WORLD CUP FEVER?

I’m not saying I have a full-blown 103 degree temperature, but I am starting to get a little warm. The USA Woman’s World Cup continued their dominance in group play today as they beat Korea 2-0 (or as soccerians like to say two-nil). Not since Brandy Chastain took off her shirt has women’s soccer been so interesting.  I’m not one that’s big on women’s sports.  You couldn’t pay me to watch the WNBA. Tennis, maybe, especially with those skimpy outfits. But soccer, I must say that I was stuck on the tube today. Their next game is against the Swedes on July 6. If you’re in town, I’d suggest you head over and watch the game.  The Swedes beat the Columbians today as well so this is a battle for first place.

MAVERICKS TAKE THEIR TALENTS TO MIAMI

Well, well, well… First, my apologies for picking the Heat in 6 (I meant to say Mavs). Second, congrats to the Dallas Mavericks.  Sans Deshawn Stevenson, it couldn’t have happened to a better group of guys.  I’m glad that Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki all were able to get a ring.  They deserve it, they’ve been through a lot.  They’ve been labeled “soft,” “over the hill,” and “selfish” among others. They did the Heat like the Heat did them in 2006.  It must feel good to be this big of an underdog and come out on top, in convincing style.  I didn’t really root for either team at first, as I thought both had been through a lot.  But as soon as Wade and Lebron started pulling that coughing bullshit the day after a sick Nowtizki tore them up, my impartiality went out the door. I think the Heat need to draft some class.  Their team of talented players have no chemistry.  There’s no flow.  I’m not going to blame coach Erick Spoelstra YET.  But if they don’t win next year, time to kick him to the curb and bring in Riles, or dare I say Phil Jackson?  Anyway, great series.  I don’t have a problem with Lebron talking shit to the haters after the game.  Remember, he’s only 26 years old.  He did nothing wrong by leaving Cleveland.  What he needs to work on is his killer instinct.  If I was him, I pull some old Jordan tape and some Kobe tape, and watch it all off-season.  Remember those stories of Jordan fighting with teammates during practice or Kobe elbowing them during timeouts… Well, I have a combined 11 reasons (1 for each ring) why it worked. I’m concerned that Lebron, with all the god-given talent in the world, will never be.  He is very, very far from being Kobe or Jordan so please don’t us their names in the same sentence again.  Anyway, forget about the self-proclaimed king/chosen one, the Mavs are on top of the World.  What an omen that Jason Terry tatoo was.  Good thing they one.

Dallas Evens Series at 2 A-Piece

The Dallas Mavericks got lucky again.  Sure, they’ve tied the series at 2, but I think we can all agree that the Miami Heat are still in control of this series.  Even if Dallas takes game 5, which I don’t expect them to, the Heat go back home for the last 2 games of the series.  And you can ask the Lakers of last year, home game 6 and 7 mean home team wins. Today’s 4th quarter was an ugly one.  If the Heat didn’t go 2-14 from range, they would’ve easily pulled this one off.  Then again, the Mavs went 4 for 19 so I guess it was a bad shooting day for both teams.  Look for both teams to light up the scoreboard next game. It’s good to see Shawn Marion putting up respectable numbers.  The MVP of this game goes to Tyson Chandler and his 16 rebounds (9 offensive).  Props to Chris Bosh for returning to Toronto form. By the way, if anyone sees Lebron James around, let him know that there’s a finals’ game, if he’d like to come and play, it would be cool. I’m still sticking to Heat in 6 but I wouldn’t mind being wrong on this one. Someone needs to put D-Wade in his place.

HEAT UNDER THE COLLAR

Looks like the Miami Heat suffered a defeat at the hands of a tiny little opponent called overconfidence.  They had a double digit lead with 6.5 minutes left in the game and then opened the door for the Mavericks to steal game two and tie up the series heading back to big D. Watching the first half of this game, I felt that both Lebron and Wade had a sense of arrogance, cockiness.  Smiling and having a good time, not playing with a real sense of urgency.  I must say that when they opened it up in the 3rd, I immediately thought “series over.” And then disaster! I was rooting for the Heat, not because I don’t like the Mavs (I’m actualy a huge fan).  I wanted the Heat to win because of everything they’ve been through with “the decision.” But now, not so sure… I think the Mavericks veterans deserve this more.  This is probably their last chance, whereas the Heat are gonna be right back in the finals next year.  Oh well, series just got interesting.  Mavs better close it out at home.

BIG SHAQ RETIRES; SAD DAY FOR THE NBA

Shaquille O’Neil put the Orlando Magic on the map.  He brought prominence back to the Los Angeles Lakers.  He popped Dwayne Wade’s cherry in Miami.  With that said, the last few years of his career were plagued with injuries, mostly from his weight and lack of conditioning.  Sad to say, if Shaq wasn’t going to take care of his body, he should’ve retired years ago.  That seems to be the classic trend with superstars in sports, hanging around 1 year too long. Going back to Shaq’s career, he got swept out of the finals twice in Orlando.  Those were the days that Hakeem Olaujuwon used to dominate the paint.  It took a couple years for him to get his act together in LA, but when he finally did, he netted 3 Championships in a row and a sad finals defeat at the hands of the Detroit Pistons.  If the Kobe-Shaq fued never blew up, both these guys would’ve had a little more hardware hanging on their mantle. As for the run in Miami, we all know it driven by vengeance.  The spite that brewed inside of him after the Lakers chose, I mean traded him away of Lamar Odom and some scraps. The bottom line is, Shaq was one of the most dominant big men in the league.  Not by skill, but by brute force. He was too strong, too big for the league.  His only move was the dunk. With that said, he was still unstoppable. All three of these teams should, must retire his jersey.  Send the big guy off in style.  He deserves it, he put them either on or back on the map. We’re gonna miss you big fella.  The last of the true centers is gone.

DALLAS MAVERICKS IN DEEP TROUBLE

The Miami Heat are peaking at the right time while the Dallas Mavericks peaked last series.  I’m not gonna blame Nowitzki’s finger or the age of the Mavs as the were good enough to sweep the LA Lakers and win the west.  I’m giving credit where it’s due, and that credit belongs in Miami.  The Heat are gelling at the right time.  There’s no team in the NBA right now that can guard the Miami Heat.  No team that can guard Lebron plus Wade plus Bosh.  I’m not saying that they’re not guardable, but when all three are on the floor at the same time, forget about it. Game 2 is set to go tomorrow.  If I was in Miami, or in the vicinity, I’d be the first in line, because with this 3-headed monster, there’s no telling how many championships the Heat are gonna win.