Spurs Dominate, Bengals set to dominate

 ABC news

Well the NBA finals are finally over and the best team in the NBA by far stood as Champs when it was all said and done.  Team basketball prevailed as the San Antonio Spurs played almost flawlessly and dominated the Miami Heat, closing them out in 5 games.  They played the type of ball that high school and AAU coaches could probably show film of as excellent fundamental instruction material.  Somehow we had heard it mentioned often going into the playoffs that this type of basketball was not "flashy" or "fun" to watch.  Well personally I have not had more fun watching a team play.  They moved the ball so well that their offense was almost artistic, so well that it almost overshadowed their tenacious defense.  It seems now you have to put Gregg Popovich up there with the greats of all time and his ability to develop talent and get everyone to buy in to this selfless cause that is bigger than the individual sounds an awful lot like a certain NFL coach...

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So now what? 

It is the dog days of summer approaching for baseball, the USA men's soccer team might shock the world....and make it to the elimination round before losing and according to Lebron James we will have to wait till summer to hear his Decision 2.0.

 81 days till Bengals v Ravens week 1 of the NFL

The Bengals wrapped up their mandatory mini camp last week and don't start training camp till the end of July.  They have a couple of guys looking to ink soon this off-season:

Vontaze Berfict contract talks ->  Get it done front office.  This guy has what it takes to solidify a perennial top 10 defense for the next decade and he brings the type of passion and leadership that makes everyone around him better.

Andy Dalton contract talks -> Would prefer to make him earn it this year.  We believe he has what it takes to prove doubters wrong and is not far from being a top franchise quarterback in this league.  If he gets one though the less guaranteed money the better. 

Stay tuned as we will break down all of the Bengals off season later this week!

Home Fieldhouse Advantage

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Well, despite any "ups and downs" the Pacers may have had this year the thought still laid in most people's minds that they were on a one way track towards smacking into their arch-nemesis of recent years, the Miami Heat, at the Eastern Conference Finals, and smack they did!  The Pacers scored the first blow in this brawl, winning 107-96 in Indy on Sun. night.

This should not of come as too much of a shock however as the Big Three and company have been more human on the road this year (22-19) and Lebron himself is 0-7 in game 1's on the road in his career.

One of the big questions going into this series was how well would Roy Hibbert play due to his complete ineffectiveness at many times recently in games.  People who ask that question however need to realize that some people were just simply put on this earth to harass the Greats of our generation, and one such man is Big Roy.

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He not only had a solid 19 and 9 but his Pacers would outscore the Heat by 19 points while he was on the court Sunday.


The Heat did not have an answer for him and when they are not getting to the foul line as much as they like (Pacers had more free throws in the third quarter than the Heat did all game) any deficit is a tough one for them to fight back from.  It didn't help their cause either that Lebron had as many turnovers in the game as he did points in the 4th quarter, 4.

Look for the Heat to strike back in game 2 as everyone knows they are dominant coming off of a loss.

Still, with 5 Pacers in double digits and looking reinvigorated vs. the defending champs, it looks to be a heavy weight matchup resembling last years bout that went to 7 games with the Pacers ultimately losing in Miami.   If this one goes to a game 7 however, Lebron will have to pack his talents up from South Beach and take them to Indy (where they are 1-7 the last 2 years).

NBA Quick Hits

Hats off to you NBA!  If you are anything like me you got completely sucked into this year’s NBA Playoffs (which seemed like they went on for about as long as a season of the MLB).  All the story lines, the drama- multiple game 7’s and underdog upset scares, small market vs. big market, the tension -physical/aggressive series almost coming to blows- and the talent all made for quite a memorable end to a great NBA season.  Which brings me to my next point, aren’t you glad that the NBA is back! I mean I know that it hasn’t gone anywhere, but ever since the lockout in 1998 and the post-Michal Jordan era, it had went from all-time high TV ratings in ‘97-‘98 to record lows in ‘03-’04 (Thanks Neilson). 

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It has always been said that basketball is a “player’s league” and it really is.  The game allows its stars to be in your face with no helmets or pads and puts only 10 guys in the competition at one time.  We as consumers of the sport and members of a society that is obsessed with reality TV, love good characters.The NBA is the perfect showcase for good characters that just happen to be some of the best athletes on the planet!  The advent of the Age of Social Media has only amplified a sport chalk full of these Freak Talents with many personalities.  In 1987 you may never have known how Isaiah Thomas reacted after a hard foul from Jordan unless you were at the game or lived in Detroit or Chicago.

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In 2013?  If Lebron James makes a goofy face after a bad call, 156 million people are dialoging about it on twitter or saw the pores in his nose as he committed it on their HD televisions.  Every season is a story.  Everybody likes a good story.  What do all good stories have?  Good characters, characters that divide the audience in their opinions about them.  In the NBA there is no bigger character than Lebron James.  Analogy: Whether you see him as the original super hero- American flag waving Hulk Hogan that is the optimal role model of his profession or the Hollywood Hulk Hogan that is the villain that everyone loves to talk about,

either way Lebron  is polarizing a character, a character that just happens to be one of the most gifted athletes of all time.

Now take the Dwight Howard saga for instance.   Do you think James Worthy cared about his global image or whether or not he received the “attention” he felt he deserved?  The modern NBA of up-close-and-personal athletes multiplied by the affects of social media has created many athletes that are no longer just a basketball player desiring trophies but a reality star living out a constant self-made Truman Show scenario with Tweets, Instagrams, Websites, Facebooks, Branding etc. 

Sure the NFL has these as well but we only hear of them when there is a "sideline helmet off confrontation," an off season reality show or a shirtless workout/interview.  We call them Wide Receivers.  Nonetheless, I love this modern NBA.   I love the good vs. evil, large market vs. small market, the emotions raging, the player/team backstabbing, the inter-squad drama and the legacy building.  I know I used the WWE and its characters both good and bad as an analogy for our NBA personalities of today, but if the NBA would only cut out all of the WWE-esque flopping, it has all the talent and star power to at least rival the behemoth ratings monster that is the NFL.