I wasn't bothered as much

.... by the fact that Ed told me I should stop making picks in my blog as I was bothered by the way he said it - very condescending with one of his trademark smirks. That's why I was so smug about my recent 3-day winning streak. Well, the house of cards collapsed on Wednesday, as I went 0-4. Somewhere in our neighbor to the north, Ed is closing his laptop with a grin. Wednesday's debacle included a disastrous pick on the USA over England in an international friendly that apparently I was more excited for than the entire U.S. roster combined. I make so many donations to the Palms that Jeff's buddy Todd should put me on his Christmas card list.

The Lakers officially secured a spot in the NBA Finals last night, rallying from a 17 point deficit to eliminate the Spurs. Forget about Kobe, Phil, and the rest of the team - I'm just happy for the Lakers fans. It's been 4 long years since they have had a conference title to celebrate. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for Thursday night in Boston. (I mean that is assuming that the Celtics win. I'm sure the Pistons will get a fair shake....) I will be very interested to see what the series price comes. From what I've seen, the Western Conference is head and shoulders above the East. It's like AFC vs. NFC. And we all know there's no way the NFC could beat the AFC in the Super Bowl. (The Giants did what? Over the Patriots? Come on....No they didn't.... That's just ridiculous....With Eli Manning? Dude....Be serious....)

Anyways, I did manage to make a few bucks last night. I happened to be in a sports book when the Lakers game went to halftime and I won my token "I need action on this game because I'm already watching it anyways" bet. You know, the kind that all of us do.... Don't look at me like that. We all do those, right? Oh.... just me and Scotty, huh? Oh, boy.... This.... is awkward.... Let's just cut out of this and into some blurgbs:


* I'm tempted to rotate the girls in my new picture section but I'm pretty sure that if I got rid of the Yellowbook Commercial Girl, Jeff would fire me. What's worse is that I'm also pretty sure that if he explained his reasoning to Kornegay, our director would not disagree with the move. Let's just leave her up there for now....

* Speaking of Jeff, the other day he was telling me that he will be going to Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Staples Center. That game will fall on a Thursday, which he has off. I told him I thought that was awesome and that I was happy for him but truthfully I was thinking - "Well, I have Thursdays off too - I just don't have all kinds of supplementary income pouring in from running a renowned web site and being a local radio star." Must be nice....

* I have to admit I am surprised to see the Lakers running away from the pack in my poll asking which team has the worst fans. As you can probably guess - I voted for the Cowboys. I just want to point out that if the Cowboys were making a run to their sports championship round at the same time the Lakers were mired in the middle of their offseason, the voting would have gone very differently....

* Seeing as how I know nothing about sports, or anything for that matter, I tend to get most of (See: all) my information from outside sources. I am being told that the Oklahoma Sooners are absolutely loaded this year and will be facing a relatively soft schedule: They don't play Mizzou, they get Kansas and Nebraska at home, and Texas is still coached by Mack Brown. (For the record, they do not play Iowa State but their schedule is still pretty easy.) Look for the Sooners to be in Miami for the national championship game next January - and get pounded by an SEC team....

* One thing I don't understand about professional sports is why teams hire the same coaches over and over again. Why would the Bulls hire Doug Collins of all people? He couldn't win anything of consequence during his first tenure in Chicago when he was coaching someone named Michael Jordan. What's he going to do with this current bunch? Perhaps Jim Lynam was unavailable....

* On Thursday night, I was hanging out with my buddy Scotty Hoffman and he requested that I mention him in my next blog. So here goes.... Scott texts me as he's getting off work and I tell him that I'm out at a bar, having just caught the end of the Lakers game. Hoffman tells me he's tired and is just going to go home. I tell him that's fine but he should know that a girl who works there he has a crush on is looking especially good. He texts me back, requesting that I take a picture of her with my camera phone and send it to him. I briefly consider texting him back "Dude...." but instead opt to just not say anything. A few minutes later he texts me again saying he'll be there soon. Before I can even respond, he's walking through the door. What a guy. Anyways, as Scotty walks in, a gaggle of very hot blonde chicks grabs him and asks if they can take a picture with him. Apparently, they all find his T-shirt to be very funny. So Hoffman poses for the picture - and then comes to sit with me. Instead of talking to the hot girls. Dude.... I still love that kid....

* When I woke up this morning, I caught the end of Robin Hood: Men In Tights, a movie I've always enjoyed. One thing I found strange about it was the fact they were showing it on the channel Starz In Black, which describes itself as "Dedicated to showing the best in black cinema and urban entertainment." I'm pretty sure that Dave Chappelle is the only black guy in the whole movie and since when are Mel Brooks movies considered "urban" entertainment? Starz In Black also describes itself as "Culturally connected with the biggest, coolest movies," which I found strange considering that the next movie they showed was Higher Learning, starring Kristy Swanson and a deranged Michael Rapaport. I'm going to keep an eye on this situation....

* There are times when I am out somewhere and I think of something funny and realize: "Hey, that would make a funny quip for my blog." To me this can only mean one of two things - Either I am devoting way too much of my time to this stupid thing or I need to start carrying around a tape recorder....


I'm doing this for you, Ed - See how many loonies you can get down on the opposite sides of these plays:

Penguins

Marlins

Tigers


I don't see how one can bet the NBA game tonight. On one hand, the Pistons are banged up and probably shouldn't be laying that many points. On the other hand, the Celtics are a gutless bunch that I can't see eliminating anybody on the road. I'll pass. It's Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final(s) tonight at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh and I like the Pens. I've been to Mellon Arena and I know from experience, dude - you don't just go into Mellon Arena and walk out of there with a W. And yes, it does look like a giant nipple from the outside. Should be a good game tonight.


A few more notes before I wrap up this blog:

Chris - We need to talk about you coming on the blog to discuss the 2008 Green Bay Packers. Yes, I could've called you, or texted you, or e-mailed you, or just waited another 3 hours until I see you at work. I'm just more comfortable communicating in blog form.

Jorgen - I'm sorry I didn't mention you at all today. I just don't think it's a good idea to talk about you in a sports gambling-themed blog. We all know you have a serious, serious problem, man. Clean up your life.... then you can be back in the blog.

Austin - You're leaving today and I won't see you for 3 weeks. I just want you to know that I know you are rooting against LSU out of spite for me. It's really pathetic and childish.... and I would do the same thing.

Chad - Seek help.

Amanda - I honestly don't know who was calling you yesterday and hanging up. That's really weird....


I replaced the picture of Kaley Cuoco with one of actress Emmanuelle Chriqui, who was first brought to my attention by the show Entourage. You're welcome. (Sorry, Scotty.... but there are some people who find non-blonde girls attractive, too. Broaden your horizons, brother....)

Calling people "Brother" is still going great, by the way. How about some trivia....


Friday's Trivia Question: Name the LSU 2nd baseman who hit a walk-off home run to win the 1996 College World Series. (All eyes are on you here, Austin.)

** Wednesday's Answer: The quarterbacks drafted ahead of Marino were John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, and Ken O'Brien. I'm sure someone could have easily answered that....


This could be the last night of NBA basketball until the Finals start on Thursday. So all you hoops junkies better make sure you....




Enjoy the game.