It’s been a while. I believe a whole week and a day has passed since I last posted a blog. A lot has happened in that time. I consumed a case and a half of beer, 12 in one sitting...so I guess not that much has happened.

The teams in the NBA finals are set at least. The Mavericks beat the Suns in 6 games. I picked that one exactly. When everyone was on the San Antonio bandwagon during the season, I was touting the Mavericks to come out of the West. The Heat beat the Pistons in 6 games as well. I have to admit, I was way off on this one. In fact I had Miami upset in the first round by the Baby Bulls. I still believe the Pistons are a better team than the Heat, but there are a few glaring reasons why they lost.

Number 1. The Heat beat New Jersey in 5 games in the second round, while Cleveland took Detroit to the brink of elimination in 7 games. This was huge because this gave the Heat a week long rest before the eventual series with the Pistons. The Pistons got a single day of rest if I am not mistaken. At 7 foot 1 inch, 340 pounds, and 34 years of age, Shaq benefited from that rest more than anyone else could have with the exception of maybe Steve Nash.

Number 2. From what I can gather, the Piston players as a group don’t respect new head coach, Flip Saunders. In game 3, I saw Rasheed Wallace walking off the court after picking up a personal foul. When Flip tried to shake Rasheed’s hand or pat him on the backside, you know the things that NBA coaches do as their players come out of games; Rasheed defiantly pulled his hand away and loudly mumbled something at Flip. Late in the season Ben Wallace refused to enter a game. Anything like those happen when Larry Brown was the coach?

Number 3. No discipline. This can be attributed to a lack of respect for the head coach. The Pistons threw up way too many ill advised three pointers. And they allowed Dwayne Wade to get in the lane for easy shots any time he wanted. I questioned Ben Wallace as the Defensive Player of the Year when he given the award and the Pistons as a great defensive team overall. Here’s the deal:

MLB:
red sox over YANKS
BRAVES over nats
BREWERS over padres
reds over CARDS
ROCKS over pirates
D BACKS over phills
GIANTS over marlins
b jays over Os
angels over D RAYS
MARINERS over royals

HOME TEAMS IN CAPS
Happy betting!!!