alfdogg

No, it doesn't.

And the hometown Lakers off to a nice start... ...oh, they're playing in Denver. Pretty funny hearing "LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE" from the Denver crowd.

I think the most daring I got in my bracket is Illinois in the Sweet 16. Other than that, I played it pretty safe. I have three 1 seeds and a 2 in the Final Four.

True. I think the replay of the free throw was what pissed me off the most. I don't recall ever seeing a slo-mo of a missed FT. We get it guys, they couldn't put it away at the line.

Two misses so far (picked GW & Texas Tech), but still got all my Sweet 16.

Hey, I hope you don't mind, I added a match announcement of mine at the end, since it was in the flow of AM discussion and wasn't really long enough to start a new topic over.

I didn't mention this last night, because I didn't want to be cast as a Suns-hater, but good lord was that commentary atrocious. It was even worse than a Laker game. At one point, they even showed a slo-mo replay of Dirk missing a free throw. Dick Vitale was probably sitting at home saying, "man, what a bunch of homers." EDIT: I should point out that I'm referring more to the Shaq/Kobe heyday, as opposed to now, where it's not as bad. Though I do recall John Saunders crying for like five minutes straight about the Rockets doing hack-a-Kwame. Bill Walton quickly retorted with "then why doesn't Kwame Brown learn how to shoot free throws?"

Ironically, Kobe's elbow to Mike Miller was in response to Miller throwing his arm back on a drive to the basket and hitting Kobe.

Was this before or after Vujacic threw him to the ground on a fast break?

Just finished: X-title tournament quarterfinal: Vitamin X vs Longdogger Pete

CH-CHING~! COME AND TAKE YOUR VITAMIN X! [i]Bling Bling[/i] plays, and boos fill the arena as Vitamin X walks to the ring. COLE Let's go to Michael Buffer and get the introductions for our next X-tournament match! BUFFER [i]The following contest is a quarterfinal match in the tournament for the vacant X-division title, scheduled for one fall! Coming down the aisle, hailing from Miami, Florida, weighing in at 248 pounds...VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVITAMINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!!![/i] COLE And X made it here with a win over James Blonde three weeks ago, leading into this interesting matchup, featuring two men who some would say are above average size for an X-title match! COACH But size won't matter for X, he's going to go out there and take out Pete, then move onto AngleMania and take his title! X climbs into the ring and poses on the buckles, then does the Shane O-Mac Shuffle as [i]Baseline[/i] by Quarashi hits and Longdogger Pete makes his way to the ring. BUFFER [i]His opponent...hailing from Miami, Florida, weighing in at 277 pounds...LLLLLLLLLLLLONGGGGGGGGGGGDOGGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETE!!!!![/i] COACH And another interesting tidbit, Cole, both guys hailing from Miami! I guess you could call this the "South Beach Showdown?" COLE Good way to put it, as Pete defeated Landon Maddix to get here, in a battle of two former SWF stars! Pete climbs into the ring and raises his arms, then stands in his corner. The referee checks him, then calls for the bell. *DING DING DING* X and Pete circle the ring, then tie up. X backs Pete into a corner, then slaps him across the face! COLE And I don't think that's what you want to do with Pete! Pete goes after X, who backs across the ring and ducks underneath the ropes, as the referee backs up Pete. X then jumps out and ties up, but Pete shoves him back into the corner! COLE And Pete with decided size, strength, and leverage advantages, as he shows there! X slides out of the ring, drawing boos from the crowd. He grabs a chair, and tosses it into the ring. The referee grabs it, and as he removes it from the ring, X slides in and blindsides Pete! X hammers away, then grabs a side headlock, and Pete shoves him off into the ropes. Pete drops down, and then shoulderblocks him to the mat! X flips over, and Pete goes to the ropes. X leapfrogs Pete, then backs into the ropes himself and drills him with a flying forearm right to the face! COACH Yeah! COLE What a shot by X! X poses for the crowd, drawing boos. He then picks up Pete and whips him into the ropes, but puts his head down, and Pete delivers a big kick! COACH And X caught with his head down! Pete delivers three right hands, then winds up and delivers a fourth BIG right, knocking X to the mat! COLE And Pete starting to get the offense going again now! Pete picks up X and slams him, then climbs to the second rope. He jumps off, right into X's foot! COACH Nice counter by X! X quickly gets up and goes to the top rope... COLE And now it's X scaling the ropes! X comes off the top with a missile dropkick! COLE Big move! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! X immediately starts to choke Pete on the mat, breaking at the referee's four-count. X then picks Pete up, and attempts an Irish whip, but Pete reverses. X comes back, and swings around for a FLOATOVER DDT~! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! COLE X is getting very close to advancing here! X delivers some fast kicks, sending Pete staggering into the ropes. X stops to pose briefly, then goes after Pete, but gets backdropped to the floor! COLE And a great counter by Pete right there! COACH Well, I gotta say, X's preening cost him right there! Pete follows X to the floor, and rams his face into the apron! He then rolls X back in, whips him into the ropes and plants him with a big powerslam! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! Pete then drops an elbow! And a second! And a third! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! Pete picks up X, and whips him into a corner. He charges, but X puts the feet up! As Pete staggers out, X steps to the top rope, and executes a flying bodypress...but Pete rolls through! 1... 2... Kickout! COLE Oh, and Pete almost had it there! X delivers a thrust to the throat, and is reprimanded by the referee. X then measures Pete as he gets to his feet, and clotheslines him to the floor! X then poses in the ring, drawing boos. COLE And X wasting more time here, he doesn't want to let Pete get his wind back! X walks over to the ropes, and hits Pete on the outside with a PLANCHA~! Both men land by the railing, and X grabs the railing and begins to stomp Pete. COLE And X taking it to the floor here, stomping away on Longdogger Pete! X picks up Pete, and shoves him into the steel post! COLE And Pete tasting the steel! X rolls Pete back into the ring, and executes a snap suplex! COLE And nice strength shown by X! Cover... 1... 2... Shoulder up! X complains to the referee, then picks up Pete and executes the OVERDOSE~! X then climbs up onto the apron and goes to the top rope. COLE Could be that big elbow from X here! X poses on the top rope, drawing boos, then attempts the LEAP OF FAITH~!!!111..but Pete rolls out of the way! COLE But Pete luckily able to escape! Both men are down on the mat, and the referee starts his count! 1!!! 2!!! 3!!! 4!!! 5!!! 6!!! 7!!! 8!!! Pete sits up, then pulls himself to his feet, and lets out a big yell, which gets the crowd into it! COACH Uh-oh... COLE And here comes Pete! X tries to beg off, but Pete isn't going for it, and delivers a foot to the gut, then whips X into the ropes, catching him with a big backdrop! Pete follows up with a clothesline! And a second! And a third! He then lifts X on his shoulders, and executes a running powerslam! Cover... 1... 2... NO! Shoulder up! Pete picks up X, and whips him into the ropes again. Pete puts his head down, and X delivers a foot to the face, then goes for a kick, which is caught by Pete. X quickly goes for an enziguri, which is also blocked by Pete, who goes to the PERFECT DARK~! COLE And look at Pete showing the quickness! 1... 2... Kickout! Pete floors X with a European uppercut! COACH Whoa! COLE Big uppercut! Pete picks up X, and delivers a pumphandle slam! He then signals for the end! COLE Pete says that's it! Pete picks up X, and lifts him overhead, but X slips behind the back and shoves him into the referee! COLE Uh-oh, and the referee goes down! X catches Pete with a foot to the gut, and plants him with the X-SPOT~! He covers, but the referee is not in position! COACH Come on, ref! COLE Referee not in condition to make the count here! X picks up Pete, and scoops him up...but Pete slips behind the back, and delivers the LONGDOGGER CLOGGER~!!!111 COLE HE GOT IT! COACH But still no referee! The referee slowly crawls over to Pete. COLE Here he comes! COACH How convenient. COLE X is close to the ropes, though! The referee counts... 1... 2... X gets a foot on the rope! COLE And he got a foot out! Pete gets up and argues with the referee briefly, while X reaches into his tights. COLE Hey, wait a minute, X is going to his tights! X pulls out a set of brass knuckles, and waits for Pete to come back. When Pete picks up X, he takes a big swing, but Pete ducks, and delivers an atomic drop, sending X into the ropes. Pete charges X, but X backdrops him to the apron, still keeping the weapon concealed. Pete delivers a shoulder to the gut of X, then flips over for a sunset flip...which X stops by dropping with the extended brass fist! COACH Oh, forget it! COLE Not this way! The referee, still groggy, counts... 1... 2... 3!!! *DING DING DING* COLE And VX steals it! COACH YES! BUFFER [i]The winner of the match, advancing to the semi-finals...VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVITAMINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!!![/i] COLE Well, the circumstances were shady, but Vitamin X will advance to the semi-finals of the tournament, and he will try to end the remarkable run of Dance Dance Dragon in the semifinals next week, right here on HeldDOWN~! Let's go to...

So Amare went hunting for little Mexican girls after the game?

cuz u choked just liek dirk and teh mavs lolz

The first one was a foul, the second was questionable, but it was very similar to the one called on Dampier against Barbosa.

That was some pretty terrible officiating in the fourth quarter, but the Mavs didn't exactly help their cause with free throw shooting or Josh Howard in general.

Also, why can't home teams just stick to wearing white or yellow. Or at least make a "home" version of your secondary jersey.

Question. I haven't seen this whole game, but I had been following the box score on Yahoo...when I checked midway through the second, James Jones had come in and made three straight 3's...and hasn't played since. Did he get hurt, or is this just a brainfart on D'Antoni's part?

I wouldn't say the Bucks underachieved last year. They did finish 8th in the East, but the 5-8 spots were at a dead heat, and the Bucks actually entered the second to last day of the season in the 5 spot. Unless people were expecting them to be better than Miami/NJ/Detroit/Cleveland, they probably did what most expected last year.

Elite Snobs/Boardum/Pit bracket: #1 Incandenza vs. #14 Black Lushus TSM Vets/Shit Folders bracket: #8 bob_barron vs. #3 Czech Sports Folder bracket: #1 alkeiper vs. #7 Vitamin X The Awesomely Mediocre and/or Unknown bracket: #9 DrVenkman vs. #3 CanadianChris

Terry Stotts is out as coach of the Bucks. How dare he not be atop the East without Michael Redd for half the season.

Pacers are now tied for 8th in the East. Three weeks ago, we were in fourth. 10 straight losses after tonight in Minnesota, and here's the remaining schedule for March: Washington Atlanta @ Houston @ San Antonio Miami Chicago Cleveland @ New Jersey @ Orlando The only one I feel even remotely confident about at the moment is Atlanta. This is fucking torture.

And another trend stolen from Czech, as well.

Because he's a fine young man, and not an immature troll like those kids in Clique A.

I'm aware of how the Knicks have played against those teams, I was referring to how it's affected those teams, and how the Knicks have benefitted somewhat in the standings because of it. With good health, Miami and New Jersey would likely be at or near the top of their divisions, and Milwaukee would be in a similar spot as the Knicks. But it is what it is. I do still kind of think that the Knicks made a mistake cutting Rose and Taylor, just because they could have had their contracts to use at the deadline, maybe to get someone like Pau Gasol.

Let's be honest, though, while the Knicks have improved, luck has played a big part, as well. I don't know how many games they've won on last-second shots this year, not to mention all the injuries around the East (Shaq, Wade, Redd, Krstic, Jefferson, etc.). We all probably knew deep down Thomas would be back, but let's not act like he's gotten them into the playoffs solely through his brilliant coaching.