The winner of this year’s NBA Draft Lottery was the Portland Trailblazers. They managed to get the first pick in the draft this year. They are expected to take 7 foot center Greg Oden from Ohio State. Greg is projected to become one of the top big men in the game.

Now that the 2007 NBA draft order is set…

Here is the order for all the picks in the 2007 NBA draft:

1. Portland
2. Seattle
3. Atlanta
4. Memphis
5. Boston
6. Milwaukee
7. Minnesota
8. Charlotte
9. New York1
10. Sacramento
11. Atlanta (via IND)
12. Philadelphia
13. New Orleans
14. L.A. Clippers
15. Detroit (via ORL)
16. Washington
17. New Jersey
18. Golden State
19. L.A. Lakers
20. Miami
21. Philadelphia (via DEN)
22. Charlotte (via CLE and TOR)
23. Chicago2
24. Phoenix (via BOS and CLE)
25. Utah
26. Houston
27. Detroit
28. San Antonio
29. Phoenix
30. Philly (via DEN, GSW, DAL)

Unfortunately, my Houston Rockets have a pretty low pick and they could really use a top 10 pick this year. Albeit, their new coach (Rick Adelman) should improve their offense quite a bit.

How did your team fair?

Today, Dallas Mavericks Center Dirk Nowitzki was the first European player ever named NBA MVP. Dirk certainly had an excellent regular season. From Tim Duncan to Kobe Bryant you could have made a case for quite a few players being right for the trophy. However, Dirk really did have a great year.

Dirk’s Dallas Mavericks won 67 games (not many teams have done that). He scored 24.6 points per game, had 8.9 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game, and shot over 90 percent from the free throw line. Not bad…

A lot of you have been making your case for who should win on this post. Now that it’s official what do you think? Should Dirk have won?

The official announcement isn’t due until next Tuesday, but ESPN is reporting that Dirk Nowitzki is scheduled to be the winner. It’s unclear how definite this is, but I guess we’ll all find out next Tuesday.

The other day the 2006-2007 All-NBA team was announced. The only thing that was a bit of a surprise was that Lebron James was missing from the first team. Many people thought that he would be on the first team. Steve Nash was the only unanimous selection.

The first team was made up entirely of Western Conference players. It consisted of Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, and Kobe Bryant.

Here are the voting results for all of the 2006-2007 “All-NBA” Teams:

(First-place votes in parentheses)

First Team
F — Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas (125), 634
F — Tim Duncan, San Antonio (94), 573
C — Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix (36), 494
G — Steve Nash, Phoenix (129), 645
G — Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (128), 643

Second Team
F — LeBron James, Cleveland (64), 494
F — Chris Bosh, Toronto (8), 234
C — Yao Ming, Houston (38), 333
G — Gilbert Arenas, Washington 295
G — Tracy McGrady, Houston (10), 278

Third Team
F — Kevin Garnett, Minnesota (5), 225
F — Carmelo Anthony, Denver (1), 142
C — Dwight Howard, Orlando (1), 108
G — Dwyane Wade, Miami (1), 241
G — Chauncey Billups, Detroit 86

Other players receiving votes
Carlos Boozer, Utah, 127; Shaquille O’Neal, Miami, 70 (3),; Jason Kidd, New Jersey, 58; Marcus Camby, Denver, 42 (2),; Shawn Marion, Phoenix, 41; Allen Iverson, Denver, 39; Tony Parker, San Antonio, 39; Vince Carter, New Jersey, 15; Deron Williams, Utah, 15; Josh Howard, Dallas, 11; Elton Brand, L.A. Clippers, 8; Mehmet Okur, Utah, 7; Baron Davis, Golden State, 6; Michael Redd, Milwaukee, 6; Ray Allen, Seattle, 5; Richard Hamilton, Detroit, 4; Joe Johnson, Atlanta, 3; Ben Gordon, Chicago, 3; Chris Paul, New Orleans, 3; Paul Pierce, Boston, 2; Ben Wallace, Chicago, 2; Jason Terry, Dallas, 2; Eddy Curry, New York, 2; Luol Deng, Chicago, 1; Chris Webber, Detroit, 1; Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana, 1; Pau Gasol, Memphis, 1; Tyson Chandler, New Orleans, 1; Manu Ginobili, San Antonio, 1.

Does this mean that Lebron is out of the running for the NBA MVP?

The Rocket has landed. Not in his first organization, the Boston Red Sox, or his hometown club, the Houston Astros, but back in the pinstripes again. Roger Clemens is a New York Yankee again. The announcement was made during the 7th inning stretch during a recent home game. Clemen’s contract will bring him upwards of $18 million which, because of his late starting date, equates to roughly $4.5 million per month.

The much maligned Yankees starting rotation was in desperate need of another starter. The Yankees are scheduled to start their 10th different pitcher this season. His return may help to solidify their lineup and bring them back into contention in the AL East. The Rocket has made it clear that the presence of Joe Torre and Andy Pettite was crucial in his decision making process. Not only will he give the Yankees a proven starter, but he will also be able to help the younger starting pitchers to mature and learn from possibly the greatest right handed pitcher of all time. His seven Cy Young Awards are not only a testament to his natural ability, but also to his longevity and endurance. At the age of 44 he hopes to bring the Yankees back to their championship form.

For those who haven’t seen it. Here is a list of the 2007 NFL 1st round draft picks in order of the placement. Hope your team did well in the draft. My teams did pretty well.

The following are ordered by pick, team, player name, and position:

1 Oakland JaMarcus Russell QB
2 Detroit Calvin Johnson WR
3 Cleveland Joe Thomas OL
4 Tampa Bay Gaines Adams DE
5 Arizona Levi Brown OT
6 Washington LaRon Landry DB
7 Minnesota Adrian Peterson RB
8 Atlanta Jamaal Anderson DE
9 Miami Ted Ginn Jr. FL
10Houston Amobi Okoye DT
11San Francisco Patrick Willis LB
12 Buffalo Marshawn Lynch RB
13 St. Louis Adam Carriker DE
14 NY Jets Darrelle Revis CB
15 Pittsburgh Lawrence Timmons LB
16 Green Bay Justin Harrell DT
17 Denver Jarvis Moss DE
18 Cincinnati Leon Hall CB
19 Tennessee Michael Griffin S
20 NY Giants Aaron Ross CB
21 Jacksonville Reggie Nelson S
22 Cleveland Brady Quinn QB
23 Kansas City Dwayne Bowe WR
24 New England Brandon Meriweather CB
25 Carolina Jon Beason OLB
26 Dallas Anthony Spencer DE
27 New Orleans Robert Meachem WR
28 San Francisco Joe Staley OL
29 Baltimore Ben Grubbs OG
30 San Diego Craig Davis WR
31 Chicago Greg Olsen TE
32 Indianapolis Anthony Gonzalez

How did your favorite team do in the draft this year?

Should Kobe win it this year? What do you think? Here’s some good video to back up his claim for the MVP:

Dwayne is probably my favorite player to watch in the NBA right now. He just has a certain quiet confidence about him that I really like. He has been injured, so who knows how he will do in the playoffs, but should he be this year’s MVP? Check out this video:

He certainly makes a good case for himself. He is a lot of fun to watch. Check out this King James video to see why he should be the 2007 NBA MVP:

These video highlights make a good argument that he should be.

For all you rabid Steve Nash fans—  a little video gift:

Wow. I just read over on ESPN that a 102 year old woman, became the oldest golfer ever to hit a hole in one on a regulation golf course.
Contratulations to Elsie McLean on an amazing shot.

A very belated congratulations to the University of Florida Gators for winning two men’s college basketball national championships in a row.

Wow, were they good this year!

There’s really only one important piece of news in the Sweet Sixteen—  Vanderbilt is still in it.  Let’s face it, Vandy is never going to bring home a football championship, so basketball is their only shot at a major national title. 

March 22 is the next round, which will see the following:

Kansas vs. Southern Illinois—  I guess I’ll go with Illinois on this one.  When in doubt, I usually choose an Illinois team.

Pittsburgh vs. UCLA—  I have no real opinion on this one—  Pittsburgh?  Just because.

Ohio State vs. Tennessee—  You can’t cheer for Vanderbilt and Tennessee, so I have to favor Ohio State in this game.

Texas A&M vs. Memphis—  Clearly, as a Texan, I have to root for A&M, even if I normally favor the Longhorns.  (As you can see, my picks are in no way based on who is expected to win.  It’s all about who I like, which quite often in the NCAA Tournament gets me just about as far as people who like to think they can predict who will win.)

Then on the 23rd:

Florida vs. Butler—  Florida is, of course, favored to win, but I’d like to see Butler pull off a win.  Florida showed they could be vulnerable to a loss when they played against Purdue, so it’s not as though it’s an impossibility.  My husband went to FSU, so it’s forbidden to hope the Gators win.  I guess that leaves me cheering for Butler.

Oregon vs. UNLV—  I don’t have any strong feelings on this one.  My son likes Oregon, so we’ll go with them.

North Carolina vs. USC—  This comes down to who I want to see face Vanderbilt, when they annihalate Georgetown (okay, I’ll settle for a win).  Well, North Carolina was predicted far and wide to win the East, so I’d probably prefer that they lose.  But USC is playing better than some expected…  Hmm.  It’s a difficult decision.  USC did beat the Longhorns, which makes it hard for me to want them to win.  So, I guess I’ll be going with North Carolina for this one. 

Vanderbilt vs. Georgetown—  Do I really have to tell you who I want to win this one?

This isn’t the first time Cooper Brannan has been recruited.  The last time was by the Marines.  He did a tour in Iraq where he lost his left pinky finger when a flash grenade went off in his hand, but now he’ll be pitching for the San Diego Padres.  You can read more about his story here.

Despite a shaky start the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17. Peyton Manning overcame an early interception to lead his team to a win, and finally proved his doubters wrong. The win also solidified Tony Dungy’s place in history as the first African American head coach to win a SuperBowl. Coach Dungy will also go into the history books as one of a select few who won a SuperBowl as both a player and a coach.

The opening minutes of the game seemed to be favoring the Bears as the rookie sensation Devin Hester ran back the opening kickoff 92 yards for the score. No other opening kickoff had ever been returned for a touchdown in SuperBowl History. On the next drive for the Colts, Manning had his pass intercepted by Chris Harris. Later in the quarter Manning would find a wide open Reggie Wayne for an easy 53 yard touchdown. After a fumbled kick return by the Bears the Colts returned the favor and fumbled the ball back on a bad handoff. Rex Grossman took advantage of the Colts’ mistake and threw a 4 yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad.

In the second quarter the Colts were able to convert a 29 yard field goal and would later score on a short touchdown run by Dominic Rhodes to put them up 16-14 at the half over the faltering Bears.

The Colts came out strong in the third quarter with a nearly 8 minute, 13 play drive that ended in a field goal by Vinatieri to put them up 19-14. The Indianapolis defense held the Bears offense in check througout the third quarter and they would only manage to score on a field goal by Robbie Gould.

The fourth quarter was more of the same for the struggling Bears offense as Grossman was intercepted on two consecutive possessions. One of the two picks would be returned 56 yards for a touchdown by Kelvin Hayden, and the other was returned by Bob Sanders 38 yards to set the Colts up in Bears territory.

The Chicago defense was unable to make up for the mistakes of quarterback Rex Grossman, and the Bears gave up too many big plays to the Colts. Manning’s efforts earned him the SuperBowl MVP honor, and the Colts will return to Indianapolis as the champions of the National Football League.

The Super Bowl is coming this Sunday, are you excited?

Jill and I are excited, but not just because of the SuperBowl…

Neither Jill or I has been able to give this blog the time it really deserves. We have a new writer who will be starting soon and we are both very excited about it. I hope you enjoy his positive sports writing.