The Knicks and the Refs

The first half, particularly the second quarter, of Game 1 was the most one-sided officiating job I've ever seen. The referees went out of their ways to privilege the Miami Heat over the Knicks. Every block-charge call went Miami's way. Both teams were hacked on the way to the basket and yet the free throw attempts margin was embarrassing. Over twice as many fouls were called on the Knicks.

The worst was the flagrant foul called on Tyson Chandler. Chandler set a screen that LeBron backed into. LeBron flopped and was awarded two free throws and the ball, even after the refs checked it out on replay.

Game 2 was better officiated, but a Heat player set a similar screen on Baron Davis and, not only was a flagrant not called, nothing was called. I know the NBA wants Miami in the NBA Finals, but they need at least pretend to have balanced officiating.

2012 NBA Playoff Predictions

I predicted 15 of the 16 playoff teams. Who knew Portland would collapse? I want to pick the Knicks. If they played anyone but the Heat, I think they could win. If they limit turnovers, rebound,shoot well from three, Carmelo plays defense and passes the ball at the right times, and Amar'e plays outstanding, the Knicks will beat the Heat. That's a lot to ask for. I think I have to go with the Heat for credibility's sake. I hope I;m wrong.

The Bulls will beat the 76ers 4-1. The Pacers will beat the Magic 4-1. The Hawks will beat the Celtics 4-3. The Bulls will beat the Hawks 4-0. The Heat will beat the Pacers 4-1. The Heat will beat the Pacers 4-2.

In the West, the Spurs will beat the Jazz 4-1. The Thunder will beat the Mavs 4-3. The Lakers will beat the Nuggets 4-2. The Grizzlies will beat the Clippers 4-3. The Grizzlies will beat the Spurs 4-2. The Thunder will beat the Lakers 4-1. The Thunder will beat the Grizzlies 4-2.

The Heat over the Thunder 4-1.

Hockey New England Racism

The Caps Joel Ward scored the series winning goal over Boston on Wednesday. Then, Twitter exploded with racist tweets from Boston fans. Many called Ward the n-word. It made me sad and angry. But it gives further clout to my theory that New England is the Mississippi of the North.

In defense of Boston's racism: From The New York Times, "Richard Johnson, curator of the Sports Museum of New England, pointed out that the Bruins were the first N.H.L. team to draft a black player. Many black athletes, he said, have been embraced here. “If you were to create a pantheon of the 10 most beloved and respected athletes in town, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce would be three of them,” he said, referring to three current Celtics stars."

Garnett, Pierce, and Allen weren't on the team in 1954. They play now! Basically, the defense for Boston is: Well, we can root for black athletes now without calling them the n-word.

Connecticut is covered in swastikas.

There are very few minorities elsewhere in New England for a reason.

It's Good and There's Plenty

I read somewhere that the scent of Good & Plenty turns on both men and women. It's like ten times more potent than cologne or perfume. I wanted to see if it was true, so I stuck a Good & Plenty in my penis hole and roamed the streets.

Turns out, it works! Women were all over me trying to suck out the Good & Plenty. They didn't know why. They just did. But so did men because the erotic allure of Good & Plenty doesn;t discriminate based on gender or sexual preference.

Predictions For College Players in the NBA

This is the fifth and likely last year we've done these type of predictions. We are predicting who will have the better pro career, not who will be drafted higher or who will have the better rookie season.

D.J. Cooper, Aaron Craft, Scoop Jardine, Kendall Marshall.
me: Cooper, Craft, Marshall, Jardine.
Ian: Marshall, Craft, Jardine, Cooper.
Mike: Marshall, Craft, Jardine, Cooper.

Anthony Davis, Thomas Robinson, Henry Sims, Jared Sullinger, Tyler Zeller.
me: Davis, Zeller, Robinson, Sims, Sullinger.
Ian: Sullinger, Davis, Robinson, Zeller, Sims.
Mike: Davis, Robinson, Sullinger, Zeller, Sims.

Seth Curry, James Michael McAdoo, Austin Rivers.
me: McAdoo, Rivers, Curry.
Ian: Curry, McAdoo, Rivers.
Mike: Rivers, McAdoo, Curry.

Dwight Howard vs. Stan Van Gundy

Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard are getting killed for their bizarre interview yesterday. Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O'Neal all blame Van Gundy for going public with the news that Howard asked Magic senior management to fire Van Gundy. The TNT analysts are wrong. Some writers on NBA.com have called Howard a child. They're wrong.

Howard has every right to ask management to fire Van Gundy. However, he must be prepared for the consequences if he does. Management could rebuke his request. His request could get back to Van Gundy. It could go public and Howard would take a massive PR hit. All have happened.

Van Gundy has every right to be honest. Why should he have to lie for Howard? Howard drew the line when he asked for Van Gundy to be fired. Either management will back Howard or Van Gundy. There's really no reason for Van Gundy to lie to the public to protect Howard. So he should lose trust with the public in order to protect a guy who wants him fired? To ask him to do that is to not have a good grasp of reality.

I can relate to Howard's request to have his boss fired. I can relate to Van Gundy releasing that information. I can't relate to Howard's arrogant interview yesterday. The phoniness of putting his arm around Van Gundy as if to show solidarity was too much for me to take. His continued lying to reporters (and consequently the public) after he had been caught lying was aggravating. That was the only issue with the entire situation I've has a problem with. Howard was clearly two-faced and that's not a quality I respect.

Howard is a fun-loving guy. He's also known to be sensitive and takes things personally. He doesn't like to be viewed as the bad guy. He may not take the the game of basketball quite as seriously as LeBron or Kobe. He doesn't possess the same will to win. I don't think there's anything wrong with any of that. In my mind, he's the third or fourth best player in the league without that killer instinct. His personality shouldn't be criticized; the duplicity he showed in yesterday's interview should be, however.

Santorum is Racist

I believe Rick Santorum was about to call President Obama the n-word in a speech last week. When I listen to a song repeatedly on a CD, I begin to hear the next song on the CD instinctively. That's what happened with Santorum. He's so used to describing the supposed contradictions between Candidate Obama and President Obama in those salty terms, it just comes out naturally.

Remember, Santorum gives his speeches extemporaneously, he's not reading from a teleprompter. That lends more credence to the belief that he was in the middle of calling President Obama the n-word. Also, remember, his "blah people" gaffe. Santorum is no stranger to catching himself int he middle of a racially-motivated verbal attack. He also told Puerto Ricans that they need to learn English if they want to become a state. So, he has a history of racist remarks during this campaign.

Santorum has tried to portray himself as a goodie two shoes. But let us not forget that he unleashed a a swear word at a New York Times reporter not long ago. So salty language spewing from his mouth is not an unknown occurrence.

I's hard to imagine Santorum was about to say anything else. He was searching a noun. What noun starts with "nig" with that specific pronunciation? Then, after catching his mistake, he trails off with a completely unrelated sentence.

 We can only hope this spells the end of Santorum's public life.