POP TRUMPS SHAQ!

A couple of days ago, Shaq went on record saying the Spurs were "cowards" for employing the Hack-A-Shaq even when they were leading. The Hack-A-Shaq is when players foul Shaq and force him to shoot freethrows, banking on the fact that Shaq hits only about half of them (and sometimes less than that).

How did the Spurs react? Well, 5 seconds into the first game of the season, Pop showed Shaq what his...humor...tastes like.

PS There's a poll on my blog sportsfandom.blogspot.com. Do vote! Thanks!

SOME OBSERVATIONS...

After day 2 of the NBA season:

HOW DID THEY DO IT? We saw how the new and improved Dwayne Wade made the Olympics his own personal playground. We've read how Michael Beasely has about a 40% chance of winning Rookie of the Year. We know Shawn Marion is one of the most versatile defenders in the league. We also know that the Knicks are dysfunctional, over paid, overhyped and have a new coach and a new GM. Their starting center and point guard from last year aren't even in the rotation.  So how in the hell did the Knicks beat the Heat?

THERE'S A NEW BIG THREE IN TOWN and they are from the Rockets. Yes, I saw how good the troika of Yao Ming, T-Mac and Artest can be and they are going to go deep in the playoffs, maybe even reach the Conference Finals. What scares me even more is that once they get Battier back, they can lock down the best SG's and SF's in the league from minute 1.

THE LAKERS ARE FOR REAL. That's two blowout games for you. Kobe hasn't even heated up yet. Pau, Bynum, Fisher and the rest of the gang have stepped up early. Trevor Ariza looks like he's going to be a monster this year and Chris Mihm looked good, making other teams even more wary of the surprisingly deep Lakers.

IM SURE NO ONE REALLY CARES BUT...

Philadelphia Phillies win the MLB World Series, 4-3 over the Tampa Bay Rays!

It took 45 more hours than they expected (rain delays pushed the game back by about two whole days) but the Phillies don't seem to care. They're too busy drinking themselves silly aft bringing a World Series crown back to the city of Brotherly Love after 28 long years.

Congrats, Philadelphia!

 

ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY'S QUESTIONS

The Beast of the East remains to be the defending champions. KG and Ray Allen had a bad game but Paul Pierce took over with 27pts and Lebron missed a layup and 2 free throws in the last minute to seal the Cav's fate. Celtics win by 5pts.

The premier big man of the future? Neither Bynum nor Oden, if we go by this game. Bynum logged 8 points and three rebounds, Oden had 5 rebounds, blocked a shot and missed his four free throw attempts before getting injured. Yes, again.

Bulls versus Skiles. Winner, Bulls. Derrick Rose had 11 points and 9 assists, Deng had 21 pts, Gordon had 18, Hinrich had 15pts, Tyrus Thomas had 15 pts and 10 rebounds. Bulls win by 13pts, Skiles loses 100 strands of hair.  

NBA OPENING DAY!

Tomorrow we start another season of the NBA. Here are three key things you can expect to see tomorrow.

1) WHO IS REALLY THE BEAST IN THE EAST? Cleveland goes to Boston in a bid to kick start their championship campaign. The Cavs need to go back to the Finals to have any hopes of keeping LBJ. If they don't, expect the King to start listing down which players he wants to play with in NJ. For Boston, it's all about hunger. Many have said age and the satisfaction of finally winning a ring have dulled the edge of the Celtics' desire. Now, their mission is to prove they can do it again.

2) WHO IS THE BIG MAN OF THE FUTURE? Dwight Howard and Chris bosh reign supreme today. In 3 or four more years, either Greg Oden or Andrew Bynum will be the Hulk of the NBA. That road starts tomorrow, as post surgery Bynum takes on post surgery Oden. Oh yeah, they might also break their brittle knees (again!) in the next two  or three years which would make LaMarcus Aldrige and Marc Gasol the big men of the future.

3) BULLISH OR BUCK-ISH? Maybe we should call the game the Bulls versus Skiles. Bucks coach Scott Skiles brought the Bulls back to playoff respectability after years of futility. He also drafted, recruited and traded for 90% of the current Bulls lineup. But last year's team imploded, set off by the selfishness of key players (yes, I'm talking about Deng, Gordon and Ben Wallace). Now, Skiles is back, trying to resurrect a Bucks team that has offensive firepower but has more holes that a cheese grater. The Bulls players are trying to prove that last year was Skiles' fault and not theirs. Motivation on both sides to one up the other is at an all time high.

PROPS TO: Andres Nocioni. Goes up to Skiles and assistant coach Jim Boylan and gives them a hug. Plasters Richard Jefferson for knocking super rookie Derrick Rose out of the game.

BOOS TO: Deng, Gordon. Deng and Gordon are out with toe injuries. Toe injuries, fer Gawd's sake! Gordon's toe injury has kept him sidelined for more than 2 weeks now. Cut it off, Ben, and start shooting. That way, we can trade you by January.

KOBE, A-ROD, PHELPS AND HAWK ARE HEROES!

Guitar heroes, that is.

This is a sporting coup by Activision, putting together a band made up of NY Yankee All Star first baseman Alex Rodriguez, 8 Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and NBA MVP Kobe Bryant. 

I can just hear Kobe say "How does this taste, Shaq?"

NBA PREDICTIONS!

We've got 2 days to go before the NBA season opens so it's time to lay my proverbial eggs in a prophetic basket and say the sooth!

And so, here are my picks for:

Rookie of the Year - O.J. Mayo. Yes, I know, the safe choice seems to be Greg Oden, Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. Now, while I think that  Oden is a future Hall-of-Famer and Beasley and Rose will be perennial All Stars, they will all be laboring under the wings of more established stars (Wade, Roy, Aldrige, Haslem, Deng, Gordon). My pick has the chance to be The Man (albeit of the Grizz),  right in his very first year. 

Sixth Man of the Year - Manu Ginobili. There's no better 6th man in the league as the unselfish Argentine would probably start for the 29 other teams in the league...but prefers to play his "spark of the bench" role to perfection. If current team rotations hold true to form, he'll face tough challenges from Andrei Kirilenko and Kirk Hinrich.

Coach of the Year - Jerry Sloan. While people look at New Orleans as a possible Finals contender, I cast a wary eye on the Jazz. Sloan will have this crew ready to rock and roll and Williams, Boozer, Kirilenko, Okur, Brewer, Millsap and Korver will make believers out of pundits.

MVP - Lebron James. Only because I feel like everyone is thinking he should get one already. There are too many people saying the same thing, which makes me wonder is the voting is already done and over with.

Eastern Champion - Celtics. I know the Big Three are old but they've got young guys who are way good and KG, The Truth and Jesus Shuttlesworth may have developed a hankering for the taste of championships.

Western Champion - Lakers. Bynum is back. You mean aside from Kobe, Pau and Odom, the Lakers also welcome back Bynum the behemoth? Rockets and Jazz have a chance against the Laker Machine. Hornets and Spurs will crumble earlier than anyone else thought.

NBA Champion - Lakers. I don't like it anymore than half the world does but the fact is, on a purely basketball world, I'd take Kobe, Pau, Odom, Bynum, Fisher, Radmanovic and Vujavic over KG, Pierce, Ray Allen, Rondo, Perkins, Powe and Davis.

Team I will be following - Bulls. I'm a Nocioni freak and Captain Kirk is also a favorite of mine. Here's hoping they make it to the second round where they can be shown the door by the Cavs.