Dwayne Wade to Kobe Bryant

VIDEO URL:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=0814_hd_bkm_au_l1659

The Spurs are headed to the second round after beating the Suns in game 5.

Now, they have to take on New Orleans, which quite frankly, should be alot harder.

But hopefully they're ready, cause the Spurs are going to show up ready to play.

Who is everyone going for? (Not that I should even bother asking anymore. I'm pretty much the only Spurs fan left on the planet.)

Tim Duncan scored 40 points and added 14 assists, with teammate Manu Ginobili scoring the deciding shot in double overtime in San Antonio's 117-115 home win over the Phoenix Suns.

The Spurs, defending NBA champions, take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, a rematch of a heated battle in last year's postseason. The next game will be Tuesday night in San Antonio.

Ginobili scored eight of his 24 points in the second overtime period. Tony Parker had 26 points for the Spurs, while Michael

Finley hit a pair of clutch three-pointers near the end of regulation to help the Spurs force overtime.

San Antonio trailed most of the game, by as many as 16 points, taking its first lead with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Victoria native Steve Nash had 25 assists and 13 assist for the Suns.

Nash made a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 115, but Ginobili drove through the Phoenix lane for the winning shot with under two seconds left.

Amare Stoudemire was a force for Phoenix with 33 points. In his playoff debut with the Suns, Shaquille O'Neal helped create room for Stoudemire and contributed 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks.

"We had a lot of opportunities to win," O'Neal said. "You can't make mistakes against a team like that especially here in this building."

While the Spurs briefly held the lead late in the fourth, they were down 93-90 with 1:10 to go after Leandro Barbosa's fast-break layup.

Finley hit his three-pointer with 15 seconds left to force overtime.

Nash scored seven points to begin the first overtime for the Suns, but Duncan helped San Antonio claw back, with Stoudemire taking a crucial offensive foul for charging.

Duncan drained a three-pointer, his first of the playoffs, with three seconds left to send the game into a second extra period.

"I didn't know what was going to happen, honestly," Duncan said. "Manu turned the corner, Shaq just totally leaves me and stayed with Manu."

With the Spurs leading by two with just over a minute left in double overtime, Nash missed a three-pointer and Boris Diaw couldn't convert a layup on successive possessions.

Nash hit for three on Phoenix's last gasp, but Ginobili soon responded.

Last year's series between the clubs was a pitched battle. After San Antonio's Robert Horry fouled Nash hard in Game 4, a melee led to suspensions for Stoudemire and Boris Diaw. San Antonio wrapped up the series in six games.

The Spurs won four championships between 1999 and 2007, but have never won in successive seasons.

Got this from "Sports Central" (http://www.sports-central.org/sports/2008/04/18/nba_round_one_predictions.php)

And I think I agree with him on most of them... but who knows.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------

NBA Round One Predictions:

It's finally here. No more speculation. No more daily standings shuffles. No more MVP talk (hopefully). No more tiebreakers.

Just playoff basketball.

We're about to embark on two intense months of basketball to write the final chapter of an already remarkable NBA season.

Will the playoffs live up to all the hype? It's hard to say. Some have already dubbed this the best first round in history, and not a single series has even tipped off yet. Not to mention a Celtics/Pistons renewed rivalry series waiting in the wings, and a potential Kobe vs. Shaq conference finals. I'd say this has all the makings of a historic spring.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Before we start talking conference finals, we need to talk conference quarterfinals.

Let's start by breaking down round one. As Flavor Flav would say: without further do...

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Boston Celtics vs. No. 8 Atlanta Hawks

Did you know that the Celtics have the biggest single-season turnaround in NBA history? Really, they do. You know why? Kevin Garnett. And nothing else. Nope. Just KG. By himself, he won 42 more games for the Celtics than they won last year. That's why he's unquestionably the MV...

Wait a second ... this just in. Apparently, last offseason the Celtics added another future Hall of Famer besides Garnett. As it turns out, this " Ray Allen" guy isn't bad. He's got the second most three pointers made all-time and he has the seventh best career free throw percentage. Hell, he even made the all-star team.

I got confused for a minute there because once all the MVP talk started going on this past month KG got all the credit for the Celtics success.

Seeing that KG doesn't have to go it alone after all, I'm going to have to pick the Celtics in this one.

Prediction: Boston

No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Washington Wizards

Agent Zero may have gained around a million fans with his blog the last two seasons, but he certainly hasn't done it without putting his foot in his mouth on a few different occasions. His most recent blogging blunder, calling out the Cavaliers by saying that everyone wants to play them in round one, will end up costing his team.

First of all, Cleveland is a better team than most people give them credit for. I don't care about what their regular season record is; they have a team built for the playoffs. They play top-notch defense for long stretches at a time, and that's exactly what it takes to win a playoff series.

Second of all, they have LeBron. As we saw last year, against these very Wizards and again against the Pistons, LeBron is enough by himself to take down whole teams. Throw in the fact that Arenas single-handedly put the chip on James' shoulder, and it spells trouble for the Wizards.

Prediction: Cleveland

No. 3 Orlando Magic vs. No. 6 Toronto Raptors

This one could get very interesting. If Sam Mitchell would just play Jose Calderon at the point guard position and leave him there for 35 minutes a game, the Raptors would have a real chance here. According to 82games.com, 13 of the top 14 five-man units that the Raptors have run out there this season have featured Calderon at the point instead of T.J. Ford.

Amazingly, Ford has started the final 12 games of the season and will surely get the nod in the Orlando series. What Calderon needs to do to prove that he is the better player is beyond me. It's a shame that Mitchell has decided to make the switch back to Ford because it will ultimately cost the Raptors this series.

The Magic's biggest weakness defensively is defending the point guard. Luckily, it will be the opposing coach who will neutralizes this weakness for them.

Prediction: Orlando

No. 2 Detroit Pistons vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Detroit should be able to sleepwalk to its sixth straight conference finals this season. Even though Philly had a nice stretch in February and into March, they are still a below .500 team coming into the playoffs having lost five of their last six.

The 76ers may have split the season series with the Pistons, but that means nothing right now. The Pistons are too talented, too experienced, and too prideful to let Philly even sniff a chance at taking this series.

In typical Pistons fashion, I predict that they will come out and win the first two games at home by a combined 40 points, decide among themselves that they are the better team, and coast through the rest of the series allowing Philly to hang around in the final two games, and maybe even steal one.

Nonetheless, the Pistons will make short work of the completely outclassed Sixers and take the series easily.

Prediction: Detroit

Western Conference

No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 8 Denver Nuggets

This is the only series in the west that you can't make a legitimate case for both teams winning the series. No matter which way I look at this one, I can't see a way that Denver beats the Lakers.

The fact that L.A. scores so much, and Denver as a whole could care less about stopping anyone, makes for a pretty fatal combination come playoff time.

The real question here is: will there ever be another team in the history of the league that does less with as much talent as the Nuggets?

They have two guys who can drop for 30 every time that step on the floor (Anthony and Iverson). They have a perennial First Team All-Defense player in Marcus Camby (including being reigning Defensive Player of the Year), yet they are the one playoff team in the West that isn't even on my radar to compete in the first round.

It isn't because of the matchup, either. You could put this team against any of the seven other playoff teams in the west and I would pick against them. They have all sorts of individual talent, yet no team game offensively. They have all sorts of experience, yet make up the biggest collection of loose cannons since the Jail Blazers. They have a coach on his way to 1,000 wins who I wouldn't hire as my coach if I were a GM and had a blank check and 100% job security.

Nothing about Denver makes sense. If everything played out on paper the Nuggets and Houston would fight it out for the West every year and no one else would come close. But don't play the games on paper, and because of that Denver only has five games max left this season.

Prediction: Los Angeles>

No. 4 Utah Jazz vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets

This is the toughest of all the first round series to predict. This one could really go either way. Utah doesn't lose at home, but they don't have home-court advantage. Houston has obviously proven that they can get hot and be unbeatable, but they are just 1-2 against the Jazz and winless against them without Yao.

Then there is the whole Tracy McGrady thing. Is he destined to be the greatest player to never win a playoff series? Is this the year where he leads his team to a playoff series victory? You just never know.

I've thought long and hard about it and I still can't decide. When all else fails, I'm going back to my theory that a team learns to win by advancing deep into the playoffs and losing in the previous season. I've written before that Utah and Cleveland are my sleeper teams this year because of that very reason, so I'm sticking to it now.

I'm picking Utah to win a very hard-fought matchup because of their experience grinding out series in last season's playoffs.

Unless Houston catches fire. Or Mehmet Okur gets suspended for his hit on Fabricio Oberto. Or Andrei Kirilenko disappears in the clutch, again. Or ... let's just move on.

Prediction: Utah

No. 3 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 6 Phoenix Suns

A rematch of shovegate. A lot of people think that Phoenix would have won that series last year if it hadn't been for the suspensions heading into Game 6. Not me.

San Antonio was the better team then and they are the better team now. The suspensions were just another of many built-in excuses for the team that whines more than any other in the league, including the always sourpuss Pistons.

The only thing that could stop me from picking the Spurs is Manu Ginobili's health. I think that his groin injury is not as serious as the Spurs are letting on. At first, I was floored when he didn't play against the Lakers on Sunday because that game had huge seeding implications. But the more I thought about it, the more I think it is just another example of Gregg Popovich being a future Hall of Fame coach.

He knows that his team is too good and too experienced to care what venue they play in. I think he decided to rest Ginobili to make sure that he is 100% and at the same time not show the Lakers anything in their final meeting of the season, seeding be damned.

I've said a hundred different times in a hundred different ways that the Suns brand of basketball is a gimmick and that they can't beat good teams with good coaching in a seven-game series with it. Assuming that Ginobili really is healthy, this series will just be another in the long list of examples to prove me right.

Prediction: San Antonio

No. 2 New Orleans Hornets vs. No. 7 Dallas Mavericks

In my opinion, this is the best first round matchup. New Orleans has more talent, Dallas has more experience. New Orleans is the feel-good story of the season, but it looks like they may have just picked the wrong season for it.

In just about any other season you could think of, a team this stacked would have no problem getting out of the first round. This year, despite having a fantastic season, the Hornets are running into a Dallas team two years removed from a trip to the finals and one year removed from the embarrassing loss to Golden State that they desperately want to avenge.

To make matters worse, the Hornets' best player has yet to experience the playoffs, and that is not to be underestimated. As great as I think Chris Paul is, he has a tendency to have poor shooing games. Poor shooting games from your best player in the playoffs are tough to overcome.

I look for this series to be played at the highest level that maybe any first round series has ever been played at. In the end, if Avery Johnson doesn't over-coach the Mavericks (which is a huge if), I think Dallas will outlast the Hornets. It's not going to be a runaway by any means, but I think New Orleans is setting up to be this year's Utah or Cleveland, and they are going to learn to win for next season by losing to Dallas this season.

Prediction: Dallas

TOP 10 REASONS TO WATCH THE BLAZERS:

1.) Their Record - above 500 (Without Greg Oden)

2.) Improving Players - Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, Sergio Rodriguez (and more) have all improved drastically this season

3.) Brandon Roy - being chosen for the All-Star team

4.) Huge Combacks - there have been too many 4th quarter comebacks to count

5.) Greg Oden - teams should be shaking in their boots to think of what the Blazers will do with Greg Oden next year

6.) Playoffs? - nobody knows yet, but it's a possibility

7.) No more Jail Blazers - all the questionable players are gone.

8.) They're Young - Unlike the Cletics, Lakers, and Suns (who need to win a championship soon if they're going to) the Blazers have years to work towards the team they want to become

9.) Their Bench - is (in my opinion) the best bench in the entire league

10.) Championship? - sometime down the road?

San Antonio is doing just what it did last season. It's not making regular-season supremacy its No. 1 goal. Instead coach Gregg Popovich is resting his players on a liberal basis while the team weathers some key injuries like the sore left foot of Tony Parker. The Spurs are lurking, and provided they are healthy, come playoff time they will be primed to mount a strong bid for back-to-back titles -- something that has not been achieved in their impressive franchise history.

I HOPE THIS GUYS IS RIGHT!

It's final. The Phoenix Suns get Shaq, and Marion and Banks go to the Miami Heat.

This trade completely confuses me, just because it's hard to imagine Shaq running with Phoenix. But I also see him as a huge threat to certain teams, because the Suns have needed a bigger post in the paint for a very long time. But It does seem odd that the Suns would take such a risk when they had the best record in the West. I'm hoping that Shaq isn't what Phoenix needs, but it's a very scary thing to think about if he is.

I'm wondering how this trade will affect the Spurs, who have always some way or another been able to beat Phoenix when it really counts. It might be that they picked up Shaq as a deffensive threat in the lane (possibly against Duncan?)

The next game between the Spurs and Suns is March 9th (in Phoenix) on ABC.

Hopefully we'll have some idea how Shaq fits with Phx, and how Damon fits with SA by then.

It's official. Free agent Damon Stoudamire has signed with the Spurs, who recently announced that Tony Parker is out for at least two weeks (6 games) with a bone spur in his left foot.

Parker's injury comes at a not so great time. The Spurs are in the middle of their longest road trip of the season ("The Rodeo Trip")

Spurs hope that having Stoudamire will not only help them while Parker is out, but he may also be an asset to them in the playoffs this year.

"He's established," Coach Popovich says. "He's somebody who can score. He's a good passer. He plays hard. We're thrilled to have him on the club."

It'll be interesting to see, first of all, how Damon fits in with the team, but also how much playing time Pop will actually give him once Tony is back. The Spurs have lost 5 of their last 10 games. It seems like Damon can really only help them.

Hope Tony feels better soon. We need him. Alot!

Superbowl XLII will go down as one of the most amazing Superbowls of all time.

The New York Giants are now the 2008 Superbowl Champions, after beating the New England Patriots by 3 points (17-14.) at the 42nd anual Superbowl.

The Patriots had not lost a game all season until they lost to the Giants Sunday, which no one ever expected to happen, hoped maybe, but never expected.

It was an incredible game, with a record breaking 4 lead changes. Both teams played amazing defence, and though it was fairly low scoring, there were some pretty insane offensive possessions aswell.

Most incredible Superbowl of my life. BY FAR!

I've seen more 4th quarter comebacks by the Blazers this season than I have in my entire life.

Just when the entire city starts to hang their heads and wave the white flag - the Blazers stage a huge comeback. It's some of the best, most entertaining basketball I've seen in a very long time. This team has everything it needs to dominate the league. (Except perhaps Greg Oden's knee, which will be with us shortly. We'll be unstopable then!)

Great win over the Knicks 94 to 88.

Personally, I think it's a great move. I'm a huge Damon fan, because he was on Portland for such a long time. Tony Parker is hurt, and they need another solid point guard. Not that I don't love Jacque Vaughn, he's great. But I think Damon Stoudemire will be a huge asset to the Spurs.

Here are the 2008 All Star Teams:

2008 Eastern Conference All Stars:

Jason Kidd (New Jersey)

Dwyane Wade (Miami)

Kevin Garnett (Boston)

LeBron James (Cleveland)

Dwight Howard (Orlando)

Chauncey Billups (Detroit)

Chris Bosh (Toronto)

Caron Butler (Washington)

Richard Hamilton (Detroit)

Antawn Jamison (Washington)

Joe Johnson (Atlanta)

Paul Pierce (Boston)

2008 Western Conference All Stars:

Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers)

Allen Iverson (Denver)

Carmelo Anthony (Denver)

Tim Duncan (San Antonio)

Yao Ming (Houston)

Carlos Boozer (Utah)

Steve Nash (Phoenix)

Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas)

Chris Paul (New Orleans)

Brandon Roy (Portland)

Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix)

David West (New Orleans)

I for one, was not expecting Brandon Roy to make the all star team this year, even though I felt like he should. It just seemed like there were too many other guards in the league that had more experience, were more well known, and were on more respected teams. But he was chosen for the reserves list, and he deserves it more than anyone.

Congratulations Brandon!

After being down for almost the entire game Thursday, the Spurs managed to come back in the last two minutes, and win the game 84 to 81.

To me, the difference in the game was defence. The Suns are known for the offence, and the Spurs are known for ther defence. The Spurs have always been a good offensive team aswell, but the Suns have really stepped up their defence this year.

For the first 3 quarters, it seemed like the Spurs weren't playing the kind of defence they usually do. Not switching, and giving people wide open threes, and they were even having trouble with their offence, probably because of the Suns new defence. But then in the 4th quarter the Spurs started getting it into Duncan, hitting threes, sharing the ball around, and playing MUCH MUCH better defence, and managed to pull out a much needed win.

(THANK THE LORD)

The Blazers (some how) managed to beat the Hawks in Portland Sunday, after being down 19 points for most of the second half.

The game was tied at 93, and the Blazers took a time out. It looked like it was going to go into over time. Until Brandon Roy, who played with a high fever, got fouled with 2 seconds to go, putting the Blazers up 1.

Travis Outlaw hit two 3-pointers in a row, and Martell Webster, James Jones, and Lamarcus Aldridge were also huge contributors as well.

I've been to so many Blazers games in my life. This is definitely makes top 3.

I've never heard the rose garden that loud. I literally couldn't hear myself, and I lost my voice.

The Blazers beat the Hawks by 2 points Monday, when Travis Outlaw hit an amazing shot with .9 seconds left in OT.

Blazers will take on New Orleans Wednesday at 5:00 (8:00 ET)

If anybody has the video of Travis's shot please post it! :]