NBA playoffs
We are on the cusp of the conference finals.
The two front-runners for this year's MVP will meet in the Western Conference finals tonight.
The best overall team in the East will host the best player on the planet Wednesday.
It's two intriguing matchups that we will follow until the end.
Golden State Warriors players laugh on the bench in the second half of Game 6 of a second-round NBA basketball Western Conference playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies Friday, May 15, 2015, in Memphis, Tenn. The Warriors won 108-95 to win the series 4-2. From left are Justin Holiday, Brandon Rush, Draymond Green, and Stephen Curry. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) There are wildcards that could be huge difference makers for each.
Golden State is the clear favorite, in the West and to win the whole thing. They have been staggeringly good at home and have the most balance and depth. Know this: Andre Igoudala would be a second or third option for the rest of the teams in the playoffs and he's coming off the Warriors bench. Yes, we all know MVP Steph Curry has been awesome, but the Warriors have the best roster in the league top to bottom.
Houston will need the good Josh Smith to be readily available this week. And the Rockets are almost as deep as the Warriors with seven players averaging more than 9.0 points a game in the playoffs. Somehow, we think Jason Terry will make a huge shot in this series.
Atlanta has six guys averaging double figures in the playoffs, but the simple question is who on this team is going to stop LeBron James? Yes, Atlanta was 3-1 against Cleveland during the regular season, but that's borderline meaningless now.
Cleveland. If Kyrie Irving is 85-plus percent, this could be a sweep. The longer the series goes the better for the Hawks, but we'd expect LeBron and Co. to come out fast Wednesday night.
Buckle up.
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FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2015, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady holds up the game ball after an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Foxborough, Mass. Tom Brady is expected to file an appeal of his four-game suspension for his role in deflating footballs for the AFC championshjip game. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File) Patriots, NFL look for way out
Now we're here.
Lines drawn in the sand and each side looking for an acceptable way out of the DeflateGate mess.
Here's what we could see being the meeting behind the shield in the NFL offices in NYC:
Roger Goodell: OK, one of you smart guys tell me what to say. I have to fix my hair.
Smart Guy 1: Sir, Robert Kraft is on line one and wanted me to remind you that you work for the owners and that he in fact is an owner and, wll, he is Mr. Kraft.
Goodell: I love the Mac-and-Cheese he does. Good stuff.
Smart Guy 2: Sir, Tom Brady's attorney a Mr. Yee is on the phone.
Goodell: "It's a parking lot Yee, enough with the pictures." (Starts giggling)
Smart Guys (together): What sir?
Goodell: It's from Caddyshack. You know, Dangefield. "I get no respect"
Smart Guy 3 (an older gentlemen from the dark corner of the room with a cat in his lap): Leave us.
FILE - In this Thursday, April 30, 2015 file photo, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during the first round of the 2015 NFL Football Draft in Chicago. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday night, May 14, 2015 he will personally hear the suspension appeal of Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, who challenged the league's punishment for his role in using deflated footballs during the AFC championship game .(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File) (Other two dudes scurry out. Smart Guy 3 stands. It's Chris Berman.)
Berman: OK, Rog, as I see it, we have our back, back, back, backs against the wall. Robert "Arts and" Kraft is on the war path, but we can't completely give in.
Goodell: How does my hair look? And what are we going to do about that pesky extra point?
Berman: Focus Roger, focus. We have to have Tom Brady Bunch miss at least two games, otherwise we are as toothless as my comedy schtick. So we call Robert and drop the first-round pick to a third-rounder and waive the fourth-round pick penalty. We will up the fine for the lack of cooperation, because he doesn't care about the money. We will cut Brady's suspension to two games and make it as much about the lack of cooperation as anything, and that will be the lasting message from this. Thoughts?
Roger: What time is lunch?
Berman: Dear Lord.
Roger (bowing his head): We're praying?
Berman (shaking his head): Roger, I'll take care of this. Here are some crayons and write down some ideas for that extra point thing you want to try.
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Dolphins go all in
Man, we are in a place where Ryan Tannehil is worth $20 million a year.
Ryan Tannehill.
FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014 file photo, Miami Dolphins defensive end Dion Jordan (95) walks the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game New York Jets in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Dolphins and the NFL announced Tuesday, April 28, 2015 that Jordan has been suspended for the 2015 season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File) The Dolphins are all-in with a guy that had a fairly impressive stat line last year - 66-plus completion percentage, 27-12 TDs-to-INTs ratio, better than 4,000 yards passing - and the Dolphins are all-in. Here are the details.
The Dolphins obviously forget the rule that overpaying a pretty good quarterback is worse than having a bad quarterback.
Does anyone really think Tannehill can win a Super Bowl? And before you toss out the "With better pieces" argument, know that line of thinking is severely limited because of the amount of coin that Tannehill now commands.
It's why the three clearest paths to Super Bowl contention are:
a) Have an elite quarterback and (cue Teddy KGB from "Rounders") "pay this man his money." There's a reason Peyton, Rodgers and Brady are in the mix every year.
b) Have a very good-to-great QB with enough franchise support to get hot at the right time and win it all. This is the Roethlisberger, Flacco and Eli Manning method.
c) Build a strong team around quarterback and look for young guys that fit the mold and the cap situation.
So the Dolphins are hoping that Tannehill could fit into B.
But here's saying he's more Cutler than Flacco.
Asked plainly, how many QBs would you put ahead of Tannehill? We can name at least 10 quickly and he's probably closer to 15.
In our order of current day NFL value:
1. Andrew Luck
1b. Aaron Rodgers
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) is tripped up by Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews in their game in New Orleans on Oct. 26, 2014.
Miami Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014, at Wembley Stadium in London. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) 3. Tom Brady
4. Drew Brees
5. Matt Ryan
6. Peyton Manning
7. Philip Rivers
8. Eli Manning
9. Tony Romo
10. Ben Roethlisberger
11. Joe Flacco
12. Cam Newton
13. Russell Wilson
14. Matt Stafford
15. Ryan Tannehill
And yes, the last group of four could be juggled however you'd like, but do you want to go $20 million per on a guy we're debating if he's ahead of Matt Stafford or in the next group with Cutler and Andy Dalton?
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This and that
- Here is Penn State's Anthony Zettel tackling a tree and knocking it down. Yes, tackling a tree. We can feel the National Arbor Foundation already planning a protest.
FILE - In this May 4, 2015 file photo, host David Letterman smiles during a break at a taping of "The Late Show with David Letterman," at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York. After 33 years in late night and 22 years hosting CBS' "Late Show," Letterman will retire on May 20. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) - Wow, this will make your eyes hurt. Notre Dame's highest paid coach last year - in money from the school alone - was Charlie Weis. Yep, Weis earned a little more than $2 million in his annual buyout check from the Notre Dame, which paired Brian Kelly $1.187 million. Kelly gets a big chunk of his pay from outside sources like TV deals and shoe contracts, of course. Notre Dame is on the hook with Weis through December of this year and the total buyout the Irish will pay him after firing him in 2009 is a whisker under $19 million. Add that to the $5 million-plus Kansas is paying him not to coach and Weis will make more than $24 million for being a bad head coach.
- If you are a Letterman fan (of course you are), you'll enjoy this ranking of the top 10 musical memories in Dave's history.
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Today's question
We're here. Tonight Bill Murray says his good bye to Dave.
Wednesday night is the finale.
Who's on the Rushmore of all-time TV talk show hosts?
Go. And remember the mailbag.