Warriors Mania: They did it! They did it! And, you know what? It wasn't even close. When you win a close-out game by 25 (and a series in 6 games), don't call it an upset. But...
Let's hear it: Biggest. NBA Upset. Ever. At least in terms of the NBA Playoffs: The first time an 8-seed has beaten a 1-seed in a 7-game series. It will rank right up there with the biggest upsets in modern sports history.
Please don't tell diminish the magnitude of this result by saying this Warriors team was "better than an 8-seed." Please: That's never really been how we value upsets.
(And, certainly, the 7-game series – more than anything else existing in sports – is supposed to present the biggest hurdle to an upset. This isn't some "on-any-given-day" March Madness thing; this is winning – decisively, mind you – four games... in six attempts.)
The fact is: This Mavs team had the best record in the NBA this season, but it is meaningless. Epically meaningless.
(It's also the reason that NBA MVP voting shouldn't happen until the end of the playoffs: Anyone who voted for Dirk as NBA MVP is going to look like a complete joke after his performance in this series, particularly last night. How "V" can you possibly be if your team seeded first in the NBA can't make it out of the first round? Here's True Hoop's Henry Abbott on Dirk and the game.)
I'd fire Avery Johnson, too: If he can't get the best Mavs team in franchise history out of the first round of the playoffs, when, exactly WILL he do it? And, insult to injury, he was totally out-coached.
Sure, in the end you can say it was all about "matchups," but I'd prefer to emphasize that a completely unconventional Warriors team – a small lineup of gunners – turned the NBA order on its head.
Here's the universal: If this freakish Warriors team can topple the best team in the league -- decisively -- then there's no reason your team can't win like this either. What Golden State showed is that all it takes is a little imagination.
What an easy team to root for this
I'll point you to Free Darko. The guys over there will hopefully have even more to say on this throughout the day.
(Did you notice I went through that entire item without bringing up that I actually predicted the Warriors would beat the Mavs? D'oh! By comparison, not a single ESPN "expert" can say the same thing. Sorry: Had to gloat for just a second. It's only May, but I can already say this will be, without question, my Best Prediction of the Year, more than eclipsing my awful prediction the Heat would repeat.)
Now, I'm no racing expert (I read the amazing Joe Drape for that). I picked Barbaro because it was the last name of my favorite roommate ever.
There you go: I pick based on names I like. There are worse systems.
So, for tomorrow? I like "Any Given Saturday" to win. It's clever. It has a sports-centric ring. It has hope.
I'll take Nobiz Like Shobiz to place and Scat Daddy to show. (If you were thinking about backing Tiago, enjoy: It's OJ Simpson's pick, too.)
MLB: Break up the Indians!
MLB Stud: Gil Meche. Yes: Gil Meche! The Royals' $55 million man won his third game of the season, handcuffing the Angels to 2 hits in 7 IP, lowering his ERA to 2.23 in 7 starts, third-best in the
Jazz force Game 7 in
As for this weekend's conference semis, I'll take the Pistons over the Bulls (what is this, 1990?) and I'll take the Spurs over the Suns.
(Although I'm rooting hard for the Suns. I'm simply too giddy right now about the run-n-gun, free-flowing style similar to the one that the Warriors used to bounce the Mavs. That, and the notion of a Warriors-Suns Western Conference finals blows my mind.)
College Hoops 3-point line moving? I fully support the attempt to push the line back a foot, from 19-9 to 20-9. The shot, while an "equalizer" has become a lay-up for too many people. I for one would be curious to see (a) how it affects shot selection and (b) how it affects strategy. But I suspect that most true 3-point gunners can hit from a foot deeper with no trouble. At least it's slightly more challenging.
Mayweather-DeLaHoya: OK, I'll take Mayweather, I guess.
Spider-Man 3 opens: I consider "Spider-Man 2" the greatest superhero movie of all time – and one of the best action movies, period, of our generation. So it goes without saying that I'm kind of geeked for 3.
Sorry for the limited items this morning. I'm hustling to get out of town for the weekend. Stay safe and enjoy it. I'll try to update from the road over the weekend.
-- D.S.