For once I called something right in taking the Lakers to win the Western Conference Finals in 5 games. The Spurs were just overmatched, really. They’re not that much worse than the Lakers. Just overmatched. The Lakers’ depth is perhaps their most overlooked asset. They can pull Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, and Ronny Turiaf off the bench at any point and get valuable minutes. Their starting five: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Vlad Radmanovic, and Pau Gasol has a perfect balance to it. I think they’re very good, have since the Pau Gasol theft, and am eagerly anticipating the potential Garden v. Showtime NBA Final.

Today is Day 2 of Dehydration Fest 2008. I’m currently downing a 32 oz. bottle of Gatorade Tiger. I’m probably going to have another soon.

Your current MLB Playoff Matchups:

AL:

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim California Angels vs. Boston Red Sox

NL:

Chicago Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Florida Marlins vs. Saint Louis Cardinals

Interestingly, the NL matchups have not changed since the last time I did this. The AL matchups now include the White Sox and Angels. Looking at those matchups, and yes it’s still May, I’d see a battle of the Sox in the ALCS and the Cubs and Cardinals in the NLCS. The midwest revival.

It is time for the 3/10 awards (I’m a little late, actually). Most teams have played 54 games (give or take). I’ll list the previous winners:

AL MVP
Previous Winner: The Manny Ramirez
Current Winner: Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers). Some people will scoff at this notion. The Rangers are in fact, in third place in the AL West with no legit shot at the playoffs. However, this is where Josh Hamilton ranks in the three Triple Crown Categories: AVG (4), HR (2), RBI (1).

NL MVP
Previous Winner: Albert Pujols
Current Winner: Lance Berkman (Houston Astros). While the ‘Stros are behind the Cardinals in the standings, Berkman ranks 2nd, 1st, and 1st in the Triple Crown categories and is carrying the Astros who have gotten NOTHING from ace Roy Oswalt.

AL Cy Young
Previous Winner: Ervin Santana
Current Winner: Daisuke Matsuzaka (Boston Red Sox). He’s tied for first in Wins and second in ERA for a first place team with a lot of pitching questions. He gets the nod over Cliff Lee, Joe Saunders, and Santana for the moment, though there is a “dark horse” riding up from down South.

NL Cy Young
Previous Winner: Brandon Webb
Current Winner: Edinson Volquez (Cincinnati Reds). Webb has slowed since his 1/5 CY Young win. Volquez’s 7 wins ties him for second in the NL. His Dead Ball Era ERA of 1.31 clearly ranks him first. He beats out Tim Lincecum and Carlos Zambrano, though I look for the latter to have this award next time around.

AL Rookie of the Year
Previous Winner: Jacoby Ellsbury
Current Winner: David Murphy (Texas Rangers). This blood feud may go back and forth all year until the Red Sox call up Justin Masterson for good.

NL Rookie of the Year
Previous Winner: Geovany Soto
Current Winner: Same.

AL Manager of the Year
Previous Winner: Mike Scoscia
Current Winner: Joe Maddon (Tampa Bay Rays). I’m fearful that I just jinxed my Rays. However, serious people, they have the second best record in baseball.

NL Manager of the Year
Previous Winner: Freddi Gonzalez
Current Winner: Same. As I said before, until they falter, this cannot change.

Kristen had asked me to do my own All-2012 team, based on an article on ESPN.com yesterday outlining who would be the best at each position in terms of offensive production 4 years from now. I sort of did this earlier in the month with my All-25 and Under team. However, in an act of fairness to my readers, here is who I think will be performing the best at each position in 2012 (some without explanation based on what I provided earlier in May)

C: Russell Martin
1B: Prince Fielder (Assuming he starts eating hamburgers again and finds his missing power).
2B: Dan Uggla (Just edging out Chase Utley. Uggla’s numbers the past 3 years have been great, and I believe will improve.
SS: Hanley Ramirez
3B: David Wright
RF: Josh Hamilton (I’m a believer)
CF: Grady Sizemore (Though after 3 games, Jay Bruce is close…)
LF: Ryan Braun (I’m tempted to go with Carlos Quentin. And I’m not even kidding).

Starting Pitchers (I’ll choose 5): Tim Lincecum, Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy, Scott Kazmir, and David Price. (The latter has not pitched a single game above A Ball in his career. So that’s my longshot pick).

Closer: Jonathan Papelbon. I mean, really, who else?

Bobby Valentine will manage this team, as he would manage all of my teams, including the 2008 New York Metropolitans.

Three Things You Should Watch This Weekend (Kind of like the Game O’ The Day):

The Boston/Detroit Series (Tonight…Maybe Sunday). Let’s just hope it only goes until tonight.

Stanley Cup Finals (Penguins/Wings). Tomorrow night. Game 4. You should watch.

MLB Game of the Weekend: Saturday (Chicago White Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays). The best pitching duel of the weekend pits Javier Vazquez and Scott Kazmir at the bizarre time of 6:10 PM.

Probably no Mid-Atlantic Bias on Monday, as I start work, but I’ll try to leave a message on the site as to when it will return. Keep well.

Retreads. I’m so sick of retreads. Doug Collins was fired as coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1989 (a team with some guy named Michael Jordan). Today, he was hired as the new head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Huh? He wasn’t good enough to coach a team led by Michael Jordan, but he’ll do wonders with Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, and Smokem’ Noah? Yea, why wait for Tom Thibedeou? Or interview Mark Jackson? Avery Johnson? As much as I understand about sports, I will never understand sports.

I cannot comment on last night’s Pistons/Celtics game as my skull nearly cracked open from the headache that I had. It’s the 3rd occurrence in the last 4 times I have played basketball of me getting a splitting headache. So that’s fun.

I do understand that it was a great game that the Celtics nearly let get away from them, if not for Rodney Stuckey’s missed free throw late in the 4th. Most of the talk I heard this morning was about Kevin Garnett’s strong desire to lead the NBA in 4th quarter assists during the playoffs. On one highlight, he had a clear path to the basket and instead of driving and dunking, he took a half step and passed to a Detroit Piston. I’ve defended Garnett about his love of 4th quarter passing before, but really, this is getting kind of ridiculous. When he’s covered, sure, pass. But when you’ve got a clear path?

Kudos to Kendrick Perkin’s alarm clock for waking him up yesterday. If there’s an X Factor outside of the Big 3, especially in this series, it’s Perk. Performances like last night’s will get the Celtics into the NBA Finals.

For some reason, my eyes could tolerate the mass quantity of white at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena, so I was able to catch about 8 minutes of the 3rd period of last night’s game before collapsing into sleep. Probably the best action I’ve seen these playoffs (outside of “Game 6”). At one point, there was 5 1/2 minutes of non-stop skating and checking. No whistles. It was like Joey Crawford was officiating the game.

Anyway, the Pens were able to score a goal (3 of them) and beat the Red Wings (barely) 3-2, moving their series to a 2-1 score and giving them some much needed momentum heading into Game 4 at the electric Igloo, which from the outside looks something like a heap of scrap metal. The crowd was fantastic last night inside, however. Everyone in white. Everyone screaming. The arena was actually shaking after Sidney Crosby’s first goal and during the fantastic third period. It’s upsetting to me that these games have been opposite the Celtics/Pistons games. I may choose the Pens/Wings over the C’s/Pistons on Friday.

As promised, I have ranked my top 10 (it’s an easier number than 12) favorite MLB ballparks that I’ve been to. I’ve tried to take out my prejudices, how great the game was, the weather, etc. and just measure the park based on the atmosphere, food, and fans. (Number 12 is Florida’s Dolphin Stadium, which I’ve been to twice, had two great experiences, and still couldn’t rank it ahead of McAfee Colisseum and number 11 was Montreal’s Olympic Stadium which ranks ahead of Dolphin Stadium because it’s interior is cool and not orange).

(Dolphin Stadium Games: Braves @ Marlins (Tim Hudson vs. Scott Olsen) and Expos @ Marlins (Javier Vazquez vs. Carl Pavano).)

(Olympic Stadium Games: Astros @ Expos (Roger Clemens vs. Jon Rauch) and Astros @ Expos (Peter Munro vs. Livan Hernandez).)

10. McAffee Coliseum (Oakland)
For the sake of food, I’m only going to rank the hot dog, because it’s all that matters to me. Oakland has the best dog in the business. The Coliseum dog is big, and meaty, and delicious. And the bun is also great. The stadium itself is cavernous, like Dolphin Stadium, and the sightlines are even worse. I sat in the first level, in RF, and felt like I was a mile away from homeplate. Because it’s a football stadium, my seat angled nicely towards the left field seats. The fans are not at all memorable.
(My Game was the Angels @ A’s. Pitching Matchup was Jarrod Washburn vs. Tim Hudson))

9. US Cellular Field (Chicago)
Nothing about US Cellular, besides my great seats, was memorable. I left the game early because it was so boring. There was no atmosphere. The food was mediocre. Even though it’s a newer ballpark, it has no appeal. The only thing that ranks it ahead of McAffee was my ability to actually see the game. I like smaller parks. US Cellular won that important category.
(A’s @ White Sox. Joe Blanton vs. Jose Contreras).

8. Shea Stadium (New York)
As a Mets fan, this pains me (as does the 2008 season…fire Willie Randolph now!). I like Shea, despite it being a massive toilet. The atmosphere is great. The food isn’t bad at all. The sight lines are horrendous. The worst in baseball in my opinion. Overpriced seats placing you somewhere up with Jesus to watch the game. I could have flip-flopped 8 and 7.
(This will be kind of long)

(Marlins @ Mets (Brad Penny vs. Al Leiter), Phillies @ Mets (Jon Lieber vs. Pedro Martinez), Astros @ Mets (Roy Oswalt vs. Mike Pelfrey), Padres @ Mets (Jake Peavy vs. Brian Lawrence).

7. Yankee Stadium (New York)
The food sucks. The sightlines were not good, though better than Shea. The Stadium is in the middle of the ghetto. But the atmosphere is just so great. Yankee fans, except for Chris Matrumalo, are loud, offensive, violent, and mostly uninformed, as I have discovered. However, they’re fun and really add to the dynamic of the game.

(Mets @ Yankees (Oliver Perez vs. Chien-Ming Wang))

6. Nationals Park (Washington)
Bells and whistles galore. A glorious video board. Lots of food options. Decent sightlines (if not overpriced). And a terrible team. For sheer cleanliness, Nationals Park wins out over Yankee and Shea. The atmosphere at the previous two parks cannot in any way be topped by Nationals Park. However, if you took someone to Yankee Stadium with no previous knowledge of baseball and then Nationals Park and asked them, “which one is better?” they’d go with Nats Park.

(Mets @ Nationals (Johan Santana vs. Tim Redding)

5. Camden Yards (Baltimore)
I didn’t really love Camden Yards. Nothing about it really impressed me. So you may be asking yourself, what the hell am I ranking it here for? Good question. The food was very impressive. The atmosphere (that has since changed I’m sure since 2005) was very nice. And there were nice touches. Like placing TVs in the areas where the overhang was a problem. And it’s small and appealing. Nationals Park is somewhat larger. In a way, Camden is perfectly mediocre.

(Diamondbacks @ Orioles (Randy Johnson vs. Sidney Ponson))

4. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia)
The smallest park I had been to up until a week ago. Sitting inside of CBP, you feel like you can touch everything with your hand. The food was very good. The atmosphere is similar to Yankee Stadium normally (I was at a weekday day game, so I’ll let the more relaxed atmosphere slide). There’s nothing wrong with Citizens Bank Park, beyond the view of a Holiday Inn hotel (which I stayed in) and not much else beyond the stadium.

(Mets @ Phillies (Steve Trachsel vs. Cory Lidle R.I.P)).

3. Fenway Park (Boston)
I can’t believe I’m doing this. The New Yorker that I wish I was hates that I’m doing this. But you can’t beat Fenway for atmosphere. It’s a classic ballpark (not a new one trying to be classic). The food is good. It’s all terribly overpriced, but it’s one of only 2 remaining classics in baseball. And that seems good enough to me for third place, poorly placed poles and all.

(Twins @ Red Sox (Greg Harris vs. Jeff Suppan), Nationals @ Red Sox (Tony Armas Jr. vs. Kyle Snyder))….Two gems there.

2. PNC Park (Pittsburgh)
A great baseball park. Perfectly small. Fairly priced seats. A great view. Amazing sightlines. The fan atmosphere is the only thing holding it back in my opinion. Otherwise it’s a perfect place to watch a baseball game on the East Coast (more on that in a second)

(Cubs @ Pirates (Carlos Zambrano vs. Zach Duke)).

1. AT&T Park (San Francisco)
It will forever be my number 1 park. Maybe if I go again, I won’t like it as much. But it was on the same trip as my Oakland game from number 10. And it couldn’t have been any more different. The park is absolutely gorgeous. The food is amazing. The sightlines are great. And the view. Oh the view. Even on TV, the park looks special. It gets overlooked often because it’s not an East Coast park, like PNC and Fenway, but I’ve never experienced a better place to watch a baseball game in my life.

(Cardinals @ Giants (Garrett Stephenson vs. Jerome Williams))…and Barry Bond’s 639th career home run.

Game O’ The Day: To practice for when the NBA and NHL aren’t around, I’m going to go with the best Major League matchup of the day. Chicago White Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays. Two first place teams going at it in front of about 11,000 people. John Danks vs. Edwin Jackson. Can you feel the excitement? I can.

For me, it’s always awkward when I have neglected to do Mid-Atlantic Bias for a day (two in this case). I really feel like I went out for a carton of milk and a pack of smokes and didn’t come back for 3 weeks. Joel Madden should write songs about me, but he’s too busy being in US Weekly, just like Joey Ramone was.

Anywho, I am back two days late because of the holiday on Monday and my apathy yesterday. For those of you who I have neglected to tell, I start work on Monday. I don’t really know what will happen to Mid-Atlantic Bias from here. I can’t imagine that it will go back to its original daily format. At best, I will try to keep it happening twice a week. I can’t really see myself working 9-5 and coming home to research the WNBA to write my mid-season review.

Turning to the World of Woodchopping (or logging) I like 7-time STIHL Timbersports Series Champion Jason Wynard to win this year, just edging out his rival David Blostad. (That’s for you Ian)

As you know, Friday I traveled to Pittsburgh to their beautiful ballpark to see the Pirates and Cubs play. As a sidenote, the Cubs are quickly gaining lots of love from me, likely do in large part to the fact that Willie Randolph still has a job that isn’t at Rita’s this summer, scooping Italian Ice. The game was less than memorable, beyond Carlos Zambrano’s 4 hit day at the plate and the Cubs 12-3 win. Tomorrow, I will rank the 12 Major League Parks I have been to. PNC Park is in the top 5. The Lakers are running away with their series with San Antonio and it looks like my 5 game victory looks to be correct. As for the Celtics/Pistons series, I don’t really know what’s going to happen tonight. It’ll be my Game O’ The Day, I just won’t analyze anything. I never did post my Stanley Cup Final prediction, so I’ll take the Penguins in 7. They’re already in the hole 2-0, so that’s going to look real good if it happens. It is, however, what I would have done at the start of the series. It occurs to me that I have a Mock Draft, that no one cares about, to finish. So I’ll do that, give you the Game O’ The Day, and contemplate the future of Mid-Atlantic Bias. Send along your ideas/preferences. (Go back a couple posts to see the rest of the Mock Draft) 21. Brooklyn Nets What They Need: More Depth Everywhere THE PICK: Bill Walker (SF/Kansas State)
I like Walker more than the guy getting drafted 19 spots ahead of him. He surely doesn’t have the upside of Michael Beasley, but he’s athletic as hell and would really help the Nets bench as Richard Jefferson or Vince Carter’s backup. He could develop into a starter as well, should they choose to trade either or both of R-Jeff or Vince.

22. Orlando Magic
What They Need: Point Guard/Shooting Guard
THE PICK: Davon Jefferson (SF/USC)
While it’s not a point of need, he may be the best player on the board and he fills a sort-of need. Hedo Turkoglu had a great season at the 3, but Jefferson is more conventional wingman. He’s athletic and a polished scorer. And a better bet to be a defensive help than fellow Pac-10 swingman Chase Budinger, who I like about as much as I like bee stings.

23. Utah Jazz
What They Need: A Center
THE PICK: Roy Hibbert (C/Georgetown)
While Hibbert has the nickname “The Big Stiff,” this is the perfect offense for him. Utah is a halfcourt team with a very good power forward and a very good point guard and wing players who can shoot from outside. All Hibbert has to do is stand down low and rebound and block shots. I don’t know how well he’ll do that.

24. Seattle Sonics
What They Need: A Point Guard…Still
THE PICK: JaVale McGee (PF/Nevada)
There are no point guards left worth taking in Round 1, so the Sonics take the best available guy in McGee. I don’t have much to say about him. He played at Nevada.

25. Houston Rockets
What They Need: A new Chinese Center who doesn’t break.
THE PICK: Mareese Speights (C/Florida)
Speights is still young, but he has lots of time to develop playing behind Yao Ming. And he can step in and get some playing time when Yao goes down next year in December with a fractured something-or-other.

26. San Antonio Spurs
What They Need: More Foreign Players.
THE PICK: Serge Ibaka (PF/Congo)

27. New Orleans Hornets
What They Need: A scorer
THE PICK: Chase Budinger (SF/Arizona)
Budinger plays no defense, but he can slash and score. As little as I like him, he’s a pretty good fit in New Orleans.

28. Memphis Grizzlies
What They Need: Can you draft a new GM? No? Hmmm…I don’t know…players???
THE PICK: Ante Tomic (C/Croatia)
The Grizzlies aren’t going to be good anytime soon. So they draft Tomic and leave him overseas until his contract is up. Excited, Grizzlies fans?

29. Detroit Pistons
What They Need: Just depth. More of it.
THE PICK: JJ Hickson (PF/North Carolina State)
I mean, this team shouldn’t be allowed to draft players at this point. That’s my solution. It’s just not fair.

30. Boston Celtics
What They Need: 2-guard.
THE PICK: Chris Douglas-Roberts (SG/Memphis)
A lot has to happen for this to happen. Mainly teams passing on CDR because of his poor free throw shooting. Enough good coaching can solve that problem. I think he’d fit in really well off the bench next year and spot starting to spell Ray Allen. He can develop into a really solid, long, slasher at the 2 in the NBA and would give the Celtics great defensive length in the backcourt. I can’t really say how much I would love this pick for Boston.

Game O’ The Day: If you read today’s entire post, you’d know it already. Also, if you follow sports, you know it.

Do look for today’s USA/England soccer friendly at 3 pm on ESPN Classic. I like the US to pull off a huge international upset 2-1 over the Brits.

As Amanda and I just spontaneously decided to go to Pittsburgh tomorrow night, there will be no Mid-Atlantic Bias on Friday, May 23. Please, everyone, enjoy your long weekend. Continue below for today (Thursday’s) post.

So I was a little off on my Lakers’ blowout victory last night, which is due in large part to Kobe Bryant’s absence from the game. I didn’t watch the game. I frankly don’t care very much about this series. I really don’t think the Spurs can win this series, especially after the Lakers gift-wrapped Game 1 and the Spurs couldn’t win.

Still nothing from my mysterious UNH reader.

Lots of issues with Part 1 of the Mock Draft yesterday. I’ll respond to all points after the Mock Draft is completed tomorrow. For now, I’m going short post today, and jumping right back in to the Mock:

11. Indiana Pacers
What They Need: A new team. They have needs at every position that Danny Granger doesn’t play. This is a “Take the best available guy” situation.”
THE PICK: Eric Gordon (SG Indiana)
Gordon was the player I spoke about yesterday who I did not like and did not think was going to be a huge success. I still don’t think so, but the thought that he’d fall out of the Top-10 is laughable to most people. But really, did you ever see him take over a game in college? Gordon will give the Pacers a potential slasher who can shoot from outside. I think he needs a lot of work, but so does this horrid team.

12. Sacramento Kings
What They Need: Well, their two point guards at the moment are Anthony Johnson and Beno Udrih. I’m going to go point guard.
THE PICK: Russell Westbrook (PG UCLA)
Westbrook skyrocketed up draft boards this season for a pretty good reason. He’s pretty good. He’s better than Darren Collison who disappears more than D.B. Cooper in big games. Westbrook is also a shoot first point guard, but he’s more raw than sushi. Some seasoning will make him a legit point guard. This is a team on the rise. They performed much better this year than people expected. I imagine they’ll continue to improve.

13. Portland Trail Blazers
What They Need: Has there ever been a lottery team that needed nothing? The Blazers could use a point guard. If there’s not a great one available, they should just take the best available guy. They’re loaded for a long, long time.
THE PICK: Joe Alexander (SF West Virginia)
There is no need for the Blazers to take a point guard here, because neither Darren Collison nor Tywon Lawson is worth it at this point. Alexander is a great pick here for the Blazers because it’s just another athletic swing-piece that they can develop. I don’t see this team with that many needs. Maybe I’m wrong.

14. Golden State Warriors
What They Need: Not a lot really. They’re not improving or regressing, unlike the Blazers who are on the rise. Baron Davis is a concern to me. Not because he’s not talented. But because he’s Baron Davis.
THE PICK: Anthony Randolph (PF Louisiana State)
I don’t understand the hype. He barely played in college. At LSU. Who fired their coach during the regular season. Apparently, he’s very athletic. He’s a project the Warriors can work on. Because if you think Al Harrington is their PF of the future, you’re a little drunk and don’t watch very much basketball.

(At this point, if they haven’t already, NBA teams just start taking developmental players. The NBA Draft…It’s Fantastic. Seriously, it’s my favorite non-sporting event sporting event).

15. Phoenix Suns
What They Need: A Coach, A Big Man, A Small Forward, A Scoring 2-guard.
THE PICK: Brandon Rush (SG Kansas)
One of my favorite players in this draft. I love Rush’s ability to score and think he could fit in well with the Suns, depending on what system they go with (i.e. what coach they hire). I know they have Raja Bell, but Bell is more of a defensive stopper. Rush is a long scorer. They don’t have many of those.

16. Philadelphia 76ers
What They Need: A scorer to compliment little-AI. Preferably at the 4.
THE PICK: Darrell Arthur (PF Kansas)
Arthur was not instant offense at Kansas, but that had a lot to do with the fact that he didn’t play a ton, because the Jayhawks were better than most NBA teams. He’s already an upgrade over Shavlik Randolph and Reggie Evans, and allow them to play Thaddeus Young at his true position of SF and move Igoudala to the 2-guard where he can be very dangerous against smaller guards. Another team on the rise.

17. Toronto Raptors
What They Need: More foreign players. The best available one.
THE PICK: Kosta Koufos (C Ohio State)
I don’t really think that he’ll drop this far even though he has a limited skill set. He has that one skill that NBA scouts and GMs love: height. And even though he played college ball in the U.S., his name sounds foreign. That should be good enough for Bryan Colangelo.

18. Washington Wizards
What They Need: To figure things out. A 2-guard. A center.
THE PICK: Robin Lopez (C Stanford)
I like Lopez here because he is a defensive stopper on a team with zero defensive stoppers. Brendan Haywood has no defensive game down low and while Etan Thomas does off the bench, Thomas has no offensive game. Lopez is a better balance and a better choice for a team that runs than Roy Hibbert, who is still available despite having the requisite skill of being very tall.

19. Cleveland Cavaliers
What They Need: Help scoring for LeBron.
THE PICK: Donte Green (SF/PF Syracuse)
Green is 6’10” and can play the 3. This similarity to LeBron does not concern me particularly because LeBron so often runs the ball up the court. If Green develops well, that would allow the Cavs to go big with James at the 2 and Green at the 3. Or they could go small and move Green to the 4 and have him step out, pulling good rebounders at the PF position away from the basket to defend him. He’d give the Cavs some options.

20. Denver Nuggets
What They Need: Point Guard
THE PICK: Tywon Lawson (PG North Carolina)
They have already told Lawson that they are going to draft him if he’s available. He’s available. That was easy.

Back tomorrow with finale of my first Mock Draft.

Game O’ The Day: Detroit @ Boston (Game 2). The Celtics have all the momentum if they continue to play like they did on Tuesday and the Pistons do the same.

A great win last night for the Chicago Bulls.

An even greater win for the Boston Celtics last night. As I often write, I am sometimes very happy to be wrong. Last night was one of those situations. Sure, Ray Allen still looks like Mitch Richmond at the end of his career, and they are still coached by Doc Rivers, and Paul Pierce still has war flashbacks to last season, where he feels like he needs to play point guard, dribble for 14 seconds, and then pull up for a three. But they beat a fresher and equally as talented Pistons team last night. And beat them pretty convincingly. Sure they didn’t win by double digits, but at no point in the second half did I think, “Oh no, Detroit’s going to win.” I got nervous when the Pistons pulled it to 6, but I didn’t think that the Celtics were going to blow it. They played a mostly composed game, Doc sent out a solid rotation, Garnett played wonderfully, and they got contributions when they needed them from their role players. Last night could not have gone any better for the C’s.

I’m currently watching the UEFA Champions League Final between Chelsea and Manchester United. The reason why soccer isn’t popular in America is because we don’t have players like these teams. I mean really, this is more of an all-star game than a club championship. For what it’s worth, I had Chelsea winning it. They’re currently down 1-0 with 7 minutes to the break. We’ll see.

Over the course of the next 3, yes 3, days I am going to complete my NBA Mock Draft, V.1. The format will be the same as my NFL Mock Drafts. This is what I would do if I was these teams. Some things will make some people scratch their heads.

But first, if you are the mysterious commenter on Matthew’s recap of the UNH spring game, I am intrigued by your mystery. If you are a regular reader, please send along another sign. It will make my ego feel great.

Today’s post is going to be short, as I am cooking and watching futbol at the same time. We’ll jump right into the Mock Draft. Again, this is version 1. Things change. Needs change.

(1-1. Chelsea’s Frank Lampard with a goal to tie it just before the half. This is like a running diary.)

1. Chicago Bulls
What They Need: A Scoring Swingman or A Point Guard. Hmmm…that’s funny.
THE PICK: Derrick Rose (PG Memphis)
I’ve written before that I think Rose is the best player in this draft. I also don’t think that Michael Beasley is the scoring swingman they need. Beasley, to me, is like Rasheed Wallace without as good of an outside game. With Rose, the Bulls will get a Chicago native and a huge upgrade over Kirk Hinrich, who can move to the backup role and give them one of the league’s best back up PG’s, rather than one of the worst starting PG’s. This is what their starting five would look like:
PG: Derrick Rose
SG: Ben Gordon
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Tyrus Thomas
C: Joakim Noah
(With Hinrich, Thabo Sefalosha, Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, and Aaron Gray off the bench. That’s a very good young nucleus, with a guy to run the show).

2. Miami Heat
What They Need: Everything other than a shooting guard and a small forward.
THE PICK: Michael Beasley (PF Kansas State)
They still need a lot of work, but this gives them a better starting five. I don’t think they’re a playoff team with Beasley, but they’re at least headed up, because you can’t get any worse.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves
What They Need: SG, SF, C (They at least have a power forward in Al Jefferson and a point guard in Randy Foye)
THE PICK: Nicholas Batum (SF France)
An athletic swingman with a 7’0” wingspan, who was one of the best players on the court at last year’s U.S. Nike Hoop Summit (top high school players). Batum would give the Timberwolves a young (20). Batum is a good defensive player, capable of blocking shots. His one weakness is his outside shot. Reading about him reminds me a lot of Kevin Durant.

4. Seattle Sonics
What They Need: PG, PG, PG, PG, C, PG, PG, and a PG
THE PICK: Brook Lopez (C Stanford)
As much as they need a point guard, and there are some good ones available here, I really think that they need a center. I have no faith in Robert Swift, Francisco Elson, Mohammed Sene, or Johan Petro. Lopez gives them a 7’0” scorer, who blocks shots. The previous 4 provide only blocks. Lopez can be a 20/10/3 center in the NBA. There are very few of those in this draft. He’s a step in the right direction for a franchise with very little at the moment.

5. Memphis Grizzlies
What They Need: A center and a 2 guard
THE PICK: OJ Mayo (PG/SG Southern California)
Mayo gives the Grizzlies a young, fairly polished scorer. This team needs a center badly, but beyond that fact that Chris Wallace is their GM, I cannot see them reaching for DeAndre Jordan here and they’re not a Kevin Love team. Mayo, with Mike Conley Jr. (Point Guard) and Rudy Gay (Small Forward) gives this team a very young and even more exciting nucleus. Now if they can build up their front line.

6. New York Knicks
What They Need: A Point Guard and A Big Man
THE PICK: Danilo Gallinari (SG/SF Italy)
He is, by all accounts, a better Andrea Bargnani. Whatever that means. Gallinari gives the Knicks a guy who can score beyond just the point guard position. They have no one at the 2 or 3 who can score consistently. Gallinari is the best foreign player in this draft. He doesn’t have the athletic upside of Nicholas Batum, but he’s a polished scorer. The Knicks are always so fun on draft night.

7. Los Angeles Clippers
What They Need: A Point Guard, An Insurance Policy at Power Forward (Elton Brand can become a UFA)
THE PICK: Kevin Love (PF/C UCLA)
Love can continue what he started across town. He reminds me a lot of Elton Brand, except Love has an outside shot. Most people will say I’m over ranking him. That’s because most people look beyond skill to “tremendous upside potential.” Love got it done at the highest level in college. He should continue to do so in the NBA.

8. Milwaukee Bucks
What They Need: A scoring swingman( small forward), Depth at Point Guard
THE PICK: Jerryd Bayless (PG Arizona)
Bayless is a bit of a steal here, though not as big as most experts would say. I love his ability to drive and slash and shoot and score. I don’t love his lack of ability to get his teammates involved. The Bucks have a somewhat capable point guard in Mo Williams, so Bayless can take time to develop into more of a passer.

9. Charlotte Bobcats
What They Need: Not a lot. They’re young everywhere, but they’re also skilled everywhere. With Larry Brown, they’re going to want an intelligent player with experience, because otherwise, the guy will just sit on the bench.
THE PICK: DJ Augustin (PG Texas)
They lack depth at the position and Raymond Felton hasn’t exactly developed into a franchise point guard. There is no experience left at the front of this draft. Larry Brown will be very upset and probably leave by December.

10. Brooklyn Nets
What They Need: Size up front.
THE PICK: De’Andre Jordan (C Texas A&M)
There is no player I like less in the lottery than De’Andre Jordan, which says a lot because of a certain 2 guard who is still on my board. Jordan would give the Nets the size they need up front. He’s 7’0”. This comes down to Jordan and Kosta Koufus. Jordan has more athleticism and upside than the slow, prodding Koufus. This team needs to be blown up, frankly.

Tomorrow, picks 11-20 (Indiana-Denver)

Game O’ The Day: Spurs @ Lakers (Game 1). LA wins by 16.

The UEFA Champions League Final is heading to a penalty kick shootout tied at 1-1. Drogba got a red card for slapping a Man U player in the second leg of extra time. Manchester has all the momentum heading into the shootout.

Happy Birthday Matt.

I should apparently go away more often. This weekend was monumental (assuming that the “weekend” for everyone stretches to late Monday night). You had the Cavs forcing the Celtics to Game 7, Big Brown running right towards the triple crown, the Mets taking 2 from the Yankees at the stadium, me being there for one of the games, the Celtics winning a classic Game 7 at home, Jon Lester pitching a no-hitter, the Sox winning 3 games in 26 hours over the Brewers, the Spurs winning a 7th game in New Orleans, the Red Wings and the Penguins winning their conferences, and the start of the WNBA season. I don’t know where to begin…so I’ll just begin at the start of the list:

Boston @ Cleveland (Friday): I actually don’t remember this game. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were excruciatingly long days, which makes Friday seem like it was, oh, about 3 years ago. I remember being very angry about this game afterward. But I don’t remember what happened and I don’t want to look at the score to remind me of how angry I was. I’m very excited, however, at Sam Cassell’s new role as “guy who lays on the floor and looks like an alien.”

Big Brown (Also known as the Preakness): Every year I watch horse racing. Every year I get excited about a potential Triple Crown winner. Every year that doesn’t happen. Every year I wonder why I get so excited about this. Saturday was no exception. Except for one thing: Big Brown is so dominant. Now, I don’t know if the field was weak. They’re friggin horses! We don’t really know what they’re capable of. Or how they feel. So all of the interviews with Randy Moss (not that one…ESPN’s horse analyst), Hank Goldberg, assorted trainers, owners, and jockeys, and all the rest mean nothing to me. All that matters is the race. NBC thinks otherwise. They aired about 3 hours of pre-Preakness coverage. I watched at least an hour of it. I learned nothing. However, watching the race, I learned that no horse in that field had a shot in the world at winning the Preakness.

The Mets swept (sort of) their rain-shortened weekend series with the Yankees. Neither team is frankly very good. The Yankees without Alex Rodriguez, and getting no positive contribution from Ian Kennedy or Phillip Hughes are in a far worse situation, though, honestly, they’re the Yankees, they won’t finish in last place. As for the Mets, they’re mediocre at the moment and I don’t have a lot of faith in their offense. Until Jose Reyes starts really hitting, and they get some contribution from Alou and Delgado, I can’t envision them winning the NL East. Ryan Church however, is growing on me very quickly.

Sunday night was my first venture to Yankee Stadium and my first game that involved the New York Yankees. This is quite the statistical anomaly. I have seen the Marlins play 3 times, twice in Miami. I have seen the Nationals/Expos play 5 times. I had never seen the Yankees. The Stadium is just that. An enormous stadium in the middle of a garbage dump. The Stadium, however, is the site of so many lasting baseball memories in my lifetime and long before. It was very exciting for me to sit inside of Yankee Stadium, albeit way up in Tier Reserved Section 33 in row X (the last row). The atmosphere at Yankee Stadium is unlike many I have experienced, as everyone was drunk, and fist fighting, and so quintessential New York. Later this week I will rank the ballparks I have been to in terms of “overall awesomeness.” Yankee Stadium will not be number 1.

The Celtics/Cavs Game 7 could be written about at length. However, it’s a little important to have some perspective and realize that it was only the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals and not the NBA Finals. LeBron put forth a Jordan-esque effort, just with worse shooting. It was, however, Paul Pierce, who I will never warm up to, I feel, who shocked me with his 40+ performance. Paul will never be my favorite Celtic. Too often he decides that he’s one of the best players in the NBA and tries to take a game over. Most of the time, he’s not capable of that. We saw that last season. However, he took Sunday over. I’m sure everyone would like more on this game, but I want to reserve my thoughts on this team for a more appropriate time. So I’ll move on.

Jon Lester’s no-hitter, to me, should be most notable for the fact that it was Jason Varitek’s 4th no-hitter caught. The list of pitchers whose no-hitters he has caught is also notable, because it doesn’t involve Pedro, or Curt Schilling, or Josh Beckett, etc. It does involve Hideo Nomo. I rarely compliment ‘Tek, but you’ve got to be a great catcher to work 4 no-hit games in your career with zero future Hall of Fame pitchers (at the moment). The Lester story is fantastic and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little teary-eyed last night, but lets stop and acknowledge Jason Varitek today too.

The Milwaukee Brewers stink, at the moment.

For the New Orleans Hornets, the 2007-08 NBA season could have been more successful. They could have advanced to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history. They could have beaten the Lakers in that round and played for an NBA title. Heck, they could have won an NBA title. However, none of those things are going to happen, as they were eliminated by the Spurs in Game 7 last night in Louisiana. All year, every pundit said, “This team’s too young. This team’s not deep enough.” And every pundit was proved dead wrong, in my opinion. Their problem was ultimately their head coach, as I thought it would be. In the fourth quarter when the Spurs decided to let Jannero Pargo take all the shots in the world, Byron Scott did nothing to counter, assuming that a low-to-mid tier player could take a game over, even taking the ball out the MVP’s hands late in the game. Why Chris Paul wasn’t driving to about 10 feet from the basket and dumping the ball off to Tyson Chandler on every play in the 4th last night was beyond me. The Hornets are a surefire title contender next year, in my opinon, however, they would be wise to explore other coaching options, much like a team about 1600 miles northeast of New Orleans. Team success does not always indicate great coaching in the NBA. Coaches can often hinder their teams. Byron Scott is one of those coaches.

I’ll take the Penguins to topple the Red Wings in 6 games in the Stanley Cup Finals. I’ve stopped watching hockey in favor of the NBA. This has nothing to do with the NHL and everything to do with the best NBA Playoffs since the death of Michael Jordan.

I watched some WNBA on Saturday. The Sparks look great. Candace Parker nearly had a triple-double.

Tonight is the NBA’s Draft Lottery, a personal favorite of mine. For the hell of it, let’s see if this is how it plays out:

14. Golden State Warriors
13. Indiana Pacers
12. Portland Trail Blazers
11. New Jersey Nets
10. Charlotte Bobcats
9. Sacramento Kings
8. Milwaukee Bucks
7. Los Angeles Clippers
6. Chicago Bulls
5. Memphis Grizzlies
4. Seattle Sonics
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Miami Heat
1. New York Knicks

Conspiracy Theory, anyone?

In the NBA’s Conference Finals, I see this happening:

East: Detroit over Boston in 6. If the Pistons win tonight, like with the Cleveland series, I can’t envision the Celtics winning the series. All that Boston has right now is their home invincibility. Past that, they’re confidence has to be diminishing. I’d prefer a C’s sweep, but we’re in the same position we were before the Cleveland series. This can’t go on another round, can it?

West: Los Angeles over San Antonio in 5. Please.

Game O’ The Day: Detroit @ Boston. The Pistons win an 8 point game. And we weep a little.

So, I’m very angry about two things. One of them is clear by the title, so I’ll go with the other for now. If you watched last night’s Hornets/Spurs game and have at least one functional eye, you probably found yourself yelling at the television in the 3rd quarter. I’ll explain:

In the span of seemingly 3 seconds, 4 fouls were called against the Hornets, two against the MVP and two against David West. One of the David West fouls was somewhat legit. On the other foul, David West was hit in the face. Apparently that’s a foul now. The two fouls on Chris Paul were completely ridiculous flops by both Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan, who by the way, shouldn’t fly backward 24 feet if Chris Paul touched them with his arm, while in the act of going to the basket. Flop artists! That’s what the San Antonio Spurs are at this point! They brought back Hack-a-Shaq in Round 1 and have even attempted Hack-A-Melvin Ely in this series. Why? Because they’re cheap. A team that plays as well as the Spurs do shouldn’t have to flop on contact and utilize a style of defense that is nothing more than cheap and hackney. And then this happened:

David West has been playing despite back spasms, which, taken from someone who plays only low-level pick-up games, let me tell you, probably isn’t too fun in the NBA playoffs. Well in the fourth quarter, Gregg Popovich sent in Robert Horry, who has been given the nickname “Big Shot Bob,” despite the fact that he hasn’t hit an actual shot in 3 years. Last night, Horry wasn’t playing to hit a big-3. He didn’t need to. The referees took the game away from the Hornets early on in the fourth by calling 3, maybe 4, foolishly cheap fouls. No, Horry came in to commit a hard, illegal pick on David West’s back. Combine that with his check of Steve Nash into the scorer’s table last year that got Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire suspended from Game 6 of the Spurs/Suns series (a game and series the Suns lost…Horry was NOT SUSPENDED for this hit) and you’ve got a new nickname for Horry: “Cheap Shot Bob.”

I’m going to take a second to calm myself down with my 2008 WNBA Season Preview. I’m not even kidding.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Detroit Shock
Connecticut Sun
New York Liberty
Washington Mystics
Indiana Fever
Chicago Sky
Atlanta Dream

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Los Angeles Sparks
San Antonio Silver Stars
Phoenix Mercury
Seattle Storm
Houston Comets
Minnesota Lynx
Sacramento Monarchs

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Detroit over Connecticut

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Los Angeles over San Antonio Silver Stars

WNBA Finals: Los Angeles over Detroit

WNBA MVP: Lisa Leslie (LA Sparks)
WNBA Rookie of the Year: Candace Parker (LA Sparks)
WNBA Coach of the Year: Michael Cooper (LA Sparks)

-As you can tell, I’m high on the Sparks. Leslie is coming back after a year away from the league. The addition of Parker and her college teammate Shannon Bobbit will make the transition back very easy for Leslie. The Spark averaged 92 PPG in their preseason. I expect them to maybe lose 3 games this year, maximum.

Assuming you’re still reading Mid-Atlantic Bias, which at this point may be quite the assumption, back to why I’m angry and why today’s title is as it is:

Most of my readers understand that my baseball allegiances lie with the New York Mets. Yesterday, the Mets were wrapping up a 4-game set in Queens against the Nationals. Washington had won 2 of the first 3 games in the series and were throwing out a guy who had just been called up, in Jason Bergmman. The Mets were countering with Mike Pelfrey, who himself belongs in AAA New Orleans (though that is a post for another day). Well, Pelfrey pitched the lights out (though it was a day game) at Shea. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh before Aaron Boone, of all people, broke it up. The Mets only gave up one run in the game. The problem is that the Mets scored as many runs as I did yesterday. The bigger problem is that the game ended with Carlos Delgado hitting into a double play with Carlos Beltran on third base.

After the game, the New York media was talking to Mets closer Billy Wagner about the game. Two things are important here. 1.) If you know me, you know I hate Billy Wagner and 2.) Wagner’s line yesterday: 0 IP, 0 H, o R, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0…you get the picture. He didn’t pitch. Wagner became frustrated and started talking about it before looking up, across the clubhouse and saying (cover the children’s eyes), “Someone tell me why the fuck the closer is being interviewed and I didn’t even play, while they’re over there not being interviewed? Oh, I got it, they’re gone. Shit shocker!” Wagner’s frustration, which is completely understandable, was aimed at Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran namely. The Carlos’ refusal to talk to the media has already gotten Paul LoDuca in trouble (Last year he said something to the effect of, “It’s funny how some of these guys forget how to speak English when there’s a microphone in front of them). For the Mets and the media, if there’s an interview, it’s seemingly always with Wagner or David Wright.

I can put aside my disdain for Wagner for this reason: He’s right. He got into trouble earlier this year for comparing talking to Oliver Perez to talking to a wall. Manager Willie Randolph, who lives in GM Omar Minaya’s rear end, reprimanded Wagner and told him to keep his problems in house. Wagner has decided to do otherwise. And it’s about time someone in that clubhouse spoke up. The reason everyone gives is the language barrier. But as Amanda pointed out today, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, two native Spanish speakers, have no problem talking to the media. It’s the one thing I can’t hold against The Manny Ramirez.

What the Mets need now is a change in philosophy. Omar Minaya’s insistence on signing and developing Latino talent is completely ridiculous first of all and puts an even larger weight on guys like David Wright, who do everything right on the field and still have to answer to the media for the missteps of guys like Jose Reyes, who I’m souring on very quickly, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado, who shouldn’t even be on this team anymore. Add that to the fact that Willie Randolph has lost any semblance of a spine and you’ve got a big problem. That’s why one, or preferably both, need to be ousted today. You cannot have a collapse like the Mets did last year and have no one who should take responsibility for it actually take it. The collapse wasn’t David Wright or Billy Wagner’s fault. But they’re the guys who have to come up with excuses for guys like Reyes who apparently can only speak English in ESPN commercials and gimmicky video board fodder.

Games O’ The Weekend:

5. New York Mets @ New York Yankees (Sunday Night Baseball). Beyond the fact that I’ll be at Yankee Stadium for the game, there’s also a pretty good pitching matchup between Chien Ming-Wang and John Maine. And really, even when they’re both struggling, it’s still the Subway Series.

4. Preakness Stakes (Saturday Afternoon). Big Brown wins.

3. Los Angeles @ Utah (Tonight). The Lakers close out the Jazz tonight in Salt Lake City.

2. Boston @ Cleveland (Tonight). [sigh]

1. Cleveland @ Boston (Game 7, Sunday). I’d love to have faith that the C’s will win tonight, but really, they haven’t given me any reason to think that they can win a road game yet. So I’ll assume there will be a Game 7, again, at the Garden, and avoid picking the game so as to prevent jinxing anyone.

Everyone, have a great, safe weekend and we’ll see you right back here at Mid-Atlantic Bias on Monday, depending on when I get back from New York. So don’t kill me if there’s no post until Tuesday.

Yesterday, apparently at the mere thought that I would include Scott Kazmir on the All-25 and Under Team, the Tampa Bay Rays signed their young ace to a three year, $28.5 million extension. Last week, the Marlins and Hanley Ramirez agreed to a contract extension. Then today, the Brewers inked Left Fielder Ryan Braun to an 8-year $45 million deal. So to recap, the Rays, Marlins, and Brewers are signing all of their young talent while the New York Yankees trot out Shelly Duncan, Jose Molina, and Darrell Rasner every so often. Now that’s what I call the universe being restored to order.

Kristen asked me to comment on the Kazmir deal specifically, as she is aware that I have a borderline-unhealthy man crush on him and hate the Mets for trading him away for a pile of garbage. This is my favorite of the 3 deals previously mentioned, because the Rays are giving Kazmir far less than the open market would. And there’s no disadvantage to it. There is for the Brewers. Two words: Prince and Fielder. If you remember, the first baseman for the Brewers got very upset this offseason that he did not get an extension from the team. And now Braun gets one. So that may make Prince very angry. Which may force him to start eating meat again, in the form of GM Doug Melvin. For the Rays, they lock up Kazmir until 2011 where he will form the two headed, left-handed monster known as “The Price of Kazmir,” along with last year’s top pick, flamethrower David Price. And yes, I’m thinking about patenting the phrase “The Price of Kazmir.”

My thought from last night’s Celtics/Cavs game:

1.) Still not sure what James Posey was thinking. Even worse than Posey’s really terrible pass however was team cancer Sam Cassell’s response to it. If you noticed, Sam I Am (An Alien) practically ran onto the court making faces (or was that his normal face?) yelling at Posey. What a great teammate. I am beyond sick of Sam Cassell at this point and am contemplating sending a box of rabid badgers to the TD Banknorth Garden, care-of Sam Cassell.

2.) As Matt knows already, I am finally pledging my love for Rajon Rondo. I’m sorry it took me this long, but people, he’s the second best player on this team right now. Yes, better than Paul Pierce, who as a certain sports writer put it yesterday, “…Looks like he has mono.” Rondo could not be stopped last night, slashing into the lane.

3.) Ray Allen, however, can be stopped.

4.) I still hate Doc Rivers. Accordingly…

5.) This is my starting lineup for the Celtics for Game 6 tomorrow:

PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: James Posey
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Glen Davis
C: Kevin Garnett

This lineup allows Posey to be in the lineup to cover LeBron. He is far better against the “King” than Paul Pierce is. This frees up Paul to cover Wally Sczerbiak. Glen Davis can cover Ben Wallace because I can. He can also pull him away from the basket. And KG, well, he’s slightly more athletic than Zydrunas Illgauskus. Then you have Ray Allen coming off the bench with, hopefully, fresher legs, and Kenrick Perkins coming off the bench to abuse whoever the Cavs trot out to play center. Finally, with Sam Cassell dead from badger bites, Eddie House plays 14 minutes of backup point guard, as he did when the Celtics went 66-16 in the regular season. And if we need to, we can bring in “Mr. Instant Offense” Leon Powe.

A few corrections from yesterday’s Team:

1.) BJ Upton no longer plays 2B for the Rays. Akinori Iwamura plays at second. Upton is in the outfield. He, therefore, should not have been considered for the second base position.

2.) Second base was a point of emphasis, as I also made another slight error. While I would still keep Kinsler at 2B, I also should have taken a longer look at Dustin Pedroia. Someone tell him I’m sorry.

3.) I, however, am going to keep Tim Lincecum plugged in as my staff ace. While Cole Hamels is a very good pitcher, he’s also pitching for a much better team. I mean, compare the Giants offense to the Phillies. Yes, Hamels pitches inside of Citizens Bank Park, which is actually the size of a bank, and has put up good numbers, but what Lincecum is doing is being completely overlooked by baseball people, because he plays for a black hole.

Game O’ The Day: New Orleans @ San Antonio. Game 6. Spurs win by 14. Yep, that’s my pick…

Clay Buchholz was put on the 15-day DL today because he broke a fingernail. I love baseball.

I would like to welcome reader Alex to Mid-Atlantic Bias. Alex now knows that this is the place for all the insight into the Mid-Atlantic Sports Scene, without that whole pesky “Mid-Atlantic” part.

I feel like if I write this, I’m going to jinx my bandwagon, but as anyone who knows me well has discovered, when it comes to prognostication, I couldn’t pick a winning horse out of a one-horse field. I’m just never right. Accordingly, I’ve decided to continue picking the team the Hornets are playing to win, in the hopes that I will be wrong. Yet, as you’ll see in my Game O’ The Day later, I’m not doing this for my actual NBA team. I don’t really make any sense.

Last night, the Orlando Magic were mercifully put out of their misery by the Pistons, thereby saving us from having to ignore this series any more than we already had.

In an actual NBA game, the Hornets continued the “Home Team” trend, by trailing to the Spurs at halftime, and winning the game by 22 points. There is no actual explanation for why the Hornets are able to dominate the Spurs in the 3rd quarter in this series. If you think it’s because Byron Scott is outcoaching Greg Popovich, you likely don’t actually watch basketball. Pop is one of the greatest coaches of the last 25 years in the NBA (perhaps this is a post idea). Byron Scott is not one of the 25 best coaches in the NBA right now. Scott just happens to have a Super-God playing Point Guard and, as I wrote back when I started driving the Hornets bandwagon in January, the most underrated player in the NBA. And did David West ever prove that last night with his 38 point offensive performance and his shutting down of Tim Duncan defensively. Yes “The Great Fundamental” had 23 rebounds, but the Spurs aren’t going to win with Timmy only scoring as much as Bruce Bowen. And the Hornets did this all while getting zero contribution from anyone on their bench not named Jannero Pargo, who will be handsomely overpaid this offseason by somebody. This series, however, seems destined to go back to NOrleans (not a typo…there’s plenty of those in other places though, I’m sure) for Game 7.

On to the meat. My 2008, MLB All-25 and Under Team. The rules are simple. You have to have actually played in the big leagues (sorry to top prospects who I think will be good) to qualify. In addition, you have to be 25 years old today, May 14, 2008. That means if you were born before May 15, 1982, you don’t qualify. On to the Team (We’re going to play our games at the best Under-25 park in Major League Baseball, that being AT&T Park in San Francisco).

C: Russell Martin-25 Years Old (LA DODGERS)
There are 3 worthy candidates here, who have had significant MLB experience: Martin, Joe Mauer, and Brian McCann. Mauer is both injury plagued, not a great defensive catcher, and has no power. So I eliminated him first, despite the fact that he’s won a batting title. This came down to Martin’s prowess as a defensive catcher, as well as a great hitter for average and a decent power/OBP guy. I like McCann, but I’ll take Martin here.

1B: Miguel Cabrera-25 Years Old (Detroit Tigers)
It’s great what a little position change can do. Casey Kotchman or James Loney would have been the choice here had the Tigers not moved Cabrera to 1st because of his terrible defense. His placement here is unarguable.

2B: Ian Kinsler-25 Years Old..barely (Texas Rangers)
Kinsler edges out BJ Upton by a slight margin. Both are good hitters. Upton is terrible defensively. Kinsler is not terrible. Howie Kenrick would get some pub, if he actually played. However, he hasn’t done that a lot yet.

SS: Hanley Ramirez-24 Years Old (Florida Marlins)
This comes down to HanRam and Jose Reyes. Hanley wins out in my mind because he has been far more consistent in his career than Reyes. Jose has struggled for about the last year of his career. Hanley continues to put up stellar numbers in a mediocre lineup. That give him the nod to me.

3B: David Wright-25 Years Old (New York Mets)
This isn’t even close. Wright is the face of a New York franchise and has delivered for years. No one at this position can touch him at this age.

RF: Justin Upton-20 Years Old (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Some will argue that this is premature. Except that he’s hitting .331, with 6 HR and 19 RBI and an OBP of .397 at the age of 20, with all the expectations that he had, being the top pick in 2006. He beats out Nick Markakis and Matt Kemp who have played longer, but don’t nearly have the ceiling that Upton does.

CF: Grady Sizemore-25 Years Old (Cleveland Indians)
It’s amazing to me that he’s still only 25 years old and has been playing at a high level for so long. He’s top tier. The next two guys are Jacoby Ellsbury and Chris Young. Neither are anywhere near Grady.

LF: Ryan Braun-24 Years Old (Milwaukee Brewers)
Braun is a level above Carlos Quentin, despite having only played for slightly less than one full season. However, in that “full season” these are Braun’s numbers (the part of last year after he was called up and this year so far, combined):

151 Games, .316 AVG., 43 HR, 126 RBI, 16 SB.

Argue that.

Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum-23 Years Old (San Francisco Giants)
This came down to Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Felix Hernandez, and Scott Kazmir. Then I looked at what Lincecum has done in his career with one of the worst teams in baseball. He has started 31 games for the Giants:

12-6, 3.39 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 203 K

Those are astonishing numbers when you consider that the Giants overall record since the start of last year is 88-114.

Closer: Joakim Soria-23 Years Old (Kansas City Royals)
Much like Lincecum, Soria has become one of the game’s best closers (even though you have no idea who he is or what he looks like) pitching for a doormat. In his career he has posted a 2.08 ERA and 26 saves with a .83 WHIP. For the Royals.

For the sake of it, here’s how I’d line the guys up too:

Grady Sizemore
Hanley Ramirez
David Wright
Miguel Cabrera
Ryan Braun
Russell Martin
Justin Upton
Ian Kinsley
Tim Lincecum (because a pitcher should always have to hit)

Game O’ The Day: Cleveland @ Boston. The Celtics win tonight by 12 points in front of a bananas crowd at the Garden Center.