Rob Q. Ink - A Philly Sports Blog

The NBA Conference Finals can finally kickoff today now that it’s convenient for television. As I noted on Friday , I went a disappointing 2-2 in the semifinals, and now sit at 8-2 and +24.75 points for the playoffs. I am taking the L.A. Lakers to beat the Suns, but at -340 I’m not bothering with the points. However, I doubled-down on my pick of the Lakers winning the championship, which is still +150. In total, I’ve got 200 points to win 325 points. I’m really not overlooking Orlando’s undefeated run in the playoffs so far, but I am taking the Boston Celtics at +210 for 20 points to win 42 in what I believe will be a difficult series. In fact, I think Orlando could win today, but I’m taking Boston plus the points. As I said I might on Friday, I’ll be posting picks on individual games below. I’ll update this post when I have a pick. I will likely change the date and time of the post to keep it current, so the reader will just have to trust that the earlier picks were made on time. Indi

Despite a surprising lack of enthusiasm over today’s hiring of Doug Collins as the Seventy-Sixers head coach from the jaded media, I’m enthused. Collins was the main “name” guy available, which certainly doesn’t guarantee success but I don’t think anybody in Philadelphia wanted Ed Stefanski coming up with a guy. Collins’ credibility is bolstered for me by the fact that he’s essentially had his pick of jobs for the last several years. Somebody, in fact several somebodies, in the National Basketball Association thinks Collins can coach. Michael Jordan, everybody’s basketball god, essentially brought Collins to Washington when he returned to the NBA in Washington. In fact, Collins essentially did the dirty work of building Jordan’s Chicago Bulls into the dynasty they became under the overrated Phil Jackson. I also like the fact that Comcast, which owns the Sixers under the direction of Ed Snider, signed Collins. This is the first sign in a while that the basketball team isn’t just a tenan

Today’s ranting in the Philadelphia Inquirer by New Yorker wannabee Stephen A. Smith is a perfect example of why the newspaper is dying a long, slow death. It seems also be his last. The paper’s former owner tried a few years to sell editions based on the fact that they were locally owned, as if Philadelphians should support the hometown institution. Not a bad idea, actually. But when the paper brings back the ESPN-discarded Smith, who does nothing but spew venom at the local sports fans and franchises in order to curry favor with those he hopes will deem him worthy of a national position, the message falls short. Maybe the dispatched owners just don’t care anymore now that investors took over the paper, but the fans should care. Enough is enough of tolerating the enemy within. Smith needs to have his brooding, obnoxious, Philly-hating ass booted out of town . . . again. Smith was inexplicably allowed to write a column suggesting that Doug Collins is too good of a coach for Philadelp

I just heard quite possibly the worst sports interview ever. Donovan McNabb was on the Vai and Gonzo Show on 97.5 The Fanatic just after 10 AM, and literally said next to nothing about football or his departure from the Eagles. The late morning show is hosted by NBC 10’s Vai Sikahema and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s John Gonzalez. The interview was symbolic of a show that is quickly headed downhill after a strong beginning. McNabb clearly did the interview to promote his charitable initiative to combat high blood pressure. Fine. Athletes do that all the time. The deal is that interviewers mention the charitable effort maybe once in the middle of the interview and then give the athlete time at the end to give his spiel. It’s not supposed to dominate the interview. It’s supposed to be squeezed in between sports related questions and answers. Instead, the charity was the first thing mentioned by Gonzalez, who seems to have emerged as the lead of the show to its detriment. Then throughout