Saturday, April 17th

Chicago at Cleveland, Game 1 (ABC, 3pm)- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Lisa Salters
Milwaukee at Atlanta, Game 1 (ESPN, 5:30pm)- Dan Shulman, Jon Barry, Ric Bucher
Miami at Boston, Game 1 (ESPN, 8pm)- Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown, Heather Cox
Utah at Denver, Game 1 (ESPN, 10:30pm)- Dave Pasch, Doris Burke, Holly Rowe

Sunday, April 18th

Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers, Game 1 (ABC, 3pm)- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Lisa Salters
Charlotte at Orlando, Game 1 (TNT, 5:30pm)- Matt Devlin, Kevin McHale, Cheryl Miller
San Antonio at Dallas, Game 1 (TNT, 8pm)- Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello, Marty Snider
Portland at Phoenix, Game 1 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins, Craig Sager

Monday, April 19th

Chicago at Cleveland, Game 2 (TNT, 8pm)- Marv Albert, Reggie Miller, David Aldridge
Utah at Denver, Game 2 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Ian Eagle, Mike Fratello, Marc Fein

Tuesday, April 20th

Milwaukee at Atlanta, Game 2 (NBATV, 7pm)- Local Announcers
Miami at Boston, Game 2 (TNT, 8pm)- Marv Albert, Reggie Miller, Dei Lynam
Portland at Phoenix, Game 2 (NBATV, 10pm)- Local Announcers
Oklahoma City at LA Lakers, Game 2 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins, Craig Sager

Wednesday, April 21st

Charlotte at Orlando, Game 2 (TNT, 7pm)- Matt Devlin, Kevin McHale, Cheryl Miller (reporter)
San Antonio at Dallas, Game 2 (TNT, 9:30pm)- Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello, Marty Snider (reporter)

Thursday, April 22

Cleveland at Chicago, Game 3 (TNT, 7pm)- Marv Albert, Reggie Miller, David Aldridge
LA Lakers at Oklahoma City, Game 3 (TNT, 9:30pm)- Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins, Craig Sager
Phoenix at Portland, Game 3 (NBATV, 10pm)- Local Announcers

Friday, April 23rd

Boston at Miami, Game 3 (ESPN, 7pm)- TBD
Dallas at San Antonio, Game 3 (ESPN, 9:30pm)- TBD
Denver at Utah, Game 3 (ESPN2, 10:30pm)- TBD

Saturday, Apr 24th

Atlanta at Milwaukee, Game 3 (ESPN, 7pm)- TBD
L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City, Game 3 (ESPN, 9:30pm)- TBD

Sunday, Apr 25th

Boston at Miami, Game 4 (ABC, 1pm)- TBD
Cleveland at Chicago, Game 4 (ABC, 3:30pm)- TBD

Saturday, April 24th

Orlando at Charlotte, Game 3 (TNT, 2pm)- Matt Devlin, Kevin McHale, Cheryl Miller
Phoenix at Portland, Game 4 (TNT, 4:30pm)- Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello, Craig Sager
Atlanta at Milwaukee, Game 3 (ESPN, 7pm)- TBD
LA Lakers at Oklahoma City, Game 4 (ESPN, 9:30pm)- TBD

Sunday, April 25th

Boston at Miami, Game 4 (ABC, 1pm)- TBD
Cleveland at Chicago, Game 4 (ABC, 3:30pm)- TBD
Dallas at San Antonio, Game 4 (TNT, 7pm)- Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins, Marty Snider
Denver at Utah, Game 4 (TNT, 9:30pm)- Marv Albert, Reggie Miller, Marc Fein

What a better way to get ready for the first game of the Finals than by listening to the hot new track by Lil' Wayne called "Kobe Bryant". With a special vocal appearance by Stephen A. Smith! Enjoy Game One and I'll be back later tonight with video and commentary....

Kobe doing work.
2-4 on my shirt
he the greatest on the court
and I’m the greatest on the verse.
Going for the fourth ring
like it was his first.
Gotta get the gleam, do it for Kareem!

(H/T to Steady Burn)

I made the mistake of "Billy Packering" the Magic after a terrible first quarter, but it was for a good cause. Lebron finally figured out that he needed to drive to the basket, and in his deciding to do so, opened up the floor for his teammates. So much so, that he was a part of almost every basket for the Cavs in the 4th (A point or assist on 32 straight points is just ridiculous). Here are your highlights from the end of the game....

So that was pretty a pretty entertaining Game Five, but the Magic still have the upperhand and none of the pressure. On a side note, I loved that section of the vid where Reggie couldn't get a single person's name right in the crowd (Hi A-Rod!!!). Who is this Mario Rivaro you speak of? At least he wasn't the only person on TNT's crew who couldn't figure out exactly who Ben Roethlisberger was. Via Sparty and Friends....


TNT Knows Their Quarterbacks! (Sparty and Friends)

The Magic were up eight with two minutes left, when they decided to continually jack threes during the last minute, while Lebron and the Cavs took it to the hole and hit free throws to take a one point lead. With 6.4 seconds left, Rashard Lewis hit a three to take the lead back, but after a controversial call with Lebron driving to the basket and two free throws from the Cav, the score was once again tied with .5 to go. The Magic tried a lob to Howard, who was basically fallen on top of by Varejao, and the game went to overtime.

In the extra period, Howard dunked all over the Cavs early and free throws helped them close it out. It didn't come without a scare or two though. Here are the highlights if you missed them...

This was obviously the biggest game of the series, and the Magic are actually on the verge of shocking the world and closing this thing out. All you TV execs and advertisers can start getting your resumes together. As far as the refs are concerned, they obviously blew some key calls in this one. Lebron got a foul call while falling down in regulation, and the subsequent Varejao tackling of Howard wasn't even close to being whistled. The league would normally receive some flak tomorrow, but with the Magic closing out in OT, it will all get swept under the rug.

ESPN finally seems to be taking a queue from NBA TV and has decided to go old school for its NBA Finals campaign. The new set of ads will be an extension of the "Where Will Amazing Happen This Year" theme, but will feature an homage of sorts to the greats. While the video promos will stay the same, the main piece of marketing will be a photo timeline of seven NBA players in the midst of a dunk. The piece titled "Evolution" will be seen in print and on billboards in various cities. Here is your first look (click for larger)....


Just an amazing photo right there. I've always been a fan of the sequence photos like that, but switching it to multiple players like that almost makes it "poster worthy". If I still lived in a dorm, that thing would be up post haste.

I really didn't give Orlando a shot in this series, but after game one, they definitely proved me wrong. On the strength of a Rashard Lewis three at the end of the contest, and great defense in the last few seconds, the Magic took game one of the series and put all of the pressure on the Cavs. They even managed to injure Lebron at the end of the game, causing him to stay on the court for about five minutes following the final buzzer....

Just an amazing performance by Howard and Lewis, and if those to are going to put up 30 and 22 each game, the Cavs might be in a little bit of trouble. With that said, Lebron James had a hell of a game (49/8/6), but he had little help on the offensive end. Great first game, and let's hope the series stays this way throughout.

Holograms have been around for years, but really hit the mainstream when CNN utilized them during election coverage. ESPN plans to expand on this technology by adding in "player cards" during studio coverage which will feature not only a 3D image of each NBAer, but also stats and bio information. Here's your first look with Matt Winer and Kobe Bryant....


Just to answer a few more of the questions I know you're asking....yes the player will be in motion, and you can expect to only see them during a stand up presentation. Looks pretty neat, but it takes up a ton of the screen. Hopefully it doesn't come across as too distracting to the audience.

Tuesday, May 19th

NBA Draft Lottery (ESPN, 8:30pm)- Matt Winer, Avery Johnson, Tim Legler, Mark Jones, Jay Bilas, Lisa Salters
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers, Game 1 (ESPN, 9pm)- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Doris Burke

Wednesday, May 20th

Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers, Game 1 (TNT, 8:30pm)- Marv Albert, Doug Collins, Craig Sager

Thursday, May 21st

Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers, Game 2 (ESPN, 9pm)- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Doris Burke

Friday, May 22nd

Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers, Game 2 (TNT, 8:30pm)- Marv Albert, Doug Collins, Craig Sager

Saturday, May 23rd

Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets, Game 3 (ABC, 8:30pm)- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Doris Burke

Sunday, May 24th

Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic, Game 3 (TNT, 8:30pm)- Marv Albert, Doug Collins, Craig Sager

Here's your partial Round Two NBA Playoffs Announcing Schedule for the week. I'll continue to update it throughout the week as series end...

Monday, May 11th

Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks, Game 4 (TNT, 8pm)- Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello, Cheryl Miller
Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks, Game 4 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Matt Devlin, PJ Carlisemo, Marty Snider

Tuesday, May 12th

Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics, Game 5 (TNT, 8pm)- Marv Albert, Reggie Miller, David Aldridge
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers, Game 5 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins, Craig Sager

Wednesday, May 13th

Dallas Mavericks at Denver Nuggets, Game 5 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Matt Devlin, PJ Carlisemo, Marty Snider

Thursday, May 14th

Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic, Game 6 (ESPN, 7pm)- Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown
Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets, Game 6 (ESPN, 9:30pm)- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy

Friday, May 15th

Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks, Game 6* (TNT, 10:30pm)- TBD

Sunday, May 17th

Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers, Game 7* (TBD, TBD)- TBD
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic, Game 7* (TNT, TBD)- TBD
Dallas Mavericks at Denver Nuggets, Game 7* (TBD, TBD)- TBD

It was hard to get a sense of the crowd during last night's Nugs-Mavs game on TNT, but thanks to a random videos, we can sort of gather that it wasn't the safest of environments. The series was already off to a bad start before the whole, Mark Cuban "thug" incident. That has seemed to send this budding rivalry into another stratosphere though, and has fostered an even bigger hatred between the two teams. A hatred that led to Carmelo's wife being kicked out the arena, and Kenyon Martin calling Cuban a "fa**ot motherf**ker", last night. The NSFW vids are from NBC LA via Fanhouse....

Well then. La La, Carmelo's wife, really looked like she was ready to throw down with those old ladies, and K-Mart did a heck of a good job talking trash while walking away from Cuban. I'm hoping that this series goes seven games, but unfortunately the Nuggets have only lost eight games at home, in both the regular season and Playoffs combined.

I love discussions of completely different eras within Sports, but this might be my favorite. While many are in awe of the way Lebron James and the Cavs roll through the Playoffs, there's one person who doesn't seem that impressed. That person is former Cavs Center, and current ESPN Nascar analyst, Brad Daugherty. Brad conducted an interview with his own employer, for an ESPN Media website called the Water Cooler, and had this to say about King James....

“It’d be very difficult matching up and defending LeBron, much like the problems we had to guard Michael Jordan,” said Daugherty, whose teams were eliminated from the NBA playoffs multiple times by Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. “LeBron continues to groom his outside shot, being able to make 15 to 18-footers, and that’s what’s making the difference in him being the player he is today as opposed to the player he was three years ago.

“If we played them, and he started making 18-foot shots consistently, he’d be a problem. But I think we could have altered some of his shots, and we could have thrown a couple of really top-notch defenders at him. Larry Nance could guard out on the perimeter, he could guard a 3 or a 4, and “Hot Rod” Williams was an excellent defender. When you got past them to go to the basket, the game was still on because they could come from behind you and block your shot.”

“LeBron offers all kinds of problems for anyone who has to guard him, but I think with our basketball team, especially if we had Ron Harper, there’s just no way that they could have matched up with us to stop our offense because we were too efficient,” Daugherty said. “But like I said, it’s ok for me to sit here now and say this.”

The Cavs teams of the late 80s were pretty strong defensively, but there was not a person like Lebron in the NBA back then. It is a good debate though, because Daugherty's supporting cast was definitely better offensively than Lebron's. I'm still thinking Lebron would go for 40, 12 and 8, and the current Cavs would win in six games, but I'm rooting for any team that has Mark Price on it.

LeBron vs. ESPN’s ex-Cav Brad? Let the Debate Begin! (Water Cooler)

This is the brand new "Angels and Demons" spot that aired last night during the Magic-Celtics game, and I want to share it not for its coolness, but rather for the fact that it creeped the hell out of me. Especially the opening five seconds....

How they didn't use a shot of Paul Pierce during the fifth sign, the truth, is just a crime. Not bad though.

Check This Out: Angels and Demons NBA Promo TV Spot (First Showing)

I love when ESPN post stories early, and automatically has teams winning or accidentally puts one into the next round, but this even better than that. Tell me if you can find the typo in this latest poll....


Ah yes. My favorite part of the poll though, is that the ESPN readers only have it at 65%! Too funny.

(Thanks to DI for the tip)

Here's your Round Two NBA Playoffs Announcing Schedule for the week....

Monday, May 4th

Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics, Game 1 (TNT, 8pm)- Marv Albert, Reggie Miller, David Aldridge
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers, Game 1 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins, Craig Sager

Tuesday, May 5th

Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers, Game 1 (TNT, 8pm)- Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello, Cheryl Miller
Dallas Mavericks at Denver Nuggets, Game 2 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Matt Devlin, P.J. Carlesimo, Marty Snider

Wednesday, May 6th

Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics, Game 2 (TNT, 8pm)- Marv Albert, Reggie Miller, David Aldridge
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers, Game 2 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins, Craig Sager

Thursday, May 7th

Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers, Game 2 (ESPN, 8pm)- Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown

Friday, May 8th

Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic, Game 3 (ESPN, 7pm)- Dave Pasch, Jon Barry
Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets, Game 3 (ESPN, 9:30pm)- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy

Saturday, May 9th

Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks, Game 3 (ESPN, 5pm)- Dan Shulman, Doris Burke
Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks, Game 3 (ABC, 8pm)- Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown

Sunday, May 10th

Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets, Game 4 (ABC, 3:30)- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic, Game 4 (TNT, 8pm)- TBD

This could quite possibly be one of the best series I've ever seen. Not only did the Bulls come back from down eight with two to go, but they took the defending champs to three overtimes and somehow forced a game seven. Here's some of the crazy video. I've split it into two parts....the first being the regulation and first two overtimes, and the second being the final minutes of the 3rd OT. Just unbelievable and complete with a Joakim Noah sighting....Enjoy!

Just unbelievable. I'm going to let the video speak for itself on that one.

I don't think I've seen a series this rough since the late 80s/early 90s, and the hatred continued early in Game Six of the Bulls-Celts showdown tonight. Kirk Heinrich decided to elbow Brian Scalabrine below the belt, and when boxed out Rajon Rondo on the next play to about the three point line, Rondo didn't seem to like that one bit. Let's play the feud....again!!!

Now this is Playoff Basketball! Actually that was kind of a bitch move by both, but you can't entirely blame them for getting frustrated. I'm also thinking that would be a great one-on-one fight, Heinrich vs. Rondo, but no one would want to see it come to that. Right? Of course not.

Obviously the majority of the week is up in the air, because some series could be ending. ESPN won't have games until Friday, so all the games are either on TNT or NBA TV. Here's your first few days of the week, and I'll be sure to update it come Thursday....

Monday, April 27th

Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat, Game 4 (TNT, 8pm)- Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello, Cheryl Miller
Denver Nuggets at New Orleans Hornets, Game 4 (NBA TV, 8:30pm)- Sean Kelley, Gerry Vaillancourt
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers, Game 5 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Marv Albert, Reggie Miller, Craig Sager

Tuesday, April 28th

Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics, Game 5 (TNT, 7pm)- Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins, David Aldridge
Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic, Game 5 (NBA TV, 7:30pm)- David Steele, Matt Guokas
Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs, Game 5 (TNT, 9:30pm)- Matt Devlin, P.J. Carlesimo, Marty Snider
Houston Rockets at Portland Trail Blazers, Game 5 (NBA TV, 10pm)- Mike Barrett, Mike Rice

Wednesday, April 29th

Miami Heat @ Atlanta Hawks, Game 5 (TNT, 8pm)- Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello, Cheryl Miller
New Orleans Hornets @ Denver Nuggets, Game 5 (TNT, 10:30pm)- Marv Albert, Reggie Miller, Mark Fein

Thursday, April 30th

Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls, Game 6 (TNT, 7pm)- Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins, David Aldridge
Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers, Game 6 (NBA TV, 7:30pm)- Mark Zumoff, Steve Mix
Portland Trail Blazers at Houston Rockets, Game 6 (TNT, 9:30pm)- Matt Devlin, P.J. Carlesimo, Craig Sager

Friday, May1st

Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat, Game 6 (ESPN, 8pm)- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Doris Burke

Saturday, May 2nd

Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics, Game 7* (TNT, TBD)- TBD
Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic, Game 7* (TNT, TBD)- TBD
Houston Rockets at Portland Trail Blazerss, game 7* (TNT, TBD)- TBD

Sunday, May 3rd

Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks, Game 7* (ABC, TBD)- TBD (Or Game One Second Round Matchup)
Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks, Game 1 (ABC, 3:30pm)- TBD

It's rare that I go with straight audio on the site, but this clip is so hilarious that I had to share it. Larry Brown Sports came across the audio from last night's Heat-Hawks game, and you just have to listen to Hawks' announcer, Steve Holman go off on Dwyane Wade.

My personal favorite was obviously the, “You can’t foul me when I go to the basket, I’m Dwyane Wade. I do commercials," one. However, using the word thuggery in a sentence is always a plus as well. Too funny.

Hawks Announcer Makes Fun of Dwyane Wade, Goes Berserk on Miami Heat (Larry Brown Sports)

I've seen some crazy things interrupt sporting events before, but this one might take the cake. During the first quarter of last night's Miami-Atlanta game, an actual hawk tried to get into the action, by perching on top of the basket....

I actually have to take back what I said above. Hugo the Hornet setting the court on fire during last year's Playoffs actually takes the cake, but this is a close second.

An Actual Hawk Interrupts Atlanta's Game (Fanhouse)