Wow what a 1st round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Can’t say the same for the boring NBA. Although the Bull/Celts series may have been the best I have ever seen (next to my Warriors defeating the Mavs in the 1st round as an 8 seed), the NHL has just been better. I was 4 for 4 in both the Eastern conferences picking the Cavs, Hawks, Celtics, Magic, Penguins, Bruins, Capitals, and Hurricanes to advance. The Western conference was a bit dicier for me, as I selected the Lakers, Blazers, Spurs, and Nuggets, as well as the Sharks, Red Wings, Flames, and Canucks. 8 for 8 in the East, only 4 for 8 in the West, what can I say, i’m an East Coast boy.

 

Here are my 2nd round picks for the NBA:

 

Cavaliers over Hawks in 6 (previous pick was Cavs over Hawks)

I think the Hawks have matured and play great at home. They should be able to steal a game or 2, but thats about it against the leagues new MVP.

 

Magic over Celtics in 7 (previous pick was Magic over Celtics)

If KG comes back I can see this going the other way for sure. In fact, i’d pick the Celtics to play the Lakers in the finals again. But without KG I just don’t see that next generation all pro on the Celtics. We can make a case for Rondo, but he’s no Superman. Howard leads his team past the defending champs.

 

Lakers over Rockets in 6 (previous pick was Lakers over Blazers)

Too much fire power on the Lakers. No experience past the 1st round on the Rockets. This will lead to another early exit for Yao Ming and the Rockets. Down 1-0, Kobe will step his game up, he isn’t a top 2 player in the NBA for no reason.

 

Nuggets over Mavericks in 5 (previous pick was Nuggets over Spurs)

The Mavs should be able to steal a game at home, but the Nuggets are clicking on all cylinders. No one is going to stand in their way if they keep playing like the way they are. Question is, can they keep it up?

 

Here are my picks for the later rounds:

Lakers over Nuggets (same pick as before)

Cavaliers over Magic (same pick as before)

Lakers over Cavaliers (same pick as before)

 

Now onto the NHL:

 

Once again called all 4 teams right in the East, and only half in the West. My Stanley Cup champion Sharks are out of the race early again. Sharks fans must be getting tired of this. My Penguins are still in the race, but are now in a 2-0 hole. Here are my picks.

 

Hurricanes over Bruins in 6 (previous pick was Canes over Bruins)

Cam Ward versus Tim Thomas. What a show Ward has put on so far, while Thomas hasn’t really been tested but was the best goalie during the regular season. I think the Canes have the experience, especially at goalie, to sneak past the Bruins.

 

Penguins over Capitals in 7 (previous pick was Pens over Caps)

Man oh man, i’m so dissapointed with the way the series is going only as a Penguins fan. As a hockey fan, I haven’t seen many better offensive games than the 1st two of this series. Hat tricks for Crosby and Ovechkin in the same game. They’re putting on a show. The only difference has been that Malkin hasn’t showed up, and that Varlamov has been slightly better than Fleury. I don’t want to change my pick, but i’ll admit, i’m scared out of my pants right now.

 

Due to reseeding, my West picks are all messed up. I had the Sharks over the Flames and the Wings over the Canucks. here are my new picks.

 

Wings over the Ducks in 7

I want to pick the Ducks but I just can’t pick against the defending champs. They have a big name at every position, from Hossa to Osgood, to Zetterberg, to Datsyuk who is in the running for MVP. Hiller has been great, can he pull a JS Giguere? I don’t think he’ll be able to.

 

Canucks over Blackhawks in 5

Sedin brothers are proving to be too much. Khabibulin is not the same goalie he once was and Luongo is proving to be a bit better right now. Blackhawks may steal another game, but I think the Nucks take the series.

 

Later round picks:

Canucks over Wings (i’m changing my picks, i’ve become a Canucks believer)

Pens over Canes (same pick as before)

Canucks over Pens in the finals (poor Sharks’ fans).

 

Till the next round, let me know what you guys think.

Just like the NHL, I wasn’t around for the first few games to be able to talk about my picks. I’m going to have to make this short and sweet as i’m at work, just like the NHL one.

Just like the NHL picks, I will redo these every round.

Cavs over Pistons in 4

Pistons have shown nothing. They could have avoided this matchup with a late season win, but faltered and now they’ll pay the price. The years of the Spurs and Pistons are done.

 

Celts over Bulls in 7

The way the Bulls have been playing they remind me of the Hawks in the first round last year. Gordon and Rose should be able to carry them to 1 or 2 more victories each, but in the end the Celtics are just better, with or without Kevin Garnett.

 

Magic over 76ers in 7

Magic are hurting and have high expectations in the playoffs for the first time since Shaq left for the Lakers in the 90s. They will win the series, but the other AI (Andre Igoudala) and company will make it tougher than everyone thinks.

 

Hawks over Heat in 7

Dwayne Wade has a lot of youngsters around him. I know i’m picking 3 serieses to go 7, but I feel like the East is up and coming and the teams are a lot closer than people think. Wade will carry his team for 3 wins, but the Hawks were growing last year and have only gotten better. They’re good enough to push into the 2nd round, and this should be the best series to watch come games 5, 6, and 7.

 

Lakers over Jazz in 5

The Jazz can’t play on the road. They got their 1 win at home. They may keep game 4 close, but will probably lose in the same fashion they lost game 2. Game 5 is going to be all LA.

 

Nuggets over Hornets in 6

Chris Paul is too good to get swept. The Billups trade has obviously made the Nuggets contenders. Billups should get the job done 4 out of 6 times against Paul as he has the better team around him right now. West and Chandeler need to show up.

 

Spurs over Mavs in 7

I would have said 6, so i’m cheating a bit as the Mavs have already won 2 games. Tim Duncan is a champion, Dirk Nowitzki is not. That should be the difference. Not to mention Jason Kidd has slowed down and Tony Parker is on a tear. With or without Manu Ginobili, the Spurs are a better team. Roger Mason (the new Robert Horry) with a game 7 game winning 3 pointer.

 

Blazers over Rockets in 7

This should be just as good as the Hawks and Heat series. The young Blazers have the 2nd best shooting gaurd in the game in Brandon Roy and a bunch of young talent that I think can get the job done against Yao. This series could go either way, but the Blazers have the better star and are just a bit more exciting to watch. They’ll also pose great problems for the Lakers in round 2, I think they pull it off.

 

Eastern Conference Semis:

 

Magic over Celtics in 7 (Magic get a bit healthier and without KG no one is going to stop Dwight Superman Howard. We’d all love to see the Celtics and Cavs go at it, but without KG its just not the same, and the Celts may just not get there.)

 

Cavs over Hawks in 5 (I feel like the Cavs will dominate the young Hawks and the Hawks are a year away. Moving up 1 round every year!)

 

Western Conference Semis:

 

Lakers over Blazers in 6 (Blazers will pose problems. The best 2 sg’s in the league will go at it in Kobe and Roy. Kobe is just too good, especially on defense. Blazers should be able to sneak a win or 2, maybe even 3, but they’re not winning this series.)

 

Nuggets over Spurs in 6 (this should look much like the Nuggets/Hornets 1st round series, Billups should get the job done 4 out of 6 times against Parker as well, especially with the team clicking at the right time.)

 

Eastern Conference Finals:

 

Cavs over Magic in 6 (2 superstars go at it. Reminds me of Shaq and Kobe. 2 future hall of famers. The Cavs are just too good though, they’ll probably take 1 road game and they’re not going to lose at home.)

 

Western Conference Finals:

 

Lakers over Nuggets in 5 (Nugs might steal a game, but they got dominated by the Lakers recently.)

 

Finals:

 

This is a toughy. Cavs vs. Lakers is everyones consensus picks. I will have to go with the Lakers though in 7. This may be tough as the Cavs don’t lose at home, but Lebron doesn’t face Kobe everyday. Kobe has the championship experience and two 7 footers that can dominate. No Z can’t dominate and I don’t care who thinks otherwise, he will get beat in this series. And it may just be the difference as long as the Lakers point gaurds don’t get beat by Mo Williams.

Yes…this article is about six weeks too early…and yes I am looking into the future…with Kevin Garnett possibly not playing in the entire playoffs and Orlando’s starting forwards (Hedo and Lewis) not at full strength the best chance for any East team to beat the Cavs will be the Hawks, they have the length to compete with Lebron and Joe Johnson should have have a field day against Delonte West.

 

Out West…the Lakers start off by playing the Jazz who are already with a hobbling Okur and Boozer isn’t at 100% yet…they have already taken care of the Rockets multiple times this season and the winner of the Mavs/Nuggets series (both will win their first round matchups against the Spurs and Hornets respectively) won’t give the Lakers any problems in the Western Conference Championship round….honestly…the best chance any team out West has of beating the Lakers would be the Blazers…they match up very well against the Lakers from the 1-8 positions..in fact I would argue that Brandon Roy/Rudy Fernandez is a better starting/backup scenario than Kobe/Sasha (which by the way is the reason the Lakers lost in the Finals last year..not because of Gasol’s so called softness but because Kobe had to guard Rondo/Pierce/Allen at the same time)…nonetheless I expect the Lakers to come of of the West and face the Cavs in the finals.

 

Now this is where it gets interesting…I know most people believe that the lakers are more talented..because it is true, the Lakers on paper do have more talented players than the Cavs do…but the Cavs team is so much better built in terms of their offense and skillset that each brings to their team, I believe they do have the better overall team than the Lakers.  If you are telling me that Ariza is a better player than Wally Sczerbiak then you are highly mistaken, Wally is one of the most underrated scorers in the league and has averaged at least 18 and 5 in three different seasons and should easily be able to handle Ariza and Odom during stretches of a game..who along with Mo Williams (who averaged 18ppg this season) spread the floor beautifully for Lebron to do his work.  Big Z holds the middle down very well and should be able to play Bynum to a draw; yes Gasol will win the matchup of whomever is guarding him but Mo Williams will also easily win his matchups against the Lakers PGs

 

So it comes down to the best players on each team.  The Lakers won both the games this season against the Cavs (one without Bynum) and the main reason was because of Kobe’s defense against Lebron.  If anyone has watched the Lakers play this season Kobe is the BEST on the ball and 1-1 defender in the league (with Kirk Hinrich coming in second) , yes he doesn’t block as many shots as Lebron or Wade..but he reguarly stops the opposing player on defense than either of those do, and I feel that he will take his D to a whole another level against Lebron in this series and allow Gasol and Bynum to handle majority of the offensive work for the Lakers.

Lakers in 6

Wow. A few hours after pitching a great game, pitching prospect Nick Adenhart of the Angels passed away in a car accident. Luckily, the culprit was caught, but this is still a saddening story. An already ailing pitching staff for the Angels now lose a young and promising talent. Sadly, the kid was just 22.

 

He had a rough start to his 2008 season as a rookie. In 3 career starts he was 1-0 with a 9 era, only 4k’s and 13 walks, and a Whip of 2.58. Batters were hitting .360 against him. He did start out this year well though, facing Oakland on the night of the accident he pitched 6 innings, gave up 7 hits, had 3 walks and 5 k’s while giving up no runs.

 

Condolences go out to his family, losing someone so young always hurts, but he will be remembered.

Looks like the debate over the best conference this year is over. RPI meant nothing, as the Big East is standing tall in the NCAA tournament, losing only 1 team per round, and having 5 representatives in the Sweet 16.

 

The Big East after last night are now 14-2 in the tourney. Their main competitors, the ACC, and for some reason the Big 10 due to RPI weren’t even close. The ACC lost 4 teams in the first round, then lost Maryland in the 2nd round. What was supposed to be possibly the best game of the tournament thus far, ended up in a drubbing of Duke (the ACC’s 2nd best team by far) by Villanova (the Big East’s 4th, 5th, or 6th best team). The ACC’s record now stands at a measley 5-6.  The Big 10 is 6-6.

 

Both conferences only have 1 representative left in the final 12 teams, while the Big Beasts from the East boast 5 teams out of 12. With Louisville playing an overmatched Arizona team tonight, you can pretty much slate either 4 or 5 BE teams in the Elite 8. Not to mention that Marquette only lost by 2 on a botched play by Lazar Hayward in the final seconds against a Missouri team that just destroyed a top notch Memphis team. We could easily be looking at 6 elite Big East teams. And they kept up with Mizzou without their best player in Dominik James.

 

My prediction, going away from the Bracket I have already filled out. Louisville, Uconn, Syracuse and either Pitt or Nova fill the final 4.

 

And of course Notre Dame is represeting the best conference in history as a final four representative in the NIT. Yea I know, who cares?

Personally, I feel the MVP should usually be reserved for players on a team which will win over fifty games and have aspirations for a championship…it is kind of tough to ignore Wade now.  Who’s your pick?

For those of you who don’t know Mark Cuban (surprisingly there are quite a few of you), he is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and chairman of HDNet and 2929 Entertainment.  He is the same billionaire that once served Dairy Queen items to fans himself and danced on Dancing with the Stars.  He is known for getting involved on numerous occasions with referees, players, and his favorite person of all; David Stern.

Say what you want about the Jason Kidd trade (I for one agreed with it) or his antics…but one thing I can say about Cuban…he knows how to run a business…can you find a more passionate owner in ALL of sports? Someone who sits with the fans wearing Mavericks jerseys and screaming with giddiness everyone Dirk Nowitzki or Jason Terry hits a 3?

On his personal and official blog, blogmaverick.com (one of the very few blogs I frequent often) he wanted to do his part in helping to jump-start this economy.  His method? Post your ideas on his blog and he will finance you (with a few rules in place)…why does this work? It gets people motivated, interested to find a way to make money.  so if you have an idea…I highly suggest reading his Stimulus Plan article and post your ideas.  I know I will.

What a game…what a send off….Tyler knew this was going to be his last game at the UNC arena and wanted to make sure the fans got everything they came for with a 79-71 win over one of their fiercest rivals in Duke.  Of course, he had a lot of help from his teammates including Lawson who hit some clutch shots.

 

In his post-game speech to the fans and celebrities such as Michael Jordan and Raymond Felton he acknowledged the great time he had at UNC and Not many players can say they played all four years at college and still expect to be picked in the NBA lottery come summertime…but Hansbrough is one of them, who expects to be one of the top five picks.  Still, he has a lot of work to do before the NCAA season is over!

This was bound to happen, really, it was. Stephon Marbury (proud alienator of locker rooms) was allowed to talk to other teams since the beginning of the season and through all news reports the frontrunner always seemed to be the Celtics with the Heat coming in a close second. The Knicks finally released Marbury (financial terms were undisclosed) but he probably received most of his $20 million salary anyways.

I personally would have let him rot in New York for the rest of the season, why give him the opportunity to replenish his career after what he did to the Knicks for so many years? What makes this even worse is that if the Knicks do wind up with the #8 seed and the Celtics end up with the #1 seed..guess who will be playing each other! And I am fairly certain that neither Nate Robinson or Duhon can guard Marbury (who will probably get 15-20 minutes a game). My question is…how in the WORLD did Marbury get the Celtics to give him $1.2 million and not the minimum salary??

So…Jermaine O’Neal to the Heat, Marion to the Raptors, Brad Miller and John Salmons to the Bulls, Larry Hughes to the Knicks….ok then; everything that was supposed to happen (Vince Carter getting traded, Cavs trading for another veteran, Spurs making a move) didn’t happen…so I guess these will have to do. 

 

So which team made the best deal? I am going to have to go with the Bulls, they brought in a big man (finally), yes its only Brad Miller but he will be a major improvement on Gooden and the other guy.  Salmons will be able to give solid minutes at the 2 and 3 spots as well.  Hopefully this summer will make things a lot more interesting.