March 2008 Archives

Coming off his spectacular NCAA Tournament performance, a lot of people are debating if Stephen Curry should turn pro? I think we all know what his limitations are. He is a 6'2" (probably more like 6 Feet") shooting guard with a body of McLovin from the movie "SuperBad."

What position does he play in the pros? Does he handle the ball well enough to be a Point Guard? Defensively how would he hold up against physical opposition? With all these questions you would think the easy answer would be to stay in school, get a little stronger, and solidify his draft status.

But history tells us that, sometimes, it is best to strike while the iron is hot. It is quite possible that his draft stock is as high as it is ever going to be. What if Davidson has an off year next year? What if Davidson gets knocked out in the 1st round of the tournament with him going 3-20? While I think it is admirable that he wants to remain in school, I believe that a lot more bad things can happen than good things by staying.

One more year isn't going to change the fact that the kid can play. Chris Paul, and even going farther back to A.I,. have shown us that you don't have to be a 6'6" guard to be dominant in the NBA. However, NBA GMs are very similar to gold digging women. They have a "What have you done for me lately?" mentality when it comes to prospects. Steph may want to call Roy Hibbert and ask him how it worked out for him after staying in school to improve his game.

Baseball season starts officially Sunday night and, as always, it will be a very long season. But your bona fide sports expert has what you looking for: winners of all the divisions as well as the eventual winner of the World Series. So get your money together and put down some dollars on your boy.

AL East Champion: Boston Red Sox

The Yankees will be around as long as the guy Jose Canseco introduced ARod to keep supplying him with what he needs. But, the Sox are the new Yankees and, to be hones,t I like them a lot better.

AL West Champion: Seattle Mariners

I know everyone is taking the Angels, but the Mariners were on fire late last year and I think they will fly under the radar. BAM!! By the time July rolls around, they will be well on their way to the division title. Plus you know I love Ichiro.

AL Central Champion: Chicago White Sox

This is a very good division. Any of the teams could win the division...errrrrrrrrrrrrr...except the Royals. I figure it is feast of famine with the White Sox. Either they are going to win 90 or lose 90 and, since they lost 90 last year, I think they are due. But this division will go down to the last week of the season.

AL Wildcard Team: New York Yankees

They always make the playoffs.

NL East Champion: New York Mets

First, it is great to have Pedro and his Jheri Curl back full time. The Mets were the best team last year. They just choked. I think they are the best team this year, but will learn from their mistakes and play a full 162 and not take any game for granted. Either that or they will implode.

NL Central Champion: Chicago Cubs

This is a horrible division. All the teams have flaws and I am basing my pick of the Cubs on Kerry Wood being healthy, meaning I am probably destined to be wrong. The only thing that would make this division interesting is if Roger Clemens came back and pitched for the Astros.

NL West Champion: Arizona Diamondbacks

No Joe Torre isn't going to make the Dodgers the Yankees of the West. Sorry to break it to you. The Diamondbacks have a ton of young players and, to be honest, they are a better team than last year's Cinderella Colorado Rockies.

NL Wildcard Team: Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies wiill battle the Mets for the majority of the season but will sneak into the Wild Card.

World Series: New York Mets over Seattle Mariners in 5

Here is the problem with Jose Canseco. On the one-hand, you know he knows who's been dirty in Major League Baseball. Therefore, one has to take his accusations seriously because, time-and-time again, he has been proven correct when people wrote him off as being crazy and vindictive after his accusations. Now, on the flip side, Canseco is crazy and vindictive so you never know when he is really telling the truth or when he is just trying to get some free publicity and sell more books.

This brings us to his latest accusation that he introduced Alex Rodriguez to a steroids dealer. I, personally, don't dismiss his claim as easily as others for the reasons I just spoke about before. But, it's hard to take it seriously when the claim comes after it is revealed by Canseco, himself, that Rodriguez tried to play "Bed Gammon" with his ex-wife.

This is the Catch-22 with Canseco. He could be telling the truth, but it's so hard to believe him because he is such an untrustworthy character. My overall assessment is that, normally, when Canseco blows smoke, fire is not far behind.

Chris Webber wasn't just Seinfeld, creating plotlines around minimal moments in life. He was Sisyphus, a tragic Greek figure condemned to eternal failure.

Injury prone and never won anything! That is something that is sure to be brought up by anyone who doesn't understand just how nice Chris Webber was. Sure he had his time on-and-off the court where he ran into problems, but ask anyone who actually sat down and had a conversation with the man, and you would get a whole different perspective.

The years with the Kings...fuggetaboutit. He was one of the best doing it. The team was deadly with the ability to knock them down (everyone had a J...1 - 5 ). Not just that, he had a sweet touch with the ball that seldom a big man could match. It made me a fan. So much potential that even when he gave you 20 and 10, people were asking when he was going to stop playing. However, all the talent and ability in the world couldn't stop fate.

Oh...I'm leading in the BSO brackets... Tough break Duke and USC fans...*does march dance*

He just didn't end up on the good side of things. He always seemed to be just this close...this close to winning, only to have his dreams snatched away. He did it to himself ( the extra timeout); Robert Horry did it ( the dream shattering 3 Webber had a chance to block); and Lebron James did it ( giving his best performance to give the Pistons 4 straight losses).

He just couldn't win it seemed. As the knee began to wear out, I felt a tad sad. It became clear that he would't ever get that ring, nor would he ever be looked at as one of the league's best elite big men. Truthfully... "A Dream Deferred" if I ever saw one.

Written By Adam Thomason

Let's be clear about the pound-for-pound champion, turned tycoon, turned dancer, turned "wrestler", Floyd Joy Sinclair, aka Floyd "Money" Mayweather. Yes, he is one of the greatest fighters of all time. Yes, he has run through the ranks of boxing like Memphis has Conference-USA. But, according to a recent report published on espn.com, when it comes to family business, Floyd seems just as disoriented as Hatton was when he caught that check hook back in December.

According to the report, Floyd has put out a warning shot for his uncle/trainer, Roger Mayweather, to stop training Steve Forbes who will be facing Oscar De La Hoya on May 3. Floyd's reasoning: If Steve happens to beat De La Hoya, that would take away the luster from the Mayweather/De La Hoya Rematch in September.

Translation: Mayweather's won't get his $20 million payday.

Pacman "Make it Rain" Jones was a guest on the Michael Irvin radio show and basically sounded like a fool. But by now, we should expect that from "Make it Rain" Jones. However, just because he is a fool and doesn't have a good grasp of the English language, doesn't mean that Pacman should still be suspended. Pacman, for all his transgressions, has never been convicted of anything besides a misdemeanor whereas other players with felonies have not served the same punishment as Pacman.

I know "Make It Rain" was the poster boy for the NFL new crackdown on bad behavior. But, to be honest, there will always be rogue NFL players no matter how hard the NFL tries to make you believe there isn't any dirt under the fingernails of the league. It has been long enough! Roger Goddell needs to stop acting like Hillary Clinton and realize it is over. He needs to stop punishing Pacman and let Jerry Jones and Pacman make it rain on the Dallas Cowgirls.

There are certain teams that stick out in your mind as teams that you will never ever forget and always relate to. For me, those teams are the Early 90's UNLV teams, 90's Cowboys, 90's Bulls, Shaq & Kobe Lakers.

However, none of them compare to the effect that the Michigan Fab 5 had on me. With the upcoming retirement of Chris Webber, it is like a death in the family. (I think Juwan Howard is still playing but stuck deep on somebody's bench.). They never won that National Championship, but their effect on basketball and many many young Black males like me is evident even today.

I don't think any of them reached their full potential in the pros, but for the two-years all five of them were together, it was definitely something special. I wish Chris Webber good luck with his post-NBA career.

On the one hand, I agree with Chad Johnson that the Bengals use him as a scapegoat for a lot of their troubles. I never understood how it was Chad's fault that the defense gives up 100 points a game. With that being said, very similar to Terrell Owens, Chad's downfall will be his mouth.

He has to remember that the biased mainstream media will always twist his words to make him out to be the bad guy. The more he talks, the deeper hole he is digging himself. His points are very valid about the Bengals organization, but it isn't going to help anything by pouting.

The best thing Chad can do is keep quiet and be the Ocho Cinco that we all know and love. He is opening himself to unnecessary criticism when the focus should be on the multiple problems the Bengals have which aren't number-85.

The Philadelphia 76ers were picked to finish last in the NBA's Atlantic Division by almost every national analyst that covers the league. Almost certainly, they would have one of the worse five records in the league at best. This prognosis was understandable because the Sixers finally gave up on the Allen Iverson experiment, their franchise player for 10 years. They also bought out Chris Webber, a 20 million dollar a year power forward, who refused to play in the paint (That's another story).

The problem is somebody forgot to tell their young guys that they should be challenging for Fred "Mad Dog" Carter's '72 Sixers team's dubious record of 9-73. Instead they are pushing for 5th seed in the playoffs.

We all know the Eastern Conference is like the NIT of the NBA. But you have to be impressed by what the Sixers are doing. Andre Iguodala is one of the most complete players in the league, who might just be a consistent jumpshot away from really being a problem. Sam Dalembert is one of 13 players in the league to average a double - double, and top 5 in blocks per game. Imagine if he understood the nuances of the game? Louis Williams, who's a combo-guard, has made some tremendous strides off the bench and looks like a second-round steal.

Rookie Jason Smith has been making a solid contribution off the bench, and doesn't seem afraid to mix it up down low, in the paint. I'll admit, when the Sixers drafted Thaddeus Young with their first pick in last years draft, I thought King should be run out of Philly. Most certainly It seemed that Al Thorton was their man. In hindsight, It looks like King might of got it right after all.

At 19 years old, Thaddeus Young seems to have more tools than Thorton. The Clippers rookie seems to just jack up shots at will and clearly doesn't have a sense of time and score. When you watch Young play, it's apparent that his basketball IQ is through the roof. He rarely looks lost, or takes a bad shot, and appears to have the game feel of a vet. He's arguably the most talented player the Sixers have.

Nothing like a McDonald's bag taking out a professional athlete. Brandon Marshall of the Denver Broncos will be sideline for four months after slipping on a Happy Meal, or maybe it was a Big Mac, wrapper and crashing his arm through an entertainment center. Marshall severed an artery, among other things, in this McDonald mishap. Maybe the Broncos' opponents should employ Grimace as a free safety?

I have a T-Mobile sidekick who could have called me or text-messaged me to let me know the baseball season had started. I mean I wasn't going to wake up at 4 AM in the morning to watch the Red Sox and Oakland play in Tokyo. However, I would have liked to have had that option. I guess I should start working on my predictions for the season.

I am being sarcastic! Even though Bud Selig wants you to believe baseball is thriving, it is not!

I would rather talk about March-Madness; the NBA-Playoffs; the NFL-Draft; Tiger or NASCAR before I would even think about baseball. The only time anyone cares about baseball is when we are talking about how much of a liar Roger Clemens is or when Jose Canseco's next book is coming out. If you aren't a Red Sox or Yankee fan, your team will get -1% coverage on ESPN. I wonder why it is still called "America's Pastime?" The only thing correct about that phrase is that baseball is past its time.

Whereas the Suns seem to be coming together with Shaq (I'm still not a believer), the Mavs seem to be falling apart after the acquisition of Jason Kidd. Pastor Avery and Mark Cuban are fighting. J Kidd is getting destroyed by every young guard in the West (I still have visions of Chris Paul just killing him). Now Dirk has gone down and has gone down hard. They are saying he will be out for two weeks, but it appears to me that he will be out much longer. It is now quite possible the Mavericks will not make the playoffs.

The lesson to be learned here is unless you are fleecing a team in a trade (see: The Lakers getting Pau Gasol), it is best to stand pat. Now the Mavericks are stuck with Kidd, his bad contract, and buyer remorse. Good job Mr. Cuban!

Is that right L.T.? If you are familiar with the new Nike commercial about spring training, you would know that LaDanian Tomlinson comes on first, in what looks like a press conference setting, and says the line in the title. They then show other athletes, including a couple kids, going through this type of training. You never see L.T. doing any of it though, but at the end of the commercial he says "Thank you for coming."

Well L.T., I have some news for you, and it's not great Geico news either. The Patriots have an answer for you. Their team is better than your team, and has been for two years in a row. You might want to have your teammates participate in the spring training with you, provided their shoe contracts will allow them it. Just a thought.

Oh man, how the mighty have fallen. I'm talking about the school with the illustrious program; the coach that's called to coach Olympic Basketball teams; the coach who is the NBA's best player's (Bean or Darth Kobe as R.L. would call him) favorite college coach. The Dukies from North Carolina have just been knocked off by Huggy Bear and his smallish team. By smallish, I mean Bobby played a lineup with three guards for almost the entire second half. WVA beat Duke 72-67, but it wasn't even that close for most of the game.

Now Huggy could potentially face a team he's gone round and round with during his UC days, that being Xavier University. Xavier is up against Purdue right now, and if they get by the Boilermakers, Huggins could be on his way to the Elite 8, where he hasn't been in a long time. I sure hope his ticker is ready for this.

Now let's do a little recap. So Huggins is at least in the Sweet 16, and maybe the Elite 8 by next Thursday night. And had O.J. Mayo followed Huggins to WVA, which is in his backyard, he'd be there too. Now where is USC again? Oh that's right, they are on Spring Break, from basketball and school, after losing to Bradley of all teams. So Nancy, are you still happy with your choice?

When the Cleveland Chapter of the National Action Network made public its demands that the National Football League move this summer's Hall of Fame Induction and game to a site other than Canton Ohio, the usual knee jerk response was forthcoming. "What does the NFL have to do with an alleged act of misconduct by the Canton Police department?"

In the past, under the reign of former NFL Commissioner Paul Taglibue, maybe nothing. But since 2006, the NFL has been under the leadership of former counsel Roger Goodell, who from day one, has set an aggressive agenda regarding the off-field conduct of the league's main partners; its players.

Goodell's message was seemingly clear: "This is not the NBA, we are going to hold the line against the "cornrows" and the gangstas." He implied that the last thing the NFL needs is for mainstream America to tune out and stop buying cars and lite beer our sponsors peddle, although he did not say those words.

As the Kansas City Negro sportswriter Jason Whitlock might say, the day of the 'Bojanglers' was over. Beat your spouse or baby's mama and you're going on timeout. Decide to start your own armory out your suburban Chicago home and you too will have spend some time on the sidelines. Fight dogs and get caught, you might never come back.

Regardless of his intent, Goodell set the bar high when he put one set of the league's "partners" on notice. Would it not be the height of hypocrisy for the league to hold some of its partners to a high standard and not hold them all to that same high standard?

The city of Canton is a ghost-town during the fifty-one weeks of the year when the NFL is not in town with the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. An argument could be made that the city derives much of it annual budget from the proceeds of the induction ceremony and game. Thus, the Canton area has nearly as much at stake in the reputation of the NFL and its players as does the NFL itself.

The above video shows just one incident in a decade-long struggle between the Canton police and the citizens that the police swear to protect and serve. There will be those who will tell you that the young man in the video, Cortes Everitt, has a criminal record and does not deserve such a platform. If the treatment Mr. Everitt received was an anomaly, then,maybe, "they" would have a point. The treatment seems to part of a pattern.

But, this issue is bigger than Mr. Everitt. This is about respect for human dignity. Please don't tell me the NFL places a higher value on the care and handling of pit bulls than they do on the care and handling of Black and poor folks. As for those who say: "You can't harm good, white, business folk because of the action of the few," I say, name me one Black vendor the NFL uses for the game. Or, name one Black vendor who has a services contract with the Hall of Fame. I suspect the answer is the same in both cases. There are none.

At the end of the day, the answer to the question raised in the title of this post is simple.
The NFL changed the rules. If they are going to hold some of their "partners" to a high standard, then hold all of their partners that same high standard.

First, I need everyone to calm down. I know what you are thinking because I thought the same thing when I saw Lebron with Tom Brady's chick on the cover of Vogue.

I have no personal problem with Lebron posing for the cover of Vogue with a Brazilian white woman. However, Lebron needs to be aware that, even though it is 2008, there are a lot of people who still think like it is 1958.

He also needs to realize that the average Black has to overcome 1958 stereotypes on a daily basis. When a star athlete does something, albeit unknowingly. to perpetuate a stereotype, it only makes it harder on the rest of us. I honestly believe that Lebron didn't realize what a stir this would cause mainly because, when one has 100 million plus dollars in the bank, one sometimes forgets that little things like this can have big implications.

With that being said, everyone relax. Lets not make it into a national crisis. It is just a young kid who, to some eyes, made a mistake. Let's move on. I don't want to see Al Sharpton boycotting Vogue, Jesse Jackson giving a speech, or Obama forced to talk about it. Trust me, it isn't that serious.

The term "can't miss prospect" always makes me shiver because the whole logic behind the statement is flawed. There is no such thing as a "can't miss prospect" which is why I am worried about my Alma Mater's finally securing the services of "The Next Vince Young," Terrelle Pryor.

Immediately after the news broke on ESPN, my sidekicks blew up at me, both from Ohio friends (proclaiming multiple National Championships) and my Michigan friends (using language I can not print on the site). While I am happy Pryor is a Buckeye and I am cautiously optimistic about our chances to get back to the BCS Title game next year, I am still worried. The reason being that for every Tim Tebow that pans out, there are four Ron Powlus' that don't. (Powlus is still waiting on those two Heisman trophies from Beano Cook.) Only time will tell what Mr. Pryor will be.

It has been reported that the baseball player's association may be looking into why no team is signing Barry Bonds, suspecting possible collusion. Okay I'm all for players' union sticking up for its players, but this may be going too far.

Of course, we've all been bombarded with the whole Barry Bonds career mess: home run king, allegedly shot up on 'roids and lied under oath about it; blah, blah, blah. The posters on ESPN had a field-day talking about how Barry should be out of baseball because of his character issues.

This is a part of my response to them: "You idiots know good-and-well you don't care about a player's personality as long as the team that player is on is winning.

"People didn't like Dennis Rodman's personality or Rasheed Wallace's, but they sure rooted for the team when they won an NBA championship, (Rodman with the old Pistons and the Bulls, Wallace with the new Pistons). Babe Ruth was no saint either (a heavy drinker, womanizer, and gluttoness eater from the looks of his body), but he is still honored as one of the best. Ty Cobb was a racist pig, but people are still talking about how great he was. The point is that players who are jerks come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Most people don't care that they are jerks as long as they are winners!

The issue isn't really whether Bonds shouldn't play because of his character. It's whether any team wants to spend any money on a guy who is 43 and can't really run. Granted, he still may be a productive player, but there's only a handful of teams who have enough money to pay him, and they can spend their money a lot more wisely.

You know I am one of ESPN's harshest critics. But I have to give credit when credit is due. I just finished watching their two-part documentary "Black Magic" and it was brilliant. (Sorry I am a slave to the DVR. I never watch anything on time anymore)

Even though I go by the moniker of "Sports Expert," deep down, I am just a person who loves sports just like you. I am also a young, Black male who. by the time I was on my way to a predominately white college (The Ohio State University), it wasn't a big deal to see a Black man walking around campus. I will be honest. I knew on some level about coaches like "Big House" Gaines, John McLendon and Ben Jobe, but I never understood their struggles. When I think of Willis Reed or Earl Monroe, my first thoughts are of the NBA not the historically Black college they came from.

What really stuck me with me, though, were the players that I had never heard of such as Cleo Hill, who was universally recognized as one of the greatest Black-college players of all time. Because of racism on the Saint Louis Hawks, he was black-balled from the league. Just imagine having a skill so great that you are one of the best in the world, but, because of the color of your skin, being denied a chance to showcase that skill. How difficult would that be?

When I heard about the great Bob Love, a player that my father admired, speak on his stuttering-problem and how his wife left him and took all of his possessions because she didn't want to be with a mute and a cripple. A knee injury forced him to retire. He moved me when he spoke of having to be a bus boy after 11-years in the NBA. How embarrassing and humiliating it was. His experience should make today's athletes think twice when they are complaining about being "under paid."

There are very many more stories from the documentary that I could write about. They are both inspirational, sad, and funny and sometimes all of those combined. But, I want you to watch "Black Magic" and draw your own conclusions.

It was truly an eye-opening experience for me. I feel as if I'm a better person for having watched it. There aren't many programs that one can say that about these days. I encourage everyone to watch it, if you haven't already, especially young athletes so they can better understand the basis for the opportunities they have today. Kudos to ESPN for bringing this to light.

Memo to DeAngelo Hall: You aren't Deion Sanders; hell you aren't even Asante Samuels.

You are average; you are decent. Don't fool yourself into thinking you are worth 10 million dollars a year because you're not. I wouldn't pay more than 2 million dollars a year and a late round pick for you.

By making outrageous contract demands and killing trades to contenders, such as the Giants and the Jaguars, just shows you are more concerned about your pocketbook than winning. A trade has been in place with the Raiders for weeks. Now, the Raiders who have been spending money like a New York Governor at a Stripper Party, appear they are going to overpay for you. We can just add this to the long list of mistakes by their franchise.

There is nothing worse than a blow-hard cancer that can't back up his mouth with play on the field. DeAngelo: Know your role and shut your mouth. Just be happy that the Raiders are stupid enough to "Show You The Money".

First off, the game of football should be America's past time. I'm still trying to figure out who elected baseball? Ask yourself, what team is nicknamed America's team? It ain't the NY Yankees although one could argue that. It's the Dallas Cowboys.

What other sport can argue that its biggest game should be honored as a national holiday - such as the Super Bowl. It completely grabs hold of the country...the world, while households transform into football meccas for 6 hours. How else can you explain companies paying $2 million or more for a 30 second ad?

But, my reason for this entry is too start a revolution. I'm not campaigning for football to be the national past time, but for the women of the world to revolt against the myth that we don't love the game. When I'm out having cocktails or shopping in a sports store and I overhear a conversation about football, my ears get all warm and fuzzy. I then jump at the opportunity to join in.

In a majority of the time, my opinion and comments are welcome and respected, but there's a instance or two where I am challenged regarding my knowledge of the game. I'm then hit with a barrage of questions of who, when, what and how. At this point, I smile because I'm competitive by nature, and when you know what you know, you know the rest! Besides, this gives me the opportunity to shut some mouths, while opening some closed minds.

To my ladies, men absolutely adore a woman that can talk sports, intellectually that is. It's a conversation starter and finisher. Even if football isn't your sport of choice, but you're single and looking, learn a sport and test the waters. To all the men who still feel the need to test me, do so. But when I put you at ease and start making you smile, remember I can cook too. Most importantly, I'm married!

It's tournament time; one of my favorite events on the sports calendar. And while everyone is anticipating last second shots and mid-major upsets, I'm looking forward to the inevitable trampling of these pathetic lower seeds.

Nothing pleases me more than to see the Ivy League champion's hope crushed by the 10 minute mark in the first half. Or the pride of the MAC division calling 3 timeouts within a 1 minute span to try to slow the offensive onslaught of their superior foe. But thanks to ESPN, hopefully, I can see some true fireworks.

By fireworks, I mean the bad boy of college basketball himself: Bob Knight. ESPN has given me the gift of watching a ticking time bomb as a side dish to my college basketball main course. Unfortunately, Bob Knight doing commentary on ESPN has been a snooze fest so far.

Bobby, what is the problem? I want to see expletives flying left-and-right and self-righteous sermons on what is wrong with today's college athletes. I want to see that deep resentment you harbor for your former mentee Coach Krzyzewski, because he will soon, if he has not already, trumped your legacy. I want you to tell-off your network cronies, who have never coached a day in their life, that they are dead wrong. But you haven't done this.

Instead, you are acting polite and courteous as if you are a member of Snoop Dogg's entourage at a Suge Knight party. This is not why you were hired. When ESPN hired Rush Limbaugh, they got their money's worth: inflammatory commentary that resulted in his removal; heated commentary and improved ratings. If this keeps up, the only thing I'll have to look forward to are those tacky sweaters you love to wear. ESPN didn't hire you as an analyst because you were the best person available. You got the job because you were the most controversial available. Now pick up that studio chair and give us what we want!

After all 65 teams are picked for the NCAA Tournament, you are going to hear a bunch of whining, complaining and bitching by coaches and commentators about teams that didn't make it into the tournament.

Here is my advice for all the teams that didn't make the tournament: Win some more games.

There will always be teams that think they deserve it and don't make it. But the fact of the matter is that the best way not to be on the bubble is to never be on it.

If you have 10 or more losses I don't want to hear your bitching. If you are from a small conference and you blew it in your conference tournament, I feel your pain. But I don't want to hear your whining when you only played one Top 25 team all year and lost.

Do I agree with all of the committee selections? Of course not. But don't tell me I am an idiot because I don't think your team should get in the tournament with 13 losses just because you made a nice run in your conference tournament. That doesn't make me an idiot. It makes you a bad coach. Yes, I am talking to you, Va. Tech coach Seth Greenberg.

The question keeps coming as the consecutive wins keep piling up for the Houston Rockets.

"Are you a believer now?"

The answer to that question is an emphatic:

NO!!!

I said it last week and I will continue to say this no matter how many games the Rockets win in a row. Until they win a 1st round playoff series they are more pretenders than contenders.

Not to take anything away from their accomplishments, but don't get it twisted. Regular season accomplishments are nice, but post season accomplishments are remembered forever.

Quick, name one memorable play from the College Bowl season. Can't do it can you? The reason why no one cares about College Football in December and January ia because their championship is not decided on the field, but by a bunch of computers, school presidents and mostly incompetent voters.

On the flip side, the NCAA Men's basketball tournament hasn't even started yet and there have already been 4 or 5 moments that have been etched in our memories. Once again let me repeat: the tournament hasn't even started. These are just the conference tournaments.

Yesterday I was glued to my TV while watching both major and mid-major schools fight it out just for the right to be in the tournament. I loved that Duke lost; I jumped out of my seat when Psycho Ty won the game for North Carolina. I couldn't believe my eyes when Georgia guard Zac Swansey hit a three pointer that looked like it could only be made in a video game to send their game against Kentucky to overtime. I was even more amazed when Georgia won that game and then another game within an eleven hour time frame. I could go on and one, but I think I have made my point.

Just imagine if we were coming down to the last week of the college football season with teams trying to fight their way into a tournament. It would be the best Saturday of the year and the tournament would make these old, school-presidents more money that they could ever imagine. I maybe dreaming, but hopefully soon NCAA College-Football leaders will get their heads out of their asses and give us what we want.

Big up to my alma mater, UMBC, for making the NCAA tournament! This is our first time ever getting in the the big dance, and I for one wasn't sure it would ever happen.

You all just have no idea how far our basketball team has come since I got out of there in 1997. Back then, it wasn't uncommon for them to lose to students in open runs at the gym and to be down by 20 points before the half. It used to be a big deal if one of guys got a dunk during a game That's how bad they were.

Major props to the coach Randy Monroe for getting the guys to make it happen, and the biggest props of all to the players themselves for getting it done and making it the Big Dance!! Congrats retrievers, and good luck storming the castle later on this week.

The tournament hasn't even started and we are already seeing the "Madness". Check out Blake Hoffarber's miracle shot to beat Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament. The fact that he hit the shot lefty and didn't travel is amazing to me.

You would think Nancy Zempher, President of the University of Cincinnati, is kicking herself right about now. But that would assume that she is really interested in how the UC basketball program is doing. Zempher is the one who forced longtime head-coach Bob "I never met a drink I didn't like" Huggins out at Cincinnati, sending him packing to Manhattan Kansas.

Now "Huggy Bear" has ended up in his home state, West Virginia, where he is the coach of the Mountaineers. Yes, Huggy's team was beaten by the Bearcats this year, but, at 24-9, he's on the verge of participating in yet another March-Madness tournament.

On the other hand, the 13-18 Bearcats collapsed at the end of the season. They won't even be in the NIT. So Zempher, was it worth it to make a point and oust Huggins from your school only to give up tournament wins and dollars?

The Denver Nuggets acquired Allen "BubbaChuck" Iverson last season in hopes of winning a NBA title. In the ultra-competitive western conference the Nuggets are currently in 9th place... and out of the playoff picture. It's not that they are a bad team. They are on pace for 50 wins. But when you have two all-star starters on your team, no one wants to hear excuses about how tough the west is.

Which leads me to George Karl. Iverson and Carlmelo Anthony are both having great seasons. Camby still is playing lights out defense. Even Kenyon Martin has been surprisingly solid at both ends of the court. Defense is supposed to be their Achilles heel although they have some really good defensive players on the squad. Karl has reportedly turned down a deal that would have brought in Ron Artest.

A.I. and 'Melo, who are two absolute beasts on the court, both backed the deal. Nothing got done. Say what you will about Artest but the dude he is simply one of the best two-way players in the league. You think that trade would have given Denver a boost at the defensive end and made them a scary team? I think so. Think they would possibly miss the playoffs? Doubt it.

George Karl is supposed to be good a coach schooled by Dean Smith and groomed by UNC. He is now on the "hot seat," ladies and gents. He needs to show he has a clue with the horses he has on his team. That racket you hear coming from the Mile High City is that of annoyed Nuggets fans because coach Karl didn't pull the trigger. The reason: he covets a bench player named Linas Kleiza. If the Nuggets fail to make it to the dance and the Philly Sixers do (albeit in the east), that will be an embarassment to Iverson and the organization. George Karl needs to step his game up, or he's 'outta here' like a Ryan Howard homerun.

It's talked about with feverish passion at one-point or another at any local barbershop. It's debated over and over for countless hours without ever ending with a winner. It has nothing to do with politics or overpaid prostitutes. Like Optimus Prime or Megatron, Randy Moss or TO, Nas or Jay-Z, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James are just the latest duo to captivate us.

While both are great players, there are several reasons i'd have to give Lebron the slight edge on the timeless "who's best wing player in the NBA" debate.

Besides the obvious that Lebron James is younger, if you look closer into their games James just doesn't have the level of selfishness that Bryant and a host of other comparable players in the NBA have.

Now if you have been following closely, and I stress closely, following the career of Kobe, you'd know that his ego sometimes gets in the way of his game. If Kobe is having a off-night, and the defense is really keying on him. Kobe will often take it personally and as a challenge. He then starts to shoot his team out of the game instead of playing the decoy and just getting his guys involved. Lebron James thinks the game of basketball at all times, not just most of the time. He's always making plays for his teammates. You never see Lebron getting caught up in a personal battle with the opposing star to the detriment of his team as Kobe sometimes does. Lebron wants to set the table for the basketball play regardless of who scores. Kobe wants the play to start and end with him. You say my opinion is biased somehow? Well lets look a little further.

Lets look into leadership which is a vital part of a superstar's role in any sport. In Kobe Bryant, we have a player who has, without a doubt, outsmarted himself. He had one of the most dominant centers in NBA history in his prime on his side and what did he do? After winnining 3 NBA titles with Shaq, Kobe decided that it wasn't good enough. He wanted to win a championship while he got the most touches while being the first option. So in a nutshell, he wanted to average 30ppg instead of 24ppg. He wanted to be Superman instead of Batman.

What Kobe failed to realize is that the fans didn't think of him as a sidekick. He, himself, was seen as a super-hero, not Shaq's Scottie Pippen. Bryant helped drive the car that got Shaq traded out of LA because he wanted the spotlight to himself. What went on afterwards is mindboggling. Bryant now had the Lakers to himself, but he quickly realized that winning alone was no easy task. Bryant's scoring indeed went up while Lakers wins went down. Kobe has since repeatedly butted heads with his coach, bailed out on team-mates in a crucial playoff game 7 against the Suns which was well publicized. Most recently, he demanded a trade, citing that he needs more help to win. Make sense to you? I know it didn't. Talk about irony!

To all the baseball fans that have a problem with Billy Crystal batting lead off for the Yankees in a Spring Training game:

"GET A LIFE"

It is an exhibition game not Game 7 of the World Series. Anybody who is upset even a little bit about this is a potential serial killer in my eyes. No one should be so obsessed with sports as to let something as silly as this bother him.

March-Madness is here! Once again, we are having the Bona Fide Sports Experts' March-Madness challenge. If you think you can defeat the writers of BSO in a tournament-style pool, send an email to bso@blacksportsonline.com and I will send you an invite to our pool. Results will be posted on the site.

I guess maybe they aren't dead after all...

OK, so the Rockets have won nineteen in a row now. I guess I was dead wrong to figure they'd fold like a cheap tent once Yao went down to injury. I will give credit where it's due. Their streak is impressive no matter how you look at it. It includes thirteen straight home games and ten straight by double digits. It also includes seven straight since Yao went down.

Now the real question is that of competition. As I said, nineteen straight is impressive no matter what. But it looses some shine if they were all against doormats. So let's take a look and see.

Of the twelve they won with Yao, five were against what I'd call good teams (two wins over Cleveland and one each over Golden State, Portland, and New Orleans) and two were over total bottom feeders (Miami and Minnesota). So that part of the streak is legit.

But, what about the wins without Yao? Let's see......two wins against contenders (Dallas and New Orleans), a third over a good team in the playoff hunt (Denver), one win over a scrub team (Memphis) and three wins over below average to average teams that you can't sleep on (Washington, Indiana, and New Jersey). I'd say that holds up, too.

The only thing you can really frown at is the thirteen home games. Now how have they managed to hold on so well after literally going down the tubes in years past when either Yao or Tracy McGrady went down? Easy: they have better guys around those two now. Remember, the last time this happened they had a supporting cast that did not include Shane Battier, Bobby Jackson, or Luis Scola, and that point guard Rafer Alston was still a fringe guy known more for his time on the "And 1 Tour" than anything he'd done as a pro. That's three quality guys they didn't have and a fourth who hadn't become a quality guy yet. It makes a huge difference.

But what about the future? Right now they are a game out of first in their division and hold the third seed in the West, thanks to the streak. Well, they have ten of their last fifteen on the road, and they have a horrible stretch next week with five games in seven days against the Lakers, Boston, New Orleans, Golden State, and Phoenix. I don't see them emerging from that unscathed. They've got Atlanta and Charlotte this week, so they can easily stretch this thing out to 21 straight, but I'm figuring that it ends next week sometime. Can they hang on and make the playoffs? Sure, but I don't like them to go far once they get there.

Another year, another injury for D Wade. It makes one wonder if Wade didn't peak during the 2006 NBA Finals when there was a strong argument for his being the best player in the NBA. Better than Carmelo; better than Lebron; better than Kobe and so on and so forth.

This was a player who single handedly won an NBA final series (with some help from the refs) with his team down 0-2 and down 13 with 9 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. At the time I wondered out loud whether Wade, in the end, would be better than his counterpart Lebron James.

The assumption seems silly now, doesn't it? The Heat may have sacrificed Wade's entire career for that one NBA title. Was it worth it? Only Wade can say. But when you start having multiple surgeries on your knees and shoulders, the question begs: Will we ever see that 2006 D Wade again? I wouldn't bet money on it.

I am going on record to say Memphis will be a "paper-tiger" in the NCAA tournament this year. I don't think they will get past the second round.

Looking at their record, they have maybe 3 or 4 quality wins. They don't shoot free throws very well, which even their coach has said. And looking at the top 25, all of the teams on there have at least 20 + wins. Now some of those teams are in lesser conferences than Memphis, but C-USA is not a top conference itself, as we all know. Even though they'll get a number 1 seed based on their record alone, someone in their bracket will not them off before the Sweet Sixteen.

I would like everyone to give a big round of applause to the Houston Rockets for winning 21 games in row. Specifically, give a big round of applauds to Tracy McGrady. I admit when Yao Ming went down I figured T-Mac would go into the tank, But, to my surprise, he has elevated his game and, more importantly, elevated the game of his teammates and for that he should be applauded.

With that being said, this winning streak means absoutely nothing if McGrady and the Rockets don't get past the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs. Sorry T-Mac. Nobody cares if you win 82 games in a row. You have to show and prove in the playoffs to get the respect that you want. So we will revist this in about a month or so and, if you are lucky, you will have that "monkey" off your back.

Circus Shots, Rivalry's, Football Players 'Ikein' out... It has been a relatively busy Saturday. Have a seat as I take a look at these events.

Yes, we touch on the big 4 Pro Sports (Who would have thought that BSO would cover Hockey...Yeah) ,College BBall (both Male and Female) , and some other things you may or may not care about. Without probable cause, ( Yes I'm listening to Luxury Tax as I write this), proceed to read the wrap-up.

UCLA's Circus Shot

Oh boy! Let UNC Asheville try the same stunt and see how quickly the ball would have been called out of bounds. Great programs get "great calls," and also let us not forget that this is Pac-10 officiating here, so its all out of bounds.

Sorry Duke Fans

You and your streaky team was handled by your 8-mile rivals. Expect the same thing to happen in the ACC tournament and don't be surprised if a 7-seed makes Coach K's neck explode once again. PS... the lady devils couldn't do it either in the ACC Tournament.

I hate Duke. Sorry to be so blunt, but I do. I wanted you to know that because what I am about to write is totally biased because I hate Duke. I love it when anybody beats Duke but especially North Carolina. I simply love it.

I love the way Coach K looks like he is about to bust a blood vessel. I love it when they lose on "Senior Night" and all the cheerleaders are crying.

I love it. I admit I am a Duke hater. So to all the Duke fans out there. Sorry!

Don't get me wrong! In no way shape or form am I disrespecting Sports Illustrated. They are an established magazine and are filled with a staff of talented writers.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, why is Tyler Hansbrough the player of the year? The best player should be given the award. Unequivocally that has been Kansas State's "freshman phenom" Michael Beasley.

Why? I just recently heard of him. How can be player of the year? He probably doesn't have better stats than Hansbrough.

To answer the first question, the man has been a beast since he came on the court. The Prince Georges County MD transplant changed the program the moment he had some playing time, scoring 32 points in his first game against Sacramento State. Yes, I know its Sacramento State, but bear with me. It would seem that he has yet to look back. To put that in perspective, he has 40,39,33,30 points in his last 4 games. Quality opponents... he put the 39 against Kansas.

Say it isn't so Ocho? Tell me you didn't try to punch Marvin Lewis, as my old childhood friend Reggie Sykes used to say, "Straight Up In His Eye".

When you held your press conference two years ago saying it was untrue, to be honest I figured you were lying but not to the extent that you treated Marvin's eye like he was Mitch "Blood" Green.

Mike Florio at Profootballtalk.com had the video confirmation that it went down before YouTube took it down and you know we have defended you against PFT.com in the past. But we can't defend any player, no matter how cool, for punching his coach in the eye like Jason Kidd finding out his ex wife cheated on him with Avery Johnson. It is in the past so there isn't much that can be done now. But when you are begging for a trade, you might want to remember some of the sins of your past Chad.

Let's get one thing straight, Brett Favre is a man's man. He is an ode to all of the bearded throwback football players of the 60's and 70's. Players back then did not retire. They played until they broke a neck or something worse. Part of the reason is that, unlike today's NFL, the contracts were not as lucrative. Therefore, most of those players kept playing football because that is what they knew from the time they were playing in pee-wee leagues.

Brett is no Tiki Barber. While he has always been a media darling, he did not salivate with dreams of sitting in the booth with "loud-mouth, has-beens" waiting their turn to criticize the next great athlete. Brett left it all on the field and took repeated punishment that only an aged porn-star could endure. Brett also left an interception as his last pass in the NFL. That has to burn inside him, at least a little bit.

For those very reasons, mark my words, Brett is not done. Mr. Favre will once again get on that NFL horse like the John Wayne maverick the media portrays him as. Brett is still in top physical condition, proven by this last season. While he may not have the foot movement he once had, Brett still has a gun of an arm, a weapon that is the last to leave an aging QB. It stays like a boxer's power. Brett will be back, just wait. If Troy Aikman can risk head trauma, and Jordan can risk his legacy, I'm sure Brett will take back a few words and tears.

If you are either a Dallas and/or a Phoenix fan, you have probably come to the realization that the trades you made for J Kidd and Shaq aren't going to work out as planned.

Anyone who saw The Denver Nuggets just destroy the Suns or how Deron Williams and CP3 made J Kidd look like he was 70 years old cannot deny the fact that, in a majority of cases, when you trade for over-the-hill players you get over-the hill-players. Then add on the fact that by adding over-the hill-players you have damaged your team's nucleus for years to come. That only make the damage greater. Good job Dallas and Phoenix.

With Brett Favre retiring this week after a record-breaking 17 year career, there are only two great quarterbacks left in the league, and no more after that.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the last of the last, and we won't see a great quarterback for a long time after they leave.

Let's look at the career stats. So far, Brady has 2,294 completions, 26,370 yards, and 197 TD's, while P. Manning has 3,468, 41,626, and 191 respectively. That's still way off from Favre's 5,377, 61,655, and 442.

No other quarterback in the league even comes close to those numbers, nor do they have the playoff and Super Bowl wins of Manning, let alone Brady.

Once these guys hang up the cleats, we will be watching some pretty good QB's, a bunch of decent QB's, and a lot fo bad QB's throwing the ball around.

So just where does Favre stack amongst all time QBs? I tried to figure it out for myself. First off, I'm only counting QBs from my era as a fan. I didn't watch anything live before 1981, so you can forget talking about Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, Bart Starr, etc. I have no means of properly judging any of those guys, so I'm not going to. It's not fair to them since there weren't anywhere near as many passes thrown as there are today.

Here's my list of guys: Favre, Young, Montana, Brady, Peyton, Marino, Kelly, Aikman, Moon, and Elway. They're all in the Hall of Fame or on their way there; that's my criteria.

How does Favre stack up in this group? He'll definitely win points for longevity and durability, and he'll lose major points for all the interceptions. After that we'll see. He played in a modified West Coast offense for his entire career, so we need to pay special attention to how he fares vs. Young and Montana. And, of course, there are the issues of teammates, competition, and accomplishments in terms of how far his team got every year and how he did in big games.

I'm only comparing prime years, that is, from the time when the guy hit his stride as an NFL QB to right before the wheels started to come off. There's no point in praising or criticizing a guy for what happened when he was still figuring things out or when he was playing out the string on his career. A lot to hash out, so let's get to it.

Accomplishments: Favre has two Super Bowl appearances and one win, and three regular season MVPs. Moon is the only one on the list that with a complete goose egg, while Montana clearly heads the list list with four appearances, four wins, and three Super Bowl MVP awards. Next is Brady (4 appearances, 3 wins, 2 SB MVPs), then Elway (5 appearances, 2 wins, 1 SB MVP and 1 regular season MVP), and then Aikman (3 appearances, 3 wins, 1 SB MVP). I'm putting Moon fifth due to his five Grey Cups in the CFL; the man was awesome there and I'm giving him credit because he was denied the chance to play in the NFL during that time and there's no telling what kind of NFL work he'd have been putting if he was allowed to play there. Favre fits in about sixth here.

Durability: Favre played 15 seasons as a starter, and did not miss a game to injury that whole time. A lot of the guys on my list missed their share of time: Young missed a full seasons worth of games during his eight prime years, while Montana, Aikman, Moon, and Elway all spent some quality time on the shelf. The closest one to approaching Favre here is Peyton Manning. He has 10 years as a starter and hasn't missed a game yet. So Favre is tops here. Of course, there is the issue of the Vicodin with Favre, but at the same time we have no idea what any of those other guys took to stay on the field. So Favre wins this one.

When word spread that Tupac died, the initial reactions were disbelief. Most Tupac fans (including me) had a belief that, even though he always lived on the edge, it just wasn't possible for him to die. Twelve years later you will find people who still can't believe he is gone. I can only assume that is how fans of Brett Favre feel now. Even though every year Brett threatened to retire, no one actually believed it. Now that it has happened, they are in a state of shock and they are mourning as if he truly had died.

Why he retired is an interesting topic, but not one I am going to tackle now, but I think it is important that someone puts Brett's career in perspective that doesn't have his lips attached to his ass..

So Brett Favre retired because the Packers didn't go after Randy Moss? That's Favre: Always thinking about the team first.

Let's just be real here. Ben Roethlisberger has the potential to be a great QB but right now he is a good QB. Therefore, I am a bit concerned giving him an 8-year 102-million contract with 36-million guaranteed.

Why am I concerned? This is someone who has shown that he can be a little careless in the way he runs his life outside of football. This is someone that seems to irritate his teammates and doesn't show the passion for football like a Peyton Manning or a Tom Brady.

Look if someone was going to give me that kind of money, I would take it too, but the Falcons once gave a "good" QB a lot of money and look how that turned out.

"Straight Cash Homie"

Three-years for 27-million and a 12-million signing bonus keeps Randy Moss in New England.

Interestingly there was a rumor that Moss was ready to go to the Packers for three years 30-million and 15-million guaranteed. What was the hold up you may ask?

That would be one "Demi-God Favre" who would not commit to Randy that he would play at least for the next 2 years. So Randy made a choice: Tom Brady or maybe "Demi-God Favre" who could retire.

Easy decision.

Green Bay, Denver, Dallas, Carolina, New England or the CFL. Where will Randy Moss go?

The most interesting thing is rumors that Moss and Daunte Culpepper have been late-night texting dreaming of becoming a package deal. Memo to Randy: there are probably many teams that want you and ummmmm zero that want Culpepper. Just wanted to let you know. Money is still on New England, but don't be surprised if he ends up with another team.

Bean drops 52 and seriously how could you not watch some of those moves and not think of this man?

I am just saying.

Donte Stallworth signs with the Cleveland Browns five-year, $35 million deal. 10 Million guaranteed and Derek Anderson is a very happy man today.

The New York Jets signed Alan Faneca and guaranteed him 21 million.

Bernard Berriman goes from one bad QB situation to another by signing with the Vikings.

Michael Beasley is what I hate about the NBA Draft

Beasley is a great player at college level, but, as far as the pros go, he's just a great talent. That doesn't mean he can't come into the league today and put up numbers; he probably can. But that doesn't mean he'll be able to play championship winning basketball at the NBA level, or that he's mature enough to be an adult yet.

Of course, that isn't going to stop everyone and their brother from telling him to leave college right after his freshman year. He's admittedly confused about why people love him so much for being a ballplayer, and has gone on record as saying that he still wants to be a kid for a little while longer. Yet, we will probably see him walk across the stage in June and shake David Stern's hand.

Now I am not opposed to young men getting paid if they can. But why do we have to impose our desires on these guys, some of whom really don't want to go there yet?

Seriously, college is the most fun time of your life because you have the highest level of freedom with the lowest level of responsibility. As long as you don't flunk out of school, don't go to jail (at least not for anything that hurts your career choices), and avoid knocking anyone up you can darn near do whatever you want. Not that I'm advocating four (or five or six or however many you need to finish) years of debauchery, but you can do stuff in college that would get you in all kinds of trouble in the adult world.

Do you really want all these guys giving that stuff up before they absolutely have to? I know that they'll be able to keep the party going as adults because of the fame and the money. You see where that lands a lot of them: flat broke with no more career at 35 years old. To a responsible person, adulthodd is way more serious than college life. While I'm good with my serious adult life I'm not about to tell people to start theirs at 19 when I didn't do so until I was darn near 30.

If the boy isn't badly in need of money, like Larry hughes was for his brother, then he should stay in college as long as he wants. He can play college basketball because there are no cases on record of guys who were big prospects as freshmen, stuck around, and suffered career ending or threatening injuries. It has NEVER happened in basketball. NEVER. Go look it up, you won't find any. Stay as long as you want, Mike. You'll be better for it.