THOUGHTS ENTERING THE WEEKEND by ST

Ever notice how it's way easier to induct someone to the iIiot Hall of Fame than the Football Hall of Fame? Baseball has become too easy! Some putz blogger in Dallas took Rangers starter Colby Lewis to task. He had the audacity to utilize baseball's paternity leave rule to be with his wife for the birth of their 2nd child. Then the moron drew the parallel of asking if Cowboy TE Jason Witten had missed a game under similar circumstances what would happen. Comparing football with baseball is just stupid. The sense of immediacy is different. I'm guessing if this were Game 7 of the World Series Lewis would probably get the green light from his wife. Yes, I understand the size of the paycheck sometimes makes you wonder about the proper sacrifice and you don't want to let your mates down. FYI...Lewis earns 3 mil in salary for this 2011 season. I'll get into this and former ESPN writer Rob Neyer's take later on. I've lost all respect for this clown.
Huge win for the Blazers, but I remain unconvinced. This team is awful at shutting the door. They'd be a terrible baseball closer. You'd get a lot of walks, guys on base and a bunch of antacid moments. Portland caught a bit of a break that Dallas was bricking from the foul line. They went just 13 of 23. The Blazers shot a better percentage from 3 point land than the Mavs did on free throws. Gotta be pleased with the defense which allowed just 20 points in both the 3rd and 4th quarters. Obviously we'll focus big time on this during our shows.
Way too much being made of the Laker struggles thus far in the New Orleans series. For the billionth time over the last 3 full years and all of this when LA has gone unbeaten in the Western Conference playoffs. It's not about sweeps or blowouts, rather taking 4. That's what they do. Last season the Thunder pushed them to 6 in round one and after dusting the Jazz, it took 6 versus the Suns. The year before the 1st rounder against Utah went 5, then 7 vs the Rockets, and after splitting the 1st four with Denver took that series in 6. The champs are about the end result, not the path. We shall see.