The Daily Nickel

The Daily Nickel

1. Help is on the way. It's taken a long time, but Josh and Nellie finally look like they'll be joining the Rangers lineup today. Wash has some tough decisions to make with who to option down to Triple A and how to piece together his lineup now. The D-Fdub is rooting for Endy Chavez to stay and man center field IF Washington insists on playing Hamilton in left field again. That means Craig Gentry gets optioned to Triple A and probably Taylor Teagarden as well. Hopefully, Wash will make the right call and put Hamilton in center field, so we can have Nellie in left, Hamilton in center, and Moreland in right. That's some heavy hitters in the outfield and a good way to solve the hitting ills that are plaguing the Rangers.

2. A look back at my Mavs vs Thunder roster breakdown. Originally, I had the Thunder with an advantage at point guard, shooting guard, and small forward. I also determined that the Mavs had the better power forward and center. I'll stand by all my comments that I made last Monday but one.....the Mavs have the better point guard. Westbrook has scored effectively in some games, but Kidd's overall floor game and defense have vaulted him above the Thunder's dynamic point guard.

3. A look back at my Prediction from last week. I had the Mavs in six and I still think that is a strong possibility. I'm actually leaning towards the Mavs in five right now, but you never know what David Stern is going to do with his band of crooked refs. Stern and his gestapo did everything they could to make the Mavs lose, but Dirk and the boys were just too good. Dallas shot only 18 free throws to Oklahoma City's 36, and a lot of the Mavs' free throws came at the end of the game when the Thunder were trying to foul to stop the clock.

4. Danny Crawford is scheduled to ref game four. The Mavs won't win this one with Ref Enemy # 1 rigging things. I'm definitely sticking to Mavs in Six.

5. What's going to be more entertaining? You have two choices tonight on what to watch. You can either view the return of Hambone and Nellie to the Rangers lineup or you can watch the Mavs against the Thunder in Game Four. If I had to pick, I'd go with the Mavs, but fortunately, I have DvR so I don't have to pick. I'm watching both. Go MavRangers!

The Daily Nickel

Can't Nobody Hold Me Down

1. Dirk: "It Doesn't Matter Who's On Me"-  Definitely a provacitive article title, but when you read his comments in context its the same old humble Dirk we know and love... and an absurd selective quotation to get attention bye ESPN.  You know its this same kind of misapplication of out-of-context quotes that has people predicting the rapture this Saturday... (though from the looks of the leader of this ridiculousness, we don't doubt that his time is coming up).

2. Dirk's Two Fingers on the Wrist Starts a Phenomenon- Yesterday we were intent on finding out for you what the whole thing meant, but when we went around town and started putting the "Hand Dirk" to use the results were amazing.  At the exclusive Reunion Ball restaurant Wolfgang Puck's there was an hour and a half wait for chumps that showed up without reservations... chumps that didnt know how to "Hand Dirk."  We were seated immediately at their VIP table reserved for celebrities, elite socialites, and those in the know.  Same trick got us a free taco at Taco Bueno.  Get out there and get your "Hand Dirk" on.

BREAKING NEWS: The only place to find out what Dirk's TWO FINGERS ON THE WRIST celebration is all about...

Initial reports that Dirk's "two fingers on the wrist" postgame celebration represented a new gang affiliation were proved false today when the true meaning of his gesture were revealed.

Turns out its his hand signal is sign language for the teams playoff motto:  The Time Is Now... Nuff

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Reporter:  If you carried a backpack around
                     like KD, what would be in it?           
Dirk:  A massive supply of NZT                      

1.  Bird is a poor man's Dirk - 48 pts on 15 attempts is freaking absurd.  He made 36 of 39 combined FGs and FTs.  Everybody but Nate Robinson took a turn on him and he was equally abusive to each.  His hair was beautiful as ever.  A couple weeks back a friend who claims to be a Bulls fan told me she doesnt watch anymore bc "after Jordan retired, I just couldnt make myself care."  I didnt understand then.  Now I think I do....

2.  Where does he rank all-time - The conversation of Dirk's place among the all-time greats is coming up more and more these playoffs and like every Mavs fan, I want to rank Dirk higher than most.  In his book put out a couple years ago, Bill Simmons ranked Dirk 37th best player ever.  Given the rankings of other great current guys like Bron, its obvious these ranks were "as of today."  Anyway, looking at the upper end of the rankings, there is no way I will rank Dirk lower than 15 when his career is over.  Maybe even top 10.  Would love to ask Bill where he would re-rank Dirk.  Remember, this is the same guy that predicts Dirk to finish #6 on the all-time scoring list....



3.  Iverson is a poor man's Barea - Place that towards the top of my "things I never thought I'd hear" list.  The Mavs havent lost since April 23 and Mr Universe has been a major reason why.  Apparently, this guy feels the same way.....http://www.mp3twit.com/b5V



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nuff

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Comparing the Mavs and the Thunder rosters.

1. Point guard: Russell Westbrook vs Jason Kidd. Westbrook could learn a lot from Kidd. He tends to be a ball hog and totally ignore Kevin Durant for stretches at a time. Kidd on the other hand, has made a career of deferring to others...even if it means passing up a wide open layup. Still, Kidd's ability to run the offense and get others involved doesn't put him past Westbrook's athleticism and shot making ability. Advantage: Thunder.

2. Shooting guard: DeShawn Stevenson vs Scrubo Shefolosa. Both of these guys are starters but only by name. Scrubo averaged under 20 minutes a game against the Grizzlies, giving way to the much better James Harden for most of the game. And DeShawn? He does the same thing as Scrubo because he just keeps the shooting guard spot warm for JET. So really, this is a comparision of Harden and JET. Harden can shoot, orchestrate the offense, and play ruggid defense. And JET? He can only shoot. You JET lovers that are still high on his awesome Game Four performance against the Lakers are going to call me nuts, but I'm taking Harden in a heartbeat. Advantage: Thunder

3. Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs Shawn Marion. Writing anything here would be a waste of time. Advantage: Thunder

4. Power Forward: Dirk Nowitski vs Serge Ibaka. See my comment for Nickel #3 . Advantage: Mavericks

5. Center: Kendrick Perkins vs Tyson Chandler. This is an easy one. Kendrick Perkins scows a lot and acts tough, but he really doesn't do anything on the court. While their post season stats look similar Tyson's are skewed because he barely played against the Trailblazers in round one because the refs hated him. Defensively, Tyson has shut down LaMarcus Aldridge and he made life tough enough for Andrew Bynum. Perkins on the other hand, got abused by Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph in the last round alone. Advantage: Mavericks

6. Nickel # 6 is my prediction. I'm going with the Mavericks in Six games. Even though the Thunder have the advantage at point guard, shooting guard, and small forward, the Mavericks have a much better bench AND the best player in the series. I know that Durant averages more points a game than Dirk, but Dirk is more savvy and is much better at closing out games. The Thunder's inexperience will finally catch up to them as the veteran Mavs execute their game plan to perfection.

The Daily Nickel

1. Rangers Get  Screwed- This is a team that desperately needs to get things turned around, having lost 6 of the last 7 series and falling to 3rd place in the division.  It looked like they were headed in the right direction, scoring 7 runs, for the second night in a row, in just one inning.  It turned out to be all for not when yesterday's monsson blew through and erased the game, including Mitch Moreland's grand slam.  Stupid rain.

2. OKC and Memphis Game 5 Looked Like the NCAA Finals- If you can remember back to March, that game sucked.  The Thunder had 11 turnovers in the first 12 minutes, but the Grizz only shot 36% for the entire night.  The D-Fdub doesn't expect the sweeps to continue, but we think its safe to look ahead to the NBA Finals and the obvious re-match with the Heat.

The Daily Nickel (the mad props edition)

1.  Props to these awesome postgame tweets:

        5.  The Lakers lose Sasha Vujacic and Adam Morrison and somehow get softer?

        4.  All these guys playing in bush leagues are like, "Cmon, we wouldnt do that" (On Bynum foul)

        3.  We're gonna see a lot of highlights 2night of Steve Blake rushing out to try and get a hand w/in 5ft of a Mav shooter

        2.  E! producers are the biggest loser here:  no NBA finals episode for Khloe & Lamar

        1.  Freakin' Bin Laden put up more fight than that!

2.   Mad props to the JET - If you've hated on this guy in the past for being too small, too jump shootery, and too bad at defense, you should really just be mad at Cuban for never finding a true SG.  Remember, at the end of the day we got this guy for Tony Delk and Antoine Walker.  11-14 overall, 9-10 from deep, 32 pts, 4 assists, a +29 point differential and, wait a second.......I think JET just hit another 3



Happy Birthday to Greg Gonzalez from all of us at the D-Fdub

The Daily Nickel

Friday Morning "D-Fdub Emailage" Concerning the Mavs vs Lakers Tonight

1. Nathan kicks things off with the first e-mail:
"I think we’ll see a heavy dose of Matt Barnes defending Dirk tonight and straight thugging it up. If he gets called for 5 or 6 fouls the Mavs win, if they swallow their whistles and he gets less than that, Lakers steal one. Charles Barkley is a prophet."

2. It takes Gonzo less than a minute to respond with this:
"This is why I didn't want ROn ROn to get suspended.... Don't rock the boat! Dirk is so hot! (ok, he didn't say the part about Dirk, but would you be surprised if he did?)"

3. Hunter finally rolls out of bed to interject with this bit of insight:

"Gonzo could look just like Matt Barnes if he went 'street' and got tatted up. I also think that Dirk will abuse Barnes but I think Bynum gets 15+shots tonight, which will be the real difference maker. Lakers win in a close one."

4. Nathan responds with the following:
"Yesterday you said Gonzo could look just like Osama if he grew a beard and wore a turban....we get it, he's the guy from Super Troopers....not funny."

5. I finally weigh in with my two cents:
"Our President doesn't wear a turban and he doesn't have a beard either? How would those things help Gonzo look like our President? I'm leery of another NBA conspiracy that hoses the Mavs again. The NBA loves Phil, the Lakers, and Kobe, so I'd be surprised if Fuhrer Stern and his Gestapo allow us to win both of these next two games at home. I'm sticking with my original prediction of Mavs in Six. That means they lose tonight, though."


 

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jOSE jUAN bAREA

THE GOOD
1. JJ Barea is Quick- A 6-point 3rd quarter lead expanded to 14 on the diminutive shoulders of JJB.  He got deep into the lane and either finished, set up a teammate for a dunk, or kicked for an open 3.  In many series JJ's size limits him on defense, but the Lakers always have an easy matchup for him with either Fisher or Brown or Blake.  On a team that shoots a lot of jump shots a guy that can get to the rim and wreak havoc is at a premium, and in this series, especially last night, JJ is delivering.

2. Rangers Remember How to Win- Let's be honest... nobody watched this game.  I was wondering when my Ranger's enthusiasm would wane to the point that I didn't find a way to watch ever pitch of every game.  Turns out that aspect of my viewership was probably more related to late regular season disinterest in the Mavs and Laker dominating attention grabbing now, than to the Rangers.  But, they haven't really been working very hard to earn my butt-on-the-couch time either.  Anyway, what I gather is that CJ Wilson decided to take the bullpen out of the equation and do the whole thing himself.  Ac ouple funny notes: 1. His complete game ties him with the most in franchise history for a left-hander along with Cliff Lee (who was only here a half-season). 2. He now only trails the franchises right-handed complete game leader, Nolan Ryan, by 31... man, that guy was a stud.

The Daily Nickel (aka things that suck issue)

1.  Kobe sucks - In this vid he sends the media folk into a tizzy by sarcastically saying he "isnt clutch," implying that "of course I'm clutch, I'm freaking Kobe Bryant".  He's actually not that clutch and comes off sounding a little insecure to me.  But if we're playing the sarcasm game, let me borrow his tone and say Kobe is "definitely not super gay."

2.  The NBA might soon suck - CP3 was seen seated courtside for Heat/Celts with Lebron's boy toy Maverick Carter.  If this is in any way a preview of his next destination, I will be so put off by the Association I might start watching hockey.

3.  Our bullpen sucks - Feels like they are blowing every game right now.  Already 5 blown saves this year.  The Eppley kid doesnt seem overly suckified, but if things dont turn around I might do everybody a favor and sic SEAL team 6 on Oliver and Borbon.  The good news is Feliz should be back soon and we just signed some Cuban to be the CF of the future for $15.5mm.  Hopefully the future starts next week.

The Daily Nickel

1. Breaking News: Bin Laden is Dead at 50- Alright, you got us... its not really breaking news and not quite the Daily Nickel's usual fare.  But, its been a few days and plenty of athletes have had the opportunity to look like arses sharing their thoughts on the whole deal.  Rashard Mendenhall seems to be feeling pretty good about himself these days and feels like his non-thoughts are worth sharing.  So far he has sided with Adrian Peterson on the NFL players=slaves issue and now he is on Team Bin Laden.  Ultimately we believe this will significantly negatively effect his fantasy draft position.

2. Breaking News: Texas Rangers Dead Too- Not near as widely reported on, in fact, the Dallas Morning News still has them in the top 5 in their power rankings.  They must be watching different games than us.  Our starting pitching is slowly unraveling, our bullpen is way gone, and our bats are coming through very streaky.  There is some hope on the way with Tommy Hunter and Neftali due in Frisco for rehab this week, but Brandon Webb's latest attempt at being a MLB pitcher again lit up the radar gun at a tops of 81.  Maybe the Rangers can use him for batting practice... for their 8th grade prospects.

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1. The Mavs and Lakers play tonight in the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs. The D-Fdub is going on record again with their Mavs' playoff predictions. In the first round, none of us were right, but at least Gonzo and Nate picked the correct winner. For their matchup with the LakeShow, Gonzo is picking the Lakers in 5, Hunter has the Lakers in six, Nathan has the Mavs in seven, and I'm going with the Mavs in six. Apparently, two of us are thinking with our brains and two are thinking with our hearts. I'll let you decided which two are doing which.

2. I know that I'm getting ahead of myself here, but IF the Mavs (notice the captital IF) can squeak out their series against the Lakers, I really like their chance to win it all. Their Western Conference opponent (the Thunder or the Grizz) would be loaded with talent, but also very inexperienced, and the NBA doesn't like for young teams to win, so we have that going for us. The Eastern Conference is pretty weak (as usual), so if we can just get there, we've got a shot to win it all. Cuban has been a good boy this year (for the most part) when it comes to harassing refs, so maybe Stern will rig things to make up for the 2006 finals that he and his crook refs stole from us.

3. Neftali doesn't ever want to start. I'm not sure what to think about this one. Why doesn't he want to start? Does he think he'll get hurt? I wish someone would have asked him, but for now we can only guess. The way things are going, we don't need Neftali to start, but we could use him to play center field instead of Borbon maybe.

4. I forgot to thank the Carolina Panthers for taking Cam Newton. I was so scared that Cam would fall to the Cowboys and they'd make the colossal mistake of drafting that bust.

5. Speaking of the Cowboys, I like what they did in the draft. They solidified a leaky, creaky offensive line (Tyron Smith and company), they picked up some potentially dynamic playmakers (Murry and Carter), and they drafted a slot receiver (Dwayne Harris). Now Keith Brooking can take a seat on the bench, Marion Barber can be cut, Marc Colombo can be shown the door, and Miles Austin can be used on the outside instead of the slot, where he was a very bad fit. What's next? The Cowboys (and the D-Fdub) are hoping that free agency happens so the Cowboys can re-inforce their terrible secondary with stud Nnamdi Asomugha at corner and the very effective Michael Huff at safety. Don't think that the Cowboys have a chance at signing either? Think again because they both formerly played under new Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and both have already been linked to Dallas as a possible landing place.

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Today's Daily Nickel consists of Five Apologies that I reluctantly have to make to the Sportsworld in light of what transpired this week:

Apology # 1- I apologize for being terrible at predictions. I made five predictions on Monday in the Nickel, and I was hoping that I'd at least get three of them right. Looking back, I only got two of them correct and one of them I cheated on. The Lakers finished off the Hornets a game too early, the Blazers lost to the Mavs, and the Thunder kept their brooms in the closet against the Nuggets. While 1 for 4 would be an 'out of this world' game for Julio Borbon, it's just not the level of success that I'm used to and I'll try to be better in future NBA rounds.

Apology # 2- This one hurts....I'm sorry JET. I hated on you for this entire season, and you actually came through (sort of) against the Blazers by averaging a little over 17 points in this series. JET also had a much better shot selection as he made a concerted effort to attack the defense and get to the rim rather than just settling for jumpers all the time. Now that I've apologized JET, you have to promise me that you'll stop the dumb turnovers like the three you committed last night in the most crucial points of the game.....deal?



Apology # 3- I'm sorry for the Vikings that they drafted Christian Ponder with the 12th pick of the NFL draft. I know, it's not really anything that I did wrong, but I feel bad for them. I understand that your current quarterback situation is deplorable (sorry Tarvaris), but that's no excuse for such a reach. A 'Christian Ponder' type talent would have surely been there for you when you picked 11th in the 2nd round.

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1. NFL Owners Lose in Court Again- The latest ruling from the very player friendly judge in Minnesota denied the league's request to suspend her earlier decision to end the lockout.  It seems like everytime their is some kind of answer in these proceedings there are only more questions that come from them.  Now the question is, with the lockout lifted, and no agreement in place, how does the league resume "normal" league procedures?  The D-Fdub primarily is concerned only with how all this crap affects fantasy football.  We believe that an 18-game season changes the dynamic of the game, especially as it relates to the use of running backs, and are against that.  But, most of all we're against any kind of delay of our fantasy football season.  So, we're not getting angry yet, but this needs to get happenning pretty soon.

2. Ranger Win- It was great to finally get a win over the Blue Jays, but the real story in this one, that nobody is talking about, is the big, blonde, shaggy-haired kid that caught his second homerun on Green's Hill in the last week.  in fact, I was only watching the game out of the corner of my eye and got excited when I saw the ball leaving the field, but then thought it was just a re-run when I saw Big Shaggy run out and catch it.  It took multiple rewinds and score checks to validate last night as an authentic event.  Big Shaggy, you are truly amazing.  NOTE: Since nobody is talking about it, there are no good links to stories or pictures that capture this moment.  This link takes you to a vid of the game highlights where our man B.S. makes his cameo on the game winner.

The Daily Nickel

1.  Rangers get hammered - Harrison looked like the old Harrison, Colby is looking like the Colby that was religated to Japan, and our bullpen sucks.  Its also never a good sign when the ESPN/Dallas highlight video starts with a Borbon single.  Man, I hope this Brandon Webb thing works out...

2.  The NFL draft is tomorrow.  Picking at the 9 spot, the "experts" say we'll be taking...

Tyron Smith, T, USC- ESPN(McShay), ESPN(Kiper), Sports Illustrated, RealGM, CBSSports#1, FoxSports#1

Anthony Castonzo, T, BC - CBSSports#2, FoxSports#2

JJ Watt, DE, Wisc - FoxSports#3

3.  Brian Cardinal creating controversy in Blazerland- His take-down of Patty Mills in the closing seconds of G5 has everybody in Portland up in arms.  I have two thoughts about this:  1)  I like it, and 2) If the complaint is he was trying way too hard in a game that was over, then WHY ARE YOU STILL PRESSING?

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1. Chandler Steps Up-  Or more accurately the refs let him play in Game 5.  It hasn't even been that he has been overly physical in any of the games he's had foul trouble so far, he has been the subject of more absurd calls than anything... culminating in a Game 4 technical for walking away from a player that shoved him.  Tyson has been ready to do his thing out there every game of this series, it was nice to see the refs let him play this one out.

2. Grizzlies Dominate Spurs- Yeah, the team that Pau Gasol's brother plays for is about to pull off a 8-seed over 1-seed upset.  Why couldn't the Mavs just have stuck to the plan and dropped to the 4-seed.  Also, Mavs fans can see what the future is like for our team 1 or 2 years from now when our entire team is decrepid.  The Spurs are our crystal ball into how it all ends.

3. Kobe Refuses Tests on Ankle- Reason #1- the test would reveal that he's a giant pansy.  Reason #2- Now he gets to act like he's a tough guy even though he's really playing through the NBA equivelent to a hangnail.  Dwayne Wade patented this move back in the 2003 Debacle when he laid on the court like he was dead and then hopped up to show that he was faking, ie tough.  Or the next year when he was wheeled off the court after dislocating his... shoulder?

The Daily Nickel

For the Nickel today, I have five predictions concerning the first round of the NBA Playoffs:

Prediction # 1- The Lakers will beat the Hornets in seven games. Are you surprised that the wounded Hornets are taking it to the mighty Lakers in the first round? You shouldn't be. The NBA owns the Hornets, and they are looking to drive up their value for any potential owner out there who may need some extra enticement. The NBA has been known to 'influence' the outcomes of games before (Bill Donaghy please step forward!) so I'm not shocked at all by the good showing by the Hornets. Still, in the end, the Lakers are too good to lose so they'll pull out a dramatic game 7 victory.

Prediction # 2-The Thunder will sweep the Nuggets. The Nuggets are pretty pitiful without a superstar, and the Thunder are looking more an more amazing as the season progresses. They have two superstars (Westbrook and Durant), several solid big men (Ibaka, Perkins, Collins), a backup point guard that I wish was starting for the Mavs (Eric Maynor) and the 2nd best 6th man in the NBA (James Harden). They play explosive offense and solid defense....a recipe for a long playoff run.




Prediction # 3- The Celtics will beat the Knicks in four games. I guarantee this one, and it may be the only one that I get right. How can I be so sure? It already happened, so I guess I cheated. Sorry about that.





Prediction # 4- The Heat will finish off the Sixers in Miami tomorrow. The Sixers avoided a sweep last night in Philly, but their season comes to an end after just one more game. The Heat will relish the opportunity to close the series out in front of their home crowd.



Prediction # 5- The Blazers will beat the Mavs in six games. After their historical collapse in game four (losing after being up by 23 points in the second half), the Mavs are reeling and in no position to win tonight. That means they go back to Portland for game six on the brink of elimination, and the Blazers will only be too happy to give them a gentle nudge off the cliff and into an early summer vacation.