Here's todays sports news...

Here's todays sports news...

Attrition has been one of the Warriors' best pickups this offeseason. While the Warriors have taken some baby steps forward, many of the Western Conference rivals have been moving in the opposite direction.

When looking at the Warriors chances to make the playoffs this year, it runs from the bottom up....

Improbably, almost impossibly, the Golden State Warriors' dream season continues tonight with game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup with the Utah Jazz. The Warriors are into the semis by virtue of their historic six-game stunner over the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks; the Jazz eeked out a game 7 road win over the Houston Rockets.

The Jazz are the fourth seed in the Western Conference, but in our minds, its the Dubs that enter this series as the favorites. The Jazz are undoubtedly mentally and physically drained after their game 7 thriller on Saturday, while the Warriors are riding a wave of emotion that shows no sign of dissipating.

OK, so we've gotten some flak about picking the Warriors to take down the Dallas Mavericks in six games in the opening round of the NBA's western Conference playoffs. We'll be the first to admit it's a homer pick, because, well, we do really want the Warriors to win, and we'll be the first to admit it.

But our pie in the sky has an empirical basis. Here's five reasons why the Warriors will beat the Mavs in this playoff series.

A good NBA season is like a good acid trip: it's all about peaking at the right time. Just ask last year's champions, the Miami Heat, about that one (the NBA season, not the acid trip). Well lo and behold, the Warriors are playing the last month of this season like a seasoned DeadHead instead of a burned-out meth-breath. After stomping the playoff-bound Utah Jazz Monday night in the O-rena, 126-102, the Warriors' playoff chances are skyrocketing like so many fantastic colors, and their days as league doormat may truly be numbered.

-In JRich's first game back, the Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime 118-115. Monta Ellis had nine points in overtime to lead the way and Richardson had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his game back. The columnists think the Warriors will have delusions of grandeur and decide to stand pat during trade talks but that doesn't stop Golden State of Mind from linking to all the rumors out there concerning the Warriors. ...

Miss Monta Ellis' last minute shot two nights ago? Here it is. -UCLA beat Cal 62-46. Ray Ratto says UCLA was just too good. -the Stanford men’s basketball team beat USC. -The Cal women also lost. -What's up for the Sharks second half? -The Dallas Cowboys wants to interview 49ers OC Norv Turner for their head coaching job. As we despise the Cowboys, we wish Norv good luck. -The Golden State Warriors are only......

-The Warriors 2.0 won their first game of the season, beating the Nets on a last minute shot by Monta Ellis. They were actually down by about eleven with a little over four minutes to go and rallied to win. Nicely done. Was it the biggest win of the year?...

-The Warriors beat up on an Allen Iverson-less 76ers last night, 116-97 as Matt Barnes led the way with seven three-pointers and twenty-five points. Monta Ellis, meanwhile, isn't as injured as everyone thought he was. And the next run of seven games looks pretty good for the Warriors. ...

Chiefs 20 Raiders 9- We didn't watch this game, we didn't listen to this game, we didn't even know this was a game. It wasn't until we went to SFGate did we realize the Rai-duhs lost another game. Your totals: three interceptions, two fumbles, four sacks, and 307 total yards. The Chiefs even went for it on fourth-and-more-than-one-yard a couple of times just because they could. At this rate, the Raiders are one game away from having one of the Top 10 worst offenses since 1978. And which is worse- the O line or the QB?...

-Frank Gore and Larry Allen from the 49ers and Raiders DE Derrick Burgess get an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. The Raiders are stunned only Burgess is going. Hmmm....maybe not being one of the worst teams in NFL history would have helped. ...

-Glenn Dickey says Stanford coach Walt Harris will be fired after the Big Game. We said that months ago. Jake Curtis sums up the pros and cons of firing him and Ray Ratto says the obvious-- that Harris is under a lot of pressure. ...

Suns 113, Warriors 110- And so endeth the Warriors six game winning streak and five game home winning streak. All this to the Suns, a run-n-gun basketball team that we have a feeling have influenced Mully and Nellie more than you'd like to know. High scoring basketball, catch it. The game was close, though, as the Suns won on a last second three pointer from former Santa Clara grad, Steve Nash. Monta Ellis led the way with 31 points for the Warriors....

USC 23- Cal 9: We honestly felt Cal would have no chance with USC as we figured Cal to be merely a "Good in the Pac 10" type team, the kind of team who could beat the Beavers but not the big guys. But Cal put up a fight and held 'SC close for three quarters before finally giving way to a superior Trojan team. They did have the lead at 9-6 at halftime but between stupid mistakes, turn overs, and some bad breaks, they couldn't do much against the Trojans in the second half, leading to the playing over and over again of that damn USC fight song. We hate that song. ...

The roster is set, and there is an energy and a spark and a focus that hasn't been apparent in past years, but it will take more than a great preseason to wash away the skepticism forged by 12 long, frustrating, painful years spent wandering in the wilderness.

There is hope, but hope is a fragile beauty.

Let the PR horns boldly announce it from the highest rafters: The second Don Nelson era is off to a flying start.

There's been a lot of bitching about War-flops coach Mike Montgomery lately, and we've certainly been a voice in that chorus. One of our main beefs is that the guy just doesn't seem to have much imagination, especially when it comes to lineups. Look what Jerry Sloan has done with Kirilenko, Okur, and the rest of that group of castoffs in Utah, and imagine what he could do with the War-blues roster. ...