NBA Playoffs, Round One

I should have mentioned that for the sake of comparison, I'll be referring to the picks of "experts" from Yahoo! and ESPN in both the NBA and NHL Playoffs. So, let's see where I end up.

Forgive me for not being more excited about the NBA this year. For one, my luck in the pool at work was fucking terrible. Secondly, the Bulls got in and now get to perhaps lose by a somewhat smaller margin in their inevitable first-round exit. And lastly, I might have to watch the Lakers win another NBA Championship. Not what I want.

As far as my predictions from the beginning of the season go, my Finals pick is technically still alive (but far from likely). I got six of the eight Eastern Conference playoff teams right, while I was seven of eight in the West.

Here's how I see Round One, in the usual descending level of confidence:

Cleveland Cavaliers over Detroit Pistons in four games

I actually debated about picking the Cavs to get that top spot in the East, and of course played it safe instead. But the environment in Cleveland from what I've seen on television all year is pretty impressive and even if it is indeed a case of the fans overly whooping it up to try and keep LeBron in town, it's going to really make that home court advantage a killer. Beyond that, I'm guessing LeBron is going to want to send a message and will pick it up where ever any of his teammates let him down.

Los Angeles Lakers over Utah Jazz in five games

Yuck. I'd love to see Deron Williams have a great series and pull off a spectacular upset, but let's get real. Everything's coming up roses for L.A. these days, whether it's the prospect of having Bynum around for this year's run or the news that KG won't be around if there's a Finals rematch (and, no, there probably won't be). And in Utah, the Lakers get a first-round opponent who sort of had a freefall into the eighth spot, perhaps the result of a clubhouse coming apart as uncertainty abounds with the team's free-agent forwards. The Jazz win Game Four to save a little face, but then get prompty shellacked and hit the golf course after Game Five.

Orlando Magic over Philadelphia 76ers in five games

I still think of how the Times' Jonathan Abrams put it back in January:

The Magic’s opponents are victims of doomed-if-they-do, doomed-if-they-don’t when Orlando has the ball. If Howard is surrounded near the basket, Nelson, Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are usually isolated for easy jump shots. If Howard is not swarmed, he possesses all the requisite skills to score against any defender.

And Philly provides little in the middle to stop Howard from beginning a march toward the conference finals.

Boston Celtics over Chicago Bulls in five games

If you're actually reading this shit, then I'll let you in on a little something I did today that was probably pretty shameful. But when I was at work today, I saw the news today on the bottom of the screen on ESPN about Danny Ainge's heart attack one day after the news about their star possibly being gone for the entire post-season and just busted out laughing. I mean, the guy didn't die, so it wasn't that tasteless.

Anyway, the Celtics have beaten teams like the Bulls without KG, and I'm sure they get by just fine.

Denver Nuggets over New Orleans Hornets in seven games

I do like the possibility of CP3 making another strong playoff run, but the Nuggets are the one team I didn't see in the post-season when my making my picks at the beginning of the year (my eighth team from the West was—yikes—the Clippers) and I can buy into your suggestion of Chauncey Billups for MVP. I'm guessing the home team wins every game here and the Hornets are just too banged up for the long haul.

Portland Trailblazers over Houston Rockets in seven games

Hmmm ... Here's a Portland bunch I was never really crazy about but now have come to love since a second round date with L.A. would mean the Lakers have to play in a place they haven't won in the past four or so seasons. The problem is that in order for that to happen, the Blazers have to first get by a Rockets bunch that desperately wants to get out of the first round. There's a tremendous stigma for Yao Ming to shake, even if T-Mac can only watch. Still, I'm thinking Portland attacks and gets the calls at home necessary to keep fans in Houston frustrated about another one-and-done end to the year.

San Antonio Spurs over Dallas Mavericks in seven games

Sports Illustrated had the Spurs beating the Celtics, if I recall correctly, and how terribly that worked out for them since, like Boston, San Antonio enters the playoffs with one crucial element of their past success certainly out for the entire post-season (Manu Ginobli) and their star (Tim Duncan) ailing. But the Spurs beat this same Mavericks team without either of those guys back in February. Even if the Mavs can steal one in San Antonio, I still think the Spurs are crafty enough and deep enough to win in Big D and make a bid to get to the conference finals.

Miami Heat over Atlanta Hawks in seven games

What's the best way to show respect for the two teams I didn't have making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference if they're playing one another? Miami I had as a nine, so I knew they'd be around, but I seem to recall thinking a mid-season move with Mike Bibby was going to be the story in Atlanta. So much for that.

But the story in the end here, of course, is D-Wade. My guess is that whatever impressive showings you might get from the Hawks, Wade finds himself at the line as often as he needs to be and Miami enjoys one round of victory.

Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

If I'm a little slow about getting into baseball season, it's entirely because the attention that time allows me to pay to sports almost always is looking for post-season play. Within a week, basketball and hockey both begin their playoffs, and yeah, they're not as much fun as baseball or football; it's hard to build up too much enthusiasm for a post-season berth in the two sports about to begin their post-season when it's actually more likely for a team to make the playoffs than it is to miss them (16 out of 30 teams in both leagues get to go to the playoffs).

Nonetheless, I'm maintaining a wee bit of commitment to following up on my "bold" predictions before this NHL season began. And, boy, that wasn't too pretty for a trial run. Aside from the fact that my predicted champion didn't even make the post-season, I only got two of the six division winners right (we'll get into more detail about some later). I suppose there's still the off-chance that Pittsburgh could still come out of the East, whatever that's worth.

Nonetheless, my enthusiasm for a long overdue appearance by the Blackhawks is certainly a lot more palpable compared to the playoff-bound Chicago Bulls. And that's ironic in a small way because that wasn't really the story the last time I remember both teams being in the playoffs. More specifically, I have a very distinct memory of the Blackhawks getting to the Stanley Cup and losing to the Penguins, but none of us really cared or were all that bothered by it because the Bulls were about to repeat as NBA Champions.

Those were very good times, obviously.

Here's hoping for the best this year (I think this set of predictions got us off to a good start). As always, picks are presented in descending order of confidence:

Pittsburgh Penguins over Philadelphia Flyers in six games

I almost forgot about how early I'd written Pittsburgh off before it turned out that interim coach Dan Bylsma would turn the Pens into an offensive threat that can rival last season's. The rematch of cross-state rivals doesn't have the added drama of last season's Eastern Conference Finals meeting, but I'm expecting the same team to come away after fighting off the Flyers a little longer than they had to last year.

Boston Bruins over Montreal Canadiens in six games

It certainly doesn't look good for Montreal on paper, but this is the playoffs and the last time the Boston Bruins were the top seed in the East, they were knocked out in the first round—by the Canadiens. Now, there's also been mention that the Canadiens have won 24 of the 31 playoff series between the two teams, but there's not much good reason to believe that the same big, bad Bruins we've seen all year won't eventually overpower the hapless Habs.

San Jose Sharks over Anaheim Ducks in six games

A few weeks ago, I recall watching the Sunday game on NBC and hearing a lot of talk about looking out for Anaheim in the playoffs. Here they are, although admittedly in the last possible spot for the Western Conference. And while they're pretty much flip-flopped from where I imagined where they'd be in terms of home ice at the beginning of the season, the Ducks' lower seed doesn't rerflect a pretty good divisional rivalry that should provide a few good games to watch. Still, the Sharks have played like the best of the West all year and their defense is going to be hard for any team in either conference to deal with.

Chicago Blackhawks over Calgary Flames in six games

Obviously desired outcome aside, the Hawks caught a major break in getting Calgary in the opening round. The Flames are banged up and let their division (along with a first-round home ice advantage) slip away in the final week of the season. I still remember some of Kiprusoff's work in goal from the Flames' run to the Cup five years ago, but he's up against the same goalie he was then in Khabibulin. Only difference this time is that there's going to be hockey in Chicago and it's hard not to imagine the hot Hawks outscoring the Flames, with the infamously young squad perhaps catching a snag or two along the way.

Washington Capitals over New York Rangers in seven games

I'm not terribly fond of Alex Ovechkin, but I can respect the guy's talent. I knew the Caps would be the class of the Southeast, but they're going to have a tough time with New York to start the playoffs with. The Rangers, who rank 28th in goals scored but finished sixth in goals against, are polar opposites of the Capitals, the league's third best team in goals scored but 19th in goals against. Still, Mike Green could be the best defenseman in the NHL and I think Ovechkin's got strong enough support around him if he can't break through in this series.

Detroit Red Wings over Columbus Blue Jackets in seven games

I love watching the Red Wings lose almost as much as Michigan University; it almost feels like both can do so on an almost colossal level. I was tempted to believe that the same sort of thing could happen to the heavily favored Red Wings, running into a young division rival that would just love nothing more than to rain on Detroit's parade. I'm guessing the atmosphere in the arenas of these two closely located cities should be pretty intense, but ultimately I'm suspecting the Red Wings will snap out of their lackadaisical finish to the regular season.

Carolina Hurricanes over New Jersey Devils in seven games

The suddenly resurgent Hurricanes will certainly get a stiff scoring test to start the playoffs in the Devils' Martin Brodeur. But if you haven't noticed, I have yet to predict an upset. I probably should have learned my lesson about underestimating Jersey after they took the Atlantic, but when it comes to the hype surrounding the Canes, I'm totally buying; they won 13 of their last 18 games and Cam Ward caught the sort of fire he had when he took Carolina to the Cup in 2006. Should be long and grueling.

Vancouver Canucks over St. Louis Blues in seven games

Another very tempting upset pick, but I just can't go against the Canucks, who gained themselves some home ice late in the season by taking the division from Calgary. Of course, Vancouver's been a total surprise to me all year (I had them last in the Northwest), and while I'm well aware that Chris Mason's a stud in goal for St. Louis (9-1-1 over his last 11), I'm giving respect to Roberto Luongo and what should be a typically manic home crowd in Vancouver.

Play Ball (2009 Edition)

Just as I was getting excited about hockey again, it's time to throw my predictions out there for another season of baseball. I know, I know ...

Just to reflect on how awful I've been here in the past, last year I correctly picked two of the six division winners—and those were the gimmes, too (they'll probably be the same story this year, but we'll get to that in a minute). But not even close in the playoff picks at the beginning of the year (I got four out of seven, when doing the round-by-round thing). In 2006 (the only other year I had MLB picks up), the results were a little more encouraging. I had three of the six division winners right and was correct about the NL's representative in the World Series.

So, add all that up and there's plenty of room for improvement. Here's how I've got things breaking down this year:

American League East

Tampa Bay Rays


New York Yankees


Boston Red Sox


Toronto Blue Jays


Baltimore Orioles

Oh sure, I'm tempted to do the usual version of Boston and New York at one and two. I tried doing something outside the norm last year by picking Toronto, and instead it was Tampa who came out of nowhere to take a playoff berth away from the usual duo of post-season squads that come out of this division. While Cito Gaston is still in Toronto, that rotation lost a key element to the Yankees. The Rays have a set of arms to rival the Yankees and Red Sox, and by the time David Price comes back up from the minors, I'm thinking Tampa is going to prove last year was no fluke.

American League Central

Cleveland Indians
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Royals
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers


Surprisingly, the Royals have been the boutique pick to surprise by many of the same people who kept saying Milwaukee was going to surprise us year after year. Or maybe that's just how it feels.

Perhaps I'm just still a little stunned at the former Cub that ended up in Cleveland. I mean Mark DeRosa, not Kerry Wood—although I'm sure both will probably be beneficial to the Indians this year.

I don't think you're going to be seeing too many fans sitting in the seats of Comerica Park this year.

American League West

Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Athletics
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners


Mike Scioscia is still coaching in the Anaheim area and an otherwise weak division. It's highly unlikely the Angels win 100 games again, but with Mark Texiera declining $160 million, you have to imagine this team will have the financial flexibility to pull off some big moves during the season that help them make some noise in October.

National League East

New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals

Oh, it's been entertaining to watch the past few abysmal ends to Mets seasons, for sure. But with Jerry Manuel there from the very start this year, you have to believe that the attention paid to bullpen concerns this off-season is going to help put New York in the playoffs—and actually make them stick around.

The defending World Champion Phillies should give the Mets a good, long battle for the division crown, but I'd be surprised if both teams don't end up playing in October.

I want to keep my fingers crossed about my Braves, but without Hudson to start the year, I'm not very optimistic.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros
St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers
Cincinnati Reds
Pittsburgh Pirates


The Cubs are popular favorites to win the pennant this year, and it's going to be interesting to get a pulse on that fan base throughout the year. Almost certainly I expect a lot of hyperventilating about any concerns as the season ends and the nagging reminder of the last two years ending in first-round exits.

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if either Houston or St. Louis give the understandably favored Cubbies a little bit of a challenge. Again, as a Braves fan, I find Houston's gamble of making Mike Hampton their number two starter to be quite risky, but their lineup seems likely to get some attention.

National League West
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres


For the record, I hate the Dodgers. Just so we're clear on that. Not as much as the Lakers, but pretty close. And Joe Torre being there doesn't help any.

All of that said, I think they still win this annually ugly division. Then let's just hope they go away, because I'm already fearing an entire season of hearing "Manny for MVP" talk. Ugh.


And now, what we'll all really be laughing at in about six months:

Divisional Playoffs
Rays over Indians in five
Yankees over Angels in four
Mets over Dodgers in four
Phillies over Cubs in four

League Championship Series
Rays over Yankees in seven
Mets over Phillies in six

World Series
Rays over Mets in five

Oh, the Madness

Somebody asked why I didn't put my NCAA picks up here, seeing as I put up most every other prediction about, oh, everything here.

While I certainly do love the annual tournament in college basketball this time of year and try my best to catch every game of it, the rest of the season usually holds no interest for me whatsoever. Actually, most college sports in general are this way. Even most of the bowl games in football have lost their appeal to me.

Now, that's not to say I didn't make predictions for this year's tournament—you can find them here if you really want to see them, but they're clearly nothing worth noting—but even then, my predictions when it come to college athletics are influenced quite heavily by which team I'd like to see win.

So no matter what the overwhelming coverage would say or the fact a team was, say, undefeated, I still wouldn't pick a Duke or a North Carolina to ever go all the way, because I'll be hoping like hell that anybody beats them and shuts their obnoxious fans up for another year.

Anyway, so the general rule of thumb around these parts is, "Love to watch college sports, but don't really care enough before or after the game to want to write about it most of the time."

I've got other stuff that I've been putting off posting here, but I'll be putting up some time this week. I think I should have some kind of a climax to one story by then.

The envelope, please

I'm presenting these in descending order of confidence, as I did the only other year I got my predictions up on BMC. And I'm using a point system (My top bet is worth 24 points, second most confident is worth 23, so on) to compel myself to do this each year. According to that newly created point system, my score in 2006 (when I got 17 of 24 correct) was 248 out of a possible 325 300. This year, I'm adding a few comments as well. So, lucky you.

1. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
—Not really much debate about this one, and it's not as though anybody's saying the guy doesn't deserve it (I happened to see Ben Mankiewicz on the newly dumbed-down version of "At the Movies" actually said he would have voted for Josh Brolin). While I wasn't as enthusiastic about "The Dark Knight" as some friends (I thought Newsweek's David Ansen put it best: "You may emerge more exhausted than elated."), I'm not foolish enough to deny Ledger deserves every bit of praise he's gotten for this. And as somebody else put it, would any of the other four nominees want to accept this award instead?
2. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: "WALL-E"
—Like "Dark Knight," another film where it seems everybody is a bigger fan than myself (certainly enjoyed it, but I guess I still prefer either "Toy Story" when we're talking Pixar flicks). Still, of the three nominees, "WALL-E" was realistically being talked about as a possible Best Picture nominee.

3. BEST PICTURE: "Slumdog Millionaire"
—I thought a few months ago that "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was being hyped as the certain winner and certainly sounded like the favorite. But "Slumdog" has won just about every other award and seems destined to grab one last honor.

4. BEST DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
—If the award was being used as some sort of way for voters to honor a director they'd overlooked in years past, perhaps we'd be talking about a possible upset. But that's not the case this year and there's little reason to believe that Director and Picture go hand-in-hand (as they should, of course).

5. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"
—None of the other nominees has a strong, competing buzz about them to derail the "Slumdog" train.
6. BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: "Man on Wire"
—I really wanted to see "Trouble the Water" this year, but missed my opportunity to catch it when it was in Chicago. I'd intended to do that, and just like "Dear Zachary" or "Religulous," it appears I'll be catching all those on DVD instead. As for what actually is nominated, "Man on Wire" is the popular favorite. But as Ebert notes in his predictions this year, this is a category where voters are required to have seen all the nominated films. I can't recall a specific example off the top of my head, but seem to recall that upsets not only can, but have happened here.
7. BEST ACTRESS: Kate Winslet, "The Reader"
—Well, just look at the cover of the new Time. Seriously though, Winslet's toughest competition comes from Meryl Streep, nominated for the 15th time. While Streep did win the SAG this year, Winslet won there for "The Reader" as a supporting actress. And Streep's already won twice while Winslet's been nominated six times now without a win. There's been some rumbling about a possible Melissa Leo upset for "Frozen River," but I wouldn't count on it.

8. BEST FILM EDITING: "Slumdog Millionaire"
—Chris Dickens has already picked up a couple honors and appears poised to benefit from the "Slumdog" ride to the stage.
9. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: "Slumdog Millionaire"
—Anthony Dod Mantle also gets to ride the "Slumdog" wave.

10. BEST MAKEUP: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
—Because "Benjamin Button" needs to win something, I guess ...
11. BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
—... or two things.
12. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: "Slumdog Millionaire"
—The "Slumdog" train rolls on.

13. BEST SOUND MIXING: "The Dark Knight"
—Heath Ledger aside, the sound awards will provide voters an easy way to atone for the perceived Best Picture snub.
14. BEST SOUND EDITING: "The Dark Knight"
—Different people accepting, but goes along with the aforementioned audio honor.
15. BEST ART DIRECTION: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
—Another possible honor for "Benjamin Button," the only film with a Best Picture nod in this group of nominees.
16. BEST COSTUME DESIGN: "The Duchess"
—No clue what the film's about, but just judging by the pictures I've seen, it seems like a safe bet.
17. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Penélope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
—For one reason or another, I have a hard time accepting this. But I don't feel comfortable picking any other nominee in Cruz's place. (Where, by the way, is Rosemarie DeWitt in all this? I notice she won a Skandie, so at least it's not just me still being too high on "Rachel Getting Married" I assume.) While Ebert has picked Viola Davis, it also seems Amy Adams has received a nice little buzz, but you have to figure they'll split the vote for "Doubt" fans. Others are speculating Taraji P. Henson has a shot, although I've only seen one person actually pick her. And I've certainly got a soft spot for Marisa Tomei, although she's already won before and that one perceived upset (I picked her that year ... and so did Bill O'Reilly, so I still don't know what those people are talking about) will probably be deemed too recent. I'm tempted to pick Tomei, but in this category I'll opt to go with the favorite.

18. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"
—The film has many supporters and since it's unlikely to win Best Picture, any other major awards it can pick up are kind of a way of making up for that. "WALL-E" wouldn't be an entire shock either, and there's even a reasonable chance that "In Bruges" could pull off an upset.
19. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: "Waltz with Bashir"
—Since the Israeli film's animated style has created much of the attention it has gotten, I'll go with that. The French documentary "The Class" is a formidable contender as well.
20. BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "Down to Earth," "WALL-E"
—"Jai Ho" seems the likelier of the two "Slumdog" selections here, but the third nominee is a Peter Gabriel tune. On a side note, where the hell is Springsteen?
21. BEST ACTOR: Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
—I've been going back and forth about this one for weeks and this award is undoubtedly the closest contest of the evening. Sean Penn is certainly the favorite, but he did win just a few years back. And while the role allows him to play a real-life person (always good for votes), I simply think a combonation of the physical toll Rourke took on himself in "The Wrestler" and the role's correlation to his own life in Hollywood is going to make for an acceptance speech that most voters would like to see.

22. BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: "Presto"
—Hey! I actually saw this one! Surely that must mean something!*

23. BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: "The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"
—Ah, and so we've arrived at those awards we're all clueless about. Here's what everybody else is picking, so why not tag along?
24. BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: "Spielzeugland" ("Toyland")
—Again, everybody else's popular favorite.

Reaction and grand totals, as always, forthcoming.

* - Does not actually mean anything.

UPDATE: I wasn't in any Oscar pools this year and it's not as though they were done in a confidence manner anyway, but that was pretty good that I didn't miss one until my 13th most confident pick.

I was working last night, but did manage to see almost all of the winners being announced. Still, I missed most of the "show" aspects, you could say, but I'm sure I'll see the highlights pop up around this here internets. Most of us wanted Mickey Rourke to win last night, but I heard his acceptance speech for an Independent Spirit Award on the radio. Pretty good stuff.

Overall, my score ended up being 293 268 (18 out of 24), so a decidedly "scoring" improvement, although the overall correct number of predictions this year wasn't a particularly striking total. Some people did better.

Here, there, everywhere

See, there's going to be a day when I actually get to sit down and organize all these silly little things I feel I'm somewhat obligated to update every single time I sit down at the computer. But these days, I'm once again in my "job first" mentality. I know, I know ... "But D. Rock, looking for a bigger job seems like something you've always been doing and always will be doing for the rest of your life. Thanks for finally coming to that realization and welcome to the club."

So anywho, I'm taking about five minutes out here before I go back to craigslist and where ever else it is that my whimsy fances tonight. Wish me luck, but in the meantime, here's a few short thoughts ... let me know what to elaborate on:

• The Oscars are next Sunday. I still have not seen any of the five films nominated for Best Picture, and what's more, I have no real rooting interest in the show. The best film I saw last year was Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and I'm pretty sure that's not up for anything. That said, I didn't even request the evening off work and I typically close on Sunday nights, so I'm guessing that I'm just going to be hoping that people put the best clips from the actual show online. I don't hear about anybody doing any pools this year either, so it's not sounding like too many friends are planning on a party this year (which actually has seemingly been the story ever since the show got moved up a month). All in all, I'll throw up my predictions, for whatever they're worth, just to say I did, but in all honesty, really haven't had less interest in the broadcast in as long as I can remember. Perhaps if they raise Heth Ledger from the dead to accept his Best Supporting Actor award ...
• I believe my final score for playoff predictions with my technically correct pick of the Steelers ("I'm sorry, you said something about somebody getting 'killed,' did you?"), I went 6-5, which is acceptable and somewhat amazingly only one game worse than last year's record. I didn't have time to go back yet and see what I wrote about Pittsburgh all year, but I'm planning on looking over what I'd been writing every week this season when football previews start coming out in anticipation of next season. I haven't adjusted yet to not having football, but I usually tend to get swept up in March Madness before fully engulfing my fascination with the NBA and NHL Playoffs going into the summer. This year should prove no different, although I promised myself I'd be writing more about my boys in the U.C., and, well ...
• As far as the Blackhawks go, I've been feeling pretty good about the team most of the year and I've caught far, far more of their games this year than I did at this point last season. I feel fairly confident that they will indeed make the playoffs and beyond that, have the talent to defeat their first-round opponent. And while it feels good to be boasting about having such a legitimitely good young core that lives up to what's been hyped, there's just no denying that the veteran squads, the more playoff-experienced teams, will probably capitalize on Blackhawks mistakes—errors, I'm guessing, that will get attributed to their youth.
• The Bulls, on the other hand, have been something of a chore to watch. With the trade deadline approaching, I don't see how you don't say every guy's on the table—except Derrick Rose. And I really don't know how long Vinny truly gets to stick around if something doesn't get accomplished before then. But the newest Bulls trade rumor (these are the types of things we Bulls fans get to constantly participate in and fantasize over ever since the Jordan era ended) involves acquiring Amare Stoudemire from the Phoenix Suns. Needless to say, this move gets an enthusiastic "Hell, Yes!" vote from me (the Bulls would have to part with Drew Gooden, Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha, maybe a draft pick or two, possibly Joakim Noah, some guy named Cedric Simmons that I don't even recall ever seeing printed on a Bulls roster this year and probably some money too). Look, the Bulls can probably get in the playoffs this year, but even with a fun, little quick fix like Stoudemire playing with Rose, this team's a million miles from contending for anything. It's still stunning that we were talking about winning the Eastern Conference here a few seasons back, because it hasn't felt like a winning team any time I've turned the Bulls on this season. It's actually kind of heartbreaking.
• And speaking of heartbreak, let me end on this final thought about the only thing that will always, most surely be the one thing more fucked up than my job satisfaction: The lady didn't take too kindly to me having lunch with XgF—or whatever the hell I called her. It was nothing too dramatic, of course, unless you count the fact that that girl even talked to me again. It certainly was fucked up, I tried to explain to the current lady—the one I still only see once a week and seemingly talk about breaking up with every other week or so—that the ex and I hadn't really spoken in a couple of years. And considering all that happened in just the past year alone, well, that's the kind of stuff that, yeah, I guess I could e-mail her about. Or maybe point to a few blog post or something, had I actually typed up some of the trouble I had gotten in, but for the most part I was too scared shitless to even type up how scared I was at the time. But that time's gone now and everything's better ... or getting better, I guess. Still getting organized, cleaning things up.
• OK, lots to do tomorrow.
  

Super Bowl Pick

It's a long story (maybe I'll tell you later ... maybe), but I'm trying to hammer this out from a laptop in scenic DeKalb, IL. Anyway, my otherwise solid season of NFL predicting now concludes with one final game that will determine whether I finish above .500 or not for the post-season.

That said, I'm playing it safe:

Pittsburgh Steelers over Arizona Cardinals

Yeah, I think the Buzzsaw's going to get killed actually. We're talking two touchdown-like margin. But hopefully it turns out to be a close, exciting game instead.

Whatever ... even putting this helmet in here is a pain in the ass. Final thoughts on the NFL season forthcoming ... maybe.