Rose, Beasley, Mayo Go In Order

In the NBA Draft, which was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City on Thursday, there weren't many surprises. Derrick Rose, a freshmen point guard out of the University of Memphis, was selected #1 by the Chicago Bulls. After speculation of who the Miami Heat will pick at #2, they stuck to the obvious and selected Michael Beasley, another freshmen out of Kansas State University. The #3 pick, which was owned by the Minnesota Timberwolves, was used to select freshmen guard O.J. Mayo, who went to USC. The next day, Mayo was traded along with current Timberwolves' players Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker, and Greg Buckner to the Memphis Grizzlies for their #5 pick, which turned out to be UCLA freshman star Kevin Love, current Grizzlies' players Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins. The Seattle Supersonics at #4 took UCLA's Russell Westbrook, who is excellent defensively at the position. The New York Knicks at #6 took Italian player Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari has ties with head coach Mike D'Antoni because D'Antoni was teammates with Gallinari's father in Italy in the 1970's. Darrell Arthur, forward from Kansas who was expected to be a lottery pick, fell to the New Orleans Hornets at #27. Which team made good picks in the NBA Draft? Who didn't do a good job in the players they selected? The Denver Nuggets didn't have a single draft pick in the NBA Draft; is this bad?

Chacon Released By Astros

Shawn Chacon, who was recently demoted to the bullpen by Houston Astros' manager Cecil Cooper, has been released after gettting into a scuffle with team general manager Ed Wade. Earlier this week, Chacon and Wade got into an altercation in front of the team in which Chacon apparently jumped on top of Wade and tried to choke him out. Both men were restrained and Chacon was suspended immediately. He was on indefinite suspension, where the Astros would determine what to do with him in the future. They didn't take long to decide. They decided to release him a couple of days after the incident. Chacon now has to look to sign on with another team. A lot of major league sources say that's probably not going to happen, considering Chacon's skill level and his character. This may mean the end to Shawn Chacon's career, which has ended very tumultously. Chacon turned down other teams this offseason so he can be a starter. He signed with the Astros because he was guaranteed to fill a starting spot. He later lost that spot because of inconsistent pitching and became very disgruntled. The final blow for Chacon came with the altercation with Wade. Has Chacon pitched his last game with the Astros? Why is the Astros' clubhouse so disgruntled themselves? Will Wade be the next one to go if the Astros don't start winning?

O'Neal Traded To Raptors

Former All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal of the Indiana Pacers was traded today to the Toronto Raptors for point guard T.J. Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic, and the Pacers first round draft pick. Ford, who was the Raptors' starting point guard the past two seasons, is unhappy with the Raptors' organization and the Raptors began to shop Ford around. Jose Calderon, the Raptors' other point guard, proved to be a capable starting point guard when Ford had a neck injury and missed 13 games. The Raptors are now ready to install Calderon as their permanent starter. O'Neal has gone through his problems with the last couple of seasons as well. In the 2004-2005 season, O'Neal was involved in the worst sports brawl in NBA history when Ron Artest, who was with the Pacers then, got into a fight with a fan. O'Neal got involved and was suspended for 15 games. The Pacers never recovered from that moment. Artest was suspended for the entire season and his future in the NBA was in doubt. Stephen Jackson, who was a guard for the Pacers during that season, was suspended for 30 games for punching fans as well. The Pacers never recovered as they missed the playoffs twice since. In the season before, they had the Eastern Conference #1 seed and 61 wins. Now the Raptors, who have been to the playoffs twice in two seasons with T.J. Ford, now have a good frontcourt with O'Neal and Chris Bosh. Which team will be better from this trade? Will O'Neal and Ford be happy with this deal?

Three Managers Fired This Week

In Major League Baseball news, three managers were fired this week. The firing started with the New York Mets firing manager Willie Randolph early Tuesday morning. The move was anticipated for weeks by the media, especially after Randolph's meeting with ownership a couple of weeks ago. Randolph was fired after the Mets victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, which was weird. Jerry Manuel, the bench coach for Randolph, now takes over as the manager. He was previously the manager of the Chicago White Sox from 1998-2003, winning coach of the year in 2000. A couple of days later, the Seattle Mariners fired manager John McLaren. The Mariners owned baseball's worst record at 25-47, despite a payroll of $100 million. The Mariners had expectations to contend this year, especially after the trade that brought in pitcher Erik Bedard. But they didn't and McLaren is another scapegoat for their problems. The Mariners also fired general manager Bill Bavasi for creating this underachieving roster. Bench coach Jim Riggleman is now slated to take over as manager of the ball club. On Friday, the Toronto Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons because of their performance on the field. The Blue Jays were expected to be in contention in the AL East, but they are now currently in last place at 35-39 and have lost 13 of their last 17 games. The Blue Jays have been considered underachievers as well, with good hitters such as Vernon Wells and Alex Rios. They also have good pitching in Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett. But they haven't been able to get it done. The Blue Jays have turned to a familiar face to manage the team. They have decided to bring back former manager Cito Gaston, who was the manager of the team from 1989-1997. Gaston was the manager when the Blue Jays won two consecutive World Series in 1992 and 1993. Which coaching change will be the most significant? Will any of these teams improve this season or will it improve in the future? Who is next on the hot seat?

Celtics Win 17th Championship

The Boston Celtics have won their 17th championship Tuesday night by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 131-92. They won the series four games to two, after winning all three of their home games. The three All-Stars on the team; Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, have won their first championship of their careers. Pierce, who was the Celtics best player in the playoffs and the team leader, won the NBA Finals MVP. Kobe Bryant for the Lakers, who was the regular season MVP, did not have a good game. He was effective early, knocking down several three pointers in the opening quarter. But he was not good after that. He missed 15 of his 22 shot attempts and the supporting cast did not help Bryant either. The Lakers knocked down 42% of their field goals attempted, but only managed to grab two offensive rebounds, a NBA Finals record low. The Celtics shot 49% from the field, with Garnett and Allen scoring 26 points. Ray Allen knocked down seven three pointers in the game, with most of them coming in the fourth quarter. The Lakers also committed 19 turnovers in the game, which did not help their cause. With the Celtics winning the championship, will they be able to repeat next year? Phil Jackson has lost his last two NBA Finals series. Should he retire? Will Kobe Bryant ever get a championship without Shaquille O'neal, who he won three championships with?

State of the NBA

Tim Donaghy, earlier this week, stated in a letter cooperating to investigators that the 2002 Western Conference Finals Game 6 between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers was fixed by NBA officials. The letter also said that the 2005 Western Conference 1st Round series between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks was fixed as well. In the Kings-Lakers Game 6, the Lakers went to the line 27 times in the fourth quarter. Centers Scot Pollard and Vlade Divac of the Kings both fouled out in that game. The Kings were not happy with the calls made in that game, and the Lakers would go on to win the series in Game 7 in overtime to advance to the NBA Finals, where they would sweep the New Jersey Nets. That would prove to be the Kings best chance, as they would never go to the Western Conference Finals again since. In the series between the Rockets and Mavericks, the Mavericks lost the first two games of the series at home. It was stated that the referees then started targeting Yao Ming for illegal screens and the Mavericks would come back to win the series in seven games. There have been a lot of people in the media who have said that Donaghy is lying and is untrustworthy. I believe that there is truth to Donaghy's letter because I believe there have been other games that have been fixed. The 2006 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks has been controversial due to the fact that Heat superstar Dwyane Wade shot more free throws in the last two games than the entire Mavericks team. There is something wrong in the NBA and it is due to television ratings. It is hampering the NBA and teams who deserve to win are not. Is the NBA under a crisis now? What can be done to fix this?

Celtics Take Game 1

The Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 98-88 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals to take an early series lead. Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with 24 points and Paul Pierce chipped in 22 points. Pierce was injured early in the third quarter and it looked like he wasn't going to be able to return. He returned shortly thereafter and knocked down some key shots for the Celtics. Ray Allen, another player that is part of the Celtics' Big Three scored 19 points in one of the few productive games for him in this playoffs. Kobe Bryant, the regular season MVP, scored 24 points for the Lakers, but he missed 17 of his 26 shots attempted. Pau Gasol, the Lakers' midseason acquisition, scored 15 points. Derek Fisher chipped in with another 15 and Lamar Odom had 14 points. The Lakers went into halftime with a 51-46 lead. But the second half was completely different, especially after Pierce's return. They outscored the Lakers by 15 points in the second half. Game 2 is on Sunday night. If the Lakers lose Game 2 as well, does that mean they will lose the series?

Celtics Reach NBA Finals for First Time in 21 Years

The Boston Celtics have reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987, by defeating the Detroit Pistons 89-81 in Game 6 Friday night. The Celtics have now reached the NBA Finals, where they will play the Los Angeles Lakers. The last time the Celtics reached the NBA Finals in 1987, they lost to the Lakers. Since that last Finals appearance, the Celtics have not been very good. The Lakers, meanwhile, have won championships in 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001 and 2002. The Celtics, led by Paul Pierce for many years now, have added All-Stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to their team through trades after receiving the fifth pick in the NBA Draft despite the worst record in the Eastern Conference. They were able to make a turnaround and have the best record in the NBA at 66-16. Garnett won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award at the end of the season. Kobe Bryant for the Lakers won the MVP award also so two participants in the NBA Finals have won major regular season awards. In the regular season, the Celtics beat the Lakers twice. Those two wins, however, came in December. To many, those wins do not predict what will happen in this series because both wins came without Pau Gasol. Gasol was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in February. Who will win the NBA Finals? Who deserves the championship more; Bryant or Garnett, Pierce and Allen?

Lakers Advance To NBA Finals

The Los Angeles Lakers have advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2004 on Thursday with their 100-92 victory over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. The win on Thursday completes the series, which the Lakers won in five games. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers led the game with 39 points. 17 of his 39 points came in the fourth quarter. The Spurs jumped out to a 17 point lead early in the game but the Lakers started to chip away. They eventually took the lead in the second half and kept it for good. This has been an eventful season for the Lakers. This season started with rumors that Kobe Bryant getting traded. Bryant voiced his displeasure with management over the lack of moves being made. The Lakers refused to accept any offer for Bryant and Bryant stayed with the Lakers. Then, in January, young starting center Andrew Bynum injured his knee, forcing him to miss the rest of the season. A couple of weeks later, the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. Bryant was happy with the trade and him and Gasol, along with other like Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher, became forces in the Western Conference. They ended the season as the #1 seed in the Western Conference and as the favorites in the West to make the NBA Finals. Here they are now. The Lakers will face the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics. Will the Lakers win the title? Will Bryant retire as a Laker? Will the Lakers thrive with the addition of a healthy Andrew Bynum next year?