5 Things That I Am Watching This Week

1.  The Saints Bounty Case.  A journal has been found that reportedly recorded the payouts of the bounty system.  And if this journal is correct, it appears that the cash just wasn't limited to defensive players.  It shows that during a game between the Saints and Bills, that 3 $1,000 hits were administered for "cart-offs".  4 Bills players were hurt during that game.  1 from the offense and 3 from the defense.  So while everybody has been looking at the Saints defense, and rightfully so, it appears that the entire team would know about the bounty system if the offensive players are also involved in receiving cash.  If so, then Drew Brees has about as much credibility as Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Rafael Palmeiro.  Just for the record, the documentarian that released the Gregg Williams tape has said that Drew Brees and Scott Fujita both talked to him about the tape before it was released publicly.  In the real world, that could be construed as Obstruction.  I have a feeling that more of this story is about ready to be released and it won't look good for the Saints.

2.  The NBA Conference Finals.  The Western battle between the Spurs and Thunder have been the home team throttling the opponent to gain victories.  I expect this to go 7.  And a shout out to the Thunder organization for telling Lil Wayne that he needs to purchase a ticket and will not be shown court side seats just because he is a celebrity.  There are season-ticket holders of those seats that deserve to sit in them a lot more than celebrities that feel privileged. While in the East, it looks like the refs have had South Beach fever.  Damn, in Game 2, the zebras were the deciding factor in giving Queen James, Jester Wade and the homies of Miami the win.  Rajon Rondo is giving his all to beat the Heat.  It appears that the Big 3 after getting blown out in game 1, (oh yeah, how do you call 5 technical fouls on the Celtics and not give at least 1 to Jester for arguing calls as well?) showed up in games 2 and 3.

3.  The Kings Coronation in the NHL.  I cannot see the Devils winning this Stanley Cup.  The Kings have a more talented team.  Darryl Sutter is the better coach.  (You rarely see that in print, even on the internet.)  And Jonathan Quick is the equal to Martin Brodeur at his advanced age.  It appears that Flyers West will hoist Lord Stanley's Cup and then let the Zach Parise sweepstakes begin.

4.  The chase for the worst record in Baseball.  Here I was interested in a duel between the Cubs and Twins for the worst record.  So what do the Padres have to do?  Go on a 6 game losing streak and become the worst team in baseball by at least 2 games.  The A's, Rockies, and Astros also have a shot at joining this race to the bottom.

5.  UEFA Euro 2012.  Oh there are storyline coming into this tourney.  The 1st one is the possible consideration of Italy not participating because of match-fixing scandals that are hitting Italy hard.  The 2nd is the alleged racism that permiates throughout Poland and Ukraine.  The 3rd are nations forbidding their players from using social networking throughout the tournament.  Spain has already announced that their players are forbidden to use Twitter during their participation.  The hooligans are already being arrested, 6 days before the tournament starts.  The Polish have evacuated entire prisons to deal with the crime, fighting, and overall lawlessness that will be a part of this tournament.  And finally, out of the 5 nations that are the favorites to win, who does?  And if Italy does decide to withdraw, that leaves us with 4.  Germany, Spain, Denmark, and France.

6.  R.I.P. to Orlando Woolridge.  He was one of my favorite Lakers.  In fact, probably the only Laker player that I have liked.  He died of chronic heart problems.  Woolridge loved the game of basketball so much, that he went and coached the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.  You will be missed.