Nobody Wants the Top Spot...

It appears the only ranking nobody wants to have in college basketball these days, is #1. North Carolina, Pittsburgh (twice), Wake Forest, Duke, and Connecticut all tasted the top spot this year. And, apparently, it didn't taste very good. Some of the teams put up with the nation's best ranking for a few weeks, while others chose to rid themselves of it right away. Pittsburgh didn't waste any time at all, losing its very first game back at the top. I know what you're thinking. They probably lost to one of the many great opponents in the Big East, right? Nope. They lost to Providence. The Friars. Name one player on their team. Exactly.

The nation's top spot has been anything but gratifying in '09. It's been so repulsive that teams are seemingly trying to avoid it. North Carolina found themselves a win away from the top spot, so they lost to Maryland (6-7 in the ACC). Oklahoma held onto the #2 spot for as long as they could. When a UConn loss left them no choice but to move on up to #1, Blake Griffin took a few blows to the head for the team. His concussion brought the Sooners two losses that should keep them away from the dreaded zenith of college basketball. With Monday right around the corner I feel pity for UConn. They're due for the #1 spot. With only one game remaining, it would make sense that they'll be the nation's best entertaining the Big East tournament. But it probably makes more sense that they'll lose their last game to Pittsburgh. It would then make sense for Pittsburgh to lose the Big East tournament, so we can have a new #1 before March Madness.

Thank goodness there's no BCS in college basketball.

Image taken from Yahoo! Sports

Major Letdown...

The always anticipated NBA Slam Dunk Competition, once again failed to live up to its expectations. How lame was it? Sportscenter showed 4 highlights of it. Two of which were impressive. Nate "the Great" Robinson literally "jumped" his way to victory over Dwight Howard (also literally), in the lackluster competition. The title is Robinson's second in the last three years. It's nice to see the Knicks getting some hardware. But come on. The unexcitement of the former premiere All-Star competition has to stop. How? The league's best dunkers need to step up. Lebron said he would, but will he back that up? Tough to say. Here's a dunk competition I'd like to see.

Vince Carter
While it's true Carter, at 32, is more man than amazing these days, I'd still bet the man can dunk. He single-handedly put the competition back on the map in 2000. I'm not saying Carter would win the competition in 2010, but I'd sure watch to see what he's got left in the tank.

Jason Richardson
J-Rich, the 2-time champ, can flat out fly. His final round dunk in 2003 for the title, may be the best the competition has ever seen. He could be the favorite to win.

Lebron James
The man looks down at the rim when he throws it down. Imagine what he could do while he's hanging up in the air for that long? TNT's video simulation of him dunking from the 3-point line could be a possibility. Okay maybe not. But the man is a human-highlight real during games. Think about what he could do with no defenders in his way.

Kobe Bryant
Kobe claims he doesn't have the legs he used to, but after his 360 slam against the Warriors the other night, I find it hard to believe him. He's already got one slam dunk title under his belt. I'd like to see him prove he's still got it.

Gerald Green
The one-time champ doesn't even need a contest to show off his repertoire of explosive slams. He throws down with authority and always looks to dunk. The young kid could be too much for the vets like Kobe and Carter.

Rodney Carney
Carney may not be the most well-known NBA player, but he sure deserves to be in a dunk contest. In college, he barely missed a dunk a good foot behind the free throw line in a competition, then elected not to try it again. Afterwards, he claimed he's done it before. I believe him. If you've seen him jump, I'm sure you do too.

Honorable Mention:
Nate Robinson, Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith & Dwyane Wade

I say we bring back the 6-man competition, and get six of these guys on board.

Who would win?

Images taken from Yahoo! Sports & Google Images

Living up to the Hype...

The Lakers and Celtics didn't disappoint last night, as they battled for what could be home-court supremacy in a Finals rematch. Kobe and the Lakers needed all 48 minutes and more to outlast the Celtics. The game was as back-and-forth as a ping-pong ball in China. The Lakers largest lead was nine, the Celtics, seven. But for the most part, it never seemed the teams were apart by more than a basket.

For the men in green, Eddie House led all bench scorers with 16, knocking down threes from left and right. Allen and Pierce added 22 and 21 a piece, respectively. And KG put up a quiet 16. The Lakers put up a solid effort across the board. Gasol decided not to play as soft as Bounty's double-quilted paper towels (like he had in last year's Finals), and put up 24 and 14. Kobe did his best impersonation of himself, hitting clutch shots throughout the fourth, en route to a 26 point, 10 rebound performance. And Lamar Odom played solid (aside from some poor free throw shooting), dropping 20 points of his own.

So what did this game teach us? It pretty much reiterated the fact that this was a good matchup, and a blooming rivalry. Well a re-blooming rivalry, if that makes any sense. The game last night had star-power, excitement, and championship-caliber play. It's safe to say basketball fans could be in store for a few more Boston-L.A. Finals matchups again. Will that actually happen?? Who knows. The road wasn't easy last year for Boston and the Lakers (except for the first round matchup with the Nuggets), and it's only going to get harder. Regardless, the NBA is back. And I'd like to personally thank Kobe, Lebron, the Boston Three Party, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, and not the Spurs, for making it happen.

Image taken from Yahoo! Sports

What to Watch For: Cleveland at New York...

Lebron returns to MSG tonight to take on his potentially future teammates. The Knicks have dropped both meetings to the Cavs this season, but lately, they've been playing well. New York's won 6 of its last 8 and find themselves only a half-game out of the playoffs right now. Look for Lebron to try to "one-up" Kobe, as the following act to Bryant's 61-point performance two nights ago. But don't expect him to do so. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Lebron will not put up 62+ tonight at MSG. The game could be good though. The Knicks are turning things around, and the Cavs are nursing some injuries. However, the Knicks seem to bow down everytime Lebron is in their presence. Perhaps if they stopped groveling, and showed King James he could be joining a team on the rise in 2010, he'd consider coming to New York.

It'll be less embarassing than the last time the Cavs came to town (119-101), but expect James to receive more cheers than the Knicks and the Cavs to score more points.

Image taken from Yahoo! Sports

CP3...

New Orleans point guard Chris Paul went down last night with an injury against Portland. He sustained the injury late in the third quarter when he "stepped wrong," according to Paul. An MRI on Tuesday revealed the young guard suffered only a mild strain of his right groin. As of now he's listed at day-to-day, but it's likely he'll miss a few games. Paul wants to return as soon as possible, but coach Byron Scott is willing to wait a few games. He knows that if Paul were to rush back and seriously injure himself, New Orleans would be doomed. It's safe to say a few losses this week would be much easier to deal with than the loss of Paul for the rest of the season.

It's obvious, after last night, the Hornets NEED Paul in the lineup. When Paul left with 1:30 to go in the 3rd quarter, the Hornets held a comfortable 17-point lead. In the blink of an eye, the lead became a disappearing act and the Hornets fell to the Blazers by 9.

There's a reason CP3 was neck-and-neck with Kobe for MVP last season. If there was any doubt about it, there isn't any now.

Image taken from Yahoo! Sports