Off to the (NBA Playoff) races!

A couple quick-hitters:

- Ok, so I'm finally sick and tired of the tiny font I used to use for my blogs. I think I will stick to the normal-sized font from now on.

- Man, I just put $400+ on my credit card, on two items with questionable rebates. One item was from TigerDirect (the horror!!!).

One more thing before I get on to the topic at hand:

- Tennessee Titans' CB Pacman Jones will be suspended for all of the 2007 NFL season; Cincinnati Bengals WR Chris Henry will miss eight games. I recall someone making such a prediction less than a week ago:

As far as the two players mentioned above are concerned, if I were the Commish, I would make examples out of these two guys and suspend Pacman for the 2007 season, and Henry eight games.

Good for the Commish to stand up to these guys and levy these punishments! I'm also happy to hear that Titans owner Bud Adams and Cincy coach Marvin Lewis respect Goddell's decision. Not unexpectedly, Pacman's mom (Ms. Pacman?) wasn't too happy with the verdict, calling it "not fair for him. It's just not fair." What did you expect? Did you expect the league to suspend him for four games, or even eight? He had been involved in TEN separate incidents involving the police in two years! I don't think I served ten instances of detention in my entire life! Ms. Pacman and her son should be happy that the Titans haven't yet waived the cornerback yet; why they haven't is anyone's guess. In all seriousness, though, I do hope that Pacman and Henry can complete their suspensions without getting involved in another situation that involves the police.

Now for the topic of the NBA Playoff races!

Yes, this is the time of year when the NBA finally starts interesting me. With about a week to go in the season, teams in the playoff picture are jockeying for position, and teams out of the race are jockeying for more ping-pong balls. The NBA in April, it's FAN-tastic!

- Here are the latest NBA standings. I'll start with some commentary about the Eastern Conference.

1) I am praying that Chicago holds off Cleveland for the #2 seed, not because I'm a Bulls fan, but because I want to see a Miami-Cleveland first round match up! The two most untouchable players in the league, going at it, one-on-one! How thrilling will that be? By "untouchable," I don't mean there's no way in hell anyone could pry either of these players away from their respective teams (which is true), but I mean it literally; after last year's whistle-fest...er...playoffs, I'm convinced that defenders can't look at Dwyane Wade or Lebron James without being called for a foul. These two guys might average sixty foul shots a game between them!

As fun as watching Wade and Lebron having a FT shooting contest might be, there is the potential for something even more exciting to happen in this series. What if these two players defended each other? Will the refs have the stones to call violations--fouls, walks, carryovers, etc.--on either player? If so, neither guy would last more than twenty minutes of playing time! David Stern must be pissing his pants at the potential of this first-round match up! I wonder if he has the refs for the Bulls' and Cavs' remaining games on full "fix" alert. Of course, that would be assuming the NBA fixes games...

2) Poor Detroit. Assuming every first-round match up goes in favor of the higher-seeded team, Detroit will face Miami in the second round.

3) I don't bandwagon, but if I did, I would reserve a ticket on the Toronto Raptors' bandwagon. No, I don't expect them to win the East, but a 2-3 match up between Toronto and Chicago should be quite intriguing.

Now for some thoughts on the West:

1) I can't help but be intrigued by the 4-5 match up between Utah and Houston. No, this isn't Stockton and Malone's Jazz, and we're not talking about Olajuwon's Rockets, but it would not surprise me if either team gives Dallas a run for its money in a potential second-round match up.

2) The Lakers v Suns, part deux, eh? I just hope a sportsbook has a prop bet on whether or not Raja Bell will go WWE on Kobe again this year. I'll put my money on Yes, and parlay that with the over/under on Kobe's average score in the series (I'll take the over, thank you very much).

3) Are my eyes deceiving me, or do I see the Golden State Warriors as the #8 seed? Wow. Props to them if they hold off the Clippers and make it to the playoffs, where they will serve as cannon fodder for the Dallas Mavericks.

There is an article, written by freelance writer (and MSNBC.com contributor) Michael Ventre, talking about how the Dodgers' pitching this year doesn't remind him, in the least, of the years of Koufax and Drysdale. As much as I enjoy Ventre's articles, this latest article couldn't be more ridiculous. I'll address this article at a later date.

Until next time!