BASKETBALL

Last night, the San Antonio Spurs, the top seed not only in the West, but in the entire NBA needed to even the series before it headed back to San Antonio.  The Memphis Grizzlies, however, are playing terrific basketball right now, and they’re doing it without their best all-around player in Rudy Gay.  It’s just pure teamwork and energy out there.  So, the game stayed pretty close in the first half, and the Spurs led by two going into the locker room.  At the half though,  Memphis’ O.J. Mayo said that their coach, Lionel Hollins, lit a fire under them, saying they were playing horribly and that they need to play more desperate, because it’s the desperate teams that usually win.  With that, Mayo said, they couldn’t wait to get back on the court.  And once they got out there, they were on FIRE!  They opened the half with a 14-0 run and NEVER looked back.  In the end, the Grizz won by 18, and are now just one game away from eliminating the Spurs from the post-season.  But… they always say, the last win is the hardest one to get, and you better believe the Spurs will come out ferocious in Game 5.  Memphis 104, San Antonio 86.

Then, it was a much anticipated game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trail Blazers.  After Brandon Roy’s heroics in Game 4 to even the series at 2, the Mavs knew they had to defend their home court if they wanted to make it out alive.  Mavs superstar Dirk Nowitzki was going to ensure they won this game.  He finished the night with 25 points and 8 rebounds.  The Blazers tried to come back in the 4th quarter, but their shooting was atrocious.  They missed 10 straight field goals, and Dallas just kept on rolling.  Now, Dallas takes a 3-2 lead.  Do the Blazers have another miracle in them at home?  Dallas 93, Portland 82.

FOOTBALL

And on Thursday night this week, it’s the always anticipated first round of the NFL Draft.  This year, the coverage of the draft has been in your face 24/7, because there really isn’t any NFL free agency news to report with the lockout.  So, we’ve seen about 65 iterations of a first round mock draft.  In the current mocks, the experts have Heisman Trophy Winner Cam Newton going first overall to the Carolina Panthers.  Last year, the Panthers took Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen to be their future franchise QB, but he hasn’t performed well, and they think they might have something special in Newton with the #1 overall.  We shall see.