Scroll down if you missed the "Goal of the Decade" that I posted a couple of nights ago...

• Ben Roethlisberger is supposedly in line for a 4-6 game suspension, which will likely be handed down today.  From a fairness perspective, the NFL will eventually get challenged on their "personal conduct" policy because it is murky at best.  However, I love it.  Roethlisberger may not have been guilty of a crime, but he's certainly guilty of being a douchebag and the world does not punish douchebags nearly often enough.  
• The NFL knows that football fans will get excited about anything, so they come up with "schedule release specials."  While I have yet to see the drama in the unveiling of an NFL teams schedule, which has already been leaked to the local press, I do believe schedules play an enormous part in the parity of the NFL.  The worse you were the previous season, the worse your schedule is the next season.  The Giants finished 3rd in the NFC East, so they were handed an 11-5 schedule yesterday by my calculations.  Now, they need to field a team that is talented and healthy enough to win the games that are there to be won, but they'll have a better opportunity to succeed than Philly and Dallas next season.
• Thank God for NBA TV, so no one had to watch half the playoff games last night.  They should put the rest of the Milwaukee-Atlanta series on Lifetime, so no man will accidentally find it and get sucked in.
• The Celtics REALLY missed Kevin Garnett.  The truth is that Boston is neither better nor worse without KG.  He's not that good.  He still has his nights, but so do Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace or Shelden Williams.  Well, maybe not Shelden Williams.  
• Speaking of "The Landlord", which is Shelden Williams nickname, but only Dick Vitale knows that, have you ever seen a person whose eyes fall in the middle of their face?  The man'ss forehead makes Luke Perry's look tiny. 
• As for the one good NBA game, the Thunder are primed to take Game 3 from the Lakers, but the series will never be in doubt.  51% of Kobe values winning, while 49% values scoring.  For the time being, Bryant is not worried about the Thunder, so the 49% is ruling the day, which means we can celebrate his 12/28 (42.8%), while Pau Gasol scores 25 points on only 14 shots.  If they really need a win, Bryant will let Gasol dominate, but until then, we're all honored and blessed to watch Kobe fire up 28 shots with only one assist.
• As my wife said when Kevin Durant's winning three went begging, "It's not your time yet."  Championships are hard earned in the NBA, so he'll have to take his lumps before the game-winning fadeaway threes start falling against the defending champions on the road.
• Ron Artest is a terrible fit for the Lakers offensively, but the way the playoffs are set to break, he could play a huge part in a repeat.  Both Bryant and last year's defensive stalwart Trevor Ariza are slight of build, so they naturally struggle with bigger offensive talents.  While Artest has lost a step or two, he loves getting physical with bigger players.  As it stands, Artest should get Durant followed by Carmelo Anthony and then maybe Dirk Nowitzki and of course, LeBron James.  While I'd rather have Ariza chasing around three-point shooters, Artest could salvage Mitch Kupchak's decision thanks to the luck of the bracket.  
• I continue to get grief about it, but I'm more and more convinced that L-O-S-T is about L-O-V-E.  Sayid used the magical word last night, while Sun and Jin had a nice bow tied on their story.  The show is clearly not about parenting because if I was Jin, I'd be like, "Why the hell did you leave our kid in Korea to come on a death-defying mission to find me???"  I'm sure Sun's dad will do a wonderful job raising that child.
• For the first time, the flashback, flash forward, sideways, whatever, picked up from one episode to the next.  We may get a non-linear Jacob and "The Man in Black" flashback, but otherwise, I believe we are on this story track from here on out.  This was the beginning of the end...   
• Thanks to the volcanic ash that has clouded European skies, Barcelona was forced to travel 14 hours by coach (bus) to their Champions League semifinal first leg against Inter Milan.  They were soundly thrashed 3-1, although Barca had more legs in the final 10 minutes than Inter.  Nevertheless, some will use the arduous travel excuse.  For all those that have played or worked in minor league baseball, we have no sympathy.  Something tells me the Barcelona bus was a little nicer than the air-conditioning-less tin can that the indy league team I broadcast for drove from Yuma (120 degrees in the Summer) to Reno (14 hours away).
• On the field, "The Special One" Jose Mourinho is considered the Larry Brown of European football.  The master tactician limited Lionel Messi to one shot of any danger.  In 8 days, Barcelona will put together one of the all-time great offensive onslaughts at the Nou Camp trying to reverse the deficit, but it feels like Inter's year.
• If you're looking for someone to watch in today's semifinal between Olympic Lyon and Bayern Munich, check out Lyon goalie Hugo Lloris.  He is the best young keeper in the world and will likely don the jersey of a bigger club in the next two years.
• The biggest, although maybe subliminal, story of the World Cup this Summer will be HD.  For the first time, all the games will be available in high-definition to the masses, which will provide a crystal clear window to the greatest atmosphere in sports.  The Cup is 50 days away.  Check out this video below featuring this year's anthem and a sampling of the colors and beauty that surround this event.