Saturday!

The Pacers beat the Bulls! Finally on Saturday to avoid a miserable sweep. Rose for once in this series didn't lead the scoring, Noah did 21 points and 14 rebounds. This was their first playoff win since '06 and you could tell it just felt right! On the other end of the court Granger scored 24 points as he led his team to victory with another close game in the series with a score of 89-84. The Pacers may have won this game but the series will be hard, going with the old saying "they have won the fight but they will loose the war." Bulls should win the series 4-1, it is close, but the Bulls have an edge over them.

The next game was quite shocking. Brandon Roy and his fellow teammates on the Blazers rallied from being down 23 points to come back and upset the Mavericks, 84-82. The Mavericks led by Nowitzki with 20 points,  kept a very strong lead on the Blazers for the first three quarters, but all that changed in the fourth. The Blazers scored 35 points alone in that quarter to only 15 by the Mavericks. Brandon Roy led the scoring in the final quarter with 24 points followed with Wallace with a key 11 rebounds. This game really showed me a lot about this series, and though the Mavericks are favored to win, I can just smell an upset. If the young Blazers team keeps playing like they have been, I can see them coming out of this series victorious, it will be close though. If the Mavericks can fall to the Blazers after having a 23 point lead, they don't deserve a win. Portland will win the series 4-3.

Memphis is a good team, obviously they made it to the playoffs, but they are the eighth seed... Well that didn't stop them from winning yet another game against the majorly favored Spurs, 91-88. This team is energized and just fun to watch. Randolph has really been a surprise and a great star to his franchise who just won their first playoff game last week. He led his team with 25 points, along with Pau Gasol's talented brother Marc, with 9 rebounds. The Spurs ever since they have entered this series look the exact opposite, they have had kind of a lazy, tired look to them. Tim Duncan hasn't been a huge factor. Ginobili led the way with 23 points along with Duncan with 11 rebounds. The game was somewhat close but due to the heavy dominance by the Grizzlies in the first quarter they came out on top. This is a hard series to call either way, the Spurs should win... but I can't say that they will. Grizzlies will win 4-3.

The final game of the night was a bit of a shocker... Oklahoma City came into Denver with a weak road record and Denver with a strong home record. But the Thunder looked hot, energized and had the western finals in their crosshairs. Durant like usual led the team with 26 points, followed by Ibaka a high 16 rebounds. Nuggets had a strong game, but in the end their starters and bench weren't making the shots that counted and this was again their downfall. JR Smith who hadn't played well the first three quarters was benched but brought in at the final minutes to help his team try rally back. They were close, but a late three point miss sealed the deal. The Thunder ended the game with a close 97-94 win in Denver, but they really didn't look like they wanted to win at all, they gave Denver any change possible to come back. This game was close and I do see Denver winning the next game, but still I see the series going 4-1 to Oklahoma City.

Game Three Day Two

On Friday, more games for game three took place and a lot of the teams really took charge over their opponents.  The first game was Celtics at Knicks and it couldn't have been a more dismal affair. The Knicks, starting energized, fell to a large lead right off the go in the game and never really came within five points. Paul Pierce took charge in the game with 38 points along with Rondo with a triple double, who the Knicks couldn't still find any answer for. On the other side of the ball, Williams led the scoring with 17 points and Melo with 11 rebounds, no one on the team shot or scored well and the final score was 113-96. Stoudemaire and Billups where still out and Melo wasn't a key factor, which caused this brutal slaughtering of argueably the worst team in the playoffs.

The next game on Friday evening was close, Magic at Hawks. Dwight Howard again led his team with 21 points and 15 rebounds, but being the only large star on the team had some problems and the Magic fell once again to the Hawks 88-84. On the other side of the ball ,Crawford scored 23 points, along with Smith with 10 rebounds. After this game, I am starting to feel that the Hawks have the favor, they have already beatin the Magic on the road and now again at home. Plus players like Turkoglu on the Magic haven't played to the hype they had, leaving Howard as the only true star on their team. Which could be a problem, for the young and energized hawks. Hawks will win the Series 4-2.

The final game on Friday night was a good game, well at least for a Lakers fan. The lakers traveled to New Orleans ,with the series tied 1-1. This time the Lakers really came to play, even Gasol who had scored under ten in the first two games, which is a career playoff low for him. Kobe led his team to 100-86 victory with 30 points and Andrew Bynum led the defensive end with 11 rebounds. The other side put up pretty good numbers as well, but just couldn't seem to keep comparably close to the energized lakers. Landry led the scoring with 23 points along with Ariza with 12 rebounds. This series has been well fought so far, but I do see the lakers coming out the better team, but close. They will win 4-2.

Day One of Game Three

Game Three of Series One took place in the finals last nite and the results where about what I predicted. The first game of the night ended with something that shocked me, the Bulls beat the Pacers at home. Rose led his team with scoring with 23 points and a last second lay up that won the game for Bulls. Boozer led the team with 11 rebounds. On the other side of the ball Granger led his team with 21 points and George with 12 rebounds. I was somewhat shocked that the Pacers lost this game, 84-88, which was the one I believed was theirs. Again it was close, but it has become clear to me that the Bulls are fine and the series will probably go six games. Bulls will win the series 5-1.

The next game in the evening was Miami at Philladelphia. The game was close just as I thought, but at the end the advantage of having three stars on their team helped. D Wade led the way with 32 points and Lebron with 15 rebounds. The game was somewhat close throughout, but the stars in the fourth quarter alligned and the boys of the Heat got away with a 100-94 win over the 6'ers who are now down three games in the series. I don't see the Heat sweeping the series but I do see them winning in six games, the ability to have three stars on their team is just to helpful to their cause. Heat will win the series 4-2.

The final game of the evening, was a great westcoast matchup. Dallas at Portland. A series that has been labeled the best in the west, since both teams are close. The Mavericks went into the series 2-0 but finally fell giving the Blazers one game. Matthews of the Blazers led his team to a victory with 25 points and Wallace led the rebounds with 11. Nowitzki from Dallas who was a key factor in the first two games, was almost silent last night with only 9 rebounds. With Nowitzki not playing as well, Terry led the team in scoring with 29 points yet they still fell to the Blazers 97-92. Dallas I see winning the series 4-2

Game Two

Well what have learned after game two of the first series of the NBA playoffs? A lot actually. Miami killed off Philadelphia on Monday, winning by over 20 points, 94-73. This wasn't very surprising to me in even though the Heat have gotten alot of well.... heat in the last few months, they are a good team, heck they are ranked second in the east. They killed a far less superior team in the 76er's who got into the playoffs with a terrible record. Lebron scored a amount of 29 points in the game, while the 76ers' Young scored only 18 points and the rest is history. The second game on Monday really does show us quite a lot, the Bulls are having trouble with the Pacers! While Rose did put up a large sum of points, 36, while Granger only put up 19, the game was close. The Pacers, a team with a 37-45 record are engergized and not once but twice almost beat the number one seeded Bulls at home! I can see the Pacers giving the Bulls a run for their money and going to seven games, do i smell upset? Probably not, but you never know.On Tueday the Knicks played the Celtics in Boston and the end was again irritating, they lost a close game after incompetence in the final two minutes. Chauncey Billups and Stoudemaire were both injured and sat out the game and yes Melo carried the team. He put up 42 points, tieing his career high and almost got his team off with a road win. But the Celtics with Rondo leading the way with 30 points closed another close victory in the final mintutes. I see the Knicks winning their next home games in Madison square, but I do not see this series going to 7 games. Another close game came with the Magic and Hawks. Crawford from the hawks put 25 points but still his team fell to the Magic led by Dwight Howard, who scored 33 points. The Magic who had been killed by the Hawks in game one, won 88-82 to tie the series. I see the series going to 7 games, but the magic taking it.

Starting Tuesday the Western playoffs game two began with Portland and Dallas. Again Portland started out with an early lead, Aldridge putting up good numbers with 24 points, but still in the second half the Blazers fell to the energized Mavericks 101-89, led by Dirk Nowitzki with 33 points., followedby Chandler with 10 rebounds. I see the Mavericks winning the series in seven games, that is though determined by the Blazers beating them tonight in Portland, which they can. The next game was somewhat dissapointing, the Nuggets got slaughtered by the Thunder, a team that I believed was comparable to them. The final score was 106-89, the scoring led Durant with 23 points and Ibaka with 12 rebounds. Lawson for the Nuggets was their top scorer with 20 points. I see the Nuggets winning the next game at home, but I still cannot see them beating the Thunder, who are playing hot right now. They will win in six games. Grizzlies versus Spurs was a close game from start to finish, but this time Memphis came back down to earth or San Antonio played better, probably a bit of both. This time Randolph wasn't as helpful to his team, with Young posing as their top scorer with 17 points. Ginolbli was the spurs top scorer with 17 points and helped seal the deal with a 93-87 win over the Grizzlies. I see the Spurs winning in seven games, but the Grizzlies do have what it takes for an upset, but will they? No. The final game of the night was game two for the lakers and hornets. Nathan Ariza, the ex-laker and LA native helped get revenge on his old team, putting up 22 points, and somewhat carrying his team. But it wasn't enough for while Pau Gasol still struggled, Andrew Bynum put up a great fight, scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds. The lakers won the game 87-78. Thats more like it! Lakers will win the series in six games, they are getting hot now at the right time. Game three should be a good one for alot of teams and a determining point for their futures in the playoffs!

The Playoffs are here!

Well I have to say, game one of the first series of the NBA playoffs was quite a shocker. Who expected some of the upsets that occured to happen. Miami beat Philadelphia to start the weekend off, which really wasn't much of a shocker, even though for a moment I was almost worried they would loose, until Dwayne Wade picked up his game.  Dwight Howard on the other hand in the Atlanta - Orlando game scored a career high of 46 points and 19 rebounds, yet his team fell to the hot and ready Atlanta Hawks, this wasn't expected by me and the game wasn't even close. I'm sure that everyone assumed that Chicago being the number one seed in the East would blow out Indiana, the eighth seed didn't exactly have a strong season. I saw them play the Timberwolves in which they lost to a sub 500 team by over 30 points. In fact the Pacers gave Derrick Rose and the bulls a run for their money, making a late game comback to almost upset them. Rose who scored 39 points did in the end help his team manage a close but needed win. The final eastern playoff game on Sunday was almost predictable, the struggling Celtic team took on the knicks, whom haven't had a strong finish to their season either. The tipical Knicks started out with a strong lead and played well, Stoudemaire and Anthony, two offensive ball hogs, put up good numbers, but by the fourth quarter their lack of defense again was their downall, a late three pointer by Ray Allen gave his team the lead and the rest is history. Celtics win 87-85.

Like the Eastern playoffs, the west too had some close games and even some upsets. Being a lakers fan, watching them loose being favored to beating the seventh seeded Hornets was painful. But it could be asked for, they had no spark, not energy and they just looked tired. Chris Paul had 33 points, Carl Landry scored 17 points and Jarrett Jack scored 15 points to help their team trump the lakers. While these players had season highs, players such as Pau Gasol had season lows, Gasol was even benched or rested as it was called while Lamar Odom stayed in, who is usually the best bench player on their team. Well the number two seed fell, and so did the number one see, the Spurs. A fired up Memphis team took the floor in San Antonio on Sunday and came to play. Zach Randolph played like a beast, putting up 25 points to the best in the west. Shane Battier hit a three pointer with 23.9 seconds left to give the Grizzlies their first playoff win in team history, the final score was 101-98. Well more close games came with the saturday showcase of possibly the closest series in the west, Dallas and Portland! Just like everyone thought the game was close, both teams played very well and unlike my lakers looked like they had something to play for. Dallas did turn out victorious, just as I predicted, with Nowitzki putting up some good numbers. People say that Dallas has a playoff slump and can't win, but they are a good team and this is their year, I'm predicting Dallas 4 games to 3. The final game of the weekend was Sunday night with Denver and Oklahoma City. Two great teams, and they played like two great teams. Ever since the trade Denver has gained some talents from New York such as Galinari who has posed a threat. After getting off to a good lead, Oklahoma with again the help of their young stars Westbrook and Durant aided their team to another close victory of 107-102.

Young and Reaching for The Stars?

Well you are a thirteen year old, attending eighth grade, other than school and talking about your crush what do you do on your spare time? Do you get a record deal that your parents paid for and have someone else write songs that relate to a seventeen year old girl? Personally I wouldn't, especially when it sounds more machine than human when you are done recording. But apparently the thirteen year old pop "sensation" Rebecca Black begs to differ. The video for her "song" Friday was put onto Youtube on February 10, 2011. In the first month she recieved only about a 1,000 views, but by the next month her video was BIG... In all the wrong ways. 19 million views later by March 11, her video was one of the most talked about videos of the last ten years, Charlie Sheen tweeted "Rebecca Black, we don't hate you because you're famous, you're famous because we hate you." This wasn't the only tweet about Rebecca Black. Hundreds and even thousands more where made and this put Rebecca Black right into the crosshairs of cyber bullying, which she almost deserved after making a song like she did, but some comments and tweets went possibly a bit too far.

So should a teen, not even in high school, who has much more of their life to live, be thrown into the spotlight? I mean the money and fame is a great relief for any budding talent at first, but once its all said and done, it usually doesn't end well. Instead of living a normal life from there on everything changes and sometimes too rapidly. A teen living their years in the spotlight is already alot, but then when you throw in the modern world with the internet and the possible risk of cyber bullying, all the problems seem to multiply. Black herself even said during an interview on Good Morning America that some of the comments on her video where harsh and made her cry. Is that really how you want to live your life? I don' know everyone may have a different opinion, but personally i wouldn't... Below is Rebecca Black's "hit"... Friday

Why Blog?

Before I begin ranting and babbling about everything in American culture from Los Angeles all the way to... yes... Boston, I think you may be asking a question, why blog about this? Do I really have this much time on my hands that I can sit with my face in front of a screen and write in depth reports on anything US related? Well... yes probably, but mainly it is great to know what's going on in the world that you live in. Even if its just the simplest things like who won the Super Bowl (the packers for those bears fans who 'didn't know') or possibly what is going on with our economy (which some do say is starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.) Knowing what is going on in the world is great, some things you would like to know, others maybe not as much, but in the end, ignorance may be bliss, but sitting around hidden from what is going on just doesn't cut it. Okay, so maybe that was a bit dramatic. I'm not going to unload every single detail about every world issue or news update on you here (you can watch NBC nightly news for that.) Yet, I would like to give everyone just a little look at whats going on in the world.  From who just upset who in the world of sports, to Kim Kardashian's new boyfriend (whoever that is now) to what's the top food choice of your fellow americans (yes, probably mcdonalds to most.) But without all those confusing facts and maybe with... yes... some fun and humor added into it. Who ever said that talking about the news couldn't be fun right? Well it can be, at least some of it, I mean we won't sit here and make fun out of some big drought in the Middle East or a fire in California, but you get the picture, hopefully.

Knowing more about the world you live in, will make you know more than the "smart fellows" who made this map.