Day 3 of March: Ty Rogers' Shot

One of the most popular small conference schools every March is the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. They dominate the Sun Belt and always seem to have their name called on Selection Sunday. They have a unique nickname and a really cool mascot who has been blatantly copied by about 50 schools. In the first round back in '08 they faced a Drake Bulldogs team led by Klayton Korver who loved to chuck threes and not play defense. The result was a game in which 200 points were scored and 30 total three pointers were made. The Hilltoppers were led by Tyrone Brazelton's 33 points and also featured future NBA players Jeremy Evans and Courtney Lee but it was Ty Rogers who hit the game winner at the buzzer and then proceeded to do the soccer celebration of running around while being chased by teammates. This sent Western Kentucky to the second round to take on the 13 seeded San Diego Toreros, who used similar heroics to send the Connecticut Huskies home. WKU ended up in the Sweet Sixteen, while a very sad Klayton Korver went back home to Iowa, but that's just the way March works. Stay tuned tomorrow as we move to number four on my list of great March moments as we see the Hilltoppers on the other end of a game winner.

Day 2 of March: A Hail Mary For Saint Mary's

Not gonna try to sugarcoat it, its been a rough year for the Saint Mary's Gaels with thirty point beatdowns by their biggest rival and recruiting players out of the Twilight movies. But back in 2010, things were a lot better in Moraga. Led by Omar Samhan and a slew of short skinny Australians, the Gaels won the WCC Tournament and stormed into the great town of Providence, Rhode Island to upset the Richmond (Rich-what?) Spiders and the Villanova Wildcats. Most memorably, this was done in front of the legendary Bill Raftery. Down the stretch, the Aussies made some crazy plays including Matthew Dellavedova executing a flawless rendition of Biggie Little before nailing a three with 4 and a half minutes left, Omar Samhan blocking more shots than Stretch (sorry for the excessive NBA Street references) and finally Mickey McConnell's "kiss to be remembered" which nearly caused Bill Raftery to faint. When it was all said and done, the Australian National Team exited the Dunkin' Donuts Center with a 75-68 win, and their first trip to the Sweet Sixteen in over 50 years in the second of El Fuerto's top sixteen March moments. Stay tuned tomorrow for number three.

Guess Who's Back... And Lucious For The Win

Yeah, I kinda figured MIB was dead too. We had peaked with the White Man Tourney, and really there was nowhere else to go. Everything we had to say had been said. But, much like Jesus and CT from The Challenge, some things just can't go away forever. Plus, it's March and I have plenty of inspirations. I've had more discussions and arguments over the best NCAA Tournament games than Kyle Korver has had three pointers drained. Since we're sixteen days away from Selection Sunday, and sixteen is such an appropriate number for March (ie the round the Bearcats never seem to make it to) I thought I'd list out my sixteen favorite March Madness moments. Anyway, here are some rules on how this will go:

1) All the games will be from my lifetime. They don't count unless I watched them live, which means we're starting at the 1999 Tourney. Yes, I skipped school in first grade to watch March Madness. Did you really expect anything else?
2) All the games also have to have a Youtube video for me to link you to. Its no fun if you can't actually see it, which very much limits many games played before 2008. Salim Stoudamire's game winner against Oklahoma St, BJ Raymond's shot against West Virginia, Michigan St vs Kentucky in 2005, and the Ohio St vs Xavier game unfortunately had to be left out for this reason.
3) Bonus points for upsets. Sure it's cool when a one seed wins on a buzzerbeater, but it's way cooler when a 13 seed does.
4) Bonus points for games called by Gus Johnson or Bill Raftery. Honestly, this should go without saying.
5) Finally, this list is very subjective and biased. I also came up with it during an hour long business law class. Long story short, if you don't agree with it, come up with your own. With that said, here is number sixteen.

Korie Lucious For The Win

It wouldn't be March Madness without Tom Izzo and the Spartans, and this game shows why. First of all, Lucious shouldn't have even been in at the time - he was filling in for Kalin Lucas who was injured earlier in the game. Then, when Greivis Vasquez, clearly the greatest Venezuelan to ever play at Maryland, hit the go ahead floater with 6.6 to go, Lucious had to step up. His shot sent Sparty back to the Sweet Sixteen and ultimately another Final Four. Also, quick sidenote here, I love how Tom Izzo barely holds off calling a timeout right before the game winning shot. How funny would it have been if he took it, the shot didn't count, and they had to take a rushed shot off an inbounds play with less than two seconds left. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video, and keep checking back here every day until Selection Sunday for more.

Fantasy Matchup: Lil Bow Wow vs Aaron Carter

In the latest new segment on Mack Is Berning, we are matching up two sports legends in a fantasy matchup whatifsports.com can only dream of simulating. As a huge fan of basketball and late 90s/early 2000s pop music, I am more excited for this than Joe Rogan watching people eat spiders. With that said, here is our first matchup which pits Lil Bow Wow and his magic MJ shoes against Aaron "The Shaq Killer" Carter.

Lil Bow Wow aka Calvin Cambridge
Hit Song: Basketball

In one of the most surprising twists in recent NBA memory, Cambridge was signed after an impressive performance during a halftime contest, and eventually led the Los Angeles Knights/Clippers to a playoff bid before an even more shocking retirement. During that time, he showed unmatched ballhandling, court vision, shooting, and vertical, going so far as to even win the Slam Dunk Contest. While many people initially doubted that a 4'8 kid could hack it in the NBA, his 5'3 wingspan quickly shut them up. He proved himself as a clutch player making numerous game-winners, and showing poise with his game-winning assist in the last game of the season, passing out of a double team, and earning himself a head nod from Vince Carter. Although we will always be left wondering what could have been if not for his abrupt retirement, it is clear that Cambridge had the talent to go down as a legend of the sport.

Aaron Carter
Hit Song: That's How I Beat Shaq

Although he did not have the continued success of Cambridge or play in the NBA, Aaron Carter proved that he can compete with anyone in the world in a game of one on one, pulling off a victory over the great Shaquille O'Neal. While he isn't quite as physically gifted as Cambridge, Carter showed off a good all around game. He has great ability to get to the hoop, and a nice shooting touch. He also pulled off an excellent trick play, convincing Shaq that his shoelace was untied, demonstrating his intangibles. One would certainly wonder how he could perform in a team setting, or even playing against other players, but it is certainly clear that Aaron Carter is an NBA-level player. Why he never got or took the chance will continue to baffle fans for years.

Fuerto's Pick


While I would love to see more film on each player, particularly Carter, whose only tape lasts 3 and a half minutes, much of which is spent dancing, this looks like a very interesting matchup. Carter looks to have a size advantage and would use it to get to the hoop and create shots. However, his defense and lateral quickness appear to be issues, as he got beat off the dribble by Shaq constantly. Cambridge, who blew by the likes of Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, and Vince Carter during his NBA stint, has a huge advantage here. He uses his superior athleticism and offensive game to pull away with the win in a high scoring affair.

Seven Weeks Deep

I'm out of extended absence jokes, but regardless I'm back baby. 6 game win streaks tend to rekindle flames. Over a quarter of the way through the year and it's hard not to be excited about the battlin fuggin Cincinnati Reds. I see no reason why the Reds can't win this division by 10 or more games. The stars have aligned and I am not mad about it.

 Let's first talk about this pitching. As our boy Thom Brennaman might say, Holy Moses. We won't go there with Cowboy. 4th in the NL with a 3.37 ERA and coming in with the 2nd best bullpen at 2.63. And with Leake and Latos starting to get it going, the numbers will only get better. So much for Great American Smallpark. Keep in mind the bullpen was supposed to tank after the injuries to Madson, Masset, and Bray. We all know about Aroldis and his filthy ways, but Ondrusek, Arredondo, Hoover, and even Chicken Alfredo Simon have all been absolute nails. It's hard to imagine they will keep this up all year, but in the mean time I'm absolutely loving it. The new closer by committee really doesn't bother me at all either. I never bought in to the whole psychological argument for having a steady 9th inning guy. It's all about the match up and it's good to see the Dustbowl finally realized this.

 Let's not fail to consider two big keys to the excellent pitching besides the pitchers themselves. Number one, defense X defense (clap, clap). While having the second fewest errors in the NL is a good indicator of how well they've fielded this year, it's what doesn't show up in the stats that amazes me. The outfield of Heisey, Stubbs, and Bruce can track down virtually anything. They all have cannons and cover the outfield like All-Pro safties. I'm a big fan of this trio, and regardless of offensive production you know these guys will bring it everyday in the field. Long gone are the days of Adam Dunn or Wily Mo misreading fly balls by 50 feet. The infield has been equally as impressive. You know what to expect from Phillips, but Votto has shown Hatteberg-esque scooping capabilities and Cozart isn't shy on Web Gems himself. The hot corner is and always will be shaky if Rolen isn't in the lineup, but overall the defense has been a major factor in helping out the pitchers.

 The second factor of the outstanding pitching goes to who I think has been the MVP of the team so far this year, Ryan Hannigan. The Jason Dulle look alike calls one of the best games of anyone in the league, and the numbers show. In games Hanigan starts, the Reds boast an 18-7 mark proving he is one of the most underrated catchers in the game . You have to consider he typically catches Cueto, Arroyo, and Latos, but still winning games is winning games, and the Reds have a sub 3 ERA when he's behind the dish.

 After last night's win, the Reds are now 22-3 when scoring 4+ runs in a game. Now that's just silly. With numbers like that the offense just has to be average in order for this team to run away with the division. But as of now, calling this offense average would be a stretch. My man Hanigan leads the team with a .322 average with Votto at a respectable .295 and that's about it. As a team the Reds rank 23rd or worse in runs, batting average, and OBP. It's really pathetic considering how much pop you'd think this lineup would have. Playing in GABP 81 times a year shouldn't hurt either. The home run production is starting to come around but what really bothers me is the low on base percentage and AWFUL hitting with runners in scoring position. Votto and Hannigan are honestly the only two players who consistently work the count. Despite Votto leading the league in walks, as a team the Reds are among the worst in this category. After Votto's 41 walks, no one else has more than 12 free passes. That is beyond pathetic. The same is true for hitting with RISP as a team with a shade under a .200 batting average clip in this situations. Yet another concern has to be striking out. For Christ's sake put the ball in play. The league batting average on balls that are in play is above .290. Not to mention a K never amounts to a productive AB in advancing the runners.

 With all of this said, allow me to make a few suggestions. First and foremost, move Hannigan up in the lineup. Is there some rule the catcher has to bat 8th? The guy puts the ball in play and gets on base, something Votto has seen very little of ahead of him in the lineup. I respect the fact Baker's dozen sticks with his players (almost to a fault), but it's a GD travesty Dusty has yet to even consider batting Hanigan 2nd in the lineup. At least give it a fuggin whirl. Second, get rid of Ryan Ludwick. He's slow, has terribles ABs, can't field, and did I mention he's ugly as crap. For all these reasons and more, spare us all, Walt Jocketty. And finally, at least consider trading for Kevin Youkilis. It would take a prospect and be a gamble getting a pricey, injury prone, 3rd baseman, but my goodness can you imagine what a healthy Youk would bring to this struggling lineup? When healthy he averages about .285, 23 bombs, 80 RBI, and scrappy as all get out at bats. The "Greek God of Walks" coming home to Cincy would stir up some interest and even if it's just a one year gig, THE FUTURE IS NOW.

 On their longest win streak since August of 2010, the Reds are poised to keep it rolling this weekend against the lowly Rockies. Just keep beating teams they're supposed to and there's no turning back for this ball club. In the mean s'go s'go Redlegs; In Dusty We Trusty. I'm out.

The Race is on for Novak

First of all, apologies for the lack of posting/semi-retirement over the past winter. But like the great Michael Jordan, every once in a while you just have to take some time off to sharpen up your baseball game and/or save the Looney Tunes from enslavement. With that said, we are back just in time for the biggest race of the year in sports. As you already know, over the past few decades basketball has become increasingly dominated by speed and athleticism and there just isn't as much room for your average skinny white boys. Fortunately, there is one thing ensuring that they will never be completely pushed out: the three point line. Over the past decade, players such as Fred Hoiberg and Jason Kapono have kept their spot on an NBA roster and won yearly awards for best three point percentage. This year, with just over a week left in the season, Steve Novak of the Knicks looks to follow legends Kyle Korver and Matt Bonner to make it a Caucasian three-peat. It is a tight race as Novak and45.8% three point shooting is followed closely by Ramon Sessions, Ersan Ilyasova (a respectable European, but still), Stephen Curry's half season stats, and Ray Allen all within one percent.

If there are any doubts about Novak's skills I will quickly clear them up with a few stats. Despite being 6'10, he has chucked up a total of 238 three pointers and just 53 twos giving him an 81.7% three point selection percentage. For comparison, Kyle Korver is at 66.1%, J.J. Redick is at 46.7%, and Jimmer Fredette is at 49.6%. Even Jason McElwain drove to the rim more often than Novak. While he is nowhere near Korver's NBA record 53.6% shooting, Novak is burying his treys at a pretty damn respectable rate. And since I'm just throwing out random stats, I'd also like to point out that he's whiffed on about 60.4% of his high fives this year.

Anyway, if you want to know how he became the superstar he is today, the fact that he grew up in a town called "Brown Deer, Wisconsin" pretty much speaks for itself. During his time at Marquette, he broke fellow star Travis Diener's school records for three point shooting and free throw shooting, led his conference in three point shooting every year, and also managed to pick up a degree in communications studies (don't know how you make it in the NBA without one). His road to the top of the NBA was never easy, bouncing between Houston, LA Clippers, and San Antonio with a few stints in the D-League before shining in New York. Clearly fueled by the fire of not making the cut of the MIB White Man Tourney, Novak has exploded with one of the most impressive seasons in recent memory, largely due to him trying to jack Aaron Rodger's Discount Doublecheck celebration, and his decision to wear the same #16 as a former St Xavier football legend. Now, he looks to finish the year off strong and securing the three point crown, carving out his spot as an all time white legend.

The Next Generation

With the announcing of an end to the NBA lockout, I for one was stoked. As much as i enjoyed cheering on the UMKC Kangaroos and getting matching tattoos with Andrei Kirilenko, I was ready for pro basketball to come back, but not everyone else was. Apparently dozens of Mack is Berning fans are not interested in watching a league without white man tourney standouts Brent Barry, Greg Ostertag, Bryant "Big Country" Reeves, and John Stockton. They have listened to the words of Moose Lewis and believe that there is no longer a place for white guys in the NBA, but that is simply not the case. Here are some of the leaders of the new breed of white guys in the league.

Jimmer Fredette - No doubt the leader of the next generation, Jimmer and his rapping brother TJ have developed a cult following for their accomplishments at BYU. Now the Stormin' Mormon will look to pick up where he left off when he joins the Sacramento Kings. The dynamic of him in the locker room with the likes of Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins will surely be among the top storylines of 2012. However, if you want to check out some Kings games this year, make sure to avoid the Sunday ones.

Kevin Love - Love used his third NBA season to prove that he's the best American born white basketball player alive by averaging 20 points per game and leading the league in rebounds. Now with Ricky Rubio running the point and Derrick Williams joining the squad, Minnesota actually has a solid young core to build around, something nobody ever expected from a team run by David Kahn.

Tyler Hansbrough - Psycho T was taken 13th overall a year ago by Larry Bird in order to "make every practice better."After giving a tough 5 game series to the Bulls last spring, he has pretty much shown that he's going to be in the NBA for a long time. Hansbrough mixes the natural talent of Toni Kukoc with the gritty work ethic of Brian Cardinal, which is definitely a solid combination.

Ricky Rubio - Love's new teammate for the T'Wolves, Rubio was initially hesitant to play in Minnesota, but is now making the trip over. After all, who would want to pass on playing for a team that loses 60 games a year in a city that gets about 8 inches of snow a day? Rubio dazzled scouts with his performance in Beijing during the Olympics, drawing comparisons to former Jazz star "Pistol" Pete Maravich. Finally in the NBA, Ricky is out to prove that you can dominate the best of the best despite looking like a star on a Disney Channel sitcom.

Enes Kanter - Joining the prestigious line of goofy Europeans in Utah, Kanter will certainly be a star in Mormon country for many years to come. Hoping to make up for his inability to play last season at Kentucky, he will team up with Mehmet Okur to form the greatest Turkish big man combination in basketball history. Perhaps only more impressive than that is his dream to one day become a pro wrestler.

Gordon Hayward - The real life version of Jimmy Chitwood, Hayward came into the league with huge expectations after leading Butler to a Hoosiers-esque run to the NCAA Finals, and even bigger when he was selected by Utah to replace Kyle Korver. After a slow start to the season, Hayward finished strong averaging 16 points a game in April, including a 34 point performance in a season ending win over Denver.

Jan Vesely - The 21 year old Czech still has a ways to go before he can be as popular as his girlfriend, but he's on the right track. After going sixth overall to Washington, Vesely put a target on his back by calling out Blake Griffin for the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest. You know he will be a star in the league because Jay Bilas complimented his upside, length, high ceiling, AND taste in women during draft night.

Chase Budinger - A former All-American volleyball player who grew up on the beach in San Diego, former Arizona Wildcat Budinger averaged just under 10 points a game for the Rockets the last two seasons. Now projected to be the full time starter, Budinger looks to regain some of the glory that Brian Scalabrine gave to lanky redheads across the country.

Little Giants Box Score

In honor of football season hitting full stride, I thought I'd put together some analysis for one of the greatest games ever. A true David and Goliath story taking place in the legendary Urbania, Ohio, Danny O'Shea's group of ragtag misfits took on the Cowboys, coached by former Heisman winner Kevin O'Shea, and featuring star running back Spike Hammersmith. Things started off rough for the Giants as Spike torched their defense for over 100 yards in the first half en route to a 21 point lead at the break. However, things turned around then as the Giants' useless quarterback Junior "Tim Couch" Floyd went down with an injury and was subsequently replaced with Becky "Icebox" O'Shea. Between this, questionable play calling by the Cowboys, and a barrage of trick plays, the Giants dominated the second half. The game was won on the final play of the game, the inspiring, heart attack inducing "Annexation of Puerto Rico" that was just begging to be called by Gus Johnson. With that said, here are the stats from the game:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Cowboys	7	14	0	0	21
Giants	0	0	14	13	27

Giants Cowboys Total Yards 224 205 Passing eff (Att-Com-TDs) (2-6-1) (1-7-0) Pass yards 60 23 Rushing (Att-Yds-TD) (15-182-2)( 15-173-3 ) Red zone (Att-Td-FG) (0-0-0) (3-2-0) Penalties (tot-yds) (0-0) (2-25) Turnovers 0 1
Passing Att Com Com % Yds TD INT Junior Floyd 2 0 0 0 0 0 Becky O'Shay 3 1 33 30 1 0 Johnny Vennaro 1 1 100 30 0 0 Rushing Att Yds YPC Long Timmy Moore 5 34 6.8 40 Junior Floyd 2 -9 -4.5 1 Johnny Vennaro 5 40 8 50 Tad Simpson 1 99 99 99 Receiving Catches Yards Yac TD Rashid Hanon 1 30 10 1

Cowboys

Passing	Att	Com	Com %	Yds	TD	INT
Briggs	7	1	10.1	23	0	0
Rushing	Att	Yds	YPC	Long
Spike Hammersmith	12	182	15.2	50
Sean Murphy	2	0	0	0
Briggs	1	0	0	0
Receiving	Catches	Yards	Yac	TD
Spike Hammersmith	1	23	23	0

A few notes on the game

-Both teams combined for only 14 total plays in the first half. This can be attributed to the running clock, no play clock, and the very slow playcalling system on both sides.

-Fantasy owners who picked up Spike Hammersmith would be very pleased with his results in the game, accumulating 36 points using standard the ESPN.com scoring system. Tad (15), Johnny (10), Rashid and Timmy (9 apiece) also has repectable performances.

-The quarterbacks on both sides of the ball combined for a Ryan Leaf-esque 17% completion rate.

-Giants starting quarterback Junior Floyd struggled for much of the game except for his 30 yard gain on a trick play. Despite this, Mel Kiper Jr raved about his upside during the post game wrap up show.

- Prior to the Giants' 99 yard gain on the last play of the gain, the Cowboys had outgained them by 80 yards.

-Spike gained over 20 yards per carry during the first half, but once Icebox entered the game, his production was seriously limited.

-Questionable playcalling by the Cowboys late in the game, as coach Kevin O'Shea elected to go for it on 4th and inches on the goal line despite being a perfect 3 for 3 on PATs. With a tie game and so little time left on the clock, a field goal would have all but locked up the game.

Relentless: The 2011 NBA Draft

While March Madness ranks as my favorite sporting event of the year, the NBA Draft is a very close second. The generic terms, stellar broadcasting crew, and outrageous draft day wardrobes add to the overall upside of the draft. This year is widely considered to be the worst since the Kenyon Martin-Stromile Swift debacle of 2000. Of course Cleveland is lucky enough to pick first in this draft. Jon Barry tells them that "If you believe Kyrie Irving is the best player in the draft, you take him. If it's Derrick Williams, you take him." Uh, thanks Jon. As far as I'm concerned, both of these guys have huge risk factors. Kyrie played well, but he did miss three quarters of the season. Also, is there any doubt that Irving is nowhere near what John Wall was as a prospect? With the way Wall struggled this year, you have to be a little nervous about how he's going to play this year. Williams on the other hand, has a little bit of a Michael Beasley tweener factor going. However, Jay Bilas was quick to mention that his wingspan more than makes up for that.

The next five picks of the draft brought us the foreigner/overvalued guy from Texas who didn't accomplish much in college and won't be very good in the pros phase. The highlights had to be Enes Kanter joining the only team in the league with multiple Turks, and Jan Vesely's girlfriend. You gotta love how after Dirk wins Finals MVP, teams go overboard trying to find his second coming, not realizing that for every Dirk or Tony Parker, there are a dozen Darko Milicics, Pavel Podkolzins, or Nikoloz Tskitishvilis. Kanter is a guy I actually like, though, mainly because of the way white guys thrive in Utah. He's joining a team that already includes Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur, Kyrylo Fesenko, and Gordon Hayward. On a serious note, I really think that Utah has one of the best collection of bigs in the NBA. They have Al Jefferson (19 pts, 10 reb), Paul Millsap (17 and 8), Mehmet Okur (former all star), Derrick Favors, and Enes Kanter (the last two #3 picks). Pretty solid core to build around. The Raptors snag Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas to their global roster that includes players from France, Brazil, Italy, and Spain. Next we get to Jan Vesely, one of my new favorite NBA players. From his kiss to his calling out of Blake Griffin, he is the first European in NBA history to have a personality. Not really sure what he can do on the court, but he will definitely be popular. Bismack Biyombo went 7th to Charlotte despite the fact that he has no offensive skills whatsoever, and nobody knows how old he is. I personally see him as a cross between Hasheem Thabeet and Saer Sene.

Next up is the point guard trio of Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker, and JIMMER. First prediction: Brandon Knight is going to come into the league with a major chip on his shoulder from being passed up in favor of guys named Enes, Tristan, Jonas, and Jan, and will win Rookie of the Year in Detroit. Charlotte grabbed Kemba, which was probably a good pick as they needed someone with proven skills after grabbing the King of Upside, and trading any nearly every decent player on the roster. Jimmer unfortunately will not be playing in Utah, which breaks my heart. His biggest problem will be the culture shock of the California lifestyle, especially if the Kings make the expected move to Anaheim in 2012. For some reason, I can't see Jimmer and Orange County going well together. He'll be in Utah where he belongs in 2 years.

Two of my favorite players in the draft went next at 11 and 12 in Klay Thompson and Alec Burks. Of course it makes no sense for Golden State to pick a sharpshooting two guard, but he is a good player offensively at least. The more I think about it, the Warriors could potentially be the first NBA team in history to average 125 points per game and still have a losing record. The Jazz were unable to get a white guy with their second pick, so at least they got tattoo-less Alec "Not Jimmer" Burks from Colorado.

The rest of the draft was not quite as eventful, but still featured the Morris twins going back to back (including Markieff going to Phoenix, the team that swung and missed on Robin Lopez and Taylor Griffin), Kawhi Leonard (a legitimate future all star who should have gone top 10) getting drafted and traded so IUPUI legend George Hill could return home, the Knicks booing yet another pick, and Jordan Hamilton falling at an Aaron Rodgers-esque pace. Denver got Kenneth "Relentless" Faried, who prompted this Jay Bilas quote: "He's just a relentless player. You can't teach relentless. You don't have to say, Kenneth you need to be more relentless, because he's already so relentless." Relentless. Duke legend Nolan Smith also went to Portland in this range, easily the biggest reach of the draft. You know you made a bad pick when the draft analysts talk about "what a good citizen" he is. Miami went a step further torturing Cavs fans by landing hometown hero Norris Cole from Cleveland St.

All in all, while the caliber of the players in this draft sucked, it was still just as entertaining as ever. Watching future busts get raved about by Jay "Wingspan" Bilas, Dickie V going on 70 second on camera rants from his living room, and Spike Lee booing another busted pick by the Knicks just never gets old. Only 364 days until David Stern gets back up on that podium.

The Custodian Wiping Up Miami

First off congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat will surely win several titles before it's all said and done (sorry, Dan Gilbert), but for now it is good to finally get some new(white) blood in championship row. Before I get to my main point of this article I have to say something about Miami and their failures. I thought I covered this last summer, but the reactions from Gilbert and Cleveland just keep getting more pathetic. There has never been a fan base bandwagon on another team like this, but I guess when your city hasn't won a title in decades and surely won't for many more years, you have to live with moral victories like this.

OK, finally for the actual article. I love Dirk and all, but lets be honest. He has no business receiving the Finals MVP Award that clearly should belong to Brian "The Custodian" Cardinal. Obviously pissed about being left out of the Mack Is Berning White Man Tournament, Cardinal came into the playoffs with one goal: To prove that he is the whitest basketball player alive. Appearance is definitely a check as The Custodian trots onto the court everyday sporting a pair of knee pads that were probably designed for roller skaters. Add to that his bald head and general goofy demeanor, and he looks like he would be much more comfortable in a YMCA rec league.

Nicknames are very common in sports, but very rarely does a nickname describe an athlete the way "The Custodian" does for Brian Cardinal. The man does more dirty work than anyone else. I would not be the least surprised to find out that he actually works as a janitor for the Mavericks locker room and arena on the side. He takes charges (or at least tries to), fouls hard, dives after loose balls, and tries to swipe inbound passes. By my calculations, he spends 44 seconds on the floor for every minute he plays, which is tops in the league. In the 2009-2010 season with Minnesota, Cardinal averaged more fouls (1.9) than points (1.7) per game, putting him in an elite club with legends like Greg Ostertag, Manute Bol, and Charles Oakley. This is not even mentioning the energy he puts into cheering when he's not in. Cardinal always sits on the end of the bench with Peja and jumps up and screams every time Shawn Marion deflects a pass out of bounds, or Tyson Chandler grabs a defensive rebound. When the scuffle broke out between Mario Chalmers and DeShawn Stevenson, you know The Custodian was the first one sprinting over to break it up. All that passion, and he stills leads the league in sportsmanship.

I wrote this tribute to Brian Cardinal not only because he is white, but also because I wanted to give credit to guys coming off the bench who are usually overlooked. As a former scout team wide receiver, I identify well with players like them. The depth of the Mavericks was a huge advantage in the series, and without guys like JJ Barea, Ian Mahinmi, and Cardinal stepping up, they would not have won. So when you're watching ESPN and hearing the analysts only talk about Dirk, or maybe ESPN2 with Jemele Hill complaining about how the league rigged the series against the team with more black people, remember that in order to win, you need more than just superstars, and more than just a strong starting five. You need guys like Brian Cardinal.