Go Grizz!

Fear not Pacer Nation, the Grizz aren't sleepwalking into Orlando tonight.  Time out -- how long is the NBA going to let Memphis be the Grizzlies?  While Paul Gasol does his best to win the "Looks Most Like the Team Mascot" award, he's about the closest thing to a Grizzlie bear inside the Tennessee state lines.  As usual, I digress....

....the Hound Dogs have lost 4 of 6, but a closer look at the results shows that they might catch a rabbit tonight.   Sprinkled into the last half-dozen are wins at Portland & LA, close losses at Golden State and against Phoenix, and another loss to Golden State in which Memphis led by 2 to start the fourth.  Rudy Gay and Hakim Warrick bring a Big East flava to Graceland, but,lately, Tarance Kinsey has put up numbers with Mike Miller and Damon Stoudamire out.  One last tidbit, the Grizz have won four in a row against Orlando, and 8 of the last 9.

I like the vibes coming from the Grizz camp.  A bona fide star in Gasol, a star in the making in Gay, and, in Kinsey, a guy who smells it -- he got his chance and is taking advantage.  Something tells me those three are going to do more than just play out the schedule.  

I predict the Grizz win a squeaker, with old friend Chucky Atkins -- the same Chucky Atkins who was added & dropped from my fantasy team about 372 times over the years -- doing what Chucky does and nailing a a deep three to Ice it.  Couple that predicition with the Pacers protecting the house against the Green, and I'm looking forward to a "Pacers Resurrected!" column from Cornrows on Easter morn'.

The loony's been MIA lately, but reappears today.  Living close to the border, I've often stumbled back across with Loonies in my pockets.  So, today's loony goes to the Toronto Raptors, your Atlantic Division champs. Really, the fact that the Raptors won the division that is home to the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Philadephia 76'ers is a fairly significant milestone in Stern's march to global supremacy. Imagine the Atlanta Thrashers being crowned division champs in a division that they share with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Chicago Blackhawks. Now that's loony.