The Sweet Smell of Roses

With the Conference Finals kicking off tonight in Boston it is time for me to announce my picks.

East- I still don't like the way Boston is playing on the road and Detroit is good enough to steal a game in Boston. However, this is Kevin Garnett's chance to redeem himself for past failures in the post-season and for his blah performance so far this year. Rasheed Wallace cannot guard him nor Jason Maxiell or Antonio Mcdyess. Also, watch for Rando to make Billups seem much older than he actually is. I think Detroit is a tad overrated. Boston in 6.
West- The ideal match-up. Kobe vs. Bowen & Ginnobli, Duncan vs. Odom & Gasol, Parker vs. Fisher & Farmar. Oh yea and the coaches aren't too bad either (13 combined titles). The Lakers have Kobe and the Spurs don't. Lakers in 6.

Oh yea, the Bulls won the Lottery!!!!!!

Dear Mr. Paxson,

Please draft Derrick Rose. We already have enough head cases at power forward.

Sincerely,
Bulls Fan Base

Draft Lottery Time

Say what you want about the Draft Lottery but it does bring some added excitement to an already exciting time of year.The top prize of this years lottery is Derrick Rose. Some may argue that Beasley is the best player in the draft but I don't think so. He reminds me of Derrick Coleman and Glen Robinson with a touch of Kenyon Martin's baggage. No thanks! Also in today's NBA you need a superior point guard (unless you have Kobe or Lebron). That being said here is how I believe the lottery will play out(note my alternate pick is in parenthesis):
1. Memphis - Michael Beasley or New York - Derrick Rose
2. Seattle - Derrick Rose or Miami - Michael Beasley
3. New York - OJ Mayo - or Memphis - Brook Lopez
4. Miami - Brook Lopez or Minnesota - OJ Mayo
5. Minnesota - Jerryd Bayless or Seattle - Jerryd Bayless
6. Clippers
7. Milwaukee
8. Charlotte
9. Da Bulls
10. New Jersey
11. Indiana
12. Sacramento
13. Portland
14. Golden St.

I only did a mock for the first 5 picks because I feel these are the 5 best players available and I don't think much will change between now and the draft that will affect the Top 5. I am hoping that Rose ends up in Seat.. I mean Oklahoma City.

My Baseball All Generation Team

All this talk about fading stars got me thinking about who I thought are the premier players of my generation. Since my first baseball memory consists of my mother crying after Mr. Rios dominated her beloved Bash Brothers, my time line will be from the start of the 1991 season to the current season. Note: I went with a four man rotation because I hate the fact that teams use a five man rotation. That really bothers me for some reason.

C - Ivan Rodriguez - Tough call over Piazza. He is much better defensively.
1B - Albert Pujols - Toughest position to choose from. Yet to have a bad season.
2B - Jeff Kent - Weakest position to choose from.
SS - Alex Rodriguez - Could be the greatest ever if he stays healthy. Sorry Cal.
3B - Chipper Jones - The most overlooked player on my list. Fantastic player.
LF - Barry Bonds - The bottom line: he's a Hall of Famer before 2000.
CF - Ken Griffey Jr - Prettiest swing I've ever seen.
RF - Manny Ramirez - Offensive juggernaut.

Starting Rotation
1. Randy Johnson - He's the Ace because of his performances in the playoffs.
2. Greg Maddox - Not exciting but can't argue with the results.
3. Pedro Martinez - Most intimidating pitcher I ever saw.
4. Tom Glavine - Steady throughout his career.

Cl - Mariano Rivera - One word: Dominant.

It's time to say Goodbye

As the baseball season begins to gain momentum heading towards summer I find it interesting that the few remaining prominent players from my childhood are vanishing right before my eyes. They are either in heavy decline or can't find a job.
The ones without job's are:
Mike Piazza,Barry Bonds,Kenny Lofton,Sammy Sosa.
The ones still active are:
Gary Sheffield- A perennial favorite for the annual Ty Cobb Award (Biggest Ass in Baseball) his numbers this year are pitiful. It's easy to say that it's due to his lack of artificial help but I think it has more to do with the fact that he is 39 years young. He is playing exactly how a 39 year old baseball player should be playing.
Frank Thomas- Fantastic career, battled with Griffey for AL supremacy for years. After being released from Toronto he has found a home back with the A's. His numbers have gone up since joining Oakland but they are still far from his career numbers, which are very good.
Ken Griffey Jr-The best baseball player of his generation. His injuries prevented him from challenging Mr.Mays for greatest center fielder ever. His last few years have been productive but not nearly what he showed in Seattle. I hope the trade goes down before he hits #600. It seems only fitting that he does it in Seattle.
Jeff Kent-Nobody seems to like this guy. Considering he is 40 years old his numbers aren't terrible. He is the best 2B of his generation.

Good Songs

Here is an excellent version of my favorite song this year "Fools" by The Dodos.



My second favorite song this year "I Stand Corrected" by Vampire Weekend. This song is so good. I look forward to seeing them live sometime soon.

Will the Real Contender's Please Stand Up?

These teams continue to baffle me. The motto for this years playoffs should be "Win Big at Home and Lose even Bigger on the Road" The Celtics, Spurs, Hornets, Lebron,Pistons(Game 3) all win big at home then lose big on the road. I believe it was Jeff Van Gundy who said that a playoff series doesn't start till someone wins a road game. So,since 3 of the 4 second round match-ups are tied up with no one being able to win on the road it should be interesting to see how things shake up. The Celtics bother me because it seems to me that a 66 win team should be able to win a road playoff game especially against the Hawks and Lebron James. It's interesting but the critics who said that the Celtics "Big" 3 haven't done this in the playoffs before seem to look real good right now. Watching these Celtics compared to Pistons and Spurs operate during crunch time is quite a contrast. They better figure things out quickly because they have no chance of advancing past Detroit playing like this. The Lakers and Hornets have to win their Game 5's or else their seasons probably will end on the road. It's starting to look more and more likely that we will see a repeat of last years Final Four. Pistons/Cave and Spurs/Jazz.

Current Finals Projection
Pistons versus Spurs

Random Baseball Thoughts

-Those Devils of Tampa will stay in the hunt if their pitching holds up
-Brandon Webb is the best pitcher in baseball
-Erik Bedard still gets no run support
-Go A's
-Miguel Cabrera is the new Albert Belle
-Hanley Ramirez is pretty good
-Go Marlins

Current World Series Match-UP
Red Sox versus Diamondbacks