Oh, There's Basketball Again?

Yeah, that should be telling enough.

Just goes to show you how much I care anymore about the NBA.

Two lockouts in 12 years that resulted in two shortened seasons.

And David Stern still runs the show.

That's enough to turn me off, and away.

Oh, and let's not forget the overrated and untalented players that make up about 90% of the rosters,

They "entertain" us with their pure athleticism and little-to-no basketball skills or smarts.

It's no wonder players can't make free throws or 15-foot jumpers.

Where's Magic Johnson and Larry Bird when you need them?!

I want my 80's NBA back!

I think I've seen enough of the crybabies in this league. For now, anyway.

"I'm not your child."

Those were the words of Miami superstar Dwayne Wade directed at NBA Commissioner David Stern during today's labor talks between the players and owners. Obviously things are getting heated between the two sides.

Stern supposedly pointed a finger in the direction of Wade during today's session while making a comment and Wade barked back at him, "You're not pointing your finger at me. I am not your child." Wade reportedly felt as if Stern was belittling him.

Talks got so heated at that point that the players in the room nearly stormed out. Union executive directive Billy Hunter calmed the players down and asked the players to remain at the negotiation table with Stern and the 10 owners present.

Think there might be a sense of urgency in trying to get a deal done?

Both the league and players cautioned that a deal is still far from close, but talks will resume in a much smaller forum tomorrow. The contingent of big-name players on hand today will not be present tomorrow.

In the meantime, the Italian League team, Virtus Bologna, that offered Kobe Bryant a contract announced today that they had a deal with him to join their team. The deal is reportedly for about 10 games over a 35- to 40-day period and worth about $3 million.

There are some scheduling conflicts posed by two of the other teams in the league which could hinder the deal, but Virtus is confident Kobe will still sign the deal.

Catching Up: Lakers Play; Officiating

I didn't get a chance to blog at all during the past week, but I was finally able to watch the games. I saw the final two games of the Houston series, and have watched Games 1 and 2 of this series with Denver. And two things have become increasingly apparent. One, the Lakers do not look like a title contender with their Jeckyl and Hyde play. And two, the officiating is getting ridiculously worse and worse as the playoffs get closer to the Finals.

First, the Lakers play. How does one explain a team that wins by 40, then loses by 20, then wins by 20 in three straight games? Kobe said it best earlier in the week on Mason and Ireland on 710 when he said, and I'm just paraphrasing here, that the Lakers are bi-polar. This team, probably more than any other Laker team that I can remember, gives their fans major heartburn and headaches. I have never seen a team play so inconsistent through 48 minutes than this one. It makes me wonder sometimes, how this team ever won 65 regular season games. It's probably a miracle they got this far, as well. And when I say "this team" I'm referencing to last year's team, as well.

I could sit here and break down how each of the 12 players on the team has been brutally horrid at one point or another in the playoffs. But let's stick to what we already know. Lamar Odom is the most passive-aggressive player I've ever seen. I've never seen a guy try to do more than he has to to make an easy layup. Luke Walton is probably worse. As smart of a player as he is, he's also the most mistake-prone. He, too, like Odom, can't seem to make a simple layup. And where do we begin with Andrew Bynum? Phil Jackson has literally lost all confidence in him because of his defensive deficiencies, as well as his inability to dominate the glass, that his playing time has been cut nearly in half. And Derek Fisher, while he can still hit a big three when they need one once in a blue moon, just isn't the same player he once was. The smaller, quicker guards in the league are just simply abusing him defensively. It might be time for Jordan Farmar to take over the point guard duties.

Now my rant on the officiating. Bottom line: it stinks! The officiating has gotten worse and worse every year, and it has become more prevalent in the post-season. And I'm not just talking about how bad it has been against the Lakers, it's been bad for everyone. One example: Dallas got robbed of a win in one of their games in their Denver series. It wouldn't have made a big difference in the series outcome, but the point is that the horrific officiating has taken the games out of the players hands, and right into the referees hands. The games aren't being decided by the players anymore. And it's been like that for years now.

As for the officiating against the Lakers, Lamar Odom nearly had his jersey pulled right off his back in Game 7 of the Rockets series after he made a steal, and no call was made. Chauncey Billups clearly stepped out of bounds late in Game 1 when he made a key three-pointer right in front of a referee, and it wasn't called. Kobe suffered a dislocated finger again when he got hacked in the same game, and no call was made. Trevor Ariza got hit on top of his shoulder after he made that steal of the inbounds pass late in Game 1, and no call was made.

The technical and flagrant fouls have gotten way out of hand, as well. Again, I know the league and officials, probably in light of the Detroit-Indiana brawl of a few seasons ago, are trying to control the games before they get out of hand, but it seems as if they're taking control of the games instead.

I know the league would prefer to have the higher profiled teams in the Finals because the ratings would be higher, and you'd have two of the biggest profiled players in the league in the Finals going head-to-head. Sometimes I wonder if the league is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites because one day you get the feeling the league is doing whatever it can to avoid having certain teams advance, and then the next day its the complete opposite. You almost get the feeling that the league is fixed, that the games are fixed.

But here's my real problem with the officiating in the NBA. The officials in the NBA hold grudges against teams and players moreso than in any other sport. And they become that much more magnified on a bigger stage such as the playoffs. There is also no consistency what-so-ever. There never is. It's gotten worse every year. The officiating isn't the same now as it was 10 or 15 years ago. I do wonder if the ever-changing rule changes every year might have something to do with it, or if perhaps Commissioner David Stern is just dictating to the refs what he wants for his own personal agenda.

It has gotten to a point now where if it weren't for the Lakers, I would probably never watch the NBA. In fact, I really don't anymore. And as big of a Laker fan as I am, living outside of Southern California, I refuse to pay extra for the Full Court satellite package so I can watch the Lakers when they aren't on national television (ESPN, ABC, TNT, NBA TV). I refuse to give the NBA any of my money. I would rather watch an NHL playoff game instead, because the officiating is consistent from game to game, and they let the players on the ice decide the game. Seriously, turn on an NHL playoff game and you will rarely see penalties called late in the game, or in overtime if it gets that far. NHL officials, in my opinion, are probably the best of the four major sports in America. NBA officials? The absolute worse. And it's not even close. And what makes it even worse is when it is brought to David Stern's attention, he refuses to acknowledge that it's a big problem.

I could probably go on and on about this but there's no point in beating a dead horse. But my points are made. If the Lakers somehow win this series, and even the next one, it will be a miracle at this point. Their inconsistent play is their biggest achilles heel at this point, and they better turn it around quick or its going to be another long off-season of finger-pointing and what-ifs. They need to get tough. They need to care. They need to play these playoff games as such, as if every game is a game seven, not a regular season game in November. And as for the officiating, good riddance to the team that does win because chances are they'll get plenty help on the court from the guys in stripes.

Lakers Roll Past Denver; Kobe To Win MVP

Well, that was a rather easy first round series for the Lakers. There really isn't much to say about it. Denver didn't really show up, and the team was accused by Carmelo Anthony of quitting in Game 3. But then again, consider the source. The Nuggets come across as a bunch of egos with issues. They might have been the worse 50-win team in history in the playoffs. As for the Lakers, Kobe and Pau pretty much did their thing, while the rest of the team contributed its share throughout the series. The offense was clicking; the defense was good enough. Next up: Utah, who defeated the Houston Rockets four games to two. Tip-off is 12:30pm PT tomorrow on ABC.

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Kobe Bryant will be named league MVP next week, according to the L.A. Times. The Times reports Commissioner David Stern will be in L.A. to officially present Kobe with his first MVP award during a pre-game ceremony, likely before Game 2 of the Utah series. How close the balloting was is still uncertain, but Hornets PG Chris Paul was likely a close second. Kobe led the Lakers to the top-seed in a very competitive Western Conference after asking for a trade in the off-season. Several other Laker players had breakout seasons, in large part because of Kobe's willingness to make his teammates around him better.

Now, for those of you who hate Kobe because of his legal battles in 2004, let me remind you of several things:

1. The accuser wanted NO part of a trial.
2. The accuser's stories consistently changed as witnesses came forward.
3. The DA dropped the charges.
4. He was NEVER tried.
5. He was NEVER convicted.
6. The accuser filed a civil suit BEFORE a criminal trial ever started, or ended.

So yeah, according to the "haters", he's still a rapist. Which leads me to say this:

GET OVER IT ALREADY!! MOVE ON!!