4.27.11

Three things on my mind: NBA Playoffs and the Association's future. NFL Lockout. Baseball and the... sorry, dozed off there for a second. Baseball can have that effect on a person. Bud Selig should put out a warning that operation of vehicles or heavy machinery may be hazardous while watching or listening to baseball.

1. National Basketball Association Playoffs:
After that stunning display of basketball prowess that we all had to suffer thru at the beginning of April (the NCAA championship game for those of you that were lucky enough to forget) the NBA playoffs were a warm welcome to B-Ball fans. Boston, LA, NY, Chicago, all relevant in the playoffs? What is this, 1990? Not to mention the newly formed trio in South Beach, the streaking spurs, and the Trail-Blazers just up I-5. Yes, I was, and still am excited.

The Lake-Show have lost twice to the Hornets, which is always refreshing. All season they have looked weak at times, but everyone was so sure that they were a veteran squad, and would win games when it counts, and everything would magically be better for them once it came playoff time. To those who preached that nonsense like Jeremiah Wright all year long, I say "3-2".

Quite the opposite, both physically and figuratively speaking, are the team from Bean Town across the United States. While the Celts started hot, they were looking a different kind of green towards the end of the regular season. Most folks were pretty jazzed about the Bos-Ny series, and while a few of the four games were entertaining, Boston made quick and easy work of the Knickerbockers.

There's really almost too much to talk about, as each series has a headline in it's own. The Spurs are having a helluva time with the Grizz of Memphis, a team that had never won a playoff game in either Memphis, or their old home in Vancouver. Not too often is a #1 seed upset in the NBA playoffs, but I'd say there's a very good chance of it this year. And the Bulls have already moved passed the Pacers, so you do the math on that one.

Similarly, the Magic are having a tough time with the Hawks of ATL, but that's a 4-5 matchup, so that's not so much surprising as it is just entertaining. The Magic live and die by their ability to huck up 3's, so I don't know why people act so surprised when they lose a few games on rather cold nights. And Jamal Crawford is still finding ways to make 4-point plays.

Finally, my close to home team, the Rip City Blazers, are down 3-2 to the Mavs. J-Kidd has been a solid force, and Nowitzki is always a big sexy stud to watch on a basketball court. But the Blazer have won two at home, one of which was an exciting an inspiring game four, led by none other than Brandon Roy who was almost on the verge of tears after game 2. But Aldridge has admitted to being completely exhausted, and the L-Train is kind of a big deal to our team, so I'm probably going to hold off on placing any bets between now and game 6 and the ever so possible game 7. If we do pull it together and make it out of the first round, something we haven't managed to do in many many moons, we'll play the winner of the Laker-Hornet series, which looks like it's headed to 7 games, so those two squads will be equally gassed.

The playoffs have been exciting so far, but like I've said before, best of seven series' are just too much. I definitely enjoy watching great matchups night in and night out, but it starts to drag on a little towards the end of the second round, or beginning of the third round. By the time the finals come, you've been watching the same two teams play anywhere from 16 to 28 games already.

Moving on, the NFL lockout is making front page news, but the NBA will more than likely be in a very similar situation very shortly. This spells trouble for many teams. While the NFL is stuck in a big pissing match, which I'll get to later on down the page, at least NFL teams are still in the business of making money. Even for teams like the 1st draft pick Panthers, it's still an NFL stadium. National Football is huge in the U.S., and teams don't have trouble selling out stadiums. Fans know they're still getting to experience an NFL game. The same cannot be said for the (formerly) Sacremento Kings, the Toronto Raptors, The Atlanta Hakws, the Milwaukie Bucks and what ever other teams I'm forgetting. The profit spread isnt' so even in the Basketball world. Teams mentioned in the playoff topic above are having no problems, like the Lakers and Bulls, but other teams like the Kings and T-Wolves, struggle to sell out any games, and face big losses in a down economy.

Ok, now I'm tired of typing. So; the NFL lockout is stupid, and the owners are a bunch of greedy trolls, but the players are equally dumb for not saving any of the MILLIONS of dollars they make.

And Baseball season is upon us, which always means.... zZz zZz zZz (literally if you're a Giants fan :/ )