Draft lottery madness!

Tonight's NBA Draft Lottery was shock galore.

1. Portland
2. Seattle
3. Atlanta
4. Memphis
5. Boston

Wow. Bill Simmons just had a coronary. And my buddy Brent (that's me doing my best Bill Simmons impersonation, although I should probably give Brent some ridiculous nickname like "Tub"), the most die-hard Phoenix Suns fan ever, is crying in his milk, right now. Obviously, Portland and Seattle are the huge winners of the Oden-Durant sweepstakes (duh!), while Memphis and Boston, owners of the two worst records in the league, are terrible losers (duh, again!). The Celtics brought this on themselves, though, as no cosmic universe worth it's salt would allow a team that just re-upped Doc Rivers to have a chance at Oden/Durant. Memphis? Forget 'em. Everyone else has (POW! I'll be here all the week, folks. Try the veal and tip your waitress).

Phoenix could've used that lottery pick in the hopes of making a play for Kevin Garnett. Guess the time has arrived for them to parlay their other two first-round picks and either Marion of Amare and probably their 1st rounder in '08 for that final piece to put them over. Question is: will that offer be better than what Chicago or the Lakers can come up with? Steve Nash had better hope so. The clock is ticking. And, honestly, I don't see the Suns parting with Amare.

And how scary did the Western Conference just become? Already light years better than the East, Portland and Seattle just stepped up as potential playoff teams for next season. That brings the total of Western Conference teams playing out the season down to three (Memphis, Minny, and Sacto). I just have to say it: relegation would be such a sweet play for the NBA. Stack all thirty teams in one table, have the top 20 in division one and the bottom 10 in division two. Switch out the bottom four from division one for the top four from division two every season, while the top 16 from D1 advance to the playoffs. Then we'll see some fairness for these Western Conference teams. No more of these 39-win teams making the playoffs. Not in my NBA.

Alas, my utopian NBA is but a pipe-dream. But at least I can dream.

Oh wait, did I mention that Isiah Thomas is the biggest idiot the league has seen in ages? I guess that goes without saying, huh? I know the Bulls are a fan.

Rafa, Rafael, Rafa, Rafael, Rafa, Rafael

Raefel Benitez! The man with the plan will do all he can to ensure the mighty Reds top Milan again.

As in 2005, Liverpool assume the role of underdog -- something they're quite suited to in European competition. Given the way Milan clinically dismantled Manchester United in the semis, coupled with 'pool's less than inspiring finish to the league (granted, there was nothing left to play for and they were fielding B and C squads), I suppose you cannot fault the oddsmakers. However, the intagibles and mental edge seem to be in the favor of the Merseysiders. Already, Gennaro Gattuso has supplied us with all the locker room ammunition we need. He seems to be quite good at that.

This game will be won in the midfield. Everyone knows it and everyone knows that Milan's midfield is unrivaled for quality. So the question is, how should Liverpool line up against Kaka, Pirlo, Gattuso, and Seedorf? There are two options. A) your Liverpool starting XI should consist of five in the midfield with Steven Gerrard drifting into support of a lone striker. That would mean, however, that Mascherano and Sissoko will be anchoring the center of the pitch together. As we've found out recently, it's a pairing that simply does not work. Their roles are too similar and Mascherano is more of a threat offensively. Which brings us to B) Masch and Xabi Alonso in the center with Gerrard drifting up the right and ideally Pennant on the left. I say "ideally" because I have a sneaking suspicion that Rafa will opt for Zenden instead of Pennant -- a move that could be a costly mistake. Milan thrives through the heart of midfield, so having a quick option like Pennant who is programmed to swing crosses into the box routinely would be a huge weapon. Not to mention Gerrard having room on the right to operate.

Key individual matchup: Kaka vs Mascherano. The Milan forwards, be they Gilardino or Inzaghi, have on occassion turned into ghosts during this European campaign. Part of that is due to poor effort, but more so, they're relying on perhaps the best player in the world today a little too heavily. And Kaka has delivered so far, with an overwhelming majority of AC Milan's goals in Europe. In Javier Mascherano, however, he is presented with a young, quick, incredibly intelligent, and soundly defensive obstacle who has impeccable ability to begin the counter-attack. If Masch can contain (or at the very least limit) Kaka's impact on this match, Liverpool should be expected to win.

Milan's backline, though incredible with the likes of Nesta and Maldini, approaches a collective age in the 130s (not kidding) -- a weakness that could be easily exploited by the work-rate of Dirk Kuyt (whom I am convinced has the heart of a horse that has the heart of two horses) and Crouch's size (another reason to start Pennant on the left wing -- Milan's central defense won't be able to contest the tall one's heading ability).

There's been a lot of discussion in Liverpool circles as to whether or not one recently-healed Harry Kewell should see action on Wednesday, as he is built for this sort of stage. Some even think he should start. To me, that is completely and utterly preposterous. Old 'Arry isn't anywhere near match-fit and two brief cameos against Fulham and Charlton did little to show me otherwise. If Kewell sees any action at all, it should be in the last twenty minutes of the match. But I'm not counting on him to produce. It simply wouldn't be fair to him or the rest of the team.

Honestly, I have a very easy time imagining this match headed to penalties (once again). In the event that occurs, again, advantage Liverpool. Pepe Reina is one of the best and his counterpart, Dida, is... well... on the much lower end of the spectrum.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, at this time tomorrow, I'll be three sheets to the wind, celebrating like a madman that the Reds have won it for a sixth time. But again, it all rests in how effective Mascherano is against Kaka.

YNWA