SportsPants

So the NBA playoffs are here the Western Conference is a molten pile of teams all within a few games of each other. Aside from those bastard Lakers, the wild west is anyone's conference. It will all be about the right match-ups.

The Phoenix Suns might be able to run Portland out of the stadium, but the Utah Jazz might give them fits. Meanwhile, Denver might smoke Utah, but can't beat Portland. It's all a nice muddy ball.

That's why I'm actually happy that the Dallas Mavericks are playing the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

Say what? I'm happy the Mavericks get the Spurs, the only team other than the Lakers to win multiple championships this decade? Four championships to be exact. That's how many rings Tim Duncan has on his fingers. Then you have Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, coach Popovich ... that's a lot of winning right there.

Oh, and the Spurs are getting healthy at the right time. The team is coming together to make a playoff run and they look nasty. So why in the name of Mark Cuban am I happy?

Because Dallas is built to beat the Spurs. The team obsessed with San Antonio because for most of this decade, that was the team to beat. The Mavericks know the Spurs. They aren't afraid of the Spurs.

The other option would have been Portland. That seems like a great match-up now that All-Star guard Brandon Roy isn't playing for the Trail Blazers due to a knee injury. Yet Portland is 3-1 against the Mavs this year and the last game in Portland was ugly. Fouls were called, fans were ejected, debris was thrown on the floor.

These are not things you need to add into a playoff game if you want to advance. It's hard enough to move forward in the west without adding a fan frenzy against your particular team. Portland fans would be out for blood against the Mavs and it all adds up to extra energy needed to survive during the away games. Dallas would probably win the series, but it'd advance as a tired team into the next round. Add in the extra travel to Portland compared to San Antonio, plus the two-hour time zone change and you're talking lots of added stress.

I may rue the day I actually rooted to play San Antonio, but I'd rather see a familiar foe that's only an hour plane ride away rather than the great unknown in a distant land known as Portland.

It's the playoffs and I'm craaazy!

Read more of Brad Seal at the original "SportsPants" blog.

We are getting to the end of the NFL season. I am sad. So are you.

But we're still talking football in our non-nonsensical way here at SportsPants.

During this episode we talk about:

-The blowouts that were supposed to be the most entertaining round of the NFL playoffs

-One particular position that absolutely sucks this year

-A first for the city of New Orleans

-A possible tearful goodbye to one of the game's all time greats.

-Plus a pissed off Chargers fan and random monkey sounds...

So take 45 minutes and listen to the playoff PantsCast by clicking RIGHT HERE. Now. You'll be a better NFL fan for it.

Read more of Brad Seal at the original "SportsPants" blog.

Anyone who watched Week 17 of NFL football probably wondered when he or she stepped into a wormhole that brought him or her back to the pre-season. Half of the teams didn’t bother to put out the starters and basically forfeited a regular season game.

This is, of course, nothing new in the NFL; it’s a long season and just one game off can help players who are beat to hell after a gazillion collisions.

Now the playoffs start and the intensity is ratcheted up tenfold. Meanwhile, top teams Indianapolis and New Orleans have multiple game losing streaks heading in. Both teams have a bye week, so rest wasn’t going to be a problem. Momentum, however, could now be a problem for both teams.

The Colts should be aware of this. A few years back the Colts rolled through the AFC during the regular season, then took the final games off after they captured home field advantage. As you may recall, the wild card Pittsburgh Steelers came into Indy and rolled right over the Colts. Peyton and company looked rusty and lost while the Steelers looked cohesive and ready.

If the Colts and Saints spend a half trying to up the intensity to a playoff level after screwing around for the past few weeks, they might be out of the game and the playoffs.

So I’m saying teams should stop resting their players before the playoffs, right?

That’d be an easy decision if I didn’t watch Wes Welker of the Patriots tear up his knee right in front of my eyes on Sunday. Welker is a killer slot receiver for the Pats and he’s playoff tested. Now he’s gone even though New England already had a playoff spot sewn up. Now they look very beatable with a questionable defense and only Randy Moss to scare anyone when Tom Brady drops back to pass.

The decision ultimately has to end up in the head coach’s hands since he should know his players better than anyone. If they’re beat up, maybe they need to rest, but beware making injury worries your decision maker; it just might come back to haunt you in the playoffs.