The Dish ‘Sheed Defends Predictions
Detroit Piston power forward Rasheed Wallace, fresh off his team’s 74-72 loss in Cleveland Monday night, defended his record of prognostication. Despite the fact that ‘Sheed ruffled a few feathers by guaranteeing a Detroit win in Game 4—a prediction that fell flat, as did Wallace, who sprained his ankle in the second quarter and was ineffective thereafter—Wallace told a media throng that he, “get(s) more right than wrong, believe me. I’m smart, man, and I got the third eye. I can see the future.”
“For example,” Wallace continued, “you can ask Chauncey: last week I totally predicted Rick Sutcliffe would definitely get hammered on the air, mumble a lot, slur some words, and embarrass himself and ESPN. But does anyone give me credit? No.
“I told Big Ben I thought the price of gold would come crashing down at the end of last week, and if you don’t believe me, you can ask him yourself. I mean, it was at like a 25-year high or something.
“Oh, and you can check with Tayshaun’s bookie: I bet on that bald kid Chris to get voted off American Idol. Made a pretty penny, too. You don’t have to believe me: you can look for yourself. America don’t like facial hair, man. Easy as pie.”
No word yet on Wallace’s prediction for when it will stop raining in New England, though “July 1st” is the early favorite, a spokesman said.
What’s the buzz on the Preakness? Does a Derby winner always go off as a big favorite? Do you expect any other horses to be there with Barbaro at the end?
Greg Jorssen, BoDog.com: The possibility of the smallest field since 1979 has the most buzz right now, and whether or not fewer contenders mean an easier victory for Barbaro. It isn’t always the case that the Derby winner goes off as the favorite. Last year we had Afleet Alex as the post-time favorite for Preakness; it all depends on how big of a favorite the horse was to win the Derby. With Barbaro winning as post-time favorite, he’s sure to take that same spot again with the Preakness. There will still be some strong contenders though, even if we do end up with a six-horse field. Brother Derek won’t have the burden of an 18th post position start this time around, so it may just come down to a photo finish.
What have been the overriding handicapping stories of the NBA playoffs to date? Heavy betting? Not-so-heavy? Particularly LeBron-focused?
GJ, BoDog.com: Bettors still seem to be focused on Detroit and the Under. However, the story of the NBA playoffs seems to be that the Pistons are no longer the defensive powerhouse that grinded opponents into the ground in their 2004 championship season. The Pistons are giving up 93.9 points against in the first two rounds of the 2006 playoffs, a far cry from the 84.3 they gave up in the 2004 post-season. The result is the Pistons going over the total in eight of their 10 playoff games, something no one would have expected as the Pistons have had a reputation of keeping opponents in the 70’s on a regular basis.
What do you make of the Larry Brown situation with the Knicks? Am I crazy, or should Isiah Thomas be the guy they run out of town on a rail?
GJ, BoDog.com: They should both be fired. We can make jokes all day about how Isiah Thomas has slapped together a squad that would play better in a Streetball mixtape than on NBA hardwood, but the debacle that is New York Knicks basketball falls in Larry Brown’s court as well. With the amount of respect and hefty price tag Larry brought with him to New York, it’s foolish to think that Larry didn’t have his hand in some of Isiah’s questionable wheelings and dealings. Add in 10 more losses, his public feud with Stephon Marbury, and an NBA record 42 changes to the starting line-up, and you got more than enough reason to put Larry’s head on the chopping block. There is plenty of blame to pass around, but after what is considered to be one of the worst coaching jobs in NBA history, Larry Brown definitely should not be forgotten.
Can the world stand the excitement of a Carolina/Edmonton Stanley Cup Final? 
GJ, BoDog.com: Say what you will about the less-than-high-profile teams left in the NHL playoffs, but only Anaheim is boring to watch. The Oilers have averaged 4.28 goals in their seven playoff wins, Buffalo has already scored seven or more goals three times in the playoffs, and Carolina scored the third most goals in the league during the regular season. Only Detroit and Ottawa were more potent than the Canes.
Christopher Harris is a featured writer for the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com
