will be drinking)? I don’t know, but we will all be witnesses.

This is the marquee series in the second round of the eastern conference, and maybe even the entire league. You obvious have headliners in LeBron James, D Wade, and Paul Pierce. However you also have the underlying story line of “The Traditional Team” vs. “We Put This Thing Together Ourselves Now Stop Us.” Let’s get into it.

The Miami Heat have been a work in progress for the entire season. Personally I’m shocked, not because of the amount of wins and losses. I just thought that the flow of their team on both ends of the floor would be more fluent by this point. The have had an unspeakably tough time integrating role players with their superstars. Who would have thought Mike Miller would be an afterthought, while Mike Bibby was in the starting lineup. With that being said the Miami Heat are the most talented team in the playoffs. You could argue that at any time against any team in the league they have the two best players on the floor. I don’t not sure how that will transfer to their series to Boston, but it gives them a great chance.

The Boston Celtics are an interesting this basketball team. Part of me is not sure how to access their chances, because of the amount of players with no significant playoff appearance. On the other hand these are the Celtics. They have championship medal. We aren’t talking about chopped liver (chopped liver? How old am I?). This is Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen.

Boston has a huge advantage at point guard. As a matter fact I would argue that he is the most important person player in this series for the Celtics. Rajon Rondo has a significant advantage against every point guard on the Heat’s roster (unless 1999 Tim Hardaway is walking through that door “Shout Out To Run TMC”). If Rondo can exploit the Heat he way he has exploited playoff teams in the past, this series won’t be close.

If you pair Rondo with Boston’s inside play creates a problem that Miami won’t be able to solve in a best of 7 series.

Boston wins 4 – 2-Kortney Shane Williams

Be Sure To Check Out My Second Round Western Conference Preview

-Kortney Shane Williams

Comedian and Writer

www.twitter.com/kortneyshane

http://thekortneyshanepillar.wordpress.com/

The L.A. Lakers vs. The Dallas Mavericks

I can’t believe that this will be the first time Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki will face off in the playoff. One would think with the amount of time these superstars have spent in the same conference they would have locked up before now. However, that’s not the case, but now we will get to see it

Were the Lakers challenged in the last series? Who knows? I don’t think anyone could say with a straight face that they felt L.A. was in danger of losing that series at any point. New Orleans never truly challenged the Lakers. I wouldn’t have cared if the Lakers went down 3-0. I would have still expected them to win the next 4 games. The reason New Orleans won two games is because they have Chris Paul and the Lakers are vulnerable at the point guard position (can we someone please take Derek Fisher out of his athletically challenged misery. Dude ain’t had it for 5 years). However, when push came to shove Kobe defended Paul, the Lakers step up their game slightly, and sent the Hornets home. So there’s nothing to take from that series in relation to this one.

Now Dallas on the other hand had a real fight with the Portland Trailblazers. LaMarcus Aldridge and the Blazers gave Dallas everything they wanted. For years the Mavericks were seen as a soft team that didn’t play defense. That however is no longer the case. Tyson Chandler has brought an interior toughness to the Dallas Mavericks that hasn’t been there in the past (by the way anytime Tyson Chandler is seen as the savior, things have to be bad). So they are not as soft inside. Now they need to fix that defense (I still can’t shake the image of Brandon Roy torching them in game 4, and dude has no kneecaps. What is Kobe going to do?).

I expect the Lakers to win this series. They just have too much length and skill inside. I think Dallas could be competitive early in games, but they just don’t have enough size.

Lakers win 4 – 2

The Oklahoma City Thunder vs. The Memphis Grizzlies.

With Kendrick Perkins, Oklahoma City has made themselves a formidable team in the playoffs and a potential champion. There is one thing consistently holds them back, and that is the inconsistent play of Russell Westbrook.

On just about every night Westbrook has an advantage against any team the Thunder face. His ability to score at the point guard creates problems for the opposition’s defense. However it creates a problem for his team as well. Winning with a score first point guard is nearly impossible. Now it’s great when Russell’s game is on and he’s hitting shots, because not only is he scoring, he’s distributing. Now if his offense isn’t rolling, he shoot tons of shots (like most shooters do) to try to get his offense on track. That’s a problem especially when you’re playing with Kevin Durant. Look I’m not breaking news here. Kevin Durant should be putting g up at least 20 shots a game if OKC plans on winning this series. And if he doesn’t get those shots it shouldn’t be because of Russell Westbrook.

The Memphis Grizzlies have everyone’s attention. After beating San Antonio in 6 games, the Grizzlies have proved that they belong. When you look at Memphis’s roster, you begin to understand why they are having so much success. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol are a load in the middle. When you pair that with Mike Conley and their perimeter play, you can see the problems Memphis will pose to Oklahoma.

I really don’t know who’s going to win this series. I will pick Oklahoma City Thunder to advance to the Conference Finals, because I think their better from top to bottom. With that being said, I have absolutely no confidence in my opinion.

Thunder win 4 – 3

Be Sure To Check Out My Eastern Conference 2nd Round Preview

-Kortney Shane Williams

Comedian and Writer

www.twitter.com/kortneyshane

http://thekortneyshanepillar.wordpress.com/

Most people have experienced it. You go to the store only to buy something that you had no intention of getting but you couldn’t pass it up because it was such a great deal.

Three of this year’s shoppers in the NFL draft came across a product that they weren’t looking for and just couldn’t let them get away.

Talent over need is one of the toughest decisions when drafting players but when that talent comes at a greatly discounted price even Homer Simpson knows that it should be a no-brainer to take the talent.

The New England patriots are known for being smarter than everyone. No denying it. Savvy draft day trading, making the diamond in the rough seems like an everyday occurrence and pretty much everything else in between.

With franchise quarterback Mr. Tom Bundchen-Brady locked up in New England for the next while, the Patriots still went out on day two of the draft and grabbed projected first round pick Ryan Mallett.

Talk about value.

Ryan Mallett has all the physical tools to one day become a franchise quarterback and at 74th overall the Patriots decided that this guy could become Tom Brady’s successor.

Why not?

This has all the makings of another steal by the New England Patriots. There may be as many questions as there are positives surrounding Mallett including inaccuracy, character and possible drug abuse. However, picking up a quarterback, who has the skills to be a franchise quarterback, in the middle of the 3rd round doesn’t come with much risk. It’s not as if the Patriots have to worry about draft picks anyways.

Considering five other quarterbacks were drafted ahead of Mallett, a player who some had as the third best quarterback in this year’s draft, he should be a steal at 74 no matter what situation he is placed in. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that the Patriots pulled off something that could make us bow down to the great Bill Belichick once again.

Almost every New York Giants fan at Radio City Music Hall was cheering when their team selected cornerback Prince Amukamara with the 19th overall pick.

A lot of mocks had an offensive tackle going to the Giants at 19 but when Amukamara slipped to them they couldn’t pass on him.

With a defense that finished ninth in the NFL last season, there was no desperation to find an impact defensive player. Protecting Eli Manning was supposed to be priority number one. In fact, probably the only guy who isn’t praising the pick is Eli Manning because this potential shut-down corner isn’t going to be protecting his blind side anytime soon.

Nevertheless, the New York Giants were right to not let the newly dubbed “Fresh Prince of New York” slip past them. Shut down corners don’t come around every day at the number 19 slot.

Needed or not, the teams in front of the Giants should regret their decision not to pick the Prince.

I think I would be writing this even if this next fellow was drafted late in the first round. Now, there is almost no doubt that at 51st overall, Da’Quan Bowers represents the best no-brainer value in the 2011 draft.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had already drafted a defensive end with their 20th overall pick in round one but when they sat at 51 with Bowers on the board they couldn’t say no. Once again, how can you blame them?

Bowers led the nation in sacks with 15 last year and fell mightily on every team’s draft board because of right knee issues. I still don’t understand why 32 teams passed on him at least once, some twice. In early mocks Bowers was projected as a potential number one overall pick yet knee surgery sets him back 50 picks.

I can’t comment nor do I have any knowledge on the extent of Da’Quan Bowers’ knee problems. That shouldn’t matter though when you can pick up a possibly dominating pass-rusher with a late first or early second round pick.

It doesn’t matter who you are drafting, there are no sure things. However, it is a sure thing that without the knee problem Bowers has the potential to become one of the league’s premier defensive ends.

It’s as hard as Aroldis Chapman’s fastball to be able to find a player in the second round that could have the type impact that Bowers might possess. For the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans to pass on Bowers in favor of alternative defensive ends in the second round is beyond me.

Tampa Bay might strike out on Bowers but at least they will do it swinging for the fences.

Like any draft there are bound to be disappointments. Mallett, Amukamara and Bowers may very well end up disappointing their respective teams but with the value that these three players offer there should be no reason to regret the choice to draft them.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

Let’s go…

Derrick Rose is the next coming of some Zeus like basketball figure. He’s the greatest ever. “Derrick Rose is this mixture between Michael Jordan and Brock Lesnar. I literally don’t know how you stop him!” Well I’d just let him take jump shots because dude can’t shoot.

Alright let’s come down to reality (For all you with you Rose colored shades on. Reality is the place where the grass is green and the best player in basketball has a jump shot). Before I shred Derrick Rose I want to say he is a great player.

Now contrary to popular belief, Derrick Rose is not the best thing since sliced bread. This, “best player in the league stuff” is garbage. He’s barely even top 10 (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Durant are all ahead of him).

Of course if you’ve been listening to sports radio for the last 4 months you wouldn’t know that. The media is treating Rose like he’s actually won something. The other day I heard someone say, “Rose is the most athletic point guard ever.” Take it Easy. Allow me to introduce you to a guy by the name of Allen Iverson.

At Iverson’s size and position, there has never been someone more athletic than him. I would even argue that Steve Nash is a more athletic point guard than Derrick Rose (before you kill me for that statement. Take into account that he was a star soccer and rugby player in high school). So, to call Derrick Rose the most athletic point guard ever is just lazy and asinine.

Derrick Rose is not the MVP of the league. It is well known that he’s is going to win the MVP, but so what (that was very unprofessional. Dock me all the journalist points that I’ve never had). We all watched the games, and he wasn’t the best player. You can say that it’s subjective, but there’s not an argument you can make in favor of Rose winning the MVP over LeBron James or Dwight Howard. The truth of the matter is, there are two reasons he’s going to win the MVP, and neither of them have anything to do with him.

First….. every writer hates what LeBron James did this offseason, and they’re dead set on not rewarding him before the season started. The second reason is every writer hates what LeBron James did this offseason, and they were dead set on not rewarding him before the season started. The problem with that is LeBron isn’t the MVP this year either. So while the media allowed James to hold them emotionally hostage. They missed the true MVP this year (drum roll please), Dwight Howard.

Dwight Howard is the essence of what an MVP is. He’s the best defender (note 3 consecutive defensive players of the year) and he is the best player in the league at his position. Howard is the most irreplaceable player in the NBA.

If you look at the drop off from Howard to the next best Center. It is a larger gap than Derrick Rose to the next best point guard. Especially since Rose isn’t the best point guard in the league (for the record I would put Rose 2nd this year behind Chris Paul who is top five in steals and assists. Derrick isn’t top five in any stat category).

Dwight’s achievements continue to get overlooked, and I’m not sure why. Now granted I see why he didn’t win a MVP in past. Offensively he was limited, and wasn’t even the leader of his win team. You also have to take into account that he lost to LeBron James for the past two years and dude can ball. However, Dwight Howard significantly improved himself offensively while continuing his dominance on the defensive end.

He carried a team that lived on 3 point shots and prayer to a top four seed in the playoff. He was top five in rebounds and blocks. He also finished 11^th in points. Howard did all this while being saddled with the Orlando Magic (which included Vince Carter for 22 games, which alone is unbelievable).

Now if you still think Derrick Rose is the MVP, read the previous paragraph again.

-Kortney Shane Williams

Comedian and Writer

www.facebook.com/kshanecomedy

www.youtube.com/kshanecomedy

KortneyShaneComedy@gmail.com

http://thekortneyshanepillar.wordpress.com/

Wide receivers are flamboyant. They make the highlight reel catch and do the dance that gets them a bill from Roger Goodell.

Picking a wide receiver in the draft isn’t all that different. The wide receiver is the sexy pick. Everyone loves to love the guy who catches the touchdown. They put six points on the board. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.

The high draft pick wide receiver may become an immediate fan favorite but would teams be wiser to spend those picks on a guy who could help make an impact on a less fan friendly part of the roster?

In short, yes.

The wide receiver is similar to the running back. Thanks to guys like Cadillac Williams and Reggie Bush, recently, the drafting of a franchise running back has fallen out of favor with front offices around the league. Heck, there might not even be one running back taken in the first round this year.

The surplus of talent at the running back position was seen around the league this year. I wrote about it briefly during the season, dubbing the running back the dime a dozen position.

Take a closer look, you’ll find out the wide receiver isn’t all that different.

In Sports Illustrated columnist Don Banks’ latest mock draft he has top receiving prospects A.J. Green and Julio Jones both going in the top ten at four and six respectively. Banks dubbed Green “that rare receiver worthy of a top-five investment.”

Green might be a special talent but recent evidence thwarts the thought that he is worthy of a top five choice. This is not to say that Green will be a bust in any way. However, finding potentially similar quality production at the wide receiver position in later rounds of the draft is much more plentiful than other positions like linebacker or defensive end.

In the last three seasons no less than seven receivers drafted outside of the first round worked themselves into the top fifteen in total receiving yards. In 2009 and 2010 there were at least 3 players in the top fifteen who were drafted in the seventh round or went undrafted.

Granted, special talents Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson and Calvin Johnson are players that you consistently find at the top of the league and will most likely continue to hold those top spots for years to come.

Nevertheless, seeing such gifted players like Terrell Owens, Brandon Marshall and Hines Ward drafted in the 3rd round and later should start to give you second thoughts. There may not be too many wide receivers drafted in the top ten but the sizeable amount of top receivers in the league who were drafted in the middle rounds makes you think that that a top ten pick could be put to better use even if a possible special receiving talent is on the board.

Teams like the Bengals and Browns are in dire need of a big game receiving threat but there’s a reason those teams sit at fourth and sixth overall. Those picks can be utilized more effectively.

Obviously, this is not to say that you’re not finding impact players in the later rounds for other positions. But the fact of the matter is that finding your diamond in the rough, needle in the haystack, or whatever you want to call it, is no doubt harder in later rounds for some of those non-skill positions.

Wide receivers, like running backs, are sold at the dollar store. It’s the nature of the position. Tons of incredibly skilled receivers get overlooked.

Why then are teams using their early picks on wide receivers then?

Yes, it’s nice to have a franchise receiver that can catch 100 balls for over 1000 yards on a consistent basis but it isn’t like these guys can’t be found elsewhere. They may not quite be a dime a dozen like their colleague running backs but it’s pretty damned close to that.

Try giving Matt Millen a call because I’m sure he’d be glad to divulge his secrets of the wide receiver. I wonder if Charles Rogers will ring a bell?

In 2008, the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers decided on a couple of wide receivers, one just a bit better than the other. The Raiders went style over substance, which predictably hasn’t quite panned out for them and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

The 49ers have found a receiver in Crabtree who would probably be in the 1000 yard category if he had anyone decent to get the ball to him. That’s the problem though. Currently the 49ers are still not ready to win and are a team with holes to fill throughout the roster. Can’t the number one wide receiver slot on the depth chart wait?

A.J. Green seems to be a consensus star in the making but Julio Jones, alternatively, is far from it. Jones had serious issues with drops in his College days at Alabama, is an unpolished route runner, and is said to not play with full effort on every play.

Jones’ speed and size are big pluses but to me it sounds like he’s not worth a top ten selection. Certainly, the Browns could use a real threat like Jones that would allow Colt McCoy to fully develop. In spite of this, it would be silly to use a number six pick on a guy who is far from a sure thing. At some point in the future management should be able to find a guy that can establish himself as a receiving threat in the NFL without burning that highly coveted top ten pick.

The Marques Colston’s, Wes Welker’s and Miles Austin’s of the world are out there and waiting to be given a chance. With needs in so many other places, lottery teams have to start moving away from the idea of wide receivers. Like the running back, you can find your wide receiver gem, it just might take some patience.

- Chris Ross

Now, I firmly believe we are all juveniles, especially after a hot dog and beers at the park. So of course people called her, and texted, and left voice mails. During an interview she told a reporter  ”It seemed like a good idea”. And just for the sake of arguement…exactly what part of this seemed like a good idea? The idiotic ‘marry me’ part? Putting your cell phone number on it? I just hope she is on one of those plans that charge by the text and voicemail because she obviously needs a lesson from all this.

So that leads to the next issue. Does she have friends?? Because if so at least ONE of them had to say “umm might not wanna go the extra step with the contact info”. I know that when I do something completely idiotic I have at least one friends who will warn me. Case and point, my vacation to Hawaii. Seemed like a great idea to drink like a fish on the flight over, then I had a bit of ‘communication issues’ with the nice lady who was trying to help me find my luggage. My friend on the plane: “might wanna hold off til we get there”.

And the most important thing, Really marriage. Let’s look up the last time that stellar idea worked out for the average Joe or Joe-ette….ya can’t think of one example. Do you think that one player thought  ’hmm that girl seems pretty loyal I have seen her at games before, this may just work out’. Don’t get me wrong I had the biggest crush ever on Bernie Kosar when I was 8. Even had my hair permed to look like his. But even at that young age I didn’t think ‘wow I am gonna take me a sign to the next game and get me a player’.

So my advice to anyone who thinks this is a unique or half-way good idea, make the sign. And while you are making it look up your boss’ number and write it down! If you really wanna do something that stupid go the extra mile and make it worth your time instead of looking like a dork!

- Racheal Sayers

2. Denver Broncos – Marcell Dareus – Alabama DT – I feel like Denver had their minds made up on this one a while ago.  Dareus is a perfect fit here and he’s the most advanced DT in this draft.  He’s a technician with his hands and can 1 gap or 2 gap.  He’s a solid building piece for Denevr’s interior.

3. Buffalo Bills – Von Miller – Texas A&M LB - In my opinion, this is the best player in the draft.  He’s the most complete player and will be an instant impact in this transitioning Bills’ defense.  They can run a legit 3-4 with him and fill a desperate need for a pass rush.

4. Cincinnati Bengals – A.J. Green – Georgia WR – Green will be a stud #1 WR in the NFL pretty quickly.  I think he’ll be one of the top receivers in the game down the road and the Bengals will have an exciting aerial attack already featuring Chad Ochocinco, Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham.

5. Arizona Cardinals – Patrick Peterson – LSU CB – Questions over Peterson’s weight as a CB in the NFL are definitely a turn-off, but I have to ask, why can’t he be the heaviest CB in the league and still be one of the best?  If edge receivers in the NFL run you about an average of 200-225 pounds, why not have a CB who can run with them and physically match them too?  And there wouldn’t be any shame in converting him to safety and having the best athlete at that position in the NFL immediately.

6. Cleveland Browns – Julio Jones – Alabama WR – Cleveland has to feel pretty confident that they’ll land one of the top two receivers.  I think there’s a great chance of that happening and they’ll pounce on whichever the 2nd one is.  They need playmakers and they won’t know how good Colt McCoy can be if they don’t give him any.

7. San Francisco 49ers – Blaine Gabbert - Missouri QB - Gabbert doesn’t get enough credit for what he did behind a shakey Missouri o-line and basically only 5 nab protection on 90% of Missouri offensive snaps.  He’s an intellectually advanced QB, which holds a lot of water with NFL coaches/front offices.  He can make all the throws and has very underrated mobility.  I think there’s a great chance someone trades up for him at 5 with Arizona, but if they don’t, San Francisco could get a steal here.

8. Tennessee Titans – Jake Locker – Washington QB – I’m pretty confident Nick Fairley isn’t on the Titans board and I’m pretty sure they’re hunting for a QB here.  The Titans have done a ton of work on Locker and this franchise needs a savior right now.  I think this is a pretty likely marriage, with the only exception of Ryan Mallet, who could be a strong possibility here.

9. Dallas Cowboys – Nick Fairley – Auburn DT - The Cowboys will run their pick to the podium if this scenario plays out.  He could slot in right now in their defense as a 5-tech.  The Cowboys need youth and explosiveness on their defensive line and Fairley would satisfy that immediately.

10.Washington Redskins – Robert Quinn – North Carolina DE – The Skins are in the QB hunt, that’s no secret.  But the defense needs to be addressed much more.  The Redskins can’t win the NFC East with one great pass rusher (Orakpo) and Quinn could be a huge burst off the edge on 3rd downs right away.  The Skins need this pass rush badly and Quinn has attractive upside.

11.Houston Texans – Aldon Smith - Missouri DE – The Texans can plug Smith in from day 1 at rush OLB.  I feel comfortable with his ability to play on 1st and 2nd down, unlike a lot of young players on the edge.  There also seems to be a misconception that Smith racked up a lot of sacks rushing against guards playing inside, when actually 12 of his 17 career Missouri sacks came rushing against a tackle.  The fact that he can kick inside and beat guards shows strength and impressive leverage use, especially considering he plays at around 260.

12.Minnesota Vikings – Ryan Mallett – Arkansas QB - It’s no secret I’ve been a Ryan Mallett fan throughout this process.  This is a great fit for him, as Minnesota might be the most QB needy team in the NFL right now.  I think he can play early and have success soon given the weapons that would be around him here.

13. Detriot Lions – Prince Amukamara – Nebraska CB – I’ve loved the way Detroit has drafted since Matt Millen left.  This would be one of those picks I love too because they would continue to add high talent players at great positions of need.  This would give Detroit a playmaker at every level of their defense, and this is only round 1 of the draft.

14. St.Louis Rams – Ryan Kerrigan - Purdue DE - Edge players seem to win out over the interior players when it comes down to a close debate, which is why I have Kerrigan here over Corey Liuget.  I think Liuget could be a strong possibility too, but Kerrigan’s motor is special and they could have the 2 best motors in the NFL at book ends, with Chris Long being the other.

15. Miami Dolphins – Jimmy Smith – Colorado CB - The Dolphins are no stranger to risk, and they’re certainly no stranger to taking 1st round corners with questionable character.  This team already has a lot of pass rush with bookend OLBs Cameron Wake and Koa Misi, so adding more talented cover guys can only make this defense more elite.  Jimmy Smith is the best talent available here, and with no logical QB in sight (no Andy Dalton isn’t logical this high) this should be a somewhat easy pick.

16. Jacksonville Jaguars – Da’Quan Bowers – Clemson DE - Bowers is one of my favorite talents in the draft, so it pains me to see his injury concerns kill his stock.  He is a top 7 talent in this draft and could be a great player even if it is just a short period of time.  The Jags need athleticism, speed and strength at defensive end and Bowers delivers on all those fronts.

17. New England Patriots – Tyron Smith – USC OT - New England could be drafting anywhere from 2nd overall to not even in the 1st round given their draft history and ammo.  They have a lot of picks to work with, so I expect tons of movement.  Tyron’s stock is really hot, I just don’t see a fit for him before here.  This is a great fit, however, and Smith could replace Matt Light immediately.  New England doesn’t draft for need usually, so it’s going to be a value pick with someone falling to them.  This just happens to fit a need for them and it has great value.

18. San Diego Chargers – J.J. Watt – Wisconsin DE - This feels like a best player available spot to me, and Watt would be just that.  The Chargers could use an infusion of youth on their defensive line and they could use a good motor like this too.

19. New York Giants – Gabe Carimi – Wisconsin OT - The Giants need more consistent offensive line play.  Carimi could give the Giants running game a huge boost.  I see him as a 10 year right tackle in the NFL for someone.

20. Tampa Bay Bucs – Akeem Ayers – UCLA LB - Ayers is a better football player than the workouts and measurables he’s posted suggest.  He’s a great fit for the Tampa 2 scheme, which lets linebackers run and hit with a good amount of freedom.  Ayers would be yet another highly talented young piece to this up and coming Bucs team.

21. Kansas City Chiefs – Muhammad Wilkerson – Temple DT/DE - The Chiefs still say they believe in Tyson Jackson, but I don’t think they really believe it.  Wilkerson is a big and active interior lineman that can play defensive end in a 3-4 or 3-tech in a 4-3.  He did both at Temple and was around the ball a lot.  I like the way he plays on tape, even though it is a small school.

22. Indianapolis Colts – Anthony Castonzo - Boston College OT – Indy should be in the tackle market, and I think Castonzo is a better fit than any of the remaining tackles on the board.  Castonzo has the 50+ college starts and consistency that the other tackles don’t have.  He can be a plug and play guy at left tackle for the Colts for years.

23. Philadelphia Eagles – Corey Liuget – Illinois DT - The Eagles need more interior pass rush and Liuget is one of the best penetrating DTs in the draft.  He’s strong and mobile for his size, and on tape he’s usually beating the guy in front of him.  He has a pretty good motor too. The Eagles defense was bad last year and they need more from every level.

24. New Orleans Saints – Derek Sherrod - Ole Miss OT - This is a really tough pick to gauge.  There’s more needs on the Saints than people think, and a lot of them are on the defensive side of the ball.  But to me, a glaring weakness on the offense is Jon Stinchcomb.  He’s not an athlete, he loses against speed and is barely an average starting tackle in the NFL.  Brees makes up for a lot of his deficiencies.  The Saints could use a youth infusion on their offensive line, and Sherrod could eventually move to left tackle if the Saints choose to replace Jeramaine Bushrod, whose also pretty average in his own right.

25. Seattle Seahawks – Christian Ponder – FSU QB - The word is the Seahawks are locked in to trading back, but that doesn’t make sense to me since this seems to be the prime spot to be in if you’re picking one of the 2nd tier quarterbacks.  Ponder, Dalton, and Kaepernick will all be tempting for teams picking early in the 2nd round who want a QB to fall to them.  The Seahawks don’t have to worry though, because they can just sit here and take which ever one of those 2nd tier QBs they like most.  I like Ponder’s fit in the west coast offense the Seahawks are trying to be.

26. Baltimore Ravens – Cameron Jordan – Cal DE - The Ravens need more youth and athleticism on their defensive line, and Cam Jordan could be an early contributer. The Ravens need to seriously address their lack of speed in their front 7.  They have plenty of size up there but not enough speed and athleticism.  The Ravens seemed gassed and slow late in games on defense, and adding Jordan’s motor/athleticism could be a step to fixing it.

27. Atlanta Falcons – Mark Ingram – Alabama RB - Michael Turner hasn’t been getting any younger, especially while getting 300+ carries 2 of the past 3 years.  The Falcons can take the best player available and not have to worry about life after Turner.  Kyle Rudolph could be a strong possibility here too.  Also, Atlanta has been linked to trade up rumors for A.J. Green, so it’s possible this could be one of the top 5 teams’ picks, and this ends up being a 2nd tier QB for Cincinnati/Arizona.

28. New England Patriots – Colin Kaepernick – Nevada QB - The Patriots have worked out all of the top 7 QB’s pretty hard.  A lot of it is to stir up interest in their 1st round picks, so I have Kaepernick here whether it’s New England or someone else.  His tools and hard work during this draft season have earned him consideration late in the 1st.  It wouldn’t surprise me if one of the top 10 teams who missed out on their QB trade in here to take their 2nd tier QB.  Could this be a pick for New England, as crazy as it sounds?  Kaepernick is a big time project, so sitting behind Brady for 4-5 years wouldn’t be asking too much.

29. Chicago Bears – Marvin Austin – North Carolina DT - This is a popular pick and for good reason.  Austin has the quickest twitch in the draft, and that’s essential for a cover 2 DT.  The Bears have missed that kind of production from their interior defensive line.  Nate Solder could be a possibility here, as could Alabama tackle James Carpenter.

30. New York Jets – Phil Taylor – Baylor DT - Sione Pouha did an admirable job filling in at nose tackle for Kris Jenkins when he got hurt.  And now that Jenkins has moved on, Pouha is all they have left at nose tackle.  Taylor could be in a rotation inside early and eventually be the nose for the Jets for years.  He has incredible mobility for his size and is one of the few true nose tackles in this draft.

31. Pittsburgh Steelers – Nate Solder – Colorado OT - Solder is higher on most other mocks, but I see him as more of a project than most.  The Steelers usually red-shirt all of their rookies, so this would be a good fit for him.  The Steelers coached good offensive line play out of less-than-stellar pieces last year, so I like their chances with a young player with a lot of tools and upside like Solder.

32. Green Bay Packers – Cameron Heyward - Ohio St. DT - I see Heyward as an ideal 5-tech in the Capers’ 3-4 scheme.  The Packers had serious issues with keeping their interior defensive line healthy in 2010, and they need to make sure they have plenty of depth there.  The Packers also have to resign Cullen Jenkins.  Heyward could be a comfortable safety net for the Packers with all of their questions on the defensive line.

- Ben Layman

For more draft discussion, follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/houtexmajorin

It is much like those old familiar movies that no matter what, you just stop down a few minutes and become engrossed even though you know the outcome. The Mavericks are a team that always seems to look good going into the playoffs, but somehow crumble under the pressure.

I still get sucked in and watch these games and root for the hometown but even with a 23 point lead, somewhere in the back of my mind I know that they can still lose the game by 2. In fact that is exactly what happened Saturday night in a game where it seemed the Mavericks had control and looked like the veteran team they are supposed to be. However somehow they still manage to lose a lead that they should have been able to milk to the end.

The Mavericks are such an anomaly, I mean they have a great deep bench with players that sometimes out shoot the starters. They have the knowledge of being in this position before and knowing how to handle themselves, but somehow us fans still will have a hard time believing they will even make it out of the first round.

In my last blog about the Texas Rangers I talked about them picking up where they left off, so do the Mavericks in the exact opposite way. The Mavericks just cannot seem to put a team like Portland away. Honestly for this series to now be tied seems to me like an impossibility, and yet here we are.

We fans are just tuning in to that movie that ends with a horrible death scene that maybe cinematically is brilliant, but for our heroes it’s crushing. We watch with the anticipation that maybe this time the outcome will be different. It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different outcome. Well if that is the case the Dallas Mavericks are exhibit A. your honor, and us fans are the guilty defendants that hope for yet a miracle save.

This may seem negative and in truth I guess it is, but like I stated. We have all seen this movie time and time again and I think in Dallas we would just like to see a few more surprise endings instead of the ones where mantra is next year, because quite honestly how many next year’s do we have left??

On Monday night I sat waiting yet again for that surprise ending while in the back of my mind knowing that I am still hoping against hope. I have already started saying “Well Portland still has to win in Dallas to beat us” like that is of any comfort. I well remember back in 2006 when this team was in the Finals and I said “ Well the Mavs are up 3-0” we all know how that particular line of thinking worked out for us here in Dallas.

Also who’s Golden State? They can’t take us……. we are a deep veteran team that will make a push to the finals again.

You get the idea, but I will as many others here in Dallas, continue to live the very definition of sports insanity because apparently being a MFFL (Mavs fan for life) also means being crazy. This may explain much of Cuban’s actions now that I think about it.

- Chase Russell

Really New York, Really? This was team you were all excited about. All anyone said going into the playoffs was, “The Knicks are the most likely team to upset in the Eastern Conference.” The Knicks followed up those predictions, by being the only team to be swept out of the playoffs. Even Ricky Rubio thinks the Knicks got too much hype. “Man that was a waste of time.”

Now granted the Knicks were injured, Amare Stoudemire got banged up, and Chauncey Billups was virtually ineffective. Which is kind of the way he plays when he’s healthy at this point in his career (Too Soon)? At the same time, the Knicks got swept, and weren’t even competitive in two of the losses. I hate to brake it to Knicks fans (actually I love breaking it to New York. Anytime they leave their groin open I kick them) but get used to losing early in the playoffs.

The New York Knicks have obvious deficiency. Defensively they are inept, their coaching can be questionable, and the bench is challenged to be serviceable. I mean anytime Renaldo Balkman is in your potential playoff rotation, things ain’t good. Now these are problems that could be fixed, but it won’t be that easy. You have to factor in the looming CBA this offseason which presumably will decrease the salary cap.

So the Knicks will be able to add pieces via trade, but they will not be in the market for major free agent accusations. This means you are looking at the Knicks core for the next 5 years. So at best they will be the third best team in the east at best for the foreseeable future (Miami and Chicago are 1 and 2 in no particular order). So say it with me, “Things ain’t good.”

I expect to be a very competitive team in the regular season, and post season going forward. They may even have a season where they finish with the best record. I mean they have the best scorer in the league. With that being said, they aren’t winning a championship. Their style of play coupled with their roster, is not set up for winning in the playoffs. Good luck with that New York. You know there’s always Fubu.

-Kortney Shane Williams

Comedian and Writer

www.facebook.com/kshanecomedy

www.youtube.com/kshanecomedy

KortneyShaneComedy@gmail.com

http://thekortneyshanepillar.wordpress.com/

A dog getting castrated might not even compare to the pain that New York Knicks fans had to go through on a much less than Good Friday.

Losing 113-96 in the first playoff game at Madison Square Garden since 2004 isn’t what was expected from a team that was a play or two away from taking a couple of games from the Celtics in Boston. There were a lot of problems for the Knicks on Friday. Carmelo couldn’t score, Amare wasn’t a hundred percent, Billups is out, and the bench still rivals the Heat’s for the worst among playoff teams.

Yeah, those are all problems but sadly there is one screaming problem, like the kid in a mall throwing a temper tantrum, demanding to be attended to.

It’s the defense. Not a revelation I know.

Something has to change and it has to come from off the court. The culture of the Knicks team has to change. It starts with the head coach.

I was never convinced that Mike D’Antoni was the right coach for the Knicks. Like his partner in crime Bryan Colangelo, it’s apparent that he’s nothing without Steve Nash. D’Antoni tried to remake the Knicks into a replicate of the Suns but it can’t be done. The Suns are Coca Cola and the Knicks are Diet Coke.

Even the original version couldn’t win an NBA championship. The old cliché lives on. Defense wins championships. Although, I’m still convinced that a break here or there would have given the Suns a real shot at a championship, but that’s a story for another day.

It is unclear whether or not D’Antoni tries to coach defense but it’s clear that the product put out on the floor needs some real direction.

The Knicks are still scoring at an incredibly high rate but it can’t compensate for the way they play on the defensive end. Especially in the playoffs.

Is there any way that D’Antoni can change his philosophy because there isn’t a miracle left on Earth that will let this Knicks roster, coached the way it is, compete for an NBA title. Does Mike D’Antoni have another philosophy?

Granted, he has never had a real roster to work with prior to this year in New York. Still, he has shown nothing that would lead us to believe that any Knick fan should have anything more to believe in than false hope.

What’s worse is that Carmelo Anthony doesn’t fit into anything that Mike D’Antoni does. Melo slows the game down, plays a lot of isolation and, well, I guess the defense fits right in. Expectantly, the Carmelo show hasn’t been as good as advertised, but it is still early. You won’t make a Knicks believer out of me but there are lots who do believe. I’m going to need to see it before I can believe it.

In my mind it all goes back to D’Antoni and the compass is pointing in a different direction.

The only way Mike D’Antoni should stick around is if he is willing to commit to a new vision. Defense needs to be a real priority in New York and I’m pretty sure that someone other than me will be saying that. Just a hunch though.

The Knicks franchise features an abundance of question marks but the most important one that needs to be answered is the path that Mike D’Antoni is taking them.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has indicated that an expanded playoff format, which would include an additional wild card from each league, could begin as soon as the 2012 season. The complaints from traditionalists focus on the watering down of the product and the further diminishing importance of the 162 game regular season schedule.

Proponents, including Padres manager Bud Black, like the additional opportunities that it would provide teams that are close, but not close enough to make the playoffs with the current format. More importantly, the MLB owners love the potential of additional revenues that would result from more games being played.

Since the almighty dollar will most likely win out and the owners and players each never turn down an opportunity to line their pockets, the debate needs to center around trying to make this work to improve the eventual World Series matchup.

Until baseball expanded to 12 teams in each league in 1969, there weren’t any playoff rounds before the World Series. The ultimate baseball matchup of the season was between the two best teams over the 154 game and then 162 game regular season schedules. Expansion in 1969 introduced the league championship series and further expansion of the playoffs in 1994, although they had to wait until 1995, introduced the 3-division format with the wild card coming from the best non-division winner in each league.

The World Series has been played 16 times during the Wild Card Era, and four of those winners were wild card teams. In additional five other wild card teams have lost in the World Series. Obviously, dominating regular season performance hasn’t been a prerequisite for postseason success. My format would attempt to adjust that.

The object of my format would be to create as big of an advantage for the best regular season team in each league, thus creating incentive to earn the best record and avoiding the wild card round.

Here’s how it would work: In each league, the wild card matchup would begin on the day following the season in a best two out of three format, unless there’s a one-game playoff to decide a division winner or wild card team. There would be one game played on that day. The following day there would be a day game that would be followed by another game that same day, creating a playoff doubleheader if needed, to determine the wild card champion. Then the wild card winner would open up their next series the next day on the road at the team with the best record in the league, regardless of any matchup within the same division.

What this should do is force the wild card winner to “burn” their top starting pitchers in the wild card matchup and give a further advantage to the best team in the league by eliminating any off days for the wild card team. The object here is to create a built-in advantage for the best team in each league designed to reduce the likelihood of the wild card team winning in that round. Upsets do happen, but there should be a major advantage given to the team that played the best over six months.

Here’s the rationale behind this proposal. While the Giants are a very good team and are well deserved world champions, what would happen if they were to struggle a bit and sneak into the playoffs as a second wild card team? If there’s a one game playoff with the other wild card team, then they would only “burn” Lincecum or another pitcher in that matchup and still have frontline pitchers rested to face a team that might not have the elite pitching that the Giants have.

By forcing the Giants to “burn” two or three starters over a two day period, they would be in a bind going into the Divisional Series. That’s good, because the Giants, or any other wild card winner, would probably have to go deeper into their rotation to find rested starters for the LDS. If they only had a one game playoff, then Cain and Sanchez would be rested and ready to start the LDS. In this format, the Giants might have to call on Barry Zito in game one or two against the best team in the league instead of leaving him off the postseason roster.

This format isn’t fair to the wild card winner. That’s the whole point. It shouldn’t be fair. Every team has an opportunity to win their division over the 162 game season and teams that back into the postseason through the wild card SHOULD have to perform at an extraordinary level to advance.

The big winner in this format is each league’s best team. But the other division winners would benefit as well because they would AVOID the potential wild card carnage. That’s the way it should be.

With an additional wild card team in each league, the percentage of wild card participants in the World Series is most likely to increase even more. Yes, underdog teams are fun to root for, but do you want to see a wild card team in the World Series every year? I don’t and you probably don’t either and that’s why my format is built to keep that from happening.

-Brian Wason

Twitter: @Freeagenttalk

Despite the 93-87 loss in game 2 tonight against the San Antonio Spurs, the good times should still be rolling in Memphis. Going back home with the series tied at one’s with arguably the league’s best regular season team should be quite an accomplishment for a team that has never won a playoff game in franchise history.

The Memphis Grizzlies hung tough once again with the Spurs last night. No one was surprised. In fact, people were picking this upset before the series started.

The casual fan must be wondering how anyone could fathom Memphis taking a game off the Spurs much less winning the series without their franchise player in Rudy Gay. They just signed him to that fat five year $82 million contract this past off-season. How can you beat the Spurs without your best player?

The casual fan may be asking how they’re doing it without their star but Memphis fans and those who follow the NBA closely are now questioning Memphis’ need for Rudy Gay. Memphis went 15-10 down the stretch to secure a playoff spot without their star while playing some stiff competition. They even tanked the last two games to assure themselves a matchup with the Spurs.

It’s okay Grizzly fans, not to worry because you still need Rudy Gay and his flabby contract.

The numbers don’t always tell it all. I realize that Memphis’ winning percentage down the stretch without Rudy was .600, more than 50 points better than when Gay was in the line-up. Yes, Memphis was more efficient on the offensive end, outscoring their opponents by 3.6 points per 100 possessions as opposed to 2.0 per 100. Overall, they were better statistically without Rudy Gay.

Well you know what they say, don’t ya?

Stats are for losers.

Rudy Gay may have been playing the best ball of his career this season prior to his injury, averaging 19.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and shot almost 40 percent from beyond the arc. However, that’s not why the Grizzlies need him in order to take the next step as a team.

The Grizzlies need the scoring wing player who can give you your close, late game, isolation offence. They need it as badly as Ron Artest needs his psychiatrist and it couldn’t have been more apparent in game 2.

The recent recipient of a hefty contract extension, Zach Randolph is one of the toughest guys to guard in the league. Sports Illustrated Zach Lowe went as far to say that he is “one of the league’s truly unguardable offensive players.” Nevertheless, going to Z-Bo late in games is not the easiest offense when the defense collapses and the best guy spreading the floor for your team is Shane Battier.

Look at it this way. All the best teams have a go to scorer who can get their offence at will. Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, Wade and LeBron, Kevin Durant, Manu Ginobli and the list can goes on. I guess I should throw in Michael Jordan just for kicks.

The Orlando Magic don’t have a scorer who can simply get his at will. It’s probably why the Magic won’t win building solely around Howard.

It would be a capital offence to put Rudy Gay in the same category as the guys mentioned above but at the same time he is not in another dimension as those players either.

Playoff defense is tight and when the best teams clamp down with five minutes left in the fourth quarter it is the weaker teams that have more trouble executing. It’s not a coincidence that only four number eight seeds have gotten out of the first round in NBA history. However, you run your late game offence through a dynamic player like Rudy Gay and suddenly things are looking a little brighter. Remember his game winner against the Heat earlier this year? If you’re not a Raptor or Grizzly fan you probably have no idea that he hit a virtually identical game winner in Toronto.

The current make-up of the Memphis Grizzlies presents a bright future but if you can sit there and tell me with a straight face that that roster has the ability to take the next step without Rudy Gay then you might also want to see Ron Artest’s psychiatrist.

Rudy Gay isn’t at the level that will take the Memphis Grizzlies to the Promised Land. At least not yet. The Grizzlies are growing as a team and Rudy Gay is growing as a player. If Memphis is ever going to make the jump from good to great they will need Rudy Gay to help get them there.

- Chris Ross
- http://twitter.com/#!/paintstheblack
- http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/

The NHL is far behind the NFL, the NBA and MLB in terms of popularity among sports-loving Americans. And if they’re not careful, they will be overtaken by Major League Soccer. That’s a scary thought.

But I have a way to change all of that.

Now, I’m not a hockey fan. Not in the least bit. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a whole game. Or match or scrum or whatever they call it. So, in my mind that makes me the perfect person to fix hockey. Because if I can create something that would make me want to watch hockey, then the rest of America will want to watch as well. And that’s really the goal here, to get the average American interested in hockey.

The solution is pretty simple. The execution will be far more difficult.

The solution is this: create two new conferences; one Canadian one American. Each conference would have their playoffs and send their champion to the Stanley Cup. That way, every year we will have USA vs. Canada for the Cup. That is something that I, and most other Americans, would watch. Everybody loves sports even more when National Pride is on the line. It’s a chance to prove that your country is better than their country. It would be like having the Olympics every year.

Executing this plan will very difficult because some teams are going to have to move. We would need 15 teams in Canada to match the 15 teams here. By my count, there are only six teams in Canada. That means nine US teams will have to move. Like I said, it’s not going to be easy.

I think we can start with all the Southern teams. There is already talk about moving the Phoenix Coyotes back to Canada, so there’s one.  Nashville, Florida, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Carolina can go, too. That’s six. The last three will be harder to choose. I’ll leave that up to the NHL. And I know that they wanted those teams in the south to be more of a national sport but it’s just not happening.

I know a lot of fans in the cities I just mentioned are going to have a fit because no one likes losing a team. Just ask Seattle or Sacramento. But if you’re a hockey fan in those cities, your loss will contribute to the greater good. Every year we will be treated to a spectacle of UAS vs. Canada, Us vs. Them.

I can’t think of anything else that would create more interest in hockey than that. Can you imagine a packed arena full of fans all screaming, “U-S-A! U-S-A!” as one of “our” teams goes for the Cup?

That would be something to see. And I hope it happens in my lifetime.

So there you go, NHL. I just gave you the best idea for hockey since the ice skate. And you can have it for free. All I want are some tickets to the first International Stanley Cup.

- Israel Soliz

There’s something stuck in my crawl (crawl? Where is that?). So give me a minute to hop up on my soapbox.

Now I don’t know if you’ll know about what happened with Kobe Bryant. If you haven’t, let me fill you in.

During a game Kobe Bryant was issued a call by a referee that he didn’t agree with. He went into a tirade as all players do after a call they don’t agree with (or after any call if you’re Gary Payton). During Bryant’s tirade he screamed profanity and called the referee a homosexual slur that rhymes with Zagat (use your imagination boys and girls).

I waited to see the backlash surrounding Kobe‘s comments…and I waited and waited…there was nothing. All I heard were people defend Kobe Bryant and dismissing his comment. I even heard someone say (I’m not going to say who it is, but his name rhymes with Chris Webber) that, people are competitive and sometimes things slip. What…”Things slip” really? The lone voice that came out against Kobe was Charles Barkley on the Dan Le Batard Show (Purple Drank). So allow me to align myself with Mr. Barkley by saying, Kobe Bryant’s language was completely unacceptable. Please don’t try to excuse that kind of langue as something that always happens in a competitive arena. When you start using slurs, it’s no longer about competition. You are trying to hurt someone, and degrade them as an individual.

The word that Kobe Bryant used toward the referee was disgusting and abhorrent. There is no place for that use of language. I am shocked that people on sports television, that run their yap for a living, haven’t stood up for what is right. It seems that when the shoe is on the other foot, social activist seize the opportunity to promote themselves (“Paging Al Sharpton, Paging Al Sharpton”). We all know if Kobe was white and he called a referee a Nigger. People would try to kick him out of the country (“Oh here comes all Sharpton”).

Now I’m not saying Kobe’s a bad guy, because I don’t pass personal judgment on people I don’t know. What I will say is the reaction to Bryant’s comment speaks to a bigger problem in the American sports arena. There is a homophobic acceptance in sports, because of the lack of representation of openly homosexual men in American sports. Is this a problem? Yes and no. The lack of openly homosexual males isn’t a problem. People have the right to be whoever they want to be in their life. It’s no one’s duty to let the public in on their personal preferences. However, I do think that fact that sports culture hasn’t evolved into present day society is a problem. We have confronted and somewhat conquered racial inequality in sports. It’s time to address homophobia.

The recent Kobe Bryant comment has brought to fore front a huge problem in sports. I really hope we resolve the issue of homophobia in sports. It only takes one person to start the movement, so pardon me while I get Al Sharpton on the phone. I will tell him Don Imus is on line 2.

-Kortney Shane Williams

Comedian and Writer

www.facebook.com/kshanecomedy

http://thekortneyshanepillar.wordpress.com/