I want to tell you a story about a crush I had a little while back.  I met her back when I was in school, she was cute, had a good sense of humor and we got along real well.  I’d see her practically everyday, I never told her I liked her, but I didn’t feel it was necessary because the flirtatious undertones of our conversations spoke for themselves.  She never said it, but I made her laugh a lot and I could tell by the way she looked at me that she at least liked me a little.

Although I’d always wanted to pursue her, I never really made the effort, time passed, we went our different paths and we stopped running into each other for a while.  Several months later I couldn’t help but notice the status change on her Facebook page; good old Facebook, the social network that keeps us all in the loop on the personal lives of our peers, whether we want it to or not.

Her status now stated she was in a relationship, although my heart sank at the initial reading of the update, I was happy for her.  She ‘s a good girl, she deserves to have someone making her happy.  Besides, I have the patience of a saint, our paths could cross another day, I won’t hold my breath for the opportunity but I’ll be excited if it ever comes.  After all, nothing lasts forever…

Or does it?  Only some three or four months later her status changed again, this time it claimed ‘engaged’.  And sure enough, one month later it became ‘married’.  Wow, really?  Just like that?  She’s entered the life-long engagement of holy matrimony?  Only one word crossed my mind:  Why?

This is a situation that occurs quite frequently, not as often as it used to, but still a common occurrence.  Why?  What is the bizarre rush people have to get married?

Now I’m going to stop myself right here and note that this is not about me, nor is it not about my own selfish intentions with a girl that has found another, that was just a mere example from my life that serves as a good set up for this topic.

What is it about marriage that makes people jump into it as soon as they feel they’ve fallen in love?  I’m not a pessimist of love, I believe a person can truly feel they want to spend the rest of their lives with their apparent soul mate.  But the passions and emotions we feel today could very well change tomorrow.  Nothing lasts forever… Or does it?

Forever is a long long time, but life is even longer.  With the amount of changes that occur throughout life, how can anyone know that a decision made now will last for the duration?  Lives change, feelings change, career paths change, situations, personalities, the peers around us all change.  Anything we think and/or feel today could be 180 degrees from what we think/feel twenty years from now.

As I’ve aged from adolescence to young adulthood, my thoughts on this subject have morphed based on my observation of lives around me.  I always planned on getting married, and really I still do. When/if that day comes, it will be a decision made with much deliberation, and it won’t be coming anytime soon.  The reason I’ve always believed I’m going to get married is because I’ve been brought up learning that that’s just what you do when you grow up.  I think a lot of people are brought up with a similar conception.

The conception that that’s what you do when you love someone, you get married.  Peer pressure, family pressure and often times religion all play major roles in the foundation of so many marriages.

Young women in particular; girls are often raised under the mindset that when they grow up they will find their prince, he will sweep her off her feet and they will live forever happily married.  Where this mindset comes from varies; parents, pop culture, Disney – all very plausible sources.   Whatever the reason, a proverbial chip has been implanted in all female brains, and it makes them extremely vulnerable to love.  When this “chip” activates, women can fall harder than an avalanche, and even the most jaded gals who swore they’d never settle down would leap up and down in excitement at the sight of her boyfriend down on one knee with a shiny ring in his hand.

It’s almost as though women don’t have a choice in the matter.  If females are the gate-keepers of sex, men are the gate-keepers of marriage.  This, along with the added peer pressure to actually go through with the matrimony, so many times have bonded women to a person that wasn’t the man of her dreams, but merely her long-term so-so boyfriend who had the gall to propose.  The attempted life of happiness is forced on what was a decent relationship at best.

Peer pressure is always a strong factor in marriages: The pressure to satisfy their elders, to make them proud that their child is doing it the way they were supposed to do it.  The pressure to marry before pre-marital sex occurs, or perhaps the un-planned baby. Or maybe the pressure that hangs over the head of a long-lasting relationship becomes too much to fight: Women grow weary of the question “when are you going to tie the knot?”  While men tire of being asked “are you ever going to settle down?”  And although the relationship was working out fine, the added pressure of a marriage is brought to the mix, throwing a handful of matches on what was a simple stream of gasoline.

I think proposals are done to make a promise, a promise that you are so devoted to this person that you are willing to spend the rest of your life sharing your name with them.  Sometimes this promise may be what is needed to gain the trust of a significant other to make the relationship work.  The idea makes sense, but then going through with the lifelong commitment of marriage brings a lifestyle that many are in fact not ready for, and compromises other life plans.  If a relationship needs the added promise of lifelong commitment to survive, then maybe it should be questioned whether or not marriage is really a worthy answer.

The idea of marriage is beautiful, and I respect it: Two hearts coming together as one to form a bond strong enough to last a lifetime- I’ve heard the priest.  As worthy of a cause as it may seem, the potential ugly aftermath if it doesn’t work out should be heavily considered.  Anybody who has ever witnessed or been through a messy divorce knows what I mean: The person you so willingly became ‘one’ with has now split you in half.  That can be a pretty vicious situation to rebuild from, it’s a lot more intense than just worrying about getting your CDs back, which may have been you’re biggest problem breaking up had you remained boyfriend/girlfriend rather than husband/wife.  Custody of possessions, kids and housing become the subject of court room litigation and may or may not be decided by who hired the more savvy lawyer on the case.

Given this fall out, its almost like the best reason to get married is so custody decisions are made with legal consent and thus preventing one parent from running away with the kids and/or valuable belongings… probably the one that was crazy all along.

Am I saying nobody should ever get married?  Not at all, I think when it feels right and it makes sense it can work, but do it for the right reasons, and those reasons should all revolve around what’s best for you.

I wish this mystery crush of my past the best in her pursuit of lifelong happiness, but I can’t help but feel our paths might cross once again.  After all, nothing lasts forever.

~Castle

As we recently surpassed the halfway point through the 1^st year of the 2^nd decade of the 21^st century, I got to realizing something about the wonderful world of sports – there have been a lot of crazy and unexpected things happening lately.

I guess that’s a bit of a modest statement when it comes to sports.  I mean if everything were supposed to be predictable, why would these guys go out there and bust their ass in the gym and on the field/court/ring/cage?  To entertain fans?  To earn a paycheck?  Well, that might be the case in the world of professional wrestling, but when you’re talking about the world of non-predetermined competition, athletes wanting to win and prove their doubters wrong is far and away a greater satisfaction.

So then I got to wondering, what have been the biggest surprises this year?  And I’m not talking about your regular old upsets — I’m talking about legendary teams and/or figures in their respective fields of athletics falling to the least likely of contenders, without any real excuse to fall back on as to why it happened.  In light of this, I’m presenting my Top 10 list of David slaying Goliath sports stories for the first half of this year.

Enjoy, and feel free to disagree or add on a few of your personal choices.

Heeeeeeeeere weeeeeeee gooooo …..

(Honorable Mention) NCAA Infractions Committee over USC Football

It wasn’t immediately clear why Pete Carroll left the prominent football program he had developed for years at USC – and all the notoriety that came with it as one of the best college coaches – for the NFL (considering he was a mediocre coach in his prior stint in the pros).  That was until NCAA’s most successful team in the past decade got hit with more sanctions than Lindsey Lohan at happy hour.  An investigation behind whether or not Reggie Bush received some illegal benefits (including, but not limited to an actual home and some cars) had been in effect since 2006.  Investigators concluded that Bush indeed received “tens of thousands of dollars” from sports marketers, which in amateur sports is ILLEGAL.  The NCAA came down hard on USC’s program by vacating all the wins and National Championship from the 2004 season, banning the school from postseason play for the next 2 years and taking away 10 scholarships for each of the next 3 seasons.  Moral of the story?  Don’t take money from strangers, even if they offer it.  Or something like that.

10) Los Angeles Lakers over Boston Celtics, NBA Finals

I know what you might be thinking … “weren’t the Lakers favored to win?”  In some degree, this assessment is true.  However, if you factor in how many times these two titans have met in the finals and the outcome of those contests, you would know this rivalry was relatively one-sided.  Boston had beaten L.A. 9 out of 11 times in Finals match-ups, which is more or less the definition of being “owned” (or “pwned”, for you Internet geeks who have yet to get a whiff of a woman’s nether regions).  Taking the numbers further, Boston had NEVER lost a Game 7 to the Lake Show, going 3-0 in such contests and even winning on L.A.’s home floor.  It was under all of these circumstances that Kobe, Phil and Company decided enough was enough.  They turned the tide with the help of a deranged defender in Ron Artest, and finally took down the Leprechauns who have haunted Hollywood long before they made those ridiculous horror movies of the same name.  Even more surprisingly, they did it in typical Celtic fashion – being the more physical team.

Doc Rivers was quoted as saying his starting 5 of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins still had yet to lose a playoff series despite these turn of events (Perkins had been injured in Game 6).  This was basically his excuse for losing the series.  Someone should have informed Doc that the Lakers also were not at full strength during their meeting in the 2008 Finals (Bynum had been lost for the year prior to the playoffs even starting).  A rubber match may be in order to settle the score.

9) Netherlands over Brazil, World Cup Quarterfinals

It’s not that Holland wasn’t considered a good team going into the Copa Mundial, it’s just that … well … those bright orange uniforms are so reminiscent of the old school Tampa Bay Buccaneers that I’m inclined to feel any other team in those colors should suck by default.  Alas, this was not the scenario those crazy Dutch had in mind when facing one of the tournament’s most established and dominant teams.  After what was already a fairly astonishing run to winning their group, Team Citrus took advantage of a few mistakes by the Brazilians and parlayed that luck into what was arguably the biggest shock of the world’s largest sporting event.  Their run continued past another strong South American power in Uruguay, but the Vitamin C crew eventually tasted defeat in the end, falling to the heavily favored Spain in a heartbreaker.  Still, their accomplishments couldn’t be ignored, as they made looking like a tangerine somewhat fashionable.

8 ) Baltimore Ravens over New England Patriots, AFC Wild Card

If someone were to tell you a team led by Tom Brady was facing a team led by Joe Flacco in the playoffs, would you even think twice about whom to place the bet on?  If it were any other year this would have been a no-brainer, but as Brady’s luck would have it, his favorite target – Wes Welker – went down to injury in the last week of the regular season.  This left him with only Randy Moss as legitimate receiving threat, so the Ravens’ secondary double-covered him all game long.  Just so you can understand how horrible the Patriots’ receiving corps was in this game, the team’s backup QB, Julian Edelman, tied for the team lead in receptions that particular day.  The other leader?  Running back Kevin Faulk.  And that wasn’t even the main reason New England lost – their defense gave up a whopping 234 yards and 4 TDs to Baltimore’s rushing attack alone.  We’re talking about a dynasty who won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years SPECIFICALLY because of their defensive discipline.  This proves that making key players expendable isn’t a recipe for long-term success, it’s just a way to save money.

7) Frankie Edgar over BJ Penn, UFC 112 for Lightweight Championship

BJ Penn was sitting pretty on almost anyone’s pound-for-pound best MMA fighters in the world list, and for good reason.  He dominated the 155-pound division with ease since 2002, running through top-level talent like they were anorexic cheerleaders playing Red Rover against Sumo wrestlers.  He even took time to move up to the 170-pound division and challenge for that title.  Although being thoroughly outclassed by UFC’s welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, Penn went back to work against the lightweights … all the while clamoring for another shot at GSP (Penn believed St. Pierre was “greasing”, or using Vaseline to make himself slippery during the fight, and appealed the loss to no avail).

Along came Frankie Edgar, a Jersey kid who earned a title shot, but was said to be too small to pose a real threat to the champion.  And in the classic “never look past your opponent towards the next guy” fashion, Penn looked past his opponent towards a potential 3^rd go-round with GSP.  Edgar, meanwhile, had other plans.  He bounced in and out of Penn’s reach, peppering him with accurate punches and constantly moving around, which inevitably frustrated Penn.  Before anyone knew it, 5 rounds had passed, Penn couldn’t figure out Edgar’s timing, and the unthinkable happened — a primed, in-shape BJ Penn actually lost.  Before this, Penn’s lack of serious training was always the excuse given for a bad performance.  This time, though, he was just flat-out beaten by a better striker with a smooth game plan.  The two are set to meet again at UFC 118 in August, so we’ll see if Edgar was just a one-trick pony, or truly “The Answer” to “The Prodigy”.

6) Oakland Raiders over the NFL Draft

Dating back to 2000, the Raiders had been abysmal when it came to scouting collegiate talent.  For a breakdown of how ridiculous their draft picks had been, click here to read my column regarding that horrific stretch of futile decision making.  It was because of this that most people were already snickering when the Raiders were announced as “on the clock” for the 8^th pick of the 2010 draft.  However, unbeknownst to anyone watching, Oakland selected Rolando McClain, who was highly touted as a very solid linebacker and excellent run-stopper – an area in which the Raiders had struggled in previous years.  Naysayers sat and waited for the 2^nd round to see how Oakland would blow it, but after selecting Lamarr Houston, another solid defensive player, it was clear this wasn’t the usual senile Al Davis draft at work.  The Raiders then nabbed two impressive offensive linemen, and by that point it was official – someone in the organization actually knew what they were doing.

Speculation has been made that Al Davis has already died, and just like in Weekend At Bernie’s, someone is trying to make it seem as if he’s still alive so he can earn some credibility if and when the Raiders turn it around this upcoming season.  While that remains to be seen, the fact that JaMarcus “My syrup ain’t from Mrs. Butterworth” Russell has finally been cut loose shows at least someone is convincing the Crypt Keeper to do the right thing.  With or without a pulse, I’m down with that.

5) Northern Iowa over No. 1 Kansas, NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness Tourney

Kansas came into the season as the favorite to win it all.  Let’s just make this explanation short and sweet:  This is like the Yankees losing to your local adult league of beer-swilling, pot-bellied, over 35-year old and balding softball players.  Upon hearing the news of this upset, a friend of mine (who is a devout Kansas fan) put it best by saying, “I didn’t even know Northern Iowa had running water, let alone a college basketball team.”  Apparently Kansas hadn’t been given the memo either.

4) Montreal Canadiens over Washington Capitals, NHL Playoffs 1^st Round

The Canadiens were a #8 seed going up against the #1 seeded Capitals.  Considering this is hockey, that’s really all I need (or care) to say about the situation.

3) Fabricio Werdum over Fedor Emelianenko, Strikeforce “#1 Contender” bout

In a prior column, I briefly spoke about Fedor – who for the past 5+ years was widely considered to be not only the best Heavyweight fighter in the world, but the best MMA fighter in general – and why he needed to sign with the UFC to cement his legacy as the greatest of all time.  Well, during negotiations with UFC prez Dana White, Fedor wanted his company, M-1, to share in promotional revenue with the UFC for the pay-per-views he fought on.  To put this into perspective, that’s like any average joe getting hired by a company, then asking the company to give him or her a percentage of the overall gross the company makes for each day that new hire works.  In even simpler terms, it’s fucking ridiculous.  The UFC balked at Fedor’s demands, and he ended up signing with rival MMA company, Strikeforce (under those same terms, mind you).  Strikeforce promoted Fedor as unstoppable, and most fans bought into it.  Their plan was to build him up for a fight against HW champion Alistair Overeem once Fedor got past Fabricio Werdum, a solid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter who had been cut by UFC after a 2-2 record and KO loss.

Simple enough, right?  Not so much.  Turns out, Werdum went into the fight with a brilliant game plan of playing possum once Fedor connected on him, allowing Fedor to fall into his guard (for you layman’s, that means allowing the opponent to be on top of you on the ground).  Werdum capitalized with a slick triangle/armbar combo submission hold that was sunk in deep, forcing the Russian Cyborg to tap out in a mere 69 seconds.  The invincible aura of Fedor immediately evaporated, and as quickly as that, he became just another fighter capable of making a mental mistake.  Even Ivan Drago would have been disappointed.

2) Butler over Everyone except Duke, NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness Tourney

Let’s face it:  Cinderella teams come around every year in this tournament.  It’s nothing new, but always provides a fun story and underdog to root for.  Usually when a seed lower than #3 comes out of their bracket and is one of the last 4 teams left in the tourney, it’s a fairly big deal.  Well, the Butler Bulldogs – a number 5 seed – managed to kick that whole deal up a notch by not only reaching the Final Four, but making it all the way to the Finals.  And not only that, they almost won the whole damn thing!  Against Duke, no less!  I mean, Duke is arguably the most hated NCAA basketball team around (reason being they are so rich in tradition) and for a relatively unknown team like Butler to push them to the limit – losing by only 2 in the championship game – is something straight out of a movie.  Think about it, who even knew there was a Butler college?  And if you did hear of it, wouldn’t you have thought it was a place for 30-year old English men to learn how to be personal servants?  Sure the win would have been monumental, but even in losing the championship game Butler became the feel-good story of this year’s March Madness.

1) New Orleans Saints over Indianapolis Colts, Super Bowl XLIV

This upset has more to do with the history of both franchises than the actual match-up of these particular teams, although Indianapolis was the heavy favorite to win.  Dating back to their days in Baltimore, the Colts are one of the most successful teams in NFL history.  And I shouldn’t even have to explain anything about Peyton Manning, who is arguably one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game ALREADY.  This is team is a playoff staple and a yearly threat to make it to The Big Game, so for them to be facing a team who not only had NEVER been to a Super Bowl before, but had been the only team to lose their last 3 regular season games and actually make it to the SB was astonishing in itself.  Surely, a team whose fan base used to refer to them as “The Aints” couldn’t win it all in their first try against an established, future Hall-of-Famer led juggernaut such as The Colts … right?  Maybe that would have been so if Tony Dungy was still calling the shots.  But his predecessor, Jim Caldwell, somehow managed to choke away a 7-point lead with only a minute left heading into the half, and the Saints rode that momentum all the way to their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.  Not enough credit was given to Drew Brees, as he evenly matched Manning throw-for-throw throughout the game, but it was the savvy and “balls to the walls” play calling of Saints’ coach Sean Payton that led his team to victory.

It’s going to be tough, but if the next 6 months of this year can somehow top the first half in terms of upsets, it’ll be safe to say 2010 was the year the mighty had fallen.

- Ahmed Salazar

The day NBA fans have been discussing for over two years has finally arrived: July 1st- the 2010 free agent pool is open, let the games begin!  Forget being a basketball fan, this is the kind of occurrence that all sports fans dream of; the entire league is receiving perhaps the biggest shakeup any league has ever felt in sports history.  It is virtually as though the NBA is being re-drafted this summer, and by the start of the next season your team’s roster could be a completely new team, for better or worst.

The Players

Lebron James- “The Grand Prize”

“The Lebron Sweepstakes,” “The Courtship of King James,” “Lebronathon,” these are some of the popular titles of this year’s free agent class.  There is no doubt who the top guy on everyone’s list is, at least those who can afford to have him on there. Lebron is easily the most coveted free agent in the history of basketball, maybe even all of sports, rarely is there a single player available who’s addition will single-handedly put your team in championship contention.  The Chosen One has made no secret that he intends on hearing out each team’s offer very thoroughly, and will weigh out all options before coming to a decision.  This has teams taking whatever actions necessary to appease King James; players, coaches, even GM’s have been let go in attempt to clear whatever signing room may be needed to satisfy Lebron’s taste and high price tag.

The best fit: Cleveland

At the end of the day Lebron needs to finish what he’s started and be the hometown hero who delivers a championship to the city with no championships.  All the other offers from the NBA’s biggest markets are all very sexy, but Lebron will receive money by the freight-load no matter where he goes, and enough endorsement money to feed a small continent, he should not make his decision based on who pays the most.  Lebron’s legacy lies in Cleveland, and Cleveland loves him the most, and currently is his best shot of winning, and isn’t that what it’s really all about?

Dwyane Wade- “The Recruiter”

The second most talented player in the pool has taken a much different approach to the market sweepstakes, and it could result in the building of the most viscious contender of all.  Wade understands that the Miami Heat is his legacy, and he seems content on building on that legacy and using his insider friendships with other free agents to make it happen. Wade has met with stars such as Chris Bosh, Amar’e Stoudemire and even King James about the possibility of coming to Miami with him and forming a team of studs that can wreak havoc on the league.  Since The Heat have just as much money to play with as anyone, and they obviously want Wade back first and foremost, they have the luxury of adding whoever Wade can coax into joining.

Best fit: Miami

D-Wade has already proven that he is capable of taking his team to a championship with his impressive performance in 2006 when he willed Miami to their first championship.  A combination of injury and a poor supporting cast has really hampered Wade’s ability to repeat such a run.  With the sheer number of talented players available, Wade will certainly be able to work his insider status and bring on at least 2 or 3 complimentary players to form a team that will be a force to reckon with.

Chris Bosh- “The Golden Sidekick”

While Lebron and D-Wade have been the mega stars that has everybody drooling over the image of them dawning their team’s jersey, Chris Bosh has been the secondary star that is automatically added to the dream team mix.  Bosh is one of the most talented stars in the league, and probably the most valuable power forward you can find, he’s certainly a player you could build a team around.  A championship would be far-fetched from a Bosh-led team in the near future however, but add him to a team that already has a superstar whom he can compliment and you might just have the new favorite for the 2011 championship.

Best fit- Miami

Bosh has met with Wade in Miami multiple times now, and seems to be pretty keen on the idea of teaming up with him and whatever big signings they can draw in.  One thing to look for; The Toronto Raptors realize they won’t be re-signing Bosh, so they are looking to work a sign-and-trade deal in order to get something in return for their departed superstar, this opens the possibility to Bosh receiving a bigger contract than Wade and the NBA’s max salary for a free agent.  Would Wade want his Robin making more money than him?  This very real possibility could be the only thing that prevents Bosh’s entry the south beach.

Dirk Nowitzki- “The Strategist”

Through all the talk of the big names coming out of this season’s free agent class, Dirk’s name has very rarely been brought up, despite the fact that he could easily be on most people’s list of top-5 players in the league.  It’s hard to say why that is, but it’s most likely because nobody actually envisions him playing anywhere outside of Dallas.  Mark Cuban definitely has the dollars to keep Nowitzki in a Mavs uniform, and he knows this.  Dirk’s playing of the field is his way of bumping up that contract offer from Dallas, and seeing as how he does have the option to go wherever he wants this summer, this strategy will probably get him the deal he’s looking for.

Best Fit- Dallas

I don’t see the negotiations between the two parties getting so twisted that neither side comes to terms.  However, whatever the Mavericks end up paying Dirk could be the reason they are unable to make another major signing this off-season, and thus result in the Mavericks staying in that familiar upper-middle of the pack they’ve become so accustomed to.

Joe Johnson- “The Dark Horse”

Had this been any other season, or off-season rather, Joe Johnson would be getting looked at as the golden ticket to many team’s championship vision.  Obviously this is a freak of nature off-season however, and Johnson is usually about the 4th or 5th name mentioned when bringing up hot free agents.  Johnson will bring a lot to where ever he goes, the 4X All-star has been improving each season and is approaching the point in his career where he’s going to need to start accomplishing great team success or else he will be labeled just another talented player who could never win the big one.  Whether or not he’s ready to lead a team to that kind of success is uncertain, although the Knicks have made it clear that he’s the first player they’re looking to sign.  Of course that is not all the Knicks are looking to sign, but if Johnson were to play Pippen to Lebron’s Jordan, he could find the perfect niche to take his career to the next level.

Best fit- New York

If Johnson can become a big reason for New York’s return to stardom on the hardwood, it could make the average-named guard a bigger name than any other city could make him.  He realizes this, and it might be too tough to resist for a player in his position.

Amar’e Stoudamire- “The Backbone”

In this day and age the NBA is a guard’s league, and one of the reasons for that is it is hard to find a big man that can be both affective in the paint as well as reliable to stay healthy.  Amar’e Stoudemire has a rare combination of incredible athletic size and the all-around skill to score and defend at will.  Of all the worthwhile free agents he is one of the few who you could start with and build a team to compliment, which is an important find for most teams because only one team is winning the Lebron sweepstakes.

Best Fit- New York

See explanation for Joe minus the average-sounding name part.

Carlos Boozer-  ”The Missing Piece”

Speaking of big men with solid all-around game, Carlos Boozer is another versatile player who’s size and youth makes him a very powerful asset to whatever team brings him aboard.  His consistent play on both ends of the floor would make him a great compliment to a team that is right there at the doorstep of a championship but needing of that last piece to put them over the hump.

Best fit- Chicago

If the Bulls strike out with the players at the top of this list, they’re going right to Boozer with Lebron-type money.  You can do the math, so can Boozer.

Rudy Gay- “The Star Undercover”

Now that everyone has got their initial snickering of his birth name out the way, Rudy Gay is ready to show just how valuable he can be to the NBA.  Having been somewhat lost in the shuffle on less-than-noticeable teams, Gay has quietly developed one of the most sound games in the league.  He will be a star on whatever team he’s added to, not in that he will lead them in scoring on a nightly basis, or dominate the highlight reel, but his ability inside and out make his contributions to each game a major piece  to scoring W’s.

Best Fit- LA Clippers

Much like Boozer, Gay will receive big offers from the teams who strike out on the mega stars, but Gay fits the Clipper line-up possibly better than any other team that would be vying for his services.  Alongside Chris Kaman and the un-tested Blake Griffin, the Clippers could all of a sudden have one of the most talented front courts in the league, and with a savvy veteran like Baron Davis controlling the ball, The Clippers might finally be something other than that other team in LA… well, they’ll probably still be that, but at least they’ll be winning games for a change.

David Lee- “The Chameleon”

If David Lee walked up to you in a McDonald’s and asked you for a bite of your cheeseburger, what would you say?  Would say “Hey aren’t you David Lee??”  Or would you say “Find you’re own damn burger Sasquatch!”  Most of us would probably go with the latter, or at least some variation of that.  Lee is not the most recognizable athlete in the NBA, but he has quietly become one of the most athletic forwards in the league, and is another player whose addition to an already stacked line-up could be a valuable contribution to a championship team.  Also, he’s probably the best white player in the league, for what that’s worth.

Best Fit- New York

Lee is actually pretty recognizable in The NYC, since he’s pretty much all they’ve had in the past few years and vice versa.  David Lee will never carry New York to a championship, but throw a couple superstars in the line-up and ask Lee to play more of a role-playing position, and you have a dangerous chameleon on a dangerous team.

Paul Pierce- “The Pimp”

Paul Pierce has bled the Celtic green since he’s been in the NBA, and was the heart of their championship run in 2008.  If there has been a face to put on the current Celtic dynasty, it’s Pierce’s. Yet Pierce shocked the NBA earlier this week when he opted out of his contract with one year left, declaring himself eligible to be signed by new teams and throwing his hat in the proverbial ring.  Pierce is a sly hustler, and he is playing the game to do what’s best for Paul, because the Celtic green, the Paul Pierce legacy is much more important to him than the Celtic dynasty.  If there is going to be a new powerhouse in the league, Pierce wants in on it.  The free agent market is where the party’s at this summer, and what’s a summer party without your neighborhood pimp?

Best Fit- Chicago

The Bulls have one of the most up-and-coming line-ups in the league, the big thing they’re lacking: A talented leader who has proven success.  As it has been stated, The Bulls have their sights set for the top of this list, but if they fall short of those signings they have a great experienced veteran in Pierce, who would probably be revitalized by the youthful exuberance around him with up-and-coming stars like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

“The Hiddeen Gems”

So your team is un-able to sign any of the mega stars, all is lost and you’re doomed to spend the rest of your days wallowing at the bottom of your division with a laughable record (I’m looking at you Clippers/Nets).  Perhaps, but this free agent pool is deeper than the Atlantic Ocean, there are so many players who are up for grabs at this point that any team can be capable of adding 3-5 extremely talented players and build a solid base that could launch an upwards climb through the ranks for years to come.  Players like John Salmons, Ray Allen, Shannon Brown, Richard Jefferson, Tyrus Thomas, Tyson Chandler, Josh Childress, Jordan Farmar, JJ Reddick and even over-the-hill stars like Shaq and Jermaine O’Neal will not attract the big offers right out the gate that the players listed above will, but once some of the initial smoke clears from the early bangs of the open market, some of these guys might be the perfect tool to fix up a team’s deteriorated line-up.  And with all the cap space that’s been cleared around the last year or so, there will be plenty of money to go around to keep these guys happy.  It should be noted however, that some of these teams will innevitably be labeled the losers of this free agent sweepstakes.  After all, it is going to be tough to sell your fans that Raymond Felton was the big free agent signing that you’ve been waiting for (no offense Ray).

The time for change is here, who will do a 180 and become a contender over night?  Who will get the missing piece they’ve been waiting for?  Who will whiff hardcore?  The gates are open, and it’s time to sit back and watch as a revolution unfolds.  Happy hunting!

~Castle

What’s hot? Katy Perry, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, James Brown on crack, US Soccer, Lebron Benedict, John Lennon naked, Rihanna, a fat sweaty dude and a crazy bastard cat. Some of these things are hot, others aren’t, but it all gets covered in the new episode of iCAS!

The triumphant cry that bonds all fans to the game of soccer, both die-hard and fairweather.  In America however, that is about the extent of what people really enjoy of the sport.  The famous Telemundo goal cry is probably even more of a highlight for them than the actual goal itself.

That is American soccer in a nutshell.  Or is it?  Perhaps that statement is actually a huge misconception that we are made to believe due to the heavy layers of “who gives a sh*t” syndrome that is laid on so thick by the media and sports fans who truly don’t.

The game of soccer, or futbol as the rest of the world terms it, has grown immensely in America over the past 20 years.  And yes, it is futbol, football is something else in this country and nothing will ever change that.  The popularity of futbol in America has not only increased tenfold over the past decade or so, but the skill level of the athletes who play it has improved all across the board, and is only getting better.

With the US currently surging on an inspirational run through the World Cup that has garnered the attention of the entire world, it is very possible that we are currently watching the greatest step in the game’s popularity yet.

Landon Donovan's 91st minute goal to defeat Algeria 1-0 captured the nation better than any moment in US soccer history

We’ve all heard the reasons why people don’t like soccer; it’s boring, it’s slow, there’s no scoring, the players take dives, just to name a few popular complaints.  Haters of the sport enjoy making comments like “We like more action than that in America.”  But this is the most popular sport worldwide, don’t you think there’s something to it that makes it so unanimously popular?  I could go into the beauty of the foot-controlled game and why you should appreciate it, but that’s not where I want to go with this piece.

What does soccer need to do to become mainstream in America?  If our country wants to compete with the best of the world, we need to have the fan base to be interested in competing with the best of the world.  And since Major League Soccer (MLS) hardly has the competition to keep the majority of us interested, what hope do we have to actually view soccer as a game with great cultural relevance?

But what if the fan base needed to go mainstream actually already exists within this country?  I believe if a survey was done among individual sports fans in the US that questioned whether they enjoy soccer, the tally would be a total that rivaled America’s other favorite sports such as basketball, baseball and *gasp* maybe even other football.  A joke, right?  Surely the only reason I would make a statement like that would be to follow it up with a witty, incredibly cheesy remark such as “yeah, and Anna Nicole Smith died a virgin.”

Not if this guy had anything to say about it!

Yet I stand here, having made the statement with nothing but a cold serious stare on my face.

look how serious I am

July 18. 2009:  The MLS’s Seattle Sounders played host to Chelsea, the popular English Premier club in London.   The cross-league friendly match drew a crowd of over 65,000 raging fans at Qwest field, almost entirely pro-Sounders!  The Seattle fans faithfully cheered on, chanted, banged drums, blew whistles, put their arms around each other as they sang in unison- all the common fandemonium that takes place in the wild stadiums all across the world.  Seeing this confirmed what I’d suspected; the massive following that the rest of the world shares for this sport is indeed alive in the United States.

If Seattle can get this crazy over the Sounders, imagine what else America is capable of

Bring us the world’s best teams, bring us the world’s best players, I guarantee people will show up in mass numbers, and the outcome would be legendary.

If the English Premier League was played in America, I firmly believe soccer’s popularity would eventually match that of any other sport in America.  If the best players in the world all wanted to play in America, America would compliment the game by fully endorsing it.

So how does that happen?  It’s really as simple as a single symbol: $.

If an American-based soccer league were willing to pay top dollar for the best talent worldwide, the best talent worldwide would play here.  As much of an arrogant, pompous American  statement as that is, I’m just being real: We’ve made it happen in other sports, and no other country in the world has the kind of pull America does.

As proved here by this fine patriot

You need to make money to spend money however, and you need to spend money to make money, and it’s not going to happen over night.  Yet I believe the groundwork is already being laid.  We aren’t quite ready for futbol to sweep the nation just yet, but a spectacular US performance in this World Cup of 2010 could boost the process tremendously.

Can an American squad really compete with the powerhouse futbol nations of the world?  Absolutely.

Being a low-scoring sport, often times it takes justs a single exceptional series of events to unfold that finds the ball in the net.  In no other sport can a single point very possibly be all that’s needed for a win, and considering the US does have one of the top goal tenders in the world in Tim Howard, the potential of a a major upset is always within their grasp.  We are, after all, the same country who knocked off Spain just a year ago, as well as tied the eventual World Cup champion Italians in 2006.  History has proven that this country can hang with anyone.

As long as Tim Howard is in the net, we're in the game

A World Cup championship?  No, we aren’t ready for that.  We will be in this lifetime however, and eventually the day will come that USA is crowned World Cup champions.  But it will only happen if we as a country can accept soccer for the brilliant sport that it is; the game of futbol.

~Castle

Odds that the series will end with both teams being good friends and calling it even ……………………1,000,000 to 1

Odds the game will end in a 0-0 draw ………… 999,999 to 1

Odds that Phil Jackson will leave his chair before the 4th quarter ……………………………………………….1,000 to 1

figure it out guys

Odds that Kevin Garnett will break his neck bashing his head into the post before the game …………………………..700 to 1

Odds that Sasha Vujacic will come off the bench and hit a huge shot …………………………………….. 500 to 1

Odds that Sasha Vujacic will come off the bench and take a terrible shot every time he gets his hand on the ball………………………………………..  5 to 1

Odds that Penny Marshall will get any camera time…………………………………………..300 to 1

Odds that Brian Scalabrine will get any playing time for the Celtics ………………………………………..100 to 1

Odds that Rasheed Wallace will hurt his team more than he will help them   ………………………………50 to 1

Odds that your girlfriend’s favorite moment of the game will be the dancing hamsters in that Kia commercial   …………………………………………………… 40 to 1

Odds that Jeff Van Gundy will be sidetracked with a witty story that played out earlier in his day  ………… 30 to 1

Odds that Mark Jackson will encourage further discussion of the story despite having absolutely nothing to do with anything in the game  …………………………………. 25 to 1

Odds that Nate Robinson will get super hyped up anytime he scores a basket …………………………………….  20 to 1

Odds that Nate Robinson will actually score a basket  ………………………………………. 89 to 1

Odds that a physical fight will break out on the court………………………………………………………… 19 to 1

Odds that Ron Artest will be involved in the fight ….. 10 to 1

Odds that a famous celebrity will be seen in the crowd wearing an ugly hat and a haggard ‘off-season’ beard……………………………………………………… 15 to 1

Odds that Paul Pierce will put his foot in his mouth before the series is over… again  ………………………. 10 to 1

Odds that Rajon Rando will win MVP if the Celtics win the series  ………………………………………………… 18 to 1

Odds that Kobe Bryant will win MVP if the Celtics win the series ………………………………………………….17 to 1

Odds the Celtics will actually win the series……………………………………………………… No Line (we don’t need to go there)

Odds that Magic Johnson will laugh, smile and point at the camera and say “It’s the Finals baby!” ……………….  9 to 1

Odds that Big Baby Davis will have an over-the-top reaction, drool all over the crowd and maybe sprout some tears…………………………………… 8 to 1

Odds that a Ron Artest will run around like a circus monkey and flail wildly each time he’s bumped by an opposing player………………………………….. 7 to 1

ahh shit!

Odds that Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy will disagree on a call ……………………………………………. 6 to 1

Odds that Kevin Garnett will pound his chest at some point ………………………………………………………… 5 to 1

Odds that Kobe Bryant will put on his intense scowl after draining a tough shot ……………………….. 3 to 1

Odds that this series is going to 7 games……………………………………………  2 to 1

Odds that their will be a riot in LA regardless of the outcome on the court ……………………………………. Even

The NBA Finals: Xmas time to your local luters

~Castle

Lakers vs Celtics, we are witness to their greatness.

Quite honestly, I was going to begin this article citing several classic sports rivalries, like Ali/Frazier, Yankees/Red Sox and… well it looks like I’m doing it anyways.  The point I want to make in this internal battle with the introductory paragraph, is that storied examples of sports rivalries aren’t even needed to bring justice to this matchup.

The Celtics and the Lakers are in class of their own, it is battle that has been waged for six decades now, a lifetime of physical competition that would bring a smile to the face of even the most jaded sports fan.  You can hate both these teams more than anything, but you can’t help but be intrigued at the war that plays out when they play on the floor against each other.

In my opinion, sports are at their most fascinating when they play out a story:  A story that is too good to be scripted, too real to be forced, too reputable to be disrespected.  A true passionate rivalry is something that cannot be forced, and believe me, the media tries to force rivalries all the time, but when it takes place it is something to behold.  It pits city against city, friend against friend, and sometimes, if we’re lucky enough, it contends legend against legend.

The story of the Lakers/Celtics feud is so storied and has dominated the history of basketball unlike any professional sport has ever known, it truly is unrivaled in the eye of sports history.  Dating back to the dawn of the game, 1962, the first time these two titans tangled on the championship stage with the Lakers in Los Angeles.  The series displayed the best athletes the young game of basketball had to offer in their prime.  Laker legends Elgin Baylor and Jerry West battled the likes of Bill Russell and Bob Cousy to a 7-game series in which Boston eventually edged the Lakers in overtime 110-107 for their fourth straight title.  The Celtics would go on to win the next four NBA titles after that, dispatching of the Lakers in three of those series and establishing themselves as the premier franchise of the NBA.

Boston completely dominated the early years of the feud, winning the first six championship encounters between the two, making this not so much a rivalry as it was a sovereignty.  However, the series were all closely contested, and later Wilt Chamberlain was added to the Lakers franchise, bringing the biggest man-to-man rivalry in sports into the Lakers/Celtics competition: Wilt vs Russell.  It is impeccable scenarios like this that find their way into the Boston/Los Angeles battle that makes it’s history so incredible.

Wilt Chamberlain vs Bill Russell: Bringing out the best of the early days of the battle

Twenty years after the birth of the rivalry, it received a fresh burst of life when the two most promising stars the game had found themselves on opposing sides of the war.

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were not strangers, they squared off in the 1979 NCAA championship in what remains, to this day, the most watched televised basketball game in history.  Magic’s Michigan State Spartans topped Larry’s Indiana State Sycamores in an epic contest.  When it came time for the 1979 draft, a strange aura of circumstances began to unfold to work in favor of the Los Angeles and Boston franchises, and thus improve the potential rivalry.  Los Angeles miraculously ended up with the first pick of the draft as a result of compensation they had received from the struggling New Orleans Jazz franchise upon signing Laker veteran, Gail Goodrich, and used it to pick the Magic Man, and the Showtime era began.  Meanwhile, The Celtics, much like the NBA as a whole at the time, had been struggling in recent years, and selected Bird with the 6th overall pick.  Three years later, another set of unusual circumstances once again brought the Lakers the first pick in the 1982 draft through a trade with Cleveland, which brought them North Carolina stud forward, James Worthy.  The groundwork was laid for the NBA’s greatest rivalry to be re-newed, and wow did it ever pick back up.  The revived rivalry became the cornerstone of the new era of NBA action and brought it to levels of popularity it had never before experienced.

It doesn't get any better

If the 60’s were dominated by Lakers/Celtics basketball, the 80’s were represented by Lakers/Celtics hatred.  Not only was the rivalry back, it was more intense than ever; it brought out the best in the NBA through a brutal, diehard clash to the championship.  These men wanted to win, but perhaps even more importantly, they did not want to lose.  The Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals three times in the 80s, each game soaked with heated intensity that most men only dream of experiencing.  The Celtics defeated the Lakers in 1984, which the Lakers avenged with championship victories over the C’s in 1985 and 1987.

I grew up hearing my dad talk endlessly about these series, he would explain the pressure that he would endure all throughout game day, you would have thought he was suiting up in the purple and gold himself to take down Boston.  Everything he described would make me yearn to see the rivalry with my own eyes; from the reckless physical play to not only win but punish the opponent, to bringing in the radio with Chick Hearn’s play-by-play call, thus avoiding the Dick Stockton and Tommy Heinsohn commentary on the CBS telecast.

The rivalry fizzled in the 90’s however, as the Lakers went through a period struggling at the middle of the pack, and the Celtics dynasty died in every way, perhaps most officially in 1997 when the Boston Garden was demolished.

The Lakers returned to championship stature by the end of the decade, running a memorable three-peat that featured new rivalries with teams like the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trailblazers and San Antonio Spurs.  As a Laker fan it was a dream come true to watch my team reach the pinnacle of success, but part of me still wished I could live through the experience of a Lakers/Celtics rivalry.

In 2008, I received my wish.  Boston pulled off what has to be considered one of the most successful off-season acquisitions in sports history; adding Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to a Paul Pierce-led squad, immediately re-establishing the second coming of The Big 3 (a nickname previously used to describe the 80’s trio of Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish).  Just like that, Boston was a contender again.  The Celtics stormed their way into the Finals, where they once again would be opposed by the Lakers.  Los Angeles was delighted that their greatest nemesis was back in the championship ring with them, but perhaps it was that pride to re-new the rivalry that caught them off-guard.  The Lakers were happy to be playing the Celtics for the championship, the Celtics were their to win the championship, and they did.  After a physical, relentless series filled with unforgettable moments such as Paul Pierce being rolled off in a wheel chair, only so he could make his ever-so triumphant return and lead the Celtics to victory in game 1.

Am I gonna make it doctor?

The Celtics finished the series in Game 6 with a a vicious statement; a 39-point beat down that sent the Lakers home with green and white glitter falling on their shoulders.  This was a day I like better not to recall.  The Lakers were absolutely humiliated in Boston, and Los Angeles had to endure all the painful imagery of The Celtics celebrating; hearing Kevin Garnett screaming “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLLLLE!!!!”

This was not something the Lakers would take lying down, not with Kobe Bryant at the helm, he would not let his team forget it.  Kobe returned with a vengeance in 2009, playing with a fury nobody had seen him play with before; he was getting his fourth title, and nobody would stop him, especially not the Celtics.  But the Celtics never made it to the Finals that year, hampered by injury they were knocked out in the second round by a surging Orlando Magic club.  The Lakers dispatched of the Magic in the Finals and claimed their 15th championship, only two behind The Celtics all-time leading 17th titles.

The Lakers return to championship victory was sweet, but it wasn’t enough.  Laker nation wanted more, we wanted revenge, we wanted the Celtics.  It has arrived.

This is the pinnacle of the NBA chapter, this is what the NBA needs right now.  It has been assumed we needed to see Kobe vs Lebron, but perhaps Lebron is not ready for that.  He will battle his free agency limbo this off-season, and return with a squad that he will have a re-newed sense of commitment to, and it will be a new era of potential championship lore.  But right now it is meant to be Boston vs Los Angeles, that is what the great book of professional sports has brought us.  Both these squads are beginning to feel the effects of age; the season has worn them down and there is no guarantee that they will be back here next season, they need to win it now.  The names are here; Kobe, Garnett, Pau, Pierce, Lamar, Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen), Fisher, Rondo, Artest:  They know each other, they’ve been through the rivalry, they know what’s at stake, and they’re here to win.

The greatest rivalry of all time is indeed back, and we are all witness.

~Castle

The result of this off-season free agent pool could shake the NBA for years to come

Am I the only one who finds this meeting of the minds despicable?

I mean, what business do these guys have in determining where each other should go? Don’t get me wrong — I understand they are all friends. If they want to go out and have a group function at the nearest Spearmint Rhino strip club, making it rain and washing away their sorrows in some bubbly champagne, that’s more than acceptable. Hell, that’s actually encouraged in the sports world, to my knowledge. But for 5 of the top players in any league to get together and discuss their future stomping grounds with each other is nothing short of collusion! As a matter of fact, it’s downright blasphemous to the sport!

No, I’m not naïve enough to believe these guys wouldn’t be talking about this stuff even if this news hadn’t made its way to the media circles. That’s like saying Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda wouldn’t be talking about men when they hang out (yes, I just named off the entire cast of characters from Sex in the City without flinching, so what? I will still cut you in a heartbeat.)

say something!

However, the fact that they DID have the nerve to announce this future meeting, as if it were “business as usual” shows two things: First and foremost, the inmates are officially running the asylum now in the NBA. The power used to be in the hands of the owners and GMs who decided which free agents they would take a chance on through interviews, scouting, and the typical evaluation process of talent. Somehow, the shift of power has gone from the team’s personnel to the players themselves. Next thing you know, we’re going to have NFL QB’s calling their own plays from the line of scrimmage after the coach calls a play in the huddle. Wait, they already do that? Son of a bitch…

It's cute how you're holding that clipboard like you're calling the plays or something

Secondly, the days of heated battles and bitter rivalries between superstars in the NBA are dead and gone.

Look at it like this: could you ever have imagined Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Isiah Thomas all getting together in the late 80’s during an offseason to decide where they each would play? HELL NO. And I shouldn’t even have to explain why this was the case … those guys HATED each other during their playing days. That’s the way basketball is SUPPOSED to be. Save for an occasional McDonalds or Nike commercial, you wouldn’t see these guys anywhere near each other outside of the basketball court.

All this Kumbayah and “let’s figure it out amongst each other and make the best decision for ourselves as a group” nonsense is a slap-in-the-face to the Golden Era of basketball. These players ought to be ashamed of their damn selves.

Do you want to know why Kobe Bryant is the best comparison to the Michael Jordan mold of the current era? He’s the only one with the same villainous winning mentality. Kobe would probably foul his own mama if she was wearing the opposing team’s jersey and it meant an opportunity for winning another ring. Kobe is the only player who, after winning 3 rings with a particular team’s nucleus, would even fathom holding that team with such a rich championship history hostage by demanding that either he or the lazy, fat, never comes back from the offseason in shape, wannabe rapper of a center gets traded. That right there is a dedication to one’s own desire to be the best. Do you think he was trying to make dinner plans with Allen Iverson that summer?

On the other hand, Dwyane Wade was quoted as saying he’s a loyal person, and as such wants to remain with a loyal basketball club for the duration of his career. OK, Mr. Wade … NEWS FLASH: A club is only going to be as loyal to you as you are beneficial to them. The second a player is no longer pertinent to a team’s success or future plans, why should they keep you around? It’s like any other job in this world – you’re only needed until you aren’t anymore. In terms of business, it’s a “what have you done for me lately?” world, and basketball players sure as hell are not exempt from this theory.

Except for Juwan Howard... apparently

So, what exactly do these players expect to accomplish with this meeting?

While taking a closer look at each of their respective playing styles, there’s a glaring issue among three of these five players: James, Wade and Johnson all have similar skill sets. If you look even closer, James and Wade are almost the exact same player … the only difference is size, which isn’t even that big of a discrepancy. So how would these two co-exist on the same team? Who would be the star? Who would defer to being the 2nd in command?

An argument could be made that both players would be willing to put their egos aside to work towards a championship, but who are they kidding? These guys love the notoriety just as much, if not more than they do winning at this stage of their careers. Joe Johnson, a one-time stellar part of the original Phoenix Suns “run-and-gun” offense several years ago, chose to leave the team so he could become the focal point of his own offense. He maximized his statistics in Atlanta and landed on a few All-Star teams as a result, but don’t you think he’d be closer to a title if he stayed with Phoenix, who made a deep playoff run this year?

The reason Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce came together in Boston and made it work was because, while they’re all still relatively in their prime, they all saw the window of opportunity closing and realized it wasn’t about being “the man” anymore. It was about a team effort to win, and each teammate admitted they wouldn’t have been able to co-exist if they came together when they were younger due to the “superstar complex.”

Ultimately, LeBron James is the one player of this entire group that clearly controls his own destiny. He can pretty much go wherever he wants, so long as a certain bipolar, gun-touting, LeBron’s momma loving red-head is not on the roster. I’m not saying any names though. But you have to believe that LeBron is going to try and sway either Bosh or Stoudemire to join him if he does stay in Cleveland, or wherever else he decides to go.

As much as I don’t like this “elitist” union within a union, the truth is no one knows exactly what these five players are going to be talking about until free agency begins on July 1st. From there, though, we should be able to deduce what went down by where these particular athletes go. And if this is any indication of the future, this won’t be the first time we’ll see tails wagging the dog during the offseason.

NBA Finals thoughts

In anticipation of the 12th meeting between the Lakers and Celtics in the NBA Finals, I’m going to throw out some random thoughts on the series, including a prediction which is completely unbiased. A little bit. Kinda, sorta… oh who am I kidding?

Kobe is undoubtedly the most important player of this series for the Lakers, but would you believe me if I said Rajon Rondo is Boston’s key to success? You better, because it’s the truth. Time to find a new nickname, Mr. Pierce.
People scoffed for most of the season at Ron Artest’s contributions to L.A. and claimed the team would have been better off keeping Trevor Ariza. However, after his game-winning put back in Game 5 of the WC Finals, I believe he finally feels he’s part of the team. What would any family be without that weird cousin that everyone backs up in public, but behind closed doors wonders “did this guy sniff one too many permanent markers as a kid?”
Ray Allen seems to play his best whenever he’s going against Kobe. Remember that whole “rivalries are dead” comment I made earlier? Well, that’ll only be official once these two retire.
Boston’s bench is going to run circles around the Lakers 2nd unit.
I’d personally rather see Adam Morrison in an arm-wrestling contest with Nate Robinson than Sasha Vujacic shoot another 3 in a Lakers uniform.
Over/under on Kendrick Perkins getting his next technical foul is Game 3. I’m taking the under.
Pau Gasol will solidify himself as the best and most versatile big man in the NBA after these Finals.
“Big Baby” Glen Davis will be involved in no less than 2 scuffles during the course of this series… he will most likely cry following all of them.
Andrew Bynum’s future as a Laker lies solely on his health during these Finals. If he doesn’t finish the series on the court, he can kiss the purple and gold goodbye (he’s probably gone either way, but those chances decrease with his contributions to a potential title).
Kevin Garnett will continue his decline in performance by being thoroughly outplayed by Mr. Khloe Kardashian.
Derek Fisher will not make a clutch shot throughout the entire series.
I was so lying about that last one. That’s like saying Paul Pierce won’t fake an injury when he’s having a bad game.
Lakers win in 7 games.
Bring it on home, boys.

Grudge, by definition, explains it all.

1. A feeling of ill will or resentment:  to hold a grudge against a former opponent.
2. Done, arranged, etc., in order to settle a grudge:  The light heavyweight fight was said to be a grudge match.

The main event at this Saturday’s UFC 114 card between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “Suga” Rashad Evans not only defines what a grudge match should be, it more importantly has a rare opportunity to transcend any feud in the company’s history, maybe even in the history of MMA as a whole.

To say these two UFC stars dislike each other is like saying Tom and Jerry probably weren’t going to be sharing bunk beds at night, that Tupac and Biggie probably weren’t going to squash that whole “East vs. West” beef before dying, or that water and oil aren’t the best mix for your car’s radiator (trust me on that one).  Actually, these guys HATE each other, and any fan of the sport that hasn’t been hibernating over the past 14 months should be well aware of the bitter war of words between Rashad and Rampage.

In the ungodly event that you aren’t aware of this deep-rooted rivalry, do yourself a favor and watch this clip: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1414973208255&ref=mf

They both have plenty of trash to talk, but can they walk it? Let's hope for UFC's sake they do

Hopefully that brings you up to speed.  If not, here’s a quick back story:  After defeating Rashad’s training partner Keith Jardine at UFC 96, Rampage was confronted in the cage by Evans.  They proceeded to trash-talk in anticipation of a title fight between the two (Rashad was the Light Heavyweight champion at the time, Rampage was the newly crowned #1 contender) but the bout fell through due to Rampage needing jaw surgery.  Evans ended up losing the title to Lyoto Machida in his first defense, but the paths of Rashad and Rampage would cross again — this time as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter reality show.  The heated verbal exchanges continued throughout the season, and it almost seemed as if the coaches would come to blows on several occasions during the show’s taping.

By this point, fans were more than salivating at the mouths for this fight to happen.  The long-awaited rumble was set to go down last December in Rampage’s hometown of Memphis, but another road block came in the form of a major movie role for Jackson, and the grumbling from disappointed fans became as loud as ever.

As the old saying goes, sometimes you just gotta play Mr T

While Rampage went off to film The A-Team, Evans continued to “get it in”, winning a fairly one-sided bout against another top contender, Thiago Silva.  After the fight, he called out Rampage once again, and the build-up stage was set once again.

That leads us to now… and while most fans are looking at this match simply as a war to settle the score, the reality is that this contest may prove to be much more than just another big main event.

Although the UFC is rich in putting out dozens of quality fights per year pitting top contenders against each other, hardly any of them involve the level of disdain between the combatants as this fight does.  As a matter of fact, the last major grudge match in the UFC was between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in 2006.  Before that, Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock were at each other’s throats.

Now, there’s a major difference between those grudge matches and the one scheduled for Saturday night:  the two prior feuds were completely one-sided.  Shamrock never stood a chance against Ortiz in any of their fights, and Tito was thoroughly beat down both times he fought Chuck.  The hype machine was built to lead fans into believing something would change from the first go-round of each feud, but despite their efforts, the results remained the same.

This is why Jackson vs. Evans is extremely crucial to the UFC brand, and MMA as a whole.  Although MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world, it has been missing one element that can elevate the sport into that next echelon of public and media lore and acceptance:  An epic trilogy.

Boxing has seen Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier; Roberto Duran vs. “Sugar” Ray Leonard; Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward; Ali vs. Ken Norton; and Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield, just to name a few of the great trilogies in its long history.  These were memorable battles that had been closely contested in at least two of the three bouts, and have lived on in the minds of the fans who witnessed them all unfold from round to round.  And while boxing has not been able to reproduce anything close to these types of major rivalries in terms of promoting fan interest for several years now, the UFC has got their hype machine down pat.

The only problem is their fights haven’t been living up to the hype.

The sport of MMA cannot afford Rampage vs. Rashad to end in a first-round KO, or any sort of controversial ending before the final bell.  This fight NEEDS to go the distance, and it MUST be close enough to where there’s an argument for either side to have won.  The paths of these two fighters will stray for a moment after one of them gets the inevitable title shot, but from there, they are going to have to meet again.  Bottom line.

Is this the rivalry UFC has been waiting for? Time will tell

I know it sounds like I’m asking a lot of this fight – a non-title bout at that – but the harsh reality is if this match were to end in a quick finish, I see the amount of disgruntled fans being so great that it’ll be impossible for any future grudge match to live up to its billing.  Aside from that, what will a crushing defeat do to the ego of either competitor?  Would they ever be the same again?  I find it hard to even consider that this fight won’t go past the halfway point of the 2^nd round.  Anything short of that is an epic failure on the loser’s part, plain and simple.

It’s time for UFC to put together its Ali/Frazier moment.  It’s time for all MMA fans to remember where they were when two of the best fighters in their prime threw down with reckless abandon, left it all in the cage, and had the audience in the arena and the fans at home (or the local sports bar) chomping at the bit for “just another round.”

While Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans are aware of the title implications for their imminent showdown, they may not be aware of their opportunity to make history.  It was 5 years ago during the finale of The Ultimate Fighter’s first season when Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar put on a show that made UFC relevant again, and made MMA a household sport.  That was the fight that took the art of hand-to-hand combat to new heights.

And now, it is time for Rampage and Rashad to up the ante.  Will you remember where you were this Saturday when UFC reaches that next level?

(Note:  If the fight sucks, forget I said anything…)