Avery Johnson Fired By Dallas Mavericks

In an update to today's previous post – Avery Johnson has been fired as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. It was apparent during the series that Johnson had lost his team. Maybe it was the Jason Kidd factor or maybe it was just his message falling on deaf ears after a disappointing first round playoff exit last season followed by sneaking in this year and then bounced by the New Orleans Hornets.

The Mavericks have been in a downward spiral since losing to the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals. Even though I think the Jason Kidd deal was a panic move by team owner Mark Cuban in trying to keep up in the Western Conference arms race it was also apparent that it was time for a coaching change.

Blockbuster Trades For Nothing

I guess the debate of which trade was worse between the Phoenix Suns for Shaq or the Dallas Mavericks for Jason Kidd is no longer valid. Both teams took a first round exit from the NBA playoffs after winning only one game of their series. Now we wait for the fallout as Avery Johnson and Mike D’Antoni are both rumored to be in jeopardy of losing their jobs.

MLB Stock Report

In our last report the Arizona Diamondbacks were the hottest team in the majors and while they are still playing strong they have been replaced by an unlikely group. The Tampa Bay Rays are on a six game winning streak and share in a three way tie with Boston and Baltimore for the top spot in the AL East. Left fielder Carl Crawford has crossed the plate 23 times and is batting .300 to lead the upstart Rays who were among the teams listed with dropping stock in our last report.

Continue to the Stock Report

Ceiling Fans at Extremely Low Prices

My wife and I bought a new house last fall and while we have worked hard at putting our own personal touch on it the one thing we aren’t completely satisfied with yet is that we don’t have ceiling fans in each room yet. The process isn’t quite as simple as you would think either. It isn’t necessarily the process of hanging them either because that in itself is a simple task. Rather the difficulty is in finding just the right ceiling fan at just the right price.

One resource we have discovered is CeilingFanWarehouse.com. Their selections and prices on Ceiling fans is amazing. On many of their ceiling fans they are priced better than the large home improvement store chains. They even offer an incredible selection of Outdoor Ceiling Fans which is something that we are considering for our back patio.

The right ceiling fan can greatly enhance the look of a room or a patio while a bad selection can become an eyesore or stick out so much that it becomes a distraction to the design scheme or theme of the room. The quality of the ceiling fan is crucial as well. After all you are putting the fan up to make the room more comfortable by helping control the room’s climate. I recommend looking at the Minka Ceiling Fan to add the perfect touch to any room.

Why TNT Has The Best Studio Show

Regardless of how you feel about NBA basketball (personally I prefer college basketball) you’ve got to love the studio guys for TNT. Sure at times they can be annoying, inaccurate and too opinionated but name a studio guy who isn’t.

To produce a great studio show you have to know what you are talking about, bring on guests (players and coaches) that the fans want to see and find creative ways to add an entertaining edge to the show. Ernie, Kenny and Charles may not each have the ability to stand on their own but together they make the best studio team of any sport.

Check out the hilarious clip from Wednesday night’s show (above).

The St. Louis Rams Are On the Clock

The mystery and intrigue over the first pick in the NFL draft is over with the Miami Dolphins already agreeing to terms with Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long. Long’s total contract package is for $57.75 million, said a person familiar with the negotiations who didn’t want to be identified because the Dolphins declined to reveal terms. The contract length is five years with $30 million in guaranteed money. So now all eyes are on the St. Louis Rams who have the #2 overall pick.

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Miguel Tejada’s Age Becomes Subplot for Astros

Miguel Tejada’s actual age is an issue for the Houston Astros to deal with but don’t expect them to do anything about it real soon. There are too many other things ahead of Tejada on the Astros agenda. At 7-12 the Astros have to find a way to climb out of the NL Central basement and to have any chance of doing that they’ll need Tejada.

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NBA Playoff Predictions

Yeah, I know. I don’t hardly talk enough about NBA basketball but we have reached what is now what I feel the real NBA season also known as the playoffs. The West brings us the best first-round match-ups with Dallas/New Orleans, and Phoenix/San Antonio but the ultimate playoff match-up could still be in the East with the possibility of Cleveland and Boston hooking up.

First Round Playoff Predictions

East




You have to applaud Joe Johnson for leading Atlanta to the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade but this will be the end of the road for the Hawks. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett will be way too much for the Hawks to handle. Celtics Sweep!






Philadelphia has an excellent coach in Maurice Cheeks and a legitimate scorer in Andre Iguodala but the Pistons are still the Pistons. Detroit in 5!






Chris Bosh against Dwight Howard will give us one of the most exciting match-ups of superstar talent in the first round but in the end the Magic will be too deep for Bosh’s Raptors. Orlando in 6!






Do Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas equal LeBron James? No, but they’ll come awful close. Cleveland in 7!

West




With Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby the Nuggets have enough to be pesky and push the Lakers more than they’d like. Lakers in 6!







Dallas desperately wants to avoid getting launched in the first round for the second consecutive season but they’ll have their hands full with the best point guard in the league. Hornets in 7!

Phoenix will have Shaq in their frontcourt this time around and a grudge they’ve been holding since last year’s playoffs. Spurs in 6!

Yao Ming leads the Rockets in scoring and rebounding. Unfortunately he won’t be in uniform. Looks like another first round exit for McGrady. Jazz in 5!

Ecommerce shopping cart article

If you plan to or currently are doing business on the internet then you need to check out this article on shopping cart software. It is not a how to from A to Z but it is very informative on the way Ecommerce business should be conducted as well as how to maximize your potential.

Proven online sales strategies should be what you are looking for to make your Ecommerce business the success that you always dreamed it would be. This article explains how simple things like the proper use of headlines, offering a payment plan, asking for the sale and other easy features can help you get the most out of your business.

When it comes to an Ecommerce business you get out of it what you put into it. For some failed businesses it isn’t lack of desire or work ethic rather it is lack of knowledge. An article like this can be a simple solution to that problem.

Get the Latest NFL Headlines at 4th and Inches

The 2008 NFL schedule has been released and the draft is now just days away. However, baseball is also under way and NASCAR is approaching mid-season. Because there are only so many hours in a week (I have to sleep at some point) and with baseball and NASCAR being the prominent attention grabbers right now, not to mention NBA playoffs, I’ve added an NFL news widget to 4th and Inches where you can check out the latest headlines and leave your related opinions in the comments section.

MLB Stock Report

The hottest team in Major League Baseball right now is…drum roll please…the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite Sunday’s 13-5 loss to Colorado the Diamondbacks have still won eight of their last ten games. Led by Justin Upton’s 5 homeruns and .400 batting average along with Brandon Webb’s 3-0 record with a 2.14 ERA Arizona has a 2.5 game lead over San Diego for the top spot in the NL West.

Here’s how the rest of the MLB team’s are doing in this week’s stock report.

Online Game Site Paying Big Bucks to Winners

With the surge of people looking to go the internet to take advantage of a few entertaining minutes of down time game sites are starting to pop up everywhere awarding prizes and cash to winners of their online contests. Solving puzzles and competing against others in various trivia contests are among the most popular and while some sites offer bonuses for using their search engines and referrals the ones that are making the most waves are the ones who offer cash prizes to winners.

One such site is Break the Vault where members are awarded cash prizes for solving puzzles. The amount paid to the winner is dependant on the difficulty of the puzzle and your winnings can be deposited directly to your PayPal account.

Here’s how it works. A new online contests is posted each Monday and for every following day a new hint will be released. The first person to solve the puzzle wins. Yes, it’s that simple. All contests on the site are free but you do have to be a member to play.

Burton Takes Top Spot Top 10

There’s a new sheriff in town, well…at least a new king of the hill as Jeff Burton squeaks by Kevin Harvick in this week’s Top 10 power poll. Fueled by a 6th place finish at the Samsung 500 over the weekend Burton is now NASCAR’s hottest driver on the heels of three consecutive Top 10 finishes including a win at the Food City 500 on March 16th.

Continue to Top 10

Does NASCAR’s New Safer Driving Equate to Boring Races?

One thing I’ve picked up this NASCAR season is that many long-term fans are giving up and walking away from the sport. Even some of the readers of this site who have commented in the past both here and on the message boards are no longer watching the races. The reason why? The car of tomorrow is not conducive to exciting races. Continue...

NASCAR’s Man of the Week

Michael McDowell didn’t win the Samsung 500 Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, he actually didn’t even come close, but just the fact that he was able to run in the race and finished it a testament to his physical and mental toughness along with the safety precautions that the sport has taken to protect their drivers. McDowell was involved in a horrific crash just days before the race and yet walked away ready to drive again. See the Crash!

Put Your Logo on a Visa Gift Card

There was a time that if you wanted your corporate name and logo put on a gift card then you had to be a Fortune 500 type company ordering thousands at a time. Now, thanks to Gift Card Lab, those days are gone. They make it possible for anyone to buy visa gift cards with their company names and logos printed on them. These make great gifts for clients or employees.

Alfonso Soriano Struggles Are Costing Chicago

If you were to ask Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella what his primary concerns were heading into this baseball season I’m almost sure that he wouldn’t say that it was where Alfonso Soriano would bat and how long he would be in a slump. However, that has been one of the Cubs (3-3) biggest struggles this season as they have a 1-3 record this season when Soriano doesn’t register a hit. Continue...

Martz Feared Saints, Not Pats, Would Tape Practice

If New England hadn’t made the run that they did in 2007 and if this scandal had only involved the New York Jets and not the Green Bay Packers and Saint Louis Rams along with others then this could be a dead issue but for now it is what it is and people still want to talk about it. One such person is John Czarnecki of FOXsports.com. According to him there was no Saint Louis Rams walk through for Matt Walsh to video tape for the Patriots and besides that it was the Saints and not the Patriots that Mike Martz feared would tape a practice. Continue...