The kid could’ve done a better job, and after watching the video I have one question. Who will be the recipient of the hate-filled emails from racists? Mark Cuban? Syracuse University? YouTube?

Josh Howard doesn’t celebrate the National Anthem? He probably meant he doesn’t honor or observe the anthem, but his point was clear. I have to wonder why Josh, knowing what kind of trouble his comments can cause, didn’t think of something else to say for the camera.

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

Now that one of the greatest regular seasons in NBA history is finished it’s time for the 2007-08 playoffs to take us to the next level. Other than Celtics/Hawks, the match-ups should give us entertaining basketball. All of the series won’t go seven games, but the level of competition will be at an all-time high.

I’m only gonna post my first round predictions right now, but my entire NBA Playoffs bracket will be over at Ball Hype. They’re having an NBA Playoffs Pick ‘Em Contest that’s free to enter, and the top prize is an iPod touch. I have the Eastern Conference sticking to the script for the most part, but deciding the Western Conference was painful..

Here are my first round picks:

Eastern Conference:

(1)Boston 4 (8)Atlanta 0: The Hawks can hang their hat on the fact that they made the playoffs. After getting swept out, they should fire Mike Woodson and start getting ready for next season. The Cs will wanna handle their biz and rest for..

(4)Cleveland 4 (5)Washington 3: The best series in the EC’s first round and you know how it goes.. Same two teams, same result. Gilbert trash talking King James isn’t helping the Wizards’ chances. I was probably leaning towards Washington until Gilbert went off.. But if anybody was gonna back it up, it’s Agent Zero.
(2)Detroit 4 (7)Philadelphia 1: I’m a diehard Sixers fan and I’m pulling for the upset but I gotta be real. This squad is too young to do anything but steal a game from the Pistons.. I might pop bottles if they take two games.

Looking to the future, what’s the front office gonna do about beefing up the lineup? They need to add more firepower and size to build on the gains made this season. Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller, Samuel Dalembert, and Thaddeus Young make a good nucleus. Willie Green, Louis Williams, and Reggie Evans should contribute to a nice bench. Even though the Eastern Conference is regarded as weak, things are getting a lot tougher and the Sixers need to plan accordingly.

LeBron’s always in contention, the Bulls will eventually figure it out, the Celtics and Pistons have cores they can count on for a few more years, Washington’s group looks like they’ll be staying together, Miami has D-Wade and Marion as a foundation, Dwight Howard is a force to be reckoned with, the Raptors have better young talent, Indiana should be better next year, and the Hawks look like they’re headed in the right direction. Unless the franchise is content with squeaking in the playoffs and making a first round exit, they need to get aggressive in the offseason.. Elton Brand aggressive.

(3)Orlando 4 (6)Toronto 2: Who is this? Oh yeah, the Orlando Magic.. They haven’t been talked about since Dwight Howard did the Superman dunk, but they quietly won 52 games. Howard, Hedo Turkoglu (should be the Most Improved Player), and Rashard Lewis give the Magic one of the best frontcourts in basketball. They should cruise past the Raptors.

Western Conference:

(1)Los Angeles 4 (8)Denver 3 : Can the Nuggets do what the Warriors did last year and eliminate the number one seed? It would be called an upset, but shouldn’t we expect a team that has two number one overall picks, a second overall pick, and a third (shoulda been second) overall pick in the starting lineup to go deep into the playoffs? I see some 130-121 games and Denver’s inability to get key stops hurting them more than the Lakers inability to get key stops.

(4)Utah 4 (5)Houston 3: Man… If there’s ever a pick I wanted to be wrong about. I think the Jazz are the better team, but for T-Mac’s sanity I wouldn’t mind if the Rockets won the series. Last year, I tried to use The Secret to help Houston and it obviously didn’t work. This year, the Rockets should get Benedict XVI to swing through H-Town and hit ‘em with some Pope Juice.

(6)Phoenix 4 (3)San Antonio 3: Either Shaq or Tim Duncan have appeared in every NBA finals since the Bulls sixth championship in 1998, and 10 of the last 14. They’ve both picked up four rings along the way, but with all of that said, Amare Stoudemire will dominate this series. He’s always a beast against the Spurs in the playoffs and with Shaq giving him more freedom on offense I see Phoenix riding Stat to the second round.

(7)Dallas 4 (2)New Orleans 2: The Mavericks get a chance to play the underdog upset role this postseason. It’s not gonna erase what happened last year, and with the competitiveness of the Western Conference this year, it shouldn’t be surprise if the team with the reigning MVP and Jason Kidd beats a team with no playoff experience.

Follow The NBA Playoffs On The Sphere:
NBA
True Hoop
Watch NBA Playoff Games Online For Free
NBA Highlights From Odenized

Tags: NBA, Playoffs, Watch Free Online, Sports

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will have to throw more money at the problem next year because the team’s fading 2008 championship hopes went down with Dirk Nowitzki on Sunday. Dirk is expected to miss two weeks with what is being called a lower left leg injury.. In layman’s terms that means season killing injury.

Don’t get it twisted. The Mavs weren’t gonna sniff the title this year but they were gonna make the playoffs. They’re currently in the seventh spot in the Western Conference with Golden St. a game back and the Nuggets trailing by two. If the Denver Nuggets have any balls, two weeks without Dirk Nowitzki is the final nail in the Maverick’s playoff coffin. Knowing the Nuggs like we do, they’ll make it interesting.

It could be for any number of reasons, but it seems the basketball gods aren’t happy with Mark Cuban. They waited until Steve Nash left Dallas to let him turn into the player he is today. They took a 2-0 finals lead from Cuban and the Mavs two years ago. Last year the gods let his 67 win, number one seed team lose to the eight seed in the first round of the playoffs, and this year they take Dirk Nowitzki from him during the stretch run of the season. If Cuban knows what’s good for him he’ll get John Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino on the phone immediately and ask them how they reversed their fortunes.

There is one positive to take from Dirk’s injury… Now he has more time to check out the cheerleaders.

Tags: Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban, injury

A dunk only counts as 2 points, and the Warriors are winless on the season, but Baron Davis is picking up where he left off in the playoffs.. I hope Baron can keep this up for a full 82 games. If the injury gods would get off of BD for a season, he could be an MVP candidate.

Tags: Baron Davis, Golden St. Warriors, NBA, Video, Youtube, Utube

I gotta give Cuban props since I said he didn’t stand a chance.. That wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and it was probably 25 times better than Master P. Shout out to Awful Announcing for watching DWTS, and high five to The Sports Hernia for the pics from the show.

Mark Cuban Likes To Hold His Rod And The Rest Of His DWTS Performance. Courtesy of Awful Announcing

Mark Cuban dances, scares people. Courtesy of The Sports Hernia

Tags: Google, Video, Mark Cuban, DWTS, Dancing With The Stars

I didn’t get a chance to catch ABC’s Dancing With The Stars last night… Well, “Didn’t get a chance” isn’t the right way to put it. I didn’t watch DWTS. I have less than zero interest in the show.. I will say this, if Mark Cuban dances like this on tv, he’s going home first.

Tags: Mark Cuban, You Tube, Dancing, NBA, Sports

Utah’s Dee Brown is out of the hospital. Thank you B. Shoals at AOL Fanhouse

The most mediocre baseball players of all time. Thank you The Smittblog

The Top 25 Hip Hop albums of all time. Thank you Straight Bangin (scroll down)

Pee your pants for the Brewers. Thank you Pee Your Pants For The Brewers

The Mav’s collapse was predictable. Thank you Hoops Hype (Eddie Johnson blog)

Take a look at these golf babes. Thank you Golf Babes

Freddy Roach got paid to train Oscar De La Hoya but it still cost him. Thank you Max Boxing

Chris Rock, Never Scared, “tired of defending Hip Hop” flashback. Thank you Nobody Smiling (NSFW language)

Yankees pitcher Chien Ming Wang gets his groove on. Thank you Matt at AOL Fanhouse

**UPDATE** I’m not sure how I missed this but The Starting Five has a good and lengthy interview with Dave Zirin. Great stuff in this interview. **UPDATE**

Props to Ball Hype for making this easy to put together.

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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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