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Monday Morning Quarterback #1
by Spaen - 5/5/08

FIRST QUARTER
NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Of all the possible Game 7's that could have been in the first round for both conferences, raise your hand if you picked the Celtics and the Hawks to be the only series to go the distance? Dude, seriously, put your damn hand down. Not only did you not think it was gonna be the only series, but you didn't think it would happen. All of us expected a complete sweep, and don't even start on me with the whole, "Well, I thought they could win a game a home." No, you didn't, and I don't think Atlanta even thought they could. But when your the Celtics and you half-ass it in games 3 and 4, you won't get some breaks in game 6, which leads to a possibility of being upset at home in game 7.

What's his new tattoo? "I almost beat the shit out of those Celtics!"

Luckily, the Celtics did what they had to do and annihilated the Hawks in game 7, a game that should have been a blueprint for the first four games.

With that being said, the Celtics are in trouble. Detroit already had an easier path to the Eastern Conference Finals (Cleveland/Washington > Philadelphia and Orlando), and it seems they woken up after a sleepy 1-2 start in their series to Philly. Cleveland is already a much better team than last year's consolation team, and they're battle-tested against a Wizards team that got hot late in the season. Atlanta is not a tough opponent, and not only did Game 7 gain no experience of a Game 7 setting for the Celtics, but it exposes their road game. If Cleveland wins one game in Boston, it might be over for the Celtics. They need to show that they can win a game on the road, but first they really have defend their home court in the beginning 2 games of their series.

Detroit has pretty much gotten a bye this round, as long as they keep doing what they're doing. After annihilating Orlando in the first game, if they show the same kind of intensity tonight, this series is over.

Predicted Results:
1)Celtics over 4)Cavaliers, 4-3
2)istons over 3)Magic, 4-0

SECOND QUARTER
NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

I could strut about how much I think the Lakers are going to win the whole damn thing. I could tell you that Kobe is the best player in the league, and that there is no argument to that assessment at all. I could type in purple and gold for this entire segment to show you how the Lakers could possibly dominate the remainder of the playoffs, and how I predicted a complete sweep of the Chicken Nuggets (even though I can't prove it to you). But I'm not. I'm going to talk to you about what was supposed to be the greatest frist round series ever. I'm going to talk to you about the monumental Suns/Spurs series that everybody was calling out the Spurs of being too old to compete and how Big Shaq would lead them to the Finals and win a championship. I'm going to talk to you about the series which Game 1 was so great that aboslutely no other game in that series could possibly top it. And they didn't.

D'Antoni showing the signs of an MLB ump: You're outta here!

Sorry, Phoenix, but your shot at the championship is over. There's a possible dismantling just waiting to happen, and even though you really can't point fingers at just one person, you can lower the possibilities. It may not have been Steve Nash's fault that the Suns lost the series, but he certainly lost Game 5 for them. It may not have been Mike D'Antoni's fault that the Suns lost the series, but he lost Game 3 for them with an atrocious game plan that had the Spurs dominating from start to finish. Lack of effort in the beginning of the 3rd quarter in the first two games sentenced the Suns to death, and as a team I thought would be facing the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, they will be losing their head coach. Now, maybe a full year with Shaq in their squad might help, but they really have to change up their gameplan, and you're a damned idiot if you think they have better talent than the Lakers and Spurs do right now.

I've learned my lesson: Never count the defending champions out in the first round. The Spurs played superior basketball, changed up their plans at the half in the first two games and set the momentum in game 3 to nearly sweep the series. It should be a very interesting series against the Hornets, as they will look to steal a game tonight. If they do, they will have a definite edge, because it will be tough for Chris Paul and the Hornets to win in San Antonio.

The Lakers needed a number 1 seed to have the easiest way to the WCF, and they got it. Denver was a much better matchup for them than Dallas or Golden State, and either the Rockets or Jazz would have been a pretty sure victory. The Jazz are definitely the tougher opponent, and considering their home record, the Lakers will need to defend home court. But they will do so, and they will be one of the rare teams to win a game in Utah in the 2008 season. Prepare yourself for what should be a great Lakers/Spurs series in a few weeks. Well...I guess that's what we all said about the Suns/Spurs, huh?

Predicted Results:
1)Lakers over 4)Jazz, 4-1
3)Spurs over 2)Hornets, 4-2

THIRD QUARTER
THE YANKEES AND THE AL EAST

Let me throw up the stat sheet at you.

AL East Records:
Boston = 20-13
Baltimore = 16-15
The Freakin' Rays = 16-15
Yankees = 16-16
Canada = 15-17

Who's on the DL?
RP Brian Bruney
SP Jeff Karstens
SP Carl Pavano
SP Humberto Sanchez
SP Phil Hughes
3B Wilson Betemit
3B A-Rod
C Jorge Posada
P Andrew Brackman
RP Kyle Fransworth (suspended)

Their best SP, Chien-Ming Wang, is dealing with a hand injury.

Not only is the Red Sox showing superior dominance in blowing this entire league out, the Baltimore BlO's had their best April of all time. Tampa Bay, which by all means lost their coolness removing "Devil" from their name, is ahead of them as well.

No matter how bad they suck, A-Rod still gets to bang chicks like these, just like Roger Clemens did.

Geezus, even Detroit swept the Yankees for the first time your dad was born, and they're just finding their identity for the first time this year.

It may only be the end of April, and baseball may not matter until after the All-Star game (or maybe even until September, but football starts then so who would give a shit?), but we all know how injuries sustained all year can decimate teams. Yankees are looking at the absolute bottom of the AL East if it wasn't for the team that is going to finish worse than them. But the Yankees certainly aren't playoff contenders as of right now, and unless they win an assload of games against the Red Sox (and we'll have the pleasure of seeing all of them, thanks ESPN), they won't be sniffing the playoffs come September. Until then, unless they're playing the Sox, you'll be able to see their struggles nearly every Saturday thanks to the new Yankee network, TBS.

FOURTH QUARTER
COLLEGE LACROSSE POSTSEASON

Thanks to those wonderful folks at ESPNU, if you have access to that channel, you will get every first round and quarterfinal game of the College Lacrosse playoffs. They even had a selection show last night on ESPNU. I might have been the only person in America watching (at least in Iowa I was), but Lacrosse has really appealed to me. It's a great way to fill in the void between March Madness and the College Baseball regionals, and if you like the game of handball except with sticks to nail people with, chances are you'll like this.

Giving you an overview of the 2008 season, things weren't settled until the final day of play, and it has been a very inconsistent season for many teams. Johns Hopkins, who usually ends up having one of the top 2 seeds in the tournament along with Duke, falls to a 5 seed after suffering a 5 game losing streak in the middle of their season. They're on a winning streak now, and may be playing the best they have all season, but they are going to be in a fight against Hofstra, in what I consider the best first round matchup. Duke is this year's number 1 seed, having a 16-1 season. They'll be playing Loyola (MD), whose record doesn't show how good this team really is, but Duke is that much better. Duke's been the most consistent team this season, and that's why I have them defending their championship this year.

I was going to do a best and worst part of this tournament, but why re-invent the wheel when a real expert wrote one here. And you can view the TV schedule of the first round this weekend here. I advise you to watch a little bit of it, at least in-between your NBA playoff watching. It's an exciting sport that I hope gets more exposure and becomes more acceptable throughout the nation, and not just an east-coast sport.

Page edited by Spaen and Skinner. Anything you wanna say to them, send it to Spaen here or Skinner here.

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