The Intern’s Hard Wood: Jan 13-18

This has been a very black-is-white, up-is-down kind of week in the NBA. You have the Knicks on a three-game winning streak; the Celtics drop three of their last five games and a case of a testicular tumour. I don’t know how but the Knicks of scraped together a three-game streak which started with a whupping on the Pistons at the Gardens. I know, I know the Pistons were on the tail end of four games in five nights but come on; the Knicks have as much chemistry as Tommy girl and Katie Holmes. In other Hotlantic news the Boston Celtics have shown a few kinks in what seemed like impregnable armour. Before beating the new-age Trail Blazers, the Celtics had dropped three of their last four. It started with an ugly loss to the Bobcats – yeah, I know - and finished with back-to-back losses to the Arenas-less Wizards. Also coming out of the Atlantic division is Jamario Moon getting an invitation to this years’ dunk comp. This really has my goat going or really has my goat or some other saying which involves a goat. Jamario is an incredible leaper and has the potential to put Toronto back on the NBA map and make the Raptors relevant in the NBA scene in the wake of the VC era. Also, CB4 got a much deserved player of the week. Everyone has now seen Bosh’s All-Star video, let’s get this guy to the Big Easy. In other news around the NBA Nene had a tumour removed from his testes-satchel. This guy seriously can’t catch a break. In the past 3 season he’s only played 120 games due to knee complications and only 12 games this season. He is also pulling in a cool $9 mill this season. No wonder Denver has one of the highest payrolls in the NBA. Other injury related news this week is Andrew Bynum being sidelined for 2 months with a dislocated kneecap and bruised knee bone. This is a major hit to the Lakers. They are now minus their best rebounder and interior defender. While watching the Lakers – Suns game last night, it seems like Phil Jackson is trying to use Kwame Brown to fill the void. It is not working as hoped. In the third quarter, he almost has a double-double with points and turnovers and a botched dunk. As of right now every time he touches the ball the whole Staples Center is booing him. It feels like a Knicks game. Also everyone should go out this weekend and check out Cloverfield in its B-horror goodness. Intern out

Tejada's troubles

Life may be getting a ton more complicated for Miguel Tejada and the Houston Astros. While he's currently being investigated regarding his 2005 testimony and whether he lied or not the feds regarding the steroid scandal, he may lose his green card or even worse spend 15-20 months in jail.

The trouble stems from a 2005 interview when Tejada had told government officials that he had never used steroids, know nothing about them and didn't know anyone who had used before.

Tejada's situation is actually quite similar — oddly — to what happened Martha Stewart. Both lied when they were originally questioned and now that the truth has come to light, consequences must be paid. So how bad would it be if the Astros, who just traded a bunch of players and prospects to acquire Miggy, couldn't pencil him into the lineup for a long while. Adam Everett must be liking his chance of getting on the field this season.

Finally, what terrific foresight on behalf of the Baltimore Orioles for getting rid of Tejada before the Mitchell report pointed a finger at the former AL MVP. Whoever thought that the Orioles would make a legitimately smart move?

Are you serious?

Just when I thought Pacman Jones might be back on the right track, he goes out and does something incredibly stupid again. A Tennessee woman is seeking an arrest warrant on Jones, alleging that he punched her at a strip club. Why is Pacman back at strip club? The last notably time he was there, he made it rain money and then someone was shot outside the club. Now he's (allegedly) punching people? And a woman no less? If this story comes out to be true, who do you think will be back in the NFL first? Pacman Jones or Michael Vick? If he shows up in New Orleans for NBA all-star weekend, it may very well be Vick who's back first.

It's also funny how my headline didn't have to change even though i wrote it when it applied to a story about the possibility of Tom Brady retiring after a 19-0 season and fourth Super Bowl win to spend time with his kid and girlfriend (who live on opposite coasts).

Apples for apples

It looks like both Troy Glaus and Scott Rolen passed their physicals and are now on their way to their new teams. Glaus is headed back to the NL to play third base for the Cardinals while Rolen will team up with fellow Blue Jay newcomer and former Cardinal teammate David Eckstein. This trade is a great "in need of new surroundings" trade and when you look at the two players involved, they're pretty much the same. "Apples-for-apples," a coworker called it. The only real differences between the traded players are that Glaus may hit a few more home runs while Rolen is a superior defender.

Both Glaus and Rolen should do well in their new homes. Glaus will figure to play better on St. Louis' grass field and his time missed due to injuries should decrease. Rolen will play better since he won't have to deal with Tony LaRussa, who he had a very public falling out with over the past year.

The only real question left is how will Rolen adapt to American League pitching? Glaus already spent time with Arizona and should have a rough idea about some staffs but Rolen will be starting fresh. The Jays better hope he's a quick study considering their competition.

The blame game

Well division-playoff weekend was certainly a tale of two days. Saturday’s games went as predicted and had no real surprises while Sunday’s games were both upsets in the truest sense of the word. Now, in the case of upsets there’s only one thing a fan can really do over the next few days: assign blame.

So, to the start, the person most deserving of blame is Dallas’ quarterback, Tony Romo. I’m really starting to hope his late season meltdowns aren’t going to happen every year like they’re starting to. In the clutch, his failure to get rid of the ball followed by his intentional grounding penalty followed by the knife in the heart interception really killed the Cowboys.

Elisha Manning is getting some of my blame for eliminating my Cowboys as well. If he keeps up this roll, I might actually call him Eli instead of Elisha. One thing’s for sure though, playing in Dallas when they’re giving you the game is a lot different than playing in Lambeau. At least this Giants win insures a Brady-Favre Super Bowl matchup.

The other Manning, Peyton, doesn’t deserve as much blame as his receivers do. The running back who botched the goal line screen that would be picked off (One handed! While being blocked!) by a defensive lineman was a backbreaker. Dallas Clark’s drop to end the game was very bad as well. They did have some blind luck like Anthony Gonzalez not stepping out of bounds, but overall it was a bad day.

The Colts defence gets some blame too. How Darren Sproles can get loose like he did on that screen pass, I’ll never know but someone should have knocked him out of bounds.

As for Saturday’s tilts:

It may just be me (probably not though) but snow games are the best football games there are. It's certainly not because of the quality of play, which suffers because of the sub-par conditions, but because of the sheer aesthetics of the snow falling in the background. The beauty of a white-blanketed field is increased exponentially when it's Lambeau Field we're talking about as well. So, you've probably guessed by now that Saturday's Seattle-Green Bay tilt was one I rather enjoyed. And to match the serene beauty of the snow falling, Brett Favre and Co. (Ryan Grant in particular) had a great game and showed why they deserved their bye week. The worst part of the game was that I decided against picking Grant (201 yards rushing, 3 TDS) in a playoff pool I'm involved in.

Has anybody else noticed that the Patriots have turned into cowards and now play like nice guys by refusing to run up the score? What happened to their bad boy, F*** you attitude? Looks like they were just pretending to be bad asses. Maybe Belichick was acting like that to seem like a bad boy and try to steal somebody else's wife. The Jaguars did play them tough, but didn't we all figure that the Pats would win anyway? There were way too many articles floating around about how the Jags could win. Time to eat your words boys.

This week: 2-1-0
This playoffs: 3-2-1

The Intern's Hard Wood: Raps-Blazers

As I was driving home from the ACC, I was still trying to process exactly what went down that afternoon. Bar none, this was the most exhilarating Raptor’s game of the year. Their game vs. the Jail blazers, I mean Portland Trail Blazers, had all the makings of a playoff game. It had many cheers and jeers and the all star play of Calderon, CB4 and rookie of the year Brandon Roy. Everyone showed up to play today, even Bargs. The only real knock against him today was that he got into foul trouble early. He really needs to learn to play with his feet instead of swinging his arms around like a drunken UFC fighter. Our guard play was exceptional though. They were led by my fav Spaniard numero ocho JOOOOOOOOOSE CALDERON. Yet another All-Star performance for him. He shot 70% from the field and was 3 for 4 from behind the arc, finished with 22 points and also dished 10 assists. VIVA LA SPAIN. Somebody needs to create a website to get Jose to New Orleans. Brandon Roy also had a fantastic game for the opposition, finishing with 33 points and 10 dimes, not to mention a 3-pointer at the end of the first OT to tie it up with two seconds left. But it was the resiliency of the Raps that kept them afloat in the two OTs and eventually led to them putting the Blazers down. I seriously hope the Raps can play with this much intensity tomorrow night because we have to play the hard-nosed Pistons at the Palace. Intern out.