There is nothing better in sports than these two words -- GAME SEVEN...
Tonight the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics lock up for Game 7 in one of the classic series in NBA history...if this game goes down to the last possession, it could be deemed the greatest series of all-time...you knew this could have the makings of a great series when Kevin Garnett yelled to the Chicago Bulls after the Celtics Game 2 victory - "Take that Mother Fuckers!!!"...it was on!!!!...great series must have passion, fighting, verbally jawing, technical fouls, flagrant fouls, buzzer beaters, overtime...and for the first six games, this series has every one of those key ingredients...
Below are links about today's game...sit back and enjoy the game at 8:00 p.m. on TNT...and my prediction -- Bulls win by 2 points...
Chicago Bulls Game NotesBoston Celtics Game NotesSam Smith of Bulls.com writes this is the greatest series of all-time... "With seven overtime periods in the six games, this is heading to the first eight-game playoff in NBA history. Stop asking. There never has been anything like this. No NBA playoff series has ever seen more than four overtime periods, and the last one to have that many was 52 years ago. N
o NBA playoff series has had more than two overtime games. Nothing, really, even comes close to this." ... Sam SmithBrian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes how the mid-season acquisition of two players have made the Bulls a different team... "An argument can be made for the Feb. 19 trade with Sacramento that brought John Salmons and Brad Miller to the Bulls on the league's deal-day deadline. Those two have been instrumental in the team's run from postseason also-ran to the Eastern Conference's seventh seed." ... Brian HanleyMarc Spears of the Boston Globe writes that KG will not play tonight... "Team president Danny Ainge said yesterday via text message there are no plans for Garnett to play until next season." ... Marc SpearsRick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune writes about the excitement in Chicago surrounding Game 7... "And now the battle goes back to Boston on Saturday for Game 7 to settle things once and for all. Presumably. But if this series were grammar, it would be a run-on sentence. If it were math, it would be pi to the millionth digit. If it were gym class -- wait, it is gym class. It's a whole glorious day of gym class." ... Rick MorrisseyFrank Dell'Apa of the Boston Globe writes how both teams are evenly matched going into Game 7... "In any case, this is the most even matchup in NBA playoff history, illustrated by the seven overtime sessions going into tonight's Game 7 at the Garden." ... Frank Dell'Apa
The College Football Hall of Fame announced today the 18 former players and coaches who will be inducted this summer...the one name that stood out to me was former West Virginia quarterback Major Harris...before Michael Vick and Vince Young there was Major Harris...Harris was a dual threat who could beat a team with his running and passing...
Harris was a 1986 graduate of Brashear High School in Pittsburgh...was a former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Athlete of the Year, starring in football and basketball...
While at West Virginia, as a sophomore, he led the Mountaineers to a perfect regular season and to the 1988 Fiesta Bowl to take on 11-0 Notre Dame...twice he finished in the top five in Heisman Trophy voting and became the first player in NCAA history to rush for 2,000 yards and throw for 5,000 in a career...
After 20 years, The Major is finally getting his due...
The field, from the rail out, is:West Side Bernie (30-1)Musket Man (20-1)Mr. Hot Stuff (30-1)Advice (30-1)Hold Me Back (15-1)Friesan Fire (5-1)Papa Clem (20-1)Mine That Bird (50-1)Join in the Dance (50-1)Regal Ransom (30-1)Chocolate Candy (20-1)General Quarters (20-1)I Want Revenge (3-1)Atomic Rain (50-1)Dunkirk (4-1)Pioneerof the Nile (4-1)Summer Bird (50-1)Nowhere to Hide (50-1)Desert Party (15-1)Flying Private (50-1)
It's just a matter of time before New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi gets canned...and the way the Yankees have been playing since Opening Day, he deserves to go...that was pathetic shit this past weekend at Fenway Park...a disgrace!!!...
Girardi obviously is a baseball person who has a heckuva lot more knowledged about the game than me...but it seems that he cannot get this team to live up to their talents...the Yankees don't have any fire up their ass...
So with that being said, the clock is ticking on Girardi...since Billy Martin has been dead for the last 20 years and Joe Torre out west, let's look over, in no particular order, the list of some possible replacements... (those who are currently serving on a Major League coaching staff are listed as replacements after the season concludes)
Don Mattingly - Mattingly (photo, right) was the runner-up to replace Torre...Mattingly is 
Yankees Baseball...he epitomizes everything that is good with the game of baseball...he is currently the L.A. Dodgers hitting coach and it just kills me to see him in any other uniform but the Pinstripes...the knock of Mattingly is that he has no managerial experience...
Tony Pena - Pena is currently serving as Girardi's bench coach...he has managerial experience with the Kansas City Royals - which basically explains why he is now a bench coach and not a manager...but remember, Torre was considered a failure as a manager when he first took over in the Bronx...I'm not sure how the team responds to Pena...
Bobby Valentine - even though he does not call the shots anymore, The Boss was always intrigued by Bobby V...he would surely change the atmosphere in the clubhouse...Bobby V is over in Japan, but I have read that he would like to manage one more time in the Majors - but in the right situation...he loves the attention and the limelight of New York...
Willie Randolph - he is another favorite of The Boss...Randolph is the Brewers bench coach...he has managerial experience and is a well-known commodity within the current Yankees team...Randolph was canned last year by the Mets at mid-season...the Yanks would love nothing more than to bring him back to the Big Apple and have him stick it to their cross-town rivals by winning a World Series... 
Davey Johnson - Johnson (photo) has been out the Major League managerial game for quite awhile...he served as the U.S. Olympic and World Baseball manager...he is a proven winner...and if Jack McKeon can win a World Series in his 70s, who's to say that Johnson can't get back in the saddle at a much younger age?...
Buck Showalter - Torre gets all the credit for the Yankees turnaround, and rightfully so...but people forget that Buck was the one who brought the Yanks back to respectability...the Yanks had the best record in baseball in the strike shortened season and he led them to the playoffs in 1995...he understands the Yankees way of doing things...
Dave Miley - Miley is the manager of the Yankees Triple A farm club in Scranton-Wilkes Barre...the Yanks have called up a minor league manager before in Stump Merrill...highly doubtful that he gets the job, but at least I thought his name should be tossed in the mix...
Paul O'Neill - this is a guy who would have the fire...I'm not sure if he wants to manage...he has zero managerial and coaching experience...however, it is a name that should not be forgotten for the future...O'Neill as manager and David Cone at pitching coach...that would be my pick for 5 years from now...
Last week Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown received the Coach of the Year award in the NBA...here are some interesting facts about the annual award...
- Pat Riley (photo) is the only coach to receive the award three times...interestingly, each time he won the award, he was a head coach for a different team: Lakers (1989-90), Knicks (1992-92); Heat (1996-97)...
- Hubie Brown has the record for longest stretch between winning awards...Brown won his first award in 1977-78 as head coach of the Hawks...26 years later (2003-04), he won it again as coach of the Grizzlies...
- Gene Shue is second for the longest stretch between awards...in 1968-69 Shue won it as head coach of Baltimore...13 years later he received it as coach of Washington...
- Incredibly, these coaches never won the award: Jerry Sloan, Billy Cunningham, Jack Ramsey, Chuck Daly, Rudy Tomjanovich, K.C. Jones...
- Also, these coaches only won the award one time: Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Gregg Popovich, Red Holzman, Lenny Wilkens, Larry Brown...
- Harry Gallatin of the St. Louis Hawks won the first award in 1962-62...
- Larry Bird is the only person to win Coach of the Year and league MVP...
HAPPY 28th BIRTHDAY TO JESSICA ALBA!!!!
First off, let's set the record straight...I am a New York Yankees fan and always will be...however, if the Bronx Bombers don't win the World Series this year, which I don't think they will, there are three teams that I hope can at least pull off what the Tampa Rays did last year...well, maybe that it too much to ask, but at least if these teams can have a winning record - Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, and Baltimore Orioles...
When I was a kid, way back in the late 1970s, these three teams were always in the playoffs and at the very least, in playoff contention going into the last few weeks of the season...
These are three franchises that have a wonderful rich history...but for the last 10 plus years, they have wallowed in the basement of their division after poor management decisions, poor drafts, injuries, and the inability to sign their best players to long-term deals... 
Pittsburgh Pirates - I will go on record right now and openly admit that I am rooting for the Pirates...in fact I went out and bought a Pirates ballcap and a Roberto Clemente t-shirt...the Pirates were fierce competitors back in the day...and I am talking pre-Bonds...here was their lineup: 1st base - Pops Stargell; 2nd base - Scraps Garner; 3rd base - Mad-dog Madlock; short - Tim Foli; catcher - Ed Ott/Steve Nicosia; left - Bill Robinson; center - Omar Moreno; right - The Cobra, Dave Parker...and they were led by a good manager and a good person, Chuck Tanner...at the right is the team logo during the We are Family era...as of today, the Pirates are off to a good start as they stand at 11-7...
Kansas City Royals - the Royals annually won the A.L. West with Whitey Herzog as manager...they had a team of 1st base - John Mayberry; 2nd base - Frank White; 3rd base - George Brett; short - Freddie Patek; catcher - Darrell Porter; left - Willie Wilson; center - A.O., Amos Otis; right - Al Cowens; dh - Hal McRae...
Baltimore Orioles - Earl Weaver's team always just missed out of the playoffs in the late 1970s...but in 1979, the took the East and eliminated the Angels to win the A.L. Pennant before blowing a 3-1 lead to the Pirates in the World Series...back then they wore their orange Sunday Special jerseys at home at Memorial Stadium...Weaver would have his tomato plants growing in the bullpen...this was before Cal Ripken was playing...Mark Belanger manned the shortstop position and Eddie Murray was just a young buck...
So maybe the baseball Gods will look down on these franchises and give them a winning season because their fans sure deserve it...
The Yankees unloaded a ton of money this off-season on pitching...and on Saturday, the pitching could not hold a 6-0 going into the bottom of the fourth at Fenway...in the end, Jason Varitek hit a grand slam, Mike Lowell a 3-run homer and the Yanks lost 16-11...fucking incredible!!!
Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press writes about the newest leader of the Lions... "Who knows anything about the future of a 21-year-old — especially in the most complicated and demanding position in professional sports? Maybe he’ll be great. Maybe he won’t. Anyone who tells you more is blowing smoke. But here are a few things that are undeniable." ...
Mitch AlbomCarlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press writes about the Lions second first round pick... "Pettigrew becomes part of the Lions' youth movement on offense, joining quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Calvin Johnson and running back Kevin Smith." ...
Carlos MonarrezCarlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press writes how Lou Delmas knows first hand about the Lions... "But unlike a lot of players who have little knowledge of the teams they are joining, Delmas followed the Lions' 0-16 season closely." ...
Carlos MonarrezNick Cotsonika of the Detroit Free Press writes how he scratched his head on the Lions second first round pick... "The Lions said they couldn't afford to pass up talent for need, and you can say they stuck to that by taking Pettigrew." ...
Nick Cotsonika
There is nothing better in sports than these two words -- GAME SEVEN...
o NBA playoff series has had more than two overtime games. Nothing, really, even comes close to this." ... 
