It's been awhile...

Prop1:

so let's get it started with something close to my heart...

Basketball

This is the first time I can watch a Finals, NFL or NBA, and can honestly say I do not care who wins.
I really like Dallas. And, of course I like the Lakers-east.

Shaq. Dirk. DWade. What's not to love?

The NBA has my attention again.
The Mikey J era was boring, because outside of the Bulls there was nobody. It would have been interesting if Houston caught fire while Mike was there but it didn't so from '92-2000, the league sucked. At the end of the day, Mike had no comp. Was he that good? Maybe. But first the intelligent person has to ask, who were the other 2-guards in the league? John Starks was several inches too short to be a serious threat. So was Joe Dumars, John Battle, Jeff Hornacek and Hersey Hawkins. Reggie Miller was not athletic enough. Ron Harper got hurt early in his career and was never the same. Kendall Gill, Gerald Wilkins, and Eddie Jones could match the athleticism but lacked the all-around game and the heart. So that leaves Clyde Drexler . A hall of famer no doubt, but he dribbled looking at the basketball which was a joke.

So essentially Mike could sleepwalk through the season, which perhaps explains his incredible incredible stamina at the end of games.

And the so-called next generation of stars was full of
overhyped players, bloated contracts and unrealized potential.

Shawn Kemp, Chris (Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) Jackson, Penny Hardaway, Larry Johnson, Alonzo Morning, Grant Hill, Juwan Howard, Derrick Coleman, Chris Webber, Christian Laettner, Sean Elliot, Danny Ferry, Kenny Anderson, Allan Houston- if only they were as good as advertised, as good as the sneaker companiers said they'd be.

This time it's different. Really. Because I'm a hater so if I say so...

This reminds me of the early 80's when Barkley, Ewing, MJ, Clyde, Dominique, and Hakeem stepped on the scene. There were multiple levels of stars. The old NBA and ABA legends- Kareem, Tiny, Doc, Gervin, and Moses. Players in their primes-Adrian Dantley, Marques Johnson, John Drew, Bill Walton (though he was often injured), Alex English, Bernard King, Robert Parrish, Walter Davis, and World B Free, and the New stars- Bird, Magic, Isiah, Mark Aguirre, Drexler, Terry Cummings, Kiki Vandewaghe, Sidney Moncrief, and Kevin McHale.

Then the perfect storm of the late 80's early 90's hit- Drugs, urban violence, sneaker money, greed, and league over-expansion.

Now its all freakin' good!
Old legends- Shaq, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton
Primetime-Dirk, Ben Wallace, AI, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Stephon Marbury, Ron Artest, Kobe, Nash, Tim Duncan, Richard Hamilton and Paul Pierce
New Stars-Lebron, Carmello, EBrand, DWade and Amare "Stud"-amire

Thank God!

However.
I wouldn't be me. If I didn't hate on Steve Nash.
MVP? Two-time MVP? Straight politics. Yes, it's because he's white. You have to show white kids that they can compete too. Nowitzki? The name is too foreign sounding. Nash? American as apple pie, although he was born in apartheid South Africa (?!!). He can't play a lick of dee! Where was he in the playoffs? Doug Collins on the mic was so desparate to justify the choice, that he attributed the success of Boris Diaw, Shawn Marion and Barbossa to his mere presence, although it was clear to all those with basic ball-knowledge that it was the tempo, and offense implemented by Mike D'Antoni -Euroball- that got the Suns going. High pick and roll. High pick and roll. High pick and roll. Three and four guys on the perimeter. No you see why the NBA has problems against the World. Put Steve Nash in any other system and he's done. That's the magic of the NBA playoffs. No matter how much you run up and down the court, eventually you'll have to run a half court set and get an offensive rebound. Consider... The MVP of the league, in the playoffs mind you, being outplayed by the likes of Smush Parker, Sam Cassell (who's nice), and Jason Terry.

Are you freaking kidding me?!!

Doug Collins on the mic, and the mass media call this the "point guard era led by Steve Nash". I thought it was JKidd who caused fans to reconsider the shoot first point guard. And he led his team to the Finals twice! Now. I can't stand JKidd but I'll be the first in line to say, that a player who legitimized the Nets and turned up the tempo in a defense first league where teams could barely score 90 points, should have been MVP at least once.

Yo Bro!
We're back baby!