Wednesday March 10th Daily Thoughts and Picks.....

Hey there guys,

Yesterday was another alright day for me as I went 7-1 (3-5 ats) in the NBA as Derron Williams was ridiculous with 28 points and 17 assists and a monster dunk as the Jazz took out the Bulls in Chicago, Andrew Bogut (25 points 17 assists) and the Milwaukee Bucks put an end to the Celtics 4 game losing streak with their 2 point win, and Kobe Bryant (32 points) hit his 6th game winning shot this season! What another great day in the NBA. In the NHL I had another rough day as I went 4-5 as Mikael Samuelsson's Hat Trick and Daniel Sedin's 3 points (1 goal 2 assists) helped propel the Vancouver Canucks to a 6-4 victory of the Avalanche, and backup goalie Dan Ellis stopped 30 shots, allowed only 1 goal, and picked up his 14th win of the season as the Predators upset the Thrashers 2-1. Today I want to touch on the fact that there really are other contenders in the Western Division of the NBA than the Lakers, and I'll go over some thoughts regarding AI. I'll also give my unofficial picks for three major Conference tournaments going on over the next few days, pose a question about the NCAA Tournament. As far as the games go there are a few good ones in the NBA today the Bobcats fight for a playoff spot on the road against the 76ers, the Grizzlies do the same at the Boston Celtics and Toronto and Sacramento face off in what should be a great game. In the NHL there are some good games as well but I want to see how the hot Hurricanes do against the best team in the League right now as they travel up North to take on Ovechkin and the Capitals, and I also can't wait to watch the Canucks head to Arizona to take on the Coyotes in what should be a close battle. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

My Thoughts.....

-NBA, Western Division Contenders and a Question for the Answer
Well as it is getting closer and closer to the end of the regular season it seems the main question on every NBA fans mind is who is going to face the Lakers in the NBA Finals this year? And that brings an entirely different question to my mind. Why is everyone disrespecting the other western teams? It is as if people forget that the Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks don't exist, as if they are just speed bumps on the way for the Lakers. It is like people forget that the Lakers are a combined 5-5 against those 3 teams. Los Angeles is 1-2 against the Nuggets, 2-2 against the Mavericks, and 2-1 against the Jazz. Now the only contenders I ever hear are the Nuggets and Mavericks, and for those of you that read my latest power rankings/playoff preview you would know that I picked Dallas to win the West, but upon closer looks at the Statistics I would like to point out that the Utah Jazz are a team that the Lakers should not forget. So let's take a look at the statistics so far this season. Point per game Differential: (3) Los Angeles Lakers (4) Utah Jazz (5) Denver Nuggets (13) Dallas Mavericks. Rebound per game Differential: (6) Utah Jazz (8) Los Angeles Lakers (21) Denver Nuggets (25) Dallas Mavericks. Field Goal Differential: (1) Utah Jazz (3t) Los Angeles Lakers (11t) Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets. Free Throw Differential: (1) Denver Nuggets (6t) Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks (20) Utah Jazz. 3 point Differential: (11t) Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks (20) Utah Jazz. So if the Jazz can work on not allowing so many 3's and can keep from fouling so much the Jazz may have the best shot of any to get to the Finals. But don't discount the other teams. I realize that the Lakers always do their best work in the Playoffs but I would not be surprised to see another team representing the Western Conference in the Finals this season.

Now as far as Allen Iverson is concerned, I feel no sympathy for him. This guy is just screwing his life away. He was given the absolutely wonderful gift to PLAY a GAME and get paid for it. And he is drinking and gambling his life away. And people want to say just how bad they feel for him? That people should go out of their way to help him? Sorry if I am just a cold-hearted son of a bitch but I say to hell with him. He married his high school sweetheart and had 5 kids with her, and even she thinks he is beyond help. I don't feel sorry for anyone that is given the wonderful opportunity to make their living playing a sport, and then throws all of that away. Happens to hard working people all of the time but I don't hear news channels wanting to go out of their way to help them. I don't see newspaper articles about them. So I don't want to hear about how AI screwed his life away. What I do want to know is what the hell is wrong with you? I realize that some people can get addicted to things easier than others, but your wife said she warned you the first time when she thought you were going overboard, and yet you continued? If I had married my high school sweetheart, and had 5 children with her, and continuously tell the media that a loss doesn't matter as long as I get to go home and see my wife and babies, I WOULD NEVER do anything that would jeopardize that. So, I ask again, what is wrong with you? That is something I'd like to hear the Answer to.

-NCAA Basketball, Conference Tournaments Predictions and just how much these tournaments suck
Despite that the regular season is now over, NCAA Basketball is just heating up. There are 3 major conferences that I will be monitoring personally over the next few days, leading up to the much anticipated SELECTION SUNDAY. Those conferences are the ACC, Big East, and of course the SEC. But hear is how I see the ACC Bracket playing out.

Round 1

8. Boston College vs. 9. Virginia
5. Wake Forest vs. 12. Miami
7. Georgia Tech vs. 10. North Carolina
6. Clemson vs. 11. NC State

Round 2

1. Duke vs. 8. Boston College
4. Virginia Tech vs. 5. Wake Forest
2. Maryland vs. 7. Georgia Tech
3. Florida State vs. 6. Clemson

Round 3

1. Duke vs. 5. Wake Forest
2. Maryland vs. Florida State

Round 4

1. Duke vs. 2. Maryland

That is right I think Maryland is just too too hot right now, as they are currently winners of 7 in a row. Duke of course, by making the Finals will have wrapped up a #1 seed in the tournament but Maryland, with a conference tourney win, may boost themselves into a 2-4 seed.

Big East Tournament (round 1 has already been played)

Round 1

9. South Florida vs. 16. DePaul
12. UCONN vs. 13. St. Johns
10. Seton Hall vs. 15. Providence
11. Cincinnati vs. 14. Rutgers

Round 2
8. Georgetown vs. 9 South Florida
5. Marquette vs. 13. St. Johns
7. Notre Dame vs. 10. Seton Hall
6. Louisville vs. 11. Cincinnati

Round 3

1. Syracuse vs. 8. Georgetown
4. Villanova vs. 5. Marquette
2. Pittsburgh vs. 7. Notre Dame
3. West Virginia vs. 6. Louisville

Round 4

4. Villanova vs. 8. Georgetown
2. Pittsburgh vs. 3. West Virginia
Round 5

3. West Virginia vs. 8. Georgetown

Georgetown has been very inconsistent this season but I expect the dominant team that destroyed Duke to come out and play. West Virginia will be vying for that last #1 seed, and if Duke goes down early expect them to continue to play with a kind of fire we haven't seen this season.

SEC

Round 1

W4. Alabama vs. E5. South Carolina
E3. Tennessee vs. W6. LSU
E4. Florida vs. W5. Auburn
W3. Arkansas vs. E6. Georgia

Round 2

E1. Kentucky vs. E5. South Carolina
W2. Ole Miss vs. E3. Tennessee
W1. Mississippi State vs. E4. Florida
E2. Vanderbilt vs. E6. Georgia

Round 3

E1. Kentucky vs. E3. Tennessee
E2. Vanderbilt vs. E4. Florida

Round 4

E1. Kentucky vs. E2. Vanderbilt

Yup I think Kentucky pulls out the Hat Trick on Vanderbilt this season, as the Commodores do their best to get the rematch, I think the 4 best teams in the SEC, all in the East, make the Final Four of the SEC tournament, in what I hope will make a point to the commissioner that divisions are great for football, and scheduling, but when it comes to basketball let it just be one conference.

And while conference tournaments are great I find them rather pointless. Why exactly do we have them? If the point is to determine the best team in the conference, is that not settled during the regular season, when everyone plays everyone? Why exactly does the team that wins the Conference tournament, to which every team (with the exception of the ivy league) is invited, get an automatic invite? Shouldn't the team that grinds it out over the long weeks of the regular season be more worthy of the Automatic bid, than say a below average team that gets hot, catches some luck, and wins the tournament? To me this method doesn't make any sense. Conference tournaments are really the most pointless things in college basketball. People want to expand the NCAA Tournament so all these teams can get in? Do you realize that is essentially what the conference tournaments are doing? Giving the little guys a shot? Even if they don't deserve it. This season should just be done at the end of the regular season and then the 65 team tournament should start. If you want to make the argument that it gives bubble teams a chance to prove themselves, why can't they do it during the regular season? Teams already play 25-35 regular season games, so why is it so hard for a team to prove it belongs during the regular season? If you are going to keep the conference tournaments, at least only invite those that have earned the right to have a postseason. Not the #16 seed in the Big East, DePaul. And for those who are already locks to make it to the postseason how much is a conference tournament going to change where they get seeded? Maybe if Duke loses in the first round and Ohio State, Villanova, or West Virginia wins their tournament, they MIGHT get the #1 Seed over the Blue Devils but it's not even like the results of the Conference Tourney's even mean anything. And just imagine how little they are going to mean when the NCAA makes the retarded decision to increase the number of teams that get invited to the Dance? Sigh..

My Picks.....

NBA

*Game of the Day*
RAPTORS (-2) by 1 @ kings

The Rest:
BOBCATS (-4) by 1 @ 76ers

grizzlies @ CELTICS (-4) by 6

JAZZ (-5.5) by 10 @ pistons

clippers @ HEAT (-10) by 9

NUGGETS (-3.5) by 16 @ timberwolves

hornets @ THUNDER (-7) by 9

nets @ MAVERICKS (-11) by 20

knicks @ SPURS (-9) by 12

NHL

stars @ SABRES

rangers @ NETS

hurricanes @ CAPITALS

kings @ BLACKHAWKS

canucks @ COYOTES

Alright guys hope you enjoy, if you have any ideas, comments, or questions just let me know.