Super Bowl XLII

It's the biggest annual sporting event in the world and its taking place tomorrow. The NFL's championship — the Super Bowl — is set for kick off at 6:17 p.m. ET at the home the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale. It’s the Giants of New York representing the NFC against the undefeated* Patriots of the AFC and, if it all goes down like I expect it to, it’s not going to be a close game.

Sure, you can convince yourself that the New York’s front-seven will but enough pressure on Thomas Brady to force some bad throws. Sure, you can convince yourself that maybe Thomas won’t be at 100% because of his ankle injury. You can also try talking yourself into Elisha Manning turning the corner and becoming the quarterback the Giants expected him to be, or that New York’s thunder-and-lightning running game can wear down the Pats even to control the clock and game. Gambling-wise you can also remind yourself that the Patriots have won three Super Bowls by a total of nine points and that they’ve only covered two spreads since Thanksgiving Thursday.

But then you have to remind yourself that you’re wagering on Eli Manning and in the Super Bowl. Remember how Eli has those up weeks where everybody forgets that he stinks up streaks of games at a time? This is happening right now. Just earlier this year Elisha tied a record for interceptions returned for touchdowns in a game. Are we sure enough that we want to put our money on a hot quarterback who just had a week off to possibly cool down?

Another key factor is where the Big Game is being played: sunny Arizona. The past few games have been in poor conditions; in rain, wind, sleet, snow and generally cold weather. This greatly affects passing teams, even the best of passing teams. In relatively good conditions, the Patriots are set to have a great day passing the ball, despite the Giants fabulous d-line play.

And how dare Plaxico Burris make a prediction – that slowly turned into a guarantee by the media – that the Giant would win 23-17. Did he really need to fuel a team that was already hungry? It makes no sense. Don’t poking the sleeping bears you moron! And then missing two days of practice really helped back up that statement, which also gave your defence way to much credit.

Lastly, the fact still remains that for this cycle of the universe, Boston teams rule over New York teams. It’s just plain dumb to take a New York team when these cities match up any more. The Red Sox are going to be great for a long while, the Celtics and Knicks don’t even have to be discussed because Isiah Thomas is involved and then there are the Patriots. The NFL’s New York teams (Giants and the Jets) have less wins combined than New England. I think the pick here is obvious, but if you bump the line to Pats minus-22, I’d give you some action.

Congratulations New England on your undefeated* season. May you live with that asterisk forever, cheaters.

Dan’s Pick: New England (-12) over New York.
Dan’s Score: New England 38, New York 21.
Dan’s MVP: Asante Samuel

The playoffs: 3-4-1
The season: 111-117-10

And just for fun:
The tech guy: New England 24, New York 17.
The Intern: New England 35, New York 3. MVP: Randy Moss.

The Intern's Hard Wood: All-star teams '08

Amongst all the Super Bowl hoopla this week, the NBA all-star reserves were announced. While going through the list, the obvious first thing I noticed was that one of my favourites, Jose Calderon got the royal shaft and was not named to the team. This got me thinking who else is on the All-Snub team. Definitely the biggest travesty is Hedo Turkoglu not being an All-Star. He is putting up career stats and is one of the biggest reasons why Orlando is third in the East and so far this season he has already nailed three game-winning buckets. But alas, Joe Johnson got the nod even though his Hawks are six games under .500. In the west,two players also on the snub list are Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson. Both players are having great seasons and I would love to see Captain Jack and The Baron as All-Stars but in a conference with an overabundance of talent, it’s inevitable that there will be some would-be all-star casualties. But really who would you omit. The obvious choice would be David West, but in all honesty, he is having a fantastic season and the Hornets are the top team in the west. Plus the All-Star game is being played in New Orleans. He gets my vote (also, I have him on my fantasy team).

In other news around the NBA Jason Kidd has openly admitted he wants out of the swamp. Right now Dallas seems to be in the lead in the J-Kidd sweepstakes. We shall see in the upcoming weeks were this future Hall of Famer will end up.

The Spurs acquired former Memphis Grizzlies point guard Damon Stoudamire. This is a very good signing considering their current back up point guard is Jacque Vaughn and seriously it’s pretty hard to get worse then Jacque. Well, then again, there’s always Darrick Martin. Intern Out

The Intern on: A Fallen Star

Sitting out the rest of the season to rest ‘is a prime option for me.’ Spoken like a true winner. So the Jermaine O’Neal chronicles continue. Must be nice to be the seventh highest paid player in the NBA at $19 million per season and elect to ‘rest’ your bruised knee for the remainder of the season. It clearly seems that JO is unhappy with his current situation in Indy. But in all honestly, who cares. This team has been irrelevant ever since Ron Artest single-handedly destroyed the once-proud franchise during the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills. In the past three seasons since that infamous night, JO has missed 90 games due to illness, injury and suspension. Jermaine O’Neal, once 6 time all-star and easily one of the top players in the NBA, is now treading in the abyss of Shawn Kemp-ville. If anything Isiah should make a move for him so he can be with all the other bad contracts. Intern Out.

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

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.

The Intern's Hard Wood: Raps-Knicks

After being sidelined with an acute case of lethargy, the Intern is back on the horn. First order of business is to dissect last night’s Raptors game against the dysfunctional Knicks. I must say there is something very uplifting about watching a team in the same conference meltdown right before your eyes. The Swarsky put it best when he said: “This is a terrible demonstration of basketball.” That one statement sums up the Knicks performance thus far this season. They play with no intensity and what seems like no leadership. Last night was no different. The ball was constantly getting stuck, there was very little movement and you can’t forget the fighting in the ranks. Zack Randolph got pulled in the second quarter and clearly didn’t appreatiate it too much because he had a few choice for his commander-in-chief which led to him riding pine for the rest of the game. The only real bright spots were the play of Nate Robinson who was actually trying to make an impact and the consistent effort from David Lee. As much as I like ragging on the Knicks, the Raptors didn’t have a fantastic game by any stretch of the imagination. The Knicks actually shot better than the Raps and had more assists but the difference maker was the Raps shot 85% at the charity stripe. I like making fun of Isiah just as much as the next sports fan but really how much farther do the Knicks have to fall before Dolan makes a change. This whole situation reminds me a lot of Tony Montana’s rise and tragic fall in Scarface, well actually scratch the whole rise part, just the tailspin Tony goes in just before he get shot in the back with a double-barrelled shotgun. That is the future for Thomas if he doesn’t quickly contain the mess he has created. Hot damn I love the NBA.

Happy Anniversary

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Running The Point — formerly known as Dan's Ramblings. It's been a great experience to write (almost) everyday here and voice my opinions no matter how smart, dumb, funny or irrational they have been. The start up of this site even helped get me a job at an award-winning daily newspaper's sports section. At least I like to think that about this pet-project.

Since the beginning of this humble site there has been literal tons of subjects to write about. From scandals to amazing performances and even scandals within amazing performances (looking your way Patriots), a lot has piqued my interest daily.

If I had to narrow down my favourite stories since this site's inception, they'd probably be broken down something like this:

3. The Beckham-to-LA saga.
I know that it didn't play out like the MLS probably wanted since he didn't make the biggest impact that he probably could've, but reading stories everyday about the English midfielder and icon was always fun. It may not be have been as big or newsy as some of the other happenings this past year (see honourable mentions below) but this is my list.

2. The undefeated, cheating Patriots.
I knew going into the season that New England was going to be good. But this good? Undefeated good? No way. But more interesting to me than their undefeated season was Spygate and what followed it. If the Patriots — especially Belichick and Brady — not acted like complete assholes by running up the score of games in F U fashion, they might not be as hated as they are now. I still, to this moment, have no idea why such a good team would be reduced to cheating like that.

1. The rise (and brief fall) of Tony Romo.
Sure, it's a biased choice since I'm a huge Cowboys fan but how many people laughed in the pre-season of 2006 when Romo was outplaying Drew Bledsoe and the Cowboys' season looked doomed? Romo has came all the way from being an undrafted free agent signee out of East Illinois to a two-time pro bowler leading arguably the best team in the NFC. If not for his botched snap gaffe in Seattle last playoffs, who knows what could've happened.

Honourable mentions: Michael Vick's dogfighting scandal, Barry Bonds vs. everyone, the NHL's slide into obscurity, baseball vs. steroids, LeBron continually stepping it up and ruling the NBA.

As for the upcoming year, this site will continue to grow and expand in several ways. A redesign is coming soon to make RTP more appealing to the eyes than this bland blogspot template. Getting some more out of the extremely lazy intern would also be nice and yes, he still does want to write apparently. Also, some more all-around improvements will come over time; perhaps even my writing will get better. There is still a lot to come here and sports never stop so neither will my writing.

And, of course, I'd be remiss to not give a big thank you to all of RTP's readers and fans for their support.

The Intern's Hard Wood: Week 1

The beginning to this NBA season has been one rollercoaster ride so far. Who would have predicted that about four games into the season that the Brand-less Clippers would be on top of the Pacific let alone the entire league. Nobody ever thought the Bulls would start out 1-4 and the Heat and Wizards still held winless in the East? But, in Washington’s defense, the NBA must have installed faulty rims over the off season which has contributed to Agent Zero’s dismal 3 for 24 behind the arc. One of the surprise storylines thus far is the New Orleans Hornets starting out the season 4-1. This is largely due to the play from their floor general CP3 who is putting up ungodly stats, 18 points, 12 assists and 5 boards per game.

The Celtics are still undefeated and after witnessing them first hand last Sunday, I can understand why. They have assembled the best big three in the history of the NBA and boy they are a sight to witness. Watching Garnett, Allen and Pierce working in tandem is quite a sight. As a team it really makes you think twice about doubling Garnett with Allen looming behind the arc. As good as the three are, they have little-to-no depth and their point guard situation is still a big question mark. Rajon Rondo is still wet behind ears and not capable of controlling the floor or defending top tier PGs in the NBA.

The Intern’s Toronto Raptors season preview

Note: The Intern was going to write about more teams but he is a very, very busy man. (Read that sarcastically).

For the starting line-up the only guaranteed spots are for TJ Ford, Anthony Parker and Toronto’s All-Star CB4. With an over abundance of small forwards this is a little harder to predict. On any given night Mitchell could start 3rd year Joey Graham, Slasher Carlos Delfino and sharpshooter Jason Kapono. For center I could see Rasho Nestorvich starting and Bargnani being a spark coming off the bench at least for the beginning of the season. For 6th man I will have to go with the second half of the pg duo Jose Calderon.

The burning question has to be can the Toronto Raptors be repeat Atlantic champions. It seems like this might be an uphill battle. The Atlantic division has vastly improved with Boston and their three head monster, the Knicks with their gigantic front court and the Nets still have their three All-stars with the addition of Magloire in the front court. It should make for a great race for the Atlantic banner.

Tip off!

The NBA season has officially begun and from here until the Super Bowl, three of the biggest sports in North America will be vying for attention in daily sports sections. Not to mention the stories dedicated to baseball's off-season deals and movement.

So what do the intern and I think is going to happen in the NBA this season? Well here's our predictions that we may or may not have put money on. For legal purposes, let's say we didn't.

Dan's picks
West champion: San Antonio.
East champion: Chicago.
NBA champion: San Antonio.
MVP: Kobe Bryant.
Rookie of the Year: Al Thornton.
Sixth man: Manu Ginobili.
Defensive player: Dwight Howard
Kobe will end the season on: The Lakers, with some more talent around him.
Biggest name to move besides Kobe: Jermaine O'Neal.

The Intern's picks
West Champion - Spurs
East - Nets
NBA Champions- Spurs
MVP – Kevin Garnett
Rookie of the Year- Kevin Durant
Sixth man – Manu Ginobili
Defensive player - Kevin Garnett
Kobe will end the season on - Lakers
Biggest name to move besides Kobe- Jermaine O’Neal


And in last night's action...

Defending NBA champions, the Spurs, opened their season against the TrailBlazers, who the league schedulers would've hoped to have had first-overall pick Greg Oden in the lineup instead of rehabbing his knee after micro-fracture surgery. San Antonio, with their fresh new bling, had no problem with Portland, winning 106-97.

In a rematch of one of the West's semi-finals last year, the Jazz took on the underdog Warriors and looked great, especially power-forward Carlos Boozer who walked away with 32 points and 16 rebounds in the 117-96 Jazz win.

And then there were the Lakers, with Kobe Bryant, facing the Rockets. Well, if Kobe was upset in L.A., his performance sure didn’t show it. He scored 45 while being tightly guarded by Shane Battier for most of the game. Battier did get the upperhand at the end of the game though, sealing Houston’s 95-93 victory with a late three.

Tonight: The debut of phenom Kevin Durant, the Raptors begin defending their Atlantic division title and the Bulls and Nets square off in a possible eastern conference final preview.

The Intern on: LBJ vs. The World

Tonight kicks off the final push towards the most sought after prize of the NBA, the Naismith trophy. I would love to be able to say that I am looking forward to it but, all in all, I am honesty very apathetic to the whole situation. All that this series will accomplish is illuminate how weak the Eastern Conference really is. It’s not even the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the San Antonio Spurs its Lebron James vs. the Spus. You know that it’s sad when the only way that the Cavs can even stay in the series is if LBJ has an ungodly performance every night. None of this “passing up on the last shot so Donyell Marshall can jack up a brick” type garbage.

This series will also highlight Mike Brown’s embarrassingly awkward ineptitude. I honestly don’t think Mike Brown could coach a good house league team to their championship trophy let alone an NBA team. This series has the makings of being a proverbial re-enactment of the battle at the Alamo. The Cavs will hold off the Spurs for as long as they can but will eventually crumble under the sheer ferocity that is the San Antonio Spurs.

I say the Spurs in Six.

The NBA finals have finally arrived

It’s come down to LeBron vs. the Spurs defensive toughness for the Naismith Trophy. While the number of times that Manu Ginobili flops and Bruce Bowen tries to roll LeBron’s ankle will be under scrutiny, well at least it should be, all eyes will be on how LeBron performs; will he be the player from the first two games of the Detroit series or will he show up as the King who scored 29 out of the last 30 to seal a win on the road and sway the balance of the East?

It shouldn’t be hard for the Spurs match up wise except for handling LeBron which should end up as Bruce Bowen’s duty. Offensively and defensively, Tim Duncan should easy be able to take care of Big Z in the paint. While Larry Hughes is a better than average for the Cavs, he’s not going to be able to stop Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili when he’s off the bench. This shouldn’t be a long series with a parade marching down the streets of San Antonio in the near future.

Pick: Spurs in 5.

The Intern's pick: Spurs in 6

The Intern on the Raps playoffs

As I am sitting here watching game four of the Warriors vs. Mavs series I am still trying to digest the abomination that took place at the Meadowlands. I can’t really come up with a good sentence to fully describe the angst I am feeling right now. I am struggling to get my head around why the Raptors look so terrible in this series. Their execution and decision-making is definitely playing a role in that. After game three it was abundantly clear that Lawrence Frank had found a way to keep Bosh in check. So just like in a good chess game, Mitchell makes his move and injects Bargnani into the starting line up. Now stop me if I am wrong but you have Bargs towering in at 7 feet tall and playing small forward standing 5” taller than Richard Jefferson. Wouldn’t you want to establish him early? Of course this didn’t happen. BAH! The highlight of the game for me was actually perpetrated by Bruce Willis. After clearly having too many barley pops, Bruce was yammering with the sideline reporter about how amazing the new Die Hard movie is and that it is even better then the original *cough..Bullshit* Then Bruce being the classy fellow he is finished the quasi interview with a “Yippee-ki-yay mother fucker” in all its F-bombing glory. As I finish writing this blog the Warriors have just taken a commanding 3-1 lead in this series. With the Raptors looking as shitty as they are, the Warriors will be my number two team through these playoffs.

The Intern's NBA Playoff column

I am sitting here still shaking with glee because today kicks off the NBA playoffs. Next to Halloween this is my favorite time of the year. What makes it even more exciting is that my Raptors are in the playoffs for the first time in what seems like an eternity. The two major storylines - I think - are Nellie’s return to Dallas in the Warriors vs. Mavs match up of and, my personal favorite, Vince Carter’s unwelcome return to Toronto. Is there any player in the NBA hated by a city more then VC? Now that that’s out of the way, on to my first round predictions.

Eastern Conference

Detroit Pistons (1) vs. Orlando Magic (8)

Right now I am actually watching this game and I can safely say that barring the starting five of the Pistons contracting the bubonic plague there is no way the Magic can win this series. They look so inexperienced next to the hard-nosed, grizzled Pistons. I say the Pistons in four.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2) vs. Washington Wizards (7)

I foresee that the only purpose of this series is for the Cavs to pad their stats. Cleveland should seriously hand out brooms at the first game. No brainier, Cavs with the sweep.

Toronto Raptors (3) vs. New Jersey Nets (6)

What a great match up. As much as I want the Raptors to win, this is going to be a real test. With New Jersey’s three-headed monster fully healthy, they might be too much for the Raps to handle. But then again, Jersey doesn’t really have much of a bench. This series is really a crap shoot and can totally go either way. I know my opinion is completely biased but i am picking the Raptors to win in seven.

Miami Heat (4) vs. Chicago Bulls (5)

This has the makings of a great series. You have the returning champions versus the very talented Bulls. The major weakness of the Bulls is their non-existent inside game and, of course, the Heat will exploit this with both of their big men. The Bulls will try to counter this with their speed and over abundance of talent. I take the Bulls in seven.

Western Conference

Dallas Mavericks (1) vs. Golden State Warriors (8)

Even though the Mavs have the best record in the league and are arguably the best team in the league, that doesn’t change the fact that the Warriors have had the Mav’s number all year. This might be attributed to the Nellie factor. As much as I would love to take the Warriors, I know in my heart it’s a lost cause. I’ll go with the Mavs in six.

Phoenix Suns (2) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7)

Even though Kobe Bryant is probably the most complete scorer of my generation it doesn’t hide that fact that they have a pretty rotten team. What I find quite amusing is that Kobe can score 50 and his team can still lose. How does that make any sense? With that being said I am definitely going to have to give the nod to the Suns. They have too many scoring options for the Lakers to handle. I’ll go with the Suns in 5.

San Antonio Spurs (3) vs. Denver Nuggets (6)

The Spurs obviously have the advantage in this series based solely on their playoff experience. But to credit the Nuggets they have two of the leading scorers in the game in Melo and AI, also they just seem much rested. I am going to go with the Spurs in six.

Houston Rockets (4) vs. Utah Jazz (5)

This series is so well matched I am seriously going to flip a coin. The coin came up heads so I will take the Jazz in seven.

The Intern on: Questionable Reffing

Sunday was quite a peculiar day in the NBA. First off you have Tim Duncan accumulating 2 technical fouls while sitting on the bench and secondly you have Eddy Curry going a whole 43 minutes without committing a single foul. As I am sitting here typing this I am still having a hard time believing The Big Fundamental managed to get ejected while sitting on the bench. I could and picture ‘Sheed and Nate Robinson accomplishing that feat but not Duncan. Apparently what initiated the confrontation was Joe Crawford hearing Duncan murmur “The Ball never lies” after a questionable call. The second T came less then 2 minutes later when Duncan was laughing on the bench. What really irks me is that there is no way Crawford could know what Duncan was laughing at because he was at the other end of the court. Seriously Crawford, lay off the boozing before work. This is definitely unconfirmed but Isaiah must have promised the team of refs for the Raps game all the stripers and yayo. One can imagine because there is no way Curry can go a whole 43 minutes without perpetrating at least one foul.

NHL Playoff Preview

Yes, it’s that time of year, when flowers begin to blossom and the Toronto Maple Leafs begin to work on their golf game; it’s the NHL playoffs. Here is your favourite blogger’s (and his lazy intern’s finals) picks for the NHL’s postseason.

Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Islanders: It’s tough to go against the President’s Trophy winners in the first round but the Isles have been extremely hot; they had to be to sneak into eighth. This series will be closer than it looks on paper. Sabres in 6.

New Jersey Devils vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: One thing is for sure, when the Devils play playoff hockey, it’s the boringest thing to watch this side of LPGA golf. It’s too bad their style works so well. Devils in 5.

Atlanta Thrashers vs. New York Rangers: Two teams with high-powered offenses meet up in what should be a fire-wagon series. Expect a lot of goals, a lot of shell-shocked goalies and, I think, an upset. Rangers in 6.

Ottawa Senators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby makes his postseason debut against a team that’s known to choke in the playoffs. Everyone exluding Ottawa natives doesn’t like this team for some reason and it’s this reason that they’ll win, as much as don’t want to pick them. Senators in 6.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Calgary Flames: While the Flames do have the playoff experience to make it past Detroit, they backed into the playoffs with 4 straight losses to end the season. It’s hard to pick a team with that kind of momentum. Red Wings in 5.

Anaheim Ducks vs. Minnesota Wild: Can you name five players on the Wild? I’m hard pressed to and I work in newspaper sports department. The Ducks are the popular pick to go to the finals and win it all and there’s no reason they can’t manhandle the Wild. Ducks in 4.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Dallas Stars: Much will be made of Roberto Luongo’s lack of playoff experience but it won’t matter – this guy is great. The Stars also have Marty Turco, whose past playoff experiences (failures) have been well documented. Canucks in 6.

Nashville Predators vs. San Jose Sharks: By far the best looking match up in the first round. This is going to be hockey at its best and we’re talking good hockey – not the goonery that you can catch whenever the Toronto Maple Leafs are in town. Thornton vs. Forsberg is a bona fide marquee match up and the goaltenders are top shelf as well. The hardest pick of the first round: Nashville in 7.

As for the rest of the playoffs:

The Finals: Ducks over Devils
Intern’s pick: Ducks over everyone.

MVP: Scott Neidermayer
Intern’s Pick: Bjorn Melin

Disclaimer: The intern knows nothing about hockey.

It's Finally Here!

I our tradition of “friendly” competition, the Intern and I have, like a large percentage of people in North America, have filled out our brackets and are going to face off in a head to head over the next few weeks for bragging rights. Since we wouldn’t want to run our entire brackets here, we’ll just give up our final four picks.

Dan

Florida: They’ve returned their five starters from last year’s championship team but more importantly, have you seen the competition in the Midwest bracket? It’s pathetic. The only team with a chance to unseat them is Wisconsin, but their Centre’s injured.

UCLA: My pick to win it all because, quite frankly, they’re my pick to win it all every year and I have no idea why. I’m not buying into Kansas’s team and I don’t know enough about Pittsburgh and So. Ill to take them. I do know that Duke sucks though.

Ohio State: Mark my words: If Ohio State and Texas A&M reach the elite 8, that will be one hell of a game to watch. Acie Law IV is going to show what he’s made of and Greg Oden is Greg Oden.

Texas: They have, by far, the hardest competition in their region but I can see Kevin Durant shining under the tournament’s pressure a la Carmelo Anthony. They’re going to have to fight through every game, well, except for their first round match up with New Mexico State.

The Intern’s picks will come later…

The Intern's thoughts on: The NCAA tourney

I am sitting at home right now, watching the two juggernauts of the West fighting for alpha-dog status in the NBA; the Dirk led Mavs vs. Steve Nash’s Suns and the funny thing is that I really don’t care. Usually in situations like this, I would be clutching my knees giggling like an Asian school girl, but on the eve of the NCAA Tournament, all I can think about is my bracket. I keep going over in my head can Georgia Tech actually beat the Gators to advance to the final four and who will come up victorious in the elite 8, the Hoyas or the Longhorns? I might not be a college hoops guru, but every March I always get swept up in the excitement of the tournament. One thing is for sure and that is I will definitely not get a good night’s sleep because I will be up tossing and turning all night dissecting my bracket.

The Intern's on: The West

Memphis Grizzlies

They have absolutely no chance of making the playoffs. They are in a tight race with the Celtics for the worst record in the league though. Their best case scenario is that they finish last, get the first pick in the Oden/Durant sweepstakes, draft Oden, sign Chauncey Billups in the off season and just like that, the Griz are back in the playoff hunt.

Sacramento Kings

This team needs to be dismantled. They might as well start tanking because this team is going nowhere. First order of business in the off season should be to attempt to find a suitable taker for Ronny. Since acquiring Artest it’s been downhill; Brad Miller is currently having his worst season ever and Mike Bibby is shooting a career worst 39%. Is there a team that could actually benefit from having Artest?

Seattle Supersonics

Seattle is going to be very hard-pressed to make the playoffs this year being 11 games out of the 8th spot. One positive is that I have been really impressed with the production from Nick Collison as of lately and Ray Allen is still the best pure shooter in the game. Hopefully they will get a high draft pick and not lose Rashard Lewis to free agency in the off-season.

Portland Trailblazers

They have a great, young nucleolus with a very high ceiling. Won’t make the playoffs this year but watch out for them next season. With Magloire’s expiring contract and a sea full of talented free agents, they have a lot of options.

Minnesota Timberwolves

You can never really count this team out based on the fact that they have the star power of the immortal KG. But you know you have a problem when your second third punches are Ricky Davis and Mike James. Ouch. At least they are giving Randy Foye the minutes he needs to develop into one of the future cornerstones of the franchise.

Golden State Warriors

This team will be in a four way race for the 7 and 8 spots against the Nuggets, Clippers and the Hornets. This team could be a fierce competitor if they could just win a game on the road. They have the largest home/away loss differential in the league. Two major flaws are their absent defense and they have no inside presence. Their run-and-gun style of play somewhat glosses over these issues but can still easily be exposed. Monta Ellis is turning into quite a baller and, more importantly, Stephen Jackson hasn’t shot anyone… Yet.

Los Angeles Clippers

I originally had this team pegged to grab the 8th and final playoff spot but that was before Livingston went down hard. They could still make the playoffs if Maggette ever gets on the same page as Dunleavy and if Brand can transform back into the MVP-caliber player he was last year.

Denver Nuggets

This team by default should make the playoffs on the sheer fact that they have two of the top scorers in the league. Also, to their credit, they have a healthy Camby and, over the last two weeks, Nene has put up some very nice numbers.

New Orleans/ Oklahoma City Hornets

It’s nice to finally see this team almost back to 100%. They should be able to secure 7th spot with CP3 leading them and the solid production from David West and the rest of the team.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers will finish 5th just on the raw talent of Kobe and Lamar. But this team could be a legitimate contender if they had a half-decent point guard. Instead, they have the worst starting point guard in the league being Smush Parker. Given he is also the cheapest starting PG in the league making only 600 G’s, but still, for all that’s good in the world, how can you average only 2.4 assists per game when you have Kobe and Odom on your team. I feel a migraine coming on.

Houston Rockets

With the way T-Mac has put the Rockets on his aching back and the possibility of Yao returning, they could catch the Spurs and finish either third or fourth, depending on how Utah finishes.

Utah Jazz

They have almost completely secured 4th spot in the West. They could make a push now for third spot because Boozer is back in the lineup but, alas, Deron Williams is now out with a groin strain. That’s a real kick in the pants for the Jazz.

San Antonio Spurs

The San-An Spurs are still one of the most boring teams in the league but, hey, it doesn’t really matter when you can dismantle opponents like they can. Personally, I think after you factor in all the characteristics that make up a team in NBA, they have the second best team in the league. They have all the pieces to make a serious run in the playoffs.

Phoenix Suns

What can you say about the Suns that haven’t already been said about a million times? Well, I don’t care; I’m going to reiterate it. They are the most fun team to watch in sports right now. The whole team is a walking highlight reel. They can score on demand and they have the best point guard in the game in Steve Nash. Now its going to take a lot for me to admit this but *sniff sniff* they do not have the depth nor the defensive intensity to get to the Finals. Excuse me while this Suns Fan boy goes and cries in the corner.

Dallas Mavericks

Dallas is definitely the team to beat in the league. They’re riding their 3rd 13+ game winning streak, Dirk is playing possessed basketball and, as a team, they get it done on both ends of the court. Major accolades should go to Avery’s coaching and I seriously feel sorry for anyone that gets stuck in the West’s 8th playoff spot.

The Intern’s Take On: NBA All-Star Weekend

VIVVVAAAAA LAS VEGAS

Sunday night brought close to a momentous event in a very anti-climatic way. There were lots of ups and a lot of downs. The exciting 3-point competition was capped off with Hibachi shooting from behind the arc with one arm but there was also the less then stellar rookie game. Mark my words next All-Star weekend we will see history in the making as the Oden-led rookies will walk all over the sophomores. It will definitely be a sad state of affairs. It will also be the first time the sophomores will have lost since the league instituted this format.

Then there was the joke of a celebrity game which included an insanely juiced up Carrot Top. Seriously, what the hell is that guy on? Then there was life-sized “Ken” doll known as Wayne Newton; I haven’t seen that much plastic since the last time I took out the recycling. Finally, the exhilarating dunk-off showcased Gerald Green performing a Dee Brown-esque dunk over Nate Robinson: classic. The Judges showed no love for Dwight. Come On! He stuck a sticker of his face on the top of the back board mid dunk and then pulled out a measuring tape to measure how high it was: Classy.

The All-Star weekend’s plateau was the dunk comp because the actual All-Star game was lackluster at best. It really was a showcase of the West dominance over the measly East. It was basically like watching an NBA team play their D-league counterpart; except, at least, the D-League team would actually play as a team. It was actually quite scary how well the West gelled as a team. They set an All-Star record with 52 team assists and Kobe was still able to get his 20+ shots. Damn, I love watching west coast basketball. My major gripe with the game came at the hands of King James. Throughout the second half Lebron was playing like he really wanted that MVP trophy. He would march down the court not make a single pass and then jack up a shot. Good job James. What he failed to realize is that his team was down by 20 and he had no chance at the trophy.

On a different note, there were a couple of instances that did bring a smile to my face. Two of them included the big Diesel himself. The first one was when he followed up a missed dunk with a monster slam and finished with a kiss T-Mac’s forehead. Classic Shaq. Second was when point guard Shaq tried to take Memnut Okur off the dribble and threw up the ugliest shot of the night with Memo laughing at him the whole time. Finally, the highlight of my evening came with Agent Zero doing a through-the-legs dunk off the trampoline with all the dunking Elvises. It’s safe to assume that Eddie Jordan wasn’t too pleased. Consequently, Gilbert didn’t see the floor again for the rest of the evening. Yet again Gilbert Arenas’ hi-jinx made my day.