Monthly Archives: April 2010

April 25, 2010

Four Game Fours, Four Series at 3-1

By mceezy

(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Sunday featured a full docket of NBA Playoff games to keep fans busy. I’m a little over 7/8 of the way through the quadruple header, and I’m going out on a limb to assume the Jazz will hold on to their 20 point lead at the time of posting. First, Miami was able to stay alive thanks to the heroic effort of Dwyane Wade. I got a sense of overexposure dating back to the Heat’s last Championship run – Wade was everywhere and got all the calls. But now that his team is a lower seed again, I’ve come to appreciate, once again, the will and ability of one of the game’s great players. D-Wade single-handedly took over the fourth quarter with a barrage of clutch baskets. He finished with 46 to make sure the Heat held on to this one to send the series back to Boston for at least one more game.

In Chicago, the Cavs ran away from the Bulls despite a monstrous effort from Joakim Noah. I had all the doubts in the world about this kid coming out of Florida. I didn’t see him ever becoming anything more than a role player, but today, he was the Bulls best player on the floor. Noah put up 21 points to go with 20 rebounds, and repeatedly came up with big buckets when other Bulls couldn’t. Problem is, too often were the times no one else could come through. On the other side of the ball, Lebron James was dominant once again, posting his fifth career postseason triple-double with 37 pts, 12 reb, and 11 ast. Mo Williams chipped in a couple huge three pointers and finished with 19.

In San Antonio, the 7th seed Spurs took a stronghold on their series with the Mavs, notching a 92-89 win to send the series back to Dallas with the home team in a 3-1 deficit. George Hill had a breakout game with 29 points to lead the way for the Spurs. The Mavs meanwhile looked like the same familiar disappointing team that continually fails to show up in the postseason. Jason Terry led a respectful comeback attempt, but the Spurs showed that they’re still the better team when the games mean something.

There’s still a lot of basketball left to be played in Utah, but barring a miraculous fourth quarter, the Jazz look poised to take a 3-1 lead back to Denver with three chances to close out the series. Deron Williams is building upon his legacy, further cementing his status as one of the top point guards in the league. Also, Carlos Boozer is showing that he can still be a dominating force in the post, something that teams with cap space will certainly be looking to add to their roster in the upcoming offseason.

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 25, 2010

Game On The Line, Thunder Win. Literally.

By By

Anyone's ball game now.

Oh my goodness.  Do the Oklahoma City Thunder have a real shot at dethroning the champs?  Well, yes.  It’s now a best of three series, and the shorter the series, the more luck plays a part.  Think about it.  If Oklahoma City steals game five in L.A. that puts the Lakers in a must win situation, in a hostile environment.  There’s no room for error at that point.

Now, Oklahoma City can’t feel too confident about their Game 4 thrashing of the Lakers, simply put, they had an unfair advantage.  Let’s just say the outcome was decided by the “charity” stripe, and because so, the game was gift-wrapped and given to the Thunder.  Pun intended.  Poor pun that is, but whatever, I’m still a little buzzed from my outings this evening.

Oklahoma City shot 48 free-throws Saturday, and made 42 of them.  42 points were registered with not a defender in sight.  That’s amazing to me.  Now, if you’ve read my articles, or happen to know me, I am the biggest Lakers hater there is, but.  42 free-throws!?  That was a little excessive, granted there were fouls, and fouls have to be called the way see fit, but were there really 30 fouls committed by the Lakers?  I’m going to say no.

I’m rooting for Durantula, Westbrook (who is the real key to this series) and the Thunder, but they can’t expect to rely on such a free-throw advantage again this series.  The Lakers actually finished the game with more field-goals made than the Thunder, shooting at a better clip too.  If the Thunder hope to advance, they’re going to have to put all the beans on the table for Game 5.  They have to lay it all on the line, and treat it like an elimination game, because it is.  If the Thunder take Game 5, they win in six.  They lose, Lakers take it in seven.  The magic number is 46.  If the Thunder shoot 46% from the field as a team, I predict they’ll pull it out.  They’ll only get about 13 free-throws in L.A. so efficiency is huge.  As much as Durant has stepped up at home, he’s going to have to do it on the road for the Thunder to stand a chance.  I’m pulling for you, buddy.

10 Comments | posted in Sports

April 24, 2010

Revamped In The Right Areas: The Raiders Draft Came Out Pretty Good…

By chappy81

Match made in heaven? Sorry, you'll have to ask Rodger Lodge that one.

Wow, I never would have thought I’d say the Raiders had the best 2010 draft of their division, bus as I see it right now, we did! I wrote a week ago that I was scared as hell about what we’d do with our picks, because a lot of times, it isn’t always clear what Al was thinking or if he was really thinking at all. I’m not sure what happened in the draft room this year, but I have a gut feeling Mr. Burns let Cable give him some input into the picks. I mean, if Coach Cable is geeked to get a player, he must’ve had a hand in the decision. I have reserved high hopes this year. I could see them being the team that was good at the end of the year, or I could see them being terrible until it doesn’t matter and start winning then. Either way it feels like Cable does have a say in the teams decision making, unlike the past four or five coaches. Isn’t he the one that was highly against starting Jamarcus, and finally convinced Al to let him bench Russell. Cable knows how to reason with Al a little, and that is a rare thing, so I prey it keeps happening, so I can be excited about future drafts. Their best news is the guys we got wasn’t even the biggest news of the day. As Mceezy wrote about earlier. Who knows if any of these guys we drafted will work out, but I feel like we gave ourselves as good a chance at future success by picking some solid talent. Here’s how it all went down.

Pick #8 – Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama

I’ve heard a handful of people say they didn’t like the pick, but if picking him got Cable geeked, then he must see him as our defensive leader on the field. If you caught any of Bama’s games last year, he was the motor of that Championship defense, and seemed to be in the right places making the right plays more often than not. He was also in charge of all their audibles and led them to the 4th ranked defense in the nation. I’m glad we didn’t take Bruce Campbell like so many people were saying we would that might’ve set us up for the Robert Gallery version 2.0. Lando is a pretty safe bet to be good in the league, and he better be since we traded away Morrison to Jacksonville for a box of cracker jacks to move up a round in this years draft. I think we should’ve asked for more, but I like the receiver we got with the pick, which I’ll get to later.

Pick #44 – Lamarr Houston, DE, Texas

I wasn’t completely for this pick, but the more I thought about it the more I like it. The guy is durable, and can play in multiple spots on the line in the DT or DE spots. Weighing in at slightly over 300 pounds will make him a menace for any linemen to handle, especially since he does have speed, and one of those “motors” that Jaws is always talking about. Does that sound familiar to a guy we already have? Like say Richard Seymour. Seymour is the perfect guy to mentor him because he plays the same type of game that Houston does. It can’t hurt him to learn from the best in the business. This guy is good at stopping the run and paired with McClain it will be a much improved front line with a few less holes to run through. All in all, not a bad pick, he’ll look good in silver and black.

Pick #69 – Jared Veldheer, OT, Hillsdale Continue reading

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 24, 2010

Raiders Swoop Up Another Leftover Quarterback

By mceezy

These days, it’s almost more exciting to be a Raider fan during the offseason than during the season.  The Raiders are the one team I can count on to make big moves each year to try and get better the following year. It doesn’t pan out in a favorable way, but it’s nice to know that management, for lack of a better word, is not just sitting around apathetically in it’s cryogenic chamber. The most recent addition to the Oakland roster is supposedly Jason Campbell. The guys over at ESPN reported during this morning’s draft coverage that the now expendable Redskins quarterback is headed to Oakland in a trade for the Raiders’ 4th round pick in 2012. This gives Al Davis yet another backup QB to add to his two decade long collection – maybe even longer, because as I think back as long as I’ve been alive, I can’t recall a single franchise caliber QB donning the silver and black. Many will point no further than Rich Gannon earlier this decade, but to me, Gannon will always be the Kansas City Chiefs’ backup. I’d have to go back to Plunkett personally. But that predates my Raiders fandom. I think of names like Jeff Hostetler, Jay Schroeder, Jeff George, Kerry Collings and regretfully, Jamarcus Russell. Now we’ll see how Campbell adjusts to life in the Black Hole. I usually have optimistic expectations for guys who basically got pushed out the door in their old clubhouse, but I’m not sure Campbell ever had the makeup of a starting QB. He had the keys to the truck in Washington for a while, but never really delivered. I really like the idea of two former standout SEC quarterbacks battling it out for the job in a season that will likely make or break both of their seasons.

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 24, 2010

College Baseball Charades

By chappy81

I don’t think we’ve ever put up a post on college baseball, unless it had to do with the MLB draft, so I figured we were due for a cherry popping post. I ran across the clip above, and apparently this game between Florida Atlantic and Western Kentucky game was in the midst of a rain delay. I’m not sure exactly how these shenanigans started, but the two teams decided to play a game where charades meets “Who’s Line is it Anyway”. I’m not sure exactly how long this rain delay was, but I’ve never seen two schools put on a show of this variety on the field. I found some of them pretty good, but at the same time, I’m shocked the whole teams were participating on both sides. I’m kind of curious if the two teams went into the locker during times of heavy rain to make out with each other. Maybe they wanted to prove that they were worthy of replacing the bi-sexual guys that are getting sued in the gay softball league in SF.

Anyways, the highlights of the video as I saw them were:

  • 18-23 year olds playing imaginary shooting games with bats – Isn’t that why we invented video games? Maybe my imagination isn’t quite what it used to be…
  • Rockband – Not bad, but that was a weak mosh pit. I can see Betty White surviving that one without losing her balance once.
  • The Shake Weight – Very clever, easily an award winner of the limited selection of skits, If you haven’t seen the commercial, Mceezy did a post awhile back on it here if you are interested.
  • Dance off – They both just got served by humping the ground with a field full of guys.
  • WWE Wrestling – Reason #1 why I think they took breaks to run into the locker room to make out. Who knows maybe they did a little more than that coming out of the locker room with their clothes upside down.
  • INS – Strange to say the least. I’m guessing the Florida team is used to this from all their Cuban recruits…

In all seriousness though, this is one of the things that makes you realize how much more serious pro sports are. Can you imagine if any pro player participated in anything like this? They’d be crucified for possibly injuring themselves, and hurting their teams chances at the elusive title. Everyone gets pissed when they run and slide on the tarps during delays, so this would never happen in the MLB.

While we’re on the college baseball theme, in case you missed it, this was a once in a lifetime kind of play. I doubt we’ll see anyone taking the over the catcher somersault method of scoring, but I’m glad one person did it. Once again, this proves that baseball is truly the sport where amazing happens!

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comedy, Random, Sports

April 23, 2010

Alex Does Dallas Dirty

By chappy81

Yesterday Dallas Braden got a little peeved when A-Rod broke an unspoken baseball rule by running across the mound. Robinson Cano was at the plate and hit a foul ball and A-Rod went from 1st to 3rd. A-Rod returned to first base by running across the top of the mound, and Braden was furious about the action, and after Cano grounded out on the next play Braden had to be pulled/escorted off the field by A’s Manager Bob Geren as he tossed out some lyrical pitches in the form of f-bombs in A-Rod’s direction. Here’s the analysis from Harold Reynolds on MLBTV. After the game, Braden spoke of the unspoken rule that the pitcher owns the mound, and no player should be on the mound besides the pitcher out of respect. Here is some of the he said she said that went on…

A-Rod told reporters “He just told me to get off his mound. I was a little surprised. I’ve never quite heard that, especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career. I’ve never even heard of that in my career and I still don’t know. I thought it was pretty funny, actually.

Braden had a little more to say about getting so fired up, “The long and short of it is it’s pretty much baseball etiquette. He should probably take a note from his captain over there,” referring to Yankees leader Derek Jeter, “because you don’t run across the pitcher’s mound in between an inning or during the game. I was just dumbfounded that he would let that slip his mind. I was just trying to convey to him that I was still out there, that ball’s in my hand and that’s my pitcher’s mound. If he wants to run across the pitcher’s mound, tell him to go do laps in the bullpen. That’s my mound … He’s right. I don’t even have a handful of wins. I have three. Do the math A-Rod.”

I think Braden may have over reacted a little, but it’s not like A-Rod is a guy that’s known for his etiquette. Many recall the incident in Toronto when he yelled Ha rounding third base causing the 3rd baseman to drop the ball. The only problem I have with A-Rod is taking a shot at Braden’s win loss total. If he is that insignificant, you don’t need to say it, we all know how many wins he has. I said about a week ago that, Braden is a gamer, he’s the type of fiery competitor you love to have on your team. He was getting over a sickness so maybe that is what made him extra cranky.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 22, 2010

Still Captain Jack

By mceezy

He may not be a Warrior anymore, and he may have left on bad terms, but I still have love for Stephen Jackson. The guy wears his emotions on his sleeve, and I can’t fault him for that – on the basketball court at least. During the decisive possession of last night’s Game 2, Jack drove into the lane and got slapped in the face by Matt Barnes, causing his headband to blind him in one eye. Instead of fixing it, Jack left the headband covering his face to show officials that a foul should’ve been called. I’ve done that before, so it’s always reassuring to see a pro baller do the same. No foul was called, but Jameer Nelson took the ball the other way and made a layup plus a foul, that put the game out of reach for Charlotte.  Calling ALL captains, here’s the clip….

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 22, 2010

Melo and Nike Confused Everyone

By chappy81

While watching game two of the Nuggets-Utah series the commercial above came on, and I had an immediate WTF moment. I rewound the commercial two or three times just to see if I’d heard it right, and found that my ears weren’t deceiving me. I couldn’t figure out why the people of Utah would support the future champion Carmelo Anthony. It made no sense at all, especially since he was playing against Utah’s beloved Jazz in round one. We debated in an e-mail chain what the motive behind this ad was. We found no ties to Melo in Utah. He went to Syracuse, and was born a New Yorker, so not connection there. The only thing we really came up with was that they shared a state border. Dyslecix claimed it was a Nike covert commercial operation, and low and behold, he was right!

Today it was let on that Melo teamed up with Nike’s Jordan brand to create this confusing, but creative commercial. When first approached about the ad Melo asked “You like it, think it’s funny?” I fully fell for it, I thought it was a serious PSA from the state of Utah, and the fans of Melo! Turns out it was geared towards riling up the Utah fans. I’m not sure why Denver wants Energy Solutions Arena any louder than it already is, those Mormons are pretty wild. Melo had this to say about the ad, “To make it seem like all the fans in Utah are rooting for me. It’s just stirring some stuff up. If we had played Phoenix, it would be the same thing.”

Good stuff Melo, I’m sure the Mormons hate you and your tatoos a little more now. He was also asked how he thinks the fans will react to him in Game 3, Melo said: “Of course, they’ll boo me. . . . It’s the playoffs.” Good to see we’re on the same page with this one Melo… All in all I liked the ad, and it made me think way more than I should’ve had to for any ad. I guess Nike got their wish, because even I felt it was postworthy material…

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Random, Sports, TV

April 21, 2010

Doin ESPN Short Film Review

By chappy81

I know I’ve said in the past how much I love ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. If there was a channel dedicated to these short documentaries, my DVR would be full no question about it. Last night ESPN aired a 30 for 30 on the origins of fantasy sports. I was really excited to see what they came up with, but it was the first time I was truly disappointed by one of their short films. They’ve done a great job up to this point making moments in time or people that I didn’t care about, and turned them into interesting stories. I figured that a 30 for 30 about fantasy sports would be great, because I’ve been playing since 2000, and figured I’d see some more insight on how it grew. Maybe I expected too much or this film maker wasn’t up to the task. I mean, it’s pretty cool how it all came about, and these baseball nerds made the game that millions of Americans waste thousands of hours on each year. The problem with this short film wasn’t the story, so much as the execution. They had all the original guys, they interviewed the right people, but the acting, and set up sucked. I’m not sure if they were trying to be funny or not, but I felt like I was watching a group of porn stars acting without taking off their clothes. Continue reading

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Movies, Sports, TV

April 20, 2010

Guru Gone Too Soon

By chappy81

Keith Elam died of cancer related causes Monday after a long battle with the disease. Keith was more known by his rapper alias, Guru, and for being part of the group Gangstarr. If you liked hip-hop in the late 90’s, or early part of the 00 decade you have of heard of him and most likely some of his music. It’s always sad to see someone pass away at such a young age (47) from a disease. You may remember back in March when it was reported that he suffered a stroke, but that wasn’t his only health problem as there was a little more behind the story than what was originally reported. Who knows, I might want to hide that I have cancer. Anyways, I always liked Guru’s music, and hope that his death at least ended the suffering he was going through to battle the disease. I think Guru knew that we’d be writing a tribute to him when he passed. I mean, why else would he have written a perfect theme song for our blog about doin work!?!

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Music

April 19, 2010

Doubling Down on the NBA Playoffs

By mceezy

I really didn’t wanna write about this…. It dominated my NBA Playoff-filled Sunday though. So much so that I had to try it today. I was about to orate my observations from the opening round of the postseason, but then I saw it again. The second my fingers hit the keyboard, it came on. Like a rainstorm right after a carwash, I got hit with the KFC Double Down Sandwich commercial. If you watched just one quarter of NBA basketball this weekend, you saw it twice. You hear a couple guys with helium voices talking about chicken. All of a sudden, it’s unleashed. The heralded chicken sandwich that’s too big for a bun, and we’re not talking Tortadas. It takes three or four repetitions before a commercial gets across to me. By the ninth or tenth time, I’m annoyed to the point where I don’t want to try your product simply out of spite. By the 16th time, however, you’ve beaten this thing so deep into my brain, I’m not only gonna try your product, I’m gonna try it fully expecting it to be less than amazing. I know you know what I’m talking about now.

So today I did it. When lunchtime came calling, I doubled down on that ass. I hit up the local KFCizzle on Bradshaw (which for the record sucks) and was immediately hit with a sign announcing the Double Down Combo for $6.99! I knew the DD was going to be small, but with all the value menu fanfare that’s abuzz right now, I was disappointed to see it cost $5 for the “sandwich” by itself.Ultimately, the double down was just like I expected it would be. We know the end of the sandwich they show in the commercials looks good, but we also know chicken breasts are pointy on the other end. How’s that gonna work out? As you would expect, it doesn’t. The reality is you simply can’t make sandwich casings out of chicken. You’ve got cheese hanging out one side, three-quarters of it is chicken-on-chicken, and that one piece of bacon pulls out with your first bite. So predictable. I will concede that there were one or three bites that were heavenly, and for that it may very well have been worth $5 and one meal of my life. And if that other breast were a sandwich like I had expected I might have been okay. But the true glory of this endeavor was to be able to proceed hating the commercial, and the item it endorses, with reason. I can say I doubled down, but it just wasn’t worth it in the end. I’m better off just playing two hands.

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Food, Sports

April 19, 2010

Scary Words, The Raiders Are On The Clock…

By chappy81

Hey Darth, who had the fastest 40-time at the combine?

The draft is fast approaching, and there’s no telling who the Raiders will pick. It’s no secret they need help on both front lines, but will they address that? Probably not, and even though some experts have made their predictions on who we will take, is there really anyway to really know what Al is thinking!?! Unless I hear it straight from his mouth, I will be skeptical until it actually happens. The Raiders have always been a team that likes to take chances, and this decade’s first round draft picks for Oakland have been nothing short of surprising more often than not. I won’t sugar coat it, our first round picks have been a joke during our decade of downward spiral. Aside from Asomugha, the first round picks just don’t seem to work out whether we went off the radar or picked who everyone thought we should or picked the right guy based on internal experts projection (Al). I still have some hope that DHB and D-Mac will be a factor. I’m not holding my breathe though, since Louis Murphy looks like a better receiver than DHB, and when called upon, Michael Bush, seems to be more steady than McFadden. Both Murphy and Bush were 4th round selections, so maybe we should just trade our 1-2-3 picks each year, and go straight for that fourth round! If you discard those last two draft picks from the equation, since they are too young to call busts. We’ve only had two picks over the last decade that truly worked out, Charles Woodson (98) and Asomugha (03). I guess we could call Janikowski successful, but is taking a kicker in the first round really justifiable?!?! Not really, because I’m sure we could’ve still gotten him in round 3 or 4. The Raiders always get murdered in the media for the usually shocking players they take in the first round, similar to the way Belichick is applauded for every move he makes. Continue reading

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 17, 2010

Doin NBA Playoff Predictions

By chappy81

Yes, the playoffs are here, and whether your team made it or not probably changes your excitement level for the whole extravaganza. We are doing our second installment of predictions, we already put our baseball picks for the season up, and now it’s time predict how the NBA playoffs will play out. It’s about as competitive of a league as any I can remember,at least in the west, so this should be a great playoff run.

Western Conference Quarter Finals

By:  Dallas Mavericks in 6, Phoenix in 4, and Utah in 7, OKC Thunder in 6, what?  Yes, I said it.  Phil Jackson’s comments on Durantula was just the edge Durant needed to pull off the upset.  Kobe has not been himself from the second-half of the season going forward, and despite L.A. having a huge advantage in the paint, their Achilles heel has always been good point guards.  Russell Westbrook will give them fits.

Chappy: L.A. Lakers in 6, Dallas Mavericks in 7, Phoenix Suns in 5, Utah Jazz in 7 – It’s amazing how balanced the West is. Every team won 50 games, and it’s tough pick against anyone even the 8th seeded Thunder… The Suns got an easy draw playing the depleted Blazers. The best two series in the first round will be Dallas vs. SA, and Denver vs. Utah. I actually think that the Nuggets will win, but I want to try and jinx the Mormons…

MCeezy: L.A. Lakers in 5, San Antonio Spurs in 7, Phoenix Suns in 6, Denver Nuggets in 7 – I like what’s going on with Phil Jackson and Kevin Durant, because a driven KD could push the series to the limit. The Mavs are stacked, but full of mismatched pieces; SA on the other hand has that familiarity as a unit that plays such a huge role in playoff series. Everyone’s writing off the Blazers without Roy, and rightfully so, but Portland is still good enough to keep it interesting. Denver having home court against Utah will make the difference, plain and simple.

Western Conference Semi-Finals

By: Utah in 6, and Phoenix in 7 –  I wouldn’t be surprised if Dallas defeats Phoenix though, as both teams are stacked.  I just like Steve Nash a lot, and so I chose Phoenix.

Chappy: LA Lakers in 6, Phoenix Suns in 7 – I’d be really happy if I was wrong and the Jazz upset the Lakers, and I fully believe it’s possible the way the Lakers played down the stretch, but still don’t see it happening. The Suns are my darkhorse this year. Since they decided to start playing a little defense, they’ve looked like champions. Is Amare playing for a new contract? Maybe, and if they get this far he may as well opt out of that last year on his contract, because he will get paid somewhere!

MCeezy: L.A. Lakers in 6, Phoenix Suns in 6 – As much as I don’t want to agree with Chappy here, I don’t see it playing out any other way. The Lakers will be ready for the Nuggets this time, and now that Ron Artest is thrown into the mix, there’ll be so much emotional volatility on the floor that hijinx will certainly ensue. Phoenix vs. San Antonio is going to be a last man standing match. In the second round, I’m willing to bet injuries are going to be the deciding factor – and I’m betting it’ll be on the Spurs’ side. Steve Nash has to be thinking this is his last shot.

Western Conference Champions

Have you heard?!? Grant Hill still drinks Sprite!

By: Phoenix in 6, what!?!  Yes, finally Steve Nash gets the trip he deserves to the 2010 NBA Finals.  Too bad it’s as far as he gets this season 😦

Chappy: Phoenix Suns in 7 – I’m going to be completely wrong on this, but I’m really hoping that the 8 seconds or less pace of play can actually bring home a championship. I guess it’s the inner Warriors fan in me, that just wants to see it happen. Besides, who else in the league deserves a championship more than the most ridiculous man in the world. Nash will have more than one 20 assist game if they do make it this far. I bet he’d trade all those MVP awards in for one championship!

MCeezy: L.A. Lakers in 6 – I’d love to be wrong on this, but Phoenix vs. L.A. is one of those matchups where the former team is never going to get over the hump. If they’re going to, it will be the result of Nash having the series of a lifetime. Despite his multiple MVP awards, we don’t often mention his name in the same breath as the Kobes and Lebrons. This postseason will go a long way in defining his legacy. ….Assuming they do, in fact, make it this far.

Eastern Conference Quarter Finals

By: Cleveland in 4, Orlando in 6, Atlanta in 4 – (No Bogut out in Milwaukee), Miami (Yes Miami) over Boston in 6.  Dwayne Wade is playing at that level again, and we all know how he gets, when he’s at “that” level.

Chappy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 5, Orlando Magic in 7, Atlanta Hawks in 5, Miami Heat in 7 – I really want to pick Charlotte. Especially since SJax lead the W’s to a playoff upset of their own, but I think the Magic will be too much for them. Pierce will need to have a huge series if Boston has any hope. I’m hoping D-Wade is just too much and he takes over the series because nobody can guard him. Who knows, Sheed might even tip a few in for them. I’d love to see Lebron vs. Wade in the second round. The Hawks will take advantage of their deer in the headlights opponent.

MCeezy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 5, Orlando Magic in 5, Atlanta Hawks in 6, Boston Celtics in 5 – Chicago always plays the Cavs close, but Cleveland is going to be too driven to let up against the Bulls. I’d love to have seen the Bobcats draw someone like the Cavs or Celtics, because then they could really embrace the underdog role and play inspired ball a la the 2007 Warriors. Instead, they’ll relax and subsequently get eliminated by Dwight Howard and Co. The Bucks are far from playoff tested, but they’ll find a way to steal a game or two from Atlanta. Everyone expects a long series from Boston and Miami, but Dwyane Wade is going to be held to 35ppg while the rest of the Heat are held in check.

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals

By: Cleveland in 7, Orlando in 6 –  I love Josh Smith so much, but he can’t match up against LeBron alone.  No one can, and as good as the Hawks are, LeBron is that much better.  Dwight Howard will ultimately be too much in the battle of Florida.

Chappy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6, Atlanta in 7 – I REALLY like the Hawks this year, and hope they can put together a solid run in the playoffs. They along with the Magic are probably the most complete teams in the eastern conference. I’ll find it funny if my prediction works out, because the only real reason the Cavs got Shaq was to have someone to guard Dwight, and I don’t even have them in the conference championship!

MCeezy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6, Atlanta in 6 – These two series are nearly impossible to predict. You never know what you’re going to get with Boston, and you could say the same about Orlando, although they did dominate the season series against the Hawks. Some how, some way, though, you don’t see a whole lot of repeat series from year to year in the NBA. It’s amazing how we get new matchups each postseason. Instead of Cavs-Magic, it’ll be the Hawks’ turn to to stand on the brink of the NBA Finals.

Eastern Conference Champions

By: LeBron in 6 – The Cavs will exact revenge against everyone’s favorite pick in Orlando.  I know there are a lot of similarities in how Cleveland entered this season’s playoffs to last season’s, but the differences will be the turning point.  Shaq & Antawn.

Chappy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 – Atlanta might be a more complete team, but there’s just no way to knock Lebron out this year. He’s somehow better than last year, and will average a triple double in the series if that’s what it takes. If the Lakers get knocked out like I predicted, the NBA will force the refs to get the Cavs in the finals. Look for a poorly officiated series, and Lebron to finally get the cockiness that Jordan had. He’s already molding that arrogance if you haven’t noticed!

MCeezy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 5 – Just can’t see the Hawks hanging in a series this big. They will have flown under the radar to this point – first taking on the Bucks in front of 30,000 or so viewers. Then, their matchup with the Magic will play second fiddle to a Cavs-Celtics series. They’ll be thrust into the spotlight and forced to try to stop Lebron from getting to Kobe.

NBA Champions

Is this just an extension of Larry Johnson's Grandmama?

By: LeBron James. It’s simply his time.

Chappy: Phoenix Suns in 6 – I don’t really think they will win it all, but I’d love to see a winner come out that wasn’t Lebron or Kobe. I’d also like to see Lebron latch onto another team for next year, which would in turn make the current Cavs team into a 7th or 8th seed next season. Reiterating a previous point, I really would like to see the Suns win to prove that the Warriors playing the style can get it done in the playoffs. Plus, how can you root against Grant Hill and Nash getting a title!?!

MCeezy: Utah Jazz in 4 – How did we get here? you’re asking yourself. When was the last time I hit a 14 team parlay? Never. So why should I expect to predict correctly the first 14 series? Therefore, although the Jazz don’t get out of the first round in my scenario, I’m predicting that Jerry Sloan coaches his heart out to win that elusive NBA title and perhaps the respect of my grandfather, Roy, UT resident Jack Christensen; who adamantly maintains that Jerry Sloan has been the one thing holding the Jazz back all these years.

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 16, 2010

Rice Less Than Impressive on His Nationwide Debut

By chappy81

Jerry is Keepin it Classy

We debated earlier this week on what the over/under for Jerry Rice should be in his first professional golf tournament at a very tough TPC Stonebrae course in the Bay Area. We had set the over/under at 85 eventhough Rice was reported as a scratch golfer, we assumed he’d struggle a little in his first event, and weren’t shocked by his opening round. Yesterday he shot an 83, which I was happy about becuase I picked the under, but other than that it was a less than impressive showing. He played like an ameteur, recording five bogeys, and four double bogeys, but wasting 20 years playing that silly pigskin game might have cut into the 47 year old’s time to work on his swing so we can give him a pass.

“My score is up there,” Rice said, shaking his head. “I wanted to at least shoot my jersey number (80). When so many bad things happen, you start to press.I felt like I had to hit it close and had to get birdies. … I feel like the wheels completely fell off today.”

Rice has always been a classy guy, and I’m sure he had some nerves out there that made him shank a few more shots than he would on a normal round. To his credit he took the high road, and didn’t seem to be shaken keeping his composure when he made a bad shot or two unlike that guy named Tiger. He shot nine over on the first 8 holes, and then settled down shooting only one over for the next nine, but got a double bogey on the 18th. The score put him in a tie for 153rd of a field of 155. Now that he knows what to expect maybe he’ll shoot lower today. Looks like he’s only two over through six holes so far. That’s already a big improvement over yesterday’s front nine.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 16, 2010

Bad News Ben

By By

So police reports were released regarding the incident revolving  “Big Ben” Roethlisberger at an Atlanta night club last month, and it was ugly.  According to the reports, the accuser, a 20-year old woman who is a college student, was escorted to a hallway by Roethlisberger’s bodyguards in which Roethlisberger soon followed.  Supposedly Roethlisberger exposed himself to the woman, she quickly informed him that his actions were unacceptable.  She then fled to the bathroom.  Roethlisberger followed then proceeded to have sex with her.

If you want to read up on the story, there are plenty of sites for that.  This post isn’t to inform you of breaking news, because I’m sure you’ve all heard the details of the report.

This post is just me giving you my opinion.  Roethlisberger needs to be punished.  I know he wasn’t convicted of anything, but these accusations aren’t to be taken lightly.  Think about what might have happened that night.  He essentially raped this young woman, and walked away.  Treated it like just another night.  This is horrible beyond comparison.

I’m all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, but I hope the NFL investigates this to the best of their abilities.  This entire situation is a disappointment.

5 Comments | posted in Sports