So life is good here in Florida. I’ve noticed that with the weather and my current financial situation, I’ve gradually toned up and my body is in pretty good shape. See, I figure it’s the weather and money I have to credit my shape to because I wakeboard more with nice weather and eat less when I have no money. It’s a pretty sweet deal really.

- Right now, I’ve still got this site hosted in St. George, and something happened a while ago that messed things up. I’m kind of tired of pestering them to fix things, and I feel bad about it because I’m not paying for it, since I used to work for the company. I say this because I can’t upload any images right now, which means you have to wait a bit longer to see the splinters that I took out of my butt last month. They’re pretty awesome.

So yeah, I’m going to move this site to another server I use for my other sites at Bluehost. Yep, that’s an affiliate link right there. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry about it. If you do know what that means, can ya blame me? They’re good and I could use a buck!

- Anyway, this NBA offseason has been pretty sweet for my teams (yes, I consider Orlando my #2 team these days). Orlando dropped Turkoglu, Lee, and Alston then picked up Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes, Ryan Anderson, and managed to keep Marcin Gortat, yeah! They’re bigger and badder than before, and I like that.

Portland stayed pretty inactive, although there were lots of talks of moves. They got some young guys I know nothing about, gave away Sergio (no more sweet Spain to Spain alley-oops, bummer) but then got Andre Miller! The dude is the best point guard in the league to never really accomplish anything. He’s a career 14 point, 7 assist, 4 rebound point guard who can post up and has a great knowledge of the game. Word on the world wide web is that Oden is looking pretty good at the moment too. Magic/Blazers finals? Well, maybe in 2011. Shaq might get one more this year.

OK BYE!

I was hoping Randolph would be traded for Garnett, but that was a bit out there. They instead traded him along with Dan Dickou and Fred Jones to the Knicks for Stevie Franchise and Channing Frye. Channing Frye is a solid young player and will be a great depth addition to the bench. Francis probably won’t stay on the roster, but if he does, I won’t complain. He’s still got some 30 point games in him and can help the team out with his experience.

They picked up a couple of foreign players, including another Spaniard from the Suns, just like in 2006 with Rodriguez. What I think will prove to be their steal of the draft, however, is Josh McRoberts. I didn’t know at the time they selected him, but McRoberts played with Oden in high school I believe. They are great friends and should really help encourage each other in their respective rookie seasons. In fact, the draft commentators mentioned that McRoberts was heavily recruited when playing along with Oden. He seems to thrive when he’s on the court with the big guy. I can’t wait for the 2007-2008 season!

Over the past month I’ve read just about every kind of comparison of the two players. The general consensus is that both will be franchise players. Most seem to think though that Oden will be more likely to be the key element to a championship team, while Durant will be an individual superstar. I didn’t know this until today, but in Greg’s basketball life (since 3rd grade I guess), he’s only lost 17 games. That’s just crazy. He’s such a presence that any team he’s on is leaps and bounds better. Having a guy of his size and ability in the paint gets in the other team’s head and really alters the game.

So hopefully this won’t be another Bowie before Jordan thing, but ya never know. They do have 4 second round picks to play around with too. I’ll be watching the whole time. Go Blazers!

I’m really just hoping to see LeBron dunk over Tim Duncan again like he did here.

In hopes that Cleveland will win their first title in their first trip to the finals, I’m going to predict Cleveland in 6, just missing winning it before their home crowd by one game.

My prediction: The Blazers’ playoff famine is over! If they don’t win a championship by 2012, something’s fishy. I imagine they’ll take Greg Oden. GO BLAZERS!!!

Some highlights of the weekend I noticed are:

• Chris Paul’s 9 steals and 17 assists in the rookie challenge, with at least 8 of his assists playing part in alley oops. I think 5 or 6 of those alley oops were to Monte Ellis, that dude can jump. I look forward to Chris Paul in the All-Star game for the rest of his career. His game reminds me a lot of the way Isiah Thomas played.
• A trip down memory lane watching Bill Laimbeer complain to the refs once again. Gotta love the guy’s spirit.
• Charles Barkley’s victory over 67 year old Dick Bavetta in a foot race. Great dive by Bavetta in the end. His knee was bleeding after the effort.
• A good dunk contest. Dwight Howard showed just how high up he can get, even though he’s 7 feet tall. I know some kids who are 6’4″ and move much more awkwardly than him. He can maneuver like a small guard, ridiculous. That sticker dunk was pretty incredible.
• Gerald Green’s dunks may not have appeared too spectacular, but that’s because the kid jumps incredibly high. That final dunk was off of two feet, and his plant foot was within a foot of the free throw line. He dunked it with ease, he may be the only person on earth who can do that.
• A dominant performance by the West in the All-Star game. Even though it was a blowout through most of the game, I enjoyed it. The West put on a shooting clinic that totally killed any chances of a comeback by the East. They really played well as a team; maybe because a handful of them are All-Star veterans.

I’m glad the NBA keeps the All-Star weekend the way it is. They make enough subtle changes each year to keep it fun, while sticking to the basic format that is proven. It is by far the most entertaining All-Star even of any sport. Good work Mr. Stern.

To show the spirit of the All-Star weekend, TNT has included an awesome event. Charles Barkley will take on Dick Bavetta in a footrace up and down the court 1 3/4 times. Dick is a 67 year old referee in the league. I think it’s awesome that he is willing to do this, as well as Charles, and that TNT even thought of doing it in the first place. It’s a great way to show the seriousness of All-Star weekend. I’ll be watching.

Update: Bavetta vs. Barkley: Tale of the Tape

I could go on for a while, but I found a great article that finally pays him the respect he deserves. Allen Iverson is possibly the most loyal player in all of sports, aside from being the league’s most talented scorer. He’s under six feet tall (listed at 6′) and nobody can stop him from putting the ball in the hoop.

Anyway, here’s that article: Neither side will like The Answer