Real Deal

Hahahahahaaaaaaaa. So, yeah, I didn't expect the defense and special teams to play so well for Kansas City. That nasty run and TD by Charles injected confidence into the team as well. Rivers makes me sick, though. I know he's an excellent QB, but when he was going off on his line and blaming everyone else, it was ridiculous. He was throwing a few bad passes out there himself, even if it was because of the rain. It was too loud out there for San Diego, anyway.

Yes, it's just one game...but Vick was pretty damn good, and made me look stupid (I was talking trash about Vick just last week to a few friends). Kolb has a concussion, may not be available for a practice or two. Who starts for Week 2, who will be starting by the time January rolls around, and how good would Joakim Noah be as a QB in the NFL?

I wonder...how many times Bradford will throw in Aso's direction? He threw three picks against Arizona...but he looked good every now and then. Oakland has to win this, even if it's because of a defensive stand.

Hate the Pats, love Moss. I hope he catches for 50,000 yards against Revis on Sunday.

Right, and that would be legit if he ran the ball in after a catch, but he was falling to the ground, asked to control the ball. There is no way anyone can prove to me that the ball was not coming out of his hand right when he hit the ground. I could simply say he was following the ball down to the ground, and it was the ground that would've assisted him in holding on IF he did in fact keep it in his hand. If someone can prove to me that he spiked the ball coming down, or intentionally let it go, you guys are right. Otherwise, you're building a house without a foundation. Should the rule be changed? Probably so, but what can they say? A catch turns into an incomplete if the player is falling during the catch, hits the ground and the ball pops out. When a referee can't prove that the ball wasn't coming out, he goes straight to the ground, the ball did hit the ground, and the ground caused the incomplete in this situation. The funniest part about this is...all of it could've been avoided if he kept the ball up, stood up and then spiked it. Or tucked it into his gut, rolled over and got up. If it was a legit complete pass, he would've done that, knowing you have to show you've caught the ball in a tight situation like that. He's not a rookie to the game.

Blah, I meant he scored 30+ in 11 of 12 consecutive playoff games. Good catch. I think that probably dives back into what I was saying before, about how many people still hate Kobe...even Lakers fans. But I don't visit RealGM anymore...just the three main Lakers message boards/sites.

LOL, you apparently stopped watching the Lakers' run from Game 5 vs. the Thunder, up to the Boston series. Bryant scored 30+ in 11 of 12 consecutive games, locked up Westbrook (he and Artest won the series for the Lakers with their defense), was the first player to ever drop 30 in every game against the Jazz in a series, picked apart the zone defense of the Suns that STOPPED Gasol dead in his tracks in two of the final three games of that series. Gasol grabbed more boards? Cool. He's a big man. Kobe had more steals, lol. Gasol shot a higher percentage from the floor? Again, he's a big man. He shot 47.8% from the floor, though...which is below his season average of 53.6%. Hell, Gasol didn't even pull down double-digit boards in ANY of the six games against the Suns. Gasol worked hard and got to the line versus Boston? Him and Kobe took the same amount of free throws, lol...60 and 61. I don't know if you're a joke account, or just someone who is in love with international players, but you're far from being right in this debate, and you'll find that not a single member on this site OR anywhere else you'll post will agree that Gasol is the MVP of the 2010 champion Lakers team.

Gotta go with Jordan, LeBron and Nate Robinson right behind him. MJ was much stronger than he looked, even when he was playing at 198. As mentioned, the body control was amazing...and he could jump out of the building.

If you can prove to me that he wasn't losing control of the ball as his hand was falling to the ground, you have a point. Reaction to a ball falling out of your hand? Follow it downward with your hand on top, like a dribble with a basketball. http://i52.tinypic.com/2iaqw6q.jpg He's making a fist for a reason. He was trying to grip the ball as it was slipping out of his hand, and he lost the grip right when the ball hit the ground, thus turning his hand into a fist. Stick it in slo-mo, and you'll see he didn't spike the ball. In fact, he was trying to keep his arm out as he landed, but he started to roll as the ball was slipping from his grip. Otherwise, he would've just brought it into his chest, but he didn't have his other hand to do that. Incomplete. Catch it, tuck it in and fall with it in his possession. Or keep it in his hand when he gets up, to show that he caught it and maintained possession, like normal players do.

There are Heat fans that hate LeBron? I haven't ran across one yet, and if there are any, that will change in November, when he's racking up near-triple-doubles. If there are any that can't stand him by January, it will be because the Heat aren't clicking, and he's taking Wade's city. There are Laker fans that are so blind, that hate Kobe and think he ran Shaq out of town, that they believe Pau Gasol is the best player on the team. Believe that Andrew Bynum will be a better franchise player. I know of one Laker fan that will tell you that Bryant wouldn't have a single ring if it wasn't for Derek Fisher. He's popular among the majority of Lakers fans, which seems like a lot because the fanbase is so large. But you give me 29 other teams, and NOBODY has been hated on more than Kobe over his career. LeBron? Remains to be seen...but I can say, right now, that in a few years, nobody will care what LeBron did to Cleveland, unless they reside there. Question: how many people have accepted what he did? Tons. Many say him ditching Cleveland was right, because it was his choice, yada yada. No big deal, except for the one-hour long program. How many people accepted what Kobe did? Even the adultery? No one, not even me, and it was the most devastating news Lakers fans had received since Magic announced he was HIV positive (not comparing the two directly). The worst you'll hear will be the traitor chants. Cleveland will do what they can to wreck LeBron's reputation. However, that will be minor compared to rapist chants in Denver (and I believe they were done in Boston as well). The 2-3 months of LeBron hate doesn't even come close to the years of Kobe hate. Give it a few years before you compare the two.

Spoken like a true high-schooler on a summer vacation. Basketball is year-long. You don't have to be in the gym 24/7, or shooting baskets, but your mind has to stay in the game...especially when you're in Melo's position. He's sitting in between a fat extension and a trade, unsure of his future, weeks away from training camp and less than a month away from the first preseason game...and he's not thinking about basketball?

It's of all-time, not today. You really think people won't remember Kobe's rape trial over LeBron leaving Cleveland? In 30 years, only Cleveland fans will be butt-hurt over that. There are fans from every team (even the Lakers) that hate Kobe. I just don't see how that even compares. He had his jersey burned. I would rather see my jersey burning than have Utah Jazz fans bringing sex dolls with Kate's name on them to a game, flashing it in front of me while I'm shooting a free throw, and hearing the entire Denver Nuggets crowd chanting "rapist" during a game. Rapist chants, or traitor chants? I know which one I'd rather hear.

I can't stand him, but he's got a good voice. Usher stuck him under his wing, so he could definitely be going places very few have been.

I hope you're kidding. Let me know when you see fans bringing blow-up sex dolls to games, shirts that say "Rapist" across them, and websites dedicated to sending LeBron James hate mail & messages at his home address, his email address, and his cell phone number. Just because Bryant is now some "hero" doesn't mean he wasn't the most hated at one point. LeBron has been a hero for the city of Cleveland for seven years. Up until the last couple of years, Kobe has been hated his entire career in the league, even as a cocky rookie that would showboat during games, take three airballs and piss off the Lakers fans in the series against Utah, and draw comparisons to Jordan, who most everyone idolizes. LBJ doesn't even touch the hate Bryant has had. If you were on JBB, and you saw the work us mods had to do every single day for a couple of years after he was accused of rape, you'd be grateful you're a Heat fan.

San Diego will score 120 points against the Chefs.

Haha, I was dying laughing after that comment about him looking like a 28-year old lesbian. That was messed up.

I actually figured Carson would walk into the opener and have a pretty good game, but it looks like the same Palmer we've been watching for a few years now. It's sad, really...and I'm thinking Cincy thought the same, surrounding him with receivers that are capable of having monster games. And I'm more inclined to believe that the Pats took the second half off. Most of them were content with the Bengals scoring, acted like the game was already over (and it was, but you get the picture).

Question for you G-Men fans: why doesn't Jacobs get more carries? I know Bradshaw's capabilities, but he's not Chris Johnson. I miss seeing Jacobs breaking out of the pack, steamrolling dudes and getting that extra 10-15 yards.

Not being able to stop the run is going to kill them all season long. Not saying they will have a losing record, but they have to work out the kinks before they fall into January. I didn't expect Foster to go into Jamal Lewis mode, and I figured the Colts would take this game comfortably.

Exactly, just like if it were a catch on the 40 yard line. Whether or not you guys like the rule, it's clear as day. Johnson should've tucked the ball in, and you can tell he didn't spike it or intentionally let go of it. Same thing happens when a player catches the ball, toes in, and lands out of bounds. If he lands out and the ball pops out, it's an incomplete. The rule is actually a good one, because if you allow for two steps while you're falling, and ignore the ball coming out when you hit the ground, you have to make it a rule that a player hit, while going to the ground, still scores despite the ball coming out...and the problem with that is, it wouldn't make sense on any other part of the field. Plus, it leaves a major gap when determining whether or not a player had possession when he scores, and that relates to any catch on any part of the field.

Yeah, but we're talking Derek Fisher integral (more defense, less clutch), not Mike or Scottie. And the dude was a mess during our first championship season with Kobe and Shaq...worse than Smush on the offensive end, and gambled way too much. That second season, I can't say he was even a part of it...played half the year, didn't even really play in the playoff run (six games, scoreless in four, didn't start in any of them, didn't play over 8 minutes in five of those). Short was a decent defender, played the passing lanes well. I've only seen about five or six total games of him, though, when he played the Bulls and Sixers (because I watched so much of Barkley and Jordan VHS tapes, it was sad)...but he wasn't that bad on the defensive end. Plus, he shot the ball at a high percentage for a slashing, skinny forward, which is so important. People say Kevin Durant doesn't do much other than score, either, but I'd stick him on my team over almost everyone else in the league at this point. As far as first-round knockouts, McGrady was good at that. His first four visits with Toronto and Orlando, he fell all four times...noting those two teams because they were pre-Yao. In his prime, and before his injury, Short didn't have much to work with outside of Sleepy and Barry Carroll. By the time he landed in Houston with Hakeem, he was already coming off the bench and struggling to stay healthy.

All true title contenders I can think of over the last 3-4 years have had that one player to stop guys like Bryant and Wade. Boston lost theirs when Tony Allen walked (it was Posey in 2008, but even Allen played decent minutes in the regular season). So it's hard for me to give them an "A" on the report card. Delonte West will get eaten alive...much better defending point guards or less-gifted twos. Handing them a "B+" seems fair, though, because they stacked themselves at the four and five with some talented bigs, which is NEVER a bad thing. Jermaine and Shaq are basically starters, along with Perkins, and Jermaine can also play the four. I can't say how much Erden will contribute, but he looks to have improved his game slightly.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaha.

Happy birthday, Justin. Damn dude, I noticed you don't even get on your Facebook, haha...no use in expecting you to see anything there.

They are all lucky that Bryant, Wade, and James weren't in there with Durant. Those wins would've been by 40+ points. Anyone else hear boos during our national anthem? LOUD BOOS? You know what? Good. I loved every second of it. Durant dominated that first half, and Odom dominated the second. GOLD, baby.