(Editors note - This is the first submission for our #NBAFanVoice Day here at Peachtree Hoops. Write up a fan post and let your voice be heard.)

It doesn't matter who wins because the ultimate loser, as always, is the fan. My problem with the NBA is simple : I can't afford decent seats to a game anymore. 

The NBA, like all other major sports, is penny wise and dollar foolish: sucking every dollar possible out of every single person at every single game, while not replenishing for the future. With the exhortative prices,  ridiculous  starting hours and TV friendly scheduling kids are watching less and less and being lured away to faster paced, more exciting activities ( extreme sports and lacrosse especially ).

What I can't understand is : How can guys, making thousands of dollars per MINUTE, refuse to play and expect the average guy making about $1000 per WEEK to support the cause ? Or owners who practically hold their fans hostage at first class resort prices ? Basketball is the ' city game' where all you need is a pair of sneakers and you can find a game; too bad you need a lot more than that to go watch one.

In the NY Daily News 12 / 22 / 10  there is a story about the Nets working on a major deal to land Carmelo Anthony.  Part of it includes Devin Harris to Denver, but that he is not a part of the Nuggets rebuilding plan and a third team will be needed. How about  Jamal Crawford  and Jeff Teague for D Harris and something else. JC would be a nice fit to replace 'Melo 's offense. That would leave us with a starting 5 of : PG Harris  SG Johnson C Collins PF Horford SF Smith and a good bench with : Bibby , Marvin, Powell, Zsa Zsa, D Wilkins, JC2 and  what ever piece we get in the trade . Any thoughts on this ?          

Many fans including myself were unhappy with the off season moves ( or lack of ); but I believe this team is better than last years. Lets take an over view of this team - a bona fide star and go to guy; two soon to be elite young players who have elevated their game year by year; a veteran point guard who, while not flashy , won't turn it over;  a young player with tremendous potential about to put it together; instant offense off the bench;  two good 1st rounders the past two years; and more size , strength and depth off the bench. I am looking forward to this season.

Joe will have a good year, he is a star and go to guy every team wishes they had, we have him and should be thankful.

Al is on the verge of a monster season, with more time at PF he will a force to be reckoned with.

Josh Smith has improved his game every year and there is no reason to believe he won't continue to do so.

Bibby won't hurt us and should be even more effective with less minutes as Teague continues to emerge.

Marvin has another year of experience and will be a year wiser and hopefully a year better

Jamall Crawford is instant offense a la Andrew Toney; so much more than a 6th man.

Zsa Zsa, Etan Thomas, Josh Powell and an in shape Jason Collins give us more size and strength than previous years; allowing Al to play more PF.

Mo Evans and Jordan Crawford are more quality depth absent in the past. 

This team is a year more experienced and co-hesive not a year older. We don't have the distraction of Joe's contract (Al will re-sign ) and  motivation to move past last years Orlando series. We have improved 5 consecutive years in a row and will continue that trend this year. Thanks to Woody for bringing us to this point, hopefully Larry Drew is the man to bring us another step closer. If the big men can preform, this team has many interchangeable parts and can be as versatile as any team in the league.  The Hawks are a young, dynamic team loaded with talent - watch out. 

Being my first fan post for ROTB, some backround information is in order. My first memories of the Cardinals come from about 1970 -Jim Hart, Johnny Roland and the the legendary Larry Wilson. I loved playing football but as for watching it ,coverage was limited ( although I do remember that the Super Bowl champs would play an exhibition game vs. college all-stars; can you imagine that today ?). Then in 1974 came Don Coryell's 'Cardiac Cards' and a bond for life was formed. They started out 7 - 0 and I couldn't believe that the Cardinals were actually good. Terry Metcalfe was my favorite, instant excitement any time he touched the ball ( one year he threw a TD pass, and scored by running, catching, returning a punt and kick off , and recovered a fumble for TD !!). They won the NFC East that year and the next, which was no small feat considering Dallas and Washington were power houses  (and would have won it in 1976 had it not been for two brutal losses to Wash. and Dallas 4 days apart ; still finishing 10 - 4 out of the playoffs). The 80's brought Ottis Anderson, Roy Green and Neil Lomax and a pretty good team but the division was head and shoulders above  all other divisions in football. Every one of their rivals was good and the Cardinals were just pretty good. One game stands out and foreshadowed things to come for the next 25 years - 1984 the last game of the season, at the Redskins. The Cards need to win to get into the playoffs, lose and they tie for division title but lose tie breaker. After falling behind in the first half Neil Lomax comes out after half time and proceeds to have the second half of a life time, hitting Roy Green all over the field. I don't remember his stats but he did complete over 20 passes with only two incomplete for the half. With the game winding down  and out of TOs they scramble for a last second game winning FG. They snap the ball, Neil O'Donoghue actually drills a game winner only to have it ruled the ball was snapped LESS THAN A SECOND too late. No win, no division title, no play offs because of less than a second !!  My worst Cardinal loss before the Super Bowl.

I spent a lot of time on that one game because it was when my expectations for the Cards started to diminish. Poor coaching choices, moving to Phoenix, no more NFC East ( I'm a NYer -don't hold it against me) and just poor results on the field - save for one Jake Plummer year. Then came the move that has completely changed this organization - hiring Ken Whisenhunt (and the bonus of getting Russ Grimm ). These guys are winners, and have transformed this team into winners. My first 37 years as a fan saw one playoff victory and only three appearances. The 2008 run was magical in my eyes, once again I couldn't believe what was happening, like the little kid back in 1974. The Arizona Cardinals NFC Champs and in the Super Bowl -WOW ! Then the game itself starts with Pittsburgh marching down the field for two quick, easy TDs. This coaching staff responded like a prize fighter getting off the canvas after an early knock down. Not only did this team not roll over but it took that game back. The turnover and stomach churning return at half time and the final drive was all the Steelers had. The Cardinals did not win the game but they won more respect in the football world than they ever had before. They made the Super Bowl, deserved to be there and almost won it. They followed that up with another NFC West title and another playoff victory.

When the season ended and Warner retired, Boldin was traded, and Dansby and Rolle bolted via free agency I thought well it's been a nice run; considering what I had put up with for the past almost 40 years. This coaching staff had a plan and it's a much better one than I thought possible. Yes I can't wait for this season because this team is in the most capable hands I have witnessed. They have drafted as well as any team for the past 6 years, built from within and have quality in reserve to boot. Now if we can stay healthy,minimize turn overs and get a decent year from Leinert we should be back in the playoffs for the third consecutive year. There is no reason not to expect this to happen. It's a great feeling to have pride and expectations for your team and I for one truly appreciate it. Nobody has ever called me a front runner when it comes to football, hopefully one day they will; as I think more and more will eventually be jumping on the Cardinal band wagon. Thank You Coach Whisenhunt you are by far the best thing to happen to the Cardinals. Now go out there and kick some ass; I expect it to happen.  

. I would like to suggest that the Blues suffer from The Curse of Scottie Bowman. The first head coach in the franchise's existence ; he leads them into the Stanley Cup Finals in their first three years . He leaves because he also wants to be GM which was unheard of in pro sports at that time; showing what vision he had. He then goes on to have the most successful coaching career in hockey history.  The Blues have never been back to the finals since. Is this a curse or what?

As a life long Atlanta Hawk fan residing in New York, that cancelled his cable I have ' watched' the Hawks through their boxscores. Following them and the NBA this way has given me a unique view and unusual ability to break down what happened in those games ( usually pretty acurate, not always though). I also pick up some very odd idiosyncrasies that I hope you find amusing. Sort of a find what is different about this boxscore puzzle, with the answers to be given the next day. These won't always be exclusively limited to the Hawks ; but as basketball fans I think you will have fun with it. So lets start with last nights game against the Lakers ( a great way to introduce this segment )Lakers vs Hawks boxscore, by the way this game had more than one thing catch my eye, which will also give you a clue to how this works.

Since this isn't only the Hawks, I will writing it as a Fan Shot  not a Fan Post. Thanks and enjoy. D4.

I am a 47 year old, lifetime Cardinal fan, lifetime New Yorker, new to VEB and computer virgin. Not having direct access

to the Cards I am a boxscore junkie. The morning after all games I would drive an extra 2 miles to get a late addition newspaper to ensure any and all late boxscores would be in the paper. This meant going into the Bronx , just to give an idea of the meaning of how important these are to me. I would read the boxscore and try to analyze  what went right or 

wrong; trying to figure out how the game was won or lost. I developed a unique way of seeing things and would like to 

bounce it off the VEB community and receive feedback on the accuracy of how I perceived the game.

Cards 13 Boston 8

GOOD - 20 hits;  especially the bottom of the order production: Skip with 4 hits ( imagine a true leadoff hitter setting the

the table for Albert ): 7 runs to seal it in the 8th: the job done by the relievers ;esp. no walks: the defense not giving anything extra - no errors,wild pitches, passed balls or stolen bases against.

BAD -  Brad Penny against Bostons 2nd ( 3rd? ) string ,giving multiple runs in 3 different innings. 14 men LOB this

drives me crazy ( not a far ride by any stretch of the imagination ).

Cards 6 Houston 4

GOOD - Ludwick 2 doubles ( we need him to hit ) Freese HR, Garcia  whole pitching line a thing of beauty and promise; any time we hit Wandy it is a good thing; the D no E, PB,WP or stolen bases against ( Yadi is this generations Ozzie ) 

BAD - Looks like Lohse was hit pretty hard Ps-6 ex base hits. I dont like Carlos Lee going 3 for 3 or Yadi getting HBP

( he takes enough beating behind the plate ). Also 9 Ks - too many unproductive outs. 

BOTH GAMES OVERVIEW - Any time you can win 2 games without Albert in the line-up it's a good thing. All the releif

pitchers performed well. Is it me or do the Cardinals have an annoying habit of putting up a great 1st inning and then

disappearing the rest of the game?

 HYPOTHETIC QUESTION - If Albert played on '85 team and batted 3rd behind Vince and Willie how many RBIs

would he have gotten ?

P.S. Sorry about the way the post is laid out; I don't know why this happens - ref. to opening line- computer virgin.

After looking at the upcoming season schedule a few key areas stand as significant building blocks for a successful

defense of the NL Central. 

             1 Open with 12 of first 18 on the road ending in Ariz. + SF

             2 SF starts a 17 game run ( from SF to home for 4 against the Braves )

              -the 17 games include 4 at Philly

             3   Home for the Astros to start a 13 game stretch- thats 30 games in 31 days !

!            4  Right after the All-Sar Break we host the Dodgers and Phillies for 4 each then 3 in Chicago 11 in a row.

             5  Close August with 13 straight , heading into a potentially brutal Sept.

              6   30 Days Has September and the Cards play 28 of them  including 13 with no rest to close out  the year-

                  that is barring any make ups .

They need good solid performances from the starters and to be healthy at these critical junctures of the upcoming 

 campaign. We caught a few breaks in scheduling - AL West with the Angels, Mariners and A's @home and on the road for  Toronto and the JV I mean KC. The season also ends with the last 7 home against Pitt. and Col. 

It,s these 6 important stretches that would go a long way to making the season we all want to see.