Cleveland is the Team to Beat and will be crowned 2010 NBA Champions.

I said it in my preseason pick and break down of the NBA season 2009-2010 and I am going to reinterate that point now. Cleveland is the team to beat in the NBA this season. Things are going pretty much just as I wrote then that Cleveland would have some challenges out of the gate but would come around once this team gets use to playing together.

After Cleveland started off with a couple of losses a lot of haters and pundits were asking the question if the Shaq trade was hurting the Cavs. This was about one of the craziest questions I have seen in sports. You can get Shaq on your team in a trade for Ben Wallace and Shasa ? Anyone who asked that question should be banned from commenting on anything related to sports.

Mike Brown is a better coach than most people will give him credit for and this Cleveland team will not start playing their collective best until after the allstar break. They have been playing well of late and have beat some pretty good teams including: Orlando, LA, Miami, Dallas, Portland, Houston, Phoenix, and Atlanta.

Mike Brown is starting to find his rotation and Mo Williams is finding out how to be a consistent 20 point scorer on this team. On the defensive end Cleveland has stepped their defensive game up and the new guys are learning how to play Cleveland team defence.

They are asking Shaq to match up when a team has strong bigs like LA, Orlando and Boston. They only need 10-15 points and 7-10 rebounds a game from Shaq in about 22 minutes of play during the regular season. I expect his minutes to go up to about 27-30 in the playoffs and him a Z seeing some court time together against bigger line ups.

Parker and Moon are defending perimeter players just as they were brought in to do. Parker is shooting the 3 better than anyone in the league and Mo Williams and Gibson are not far behind. The bench is learning how to run offence with Lebron out of the game. This is the only weak spot right now but that has improved over the last 8 games.

I have seen Cleveland and Boston live this year and when the Celtics are on their game their ball movement is impeccable but they are not playing with the same intensity on defence as years past. They still have one of the best points allowed and Cleveland is close behind them.

Where Cleveland takes the rest of the league is their bench and their bench will be even better by playoff time because Leon Powe will be with the team.

Lebron is the X factor and if this team doesn't win it all I would be shocked. He can make up for any holes on this team and there are very few.

Write it down the King will be crowned in June 2010 NBA champion!

Week 15 in the NFL a look back at my picks and my top 10

last week was not the best for me with my picks. I went 10-6 but as you know if you follow my picks I challenge myself to be no worst than 12-4. There were some suprises last week and some of the upsets that I picked didn't come through. I was really socked at how poorly Arizona played in a big game for them and the unbeaten stayed unbeaten.

I got my picks in late this week and the Indy game is already in the 3rd quarter so I am going to have to pass on this one. So here are my picks for week 15 excluding the Thursday night game.

Here are my picks for week 15 the winners: NO, Bal, NE, Ari, Hou, Ten, KC, Nyj, Phi, Den, SD, Pit, Sea, Car, Nyg. There you have it. My upset pick of the week is the Sunday night match up. Car will stun the Vikings.

My top 10 for the week

1)Indy-They are still the team to beat and will at least go 18-0

2)NO-They will win until the last game of the season and then be upset by Car

3)Min-Even though I think they will be upset they are still my pick to go from the NFC

4)SD-These guys just keep winning and they will be a tough out in Jan

5)Phi-I think they are a very dangerous team and don't be suprise if they are in the superbowl

6)Ari-They were beat bad at SF but they are a better team than what showed up for that game

7)Cin-They are dealing with a lot this week and their schedule is pretty tough down the stretch

8)GB-They showed me something with that win in Chi

9)Bal-I really think Bal will be dangerous if they make it in.

10)Ten-They are back in the top 10 for the first time since week 2. Chris Johnson will break the record.

It should be a great week in the NFL and please pray for Henry's family and the Bengals. It was sad to hear what happened to this young man. RIP

Gasol maybe the Lakers MVP and not Kobe?

This could seem like a dumb question to ask. But who is the Lakers MVP? That's actually a good question even tough it seems like the answer is an obvious one.

Well let's examine this closely. If we look at the Lakers prior to Gasol arriving they were a very average team that could not get out of the first round of the playoffs. They were hanging around the eighth spot in the west. Kobe was demanding to be traded with basically the same players other than Gasol.

Now let's take a look at the Memphis Grizzlies. This was a franchise that had done absolutely nothing since coming into the league. They moved from Vancover to get a new identity but it didn't work. The team was still losing and not competing.

Then they draft a kid from Spain a legit 7 footer in 2001 with a polished European game. Gasol goes on to win rookie of the year and establishes himself as a 20-10 guy. It doesn't matter what team you play on it's not easy being a 20-10 guy in the NBA and if you don't believe me make a list of the ones playing now.

After only 2 years after being one of the worst teams in the league their franchise player leads them to the playoffs in the western conference. The Grizzlies reached the playoffs 3 consecutive years under the leadership of Pau and then he was traded to the LA Lakers.

If Pau could lead the Grizzlies to the playoffs 3 years in a row what could he do for the Lakers? Pau's first year with the Lakers he puts up his allstar like numbers close to 20-10 and leads the Lakers to the NBA finals. This is the same Lakers team that couldn't get out of the first round after Shaq's departure.

The first full year with the Lakers Gasol goes on to lead them to a championship. The season starts with Pau out of the lineup with a badly strained hamstring and the Lakers struggle. Pau comes back and they win 10 in a row.

I am starting to get the picture the real MVP of the Lakers is Pau Gasol. Truth be told Kobe Bryant gets way too much credit Gasol is the engine that drives this championship train.

People love Kobe and he is a great one on one player but he couldn't get them out of the first round. It's no difference from Billups going to the Nuggets and providing leadership that helped Carmelo become a better team player. Why will no one admit that Gasol has done the same thing for the Lakers? It's like the elephant in the room.

If you put Kevin Durant on this Lakers team and take Kobe off they still compete for a championship. I could fill in the blank with about 10 different players. Now you tell me who is that teams MVP. There is a reason why Kobe has only won one MVP and it came at Pau's expense.

Remember folks Pau was Pau before he got to the Lakers.

Week 14 in the NFL a look back at week 13 and Pics and my top 10

All right good people last week I went 10-6 with my picks. That's a bad week for me I know some people would be extremely happy with that but that's not how I roll.

I am going to give you my picks for this week and my top 10. But before I do when you look at my picks last week you will see I pick Miami and Arizona to win. Sometimes it's more about the physcological state of a team and how they play at home more so than who they are playing.

I will still rate Minn higher than Arizona but I knew Minnesota was going to be in for a big suprise. One of my picks that could have been an upset Tenn over Indy was not because Tenn is trying to pretend that Vince Young is a drop back passer. On those 4th down plays you make sure Vince rolls out and put pressure on the defence! Oh well.

My picks for this week:Pit,NO,Bal,Chi,Hou,Ind,Jac,KC,NE,TB,Ten,Min,Was,Phi,SD,Ari

There it is folks I feel like I will be something like 14-2 or better. I am looking for a challenger to pick against me even if we have to exclude the Thursday night game. I will put it out there a $10.00 gift card for anyone who finishes better than me. If there are multiples then whoever has the best record if there is a tie then a name will be drawn. Just make picks in the comments section.

Here's my top 10

1)Indy-I still think they are better than NO and would win that game.

2)NO-What can you say about these guys they refuse to lose

3)MIN-I still think they are probably the top team in the NFC

4)SD-It's becoming crystal clear that SD is for real

5)Cin-They are going to have a hard time this week but there's no shame in losing to Min

6)Ari-They deserve this spot and they will be a tough out in Jan.

7)Phi-I think they will win the NFC east and be in the final 4

8)GB-They are here for now but an upset is coming because the bears will win

9)Nyg-They have had a rough stretch but and they will lose this weekend

10)Dal-They are here for now but after this weekend they will join NE out of the top 10

You heard it here first the truth in sports. www.thetruthinsportsbymrj.com

The Truth about Tiger from the Barbershop Experts

Week 13 and a look back at week 12 in the NFL and my top 10

Last week was a great week in the NFL there were some good match ups and a couple of upsets. Last week on my picks I went 13-3. Now that was a pretty decent week for me. Remember in a 16 game day I consider 4 wrong picks subpar and I have never been below .500.

What about those New Orlean Saints? I guess I will have to say they are for real and they may change my power rankings for this week.

Can Tennessee make it 6 straight games and get themselves into the playoff talk. Is that amazing or what? I think Chris Johnson will have a couple of huge runs this game and the Titans will win. I am predicting that Chris Johnson will have 225 yards rushing in this game.

I also have another upset pick and the Giants will beat Dallas. I will go through my winners and give you my top 10 teams for the week.

The winners this week will be:Buf, Pit, Car,Chi, Cin, Ten, Hou, Den, Mia, Phi, NO, SD, Nyg, SF, Ari, Bal
There you have it and remember I will be no worst than 12-4.

Here's my top 10 for the week there has been some changes at the top so let's go there.

1) Min-I feel they are the most complete team in the league. If Warner plays Ari will win on Sunday

2)NO-I have to move them ahead of Indy because when they attack you they attack you great team

3)Ind-Smart team and will be in the Superbowl but they will lose to Ten this week

4)SD- They have really turned it on and are actually the hottest team in the league right now.

5)Cin-I have to give them props they are solid on defence and can score on offence

6)Ari-They are a good football team and will be in the final four of the NFC

7)Dal-I am going to put Dal here for right now but I think they will go down to the Giants and move out of the top 10

8)Phi-They will win the NFC east when it's all said and done.

9)Pit-I think they will get things in gear and secure a wildcard and then be a tough out in the playoffs

10)NE-The Saints exposed them for who they really are and I think Miami will get them this week as well

Den, Bal, Ten, are all on the rise and if each win after this week they 2 may move up into the top 10. If Ten wins they will more than likely get that number 10 spot.

Iverson will be back at practice in Philly. Yes I said practice!

I love myself some Allen Iverson. I am looking forward to seeing him play this year. I have never witness him playing live but every game I have seen him play in he gives one hundred percent.

I wanted Iverson to go to a contender and be a part of a championship run this season. I really made a case for him helping Cleveland with scoring when Lebron is out of the game or when you want Lebron playing in the post. You can check out the story at www.iversoncanscore.blogspot.com

But now Iverson goes back home to Philly where he is truly the prince of the city. He will definitely put butts in the seats and bring some exciting basketball back to the Wachovia Center.

More than that I believe Iverson will make this team a contender. Now why do I say that? I think AI is going to be the best thing to happen to Elton Brand since he got all that money. Don't be fooled by the pundits AI can still penetrate, score and dish. Just look at his numbers in Denver.

Look at this line up. AI, Iguodala,Brand,Dalembert,and Young that's a good starting line up with four scorers. This is a better line up than when Philly went to the finals. I know AI is not the same as then but I would say he is wiser and has more weapons.

I am going to predict that Philly will win 48 games and end up being the 5 seed out of the East and will advance to the second round of the playoffs. Iverson will receive the come back player of the year and average 24 points and 8 assist per game.

Iverson has a lot to prove this year and I believe his grit and determination will be infectious for this team. It's going to be an exciting year for Philly fans and the NBA because of AI being back in the mix.

Welcome back AI!

Tiger the Truth will set you free man!

Well what can we say. This is the biggest story out there right now and even though no criminal charges will be filed Tiger still has some problems. Tiger said the right thing though it is between him and his family. His personal indiscretions should not be aired out in public. I think everyone should have the right to privacy. With that being said if you are a celebrity your privacy is shot.

I love the scene of Tiger and his family. I am a family guy and family is sacred. I am not going to judge the guy on his apparent short comings but you have to learn from other high profile athletes where affairs have not turn out too well. This same type of behavior caused Steve Mcnair not only his family but his life.

Listen I understand the whole sex drive thing. Men who are driven like top athletes, business executives, and even criminals all have extremely high sex drives. Why do I bring this up? A high sex drive is not bad and it's not an excuse it's what you do with it. Tiger has been great at putting that focus on the field but when it's not directed it's dangerous. The old saying fire in the fire place is beautiful but in the curtains a disaster. I truly believe this, if you are highly driven and you don't have the spiritual balance there is no way for these things not to happen.

Tiger I sure hope you are able to work all of this out and get the spiritual balance that it takes to keep your driver in your pants because if not it's going to cost you a lot of money.

He sounds pretty desperate and guilty