NBA Playoff Preview: Western Conference, First Round

1. L.A. Lakers v. 8. Utah Jazz

This is an easy one. The Lakers simply have too many weapons. The only position where the Jazz have a distinct advantage is at Starting PG. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum will prove too much for the Jazz inside, and MVP Candidate Kobe Bryant can take over a game at a moments notice. Not to mention the Lakers’ amazingly deep bench. Lakers will take this series easily, winning in 4, 5 games max.

2. Denver Nuggets v 7. New Orleans Hornets

The Nuggets have a really solid team this year, and they are built to make some noise in the playoffs. Carmelo has never made the playoffs every year of his career and he is poised to take his team deep in the playoffs this year. Chauncey Billups is playing some of the best ball of his career, and has shown that Mr. Big Shot still has a lot of game left in him. However, they are going up against another good team in the New Orleans Hornets, lead by #1 PG Chris Paul. If CP3 and David West get it going early, and Peja shows up in the playoffs for once in his life, the Hornets could put up a real fight and are very capable of pulling off a first round upset. I don’t think Peja will show up however, and the Nuggets will take the series in 6.

3. San Antonio Spurs v 6. Dallas Mavericks

This is a tough one to call.  The Spurs are still a forced to be reckoned with, but they are OLD.  And without Manu Ginobili, they aren’t as dynamic.  The Mavericks have an incredible offensive threat in Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, not to mention “The Jet,” Jason Terry, coming in off of the bench.  Although I know Dirk is the softest superstar in the league, I still like the Mavs in this series, winning in 6 games.

4. Portland TrailBlazers v 5. Houston Rockets

The 4 v 5 matchup is supposed to be the hardest to pick since you have 2 evenly matched teams (at least by the numbers).  However, in this case, I don’t think that this one is really all that difficult.  The Rockets have one of the top centers in the league, and the TrailBlazers just don’t have the big men to matchup.  Couple that with the fact that even without Tracy McGrady, the Rockets can still put up points and shoot well from the perimeter, it just doesn’t look too good for the TrailBlazers.  Portland has a good, young squad that will be good for years to come, but they’re just not ready yet.  Maybe next yeat, Mr. Roy.  The ‘Blazers might get one game, but the Rockets will take this one in 5.

Nate Robinson Jumping Over Dwight Howard In Everyday Life

Article courtesy of Onion Sports Network (OSN)

ORLANDO, FL—Since leaping over Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard to claim his second NBA dunk title Saturday, 5-foot-9 New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson has apparently dedicated himself to the sole task of jumping over Howard as the 7-footer goes about his daily life.

According to Howard, Robinson bounded over him roughly two dozen times on Tuesday alone, most notably while the All-Star center was putting gas in his car, as he was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, immediately after he woke up in the morning, two minutes later when he was taking a shower, and right afterward as he began to shave.

“I can’t do anything without that guy jumping over me,” said Howard, who glanced over his shoulder every few seconds during his press conference Wednesday. “He’s everywhere. When I took my mom to her doctor’s appointment last Monday, at church communion, and every time I get off my couch to put in a new DVD. And I watch a lot of DVDs.”

“I don’t know where he’s coming from or how he’s getting into my house, but I—” Howard added before he was interrupted by a pair of green shoes and shorts sailing over his head. “Oh, for Christ’s sake.”

Following the leap, Robinson recreated his post-dunk celebration, performing a dance step with his right foot while making an odd gliding/flying motion with his arms as Howard watched.

“I don’t quite get this,” Howard said.

Howard admitted that he had played along when Robinson first started bounding over him in a non-dunk-competition setting, saying that he thought the spectacle was good media fodder for All-Star weekend and that he believed it to be temporary. But that all changed Monday when Howard was trying on pants in the dressing room of an Armani Exchange in downtown Orlando. As Robinson flew overhead, Howard realized the leaping would continue indefinitely, even when there was no one around to notice or record the event, and even though Robinson does not live in Orlando.

“It was eerie,” Howard said. “We locked eyes after the jump, and Nate just ran off without saying anything. Then he must have exited the store and reentered through the back, because the next thing I knew he was jumping over me again while I looked at belts.”

Though the locations and times of Robinson’s flights over Howard vary, Howard said he has learned that if he finds himself in a situation in which he is standing up and leaning somewhat forward, there is a good chance Robinson will come from behind and jump over his head, as was the case Monday afternoon at Pirate’s Cove Adventure miniature golf course.

“Today I thought it was finally over because Nate hadn’t jumped over me once—not at the cleaners, the skate park, the gym, anywhere,” Howard said. “Then I sat down to a romantic dinner with my girlfriend and as soon as I stood up to light the candles, he comes flying in, breaks the dishware, and gets baked ziti all over the carpet.”

“It’s upsetting,” Howard continued. “But you know what angers me most? It’s that he really isn’t jumping over me. His crotch is barely clearing the top of my head, and he is putting his left arm on my back for an extra boost. You people are seeing that, right? You’re seeing that I need to lean down so he doesn’t bang his waist into the back of my head and fall to the ground and embarrass himself in front of everybody? You saw that I dunked on a fucking 12-foot hoop, right?”

According to Howard, Robinson has only hurt himself once. On Wednesday, as the Magic center was unlocking his front door, the Knicks guard apparently flew headfirst into the stained-glass window in the transom above Howard’s doorway.

“Where is he?” a concussed Robinson said from the hospital’s emergency room. “I got Superman’s kryptonite right here.”

Reports indicate that Howard is currently standing up against the safety bar at the edge of Niagara Falls.

BONUS! Here is Nate Robinson jumping over Dwight Howard the first time, in case you missed it.  HD Version available for those who like that kinda stuff.

Kool Kids Inc. Celebrates Black History Month with Videos

Dr. Martin Luther Jr.’s famous speech on August 1963 in Washington DC.

Dr. King’s last speech in 1968

Bill Cosby hosted “Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed” on CBS in July 1968.

Malcolm X questions the black souls in New York.

Barack Obama speech as he was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4th, 2008 in Chicago.

The Other Big Three

The Boston Celtics have three future Hall of Famers: Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. They have all joined forces to become greatness last season as they also became NBA Champions.

However, there is a saying that “for every great man, there’s a great women beside him”. I recently googled the girlfriend (Julia Landrum), wife (Brandi Garnett), and fiancé (Shannon Walker Williams) of these men and to my surprise they were all gorgeous.

Enjoy these pictures via the Boston Herald last year during Paul’s 30th Birthday.

Paul Pierce and girlfriend Julia Landrum

Kevin and Brandi Garnett

Ray Allen and fiancé Shannon Walker Williams

Now that the big game is over…

Check out all of the 2009 Superbowl commercials here!

Hopefully this will help you Cardinal fans get over the sting on defeat  (don’t feel too bad…  I was right there with you).

My favorite commercial was the Cash4Gold.com commercial with Ed McMahon and MC Hammer.   Hee-larious.  What was you favorite commercial this year?

College Football Conference Rankings

With the NFL Playoffs getting ready to get underway and the college football season entering its final leg, my homeboy Doug Brown decided it was time to take a look at whose conference really reigned supreme this year.

Below is a list of the FBS (formerly Division I-A) conferences as he saw them (as of January 1st).

1. Pac 10 {10 Teams}, Bowl Record: (5-0)

Half of the teams qualified & all of them have won, the statement game is hands down USC defeating Penn State even though a case can be made for Oregon defeating Oklahoma State.

No remaining games.

2. Big 12 {12 Teams}, Bowl Record: (3-0)

No statement wins thus far, sure Kansas beat Minnesota by 21 points but the conferences biggest games still need to be played. Texas Tech, Texas, & Oklahoma still need to play so we still can’t evaluate how high this conference should be ranked.

Remaining games: Texas vs. Ohio State, Oklahoma vs. Florida, Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss

3. SEC {12 Teams}, Bowl Record: (2-1)

Like the Big 12, I’ll evaluate this conference after the BCS bowl games are played but LSU surprised me a lot because I assumed Georgia Tech would be able to run all over them.

Remaining games: Oklahoma vs. Florida, Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss

4. Big East {8 Teams}, Bowl Record: (3-2)

The Big East started strong with underachieving teams such as West Virginia, Rutgers, and South Florida defeating overachieving ACC teams (UNC & NC State) and a Memphis team that was content to just be in a bowl game. However, on the big stage Cincinnati & Pittsburgh (The Big East only two ranked teams) stunk it up by only scoring 10 points combined, leaving Big East fans wondering if only Rutgers, W. Virginia, or S. Florida showed consistency throughout the year so a better team could have represented the conference.

Remaining games: UConn vs. Buffalo

5. ACC {12 Teams}, Bowl Record: (4-6)

Ten of the twelve teams qualified for bowl games so this conference is extremely balanced; however, none of the teams are elite. This conference features numerous overachieving teams such as UNC, NC State, Boston College and Georgia Tech. It is not a surprise that they did not perform well on the big stage since many did not even expect them to be there anyway. Florida State performed really well & should challenge for a BCS bowl game next year.

No remaining games.

6. Big 10 {11 Teams}, Bowl Record: (1-4)

The teams in this conference are just playing terrible football against out of conference foes. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Penn State were all blown out while Michigan State was competitive for three quarters against an underachieving Georgia team. Iowa is the lone bright spot for the conference & will be one of the top teams in the conference along with Ohio State. An Ohio State win on a national stage will help save this conference from being viewed as totally pathetic.

Remaining Games: Texas vs. Ohio State

7. MWC {9 Teams}, Bowl Record: (2-1)

TCU’s defense is top 10 in the country I’ve seen them play in person & they are much better than advertised. I was disappointed in BYU; they didn’t show up against Arizona. IF this conference had more depth, they’d be ranked over the Big 10 right now.

No remaining games.

8. C-USA {12 Teams}, Bowl Record: (3-1)

Good showing but I’ll need to see how their teams perform against teams in the six major conferences.

No remaining games.

9. WAC {9 Teams}, Bowl Record: (1-4)

More than half the teams qualified & none of them performed well, including Louisiana Tech (who barely beat Northern Illinois).

No remaining games.

10. Sun Belt {8 Teams}, Bowl Record: (1-1)

At least one team had to qualify for a bowl game but neither team were worth watching.

No remaining games.

11. Independent {4 Teams}, Bowl Record: (1-2)

Notre Dame won but why did they qualify for a bowl game?

No remaining games.

12. MAC {13 Teams}, Bowl Record: (0-4)

Terrible performance.

No remaining games.

My take: Pretty good. Mountain West should be a lot higher now that Utah beat Alabama. Conversely, the SEC is falling a little bit and despite Kentucky’s win over ECU, still need Florida to win and keep them from looking overrated.

Doug plans to update these rankings as the bowls start to wrap up so stay tuned to see where your favorite conference falls.

Think my boy Doug is spot on, or is he way off base?  Let your voice be heard and leave a comment!