Just John

Steve Nash deserves most of the praise he gets, but it can be overwhelming. Of course, if you're going to watch professional sports, you just have to accept that certain players are going to get verbally blown from time to time.

The NBA is out to get Kobe... Yeah.

In all fairness, that was a tough shot for Dirk with Marion all over him. Great game, though.

Great persistence by the Suns. I still think they're the biggest threat to Dallas in the playoffs. Avery's D be damned, Phoenix still scores at will every time they meet.

It's their St. Patrick's Day spirit (and for the NBA to get a few extra bucks from jersey sales). The Knicks and Celtics did it last year as well, though in Boston's case, it actually makes sense.

WM XIX: I always thought this was the most frustrating wrestlemania. So much wasted potential, and it only needs a little tweaking to rank with the all time greats. 1. More time for Hardy vs. Rey 2. No Miller Lite Catfight Girls segment 3. Only one Limp Bizkit song 4. More time for the tag team 3-way 5. Jericho goes over Michaels 6. Hogan vs. McMahon goes lower on the card 7. Booker goes over HHH 8. Lesnar doesn't miss the SSP.

Both Texas teams playing back to backs got/are getting it handed handed to 'em. The Rockets got pounded by Phoenix, though they hardly ever play them competively due to the speed differential. Now the Mavs are being mauled by their former coach. I suppose I shouldn't count them out yet, but GS is shooting lights out so far.

I think the big knock against Melina right now is that she is at least partly responsible for Mickie falling on her head twice in the last month.

Well, it only took a week for Yao to get back to total domination. I think the time off is going to be great for the post-season, because conditioning won't be a huge issue. I also like JVG moving Chuck Hayes to the starting lineup and bringing Juwan Howard off the bench. T-Mac and Yao creating, Battier and Alston hitting the open shots, and Hayes doing all the dirty work. With Howard and Bonzi coming off the bench, there should be scoring options in at all times. Tough back-to-back against the Suns tomorrow, though.

Let's see if I can't repeat this year.

Trying to mix in some new ones... Wargames 91 Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude (Beach Blast 92) Eddie Guerrero vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (Starrcade 95) Rey Mysterio Jr vs. Psiscosis (Bash at the Beach 96) Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko (Hog Wild 96) Rey Mysterio Jr vs. Super Calo (Fall Brawl 96) Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Uncensored 97) Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Guerrero (Fall Brawl 97) Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr (Halloween Havoc 97) Raven/Saturn vs. Malenko/Benoit (Spring Stampede 99)

I'll agree that WWF ppv's that year weren't too good on the whole, despite producing really good matches occasionally. But, man, WCW's ppv's were choice almost all year. Uncensored, Slamboree, BATB, Fall Brawl, and Halloween Havoc were all exceptional shows.

The 06 Twins don't have any HOFers either, but they're a pretty young team.

What was Kobe suspended for this time?

It would be the second most wins in a season ever. I don't see it happening though. Too many games against the West coming up to really run the table, plus they're liable to drop a few once they invaribly wrap up the 1 seed. I think 65-67 wins sounds about right for 'em.

Actually, they do.. http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/wcwchampionship/ That's horse shit. You can't just make up a history for a title belt using the logic "well, it LOOKS like WCW's old belt, so therefore it's the same thing." SD's world title goes back to Raw in 2002 when it was handed to HHH because Brock Lesnar signed a SD-only contract. The current WWE title absorbed all of the NWA/WCW legacy when the WCW world title was unified with the WWF title at Vengeance 2001.

Oh boy, we got the 04 Yanks treatment from the Red Sox. Though it would be really nice to see the 46 Sox meet the 27 Yankees in the finals or something.

Dallas is the most solid team in the NBA with scoring and defense coming from the starters and the bench. I still don't think they're a guarantee to make the Finals, especially with the Suns and Spurs playing so well. The Suns are probably the toughest matchup for Dallas, because even in the Avery Johnson defense era, the Suns still score at will on them and push the tempo. They even hung in with the Mavs last year despite not having Amare (who owned Dampier in 2005) and Raja Bell, who was a key recipient of Nash's penetrate and dish. The Spurs are another threat, as last year showed with that incredibly tight series. They actually play defense well enough to stop the Mavs for decent periods of time and have lots of scoring options on offense. I know San Antonio gets labeled as a "boring" defensive team, but their offense is criminally underrated. They don't like to score 120, but they certainly can if that's the only way they can win. Also, the Jazz and Rockets can still not be taken lightly.

Really? They've been on fire since they moved Manu to the bench. Now they have balanced scoring options in play throughout the game, which was their biggest problem earlier in the year. I think they'll beat any of those 6-8 seeds rather easily. Of course, rather easily in this case means 6 games because the Spurs never make any series easy for themselves. The important thing is the 6-8 teams won't win.

What an embarrassing way for Golden State to lose to Washington today. Up by 2 with .01 on the clock, you foul Gilbert giving 2 FT's to potentially send the game to OT, then your coach gets a tech to give him the potential game winner. And of course, Gilbert hits all 3. From listening to the NBA analysts on ESPN and TNT, the trendy new pick is the Hornets getting a playoff spot. Maybe it's just because they were playing the Jazz, but I wasn't impressed with them. Poor shot selection and weak interior defense all game. I still like Melo and AI to drag the Nuggets in kicking and screaming into the "who gets to job to Phoenix" spot, while the Clips stumble into the "who gets to job to Dallas" spot. Yao Ming set to return tomorrow, well ahead of schedule. I really hope they aren't rushing him back since the 6-8 seeds aren't really a threat to catch Houston at this point and the Rockets aren't exactly in a good position to gain much ground themselves. If Yao is 100%, this is a near perfect scenario. He's had 3 months of rest, so fatigue shouldn't be an issue in the playoffs, but he has 6 weeks to get back into game shape, and for JVG to work out how exactly to split the load between Yao and T-Mac.

I didn't even know this was happening until today. I turned on ABC to watch the Suns/Lakers game, and I see the freaking Kansas City Brigade on national tv. I had never heard that team mentioned outside of the occasional local promo. If I remember, I'll try to catch more of these games in the future.

Well, the Rockets didn't even put up a fight against the Spurs, but it helps keep the seeding the way I want it for the playoffs with the 3-4-5 spots going Spurs-Jazz-Rockets.

I love Jumping Bananas. Collapse is a good one too, though I prefer the other online version where blocks are constantly added and you have to keep it from reaching the top. Unfortunately, my skills aren't diverse enough to get on the big board. I only have 5 high scores.

Yikes @ all 3.

Good win by the Rockets tonight in Denver to bounce back from those tough home losses. T-Mac was on fire in the second quarter, and 3-pt shooting was killer, somewhere around 50%. Dikembe becomes the first player over 40 to have a 20-rebound game. The bench was solid as well. Tough back-to-back against the Spurs, but they had to play tonight too, so it's not that much of a mismatch. And Yao is coming back in a week or so. Best news I heard today.