The Dallas Mavericks were eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the New Orleans Hornets, and now it’s time for Mark Cuban to break out his billion dollar chopping block.. First up, Avery Johnson and Josh Howard. It woulda been Devean George, but he didn’t show up to shoot a Got Eggnog Got Milk? ad. If I was Cuban, I’d probably be able to speak spanish.. If I was Mark Cuban, I’d be willing to part with anybody on the team except for Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd.

Dallas Mavericks, Josh Howard, Avery Johnson, Got Milk, youtube

The Starting Five:
A must read interview with Rob Parker, and a look at some double standards in Major League Baseball.

Signal To Noise:
The Mansnitch got ratted out by Brian Billick. Plus, a shout out to the WNBA champions..Ahh that’s sweet.

Ball Hype:
A man’s dream… A bunch of female sports bloggers in one place. I don’t know a sexy way to say this one, just more incredible NBA stat breakdowns.

Larry Brown Sports:
LB is all over LT acting like a B-A-B-Y, and Avery Johnson calling out “Lil D” in Big D.

DeadSpin:
Thank God for Isiah Thomas’ sexual harrasment trial. Does Steve Phillips get paid for his opinions?

Epic Carnival:
Hot chicks and all things MMA. Reggie Bush vs. Lendale White..Right now White’s winning.

The Big Lead:
ESPN replaces Byron Leftwich with O.J. Simpson. Elijah Dukes is in the news and it’s not all bad.

With Leather:
Shawne Merriman hanging out with porn stars? Polo on Segways= Watch this video.

The Big Picture:
A conversation between Byron Leftwich and Joey Harrington.

Mr. Irrelevant:
An Eagles’ fan Monday night pain.

Edge of Sports:
Nixon, Belichick, and cheating.

We Are The Postmen:
Taco Bell hopes nachos can ease Charlie Weis’ pain.

Wow.. What a series!!?! I didn’t want it to end.. Especially since I famously picked the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games.. More on the Mavs in a sec but right now it’s all about the Bay Area and the Oakland Golden State Warriors. When the series started I didn’t think the Warriors could win, but by game 2 it was pretty clear this was at the minimum an evenly matched series. As it turns out, the better team won. Styles make fights, and apparently the Mavs forgot what happens when you style on somebody.

Back when Golden State traded Troy Murphy and MDJr. to Indiana for Al Harrington and Stephen “Bishop” Jackson everybody thought Golden State got the better of the deal… And they did. Al Harrington is a talented player even though he was a no show in this series and SJ is a cold hearted assassin that will ride for his boys. I know this series had to be tough for Murphy and Dunleavy to watch. How do I know? Look at Dunleavy watching the game last night.. Nothing says “Damnit, why did they have to trade me!?!?” like sitting around in your drawz and sneakers, drinking a bottle of Napa’s finest.

I’m gonna let you, yes YOU, into my world for a sec… I’m watching CNN to see if Oakland has burned down yet.. Not because the Warriors just beat Dallas, but because it’s what’s known in the O as Thursday night… Now trust, I love the Land.. I useta stay near the bay, in “The Fielts” or “SquareField” to be exact. Going to Oakland, to the Eastmont Mall among other places, was always the biz. You could pick up a tight bomber jacket, get a money hat, or hopefully, meet some breezies (no Don Imus). On the way home a stop in Berkeley to hit Leopold’s Records was a must. Leopold’s and that hot dog stand that was next to it.. Damn.. The good ole days.. I miss the days of  lyin to my dad (I’m going to C’s house) to use the car and then hittin Oakland. Of course, I wasn’t thinking about an odometer at the age of 16 and I didn’t have an answer for “How the fuck did you put over 100 miles on the car going to Goddamn Vacaville!!!!?” My answer… ”Traffic?” Gimme a break I was 16…

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled blogram…Ay yo Avery, you can go ahead and pull your pants up now. Don Nelson went drunk, just got fired, abusive dad on AJ this whole series. Just because you’re mad at mom (Mark Cuban) doesn’t mean you have to take it out on the kids. The defensive scheme on Dirk and the 10k bonus motivational tactics he used on his team were perfect. He was able to coach around Jackson’s volatility, Biedrins lack of free throw shooting, Al Harrington’s absence, and Avery’s one and only game plan. I’m not an NBA head coach, but I play one on the internet. Where were the adjustments from Dallas? Going small in game one? Yeah that was great. Remember last year’s playoffs when Avery pushed all of the right buttons? This year he looked like he spent the summer reading “How to lose a series in 6 games or less”.. He obviously bought the workbook and went to a couple of the seminars too. I haven’t seen somebody look that different in the span of a year since Dr. Dre.

I know I’m all over the place with this post so I’ll start rapping wrapping it up. Here’s a few observations and thoughts before I close:

• Will the Warriors be able to get up for whoever (The Rockets) they face in the next round? They pulled of one of the greatest upsets in NBA playoff history.. Do they keep the momentum rollin or let down?
• What the hell was Snoop Dogg doing at the game cheering for the Warriors? I don’t care if G. State’s in Cali, Snoops from LA (Long Beach)… He musta got hit in the head with a puck at that hockey game. Maybe Oracle Arena is the only place on earth that still lets Snoop Dogg inside it’s borders.
• Marc Cuban was rumored to be interested in buying the Chicago Cubs.. The curse must jump on people that are even midly associated with the team. If 67 wins, televisions at every locker, and a billion dollars can’t buy an NBA championship, I don’t know what can.
• Even though the recent “Prejudiced Refs” hoopla seems to be mostly crap, I was a little nervous for the Warriors when I saw that Steve Javie, Ron Garretson, and Mark Wunderlich would be blowin the whistle for game 6. As I stated earlier, the Warriors traded away their sucka repellent.

If you want a taste of how Oaktown sounds right now (minus the .357s) check out this mix: DJ Marcelo: Dummy Live in Stockholm . I swacked it from a blog that I can’t recall… It was last year… Possibly The Nation Of Thizzlam

R.I.P. MAC D-R-E

You can take a look at my brackets here. Courtesy of Ball Hype

Live footage of what’s happening in Oakland at any given moment. Courtesy of YouTube

Here’s why the Rockets are gonna win game 7. Courtesy of YBB

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