By Guest Blogger Tyler Daly:

Dirk Nowitzki is a special player. The 7-foot German approaches the game like none before him have, because no one has had the physical tools and skills that he has been given. He’ll back you down and use his strength to get to the basket, he’ll face you up and blow by you for a dunk, or if you’re too concerned with stopping that he’ll just knock down a fade-away jumper in your face. Nowitzki has forever changed the game of basketball, paving the way for other foreign players of similar styles (Yi Jianlian and Andrea Bargnani). But for some reason, Dirk has been labeled “soft” and accused for costing the Mavericks in the playoffs in past years. Well that is simply not true.

Dirk’s career playoff averages:

-25.5 ppg

-11.0 rpg

-Field goal percentage: 45%

-Free throw percentage: 89%

Now a quick glance at those numbers should tell you everything you need to know. The accusations previously mentioned have no basis; the numbers just simply do not support them. Instead, it has often been the case for the Mavericks that key role players have not played their part during playoff runs. Too often has Jason Terry struggled to find his rhythm in the postseason, too often have the Mavs suffered under a lack of a center.

Which brings me to my next point. This year’s different. Not only is Dirk averaging 28 ppg in this year’s playoffs, but he’s also shooting a tremendous 92% from the charity stripe. But that’s not the reason the Mavericks have been successful. Yes, Dirk is instrumental in the success of the team, no arguing that; however, it is the presence of Tyson Chandler, the shooting of bench players like JJ Barea and Stojakovic that have filled in the holes. This is why I like the Mavericks chances, the team seems to realize what a title means not only to this team, but to Dirk. As Dallas has an experienced roster (8 guys over 30 years of age) their window of opportunity is slowing shutting. A title would certainly cement Dirk’s legacy among that of the all-time greats, and his teammates seem to want to put him there.

I have never seen the Mavs play with the intensity or passion they have so far in this postseason run, and it is the beautiful result of where hard work meets desire. But despite what happens in the rest of the postseason, I think Dirk has forever shed the “soft” label. He deserves that at least.

By Guest Blogger Rob Yunich:

The Capital Classic, the country’s longest running high school basketball all-star game, has built up quite the impressive list of alumni: Mark Aguirre, Carmelo Anthony, Elton Brand, Brad Daugherty, Patrick Ewing, Grant Hill, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Danny Manning, Chris Paul, Doc Rivers, Ralph Sampson, Amare Stoudemire, Dominique Wilkins, and James Worthy.

This year’s edition, the 38th annual event, will be held this Sunday, April 17, at Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. The event includes a doubleheader: the District All-Stars battle the Suburban All-Stars at 1 p.m. and the U.S. All-Stars play the Capital All-Stars at 3 p.m.

The 2011 event will feature several of the nation’s top 100 players: Dorian Finney-Smith (Norcom HS, Portsmouth, Va./Virginia Tech), Malcolm Gilbert (Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa./Pittsburgh), Adjehi Baru (The Steward School, Richmond, Va./College of Charleston), Tyrone Johnson (Montrose Christian, Rockville, Md./Villanova), Trevor Cooney (Sanford School, Hockessin, Del./Syracuse), Maurice Harkless (South Kent School, South Kent, Conn./St. John’s), Achraf Yacoubou (Long Island Lutheran, Brookville, N.Y./Villanova), Myles Mack (St. Anthony, Jersey City, N.J.), Mikael Hopkins (DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md./Georgetown), and Jabarie Hinds (Mount Vernon HS, Mount Vernon, N.Y./West Virginia).

Other notable alumni of the Capital Classic, which was first contested in 1974, include Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, who just won a national championship at the University of Connecticut; Villanova’s Mouphtaou Yarou; Syracuse’s Kris Joseph; Minnesota’s Ralph Sampson III; and Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez.

More information is available at www.TheCapitalClassic.com. Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster and the Show Place Arena box office.

By Guest Blogger Tyler Daly:

The way the current NBA is moving, superstars are linking up all around the league to form “Superteams,” threatening to swallow the little guys.  This has caused plenty of cap room money being moved and big trades going down this season.  Not all trades turn out to be a success, however.  Here are some of the top trades and how they turned out:

Trade #1 - Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks:

This move was talked about for weeks upon weeks upon weeks before it finally went down.  It was ‘Melo to the Knicks, then the Nets, then the Lakers, and so on and so forth.  Finally, the prolific scorer from Syracuse landed in the Big Apple next to Amare Stoudemire.  Unfortunately, this move has not turned out to be as successful in the short-term as some would have hoped.  The Knicks gave up many of the key pieces that made this team an exciting first half surprise, and have struggled to adjust to having two dominant scorers on the floor at the same time.  In the long term, I think this move was good for the Knicks; however, I would not expect much from this team in the playoffs, as they still seem to be searching for their way.

Trade #2 - Kendrick Perkins/Jeff Green trade:

This move surprised me from the beginning.  The Boston Celtics sent back up point guard Nate Robinson and a young promising center in Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Kristic.  Jeff Green is certainly a great prospect; a great face-up forward who can put pressure on defenses with his ability to hit from the perimeter.  But, I believe the Celtics really came out losers in this one.  They don’t have a reliable back up point guard in Delonte West and gave up a lot of size by releasing Perkins.  The acquisition of Troy Murphy gives the Celtics another shooter, but how many more of those do they need?  In this trade, I call OKC winners, obtaining more young pieces in Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to build upon an already exciting squad.

Trade #3 - Gerald Wallace to the Portland Trail Blazers:

Maybe a little off the wall with this one, but hear me out.  Portland is a squad with plenty of speed and are peaking in momentum at the right point of the season.  They have been playing some of their best basketball lately, and it’s due in major part to Wallace.  He adds another slasher to this loaded offense, with his ability to take the ball to the basket and finish at an elevated level.  Portland has a potential favorable first-round playoff matchup with the fatiguing Dallas Mavericks.  Look for Gerald Wallace and Brandon Roy to make some noise.

With the NHL and NBA playoffs beginning next week, here’s a look at how they compare:

Advantage: NHL

SCHEDULING:  The pace of the series schedule is pretty consistent with the pace of the games: hockey is faster than basketball. Hockey pretty much plays every other day (with occasional days off thrown in for television purposes). Basketball series, meanwhile, usually take longer to complete (although it’s getting better lately). Plus, for some reason, every NBA playoff game is nationally televised, so that puts a limit on the number of games that can take place in one night. Yes, it would be great to see every NHL playoff game, but it’s worth the sacrifice to keep the current structure.
Advantage: NHL

SEEDING: In hockey, the division champions get the top three seeds in the each conference, and the other five teams are seeded according to their standings points in descending order. The league added a great tiebreaker this year that gives more weight to non-shootout wins. In the NBA, a non-division champ can hold home court over a division winner if they have a better record, which is ridiculous. It pretty much takes away any reason to win your division.
Advantage: NHL

By Guest Blogger Geoff Nelowet:

The Atlanta Hawks sit at 44-32 after tonight’s win over the Boston Celtics. Their record is good for fifth in the Eastern Conference. They’re a physical, defensive-minded team, and they’re coming off the heels of a major in-season trade that upgraded their starting point guard. Sounds like a good situation, right?

Wrong. The Atlanta Hawks epitomize the way in which an NBA franchise should not be run. They have the seventh highest payroll in the NBA – most of which is locked up for the next three seasons. They’ve maximized their roster’s current potential. They have no chance of winning a title with this roster. So what exactly are they doing? What is their plan? Well, this is the unanswerable paradox that only Rick Sund, the Atlanta GM, has any slight grasp of.

Let’s start with the 2010 playoffs. The Hawks made it to the second round of a top-heavy bracket, and they were promptly swept in an entirely uncompetitive four-game series by the Orlando Magic, currently the fourth best team in the East. So what was Atlanta’s response to the thrashing they received from a mid-rank playoff team? Move all-in!

The Hawks threw a maximum six-year $126 million dollar deal at Joe Johnson last summer to solidify their status as a low-end playoff for the next five years. They’ve pushed all their chips to the center of the table. They’re all-in with their current roster. They no longer have any cap flexibility. They’re committed to the Joe Johnson era.

It’s difficult to illustrate precisely how horrendous that Johnson contract is, but let me put it this way: when a player who is generally perceived as maybe the 25th best player in the game (this is generous) receives money that a top-ten player should be making, there’s an obvious inequity there. Atlanta management now has their hands tied behind their back – they’re locked in with this roster. Let’s move on.

When the 2010-2011 season began, it became painfully obvious to Atlanta (this was already obvious to everyone else) that this team had absolutely no shot of winning anything now or in the future. So what did they do? They traded away their first round pick and a rookie who has proven he can score 15 ppg out of the gate in Jordan Crawford for a 31 year old point guard who is at best average – and is at best a marginal upgrade over Mike Bibby. Here’s a stat: Since Atlanta has traded for Hinrich, they’re 9-8. Well, this was undoubtedly a great trade for the Wizards.

Nothing frustrated me more about the NBA than General Managers’ idiotic propensity to dole out bad contracts. There is absolutely no justification for Joe Johnson’s contract other than to sell tickets. There’s no way that the Hawks can claim that they’re seriously working to contend for a title. That deal alone signifies that they’re happy with fifth place because their roster is only getting older. That, compounded with the mystifying trade for Kirk Hinrich can only point to two things: either Hawks’ management is completely clueless and borderline moronic or they simply want to sell tickets for the next five years. End rant.

By Guest Blogger Tyler Daly:

With the NBA’s regular season quickly coming to an end, many teams and fans have begun to look towards the postseason and what it could hold for their respective squads.  Everyone believes their team has a shot at the title, but how realistic are the expectations for the top teams?  Here are the teams with the best shot at winning a championship:

1) Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers struggled by their own fans’ standards throughout the first half of the season, and there’s no mistaking that they didn’t look like the Lakers of old.  But as many championship-caliber teams do, Los Angeles has turned up the intensity since the All-Star break, going 15-1 in that span.  The Lakers have the deepest team in the NBA, and their physicality on the boards through Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum will pay dividends in the playoffs.  They also have two things that no one else in the league has, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson.

2) Chicago Bulls: The Chicago Bulls are peaking, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.  With top MVP candidate Derrick Rose as their leader, the Bulls have climbed atop the Eastern Conference and shown everyone they are a force to be reckoned with.  Rose does it all for them, attacking the basket, hitting jump shots, and dishing to Deng and Boozer.   Joakim Noah gives them a great physical presence inside, something they will need to match up with Orlando or Boston in the playoffs.  The only thing that seems to be a weakness for this team is their lack of outside shooting ability.

3) San Antonio Spurs: Despite dropping five straight, the Spurs still have the NBA’s best record at 57-18.  The losing streak is mostly due to the injuries to Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli, a sign to some that this veteran squad may be slowing down.  The Spurs are a nightmare offensively, dominating from the inside-out through Duncan and Parker.  This is an experienced squad who has seen it all so don’t be surprised when they have a strong showing in the playoffs, regardless of where they finish in the Western Conference standings.

4) Dallas Mavericks: The Mavericks are arguably one of the deepest teams in the NBA this year, and they use their bench to the fullest.  They share the ball extremely well, averaging a league-best 23.7 assists per game.  Dallas is a group that consistently sees all five starters in double figures, as well as Jason Terry coming off of the bench as the league’s most valuable sixth man.  Tyson Chandler has given the Mavericks a presence inside they have often lacked, and Dirk Nowitzki has proven he is not too old to carry this team.  One large looming concern for Dallas is their recent playoff woes, with consecutive first round exits at the hands of the Hornets and the Spurs.  A key factor will be the pending return of Caron Butler from a knee injury that has kept him out for most of this season.

5) Boston Celtics: The Boston Celtics are a team that somehow still flies under the radar despite their star-packed roster.  Consistently they shake off attention near the end of the season by dropping easy games and “showing their age.”  Forget about what you see and hear, Boston is more than ready to compete for another title.  The C’s share the ball extremely well, especially through Rajon Rondo.  He’s second in the league in assists, and has plenty of teammates to hook up with a highlight play.  Don’t sleep on the Celtics, they will be ready come playoff time.

6) Miami Heat: The Heat have been in the spotlight from the first tip of the season and will remain there until their final buzzer sounds.  When that will be is a hot button topic at the moment.  Miami certainly has all the tools to win a championship on paper, but we all know games aren’t won on loose leaf.  The trio of stars in South Beach have struggled against top talent across the league this season, especially when teams have forced them into the half court offense.  Lebron James and Dwayne Wade have begun to show they can share the ball with each other as of late, but the lack of conversions in clutch situations has all Heat supporters nervous.  Look for this team to wear down their opponents in a seven game series by slashing to the basket and getting out in transition.

7) Orlando Magic: Orlando is a team that has found themselves consistently on the cusp of winning a title.  They have the most dominant physical presence in the league behind Dwight Howard and have great shooters all across the floor like Redick, Nelson and Turkoglu.  Their defense is also ranked 5^th in points allowed, so many are scratching their heads as to why this team can’t seem to get it done.  A major hindrance for Orlando is their lack of a go-to scorer down the stretch.  Thy have struggled in clutch situations, and after trading away key role players like Pietrus and Gortat, this team will need a little more than magic to seriously entertain title hopes.

Oklahoma City Thunder: The Thunder are the last team that any Western Conference foe wants to see in the playoffs.  This extremely young squad, led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, plays with an incredible amount of energy and owns one of the best home court advantages in the league.  This team can score in all ways, especially after acquiring Perkins from the Celtics.  Teams have had success against the Thunder when they play physical, as these youngsters play a predominantly finesse style of play.  Oklahoma City surprised many by pushing the Lakers to the limit in the playoffs last year, but a looming first round matchup with the new-look Denver Nuggets could prove troublesome for this inexperienced group.

A Guest Blog by Geoff Nelowet:

As has been overly speculated, the LA Lakers have looked substantially older this year than they did last season during their second straight championship season. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, and Lamar Odom are all over 30 years old, but ultimately, the Lakers are still playing very solid basketball at 46-20, good for third in the Western Conference. Can the Lakers win the title this season? Sure, but it’s going to be a very long and difficult road. What’s most striking isn’t what’s going to happen this season, but how they’re going to play over the next three seasons? I think a more pointed question would be: How will the LA Lakers do when Kobe Bryant is making $30 million dollars in 2013?

Yes, Kobe Bryant will be making $30 million at age 35, and nearly $85 million between 2011-2013. Considering that he hasn’t nearly been the dominant and dynamic scorer of old for probably two seasons now, it’s hard to imagine he’ll ever come close to equalling the value of the back end of his contract.

This is highly problematic. Other than Pau Gasol, the Lakers really don’t have a player they can point to and say, “he will definitely be a huge part of our future.” No, I can’t put Andrew Bynum in that category until he proves that he can be healthy and be an every-day player. Until that happens, the Lakers do not have a bright future.

This year, the Lakers are playing with the highest payroll in the NBA. Next year? It goes up. The year after? They’ll be above the luxury tax — no matter what that number ends up being. 2013? They’ll be above what the luxury tax is today. So what’s going to be the plan as Kobe’s age — and his pay grade — are quickly rising?

Well, there really isn’t a good answer to that question. The reality is that the Lakers were greatly fortunate to even have a shot at discussing the trade for Pau Gasol — let alone landing him in what was one of the most absurd salary dumps in NBA history. In other words, a player of Pau Gasol’s caliber isn’t coming around anytime soon unless it’s a superstar willing to take a huge pay cut or a sign-and-trade. Both scenarios seem unlikely, and a high draft pick is likely out of the question as well. Really, the only thing the Lakers have going for them is the fact that LA is still a huge destination ( a la the New York Knicks), and players will always be eager to play for them — for the right price.

Obviously, 2012-2013 is a long way away in NBA years, but the fact remains that the Lakers have boxed themselves into their current roster, and it’s very hard to imagine that they’ll even be a realistic championship team next season. Of course, deals can be done and players can switch teams — this is the NBA of course, but what can the Lakers really do that makes sense? Perhaps parting with Bynum while his stock is high, but even that likely would never truly pay dividends. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds, and my belief is that the mystique of the LA Lakers will eventually wear off and it will become more and more evident that the Lakers do not have a solid foundation for the future.

By Guest Blogger Rob Yunich:

All season, but especially lately with the trade of Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks, many throughout the sports world have bemoaned the fact that power in the NBA is shifting to those teams capable of assembling a group of superstars known as a “Big Three.” ESPN’s Mike and Mike, for example, think that the separation between the “haves” and “have-nots” is growing amongst the NBA’s 30 teams — especially with Dwayne Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh playing in Miami.

But, as is often the case in the sports world, style is outweighing substance on this issue. In fact, since the NBA was founded in 1946, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakes have captured 33 of the league’s 63 previous titles. The next closest team is the Chicago Bulls with six. Overall, 17 teams have won an NBA title — and many of them have done it with a “Big Three.”

Here are some other trios that come to mind: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish (Celtics in the 1980s); Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen (modern Celtics); Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1980s Lakers); Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, Dennis Rodman (1990s Bulls); Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Robert Horry (San Antonio Spurs).

There have been plenty of “Big Two” pairings, include Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol with the current Lakers – and I didn’t even include David Robinson’s time in San Antonio. Even the great Arnold “Red” Auerbach assembled a “Big Three” from 1959-1969, when the Celtics won eight titles led by Bob Cousy, Bill Russell and Bill Sharman.

Famous trios aside, the other three major sports also follow similar patterns. Major League Baseball was founded in 1869 and has seen 22 different teams win the World Series. But the New York Yankees have captured 27 of those titles, far and away the most among the league’s 30 teams. In fact, only the St. Louis Cardinals (with 10) have even hit double-digits.

The National Hockey League, founded in 1917, has seen 17 champions – but 48 Stanley Cups have been skated by the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The National Football League is a bit trickier. The league was founded in 1920 but the first Super Bowl wasn’t played until 1967. In the modern era, 18 teams have won 45 Super Bowl titles – 16 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.

So, in essence, the NBA really isn’t different than any other league in this regard. They’ve got their dominant teams, their groupings of stars and, more or less, a fairly even playing field. Yes, the NBA is star-driven, but so are the other major sports leagues.

Although much was made when Wade, Bosh and James headed to South Beach, it was just another case of a sports franchise trying to keep up with the trend – one that dates back to the founding of nearly every professional sports league.

By Guest Blogger John Manuel:

Supreme Court is back in session.  Justices have taken their seats and are ready to tackle today’s sports issues.  Here are the justices again.

The Matzie
Bob
Vic Vinegar
Gib
Stinger

Question 1:
Were you tired of the Melo trade talks and is the NBA getting ridiculous with all the players heading to 3 or 4 teams in the future?

The Matzie- Glad that the Melo drama is finished? Yes. Although, I think that Denver should have made this deal 6 months ago. I guess they were hoping for a change of heart. Melo and his not so beautiful bride always had an Empire State of mind. Denver was stuck and they got the best deal possible. Some decent prospects instead of nothing come summertime. As for the unbalance of power in the league? I’m all for it. It gives great publicity to the league and makes those teams interesting to watch. Which, I can’t say about the rest of the teams or the NBA as a whole. The solution, smaller market teams and those with only the power to star gaze are welcome to learn how to draft. Just ask San Antonio.

Bob-Absolutely, not. I love hearing the sound bites from Net’s Owner Mikhail Prokhorov in his best Dolph Lundgren voice, ”It was a fantastic meeting, trust me. No words, live music, excellent atmosphere. We looked into each other’s eyes. Just real man talk.” Safe to say, the new star of the NBA is indeed Mr. Prokhorov. Only a matter of time before he brings in some huge Russian cyborg to patrol the paint in the swamp.

Vic-Like most situations, Egyptian unrest and the wrongful, hateful persecution of Lindsay Lohan for example, I blame the media. The phenomenon of some big time player being disgruntled in the final year of his contract and wanting to move to a better situation is nothing new. What is new though is the manner in which agents and players use the media to communicate their messages. The media (ESPN in particular) are a bunch of suckers that treat this as “news” 24/7, and allow the players to save face (except for LeBron). I’m not a huge NBA guy, but the notion of too many teams being able to truly create “super teams” seems pretty unlikely with a salary cap system in place. We’re dealing with massive egos, and the list of guys of will truly take a backseat (and less money) to win a championship is a lot shorter than one would think.

Gib-Tired?  It’s always refreshing when little old Gotham lands a free agent.  Really, after missing out on free agent LeBron James and Cliff Lee recently on the baseball side of things, New York was beginning to feel like a city that actually had to compete on a level playing field in the NBA and MLB.  As for NBA players buddying up – I think LeBron forced the issue when he formed his own super group in Miami, now everyone else feels they have to do the same to compete.  This is a bad business model and the NBA needs to find a way to reduce this trend.

Stinger-It got old and it was great to see the Knicks get smoked on the trade.  Denver loses a top player but added a lot of pieces.  All the best to La La on her career now in NYC!  I had no issue with Melo the past month but I think my real issue is I hate the Knicks.  Actually I hate all New York teams.  Next up is Chris Paul or Dwight Howard to NY next season.  The Olympics crushed David Sterns NBA or did it?  Is this really bad for him?  As a Wizards fan, do we start shopping John Wall in the off season since we’re not LA, NY, Miami or Chicago?  Many questions to be answered about many players with crazy tattoos.

Question 2:

Where will Cam Newton go in the draft?

The Matzie- Cam Newton…..is a special talent. The type of player that is worthy of #1 pick status and money. However, the Panthers are stuck on Jimmy Clausen like Jim Carrey was Stuck On You.  They will draft Nick Fairley, who will be a great player but I don’t like the off the field wildness. That character trait just doesn’t seem to work in the NFL. Even if he does pan out, he is not the elite type of player that a franchise gets the opportunity to draft once a decade. Buffalo will relish this same opportunity and he will thrive in a young and soon to be up and coming team. You see Buffalo doesn’t understand everything but they know one of the most important rules. This IS a quarterback driven league. And neither Jimmy Clausen or Ryan Fitzpatrick is cutting it.

Bob- Not sure where, but a lot higher than people think. Michael Vick proved for the time being that an athletic QB can indeed make it in the NFL.  If McDaniels was still coach, I’d imagine he’d be drooling of the idea of pairing him and Tebow in the same backfield. Alas, not to be, but maybe McDaniels can convince the St. Louis Rams that they need him more than Sam Bradford. The man has the midas touch.

Vic-Me thinks that “Cameron the Entertainer” make a big blunder this week by touting his ambitions to become a multi media icon before he’s played a down in the league. Not sure where such bad judgment comes from (wait…stolen computer, academic dishonesty, daddy agent, etc…), but he’s setting himself up as Jemarcus 2.0 (minus the Drank problems). Have you ever had the Drank? I knew a guy my freshman year who drank a bottle of Robo and ended up in Leland hospital with a huge gas bubble in his belly instead of the mind enlightening experience he read about in “High Times”. Newton may have some pretty sick athletic talent, but the last 10 years are littered with QB’s who put up huge numbers in college but were just too stupid (see no common sense) to succeed at the next level. All that being said, I hope the Redskins draft him. Better yet, I hope they trade a bunch of picks to move up to get him. Then I will just sit back and watch the Snyder carnage continue for another several years…giggling.

Gib-Cam Newton is destined to be drafted higher than he should.  Too many teams have struck gold in the first round in the last few years – most recently the Rams with Sam Bradford – that there probably is a false sense of security settling in.  Still, Newton hasn’t played much football, and when he did, it was out of the gimmicky spread offense.  Plus, there is huge knucklehead potential here – he may see himself as “an entertainer and an icon” but I think he’s lucky he wasn’t declared ineligible by the NCAA this past season and he appears to be pretty immature.  So, which NFL team would draft a not-ready-for-primetime quarterback from Auburn and take him way too early?  That move sounds like it could be right in Dan Snyder’s wheelhouse.

Stinger- Cam Newton will end up the #1 pick by Carolina.  Dad Newton will use all his recruiting cash to hype Cam up so much the Carolina Panthers can’t pass him up.  It happens every year this time.  Teams get nervous taking a defensive player #1 overall and the QB’s rise.  Plus I last saw Todd McShay had him going 10^th so that means he will go 1 or 3 at the latest.  I would believe a mock draft by “The Situation” or Bieber before McShay.  I just don’t see anyone else going #1 overall.

Question 3:
Who is your early call for the World Series?

The Matzie- This is easy. The Phillies are the lone horse in this race and they are going to win by more than a nose. They have the best pitching rotation in the history of baseball. You are looking at FOUR # 1 pitchers on one staff. How are you going to beat Hamels, Holliday, and Lee with Oswalt pitching the 7 and 8th of every other game? It’s not happening. Now look at the Phillies lineup and you will see that there’s no chance and it’s really an unfair race. I’d be crying too….if I wasn’t a lifelong Phillies fan. Go Phils!

Bob-Orioles. Why? I say, Why Not?

Vic- How can you not pick the Phillies? Pitching wins championships, and the Phils have arguably assembled the best starting rotation in the last 20 years. Tell me that the O’s wouldn’t love to have Cole Hammels at the front of their rotation. Guess what? Cole Hammels is the FOURTH best pitcher on that staff. Couple that with an offense loaded with big bats, and you have a team that can beat you a bunch of ways. Assuming they can stay away from a bunch of injuries, I’d have to say they are the clear cut early pick to win it all.

Gib-Pitching wins championships and you can’t get much better than the staff in Philadelphia – I’ll take the Phillies.

Stinger-It crushes me to say but it has to be Boston and Philadelphia.  The Red Sox have the American league’s best staff and lineup and the Phillies have the best staff in a long time and probably the Nationals best lineup.  Praying for injuries.  Vince Coleman tarp remover type injuries for both.  I am really hoping for a demise of the Yankees this season.  Did you see the pics of Cameron Diaz on the beach with A-Rod?  Looks like Mr. and Mrs. Clemens may not be the only juicing couple.  New York will probably add Pujols by midseason and then all my hopes are crushed.

Question 4:

Who do you see in the Final Four at this point of the season?

The Matzie- Duke, Ohio State, Pitt and BYU. The first two are easy. Pitt will win the Big East, which is the BEST division in the country. As for BYU, they’ve beaten San Diego State TWICE and they have the best player in the country. That’s right…I said it, I meant it, I’m here to represent it. Jimmmmmmmmmer!

Bob- Duke, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and BYU. Note to reader, no Big East teams.  Enough talk that the Big East should have 11 teams in the tournament. Last year they got 8 bids (the most) and only 4 teams made it out of the first round. Big 10 got 5, and 4 teams made it out of the first round, 3 teams into the sweet 16.

Vic-I would LOVE to see Charlie Sheen in the Final Four. His radio rant the other day was epic. His “Thomas Jefferson was a pu**y” angle was beyond classic. I realize this question is about hoops, but c’mon, Sheen is gold. Anyone remember the time he bought an entire section of seats at Angels Stadium just so he could sit there alone with his glove on and catch a homerun ball?  Take a crazy idea like that and mix it with a three day coke and “paid talent” bender and this interview is the result. It reminded me of some of the Charles Manson parole board hearings over the years. On a side note, I’ll take Duke, Pitt, Texas, and Ohio State.

Gib-It’s a pretty mediocre field this year in college basketball – there are no truly great teams.  There is one great conference though, and I think they could cancel the NCAA tournament and just let the battle royale at Madison Square Garden in a couple weeks decide the national champion.  The Big East is going to have 3 solid teams in multiple regions for this year’s NCAA tourney – so my prediction may be just playing the percentages:  The Big East sweeps the regions and gets 4 teams to the Final Four.  If that wasn’t ridiculous enough – I will now say that the four teams that make it will be Notre Dame, Pitt, St. John’s and Syracuse.

Stinger-Ohio State, Texas, Syracuse, BYU.

Ohio State and Texas have played the best since conference play began.  The Big East will have 11 of the 68 teams so one of theirs will have to make it.  I like Syracuse to turn it on come tourney time.  Pitt always hits the brakes and I could have had Georgetown here until Chris Wright went down.  Duke will also go down.  And Kansas has to stop the sex romps between the men’s and women’s teams.  BYU has Jimmer and he can carry them in this year.  The teams are just not as good as in the past.  Jimmer improved his game by playing prison ball.  Word is that JR Rider took him for 36 though.

Question 5:

Which was a bigger event to you? A rookie winning Daytona or the Rock’s return to Wrestlemania?

The Matzie-I will go on record as saying that NASCAR is the biggest waste of time in all of Sports….if you can call driving a car a sport. Sorry Joe Campanella….even Dale JR sucks. And since I am a fan of all wrestling….I will take the Rock. Can you smelllllllll what the Matzie is cookin!

Bob- I have to say the Rock. I have not seen a Wrestlemania event in two decades but I would if old wrestlers came back to wrestle. Who wouldn’t want to see Magnum TA fight Ivan Koloff one more time only to have the match interrupted by Tully Blanchard and a 60 year old Baby Doll running into the ring to join the fray? Like the old adage says, “Put any sport on one side of a gym and a fight on the other, guess what people watch.

Vic-Let’s look at this a different way. Which participant was more excited about last week’s event? On one hand, you have a kid who is not old enough to rent a car winning a race where you drive in a circle at 200mph. This kid will be a chick magnet for years to come, and will be a legend should he never win another race. On the other hand, you have a gentleman who left the world of wrastling to become a film star. His movie career maybe not playing out to be as “huge” as he thought, he is forced to return to the squared circle in some sort of eye brow trick shame to stay relevant in the public eye. I go with the kid winning the race.

Gib-C’mon, we all know that one of these sports is completely rigged…….and for that reason I just cannot take Nasser seriously.  Give me the people’s elbow.

Stinger- It’s the Rock.  Daytona has already been forgotten.  The Rock should throw in his famous catch phrases in his movies so maybe someone would go see them.  Am I too old to remember Wrestlemania I?  Hogan and Mr. T versus Piper and Orndorff.  King Kong Bundy beat some nugget in like 6 seconds.  Now if Kamala or Mr. Fuji won the Great American Race I would go with the Daytona 500.

By Guest Blogger Geoff Nelowet:

There has been a lot of talk that the New York Knicks had little reason to make this trade since Carmelo Anthony was willing to sign with them in the offseason, which obviously would have allowed the Knicks to hold onto a ton of assets. I think, though, that it’s hard to really gauge how obvious it is that Carmelo was a lock to sign with the Knicks from the open market. We don’t really know what was said between Carmelo’s party, the Nuggets and the Knicks, but I think it would have been worth rolling the dice. The Knicks have given away a ton to pick up a second superstar, which is generally an acceptable proposition, but the Knicks really aren’t in position to contend for a title in the near future.

One of the biggest drawbacks to making this deal now, though, is that it could prevent them from signing Chris Paul or Deron Williams down the road, and I think this is the biggest issue with the trade. Because Melo will be signing an extension as opposed to a free agent contract, he can sign at the Joe Johnson rate, which could be the absolute max: 6 years, $119 million. If the Knicks can’t put together a superstar trio (a la Miami, an unproven model at this point), they’re left with very few options if they want to contend for a title. From here on out, they’re likely a 50-win team, so there is no more rebuilding, and free agency is really their only option for getting better.

At this point, they have two superstars, a good but aging point guard in Chauncey Billups who isn’t a substantial upgrade over Raymond Felton, a solid rookie at shooting guard in Landry Fields, a hole at center, and an empty bench. This team is grossly unbalanced, and they won’t be able to afford resigning Fields in 2012 if they intend on going after another star. It’s hard to imagine that they’ll be a serious championship contender, and even if they bring in a Chris Paul, how great will that team really be? The general consensus will still be that Miami’s trio will be markedly better than New York’s, and not to mention the teams that are currently better than Miami.

The NBA is run by superstars, and the elite fifteen to twenty players in the league dictate virtually everything, and when one of those players is made available, it’s sensical to think that a team such as New York would give away a huge number of assets in order to add a second superstar to their team, but this deal just doesn’t make that much sense, and especially when looking at the current NBA landscape.  The Knicks could be a much better situation if they cultivated their young talent over the next two seasons and waited for 2012 in hopes of luring a Dwight Howard and maybe even a Chris Paul as well. Putting Dwight Howard with any other superstar equates to a championship team. Giving away your bench and all meaningful role players to play two or three-on-five basketball really won’t cut it, and the Miami Heat at this point look like a very good team but with very little chance of knocking off defensive juggernauts like the Celtics, Spurs or Mavericks come playoff time.

The trade itself wasn’t horrendous. The Knicks gave away a bit too much, but my issues lies with their desire to trade for Carmelo Anthony in the first place. Their roster is not equipped for him, and they’d be in substantially better shape if they had waited for free agency to sign him. If they miss out, it’s not the end of the world. They would still have a solid young core centered around Stoudemire and a huge free agent class coming up in 2012.