Almost There

I have begrudgingly begun to accept the fact that LeBron James is on the verge of actually winning an NBA Championship ring.  To be completely candid with you, I hate the simple thought of it.  The thing that really irks me about this practically imminent world of the existence is that I (and I think I’m in the majority… somewhere around a 65/35 split) was so sure it was going to happen differently.

About midway through the 4^th quarter of Game 7, I knew the Heat were going to be playing in the Finals against OKC.  The Celtics finally just broke.  All engines firing, full-steam ahead.  Boom.  Over.  But I thought I had an ace up my sleeve.  After the first two incredible rounds and then the dismantling of the Spurs, I thought OKC was sure to bring the thunder to South Beach.  Bonus pun.

Instead, LBJ has been lighting up the court and is on his way to a ring.  But it’s not enough to suddenly admit that he’s great.  Sorry, I’m still not selling yet.

Enough

Yep, its going to happen, no matter how much you didn’t want it to. LeBron James will win a championship, and I think it will happen tonight. He will be the MVP, he will have a great game. And if I’m wrong, and it goes another 1 (or 2) games, he will have great games in those as well. I really wish this series could last until the NFL season begins, but I’m so ready for the stamp to be put on this one.

GTFOH: R.A.diculous!

Wow, congratulations to R.A. Dickey.  First person since 1988 to throw back-to-back one-hitters**.  I don’t even really care that it was against my beloved Orioles–the year R.A. is having is R.A.diculous:

• 11-1 W-L record
• 2.00 ERA
• 103 Ks
• 0 earned runs in his last 42 2/3 innings

**Wouldn’t you think a feat such as back-to-back one-hitters would be a lot more uncommon?

GTFOH: Yes, He Cain

Matt Cain tosses the first perfect game in San Francisco Giants history. He becomes the 22nd pitcher to do so in MLB history. Congrats, and bonus points for being on my fantasy team.

image cred: http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2012/4/13/2947179/post-game-thread-matt-cain

NBA Finals? More like NBA JAM.

If you haven’t noticed, I took a mini hiatus after my beloved Boston Celtics broke down in the biggest Game 7 of them all**.  I needed time to digest. Time to recover. Time to find my own closure. More on that later.

**Fan’s perspective. Any Game 7, involving a team you are invested in, automatically becomes “the biggest Game 7 of all”. It’s chronological too—this most recent NBA Game 7 is somehow bigger than that Yankees-Red Sox Game 7 of a few years ago.

This piece… it’s all about the NBA Finals. The “other” matchup.

Slap-less in Seattle ( a recap )

I was at the no-hitter game last night. Here is a quick recap.

Dorsey Foresees: It IS the Heat, NOT the Antiquity.

You Ready? Here we go! I am psyched, peace out big 3, only 1 of which is playing big. I just don’t see how Miami loses this game, but I’ve been wrong before. But speaking of what I’ve been, I was DAMN close on my LBJ prediction:

DF Prediction:
28.3 PPG 8.8 RPG 7.2 APG

Actual (Thus far in Playoffs according to NBA.com):
30.8 PPG 9.5 RPG 5.3 APG +31.29 EFF

No way… Kevin Millwood?!

The latest ace to throw a no-hitter?

Kevin Millwood.  Kind of.

With Charlie Furbush.

And Stephen Pryor.

And Lucas Luetge.

And Brandon League.

And Tom Wilhelmsen.

But yes, Kevin Millwood nonetheless.  The same Millwood who went 4-16 just two years ago.

Way to be resilient.  You definitely earned your 2/3 of a no-no.

Cronise Surmises–OKC Edition

I don’t have too much to surmise about this week due to my NBA Playoffs fever.  It’s getting worse (better?) every night that passes and I honestly don’t care if I recover.  Haha, but in all seriousness… either tonight or Saturday night, it’s all going to boil over.  And if things go a certain way… well, let’s just say that I’m going to be celebrating like it’s Saint Patty’s Day.  For a solid week.  Followed by another period of partying—in celebration or in celebration.

Let’s do work, real quick.

Who Should Be On Team USA 2012?

Not too long ago, I wrote a well-received article on Team USA basketball.  I talked about the different team forms submitted by the United States to international tournaments since pros were allowed in 1992.  I tried to give some examples of the good times and I touched on the bad times.

It occurred to me: I never offered my rendition of a problem-solver.  So I’m going to follow up that piece with this one—(my prospective) 2012 Team USA.

I have a better name for this iteration too.  Let’s call it the “Fantasy Team”.