The Nuggets are a pathetic joke

I still in shock and awe that this club reached 50 wins in the regular season. If this demolition at the hands of the Lakers has proved anything, it's that Denver remains a team that has no heart, no guts, and no leadership. Period. It also goes a long, long way to reaffirming my long-held belief that any team featuring Allen Iverson (let alone a team lead by Iverson and Carmelo Anthony) is never going to win a damn thing. They're selfish, they're not team-oriented, and at times they seem actively disinterested in playing hard-nosed basketball. Because it requires constant effort.

Carmelo slammed his team after Saturday's game 3's pathetic excuse for a performance, labeling them as quitters. What was that about the pot and the kettle? The two guys who stepped up in defiance of that stupid remark by Anthony while on the verge of being swept, Kleiza and Najera, are really the only two that acquitted themselves from that shameful performance. And their objection to Captain Melo's genius comments only further illustrates what disarray this team is in. There was a lot of talk during game 3 from the commentary team about how frustrated George Karl and his coaching staff are. I can only imagine. Reports suggest that he'll be sticking around after the post-season, too. My only question: why?

Denver needs a makeover, complete with veteran leaders. Otherwise, they'll remain the gutless, heartless, disinterested Iversons that they are, with no character toughness to speak of. There is no fight in this series because only one team is playing hard. Allen Iverson will never win a championship.

Decidedly unimpressed

The NBA and the NFL, respectively, have a lot to own up to for the product put out this weekend. The former actually had a couple of standout, positive performances -- each coming from Laker games (Kobe's 53-point heroics in a double OT comeback from as much as 21 down in the 3rd quarter to beat Houston on Friday and last night's 60-point outburst from Gilbert Arenas staving off another impressive Lakers comeback in OT). But it's what is sandwiched in the middle that'll dominate headlines. It's almost as if the NBA gods woke up from a Rip Van Winkle-esque snooze only to realize that the Brawl in the Palace of Auburn Hills happened two years ago and thought, "Well, crap, that won't stand. Let's cancel out the brilliance of that Houston/Lakers game from Friday where our stars, Kobe and Yao, shined in the national spotlight and have another fiasco!" Add one of the faces of the league in Melo as the biggest offender from Saturday's scrap and... *drumroll*... image problems facing the league are not going anywhere. How Isiah Thomas is even still affiliated with the NBA is beyond me. He's been catastrophic in every single capacity since retiring as a player.

Then there's the NFL which has to be the most bland, unimpressive league for this sports calendar year. The Bears (weakest schedule ever) get pushed to OT against the Bucs, giving up 31 points to one of the worst offenses in the league, and the Saints lose to Washington? Forget it. I give up. I no longer care. And count me among those who think the Chargers will stumble along the way to the Superbowl. They clearly look like the best team, today, but Marty's on the sideline. And when the Bengals slap the Colts tonight, I'm demanding that half of Peyton Manning's sponsors back away (that'll still leave him with about 2,000 or so).

Thank the heavens for college basketball, although the supposed showdown this weekend between Wisconsin and Pittsburgh was anything but. And really, that shouldn't surprise anyone. Pitt hasn't played anyone of merit and have struggled in recent games against mediocre opponents. The Badgers are becoming more and more battle-tested and looking very much like the Final Four-caliber team I think they are. But back on Pitt, the Big East as a whole has been decidedly unimpressive thus far. Pitt got squashed in their first real test, UConn is benefitting from playing the 299th toughest schedule in the country (insert slow clap here), Georgetown is off to a rocky start, failing to approach anything resembling top ten billing, Syracuse still won't travel, Cincy's (lost to Wofford this season, by the way) torching against Ohio State is indicative of how far off the pace they are, beating Louisville carries less and less meaning with every passing game. Hell, for such a power conference, only Marquette looks like a true threat down the line.

As the Big East struggles, though, it's fantastic to see the Missouri Valley Conference steadily rise in quality to the point where, a couple seasons from now, it wouldn't be outrageous to call them a basketball "major." Six teams, including Wichita State, are real threats to become Gonzagas. Props to Butler, too, whose only loss so far is to Indiana State (MVC), who aren't even one of the six teams I'm referring to (Wichita State, Creighton, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Bradley, Missouri State).

Know who is flying under the radar? Arizona Wildcats. I cannot wait for Memphis, this week.

Finally: Man or woman? No one knows!
It is not clear how she failed the test at the Asian Games in Doha.

Phenomenal, that is. Words fail.