NBA Playoffs: Locked and Loaded

The NBA Playoffs are back again for its annual run - this year, in my opinion, can be some of the best NBA basketball we have seen in quite a while. While the Western Conference was separated by 7 games, from LA Lakers' 57 wins to Denver's 50, and the resurgence of the Celtics, winning an NBA best 66 games, marking the greatest turnaround from a season ago, where they held the worst record in the NBA. With the Pistons' 59 wins and Orlando's 52, there were 5 teams in the Eastern Conference with less than 50 wins, including three with .500 or worse records; Toronto, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. The 9th, 10th, and 11th place teams in the West would have made the playoffs if this were a top-16 team playoff team - rather than conference based. The parity is weird in the NBA, where there are two teams from the East in their own Echelon, while all eight of the Western conference playoff teams AND the last team out (Golden State) have better records than the fourth seeded Cleveland. Although the West, team for team, is far and beyond the best conference, they may not have a team strong enough to topple Boston, or Detroit for that matter, in the Finals, considering one of the East's top two teams are in the Finals. The defending Eastern Conference champions are looking ugly, even with the the additions of Delonte, Wally, and Big Ben, they just scrapped by Washington to have home court advantage in the first round. The East could be just as interesting as the West, in that the 4-5 and 3-6 matchups could easily go either way. As for Boston v Atlanta, it will be more intriguing than some may think. Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson can cause trouble offensively for the Celts, although Boston touts the best D in the league. Detroit v Philly is also a peculiar matchup, considering the last time these two met in the playoffs, it was a 2003 2nd round matchup after Detroit pulled off a 3-1 comeback as a 1-seed to topple Orlando, then took Philly in 6. Although the Iverson-less Sixers are one of the two sub-.500 teams, they could exploit Detroit's post-season diseases they suffer from as of late. Running down the board for the rest of the East:

3 - Orlando
vs.
6 - Toronto

Toronto could have and should have taken great strides to contend for the Easter Conference crown, but they finished .500, which is more than enough for the East. Orlando has looked impressive in wins against Detroit and Boston all year, but the losses they suffer against the likes of New York, Memphis, and Charlotte are questionable, although the Magic rarely got outscored (+5.5 margin was 5th best in NBA). However, their biggest loss of the season came against Toronto (17 points), where Bosh dropped 40 points on Dwight Howard and Jose Calderon dished out 13 dimes. Dwight Howard? Oh nothing ... 37 and 15. Although that was the only loss of the season against Toronto out of three meetings, Van Gundy will have to press Howard into keeping Bosh out of the scoring lane and out-rebound Toronto, just as they did all season. If Orlando has Turkoglu, Nelson, Lewis and Howard putting up their averages, they would have 90-96 points each game, 40 boards and 20 assists. That is hard for an opposing offense to match. But Orlando has played very tight all season, although having some big wins, only winning or losing games by a few points. They allow 41.7 boards a game, while grabbing 42. They allow 99 points, and score 105. They allow more steals and assists per game as well. With Calderon and Park in the back court, the Raptors can get 7 steals a game. If Orlando gives them up, that is a potential 14 point turnaround, which the Magic cannot afford by the way they play close. Unless they can grind out with Bosh and win, they have to play fast and uptempo, get Dwight Howard in the 30's with at least 12 boards, and Rashard Lewis has to contribute, else the Magic will not have enough to keep up with Toronto. Magic should take this in 6, but we could see 7 depending on Lewis's and Bosh's perfomance.

4 - Cleveland
vs.
5 - Washington

It took quite a few tries for Chicago to get out of the first round, but they had brute strength against Miami's gimped up 5, they were able to sweep the defending champions in 2007. Washington has faced Cleveland in three straight years, and lost three straight series. Washington is in prime position to take their first playoff series win since the Cleveland curse. This season, Arenas was not the hibachi, sitting out with injury, and Caron Butler was out nearly as much as Arenas. That left the load on Antawn Jamison and a young team that managed their way through the East with a 5 seed. With Butler and Arenas back in time for the playoffs, we could see the Wizards take a fast lane pass against Cleveland for the first time. The main concerns, however, are the Cavs best player - a kid named LeBron James. The MVP-candidate has carried this team quite well, but LeBron will have to get some production from their other scorers.

The Western Conference is so evenly spread, the team who proves they can stand the test of the playoffs will either be strong enough to take down Detroit or Boston, or too fatigued. The West also has a player who has been to the playoffs every year he has played in the NBA - Robert Horry (92-08). And a player who has started in every playoff game he's played in for 14 straight years - Shaquille O'Neal (198 from 94-08). And... they play one another in the first round, as part of the Spurs v Suns matchup, also being the most intriguing. This could easily be the Suns winning, since there was just a single game between the two in the standings. There are no givens in the West, so I will have to take a brief look at the both.

1 - Los Angeles
vs.
8 - Denver Nuggets

Not many fans think the Nuggets are a NBA Championship-caliber team. However, they do bring quite a bit to the table - Allen Iverson, former scoring champion, NBA Finals appearance - Carmello Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby, who offer a great presence to the paint, Mello's ability to drive, shoot, and rebound, Martin's low post offense, and Camby's defense and rebounding, there should be no reason why they can dominate the boards against LA. LA, however, has the bodies to grab rebounds, including Kobe, Pau, Turiaf, and Bynum. Look to see how the Lakers handle AI, whether or not they put Kobe on him or Carmello. Either case, the defensive help will need to be solid behind the solid Bryant against AI and Mello. There should not be too much doubting the Lakers this year, and I see them moving on in 6.

2 - New Orleans
vs.
7 - Dallas

Chris Paul is the MVP - hands down. He has better numbers than either of Steve Nash's two MVP seasons, and has completely flipped the Hornets from a last-out 9 or 10 finisher to a legitimate championship team, and having the 2 seed in the West is testament. The Hornets, however, are inexperienced as a team. Peja is the playoff veteran, but with only two seasons in New Orleans, it will be hard to have him established as the leader, as he is not that type of player. Also, he hasn't had the best perfomances in the playoffs as of late, only getting 11 in his last appearance in Indiana. He has 20+ point playoff runs with Sacramento, but is known to miss big shots, i.e. game 7 of the Conference Finals in 2002. Dallas, however, has been an entire team meltdown in the past three playoff seasons, failing to win in Dallas after beating Phoenix in game 2 in the desert, eventually losing the series 4-2, giving up 4 consecutive wins to the Heat in the Finals of 06 and getting waxed in Oakland in 07 against the Warriors. Now, after two seasons as the top of the Western standings, they are unable to get anything higher than 7. Although New Orleans is a tough matchup, Dallas could pull the series win off, but another disappointing end is sure to appear. New Orleans in 5.

4 - Utah
vs.
5 - Houston

Rematch of last years first round matchup. Oh, and Utah was 4 and Houston was 5 then too. And Houston has home-court too. That proved to be a let-down, as they could not beat Utah at Salt Lake City. And considering Utah's league best 37-4 home record, don't count on winning in Utah. So, if Houston takes it back to Houston tied 3-3, they would be in the same position as they were last year - this year without Yao. Houston has a resurgence, thanks to a 22-game win-streak, second-longest in the history. Houston will need all the elements from that win streak - solid play from the PG position, T-mac putting up solid numbers on a consistent basis, and great defense from Landry, Battier, and Mutombo. Utah plays too consistent to let Houston win, but I see this at least going 6, Utah winning.

3 - San Antonio
vs.
6 - Phoenix

Phoenix is in trouble with this San Antonio squad. The Suns have the mindset they are the better team, and they are favored. The Spurs are defending NBA champions, and even with Shaquille O'Neal, I still don't see the Suns winning this series, which requires a road win in San Antonio, where the Spurs rarely lose. Short and sweet write-up, just like the series: Spurs in 5.

*Since the Comback Player and Coach were already announced before publication, I will simply declare the MVP and Defensive Player honors.

MVP: Chris Paul

- 37.6 minutes/game
- 48.8% FG
- 36.9% 3-point
- 85.1% FT
- 21.1 points/game
- 11.6 assists/game

Steve Nash averaged 15 pts/11 asts and 18/10 in his two MVP seasons. Scoring over 20 a game, over 4 for assist:turnover ratio, and leading league in assists with over 11 is my MVP vote-worthy. Kobe could get it though, the whole best player best team rationale. To me, there are a lot of writers, owners, whoever votes, that wants Kobe to win one at least. Paul will have his chances, but this is my vote.

DPY: Josh Smith

I would be voting for Camby here, since he was the block leader this season, but after seeing the interesting stat on the four letter network: "Most Blocks Before 22 Years of Age" - Josh Smith, which eclipses Shaq and Dwight Howard. He also averages 18 points and just under 9 rebounds a game. There will be a lot of votes for Camby, and he will probably win, but Smith is a beast, and after watching him against Boston in Game 4 and seeing his stats as a young man on a young team, I'd be hard pressed to vote against him.

Retirement, Madness, Racing, and the NBA

A year ago, I went on an extensive rant on why March was the greatest month. My reasons were pretty simple; baseball starts, March Madness, NASCAR, golf, pre-NFL draft talk and trade, NBA playoff push ... and my birthday. This year is no different. With March just getting started, we have already seen enough excitement and stories to put any other month to shame. Compiling a list of those events would be too simple, and everyone would be bored with me, and actually read a real journalist's article, but let's take a look at how March has gone through just over three and half days in.

March 1

• Days after Texas Tech suffered their worst loss in program history against bitter rival Texas A&M, the Red Raiders came back home and showed up the fifth-ranked, other bitter rival, Texas Longhorns, 83-80.
• After a full day of free agency in the NFL, some signings weren't really signings at all. Sean Rodgers of the Detroit Lions was reported to be signing with Cincinatti, but that turned out to be false, and he ended up across state in Cleveland. After failing to resign record-breaking WR Randy Moss to a new contract, Moss attracted the front offices of a few teams, leaving "Patriot Nation" to wonder if Moss is looking for money or a ring.
• After being bounced in their first game ever as the top-ranked basketball team in the nation, the men Volunteers of Tennessee move within one win of wrapping up the regular season conference championship with a big win against the Wildcats of Kentucky.

March 2

• "Vegas is calling!" Carl Edwards owns the Pacific Time Zone this season, winning his second race in row with a win in Las Vegas following a short week, which he won on Monday afternoon in Fontana, CA. However, post-race inspection confirmed Edwards did not have his lid on the oil resevoir, which could result in a hefty points penalty.
• The Suns dropped their second straight game, this time against sub-.500 Philadelphia - at home - 119-114, leaving the desert wondering when exactly the Shaq trade would pay off.
• After a MVP-worthy season with the beer makers of Milwaukee, Prince Fielder is shown a lovely raise ... of $670,000. The second runner-up of the 2007 NL MVP honors, Fielder is quote "not happy about it at all." After all, he does have kids to feed!

March 3

• After a weekend of free agency, the Pats wrap up Randy Moss to a 3 year/$27 million deal. Not getting a deal, however, is Falcons RB Warrick Dunn, who was cut Monday after five seasons with Atlanta. This came a day after the Falcons made a deal for Chargers RB Michael Turner, signing him up for a six-year deal.
• Atlanta also lost leading receiver-er ... tight-end Alge Crumpler to Tennessee, while Big Ben inked a fat check Monday with the Steelers; 8 years/$102 million, with $36 million guartanteed, more than Brady, Manning, Palmer, and Romo got up front in their deals.
• Texas Tech again makes the news in their third consecutive game, but this also not good, with the Red Raiders again rasing the mark of worst defeat in the program history after Kansas dropped 109, winning by 58. Coach Knight said "I feel like someone put a meat necklace around my neck and threw me into a lion's den," abou the loss.

March 4

• The biggest news thus far: Brett Favre retires after 16 seasons in Green Bay, where he broke and recording nearly every passing record in the book.

With March Madness starting up ... well in March, its only proper to give a run-down of teams that are John McCain, teams that are Hilary and Obama, and teams that are Mit Romney in this year's bracket:

McCain (definite locks):

Tennesse, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Memphis, Texas, Purdue, Duke, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Butler, Xavier, Cornell (clinched with conference championship), Stanford, Mississippi State, Louisville, Conneticutt, Butler, Notre Dame, Clemson, Drake, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Indiana, Arkansas, UAB, Saint Mary's, Gonzaga

Hilary/Obama (could go either way):

USC, Kentucky, Kansas State, Texas A&M, VCU, WV, Mississippi, Davidson, UMass, Southern Illinois, Creighton, Syracuse, Ohio State, Florida, Villanova, Texas Tech, Maryland, Oregon

Romney (pack it up and go home):

Florida State, Oklahoma State, Cincinatti, Wake Forest, Arizona State, Georgia Tech

The NBA on the other hand has quite a bit of playing left before any teams can be penciled in. Considering how much the West has shifted in the past several weeks (New Orleans and Phoenix were at the top before the All-Star break, now its San Antonio and Los Angeles), there is definitely no guarantee. But, I like to be bold. Here are my seedings 70% into the season:

East:

1. Boston
2. Detroit
3. Orlando
4. Toronto
5. Cleveland
6. Washington
7. Philadelphia
8. New Jersey

West:

1. Los Angeles
2. San Antonio
3. New Orleans
4. Utah
5. Houston
6. Dallas
7. Phoenix
8. Golden State

BCS

Everyone is fussing about the BCS system, how flawed it is, and using this year's polls as a huge reason why we need a playoff system.

I hear you all loud and clear.

However, NCAA Division I-A Football (and I refuse to call it by their proper FBS title) is not the National Football League, the Arena Football League, or even NCAA Division I-AA football. A playoff system would be much worse for D1 football than the BCS has seemingly been for fans over the past 10 years. Personally, I would love to see a playoff. I have done like every other college football fan out there and developed their own thesis on the college football playoff system they would love to see put into action. I have the perfect system for a football playoff that could put the forementioned organziations to shame.

But, Division 1-A Football is a totally different monster. There are literally dozens of schools that are driven by their football programs in D1-A. Do you think Notre Dame, Nebraska, Alabama, and Michigan enjoy their current slumps? These are storied schools who pride theirselves in being an alum, a student, or a fan of these programs. There is so much passion in D1-A football, its insane. Yet, in no way am I saying a D1-AA school isn't passionate - I am a student of a newcomer to the D-1 system, and football is a big deal for the University of Central Arkansas. However, there is not the same publicity, pressure, or presence in 1-AA as there is in 1-A. UCA finished 2nd in their conference in their first year, posted a 6-5 record, and no one is calling for Coach Clint Conque's head ... on the flip side, in 2006, the University of Arkansas Razorbacks finish first in the SEC with a 10-2 record, 7-1 SEC record, a valiant effort against the LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship Game, and a sub-par perfomance against Wisconsin in the Capitol One Bowl, and everyone wants Houston Nutt gone. Of course, those are two difference scenarios, but you get the picture. D1-A schools expect more, and feel they deserve to be champions, and will roll over any one who can't deliver it. Houston Nutt resigned after this past season, took 3 million dollars, and went to a rival school, and everyone in Arkansas hates him for that.

Division 1-AA playoffs work because each school isn't driven by their athletics - Appalachian State, McNeese State, Northern Iowa, and Montana are at the top of the polls in D1-AA football, but in three of four years, they may be at the bottom. Fluxuations occure because of the rarity of talent that leaks down from D1-A football programs. Most football programs are not hit hard by missing the playoffs, simply because they are, more times than not, driven by academics, or some other avenue being a university. Playoffs work because football doesn't mean life of death for fans of their D1-AA schools. The players still show the same intesity, have the same heart, and play with the same purpose of being the best, but because they are left out of the elite won't turn the programs for a flip.

Turn the page to D1-A. How many teams, fans, or all the above are either A) unsatisfied with the two teams that are playing for the National Championship, or B) upset they were not selected to play in the National Championship game, or C) all the above.

Answer?

Oklahoma, USC, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. All runners-up to LSU and Ohio State for the National Championship. All but Ohio State and Kansas, one loss teams, shared the same number of losses with two. Five of those teams won their conference. Only two of the teams played head to head, LSU and Virginia Tech, which LSU took the victory. Hawaii posted the only flawless record of any team. Overall, a fairly even playing field. So how does one select two teams and two teams only to play for a championship? Before the BCS came along almost ten years ago now, there were too many agreements between the conferences and the bowls to truely match number one and number two. The BCS did away with the total tie-ins to certain bowls for conferences until the BCS Championship Game selection. The Rose Bowl still strives to match Pac-10 v. Big 10, the Orange Bowl also tries to match Big 12 v. Big East, and the Sugar Bowl with SEC v. ACC. However, there have been instances where this hasn't worked due the the National Championship bids taking the qualified teams. The BCS, not the conferences, determine the tie-ins, and make the deals between bowl sponsors and bowls, not just for the BCS Bowls, but the other useless bowls as well. The BCS selects eight teams to play in four bowl games on or after New Years, and another two to play in the national championship game. Essentially, each year, eight teams are left out, five of which are legitimate, being conference champions (of the BCS conferences), three are at-large. More times than not, one, if not more, team is left "high and dry," a team that easily could have played for a national championship, but was left out in favor of another team. The two most recent instances, 2003 and 2004, three teams were conference champions with equal records. Two played, one went to a BCS bowl, instead of THE BCS Game. In 2003, they took the easy way out (they being the AP) and crowned USC (who was left out, and won their BCS Bowl game against Michigan) and LSU national champions. In 2004-2005, Auburn was left out, won their bowl game, but settled for number two as they watched USC pound Oklahoma. No co-national championship this year. Flash to this year, 2007-2008, the number jumps from three to five conference champions (WV, Hawaii, VT, Oklahoma, and USC), four with equal records, and again, one who is undefeated.

Now, I know you are exhausted, but try to formulate a playoff format you think could work. If you come up empty, take this easy one into consideration: Ten team playoff system based off the BCS Bowl games, re-seeding the teams by their BCS ranking. They bracket would look like this:
(1) OSU
v.
(9) Hawaii

(3) VT
v.
(7) Kansas

(5) Georgia
v.
(6) USC

(4) Oklahoma
v.
(8) West Virginia

(2) LSU
v.
(10) Illinois

Take on the second round however you will, whether you allow the highest seed to have a bye, re-seed, and play on, etc. Let us consider the worst-case scenario - lowest seed wins every game. The second round would then look like this:

(7) Kansas
v.
(9) Hawaii

(8) West Virginia
v.
(10) Illinois

(6) USC

Now, we have a dandy here, eh? Kansas v. Hawaii? Mountaineers and Illini? USC gets bye? OSU, LSU one and done? How about Georgia, who snuk in, and lost? Would Tennessee have won? What about Florida? Auburn? Arkansas? Now, let's say the at-large teams (Georgia, Illinois) lose. Does Michigan, Tennesse, and Florida feel slighted even more? How does the world feel about giving OSU a number one seed to watch them get beat by ... Hawaii?

Fans would love to see upsets, but then again, what about the 109 teams that were left out? If they sit there and watch a one or two, or even three or four seed fall in the first round, what do you think other deserving programs want now? Expand the playoffs, we deserve to be in. Tennessee rolled Georgia in the regular season, and if the Dawgs get rolled by USC, how even of a matchup would Tennessee and USC could have been? Fans of football want to see a cinderella story unfold. People love March Madness, thirteen over four seeds, twelve over fives. George freaking Mason in the Final Four! Can football capture that same excitement? Unless it can expand to sixteen teams, no. Sixteen teams means four rounds, four additional games to the already busy college football season. Even ten teams equals three additional games, and cutting it back to eight would yield the same. Four teams is absurd, simply because two conference champions would be left out, and that would heighten the talk about who's conference is stronger, while leaving no hope for teams like Hawaii, Boise State, and TCU to make their case if they run their own tables.

If I have not yet convinced you that the BCS will have to do, my apologies. Most people thought communism would work and would not be convinced otherwise until the system blew up. Many people think of the BCS as communism. While it may not be the most desirable of systems, but its the best thing we have. Just like our "democracy".

Draft Thoughts Day 1

If you were like me, you watched the entire 6 plus hour draft, breaking down each team's needs and predicting who would take who. Most of my predictions stood, such as Russell to the Raiders, Thomas to the Browns, Brown to the Cards, Meachem to the Saints, and Gonzales to the Colts. Others, like Gaines Adams going to Tampa Bay, were not of surprise, then Miami, passing on Brady Quinn, takes Ted Ginn, Jr. Ok, so maybe they didn't want Quinn, that's cool. But, first round pick on Ginn? They could have picked up Sidney Rice in the second and received a better pick at round one, such as Okoye, Willis, or Carriker. Instead, its Ginn, then they grab BYU quarterback John Beck, who is a much respected quarterback. Obviously, Miami was planning on getting Ginn, regardless if Quinn was available or not. The injury raises a big question on will he be ready to go 100% when the regular season rolls around. If he is sitting out most of the pre-season recovering from the injury, it will not be a good sign for the front office's decision. It's a big gamble, and for it to be a first round pick, it's almost a stupid gamble.

Detroit took yet another wide receiver in Calvin Johnson, but soon made room for him, trading Mike Williams and Josh McCown for a fourth round pick. This should work out for both teams, provided what happens with Randy Moss in Oakland. I feel that if Moss is traded, Williams will be called upon to be the #1 receiver for Russell. The Lions also released Charles Rodgers, yet another first round pick, leaving only Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson as the first round wide receivers. Roy Williams has proved to be a solid receiver for Jon Kitna, and with the selection of Stanton, the offense is shaping up really nicely for the Lions, and under Mike Martz, there is no limit to their improvement. Good draft day for both the Lions and Raiders.

Other good pickups include Patrick Willis to San Francisco, Jamaal Anderson and Chris Houston to Atlanta, and New England again acquiring a first round pick for next year, while picking up Brandon Merriweather. Pittsburgh looked to find a replacement for Joey Porter with Lawrence Timmons, Buffalo got a real nice deal, trading up to get Paul Poluszny.

A puzzling pick for me was the Eagles selecting Kevin Kolb with their first pick, meaning they are ready to move past the Donnovan Days, or do not expect Donnovan to be healthy this season, but either way, Kolb is going to have a starting spot very soon. One would wonder Donnovan's thoughts on this...

NBA Playoffs - Eastern Conference

The NBA Playoffs are amongst us! Only one night remaining in the regular season, and the Western Conference needs this night to decide its eighth and final seed. The Eastern Conference, however, is already set. Here is what the playoff picture is looking like, and few comments from me to go along with it.

* denotes seeding is clinched

(1) Detroit Pistons *

(8) Orlando Magic

Its been a few years since the Magic have been to the playoffs, and their last visit wasn't so pleasant. Up 3-1 over the top-seeded Pistons, Tracey McGrady guaranteed the Magic were moving on. 3 games later, the Pistons were in the second round. Since then, its been a rough ride for Orlando, but they have finally landed back in the playoffs, even if its the 8-seed playing against Detroit. Dwight Howard has dominated down low this season against the Pistons, averaging 20 point and 16 boards in 4 games, all losses however. Orlando will need a lot more help if they are to dethrone the top seed. Orlando steals a game, but thats it. Detroit in 5.

(2) Chicago Bulls

(7) Washington Wizards

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs were in 2005. Chicago, without most of what makes up their roster today, could not withstand Arenas or Hughes, and Washington won in 6. This year, Chicago comes in much more favored, looking to lock up a 2-seed, going against a Wizards team without Arenas (injury) or Hughes (traded) this time. Caron Butler is a doubtful, which will take out the top two scoring threats. The Wizards will need far more support from their bench than they can account for, and Chicago should clean house. Chicago in 4.

(3) Toronto Raptors *

(6) New Jersey Nets

These aren't your typical Raptors. You won't see a Vince Carter on this roster. What you will see is an excellent roster that could go a good ways in the playoffs. TJ Ford and Anthony Parker make for a good backcourt duo, and Morris Peterson complements Parker as an exceptional 3-point shooter and can attack the basket. Chris Bosh is one the league's top forwards today, and Andrea Bargnani has lived up to his hype as a strong body down low. New Jersey does have the big three, Kidd, Jefferson, and Carter, but without a physical presence down low to stop Bosh, Barnani, and Nesterovich, it will be a tough series. New Jersey will play a good series, but it will be happy day in O' Canada! Toronto in 6.

(4) Miami Heat *

(5) Cleveland Cavaliers

If Cleveland does indeed finish as the fifth seed (Wednesday night's games will decide), you can almost count on Miami advancing; considering the season Miami has had, losing O'Neal, Wade, Coach Riley, Williams, and Kapono to injuries, they still managed to overcome in the second half and take the Southeast Division title for the third straight year. The Diesel is in full gear, and Wade is showing great signs of healing, the Heat will be a handful to handle, especially without a dominant defensive post player, such as Ben Wallace. LeBron will be the key if the Cavs look to take down the defending champs. He will need to score and get the whole floor involved, else Miami will make it look easy. Miami in 6.

In the case that both Cleveland and Chicago win in Wednesday night's games, Chicago would own the tie-breaker with more division wins (12-4) than Cleveland (9-6), thus securing the 2-seed. For Cleveland's sake, at least for the first round, they will need to win and Chicago to lose to get the 2-seed and face Washington, again. Either way, there is not a road to the conference finals that doesn't go through Miami for the Cavs.

Due tomorrow ... the Western Conference breakdowns and any revisions that need to be made in match-ups listed here.

March: Best Month. Period

If someone came and asked you what your favorite month of the year is, what would be your response? December, July, or maybe May? If someone were to conduct a poll of 1,000 people, the majority may be one of those months. If that someone were to ask me not only what my favorite month is, but why, I would say March, and give the following reasons:

No other sporting event can top the NCAA Tournament
I love football, I love the Super Bowl, and I love watching baseball and basketball playoffs. However, the entire month of March revolves around the "Big Dance". The first week and a half are spent trying to make the last surge to get in, while the last three weeks are spent playing to be a champion. Unlike the Super Bowl, which may be the second greatest sporting event in my opinion, March Madness goes on everyday for two to three weeks, while only hype surrounding the Super Bowl spans that same time. Plus, it is the biggest fan fair available in sports, with millions of pools created to see who can pick the tournament winners the closest. Bracket-mania is a hellishly-fun 4 days leading up to the Big Dance, and just the NCAA Tournament alone makes the statement March is the year's best month.

Baseball Season Starts Up
Although the actual regular season doesn't begin until April, March is the best month to get baseball, aside from October. Spring training carries all the hype of 1) last year's World Series winner, and how they will fare 2) big name signings/trades 3) and steroids (only kidding about the latter). Not only is the weather as perfect as it can possibly be in March, it's a good reason to travel to the Sunshine State other than the beaches. Think of it like one of those appetizers you could be satisfied with as your entree.

The Peak of All Other Sports
Football gets prepped for the draft with the combines, free agency, and trades. NBA basketball fires up heading into the last stretch of the season, with bubble teams fighting for the few games needed to get into the playoffs, hockey also revving up for the playoffs, NASCAR season shifts into second and third gears, while tennis and golf begin their craze for the year. March represents the summit of all sports, and there is no better month than the beginning of spring, best weather next to September's (which happens to be the second best month, but we will wait until then).

St. Patrick's Day
You let me know of another occasion where rivers are dyed green, and we will argue.

My Birthday
Just because March birthdays are the best, along with September's.

The Top Three Stories that Bothered Me

This past week has been wild in the world of sports. If you haven't been paying attention, I can't help you, but I can let you in on three stories that occurred the past few days that left an itch I can't scratch.

Juan Pablo Montoya Takes First Busch Series Victory in Mexico City

... but not without some criticism from his own teammate, Scott Pruett, whom Montoya collided with in the final laps of the Telcel-Motorola 200 in Mexico City. Pruett publicly expressed his disgust with his teammate's actions, calling his driving "lowdown, nasty, [and] dirty."

I have never raced in a circuit-format with high-powered cars, and I definitely do not understand the entire aspect of the sport, but from years of watching with my granddad as a kid, and having family who is into the sport, racing is not a cry-baby event. Pruett whined about being spun by his own teammate on national TV, and in my opinion, he was more at fault that Montoya. Pruett went high into the turn, and Montoya shot low. Pruett came down sharp on the curve, while Montoya already established his position deep in the turn, therefore swiping the nose of Montoya's car, and spinning backwards, while Montoya bounced back outside and off the track to avoid further contact. After watching the final 20 laps, as Montoya bounced from mid-way through the field to the top 5, I was certain he would take the victory. With 8 to go, Montoya was on a war path to take first from teammate Pruett. He had the fastest car on the track, and he knew how to handle it on the road course. Montoya was driving to win, Pruett was driving to win, and unfortunately for Pruett, he ended up being spun.

I don't know Pruett as a racer, because I don't watch too much NASCAR, but I am sure this will blow over in due time. They are both professionals and should handle this in that accordance.

But it gets worse ...

Artest Arrested on Charges of Domestic Violence; Excused from Sacramento

Boy, were my hopes in vain when the Kings acquired him last January. Initially, he served really well as the defensive muscle, improving the Kings defense noticeably and boosting them into the playoffs as an eight seed. This year, however, hasn't gone as well. The Kings are 5 games under .500, and Ron Artest has already been accused of animal mistreatment in early February, now he takes it out on a woman. After watching the news ticket on ESPN News last night, I was in total disgust. The Kings have become the outlaw team of the NBA. They are working on the title of the Cincinnati Bengals of basketball. Head coach Erick Musselman (I guess that's the right spelling for this Erick, could care less) has already been cited twice this season for driving while intoxicated, and now Artest has been arrested, posted 50 stacks for bail, and excused from any further participation with the Sacramento Kings basketball organization until further notice. Geoff Petrie, Kings GM, made the announcement of Artest's unofficial suspension (Kings publicist says its not a suspension, he is still being paid) after hearing the news of the hopeful hero of Sacramento. The entire organization is now in total disarray, and I feel that not only is their season over, they need a total reconstruction of the organization.

Henderson Suspended after Intentional Foul on Hansbrough

I have all the respect in the world for Coach K and all the incredible things he has done at Duke. But, as far as me liking the Duke organization (Maryland fan), it doesn't quite go as well. After I saw North Carolina's star big-man Tyler Hansbrough take a shot from Duke's Gerald Henderson, I found a bit more hate for Duke. You can say all you want that basketball is a contact sport, and collisions resulting in injuries occur, but that was not a collision. Henderson came down with an elbow on Hansbrough with intentions of making contact. He may have not wanted to break his nose, but that's what all accused gunmen say, "I didn't want to kill him." I played basketball long enough to know there is contact, and I personally had my way with elbows coming down on heads, but never have I been in the situation as Henderson was to come down that hard with his elbow, and to hit another player in the face is a whole other aspect. I think his suspension served him right, this is not a UFC match, its a basketball game. I respect Hansbrough for not holding any harsh feelings towards Henderson for the blow he took, and neither will I view Henderson any differently, but I am certain Henderson had every intention of striking Hansbrough on that play.

At the time of publishing this blog, I just watched the video of Kobe Bryant again flailing his arm after a shot, and again hitting an opposing player. This time he was called for the foul, and maybe this time he will learn his lesson. Basketball is a game of control, and Bryant doesn't appear to have much of it.