D Fisher. The guy can hit a shot w/ .4 seconds left. The guy left a great gig in Utah, for his daughter’s illness. You feel for him, he’s one of the great clutch point guards that’ll probably help the Lake Snore, I mean show, get another ring. Yet I don’t care if you are Kobe, Lebron or even the over-passionate, yet always entertaining KG, you call the call the refs missed tonight! That’s the series. Spurs down 3-1 and have to play 2 of those on the road if they want to get back to the finals.

I told myself after the Nash incident last year and the mafia pocketed ref i wouldn’t blame losses on refs but how can I not? This was such an obvious call, that leaves me scratching my head pondering maybe I should give up my love for the NBA and switch to NCAA, where everything is more consistent. You have 2 seconds and change on the clock, Brent Barry shots a game tying shot, only to have an elbow to the head, with totally obvious contact and yet no whistle. The dude is a 36-year old veteran and he didn’t get the call. Lets reverse this. If it was Kobe shooting that shot, would there be a foul called? If Ginobli shot it, and acted with his European flopping skills, would there be a call? My Magic 8 ball is telling me, all signs point to yes for both scenarios. This is ridiculous. I hate blaming the refs but how can we ‘love this game,’ when the NBA would rather show us ‘NBA CARES’ videos than correct the ref problems that are inherent in every single playoff game so far in the post season?
-Aaron ‘Frustrated NBA Fan’ Goldstein out

Since the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are meeting in the 2008 NBA Finals, it got me thinking what the matchups would look like if you assembled the all-time greats from each franchise.  

Lakers Starters

PG Magic Johnson
SG Kobe Bryant
SF Elgin Baylor
PF Wilt Chamberlain
C Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Lakers Bench

G Derek Fisher
G Byron Scott
G Jerry West
F Glen Rice
F Elgin Baylor
F A.C. Green
C Shaquille O’Neal
C Vlade Divac

Celtics Starters

PG Bob Cousy
SG Larry Bird
F Kevin McHale
F Kevin Garnett
C Bill Russell

Celtics Bench

G John Havlicek
G Danny Ainge
G Ray Allen
F Paul Pierce
F Antoine Walker
C Bill Walton
C Robert Parrish

First of all, I must start by saying I am huge NBA fan.  The purpose of this article is not to bash the NBA.  However, I just feel like the NBA needs to make some improvements.  It is to the point where a game can’t go two minutes without someone flopping or trying some bush league move to draw a foul. 

This behavior has translated onto the playgrounds to the point where anytime a player drives to the hoop, they automatically say “and one.”  Also, if it is game point, they will keep calling fouls until they finally make the game winner.

If we can clean up the NBA, then basketball can played all over the world like it was meant to be played.   I am tired of seeing the following things:

• Players arguing after almost every foul called.  In fact, I don’t think Tim Duncan has ever thought he has committed a foul his entire NBA career
• Coaches arguing after almost every foul called.  The goal of the coaches clearly is to try to talk the officials into giving them the next call.   The officials do not owe the teams anything, they just need to call the game like they see it
• Lebron James acting like he was hit by a baseball bat when he was barely even touched.
• Kobe Bryant swinging his arms after a missed shot like he was violently mugged on the subway
• Manu Ginobli flopping every other play, and whenever he drives to the hoop, he slams his elbow into the defender to get a call even though he clearly initiates the contact
• Dirk Nowitzi throwing a tantrum demanding a foul to be called if he even gets breathed on
• Any player that kicks out their leg after a three point field goal attempt and then falls down backwards on the ground like they had been shot in a desperate attempt to get three free throws
• Steve Nash when his team is in the bonus suddenly can’t dribble the ball without finding someone to run into so he can fall down in attempts to force the officials to make a call so he can get to the line

I could go on and on, but I will spare you an even longer list.  It should be noted that I think the players that I named are terrific players, which is all the more reason their actions should start reflecting that. They are too skilled of athletes to have to resort to those foolish tactics.  It just plain looks childish, and it is watering down the purity of the game.  

Perhaps, some day the commissioner will decide to start suspending players for these ridiculous and blatant attempts to influence the way referees call the game. Bottom line, I am ready to watch real basketball again!

Most Improved Player

My vote: LaMarcus Aldridge-I know that Hedo Turkoglu improved his scoring by more than six points per game from last season, but he doesn’t exactly play much defense.  Plus, Aldridge in that same stint had his points per game increase by nearly nine points and had a couple more boards on average. 

Rookie of the Year

My vote: Kevin Durant-Durant averages over 20 points per game, and in a sub-par rookie class, he wins the award by default.

Coach of the Year

My vote: Byron Scott-Scott did a masterful job keeping the Hornets in contention in a difficult Western conference.  Nobody would have picked the Hornets to do anything this season, let alone be in first place in the West for a long period of time.

Most Valuable Player

My vote: Chris Paul-Kobe Bryant should have won the MVP multiple times already, but he has yet to be given that award.  However, that is not Chris Paul’s fault, and the fact is, the Hornets would be basement dwellers without Paul.  It also doesn’t hurt that Paul is averaging over 20 points and more than ten assists per game.

The NBA has finally returned to respectability.  There has not been this many loaded teams since the 80s.  There are 12 teams that have a chance to win it all, four from the East and all eight that make it in the West.  So which team is the favorite?

 Let’s start with the East…The Pistons are still the favorite and appear to be the only team deep enough to challenge a team in the West.  However, if there is a team out there that is built to give Detroit a run for their money, it would be the Celtics.

After those two teams, there is a slight drop off to the Cavs and Magic.  Both Cleveland and Orlando have key players, namely Lebron James and Dwight Howard that can carry their team to a series victory.

Now to the West…The Spurs are the team everyone counts out, but they seem to be there at the end every season.  The Jazz are catching fire with the addition of Kyle Korver.  Speaking of hot teams, the Lakers are untouchable since they traded for Pau Gasol.

The rest of the West is loaded with talent, but they don’t appear to be quite good enough this year to win the title.  The Suns got Shaq, but he has deemed himself a role player.  Dallas landed Jason Kidd, but they don’t have anyone to defend the rim.  New Orleans has the best record in the West.  However, they will have trouble beating more experienced teams in a post-season series.  The Rockets are playing as well as anyone, but we all know they have difficulty making it out of the first round.

Since this season is so up for grabs, the safe pick would be to take the Pistons or Spurs to meet in the finals.  However, I think this year resembles the 80s, so I am going Lakers versus Celtics, with the Lakers giving Phil Jackson his 10th ring.

January

• David Beckham announced he would be leaving Real Madrid to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
• Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. elected to baseball hall of fame
• Florida Gators defeated the Ohio state Buckeyes to win the BCS National Championship in college football.

February

• Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

March

• Morgan Pressell, at 18 years 313 days old, became the youngest woman to ever win a major in golf when she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

April

• Randy Moss was traded from Oakland Raiders to New England Patriots.
• The University of Florida became the first school in NCAA history to win a college football and basketball title in the same academic year, by defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Final Four Basketball Championship game in Atlanta.
• Zach Johnson won his first major by winning at the Masters.

May

• Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Oscar De La Hoya by a split decision and took the WBC Junior Middleweight title.
• Diego Corrales (boxer) died in a three-vehicle car accident near his Las Vegas home.

June

•  The San Antonio Spurs won their fourth NBA championship when they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators to win the Stanley Cup. 
• The Hamburg Sea Devils defeated the Frankfurt Galaxy to win the World Bowl XV in NFL Europa.

July

• The American League defeated the National League 5-4 in Major League Baseball.
• Bill Walsh (former NFL coach) died of Leukemia.

August

• Barry Bonds became the all-time home run king when he hit his 756th homer.
• Tiger Woods won his 13th major by winning the PGA Championship.
• Lorena Ochoa won her first major by winning the Women’s British Open.

September

• The 5th ranked Michigan Wolverines became the first ever division 1 team to lose to a FSC (formerly division 1-AA) team, when they lost at home to the Appalachian State Mountaineers 34-32.
• Major League Baseball rookie Clay Bucholz of the Boston Red Sox threw a no-hitter in just his second career start.
• Roger Federer won the US Open.

October

• The Boston Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies to win their second World Series in four years.

November

• Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings set the single game NFL record when he rushed for 296 yards.
• Jimmy Johnson won the Nextel Cup.
• Roger Federer lost back-to-back tennis matches for the first time in nearly five years.
• Sean Taylor (NFL player) died after being shot in a robbery attempt of his girlfriend’s place of residence.

December

• The Mitchell report was released naming players such as Roger Clemens as being associated with purchasing and/or using performance enhancing drugs.
• Quarterback Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators became the first sophomore to ever win the Heisman Trophy.