Month: April 2007 (Page 7 of 12)

      Playoff picture still muddled

      April 18, 2007 /

      The NBA regular season is coming to a close tonight, but the playoff picture still isn’t completely clear. Here’s what we know:

      EASTERN CONFERENCE

      Detroit is the #1 seed. In the first round, they’ll play either the Wizards or the Magic, depending on what happens tonight. (Right now, Orlando is in the #8 slot, but could move up to #7 with a win over the Heat and a Wizards loss.)

      Either the Bulls (who play the Wizards) or the Cavs (who play the Bucks) will be the #2 seed. The other team will be the #5 seed. The two teams are currently tied, but the Bulls hold the tiebreaker (a better division record). The Cavs need a win and Bulls loss to claim the #2 seed.

      Toronto is the #3 seed and will play either the Nets or the Wizards in the first round. The Nets hold the tiebreaker, so if they beat the Bulls tonight, they’ll get the #6 seed.

      Miami is the #4 seed. They’ll play either the Bulls or the Cavs, but won’t have home court advantage. (A lot of people – including me – wrote the Heat off after Dwyane Wade’s injury. What they’ve done since then has been pretty remarkable.)

      No matter what happens tonight, Detroit should have a very interesting matchup in the second round against the Heat, Bulls or Cavs. The Pistons are the favorites to come out of the East, but Chicago, Miami or Cleveland could make a run. Toronto is the dark horse.

      WESTERN CONFERENCE

      Dallas has wrapped up the #1 seed. They’ll play the Warriors, Lakers or Clippers. If the Warriors win, they’re in. If they lose and the Clippers win, the Clippers are in since they hold the division tiebreaker. If there were a three-way tie (including the Lakers), the Lakers and Clippers would be in since they have better head-to-head records than the Warriors. Golden State plays in Portland tonight while the Clippers have the Hornets at home.

      The #2-seeded Suns will play either the Lakers or the Warriors. If the Lakers lose and the Warriors win, Golden State will get the #7 seed.

      San Antonio is the #3 seed and will play the #6-seeded Nuggets.

      Utah is the #4 seed, but will surrender home court to the #5-seeded Rockets.

      As usual, the playoffs in the West are far more intriguing than those in the East. (That’s what happens when five of the league’s top six teams are in one conference.) Dallas should be tested by the winner of the grueling Utah/Houston series, while the Suns/Spurs second round matchup promises to be a clash of styles.

      As much as I’d like to see a Mavs/Suns matchup in the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs are a very dangerous team. In the end, I think the #1 seeds will prevail in both conferences and we’ll see a Mavs/Pistons final, with the Mavs winning the title.

      It’s tough to bet against the Spurs though.

      NBA

      Joey Crawford loses his cool (and maybe his mind)

      April 17, 2007 /

      NBA official Joey Crawford has been suspended by the league for his actions during the Mavs/Spurs game the other night. He gave two technicals to Tim Duncan, who was sitting on the bench at the time, resulting in Duncan’s ejection.

      Here’s some footage from You Tube:

      After the game, the usually stoic Duncan commented in the locker room:

      I understand that Crawford felt that Duncan was showing him up on the bench – and he was – but he’s got to have a thicker skin in that situation. This type of disrespect for the officials runs rampant in most professional sports and especially the NBA. Duncan’s laughing showed a lack of respect for Crawford’s judgment and authority, but Crawford needs to check his ego at the arena door. He made his point by giving him the first technical, but crossed the line when he ejected Duncan from the game. For his part, Duncan shouldn’t have been surprised that he got a second technical; he laughed harder after the first technical, and that earned him technical #2.

      Duncan also said that Crawford challenged him to a fight:

      “He looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?”‘ Duncan said. “If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don’t have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, ‘Do you want to fight?”‘

      If that’s the case, Crawford has really gone off the deep end. Duncan has the reputation for being one of the classiest players in the league, so the fact that he’s involved in something like this is a bit of a mystery.

      NBA

      MLB Power Rankings Week 2

      April 16, 2007 /

      Remember, in the Scores Report MLB Power Rankings, the past means nothing. Only the 2007 season matters so with that said, below is a look at the top and bottom five in baseball after week two.

      Top 5:
      1. Atlanta Braves (8-3)
      Previous Rank: #3
      After getting off to a hot start in week one, both the Angels and Twins have fallen off a bit lately. The Braves, however, keep on trucking winning seven of their last 10 through Sunday. Atlanta is also the only team still undefeated on the road this year (3-0).

      2. Cleveland Indians (6-3)
      Previous Rank: Unranked
      Don’t let the above “unranked” fool you, the Indians had only played two games due to snow storms when the first Power Rankings were compiled. Cleveland is for real and except for arguably Boston, no team is playing better ball in the AL right now than the Tribe.

      3. Arizona Diamondbacks (9-4)
      Previous Rank: #4
      A case could be made that Arizona deserves to be ahead of Cleveland, but the D-Backs still have yet to play tough competition. So far, Arizona has feasted on Colorado (two series), Washington and Cincinnati. There are no guarantees, however, and Arizona is still winning and playing great ball. That’s all that matters.

      4. Boston Red Sox (7-4)
      Previous Rank: Unranked
      The BoSox are arguably the hottest team right now, winners of three straight. The pitching staff is ranked first in the AL currently, with a 2.79 ERA and other than being schooled by Seattle’s Felix Hernandez, Daisuke Matsuzaka looks like the real deal.

      5. New York Mets (7-4)
      Previous Rank: #5
      The Mets lead the league in pitching ERA with a mark of 2.69. Tom Glavine is showing no signs of slowing down and Billy Wagner has been outstanding, allowing just three hits and no runs in three save opportunities. John Maine has also been solid, leading the team with a 1.54 ERA.

      Bottom 5:
      26. Chicago Cubs (4-7)
      Previous Rank: Unranked
      Despite high expectations and an offseason spending-spree, the Cubs are right back in the cellar of the NL Central. Unlike the rest of the bottom feeders in the league, Chicago can’t pin just one thing on its slow start. The pitching (16th) and batting (19th) are both below average, but neither is necessarily killing them. Quite frankly, they just don’t know how to win games right now, especially at home (1-4).

      27. Philadelphia Phillies (3-8)
      Previous Rank: #27
      I’ve got a feeling I’ll be saying this all year, but how in the hell can a talented team like the Phillies start off 3-8? Here’s a clue: Philly ranks second to last in the league in ERA with a 5.07 mark. Only Tampa Bay is worse with a 5.14 ERA.

      28. Kansas City Royals (3-9)
      Previous Rank: #26
      The Royals have lost four straight and have looked bad in the process (not that many teams look good going 0-4). During its four game losing streak, KC has put up just 10 runs, including back-to-back one run losses against Baltimore.

      29. San Francisco Giants (3-7)
      Previous Rank: #29
      For all of you Simpsons fans out there, think of the “Comic Book Guy” while reading this sentence describing the Giants: “Worst…offense…ever.” On the bright side, Russ Ortiz got his first win in seemingly three decades last Friday with a 8-5 victory over the Pirates.

      32. Washington Nationals (3-9)
      Previous Rank: #30
      The Nationals have played tougher than their 3-9 record would indicate, but they’re still 1-6 at home, second worst in the majors (the Pirates are 0-4 at PNC Park).

      MLB

      Green to Dolphins might happen soon

      April 16, 2007 /

      The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting Chiefs’ quarterback Trent Green could be acquired by the Dolphins as soon as this week. It’s assumed that Miami would give up a second day draft pick for the 36-year-old signal caller.

      It’s amazing how the Dolphins continue to search long and hard for a quarterback post Dan Marino era. Looking back at last year’s offseason, it’s tough to get past how Nick Saban botched trading for Daunte Culpepper instead of signing Drew Brees. No one could ever say for sure that Brees would have had the same impact in Miami as he did for the Saints, but he wanted to be a Dolphin and yet Saban wound up perusing Culpepper Now it appears Culpepper will be released while Green gets one last moment to shine and Cleo Lemon is groomed for the future.

      NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      Jackie Robinson Day in the MLB

      April 15, 2007 /

      “a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” – Jackie Robinson

      It simply doesn’t matter if you’re a baseball fan or not. Everyone needs to be educated on what Jackie Robinson did for the African-American community not only in baseball, but in society in general.

      Think about what current players complain about: contracts, endorsements, the press, etc. Yet the ultimate crap that Robinson had to go through just to wear a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform far exceeds any “disrespect” current players experience. You want respect? Try earning it from people who hated you just because the color of your skin. Try dealing with coaches and players on your own team who didn’t even want to speak to you, yet alone play along side of you.

      Let’s keep it positive on his day, however, and reach out to learn more about Jackie Robinson. Parents, please teach your children about what Robinson meant and currently means to baseball. And young people listen and do the research on what #42 meant to society. Without him, some of the posters of current players on your walls might not even exist.

      Without Jackie Robinson, there is no Hank Aaron, Ken Griffey Jr. or Ryan Howard. Check out a timeline of how Robinson effected others after being the first African-American Major League Baseball player in 1947 at ESPN.com.

      MLB

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