That's Embarrassing: Ronaldo

For a majority of our readers, the name Ronaldo has no recognition value.  So to catch you up to speed with the rest of the world, Ronaldo is the world famous soccer player from Brazil who currently plays for AC Milan.  He is the most prolific scorer in World Cup history (15 goals) and has been named FIFA Player of the Year on three different occasions.  More importantly, Ronaldo hangs out with the likes of Seal and McLovin in a class of celebrities that need only one name to be identified.

And now, Ronaldo will also be well known for being caught with three transvestites in a motel in Rio de Janeiro.  Whoops.  

My favorite quote in all of this comes from the inspector who said, "He just wanted to have fun and meet some other people outside of his usual environment.  There is no crime at all."

But it sure is nasty.

Look At Me! Look At Me!

One of the major owners of the St. Louis Rams two deaths removed, felt the need to have a press conference to stress that there is no interest in the Rams moving to L.A.

Thanks Chip Rosenbloom, who with his sister Lucia Rodriguez own 60% of the Rams franchise. Problem is I can find no request, story, or interest from anyone in SoCal, much less Los Angeles for your team to return.

I guess in his role as managing partner, he felt the need to dress up, have a press conference, and reassure local Cardinals fans that they were going to do...............well, nothing.

He did say "I consider this a playoff-caliber team, and once we get in the playoffs, we have every shot at the Super Bowl." I'm sure he's been practicing that with a hairbrush and mirror ever since he was a kid.

Story Source

FIBA Changing Rules To Mirror NBA

Mark Cuban, dancer and blogger extraordinaire, reported on his blog that the international basketball governing body FIBA is changing some of their rules to closer resemble those in the NBA.

I'm going to miss the trapezoid paint area.

Anyway, check out the rest of the story on Blogger Mark's blog.

Don't do what I did and stare at the second 4th point, waiting for something to appear.

Weird that the FIBA post was the only thing basketball that he felt needed reported on.

Let's Fix The MVP

This is a discussion that should have happened a long time ago. Let me succinctly identify the issue: Most Valuable Player is a wack and nebulous term.

That's right, I did just type that.

The last 6 weeks of the regular NBA season was mired with discussions, rationales, and other ramblings as to who deserved the NBA's MVP award, and why. Often, it changed not only daily, but from discussion to discussion.

Last night I posed the question of what should determine the MVP to 3 of my friends (yes I have them, thank you). Two are not big followers of the NBA. There were three distinct and varying opinions of what MVP should mean.

Most Valuable Player...........no context and no parameters. Much conjecture and self fulfilling power complexes exist though.

Here is how wikipedia describes the history of the award:

"MVP voting takes place immediately following the regular season. Until the 1979-80 NBA season, the Most Valuable Player was originally selected by a vote of NBA players. However, since the 1980-81 NBA season, the award is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Voting is done by 125 members of the media;[1] three from each of the 30 NBA cities and the rest a mix of national writers and broadcasters. Since the 1982-83 season, every player who has won the award has played for a team with at least 50 regular-season wins (except, of course, for Karl Malone in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, in which the regular season was only 50 games long)."

Here's what I am going to do:

I will give you new award names that aptly describe the varying viewpoints and angles that are allegedly considered by the media that have voting juice.

PTHCTTMTWIW - This is tough because of the length, but it stand for "Player That Has Consistently Talked To Me The Way I Wanted" This is what happens when you let the media be in charge of a prestigious award like this.

POTTWTBR - "Player On The Team With The Best Record". This gives Garnett and Bryant the edge this season.

MVPWTIITW - "Most Valuable Player Whose Turn It Is To Win" Like there's a list of players that are numbered by the order they should get the award. This is for the "It's Kobe's turn to win" crowd.

PMVP - "Premature Most Valuable Player." We may want to just call this the Nowitzki Award. Regular season wunderkind who busts in the playoffs.

The only way to use the MVP tag would be if it were an award decided for each team by their own players for the most valuable player on their team.

The current system does not work. Much like the BCS.

Let's push for a BCS MVP.

Grumbling in the Bronx

I love what is brewing in the Yankee front office these days. The new Steinbrenner went off this weekend on the fact that Joba Chamberlain needs to be a starter, and that everyone agrees on this - simultaneously slamming his starting rotation and everyone in his front office who disagrees on this.

Where this younger Steinbrenner conflict differs from the older Steinbrenner conflicts is that someone is standing up to the younger Steinbrenner - namely Brian Cashman. Essentially, Cashman went to the media and said that young Stein is wrong, and he knows he's wrong.

Everything about Cashman's statement sounded like he considers himself the one who is in control of the situation, and that Steinbrenner's outburst have no real bearing on the future. If Stein were wise, he'd admit defeat on this one, even if it's just internally and not publicly.

But that takes a bit of pride swallowing, and if young Stein is anything like old Stein, he probably doesn't enjoy the fact that Cashman thinks just because he's been in his job longer than Stein, that he's calling the shots. The resolution of this little tiff might give us our first real hint at what kind of Steinbrenner we're dealing with.

Can't Watch the NFL Draft: Maybe not such a bad thing

So the NFL draft will be broadcast on the NFL Network this weekend. I won't be able to watch it because I am a Comcast subscriber, and I'm not paying extra for their "sports package."

At first this disappointed me, but I thought about it a little longer, and maybe this isn't such a bad thing. After all, on the first day of the NFL draft, I usually find myself watching it un-willingly. I wasn't planning on watching it, and there's usually a handful of other things I was planning to do with my Saturday, but I just can't pull myself away from all of that speculation between picks.

There are a few classic moments that I've gotten to see live (like last year's moment when Miami passed on Brady Quinn and it became clear that he was going to drop a long, long way), but for the most part, it's just waiting around for the next announcement from the microphone. So this year, I'll be keeping tabs on the draft the old fashioned way: I'll be checking the results online when I get curious.

This also gives me a chance to weigh in on what I think about the NFL Network: we don't need it. If it means I'm going to have to pay may for cable in the long run, I'd much rather just watch my games on CBS, FOX, NBC, or ESPN; I'm sure they are all paying the NFL handsomely for the rights to the games. In this blogger's opinion, the NFL is just being greedy in starting its own network and trying to charge cable companies for more than they pay for such giants as ESPN. And don't even get me started on how downright un-American it is to schedule football games on Thursday nights . . .

Woman Driver

IndyCar racer Danica Patrick finally won a race on her 50th start yesterday in the Indy Japan 300. This made her the first ever woman to win an IndyCar race.

Many doubted Patrick would reach this milestone thinking she was simply a novel female in a male dominated sport. Her looks seemed to bring her more notoriety than her racing skills, kind of an IndyCar version of Anna Kournikova.

But yesterday's victory over pole position driver Helio Castroneves who came in 2nd, forever ended those misperceptions. It also lifted the monkey question off her back that went "When will you win your first race?"

NBA Playoff Prognostication Goodness

You've waited for this all season, and it's finally arrived: IntrinsicBent's solid lock NBA playoff picks.

I, like you, am extremely disappointed that there are no fancy graphics like were present for the MLB picks, but that is a responsibility of our intern KnowledgeDroppings, and frankly, we can't depend on him. For the umpteenth time, if you know someone looking to break into online sports journalism............................................. I'm just sayin'.........please help. The only requisites are to be able to lob the talent here meaningful topics and work a dang blender. Sheesh...........

It's so easy, a caveman could do it.

As you know my lil Frappies, Uncle Intrinsic breaks down the action round by round with genius style, insight, and accuracy. And again this year, after the action has already started. This is a degree of difficulty I place myself under where I have the temptation to base my choices on what I've seen, instead of what I know.

What I really wanted to do was do one of those videos that ESPN is running where you see half of my face and half of BiCoastal's face together as one head talking about what it takes to make picks. Problem is they couldn't get my massive cerebellum holding forehead to matchup with his.

So here we go anyway....................

Eastern (D-League) Conference

Celtics v. Hawks - Easiest to pick out of all the matchups. Hawks should have to bring the juice boxes and orange halves with the record they got in with.

Celtics in 4. 'Nuff Said.

Pistons v. Sixers - In the East this pick makes me the most nervous. Simply because of the Flip Saunders factor. Usually I don't buy the emphasis placed on coaching, but I'm a believer on this one.

Nonetheless, you have a veteran team with many hours of playoff time logged. Conversely you have a Sixers team that is trying make their way up the ladder.

Pistons in 6. Stamp It.

Magic v. Raptors - Two awesome youngs teams with much promise in the future if they can stay together and stay away from injury. Playing in a weak Conference gives them big boy experience in the show that hopefully they take serious and learn from.

I love that Stan Van Gundy is in the playoffs after the jobbing he received by Pat Riley. I hope he does well, and see no reason why he should not make it to the second round.

Magic in 6. Believe It.

Western (Domination) Conference

Lakers v. Nuggets - All DUI references aside, this matchup won't be the sweep that most pundits put it off as. The result will be the same, but look for the Nuggs to get a couple of games.

Lakers in 6. Know It.

Rockets v. Jazz - This is the true test of how meaningful the Rockets' streak earlier in the season was. It propelled them into this position, but can Tracy McGrady and company get out of the first round? I think reality catches up and Carlos Boozer becomes the player he has been reported he would become. Kirilenko will need to represent.

Jazz in 6. Mark It.

Hornets v. Mavericks - This is the truest of litmus tests for both of these franchises. Are the Hornets the new contending team on the block? Will the Mavericks get the job done before their time runs out?

No, and well, no. This should be a great series, but I think the Hornets' youth, even coupled with playoff inexperience will outlast the Mavericks.

Hornets in 7. You can probably say goodbye to Avery.

Spurs v. Suns - This is the richest matchup in the first round. And maybe the playoffs, if the Lakers and Celtics don't ultimately matchup.

You have a heated rivalry that our Traveler touched on this week. What he didn't report on is the intense dislike and drama that last year's playoff series between these teams produced. You had Bruce Bowen going Rocky Balboa on poor little Stevie Nash's beak. And then later Robert Horry trying to do a jump in and paying the price for it.

Bloodshed, war of words, suspensions.........what's not to like in this reality television drama? You have to go through the Spurs to be champions at this point. I've counted them out the past two seasons, but no more.

I have the Spurs in 7. And Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni probably paying the price for it. Belee Dat.

NBA Playoffs Predictions

So the NBA playoffs are upon us: is it possible that this year's NBA bracket will have more parity than March's NCAA bracket? Not in the Eastern conference, where I'm picking the highest seed in each match up. But in the West . . . here's what I got:

First Round	Second Round	Conf. Finals
L.A. over Denver	L.A. over Utah
Utah over Houston		Phoenix over L.A.
Phoenix over S.A.	Phoenix over Dallas
Dallas over N.O.

---

In the first round, I think New Orleans' lack of experience is a real problem, so I'm taking the old and busted Dallas Mavericks to teach them a lesson. As for the second round, the folks over at ESPN dot com are pretty high on the Utah Jazz. But why, exactly? I'm not sure. When you look at the season series, they have some great wins, but I believe they lost to the Lakers more often than they didn't.

And so I have it coming down to the Suns vs. Lakers for the conference championship. The media will have a field day with the Shaq-Kobe plot line. This series will be great for so many reasons, but Phoenix will win because they want it more. They've got a lot more experience when it comes to gritty playoff series that turn into personal grudge matches.

But don't worry, Laker fans, it doesn't matter who wins, the Celtics will destroy them in the Finals.

NBA Finals Through The Eyes Of Houston And Phoenix

During my travels this week to Houston, I found that not much has changed since my last trip to Houston. They're just glad to be in the mix.

You are not going to derail them or crush their hopes just because Yao Ming is not available to play. They had a streak......a long streak, and nothing is going to bring them down. It's actually a cool mix of optimism (we can do it!), and myopia that the streak was a bit like winning it all.

Then I went to Phoenix and found a whole different scene. And don't confuse me with the two
writers on here that seem to not be objective and shamelessly homer for the Suns and Lakers. It's hard for me to keep the Bentfields v. MonCoys feud straight.

Back to Phoenix though. It is on. Seems there is a bitter rivalry/mild hatred for the Spurs team they match up with Saturday since they (Spurs) knocked them out of the running the past 3 seasons.

You could almost argue that the Sons fans' confidence is more invested in the fact they have a healthy Amare Stoudemire than a big acquisition by the name of Shaq.

In a Sybilesque (split personality) kind of way, they also seem to be looking past the Spurs since they feel they manhandled them this season and are trying to think about when they might play the Lakers. This is coming from the fans remember.

What's curious is that while in LA last week, it seemed the Lakers were almost equally motivated to finish strong to prevent the dreaded storyline of Shaq versus Kobe from occuring in the 1st round, as they were to have the home court advantage.

The craziest thing I heard was a talking head go Nostradamus with a math degree and spin this parallel universe example of the Suns plight against the Spurs with the NFL's Indianapolis Colts/New England Patriots saga over the past 4 seasons.

For the life of me I could not grasp it. I know the central factor was the fact that this was the fourth season.

There was decent discussion on the DBacks strong start, contratsed with zero discussions on anything Astros.

TF Out.

Beasley goes the way of Oden and Durant

Beasley announced his entry into the NBA draft today, after spending one year in the NCAA. I'll freely admit that I'm biased towards the college game when it comes to basketball, so obviously I'd prefer that he didn't make this choice. We only want four years from these guys, then they can go into the ocean of professional oblivion, but the best of them can never wait.

The truth is, no one can really blame Beasley for leaving, and Greg Oden is the perfect explanation as to why. Oden went number one in the draft last year, after his freshman season. Soon after, he had microfracture surgery on his knee, and sat out his entire rookie year. If Oden hadn't decided to make the jump into the NBA when he did, he'd be red-shirting right now, and preparing for a sophomore season in which he would be expected to completely re-prove himself to the NBA scouts.

If your primary reason for going to college is to play in the pros, then you may as well make the jump whenever the timing is ripe. If you don't, your chance (and the money) might not be there later. For Beasley, the opportunity is obviously now. It's hard to imagine him not going number one, and it's almost impossible that he'd drop out of the top three.

The only collegiate athlete I can think of who didn't follow this principle is Matt Leinart. There is almost no doubt that had Leinart entered the NFL draft in 2005, he would've gone number one ahead of QB Alex Smith. He stayed in college another year, played in one of the most memorable Rose Bowls ever, and fell to the tenth pick in 2006. For the record, his contract still ended up being bigger than Smith's.

But don't cry for Matt, you Beasleys of the world. Judging by some pictures I saw of a party he threw at his house, that guy is doing just fine.

Lookin' For Memorabilia, In All The Wrong Places

Just when you thought the BoSox Nation had cleansed themselves of obsessing over curses, one of them tries to go witch doctor and hex the New York Yankees organization.

Some mensa construction worker by the name of Gino Castignoli had a plan to forever own the Yanks for his beloved Sawks. I should mention this construction genius was working on the new Yankees stadium.

Ole Gino decided to drop a David Ortiz Red Sox jersey into the wet concrete two feet deep in a service corridor of a future restaurant site.

Funny, right? I thought it was, but I don't live in New York or Boston. Seems the Yanks weren't having any of it. Yankees President Randy Levine said,

"The first thought was, you know, it’s never a good thing to be buried in cement when you’re in New York,” Levine said. “But then we decided, why reward somebody who had really bad motives and was trying to do a really bad thing?”

The New York Yankees decided they would have the contractor jackhammer for five hours to find and retrieve the offending jersey. And they did.

And they also are considering dropping a legal hammer on Gino. Yanks CEO Lon Trost said the Yankees had discussed possible criminal charges against Castignoli with the district attorney’s office. Do you think going to the cops to narc out an Italian American who buried something in wet concrete in New York is a good idea? Even for a "really bad thing"?

It seems to have ended well as the Yankees have surrendered the jersey to a charitable organization in Boston to auction off with the proceeds going to the charity.

No word on whether the Indian, Cop, Army guy, Biker, or Cowboy had anything to do with this dastardly deed.

Story Source

Optimism in America's Heartland

Living in Kansas City, I have been able to experience some great moments in sports in the last 6 months and watch firsthand as people here have celebrated the success of college sports in the area. After watching the Chiefs and the Royals perform miserably for another season, the Kansas City area finally has something to be excited about, and it might be getting a little out of control.

As I mentioned previously, Monday night's KU victory in the Men's NCAA Basketball Championship was crazy. Fans flooded Mass St. in Lawrence while fans in Kansas City lit off fireworks and flew their Jayhawk flags even higher, partying like it was 1988. My inside source at UPS said that they were sending trucks full of merchandise into Lawrence all day Wednesday since everyone had ordered their Championship gear on Monday night. Needless to say, the whole town is rather relieved that they aren't losing another beloved coach to his Alma Mater. KU fans everywhere are riding pretty high right now...or coming down with a major hangover.

And then there is Kansas State, who beat KU in Manhattan for the first time in 25 years. Kansas State went on to win its first NCAA tournament game in 20 years, beating USC with the help of their star Michael Beasley, who arguably should have been named NCAA player of the year for carrying his team on his back for an entire season. While all signs point to Beasley declaring for the NBA draft, KSU fans everywhere are crossing their fingers hoping Monday's news conference will give them another year of greatness.

And then it was only a few months ago that KU and Missouri football were making their presence felt as they both came out of nowhere to face off as the #2 and 4 teams in the nation. Missouri won the civil war, but KU got the last laugh when they got to play in the Orange Bowl and won their first BCS game in school history. Mark Mangino is now a hero, and I won't be surprised if I hear of fans forming a weight-loss support group to insure that Mangino stays around for a long time.

And in the midst of all this winning and happiness, someone forgot to remind the Kansas City Royals that they lost 93 games last season and don't stand a chance to make the playoffs with teams like Detroit and Cleveland in their division. But I guess that's the danger of optimism, because the Royals have rocketed out of the gates to a strong 6-3, sweeping the Tigers in Detroit and taking 2 of 3 against the Yankees at Kauffman. That's right, the Royals are in first place in the AL Central. It's as if the Royals watched all this winning that was going on around them and said, "Hey, that looks like a lot of fun. Why not us?"

And the optimism is even worse on the local sports talk radio here in town. Before the season started, they were simply saying this team was going to be better than last year, which isn't very hard to do when you only won 69 games last year. But now that the "Boys in Powder Blue" are playing good baseball, these guys are just feeding the fire, talking about how all the great prospects in the Royals organization can stay in the minors and continue to develop since the team is doing so well. In fact, I heard the term "deep" used in relation to their roster, something that hasn't been said about the Royals since 1989.

While I don't really believe in my head that the 6 and 3 Royals are the real deal, I have to admit that it's hard not to get excited about these guys when all of Kansas City is buzzing about them. The Royals have a great opportunity for the next two weeks to continue to build up that confidence too, as they play the Twins at home starting tonight, and go on to face the Mariners, Angels, and A's away next week. The important thing for them is that when they come home in two weeks to play the Indians they have at least shown they can contend this year. Otherwise, that Tuesday home game is going to feel a lot like last season when about 8,000 fans show up armed with war-drums and foam tomahawks.

Until then, optimism reigns in the heartland of America, and if they aren't careful, the Chiefs might get some crazy ideas this offseason.

Buckner Breaks Down

Regardless of whether you live in Boston or not, mention Bill Buckner to a baseball fan, and they will immediately think of Game 6 in the 1986 World Series.

The hapless BoSox at that point were still cursed with not winning a World Series since 1918, and fans helplessly watched as a ball rolled directly through Buckner's legs in what the media blamed as the root of the Sox' postseason unravel and subsequent loss of the '86 Series.

Time reflected on it this way:

"In reality, it was merely a fielding error in a game already tied after Boston relievers couldn't hold a two-run, two-out lead in the 10th inning of what should have been the game that gave the Red Sox a World Series win. But considering the cursed history of the Red Sox - no World Series championship since 1918; Game 7 losses in 1946, '67 and '75 — there are many who remember the play as if the World Series trophy itself rolled through first baseman Bill Buckner's legs."

In watching tonight's ring presentation/New England sports celebration fest/old memory healing gala, Sox fans not only showed they have forgiven Buckner, but welcomed him with open arms and love. Of course it is a bit easier since the curse has been broken and their team has scored 2 rings in the 2000's. But, let's not rain on the parade.

According to Buckner in a post celebration presser, he is good with the BoSox Nation (Red Sox Fans). The media however is another story. Through tears he said that forgiving the media that had dogged him and so adversely affected his family was tough. He has made it through the darkness of bitterness and into the light of forgiveness. The celebration sealed it.

Let's hope after last week's revelation by Moises Alou that Steve Bartman can be released from blame and ridicule. Hopefully the condition is not that the Cubs have to have 2 WS rings, because even though Bartman's relatively young, he's not immortal.

Too bad that Angels pitcher Donnie Moore is not around to have a display of affection for his contributions to his team and community in the '80's.

Back to Buckner, he had the dubious honor of throwing out the first pitch. I guess you could classify me, as the kids say, a Red Sox hater. But I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat worrying that the guy would throw one short of the plate, or wide left or right.

If he did, would it start all over again?

Luckily he looped one in for a strike, and ended his night in true storybook fashion.

I Pick Vick

Apparently, Michael Vick is still playing a little football while he serves his prison sentence in Leavenworth, Kansas for dog fighting.  That's right, the dog fighter is playing QB in the big house's flag  football games.

Which got me thinking: how unfair is it if you are the team captain who has to pick second?  I mean, shouldn't you get 20 picks before the other team gets to pick their 2nd player?  I guess that's why Vick is playing all-time QB in the pickup games that are going on in the clink, similar to when the 9th grader would join in on the 7th graders game back in middle school.  Otherwise, the team Vick played for would be up 42 to 0 before the regular prison yard stabbing occurred.  

Unfortunately, this may be  a sign that Michael Vick is going to do everything he can to return to the NFL once this period of his life is over.  He's playing QB right now in the pokey to keep his arm in shape while he counts the days until his release from the joint.  What's worse: someone is bound to take a chance on him.  I mean, if the Cowboys are willing to consider taking PacMan Jones off the hands of the Titans, don't you think the Raiders will be willing to sign Vick to a league minimum salary to take advantage of his newly acquired Mid-West Slammer Offense?  I heard it involves a lot of tucking and running the ball yourself and touchdown celebrations involving a shiv made out of plastic utensils.  

Joy in Jayhawk Nation

Now we can reign in all those crazy comments that were flying around about Bill Self and his ability to coach a team to a national championship.  Thankfully, history always has the final word, and in this particular case, Bill Self has established himself as a better coach than Roy Williams ever was during his time at KU.  

I know, for some diehards, this is pretty ridiculous for me to say.  After all, Roy spent 15 years at Kansas and maintained an 80% winning percentage.  He coached some amazing teams, and some amazing players.  The only thing missing from his tenure at KU is a national championship: the ultimate trump card.  Last Saturday's win over Roy Williams and the Tar Heels was one step in the right direction for Bill Self to make his case as the better coach, and last night simply solidified it.  For the next week or two, you will hear plenty of interviews from players who will consistently give credit to Bill Self for their National Title, and rightfully so.  Bill Self is legit, and now he has the hardware to silence all those critics. 

As the final seconds ticked off the clock last night and Sherron Collins danced around the court, the city of Lawrence, Kansas erupted.  The students of KU flooded Mass Street, and I'm pretty sure that despite the rain, they probably stayed out there all night long.  Although I was 45 miles away in the town of Kansas City, the joy of Jayhawk nation spilled over into my neighborhood as people ran out onto their balconies and front porches to yell in glee that their beloved Jayhawks had returned to glory.  There is probably nothing more strange than seeing complete strangers cheer in each others' directions because their favorite sports team won, especially when it occurs in suburban America.

One final note: the unsung hero of this game will forever be Sherron Collins, whose amazing steal set up his three-pointer to bring KU within 4 and final pass gave Mario Chalmers the chance to shoot that last second three-pointer to force overtime.  The Scapegoat?  The Hershey's Company.  Don't be surprised when Derrick Rose's alleged diet of Gummi Bears and Twizzlers which gave him a stomach ache on Sunday is given blame for Rose's missed free throw in the last seconds of the game and his pitiful overtime performance (1 assist, 1 turnover, and missed three pointer).  That candy is empty calories, bro.  Everyone knows that.

Memphis's Achilles Heel

All season, folks wondered if Memphis could win a title with their free throw shooting percentage below 60%. It was a glaring flaw on an otherwise dominant team. It was probably the main reason many wrote them off as being the weak number one seed in this tournament.

But then the tournament started, and suddenly the glaring flaw disappeared. Against Texas in the Elite Eight they shot 83%, and then improved to 87% against UCLA in the Final Four. It looked like this team had perfected itself. It looked like it, up until this team had a 6 point lead with a minute and a half left in the national championship game.

What happened? Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose combined to miss four of their last five free throws, Mario Chalmers of Kansas hit a once in a lifetime 3-pointer, and this game went into overtime.

I have to pity these Memphis players. For the rest of their lives, they'll have to contemplate this loss, and the way in which their Achilles heel cost them a championship - just like everyone told them it would.

Memphis Beats UCLA

I just watched Memphis destroy UCLA in the first Final Four game. My wife disagrees with me, but didn't it seem like Memphis was a varsity team playing against a very good J.V. team? When it came to skill, it's not like Memphis was that superior, but it came down to the fact that Memphis was just so big and knew how to use their physical advantage.

I'm already tired of hearing Memphis talk about how "under-appreciated" they are, and I'm sure there's much more to come between now and Monday night's final. I'll admit that being from a smaller conference means the national sports world doesn't know your team nearly as well. But come on, your team was ranked number one in the nation for a good chunk of the season and you earned a number one seed in the tournament. If you want to use it as motivation in the locker room, that's your business, but spare the rest of us your complaints about how we don't love you as much as we should.

Really looking forward to the UNC vs. Kansas match up. I think either of these two teams will make a better game against Memphis than UCLA did, though they will still have a size problem.

MLB Predictions for 2008

The Frappe, in its typical, late fashion, is here to give you our annual picks for the new baseball season. We'll let you guess who we gave a second chance on making his picks:

The Final Four is here, enjoy it

Forget about your bracket for a minute, this Final Four is going to be a real treat. So what if the office secretary is winning your pool because she picked all the number one seeds? Face it, she wins every year, and every year you come up with a new excuse so that you can still look yourself in the mirror.

These are four teams who earned their number one seeds throughout the regular season, and have retained that focus all the way through the tournament. As a college basketball fan, you've earned the right to watch the three amazing basketball games in store for us this weekend. Yes, you spent many wasted hours researching your upsets, only to see the ones you didn't pick happen. Let college basketball repay you . . . figuratively (no, you can't get your office pool entry fee back).

First up on Saturday is UCLA vs. Memphis. Memphis impressed the world last week by physically dominating Texas. UCLA has always been well known for their defense, but Memphis might have the physical edge. I still think that UCLA's depth and experience will put them over the hump, but that's just a gut decision.

Following is Kansas vs. UNC. These are two teams where the talent runs incredibly deep. I'm sure the network will make it sounds like this game is interesting primarily for the Roy Williams connection, but that hardly has anything to do with it. The Jayhawks are definitely Bill Self's team, which might eventually be their undoing. Expect lots of speed, the offenses will probably look frenzied at times. Both of these teams love to turn steals into fast breaks. My guess is that UNC will win, simply because Williams is a better coach than Self (this statement is a dagger into the hearts of Jayhawk fans, I know, the truth hurts).

As for the final, it doesn't matter who gets there, it's guaranteed to be the best game of the season. And just think, the girl who won your office pool probably won't even watch it.

Don't Forget About the Suns

For a while, the Frappe was running an on going feature on Shaq and the Suns called "Shaq Under a Microscope" headed up by IntrinsicBent himself.  Unfortunately, the focus on Shaq and the Suns somehow fell through the cracks and little recognition has been given to the Suns and the Shaq experiment since the beginning of March.  Well, after last night's performance by the Suns against the Nuggets, I felt like the silence had to be broken.

Last night, the Nuggets scored an incredible 70 points in the first half and headed into the locker room with a commanding 19 points lead over the Suns.   But the Suns fought back, scoring 81 points in the second half and ended up winning by 15.  The second half surge was lead by Amare Stoudemire who finished with 41 points and grabbed 14 boards.  Right behind him was Steve Nash who scored 36 points with 8 assists, and then Shaquille O'Neal with 20 points and 12 rebounds.  

What's more important to note is that this now places the Suns a game back from the first place Hornets among the tight Western Conference which has six teams within 2 and a half games of one another.  

Now, I know it's usually SubversiveTheory's "thing" to present potentially outlandish ideas that contain conspiracy theories and alien sightings, but I can't help but take this one since he hasn't come out from his underground bunker in over two weeks and refuses to link his computer to the Internet since "they" might hack into his system and delete his files.  You see, I'm just not so sure that "Shaq Under a Microscope" fell out of publication by accident.  I can't help but wonder if Intrinsic's lack of interest in the now rising Suns (which Shaq deserves some credit for) is somehow directly related to the fact that the Suns are now tied with the LA Lakers, Intrinsic's favorite team.  Could it be he's been hushed by his fellow Laker homers?  Or is he just too afraid to admit Shaq has some talent left in the tank, some of which could have helped the Lakers win a few more rings?

Perhaps we should have a different Shaq feature, one that I will take on as my duty to you Frappe-heads:  

Shaq Under a Macro-Scope

Laker's Championship Seasons with Shaq: 3 of 8 Seasons

Laker's Championship Seasons without Shaq : 0 of 3 Seasons

Shaq's Championship Seasons Post-LA: 1 of 3 Seasons 

This is an ongoing feature chronicling the Lakers and Shaquille O'Neal after they traded him away in 2004.