Screw Carolina for Winning a Championship
Carolina's national championship victory has reinforced exponentially my hatred for Carolina and the source of that hatred: Obnoxious Carolina fans. Where do I begin? The text messages I received immediately after the victory ranged from "Yeah HEALS" to "Carolina B!tch!" and I got at least 16 of them. The phone calls I received contained enough foul language and threats to form the basis of a civil restraining order. Carolina fans need humility training, seriously.
Some solace can be taken in the fact that 4/5 starters will not be returning, leaving Davis, Thompson, and a bunch of young talent next year. As a result we won't hear anything from these guys for at least another year or two.
Of course that is assuming we avoid the nightmare scenario. High school phenom John Wall has mentioned the Tarheels as a major player after speaking with Roy Williams during Final Four weekend. I mean who would want to play for a team that has been to consecutive Final Fours and has won 2 titles in the last 6 years? I know I sure wouldn't.
Besides, a breaking and entering charge may force Coach K's hand anyway, since Duke tries to keep this squeeky clean image going. Calipari would probably prefer Wall had a couple more brushes with the law before offering him fringe benefits not seen since Jesus Shuttlesworth's on campus visits.
The Blake Griffin Show
Blake Griffin is a beast of a man. Is there any doubt he will be the number 1 pick and is the best big man college b-ball has seen since Tim Duncan? Barring a horrific injury he is about as sure a bet as Carolina was in the national championship game. (Did I actually just say that?) He is 6'10, long, with an NBA body, athleticism, and great handle for a big. Let the sweepstakes begin.
Out of all of the lottery teams with a decent shot to land him, I'm praying for Oklahoma City to get lucky. Griffin and Durant would form the best tag-team since the Road Warriors. Not to mention we would avoid the tragedy of having to watch him run around in a Clippers/Kings/Wizards uniform for 3 years.
How unlucky is the Bobcats' franchise? They haven't even sniffed a talented big man, (no Carolina fans Sean May does NOT count) despite being in the thick of the lottery every year. A once a decade big comes along and they decide they want to compete for a playoff spot? Maybe I would actually go to a Bobcats game to watch them play rather than buying tickets to watch Lebron play 3 quarters and ice his knees for the 4th if they managed to get a player like Griffin.
The NBA Playoffs
Is it just me, or does it look like a part of Dwayne Wade dies with every game? He's like the Cadillac Williams of professional basketball. He plays so hard, and when he's healthy he is a handful. However, unless he can refrain from trying to run through people instead of around them he's going to dislocate a hip or something.
On another note, hypothetically, what are the Rockets' options if they advance to the Finals without Tracy McGrady? They almost have to trade him for Tyronn Lue, Tony Battie, and cash considerations, or some random expiring contract for cap relief. We're talking about a team who couldn't sniff the second round with this guy in their lineup, but he gets hurt and all of the sudden they are world beaters.
Lebron. (that is all that needs to be said)
Why isn't anyone talking about this Iverson/Billups swap and what the results mean? Iverson gets traded to a Pistons team that was a perrenial terror come playoff time and Billups goes to a team full of underachievers who couldn't dream of making any playoff noise prior to his arrival. After the swap, the Nuggets almost have to be favored to reach the Western Conference finals and the Pistons were swept with Iverson on the bench faking an injury. Doesn't this mean something in the grand scheme of things? Does this not validate my Iverson hate and my assertions that he's not a team player? You be the judge.
You've got to respect the Celtics' heart for not giving up against the Bulls. These guys have more players with nasty old man game then the rest of the league combined. This sentence is the first, last and ONLY time you will hear or see "graceful" and Paul Pierce used in the same sentence. Ray Allen is the old guy at the gym who hangs court out by the three point line and never misses. Even Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis, who are relatively young by NBA standards play like guys past their prime carrying some extra weight to muscle up the younger guys. We're talking ugly basketball at its finest. I thought I saw Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish out there for a minute.
The NFL Draft
For the first time in my life I am completely content with the Eagles draft performance. For once, we addressed every need area pretty much in order or priority. Reid elected to abandon his old stubborn man's approach of drafting "just to piss Patrick off "and actually got some badly needed skill position players in Jeremy Maclin, Shady McCoy, Cornelius Ingram and soon to be fan favorite Macho Harris.
No one is talking about what is going on behind the scenes with the Broncos and Eagles though. Did Andy Reid force Josh McDaniels' wife to massage his man breasts? They overpay for Correll Buckhalter and locker room warrior Brian Dawkins, then follow that up by drafting Knowshown Moreno at 12, when everyone and their mother knew we were waiting for him at 21? Next thing you know there will be a tampering investigation involving Donovan McNabb.
Sheldon Brown needs to cut it out. Really.
I'd like to give a round of applause to all mock drafters who had Jeremy Maclin going above Michael Crabtree to the Raiders. Although all of you were actually wrong, you were 100% correct in theory. Al Davis loves speed, we all just underestimated how much he loves speed. Hopefully the drafting of Heyward-Bey clearly outlines how to project Raiders draft picks for as long as Al Davis lives: 1) Analyze the combine 40 times, 2) project what the Raiders need areas are, 3) insert the player with the best 40 time at the Raiders position of need, regards of pre-draft projections.
Manny Pacquiao v. Ricky Hatton
Who's down to go to Vegas for Pacquiao/Mayweather I? I am THERE. (pending Blickees' First Lady approval) Are there any conspiracy theorists out there? Has Ricky Hatton ever been hit so cleanly in his entire career? Any chance Floyd Sr., trained him to ignore right hooks for the entire fight?
Brett Favre
Really? Seriously? Is this really news again? I just don't get why he says he is "retiring" every year. How about, "taking a year off" or "vacationing" or "indefinite leave?" Teams need to quit enabling this guy. Its over. A washed up QB with a gun-slinging mentality is like playing Russian roulette with one empty chamber. Can we honestly say he is better than Sage Rosenfels at this point in his career? (Ok maybe I went a little to far . . . maybe)
Patrick Williams
J. Patrick Williams is a co-founder and editor of Blickees.com. He covers the NBA, NFL, and the PGA Tour. He currently is a partner in the general practice law firm of Batch and Williams, PC, focusing in entertainment and sports law amongst other areas.
Mr. J. Patrick Williams received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University. Mr. Williams received his Juris Doctor from the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University. While attending Campbell University, Mr. Williams served as a Notes and Comments Editor for the Campbell Law Review.