The Revised Steeler Depth Chart

Ike Taylor has now become a $22.5 million dime specialist. Steelers coach Bill Cowher benched the former starting cornerback with hopes to revitalize a dismal Pittsburgh squad. Or, it could be because Taylor was primarily covering Javon Walker, who racked up 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns on six catches, and also ran for a 72 yard score. Ike's relegation proves no one is safe, and I don't think Cowher is done tinkering with the starting lineups yet...

On offense:

In a desperate attempt to talk about something else besides the Steelers inefficiency, Cowher names Sean Morey the #1 receiver for this week's game. Cowher secretly hopes Morey gets a mention in Bill Simmons' "Drew Bennett Award" for impressive white wide receiver of the year.

Willie Parker becomes the new third down back. "I think our third down packages will definitely improve with Willie in the backfield," says Cowher.

With Najeh Davenport probable and Verron Haynes out, Cowher concludes that Duce Staley should be motivated to potentially see the field this week. However, more comfortable in sweats on the sidelines, Staley promptly rolls his ankle and is questionable for the rest of the year.

Cowher announces the Cedric Wilson will not play on Sunday. Instead, he will dress up as "Tyrone Biggums" from The Chappelle Show, citing an increase in team morale whenever Wilson utters "I smoke rock!"

OT Willie Colon will start at center on Sunday, because, according to Cowher, "the sheer irony of a quarterback having his hands near Colon's colon is something I can't afford to pass up."

Ben Roethlisberger will not be replaced. "Ben has been one of our most consistent players this season," claims Cowher. The press agrees that Roethlisberger is consistent... consistently bad.

On special teams:

With Hines Ward available, Cowher decides Ward will return punts on Sunday. Cowher deadpans, "if Hines is going to start fumbling the ball, it makes sense to have our most talented fumbler at punt returner."

Behind closed doors, Cowher insists that Chris Gardocki should intentionally have a punt blocked for the first time of his career, claiming that perhaps the karma boost would put the Steelers back on the winning track.

On defense:

With such traditional depth at linebacker, Cowher moves Clint Kriewaldt to cornerback. By replacing Deshea Townsend, Cowher has completely replaced his cornerbacks, and looks to father a new movement for white cornerbacks in the NFL.

Chad Brown replaces Joey Porter in the lineup. "I think Chad can regain the 1996 form and really be a force," says Cowher. J-Peezy lets his dogs loose in frustration, causing widespread panic for all miniature horses in southwest Pennsylvania.

Coaching Staff:

In perhaps the most surprising change, Cowher says that he himself will not be leading the Steelers against the Saints on Sunday. The rumormill determines Charlie Batch will fill in as interim head coach, as a result of his extensive experience with headsets.

NHL.com: shameless panhandling or economic genius?

Growing up with Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr on the Pittsburgh Penguins, I became a pretty big hockey fan in the 90s. I wish I could say I had the same passion for the game, but that's pretty hard when nobody covers hockey anymore. Inbetween FSN Pittsburgh telecasts of Penguins games, I started going to NHL.com to follow the game a little more closely. Unfortunately, I have neither Barry Melrose nor Versus "national" broadcasts in my living room to satisfy my hockey hunger. With this said, I noticed something peculiar on the bottom of the page, and I had to do a double take:

Yes, those are Google ads on NHL.com. I have no problem with Google ads, as you have probably seen. But I think there is a difference between my blog having Google ads and a major sports entity having them. The NBA, NFL, and MLB all have Google ad free pages, as well as Major League Soccer's website, mlsnet.com. My first impression was that this was a rather cheap method to gain advertising revenue for a site as popular as NHL.com. Then I remembered that supposedly no one liked hockey anymore. So I did some research:

According to Alexa.com, since the NHL regular season started on October 4th, NHL.com has received at least 30 million page views daily (Note: it becomes 30 million when you lessen the smoothing of the graph to the lowest level). That's a TON of "Fiance.com - Russian girls like hockey" to say the least. You could certainly make the argument that this practice is bush league... that the NHL is embarassing itself by not having higher advertising standards... that the NHL.com webmasters are getting kickbacks... but I would like to look at it another way:

The red line is NBA.com, the green line is NFL.com, the gold line is MLB.com, and the blue line (oh, look, it's a hockey pun...) is NHL.com. With small exceptions, NHL.com receives significantly less page views than the other three. Either Google ads revenues on NHL.com might be similar to balding, overweight men driving Lamborghinis to compensate for "below average size" (or maybe lack of attention)... or it could be cutting-edge economic genius. I'm not sure how much legitimate sponsors pay to put their ads on sports websites, but combining these forces with Google ads as an extra sort of revenue is pretty clever in my book. Look again at the graph above. Notice how much potential advertising revenue Google ads could have on the other sites compared to NHL.com. I suppose the NHL has to do everything it can to compete, whether it's shameless panhandling or economic genius. But I'll let you decide that for yourself.

The NHL is digging itself a deeper hole...

You know those polls that virtually every major sports publication asks every year, the ones that ask which major sporting event you would attend if you could? The choices are always the same. The Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, NHL Finals, etc. Every once in awhile a novelty item gets thrown in for the year, like the Olympics or World Cup or whatever. My answer is always the NHL Playoffs. I don't care if it's the finals or the opening rounds, playoff hockey is RIDICULOUS. Unfortunately, I don't know this from personal experience. I've never even been to an NHL game, because my parents refuse to recognize it as a sport, because (even after the rule changes) "all they do is fight." So maybe I'm just bitter because I never got to see Mario Lemieux in person, but I'm mad at the NHL.

You would think that coming out of a lockout, the NHL would have secured a TV deal with a major network. I know that the TV deal with ESPN/ABC wasn't the best, and that that was a large reason the league needed to make changes. But now the casual fan can't watch the NHL playoffs, because the majority of the games are on OLN, a station I don't get. To be honest, I don't know anyone that gets it. I've only seen it at a few hotels on vacation. I refuse to count the one game NBC shows on the weekends as postseason coverage. What casual fan is going to turn on hockey without seeing any of the other games? It's like starting a movie in the middle instead of the beginning. I hate the fact that I have to follow the NHL online.

The NHL should have partnered back up with ESPN or a sports network for 50 cents on the dollar. Cut the dollar amounts but keep the coverage. After all, there's nothing like listening to Steve Levy commentate a hockey game... and seeing the fans getting into it with every hit and every near-miss goal is priceless. So now I'm deprived, and I'm actually forced to watch the NBA as my sports fix. That's right. I'm actually watching Dallas/Pheonix right now. This is the same person that said that the NBA isn't legitimate basketball. Oh well.

Anyhow, I promised my girlfriend, who happens to be from Buffalo, that if the Sabres pull out Game 7 versus Carolina and make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, that I'll be going and taking her. Like I said, I've never seen NHL hockey live, and Edmonton has always been one of my favorite teams. I'll root for Buffalo of course, but you have to admire Edmonton because they're from Canada, and they weren't one of those horrid Western Conference powerhouses in the late 90s, like Detroit or Colorado or even Dallas.

The only problem is that we're both going on vacation to North Carolina in a week and a half. So I probably won't be able to see a game down there, let alone attend one in person. I'll keep this posted on developments.

Post coming tomorrow, I promise.

I know I haven't posted since the beginning of April. I got to be real busy with school, then I broke my thumb playing rugby, and then I started working. Now that I've gotten my life settled, and there are still handfuls of people visiting the site a week, I'll be posting a series of new posts all week to celebrate.

Stop underappreciating female sports fans!

My friend Drew told me an anecdote while I was watching the Pirates blow their 2-1 lead against the Brewers. His girlfriend attends Pitt and was talking with a girl who unfortunately could not miss class to attend the Pirates' home opener a week from today. Directly after this a guy asked Drew's girl what a "Pirates' opener" was. To be honest, I wasn't that shocked. There are a lot of girls that know a lot about sports, and some know more than their guy friends.

Guys generally want their female companions to be interested in sports. That way, when they want to watch a game they won't have to be resigned to watching Grey's Anatomy, or Trading Spaces, or anything from the Lifetime channel. If you build a female's liking for sports, it's a bonus for both of you. It's something in common, plus you can get away with watching some more sports than you would otherwise (except the WNBA, of course).

To summarize...

Beer ads display a sports utopia

What's better than watching a game on your hi-def plasma TV with 9 of your closest and most diverse friends while splitting a case of Busch? Watching that game with 4 or 5 scantily clad (but always team oriented wear) model quality females with maybe some eye black or face paint for good measure. And in these ads, there are no "stupid questions" that guys fear, and there's no hassling to do yard work or whatever stereotype you want to put there instead. There is an inherent understanding that the sports are good and bring people together, and that the girls in the ad probably could beat you at fantasy football or at least outdrink most of your friends.

But I'm calling it utopia because it's unattainable. It's unattainable for a reason, and it's a bad one: guys have such a stupid ego about girls knowing too much about sports.

So let me get this straight...

As a guy, you want your girl to know stuff about sports. You want this girl to know that batting average is actually calculated as a percent, and the higher percent the better. You want her to know that a triple double is not a new appetizer platter at Applebee's, and that a lefty specialist isn't some sick self-pleasure reference.

But there's a ridiculous and thin line here. When she finally stops asking you how to calculate an ERA and figures out the intracacies of the NHL point system, the pinnacle has been reached. The girl has learned enough that she can hold her own in discussion or at least saying stupid things like "Peyton Manning is a clutch quarterback." At this point, guys still have girls at a subordinate state because they don't know everything.

And now the downfall

If your female companion knows more about you than sports, this is completely acceptable. Maybe she corrects you that Mark Buehrle only won 16 games last season, or that Earl Morrall started Super Bowl III, not Johnny Unitas. I don't know how this isn't a good thing. I've read a lot of stuff about male sports fans feeling threatened by their wives/girlfriends intense sports knowledge and passion. While the burning hatred my girlfriend (a Buffalo Bills fan) harbors for Drew Bledsoe does sometimes scare me, I would never feel threatened if she corrected me on Bills trivia. Guys need to just get over themselves.

What to do if your girl knows more than you

1) You could admit that maybe you're just a casual sports fan, and that's alright too. After all, you have a wife, and you doubt that guy on Stump the Schwab gets a whole lot of play from naming the Vezina Trophy winners of the last 35 years.

2) You could stop seeing this girl and start the process with a new girl, and have to answer those "annoying" questions all over again.

3) Whine like a little girl because your buddies chastize you... and forget that they probably watched "A Walk To Remember" for the 14th time the other night, and made you text him the score of the game he wasn't watching.

Personally, I'd pick number one.

So as someone that knows a few passionate girl sports fans that don't get the respect they deserve, take a chance on them. Maybe you'll actually listen to their conversation, someone they know might have season tickets... and besides, that one sports knowledgable chick on The Drew Carey Show was kinda hot.

The NBA isn't legitimate basketball

With the NCAA Tournament coming to a close this weekend, it's time to be a bit nostalgic. If you have read Macken's Lounge since its inaugural posts, you'll know that I call for a confusing, unorthodox, and inefficient way of expanding the NIT to become a big losers bracket. Basically, I would much rather watch horrible college basketball than good NBA teams. This is why the NBA is not legitimate basketball.

Defense

There are few NBA defensive "stoppers." The highest acclaimed is Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs. One of the knocks on Adam Morrison right now is that he doesn't guard anyone, and that this means he's slipping on draft boards. This should only INCREASE his attractiveness to NBA teams, because he won't waste energy playing defense and won't pick up cheap fouls. This guy should be the #1 overall pick because of his defensive laziness. The only "real" defense is when guys like Erick Dampier and Stromile Swift occasionally come from nowhere and block weak layups into the 6th row. Either that, or that's all the D I see on SportsCenter... Evidently when you hit the $1 million salary mark it's okay if you forget how to play help and weak side defense.

Offense

If I wanted to see a bunch of guys stand around in a halfcourt set and post-up each other, I'd pay $5 to go to my local YMCA before I'd pay $25 for a ticket to an NBA game. Even with the 24 second shot clock, the pace is horrible. Everyone is so intrigued by the run and gun teams like the Phoenix Suns and to some extent the Dallas Mavericks. Well, if you've ever seen an NBA game from the 70s or 80s on ESPN Classic, the Suns aren't anything compared to that. We're talking scores like 134-128 with no overtimes. If you want to see playground style alley-oops and the daily demise of the bounce pass, the NBA is FANTASTIC.

Oh, and there is a clause in every player's contract that specifically states that they must forget how to finish a layup within 5 feet of the hoop, must not take a shot anywhere between the 10-19 foot range, and throw up flailing jump hooks and floaters while arguing to the ref that they got fouled, as the opposing team is capitalizing on a 3 on 2. However, this player is safe because NBA players also are contractually obligated to forget how to run a 3 on 2. If you've ever seen a church rec league, or old men play at a Y or a college, the basics of a 3 on 2 stay with you for life... unless you're in the NBA.

Lack of Fan Participation

If you have to play pop music during the game to keep people's attention. You have a problem. In the college game, you don't have to the defense chant initiated by fake organ music, there are passionate, caring fans that want to see their team win. It might be cute to see a 10-year-old in an oversized Shaq jersey dancing to the 3rd Black Eyed Peas song of the quarter, but I'll pass.

The Talent

The media, we as fans, and everyone should just STOP telling college freshmen that they're good at what they do. People at North Carolina should be whispering in Tyler Hansbrough's ear that he is a horrible ball player and should continue to do so until he is forced to leave by becoming a graduating senior. If your family is poor, and you absolutely need the huge guaranteed sums of money, fine, go pro. But perhaps when your contract runs out, and you're playing in half-filled D3 college gyms in the Developmental League, you'll remember how Dick Vitale called you a primetime player. At least your mom will have a house. (Seriously, though... at least your mom will have a house. She deserves it. No joke there)

The NBA has no role players. Let's get that out of the way. The "role" players that they do have are 1st and 2nd round picks from the last 10 years that haven't quite panned out to their potential. I really don't understand how you can make it to the NBA as a ridiculously good all-around player, and then be relegated to 15 minutes a night so that you can make your living off of a few 3 point shot attempts or giving your starting big man a rest on the bench. I'm 6'5", 185 lbs., but if any NBA teams are interested in having a fundamentally sound token white bench player double down on the opposition's center for 5 minutes a game, I'll take the 10 day contract.

Lack of Competition

When every NBA insider readily admits that the championship will probably go to one of 3 teams, you know something is wrong. The Detroit Pistons, Spurs, and Mavericks have the 3 best records in the league. The Miami Heat are on a rampage, currently. But really everyone says the NBA Finals will come down to the Pistons and Spurs, and you know what, it probably will. They are definitely the best teams, and when the NBA revised the playoff systems to all 7 game series matchups, the element of surprise is gone. Look at the MLB or the NFL... the Steelers won the Super Bowl as a 6 seed. The Marlins and Red Sox have won the World Series as a Wild Card. George Mason made the Final Four as an 11 seed. But if you think that the #8 seed in the West, say the Lakers, has any chance of beating the Spurs or Mavericks 4 out of 7 games, you're dilusional.

I will now go watch my Michael Jordan game tapes and highlight videos in peace, remembering the not-so-bad days of the NBA while whimpering softly into my comforter.

The American League: Like you knew them in high school

For my Major League Baseball 2006 Preview, I figured I would relate each baseball team to people you knew from high school. Everybody remembers high school and if not, play along with these slight stereotypes.

American League

Baltimore Orioles: This girl is constantly overshadowed by hotter girls in school. Back before you knew better, you thought this girl was pretty nice and maybe girlfriend potential. Then you heard about her relationship (lucrative contract commitments) with a guy from a neighboring smaller town. They've been going out for like 3 years now (like decades in high school time) and you don't forsee an end. So you've written this girl off.

Boston Red Sox: This is one of the two most attractive girls in school. This girl used to have braces and bad hair, but she sprouted some boobs, started putting out, and finally overcame her past to be one of the most popular girls in school. There's some brooding competition between her and the other hot girl in school.

New York Yankees: This is the other hot girl. You and your friends discuss the pros and cons of both of them over lunch. It's widely accepted that this girl is classier than her opposition, and either you like one of the girls or the other. Or maybe you don't care to fantasize about either of them, since they're bitchy and haven't talked to you in five years.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Your brooding Goth kid. There's some dark cloud hanging over this kid, and you'll never quite know what it is. It's there though, and that's all that needs to be said. (Since not every AL East team could be a girl)

Toronto Blue Jays: This girl has big shot parents and a nice house. Nobody really likes her all that much, but she buys her friends. She throws parties and maybe has a neat cabin or beach house that she takes people to. But she's still just an average person with loaded parents.

Chicago White Sox: Last year's undeserving homecoming queen. This girl is decent and friendly, but there wasn't a lot of competition from the other girls, and everybody kind of regards this as a fluke (not taking away from the WS title, I might add). But she won by a dominating landslide in the vote, although you weren't really that interested.

Cleveland Indians: This is your closest high school friend. You really don't have anything bad to say about them, and they've never really disappointed you, even if they've changed a little bit. You might even drunk-dial this kid from a foreign country to see how he's doing. If they're doing good, you're all for it. If things aren't going well for you (or the Pirates), at least this is the next best thing.

Detroit Tigers: This person has a shot. They have some obscure talent that the local newspaper might talk about, and they could maybe do something cool to be famous some day. Probably not, but they have a shot.

Kansas City Royals: This kid has no business being on an athletic team, but your school doesn't have a ton of people willing to play for a horrible football team on their fall Friday nights. So what happens? They play on the football team as a pure status symbol. When they wear their jersey to school before that first home game, you can't believe your eyes. That kid plays football? You and everyone else knows that he won't earn a varsity letter, or the respect he thinks he deserves for playing.

Minnesota Twins: You have homeroom with this kid. He's a nice guy, but everybody knows he has a ceiling in life. Maybe he's gotten a girl pregnant, or not good in school. He might make a decent life for himself, and have a good year every once in awhile, but he'll probably be managing your local Taco Bell. There's just not a lot to work with.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: You knew this girl when you were younger and lost touch. She had a normal name, but then when she got to high school she either started saying or spelling it differently. Maybe she started going by her middle name. Maybe she did all three. Either way, you can't even figure out what to call this girl, and you don't really know anything about her.

Oakland Athletics: This is your cheap friend. He never has money for poker, or wings, or pizza. He might have a few bucks of change in his car to play with every once in awhile. A good kid, but sometimes it's a little annoying to constantly cover for him.

Seattle Mariners: This is one of the foreign exchange students that you've heard about, but you don't know personally (maybe they're Japanese). Everyone LOVES this kid and says they're the coolest kid ever and that they're going to visit him sometime. But at the end of the year, people are pretty much over it. Besides they didn't even talk to you very much, and you couldn't understand a whole lot of it anyhow.

Texas Rangers: This is your average kid. It might even be you. You might look back on this kid and see yourself. Young and full of potential, but hasn't amounted to much lately and maybe never will. Maybe you'll be underachieving, and you've definitely done something stupid since high school. It just wasn't as stupid as offering some shortstop a quarter billion dollars.

The National League: Like you knew them in high school

For my Major League Baseball 2006 Preview, I figured I would relate each baseball team to people you knew from high school. Everybody remembers high school and if not, play along with these slight stereotypes.

National League

Atlanta Braves: They're like the senior starting quarterback you heard about as a freshman. Living strictly off of reputation, you are in awe of him. Even though your team runs a wishbone set and this guy has twice as many interceptions as touchdowns, he's been the starter since Little Gridders... and he has a letter jacket.

Florida Marlins: You were friends with this girl when you were younger. She was a good friend. Nothing spectacular, but a solid friend. Then the factory where her dad worked laid off half of its employees and she moved away so her dad could work for a legitimate company.

New York Mets: This is that one person you knew that tried way too hard to impress other people. They talk about the things they did over summer break proudly, but when you ask anything about that remarkable summer camp experience, they change the subject. They name drop frequently about people they've hung out with, but everyone still knows most of what they do or say is BS and that they're not as good as your best friend.

Philadelphia Phillies: This kid likes a girl, and everyone has known it for a long time. He keeps saying that he'll ask her out. Once in awhile he comes really close but he never manages to do it. So he goes back to the drawing board and trys to come up with a talent to change things, but it never works and he still likes the girl but never gets to the point of asking her out.

Washington Nationals: This girl just moved into town and she's kinda hot (maybe even French-Canadian, if you catch my drift). Her cousin also goes to school and says that she's been with a guy or two, so everyone is intrigued by this girl, until they realize the cousin was lying and that she's the same as most of the other girls in school.

Chicago Cubs: This guy is real unlucky. He tried out for the basketball team last year and didn't make it. They year before that he broke his arm over the summer, and the year before that barely missed making the JV team. He had a growth spurt over the summer but he's now uncoordinated and you know he won't make the team, the question will be how he won't.

Cincinnati Reds: This girl is a bitch. She's ridiculously unattractive, but she talks like she's a goddess. You and your friends don't like her one bit, and that sentiment permeates through the entire school. This girl won't amount to much, and will probably contract an STD at a frat party at your local state university.

Houston Astros: The scrubby kid with the scraggly beard that you're almost positive was two grades ahead of you in elementary school, but is now in your graduating class. Just an older kid that has been around forever, and nobody really wants any part of him.

Milwaukee Brewers: This is the underclassman guy the older girls like. As an older guy you might not understand why. But the girls can all justify why he's so attractive, probably his care free attitude and his nice hair. He's a good kid, but you really don't see why he's any better than you (but evidently he's the sleeper pick for the NL Central).

Pittsburgh Pirates (courtesy of my friend City): This girl looks pretty attractive because she's young with good potential to fill out a C cup. But she's just too young and if you hook up with her, it won't necessarily end well. Jail bait, in otherwords.

St. Louis Cardinals: This is your all around athlete. He might play baseball, football, and basketball... or she might play volleyball, tennis, and run track. But they're pretty much good at everything and are always really passionate about what they do. They find a way to be on top no matter what, and that's slightly frustrating to the rest of their friends (or the NL Central).

Arizona Diamondbacks: You vaguely knew this person. They had a real nice house with a pool (in the outfield). They were cool back in the day but now nobody really likes them. They just have a nice house for warm weather fun.

Colorado Rockies: This is the infamous high school slut. Everybody just hammers her, and there's absolutely nothing to like about this girl. You've heard too many stories about her that you'll never view her in a positive light. Her bedroom changes guys. Once they go there, something happens (inflated ERA) and they are never the same.

Los Angeles Dodgers: This girl is rich. They have money and they flaunt it, but they're nothing special... they might even be fat. You forget the girl is around because you really don't care.

San Diego Padres: The overachiever. They aren't really good at anything, they just barely snuck into your one AP class and they sleep through it. But they pass it, probably with a B, because the teacher curves the grades in your class.

San Francisco Giants: That girl or guy you didn't know in high school but had a crush on anyhow. Maybe you noticed the girls Victoria's Secret underwear in English class... or that guy wore that sweet shell necklace that went with the frosted hair tips and great smile. Then you found out that they "had some work done," or were into some hard drugs and your attitude changed. You weren't so into them anymore, but you couldn't take anything away from their attractiveness.

I feel cheated as a basketball fan.

Last night Gonzaga blew a 17 point lead against UCLA and are gone from the NCAA basketball tournament. Duke's done too... they lost to LSU. Both games ended with the two best players in the country sobbing: J.J. Redick of Duke after the realization that his college career was over (or maybe it was the 3 for 18 shooting performance), and Adam Morrison sprawled out after UCLA came back to win. I don't exactly know why I feel cheated, though. Perhaps because I don't mind Duke and Gonzaga, I would have liked them to move on, or more likely, the media building up the "feud" between Redick and Morrison for player of the year.

All year long the media kept fanning the flames of the player of the year argument. It was a really pretentious argument that focused on points per game, the strength of the conferences, and the fact that they play Halo 2 together and talk about basketball. Here's my take on it:

Morrison + Larry Bird comparisons + wispy mustache = Redick + greatest shooter ever + Duke mystique... they should share the title.

But furthermore, the media jumped at the chance to should "irony" last night. Everyone is saying how ironic it is that these two were linked all season, and that they both exited before they should have in the tourney. Well, since the comparison was coming ONLY from the media, I guess it isn't so ironic. The media "convinced" me that I should want to see Duke vs. Gonzaga somewhere in the tournament. All the Larry Bird comparisons of Morrison and the constant sucking up to how Redick is the greatest pure shooter ever was sickening. If Morrison played Redick one on one, he'd win. Redick can't manufacture his own shot like Morrison can.

"Everyone" wants to see the two play each other to settle the score. Duke and their big time conference and all around dominance versus the perennial underdog turned superpower with their one big force. We'll never know, and that's slightly unfortunate. I would definitely watch the game just so that there'd be some sort of closure. Even the bichering sports pundits would be better than this uncertainty. The only closure that resulted from last night were the two stars crying as they walked off the court. This is probably the last time they'll care about anything. Next year they'll be lottery picks and millionaires and in the NBA, and that means that when their teams lose by 35 to the Pistons, they'll get over the losing real quick. It should end a better way.