They do it to themselves

There is this common way of thinking among many people I meet that the NBA has become somewhat of a joke. Those people have no idea what they are talking about. The NBA doesn't just showcase black males and flashy play, it showcases the most diverse pool of professional athletes on the planet. There are players from all over the world coming overseas to play in the league. We have seven foot giants who can shoot threes like its what they were born to do. It's truly a thing of beauty.

I remember growing up how I used to sit anxiously awaiting the NBA All-star weekend even more so than my birthday, which happens to fall into the same time-frame. The only problem is that since those younger days in my life, I’ve noticed a sad trend.

Last Thursday, the starters for the all-star game were announced.

Steve Nash, the league leader in assists per game, who has put his team at the top of the Western Conference, is not one of them. Allen Iverson is.

Dwayne Wade, as much as I love him, is a starter for the east this season. Ray Allen is not. Chauncy Billups is not. Wade's team has the worst record in the league and he missed a large portion of the season.

Yi Jianlian finished FIFTH among East forwards. He has not played anywhere near the level of Caron Butler, Rashard Lewis, Teyshaun Prince or even freakin’ Hedo Turkoglu this season. He averages a mere 9.7 points to go with 5.8 rebounds. Is this a joke?

Sadly, yes, the All-star game has become a joke. The best no longer play in the game, it’s simply whoever the most popular guy is… or whoever the citizens of China get online to vote for.

The NBA does it to themselves.

The Stage is Set

Manning will be under helm to try and stop the Patriots in Superbowl XLII. Eli Manning.

The Patriots went out and like I predicted, were baffled by the Charger‘s defense. Brady was borderline terrible, throwing three picks, including one in the end zone to INT leader and future superstar Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie helped in the effort to hold Randy Moss to only one catch.

Three picks for Brady, one catch for Moss. Nine point win for the Pats.

So what happens if Brady doesn’t throw any picks? Or Moss has a regular day?

I’d rather not imagine that.

It may not matter how well Brady or Moss play when they get to Arizona because Eli and Plaxico might outplay them anyway.

Eli Manning continued his red-hot streak of amazing play against the Packers in the coldest game he has ever played. He sure looked warm under center, making beautiful sideline throws, leading his receivers perfectly and making some great adjustments at the line.

You can give a ton of credit for Eli’s play to Plaxico Burress. If you saw the game yesterday, you saw one of the greatest postseason WR performances ever. It was freezing cold and he had Al Harris, one of the most physically imposing cornerbacks in the game opposite of him. Plax made him look like a little kid.

“He can’t cover me,” Plaxico boasted to the Packer sideline during the game.

Asante Samuel may not be able to either.

It's Championship Weekend!!!

Well folks, it’s that time of year. We are simply one day away from determining which two NFL squads will suit up for the biggest event in professional sports.

Here is how things are going to go down. Undoubtedly.

Chargers at Patriots:

The AFC Championship this year sees the 17-0 Patriots hosting the red-hot (though I guess you can’t be much hotter than the Pats are) San Diego Chargers. The Chargers come into this game off a huge victory in Indianapolis where they upset the Colts in a convincing fashion.

Even without Antonio Gates, the Chargers should make this game a little more interesting than people expect. The key will be the Chargers D. If they show up the way they have showed up for most of the year, Tom Brady could find himself coming out cold. Literally.

The game will be one of the coldest games the Charger franchise has EVER played. Good luck.

Patriots 31, Chargers 24

Giants at Packers:

It’s extremely difficult to pick against the Packers at home in the Playoffs. Not many teams are successful there (unless superman with a number 7 on his chest in under center) but something tells me that Eli isn’t going to go down without a fight.

The whole world may think I’m nuts but I’m going with the Giants to continue their miraculous streak and end the Pack's season. Eli goes nuts, Jacobs runs over a lot of people, Strahan keeps his chances of going out on top, Giants win.

Giants 21, Packers 17

Pacman makes my head spin.

On a day where former Tennessee Titans defensive back Adam 'Pacman' Jones allegedly said in an interview that he would no longer like to be a Titan, the same man had a petition for his arrest withdrawn.

A lawyer from Atlanta had told the police that Pacman punched her in the eye in an attempt to seriously hurt her.

With his reinstatement into the NFL set to be decided sometime after the Pro Bowl on February 10th (Happy birthday to me), the guy just has to stay out of trouble to be back in the league.

He's waited long enough, why would he go and blow it all now? He's been a professional wrestler to try and stay out of trouble, he's recorded rap songs to try and stay out of trouble... he's done it all.

When approached by the media and the police today, the lady flipped out, was uncooperative and acted like the whole thing never happened. I guess once the vans full of people with cameras and notepads wanting to ask her questions arrived, she didn't feel like lying to an entire country.

This is a perfect example of what Randy Moss has recently gone through. Pacman has everything to lose and probably one of the worst reputations the NFL has ever seen. If she says that Pacman punched her, there aren't that many people in the public eye that will think twice. Thank goodness for those that do.

Though Pacman may not be the most popular person and has certainly made terrible decisions, if he has stayed out of trouble for this long, it would be nice to see a guy get an opportunity to get his life back on track.

Randy not so Randy.

Randy is back to his old ways! He was kicked out of Notre Dame for beating up a guy, he was kicked out of FSU for smoking pot and is no stranger to jail. He’s basically been the furthest thing from a model athlete on this planet.

Now he’s faced with assault charges after allegedly hitting a woman and causing her serious injury.

The old Randy Moss is back!

The only problem… and it really does bother me… I don’t believe that at all.

When he was bull rushed with cameras and microphones, he looked sincerely pissed off. That’s probably because he WAS sincerely pissed off. Regardless of my efforts to despise the Patriots as much as I possibly can, I can’t help but defend Randy on this one.

It makes way too much sense to me that this all came less than a week before Moss is set to play in the biggest game of his career; A career that he magically revived after multiple seasons of disappointment and criticism. I’m not a fan of Randy Moss but I am a fan of decency and justice. Professional athletes today are a prime target for all sorts of despicable ways to have their money taken from them.

Randy, if you are reading… have fun on Sunday. The entire world is watching and somewhere out there is someone else plotting to take your money.