...Is there any way we can make it best of 47?...

I do not want this season to end, under any circumstance. I am so in love, enamored, and otherwise blown away by this NBA Postseason, despite the fact that my C's were removed by the powerhouse Magic.

There are a few ways of looking at the Orlando Magic run:
"Ah man, if the C's had just beaten the Magic, we'd be in the Finals now!"
I don't subscribe to this one at all. I think that the biggest crime in all of this, and it's because Lebron is too good, too powerful, too agile, too much of a media machine, but the biggest crime is that people aren't embracing the Magic in all of this, and I'll get to that a bit more later. But I do not agree that if the Celtics had won one of their 2 final games and advanced, that they'd be in the finals. I look at what the C's had left, how many minutes Scalabrine was playing, how little presence they had in the paint on defense...it doesn't add up.

I've preached this before, and I'll preach it again, but the glory of a 7 game series to decide a winner is that each series is a season unto itself. Amazing patterns of substitution develop, streaks that are 2-3 games long feel like eternity. Take a guy like Joe Smith - he was virtually invisible in the Cle/Orl series, but you have no idea what he may have done against the C's. Maybe the matchups would have dictated 8-12 open jumpers for Joe Smith a game, and he'd hit 4-5 a game, and then he'd be a bench scorer.

The only way this argument can be compelling, and possibly accurate, is that I have zero faith in Mike Brown to make the right decisions. Wally Szczerbiak shouldn't have played in this series, Sasha was a better answer and Sasha is terrible. Mike Brown refused to make adjustments, and maybe the C's would have prevailed. However, Lebron is so good at completely shutting down Pierce, Ray Allen wasn't hitting open shots, and if you are left with Perkins as your main, and possibly only, scorer, you are in trouble. Don't give me "Rondo", I am boycotting talking about him this summer.

"Boy, do I feel good about losing to the Magic, given how easily they beat the Cavs...it feels better to lose to a team that makes the finals..."
This is something I partially subscribe to. See above regarding matchups, I don't think that the C's/Magic series has any bearing on potential outcomes of a C's/Cavs or Magic/Cavs series. I generally don't take any comfort in the fact that the team that beat us advances, really, who cares? Garnett is having surgery, that fact is more important to me than almost anything right now, outside of actual game play on the court in the Finals. I find it trivial to embrace the advancement of other teams as a way of justifying your own excitement for your own team.

"The Magic made it this far, but they are going to get killed by the Lakers"
Shut up. This is the murky place of prediction that everyone falls into nowadays. I like predicting, it's fun, but to do so with any conviction at this point is so embarrassing. People ask me all the time, "do you think (x,y,z)?" in Sports, and I hate answering it now. I don't know. I can tell you 4 reasons why I think X will happen, 3 reasons why I think Y will happen, and 9 reasons why I think Z will happen. I can't prescribe weights to any of those thoughts, they all exist together. Embrace the games, watch them, love them. Lets see who wins, and then we'll have something else to put in our memory banks when we say, "remember how awesome the '09 Postseason was?"

"The Orlando Magic are incredible."
Here it is - this one right here is where my head is at, completely. First of all, it is no secret that I thought the Cavs were going to win it all. I saw a chemistry on this team all year, a team that lost 2 games at home, (really, one...) and a team leader who I cannot gush over any more. If you were to be reasonable about all of this, you would have agreed with me that the Cavs were the team to beat. Its just logic.

This Orlando team had it's first amazing postseason moment when it was faced with a suspended Dwight Howard for Game 6 of the first round against Philadelphia. Going back to Philly, they were staring down a 3-3 series tie in the first round, something that C's fans know how much tension can build around that. The first amazing moment was their victory without Dwight, in a playoff game, against a team with very athletic big men. They actually won handily, and put themselves in great shape to face the C's.

The 2nd round was a huge eye opener. This team isn't soft, as I thought they were all season. The Golden State Warriors for the past 8 years have been soft. The Suns, you can argue, have been soft from time to time. I was mistaking a fast paced, 3 pt. shooting team for a soft one, and I was incorrect. Their team was built for the playoffs. This roster of large, athletic, quick, and fantastic shooting SF's and PF's, combined with the amazing intensity, skill, and domination of Dwight Howard, was built to win 16 playoff games as much as it was built to win 65 Regular Season games.

Dwight blew my mind last night. In the biggest game of his career, he dominated. We saw in the Celtics series how ineffective he could be on offense. I have a lot of respect for Zydrunas Ilgauskus, he may be one of the only Cavs I'd want on my team, even at his age (wow, did Mike Brown really not use him well...)...but Dwight punished him all night. 40 points, 14 rebounds. In a game 6 they HAD to win. Can you believe that?

The Media, the Press, the Fans, we all need to look at the Magic for what they are. They are a team, at the start of the playoffs who had no business of winning 3 series, to be honest. They had to beat the 1 and 2 seeds in the conference, and they did it. They had to exorcise demons of being unable to close out games, which they did. They developed a weapon, an offensive system, unlike any other, in the 3 point shot.

But they also found a remarkable chemistry during this playoff. Jameer Nelson impresses me so much (remember how they get Jameer back next year?) He is the one, after the C's game 4 in which Dwight moaned about touches, who reached out to Dwight and told him to get his act together. Jameer's presence on the sideline sorta speaks to the team, I think. I fully believe they all just wanna win, and it starts with Van Gundy. Seriously, that may sound silly, but I don't think the Lakers "just" want to win. Jackson wants to pass Auerbach...Kobe wants so desperately his own trophy...Gasol really just wants women, its so obvious...who the hell knows what Vujacic and Bynum want, because they can't seem to make sense of themselves...

Van Gundy is a beacon in this league, he is awesome. He is doing it his way. He is developing a system, a personal style, a "screw you" attitude that isn't offensive to us, maybe offensive to his players, but you cannot argue with his coaching at this point. He loves the way his team plays, he loves coaching, he loves his guys. He loves them.

At this point, if you're watching, and you don't have a stake in either team, root for the Magic, really. Orlando is doing what we all want to do: Overachieving. They are taking their skills, which are already an 8, working hard on them to make them a 9, and ramping up to turn them into a 10 - and they are going to need to be a 10 to beat the Lakers.

I'll leave you with one prediction...Dwight Howard is on the sidelines with Patrick Ewing. In the 1982 NCAA title game v. North Carolina, John Thompson told Ewing to make a statement, he didn't say more than that. Ewing goaltended the first FIVE shots for Georgetown....now you can say it was dumb, thats 10 free points, people argue all were going in anyway, but I think that its possible that Ewing, coaching Dwight, is going to remind him a statement needs to be made. Gasol cannot start Game 1 of the Finals with 3 low post moves for scores, Dwight, via the foul or the Goaltend, needs to send a message that the key is his, whether it is in the Staples Center, or at Amway. Its the only way they will win.

One other thing, I hate Anderson Varejao. I really hate him. I don't hate an athlete at this point like I hate him. I am so close to saying horrible personal things about him. He is the worst kind of person. He is one of those players that broadcasters love to say, "If he was on your team, you'd love him..." That statement, if I hear it one more time...

Do you realize that's a horrible way to think? It's the worst thing about pro sports. I hated, couldn't stand, and otherwise detested the stupid stuff Garnett was doing with his fingers, his palm, his mouth, his body language, during the playoffs this year. He looked like a jackass, and the moment they lost, it made me feel a bit vindicated, towards him, that he had to sit down and realize, "wow, we lost. I feel stupid." Hopefully he thought that.

But that's what's wrong with blind fellowship of a team. Lets really inspect the "If he was on your team, you'd love him," line. Okay, first, He made 5 million this year, and is going to make over 6 million next year. That is for a guy who has no self control on the defensive end - he has been given a free pass by officials, he reaches in every single time on big men in the post.

The minute he changes teams, or Lebron does, those will be fouls. I know, it's stupid, but its true. His hair really is what makes people like him, his hair and his insane loss of body control. Offensively, he is not more skilled than Big Baby or Leon Powe. Defensively, you could argue that the Green's 2 backup big men are better as well.

If we were to spend upwards of 6 million on him, I'd be furious. So, one thing I can say with conviction, aside from how much I hate how he cheats, is financially I do not want Varejao on my team.

People put Artest into this category, which is insane. If you are watching basketball, and you don't want him on your team already, then you are crazy. I don't want him on my team despite all his insanity, I want him on my team for that insanity. He is already overscrutinized by refs, he is already a target...Varejao is a guy that is given every free pass - and his skills are poor. Artest has remarkable skill, and is already under a microscope.

Either love a guy or hate a guy for his game, don't change the rules when they put on your uniform.

...thoughts on Orlando v. Cleveland...

I am not going to claim to break any new ground here, and to be honest I watched parts of all the games this weekend, but not the entirety of any game. I was "witness" to Lebron's 3 pointer live, as I watched the entire 4th quarter of game 2 completely riveted...

Game 3 I was playing a game and didn't see it all, but I saw enough, and the fact that lebron missed so many FT's and that Dwight hit so many is such a huge key. I also believe wholeheartedly that Lebron's cast, who was helping him in games 1-8 in these playoffs is now hurting him, which is disappointing.

There is a big focus for me right now on Delonte West, and what he can bring to the team. Mo is bringing an offensive game and real threat, and even if he has an off shooting night, someone needs to cover him at all times. But there is going to be a point where Delonte loses all confidence in himself, and I think, I'm not sure, but I think we'll see a completely crumbled Delonte in game 4.

That is purely a speculative opinion, based in nothing more than a feeling, but I don't trust him, and the pressure is on him now. Lebron is performing, and overperforming, and I am not entirely convinced he can't think back to the Detroit series in the spring of '07, and find that kind of dominance.

Lebron has been leaning on his guys, but his guys aren't prepared to lean back at this point. Lebron took over against a very talented Detroit team in '07, and was beyond remarkable, I can't even begin to describe his dominance, but he had it all, and he has since tried to become more of the team guy, and his guys responded, but its over in game 4, I think.

The bottom line, everyone is already writing off Cleveland, and this notion that NBA or Basketball experts have to be in the business of predicting the future really is getting to me. All sports experts, actually, feel they have to predict the future to be successful in their particular field, and nothing could be further from the truth.

Writing off Cleveland, in hopes Orlando wins and you can say you were right, is really immature - the mature thing to do as a reporter, or as an expert, is to mix your predictions with a healthy dose of "why's" and "how's"...

We all like to predict, it's fun, but writing off Cleveland is very very dumb, the Cavs are clearly capable of winning 3 in a row, nevermind 3 out of the next 4, 2 of which would be at home. Who is going to win this series? I don't know. Who do I think is going to win? Cleveland. Who should win at this point, Orlando. Good, was that exercise fun for anyone? no.

...Home Court Advantage...

I am so tired of the expression "steal home court advantage," it is
stupid and it loses it's meaning when you hear them say it 4 times a
series each time the road team wins.

Home court advantage is a static fact, it is not a dynamic thing. You
either enter the series with it or you don't....you can't say after 2
games that team a "lost" the advantage, because they didn't...they may
have mishandled the advantange, but it isn't lost.

Amen

Sent from my iPhone

...Game 2, Los Angeles v. Denver...

Vujacic...what good is he doing on the court? He missed a wide open shot to end the first, he misses and misses and misses and misses, and he cannot play defense. So, therefore, the answer must be that his sole purpose is to annoy 98% of the country. Shannon Brown needs to play all of his minutes, and then some.


The Nuggets are not playing a real defense through the first half of this game. They are weird. I don't get it, because Billups will not stand for this. I wonder if something happened like a fire alarm was pulled during pregame practice - its certainly how Karl is reacting. But mostly, I think that it looks like if Bynum shows any promise of an offensive game, the Nuggets are willing to just allow him to do so. They can't be shocked by his flashes of "okay"-ness, they have to handle it and squash it, fast. Wow, the Lakers are a strong team.

Leads don't exist in Playoff Basketball. You are never in the lead. The term has to be changed to something else. Your odds of winning may be slightly increased, but all a "lead" means in NBA playoff basketball at this point is that more things have fallen your way than the other team - that goes without saying. However, I think teams that are in the lead are actually under the impression, in this year's playoffs specifically, that they are inherently more effective in this particular game.

That cannot be further than the truth. Every team is so fantastic at this point, that just because you have a 5-8 basket advantage over your opponent, that doesn't mean you have the luxury of assuming anything.

Nene is doing a fantastic job tonight against Pau Gasol. Plain and simple, the Lakers are better when Gasol is in the key, scoring. He isn't doing that tonight. Kobe has been the Lakers most effective low post player tonight, and that's not a good thing for LA. And I want to say bad things about Dahntay Jones, but its almost like tonight that Coach K's minute exposure to Jones may have made an effect, because he is one of Van Gundy's "pitbulls", I think. He should be on the Rockets, he'd be a better fit there. He also played in the D-League, and I respect guys who do that.


Kobe Bryant is getting away with anything he wants tonight, and that's mildly frustrating, but completely expected. He is manhandling Dahntay - you could see some of it in the little "Kobe is frustrated" montage, which I think they have to show us once a game. I find it interesting that Jordan's frustration with his teammates actions resulted in the taming of Dennis Rodman to the tune of 3 championships, while Kobe's frustration results in an ongoing feud with Shaq, a provocation of his head coach to say horrible things about him in book form, and, as mentioned, a :30 montage in every nationally televised game about how Kobe's teammates are letting him down.

It should be noted, however, in the interest of fairness, the entire 3rd quarter has been dedicated to making sure Carmelo gets to the line at every possible opportunity. Kobe is just outrageous when a foul is called on him, I can't figure it out. He is beneficiary of so many horrible calls, and he must know when he wasn't fouled and when he was, yet he expects 100% accuracy when things don't go his way. A few months ago on the Stern Show, Dr. Drew gave the crew a Narcissism test, in which Robin Quivers scored a 34, which is over twice the average for most Americans. There is something about listening to her that you can clearly hear how narcissistic is, how everything, literally everything, has some kind of relation to her. This is exactly, precisely, how Kobe acts. Entitlement and narcissism are siblings and Kobe seems to have a fantastic family with both.

In general I don't like to blame refs for much of anything, when it all comes down to it, they blow a lot of calls, but the Nuggets, Lakers, Cavs and Magic are the 4 best teams in the league, and they are the 4 teams left. It's a long series, and I don't think a blown call here and there effects too much - Dallas v. Denver was a big missed call, but at the same time, I have my doubts that it was as bad as people make it seem...

But anyway, the biggest complaint I have about NBA refs, and all refs in all sports who do this, is the overacting. They do all this crazy dancing crap when people commit fouls, and to me it looks like they are showing up players.

FINAL SCORE: Nuggets 106, Lakers 103
I love how the jump ball was a controversial moment in the game. "A clear missed call," Mark Jackson and Van Gundy said...wait a second. Is someone here implying that there is any rhyme or reason to a jump ball, at any point in the season. Its a complete free for all, starting with the second the ref throws the ball up in the air, which, on TV, is always clearly off to one side or another. Deal with it, LA.

Gasol being pushed out of the key at all times in this game was the key, in my mind. If you watch a replay or have the chance to see this again, he didn't move for the first 18 seconds of the shot clock b/c he knew he couldn't outwork Kenyon or Nene. That guy needs to find a way to become a "big man". ESPN announcers were marveling at Pau's ability to play huge minutes, but the dude doesn't bang up against a big except when he is attacking the hoop, he doesn't set big screens, he doesn't fight his way to great post positions. He isn't a real Center, he is a Euro-center.

...Game 1, Orlando v. Cleveland

I am not going to do this as a running thing during games, it happens to be the end of the 3rd quarter now when I start, but I am not interested in the second-guessing and unreliable predictions that come along with trying to post mid-game.

Here are some thoughts, though:

Anderson Varejao: Would I go so far as to say he is unwatchable? No, I wouldn't. However, I do sit here and think of a guy like Ainge and wonder, does he, or any GM, really want to sign this guy? He cheats, first of all, and I realize that isn't viewed as a negative by GM's, this isn't ultimate, you can cheat and win and its okay, its encouraged actually. But more than that, he is not someone who seems to have a real grasp on what he is, and who he is. I KNOW he is going to go into this offseason put off by the offer of a mid-level exemption in contract talks. I swear, I can tell by the look on his face when he shoots free throws that he thinks he deserves 6-8 million, and he'll get it. Someone out there is watching thinking, "I can't wait to spend 6 million per year for 6 years on him!" Good riddance, you're horrible. I cannot wait for you to realize a life of zero relevance.

Cleveland, as a unit: This team, aside from Lebron and Mo, is nothing. Nothing. I am not minimizing their chances of success, I picked them preseason to win it all, and I am more confident in that pick, 90 games later, than I was then. However, I cannot believe how little Lebron's teammates can offer. I am going to pick one, Delonte West, to use as an example.

In the first 5 minutes of the game, Lebron was choosing to have him be the benefactor of double teams, he hit wide open 3's and unchallenged layups in the first half. The fact that Lebron is on your team means that the measurement basketball media/press has for your success becomes, "can you hit open shots."

Right now, the measurement for a guy like Pau Gasol is so vastly different. There is some actual reasonable critique of his game, same with someone like Pierce, or Allen. For Delonte West, if he hits wide open 3's, he is a success. If he cannot create anything by himself offensively, which he cannot, it's viewed as a zero sum aspect. No biggie. You can't apply that kind of measurement to anyone on the Nuggets, for example.

Orlando, as a unit: This is a very goofy, strange, hard to figure out team. I watched them this season, and in the "real" season for 7 games against Boston, I actually like the makeup of their roster, there are a lot of cool things on that team.

Gortat is someone I think Boston needs to sign, no question about it. He can be Perkins' sub all season long, he has upside - he is the opposite of Varejao, I firmly believe Gortat loves being a 2nd string player, loves that identity, and loves what that role will bring him in his career. He hasn't been a factor tonight, but that doesn't change my opinion of the man.

Stan Van Gundy is more than a riot to me. He is hilariously awesome, the media doesn't know what to do with him, his players clearly have no idea what to think when he talks, but I think this guy is painted as a joke mostly because he looks like Super Mario, and dresses like Pauly Walnuts. You KNOW he has a windbreaker pant/long sleeve top suit he got at Marshalls in his home closet, right? You know that, and I do too.

Howard is amazingly bad at offense sometimes, but the threat of an alley-oop seems to be so real with him, its like Coffee Black doing it for the first time in Semi-Pro, nobody has any idea how to stop it when it grows effective.

And the 3 point shot for Orlando is one of the most dangerous weapons I have seen in an NBA team in a while - they are stacked with shooters, and they are in this game to start the 4th without that weapon coming to life yet. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why the Celtics didn't guard against the 3 more effectively. It is like the team, the league, the coaches, etc, are happier to give up open 3's than 1/2 open dunks...

Lebron James It is possible that David Archuletta's Crush was written for my feelings about Lebron. I have elevated Jordan to a level in my mind that I literally thought was safe. I didn't ever even consider Tom Brady, as an example, being in Jordan's class. But Lebron, with 0 rings, 1 Finals appearance, a loss in the 2nd round of the Playoffs last year, and with an awkward walking stride, he has put himself there.

I know that's crazy, and insane, and I know he needs rings to be in that class, but I just feel like its completely inevitable. Its not like it may happen, it will happen.

Coaches: I am starting to think NBA coaches are the biggest optimists in the world. They always believe in their guys, always. Its really awe-inspiring. I don't think Van Gundy, in hearing the short audio snippets, and seeing the way he reacted to everything going on, ever doubted the team.

(I am pausing with 9:35 left in the 4th, I'll post more below for the last 9+ minutes)

I am back, quickly. Being exposed to TNT's commercials for Raising the Bar, Meet the Browns, The Closer, Hawthorne, and anything else that TNT claims to be the greatest television show of all time, is the television viewer's equivalent of water-boarding.

Also, how did Mike Brown win Coach of the Year? HOW!? I cannot imagine anything more horrifying than that. The success of this team clearly cannot be attributed to anything other than LJ, can it?! It can't. It just can't.

The Value of Mo Williams: Immeasurable. I wrote to friends on 10/28/08, regarding Wiliams, "The Mo Williams addition by Cleveland is so enormous. With Delonte West battling his mental and physical demons, a guy like Williams to come in and turn that team into a real basketball squad is something I am terrified of."

He hit a monstrous 3 pointer tonight with about 2 minutes left, he played fantastic D on Courtney Lee on the last few possessions.

I cannot express my happiness with the Varejao foul on Turkoglu called late in the game. And beyond that, watching Lewis hit that 3 right in his stupid mug. Ugh, its a wonderful feeling. It's like its Christmas, except for presents, I got to go into that Asshole's house and eat the cookies he left for Santa, then steal all the gifts his parents wrapped for him. He is a loser, and loser's lose.

Delonte hits a wide open 3 late in the game. Doug Collins talked about mental toughness under pressure, and I don't think he is analyzing it the right way. Lebron is the only person battling pressure here, I think. He has Jerry West anointing him as "The One", and the whole league wants to see it be so...and he is dead tired in the 4th, and he is forced to be PG for the team b/c West and Williams cannot do it. And he is forced to drive to the bucket every time and make the right decision.

See above...Delonte West is a success, and "mentally tough" because he can drain a wide open 3. I need a Lebron in my life...


FINAL SCORE, 107-106
This game was a 10, no question. It was perfect. I cannot believe the Magic came back to win this. I really can't. It says NOTHING to me for the entire 7 game series, I just don't know how a team like Cleveland, after their 39-2 home court season, plus 8-0 in the playoffs with zero challenges the first 2 rounds...how does this happen?

I am stunned, and awed. By both the final score, and the sheer size of Lebron's Quad Cramp. It challenges Tony Delk's 1996 Final 4 Cramp for UK v. Umass. Still in 2nd, but challenges it.

...a promise...

I made a promise in a previous blog, and it was that I would speak about Obama's remarks to the graduating class of Arizona State, and I'm not going to lie, I don't have the energy to do it anymore. I really don't.

To sum it up, I think you should read the remarks yourself, and make your own judgments. If you want to be tuned in to what may or may not have frustrated me, keep in mind the following:
1. The dude just bought a $5,000 dog.
2. He will never want anything else in the rest of his life.
3. He is probably in the top 10 or 15 most ambitious and successful people in the world.
4. His title is PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

So do what you may with all that info. Oh, also, I see the link goes to Huffington Post, just so you know, I didn't read the remarks there so what the readers have said in response to his words have nothing to do with what I think.

The "Candidate" Obama and the "President" Obama are two different people, just if anyone is keeping score. And how much more can he take on? I don't mean that from a work perspective, I mean it from a "I don't like the banks, they are mine"...", I don't like the Auto Companies, they are mine..."

I sound like Rush Limbaugh, and I hate that, if I ever sound like Coulter, ring the alarms.

...policies of torture...

I beg everyone to watch Standard Operating Procedure by Erroll Morris, it goes pretty deep into the stories of the atrocities at Abu Ghraib. Now I got that out of the way though, I am pissed and confused about all of the torture talk and Obama's decision to hold on to additional photos of prisoner abuse.

First, Obama is lying to us, the same exact way that Bush and Co. lied to us, about the photos. We do all need to see the photos, period. Obama's defense in not releasing is that it will only, and exclusively, work to incite rage by our enemies. Lie.

It will incite rage, yes, but it will also do other things, its not going to only incite rage. Our troops are scattered around the Middle East, and when you watch Standard Operating Procedure, it brings into focus how poorly led and managed they are. I have no interest in speaking about the realities of troops, who they are, what they do, what their mindset is, what their education level generally is...they are absolutely STRANDED individuals, left to do all the dirty work, with 100% of the blame and scrutiny on them.

We have a serious, horrific, terrifying problem in this country, and I don't think its drugs, its not crime, its not the economy or swine flu - it is the fact that there are different sets of rules for the wealthy and the privileged. We all know this, and we have all been forced to accept it, but it comes into sharp focus in Standard Operating Procedure, as well as in the comments Obama made regarding the new set of photos he doesn't want to release.

Obama had the nerve, the audacity, and unfortunately, the political balls to say that torture, as an act of violence in our wars, is something that is carried out and executed by a few individuals - you have got to be kidding me. Torture is a policy, its a policy that Cheney and Co. brought back to life with a vengeance - they gave torture a good name, they have convinced a Nation that torture, despite nearly all Psychological emperical evidence, is an effective tool in the War Against Terror.

Now, its 2009, we have a new regime, a new world perspective, and our leader is willingly falling into the same trap - he is telling the world that our atrocities aren't scary enough to merit digging deeper. He is telling our richest, most powerful, most highly visible American Military members that their actions aren't worth prosecution, but if you are a 14 year old on a corner in Tuscon Arizona selling $400 worth of heroin to an addict that won't live 5 more years, then you deserve that many years in prison.

In the game of politics, the Democrats are winning. By a long shot...they are way ahead, they are in 1st place, the Republicsn's aren't on the board. What it will take for the Policies of Hate, Policies of Greed, Policies of Individualism to come back in full force are small victories. The Republican's are going to continue to take their lumps, a very liberal Supreme Court Justice will be appointed, hatred within the party and defections will continue to be the norm, but small victories, piled on top of each other over the next 4 years, will go a long way.

Nancy Pelosi, our wonderfully awful Speaker of the House, is a series of small Republican victories balled up into 1 individual. We are seeing a miraculous thing right now, the woman is giving an entire party, and an entire Nation, reason to hate her (and with her, her party), and rightfully so. Her backtracking on torture, what she knew and when, is classic Nixon, classic Clinton. She is not as skilled in front of a mic as either of those two, unfortunately, and she is going to only serve as a horrific bruise on the skin of the Democratic party, if she is not ousted.

And why should she be ousted? Its not because she is embarrasing, but because she lies, she lies and lies and lies, and I am so sick of it. She clearly knew about the torture, and if she didn't, for the reasons she gave as to why she didn't, she clearly should be let go of her responsibility.

I was going to hold on to this post. I started writing it on Friday, and now its Sunday and I was going to just sorta let it fall away b/c I don't want anyone to read this, as if anyone is reading, and get mad or upset...or critique me, I guess. I just am so fed up with the politicians, but beyond that, I'm fed up with the blind following of either party. Obama can do no wrong to those on the left, and that's disappointing. You know why its disappointing, because I think if you look deeply into things, he does more wrong than right at this point, and we can't be honest enough with ourselves to point to those things.

I decided NOT to hold on to this for 2 reasons:
1. This article, in today's Sunday Globe...

It speaks further to the two sets of rules I mentioned before, and how disgusting the fattest of the fat in Washington are. I promise, tomorrow, my next blog post will be about Obama's speech to Arizona State graduates, which made me want to find a hammer and a flat surface so I could make sure my thumb was laid on solid ground, and I could make sure I bash it as many times as possible to take my mind of the stupidity of what he said to them...

and..

2. Errol Morris' tweets this morning from his twitter account where he asks the same questions he asked in Standard Operating Procedure, why the highest military personnel aren't prosecuted for their actions, yet those who carried out ORDERS are prosecuted, makes me so sick, and him too, and he motivated me.

DISCLAIMERS, PS's, ETC's....
I don't claim to know how to write a critique, this is clearly me sitting down and typing for my own mental health, and I should have put things in better order, I apologize.

...The Wild West...

The Western Conference...what a pack of excitement. I'm only going to talk about the remaining teams and series.

First, the Rockets v. Lakers game last night, game 2, was more than completely incredible, it was an eye-opener, it was one of those AHA! Moments (Oprah, I won't pay you, shut up)...

There were 4 or 5 events in game 2, I'll highlight some, in random order:
1. Von Wafer was kicked off the Rockets bench by Adelman, a coach I really respect and admire, and that was amazing, I thought. I love the bravery it shows (in the sports sense) to kick out a key player to your team. It was a rather amazing moment, and unfortunately it spoke to the breakdowns the Rockets were having v. the Lakers, but it also spoke to the emotion in last night's game.

2. My highlight moment may have been post game when Artest was explaining his actions of going after Kobe when called for the personal foul. Artest was called for a completely BS foul, after Kobe fouled him, and in frustration, he earned a technical foul for arguing...upon recieving that, he went over to Kobe to demand respect and tell Kobe that you cannot elbow me in the throat, which Kobe was doing - Artest was then ejected.

After the game, Artest was recalling a game he played as a kid in a pickup environment in which someone was mad and went after another person with a hollow lead leg of a table, and one of the guys ended up with the leg of the table through his heart and died - a clearly horrible story. However, the highlight was when Artest told that whole story, then admitted, "I know the NBA isn't like that..." which was hilarious, that he felt compelled to explain a distinction between lead pipes through the heart and the NBA...

3. Also in last night's game was the most cowardly hit I've seen in years on a court, by Derek Fisher. Fisher is someone I used to really love to watch - he was a key player on a lot of good Laker teams, but now I feel like he is nothing out there. I don't think he hit a shot from January to the end of the season, and his charm is completely gone. I know I have no real basis for saying this, but he sorta weaseled his way out of his Utah contract by using his child's cancer as a way to get out, and then went right back to the Lakers and didn't get called out...I thought that was suspicious.

But last night, all of my suspicions on what Fisher has become came true on his completely cheap shot on Luis Scola on the screen. Sportscenter this morning, in its infinite wisdom and arrogant glory, decided to say Scola flopped, which I don't think he did. Fisher checked him like a hockey player, for no reason at all, and then played victim when he managed to gash a hole in his head in the process. There was a clip on TNT a little while later about "being manly" and how some people are whimps and just stupid macho bullcrap that the game's greatest never ever get caught up in....but Fisher does, of course.

He gave Scola a completely cheap shot, it was embarrassing and stupid, and he is suspended for it. Thank God.

That was all game 2!!!

I think the Rockets have a huge uphill battle to climb, but the winner of this series could win the whole thing - I type that, but I know that Cleveland is going to win this year, I just know it...

But anyway, The Rockets, from the opening tip, need to take advantage of the PG situation given both Farmar and Ariza have taken steps backwards this year, and they need to win 2 at home. Anything short of that is a Lakers series victory.

As far as Dallas v. Denver goes, this is a far less compelling series. Dallas' offense under Jason Kidd really has grown to become pretty stale, I can't stand watching it very much, and the Nuggets are a collection of very unlikeable players, Billups excluded. Personally, I think Kenyon Martin is a sociopath, and he smells like Indian Food. Birdman is a walking joke, he is 1 tattoo shy of looking like the wall Will Smith was chucking graffiti up on in the opening credits of Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and I do not want any part of JR Smith either. Billups is awesome, he deserves every ounce of credit he gets, an I am looking forward to seeing them challenge the Lakers, at least physically.

Back to the Eastern Conference a bit, just a few snippets:
> I think Boston has this series wrapped up, a home Game 3 loss by Orlando is likely with Johnson as your PG and it has been 3 straight halves they have been outplayed by the C's. I don't think that's going to end.
> Lebron is dominating the Hawks, and the Cavs look so strong. 6 straight playoff wins - does anyone think they are going to lose a game to the Hawks? I'd like to be 8-0 instead of whatever the C's will be in that series. What a battle.

Lastly, my list of players I have a tough time watching right now, no order:
1. Vujacic
2. Varajao
3. Kobe - sorry, he is amazing, but his arrogance makes me puke a bit. But he is so friggen amazing
4. Kidd
5. K-Mart

Pants.

I bought a pair of pants about 2.5 years ago that I have had in my closet as a goal - I never thought I'd actually get into them, but I kept them there just because I was so pissed I couldn't fit in them, and I wanted to reach the goal.

I put them on today, and they fit. Now, I don't like the way they fit, and I would have returned them if they fit on day 1, but I'm wearing them anyway as a matter of pride. The funniest part about them is as soon as I put them on, I felt inside like Lebron's external expression in this ad
.

That literally was the first thing I thought of.

I care too much about basketball right now.

"Some Things Make No Sense."

> That subject is a quote from Mark Jackson of ESPN's broadcast team, speaking about Dwyane Wade's prowess in Game 6 tonight. Jeff Van Gundy said the 2006 4 game run by Wade in the Finals was the greatest 4-game stretch by a player he's ever seen.

How many million people were alive in 1998 in the cities of Chicago and Utah? I'd like to think that many people would disagree and say Jordan may have trumped Wade's performance, but I like Van Gundy's conviction. Wade is good.

> Homerism really is an unfortunate thing. The fact that Chicago has to pretend to like Brad Miller, Boston has to not only stomach, but pretend to enjoy Papelbon's insanely embarrassing antics...that's a really sad thing.

Rajon Rondo, in my opinion, has displayed poor sportsmanship in the last 2 games against the Bulls. By saying that, according to the laws in the world of Homerism, I am apparently willingly burning my "Celtics Fan Club" card, because there is a bylaw in this world that says you can't say anything bad or dislike your own guy. This monster, Homerism, is at the crux of why I don't like baseball anymore, but that Blog post is in the future. I need to sharpen that logic up a bit.

> Here are things I have taken away from each series in the Eastern Conference Playoffs this year:

Boston v. Chicago:
- See Rondo and Miller notes above
- Paul Pierce is a Hall of Famer, I think first ballot.
- I wish Noah was on my team.

Miami v. Atlanta:
- Dwyane Wade is clearly the 3rd most athletic and phenomenal basketball species in the league behind the obvious 2.
- Atlanta just kills me. They are interested in so many other things besides winning games, its so pathetic.

Orlando v. Philadelphia:
- Example #878 this year why you cannot take anything for granted, and every game must be played. The Magic had no business winning game 6, good for them.
- Rashard Lewis' height will never cease to amaze me.
- Andre Miller would have been a great Celtic. Instead, we traded Declerq and the #8 pick overall in 99 (A. Miller) for Vitaly. Puke.

Cleveland v. Detroit
- That's it, everyone. Lebron is winning this year. The whole thing. Shut up if you disagree. Lebron is the next one, he really is.