Titans will fall...

The youngest team in the NBA Playoffs is giving the juggernaut of the east a run for its money, and they apparently aren't taking any crap. Last night's game in Atlanta had the feeling of a real home-court advantage. The Celtics may have underestimated the Hawks, as did the media. Every ESPN Expert picked the Celtics to sweep the Hawks. Now tickets are for sale for Friday's game 6 in Atlanta.

So what's going on? How are the depth-deprived Hawks taking on the Big 3 and winning?

Here are a few reasons:

1. Doc Rivers is absolutely folding under the pressure of the playoffs.

Where he would put Tony Allen into the game during the regular season for his defensive skills, he has kept him out of the game in the playoffs. He can't keep his players under control on the court, as they are getting heated with the Hawks. Worst of all, Rivers keeps matching up Ray Allen with Joe Johnson. Allen cannot cover Johnson; he is too slow and not defensively skilled enough to keep up with the Hawks leader. The only player that should be covering Johnson is James Posey, but Rivers seems to know something I don't.

2. KG needs to have his cake and eat it too.

Kevin Garnett could be scoring 45 points a game against the undersized Hawks, but he's not. KG's cliche "unselfish" play is hurting his team. If he wants to win, he needs to demand the ball and post up under the basket. Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia are not big enough to stop Garnett that close to the basket. Get to the rim, or go home Garnett. He hasn't had an amazing playoff game since game 7 against the Kings.

3. Not one member of the Big 3 has been to the NBA Finals in their illustrious careers.

They do not have a whole lot of combined playoff experience. The Hawks have the advantage of being seemingly too young to even unerstand the magnitude of the playoffs. Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and KG have yet to prove themselves in this series.

4. Paul Pierce is hurt.

There is no doubt in my mind that he has not recovered from his back problems when he went down in game 2 of this series. If Pierce was healthy, you would see him driving the lane to the hoop, rather than hanging around the perimeter the entire game. With how physical these games are getting, Pierce could be less and less of a factor.

5. The Hawks do not care who the Big 3 or the 2007-08 Boston Celtics are.

They really, really don't. They don't care that the Celtics won 29 more games than the Hawks; they don't care that they are likely playing the MVP, KG; they don't care that the media has already crowned the Celtics; and they most certainly don't care that Boston was 23-3 earlier this year when entering the fourth quarter with a lead.

The scuffle between Pachulia and Garnett last night was evidence that the Hawks are not the same team that tanked the first two games in Boston. The first two games of the series, the Hawks timidly allowed Garnett to bully them and intimidate them in front of the home crowd. That all changed when Pachulia gave Garnett a not-so-friendly headbutt and after the game said this:

"I don't take anything from anybody," Pachulia said. "The message was, 'We're right here. Even if we lose, it's not going to be easy.'"

Horford started the fun, getting in Pierce's face after hitting a game-sealing jumper with 22 seconds left in game 3. All this conflict could easily explode in any of the remaining games, especially considering the fact that the Hawks have a very dangerous mentality. The Hawks are driving a flaming car straight into a gigantic 18-wheeler gasoline truck that is the Boston Celtics. They've got nothing to lose whatsoever. With no expectations and no pressure, the Hawks are looking to break the Celtics backs.

Buckle up, the next two games are going to be a hell of a ride.

Hank the Tank

It is now abundantly clear that Hank Steinbrenner is more belligerent and bipolar than George. He doesn't seem to understand the game of baseball and injects himself into the team when he is most unwanted.

Here is his latest outburst:

"I want (Joba Chamberlain) as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now," Steinbrenner told the New York Times. "There is no question about it, you don't have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don't do that. You have to be an idiot to do that."

Everyone wants him to do this? Including Chamberlain? Hm, I don't think I have heard him say anything of the sort. And if everyone wants it, then I would just leave it up to Joe Girardi, but obviously he doesn't seem to want this move either. Girardi showed in Florida that he doesn't like being controlled or tampered with by ownership and management. Lest we forget that just a short time ago Hank was predicting that Girardi would go down as the greatest Yankee manager of all time (Note to Hank: Joe Torre works in Los Angeles now).

I am beginning to wonder if Hank has been around baseball much, as one-inning set-up men are not usually the first candidates for moving into the starting rotation. Sure, Joba can throw 100 mph when he knows that he's only pitching for one inning, but stretch that out over 5 to 7 innings and his arm could be done after 60 pitches.

Health and durability aside, lets look at the strategic aspect of this potential disaster. So Chamberlain is injected into the rotation, meaning someone is tossed to the pen. Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy I assume, which sends a terrible message to the organization as a whole. Those two young arms have been groomed for years to reach this position, and all of the sudden the best pitcher in the pen takes the spot they've waited and trained for? No way. Mussina isn't going to the pen and I doubt that Pettitte would be too happy about losing his position as a starting pitcher. Wang isn't even an option, as he's been their best and most consistent pitcher to-date.

Looking past the rotation, there is no one else in the bullpen who is dominant enough to step up and fill the set-up role. Mariano Rivera is not going to be his own set-up man again this year. He is not durable enough to go more than an inning anymore. Beyond this speculation, there would be no way that Chamberlain could just jump into the rotation without about four or five starts in the minors, which could take about a month of the season.

Cashman has come out today in response to Steinbrenner and said this:

"Joba's staying in the bullpen right now," Cashman told Newsday on Monday. "That's where we're at. [Putting him in the rotation is] not something that's going to happen here early on, and [Hank] knows that. We've talked about it. I don't know what set him off."

Even as a Yankee-hater, I appreciate Cashman's job and response. He puts up with more garbage than any GM in the entire league and he has the fire engine response down pat. He seemed to wave away Hank like a gnat, treating him like the five-year old he acts like. Just another example of how owners should keep their complaints internal. Pull the GM aside and say something instead of pulling aside the closest New York Times reporter.

Nellie-ball? Hm.

With the playoffs on the line against the formidable Pheonix Suns, Don Nelson decided to bench the leader of his team for the entire second half. Baron Davis sat on the bench while his teammates roared back from a 14 point deficit, going on a 38-19 stretch for the period. So with the Warriors fighting for their playoff lives against a top tier team, Davis remained on the bench. I cannot express how dumb I feel this coaching decision was.

Until a report comes out that Davis was injured or that he punched Nelli in the face at halftime, there is no excuse for him sitting. Last year, the Warriors were the most volatile, fun team to watch in the playoffs. The entire squad was draining from beyond the arc. The Warriors also put up higher scores than anyone in the NBA. Bottom line: they are a fun, energetic and entertaining team to watch, and now, because of a stubborn, over the hill coach, they are out.

This single decision could be the end of an era in Golden State. Nellie could lose his post, Davis could decide to bolt and their newest star Monta Ellis is a free agent. Davis is the face of this team, just look at the Amazing Happens commercials. Davis is one of the stars. And how can't he be? He's got charisma and he's tasked with reigning in the unpredictable Stephen Jackson.

The excuse Nelson gave for why Davis sat is laughable:

"He was having a bad game. He was terrible," Nelson said of Davis, according to the Chronicle. "He was the worst player on the floor, and I told him to take the second half off. He was 2-for-13, we were down 14 points. "I said, 'Hey, let's relax and play some young guys.'"

You know Don, when a superstar has a rough first half, usually you give him a pep talk in the locker room and he has the fortitude to gather himself with the season on the line and get back out there.

"Take the second half off?!?!?!" There may not be another first half that matters in your season! Play your superstar even if he runs you into the ground. At least you can say you had the best possible players out there on the floor when you lost.

Now, all you have for this season is a big fat, "What if?"

This just in: Manny has left home plate.

Just a few thoughts heading into Tuesday...

-The Masters could not have been more boring. I've never seen a PGA event where more people were pulling for the arrogant superstar over the intestinal-parasite underdog. Trevor Immelman got no respect despite leading from opening to final round. Now Immelman needs to go out and win a few more tournaments. Too many one hit wonder Masters winners are easily forgotten.

-Pacman Jones needs to be back in the NFL, Mr. Goodell. I don't care about his multiple arrests anymore, I don't care if he has a bad attitude. He's a potential superstar and would be fun to watch play again. Especially on the same team as a certain T.O.

-The Atlanta Hawks have made the playoffs for the first time this century. For the first time since 1999, the Hawks will see postseason play, as they face the titans from Beantown. They will lose in the first round, but this is a huge step for a rejuvenated franchise. Give it another year or two and Josh Childress and Marvin Williams will be top tier players. Mix in the already impressive Al Horford and this combo of young players could sustain a few consistent years of playoff appearances.

-David Ortiz's knee is not OK. He has lost all of his power and is very uncomfortable at the plate. I would not be surprised to see him hit the shelf soon, he just does not look himself.

-Cleveland Indian closer Joe Borowski has the be the worst closer in the majors. He tops out at about 84 MPH for his fastball and consistently gives up runs. After blowing the save against Boston tonight with a 3-run 9th that saw Manny Ramirez absolutely crush an 83 MPH meatball into the left field seats, his ERA is 18.00 and he has blown two saves in a row. With Betancourt lying in wait, what the hell is Cleveland waiting for? Get him in the closer position and let Borowski play clean up.

-Lastly, Joe Paterno is crazy. At 81-years old, he has no place on the football field with 18-year old athletes trying to make it to the next level. Paterno and Bobby Bowden are just trying to outlast one another and this race doesn't seem like it will end until one of them leaves the field in a casket. Penn State won't be a contender again until Paterno is gone.

Welcome to Atlanta where the players lay...

On the second opening night of the baseball season that featured the Braves vs the Nationals, three ESPN talking heads predicted the Braves to go to the World Series. Up until that night, I had heard nary a word about the Braves upcoming season on ESPN or anywhere around Atlanta. All of the sudden they're World Series bound? There's something wrong with this picture. Let's take a look at this Braves team...

First, the injuries and question marks that this team had entering the season. Chuck James entered the season on the DL. One starter down. Mike Hampton had not pitched in two years and is about as durable as a wet tissue. John Smoltz at age 40 entered the season on the DL as well, though he did beat Santana in his first start. He looks to be the easy ace on this staff. Tom Glavine returns to Turner Field after performing terribly there almost every appearance while he was with the Mets. He will perform well, but there is almost a guarantee that the bullpen will have to shore up the last 3 or 4 innings of his starts, as he cannot go 7 innings anymore. Jair Jurrjens will have his ups and downs, as any rookie pitcher does in his first full season. Hudson will perform well for the rotation as he did last year.

Suffice to say, this rotation has some major problems. Hampton is already hurt again. James claimed to feel fine before his start yesterday, but was very wild in his season debut and got knocked around. Fact is, even if this rotation gets its act together, they will be passing their potential win on to what may prove to be the worst bullpen in the majors right now. Things are not good when the best option for closer after Rafael Soriano is Manny Acosta.

This bullpen is built with a bunch of relievers who are all basically making the league minimum. There is no big stopper for the middle innings or the 8th inning. In fact, if you can name 3 relievers from this bullpen other than Soriano and Acosta (I already gave you that one), I'll crown you.

Couldn't do it?

I'll help.

Will Ohman
Peter Moylan
Jeff Bennett
Blaine Boyer
Royce Ring (GREAT porno name)
Chris Resop


This is what Smoltz hands his games off to. It will improve when/if Mike Gonzalez returns to the field and returns to form, but until then, trouble lies ahead. Soriano just hit the DL with "elbow tendenitis." Sounds OK, right? NO! Lest we forget, Soriano had Tommy John surgery a few years back, and this injury sounds very, very ominous. This is the kind of thing that starts out as the 15 day DL and then turns into a season shutdown (Mike Gonzalez last season). So Bobby Cox is going to hand the ball to Manny Acosta in the 9th. I wonder what Bob Wickman is doing right now... I have no idea what Wickman is doing, but I do know what Acosta is not doing: Finding the strikezone.

Acosta has given up 4 ER in 4 IP as well as 3 BB and 2 HR. He gave up 2 HR in 23.1 innings all of last season. What that means is that the inevitable for Cox and the Braves is going to be a closer by committee, '03 Red Sox style. I think everyone remembers how that worked out (Aaron F'n Boone). Geez, this is sounding like a lot of doom and gloom, isn't it? Well, there is hope. But it is not on the playing field. It's in the front office.

The Braves front office got Mark Teixeira for the now struggling Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four minor leaguers. That's looking like one hell of a deal at this point, as Teixeira sits in the middle of the Braves lineup and Salty can't couldn't catch a ball behind the plate this spring landing him in the minors. Frank Wren will make a move for the bullpen. But no matter what he does, this team was overrated on opening night.

National Championship Running Blog

9:14 P.M. - Tipoff is 7 minutes away so final predictions are being cast. Personally, I'll take Memphis to win by 5, 75-70 final score. Memphis is just too strong on defense and explosive on offense. All of these players know their individual roles to the team and have no problem being solely a rebounder or scorer. Memphis should handle this Kansas team. The Tigers have gotten no respect from any experts in this tourney and the chip they have will take them to a championship. Lets get this party started.

9:21 PM - After watching the introductions, the Tigers had more style and swagger. Kansas is all business, Memphis has come to put on a show.

9:25 PM - There is no Greg Oden to keep Dorsey under wraps tonight. The ball just seems to be bouncing Memphis' way right now. So far there are 0 references to Rose's candy/honeybun diet. I say the over/under of those references by the end of the night would be about 3.5.

9:37 PM - Chris Douglas-Robert's tattoo on his arm of Psalm 37 lines 1-3 is gigantic. It's one of those things that you might regret later in life, but it seems to give him good luck. I've noticed that he taps it three times before each free throw. Hey, whatever works, he'll be a a late first round pick this summer anyways.

9:46 PM - Kansas just took its first lead of the game just before halfway through the first period of play. Rose seems to be timid on the floor right now, not taking his shots when he has them. He's giving up the ball too quickly and needs to take control of his squad.

9:49 PM - Memphis' explosiveness is being successfully countered by Kansas' consistency. Memphis needs to settle down and play their game. After hitting their first two treys of the game, it looks as if they are finding a groove...

9:54 PM - Prediction: Speed Racer will be a gigantic financial failure and a bad movie to boot. I mean, John Goodman? Come on.

10:00 PM - Dorsey is taking his time getting down the floor. He looks exhausted. I'm surprised Calipari hasn't taken him out yet. The Saul Williams - "List of Demands" Nike commercial makes me want to run forever. Nike continues to impress throughout the years with their innovative advertising.

10:11 PM The last minute and a half of play in the first half was very sloppy for the Tigers. Memphis didn't score in the last 4+ minutes of the half. Down 33-28 at half, they are down by the biggest halftime margin of the season. If they don't clean up their play at halftime, this game is as good as over. Rose only has 3 points at halftime while Douglas-Roberts has almost half of the Tigers' points with 13 at half. Kansas has spread the ball around very effectively, leading even though Rush is the 3rd leading scorer right now with only 6 points. No doubt that Caliapari is simply trying to calm his team down. They are winning the turnover battle, but are taking terrible shots. Second half on the way.

10:30 PM - Not sure how I feel about Roy Williams sporting the Kansas gear after his Tarheels were just waxed by the Jayhawks two nights ago. I can assure you that Tyler Hansbrough would never put on the colors of a team that he lost to in the Final Four. In my opinion, Williams should have stayed in a luxury box or something, out of view. The only motivation I can see for this would be the impending departure of Kansas coach Bill Self. Maybe Roy wants to leave UNC? This is a story to keep an eye on...

10:40 PM - Dorsey is getting away with some questionable behavior on the court. He gave Kaun a nice shoulder check in the first half and he just dunked, caught his own ball and walked up court with it, pointing to the Tigers fans. How long til he crosses the line and gets T'd up?

10:52 PM - We're almost halfway through the second half and Rush has yet to take a shot in this period ... Rose is coming on now ... Looking like the under for his stomach flu candy diet.

11:00 PM - Rose just drilled home a trey and gave Memphis the lead with 8:22 left. The killer so far tonight for the Tigers? 4-7 (57%) from the FT line. Twice they've had and1 opportunities to tie the game and have failed to convert. Kansas is 6-7 from the line.

11:07 PM - First "WOW" moment of the night. Rose drives the lane and resembles an acrobatic move to sink the basket and pick up the and1. More shocking? HE ACTUALLY CONVERTED IT! Memphis up by 7...

11:19 PM - Hack a Cat has begun and the Jayhawks are not going down easy. Down by 4 with 1:39 left and surprisingly Kansas seems to have the momentum. Dorsey just fouled out and the stress of the tourney is very visible on the face of Caliapari.

11:28 PM - Another questionable no call. Douglas-Roberts slams down the ball and sends it sky high and doesn't get T'd up. Memphis CANNOT make a free throw. They have been decent the whole tourney until tonight.

11:30 PM - CHALMERS SINKS THE 3 TO TIE THE GAME WITH 2 SECONDS LEFT! WE'RE GOIN' TO OVERTIME. Remember when Caliapari entered the tournament largely unconcerned about FT %? Thinking that his worst nightmare has come true. 10-11 58% FT%. Wow.

11:42 PM - Memphis is hanging in there. I think they already had their chance to win this game and the Jayhawks are going to wrap this up. The Jayhawks should go ahead and foul the Tigers keeping them from even attempting a 3.

11:46 PM - Game over. It is truly a shame that Memphis blew this game in the final 20 seconds, with Roberts missing crucial free throws in the clutch. Amazing game, could not ask for more from a championship game in overtime. Hats off to the Jayhawks!

Case 245B: The San Francisco Giants vs Barry Zito

If this case were to go to court, I have no doubt that the arbitrator would award the San Francisco Giants about 90% of the $130 million they are having to pay Barry Zito.

Barry Zito is currently making an astonishing $18 million a year to be one of the worst pitchers in baseball. In his first season with the Giants, he posted very disappointing numbers, posting this stat line: 11-13/4.53 ERA/ 1.35 WHIP. He led all Giants starters in pitches per inning, taking an average of 17.34 pitches to get his three outs. Zito surrendered 105 runs last season! That's 21 more than the next closest on his team (Matt Cain, 84).

But it's a clean slate right? New year, new pitcher? Um ... no.

Yesterday, Zito picked up right where he left off last season, surrendering 4 earned runs in 5 innings, picking up the loss and surrendering a towering two-run homer to Jeff Kent. He struck out one in those five innings. Should Zito fail to ever remotely live up to the size of his contract, he would eclipse Kevin Brown as the worst deal from a team's perspective ever made. Kevin Brown at least performed his first season, going 18-6, but would go on to average only 9 wins per season for the rest of his 7 year/$105 million contract. Brown was the first $100 million man in baseball. Zito possesses the richest contract ever awarded to a pitcher in baseball.

When are teams going to realize that pitching is simply too fickle to invest that much money?! Too many times pitchers have been stars and then suddenly collapsed. In my opinion, teams should never spend more than $50 million on a pitcher at one time. Invest in young pitching, there is more than enough in every farm club in the majors.

Regardless, the Giants look like the worst team in the National League and without an effective Zito, there is very, very little hope. Quit meditating and start pitching Mr. Zito, your playing with way too much money to be performing this terribly.