ROBERT LITTAL PRESENTS THE INFAMOUS BLACKSPORTSONLINE

The NFL is the most successful professional sports league in the US. Even so, there seems to be an air of secrecy around it. The drugs aren't as outlined as they are in the MLB, NFL Refs never seem to be dirty like the NBA's, and there aren't money problems such as the NHL's.

However, it would seem lately that the seedy underbelly of the once impenetrable league is showing. With Spygate getting press and Roger Goodell getting rid of/ hiding/ sweeping under the rug evidence, this has to make anyone question just how this league operates, especially when it would seem that when not dealing with America's Team* Goodell has been known to slam the gauntlet hard.

* Sorry Dallas...its the Patriots these days.

Charles Barkley should spend less time talking to D Wade and more time paying attention to his gambling debt. I agree with Chuck when he says that you only have a gambling problem if you can't afford it and when you put your family at risk, but when prosecuting attorneys are talking about filing felony charges against you it is probably time to reassess your gambling addiction. I am sure Chuck has the money to pay back the $400,000 but the fact that he lost $400,000 should speak to the bigger problem that he has and it is coming to the time he should reach out for help.

First Steve Nash and now David West. Robert Horry hasn't been hitting a lot of big shots lately but he is still a valuable member of the Spurs. Some say dirty, some say clean but I say whatever you think it is effective. You need somebody taken out just at the right time in a big playoff series Horry is your man. He didn't get anyone suspended like he did last year with the Suns, but he may have handicapped the Hornets second best player before the biggest game in franchise history. Maybe instead of calling him Big Shot Rob when can call him Cheap Shot Rob.

If you want your team to have any chance at winning the series or making it to the Finals, you must resist all temptation to play this man for major minutes. When he is on the floor for extended periods of time, bad things happen for your team. Over the last three games he is 0-for-13 with five points and six assists. When he comes out there, the offense grinds to a halt and falls into a halfcourt abortion that more often than not ends in a missed shot that he throws up. He is still in love with his own shot even though he can't hit it right now, and he brings nothing to the table defensively.

You did the right thing to leave him on the bench once you put Rajon Rondo back in last night in the middle of the second quarter. That was the key decision of the game because Rondo can harass guys on defense and push the tempo on offense. He literally changed the way the entire game was played by the men in green.

I know you can't leave Rondo out there for the entire 48 minutes, but you can just let the man in the picture stay out there for five or six straight minutes. It kills your team. Just say no, Doc.

I had to say this because you like to follow the conventional wisdom too much when it comes to lineups. Yes, I know Rondo is a youngster and Cassell has all that playoff experience, including two rings. I know that little voice in your head, that conventional wisdom, tells you that Cassell must play because he knows what to do out there, etc., better than a more talented second year player like Rondo.

I know that if Rondo starts off bad on the road in game six, you'll want to yank him and put the savvy veteran in there to calm things down. That's a bad idea. You cannot play slow with Cleveland; they will beat you because that's their game. If you want to win, you have to run them because they'd rather not play that way. You just can't do that with Cassell in there for big stretches. Either divide up his minutes differently or just let him play M.L. Carr. Trust me, you'll be better off for it in the long run.

Brady was asked about some of ESPN's ex-NFL players who have criticized the Patriots. "It's just kind of the environment right now, though," he said on WEEI. "I think that's the way that guys make it. They just say the craziest things. That's what ESPN has become. ESPN, to me, is like MTV without the videos, ESPN is without the highlights."

-- ESPN.com news services

In the immortal words of Tupac:

"This is the realist sh*t I ever wrote"

Most athletes are afraid to take on ESPN for the simple fact that "The World Wide Leader" has the ability to turn an entire nation of "follower" fans against them (see: Chad Johnson, T.O. and Barry Bonds). However, Brad,y obviously understanding that he is bigger than ESPN, doesn't care and for that I applaud him. Even though his team are cheaters, it was not as bad as some media outlets made it out to be seeing that everyone cheats. I am glad he stood up and told the truth about what everyone else is thinking.

More innocent, huh?

One of the biggest arguments that the college basketball apologists make when claiming their sport is better than the NBA is that the college game is more fun because the atmosphere is purer, that it's not about the name on the back on the jersey, and that it's not all about the money.

Right..... I think OJ Mayo just blew that one to smithereens. College basketball has been plagued with seedy dealing like this for decades, whether it's Sam Gilbert at UCLA, Ed Martin at Michigan, Myron Piggie with several players, or Rodney Guillory with Mayo. Gilbert was paying UCLA players back in the 60s and 70s, at the height of the John Wooden era, so this is nothing new. College basketball has been dirty for decades, and will probably stay that way for a long time. Face it: when your team's best players are riding around in SUVs even though they came from a single family home in the 'hood or are straight off the farm, it's not because moms hit the lottery. They got paid by someone you'd rather not know about.

What a great way to show mom how much you love her the day after Mother's Day!

How is it that Mr. Softee aka Kevin Garnett has the coolest NBA Playoffs post season commercial? You'd think such a defiant, dramatic commercial would be better suited for one of the NBA's true killers. You know the cold blooded... Kobe Bryant, the Tim Duncans, the Paul Pierces. Oh did I just say Paul Pierce? Correction Pierce used to be a thug on the hardwood. Which brings me to the reason why the Celtics aren't ready to be NBA Kings. The Celtics have done a miraculous job of getting three NBA stars to truly buy into the team concept. During the regular season, Boston dominated the league with three all-star players in Garnett, Pierce and Allen who clearly sacrificed shots to benefit the team. The results?... the greatest one season turn around in NBA History. Now we're knee-deep in the playoffs and here's the problem.

At the end of the day, the playoffs are more about players than team. Not saying that you can win the entire thing without a good team, but you need that one player that decides at some point or another than he won't be denied and more or less will be the catalyst to carry his team to victory.

We all know (or maybe some of us don't) that Garnett and Ray Allen, both consistently throughout their careers, have shown that they don't have the mental makeup to put a team on their backs. They don't have that 01 Iverson in them, or that Championship Wade in them (bad calls or not). Garnett has been deservingly criticized over and over for not being a player that has that nerve to over power his opponents when it matters most.

Here's where Paul Pierce comes in. Somewhere in all of this unselfish team play, Pierce has lost his edge. Pierce used to be that player that would cut the other teams throat and ice-grill the opposing crowd as he was doing it. He definitely played without a conscious and used to be a force before this season. One of the more underrated players in the league!

If there is one thing the playoffs teaches us, it is that experience matters. Even with the high flying New Orleans hornets coming in with the momentum of fresh legs and confidence of winners, one could never doubt the veracity of the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Winners are such for a reason.

In the first two games of the series, the Spurs were playing outside of their element, trying to keep up with the MVP runner-up Chris Paul and friends. The Hornets had the crowd behind them, and they took advantage of Tim Duncan. While he was struggling the team, without their leader, seemed to be swallowed up by the Hornets energy on the floor. Not just that, they had come off an easier series with the now perennial under achieving Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs came off a tough fought Phoenix Suns match up. Fatigue had to be a factor.

This one is going to be quick. The Lakers lost a great game yesterday to a very good team. BUT, if it weren't for Kobe's back injury, the series would be 3 to 1, headed back to LA. Do not give the Jazz that much credit. Give them some, but they definitely received a break.