2011 NBA Finals Preview

For anyone who's been tuning into SportsCenter over the past 7-10 days or so, think about the following: of the time allotted to the upcoming Finals, how much talk has been centered around LeBron James, and how much talk has been centered around Dirk Nowitzki? 80-20 LeBron, right? You'd think the Heat were about to take on a semi-pro team out of Pakistan or something. Does anyone realize the kind of post-season Dirk is having?

Through 15 games thus far, he's averaging 28.4 PPG on 52% shooting from the field, including 51% from beyond the arc, and 93% from the free throw line. They say that a great shooter goes by the following totals: 50% from the floor, 40% from downtown, 90% from the stripe. 50-40-90=180. Dirk's totals accumulate to 196. Guess how many times Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant have surpassed that magic number of 180 in the post-season? In the form of a question, that would be "What is zero?"

For a comparison, LeBron is at 46-37-79=162. Still very good. But compared to Dirk? Bland. Straight up bland. And it's not as though Dirk has been covered by a bunch of stiffs through the playoffs either. Sure OKC had no match-up for him, but prior to that he faced LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol. Not elite defenders, per se, but not terrible either. Dirk exploited Gasol so badly that talking heads across the nation are calling for his ouster from LA if the Lakers are to be taken seriously again. So now we're supposed to think Chris Bosh can handle Dirk? They say LeBron is going to cover him in certain situations, and I'll give credit where credit is due, LeBron has become a menace on D. But has he ever tried to cover a 7-footer who can shoot 3's?

And, moving away from the LeBron/Dirk angle momentarily, if we were to rank the 10 best players in this series, how many would the Heat have? Three obviously, but do you give them Udonis Haslem even? LeBron and Dirk are in a dead heat for no. 1, with Wade rather easily taking the third spot. Depending on the night, Chris Bosh would be 4, but he can certainly slide at any given moment. Dirk's supporting cast this year is the best he's had during his tenure in the Big D. Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson, JJ Barea, and Peja Stojakovic all compliment what Dirk does, which is everything, perfectly. You've got shooters, rebounders, and defenders stacked in there. Miami's supporting cast with Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers, Mike Bibby, Joel Anthony, and Haslem? Straight up laughable outside of Haslem.

Am I picking with my heart here a little more than my head? Maybe. But I definitely think I just talked myself into Dallas in 7. This could be Dirk's last real chance here. LeBron's got plenty more. If there is a God, he wouldn't vindicate "The Decision" so soon, would he?

Winningpeg

A wrong 15 years in the making has been righted. Hockey is returning to Winnipeg, Manitoba for the first time since 1996, when the Jets flew down to the desert and became the Phoenix Coyotes.

This is a great day for hockey, especially in Canada, as the move could open the door for future relocations to Quebec City or Hamilton, and perhaps even a second Toronto team.

It's a bad day to be a hockey fan down south, which is fine, because there aren't any anyways. But Czar Bettman certainly can't be happy to see a chink in his armor pertaining to hockey in the Sun Belt, a lavish experiment roughly 20 years in the making. Sure, there have been some success stories, in Dallas and Tampa Bay in particular, but between the departing Atlanta market, as well as some atrocities in Phoenix and South Florida, the clock is clearly ticking on pucks dropping too far below the Mason-Dixon Line.

Six full seasons removed from the lockout now, only once have the Thrashers/Coyotes/Panthers triumvirate finished in the top 20 in attendance league-wide (the Panthers clawed their way to 19 back in 2006). Combined, the teams have averaged a 25th-place finish in attendance since the lockout, with the Coyotes finishing 29th three of the past four seasons. The season they didn't finish 29th? A tidy 30th place finish, which of course is dead last in the NHL.

Obviously, it doesn't help matters that of 18 combined seasons between the teams, there have been just 3 post-season appearances. The Thrashers have contributed to one of those, back in 2007, where they were promptly swept by the New York Rangers. But to put in into perspective, during the 2010-2011 season, 5 of the 6 Canadian markets have 100% attendance or better for the season. This includes the Edmonton Oilers, owners of the worst record in the NHL. Even Ottawa, which finished with the 5th-worst, averaged 99.3% capacity this season. That's more than in Detroit (98.1). That's Hockeytown! Hockeytown, people!

The return of hockey to Winnipeg feels like a Led Zeppelin reunion tour. That would mean, of course, a Quebec City return would be The Who, while a new incarnation of the Hartford Whalers would be a Beatles comeback tour. And since the Oilers were a part of the same WHA expansion class as the Jets, Nordiques, and Whalers, they'd have to be the Rolling Stones, since the Stones have never officially broken up, unlike those other mammoth British acts. I'm not saying who between Gretzky and Messier would be Jagger and Richards, but Grant Fuhr would certainly be Charlie Watts.

So with Atlanta down, Phoenix is on the clock. They'll stay in the desert for one more lame-duck season, then move to "whiter" pastures in the Great White North. Quebec City, get that arena built.

That's Don Cherry right? You know he'll be pumped to host "Hockey Night in Canada" from the Manitoba capital again.