MGKB Sports with Mike Greenspire

The Los Angeles Lakers are up 3-1 after a very controversial call Tuesday night in San Antonio at the end of game 4.

Joey Crawford, the referee (whom I think is one of the best refs around in any sport) made the call that Brent Barry was not fouled by Derek Fisher, and the game ended on a missed hail-mary shot from way downtown.

Well, yesterday, the NBA reviewed the call and said that it should have been called as a two shot foul. Now, considering Barry made both of those shots, the game may have had a different outcome, but I doubt it. If you haven’t led for an entire 48 minutes, I doubt that you will be able to gather enough momentum from 2 foul shots to go into overime and win.

So, with that said, I don’t think it would have changed the outcome at all. Hell, I don’t even think Barry would have sunk both free throws, but we’ll never know, will we?

Even if the Spurs don’t win this series, I doubt that Spurs fans will hold that call in their memories as what cost them their season. I think that they are very respectable and decent fans, and wouldn’t bame the bad call on the Lakers or their fans.

I’m 100% certain that the Lakers aren’t letting the thought of the NBA Finals get in the way of their game tonight, so I’m gonna think about it for them!

Say the Lakers advance and sit around until June 5th waiting for the Celtics and Pistons to hurry up, yada yada yada. Here is what I believe would happen to each possible NBA Finals opponent of the Lakers:

Lakers vs. Celtics
The Celtics get the majority of home game sin this match-up, which up until last week probably meant that they were gonan win. Uh, wrong!

The Pistons, who are a far inferior team to the current boys in Purple and Gold, defeated the Celtics in Boston by 6. Now, if Boston keeps playing how they have played, then I firmly believe the Lakers can steal at least one game in the Garden.

Lakers in 6.

Lakers vs. Pistons
The Pistons make noise every year, but when the get to the East Finals, they lose. If that changes, I doubt that they will be ready enough to face as fast and smart of a team as the Lakers.

If Tayshaun Prince has to guard Kobe, then Kobe will jus pull out his bag of tricks like he did in Game 1 of the West Finals, scoring only 2 in the first half, and exploding in the 3rd and 4th quarters, scoring 25. You can bank on something similar from him and the rest of the Lakers if they have to play Detroit.

Lakers in 5.

Thanks for reading! Take care! In case, you didn’t know, I’m a Lakers and Magic fan. GO LAKERS!!!

-Mike Greenspire

Well, my Pittsburgh Pirates are standing right now with a record of 24-26, which is good by the standards set up by the Buccos for the past 15 years. We defeated the hated Cubs yesterday in 11 innings, 6-5, and the day before that, defeated them 5-4. On Friday, we lost to them by a score of 12-3.

Maybe, just maybe, the Pirates respond well to a hard loss like the on just mentioned.

Memorial Day the Pirates get off, but tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday, we play the Reds from Cincinnati. I think we can and will win all 3 games. For the math impaired, that would put us at 27-26, above .500 for the first time for as long as I can remember this late into the season. Literally, as long as I can remember.

Here are the next 10 games the Pirates have:

@ Reds 5/27
@ Reds 5/28
@ Reds 5/29
@ Cardinals 5/30
@ Cardinals 5/31
@ Cardinals 6/1
@ Cardinals 6/2
Astros 6/3
Astros 6/4
Astros 6/5

If you ask me, that looks like 7 wins, only 3 losses coming from the Damned Red Birds.

So, if my predictions are correct, we will be 30-29 on June 5th. Wow, it’s been a long-time coming, and the Pirates fans deserve this. They have kept buying tickets despite their team losing year after year after year. We are very loyal fans, and deserve a good team. We have one. Now we just have to put it on full throttle and never look back! GO PIRATES!!!

-Mike Greenspire

These are the post-draft MGS off-season NFL Rankings. I know it took a while, but I finally have them complete!

Read them at: mgkbsports.wordpress.com

-Mike Greenspire

This is probably the most excitment the city of New Orleans, the Big Easy, has gotten in a long time, and I say “Well, it’s about time!”

They definitely deserve it, what with having to put up with the NFC favorite, Saints blowing it big-time last year, and this could go back through history as well. I doubt that thye ever won a championship at anything.

I believe that the Saints are one of the very few teams to have never made it to the Super Bowl, and the Hornets have never gotten farther than where they are now.

Read more at: http://mgkbsports.wordpress.com

-Mike Greenspire

Is the Detroit vs. Boston match-up in the Eastern Conference Finals, the one, we the sports fans, have been hoping for all year long? Is this the best possible series we could get out of the East?

Read more at: mgkbsports.wordpress.com

-Mike Greenspire

Read this at my blog on FOX Sports, if you please.

-Mike Greenspire

Link:  

MGKB on FOX

Have a great weekend and a great Mother’s Day, everyone!

GO MAGIC!!!

-Mike Greenspire

Am I the only one who thought that the dude running the game clock was a Pistons fan? That was the most lopsided, biast call I have seen all year!

In case you didn’t see the Magic vs. Pistons game last night, here is what happened:

The 3rd quarter had 5.1 seconds remaning, and Rasheed Wallace inbounds the ball to Chauncey Billups. Billups takes it up the floor, and then passes it inside to Stuckey, I believe. Stuckey goes in, and passes back out to Billups. Chauncey then takes a three-pointer and it goes in.

Surprisngly, according to the game clock, only 0.3 seconds expired this entire play. Hmm…

I immeditaely yelled “BULLSH*T” as well as some other vulgar extremeties.

After a lengthy discussion most likely about pizza and Hooter’s chicks, the refs “reviewed” the play, and called it good, the basket would count.

Now, at that moment I knew the call was wrong.

Later in the 4th quarter, the two guys playing commentators on the game, (Levin and Dunleavy, I believe) got footage from the broadcasting trailer, clearly showing that the play had gone on too long.

The video streamed live during a timeout, and had an inbounds timer in the bottom left-hand corner of it.

For those of you unfaniliar with the rule, as soon as a player inbounds touches the ball, the clock starts. Well, not this time apparently.

The timer clearly showed before Billups released the ball 5.22 seconds, which is 0.12 seconds longer than they had to get a shot off.

If that shot had not counted, which it shouldn’t have, then the Magic would have gone into the 4th with the lead and pumped for a win. But, that was not allowed to happen, due to one-sided refereeing.

I still believe that the Magic can rebound from this, and hopefully the refs in Orlando see it straight.

-Mike Greenspire

I know it’s still only the beginning of May, but I am too anxious, and the torture of having to wait so long for football season to start up again is killin’ me. But, I thought of something to do while we wait!

Pick pre-season bandwagons!

There’s always the surprise team that comes outta nowhere:

In 2004 it was the Steelers
In 2005 it was the Panthers
In 2006 it was the Saints
In 2007 it was the Packers

So, who’s gonna be the pre-season surprise team? Here are a couple of bandwagons to pick from!

Minnesota Vikings
With the additions of Jared Allen, arguably the best DLineman in the game at this time, and John David Booty, one of the best QBs in the Draft, I see this team going 10-6, no worse than 9-7 and being a real contender come playoff time, perhaps even stealing the division from the Packers, which is what I see happening.

Baltimore Ravens
In my opinion, moving back up after moving down to get Joe Flacco was the right move for the Ravens and new head coach, John Harbaugh. This guy will be sure to lead a team for years. Also, the addition of Ray Rice from Rutgers is bound to help them. McGahee and Rice will make it an interesting dual-RB situation in 2008 for the Ravens. All those pieces minus McNair are still there from that 2006 13-win team, so I see the Ravens going 10-6, and making it intot he playoffs via wild card.

Kansas City Chiefs
A really good draft, probably the best will higher the pressure on Herm Edwards to get this team back to the post-season. If he does not, with all this talent, I think he should be fired. Perhaps surprisingly I only see this team going 5-11. It techniacally is an improvment… Way to go, Herm.

Carolina Panthers
A good draft, picking up Jonathan Stewart, Jeff Otah, and Dan Connor will take some pressure off Delhomme, and hopefully he won’t get hurt this year. If he stays healthy with the seoncd-best blocker and running-back in this year’s draft, watch out for the Panthers. I forsee a 9-7 year with a possible wild card berth.

But, the bandwagon I’m jumping on is…

New Orleans Saints
Some great off-season moves, and by far the best off-season so far. With so many good players, there is no way the Saints will be bale to screw this up. I see an 11-5 season with a division title. The Bucs will have to settle for at best a wild card berth now.

Thanks for reading! Who do you guys think will be 2008’s surprise team?

-Mike Greenspire