Some thoughts that came to mind while punishing myself and refusing to turn the channel during the final 10 minutes of Stephen F. Austin's thorough beat down of the Bearkats in Nacogdoches...
The NBA's Western Conference is so good, it almost makes professional basketball enjoyable to watch again.
How good? Right now it appears as if several teams that will not make the playoffs out of the West will probably finish with a record that would earn them home-court advantage in the first round if they played in the Eastern Conference.
The Dallas Mavericks landed Jason Kidd in a move they hope will finally carry them to an NBA championship, but I don't see it happening. Big men dominate the NBA. Shaq was king with the Lakers and helped Miami win a title as well (against the Mavericks no less). Tim Duncan has carried San Antonio to four titles. Ben Wallace struggles to score in a one-on-none fast break, but was a key piece in Detroit's recent championships.
Dallas has been as good as any team in the league over the past five years, but the Mavs have always had a glaring weakness in the post. Their best big man is Dirk Nowitzki, a 7-foot shooting guard who can't make clutch shots.
Dallas would have been better off trading for Ron Artest. Yes, he might be clinically insane, but he's also a really good basketball player. He's a tenacious defender and rebounder, and he plays with an attitude and swagger that Dallas could have used.
Don't be surprised to see the Mavs bounced from the playoffs in the first round again this season.
• • • •
I'm as much of a baseball fan as the next person, but I've never been a "baseball guy," so I have no idea why I keep thinking about the continuing steroid saga. But I do, so here's some more.
Whatever happened to a heart-felt apology? Is there something in the DNA of professional baseball players that prevents them from admitting they screwed up?
Paul Lo Duca said he's sorry for making an error in judgment.
Eric Gagne said he's sorry for causing a distraction.
Andy Pettitte said he's sorry, but insists he's not a cheater. (Tell that to the other guy who was injured and chose hard work over a chemically enhanced shortcut to get back on the field)
Roger Clemens isn't sorry for a damn thing, because he swears he didn't do anything.
It would be nice to hear someone, anyone, in baseball say: "I'm sorry I took performance-enhancing drugs."
• • • •
I'm not a "baseball guy," but I am "golf guy," and the World Match-Play Championship is one of the best tournaments of the year. Watching the 64 best players in the world go head-to-head for five days is a refreshing change of pace from the weekly grind on the PGA Tour.
But would someone please tell sports commentators that this is not the NCAA Tournament. There is a reason why Tiger Woods has lost in the first round of this tournament yet North Carolina and the other titans of college basketball never have and never will lose to Prairie View or any other No. 16 seed.
The NCAA Tournament is not the 64 best teams in all of college basketball. If it were, UAB (currently ranked 65th in the RPI) would be a No. 16 seed, via the play-in game, and might face Memphis in the first round. In case you missed it, the Tigers needed a last-second layup and free throw to beat the Blazers on Saturday night.
The NCAA Tournament is great because every Division I team in the country has a chance to make it.
The World Match-Play Championship is great for the exact opposite reason — because only the best are invited.
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