Have some stuff to vent about

Call me late or behind the times but I just got my own twitter and am intrigued with who all is on. I am currently following the likes of Shaq, Dwight Howard, Kenny "the Jet" Smith, Lang Whitaker (writer for my favorite magazine Slam) and my favorite sports writer, Bill Simmons.

I say all that because most of them update their thoughts on the current playoff games as they are played out and it's rather enjoyable to read their comments. 

Well, after tonights Cav/Magic game 1 thriller (and last nights Lakers/Nuggets thriller) facebook blew up with status updates from people who make themselves sound stupid because they sound like they have no idea what they're talking about.

Let me explain. Tonight, LeBron was amazing, his teammates..... not so much. The Magic showed a lot of guts and they earned this win on the road. (What makes it even more impressive is the fact that the refs were clearly favoring LeBron on EVERY call! He travels 90% of the time he has the ball BTW.) 

So what do I see on Facebook after this shocking game 1 upset? People automatically calling out LeBron for passing up the last shot and saying that he'll never be like MJ or Kobe because of this (I kind of agree with this except his passing is what got them to within one in the first place), Kobe not letting his team lose and that the Cavs are "trash".

Listen people, I'll admit, I'm rooting for Cavs/Lakers in the Finals, but it's 1 game of a 7 game series! Don't forget that the team that just lost has the MVP. I still think the Cavs will win in 5 (although I should probably change that to 6....oh well....) 

I do like watching Lebron play, and I've been known to root against Kobe. Let me just rehash the Lebron passing the last shot argument and why that "means" he'll never be on a Kobe/MJ level. 

If my memory serves correctly, (trust me, it does) wasn't it Kobe's Lakers who blew a 24+ point lead to the Celtics in game 5 last year in the Finals? MJ would NEVER let that happen, ever! I decided that the Kobe vs Jordan argument ended right there. Kobe is a top-5 all-time in my opinion, but challenging MJ? No way. Especially after that game in the FINALS! 

He may redeem himself this year and get a ring without Shaq (finally), but I still don't think he can be on the same level as MJ anymore. But I do think that Lebron, by the time he's done, will be in that level. 

As for the Lakers, I think they'll win in 6 or 7. They're good, but after struggling with the Yao-less Rockets for 7 games I have my doubts about them. 

Also, in other, more encouraging news, Big Papi FINALLY hit HR #1 tonight! Yes! I hope that takes the pressure off of him and he gets back to being Big Papi, not the big popout. The Sox are within 1 1/2 of the Blue Jays after tonight's win. 

That's all the venting for now on the playoffs, if more idiots voice their uneducated, irrational opinions on facebook or twitter I'm sure I'll hop back on here and vent again.

A great night of sports

Allow to me to gloat for a second, reason being that so far (knock on wood, still have the rockets playing right now vs the Lakers and a game 7 in boston) my NBA picks have been spot on.

Tonight is a great sports night, two game 7's in the NHL and two game 6's in the NBA. I have been changing channels back and forth between the games and so far so good. 

The Celtics collapsed down the stretch, which I think can be attributed to the MASS amount of games they have played in the last 2 years. 

I will admit that I love watching the Celtics play in the post season because of all the injuries they have endured, they are defending their title with heart, and that's all that a fan can ask for. 

Now if they somehow win game 7, they will get destroyed by the Cavs but for them to even get to the Eastern finals would be amazing with what they've had to endure.

Speaking of defending titles, the Red Wings played an exciting game tonight winning 4-3 against the Ducks. The game winning goal coming with 3 min to go. You can just feel the intensity of the playoffs in the these game 7's. 

As I write this the Bruins and Hurricanes are tied up at two in the 3rd  of their game 7, I think I'm pulling for the Bruins just because they're in Boston. 

And since I mentioned Boston I would like to vent for a moment. I appreciate that Terry Francona like to stick up for his players and have faith in them but what David Ortiz is doing (or not doing) is disgusting.

Today he was 0-7 and left 12 men on base....12!!! He had bases loaded in the top of the 12th against the Angles and hit a 10 foot grounder. He needs to be moved down in the order until he starts hitting again. 

On top of a great night of sports watching I am enjoying a running chat with the Sports Guy Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. He's my favorite writer and very funny and a HUGE Boston sports fan so I have enjoyed his interaction with fans who write in during these games. 

I have written in about 10 times with comments and have yet to make the cut but I'll keep trying.

Also, Houston looks great so far out of the gate vs the Lakers, just for the sake of having my picks look good I'm pulling for the Lakers to make a comeback.

NBA post season running picks

Well, haven't had a blog in awhile so I thought that I'd revise my NBA playoff picks (in progress) in response to my good friend Adam Beatrice's blog post on the same topic.

Since we're in the conference semi-finals game 3s already I'm going to cheat and pick from what I've seen so far.

Eastern Conference:

Lebron's vs Hawks: Cavs in 4

Easiest pick by far.  Not even close. It's like the Cavs are playing a NIT college team. Next pick.

Boston vs Orlando: Celtics in 7

I know that currently the Magic are up 2-1 in this series and Boston looks very venerable this round, (especially to the inside out game of the Magic) but I just can't shake the fact that the Celtics have been there done that and will some way, some how prevail.

Western Conference:

Lakers vs Rockets: Lakers in 6

So the road to the finals isn't as easy as once thought, huh LA? The Lakers are up 2-1 after tonight but I think that the Rockets toughness and defense will allow them to hang around for 6 games before Kobe decides he's ready to move on.

Denver vs Dallas: Denver in 5

Ok, before this series started I would have picked the Nuggets in 6 or 7, but after two games, wow, this series is being dominated by the Denver. Dallas may get a game at home but I think that's it.

And here is a bonus link, a spin off of those awesome NBA Playoffs commercials. Enjoy.