PantsCast May 31 2011

The NBA Finals, an icy move, a star moves, and the demise of the seater vest. Plus, civil rights talk on What's Wrong With Humans.

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PantsCast May 19 2011

NBA playoff talk with the Scrooge McDuck of the PantsCast. And here comes the gay man, sports. Deal with it. Plus another exciting episode of What's Wrong With Humans.

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PantsCast April 18 2011

Who to root for in the NBA playoffs, NFL Draft preview and JaMarcus Russell time! Plus, a person who gets punished for moving too much on What's Wrong With Humans.

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The Day My Basketball Head Went Insane

So the NBA playoffs are here the Western Conference is a molten pile of teams all within a few games of each other. Aside from those bastard Lakers, the wild west is anyone's conference. It will all be about the right match ups.

The Phoenix Suns might be able to run Portland out of the stadium, but the Utah Jazz might give them fits. Meanwhile, Denver might smoke Utah, but can't beat Portland. It's all a nice muddy ball.

That's why I'm actually happy that the Dallas Mavericks are playing the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

Say what? I'm happy the Mavericks get the Spurs, the only team other than the Lakers to win multiple championships this decade? Four championships to be exact. That's how many rings Tim Duncan has on his fingers. Then you have Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, coach Papovich...that's a lot of winning right there.

Oh, and the Spurs are getting healthy at the right time. The team is coming together to make a playoff run and they look nasty. So why in the name of Mark Cuban am I happy?

Because Dallas is built to beat the Spurs. The team obsessed with San Antonio because for most of this decade, that was the team to beat. The Mavericks know the Spurs. They aren't afraid of the Spurs.

The other option would have been Portland. That seems like a great match-up now that All-Star guard Brandon Roy isn't playing for the Trailblazers due to a knee injury. Yet Portland is 3-1 against the Mavs this year and the last game in Portland was ugly. Fouls were called, fans were ejected, debris was thrown on the floor.

These are not things you need to add into a playoff game if you want to advance. It's hard enough to move forward in the west without adding a fan frenzy against your particular team. Portland fans would be out for blood against the Mavs and it all adds up to extra energy needed to survive during the away games. Dallas would probably win the series, but they'd advance as a tired team into the next round. Add in the extra travel to Portland compared to San Antonio, plus the two hour time zone change and you're talking lots of added stress.

I may rue the day I actually rooted to play San Antonio, but I'd rather see a familiar foe that's only an hour plane ride away rather than the great unknown in a distant land known as Portland.

It's the playoffs and I'm craaazy!

Change It Up

So I was checking out television ratings for the two major sports that are in the post season right now and I'm sure my findings won't surprise you. The NHL, the sport which has the quiddity of being played on ice, is averaging less than than a .5 viewer rating in these here United States. On the flip side, the NBA playoffs usually average around an 8.0 viewer rating that can go higher if the Spurs aren't playing.

This year shouldn't be any different as the Stanley Cup playoffs wallow around in ratings obscurity on a channel that likes to promote shows about bass fishing.

My question is WHY?!

Look, I know the chances that any of the six people reading this actually played hockey at some point of their life are minuscule which makes the sport more difficult to follow, but I'm begging you, just give hockey a chance.

Go watch a playoff game being played in Boston, Chicago, or God forbid, Calgary. Then compare it to the playoff atmosphere at the Staple Center when the Lakers take the court. There isn't even a comparison. It's like comparing fraternities on "Animal House." One sits around and discusses how wonderful they are, the other throws beer kegs out the window and rides a motorcycle through the house.

And here's the big point for the NHL vs. the NBA playoffs: several of the teams in the NHL playoffs have an ice rink's chance in hell of actually making the cup finals. Yes, Detroit is the defending champ and will be tough to knock off, but San Jose, Anaheim, Calgary, Chicago, Vancouver....all these teams have a legit shot to pummel their way to the Stanley Cup finals. It's happened over and over again.

Last year the fifth seeded Dallas Stars and sixth seeded Philly Flyers made it to the conference finals. Over the past few years a fourth, sixth, and eighth seed have all made it to the Stanley Cup finals. And the best news is that over the past 20 years, only two teams (Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils) have taken home the Stanley Cup more than twice. If any team makes it into the playoffs with some momentum, it can do some serious damage.

In comparison, the NBA hasn't had a team below a four seed make the Finals in recent memory. And you can nearly count the champions of the past 25 years (Celtics, Spurs, Heat, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets) on one hand. The Celtics, Spurs, Lakers, Pistons, and Bulls have all won at least three NBA championships in that time frame.

This year, I'll start watching the NBA playoffs when a team wins three games against the Lakers or Cavs. Sure, I'll watch the Mavs and Spurs just for the rivalry and I enjoy watching what Chris Paul can do, but it's all just for grins. Until someone tests LeBron or Kobe, I can just sit back and wait until June to tune in.

Just watch a few NHL playoff games. Listen to the crowd bang on the glass and steal player's sticks. Listen to how the place explodes when a goal is scored. Then go to your computer and check what happened in the NBA. You won't miss too much.