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

You are reading Spurs are the Suns of the 2008 Playoffs. This post is the property of Pro Sports Beat © 2008.

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Personally, I think Favre will come back, but will not take another snap for the Packers.  It will be another case of watching Michael Jordan playing for the Washington Wizards, Emmitt Smith playing of the Arizona Cardinals, and Joe Montana playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. 

In other words, if Favre does come back and play for another team, it will not hurt his legacy, but it will be difficult to see him in another uniform.  I mean, could you imagine Favre staying in the division wearing a purple jersey?

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The baseball purists would likely want the designated hitter out of the game in both leagues, making managers and pitchers earn their money.  Then there is the other side of the coin where the average fan would want the DH in both leagues to promote more scoring.

I honestly don’t care if they give the National League the DH, or if they take the DH out of the game all together.  However, I do think they need to change it one way or the other.  It is just embarrassing that the two leagues don’t play by the sames rules.  I can’t think of any other professional sport where one set of rules applies to one conference, but not another conference.  Imagine in the NBA if they had the Eastern conference get to shoot free throws when they were fouled, but the Western conference teams were not allowed to go to the charity stripe unless they played an Eastern conference team in their building.  How much since would that make?

Bottom line, they need to make both conferences in MLB play by the same set of rules! 

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Somehow, I doubt it, so I figured I would share this YouTube video of Erin doing a interview with some sports bloggers:

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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

You are reading Lakers vs Celtics; Matchup for the Ages. This post is the property of Pro Sports Beat © 2008.

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http://sports. espn. go. com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3398672&categoryId=2378529

Check out that link at about the 20 second remaining mark. All the players on the court know that David West has a hurt back in this game, just like Kobe has a hurt pinky/back right now. Yet, Robert Horry is the only one that blatantly pushes his elbows into it on a blind-sided pick. Such a cheap shot for a player that really is one of the most clutch to ever play the game and will more than likely end up in the hall of fame.

Luckily, the Hornets fans have 3 days rest for West’s back, but why is this legal? If this is legal in the sport and you don’t get a foul called, why hasn’t anyone on the Jazz taken out Kobe’s back or better yet jam his pinky worse than it already is?

-Aaron ‘newly made ‘Hornets’ fan’ Goldstei

You are reading Robert Horry DOES NOT deserve another ring!. This post is the property of Pro Sports Beat © 2008.

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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!

You are reading Nothing But Acting. This post is the property of Pro Sports Beat © 2008.

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1. Miami Dolphins-OT Jake Long, Michigan
2. St. Louis Rams-DE Chris Long, Virginia
3. Atlanta Falcons-DT Glenn Dorsey, LSU          
4. Oakland Raiders-RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas            
5. Kansas City Chiefs-QB Matt Ryan, Boston College                                                          
6. New York Jets-DE Vernon Gholston, Ohio State              
7. New England Patriots-DT Sederick Ellis, USC  
8. Baltimore Ravens-LB Keith Rivers, USC        
9. Cincinnati Bengals-DE Derrick Harvey, Florida
10. New Orleans Saints-CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee 
11. Buffalo Bills-WR Devin Thomas, Michigan State 
12. Denver Broncos-LB Jerod Mayo, Tennessee      
13. Carolina Panthers-RB Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois
14. Chicago Bears-OT Jeff Otah, Pittsburgh               
15. Detroit Lions-DE Phillip Merling, Clemson 
16. Arizona Cardinals- CB Leodis McKelvin, Troy
17. Kansas City Chiefs-OT Branden Albert, Virginia 
18. Houston Texans-OT Ryan Clady, Boise State              
19. Philadelphia Eagles-CB Mike Jenkins, South Florida
 20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-DT Kentwan Balmer, North Carolina 
21. Washington Redskins-S Kenny Phillps, Miami
22. Dallas Cowboys-RB Felix Jones, Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers-WR James Hardy, Indiana
24. Tennessee Titans-WR Limas Sweed, Texas
25. Seattle Seahawks-TE Dustin Keller, Purdue          
26. Jacksonville Jaguars-DE Calais Campbell, Miami       
27. San Diego Chargers-OT Chris Williams, Vanderbilt       
28. Dallas Cowboys-WR Malcolm Kelly, Oklahoma 
29. San Francisco 49ers-WR DeSean Jackson, California      
30. Green Bay Packers-CB Aqib Talib, Kansas           
31. New York Giants-CB Antoine Cason, Arizona

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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.

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