Weekend Recap

Let me start off by saying I'm not a fan of hockey but I did watch the USA/Canada Gold Medal game and I'm disappointed and proud of the young USA Hockey team. Now back to the show............

I'm know I'm wrong for typing this but I'm rooting against the Nets. I want them to set the all-time record for most losses in a season. The Celtics must have went out the night before and came in a the crack of dawn because they forgot to bring their "C" game against New Jersey. The bench of the Boston Celtics alone can destroy the New Jersey Nets starting five. My Chicago Bulls keep showing mix signals by defeating the Portland Trailblazers on Friday night then last night losing to the Lottery bound Indiana Pacers. Playing to the level of your competition will not work in the L.

Speaking of playing to the level of the competition, Fighting ILLINI pretty much punch it's ticket to the NIT after a bad loss at home to Minnesota 62-60. I've said this before but for the ILLNI this season, it's whatever but next season pencil in Illinois as a top ten team with Lenord Myles, Mike Davis, Jereme Richmond, Brandon Paul, and Demetri McCamey with Crandle Head and DJ Richardson coming off the bench.

The nation's top two teams suffered losses this weekend as well as Kansas fell to Oklahoma State and Kentucky lost to Tennessee. Bottom line, Kentucky and Kansas will still be seeded #1 two weeks from today. Side note: Good for Sherron Collins calling John Wall a little boy. I hope these two teams meet in the finals.

There is plenty of basketball to watch this week (especially college ball) so I will see you guy later.

TOMORROW IS A GOOD DAY TO HOOP!!!!!!

Scared Straight - UNC Tarheel Version

First of all regarding last night, I believe Kobe's ankle was never hurt. The way he dominated Memphis and hit the game winning bucket was just pure Kobe. 'Nuff said!!!!

This is about my favorite college basketball team other than Illinois. WHAT IS WRONG WITH NORTH CAROLINA TARHEELS?!?!?! They need the Tar Heel version of scared straight version. Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Phil Ford are somewhere speechless. Dean Smith, Larry Brown, George Karl are somewhere crying. Vince Carter, Sean May, Rasheed Wallace are somewhere shaking their heads in shame. Eric Montrose and JR Reid should be on the phone cursing Ed Davis out. Ed Cota should be slapping Larry Drew II around for poor point guard play.

The traditional Tar Heel route is the McDonalds All-American game, shine on ESPN and the NCAA tournament, be seeded #1, nothing less than a Final 4 trip, then go lottery. This system has worked from Dean Smith to Roy Williams. The swagger, the heart, the cockiness, the killer UNC instinct has not been there and they also lost to Duke for the first time since 2007.

As Brendon Haywood cries to bed in his new Dallas condo, I hope Harrison Barnes can lead the Tar Heels back to the #1 spot they belong. The NIT is not expectable!!!!!!

Clearing Cap for 2010

This year the trade made were basically about freeing money up for the 2010 free agent class. The Knicks, Nets, Clippers, Bulls have an unlimited charge card to give one maybe two players this off-season. Let's examine the players traded from Thursday:

• Nate Robinson to Celtics - Knicks dumped Nate for a chance at LBJ on 7/1. Great pickup for Boston as he provides instant offense.
• Tracy McGrady - Headache in the Rockets front office but another smart move by the Knicks as they continue to dump salary after this season. Scored 26 in his Knick debut.
• Tyrus Thomas - I believe Larry Brown will turn this guy into a player. Tar Heels can work miracles.
• John Salmon - Good move by my Bulls to dump this guy. Milwaukee can have him
• Antwan Jamison - Tar Heel was the missing piece to get LBJ into the finals.
• Marcus Camby - Great pickup by Portland as they need a legit center until Greg Oden returns.
• Sebastian Telfair - 2004 was a long time ago. Don't expect much from Bassy in Cleveland. 

All-Star Recap - Trading Deadline

What did I learn about this weekend...this has been one of the worse all-star weekends in recent history. For starter no Bryant, CP3, or Brandon Roy. The dunk off was a complete joke...A slasher wins the 3-point contest. The most disappointing event in Dallas was the dunk contest. Shannon Brown had better dunks in Proviso East than he did in Dallas. The best dunk of the contest was the Demar dunk of the side of the backboard for a windmill. Nate Robinson did what I expected him to do. Nothing creative but he got the job done to secure his title. Derrick Rose did not defend his skills title but did play in the ASG. The 2003 class dominated the ASG and they all should have walked away with the MVPs.

With the second half beginning tonight, Marcus Camby is now a Blazer. This is huge because Portland now has a legit center on their roster until Greg Oden returns next season. It wouldn't surprise me if Portland jumped all the way to the 5th seed. Will "Da Thrill" Bynum had a career high 14 assist against Minnesota tonight. Glad to see Will is finally playing the point the right way.

In college John Wall and Kentucky got a scare against Mississippi State and were down by 7 with 3 minuets left to go. But like true Final 4 contenders, the Wildcats pulled through with the overtime victory. Tom Izzo & Tom Cream had a mini reunion but once the game begin, Michigan State were the ones that left the court smiling. Indiana Hoosiers will be bad for a least two more seasons. Thanks Sampson.

Finally pray that coach George Karl has a speedy recovery and good luck Bulls tomorrow night in MSG.

Rookie/Sophomore Game - Dunk Off

Last night in Dallas the Rookies finally defeated the Sophomore class in the annual game that takes place during All-Star weekend. Tyreke Evans walked away with the MVP but DeJuan Blair have the best game of the night putting up 22 points 21 rebounds. One play Blair even threw the ball off the backboard then slammed it down with one hand. What's most amazing is that this guy tore his ACL in both legs. I expected Brandon Jennings aka Kenny Anderson clone to shine in this type of game but not a flashy as he was during his AAU days.

Demar Rozen qualified to participate in the dunk contest defeating Eric Gordon. I don't know why a shooter like Gordon even challenged a dunker like Rozen. I've seen Rozen do better dunks on YouTube versus the ones he did last night (don't wanna give away too much).

Tonight I'm predicting Derrick Rose will win the skills challenge along with Chauncey Billups to win the 3-point contest followed by Shannon Brown to win the dunk contest.

Tune into TNT to watch all the activities this weekend!!!!!

Weekend Recap

With the rest of the world (including me) watching the Super Bowl, I have not neglected my hoops obligations, just this blog. Now that the week is up let me tell you what I've learned this week:

• I have no idea what to expect from the Bulls. They win 5 straight against playoffs teams then loose their next 3. Two against bad teams (Clippers, Sixers)
• U of Texas is overrated...Ever since they lost their #1 ranking they're dropped 3 out of the last 5. Expect a loss against Kansas tomorrow night. 
• ILLINI.....The victory against Michigan State was huge for there tourney resume but I still expect them to be the 5th Big 10 team to make the dance
• U of Kentucky...The entire starting 5 will enter the 2010 draft with John Wall going 1st along with Cousins & Favors being lottery picks
• Pac 10 Basketball is a joke....California & Washington were supposed to be top 25 teams all years but like their conference, they stink
• Chris Paul is not coming back this year...serious knee injury should shut CP3 down until 2011....4-6 weeks yeah right
• The Lakers have a team (without Kobe)...Last night's victory at Portland without Black Mamba proved the Champs have fire power
• Finally............Since I lived in New Orleans for 5 years....GO SAINTS!!!!