Jazz fans are horrible people

Not horrible fans, mind you, but horrible people. Seriously, how do they justify booing Derek Fisher mercilessly when he rolls into town with the Lakers? He's a class act who gave you everything, Utah, and he didn't leave for money or the chance to be reunited with Kobe and Phil Jackson. No, he left because his daughter has CANCER OF THE FREAKING EYE and she needed proper doctors and facilities to help treat her condition. So because Salt Lake doesn't offer that and Los Angeles does, all of a sudden Fisher is a monster? FUCK YOU! For the longest time, you've held the mantle of most classless fans in the league and you've done nothing to deter that notion, especially lately. Nevermind the racial bias, nevermind Larry Miller, nevermind championing a creton like Karl Malone, it's all about the pure ignorance that comes with living in the state of Utah and sticking to your guns of not being an NBA fan, but being a Jazz fan and only a Jazz fan.

Miserable, miserable people. Lakers are winning this series in six games and D-Fish will be dropping 20 in Salt Lake when they clinch it. Pathetic people.


Shifting gears (and a couple days late, I realize, but I work my balls off so save it), Kobe finally got his MVP. The best player in the league having the best season of his career... Makes it hard for even the staunchest Chris Paul supporter to argue. And I love Chris Paul. No doubt, Kobe was the clear choice, this season and, finally, we can erase the memory that Dirk Nowitzki of all people won last year's award. *shudder*

But here's where the voting process has flaws: LeBron James received a first-place vote in the balloting. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WHY? That smacks of a voter who is on crack or simply doesn't care that LeBron did little to elevate his crap team in a crap conference. If LeBron was deserving of a first-place vote, this year, then Kobe should have three MVPs already. And we all know that shouldn't be the case. Inexcusable. Realizing that the post-season has nothing to do with regular season voting, how about those first two LeBron performances against Boston, huh? Wow! Just miserable (but not as miserable as Jazz fans)!

Another thing I don't understand: How Kobe was the only member of the All-NBA 1st Team (Kobe, CP3, KG, Dwight Howard, LeBron) to be unanimously voted to the team. It's clear that these five were an unquestionable cut above the rest of the league. There were no other candidates for 1st Team, as far as I'm concerned. And for what it's worth, I say Deron Williams should've been 2nd team ahead of Steve Nash.

So... Beckham is here. I've got my ticket.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great thing. It can only do good for MLS, even if he's a couple years past his prime. But with his June rejuvination, who knows? Maybe some really special things await us on the pitch. Hell, I broke down and scalped a pair of Galaxy tickets for September against Colorado (though I just realized that England is playing a Euro 2008 qualifier that same day... d'oh). Anyway, all that being said, I cannot help but completely agree with virtually everything expressed by Bill Plaschke in this morning's LA Times. The focus on Beckham's arrival has been about everything but soccer.

He is clearly showing up not as an athlete, but a celebrity. He is being chatted up not in sports bars, but star blogs. Folks are viewing him not as a leader of men, but as the husband of Posh.

Too true. When have you ever heard of a player in any team sport signing a contract six months before joining the team, when in fact the team he signed for has already been playing for three months before his arrival? The answer, obviously, is so that MLS could market the move while season tickets were still on sale. But that's the ploy of an icon, not a typical athlete. Becks probably could've arrived a month earlier if not for his surprising call up to the England squad, last month, where he excelled. So while most of Plaschke's editorial is pure truth, I still think this spot is pretty slick, if not completely self-indulgent, and I definitely plan on watching that match versus Chelsea. I do hold out hope that Beckham's play with the Galaxy -- limited though it may (read: will -- England are likely to recall him for September) be, boosts soccer in the States at least a little. It'll never be a "major" like MLB, the NBA, or the NFL, but the fan base is there to carry the sport upward.

Want to see real soccer, though? Be sure to catch the Copa America final, this Sunday, when Argentina waxes Brazil. Here's a solid piece comparing the two sides that also pretty well defines why a favored Argentina failed to win Germany '06.

One basketball gripe amid all this soccer talk. The Lakers welcomed an older Derek Fisher back into the fold. Listen, I understand that Fish is a veteran, understands the triangle, and has a great relationship with Kobe. I will always love him for hitting the 0.04 shot that killed the Spurs in 2004. But what am I -- a sharp critic of the Lakers' drafting abilities -- to make of Jordan Farmar (whom I actually like) and Javaris Crittendon? What is this triangle-oriented team doing with such a backlog of point guards, none of which they have faith in? Drafting Crittendon and a couple of future busts, signing Fisher... this isn't what Kobe was talking about when he said that changes need to be made. F*** you, Kupchak.

End of gripe.