I don't know about you but I much prefer watching ESPN's news division than 
the *normal* Sports Center. I've grown so tired of all the histrionics that 
come out of the mouths of the boobs on SC and enjoy sitting back and getting 
the news as it was intended. SC used to be far more enjoyable until guys like 
Olbermann hit the air and the English language was replaced by "GUHHHH." 
ESPN's news bunch gives you what you want and it's in English, too. I don't 
know, maybe it's because I was spoiled by the fact that Howard Cosell could 
lend excitement to highlights AND do it using words that didn't sound like 
they were last night's food coming up....
                                   ****
If the Bulls manage to win another championship OR if they win 14 games in 
the next couple of years, they'll join the Lakers of the '80s as teams that 
have won 100 playoff games in a decade.
BTW, the Bulls keep getting compared unfavorably to the '60s Celtics, '80s 
Lakers and even the '80s Celtics. Let's stop looking down memory lane and 
look down reality avenue (The first set of numbers is ALL playoff series and 
the second set is championship series):
                    Total        Home         Road
                    W-  L  PCT   W-  L  PCT   W-  L  PCT
'90s Bulls         86- 29 .748  53-  9 .855  33- 20 .623
'80s Lakers       103- 49 .678  66- 18 .786  37- 31 .544
'60s Celtics       79- 43 .648  48- 16 .750  31- 27 .534
'80s Celtics       88- 58 .603  63- 17 .788  25- 41 .379
--------------------------------------------------------
'90s Bulls         20-  9 .690  10-  4 .714  10-  5 .667
'60s Celtics       32- 16 .667  20-  6 .769  12- 10 .545
'80s Celtics       16- 15 .516  11-  5 .688   5- 10 .333
'80s Lakers        19- 21 .475  13-  7 .650   6- 14 .300
Look long and hard because I think those that can't look past their obviously 
faulty memory are seeing things that they want to. I may be a Lakers' fan, 
however, I can't even begin to say that the '80s Lakers ever did anything 
like this. One thing that people might want to note is that for all but two 
of their championships, the Celtics only had to play 2 rounds to win while 
the Bulls had to play 4.
                                   ****
Looks like Jimmy Key isn't going to make the All-Star game this year. He says 
that he intends on going ahead with his plans for getting married on that day 
so don't boo Torre because Key isn't around.:-)
                                   ****
Interleague play is now 14-10 in favor of the AL (6-3 at home and 8-7 on the 
road). Oh and for those of you that still think that the NL has the advantage 
at home, AL pitchers are out-hitting NL pitchers .160 to .143.
                                   ****
Hal Bodley noted in his column the other day that the ONLY thing that made 
sense about a new realignment plan was for Arizona to be moved to the AL. The 
funny thing is that the plan also calls for Houston to be moved into the 
West. Pardon me but IF such a move were to be made, wouldn't the ONLY move 
that makes sense be the one that keeps Arizona in the NL West (competing 
against NATURAL rival Colorado) and moving Houston into the AL West so that 
they can compete against Texas?
                                   ****
Once again, with the introduction of interleague play, I champion the TDH. As 
I've proposed, the TDH would take the place of the pitcher for 6 or 7 innings 
and THEN the pitcher must either bat for himself or be replaced (ala the NL). 
The TDH would either leave the game or be moved into the field for another 
playear. This would give you the best of *both* worlds.
                                   ****
Like it or not, Iron Mike haters (or doubters) - Ditka is proving that he 
still knows what he's doing. The Saints aren't going to be instant Super Bowl 
contenders, however, they're going to be in great position for the playoffs 
for years to come.
                                   ****
BTW, has anyone noticed that the only team that runs the West Coast offense 
like the *old* New Orleans Saints (Get deep into the opponent's side of the 
field and then settle for a FG), Kansas City, is putting a little more zip 
into their offense?
                                   ****
I have three changes that I'd like to see in the NBA:
1. Move the clock to 30 seconds.
2. Use the old ABA ball.
3. Stop messing with the 3-point line.
The first suggestion would alleviate a lot of problems. The problem ISN'T 
teams walking the ball up the court but defenses hounding the teams into 
taking much of the 10 seconds to cross midcourt and having 15-17 seconds to 
set up their offense. The added 6 seconds would give them 21-23 seconds, even 
if they're being closely guarded and would give players more time to set up 
for a better shot. A Fratello might have his team take as much time as 
possible on offense, however, his defensive schemes won't be as effective.
The second suggestion is a mind game. Maybe the *old* ball will make them 
think more about offense. The ABA ball is still the greatest sight to behold 
in all of basketball, even prettier than an Erving or Jordan dunk (BTW, did 
you know that the ABA did NOT trademark the ball and they lost millions in 
licensing because of it?).
The 3-pt line is fine. The problems are related MORE to time than the line.
                                   ****
My friend Mike is in heaven with the sweep of the Flyers. I'll have to admit 
that I pulled for Detroit because I can't stand that goon Lindros and his 
Legion of Goons and not because I like Detroit.
                                   ****
One final thing, I wouldn't want to be a team playing for a wild card spot 
this year. There are too many teams in both leagues that can take that 4th 
spot and pinning one's hopes on anything less than a division title is 
upid.
--- TrekEd 1.00
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