Spring Cleaning

So now the NBA Playoffs have started to get mildly interesting. The Magic moved on and the Lakers swept the Nuggs out of the first round. By finishing off the best (by record) eight seed ever, I think the Lakers have sent a message. The Spurs were unable to finish off the Suns--where was that effort in Game 3 by the Suns--and the Celtics have let up and Atlanta tied the series at 2. The Sixers are giving the Pistons all they want and the Hornets are close to finishing off the Mavs. I think the Suns can battle back and force the series back to Phoenix but it is probably just delaying the inevitable. By beating Denver tonight, the Lakers showed they are focused and ready for the challenge in front of them. They are now able to rest while Utah and Houston probably play six (maybe seven) games to figure things out. Philsie vs. Jerry or Rick means the series should be entertaining.

What happened to the great Western Conference Playoffs? This year each series was supposed to be can't miss TV, followed by the ugly stepsister Eastern Playoffs. The Suns-Spurs peaked after game one and the Suns mailed it in for game three, effectively taking the drama out of that series as no team has come back from 0-3 to win a series. Not to say the Suns couldn't do it, but the Spurs are too deep and too talented to let them back in. The Lakers swept Denver and the Mavericks have not been able to put up much of a fight with the Hornays. Chris Paul, by the way, is just filthy good. Utah-Houston, are they still playing?-probably will be the most competitive because they'll play seven games. What a letdown. I was looking forward to the Spurs and Mavs in the second round and the Lakers at least being tested by Denver. The Lakers probably should sail safely to the conference finals and I just hope the other series goes seven games, tiring out the winner hopefully enough for the Lakers to take advantage, because as a fan, both of those teams scare me.

Other random thoughts:
Did you hear the NFL draft was Saturday? This year was one of the most boring years in awhile with no drama or intrigue. No interesting stories developed and the only one they can come up with is this Army guy who gets a pass because he was drafted. Yawn....Congrats to Beau Bell, a linebacker from UNLV who was drafted by the Browns. Good chance of him earning some PT as a rookie...Also, a good day for UNLV golf yesterday as Adam Scott pulled a 50 ft putt in a playoff hole to win the Byron Nelson over fellow UNLV grad, Ryan Moore. Go Rebs!...Runnin' Rebs got their two spring signees and I think they have a chance to be even better next year. Their record might not show it, but I guarantee nobody will want to play us in February or March and I expect most of the league coaches to bitch louder about the conference tournament being in Vegas...I pay attention to the sports media and I noticed that Screamin' A. Smith has been replaced on ESPN Radio with an additional hour of Mike Tirico's trio, Scott Van Pelt. I enjoy Scott and his self deprecating style. I hope he is able to make the most of the opportunity...Locally, the ESPN station bypassed the third hour and started the local yokels earlier than when Dan Patrick was on. They now have two three-hour shows and an hour of my other favorite radio guy, Doug Gottleib in the afternoon. I wonder what Stevie A. is going to do, if he has lost his column (y'know, the thing that made him a celebrity in the first place), blew a TV show and lost his national radio show hour...If he wants to, Chris Webber is good enough to be a studio guy, just as long as he doesn't try to call a timeout.

Two posts in one week!!! That's a new 2008 record for me.

laters
cvz
Rebels by 10

NBA and the like...

Anyone else been underwhelmed so far by the NBA Western playoffs? I think they prematurely crested with the first game of the Suns-Spurs series. That game could have started the inevitable decline of the San Antonio Spurs, instead it covered the box on the Phoenix Suns and Shaq's last stand for the thumb.

The Lakers looked pretty good in the first two games against Denver. I am not very worried about Utah but New Orleans scares the crap out of me. While it would be nice to see them knock off the Spurs, I don't want to see them at all in the playoffs. We'll see what happens.

TTFN y'all!

laters
cvz
Rebels by 10