Earlier this week, Iverson whined about coming off the bench and that he’d rather retire than become a team player. Throughout Iverson’s career it has always been about him. He’s shown up late for practices, whether it was for the Philadelphia 76ers or the United States Basketball team, or sometimes didn’t even show up at all. He’s never had any respect for his coaches. Larry Brown and Maurice Cheeks were the most famous of his victims. And his selfishness on the court credited him with not being able to make any of his teammates better during his entire basketball career.

The NBA will be a better place if Allen Iverson retires after this year.

The Detroit Pistons knew what they were getting this year when they traded Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets. They didn’t acquire Allen Iverson. They acquired his expiring contract. Allen Iverson’s expiring contract is worth more than Allen Iverson. When Iverson becomes a free agent this summer, he will quickly find out his services are not wanted anymore in the NBA. There is not one contending team or playoff team that will sign him.

He is a cancer. He is a plague.

The Philadelphia 76ers were not successful because of Allen Iverson, they were successful because of Larry Brown. Larry Brown was able to surround Iverson with a team of unselfish players. Players that didn’t care if Iverson dribbled the ball for 23 seconds before shooting. Players that were capable of rebounding and defending and helping Iverson when he wasn’t able to defend. And players who knew what their role was and played it to perfection.

In the meat of Allen Iverson’s career, he averaged almost 25 shots per game. Way too many for a guard whose FG% was around 41%. That is absolutely putrid and embarrassing. Iverson will go down in the history books as one of the worst-shooting guards in NBA history. Eric Snow has the same career FG% as Allen Iverson. And 76er’s fans know how horrible of a shooter Eric Snow was.

I understand there is a huge Iverson following and they have supported him on and off the court. They love him. They cherish him. But these are the people that don’t understand how the game of basketball is supposed to be played. It’s played as a team and Iverson is not a team player. He never was and he never will want to be.

When he finally retires, hopefully after this year, the NBA will be a better place.

If you remember back in August, 2008, Q (what his teammates like to call him and a letter worth 10 points in the board game Scrabble) had this to say to the NFL Network:

“At this point we have no relationship, and I don’t see that changing. It’s just gotten to a point where I think lines were crossed. If you ask me, coaches should be coaches, management should be management, and I don’t think those lines should be crossed. But when you cross those lines, you put yourself in position for things like this to happen.”

Even with obvious frustration and bitterness towards the Cardinals organization, Boldin finished with 89 catches for 1,038 yards, including a career-high 11 touchdowns. And after a devastating hit that required titanium plates and 40 titanium screws to help repair facial injuries, Q was back on the field after only missing two games. An organization should learn how to respect a player like this. Despite them making it to the Super Bowl this year, they still are the Arizona Cardinals.

After doing his best to not create any controversy during the regular season and playoffs, minus the altercation with his offensive coordinator during the Eagles game, Anquan is expressing his discontent again, this time to USA Today after Thursday’s NFC practice for the Pro Bowl:

“I don’t think the relationship can be repaired with the organization. It takes more than, ‘Well, we did you wrong and we’ll pay you this.’ It’s not about the money. It was always about the principle. Guys being true to their word. I guess I was expected to uphold my end of the bargain, and it wasn’t reciprocated…..We’ve been talking to them for two years, and they still haven’t made anything happen.”

Anquan has two years left on his contract that some people say he should honor, plus one more if Arizona decides to franchise him. If this played out, Boldin would be 31 years young old before he could negotiate a new deal and get himself out of the desert.

None of us know exactly what happened between Boldin and the coaches/management, but something did and he obviously is not happy about it. That, plus the almost-career-ending hit Boldin took during the Jets game gives him all the right in the world to do his best in getting paid now.

The NFL is a business. NFL teams don’t have to honor contracts, yet people feel the NFL players should. I’m not one of them. Anquan has been an amazing player during his six-year career. He’s shown tremendous work ethic, on and off the field. If the Arizona Cardinals don’t feel like paying him, I’m sure there are plenty of NFL teams that will.

I have no problem with Boldin expressing how he feels and saying the things he says. Ultimately, he has to look out for himself, like anyone else would in any other career. Hopefully, Anquan will get his wish and be able to put on a different uniform on at the start of the 2009 season.

10. Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk beats out Danny Granger because he’s been performing at a high level for more seasons. And also because he’s a better player. Granger is having a great year, but don’t be mesmerized by a player putting up great numbers for an awful team. Somebody has to score.

8 & 9. Paul Pierce & Kevin Garnett: They play huge in huge games. They also play huge in non-huge games. The Eastern Conference playoffs will be very interesting this year with Cleveland and Orlando getting better. It means that Pierce and Garnett will need to play huger.

7. Chris Bosh: Who would have thought that Toronto would be this bad and at the very bottom of the Atlantic Conference? Do you think that Bosh will be back in Toronto when his contract runs out? In related news, Jermaine O’Neal is making over $21 million this year.

6. Chris Paul: CP3 is the best point guard in the NBA and there’s no arguing that except if you are from Utah.

5. Dwight Howard: Dwight Howard is an absolute monster. Can you imagine if Orlando took Emeka Okafor with the number-one pick in 2004 and Howard went to Charlotte? Actually, it’s quite possible that Charlotte would have drafted Shaun Livingston. Anyway, Dwight Howard is an absolute monster.

4. Dwayne Wade: He was absolutely spectacular to watch during the Olympics this past summer and he hasn’t slowed down at all. I would love to see Wade face Lebron in the playoffs this year, because he is quite capable of out-shining the Cleveland phenom. It’s nice to have a healthy Dwayne Wade back in the NBA. There aren’t any flaws in his game. Well, besides 3-point shooting.

3. Tim Duncan: I always get hammered for putting Tim Duncan up so high in my top-ten lists, but I will continue to do so until he stops winning. All the new-age fans love the flashy, playground-style, highlight-reel players, but they don’t always win you games. However, Tim Duncan does. Who was more important to have on their team last year during Game 7 of the Spurs-Hornets game (in New Orleans)? Chris Paul or Tim Duncan? The answer was Tim Duncan.

2. Lebron James: As soon as Lebron wins his first NBA title be prepared for a run of about six in a row. Also be prepared for Lebron to jump up and sit on the rim this year. It’s very close to happening. If Lebron was in the slam dunk contest this year I would love to see him jump from the 3-point arc and dunk Nate Robinson. If Nate got stuck in the net, Pau Gasol and Rudy Fernandez could hit him with sticks like he was a pinata.

1. Kobe Bryant: We can debate about who is better between Kobe and Lebron until our faces turn blue or until Yao Ming plays a full season without getting injured. The reason I put Kobe at the number-one spot is that there is no other player in the NBA that I want shooting the ball with the game on the line more than him. Furthermore, Kobe has mastered the turnaround jumper, something that Lebron is still trying to perfect. Lebron might be able to jump out of the building and provide SportsCenter with endless highlight dunks, but there isn’t a better assassin in the NBA than Kobe Bryant.

Yes, Arizona has a horrific defense and they lost four out of their last six games. They look terrible and Kurt Warner is fifty-six years old. There’s probably ten teams in the NFC that are better than them. They only beat one other NFC team that was not in their division. Guess who? Yes, the Dallas Cowboys. Remember that blocked punt on October 12th? Of course, we all do. We all love watching Dallas implode. But this isn’t about Dallas. This is about Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons’ defense traveling to Arizona to play the Cardinals. This game is all about who can stop who and as horrific as the Cardinals defense is, Atlanta’s is not that much better. The Cardinals are in the middle of the pack at stopping the run and if they can keep Michael Turner in check, which is something many NFL teams have had a tough time doing, then they will win the game. I see this Arizona Cardinals offense running on all cylinders Saturday afternoon. Look for Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald to hook up many times, and not in a gay way, but in a watch-how-many-touchdowns-we-can-score kinda way. Final score Arizona 31 Atlanta 24 (for the record, they will get destroyed next round, completely destroyed).

Indianapolis Colts (-1) over San Diego Chargers

Revenge game. Peyton Manning is the MVP of the NFL. San Diego is not a good football team. They aren’t. They play in a horrible division and they aren’t ‘coming on strong.’ Look who they played in their last four games. The Oakland Raiders who suck. The Kansas City Chiefs who suck. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers who suck. And the Denver Broncos who suck. Their previous three games before that were against playoff teams (Steelers, Colts, and Falcons) and they lost all three of those games. I love the Colts in this game. I truly believe they are the best team in the NFL right now with the best player (Peyton Manning). I will be completely dumbfounded if the Chargers win this game. Final Score Indianapolis 30 San Diego 20

Baltimore Ravens (-3) over Miami Dolphins

I was up the street last night grabbing dinner when my buddy asked me ‘who plays quarterback for that purple team?’ I said, ‘Tarvaris Jackson?’ He said, ‘no.’ I said ‘Joe Flacco?’ and that turned out to be the correct answer. The fat guy with no chin sitting next to my buddy said, ‘he was my neighbor.’ For the sake of not butchering anymore punctuation I will continue this story without any ‘he said, she said’ crap. The fat guy with no chin (let’s just call him Fat No Chin, FNC for short) grew up with him during the summers in Ocean City, New Jersey. FNC told me he threw a wicked long ball on the beach. So right now I picture Joe Flacco tearing up the scene in Miami Beach throwing wicked long balls which will carryover till Sunday in a very nice rookie, playoff victory. Oh, and Ed Reed might have something to say about this game, too. Speaking of Ed Reed, would you rather have him or Troy Polamalu? Food for thought. Final Score Baltimore 20 Miami 17

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) over Minnesota Vikings

There’s around 15,000 seats still available for this game and it’s subject to blackout in the Minneapolis area. How pathetic is that? Do you know what else is pathetic? Tarvaris Jackson. This is me breaking down this game. What the Eagles really need to do is establish the run and…..the Vikings quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson. If the Eagles can stop the run…..the Vikings quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson. The Eagles need to win the battle of field position…..the Vikings quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson. In conclusion, if the Eagles defense can put pressure on Tarvaris Jackson…..the Vikings quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson. You get my point? Final Score Philadelphia 34 Minnesota 17

The Yankees are hoping to sell 720,000,000 bleacher seats during those two days which will cover Teixeira’s contract. And they are looking to sell 146,363,636 grandstand tickets to help pay for CC Sabathia’s contract.

These games against the Cubs represent the pre-season home opener at the new Yankee Stadium.

He was pulled over for speeding in Hanover, NJ which is right by the team’s training facility.

The 31-year-old Ellis was “uncooperative” and refused to supply the officer with all of the necessary paperwork, and was found to be in possession of marijuana and arrested, according to the police report.

He was also issued a summons for possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as motor vehicle summonses for speeding, failure to keep right, failure to produce a valid registration card and driving without insurance before being released.

This means the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls, plus the BCS Championship Game, will be televised in prime…blah blah blah…who the F cares?

I read the article about five times and I still haven’t found the sentences that read, “starting in the 2009-10, college football season the NCAA will have a playoff system consisting of the top-eight ranked teams to determine the National Championship. Four newly formed bowls have been named. The Super Awesome Bowl will be featuring the number one and number eight ranked teams. The It’s Finally Here Bowl will be featuring the number two and number seven ranked teams in the nation. The There Will Finally Be No Arguments About Who Is Number One Bowl will play the number three ranked team against the number six ranked team. And finally, the If You Oppose This Playoff Format You Are An Idiot Bowl will host the number four and number five ranked teams.

Don’t give me the argument that the number nine team is left out of this tournament. Nobody cares about Boise State.

After round one we have four teams left, which leaves us three more games that can be played in the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. These three bowls will alternate every year in hosting the National Championship game. It’s that easy.

I’m sorry I left out the Rose Bowl, but Vince Young’s and Matt Leinart’s performances in the NFL have completely ruined my perception of the 2006 game in Pasadena.

This new playoff system would be the best tournament in sports and would trump March Madness.

In the past ten years, the five best-rated World Series are 1999 (16.0), 2004 (15.8), 2001 (15.7), 1998 (14.1), and 2003 (12.8). Other than 2004 which featured the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, there is common denominator (or dominator?)…The New York Yankees.

Baseball just doesn’t spark the interest to the general public like it used to. Maybe the horrible TV schedule has something to do about it?

The 2008 World Series drew an 8.4 rating.

8:37 pm finally arrived on Wednesday. Rally towels that were used in the past to wipe away tears of frustration were about to be used for a different purpose…to wipe away tears of joy. So, what happened Wednesday night?

Jason Werth’s blooping single found a way to avoid Akinori Iwamura’s glove.

The fog was lifted at Soldier Field and Keith Jackson didn’t drop that pass in the end zone.

Eric Lindros kept his head up and avoided Scott Stevens’ concussion-giving hit.

Robert Horry’s last-minute three-pointer in Game 3 of the 2001 NBA Finals fell short.

Chase Utley didn’t throw to first, but nailed Jason Bartlett at home.

L.J. Smith held onto the ball while being tackled by Randall Gay in Super Bowl XXXIX.

The doctors didn’t find a small blood clot on Kimmo Timonen’s foot and a deflected puck didn’t find Braydon Coburn’s eye.

Eric Snow and Aaron Mckie didn’t have to play on broken ankles during the 2001 NBA Finals.

Ben Zobrist’s line drive found Jason Werth’s glove.

Brian Westbrook played in the 2003 NFC Championship game.

Alexander Perezhogin missed on a devastating hit that could have ended Keith Primeau’s career.

This was announced, “with the 8th pick in the 1998 NBA draft the Philadelphia 76ers select Paul Pierce from Kansas University.”

Blaine Bishop, despite losing a step, tackled Joe Jurevicius.

And the Phillies won the World Series…that’s what happened.

For one night everything that could have gone well…did, and anything that could have gone wrong…did not. For one night the past was forgotten. For one night the sports history of a city was re-written.

The Philadelphia Phillies are world champions and a city that supports their teams through thick and thin will be able to have the celebration they deserve. With the pressure off, and the Phillies to thank, don’t be surprised if the parade on Friday is followed by many more.

The Colts haven’t won a game yet at Lucas Oil Stadium (0-2). I know they aren’t playing there this week, but I want to talk about their new home; specifically, what should the nickname be? Apparently, “The Luke” is out of the question because of a previous lawsuit between Lucas Oil Products and Lukoil, so we aren’t left with too many options. My suggestion would be “The Tank.” Oil is kept in a tank or a tanker. Football is compared to war and they use tanks in war. It’s two-fold. Any suggestions from our readers? Anyway, I have to take the Colts to cover three points against the Texans whether the game is at The Tank or Reliant Stadium. An extra week off for Peyton Manning to heal and game plan is nothing I want to bet against. The Texans are coming off a hard-fought game in Jacksonville where Matt Schaub had a great game. What are the chances of him playing well two straight weeks? Slim to none? Keep an eye on rookie running back Steve Slaton against the Colts’ Bob Sandersless defense. It’s tough to say ‘Sandersless.’

Baltimore Ravens (+3) over Tennessee Titans

Wow, this is a tough game. I’m actually writing my analysis before I make my pick in hopes that I talk myself into taking one of them. I really love the over (35) in this game by the way. Any time you have two play-making defenses that can take it to the house, take the over if it’s under 37. But we aren’t picking over/unders here. The Titans are bound to have a bad game sooner or later. It will either be this week at Baltimore or next week at KC. They do have a Monday Night game looming in a couple weeks against the Colts at The Tank, so I’m waiting for the let-down game. Baltimore is coming off an OT loss on Monday Night at Pittsburgh. Teams are 3-1 this year in the following week after a Monday Night loss on the road. Do I go with that trend? Do I take the Titans defense against rookie quarterback Joe Flacco or the Ravens defense against happy-hour fanatic Kerry Collins? I’m actually sold on Baltimore this year. I think they have a very solid team. This is a very hard pick to make, but I’m taking Baltimore and the points. However, I wouldn’t put real money on this game.

San Diego Chargers (-7) over Miami Dolphins

The Chargers had a bad game last Sunday minus the fourth quarter. They can’t be happy with the way they played in Oakland. They won, but it wasn’t pretty. The Dolphins are coming off a bye week after they destroyed the New England Patriots 38-13. I’m going to guess they are still pretty high from that game even though they had an extra week to settle down and prepare. Maybe that’s why Ricky Williams decided to not smoke pot this week? He was still on his natural high from the Patriots game. Let me say how proud I am of Ricky for fighting those urges. Unless Ronnie Brown can score four touchdowns and throw for another, I see San Diego coming out of the gates early and covering the seven points by halftime. Is there a spread for the first half?

Carolina Panthers (-9.5) over Kansas City Chiefs

Wow, Carolina giving 9.5 and I’m still taking them? I don’t want to, but I think I have to. Kansas City still stinks despite them beating the Broncos last week. Larry Johnson won’t run for 198 yards against the Panthers defense and KC won’t force four turnovers against the Panther’s offense. That’s not happening this week when they are on the road. They also have to be looking forward to their bye next week. The one thing about this game I don’t like is Carolina plays Tampa Bay next week in Tampa and they just beat Atlanta, another division rival, last week. This is a sandwich game that tends to be a let-down for NFL teams. If Kansas City didn’t have a big win last week, I would take KC, because the line would be a little higher. However, because KC won last week, I’m taking Carolina to cover.

Washington Redskins (+5.5) over Philadelphia Eagles

It will be tough for the Redskins to win back-to-back division games on the road, but it will also be tough for the Eagles to win without Brian Westbrook and Shawn Andrews. I’m not hearing comforting news about Westbrook at practice. It seems he is very limited and can’t make the cuts which make him so effective. I would be surprised if he plays this weekend; therefore, I’m taking the Redskins and the points assuming Westbrook and Andrews won’t be playing. Philadelphia’s defense played out of their minds last week in Chicago and gave the offense plenty of opportunities to put points on the board. However, six points off of four turnovers did not/will not get the job done. I see more of the same this week, a solid defense and a frustrating offense.

Detroit Lions (+3.5) over Chicago Bears

Chicago is on the road after a big win against the Eagles on national television. Detroit is an underdog at home coming off a bye in which their GM was fired seven years too late. Everyone in Detroit is breathing a little easier right now and that’s why I’m taking the Lions and the points. Here are some interesting stats for you. The Lion’s defense has three sacks, one forced fumble, and zero interceptions for the season. There are fourteen NFL players that have equal to or better numbers than that. So when someone tells you the Lions have a sucky defense, you should agree with them. With all that said, I’m still taking the Lions, but Matt Forte could have 200+ yards.

Seattle Seahawks (+7) over New York Giants

Both teams are coming off a bye. Both teams are coming off wins the week before the bye. Both teams blew out the Rams and held them to 13 points. Both teams are without their number one wideout. But the Giants without Plaxico will hurt them more than the Seahawks without Branch/Engram/Burleson/Largent. I expect this game to be a low-scoring, grind’em-out game. Giants still win, but they won’t cover the seven points. Actually, there’s a part of me right now that hates this pick and wants to say the Giants are going to blow them out of the water. But, I’m sticking with my guns like Travis Henry in a coke deal. I’ll take the Seahawks and the points.

Last week 3-3 (season 13-8)

2 Buffalo Bills: The Bills struggled a little in the first half against the NFC West power St. Louis Rams. But Scott Linehan couldn’t think of anything to keep his job. The Bills scored 25 straight points and completely dominated the second half on their way to a 31-14 victory. Second-year quarterback Trent Edwards (Stanford) seems to be coming along pretty nicely. And he has that successful quarterback name. Trent! As in…Trent Dilfer, champion of Super Bowl XXXV, which was played in Tampa. This year’s Super Bowl is also being played in Tampa. Maybe there’s something about Trent’s playing in Tampa?

3 Tennessee Titans: The Titans are 4-0 atop the AFC South. Their average margin of victory is two touchdowns with two extra points. That’s 14 points on my abacus, which is very impressive. SI.com says that Vince Young should begin practicing this week, but when you have Kerry Collins sippin’ on Budweisers and throwing touchdown after touchdown after…alright, he only has two, but he’s not making mistakes. I love Tennessee’s defense. They make big plays. 15 sacks, eight forced fumbles, and eight interceptions with one of them being returned 99 yards for a touchdown. With that kind of production Kerry Collins can play a six-pack deep.

4 Washington Redskins: The ‘Skins have three straight wins after losing the season opener to the New York Giants. This past weekend they defeated the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium. Jason Campbell (Auburn) has looked very impressive throwing for six touchdowns and zero interceptions. Santana Moss had two previous seasons over 1,100 yards and it looks like he is on his way to a third. I like this team. After this weekend they will have played everyone in their division on the road. A win in Philly would make it a very successful road trip.

5 Dallas Cowboys: They were the team to beat. Then they got beat. I think everyone can agree that the Cowboys are still a very good team, I just don’t think everyone knew how good the Redskins were.

When asked if he got enough reps in the Redskins game, Terrell Owens responded, “I would say no. I’m a competitor, and I want the ball.” He continued, “Everybody recognized that I wasn’t really getting the ball in the first half. I’m pretty sure everybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it.”

Gotta love T.O. Stay tuned.

6 Pittsburgh Steelers: A win is a win. Pittsburgh played a tough Baltimore Ravens team that is better than anyone could have predicted before the season started. The Steelers offense looked flat again in the first half, but Ben Roethlisberger came out after halftime with the no-huddle and finally moved the ball. Santonio Holmes scored his first touchdown of the season and Jeff Reed hit a 46-yard field goal in sudden-death overtime. The Baltimore Ravens were then lined up in the middle of the field and shot. Pittsburgh (3-1) is in first place atop the NFC North, but you have to wonder how many more hits Roethlisberger can take. He’s a tough guy, but the Steelers’ depleted offensive line is hanging him out to dry.

7 San Diego Chargers: The Chargers had a tough time with the Oakland Raiders this past weekend, until they were able to score 25 points in the fourth quarter on their way to a 28-18 victory. They are 2-2 after starting the season 0-2 and with a game against Miami this weekend they look to go over .500 for the first time all season. Last year they started 1-3, so they are already ahead of schedule. Fantasy owners are breathing a little bit easier now that LT is starting to get in the endzone after starting the season a little shaky. Philip Rivers had his first sub-par game of the season, but he was still able to get it done in the fourth quarter and that’s what you want your quarterback to do.

8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: I was watching the games at my local tavern with my brother-in-law, who is a Redskins fan. Next to us at the bar was an Oakland Raider fan and a Buccaneer fan rounding off a nice mixture of NFL fans in the Philadelphia-area tavern. My bro-in-law (let’s call him John because that’s his name) and I thought it was funny to yell “Keyshawn” every time Ike Hilliard had the ball thrown to him. Ike wears the same number 19 that Keyshawn wore. Then we started wondering if Ike and Keyshawn were teammates because years start to overlap after so many black and tans. Who trumps who for the number 19? But Mr. Buccaneer fan informed us that Ike was on the New York Giants when Keyshawn played for the Bucs. We knew that.

9 Carolina Panthers: In the offseason Muhsin Muhammad said “Chicago is where receivers go to die.” After three average years in Chi-town, Moose has risen from the dead, resurrecting his career with the team he started with in 1996. He caught eight passes for 147 yards and a score in their win last weekend against the Atlanta Falcons 24-9. It’s probably not as dramatic as I just made that sound, but Moose is playing well again. Carolina should beat the Chiefs this weekend which will set the stage for a winner-take-all battle against the Bucs on October 12th. Again, probably a little too dramatic with the winner-take-all reference, but they will be playing for first place in the NFC South.

10 Denver Broncos: Yuck. They lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. Defense is still a major issue with this team. They gave up 213 yards on the ground, including 198 to Larry Johnson. The four turnovers on offense didn’t help either. Losses like this will happen to this Bronco team if their offense can’t put up points. They don’t have a defense that can win games for them. Is anyone else getting tired of Shanahans’ Shenanigans at running back? Why can’t he pick one back to carry the load? This Selvin Young-Andre Hall-Michael Pittman alternating backfield is getting old. I know he does this just to piss off fantasy owners.

11 Jacksonville Jaguars: Two wins in a row, including this past weekend’s overtime thriller against the Houston Texans, has the Jags back to .500. However, the schedule gets very tough with their next two games against Pittsburgh and Denver before they head to the bye week. Besides the game against the Colts, the Jags haven’t been able to get their running attack going. Furthermore, David Garrard has already thrown one more interception than he did all of last year. It doesn’t seem this is the same intimidating Jaguar team as last year and they have no wide receiver threat. Matt Jones is only a threat to finish an eight ball. I will not grow tired of Matt Jones jokes.

12 Philadelphia Eagles: They won’t make the playoffs if they can’t keep up with the other teams in their division, so this Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins is a must-win game. The game against the Chicago Bears was very very frustrating on so many levels. The decision to make Tony Hunt the fullback this year has cost the Philadelphia Eagles one win so far. He is not capable of blocking against the pass or run. Sorry Penn Staters, but Tony Hunt should not have made this Philadelphia Eagles team.

2 Buffalo Bills: The Bills were down 23-14 to Oakland on Sunday with 6:23 left in the fourth quarter. They were supposed to lose, but after a 14-yard TD pass to Roscoe Parrish and a 38-yard FG (as time expired) by Rian Lindell, Buffalo improved to 3-0 on the season. It was their second-straight fourth-quarter comeback and this is what separates the good teams with the bad teams. Trent Edwards and the rest of the Bills have to be gaining a swagger of confidence and there’s nothing more dangerous (in a good way) for an NFL team to have. Their next two games are on the road against Atlantic 10 power St. Louis and the Arizona Cardinals.

3 New York Giants: The Cincinnati Bengals traveled to New York to win that game on Sunday (sometimes they play like they don’t care). They brought their ‘A’ game and gave the Giants all they had. It’s possible the Giants looked past this game a tiny bit heading into the bye, but Eli Manning continues to get it done in the fourth quarter. Say what you want about him, but he doesn’t make mistakes and moves the ball when the game is on the line (stemming from the end of last year). And right now he is playing better than his brother Peyton. Maybe it’s time for Eli to get more commercials?

4 Tennessee Titans: Yes, they are taking a huge leap this week from number 11. Tennessee could have the best defense in the NFL right now. They have 11 sacks, seven interceptions (one returned for a TD, Cortland Finnegan), and only have given up 29 total points for the season. There’s nothing better to compliment a knock’em out defense with than a powerful running attack, which the Titans have in LenDale White and rookie Chris Johnson. This is a very physical team to play against on both sides of the ball.

5 Philadelphia Eagles: Brian Dawkins ran out of the tunnel during introductions (last one to be announced) and purposely tripped to the ground. He got up, brushed himself off, pulled his jersey number to the fans, and ran to his teammates at full speed. He was letting the fans know that he is quite capable of picking himself up after a bad game. His superman dive in the fourth quarter which resulted in a forced fumble and fumble recovery (ultimately sealing the game) was the icing on the cake. Hopefully, Brian Westbrook won’t miss any significant amount of time. The Eagles’ offense is not as intimidating when Westbrook is sidelined.

6 Green Bay Packers: Tough Monday Night loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Not only losing the game, but also losing cornerback Al Harris for the season (projected). The Packers now have to travel to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers and that will allow us to see how Aaron Rodgers can handle the pressure of playing on the road after a loss.

7 Denver Broncos: A very high-powered offense with a below-average defense. If they can continue outscoring teams, they should be fine, but when the cold weather arrives I can definitely see them slowing down. If the Denver Broncos want to be considered an elite team, their defense needs to start stopping opposing offenses. Giving up 28 points per game will eventually come back to haunt you. With that said, Brandon Marshall is the best wide receiver in the NFL right now. If Jay Cutler continues to get better and Marshall can stay out of jail, that duo will break records.

8 Pittsburgh Steelers: Exposed, exposed, exposed. I doubt the Steelers’ offensive line is as bad as they played this past weekend, but you have to agree they aren’t that good. Big Ben is not the most mobile quarterback in the league, so when he doesn’t have enough time to throw the ball he won’t be effective. And the road doesn’t get any easier for the O-line and Roethlisberger with a Week 4 match-up against the 2-0 Ravens and a Week 5 match-up against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If Big Ben can get out of this three-game stretch (started last week in Philly) alive, then Steelers fan should be very happy.

9 San Diego Chargers: They have finally broken into my top 12. It was only a matter of time until they won. Yes, they could/should be 3-0, but they aren’t. In a must-needed win last night, they blew out the New York Jets. Philip Rivers is playing great and LT finally reached the endzone, but their offense isn’t the issue. It’s their Shawn Merrimanless defense that needs to step it up, which they did last night forcing turnovers and setting up scores. When this team is running on all cylinders they are one of the best teams in the AFC. Their 0-2 start should not hinder any playoff expectations.

10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A very impressive overtime win in Chicago last week has the Bucs in a three-way tie at the top of a somewhat competitive NFC South. I advertised their game last week as a ground’em and pound’em attack, but Brian Griese was able to torch the Bears’ secondary for 407 yards. Not bad for a backup quarterback. The Bucs will be tested the next three weeks with games against Green Bay, Denver, and Carolina. If they can escape with a 2-1 record in those three games I will be very impressed.

11 Washington Redskins: The NFC East is easily the toughest division in football. They have a 10-2 record and both losses are within the division. But only three of the four teams in the NFC East will be able to make the playoffs. It looks like either the Redskins or Eagles will be the odd team out. After a shaky Game 1, quarterback Jason Campbell has the lead the Redskins to two straight victories with his consistent play. Veterans Santana Moss, Clinton Portis, and Chris Cooley give the young quarterback many options. Washington can make a statement in the NFC East in the next two weeks as they travel to Dallas and then to Philly.

12 Baltimore Ravens: By default because they are 2-0. We’ll find out this weekend against Pittsburgh how good they really are.

2 Pittsburgh Steelers: Not a very impressive win against Cleveland, but it was against a divisional opponent on the road. So, maybe it was an impressive win? The AFC is up for grabs and I feel the Steelers are the front-runners because they play in the weakest division. I see them sweeping Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Cleveland.

3 Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers is a better quarterback right now than Brett Favre was last year. For a team that went 13-3 in 2007, I don’t see any reason why they can’t repeat that performance. Once Rodgers collects his first win via fourth quarter comeback, Brett Favre’s name will be forgotten in Wisconsin…forever. Alright, that’s a little too dramatic.

4 Buffalo Bills: Anyone jump on the Buffalo train with me yet? With Brady going down two weeks ago and the Jets not being able to beat New England at home, the Bills are starting to look like the team to beat in the AFC East. I’m still looking at a 5-0 start for this Bills team. Their defense is very, very good. After a Week 6 showdown with a bye, the Chargers will travel to Buffalo to give the Bills a huge test.

5 New York Giants: If you are in a survivor pool, take whoever is playing the Rams. It was New York’s turn to man-handle St. Louis last week. Speaking of looking ahead, the G-men could be looking at a 6-0 start with their next four games against Cincinnati, Seattle, Cleveland, and San Francisco.

6 Denver Broncos: They squeaked out a controversial win against the Chargers, but inadvertent whistles happen in the NFL. It’s part of the game, but it was definitely bad timing. However, don’t hold that against Denver. They are a very good, young team. Jay Cutler looks like he is the real deal and if Brandon Marshall can catch 18 passes per game from here on out, that’s 270 catches. That will shatter the all-time record.

7 Philadelphia Eagles: It’s hard to criticize Donovan’s McNabb’s performance last night against Dallas. He played brilliantly and showed all of us that he can play with anyone when he is 100% healthy. However, despite everything that happened in the first 55 minutes, McNabb had two chances to take his team down the field for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and couldn’t get it done. McNabb has to step it up at the end of games if he wants to show the NFL that the Eagles are a Super Bowl contender. He can’t fumble away losses.

8 New England: Whatever, they will start losing soon. Suck it, Boston?

9 Carolina Panthers: Carolina is 2-0 with both of those games being won in the fourth quarter. This is usually a sign of a good team. Steve Smith comes back this week for the Panthers as they travel to Minnesota to play the 0-2 Vikings. Look for him to play catch-up like Brandon Marshall did this past weekend.

10 Indianapolis Colts: They showed us nothing for six straight quarters, then they scored 18 straight points against the Vikings to avoid starting the season 1-1. This was an early must-win game for the Colts as they go home to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3. It’s evident that Peyton Manning isn’t at 100%, but as the season progresses I expect him and the Colts to improve and be right in the mix.

11 Tennessee Titans: I love watching Kerry Collins play football. I was explaining to my friend Ben on Sunday that he is the only player in the NFL that is allowed to play drunk. It helps his game. He drinks before games and at halftime, and also smokes cigars on the sidelines. It’s quite phenomenal. All Tennessee needs is solid quarterback play and they will be in contention for a playoff spot. Cheers, Kerry Collins.

12 Chicago Bears: Kyle Orton hasn’t thrown a TD pass this year. That means he is on pace to not throw any TD passes for the whole year. Can the Bears stay in contention if that’s the case? With a strong running game, an even stronger defense, and solid special teams, the answer is yes. But Devin Hester must remain healthy. I don’t know what I mean by contention. As last week, I’m realizing this spot belongs to another team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I’m running with the Bills this year and I like their front seven against a depleted Jaguar offensive line. Buffalo’s defensive line tallied four sacks last week including two from former Jag Marcus Stroud. Neither of these quarterbacks (David Garrard or Trent Edwards) will beat you with their passing game, but the Bills have more weapons at WR than the Jags who have zero. I wonder if Matt Jones is betting this line or snorting it? Fantasy stud: Marshawn Lynch. Fantasy sleeper: Matt Jones (seriously, someone needs to catch the ball). Fantasy dud: Fred Taylor.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7) over Atlanta Falcons

I just erased everything I wrote and changed my pick. All Tampa has to do is stop the run against the Falcons. That’s it. Matt Ryan won’t be able to keep this game close on the road. The Week-One-opening-blow-out-win-at-home high is over. Reality begins for the Falcons at Tampa this weekend. Brian Griese will get the start over injured quarterback Jeff Garcia and I don’t see this being an issue. I’ll take a Gruden game-plan against a rookie QB all day, any day. Fantasy Stud: Ernest Graham. Fantasy sleeper: Warrick Dunn (playing against his former team). Fantasy Dud: Matt Ryan.

Seattle Seahawks (-7) over San Francisco 49ers

This NFC West stinks. I’m not intrigued with this game one bit. I think you have to take a Mike Holmgren-coached Seattle Seahawks team at home against a horrible team to cover seven after they just got blown out. That’s just a rule I have. I really don’t have anything to say about this game, so let me just get right to my fantasy picks. Fantasy stud: Frank Gore (he is the entire SF offense). Fantasy sleeper: John Carlson (Seattle TE). Fantasy duds: Every single 49ers wide receiver.

Arizona Cardinals (-6.5) over Miami Dolphins

How awesome is this game? I’ll make sure to tell the bartender to put this game on the main TV. The only way the Cardinals lose this game is if Matt Leinart somehow has to play. Will Allen and Andre Goodman will obviously have their hands full with Boldin and Fitzgerald, but Rod Hood and Eric Green will not have their hands full with Ted Ginn Jr. and who? Miami TE Anthony Fasano caught eight balls (one for a TD) last week, so look for him to be the main target again for Pennington. That last sentence tells you to take the Cardinals to cover. Fantasy stud: Kurt Warner. Fantasy sleeper: Anthony Fasano. Fantasy dud: Ricky Williams.

New York Jets (-2) over New England Patriots

Randy Moss told us this week that the New England Patriots are still the team to beat this year. He is correct. They will get beat every week. You gotta believe that Eric Mangini wants to spank Bill Belicheat over his knee this weekend. These two coaches hate each other. This New England defense is very old, so is Brett Favre, but I’ll still take the Jets to beat the Brady-less Patriots by more than a FG. The only way the Jets lose this game is if they come out too hyped and overconfident. They can’t let New England hang around. Look for the Jets to open up an early lead, forcing Matt Cassel to play catch up. Fantasy stud: Jericho Cotchery. Fantasy sleeper: Sammy Morris. Fantasy dud: Wes Welker.

Houston Texans (-4.5) over Baltimore Ravens

(this game has been moved to Monday Night due to Ike…Hurricane Ike, not Ike Reese)

Another thrilling matchup. These 4:15 games are giving me goose bumps. Joe Flacco wasn’t that impressive in their win over the Bengals last week. He didn’t make any mistakes and that’s why they won. The Ravens gained 229 yards on the ground with two scores; however, those two scores came from an amazing 38-yard run by Joe Flacco that took five minutes and a 42-yard run by receiver Mark Clayton. I don’t see those happening again. And rookie Ray Rice didn’t have a great game either. Despite their win last week, I feel the Ravens are a really bad team and Houston will be able to beat them at home. At least they should. Fantasy stud: Andre Johnson. Fantasy sleeper: Steve Slaton. Fantasy duds: The entire Ravens offense.

Denver Broncos (+1.5) over San Diego Chargers

Here is the best game of the day. A rivalry was born last year with the whole Jay Cutler-Philip Rivers talking smack episode. I love both of these young quarterbacks and I see many memorable battles between these two teams for years to come. Both have very explosive offenses and very tough defenses. Cutler looked great on Monday Night and he gets back his favorite target in Brandon Marshall this week. With the addition of rookie sensation Eddie Royal, Cutler has the weapons he needs to show the NFL how great of a quarterback he really is. This is a revenge came for Denver, but they are coming off a Monday Night win. I still think they prevail. Fantasy stud: Brandon Marshall. Fantasy sleeper: Andre Hall. Fantasy dud: Chris Chambers.

Cleveland Browns (+6.5) over Pittsburgh Steelers

There’s something not right about this game. Pittsburgh looked outstanding against Houston. They established their ground attack with Willie Parker and Big Ben managed the game almost perfectly. Cleveland looked horrible in getting spanked by Dallas and they showed us nothing. It seems too easy to take Pittsburgh. Cleveland can’t go 0-2 to start the season. This is a very important divisional game and Cleveland is getting way too many points for this game to be at home. I personally think Pittsburgh will win, but there’s something not right about this game. I’ll take Cleveland and the points. Fantasy Stud: Braylon Edwards Fantasy sleeper: There really isn’t any. Fantasy dud: Jamal Lewis.

1 Dallas Cowboys: An impressive win at Cleveland with complete domination on both sides of the field. They introduced their new weapon and first round pick Felix Jones to the NFL who had 62 yards and a score on nine carries. With him, Marion Barber, Terrell Owens, Jason Witten, and Tony Romo Dallas arguably has the most feared offense in the league. An offense that only can be stopped by a defense that has three pro bowl-caliber cornerbacks. What team can that be? You’ll find out Monday Night.

2 Pittsburgh Steelers: What I liked about the Steelers victory was their ground attack. A lot of questions circled around the O-line after they lost all-pro guard Alan Faneca to the Jets, but Willie Parker’s 138 yards with three scores silenced the critics for at least one week. The Steelers are at their best when they are running the ball and limiting Ben Roethlisberger’s attempts. Nothing against Big Ben who I feel is a good, efficient quarterback, but the Steelers traditionally win with defense and pounding the ball. One more note, Hines Ward continues to get it done. He is one of the most underrated wide receivers in the league.

3 Philadelphia Eagles: Yes, I’m being a little homerish with this selection, but after that performance against the Rams on Sunday how can you not rank this team high. The Philadelphia offense continues to put up huge numbers in the air without a number one receiver. Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis, and rookie DeSean Jackson all put up 100 yard games. McNabb looked healthy, the defense didn’t give up one touchdown, and the special teams played their best game in almost three years. Oh yeah, Brian Westbrook is also pretty good.

4 Green Bay Packers: This is the same team that went 13-3 last year with one exception, Brett Favre. And to be quite honest, the addition of Aaron Rodgers to this offense might be for the better. He went 18-22 for 178 yards and two scores (one on the ground) without chucking the ball up for grabs. Ryan Grant continued where he left off last season after a shaky preseason and their defense was able to keep Adrian Peterson somewhat in check. Side note, Tarvaris Jackson is horrible.

This is where things started getting messy. Sorry.

5 Buffalo Bills: What? Yeah, I need to fill this spot with an AFC team. Remember, you must win to get on this list. And the Bills impressively won by beating Seattle 34-10. Do I think this will last? Probably not, but with Tom Brady going down (did you hear?) the AFC East is up for grabs. The Jets, Bills, and Dolph….well….the Jets and Bills are licking their chops right now. Tom Brady’s injury could give the Bills the spark they need to return to the playoffs. Marshawn Lynch is a stud. Roscoe Parrish is a valuable threat on special teams. And their defense is getting better (5 sacks and 1 INT on Sunday). But, the Bills will only go as far as Trent Edwards takes them. I cringed when I wrote that.

6 New York Giants: They would be a lot higher on this list if the offense didn’t disappear after the first three drives last Thursday night against Washington. During the first quarter I thought I was watching the same Super Bowl team from last year. Then Eli started throwing off his back foot to the other team. Remember, this Giants team was miserable last regular season. Fans wanted Eli’s head as they barely squeaked into the post-season. They had a great run in the playoffs, but this team is capable of playing like crap. With that said, Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Burress are men amongst boys.

7 New England Patriots: This team has zero shot at winning anything. I’m putting them at seven for fun, so we all can watch them drop off. You remember that Randy Moss that played for the Oakland Raiders? Anyone wanna bet that after a Week Nine loss to the Colts which sends New England to 4-5 that Moss will be half-assing routes again? Let’s enjoy this Patriots collapse together people. Side note, Matt Cassell and Sam Cassell pronounce their last names differently, but both are equally effective at the NFL quarterback position.

8 Denver Broncos: Will this be Jay Cutler’s year? He’s entering his second full season as the Broncos starting quarterback. He looked outstanding in Monday Night’s victory over Oakland and that was without star wide receiver Brandon Marshall who was serving his one-game suspension for being a turd. The addition of him to go along with rookie sensation Eddie Royal and tight end Tony Sheffler gives Cutler some nice weapons on offense from here on out. Mike Shanahan is still carrying 32 running backs on the roster with all of them getting an equal amount of carries.

9 Carolina Panthers: I don’t know how they did it, but they squeaked out a win in San Diego against the Chargers without wide receiver Steve Smith who is serving a two-game suspension for punching a teammate’s face. You really never know what you’re gonna get with this team. They have the potential to beat anyone and they have the potential to lose to anyone. They will be an interesting team to watch and if they can get their running game in tact with DeAngelo “don’t call me Hall” Williams and rookie Jonathon Stewart, they could be a dangerous team to play.

10 Tennessee Titans: The Vince Young injury could be a good thing. Kerry Collins is an upgrade. Did I just type that? Wow. Seriously though, the Titans have a strong defense, great special teams, and a rough -and-tough ground attack. If they can continue to be effective in those aspects of the game, the Titans should be able to throw up some wins this year no matter what the quarterback’s name is. Well, unless that quarterback’s name is Matt Cassell.

11 New York Jets: When you can’t put the Jaguars, Colts, and Chargers on this list because they all lost, the pickings get slim. But the Jets should be right here. It was fun watching Favre play his gun-slinger role. Thomas Jones looked like he had some life in him. I don’t know. Nothing really popped out in front of me to be impressed with this team yet. They had a lot of overhaul during the offseason, so I’ll give them time to adjust. It might take them till Week Five till everyone is on the same page. But you better believe they will be ready this week at home against the Patriots. Wait, that made no sense. Screw the Week Five same page thoughts.

12 Chicago Bears: The New Orleans Saints should be right here or somewhere on this list, but I want to write about the Bears. This Bears team reminds me of the 2006 team that went to the Super Bowl. I’m not saying they will be playing in Tampa come February, but take a look. The 2006 team had a great defense, a great running game, and an easy schedule. The 2008 team seems to have a great defense, a great running game, and an easy schedule. Kyle Orton seems to be able to win football games. That was a very impressive win against the Colts on Sunday. Maybe this team is better than we think they are. But sometimes things aren’t the way that they seem? Okay, fine…put the New Orleans Saints right here.

NFC East
*Dallas Cowboys 14-2
**Philadelphia Eagles 11-5
**New York Giants 10-6
Washington Redskins 9-7

NFC North
*Minnesota Vikings 9-7
Detroit Lions 8-8
Green Bay Packers 6-10
Chicago Bears 4-12

NFC South
*New Orleans Saints 13-3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-7
Carolina Panthers 7-9
Atlanta Falcons 2-14

NFC West
*Seattle Seahawks 10-6
Arizona Cardinals 8-8
St Louis Rams 4-12
San Francisco 49ers 2-14

American Football Conference

AFC East
*New England Patriots 14-2
**New York Jets 10-6
Buffalo Bills 8-8
Miami Dolphins 3-13

AFC North
*Pittsburgh Steelers 10-6
Cleveland Browns 7-9
Cincinnati Bengals 4-12
Baltimore Ravens 2-14

AFC South
*Jacksonville Jaguars 13-3
**Indianapolis Colts 13-3
Tennessee Titans 8-8
Houston Texans 4-12

AFC West
*San Diego Chargers 14-2
Denver Broncos 8-8
Kansas City Chiefs 6-10
Oakland Raiders 6-10

* Division Winner

** Wild Card

Wild Card Weekend

Seattle Seahawks over New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles over Minnesota Vikings

Jacksonville Jaguars over New York Jets

Indianapolis Colts over Pittsburgh Steelers

Divisional Playoffs

Dallas Cowboys over Philadelphia Eagles

New Orleans Saints over Seattle Seahawks

San Diego Chargers over Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots over Jacksonville Jaguars

Conference Championships

Dallas Cowboys over New Orleans Saints

San Diego Chargers over New England Patriots

Superbowl

San Diego Chargers over Dallas Cowboys

Awards

MVP: LaDainian Tomlinson

Offensive Player of the Year: LaDainian Tomlinson

Defensive Player of the Year: DeMarcus Ware

Offensive ROY: Darren McFadden

Defensive ROY: Vernon Gholston

However, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Pierce was initially “uncooperative” after being stopped but calmed down after being handcuffed. The cuffs were removed after about 15 minutes, and Pierce was not cited for a traffic violation.

Sounds to me like the cops were just trying to act tough with an NBA star.

More on the Celtics’ forward. Last week Pierce stated he was the “best player in the world.” Can we deny this? Before last year’s NBA playoffs, the majority of people would have said Kobe or Lebron. However, Paul Pierce outplayed both players offensively and defensively on the way to winning the NBA championship.

I at least think Pierce should be thought of in the same light as Kobe and Lebron (and a healthy D-Wade?). You can’t deny what he did last year winning NBA Finals MVP. Moreover, Pierce should be on the USA roster for the Olympic games. And I’m not talking about representing the track and field team in the hammer throw.

Brand and the Sixers do indeed have to wait until the clock strikes midnight to make everything official. If this is all true and Brand signs with Philadelphia, the focus now goes to resigning restricted free agent Andre Iguodala. If Golden State signs him to an offer sheet, the Sixers will have seven days to match, which they most likely will do. Bringing in Brand was not the precursor to getting rid of Iguodala. Keeping the core together and bringing in the missing piece was GM Ed Stefanski’s plan all along.

Brand, 29, has a career average of 20 points and 10 rebounds. In the 2006-07 season, Elton didn’t miss one three-point shot going one-for-one. Philadelphia should be very excited about their basketball team for next year and that they have a GM that knows what he is doing.

In this day and age, the sign-and-trade is a very popular approach for NBA teams to use in getting something for their free agents. In baseball and football when a team loses a key free agent they are compensated with a draft pick. In basketball, not so much.

NBA trades are usually very close to being dollar for dollar in matching salaries, so Philadelphia would need to send the Clippers Reggie Evans and almost $9 million more? Andre Miller? I would think Brand would come to Philly knowing he would play with Miller. Jason Smith? That’s only another $1.3 million. Willie Green at $3.3 million? Maybe.

Do the Sixers sign and trade Andre Iguodala at the same time? I don’t think they do that.

I don’t see how the numbers can match up in a sign-and-trade unless the 76ers clean house.

If Philadelphia somehow steals Brand away from L.A., I think they will just sign him for the maximum.

My opinion is that he stays with L.A., but something is telling me Philadelphia GM Ed Stefanski has something up his sleeve after trading Carney and Booth today (tomorrow) to free up cap space.

1. Chicago Bulls select Derrick Rose, Memphis
Derrick Rose’s nickname is ‘Pooh,’ given to him by his grandmother because she thought he looked like Winnie-the-Pooh. He attended Simeon Career Academy where he led his team to back-to-back titles in the Chicago Public League and compiled a 120-12 career high school record. This guy is a leader, a winner, and the only no-brainer pick in this year’s draft. Chicago has found their man.

2. Miami Heat select Michael Beasley, Kansas State
Don’t get sucked into the rumors of the Heat trading this pick. It’s not gonna happen. However, he’ll have to work on his defense if he wants to live up to being the number two pick of the draft. His offense is not a question. This kid can flat-out score.

Kevin McHale is one of the worst GMs in this league. Common sense is to take OJ Mayo with the third pick, but McHale does not have common sense. This is the GM that cost his team $3.5 million and five draft picks by trying to sign Joe Smith to a max contract under the table. Part of me believes McHale thinks he is still employed with Boston after he hand-delivered Kevin Garnett to the Celtics in exchange for Al Jefferson and a 20% off coupon to Bed Bath & Beyond. My point? Some other team is getting OJ Mayo tomorrow night.

3. New York Knicks select OJ Mayo, USC (assuming a trade, but not predicting the details)
If the Knicks don’t get him here then someone will. The intriguing story here is that OJ Mayo and Lebron James are friends. In a perfect world, OJ Mayo lands in New York Thursday night, the Knicks somehow clear cap space for next year, and Lebron James becomes a Knickerbocker for 2009-10 season.

4. Seattle Sonics select Brook Lopez, Stanford
Tons of rumors about Seattle moving up to the two-spot in a trade with Miami, but really don’t see that happening. Seattle doesn’t have anyone to trade other than Chris Wilcox. If Seattle does trade, it will be down, but I see them drafting Brook Lopez.

5. Memphis Grizzlies select Kevin Love, UCLA
I liked him in college and I think he will be a solid pro. Memphis needs a big man, so why not take the best available?

6. Minnesota Timberwolves select Eric Gordon, Indiana (moving down from the three-spot)
Worst case scenario for Kevin McHale. He’ll trade his third pick hoping to get Lopez or Love with the sixth pick, but has to settle for his third option, Eric Gordon, who I like. I don’t like this mock draft right now. Kevin McHale is screwing this up for me. This is very similar to how Minnesota had to buyout Troy Hudson’s contract ($12.3 million), because GM McHale signed him to a six-year, $37 million contract. Yeah, Troy Hudson.

7. LA Clippers select Jarryd Bayless, Arizona
The Clippers have a lot of off-seasoning to do this summer. What is Elton Brand gonna do, are we trading Corey Maggette, is Shaun Livingston ever going to be good? Lots of questions. So, with two of those questions at the guard position, why not take the best guard available? Jarryd Bayless has tremendous upside. The only reason I say this is to prepare you for how many times ‘upside’ will be used tomorrow night. Last year it was used 2,381 times with 152 different words used before it.

8. Milwaukee Bucks select Joe Alexander, West Virginia
All the talk has Milwaukee taking Joe. In the top ten picks, there seems to be two definites. Rose at number one and Alexander at number eight. Joe was predicted to be taken in the middle to end of the first round a couple months ago, but GMs/coaches/scouts have been falling in love with his athleticism, work ethic, and size. I’ve been saying this for awhile now.

9. Charlotte Bobcats select Russell Westbrook, UCLA
This is a Larry Brown guy. I’m preparing you again. Whoever is taken at this spot, whether its Love or B. Lopez dropping to this pick or they take a reach on Augustin, you will hear the announcers say, “This is a Larry Brown guy” numerous times. You will also hear this during the 38th pick or if Charlotte acquires another first round pick in attempt to get Roy Hibbert, because Hibbert is a Larry Brown guy!

10. New Jersey Nets select Danilo Gallinari, Italy
Alright, this guy shouldn’t have dropped this far. I don’t know how this happened. He worked out really well with the Knicks, twice. So, if my fun little trade doesn’t happen then Danilo probably won’t be here. At this point of the draft there will be at least two significant trades that will shake this whole mock draft up. I see the Clippers and the Bobcats making some movement.

11. Indiana Pacers select DJ Augustin, Texas
If Toronto and Indiana somehow can agree to exchange TJ Ford and Jermaine O’Neal and ‘players with contracts’ then maybe this won’t be the pick. However, I don’t see that happening, so DJ is the pick here. What does Perry mean when he says ‘players with contracts?’ Don’t they all have contracts? Thanks for asking. Yes, they do, but some aren’t viewed as players anymore, just contracts. For example, Keith Van Horn is just a contract. Theo Ratliff is an expiring contract. And thanks to Isiah Thomas, everyone on the Knicks is a ridiculous contract. These are the players you need to include in trades so the salary numbers are close to being equal.

12. Sacramento Kings select Mario Chalmers, Kansas
Mike Bibby was one heck of a point guard for Sacramento and now he plays in Atlanta. Nobody better to fill that void than Mario Chalmers. Also look for the Kings to take Anthony Randolph or Roy Hibbert.

13. Portland Trailblazers select Brandon Rush, Kansas
I’m a big fan of Brandon Rush. Not as an NBA star, but a solid NBA player. Put him with Greg Oden, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Brandon Roy, and you have yourself a team that will dominate.

14. Golden State Warriors select Darrell Arthur, Kansas
I have no clue if the Warriors are even looking at this guy, but I thought it would be a good idea to have three straight Kansas players selected.

The lottery portion of the draft is over. Picks 16 thru 30 will now be listed without explanation due to the fact this is taking way too long.

15. Phoenix Suns select Anthony Randolph, LSU
(look for Leandro Barbosa to be dealt to Toronto)

16. Philadelphia 76ers select Kosta Koufos, Ohio State

17. Toronto Raptors select Robin Lopez, Stanford
(look for TJ Ford to be dealt to Phoenix)

18. Washington Wizards select DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M

19. Cleveland Cavaliers select Jason Thompson, Rider

20. Denver Nuggets select Marreese Speights, Florida

21. New Jersey Nets select JJ Hickson, NC State

22. Orlando Magic select Roy Hibbert, Georgetown

23. Utah Jazz select Donte’ Greene, Syracuse

24. Seattle Sonics select Alexis Ajinca, France

25. Houston Rockets select Ante Tomic, Croatia

26. San Antonio Spurs select Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis

27. New Orleans Hornets select JaVale McGee, Nevada

28. Memphis Grizzlies select Courtney Lee, Western Kentucky

29. Detroit Pistons select DJ White, Indiana

30. Boston Celtics select Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State

I will be doing a live blog of the draft on Thursday starting at 7 p.m. I will dish out my thoughts on the picks and make sure I put in writing every ridiculous thing that comes out of the mouths of Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.

-Kendrick Perkins left the game with 6:19 left in the third quarter after straining his right knee. The Lakers were leading 62-58 at that point. The combination of PJ Brown and Leon Powe provided a quicker lineup (especially on defense) that was more effective against this Lakers team. The Celtics outscored them by 14 points with Perkins on the bench. In hockey, Perkins would be considered a minus player. Hopefully, for Celtics fans, Perkins will see limited time from here on out.

-Lakers forward Vladamir Radmanovic could be one of the worst starting forwards in the league. He can’t cover Paul Pierce. I’m not sure how much playing time Vlad will get next year when Andrew Bynum comes back.

-What happened to the pick-and-roll for the Lakers in the second half? When they closed out the first half, Kobe and Pau were starting to click, but this did not carry over to the third and fourth quarters. You have to credit the Celtics defense on that. Adjustments were made, rotations were solid, ball pressure was great, and the passing lanes were non-existent. The Celtics defense in the second half is what won this game for them. That and Perkins being on the bench.

-Sam Cassell either makes a really good play or a really stupid play. Nothing in-between.

-I love Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy calling these games.

-The refs made a great call on the Kevin Garnett almost-back-court save, but Pau Gasol’s back-court was a horrible call. Maybe instead of having a huge trophy painted on the court, they should put a half-court line so they wouldn’t have this problem? Just a thought.

-Kobe’s shots were hitting both sides of the rim (the rim is a circle, it doesn’t have sides?) and popping out. Look out when they start falling, which they will…soon.

-The Lakers were only 3-14 from 3-point land (21.4%). For the season they were a 37% three-point shooting team.

-The Celtics bench matched the Lakers bench. This needs to happen more often than not if they want to win the Championship.

I just realized this is more than just a couple thoughts.

Paul Pierce: First off, I want to thank everyone for being able to make it tonight. This might seem very odd that I requested we all get together, but I thought it would give us time to reflect on how important this series is to the NBA past and the NBA future. People write about how the NBA is going downhill, and how the players aren’t as good as they used to be, and how we lack the fundamentals that made this sport so popular back in the day.

Eddie House: Are you saying that isn’t true? I mean, Doc only puts me in there to shoot the ball. I don’t even know how to do anything else. And I don’t even shoot the ball that good to be perfectly honest. I’m a career 40% shooter. But when I make a big play I want everyone watching to know it was me, so I scream and pound my chest.

Paul Peirce: Eddie, this is what I mean. We need to focus on the game. We have a lot of talent in this room and we have a perfect opportunity to prove these people wrong. We can play this game just as well as Bird, Magic, McHale, Worthy, Walton…

Luke Walton (interrupts): Thanks Paul.

Paul Pierce: No, I meant your dad, Luke. Your dad knew the game. He knew how to play his position. He knew how to play his role. Let’s show everyone we can do that. And by the way, we have pizza over there compliments of Kobe, so thank Kobe when you get a chance.

Glen Davis: Oh yeah!! Thanks Kobe, how many slices does everyone get?

Paul Pierce: Settle down, Glen, we have a game tomorrow. Don’t stuff your face. You’re fat as it is.

Jordan Farmar: Kobe’s a great teammate. He hangs out with us and buys us dinner. He even surprised us during Game 7 of the Spurs/Hornets series with a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Chronograph timepiece, personalized with an engraving of our names and the year.

**Kevin Garnett is in the corner punching his face, grunting, and talking to himself**

Ronny Turiaf: Hey Paul, is Kevin alright over there?

Paul Pierce: Yeah, just ignore him. He’s getting himself pumped up for the game. We haven’t been able to communicate with him for a solid month, now. Half the time I don’t even know who he is talking to. Today at the shoot-around he made a fifteen-footer and started walking down the court yelling obscenities at Tom Thibodeau. Then he proceeded up the aisle between Loge 13 and Loge 14 pounding his chest. He disappeared into the concourse for about two minutes until we heard him over the loud speaker screaming “Nobody can stop me” in Chinese. It’s something we have grown accustomed to.

Ronny Turiaf: Did Yao teach him how to say that?

Paul Pierce: I think so. I think it was that game in March of ‘06 when Yao dumped thirty on’em. KG’s a quick learner. He didn’t even need college. He’s crazy.

James Posey: Yeah, I just hug him a lot. And not the quick handshake hug. I grab him and hold him for about ten seconds and whisper things in his ear. I even do this right before the game starts. Right before KG steps on the court for the opening tip. That’s my role on this team. I actually hug everyone before they go into the games. I just like to hug KG for an extra nine seconds.

Lamar Odom: Yeah, I noticed that, that’s kinda creepy. By the way, I know we said we wouldn’t talk strategy, but which one of you is going to guard me? I’m a serious match-up problem.

Paul Pierce: It actually might be me, but let’s get our focus back. Derek, in your opinion, who are the players in here tonight that you think play a fundamentally sound game?

Derek Fisher: Well, Kobe of course. I’d say myself. On your team, you, KG, and Ray Ray.

Pau Gasol: You forget me Derek?

Derek Fisher: Don’t get me wrong Pau, I think you are a great player, but you gotta play tougher. I think you might be in for a rude awakening when KG is posting you up. I don’t want you to get soft on the defensive side of the ball. Defense is a huge part of this game.

Lamar Odom: And me?

Derek Fisher: Well, Lamar, sometimes you completely disappear during games. Sometimes I forget that you are even on the court. You are an amazing player when you want to be, but you need to want that all the time. Like you said, you are a huge mismatch in this series. You could be the X-factor if you want to be.

Paul Pierce: This is why I called this meeting. I want us to get upset. I want you guys to not just prove to them out there that we can play this game, but let’s prove to ourselves that we can make this an amazing NBA Finals. We have that chance, despite our coach not understanding our personnel and when to play who with who.

Luke Walton: Yeah, I’m glad we have Phil coaching us. You guys have a severe disadvantage with Doc Rivers as your coach.

Coby Karl: My dad coaches for Denver.

Luke Walton: I don’t think that is anything to be proud of, Coby. My dad knows the game better than your dad knows the game.

Paul Pierce: Stop it you two…

**Glen Davis heads back to get more pizza**

Ray Allen: Yo Big Fatty, save some for us.

Glen Davis: This pepperoni is sooooooo good. The grease just melts in my mouth.

Rajon Rondo: When are we going to discuss the fact that I ruin the flow of our offense by not taking the open shot? I don’t think I have the confidence to hit the open jumper. That’s why I always pass the ball with two to three seconds left on the shot clock. Luckily, KG has bailed me out during these playoffs. I mean, if anyone other than Sam Cassell was coming off the bench to replace me I might not be getting the playing time that I’ve been getting.

Paul Pierce: Just shoot the ball. You need to hit that jumper. Kobe, correct me if I’m wrong, but you guys are gonna give that shot to Rondo all day, correct?

Kobe Bryant: All day baby, but let me get this straight, you said you might be guarding Lamar? Then who is guarding me?

Paul Pierce: It actually might be me. We don’t know yet. Lamar is creating problems for us. Maybe Ray will guard you, I don’t know.

Ray Allen: I don’t want to guard Kobe. I don’t even know if I found my shot again or not. I’ve been concentrating soley on that. And if I’m guarding Kobe, I’m spending all of my energy on stopping him, so my offense will most likely be non existent.

Kobe Bryant: Yeah, Ray Ray can’t guard me, so it has to be you Paul.

Lamar Odom: So, is KG gonna guard me then? Or is Ray?

Paul Pierce: We don’t know. We probably won’t know the best match-up until Game 4. We said we wouldn’t talk about this. GLEN, GET AWAY FROM THE PIZZA. YOU’VE HAD ENOUGH!

Brian Scalabrine: If I may interject here…

Everyone (Interrupts): “Shut up Brian!”

Brian Scalabrine: Fair enough, I’ll just sit right back here in the corner like I have been.

Sasha Vujacic: I honestly think I am going to be a big player in this series. Actually, our whole bench is going to dominate. I feel Jordan is going to cause major problems for Sammy if Doc keeps on putting him in for some stupid reason. And I really don’t think Posey can handle Luke at all. How old are you PJ? Look for us to spread the lead during the beginning of the second and fourth quarters with our 3-point shooting.

PJ Brown: Thanks for that Sasha. I didn’t realize you could speak that well. And I’m 38 by the way. Our bench has veteran leadership. It doesn’t matter that we suck and we are too old to play this game. What matters is experience. Sammy couldn’t even guard Eric Snow right now, but he has two rings. And that is why Danny brought him here.

Chris Mihm: I just want to introduce myself to everyone. I’m Chris. I play for the Lakers.

Everyone: “Hey Chris.”

Paul Pierce: I think we got away from what I wanted to accomplish tonight, but I guess I can expect that due to the situation and all. All I’m saying is that we all should focus on making this a great Finals. The talent is obviously here in the room to make this a great series. Everyone that ever put a Laker or Celtic uniform on will be watching us and I don’t think we want any of them thinking to themselves, “What happened to the talent in this league…”

Kendrick Perkins (interrupts): Do you think they will make an exception for me? I try to blend in with you guys by talking smack and having a cocky look on my face after every good play we make. When I walk off the court with my chin up I want the world to know I’m the starting center for the Boston Celtics. But at the end of the day, I’m still the guy who runs like he took a huge dump in his pants.

Paul Pierce: Yes, there might be worse starting centers in this league, Kendrick (leans over to Kobe and says under his breath, “but not many”), but you’re our starting center and we need you. So guys, let’s make this the best NBA Finals. Let’s treat the NBA fans to something special. Let’s show everyone that the NBA isn’t dying. This has a Game 7 written all over it.

Kobe Bryant: I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but I’m ending this thing in five.

Perry: This is actually what I imagined happened today. However, I feel the same as Kobe, Lakers in five.

On May 27, 2008, Colvin mentioned on Sirius NFL Radio that both the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns have been in contact with his agent about adding him to their defenses.

Today the Colts announced that adding Roosevelt to the roster is not out of the question. He last visited Indianapolis in late April.

And the most likely candidate, the Houston Texans, have expressed interest in Roosevelt as well.

“We know he can rush the passer,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “He brings a lot of maturity to your team from a standpoint that he’s been on some great football teams and won a lot of games in this league, a very smart player who has played in a lot of places. I think he would bring some veteran leadership and accountability to our team.”

The New England Patriots released Colvin back in February after failing a physical. In 2007 he played in only 11 games after a foot injury put him on the injured reserve during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 25th.

After writing this and linking all the links I realized I couldn’t care less about him and where he plays. Hopefully, someone else will find this interesting. I think I’m just getting excited for football season. Go, team go!!!

After shooting with the team, Hamilton said he had discomfort in his right elbow, but would play through it.

“Once I get out there and the adrenaline is going, I’ll be fine,” Hamilton said. “I told my teammates, ‘Don’t look at me as handicap.’ … I’m fine. I’m ready to roll.”

It hasn’t been reported yet, but Rip will most likely be wearing a protective mask on his elbow.

Here is the order of the next NBA draft (lottery part):

1. Chicago
2. Miami
3. Minnesota
4. Seattle
5. Memphis
6. New York
7. LA Clippers
8. Milwaukee
9. Charlotte
10. New Jersey
11. Indiana
12. Sacramento
13. Portland
14. Golden State

NBA fans also have to be excited about the future of the Miami Heat. Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion will soon be joined with either Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose.

Detroit looked very rusty coming off a week of rest. They missed their first five shots of the game and fell quickly into an 8-0 hole. Overall they shot 42% from the field and never really found their offense (couldn’t hit wide-open shots). Billups, Sheed, and Hamilton all had their switch turned off. Expect these three players to step up their game for Game Two.

Pierce looked like a new man out there with no Lebron on the court to defend. With all the pressure off from guarding Lebron, Pierce looked very sharp attacking the hoop and continued where he left off from Game Seven.

Also, there is no “Big Three” anymore. As noted above, it’s “Big Two.” Ray Allen is not a big-time player anymore. He had a sweet wide open air ball last night. It looked like the shot came from an MTV Rock and Jock game thrown up by Malcolm in the Middle.

Let’s begin.

I just got finished watching Game Seven between the Spurs and the Hornets and I loved the outcome. The defending champs went on the road and dominated Chris Paul and the home team. And this is exactly why they are the defending champs. Honestly, New Orleans was not ready for this. Chris Paul was not ready for this. Experience in this situation is second to none.

Before the tip I received this email from loyal reader Dan Rust, “I’m starting this out with an assumption. The assumption is that New Orleans is going to fall to San Antonio tonight. If I’m wrong then simply place this e-mail in the trash; However, I just don’t see the Spurs going out like that. So….”

I didn’t see the Spurs going out like that either. I would have considered this a major upset if the Hornets won tonight. The Spurs are that good. However, Dan has a “So…” at the end of his sentence. ‘So,’ let’s continue with his email…

“I hate the Lakers, but I feel that they might move on to the finals. You predicted Spurs vs. Pistons for the final. I conferred with my magic 8-ball and it has forecasted Lakers vs. Pistons (actually i just asked it if it would be Lakers and Pistons gave it a shake and it said “It is certain”)…. Do you really think the Spurs can beat the Lakers? I never like to count out Big Fundamental (Timmy Duncan), but Kobe and the Lakers are pretty strong, have home court advantage, and are a younger faster team.”

I did predict the Spurs vs. Pistons for the finals this year (I actually nailed the top four teams), with the Spurs winning it all, again. However, I didn’t see the Lakers being this good. On February 1st, the Los Angeles Lakers traded Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton, Aaron Mckie, the rights to Marc Gasol, and two future first round picks (2008, 2010) to Memphis for center Pau Gasol. In other words, an absolute steal for the Lakers. They instantly became a legitimate contender.

And now a legitimate contender is facing off against the defending champs. There is not a better match up that could have happened in the Western Conference. We are given two stories. The story of a dynasty. And the story of Kobe. Isn’t this exactly what we wanted? The perfect story of Kobe taking down the champions on the way to his first ring without Shaq? Or the dynasty maintaining their reign as champions of the NBA by not bowing down to anyone? Wait…am I discounting the Eastern Conference? I’ll address this later.

Dan asked the question, “Do you really think the Spurs can beat the Lakers?” Do I? Yes. Will they? No. I believe we are watching the Kobe Bryant that everyone wanted to see from the very beginning. He is surrounded with teammates that make his game that much more potent (something Lebron does not have in Cleveland). The Lakers play outstanding defense. They score so many easy baskets, including beautiful cuts in the lane with three to four Pau Gasol dunks per game. They hit the open shots. They have a deep bench. And most importantly, Kobe Bryant is playing the best basketball of his career, and that is dangerous for any opposing team.

I love the Big Fundamental, but he did not look at his best during the second half of tonight’s game. He played a huge part in the victory, but he was beatable tonight. And if Kobe smells the blood during this upcoming series, there is no doubt in my mind that he will go for the kill. I really do believe the Los Angeles Lakers will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

However, am I discounting the Eastern Conference? Boston is not playing very good basketball right now. Kevin Garnett is playing well, but there is no other consistent player on their team. They just played two straight series that went seven games. They aren’t playing well on the road. Ray Allen is playing like Allan Ray. They have zero bench. And we have to remember, their coach is Doc Rivers. On the flip side (no pun intended), Detroit has been here before, six straight times to be exact. They seem to be peeking at the perfect time. They are well-rested, which is huge for Chauncey’s hamstring. Tayshaun has played brilliant basketball. Rip has played brilliant basketball. They have ‘Sheed. They have a bench. And I’m a huge Pistons fan.

10 STEVE NASH (previous ranking, 10) What this guy brings every night to the Phoenix Suns is spectacular to watch. If the Suns didn’t play San Antonio in the first round, I believe we are still watching Phoenix flying up and down the court in the second round and Mike D’Antoni is still the coach of the Suns.

9 MANU GINOBILI (previous ranking, 6) Manu didn’t drop on my list because of anything he did, but more because of what Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Kevin Garnett are currently doing. When Manu is playing at his best, the Spurs are nearly unbeatable. His energy and fearless attitude can’t be matched by anyone in this leauge. I’m sure any coach in this league would love to have Manu on their team.

8 YAO MING (previous ranking, 5) Yao was having another fantastic season for the Rockets, but a broken foot sidelined him again and left his team hanging by a T-Mac thread. If Yao was healthy for the playoffs, we might be watching the Rockets and not the Utah Jazz right now. I’m still a firm believer that a true big man is the most important piece to a basketball team.

7 DWIGHT HOWARD (previous ranking, 4) Superman dropped three spots because he was MIA in a couple playoff games this year against Detroit. Howard is getting better and in two to three years will be the best big man in the game.

6 KEVIN GARNETT (previous ranking, 9) The Big Ticket had a great regular season and is playing outstanding in the post season. I ranked him nine on my last list because he missed the playoffs the previous three seasons. However, he’s back and playing as impressive as ever.

4,5 CHRIS PAUL/DERON WILLIAMS (previous ranking, 10,10) These two point guards were drafted three (Deron) and four (Paul) in the 2005 NBA draft and both are well on their way in becoming the two best point guards in this league (if not already). I can’t rank either one over the other, because I feel both are amazing and spectacular. However, heads up, Deron has gotten the better of Paul. They play in very different offenses that both fit perfectly in.

3 LEBRON JAMES (previous ranking, 3) Wait until Lebron gets teammates that can actually play basketball. He has too many responsibilities playing with this core of players. Once he is surrounded with the right personnel there is no doubt in my mind a beast will be released and numerous NBA Championships will follow. D’Antoni will be waiting for him in New York once Bron’s contract is up.

2 KOBE BRYANT (previous ranking, 2) Kobe is awesome. Plain and simple, just completely awesome.

1 TIM DUNCAN (previous ranking, 1) The majority of coaches in this league would start by picking Tim Duncan and building a team around him.

Dropping off the list (but still great): Dwayne Wade (7), Carmello Anthony (8), Jason Kidd (10) & Baron Davis (10)

Honorable Mentions: Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, David West, Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups, Tracy McGrady, Pau Gasol, and Chris Bosh.

UPDATE: Perry has updated his Top 10 players in the NBA. You can find his 2009 version here.

Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar: Anze was the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft and is only 20 years old. The Slovenian in two full years has already complied 52 goals and 86 assists, including 32 and 45 this year for a team that finished dead last with 71 points. Once this organization surrounds Anze with more talent look for him to start putting up 100 point seasons.

Anaheim center Ryan Getzlaf: Ryan played in his third season this year for the Ducks after being selected 19th overall in the 2003 NHL draft. The 23 year old Canadian had 82 points this season and often plays on the same line as 22 year old right winger Corey Perry (29 goals this season). The more these two play with one another the better they will get.

Chicago Blackhawks right winger Patrick Kane: Patrick played in his first NHL season this year for Chicago and put up 21 goals and 51 assists. The American was drafted first overall in the 2007 NHL draft and is still just a teenager (19). His teammate Jonathan Towes who was selected third overall in the 2006 draft is another youngster to watch. The Canadian Towes is only 20 years old and amassed 54 points in his rookie season.

Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom: Just like Sid the Kid has Malkin, Ovechkin has Backstrom. The Swede was drafted right after Towes in the 2006 NHL draft (fourth overall) and played in all 82 games this year for Washington which was his rookie season. The 20-year old scored 14 goals and had 55 assists and helped lead his team to the Southeast Division title.

The list goes on, but these guys are some of my favorites. But just to mention a couple more to watch, here’s a few more:

Phoenix Coyote center Peter Mueller, Edmonton’s two young centers Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano, and New York Rangers’ rookies Brandon Dubinsky and Nigel Dawes.

Let’s also take a look at the top five prospects for the 2008 NHL Draft:

18 year old Canadian center man Steven Stamkos:

17 year old Russian winger Nikita Filatov:

18 year old Canadian defense man Drew Doughty:
Drew Doughty highlights right here.

18 year old Canadian forward Cody Hodgson:

18 year old Canadian defense man Alex Pietrangelo:
Alex Pietrangelo highlights right here.

And in nine years, look for Max Gerlach to be selected number one overall:

It is not being reported, but it is assumed that Isiah Thomas will not be allowed to speak to, touch, be in the same building as, write to, or contact Mike D’Antoni from now until ever.

With eight seconds left on the clock, Tayshaun Prince shot a left-handed runner through the lane to take the lead by one. Orlando came out of the timeout with a play for Hedo Turkoglu. With four seconds left he drove past Prince to his left, towards the hoop, but his runner hit the rim and the ball was rebounded by Detroit with the clock at triple zeros. Turkoglu was on absolute fire in the fourth quarter dropping thirteen points and finished the game with 20.

Besides Game Three of this series, the Detroit Pistons have looked great ever since falling behind in the first half of Game Four against the Philadelphia 76ers. The other two Eastern Conference teams, Boston and Cleveland, have looked absolutely horrible. Boston’s starting center Kendrick Perkins wouldn’t even see playing time for any other NBA basketball team. The Celtics bench and role players are pathetic. The only thing more pathetic is Cleveland’s bench and role players. That consists of everyone, but Lebron. And even Lebron has played like horse poop. Detroit is the team to beat in the East.

After never trailing in any game of the entire series (in regulation) the Flyers found themselves behind 1-0 and 3-1 in the first and second periods. RJ Umberger erased the first deficit with his eighth goal of the playoffs (seventh of the series) at the 10:20 mark in the first period. Amazingly, Umberger scored the first Flyers’ goal in each of the five games of the series.

Montreal was able to respond right away after Umberger’s goal when Alexei Kovalev scored 1:08 later to make it 2-1. After Christopher Higgins scored his third goal of the playoffs 8:15 seconds into the second period, the Flyers faced their first two-goal deficit of the series 3-1. But again, a resilient Flyers team in a span of 2:58 were able to erase the difference and take the lead with goals from Mike Richards (4), Umberger (9), and Scott Hartnell (3) The Flyers headed to the second intermission up 4-3.

Montreal answered 2:13 into the third period when Andrei Kostitsyn tied up the game with his fifth goal of the playoffs. The period remained tied for a little more than 14 minutes with both teams having a shot to take the lead. Daniel Briere had a scoring chance on a clean breakaway, but slid the puck wide right and Canadien Guillaume Latendresse rung one off the post with under five minutes left in the third period.

Finally, with 3:04 left, Scottie Upshall redirected a Jeff Carter shot with the blade of his stick sending it past Carey Price for the game-winning goal. Mike Knuble added an empty-netter at the end giving the Flyers a 6-4 victory.

Scottie Upshall’s game-winning goal was an example of the great hand eye coordination that NHL hockey players have. I once had a friend tell me that redirecting a puck was all luck. I won’t name any names, but his name was Chad. Chad couldn’t have been more wrong. This is an amazing skill that hockey players possess. A hockey puck can be driven to the net up to and over 100 mph. I’m aware that Jeff Carter’s blast was not traveling nearly that fast, but to be able to change the direction of the puck and put it on the net is something that should be admired. There are many hockey players that have mastered this skill (San Jose’s Jonathan Cheechoo to name one) and Upshall’s goal exemplified the perfection of this art.

Upshall had this to say about his game-winner, “It was a great feeling. A tie game with three minutes left, it’s anybody’s game, it’s one shot, it’s one bounce. [Carter] made a great shot on net. I was in the lane to see the puck and I thought I could get a stick on it and redirect it, and to get a big goal like that is pretty uplifting for your spirits.”

Marty Biron didn’t have the best game of the series, but came up with huge stops in the third period and turned away 31 shots overall. Marty leads all goaltenders in the playoffs with eight wins and remains the only netminder to have played in every single minute of every game.

And how huge has RJ Umberger been for the Flyers? Umberger scored two more goals and leads the Flyers with nine playoff goals. Last night was his 26th birthday and he played like a man possessed and he clearly is playing to capture the Cup, “I’m just going to take a moment, enjoy it but stay focused. There’s plenty of time after it’s over to celebrate it and enjoy it, but right now we have one thing on our minds.”

This season for the Flyers has been an amazing turnaround. Philadelphia finished the 2006-07 season last overall in the NHL with 56 points, the lowest total in team history. They finished this year with 95 points and it even came down to the last week of the regular season before they were able to clinch a playoff spot. And now they await the winner of the Penguins/Rangers series to see who they will play in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Penguins lead the series three games to one.

Nothing is more exciting than the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If you haven’t already, jump on board.

Iverson is not a natural number one or a natural number two. He’s a tweener. Name the last team that won an NBA Championship with a tweener being their star player? It’s never happened. Look it up. Furthermore, he can’t defend. Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, and Jordan Farmar had their way with Iverson. Allen is very undersized and can be out-muscled anywhere on the court in a one-on-one match up. He also gambles way too much on defense. Off-the-ball he gets steals, but most of the time he creates a five on four situation that leads to an easy basket, because he misses the steal.

I’m a Sixers fan and I was thrilled when we traded Iverson last year. I think the development of the young Sixers’ players (who are still in the playoffs) in the past year speaks volumes on how important it was to get this plague off the team. During Iverson’s years as a Sixer there was not one player that was able to develop because Iverson was a ballhog and played basketball in an unconventional way. A way that never equates to winning. Iverson has a career losing record as an NBA player. It’s not a coincidence.

In conclusion, if the Lakers win last night doesn’t convince you that Iverson is a horrible player to have on your team, then you are clueless about the sport. The Denver Nuggets arguably had one of the best starting fives in basketball as far as talent, but if you can’t play basketball the correct way (i.e. like the San Antonio Spurs), you’ll never win.

If I learned one thing about Iverson during his years as a Sixer, it’s that he won’t change and he’ll always be a loser (I guess that’s two things). And if I learned one thing about Andre Miller during his current stint in Philadelphia, it’s that he is 100 times better than Iverson and more important to have as a teammate.

A Perry note: I didn’t boo him when he came back to Philly last month, because I appreciated his love for Philadelphia. However, this rant is how I really feel about him.

Heading into the third period last night, the Flyers led 3-0 and it seemed they only needed to kill twenty more minutes, but they didn’t think they would need to kill seven of them short-handed (including a five minute major on Derian Hatcher for boarding). The atmosphere was tense as Montreal collected two goals during Hatcher’s penalty to pull within one. However, outstanding penalty killing by the Flyers and Biron kept the score at 3-2 till the end and the Flyers skated to a two games to one advantage in the series.

I’m hearing a lot of “The Flyers were outplayed” and “If the Flyers don’t play better, they’re in trouble” and “The refs aren’t calling the games fairly.” I completely disagree with all of those statements and here are the reasons why.

The Flyers are playing the passing lanes perfectly. Montreal is a finesse team with highly skilled players. Their passing is incredible, but the Flyers are filling those lanes and the passes are not getting to their wanted destination. Furthermore, the Flyers are making the Canadiens play a physical series, which they would rather not play. These two reasons are disrupting Montreal’s offense and gameplan.

The Flyers are winning the battles on special teams. I can’t express how important this is. Montreal did score two power play goals last night during Hatcher’s five minute major. However, the Flyers were able to kill the remaining two minutes (just under two minutes) of that major, three other five-on-four minor penalties (including one with six minutes left) AND a two minute five-on-three penalty. In addition, Mike Richards was able to tally a short handed goal in the second period. The Flyers are winning the special teams battles. You can’t look past this considering the Canadiens had the best power play during the regular season.

The Flyers have the hot goaltender. Marty Biron had another spectacular game last night. His poke check against Saku Koivu as Saku came flying out of the penalty box untouched on a breakaway kept the game tied at zero in the first period. His glove remains the best penalty killer for the Flyers. And his positioning and ability to see through screens seems to be getting better and better. The Canadiens netminder Carey Price is not performing well. He is giving up too many rebounds and his glove is made out of brick.

The refs are calling a good series. I’m not even going to get into that. The Flyers are a very aggressive team and penalties will mount up for them. If the Flyers don’t want cheap penalties and to be short-handed for five straight minutes then they will have to be more disciplined. When you have players like Hatcher and Downey, and a reputation of being a dirty team, you’ll find yourself short-handed more times than not.

If the series can remain physical and Biron stays hot, Flyers fans shouldn’t need to worry about how their team is playing. They are winning. That’s all that matters. Nothing can be more devastating to a team than losing games that you feel you should be winning, and that is how Montreal feels.

Game Four will be at the Wachovia Center on Wednesday where the Flyers look to take a demanding three to one advantage.

The 2007 National League MVP has only played in 12 of the 21 games this year, but the Phillies have managed well without him. However, Rollins is a vital piece to this team if they have any chance of winning back-to-back National League East titles.

The Memphis Tigers were led again by their two All-American guards, freshman Derek Rose and junior Chris Douglas-Roberts who combined for 53 of the 78 Memphis points. These two players, who are destined for NBA stardom, are that much better than any other guard tandem in college basketball and are a serious match up problem for any team they play. Of their 53 combined points, 20 of them came from the charity stripe on 23 attempts. Rose went 11-for-12 and Douglas-Roberts went 9-for-11. Interestingly, the two players were the only Tigers to get to the line. Maybe this was Coach Calipari’s strategy for fixing their free-throw woes (61% for the year), only allowing his two best-free throw shooters to get there (Rose and Douglas-Roberts, 71%). Senior Joey Dorsey did not score any points, but made his contribution by bringing down 15 rebounds, six of them on the offensive side. Forward Shawn Taggart came off the bench for 22 minutes and scored seven points and grabbed seven boards.

UCLA led 12-11 four and half minutes into the game, but Derek Rose’s lay up put Memphis in the lead for good. UCLA kept it close during the first twenty minutes of the game going into halftime 38-35, but a 10-2 run to start the second half put Memphis up by 11 and UCLA couldn’t fight their way back. UCLA was led by sophomore guard Russell Westbrook who scored 22 points on 10 for 19 shooting. Freshman Kevin Love, who most likely played his last game for UCLA, finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. This was UCLA’s third straight final four appearance and the third straight time they finished empty handed.

The nightcap featured another future NBA star Brandon Rush and his Kansas Jayhawks. On 11-for-17 shooting, Rush dropped in 25 points including 12 in a 40-to-12 run to start the game. The lead looked too big for any team to come back from, especially with the way Kansas was out-everthinging (made up word?) UNC. But, with five minutes left in the first half, Tarheel junior Danny Green sparked a 15-to-4 run with eight points on his own to close the half at 44-27.

The comeback didn’t stop there. With UNC not slowing down any, they came out firing, cutting the lead to 54-50. However, coming back from a deficit that big spends a lot of energy and the Tarheels couldn’t get any closer. Kansas finally regrouped and again took control of the game getting the lead back to 10 points, 71-61, with four and a half minutes left to play. Kansas guard Sherron Collins came off the bench with 11 points, four assists and four rebounds. AP Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. Wayne Ellington led all UNC players with 18.

Monday night’s game will feature two of the best guards in the country squaring off against each other with Kansas’ Brandon Rush and Memphis’ Chris Douglas-Roberts. Both are 6-6 and can play inside and outside. The winner of this battle could ultimately help lead their team to a national title.

The Philadelphia 76ers would have won the NBA Championship in 2001 if the Finals were only one game, but they played a seven-game series and the Lakers won the next four. The Lakers were clearly the better team. In that same year, Jamaal Tinsley’s number two seed Iowa State Cyclones (25-6) lost to the number 15 seed Hampton Pirates in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. And that was it. Iowa State went home and Hampton advanced. That is the beauty of this tournament. One and done. Would Iowa State have won in a five or seven-game series? Most likely, but college teams need to out-play, out-hustle, out-gut, and play their best in every single game or they’re going home. This is what makes the 2008 NCAA Tournament so special. The four best teams in the country all season long did out-play, out-hustle, and out-gut every opponent and they are the lone teams left standing. Each team is playing at their best with only three more games left to play. Furthermore, there is no clear-cut favorite which makes this one of the most anticipated Final Fours in tournament history.

Let’s take a look at who is left.

East regional winner: North Carolina Tar Heels
They are the overall number one seed in the tournament and it’s no surprise to see them in the final four. Their lineup is stacked and their bench could’ve probably formed another team to play in the tournament. They are led by All-American and ESPN.com Player Of The Year Tyler Hansbrough. He is the heart and soul of this team with an endless motor. In their victory over Louisville it was Hansbrough who scored seven straight points when Louisville tied the game at 59. And it was Hansbrough who made consecutive two-point jumpers that helped his team withstand the Cardinals comeback when they had cut the lead to five with three minuets left to play. Hansbrough is leading his team with 21 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. With Hansbrough and teammates Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington (both averaging 15 points per game in the tournament) all possibly leaving next year for the NBA, this could be their last shot at a National Championship.

Midwest regional winner: Kansas Jayhawks
They ended Stephen Curry and Davidson’s Cinderella run. It wasn’t easy, but in a balanced effort led by center Sasha Kaun’s (off the bench) perfect effort from the field going 6-6 for 13 points and six rebounds the Jayhawks advanced to the final four for the first time under coach Bill Self. Kansas is one of the best defensive teams in the country. Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson have combined for 18 steals in the tournament and the Kansas team has held their opponents to 57 points per game. Chalmers also leads his team in scoring averaging 15 points per game and junior Brandon Rush is averaging 14.5 a game. The Jayhawks are going to play against their former coach, Roy Williams, next weekend in San Antonio. Williams started coaching Kansas in 1988 until he left for UNC in 2003. This only adds to the drama of a matchup that already has a storied history.

West regional winner: UCLA Bruins
The Bruins advanced to their third straight final four with their convincing victory over Xavier on Saturday 76-57. The Bruins are led by freshman Kevin Love who probably is the best player in the country. The 6-10 center understands the importance of having an inside prescence and plays effectively with his back to the basket. He can score, pass, and rebound with the best of them. Love is averaging 21.8 points (61% shooting) and 11 rebounds per game. Guards Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison have combined for 94 points to help support their big man’s dominance. Similar to UNC, UCLA’s window for the National Championship could be getting shut after with Love, Westbrook, and Collison all considered possibilities for the NBA draft next season.

South regional winner: Memphis Tigers
Despite one game where they had trouble on the free throw line (Mississippi State) the Tigers have completely dominated their opponents in the tournament. Their most impressive win was their 85-67 victory over Texas yesterday in front of almost 30,000 Longhorn fans. They jumped out early and never looked back behind their star-studded backcourt featuring Chris Douglas-Roberts (25 points) and freshman Derek Rose (21 points). Rose could be one of the top three picks in this years NBA draft. This Memphis team will give any one of the other teams left serious matchup problems. Douglas-Roberts (6-7), Rose (6-3) and Antonio Anderson (6-6) are three big guards. And forwards Robert Dozier (6-9), Joey Dorsey (6-9), and Shawn Tagger (6-10, off the bench) are huge bodies that take up space in the paint. This is the reason that Memphis has only lost one game this season and this is the reason that Kevin Love and UCLA face their biggest task in San Antonio next weekend.

(7) West Virginia vs. (3) Xavier:
Xavier jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and with a barrage of three pointers that lead stretched to 18 points with around nine minutes left in the first half. It was not looking good for WVU. Xavier was hitting everything and had complete control of the game. However, Mountaineer forward Wellington Smith went on a run of his own scoring eight unanswered points to pull within ten. WVU was able to cut the lead to seven at the half.

The Mountaineers continued their comeback in the second half and were able to pull within one point 41-40 with around 15 minutes left in the game. The game stayed tight the rest of the way. With 14 seconds left in the game, WVU forward Joe Alexander kissed a shot off the glass while getting fouled. The basket tied the game up and with one free throw left he had a chance to put his team up by one. His free throw went long hitting the back of the rim and when Xavier guard Drew Lavender’s shot missed the other way, the two teams headed into overtime.

In the extra session, WVU jumped out to a 71-65 lead within the first minute and a half, but a resilient Xavier team went on a 10-3 run led by B.J. Raymond’s back-to-back three pointers. With Alexander on the bench with five fouls, West Virginia was not able to recover and the Musketeers prevailed 79-75. Senior forward Josh Duncan led Xavier with 26 points and teammate C.J. Anderson added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Alexander finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Mountaineers. OTR is hoping that Alexander returns for another season at WVU, because we have enjoyed watching him develop into one of the best college players in the country. If you get a chance, ESPN’s Dana O’Neil wrote a great piece on Alexander that is worth reading.

(4) Washington State vs. (1) North Carolina
Washington State plays great defense and they were able to hold UNC to 68 points on 43% shooting, but it was not enough. They forgot to score points. 47 points and only making 31% of your shots is not going to win you basketball games this deep in the tournament. Did anyone really think the Cougars had any shot at winning this game anyway? UNC hasn’t been tested yet and they weren’t last night in their 68-47 victory. All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough didn’t have his best shooting night, but his 18 points and 9 rebounds led his team in both categories. Junior Danny Green contributed 15 points off the bench. Junior center Aron Baynes played well for the Cougars, but foul trouble plagued him all game. He finished with 14 points on 6-8 shooting. That’s about it for this game. It really wasn’t an exciting game. All fifteen players played again for UNC for the third straight game.

The later games featured Tennessee vs. Louisville and UCLA vs. Western Kentucky. Let’s take a look:

(2) Tennessee vs. (3) Louisville
Tennessee went up 7-6 early in the game when forward Duke Crews made a two-point basket, but that was the last lead they held the whole game. The next time down the court Louisville’s Juan Palacios nailed a three pointer and the Cardinals never looked back. The Volunteers were able to pull within one point 37-36 during a 6-0 run to begin the second half; however, Louisville was able to take control and outscored Tennessee 42-24 the rest of the way. Louisville shot 52% from the field and were led by sophomore Earl Clark (off the bench) who dropped in 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Four other players contributed with ten or more points in a very balanced effort for the Cardinals. Senior guard Chris Lofton, who may have been ailing from an injury, had a horrible shooting night (3-15), but went 7-7 from the stripe to lead all Volunteers with 15 points. Louisville advances to play North Carolina in the East regional finals. The Big East is 2-0 against the ACC in this year’s tournament, but UNC will have something to say about that on Saturday.

(1) UCLA vs. (12) Western Kentucky
How good is UCLA freshman Kevin Love? Good to quite good is the answer. Love scored 29 points on 10-14 shooting and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead his UCLA Bruins to an 88-78 victory. Western Kentucky never held a lead in this game, but did pull within four points 61-57 with seven minutes left in the game. Western Kentucky senior guard Tyrone Brazelton played a great game in their defeat. He led all scorers with 31 points and added five assists. UCLA’s James Keefe also had a solid game off the bench with 18 points and 12 rebounds. UCLA will now play Xavier in the West regional finals.