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By Dave Consolazio, May 6, 2007 4:35 am

Lets go over the FACTS of these NBA playoffs. Not predictions. Go back and read anything anyone wrote. 99% agree on these simple facts.

Detroit Pistons will win the East.

Mavs, Suns, Spurs, Rockets move on to the second round.

Mavs face the Rockets and win.

Suns/Spurs play a great series. Winner of that series plays the Mavs.

Winner of the Mavs VS. Suns/Spurs series beats the Pistons.

World Champion crowned.

Hmmmm…

Well, the Pistons, Suns, and Spurs have held up their end of the deal. Give the Spurs the most credit, as they had to fight off a pretty pesky Denver Nuggets team to get to where they are now. But, granted, now they play the Suns; and worry about the Mavs later.

Wait a second.

Golden State Warriors VS. Utah Jazz?

I’m sorry, what?

Isn’t this the West? Where big men dominate? Where dominating inside the key is the only way to succeed? Where Shaq and Duncan won so many championships doing exactly that?

Why is Yao Ming at home?

And why, oh why, even if they ARE a perimeter team, are the Dallas Mavericks golfing in the first week of May?

It isn’t THAT crazy that you can’t say that the winner of the Spurs/Suns series is going to win it all with any amount of confidence.

What is crazy about it, however, is that the Jazz and the Warriors might actually be scarier than the Mavericks and Rockets. Not just because they beat them, but because they play a style of basketball that when clicking and when hot; there just really isn’t much of a way to stop.

Hats off to you, NBA. The country’s most predictable sport has thrown two huge curve balls early in these playoffs. Suns/Spurs VS. Jazz/Warriors can’t just be chalked up as a 5 game series anymore. The underdogs are actually showing up to play, and for probably the first time in basketball history, I’d say the NBA’s first round was madder than the NCAA’s.

May Madness, anyone?

Anyone?

(http://vegasdavesdime.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-west-wasnt-won.html)

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By Dave Consolazio, May 6, 2007 3:48 am

National Football League.

National Basketball Association.

Major League Baseball.

National Association for Stock Car Automobile Racing.

National Hockey League.

Not today.

Sure, the NBA had an exciting Game 7 between the Rockets and the Jazz which I’ll cover in another post. They also got their 1st 2nd round series under way, as the Pistons easily handled the Bulls at home. But the nation wasn’t really watching.

Yeah, the NHL had a few cruicial Game 5s . One sent the New Jersey Devils home packing, and the other gave the Red Wings a key 3 – 2 series lead over the Sharks. Even less people were watching then usual.

Baseball had a whole day’s worth of action, but they aren’t even in the playoffs. They stood no chance.

Today, it was all about horses and boxers.

The Kentucky Derby, the greatest tradition in horse racing and step one towards winning the elusive Triple Crown, was the main focal point of the afternoon.

One of the race’s favorites, Street Sense, did not disappoint, racing all the way from the 19th position to beat out the rest of the pack and win it all. It was an exciting race, especially due to the race Hard Spun ran. I picked Hard Spun before the race to do some damage, and very early on in the race, he jumped out to an early lead. Front runners almost always fade, especially in a race of this magnitude; but not Hard Spun. He got such good separation from the rest of the pack and somehow kept his pace that it actually looked like he had a shot to win right down to the wire; it took a great effort by Street Sense to beat him. Horse racing really is an incredible sport, and it is ashame that it had to take the undercard today to the big fight.

I picked Mayweather, but I never got around to blogging about it; which is probably good, because judging how the rest of my predictions went today, I probably would have made him lose. You can’t ever count De La Hoya out of any fight; his good looks sometimes distract people from how excellent of a boxer he is. And he has fought any and all comers; and those who have beaten him have certainly had their hands full while doing so. He’s got heart, smarts, and a world of talent; but Floyd Mayweather really is THAT good.

He doesn’t box spectacularly; he doesn’t need to. With technique, speed, defense, and patience, he can outwill and outlast any boxer he faces. Neither boxer got knocked down, and De La Hoya fans (and somewhat ridiculously Judge Tom Kaczmarek) obviously wanted to believe De La Hoya won the fight, but look no further than the stats; Mayweather landed more punches while throwing over 100 less (207 of 481 to De La Hoya’s 122 of 587), and landed more power punches (138) then De La Hoya landed punches all together (he had 82 registered power punches).

Love him or hate him, Mayweather is damn good. I love him. I love that he embraces the villain reputation. Everyone hates Barry Bonds, but Barry doesn’t go around ripping his opponents to shreds verbally. Barry doesn’t talk about how Hank Aaron is old and week and how he’s going to snatch that old man’s record from his hands. Barry is a villain because of his actions. Mayweather is a villain because he can be. What better picture to use as the first image to grace the Dime;
The man came out wearing the colors of the Mexican flag and a huge sombrero. Are you kidding me? He loves every minute of it; and he can back it up, too. He’s a perfect character for the sport of boxing; and if it could be saved, he’d have something to do with it.

But after tonight, I’m beginning to think it can’t be. As much as people were hyped for this fight, plenty of people I talked to weren’t going to get to see it; they weren’t going to order it for $55, and they didn’t have any friends willing to, either. The fact that they have to charge for the larger fights; because boxing doesn’t gross enough to survive without pay-per-view; absolutely kills any chance that it can raise in popularity.

On top of that, the amount of time off a boxer needs to prepare for his next fight is also a buzz-kill of sorts for the sport. It can’t really be avoided, but lets say a ton of people got pumped up for this fight, and are now either huge Mayweather fans OR they can’t wait to see him get beat. How long do they have to wait until his next fight? And unlike De La Hoya, his next fight likely won’t be nearly as big or exciting of a name. So after this fight, the one that would supposedly “save boxing”, one of the stars is facing retirement, and the other is facing a year or more off before we get to see him in the ring again; against someone who isn’t as fun to watch as De La Hoya was.

The last reason boxing is beyond saving? The heavyweight division. Greats of the sport come in all shapes and sizes and are of all weight classes, no one is denying that. But heavyweight boxing really is boxing at its best; the biggest, the strongest, and the simple fact that one punch can always end it. Lennox Lewis was great, but he had no one to fight. Nowadays…

World Champion Wladimir Klitschko, Ray Austin, Samuel Peter, Lamon Brewster, and Chris Byrd are the top 5 ranked heavyweights.

Who, who, who, who, and who?

I’m exaggerating slightly; I knew who Klitschko was before I looked it up. But the point remains, not only does boxing need some great talent/character combos like Mayweather (and by character I don’t mean great guy, I mean like personality), but it needs lots of them. And they need to fight each other and create some exciting rivalries. How do you take a sport that no one cares about with a bunch of guys you can’t market and make it into the great sport it once was?

If you find out, give the NHL a call too. Thanks.

(http://vegasdavesdime.blogspot.com/2007/05/major-sports-take-back-seat-for-day.html)

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By Dave Consolazio, May 5, 2007 1:14 am

Try 8 seconds.

The New York Rangers certainly did.

And, unlike the Shark game which only tied the series up at 2 – 2, this game was the pivotal game 5.

How pivotal? Well, when two teams head into Game 5 with the series tied up at 2 apiece, the winner of it goes on to win the series 80% of the time.

That is a real stat, not just one of my made up percentages for dramatic effect.

The Rangers broke a scoreless game and grabbed a 1 goal lead with less then 5 minutes to go. The home Buffalo crowd was stunned silent. This series would end in 6; the Rangers would close it out at home.

Chris Drury, who is not only my favorite non-King hockey player but also happens to be one of the most clutch players in the NHL come playoff time, buried a game tying goal with 8 seconds left, also burying the Rangers in 6 theory.

Maxim Afinogenov made it official in overtime, scoring the game winner just a few minutes in.

How quickly the tides can turn. One minute you are cruising to victory, not only in the game, but likely in the series; and the next, you are on the brink of elimination.

Please try and tell me there is anything better than playoff hockey?

(http://vegasdavesdime.blogspot.com/2007/05/and-i-thought-34-seconds-was-bad.html)

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By Dave Consolazio, May 3, 2007 12:48 pm

Very few teams in sports are simply manhandled by one man the way the Cincinatti Reds are simply manhandled by Roy Oswalt.

The fact that it is Roy Oswalt isn’t too embarrassing. I’ve made the argument countless times that Roy Oswalt is in the top 3 pitchers in baseball. I rank him behind Johan Santana, but ahead of everyone else in the league; with the exception of MAYBE “The Doc” Roy Halladay. But those are definitely the top 3 pitchers in baseball in my opinion; yes, ahead of Chris Carpenter.

If you want to argue with me about that, go check the stats yourself. If you see a compelling argument, make it. But I’m not here to argue where Roy Oswalt ranks in the league today, I’m here to point out where he ranks against the Reds.

That is no argument. He is number one.

Oswalt’s outing on Wednesday; 8 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 run, 2 strikeouts; was simply methodical. The Astros got 2 runs in the first inning. That was all they needed. They went on to win the game 3 – 1.

Over the course of his career, Roy Oswalt’s numbers are very impressive;

1251.1 innings pitched, 102 wins, 49 losses, 1045 strikeouts, 3.05 ERA, 1.18 WHIP.

Over the course of his career AGAINST THE REDS, Roy Oswalt’s numbers are just silly;

150.0 innings pitched, 18 wins, 1 loss, 129 strikeouts, 2.46 ERA, 1.06 WHIP.

18 – 1?

If Roy Oswalt got to face the Reds every game, people wouldn’t argue with me when I named him as the league’s elite.

(http://vegasdavesdime.blogspot.com/2007/05/when-roy-oswalt-is-on-mound-why-does.html)

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By Dave Consolazio, May 3, 2007 12:23 pm

Just ask the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks had the Red Wings right where they wanted them. With under a minute left in regulation and a one goal lead, all the Sharks had to do was hang on. They would then hold a 3 – 1 series lead over the #1 seeded Red Wings, spelling certain doom for the Wings; very few teams have come back from 3 – 1 deficits, and this Sharks team doesn’t look like the kind of team that would allow that to happen.

I was already looking ahead to the next series, Sharks VS. Ducks, when Robert Lang scored a goal with 34 seconds left on the clock to tie the game. The San Jose crowd was stunned silent. So was I.

In a hard fought overtime with plenty of chances both ways, Mathieu Schneider scored, and the Detroit Red Wings prevailed.

The series is now tied 2 – 2, and there are only 3 games left to be played; 2 of them in Detroit.

34 seconds separated the Sharks from needing only 1 win in 3. Now they need two.

And quite frankly, I’m not sure they are going to be able to pull it off. The series is definitely leaning in Detroit’s favor.

This, of course, isn’t the first time the Sharks have had a single moment (potentially in this case) break their season. Look no further than the 2006 playoffs. San Jose beat Edmonton twice at home, bringing the series to 2 – 0. They then traveled to Edmonton, where they were locked up in a 2 – 2 tie. The game headed into double overtime, where with 7 minutes left in the second OT period, the league’s highest goal scorer had a glorious chance to end it;

(Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOYjXD31DsE)

Roloson robbed Cheechoo, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. In triple overtime, Edmonton scored to win the game.

They also won the next 3, and sent San Jose home packing.

IF Cheechoo scores that goal, the Sharks win that series.

IF Robert Lang doesn’t get that bounce, the Sharks win that series.

IF the refs weren’t a bunch of cheating bastards, Tom Brady’s tuck would have been ruled a fumble, and the Raiders win that game.

Sorry about that last one… my mind wanders from time to time.

Point being, the Red Wings are laden with veterans that have been through the Stanley Cup playoffs many times, have championship rings, and know how to handle the ups and downs of a tough battle to the finals. I’m not so sure about the Sharks. Have they learned from last season, and not allow one moment to take a series away from them?

Or will they fall, and enter the countless other “What if?” cases the sports world has to offer?

(http://vegasdavesdime.blogspot.com/2007/05/oh-what-difference-34-seconds-makes.html)

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By Dave Consolazio, May 2, 2007 12:47 am

Dirk doesn’t deserve MVP!

So what that he dominates the regular season! True MVP’s step up in the playoffs, too, and this guy is nothing but a big-time no show!

Right?

If only he would have held true to those whispers for one more night. The Golden State Warriors would be moving on to the next round of the NBA playoffs.

I’ll be honest. Since they completely embarrassed my pride and exposed me as the basketball knowledge-less fool that I am, I’ve stopped rooting for Dallas and have done what any neutral sports fan would do in this situation; root for the underdog.

And so, when Golden State took a 9 point lead with very little time left in the game, I was pretty excited. The underdog was going to win, and the behemoth Dallas team would fall; leaving my pre-season bet of Phoenix Suns to win it all in great shape.

Dirk casually strolled up the court and drained a 3-pointer. He didn’t look to anyone else. He just got the ball, picked his spot, and nailed it. Lead cut to 6.

The Warriors ran the clock down as much as they could and then put up a bad shot. Mavs got the rebound. Got the ball to Dirk. Calmly, effortlessly, like it was shooting practice, Dirk picked his spot from 3-point land once again, and drained it. Lead cut to 3.

After the lead was cut to 1, Golden State began to panic, and turned the ball over. Dallas put the nail in the coffin; and guess who it was attacking the basket to draw the foul to put the Mavs up for good?

Dirk Nowitzki.

For a guy that was beginning to challenge Marty Turco for his spot as biggest choke-artist in Dallas come playoff time, Dirk certainly didn’t play like a choke; he played like an MVP.

Now, Golden State needs to win Game 6 at home. If they don’t, there just isn’t any way they are going back to Dallas and winning Game 7 there. So if the Warriors look up at the scoreboard at the end of Game 6 and see a higher number under DALLAS on the jumbotron, they’ll have to shake their heads in disgust at the 9 point lead they gave away.

The give away that was about 25% their fault for bad shot selection and lackluster defense…

and the take away that was 75% Dirk Nowitzki.

(http://vegasdavesdime.blogspot.com/2007/05/clutch-enough-for-you_02.html)

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By Dave Consolazio, May 1, 2007 11:47 pm

After the 5th inning of the Yankee’s rout/no-hitter, I had a nice little blog already writing itself in my head.

The 2007 Yankees came into today with a share of the record for most consecutive games using 5 or more pitchers; 10.

Injures as well as a shortage of talent were to blame. It didn’t help that the Yankee bats have been ice-cold in the meantime, actually asking the pitching staff to keep them in games. They simply couldn’t. Bad recipe.

5 innings into Phil Hughes’ no-hitter, I was ready to pat myself on the back. Not only have I been praising this kid since he has come up, I’ve avidly supported the decisions while others have screamed “too soon”. I used my top waiver priority in my fantasy baseball league to get him. I predicted that not only would the Yankees hit well tonight, but he would pitch well, and break that ugly streak of 5+ pitchers a game.

The self-love fest was looking great until Phil Hughes had his no-hitter bid come to an end.

No, it wasn’t due to a hit; he didn’t give one of those up. It wasn’t due to pitch count; he’d only thrown 83. It was a hamstring injury; one that would force him out of the game and out of the lineup for four to six weeks.

He joins fellow starters Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano, and Jeff Karstens on the crowded DL; leaving Joe Torre with a pitching staff that looks a little something like this;

1. Andy Pettitte (3.00 ERA)
2. Chein-Ming Wang (5.84 ERA)
3. Kei Igawa (6.08 ERA)
4. ????????? (?.?? ERA)
5. ????????? (?.?? ERA)

No, those question marks aren’t lack of research on my part. I really have no idea; and I don’t think the Yankees do, either.

On a day that was looking to be a turning point and a bright spot in the season, the Yankees leave the game with a win in the standings but another crippling blow to their team.

I’m sure most of you won’t shed any tears for the Yankees, as they are one of the most hated teams in sports… but at least feel bad for Phil Hughes. The kid was 8 outs away from making history, and becoming the only AL rookie since 1991 to pitch a no-no. Would have liked to see him get the chance.

Oh, and feel bad for my fantasy team, too. I’ll miss him.

(http://vegasdavesdime.blogspot.com/2007/05/yanks-take-one-step-forward-and-two.html)