Eliminated!!!

After a first half lead the San Antonio Spurs have been sent packing after 5. Los Angeles ended their season in the Conference Finals just 3 wins away from going back to the Finals and showed wonderful effort as the 1st half ended. The Spurs were up 17 sometime during 1st half and LA cut it to 6.

Like I thought the winner of the Western Conference, by far the better of the two, would win it all. LA showed amazing depth. When the top three scorers, Kobe, Odom, and Gasol were sitting, Jordan Farmar stepped up and scored a few points getting the team excited.

Manu Ginobili only averaged 12.5 points a game and that hurt the Spurs. The reason why the lost the series was not because of the no-call in game 4 but because they blew big time leads like in game 1 and 5 and those were the biggest games. The Spurs need to move forward and get fresh and young legs and if they have to trade Ginobili (as much as I love Manu) and Horry for a higher draft pick instead of the 26th pick would be good. They could end up with a guy like Roy Hibbert. Also Chris Douglas-Roberts would fit in with Tony Parker's up tempo play and would be great by having the best mentor you can have, Tim Duncan. Douglas-Roberts is expected to go pick 27 to the Hornets, a team the arguably has a better point guard then Parker and a place where he can fit in with Tyson Chandler but in my opinion I would rather be in San Antonio because he would play in The City of Basketball Champions. By the way the Spurs have won every other year since 2003, could he be the difference maker?

Are The Spurs In Trouble?

The Spurs are one loss away from having their repeat dream fall short again.


Down 3-1 traveling to LA after another unlucky loss are the San Antonio Spurs. After another great night by the Spurs Big 3. Timmy D had 29 points and 17 rebounds in the Spurs 93-91. Kobe out played San Antonio at home. The Spurs would have been so much more comfortable going to LA at a tied series but instead every game is a must win.

Brent Barry definitely did appear to be fouled on the dribble by Derek Fisher just before the Game 4 buzzer sounded, which seemingly should have sent him to the line for three free throws to force overtime. When the call didn't come, Barry's hopeless heave at the horn sealed a 93-91 defeat to L.A. that edged San Antonio to the brink of elimination ... and another failure to win back-to-back championships. Barry later said,"That play was not where the game was lost." I agree the Lakers had 13 offensive rebounds where they scored some big points.

Lakers' fans must be saying that the Spurs should have this series tied and we got lucky. I have some faith in the Spurs but not a lot. "We had a hill to climb being down 0-2 and now we have Everest to climb being down 3-1." as the great Brent Barry says. Will San Antonio get to the top of the mountain for the 5th time?

The Five Best Sports States:...For Now

Here is my list of the 5 best sports states...
5. Florida

Florida has had some inconsistent teams but they find a way to win. In 2006 the Miami Heat won the NBA Finals and then this year they went 15-67. The Marlins (in 1st place now) won the World Series in 2003 and in 2004 they went 89-73. Then they went under 500 at 79-83. And Tampa Bay, WOW! The Rays went 66-96 last year and now they are 31-20 and have the best record in baseball. The Magic weren't to shabby after making 52-30 and have the reigning slam dunk champion, Dwight Howard. Don't forget the Gators who won 4 football/basketball National Titles in 2 years and the football team got to the Capital One Bowl game versus Michigan and have the Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow. The Jags went 12-6 making the postseason and Florida ranks 5th on my list.

4. Texas

The athletes of Texas are champions but not number 1 or 2 or 3. The Longhorns have won the 2005 BCS National Championships and got to the Elite Eight lead by the great DJ Augustin. The Spurs are going for their 5th NBA Finals in 10 years. They have a Triple Crown contender in Josh Hamilton leading a 28-27 Rangers team. The Houston Astros are lead by 4 men who combine for a .322 batting average, 39 home runs, and 153 RBI's. Those men who can be leading Houston back to the playoffs are Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejeda, Hunter Pence, and Lance Berkman. The Mavericks got J-Kidd and finished the season at 51-31 being eliminated by the Hornets. The Stars went 45-30 losing in the NHL Conference Finals to Detroit and the Cowboys and Tony Romo won the NFC East after going 13-3 before being sent packing by the Giants.

3. California

UCLA and Stanford were in the NCAA Final Four and Stanford lost in the finals. The Lakers are in the Conference Finals versus the Spurs. The Sparks got the amazing Candace Parker and are undefeated at 1-0. The USC Trojans speak for themselves. The Angels won the AL West last year and are looking for a repeat. Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup last year. The Oakland A's are pitching pretty well and that is why they are 2 games back from the Angels. The Galaxy behold Beckham and Donovan. The Dodgers are playing decent baseball, the Chargers have LT, and the Padres aren't looking so wonderful.

2. Massachusetts

Lets start of with the lower teams like Boston College who aren't to bad because they had Matt Ryan play there and he was the first quarterback taken in the Draft. The Bruins went 41-29 and made the playoffs with 94 points. The Celtics are in the Conference Finals with the Boston Three Party (KG, Pierce, and Allen). You have to remember the Patriots who went 16-0 and couldn't win a Super Bowl this time. And the real champions the Red Sox who went 96-66 and won baseball's World Series. Mass. isn't number 1 because Michigan is.

1. Michigan

GO BLUE! Michigan won the Capital One Bowl game over the Gators. MSU got to the Sweet Sixteen. The Lions hope for a big year from Calvin Johnson and Gosder Cherilus after going a disapointing 7-9 with high expectations after starting 6-2. The Tigers after doing some major rebuilding started off slow but will make a run with Miguel Cabrera. Here comes Titletown!!! The Detroit Red Wings, Hockeytown, are on their way to their 11th Stanley Cup after going up 2 to nada. The Pistons have fought back from going down 1 to tying the series up last night. Michigan slightly defeats Massachusetts and wins the "Best Sports State.

You can vote which state you pick as #1 under the poll section on the right of your screen.

The Liars: More Steroids Issues

Gym owner, Kelly Blair, often bragged to friends and clients who worked out at his Pasadena gym that he supplied performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes, including Jeff Bagwell, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens. Jeff Bagwell immediately said, "I've never met the guy, I have no idea who he is, I've never been to his gym." If this is true Bagwell is next on the "Liar List" he has ruined his chances of making the Hall of Fame. Blair wanted to be known as the guy behind the professional athletes.

That report contradicts Blair's recent comments to ESPN.com, where he revealed he told two FBI agents he never supplied HGH to Clemens or Tom Pettitte, Andy's father. Blair also indicated he never met Clemens. Bagwell was not contacted by the Mitchell commission prior to the release of the report or ever been in any steroid discussion. Bagwell is currently employed by the Astros as a special assistant and likely would have been mandated by the team to cooperate with Mitchell investigators.

I happen to be reading Jose Canseco's book, "Vindicated" and he took steroids to fulfill a promise to his grandmother to become the best baseball player. He found any way to be the best including cheating and he told people it would make them better. Now I think guys like Bonds who would've hit 500 without 'roids are doing steroids to increase their salary. They don't care about their teammates they care about themselves. They are self centered. There are only some guys who are team players like Jeter and Tulowitzki. Steroids only kill you and hurt you, you are only good for a short time. Until you get caught and lose your respect and fans.

BAM! 7 Walk-off's In ONE Day

Evan Longoria, Elijah Dukes, Adrian Gonzalez, Carlos Quentin, Andre Ethier, Dan Uggla, and Jason Bay. What do they all have in common? Hitting a walk-off hit on May 24, 2008. For the first time this year a team worked together in the game of baseball. These guys broke the record for most walk-off's in one day since May 28, 2004. Also Quentin hit his 13th and 14th home run of the year making him the AL home run leader. These walk-off hitters have 57 total home runs so far this season.

These guys are all great young prodigies. Carlos Quentin and Adrian Gonzalez have 14 homers, Dan Uggla has 16 homers, Longoria has 7, and Jason Bay has 12. Dan Uggla is beginning his prime right now. He had 31 home runs last year and I expect at least 40 home runs this year. Uggla could maybe hit 5oo and go to Cooperstown. Carlos Quentin was told by Ozzie Guillen this year he might not even make the team. The Sox were going after guys like Andruw Jones and Torii Hunter and now Quentin has 8 more home runs then them combined.

Shockingly there was a combined 66 innings. All of these guys who hit walk-off's today are going to have a 20 home run season. Especially Uggla.

Bombin' In The Bronx and Defeated In Denver

The New York baseball teams haven't started off well. The Yankees are 23-25 and the Mets are 22-24. One of them is heading in the right direction. The Mets are on a 5 game losing streak and the Yankees are on a 3 game winning streak. The Yankees will come back and be in the race but I don't know about the Mets. The Yankees are showing signs of getting better after they destroyed Seattle 13-2 while the Mets lost in 13 after a Matt Holliday homer. Rumor has it that Mets manager, Willie Randolph, could be fired as soon as Monday when the Mets come home. The Yanks are in some trouble but expect a run to start now. They have a very easy schedule. They play Seattle, Baltimore, and Minnesota this month. They could leave May with an 11 winning streak. The Bronx Bombers have gained A-Rod back and Ian Kennedy is pitching well.Could 1 New York team make the playoffs? At the most.

Survived Cancer, Won the Clinching Game of the World Series, and Now This:The Jon Lester No-Hit Story

Taking the mound last night for the Red Sox for the first time this season since being declared free of cancer is the 23 year old lefty Jon Lester. Lester was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma this past September. Lester was declared cancer free in December and has been working very hard in the minors to return to the majors. This is a very impressive accomplishment and one that can truly inspire so many.

Taking on the Cleveland Indians, Lester threw the first no-hitter of the season. It was the 18th in Red Sox history. Catcher and captain Jason Varitek set a major league record with Lester for catching the most no-hitters, 4. He shut out the Kansas City Royals for his first ever complete game.

Supposedly while Lester warmed up he "left his stuff at home". Lester later said, "If you all saw my bullpen [session] today, it wasn't pretty," said Lester. "You would have thought I wouldn't have gotten out of the first inning. It was terrible. I got out in the game and I've always been a slow starter. If I can get through the first, second, third, sometimes the fourth inning and be doing all right, then usually I can do all right into the game and get stronger. That was the case. I just felt more comfortable with my delivery, more comfortable with the stuff I was throwing." He persevered and had 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. It all came to a true when Lester blew a 94-mph heater -- his 130th pitch of the night -- by Alberto Callaspo. Though he's just 24 years old, Lester has already experienced more highs and lows than most 15-year veterans. A cancer recovery followed by a World Series clincher and a no-hitter?

Red Sox no-hitters
Jon Lester became the 18th pitcher in Red Sox history -- and just the fifth left-hander -- to throw a no-hitter on Monday vs. the Royals. It was also the first complete game of his career.
Date	Pitcher	Opponent
May 19, 2008	Jon Lester	Kansas City
Sept. 1, 2007	Clay Buchholz	Baltimore
April 27, 2002	Derek Lowe	Tampa Bay
April 4, 2001	Hideo Nomo	Baltimore
Sept. 16, 1965	Dave Morehead	Cleveland
Aug. 1, 1962	Bill Monbouquette	Chicago
June 26, 1962	Earl Wilson	Los Angeles
July 14, 1956	Mel Parnell	Chicago
Sept. 7, 1923	Howard Ehmke	Philadelphia
June 3, 1918	Dutch Leonard	Detroit
June 23, 1917	Ernie Shore	Washington
Aug. 30, 1916	Dutch Leonard	St. Louis
June 21, 1916	George Foster	New York
July 29, 1911	Smokey Joe Wood	St. Louis
June 30, 1908	Cy Young	New York
Sept. 27, 1905	William Dinneen	Chicago
Aug. 17, 1904	Jesse Tannehill	Chicago
May 5, 1904	Cy Young	Philadelphia

The Road to the Finals

4 teams left and the intensity level rises. My NBA Final 4 projections were right. I knew the match-ups would be Celtics-Pistons and Lakers-Spurs. 4 players, 4 leaders, 4 Hall of Famers meet. Chauncey Billups, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan with their sidekicks Richard Hamilton Tayshaun Prince, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, and of course the posse of Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. The 4 top teams meet well deserving of this opportunity and I’ll take you into what these four have to do to stop each other and win the NBA Finals.

Los Angeles Lakers

How To Score On Them: Don’t allow the blocking of Parker and Ginobili affect you. Drive as hard on them and take it strong. Also if you watch Kobe Bryant doesn’t put all his effort into defense. Make him work on D with his injured back.

How To Stop Them: Obviously you have to shut down Kobe. Double team him with Manu and Bowen and get the ball out of his hands. You also have to pressure Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom to hit clutch shots. You also have to box out Pau Gasol and get offensive rebounds.

San Antonio Spurs

How To Score On Them: The Spurs are a wonderful defensive team which will give any remaining team a tough time. The Spurs also aren’t the youngest of the bunch so make quickness their disadvantage.

How To Stop Them: You have to make sure Parker and Ginobili can’t drive because if they do they each score at least 15 points and put you in trouble. Get the ball out of Duncan’s hands to increase 3 point tries and make Parker slow down the tempo a notch.

Boston Celtics

How To Score On Them: Just like Kobe make Ray Allen work on defense so his old legs need rest and put him out of the game. Also get guys like Pierce and KG in foul trouble and wear them down.

How To Stop Them: The Celtics have 3 weapons with 3 different styles of play which makes it tough to defend. Start by keeping Pierce calm and under control and keep KG and Perkins off the offensive boards.

Detroit Pistons

How To Score On Them: The way to score on the Pistons is to move the ball around and be patient on shot selection. Only take good shots. They do a good job on defense so you have to be careful. Make them move because they have 6 guys who have played 8 or more seasons already,

How To Stop Them: You can’t relax when Billups while he’s bringing the ball down and trap him. That’s when he is most dangerous. He just pulls up and hits a game tying 3. Also guard Hamilton well and you’ll be in good shape.

Series Projections: Boston Celtics .vs. Detroit Pistons

Outcome: Boston in 7

Detroit has been in the NBA Final Four for the last 6 years and Boston has had trouble winning on the road especially in Detroit. Detroit will put up a great fight but Pierce and the Celtics will pull it out.

San Antonio Spurs .vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Outcome: Spurs in 7

You can’t pick against the defending champs. The Spurs have so many weapons and they will show one again as the defeat LA in their 2^nd game 7 in a row.

NBA Finals: Spurs .vs. Celtics

If this was a 5 on 5 game I wouldn’t take my eyes of the screen. Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Finley, Bowen .vs. Rondo, Perkins, Allen, Garnett, Pierce. WOW!

Outcome: Spurs in 6

The TV companies would rather have Kobe .vs. KG but instead it’s Duncan. The Spurs, defending champs will carry that over to next year. Boston will struggle and lose 4-2 falling short of the goal.

Enough Money Spent?

The Boston Celtics had the best record in the NBA at 66-16. WOW! Kevin Garnett was an MVP candidate. WOW! The Boston Celtics are in their 2nd game 7 of the playoffs. WOW!

Boston destroyed the the 37-45 Hawks in their last game 7. Everyone expected an easy road to the finals for the Celtics where they would meet Kobe and the Lakers. Well Kobe is 4 wins away and KG needs to win 1 at the most.

The Celtics brought in a new roster to start the year and got some more as the year went on. Some names that the Celtics picked up include James Posey, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Eddie House, and Sam Cassell. Boston also found their point guard for a couple of years, Rajon Rondo. Rondo averaged 10 points and 5 assist and a lot of intensity.

Boston now takes on a horrible Cavs team. The Cavs don't have one player that would start on any of the remaining playoff teams except for Lebron James and maybe Ilgauskas. James has been sensational this series. The Celtics went up 2-0 and then continued to lose on the road allowing Cleveland to force a game 7 which will be on ABC at 3:30 ET.

Boston I would guess will win tomorrow but for all the money they spent on rebuilding a terrible team into a wonderful dynasty makes me not that impressed. They should be destroying Cleveland everyday. It is truly embarrassing.

If I'm Doc Rivers I'm telling KG to be very intense and Rondo and Allen to feed him the ball so he could back in the giant Ilgauskas. I would also want Pierce to be clutch at the perimeter and score at least 20 so they could meet Detroit after winning 103-92.

The Baseball Check-up

Carlos Gomez hits for the cycle, Gavin Floyd pitches a no-hitter but then Joe Mauer got a hit in the 9th, and the Red hot Reds are hitting the heck out of the ball. Joey Votto hit 3 dingers and Adam Dunn has hit 6 home runs with 16 RBI's in the last 16 games.

The Reds may be in last place in the central at 16-21 but have wonderful young kids and and good veterans. Edwin Encarcion and Joey Votto who are both 25 years old lead the Reds in homers with 7. If the Reds keep hitting and pitching well they could be contenders.

And for Floyd and Gomez great job. Gomez has been on and off this season and the same for Floyd. These are two guys who could be good players down the stretch. Gomez is a good young prospect and Floyd pitches great at 25 and has a ton of potential. It may be possible that in 5 years we hear that Gavin Floyd wins the Cy Young and Carlos Gomez wins MVP. But don't count on it.

Kentucky Derby

To alert you now I have now clue about horse racing and the Kentucky Derby. I've only heard of Barbaro and Seabiscuit. I do know that the NBA and NHL Playoffs are heating up.

The Rangers are making a run to be like the '04 Red Sox and 1 series done in hockey town. Speaking of Boston, the Celtics have gotten embarrassed in the past week. They go in as the 1 seed with almost the best starting 5 ever, KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, and the HAWKS forced a game 7. The Cavs and Jazz stroll by in the other game 6's over Houston and Washington. The 2nd round is on fire.

In the NBA you have Duncan and the Spurs, the defending champs going up against Chris Paul and the red hot Hornets (Spurs in 6). Then you have Superman Howard vs Crazy Rasheed (Pistons in a heck of a series in 7). We also have Kobe vs Deron but we all know the turnout (Lakers whenever they are ready) and we have the last series the sloppy Cavs with beat up Lebron could take on Boston or Atlanta. I can't believe I said Atlanta at this time of the week.

Now lets go to hockey where the 2nd round is coming to an end unless the Rangers get hot. Montreal, the 1 seed played Philly, the 7 and as of now the Philadelphia Flyers are on the verge of beating the 1 and the 2 seed because they are up 3-1. Pittsburgh is up 3-1 in a Ranger series where the should have won at least Game 1 and San Jose is down to Dallas 3-2.

Take your picks! Leave them as a comment!

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