5 Reasons why the N.B.A. SUCKS.......

I used to love NBA basketball... or at least the idea of it. Not anymore....in fact...honestly plenty of times it bores me to tears.

What happened to the game I loved?

For awhile I've been considering why the league that I used to be so passionate about in my youth, means so little to me now. I've come to the conclusion that the game is killing itself....and it's hard to watch. The N.B.A has become a ridiculous circus..... complete with clowns, fruitless high fly acts, and sideshow barkers.

Here are five reasons off the top of my head why the N.B.A. is now my least favorite professional sport.

5. The working class can't sit up close!

One may think it's cool to see Jack Nicholson or Leonardo DiCaprio sitting in the front row cheering the players on, but I think it's the perfect analogy of why the NBA is ridiculous, and out of touch. In Major League Baseball the working class can get great seats on any given night. (Except, of course, in New York and Boston.) NHL Hockey, the same thing. NFL Football?  Are you kidding me? That's all one sees out in the stands.

So what makes the NBA such an elitist, un-fan friendly experience, where only the super rich and celebrities can get to sit up-close to the action? God knows the action isn't anything special....at least what I can see of it....from the nose bleed seats. Isn't it sad that the only way that a father can take his son to an N.B.A. game, and get up close to the action is if his job lands him corporate seats...or he puts out a second mortgage on his house.

Why is that?

Why can't a normal Joe sit up close to the action, to witness the athletic excellence of elite athletes. Does the NBA even care about the working class fan?

4. Players Foul Out!

I finally fork over the 80 dollars to sit in the nose bleed seats to watch Shaquille O'Neal play, and two minutes into the game, he gets three meaningless fouls, and he sits for the rest of the half....not only that...when he does get into the game, he has to play "careful"..... in a meaningless.... regular season game.....

Are you serious?

What the HELL am I paying for then?

To watch his back-up, or worse a no name bench player run up and down the court while my favorite team loses because the best player in the league can't play. Why is basketball the only game that forces players to play less hard? Defense is now defined as a team's ability to make their opponent foul them.

Whole defensive schemes are now designed to get the elite players of a team in foul trouble, and out of the game.

We're supposed to enjoy watching that?

It didn't used to be that way. It used to be that a player got five fouls....and then they had to practically murder someone on the court to get the sixth foul from a ref.

Not anymore.

Surely there are other ways to punish teams then to kick their best players out of the game. What about a technical foul after every sixth foul? Is that so unreasonable?

Imagine if a rule allowed Vlad Guerrero to lose an at-bat? Or LaDainian Tomlinson wasn't able to play in the second quarter because of some silly rule ? How fun would that be ?

Why are fans forced to accept this while watching N.B.A. basketball ?

3. Games were fixed.....& nobody noticed!

Are you kidding me?

Nobody cares about this? Why aren't fans tearing down arenas asking for their money back? The N.B.A. had a referee who was changing the outcomes of games as he saw fit. Not only that on TNT the other night, I saw that Jeff Van Gundy, the former coach of the Houston Rockets said that he knew something was fishy with some games, someone even asked him who he thought it was that was fixing games, before it was announced, and he guessed Tim Donaghy.

Are you telling me that he was the only person that suspected it....and nobody else did?

I doubt it. Did anybody in the league care? Seriously, why does nobody care?

Games were FIXED!!!! It happened in baseball and players are still being punished for it decades later. Games that people paid for, and spent time watching were manipulated for a unsavory outcome. We're supposed to forget about that?

To be honest....we already have.

I can only assume it's because of my next point.

2. The Regular season is meaningless!

Baseball is a marathon grind of endurance, Football is do or die every week.

What the hell is the N.B.A. then?

Answer: It's a blatant, shameless, corporate grab for money. The N.B.A. Season is an 82 game Pre-season. The real season begins in the playoffs, and the most ridiculous part is that practically every team makes the playoffs anyways.

Seriously?

And if that's not enough when the playoffs arrive RARELY is there a surprise. So why do we even have to watch? I can tell you now who'll likely be in the finals. Not because I have superhuman powers or have traveled back from the future. It's because we already know who the best teams are. While hardly watching the games in the season. There are occasionally cute surprises....but do they really do anything significant ? To be honest...they were only footnotes. Players don't even play hard in the regular season games. It's a dog and pony show where the object is to score enough points to justify their ridiculous contracts, and do something spectacular so one can be seen on Sportscenter.

1. The Athletes are a bunch of floppers & overpaid cry babies!

People say they hate watching soccer because they hate when players flop on the ground, and roll around pretending to be hurt?

Don't watch the N.B.A. then. That's all it is now, people crying they were fouled.

Every Second.

None of this outplaying a team. I can't watch a single game now without witnessing players flopping, and pretending they were fouled. EVERY friggin time Kobe Bryant shoots the ball he cries foul....or HEY....or fling his arms out as if he's been shot in the back. He flings his arms out so hard he's starting to REALLY hurt players out there.

I'm supposed to cheer for that guy?

What happened to the hard hat mentality of Kurt Rambis and A.C. Green. Players don't flop on playground courts, they'd be laughed out of the park. Why are the elite athletes resorting to Strasberg Method acting techniques to get ahead in a game?

Why do we have to watch overpaid cry babies fall on the ground whenever someone rubs up against them softer than the way I snuggle up to my wife ? And what's worse, when they don't get their way, they are crying, and complaining up the court to the referee while the other team scores.

The NBA is Fantastic? Are you serious?

The N.B.A. wants us to pay to watch that?

It all comes down to the fact that they are all overpaid. Yeah, I know the business model doesn't support this point, they are entertainers bringing in the revenue, blah...blah....blah.... but do they have to act like primadonnas? Before games they now have a tradition of showing players entering into an arena....and what I always see is these "athletes", talking on their cell phones and listening to their Ipods, pretending not to acknowledge the cameras as if they are annoyed at the cameras very presence at the event.

These athletes look like they don't even want to be there.

Show some enthusiasm, excitement for the opportunity to be paid to play a game. I don't remember Magic Johnson or Larry Bird acting that way.

Those players loved to play.

Yeah, those men were warriors. But they loved what they were doing and they left it all out on the court every night. Hey, I'm not one of those fans that says the modern athlete could have never competed with the Legends.

I know that the modern athlete is bigger, stronger, and more talented. What I'm talking about is character.

What the N.B.A. is now, is mostly a bunch of Nouveau rich punks, who endured very little adversity in life, who haven't earned their due....they won the lottery, and we get to watch them treat us like peasants...thanks N.B.A.

Thanks for nothing.

Joker in a Car

Pretty cool pic of the Joker.

Interesting how they are slowly leaking stuff out, slowly building momentum for the film.

Personally, I've seen enough....I'm sold.

I just hope that they don't go spoiler crazy, it'll be nice to be a little surprised when I finally get to see the film.

Kobe gets his due

For those wondering when Lakers Fans would finally come to their senses....

Last night they finally did.

Kobe Bean Bryant, two time NBA Scoring Champion and Three Time NBA Finals Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers..... was booed....at home.....loudly...in front of a NATIONAL Television audience.

Proof that no one player is bigger than the Lakers Franchise.

Mahalo Daily

It's an exciting day today!!!

Mahalo Daily, a podcast starring Mahalo's own Veronica Belmont is on it's way!!! This is a teaser for the show which begins November 5th, 2007.

Enjoy!!!

Congratulations Barry Bonds

I know it's not the popular opinion, but I'm happy for Barry Bonds.

Yeah, I know he used steroids, I understand that he cheated, I've heard that he's a jerk to fans, and the press, and is known as a selfish teammate.

But he's still a human being....playing the hardest sport in the world.

And now he holds the most respected record in the game's history.

Which means in my book....the guy deserves some credit.

My personal experience with Barry Bonds was in game 2 of the 2002 World Series. My future wife and I were in the Right Field pavilion, maybe 3/4 the way up to the top. Troy Percival was pitching in the ninth, the Angels had a comfortable lead with two outs. So Percival and his 99 mile per hour fast ball decides to pitch to Bonds.

I'll never forget it....right before the first pitch a Giants fan in front of me put on his baseball glove....it was the first time all night he did that.

My wife laughed.

She asked me if it was possible that someone could actually hit it up there.

I said, "No way".

Several pitches later I was eating my words.

Bonds launched the longest shot I had ever seen hit, a shot that Tim Salmon, who played in Angels stadium for 14 years, said was the longest home run he ever witnessed in that park.

I had a direct line to it too....saw it from the time it hit the bat to when it dropped a couple of rows in front of me and bounced over my row.

Amazing.

After the game I walked down toward the front gate, and I looked back to observe the distance the ball had traveled from home plate to the Right field pavilion where I was sitting a short time before.

Amazing.

All I could think was...... that a human being had accomplished that.

A human being had accomplished that.

Too Much Depth?

Usually I believe that a team never can have too much depth.

But the Angels have too much depth.

Seriously....too much.

The following is a list of players that the Angels have....on their bench, that could start on most, if not all teams in the major leagues....today.

Erick Aybar.

Maicer Izturis.

Shea Hillenbrand.

Robb Quinlan.

Nathan Haynes

Jose Molina.

In the minors the Angels have the following players who could start on many teams.

Kendry Morales.

Joe Saunders.

Jeff Mathis.

Brandon Wood.

Curtis Pride.

Tommy Murphy.

Keep in mind this is WITHOUT touching the starting line-ups and current pitching staff.

That's a lot of depth....lots of material to work with to get one more power bat....possibly the last piece in a championship puzzle.

Can ya do it Bill Stoneman??? Or better yet..... will ya do it????

King James, the unstoppable

Wow.

I hope everybody saw that.

Arguably the greatest playoff performance in NBA history was performed tonight from one of the soon to be All-time NBA Greats.

48 Points.

9 Rebounds.

7 Assists.

2 steals.

What was even more impressive were the intangibles.

How he seemed to will the team to victory....without forcing it.

The poise and leadership he showed.

I can't believe how Lebron is almost carrying this seemingly mediocre team to the N.B.A. finals.

Drew Gooden? Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Larry Hughes? Donyell Marshall? Eric Snow? Anderson Varejao? Some guy named Sasha Pavlovic?

No offense....but are you SERIOUS?

Simply amazing.

MAHALO : Human powered search Engine

So.....I'm a guide at Mahalo.

I've been dying to say that for MONTHS.

I can't tell you how many people have asked me what my new job is, and I've had to bite my tongue.

Seriously....friends....family members...my neighbors...it was ridiculously hard to keep a secret.

A couple friends joked that I was working for the C.I.A., or on a reality television show or something.

I'm sure some friends even thought I was a spammer.

Actually, I'm the opposite.

Today is our launch day in the Alpha phase.

We debuted at the Wall Street Journal's D5 conference.

I've been working for the company since February.

My good friend Lon was able to introduce me to the company, and I've been working hard, and having a blast ever since.

I've never been around such a fun, interesting, hard working, and positive group of people in my life.

What exactly is Mahalo?

"Mahalo is the world's first human-powered search engine powered by an enthusiastic and energetic group of Guides. Our Guides spend their days searching, filtering out spam, and hand-crafting the best search results possible. If they haven't yet built a search result, you can request that search result. You can also suggest links for any of our search results."

What are the advantages of a hand crafted search result?

Well for one, hand crafting allows us to prioritize results.

Believe it or not, lots of times when one looks up a person on Google or Yahoo! their Official Site is not even on the first page.

That's because computers are only able to recognize the most popular results...and unfortunately sometimes those results are irrelevant to one's search or worse spam sites.

We are also able to categorize results.

If one takes a look at one of our search pages, one can see that we are able to break up our results into categories, like photos, videos, merchandise and news.

It's like having a personal secretary find the best sites for you....in two seconds.

Obviously the biggest advantage of hand crafting results are that we are able to filter out spam.

We try our best not to link to irrelevant, and fraudulent pages.

The internet is filled with pages designed to generate income at one's expense in time and unfortunately money.

We spend hours a day searching through those sites so one never has to deal with them.

Obviously there is going to be some criticism of the site.

The biggest critique being that we don't have every search result.

We're working on that.

Or initial goal is to hand craft the top 10,000 search results.

Also when we don't have something....we give you the top results from our friends at Google, so that one has at least something to work with.

The company is committed to service and excellence. Every day the focus is geared toward making the site user friendly, and productive.

This isn't some flash in the pan operation.

We have the backing of Roelf Botha, Mark Cuban, News Corporation and CBS.

My boss and the CEO is Jason Calacanis, who founded the successful Weblogs inc.

He's one of the most engaging, smartest and most driven people I've ever met.

He's also incredibly generous, and rewards all the employees here at MAHALO with incredible perks, benefits, and incentives.

The editorial director is C.K. Sample who worked as the director of Netscape.com.

He's also incredibly driven. He's also smart, funny, and really dedicated to the project.

It's hard not to work your ass off for these guys, they are both such great inspirations.

In a lot of ways, it's a dream job, and my family and I are incredibly grateful for this wonderful opportunity.

So hopefully this is the beginning of something special.

Please come by and lend your support.

Also.....Tell everyone you know.

-MAHALO

www.mahalo.com

Guide: Ray Manukay

Putting the Biscuit in the Basket

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there is nothing more fun than watching playoff hockey...especially when your team is still in it.

The excellent play is really standing out this year in comparison with the snooze-fest called the NBA playoffs.

It's just too bad that I watched the game on something called the VS. channel, and not in high definition.

I'm a casual fan but this year's NHL playoffs have been fantastic.

I thought it would be Buffalo and the Ducks in the finals, but the Senators proved me wrong.

It's looking really good for the Ducks this year...tonight was another hard nosed, exciting come from behind win for a big, physical Ducks team.

I get the sense that this team is just too big for the Senators, it's just a matter of time before they grind them down.

I jokingly predicted to a bunch of friends that the Ducks would win in five, that the Senators peaked too early....but that's waaaaayyy too optomistic.

Ray Emery is sick...Ottawa is tough.

I wouldn't be surprised if this thing went Seven.

Go Ducks Go!!!

Kobe wants out of L.A.?????

Wow....will wonders never cease?

It's being reported that apparently Kobe Bryant is giving the Lakers an ultimatum.

Either bring back Jerry West as President of the Lakers....or trade him.

Seriously????

Hey, I'm all for bringing Jerry West back to the Lakers. I'm not exactly sure what went down in the first place to force him to retire, I remember hearing whispers that he felt the franchise was ungrateful for his services, or that he clashed with Phil Jackson. Silly stuff like that.

But I don't think this is the way to bring him back.

To me this whole scenario is just mind boggling.

What is Kobe thinking?

Did he seriously think that championships would just fall into his lap after they traded away Shaq?

Seriously....is he that naive?

Franchises don't recover over-night after trading away one of the best players who ever played the game....for practically nothing.

See Boston Red Sox Kobe.

It takes decades.

I thought this is what he wanted?

I thought he wanted to be the man....and score 80 points a night.

Did he really...sincerely care about winning?

Players that care about winning don't force their team to trade away the most dominant interior presence to ever play the game.

But now it seems Kobe after a few seasons..... is feeling restless.

I just can't help but scratch my head in wonder.

I'm interested to see how so-called Lakers fans, (who are really just Kobe fans) will react to this.

To me no player is bigger than the franchise. I'm a Laker fan no matter who leads the team.

I was a fan when Magic and Kareem were playing, and I was a fan when Anthony Peeler and Cedric Ceballos were the leading scorers.

I follow whoever puts on the purple and gold.

If any other player made this demand they would be booed out of Los Angeles.

It's an honor to play for the Lakers....this is the city where Jack sits at courtside every night and where the Laker Girls and celebrities meet.

Lakers are treated like gods here.

I remember being in the Nike store when Devean George came in. One would've thought that Michael Jordan was in our midst. People surrounded him asking for autographs, giving him high fives, shaking his hand...taking pictures with him.

Seriously....Devean George....a bench player at the time.

This is the team with Nine Championships in Los Angeles...this isn't an expansion team that's looking to cut some cap space.

Who in the hell is Kobe to demand a trade from the Lakers???

The Lakers led him to three straight championships.

If Kobe seriously cared about winning he would've signed with the Clippers when he had the chance. As a basketball fan, I could have understood that decision.

The Lakers just traded away Shaq....they are left with mediocre talent.

The Clippers had Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, a nice young nucleus, they still play in the Staples center....he wouldn't have to move....the money was comparable.

It would've been the smart move.

But Kobe chose the Lakers....I assume so he could run things....and be the undisputed man.

I guess he doesn't enjoy running things with a .500 team.

But...isn't this what he wanted???

I thought he wanted to be the next Dominque Wilkins.

A human highlight, scoring machine....with no more championships.

I just don't get it.

Did it hurt him to see Shaq celebrate a championship without him....or maybe he finally realizes that his talent alone can't win championships.

Lots of things have to fall into place.

Truth is....even if Jerry West came back, that wouldn't ensure a Championship.

It takes a special kind of player to win with Kobe.....besides Shaq I don't think that player exists.

That's why free agents don't want to play here.

Like it or not I think Kobe is going to have to get used to being on a .500 team.

Whether it's with the Lakers or any other team.

Pirates of the Carribean 3: At World's End

Perhaps the most anticipated movie of the Year arrives in theaters this week.

Question is....is that a good thing or bad thing?

After the massive artistic misfire of Spider-Man 3, and the box office tanking of Grind house, there is a sense that maybe this high profile summer of sequels would also be known as the summer of disappointment.

Thankfully that is not the case.

Summer Movie season officially begins with Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End.

This film wraps up an entertaining three movie arc with excitement and thrills, while bravely throwing in some heart-felt drama and poignancy.

The first thing one will notice is that this film is a lot darker than the previous movies.

Seriously..... I'm surprised the movie isn't Rated R.

The film explores dark and tragic themes.

Death and suffering are sprinkled throughout the entire film.

Which isn't a bad thing.

In some ways it feels a lot like a second act.

To make a comparison....this is the Empire Strikes Back of the series.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's as good as Empire, by any means....not even close...actually forget I brought that up....entirely.

It's just that the tones and subject matter don't feel like the traditional celebratory ending of a movie series.

For example, unlike the end of most trilogies, this movie has a considerable body count.

Characters we've enjoyed in the series meet heart-breaking, and surprising endings.

And yet it all still feels appropriate.

Lots of credit for the film's success has to go to the outstanding ensemble.

Geoffrey Rush is great as the devious Captain Barbosa, while Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom nicely capture the drama and romance at the heart of the trilogy.

But of course the soul of the film belongs to Johnny Depp, who turns in another, in an increasingly long line of entertaining performances in his expanding career.

This time Depp gets the chance to fully tap into Jack Sparrow's madness and quirkiness....if that seems possible.

If that's not enough Keith Richards turns in a surprisingly grounded cameo as Jack Sparrow's intimidating father.

Kudos also has to go to director Gore Verbinski who has found a way to mix some arthouse sensibilities with some breathtaking summer movie action.

The film isn't perfect however.

There's something about the movie that feels contrived, and possibly rushed.

I've read several reviews commenting on the complicated, and confusing story line in the film.

Which is considerable.

I admit at times it becomes very difficult figuring out who is back stabbing who,and what exactly these characters are seemingly planning, or to be honest, what exactly is happening in terms of plot.

The truth is there are huge holes in the script, and obviously important questions that are never resolved or explained.

That could be the cause of my trepidation to proclaim the film great.

But after some thought, I realized that in the end I'm not really bothered by it all.

Honestly these movies don't respond too well to examinations of plot logic and character development.

These are popcorn films that should be enjoyed accordingly.

What the story lacks in logic, it makes up with eye popping special effects, exotic locales and fantastic set pieces.

What more does one need in a pirate film?

The film also features some genuinely funny moments.

Especially with a scene stealing monkey and a boisterous Parrot.

Hey I know it's cheesy.... but who doesn't like animal humor?

In any case the film is a fitting end to a successful trilogy.

Check it out with the rest of the Earth's population this weekend.

Happy Anniversary Star Wars !!!!

May 25, 1977

Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno.....Filming?

According to the rumor site Defamer, it looks like Sacha Baron Cohen's character Bruno is coming to the big screen.

An eyewitness claims filming has started.

But who knows if it's real.

A while back, during all the Borat hoopla there was a studio announcement that Cohen was going to make the film.

But Cohen's people quickly shot down the rumor.

If this eyewitness is legit, it looks like Cohen was just creating smoke to distract potential victims.

If it is happening.....I'm really looking forward to the film.

Bruno is probably my least favorite character of Cohen's three personalities....but he's still hilarious.

I can't wait to see what shocking antics Cohen has in store.

God knows....the guy has no limits.

Giambi and Percival to Angels?

Some interesting rumors involving the Angels came out today.



Looks like Troy Percival is bored with retirement, and wants to come back.

Apparently he's giving the Angels first chance to negotiate.



Also the buzz in New York is that the Angels are keen on acquiring slugger Jason Giambi.

Fun stuff, but I don't think either move addresses the Angels biggest need.

What the Angels sorely need is a power hitting third baseman.

They still need to fill the hole left when they let Troy Glaus walk years ago.

With Garret Anderson returning from the injured list, and Shea Hillenbrand starting to heat up. Not to mention Juan Rivera possibly coming back later on in the season, why would the Angels be interested in Jason Giambi?

It's clear there is not going to be any room at D.H.

Also the Bullpen doesn't need another power arm, with Shields, K-Rod, Justin Speier, and Hector Carrasco holding down the fort. Percy would have to be regulated to mop up duty, something I'm sure he wouldn't enjoy.

Look for Percy to end up in Philadelphia....maybe even back at Detroit.

Obviously it would be fun and sentimental to have Percy back, but the Angels just don't need him.

The Rumor that had me the most excited was the one earlier this month involving Garrett Atkins.

I think that deal would make the most sense.

Atkins is young, a power hitter and plays third base.

The Angels have young pitching to offer and can also throw in one of our middle infielders like Figgins, Izturis or Erick Aybar.

Sounds like an easy deal to make.

But the truth is this is all much ado about nothing.

Bill Stoneman is incapable of pulling off an in-season trade.

Seriously. Incapable.

Not to be mean, but his track record speaks for itself.

Whatever the reason Stoneman just can't.... or won't... pull the trigger during the season.

It's unfortunate because I believe the Angels are very close to being a Championship Caliber team.

Very close.

King James , the Unselfish

There's a little mini-controversy brewing concerning LeBron passing up the final shot of tonight's first game in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Poor Guy.

Classic case of damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Cleveland was on the road, smart money is to go for the win there.

If he takes the shot, and misses no doubt people would be talking about how open Donyell Marshall was, and how LeBron was being selfish, by forcing a shot.

When it's all said and done I think LeBron made the right move.

Donyell had the open three....might as well go for the win there.

On the other hand, watching the slow motion replay it did look like he had a clear shot at the basket.

But the truth is, life doesn't move at slow motion.

Would Kobe, or Carmelo, maybe D-Wade take that same shot given the opportunity?

No Doubt.

But that's just not LeBron's style.

I've said it before, I think LeBron is the Ultimate team player.

He's like a humble and shy Scottie Pippen. He's Magic with Jordan's Hops.

Team him up with a superstar scorer, and we're talking dynasty.

People keep waiting, and wanting him to be selfish....to go out and score 80 points, but I don't think it's in him.....it's not part of his DNA.

He rather make the assist for the win, then be the hero.

To tell the truth, it's incredibly refreshing.

Especially in this day and age.

I just hope that one play doesn't affect his play for the rest of the series.

Because technically, the Cavs were in it till the end....and LeBron only scored 10 points the entire game, which I guarantee won't happen again....an unsettling thought for Pistons fans.

The Joker....revealed

Ain't It Cool News has put up the image of Heath Ledger in his JOKER war-paint.

It's fantastic....freaky as shit...but fantastic.

One can also play the game of watching pixels of Harvey Dent's face slowly dissolve at the website I believe in Harvey Dent Too.

Man....I can't wait for The Dark Knight. The news of Heath Ledger playing the Joker really didn't get me too excited, but I trust Christopher Nolan, and this image really rewards that trust.

I think this whole campaign has been brilliant. It really looks like we are in for something special. Which is great considering the massive disappointment of Spider-man 3.

I really get the sense, looking at the image, that we are looking into the eyes of a madman. Love the scarring on the cheeks.

I'm also hoping that his laughter is not one of joy, but of a result of something like tourettes syndrome.

A laughter that is involuntary, and not enjoyed....which the animated series portrayed so well.

By the way....Please if you know anything about the film. DON'T SAY ANYTHING!!!

I'd love to see the film spoiler free.

Happy Birthday Chewie

Peter Mayhew (63)

Spurs win....but N.B.A. loses

The San Antonio Spurs just finished off the Phoenix Suns.

And I mourn for the N.B.A.

I'm not saying that the San Antonio Spurs didn't deserve to win the series.

But the truth is, the series was tainted by the inexcusable suspensions of Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire by the N.B.A.

Justice was not served with their suspensions.

To tell the truth, I'm not a fan of the Phoenix Suns...actually far from it.

The Suns knocked out my beloved Lakers two years in a row, and also knocked out my second favorite team the Clippers in the Western Conference Semi-finals last year.

In all honesty I'm not even sure the Suns had enough to beat the Spurs in the series.

But I do know when something is rotten in Denmark.

As a basketball fan I feel cheated, and betrayed.

I didn't see a series played on an even field.

With one swift move the N.B.A. stepped in, and with technicalities and the letter of the law ruined a N.B.A. season.

Destroyed it.

I can't imagine what Phoenix Suns fans are feeling right now.

I don't even think San Antonio Spurs fans are feeling good about the way the team has advanced to the Western Conference finals.

Just saw an interview with Tim Duncan....even he doesn't feel great about it.

It's a hollow victory.

That's the truth of it.

I was hoping that Phoenix could push the series to seven games, to take some of the sting of injustice off.

But the burden was just too much.

Now we fans are left with a shallow, and empty, and frankly worthless playoff experience.

Congratulations David Stern you managed to alienate many fans, lose countless others, and put a black eye on a semi-enjoyable season.

And his excuse that the Suns brought this upon themselves, is just shameful, and embarrassing.

I'm just grateful that my Son is not old enough to understand basketball, so I wouldn't have to explain the situation to him.

Imagine if he was a Suns fan, and I tried to explain what happened.

Heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, I'm sure that scenario is playing out in many homes in Phoenix, as I write this.

Dear Mr. Stern......

Please keep your mouth shut, quit sticking your nose in places it doesn't need to be, and please fade away into the background so we aren't reminded of one of the N.B.A.'s biggest blunders in the history of the game.

Embarrassing.

Thank God I still have Angels Baseball.