The Sports Daily

Whew…if anyone of you are still following this topic, I congratulate you guys for making it through my 1 week of absolute bollocks. I am thinking we could get along pretty well since we pretty much have nothing better to do than write or read pointless blogs.

And here are your Top 10 Centers:

10. Luc Longley - For being the worst center to own 3 NBA championship rings.

9. Vlade Divac - Somebody tell him to shave the beard.

7. Ben Wallace - He’s 6′8" playing center. 6′8".

6. Dikembe Mutombo - Who doesn’t love Deke?

5. Alonzo Mourning - Intense. Intimidating. Downright scary.

4. David Robinson - Mr. Regular Season MVP a.k.a Big-Time Playoff Choker. Only made it so high up the list because he won a ring (and that was thanks to TD)

3. Patrick Ewing - It’s weird that I like Pat even though he was a Knick.

2. Hakeem Olajuwon - Taught Shaq a lesson or two. Made Pat Ewing give up on his dream of an NBA title. Totally humiliated David Robinson.

1. Shaquille O’Neal - Fat?Slow?Looked like a fool when playing against Hakeem?Why don’t you ask both of them to go back in time and play each other when they were both 29.

The only reason I am able to sit here and write this blog right now is because I came back late from lunch and missed a meeting. My boss left without me. So I better get this done before he gets back. Imagine this: I made my boss late for a meeting because he was waiting for, I ended up not going at all, and he comes back and sees me writing a blog which is totally irrelevant and pointless…wonder what that would do to my bonus prospects?

Top 10 Power Forwards:

10. Larry Johnson - Stop cursing. The only reason he’s here is because of THAT 4-point play he made in the playoffs.

9. Rasheed Wallace - Sweet turn-around baseline jumper. Sick off-the-screen 3-point shot. Well-deserved NBA Championship ring. MEP (Most Ejected Player).

8. Chris Webber - Talent & ability-wise, he would have beaten any other guy on this list, but in terms of achievement & performance, he’s only #8.

7. Elton Brand - He brought the CLIPPERS(!!) to the Playoffs. AND made it past the 1st round(!!!)

6. Dennis Rodman - Anyone who’s 6′6” and averaged 16 rebounds per game deserves a place in this list, even if he wore a dress.

5. Kevin Garnett - What scary about KG is, I’m not even sure if he’s reached his peak yet.

4. Charles Barkley - Big Chuck was (and still is) the funniest guy to ever play in the NBA.

3. Karl Malone - I really really didn’t want to put him in this list, but despite how much I hate him, he is 1 of the best forwards in the NBA.

2. Dirk Nowitzki - 7 foot 3-point shooter. He’s #2 now because by showing recently that he had an inside game to complement his unlimited range, he can practically score on anyone from anywhere.

1. Tim Duncan - He’s #1 in this list, because he would have been only #3 as a Center. So why pick a class where you’re 3rd smartest, when u can be in 1 where you’re the smartest.

Guess what? It’s Saturday morning and I am at the office. You’d probably wonder, if I am at the office on a Saturday morning then I’d probably be busy working right? Then why am I here writing this blog? Well, it makes me wonder too.

Anyway, here are my Top 10 Small Forwards in the NBA:

10. Robert Horry: 3 seconds left in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, who’s hands do you want the ball to be in? Jordan or Horry? (if you thought about it for more than 2 seconds, then Horry’s place in this list is justified)

9. Carmelo Anthony: Of the Big 3 from the 2003 Draft (Lebron, D-Wade), Melo has been the least explosive. Not to say the dude hasn’t got skillz, he’s just up against tough competition.

8. Glen Rice: 3-point shooutout champ, All-Star MVP…Not much, but good enough to make my list.

7. Shawn Marion: Poor-man’s Scottie Pippen, but with the potential to become better than the man himself.

6. Peja Stojakovic: The most ugly (literally too) jumpshot in the league.

5. Ron Artest: Coz he’s G-A-N-G-S-T-A.

4. Paul Pierce: I decided to put him in the Small Forwards list instead of the Shooting Guards list simply because he ranks much higher here.

3. Grant Hill: The first half of his career he was the most complete player the NBA had ever seen.

2. LeBron James: No no he’s not #1. Not yet, at least.

1. Scottie Pippen: He’s #1 here because he would have been in the Top 10 for at least 3 other positions.

I’m having a weird day at the office where I have work to do, but would much rather spend time completing this list…so here are my Top 10 Shooting Guards:

10. Latrell Sprewell - If only he’d choked PJ harder, he’d be higher up the list.

9. Ray Allen - The sweetest jumpshot in the league earns him a spot in this list.

8. Tracy McGrady - Some may be p*ssed that T-Mac came in behind Reggie and even VC. No doubt the T-Mac can score, but so far his back has stopped him from becoming the dominant force he can be.

7. Dwyane Wade - Hey Lebron, look who’s already got a ring & a Finals MVP!

6. Vince Carter - May not have turned out to be the next MJ as hyped, but he still has posterized almost every single player in the league.

5. Clyde Drexler - Would have been a much bigger star if he wasn’t in the Jordan era.

4. Reggie Miller - Can you spell C-L-U-T-C-H

3. Allen Iverson - The guy’s 5′10” MAX. If he was even near the average height (6′3"+)of those guarding him, he’d probably average 50 points per game.

2. Kobe Bryant - Rape trial & Shaq scuffles aside, he is the most dangerous scorer in the NBA today. Kobe deserved at least 1 of the 2 Finals MVP awards Shaq got from the Lakers championship years.

1. Michael Jordan - Duhhh…

The 50 Greatest NBA Players of MY time (1994-current); going by the Top 10 for each position.

This is but another of my sports lists that I make whenever I feel sad & lonely (in simpler terms: when I am slacking off):

Let’s start off today with Point Guards:

10. Rafer Alston - OK he’s only in this list because of his street cred.

9. Muggsy Bogues - The dude was 5′3” and lasted a decade in the league!

8. Penny Hardaway - It was only 2 seasons, but those were 2 wonderful seasons.

7. Chauncey Billups - The most unknown NBA Finals MVP.

6. Gary Payton - Humiliated great ballhandlers with his suffocating defense.

5. Kevin Johnson - THE most underrated point guard of all-time.

4. Tim Hardaway - Because he signed my shirt.

3. John Stockton - Old-school as he may be, the guy has a statue made in his honor!

2. Steve Nash - I ranked Nash higher than Stockton because Stockton had Malone. Last season, Nash made a team with Boris Diaw & Raja Bell look like contenders!

1. Jason Kidd - The ultimate defintion of a point guard. Hasn’t won any championships, but anybody remember what kind of team the Nets were before him? Oh, the dude carried KENYON MARTIN to the NBA Finals…

I came across this comment when doing a search on the Zidane incident:

"[Zidane's] willingness to headbutt Materazzi makes him more of a hero, not less. Admittedly, since France went on to lose, he’s something of a tragic hero, but a hero none-the-less. If someone insulted my race, or my religion (if I had one), I wish I’d be as ready to attack them, no matter what the circumstances. Zidane’s action highlights for the world the fact that the racial unity of France is more important than winning the World Cup."

Now that is just the biggest load of bollocks I’ve read in a long time. Come on, by now people should be enlightened to the fact that our bald-headed hero is a total lunatic, just like many football geniuses before him & after (Cantona, Rooney). And it’s not the 1st time he’s reacted violently on the pitch.

I’m not saying that he is to be blamed for the France loss, that honour belongs to David Trezeguet. But stop making excuses for the man. Headbutting a guy in the chest, in the midst of a World Cup final, watched by 3/4 of the World (the remaining 1/4 being cricket fans), is not the appropriate way to react to whatever was said to him by Materazzi.

Who would have thought of it, Juventus, the most dominant team in the Italian Serie A, relegated because its dominance was facilitated through means other than their performance on the pitch. A dark era for Italian football, it seems, but the punishments dished out on Juve, Fiorentina and AC Milan could prove to be a bright opportunity for the English Premier League and Spanish Primera Liga.

Here’s my take on how the exodus of the Juventus Starting XI will occur:

Gianluigi Buffon —> Arsenal, 15mil++

Fabio Cannavaro —> Real Madrid, 15-20mil

Jonathan Zebina —> Lyon, 7mil

Lilian Thuram —> Bayern Munich???

Gianluca Zambrotta —> Real Madrid, 12mil

Patrick Vieira —> Please don’t let it be Man United !!! (perhaps he will finally land in Real Madrid, after the gazillion summers saying that’s where he wanted to go)

Pavel Nedved —> Inter Milan, 18-20mil

Mauro Camonaresi —> Man United, 15mil (only if they finally get rid of that whimp a.k.a Ronaldo)

Emerson —> Man United (though I don’t see Sir Alex being smart enough to recognise him as the only available and natural replacement for Roy Keane)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic —> Man United, 20mil (forget Fernando Torres already!)

David Trezeguet —> hmmm…Liverpool, so they won’t win anymore penalty shooutouts!

So it was 1-1 instead of 0-0, and it was not the borefest i predicted it was going to be. But Italy are the new World Champions, and they did it through a penalty shooutout.

But the highlight of the match is no doubt THAT great ‘header’ from Zinedine Zidane. Hitting the post with his header earlier in the match, Zizou decided he maybe needed more practice and did so on the nearest target, Materazzi. The ref, mistaking it as an intentional headbutt, decided to send arguably the best player of the last decade off, in his last match as a professional footballer. A fitting end indeed!

Anyway, Viva la Italiano! (or whatever)

And so we have it - the finals: Italy vs France.

Don’t be misled. That may look like a good match on paper, but Italy vs Portugal would have been much more fun. The only good thing to come out of this is we all get to see Zidane play 1 last World Cup match. My prediction? 0-0, Italy by penalty shooutout.