4/21: NBA Playoffs, Frank Thomas, etc.

• Gotta lead with Philly over Detroit.....This didn't necessarily even surprise me as Detroit is prone to lay an egg or 2 (especially at home) against an inferior opponent...but it's a good sign for the longevity and quality of the series that Philly took the open door and ran through it....Andre Miller's been huge all year and needs more love for it (even though he still isn't my favorite guy)
• LA comes strong in the 2nd half to beat Denver...Pau was ENORMOUS with 36 and 16 (stunning really).....All the Pau talk seems to have overshadowed Kobe a bit but he somehow had 32 even with how bad he was (for him) in the first half...Denver has no shot in this series, but that's not really surprising.....Sidenote: I get a text early in the game saying that George Karl gave Kenyon Martin the Kobe assignment on defense....interesting choice George...that's all I'll say
• Orlando pretty easily over Toronto...well that wasn't good for my Raptors pick...Dwight was the man as usual with a 20/20 in the playoffs (seems like Moses Malone territory doesn't it?)....Free Jose Calderon!!!....If the Magic can get 6 guys in double figures...long series (or a short one, in theory) for Toronto...
• Hawks....lose...badly....Well that was an inspiring return to the playoffs....better luck next year haha....Al Horford was the lone bright spot with a promising 20 and 10 in his playoff debut...Can't expect to be competitive when you get 20 points COMBINED from your 2nd,  3rd, and 4th options....that's unbelievably bad....nothing spectacular from Boston, just a ho-hum balanced behind whooping (Rondo was very very good though)...

Okay, other stuff....

• Danica Patrick wins an Indy Car race...that's a big moment for both her and the sport (as she's their #1 draw obviously)...Congrats to her...
• Frank Thomas...released? Wow...that kinda came out of nowhere....But he's a bit of a malcontent and when he's hitting .170 and trying to get more ABs to clear a roster bonus....not that difficult a decision...
• MLB: I really like Jair Jurrjens (who led the Braves to the victory yesterday) but Chipper Jones HAS to stay in the lineup (left with a strained quad, but hopes to play today)....David Ortiz is back (8 RBI in the series)....Can you guess who tied Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews on the all-time HR list? I NEVER would've come up with Jim Thome but he's your answer....wow, that's awkward...never put him in that category.... 
• Okay, NOW I can deal with some NFL draft talk....we're under a week away...I won't devote too much space to it here (because I don't know anything) but just saying.....
• Last thing....Hank Steinbrenner is a complete moron....First of all, you know nothing about baseball...second of all, your rant about Jaba Chamberlain needing to start is both misplaced and ill-informed because his skill set is clearly that of a reliever (really a closer), he's not even with the team b/c he's with his ailing father....and once again, you know nothing....get out of the media....