Birdman no Bird

There's a guy named Chris Anderson on the Denver Nuggets who is covered in tatoos, and has more gel in his rooster-'do than a liberty-spiked '80's punk. This never happens in hockey, due to the long sleeves and helmets, thank the Nordic Ice-Gods.

Wow. They just interviewed him during the commercial break, (no shit) and he explained that he calls his look the Birdman, and wears it to get the fans fired up. Good thing I turned the sound on and soaked up his wisdom. I need to see if he wears it in LA.

He didn't have his hair up for the interview, but he was wearing a wife-beater, so as to show off his many tats. Makes you wonder what's wrong with Dirk Nowitski and his bare arms. Maybe the only untatted white NBA guys are dorks from places like Germany...and French Lick.

I think the Nugget logo with the crossed pickaxes would make a dandy tramp-stamp. I've decided tatoos look better on the black players--because I can't see them as well. Actually I decided that a long time ago.

The Penguins are kicking some Capital ass. These odds are from earlier in the day, but after the Bruins won and the Red Wings lost.

Odds to win the 2008-2009 Stanley Cup
All wagers have action. Singles Only.
Anaheim Ducks 9/1
Boston Bruins 4/1
Carolina Hurricanes 10/1
Chicago Blackhawks 7/2
Detroit Red Wings 9/5
Pittsburgh Penguins 5/1
Washington Capitals 9/2

Odds to win the 2008/2009 Eastern Conference Championship
All wagers have action. Singles Only.

Boston Bruins 6/5
Carolina Hurricanes 4/1
Pittsburgh Penguins 9/4
Washington Capitals 9/5

Odds to win the 2008/2009 Western Conference Championship
All wagers have action. Singles Only.

Anaheim Ducks 4/1
Chicago Blackhawks 5/4
Detroit Red Wings 3/4

If you'd bet the Ducks last night you could have been paid at +140. Not bad for a home team that seems capable of trading body blows with the defending champs indefinitely. I may have bet it if I wasn't a Wings fan. You can never get rational odds on the Wings.

There are cameras on "Birdman" while he's on the bench. Best gimmick since Josh Hamilton became a meth-head living under a bridge. Now that he's triumphantly returned to become one of the most feared power-hitters in the American League, he's one of two reasons I want to see the Rangers play when I get back to Texas. The other is that Arlington is only...2 hours and 37 minutes away, as opposed to Houston, which is 3 hours and 42 minutes away. I imagine YahooMaps hasn't factored in Dallas rush hour traffic...or Houston's

Here are the current NBA Futures--Denver is trouncing Dallas, but the Mav's odds were already pretty long.

Odds to win 2009 NBA Championship
All wagers have action. Singles only. Max $600. (This Prop is Closed for Betting)

Boston Celtics 15/1
Cleveland Cavaliers 2/3
Dallas Mavericks 200/1
Denver Nuggets 15/2
Houston Rockets 75/1
Los Angeles Lakers 6/5
Orlando Magic 35/1

Odds to win 2009 NBA Eastern Conference Championship
All wagers have action. Singles only max $600 (This Prop is Closed for Betting)

Boston Celtics 5/1
Cleveland Cavaliers 1/10
Orlando Magic 10/1

Odds to win 2009 NBA Western Conference Championship
Team to win the Western Conference. All wagers have action. Singles only. Max $600. (This Prop is Closed for Betting)

Dallas Mavericks 75/1
Denver Nuggets 11/4
Houston Rockets 25/1
Los Angeles Lakers 1/5

Dallas is staying within the 9-11 point range. Denver is favored by 10.5. Uncanny. Don't bet on hoops, kiddies.

Pittsburgh beat Washington 6-2. Bring on the Hurricaines. Or Bruins.

Denver held on to win by 14, but until the last minute or two they were within a basket of the spread either way. If you had $$ on this game it was riveting. Otherwise, Dallas never seemed like they were going to make a run.