Monday Heat

Nene was strong down the stretch for the Nuggets. J.R. Smith started hot, showing explosive scoring ability. Both should be traded now, along with dishing out yet another bundle of first-round draft picks for...Kobe Bryant.

Yeah, the likelihood of the Lakers dealing their star seem nil no matter the media firestarter but if Los Angeles had a moment of weakness, dealing with Denver could net them a large, effective power forward, a perimeter scorer and picks, a nice booty indeed, for Bryant.

The Nuggets could endure the loss of Smith and draft picks are something they have always been loose with, meaning only the departure of Nene would hurt in the present. A moderately healthy Kenyon Martin could alleviate that pain for the short term.

Of course, maybe this wild idea could never work under the fool thing called the salary cap, but if the teams wanted to make it work they could shuffle other pieces to make it reality.

Bryant teamed with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony give you a chance to win it all. Add Marcus Camby in the middle and get some insurance for Martin and who knows what might happen.

Roll the dice.

By the way, coach George Karl told Woody Paige of the Denver Post that Denver doesn't need new blood only new chemistry and professionalism. Not just sure how to break this to Karl but when you have selfishness in the list of ingredients you are always going to have a bitter result. Anthony, while a fantastic talent, is still selfish. Iverson, who showed he wants to win with the Nuggets, has long been one of the most selfish players around. Smith? Just watch the games. Even Linas Kleiza is known to be a little bit of all about himself. Shopping for different ingredients will prevent the spoiling of the recipe.

Tim Miles got his big man for CSU through a transfer just the other day and now CU's Jeff Bzdelik has added some size of his own with Wake Forest transfer Casey Crawford.

Let's break this down -- guy signs with the Demon Deacons, thinks about going to Northwestern and ends up at CU. Not a dog academic school amongst the three so consider Crawford's intelligence something highly appealing to Bzdelik.

Now throw in he is, reportedly, a sweet-shooting 6 foot 9 and you have a player that should understand Bzdelik's approach and should be able to excel some how.

Crawford was also originally recruited by West Virginia, another quality program.

Here is a snippet on him from a blog dedicated to the Demon Deacons.

Brick Oettinger, in the Recruiter’s Handbook, offers this evaluation of Crawford: “While he is more of a big forward, with sound fundamentals and a soft scoring touch up to mid-range, he handles the ball (with sure hands) and shoots it proficiently enough on the perimeter to raise the possibility of some future play at wing forward, especially since he moves well for someone his size. Hence, he might be able to defend that position.”

It says here that Miles and Bzdelik are both off to successful starts on their new jobs.

O.K., this is one old article (early May) but just ran across it and it is unique. So how you feel about your favorite NFL team's first-round draft selection? Is that guy going to make it or not in the League?

Looking at Jarvis Moss, the defensive end out of Florida, who was tabbed by the Broncos, this piece echoes the sentiments in this space. While Denver hopes he is the next Jason Taylor, the word here is he isn't and won't be.

Will admit, this article is harsh, to the point of being too aggressive. Yes, most first-rounders fail to live up to the hype but this forecast seems to go muy loco.

Sweeping the Nation

Ah, the spoils of victory -- USC, according to this article, has on its' roster 10, count 'em, 10 prep All-American running backs. Wonder how many the rest of the Pac-10 or a CU and a CSU have combined? Amazing the power of L.A., winning and glitz.

Imagine if you will (at end of column), Derek Jeter playing alongside Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio for years instead of winning World Series titles in New York? Could have happened and Houston might have been a World Series champion.

Falcons quarterback Michael Vick reportedly loves and bets dog fights, going back to 2000. Here's a bigger news flash -- Who Cares! Not saying I'm into animal cruelty or lawbreaking just that this is becoming more than an investigation, it's a witch hunt and media orgy of a scandal. The intensity of this story just doesn't seem justified.

Dario Franchitti wins the Indy 500 and how sweet that must be -- driving one of those cars, taking home a premium victory and getting congratulated by wife Ashley Judd as well as Danica Patrick and even best friend Tony Kanaan. That's all worth toasting here.

Scoreboard Grumblings

Oh, those poor Giants. Already to devour Colorado when the Rockies hit San Francisco, like the home team usually does. This time, however, Colorado put the hurt on its' division rival with a three-game sweep, the first ever over the Giants out West. 6-4, Rockies, as Taylor Buchholz went seven quality innings, the bullpen acted like pros and the lineup generated enough offense, highlighted by Matt Holliday and Chris Iannetta's pair of RBI each. Todd Helton also got a good workout in, rapping out four hits. Good day, great weekend. Let's do this again sometime, shall we?

Just as was written yesterday, don't get too excited about a lesser team winning one game in a playoff series. Cleveland punched back on Sunday and knocked down Detroit, 88-82, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which will get the Pistons attention and restore their work ethic and resolve.

LeBron James put forth a champion effort, the Cavs offense hummed along, got great shots and converted at a high rate

Why did Detroit lose this game? Chauncey Billups.

And Rip Hamilton.

The former CU Buff is the gas that makes the Pistons go and he was merely mortal. Hamilton was no factor.

Throw in Tayshaun Prince's less-than-sterling defensive effort and it's amazing that Detroit didn't get blown out.

You can bet all this will be corrected.