Yeah, I know this is coming a little late, but the length of the Hawks-Celtics series, and the start of Round 2 threw my timing off.

I’m going to go backwards from least compelling matchup, to most compelling.

Los Angeles Lakers defeat Denver Nuggets 4-0

Is this that big a shock to everyone once people started realizing that Regular Season records don’t mean anything?  Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasolsimply dominated the Nuggs. 

The best quote I heard of the Denver Nuggets, “the Nuggets offense is based on movement, running, and speed.  Allan Iverson and Carmelo Anothony are two of the biggest ball stoppersin the game.  AI with his constant horizontal dribbling, Anthony with his incessant pump-fakes and iso plays.”

I hate to be an “intangibles” guy, because I don’t believe in it, but the Nuggets came out looking like they knew they couldn’t win these games.  Look at what the Hawks did.  They had faith in confidence and pushed it to 7-games with the Celtics.  I wish there was a study of self-belief and success in sports.

Orlando Magic defeat Toronto Raptors 4-1

When 3 of the 5 games are televised on a channel that the majority of the country can’t watch, you know there isn’t going to be that much interest in the series.

Here’s what I think the impact of this series will have on coming years.

On paper it doesn’t seem like Toronto is as bad as they played.  Chris Boshis a skilled player and they have a pretty good backcourt.  But for whatever reason, they don’t have a team that plays with a whole bunch of chemistry.  There’s two types of chemistry that teams build together.  The first category are the “emotional” chemistry guys, who play their guts out together.  Look at the Golden State Warriors, or what Philadelphia did.  It’s even the reason why some teams can put it together for one series, then fall of the next.  Then you have the “professionals”.  San Antonio and Cleveland are quintessential examples of that.  They go out and get the job done.  Period.

By the way, I’d say emotions trumps professionalism, while professionalism is more consistent.  The best example is last years Superbowl with the New England Patriots and New York Giants.

Toronto lacks both.  Their emotional chemistry is fucked up because of TJ Ford’s incessant bitching, and they aren’t professional enough to get it done on that end either.  And Andrei Bargnani sucks.  Just had to throw that in.

Utah Jazz defeat Houston Rockets 4-2

If I were a Rockets fan I would be asking, “you’re a professional athlete Tracy McGrady and yet you get winded in the 4th quarter of a game?  Either you have a congenital heart disease or you are seriously slacking on the conditioning.”  How does an all-star athlete not have good enough conditioning to make it through the 4th quarter of games?  I just don’t get it.

Utah’s mechanicalness is what defeats them.  It’s the reason why Stockton and Malone never won a championship.  Pick-n-rolls are great plays, but basing an ENTIRE offense off it… I just don’t know?  I know Jerry Sloan is a Hall of Fame coach, but seriously… give just a little more flexibility and I think you really have something.  It’s the reason why the Triangle Offense is so effective, it just flows.

San Antonio Spurs defeat Phoenix Suns 4-1

What a let down for Phoenix fans.  Not only are the years of exciting, fan friendly basketball over, but your coach is leaving town, you have to eat the rest of Shaq’s monster contract, you’ll have to watch Steve Nash become a shadow of his former self AND you’ll have at least 5 years of rebuilding (shedding contracts and finding players).

Seriously, is there any promise for Phoenix after this?  Is there ANYONE on the roster who will add to the future of your team?  Look at the Miami Heat, that’s your new team.  Congrats.

Detroit Pistons defeat Philadelphia 76ers 4-2

Philly sure made it interesting in the beginning of this series, eh?  But sure enough Detroit proves once again… “they can turn it on and off”.  God I hate that.  It’s a mockery of sports, and it’s insulting to their fans.  Ask any Oakland Raiders fan how they felt when Randy Moss said he only plays when he wants to.

Philly I love, but how are they any different then the Chicago Bulls?  Andre Iguodala is nothing more then Luol Deng, and ask any Bulls fan if they think Deng can be the leader of a championship team.  If they have a monumental collapse, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.  If they somehow put things together even better, then that wouldn’t be surprising either.  But if that’s the case, they’ll never make it past the first or second round of the playoffs, EVER.

God, which is worst?  Having a team that perpetually teases you with “almost” getting there, or a team that just flat out sucks?

Cleveland Cavaliers defeat Washington Wizards 4-2

This series wasn’t that compelling for basketball reasons at all, but was there any other Round 1 matchup with worse blood than this?  This series was pretty fucked up, including everything that the Wizdid to try to fuck with LeBron James.  Beautiful work in sports mental warfare.

The Wiz mistake, though, was in their defensive approach.  If they would have started Game 1 not playing lazy foul-driven defense, and instead played hard defense which leads to fouls, this series would have been completely different.  Not to mention, leaving Gilbert Arenas for the bench the whole time.  Jesus he kills their offense.  If there was a way to trade him to Denver I would love to see it.  That offense would be worse then something out of the 50’s.

New Orleans Hornets defeat Dallas Mavericks 4-1

Wow.  Talk about totally underrating the Hornets.  Sure, I have the benefit of this moment knowing that they’re up 2-0 on San Antonio, but either way, did anyone know that the Hornets were this good?  I’m completely shocked.

The implications for Dallas are shocking as well.  A team that last year looked invincible are now heading to rebuilding mode.  I honestly never understood Dallas’ success.  Besides Dirk Nowitzki, who else is a great player on that team?  I completely don’t understand the whole Josh Howardthing either.  I have never, once, seen him have a good game.  He has never stood out to me in any way whatsoever.  I know he gets the job done, but he’s spoken as being top-5 in his position.  Of his 5 30+ point games this past season, only once did it come against a good defensive team (Utah), once against a decent team (Washington), and the last three against teams that either don’t give a shit about defense (Denver), one that doesn’t play defense as part of their game plan (Golden State Warriors), and against a flat out shitty team (Los Angeles Clippers).

Not to mention, someone who averages almost 20 points, only had 5 30+ point games in a season?  Sure the consistency is nice, but don’t you need someone who can take over a game?  Can Josh Howard even do that?  I don’t think so.

Boston Celtics defeat Atlanta Hawks 4-3

How does this fall?  The Hawks stepped up, or the Celtics played down?

You have to love the highlights of Zaza Pachulia getting in Kevin Garnett’s face, the hardcore boo’ing of Mike Bibby, or even the overall David versus Goliath theme going on.

The games honestly spoke for themselves, and I doubt the Hawks can replicate this next year.  They’re such a volatile team, the pinnacle of basketball frustration.  One game playing their hearts out, the next looking like scared little children at the TD Banknorth Garden.  You have to give it to them at least for making this the most compelling series of round 1, minus the game 7 crapping in their pants.

Round 2 coming up soon…

Holy shit!  MTV went all out this year in finding nut jobs, eh?  Is there a majority of crazy people this year?

I skipped over Episode 2 because it really wasn’t all that interesting, as most early episodes aren’t.  I gotta say, I’m really not digging this 13 episode format this year, which has led to hour long episodes.  Um, by the way, how does MTV explain away that they could only have 13 episodes because of the Writer’s Strike?  Hmmm…

Ok, so I’m charging up my batteries, and I’m trying to remember if there has ever been a pair of nuttier psychopaths in a Real World house than Greg and Joey?  The only thing that really comes to mind is Real World Seattle and the mayhem that was Irene and Steven.  But at least in that house everyone else was at least gave balance.

Look at how the characters are playing out this season:

Greg - Psychopath number one.  Narcissist, sociopath, and ”trickster”.  Over the years there’s been pranksters in RW Houses, but at least there seemed to be some light-heartedness to it.  Is it me or does it seem like Greg tortured cats and dogs growing up?

Joey - “One day you will all look back and miss me, because I’ll be dead.  Life sucks!”  Wow.  Wow.  Doe-eyed positive attitude Joey is about two vodka and redbulls away from locking a 20 year old girl in a well in his basement yelling at her, “it puts the lotion on its skin!”  Has anyone been more Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde then this guy?  Sober he’s the understanding, positive-minded cool guy that everyone loves… give him a couple of shots, and he’s the angry arm wrestling, girl beating, scourge of the house. 

By the way, Joey reminds me of almost EVERY Alcoholics Anonymous person I’ve ever known in my life.  You hang out with them, and it’s like, “wow, this guy is really nice… wait, that’s kind of weird… yeah… um… he’s nice… why is he beating up that old lady?”  They just always have forced and false positivity, right?  Like a person who smiles so hard that their face turns red and that little vein pops out of their forehead, saying through tightly clenched teeth, “I AM HAPPY, I AM POSITIVE, I AM HAPPY, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL…”  So creepy.

Also, the reason why Joey is less psycho than Greg is because Joey just has problems.  He has some seriously fucked up self-esteem issues, and they all culminate when he drinks or uses drugs.  Greg on the other hand is SPECIFICALLY doing bad intentioned things.  Joey may have problems, but Greg is a BAD PERSON.

Brianna - Is she white?  I completely can’t tell.  I mean, I know she’s a blonde, I know her skin is totally white, but everything else says black.  It even seems like she’s albino or something, and if she is, then why is RW not playing into this more?  “Life as an albino black girl is hard…”  Well, the season is young. 

She had my favorite quote on the show so far, well until Joey’s drunken crying tirade about killing himself, when she yelled at… token? white girl Kimberly, “watch where you sleep ho!”  Marvelous. 

She’s a stripper, she gets offended when she’s called ghetto, she got arrested before coming to the show, she hooks up with a guy named Jo Jo - who mulitple times was referred to as a “walking STD”, she toys with Joey even though everyone in the house has realized he’s the next Ted Bundy, and this is by Episode 3!  Jesus.

Sarah - doesn’t she seem like she instigates a lot of problems?  Didn’t she instigate Greg when he first came to the house?  Didn’t she talk to Kimberly about Brianna’s problems?  Didn’t she talk to Brianna about what a psycho Joey is?  Outwardly she’s not as psychotic as the top three, but having a person who riles a house full of psychos up can’t be a bad thing, right?

Kimberly - well, I wouldn’t go so far as saying that she’s a psycho as much as I would say she has what I call “White Majority Syndrome” or WMS.  I lived in the South for about 5 years, and that area is a hotbed for WMS.  Typical symptoms of WMS float around a sense of complete naivity and unawareness of racism existing.  WMS sufferers are typically shocked and disbelieve that there is such an existance of racism.  This stems from the fact that racism has never happened to them (obviously).  When confronted over the existence of racism, the vast majority of WMS sufferers will not only disbelieve it, they will chastize YOU for being “racist”.

William - he’s harmless… but in a sad way.  He’s lovable… in that “aw poor guy” sort of way.  I can relate a lot to Will.  He falls in love really easily, he tries to get everyone to like him, he’s really well intentioned.  There’s just something off.  Also, someone who acts like Will typically gets trampled.  So that’s what I’m placing my money on.

Dave - Dave is the only “normal” person in the house this year.  Not only does he seem normal, but it seems like he is going to stay totally out of all the bullshit that is going to happen this year.  And by stay out of it, I mean, watch from the corner and laugh about it. 

Sure he’s hooking up with Kimberly, but doesn’t it seem normal?  Look at him compared to Will or Joey.  Will chases after Sarah, and everything is a big deal and overly serious and overly romantic.  Joey goes after Brianna, and everything is a big deal, he is constantly making comments about how she won’t hook up with him.  And finally, Dave is out having fun, he doesn’t have issues, he’s happy, he’s cool, and bam… he’s hooking up with one of the girls.  Good for you Dave, keep that sanity going.

From my predictions from Episode 1, number 4 has already come to fruition,

4.  David and Kimberly are OBVIOUSLY going to hook up, but so are Joey and Brianna, only to have it crash and burn in a really ugly way.  Those two personalities together?  Wow.

Can’t wait for the rest.

Things are starting to get a little stagnant around the QB Position in the NFL. There needs to be someone who steps up and makes things interesting! Last year the only person who surprised the socks off anyone was Ben Roethlisberger’s triumphant return to the QB position after sucking balls the year before. Oh yeah, and that whole Derek Anderson thing. Other then that I just don’t see anyone taking that leap this year, unfortunately.

The Cream of the Cream

1. Tom “Football Jesus” Brady, New England Patriots
2007 Stats: 4,806 yards, 68.9% Comp, 50 TDs, 8 INTs, 117.2 QB Rating, and getting a victory BJ from supermodel Giselle. Quote: “Damn, I really wanted 19!”

You know why Tom Brady is so good? Cause he has an enormous chip on his shoulder. And I’m not talking a normal sized chip, I’m talking, an Italian from Brooklyn sized chip on the shoulder. Inside Tom Brady knows that every team in the NFL thought that there were 198 players better than him, and that will never go away.

Beyond that, he sits behind one of the best five offensive lines in the league, and he still has two of the best receivers in the league. The one negative may be the return of Sammy Morris and the Laurence Maroney being healthy this year, which will take away from the amount he passes. Also, Bill Belichick may not be throwing the whole “Beli-cheat” back in the faces of the NFL. His numbers probably won’t be as ungodly as last year, but 4,400 yards, 40 TDs, under 10 INTs still will top the league.

2. “I heart” Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
2007 Stats: 4,040 yards, 65.4% Comp, 31 TDs, 14 INTs, 98.0 QB Rating, has made more money then 57 nations GNP from commercials over the last two years.

He is my favorite player in the league by far. His commercials are humorous and entertaining, but most of the time he’s making fun of his own dorkiness. The pinnacle being, “worried over your haircut? Look at me, picked it at 10, and stuck with it. People appreciate that.” Brilliant. A lot of people may be burnt out with him, but I swear, a famous person being able to publicly make fun of themselves (for money) is commendable. Kudos Mr. Manning, kudos.

More of the same in 2008 for Peyton. Sure Marvin Harrison is going to be back, but was Anthony Gonzalez that bad a substitute? Also, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are marvelous targets, and another year of maturing for his offensive line and Joseph Addai should provide Peyton with a continuingly stable offense.

3. Tony Romo aka “Mr. Simpson”, Dallas Cowboys
2007 Stats: 4,211 yards, 64.4% Comp, 36 TDs, 19 INTs, 97.4 QB Rating

Was there anything more stupid than the Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo vacation thing? Look, I understand that we now view athletes as celebrities, and therefore are allowed to completely invade on their social lives, but Jesus… can we agree to not make it annoying? I still think that it was a conspiracy by the NFL and ESPN to bring in more female viewer ship.

I have a very weird feeling this season is going to be the beginning of the fall of Terrell Owens, but it doesn’t matter because Dallas is stacked in the receiver position.

Several questions, though. What’s the impact of losing Julius Jones going to have? Can Marion Barber III and Fred Jones make up the difference? Can Terry Glenn come back and be effective? Is Jason Witten going to be as dominating as last year?

I think the only noticeable difference is going to be a drop in INTs that comes from being a starter for 3 years.

4. Donovan “Cunningham” McNabb, Philidelphia Eagles
2007 Stats: 3,324 yards, 61.5% Comp, 19 TDs, 7 INTs, 89.9 QB Rating, 0% team backing

God Philidephia Eagles fans are stoopid. Do you realize you’ve had an elite QB for the better part of a decade now? Do you honestly think that Kevin Kolb or AJ Feely or even departed Jeff Garcia are anywhere as good as him? This guy almost yearly makes a case to be MVP, and you complain about him? I live in Miami, ask me what it feels like to lose a Franchise Quarterback. And did Dan Marino ever win a championship? No. But he sure as hell put us in a position every year to go there.

People, only ONE TEAM can win the championship! Not to mention, we’re all sitting right at the tail end of a Dynasty in New England. Didn’t he take y’all to the NFC Championship 3 years in a row? Come on, give the guy a break. Not to mention, he’s NEVER had any receivers to throw to. The one year he did, they went to the friggin’ Superbowl! What more could you want?

They Got The Stuff, But Do They “Got… The… Stuff…”

5. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
2007 Stats: 4,423 yards, 67.5% Comp, 28 TDs, 18 INTs, 89.4 QB Rating

The year before everyone was sucking Drew Brees’ big one. Talk about having a Playoff Hangover. Through the first 4 games he had 9 INTs and 1 TD. He had the same amount of INTs for the final 12 games, as well as 27 TDs! I think he’s going to have a mega bounce back.

Also, Reggie Bush, man, what a disappointment. Drew felt that hurt bad. Thankfully, Deuce “who names their kid Deuce?” McAllister is hopefully going to be healthy again, which will take a lot of stress of Drew.

6. Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams
2007 Stats: 2,395 yards, 58.5% Comp, 11 TDs, 15 INTs, 70.3 QB Rating

I’m going to over-inflate every single St. Louis Rams player, because their offensive line is killer, and last year they did so badly solely because the WHOLE LINE was injured. Marc Bulger, when he doesn’t have guys knocking the crap out of him, is one of the best offensive weapons at the QB position.

It’s not all sunny, though, Marc loves to get injured. That is a big issue, but I’m hoping for the best.

7. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals
2007 Stats: 4,131 yards, 64.9% Comp, 26 TDs, 20 INTs, 86.7 QB Rating

He rushed back from his knee injury. Plain and simple.

Not to mention, RB Rudi Johnson has become all but useless. He only had one 100+ yard rushing game last year, and split time instead with Kenny Watson, who should have been starting the whole year. Hopefully Marvin Lewis makes the right decision.

I’d expect a drop in INTs and an increase in TDs. By the way, losing Chad Johnson won’t be a bad thing.

8. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
2007 Stats: 3,154 yards, 65.3% Comp, 32 TDs, 11 INTs, 104.1 QB Rating

Big Ben was my pick to have a big surprise for the year, and ended up having a “career year” last year. Just look at those stats. 104 QB Rating? Wow, that’s pretty intense. Goes to show you that giving someone a year to come back from injury is a good thing (ahem, Carson Palmer).

This is one of those situations that I think his ranking goes up and down depending on how your league goes. If there’s a heavy lean on yards, then drop him down a couple of notches, but if there’s more of a focus on TDs, INTs, and rating, then push him up a couple of spots.

The Steelers workmen like offense will always limit the yards this guy can put up, but also will keep him efficient and untouched.

9. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks
2007 Stats: 3,966 yards, 62.9% Comp, 28 TDs, 12 INTs, 91.4 QB Rating

He’s been doing the same thing for a whole bunch of years now. He just seems to get the job done. Don’t ask me why, but I predict a slide in the Seahawks. I don’t know why, it’s just one of those football intuition things.

Yeah, I Guess That’ll Have To Do or This Guy Will Make A Reasonable Backup or God, Who Is Stupid Enough To Want To Trade For One Of These Guys

10. Derek Anderson, Cleveland Browns
2007 Stats: 3,787 yards, 56.5% Comp, 29 TDs, 19 INTs, 82.5 QB Rating

I’m only putting him the first one on this part of the list because of comparison to the other QBs. His offense is stacked, his defense gives up points, he makes A LOT of deep field passes (hence the 56.5% completion percentage), and they added Donte’ Stallworth, what else can you ask for?

Unfortunately, I just don’t believe in it. Can anyone say Billy Joe Toliver? I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Brady Quinn is starting by the end of the year and Anderson’s contract is the joke of the NFL. “Boy, the Browns sure blew that one. Of course, they’re the Browns.”

For those of you who doubt, Anderson finished the final 3 games, 180 yds/gm average, 50.9% Comp, 3 TDs, and 5 INTs. Against Buffalo, Cincy, and San Fran!

11. David Gerrard, Jacksonville Jaguars
2007 Stats: 2,509 yards, 64% Comp, 18 TDs, 3 INTs, 102.2 QB Rating

I used to have friends who were big time Jax fans, and they said that Gerrard was a hundred times better a QB than Byron Leftwich, and it’s true. I would love to have Gerrard be the QB of my team. He’s like Trent Dilfer, but even MORE efficient. In terms of fantasy, not so much. He doesn’t kill in passing yards, and he doesn’t kill in rushing yards. I doubt he’ll have more than 20 TDs, but at least he’ll keep the INTs down. He’s a really solid backup, I just wouldn’t want him as my fantasy starter.

12. Jon Kitna, Detroit Lions
2007 Stats: 4,068 yards, 63.3% Comp, 18 TDs, 20 INTs, 80.9 QB Rating

If Detroit finally got their offensive line together Kitna is going to have a pro-bowl season. His receivers are incredible, his defense sucks, and his running game is almost nonexistent. I just don’t know how this guy manages not to leave the field with a busted spleen. Also, there may be a huge chance for David Carr syndrome. A man can get pummeled only so many times.

13. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
2007 Stats: 3,152 yards, 60.2% Comp, 21 TDs, 15 INTs, 82.4 QB Rating

He just is not a good NFL QB. There’s been enough time for him to put his game together, and it just doesn’t look like he’s doing much of anything.

BUT… I would say he’s a candidate for having the biggest season turnaround. Chris Chambers who wasted away down here in Miami for so long should also have a decent season (if he finally learns how not to drop the goddamn ball!), and Vincent Jackson is going to be this years DJ Hackett. Throw in Antonio Gates, and this may be trouble.

Then again, I just don’t believe it.

14. Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2007 Stats: 2,440 yards, 63.9% Comp, 13 TDs, 4 INTs, 94.6 QB Rating

He’s good, he’s probably just not going to play every game.

15. Eli Manning, New York Giants
2007 Stats: 3,336 yards, 56.1% Comp, 23 TDs, 20 INTs, 73.9 QB Rating

Ugh, I hate to say Superbowl MVP Eli Manning. It’s offensive. It makes me sad. Hey Eli, why don’t you pass off your back foot a little more? Hey Eli, why don’t you ride your brother’s coat tails a little more? Hey Eli, why don’t you screw over a franchise again because you’re a spoiled brat? Jesus, I just do not like this guy.

16. Kellen “And you thought he was Black” Clemens, New York Jets
2007 Stats: 1,529 yards, 52% Comp, 5 TDs, 10 INTs, 60.9 QB Rating

If I had a bigger pair of balls, and I cared, I would probably rank Clemens a little higher. I think he’s going to have a solid season, and I also think that the Jets are going to do a lot to protect him, so he’ll probably have an efficient season.

Not to mention, the Jets have one of my major keys to making a football team good, they have an AMAZING offensive line. What they did in the draft two seasons ago, when they traded down to get both D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold was a thing of beauty. Then they go and sign Alan Faneca? Jesus.

Don’t be surprised if the Jets beat out New England in the AFC East. Yes, I’m serious. And yes, I still hate the Jets.

I haven’t quite dedicated myself to the Playoffs as much as last week, after being distracted by the NFL Draft and also Gran Turismo 4, god that game is so addicting..  It seems like each of the matchups are deciding themselves.  That includes you Philadelphia and Atlanta fans.  Don’t even think for one second that either of those teams are going to win their series.

When the first round is finished I’ll write up some of my thoughts.  But since my first love is NFL Football, I am putting together a post on the up coming season, as well as a series of posts dedicated to Fantasy Draft rankings.

Also, in the meantime, I’m going to try to do some posts on music, movies, and Gran Turismo 4.

Stay tuned.

Came across this story on ESPN.com.

Taylor was taking a break from “Dancing With the Stars” when he stopped in to visit Dolphins players in South Florida. According to the Herald, after receiving a warm reception from his teammates, Taylor decided to seek out Parcells.

But according to the Herald, Parcells had no interest in talking to Taylor. Parcells even looked at Taylor, the newspaper reported, before going back to watching tape.

Wow.  That takes HUGE balls.

Woah, just when you thought things were making sense in the playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers get blown out by the Washington Wizards, the Houston Rockets finally get a game back from the Utah Jazz, and the Toronto Raptors get a win over the Orlando Magic.  God these middle row games are fun!  If there was one thing that would kill me about the late-90s playoff series between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat it was that they would swing back and forth between home games and away games, only to find that New York would always pull off those game 7 wins.  Damn you John Starks, you too Allen Houston!

And in case you’re wondering, I didn’t watch a single second of the Atlanta Hawks versus Boston Celtics or Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers games.  I need a break somewhere, and 1 v 8 will always lose.

I only really watched the Cavs v Wiz game because I’m on the East Coast and a 10:30ET starting playoff game is gonna get cut off.  I did catch the first half of the Rockets v Jazz, but first halves are for basketball dorks.

Like I said last time, if the Wiz can finally get some of their shots to drop, then they’ll take a game from the Cavs.  DeShawn Stevenson who had been sucking big time finally made a dent and went 5-7 from 3’s.  Maybe Soulja Boy cheering him on from the stands got him fired up.  By the way, how appreciative do you think Soulja Boy is to LeBron James right now?  LBJ makes one reference to him, and now his name is being repeated on a daily basis during the NBA playoffs to millions.  “The NBA, where unknown rap-stars happen.”

Surprisingly, I think what really turned things around in this game were Roger Mason, Jr. and Antonio Daniels, as well as Caron Butler finally findinghis damn shot.  Roger Mason just put up a solid game, fueled by having home-court.  But all three of them did something which I didn’t see them doing in the previous two games, which was be aggressive to the basket.  They weren’t just settling for jumpshots (most of the time), and there were very few times that they stopped moving the ball to take quick shots.  They stayed in their offense, and let plays develop, instead of just taking quick shots.

Also, the play of Brenden Haywood is irreplaceable.  5-6 from the field, and 4-4 from the FT line.  Tell me most teams wouldn’t want that from their starting centers?  Also, he gives the Wiz someone to drop the ball into.  I can not, can not, can not stress the importance of having an inside out game in the NBA.  Someone to drop the ball into, and then kick it out.  If this was the NFL, it would be as important as having a solid running game.

Not to give too much credit to the Wizards, but Cleveland looked FLAT, and there’s a really obvious reason for this.  The Wizards were playing foul based defense in the first two games.  Anytime the Cavs would go to the basket, someone on the Wiz would foul them.  This creates a couple of problems.  First, the Wiz don’t feel the need to play defense anymore, when they can just foul, and second, the Cavs don’t need to have intensity, because they can just lazily head towards the basket and get fouled.  Since the Wiz stopped, it threw Cleveland off.

Game 4 is gonna be close.

As for the Houston Rockets, I have one name for you, Rafer “skip to my lou” Alston.  I absolutely hated when the Miami Heat gave this guy up.  He was playing for us right after the debacle that was Anthony Carter (let’s ask Denver Nuggets‘ fans how much they like him), and he played so solidly.  He is a true point guard in this league, and it was alsointeresting to hear that he was an “And 1″ touring baller.

Anyway, you can see how much more comfortable Tracy McGrady isnot having to run the offense.  Not to mention bringing Bobby Jackson off the bench, instead of having him start makes a huge difference.  Houston finally looked like they had an ability to keep up with Utah, instead of chasing them the whole game.  In that situation, the whole “scrappy team” mentality is a HUGE advantage. 

I don’t even think there’s anything that you can say against Utah.  They played their game, they played solid, and they just dropped the game.  This could be a huge problem for Utah.  It reminds me of Madden Football.  Some teams are just as good as any other team, but when it gets to those last minutes, your QB always seems to make in INT.  Then, you have the 5th round rookie you drafted who may not have the awesome stats as QB #1, but for some reason he always makes those last minute completions.  Damn, I love Madden Football.

Tonight’s games: New Orleans Hornets (-5) at Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons (+4.5) at Philadelphia 76ers, and San Antonio Spurs (-6.5!) at Phoenix Suns.

Alan Parsons Project’s Sirius blares through the speakers at the Arena di Verona in Verona, Italy.

An overly enthusiastic announcer voice comes through at an obnoxious level….

“Everyone get on your feet, as we introduce your 2008 NBA Greasy International All-Stars….”

“Starting at Center, from the San Antonio Spurs, Fabricio Oberto…”

“Next, starting at Power Forward, from the Houston Rockets, Luis “the grease” Scola…”

“Small Foward, from the Orlando Magic, Hedo ”not bathe” Turkoglu…”

“At guard, from the Los Angeles Lakers, Sasha “what’s a shower?” Vujacic…”

 ”And last, your team captain, from the San Antonio Spurs, Manu “the spot” Ginobili!!”

Ok, so I have a confession to make.  After dedicating my enitre day to watching Day 1 of the NBA Playoffs, I didn’t quite make it through all of Day 2.  I tried though!  I had to go to passover dinner, so that interrupted things.

Nonetheless, Day 2 was a much less compelling matchup then Day 1 anyways.  There were three games from the Eastern Conference (Philadelphia 76ers at Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics, and Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic), and only one from the Western Conference (Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers) - which was a 1 seed versus an 8 seed.

I didn’t expect any of the days games to offer any sort of challenge to the higher seeded teams, considering the difference in talents in the Eastern Conference, and the 1 and 8 seed difference in the West.  The only surprise was the fight that Philly put up against Detroit to rally back and win the first game.  This may have been the worst thing for Philly to have done.  I wouldn’t be surprised if losing the first game shocks Detroit back into action, and they sweep the rest of the games against Philly.  It wasn’t even like Philly played well the whole game, they just caught Detroit nodding off.

Here’s some other things I noticed from Day 2:

• The Lakers are a big, big team, ala Coach Phil Jackson’s style.  People really downplay the effect of having Lamar Odom as their small forward.  With him on the floor, you have three 7-footers in the front court!  I just can’t get over that.  Also, Kobe Bryant is a tall shooting guard (just like Michael Jordan).  Put it all together, and you have a huge team.
• Well Jameer Nelson really made me look pretty stupid, huh?  After I said that he was basically worthless in my Eastern Conference preview post, he goes and drops a 27 point-7 assist game.
• Is every single Raptors fan smacking themselves in the face over Andrei Bargnani?  God does that guy look like a little bitch.  Dude, you’re seven feet!  Ok, yes, I know, I know two bullets above this I’m raving about the Lakers three 7-footers… but at least they play like it.
• I feel a little bad for the Hawks.  I’m a perpetual underdog rooter, so it’s disappointing to me that they have absolutely no chance of winning even one game.

Anyone who missed it didn’t miss much, I promise.

Day 3 was a totally different story though.  Me and my fascination for the Washington Wizards is starting to look like not that great an investment of fandom.  Gilbert Arenas is playing terribly, but Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler have all but completely disappeared as well.  All together they were a combined 10-36!  No one on their entire team broke 12 points!  My god.

But here’s what really doesn’t make sense.  Antawn Jamison may have one of the best post games in the entire NBA.  How many times did he post up?  0.  How many three pointers did he launch?  3.  I love shot charts because they really can tell the story of the game.  In the first quarter Washington missed almost everything right next to the basket.  From that point forward, they took more and more shots away from the basket.  You know what that says to me?  For as physical as Washington was, so was Cleveland.  As Reggie “there are no easy layups in the playoffs” Miller kept saying, “there are no easy layups in the playoffs.”  How does LeBron James and the rest of Cleveland respond?  By getting pissed off and hitting the hole even more (sports based sexual innuendo).  What does Washington do?  Take more jumpshots.

Washington is done.  I’m thinking they can take one game or two when their shots start falling, but no team can ever succeed if they’re reduced to taking jumpshots, not playing down low, and not hitting the boards.  Such a shame, I had really big hopes for them.

After that TNT blessed the basketball viewing public with a great game, Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets.  I hate to keep saying this, but Houson can not keep up with the Jazz.  Think about it, the Jazz have 3 or 4 solid players on the floor for most of the game.  Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko, and Mehmet Okur.  Even worse, bring Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver off the bench, and that team is rotating around a really good group of players.  Houston, who I do like just for the fact that they are such hardworkers and effort guys, just can not keep up.  By the way, that’s a pretty All-American philosophy, wouldn’t you say? 

On a side note, doesn’t Kyle Korver look like teenage Dexter from Showtime’s Dexter?

Then again, all white people look alike to me.

Day 4 didn’t leave me with much to rant and rave about.

If I were a Phoenix fan I wouldn’t worry too much about losing the first two games to San Antonio.  I almost want to guarantee that the Suns will take both games back at home.  They just need SOMEONE to step up that’s a role player.  Boris Diaw or Raja Bell, shit bring Darryl Strawberry’s kid off the bench.  We saw what Darryl has done on a bit of blow over his career.  It’s just a thought.

How bad does Dallas look?  Even better, how friggin great does New Orleans look?  I think that the Hornets may have the best starting 5 in the playoffs.  Chris Paul is breathtaking, David West, Peja Stojakovic (spell that 3 times fast), Tyson Chandler, and even lowly Morris Peterson seem unmatched.

Also, does any other team have side gimmicks going quite like the Ric Flair “Wooooooo” after a good play by CP3?  Or even better, the giagantic cutout faces of Peja being run around New Orleans Arena whenever Peja hits a 3-pointer?  Man, it’s the little things that makes me love sports.

Tonight is going to be a crapfest with the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers playing the late game, and the even better opening act of Boston Celtics versus Atlanta Hawks.  Oh well, I’ll probably watch both anyways.

I know it’s a little late to be writing about this, considering that the second season already ended, but since I have a new obsession it’s time to spread it.

The entire premise of the show is “slippery slope” and “vigalantism”.  Romanticizing the concept of taking justice into your own hands, Dexter (played by Michael C. Hall) is a serial killer of serial killers.

While growing up in Miami, Dexter’s family (his father murdered his mother with a chainsaw?) was murdered before his very eyes, which led him to “find meaning in blood”. 

Police officer, Harry Morgan (James Remar) adopted Dexter and brought him into his family.  At an early age Harry realized that Dexter has a propencity for killing small animals and realized that his son was on the fast track to be a serial killer (cliche).  Harry teaches Dexter a code to follow, including how to be “normal”, so that he doesn’t go down the path of his brother Brian (Christian Camargo), who in a surprise twist in the season finale ends up being The Ice Truck Killer, another serial killer.

I like, but also find annoying, the constant internal monologue that Dexter has about his “being cold” and “unnattached”.  It’s interesting to hear the internal thoughts of a serial killer, but it’s constant throughout the show.  Things like, “I don’t know how to react to this because I’m a killer” or “When people get like this, I can’t relate to it”.  At times it’s good, at others… not so much.

That’s the basics of it.  The obvious message of the show (it’s also the reason why I love the Saw movies), if the law or “evidence” or holes in the system prevent someone from receiving proper punishment, then is it society’s responsibility to deal with the offender?  I also think there’s a question of the “spirit of the law” versus the “word of the law”.

Dexter goes around killing people who have killed or who have committed heinous crimes.  As the season comes to a close Dexter murders a psychologist who cajoled and implanted heroic ideas of suicide in the minds of his victims.  Dexter, convinced the guy is a killer, murders him.

On a side note, he does one of his best acting jobs of the show in the scene where he’s telling the therapist that he’s going to kill him.  He says, “I’m a serial killer” and then lets out a gigantic sigh of relief and says, “god it feels so good to actually say it out loud.”  I absolutely love that.

The thing is the therapist didn’t actually “kill” his patients, he just gave them ideas of committing suicide.  It just seems like he’s taking a walk down the dark side.

Season 2 already finished and is going to be released on DVD in August.  For anyone who is sick of network TV, and craves a good show to watch, go and rent Dexter… or else he’ll kill you.

I’m gonna put these in order of interest.

Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets

Out of all the games today, this one just didn’t offer much of anything. Utah led the game throughout the whole first half, then midway through the third Houston managed to catch up and take the lead for a couple of minutes.

But that didn’t last for long. The Rockets just can not keep up with Utah. They’re on two different levels. Out of all the teams playing today, Houston was by far the most underwhelming.

Has anyone ever pointed out the Jerry Sloan and Lurch similarities?

Doris Burke called Tracy McGrady the “sleepy eyed assassin”, I’m wondering if that’s insulting or not.

Just like I said in my Western Conference preview, Andrei Kirilenko is going to be a difference maker in this series. 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block. On the other end, the rest of Houston’s team didn’t necessarily step up all that much. Luis Scola made a hell of an impact, 14 points, 13 rebounds, but none other of their role players stepped up. Tracy McGrady did the job that he’s supposed to do, and Shane Battier stepped up as well, but that does nothing against the Jazz who have way too much fire power in comparison to the Rockets.

It’s a shame that Deron Williams is slightly injured, I’d love to see him at full speed.

Dallas Mavericks at New Orleans Hornets

This was a compelling game to watch. After halftime I txt messaged my cousin and said, “Dallas is playing like they have a chip on their shoulder”. And I also wrote this in my notes: “New Orleans is playing nervous”. Chris Paul said in his interview after the game that he was nervous and excited to be playing in the playoffs.

I guess after a half that all wore off.

The second half was ALL CP3. As soon as it started being apparent that the Hornets were going to win the game, I wrote again to my cousin, “CP3 ain’t no joke”. And that was it.

Dallas completely fell apart. It really seemed like they fully expected it. There’s no way that team can last until next season. That team is officially broken. But I counted them out once before this season before, so we’ll see.

Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers

Jesus this game had personality to it. It may not have been as compelling as Suns at Spurs, but it was still a great game.

There are going to be some lasting images from this game. LeBron James incredible alley-oop in the second quarter, followed shortly after by the pushing and aggression from players.

I loved what Jalen Rose said during halftime, “NBA players can’t fight”. Meaning they don’t really want to because they know they just slap at each other like girls. Well, everyone except Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson, but I guess he means between players.

Anyway, what I thought was great is that LBJ was the instigator of that fight. Sure Brenden Haywood was standing over him after the play, but LeBron shoved Brenden so that he could get up. Also, Antawn Jamison looks like he wanted to stab Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Jamison visibly called him a motherfucker. Jesus he looks so gangster after that.

DeShawn Stevenson for all his shit-talking about LeBron James sure laid a turd in this game going 1-9 in FGs. God, you just CAN NOT do that. No one is going to let him live it down. Going to a commercial during halftime of the New Orleans game they even said, “LeBron James finishes with 32 points and DeShawn Stevenson only had one FG.” It was the only thing they bothered to mention. Ouch.

But Washington actually looked great through 3 quarters, and had the lead for the majority of the game. They were pummeling LeBron throughout the beginning of the game, making him earn every single basket. I even asked myself, I wonder if LeBron is gonna back off from the physicality or is it going to get him pissed off? Well, I guess he got pissed.

Gilbert Arenas was impressive coming off the bench. Until the fourth. The highlights are already making it look like LBJ took over the game in the fourth, which he did, but honestly, Gilbert lost that game for the Wiz.

With the game tied at 84, Gil goes 0-4, missing on 3 consecutive possessions that went right into the hands of Cleveland. After his last missed shot the game was 89-84, and that was it.

All the criticism of Gil are true, he does love his shot a bit too much. Hopefully he can give it up when it isn’t falling, or even try letting a play develop, instead of rushing up the court taking quick shots, and allowing your other guys to be in a position to grab a rebound. Antawn finished with 19 rebounds for christsake!

Phoenix Suns at San Antonio Spurs

In the pregame Michael Wilbon AND Jon Barry both said that Phoenix is going to win in 6. That’s incredible.

No one had a clear upper hand in this game. Phoenix led for most of the game, even though Shaq missed the whole first half with foul trouble. I think the Wiz-Cavs game had something like 6 lead changes, which to me makes a game more interesting. On the other hand, this game just had two teams fighting it out. There was no back and forth, just two teams with their foot on the accelerator.

Like I said in my preview, the Western Conference is going to take secondary players to win games, and that’s exactly what happened. Not to take away from Tim Duncan’s three pointer (his only 3 of the season!), but the whole game changed from the clutch shooting of Michael Finley, which isn’t even being talked about. With 3:51 left in the fourth, Finley hit’s a 3 to tie the game at 84. It goes back and forth a couple of times, but then Shaq blocks a shot by Manu Ginobili which let Leandro Barbosa break down the court for a layup (keep this play in mind).

The Spurs get the ball back, Finley tries another 3, misses, and then the Suns come back down. All they had to do was get to the line, drive the basket, take a 3, ANYTHING. Just do SOMETHING! But with 20.5 seconds left, they get a shot clock violation. Unbelievable, Mike D’Antoni must have been pissed after that.

Finley knocks down a huge 3 with 15.1 seconds left to tie the game, time for OT.

How interesting is it that Manu Ginobili was essentially shut down the entire game except in the fourth quarter and overtimes. Shaq was having to play off Ginobili by the end of the game because he was carrying 5 fouls, which let Manu make a difference.

Why the hell was Boris Diaw taking the final shot of the first OT? So bizarre.

Now it’s 2OT, 115-112, and Steve Nash hits this miracle three while fading out of bounds. That so reminded me of Rex Chapman’s fadeaway 3-pointer in the late 90’s, one of my favorite all-time basketball moments. Not only because it was an amazing shot, but because it was Rex friggin’ Chapman! One of my favorite Miami Heat players of all time.

D’Antoni subs out Shaq for Grant Hill, and how big of a mistake does that look like now? Remember that block from regulation? Well, Ginobili runs up the lane again, and NO ONE is there to stop him. Easy layup, 117-115. Game.

The question is, who has the bigger balls to come back from that? Phoenix in no way is going to be walking out of that game with their heads hanging (cliche), but are they going to fold the same way the Mavs did? If the Suns come off like the loss was “inevitable”, then that’s it, Spurs in 6. But if the physical exhaustion was too much for the Spurs age and Tim Duncan can’t find another way to drop 40 points on the Suns again, then I think there’s a really good chance the the Suns move on to the second round.

Such a compelling series.

I just had to close this out since I’d been blogging about it.  Thankfully VH1 shows these episodes early on Sundays, so I got to see it while I was nursing a hangover and not waste time on it tonight.

This was one of the most unremarkable reunions for VH1 Celebreality dating shows.  These were the only things of note:

1.  Why is Aubry making a lot of trouble on the show?  She was one of the first ones eliminated and yet sure felt like she deserved a lot of face time.  I guess it’s what happens when you’re a pre-op transexual.  I found it ironic that she accused French whore Angelique about being a she-male.

2.  They did a little montage for Destiney’s dad riding motorcycles on the “parents episode.”  Unfortunately he’d died two weeks prior to taping from cancer, and Destiney was super upset about it.  It was a really touching moment.  On a “peak into the real world of Reality TV”, she says, “how can I say I had fallen in love with Bret, I’d only spent a total of 2 hours with him, and I’d lived in that house for a month.”  Really telling.  Good for her telling the truth about not falling in love in such a short amount of time.

3.  Yes, there was a fight between Heather from Season 1 and Daisy de la Hoya, like the show has been hyping.  Heather even got a good 4 punches on the top of Daisy’s head.  Ouch.

Here’s the thing, and I seriously hate to belittle a person’s feelings like this, but what Daisy was saying is something that I think is a really big societal problem in this country.  She said that “Bret took advantage of her” during a moment of feeling vulnerable.  Look sweetheart, I’m sorry, but no one forced Daisy to fuck Bret Michaels.  I hate how women incessently do this and I wouldn’t care so much if it men didn’t end up going to jail getting tagged as “sexual predators” from accusations like this.  Sure, if a man legitimately rapes a woman and forces her to have sex with him, then by all means, I completely think she should call the police and get his ass arrested.  But don’t act like a victim when you took part in a consensual act of sex with a man as part of a dating show.  Don’t come back later accusing him of “taking advantage of you”.  Fucking ridiculous.  I hate how men are constantly villainized for being men.  This is such a big problem with this country.

4.  When Ambre came out it was so weird just from its normality.  I feel like I was right on the money when I was talking about her.  I can tell you from experience that some women can drive a man over the edge.  Causing problems, giving them shit, trying to control them, etc, etc.  While other women are totally understanding, accepting, and trusting.  Sure some men completely take advantage of that and treat the women like shit, but there are also some good guys out there who accept that love and support in an appreciative manner.  That’s what I saw when they came out.  Ambre is just a good and supportive girl.  They just make a very normal and happy couple.  So far.  But I like their chances.  So interesting to see people when the bullshit gets pulled away.

So that’s it.  It sorta looks like there’s gonna be no Rock of Love 3, much to my chagrin.  BUT, I think I did see that there is going to be a dating show for Daisy.  I guess you need to look like a muppet to get a spin off show on VH1.