Keeping up with the World Cup theme...

What I didn't know about Lucio, the captain of the Brazilian national football team:
http://thegoal.com/players/soccer/lucio/lucio.html

2010 FIFA World Cup Predictions

Round of 16:
Uruguay over South Korea
United States over Ghana
Netherlands over Slovakia
Brazil over Chile
Argentina over Mexico
England over Germany
Paraguay over Japan
Spain over Portugal

Quarterfinals:
United States over Uruguay
Brazil over Netherlands
Argentina over England
Spain over Paraguay

Semifinals:
Brazil over United States
Spain over Argentina

Third Place Game:
Argentina over United States

Final:
Brazil over Spain

Dawn of a new Toronto Raptors era

This Thursday, the Raptors will begin the post-Bosh era by drafting with the 13th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. A lot of people are suggesting the Raptors to take a big man to replace Bosh, but my thinking is, if a pretty good PF named Chris Bosh couldn't take us past the 1st round of the playoffs, how would another PF or C do it? I say we need to start off fresh by picking a swingman because we all know that a NBA championship team needs a good SG/SF to lead the team. Given the fact that we have the 13th overall pick and not a top-10 pick, it'll be hard to pick an impact player like Evan Turner. That is why I'm going to take a risk and suggest the Raptors to select...

SF Paul George from Fresno State, Sophomore (20 year old), 6-8, 215 lbs.

He's athletic, can play all 3 perimeter positions, has huge upside (potential to be a star), and averaged 16.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals while making 90.6 percent of his free throws as a sophomore. Sources say he's like a Tracy McGrady in the making. If that's the case, we can pair him up with DeMar DeRozan and begin the rebuilding process.

We'll see who Toronto picks at #13, but I really do hope we select Paul George. I just have a feeling he'll be pretty good in a few years...

LOS ANGELES LAKERS...NBA CHAMPIONS!!!

YAY!!! The Los Angeles Kobe Bryants won the NBA Finals!!! hahaha OK, actually the supporting cast came up big in Game 7 last night (Gasol was a beast, Artest hit a clutch 3, and Vujacic hit a couple of clutch free throws), so the Los Angeles Lakers were the deserving victor of the crazy 7-game classic Celtics-Lakers series! In the end, my pick came up on top AGAIN (good thing I made the right switch in the last minute)!!! Congrats to Kobe and his 5th ring. Who knows...maybe a 6th to tie Jordan next year?!?! Another 3-peat?!?! =)

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS STANLEY CUP CHAMPS!!!

Congrats to the Hawks! My second favourite team! Finally ending their 49-year drought of winning the Stanley Cup! Now it's the Leafs turn!!!
Captain Jonathan Toews (J-Taze) won the Conn Smythe Trophy! Awesome choice as he is the heart and soul of the team. The hardest worker, grinder, and leader of the team!
GO HAWKS GO!!!

2010 FIFA World Cup

Prediction:
Brazil over Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals!!!

Justin's Bachelor's Party

What an exciting weekend! We went to the shooting range to shoot 9mm, .40, .45, and even a shotgun at targets and then went go-karting!!! I was initially afraid of hurting myself with the recoil because I've never shot a gun before, but I must admit, it was actually a lot of fun, albeit the really loud noise and then dangers involved with guns!!! Anyway, that was fun and go-karting was also fun. I haven't had a chance to go-kart in a while, so racing in them was fine, especially when you're in a group of 14 racing against each other! Too bad I had a slow car...but other than that, it was still fun! We also ate ALOT OF MEAT and drank ALOT OF BEER! Steve cooked amazing food (as usual) and there was so much Alexander Keith's and Corona beer!!! =) I gotta stop drinking beer soon. 14 straight days of multiple beers isn't good for my body...

Anyway, that was a memorable Bachelor's Party at the cottage! Congrats to Justin's upcoming marriage! Here's to many more (weddings and bachelor's parties) in the near future! =)

2010 NBA Playoff Picks UPDATED x4

OK, so it's the night before the NBA Finals and I've been questioning my Celtics pick. Good thing there's still a night left because I am SWITCHING MY PICK TO THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS!!!

I look at Kobe and see him as a determined monster who will do every possible thing in his mind to beat the Celtics to win his 5th title. That 38-point loss in the 2008 Game 6 NBA Finals put a mark in Kobe that has haunted him since and even though he won last year, he wants redemption. I also think this series will be different because Artest will shut down Pierce and Gasol will only improve his game against Garnett/Perkins. The only worry I have is Rondo, but I do think Brown and Farmar will step up and limit Rondo. The last thing that swayed my pick was the fact that the Lakers have home-court advantage this time around for a 2-3-2 format. I don't see the Lakers losing the championship on home court, nor do I see the Celtics winning in 5 or less. Therefore...

LAKERS OVER CELTICS IN 6!!!
NBA Finals MVP: Kobe Bryant