Everybody has a hard time sometime...

Just look no further than the Dodgers. If you need any evidence of their piss-poor performances so far, then look no further than the NL West standings. Dead last. In a weak NL West. 5 games below .500. Just what the hell is going on? All I know is that when our bats are on, our arms off. Unfortunately for all of us their arms have been off all season and this means our bats have to be on all the time which is asking way too much. The middle of our rotation, a strength last year, has become a glaring weakness as they struggle to hold leads and limit runs. We need them to turn it around QUICK because I can't stand the fact that the Padres are in first right now.

There's no need to explain this. The picture says it all.

Lake Show
So the Lakers waltzed into Oklahoma City tonight and beat the Thunder 95-94. Heck YES. I thought that the Lakers would win, but they did it in dramatic fashion as Pau Gasol had a put-back with .5 seconds left. Awesome. It's about time that the Lakers put two good games together. I know that they have some kind of Jekyll and Hyde persona, but this is the playoffs. It's time to buck up and win. I hope that these type of performances continue on our run towards another title. Even Luke Walton (Luke!) stepped up tonight with good hustle and some clutch shots.

People say Luke is in the NBA because of his dad, but I like to think that NBA execs said "We need more curly haired guys in the league!" A 'super-secret curly hair deal' if you will.

Quick Hits
- The Jazz defeated the Nuggets tonight 112-104. I love it. Two of the Lakers biggest threats in the West (in my humble opinion) have been eliminated from the playoffs on consecutive nights - the Spurs over the Mavericks and now the Jazz over the Nuggets. The stars are aligning for a 3rd consecutive trip to the championship. Of course, the Lakers aren't probably thinking this way as they look towards their next game (Sunday against the Jazz in Round 2). However, I firmly believe it is my job as a fan to look ahead and speculate. Much like a future-seeing wizard person. Like Nostradamus.

Put a Lakers jersey on him and you've got me. Also, shave his beard and paint him about 20 years younger.

- I'm a pretty big fan of bashing Notre Dame whenever I get the chance. Maybe it was the fact that I grew up as a fan of USC or maybe the fact that I could never get over how stupid that Irish mascot looked. However, it has recently come to my attention that Notre Dame has had enough of people making fun of them that they decided to show everyone what true school spirit looked like. In an attempt that would the 80's blush, this is Notre Dame at it's finest (read: worst). I'll let the video do the bashing for me.

They need to fire the guy who came up with this. How embarrassing.

- I can't stand Bono. You know, the lead singer for that overrated band, U2. I try not to listen to him whenever I have the chance, but he's somehow weaseled his way into becoming the spokesperson for the World Cup. UGH. Every World Cup commercial has him doing the narration. Take something you love and combine it with something you hate. Yeah, that's what it's like for me. Hopefully we'll be spared from interviews with Bono by the time that the World Cup starts. Hopefully.

Song
Today's title comes from the song "Everybody Gets the Blues" by the Kenny Wayne Shepard Band.

Momma always said I'd be the 'Chosen One'...

Jose Mourinho, manager of Inter Milan, has a fondness for calling himself the "special one" or "chosen one" and now I finally believe him. In what can only be described as a defensive masterpiece, Inter lost to Barcelona 1-0 yesterday, but won on aggregate 3-2. What makes the 1-0 scoreline even more impressive is the fact that Inter only played with 10 men after Thiago Motta was red-carded in the 24th minute. A questionable red-card at best with a lot of theatrics by Sergio Busquets (he should of won an Emmy for his performance!).

Inter will now face the German side Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on May 22nd with both teams having knocked out the two favorites (Munich over Man U and Inter over Barca). However, this is by no means a watered down showdown as Bayern and Inter are two of the most storied clubs in Europe with Inter having been crowned champions of Europe 3 times and Bayern 4 times in their histories. The match also pits Bayern coach Louis van Gaal (pronounced 'Haul') against his student Mourinho. The offense of Bayern against the classic Italian defense of Inter. My early prediction? Bayern wins. Why? Because Bayern is my second team to Chelsea. Gotta love any team that Franz "Der Kaiser" Beckenbauer took to prominence.

Oh, and I challenge you to find a more polarizing coach in futbol today. This is the type of sniping that Mourinho is known for - it has brought him many enemies in Europe.

Jose Mourinho - showing you what douchebaggery looks like. Look long and hard.

Quick Hits
- Lebron James hurt his elbow against the Bulls in the decisive Game 5. Wah wah, cry me a river dickface.

Fast forward to the 1:00 minute mark.

- ESPN's Big XII blog has a good writeup on Baylor's secondary going into this upcoming football season. Outside of the offensive and defensive lines, I believe this is the most important area for us - especially playing in the wide-open Big XII. In recent years, the depth of our secondary has been less than adequate and we have been torched by opposing quarterbacks. I fully expect newcomers Ahmad Dixon and Prince Kent to make an instant impact this fall (Kent has already been taking first-team reps in the Spring) as they are both strong, physical, and fast players. Last year, our young corners made good strides in competing at a high level so that was a positive.

- The Nuggets beat the Jazz last night to stave off elimination. C'mon Jazz, as much as I hate you, I would hate it more if you didn't eliminate the Nuggets! Any team that has Chris Anderson on it deserves to be eliminated.

Seriously, look at that guy. Even Dahntay Jones can't look at him.

Song
Today's title comes from the song 'Woke up this morning' by Alabama 3. You may recognize it from the intro of The Sopranos. If not, click this link.