Dirk No-Ring-Ski Vs. The King Without a Ring

Despite a double digit deficit with less than a quarter to play the Dallas Mavericks were able to fight there way back and ultimately win the game on a game winning lay up by Dirk Nowitzski with under 4 seconds to play. With a win in Miami, and the next 3 games at home Dallas has definitely taken control of the series. Many people are claiming that a late game collapse like that by the Heat last night is the kind of game that teams never fully recover from. Are the Big 3 going to come up empty handed? Is the season going to be considered a failure for the Heat if they do not win it all? Will Lebron ever win a championship? And can he be considered one of the best ever if he fails to do so?

Three's Company

Father Dell, superstar Stephen, but is little bro Seth the best? In case you didn't catch on, I'm talking about the Curry family of basketball. By now you've all heard all about and probably seen Stephen Curry doing the unimaginable. He's one of the most exciting players in college basketball and has single-handedly brought Davidson to the forefront of college basketball. It's the ultimate feel good story, and it's always fun to see his parents sitting the crowd. What hasn't gotten nearly as much attention as Stephen is his little brother Seth. The freshman at Liberty is currently leading all freshman in the country in scoring. Growing up as the son of a former NBA star must be hard enough, but than starting your college career a year after your older brother takes the country by storm? It would appear to be an impossible situation to shine under, but Seth is up to the challenge. There is no doubt in my mind, over the next few years we are going to be hearing a lot about Seth Curry.

Controversial Goal Costs Milan Game

AC Milan was playing against rival, and fellow Serie A giant Internazionale this weekend without their star player Kaka. The Rossoneri did not let the absence of its best player keep them down though. In a game which they controlled possession 65%-35% and took more shots AC Milan still suffered a 2-1 defeat, not without controversy though. Inter striker Adriano started the scoring with a first half header that appeared to go off of his arm. Further review shows the ball clearly being redirected into the goal with his forearm, but the referee allowed the goal. Inter added another goal late in the first half, but Pato found the back of the net in the 70th minute for Milan to make it 2-1. Milan's newest addition David Beckham left the game early with a leg injury. Just a few minutes later Pato was struck down in the box, what looked like a clear penalty and a chance to tie the game. No PK was awarded and the game went on. Pippo Inzaghi did tie the game late in the second half, until the goal was taken away because he was just a step offsides. The loss pretty much eliminates AC Milan from the Scudetto, but they still need to finish strong for Champion's League and UEFA qualification.

Jamal Anderson: Truly a Dirty Bird

Former Atlanta Falcon star Jamal Anderson was arrested in Atlanta for possession of cocaine and marijuana. The former pro-bowler was taken into custody by a off duty police officer who saw him sniffing cocaine off of the back of a toilet at a club in the Atlanta area. Now, I know in his prime the Falcons were referred to as the Dirty Birds, but is this what people were talking about? Apparently I was just too young to understand.

So my next question is, how do you go from an NFL superstar to sniffing cocaine off a public toilet? I thought celebrities had VIP rooms for that kind of stuff.

A-Rod please say it ain't so

According to a report posted on Sports Illustrated Alex Rodriguez tested positive to anabolic steroids in 2003, the year he won AL MVP while playing for the Rangers. We all know the Barry Bonds' case has been beaten to death and this was the last thing that the MLB needed. The report says that there is no punishment for testing positive in 2003, consequences only started to follow positive test results in 2004. Which would mean that even if A-Rod is proven to have taken steroids in 2003, he would not be subject to any discipline. Would it still effect his career? No doubt, and who is to say that he has been clean since then.

I never liked Barry Bonds, I always thought he was an idiot. I did not mind seeing him get busted, but A-Rod has always seamed like such a good guy. It's a shame to see another great career that may be marked with an asterisk.

Lebron says not so fast

So as a complete surprise to me, it appears that Lebron James is following this blog. And apparently, he was not very happy with some of the things I said a few days ago about Kobe being the best player in the league. Or maybe he was mad about people saying that Kobe had the greatest performance ever at MSG, either way, the man made his point.

52 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds. Joining only Michael with a 2nd time over the half century mark at MSG. It is officially useless to doubt or criticize LJ because the second you say he cannot do something, he will do it and then some. So young, so talented, and so raw. If Lebron can fine tune some of his skills I honestly believe he could go down as the best ever.

So for now, I take back everything I said about Kobe being best. They can reign together. Lebron is the best player in the East; Kobe is the best in the West. If there is a God, we will see them head to head a few months from now playing in the NBA Finals.

No Fun League Officials

Disclaimer: I am not blaming the Cardinal's loss on the officials. I am a Packer fan, but I was rooting for the Cardinals.

Is it just me or do the NFL officials ruin at least one game every week? Considering this past weekend was the Superbowl, I'm sure you know which game I am talking about. In general, I believe there were way too many penalties called. It takes away from the flow of the game, and it takes the game out of the players' hands. I wish they would just let them play. More specifically, a few problems I had from Sunday's game.

1. 15 yard facemask. I understand that is the rule, by definition the referee made the right call, but maybe the rules need to be looked at. How in the world can it be legal for a wide receiver to grab onto a defensive back's face mask while he stiff arms him, but the defender cannot even touch the wide receiver's mask without getting unsportsmanlike conduct.

2. Roughing the passer. I know, they want to protect the players. Well, apparently only the quarterbacks because a few weeks ago Willis McGahee took a vicious helmet to helmet hit, but that is legal. Big Ben was in no danger of being hurt on this play, it was a HUGE play in the game and could have easily gone either way. The ref insists on calling it? Well, that is okay but a few moments later Kurt Warner took a similiar shot and no flag. Be consistent.

3. Running over the holder? Again, this one is on the NFL, not the officials specifically. Is this seriously in the rule book? An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for that? You have got to be kidding me. I wish they would get rid of that and all of the running into the kicker penalties while they are at it. Then we would not have to see kickers and punters flopping all over the field.

4. Is it not illegal to use the ball as a prop during a celebration? I'm sure you all saw Santonio Holmes do it, and I'm sure that the refs did as well. Where was his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty? An extra 15 yards on the ensuing kick off would have been huge.

5. Why would you not review the final fumble? Was it a fumble? Hell if I know. To my untrained eye it looked like it very well could have gone either way. How in the biggest game of the year, on a play that is going to end the game are you not going to stop play and review it?

I love football and I love the NFL, but they really need to get things together for next season.