Spoke too soon!

Well looks like I spoke to soon. I burned my hand pretty bad recenly and have not been able to write. I will be healed up in the next couple of months so hopefully I'll really be back soon.

I'M BACK!!

Don't call it a comeback, I been.........wait it is a comeback. Anyway, I had a lot of stuff going on for a while so I had to take a break, then I just couldn't get back into it. But there is too much stuff going on for me not comment on it. Hey as I write this the Mavs are having a media conference announcing the signing of among others DeSagana Diop. WOW a center that has career stats of

PPG 1.6
RPG 2.6
BPG 0.9

Wooo Hooo......
I want Shawn Bradley back!!
..................................Yep I said it and if this is kinda guy we are gonna get to replace him I stick by it.

Bradley's career numbers
PPG 8.1
RPG 6.3
BPG 2.5

Bradley's best for a year
PPG 14.6
RPG 8.8
BPG 4.0

Diop's best for a year
PPG 2.3
RPG 3.6
BPG 1.0


Anyway, I went through all that because I heard Bob and Dan on the Ticket, among others, saying this guy was another Bradley, and I am really tired of the ripping of Bradley. Bradley is retired now, leave the guy alone. He is a genuinely nice guy, that was part of his problem, who was a useful NBA player. While no star, he was a nice guy to have coming off your bench. Diop is a guy who has no business on the floor.

Diop in his usual position...on the bench

NBA MVP

Steve Nash your NBA MVP!!!



You knew I was gonna use a Mavs pick. I am really happy for Nash, he deserves it! The funny thing is when he was here the national media acted like he was a spare. He goes to the Suns, does the same thing, and turns that team around and he is the MVP. Congrats Steve!!

Playoff Update

I've been swamped so I have been bad about updating this thing so I apologize to anyone who reads this thing. Today I am just going to give some quick thought on the Playoff's thus far.


West
Suns(1) vs. Grizz.(8)


Suns took care of business and swept the Grizz. It went pretty much like I thought it would, although I did think Memphis would win one. Suns just were too much for them. Jerry West has some decisions to make. The Grizz have lots of talent but only 1 star. Now the Suns get to rest until Monday when they play the tired(?) winner of the Dallas-Houston series.

Spurs(2) vs. Nuggets(7)


Duncan was a little slow out of the gate but it didn't matter. All that talk about the Nuggets was for naught. The Spurs showed they were the better team, and like the Suns-Grizz series this one went pretty much like I thought it would.

Sonics(3) vs. Kings (6)



Another series than went to form. The only surprise in this one was the play of Jerome James, who after getting cut by the Kings killed them in the playoffs. They now get the honor of getting beat by Spurs.

Mavericks(4) vs. Rockets(5)



This one did not go to form! I have always loved McGrady and did not fall in to the hype of the last two years ripping him. I did not think he would play like this. That guy is just amazing. Hitting 3's with 2 guys hanging on him, etc., etc. The Rockets really showed up. With role guys like Mike James and Mutombo playing better than anyone had any right to think they would. And Dirk, what can I say about Dirk. He has never had a streak like this. He is shooting 35%, he has never shot that bad for a streak like this. His worst season ever was his rookie year when he shot 41% as a 20 y.o. new to America. While the defense is good, that is not it, he is getting open looks he is just missing them. I have no idea what the problem is. An interesting note though is that Dirk is still 11th in scoring the playoffs at 22.5 just ahead of Tim Duncan, 22.0. All that being said the Mavs are still the better team! I've never really cared one way or the other about the Rockets, but after this season I HATE them, their players(minus McGrady), their fans, and especially their coach. Van Gundy has always been a crybaby, but making up conspiracy theories has taken it to a new level. He deserved every cent of that fine! I'm not going to get into the calls, there has been lots of bad calls on both sides. But is there a more annoying player in the NBA than Jon Berry? If so let me know! That guy cones in gets 3 of his 7 points for the night then looks straight at the TNT crew like "look at me , I'm the man!" How annoying! And to think I was somewhat a fan of his going into this series. Well Jon enjoy playing for your 10th team next season, as I am sure you will be dumped like usual in the offseason.

MAVS WIN GAME 7!!!

East

Heat(1) vs. Nets(8)



Nets should not have been in the playoffs and got swept. 'Nuff said!

Pistons(2) vs. Sixers(7)



Like I said, Iverson got them 1. Enjoy it, you should not have been in the playoffs!

Pacers(3) vs. Celtics(6)


WOW!!! This series has been the surprise of the playoffs for me! I have to say I have been taken aback by how the Celtics have played. They must have really gelled the last few weeks of the season. And how about Rickey Davis. Has he matured or what. This has been a fun series to watch. I have no idea who will win game 7.

Bulls (4) vs. Bullets(5)


While the Bulls have played better than I though they would considering the injuries, it looks like my prediction of Washington in six will come through with them having the game at home
tonight. Ummm, enjoy Shaq and Flash!

Another former Parcels guys

After being released from the Texans yesterday. DB Aaron Glenn was signed by the Cowboys today. He had a pretty good year last year with 55 Tackles and 5 Int. He is expected to play the nickel. Glenn has played for the Texans for the last 3 years and before that he played for................yep that's right the NY Jets. He was drafted in '94. A Texas guy, he went to A&M and his wife went to Kimball High School here in Dallas. So it is believed he choose Dallas over other teams that would be willing to give him a starters job to be close to home. He was released because the Texans wanted to give the young guys a chance. HMMM......wish the Cowboys had the same idea. I think Glenn will help the team and have always thought he was a good CB but they are not winning the SB next year so I would have preferred that they draft a guy and give him a shot.

Not Looking Good

Down 2 games to the Houston Rockets it is not looking good for the Mavericks. They have been getting beat by a team that has come to play. The Rockets have stepped up their game while the Mavs have taken a step back in every area. McGrady has taken his game to a new level, and not to get crazy, but I have not seen a player dominate more, and do more for his team since Jordan.
The Mavs have to do some serious soul searching and step it up or they might just get swept. Right now I am just going to leave it at this, but I might add some real analysis to this before game 3 so check back.

The picture defines the series!

A Blue Day

I am not going to overanalyze what happened to the Mavs yesterday. They shot 35%. That will not happen again. Dirk went 5 for 19 and had more turnovers (6) than field goals (5). That will not happen again. I'll leave it at that.


As for the Cowboys day 1 draft, every one here in Dallas seems to love it. Even at ESPN.com Mark Clayton listed the Cowboys at the top of his winners. I have a slightly different take. While I don't hate what they did, I would have gone a different way. I don't like taking a guy from Troy State with the #11 pick. Especially when Shawne Merriman and Derrick Johnson are still on the board. Now I'm not a big college football guy. I do watch some games, but I do not follow it as closely as I do the pro game. I have never seen Demarcus Ware play, but neither have most of the people who are saying he is a great pick. And that is my problem with the pick. He has not played a really high level of competition. I prefer to take guys from big schools in the first round. I think I would have gone for Derrick Johnson first then Spears with the 20.

I also would like to have seen them get something on offense with the 2nd round pick. All I have heard since the end of the season is how they need to get defensive players. I agree that they needed that but which has been worse over the last 5 years. While the defense was bad last year. The offense has been HORRIBLE for 5 years! While they have been adding players and I think they are getting close to having a decent offense I would have liked to see a WR or OL taken at some point. My real question is what would they have done if the Lions had not picked Mike Williams at 10? If he is still on the board at 11 do they take him? I don't think so, but I think they should have. Some people, including Mel Kiper, have him listed as the top player in the draft.

Overall I think they did a good job, I just think it could have been better. I give them a B for the day.

Cowboy braintrust looks excited?

NBA Playoffs Round 1

Ahhh heaven.....I love the NBA and the playoffs is special time of the year. Lots of great basketball every night! My life goes into hermit mode for about a month. Speaking of which I have really good tickets to the Rangers game on Thursday and a date(I promised to take her a month ago so I did even think about it). Problem Mavs-Rockets game 3 is that night!! My one saving grace might be that the Rangers game is at 7:00 and the Mavs at 9:30 and she is a Mavs fan. Possible solution = go to game, at 9:30 head to the VIP club(Gold Club) and watch the Mavs game. These are company tickets so like I said they are really good and come with the Gold Club access, although I'm not sure how late they stay open. Anyway, at the worst I will have to tape it and watch it when I get home.

Ok sorry, enough of that, Time for my thoughts on Round 1.

West
Suns(1) vs. Grizz.(8)


Sorry Memphis you just don't have enough to hang with the Suns. They will run the Grizz out of the Gym. Too much speed and athleticism. This should be a fun series to watch, with both teams running a gunning. Neither team has a real big man in the post, with Amare Stoudemire and Lorenzen Wright manning the post for Phx and Memphis respectively. I would take the suns starter at every position with the exception of PF where I would take Gasol over Marion, although Marion really shouldn't even be put in that position as he really is a SF. I take the Suns in 5 although it wouldn't surprise me if the swept Memphis.

Spurs(2) vs. Nuggets(7)


There has been a lot of talk about how much Denver has improved under George Karl and how they are they have a chance to be the Cinderella story of the playoffs. Don't believe it. They will get beat in the first round unless Tim Duncan is still really off his game due to the injury or the suffer some other major injury to Duncan, Parker, or Ginobili. Denver just doesn't have the players to compete at those positions. Although don't be surprised if Greg Buckner holds Ginobili down in several of those games. He is a really nice defender. I take the Spurs in 6 (5 is Duncan is in normal form from the start)

Sonics(3) vs. Kings (6)



I really don't think the Kings lost that much in trading Webber. He had become a jump shooting PF who doesn't have that great of range. He does very little in the post anymore, and can be taken to hole a will be the better PF's in the league. However his thought that he was the man on the team hurt the teams ability to find a new identity. I think trading him was the best thing for the team and that they will be better off for it. However, it will be a a year or two before they really see that. They need time to gel and find a new identity. The Sonics have limped into the playoff, but I think they will pick it up. With Brad Miller the Kings would have a chance in this series, but without him they have none. The Kings have no one who can slow done Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. My pick is the Sonics in 5.

Mavericks(4) vs. Rockets(5)



Once again the Mavs get seated lower than a team with a worse record(Mavs 58-24, Sonics 52-30). I REALLY hate the seating in the NBA. It was bad enough with 2 divisions in each conference but with 3 this is going to happen every year to some team. They need to go to a straight record based seating in the conferences. I already covered the Mavs below so I will make this quick. Mavs are a better and deeper team. They just need to watch out for McGrady. Mavs in 6.

East

Heat(1) vs. Nets(8)



This one all depends on Shaq. If he is healthy they role. If not it is a interesting series. The sad thing is that the Nets are in the playoffs at all. This team would not sniff the playoffs in the west. With Jefferson out ESPN.com has Brian Scalabrine listed as the starting SF going against Eddie Jones for Miami. That should be make for some odd situations. If Shaq is healthy I take Miami in 5. If not who knows.

Pistons(2) vs. Sixers(7)



Another team(the Sixers) that wouldn't sniff the playoffs in the West. Detroit however is a very good team. They had there problems throughout the year adjusting to being the champions. I think they have gotten over that and are ready to play. If so they will be a force to be reckoned with. If not they will still beat the Sixers. The sixers need a couple more starters and they might be able to become a nice team. As much as want to say I take the pistons in a sweep! I think Iverson will get them at lest one win, so I say pistons in 5.

Pacers(3) vs. Celtics(6)



Ahhh....what might have been but for one night in Detroit. You add Ron Artest to this team and take away all the drama and this team would have a chance to win the East. But without him, the mental drain that incident caused, and an uncertain shoulder for O'Neal they won't go far. They will however beat this spare Celtic team, another team that wouldn't come close to the playoffs in the west. The Celtics might be able to run on the Pacers some and get some easy transition buckets and get a couple of wins. But will Danny Ainge please, please get Paul Pierce some help!!! Lets hope Reggie Miller has a nice showing in his final playoffs. Pacers in 6.

Bulls (4) vs. Bullets(5)



Yeah, yeah, yeah I know they are the Wizards now but that is such a horrible name and logo I just couldn't use it. They should have gone back to the Zepyers before they used that. Anyway, man if only the Bulls had Curry and Dang this might be the most fun series to watch. Without them Washington has the edge. I look for a big series from Washington's big three(Jamison, Arenas, and Hughes) and from Ben Gordon. This still might be an interesting series to watch with several highlight reel players on each team. With the injuries to the Bulls I take Washington in my only 1st round upset in 6 games.

#40

#40

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the death of Pat Tillman. Regardless of your thoughts on our countries world actions please take a moment to remember a man, all men, who gave there lives for our country.