work well with nines, a.k.'s, and techs.

--The NBA's back, yo, along with the excellent The Basketball Jones podcast.

• The C's look about as good as they did in their championship run. Their depth is ridiculous, Sheed (BALL DON'T LIE!) looks like he belongs there, and they're the best team in the league if Doc can manage the vets' minutes.
• Their biggest competition? The Magic, whose much-touted offseason moves appear to be working out.
  
• Phoenix, San Antonio, and Denver, meanwhile, look like they can keep pace with the Pau-less Lakers in the West.
  
• Jason Maxiell eats babies. Not necessarily relevant, but it's always relevant.
• LeBron James may be better, but Dwyane Wade is actually fun to watch.
• The Knicks, Nets, and OKC fit roundly into the "not good, but a hell of a lot of fun" category.
• My Hornets, unfortunately, fit into the "not good, and agony to watch" category. Chris Paul is playing at an absurdly high level, and the team's still 1-3 against the bottom of the NBA barrel. Hope, baby, hope.
  

--Football, you say?

• I was in the ATL (where the dirty be found, I hear) over the weekend, so I didn't get to make any predictions. In all likelihood I only would've made NFL predictions, because of how roundly uninteresting the college matchups were (if you didn't see that USC loss coming, you are lacking in judgment!!!).
• For one thing, I would've picked Minnesota to beat the Pack. Green Bay's o-line has got to be in the running for worst in the league at pass protection, and Minny's d-line is still playing very well. Though I'd like to, I won't shortchange Favre; he was excellent, as he has been thus far all season.
• Baltimore-Denver was another interesting matchup, and again I would've correctly predicted the winner. Denver's inability to threaten deep (an option the Ravens left open to Orton all game) really cost them, and Orton's limitations could signal the beginning of a precipitous decline for the team.
• Colts-San Fran was unexpectedly tight; the Colts' run defense was, for a little while anyway, reminiscent of the 2006 regular season. Meanwhile the rush offense is as plainly ineffective as it's been the past year and a half. We need Gonzalez back, ASAP.
• New Orleans' win over Atlanta was also a lot tighter than I expected, although it hinged on some pretty lucky plays for Atlanta (Brees' fumble-TD, the no-call on the Roddy White TD). Some cracks in the Saints' facade are beginning to reveal themselves, but the team's responded well to adversity so far and is still the class of the league.
• Sorry if I ever said anything mean about you, Ted Ginn.

--As for the rest of this week's schedule, I'll have an extended preview of LSU-Bama along with some predictions and an album review.