A great time to be a sports fan

With so much going on right now, it just makes me fall in love with sports all over again. Let's begin.

NBA Playoffs

Looks like the Cavs are going to be well rested against whoever they end up facing. I'm not sure who I'd rather play. Both teams (Hawks and Heat) are so inconsistent that you never know what team is going to show up. Regardless, I think the Cavs are playing with such a loose confidence right now, we should be able to beat either team in 5. Now: what everyone's talking about: BULLS - CELTICS. By the time many will read this, the series will be completed tonight. This has been unbelievable on so many levels. It's great to see the Bulls back in relevance in May. I really hope they pull it off and see how far they can stretch it. What is the most amazing about this series is Derrick Rose. The guy is a rookie and is playing like a 10-year vet. Not only is he playing like a vet, but he talks like a vet. He always seems to say the right things and speaks with conviction and humility. This guy is going to be a stud for years to come. As much as I hate (and I'm sure many of you do) Joakim Noah; how good was that breakaway steal/dunk in Game 6. I thought he would be a total disaster in the NBA, but he has gradually been proving me wrong. Hopefully Game 7 does justice to the rest of the series and we get one more show. The only bad thing about the series? It has to end.

Early MLB Season
It's May so it's hard to put much stock into what has happened thus far. I'm not putting Zach Greinke's name on the Cy Young award quite yet. My RedLegs are playing ridiculously inconsistent. I've only been able to watch a few games live (Lousy FSN Ohio blacks out all the games up here...bastards), but so far I think this is a team that could really do some damage. Harang seems to be getting his stuff back and the young guys continue to step up and show they have a real future in this league. Joey Votto is having a beast of a start and Volquez pitched an absolute masterpiece the other night, throwing an 8-inning 1-hit shutout. Boston looks scary good...again... Hopefully Tampa can get it together and rekindle some of their magic from last year. They're just a fun team to watch.

NFL Draft
Ah yes, what a beautiful thing the NFL is. It would be even more amazing if they go to the 18 game schedule. Absolutely loved the Bengals picks. They were ballsy considering some minor character issues, but we got some of the best talent in the whole draft. Andre Smith looks like the real deal. He's just a bit immature and did some dumb stuff, but as long as he's not another gang-banger, I'll take him to watch Carson's back any day. Then was my favorite pick: REY MAUALUGA!!! I kept praying he would fall to us. And then the Browns passed on him and I knew he was ours. Thanks Cleveland. Is he the most talented LB in the draft? No. He just has that mean streak and swagger that every defense needs. He can be our Polomaulu, our Ray Lewis, our (enter a good defensive Cleveland player...cause I can't think of any). So excited to see what this guy can do. Michael Johnson was another gem and should bring a better element of pass rusher than our overpaid Geathers and Odom have been providing. I'm not giving up on those guys yet, but they definitely need to step it up. Picking up a pass catching TE in Chase Coffman was solid, so now we can team him and Utecht in 2 TE sets. My only complaint is that we addressed the center position too late. I don't know anything about this Jonathan Luigs but I'm very concerned that were going to get dominated in the interior line. If it means getting Maualuga and passing on a center till later...I guess I can live with that.

As the Browns were going along, I liked their strategy. Trade down, trade down, trade down...stockpile picks. It's a good strategy. Then comes their first pick...Alex Mack. Hmm little high for a center but as me and Hewls were discussing that day...O-line is always a good investment. Then came the 2nd pick...Robiskie??? Okay WTF?! I'm sure Buckeye Nation loves the pick, but I think it's horrible. If they wanted to address center and wideout, they could have snagged Hakeem Nicks in the 1st and Max Unger in the 2nd. That would have made so much more sense to me. And they passed on Maualuga. AND they snag ANOTHER wideout with their next pick (although I like the Massaquoi pick so much better than Robiskie). Rest of their draft made sense as far as addressing defense the rest of the way. 3 6th round corners was a bit puzzling, but not as maddening as I found their first 2 picks.

I'd comment on the Steelers' draft, but it was somewhat forgettable. Not bad, not great. Just solid. No real names that popped off the page, but that will happen when you're the defending champs. I'm sure they're all turn out to be monsters on the gridiron as the Steelers continue to be the bane of my existence.