I’m entering my final Smacktalk undefeated, and I’m not letting Anthony pull a Giants on my perfect season. Right now, we’re right in the middle of the NBA playoffs and, unfortunately, the Spurs are still in conference finals. I was really hoping for the Hornets to pull out a series win so that I could see more of Chris Paul’s ridiculous play and less of Bruce Bowen’s dirty fouls. In the East, Boston hasn’t been able to take their strong regular season performances into the playoff, having been taken to seven games in their first two rounds by both Boston and Cleveland. I think they should be able to beat Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals, but they’ll face a much tougher task with either the Lakers or Spurs.

With the approach of the summer, baseball is moving towards the middle of the season. Right now I’m really liking the Cubs, especially their rookie from Japan with the best name ever, Kosuke Fukudome. While they have a shot at doing very well this year, the Cubs have been a letdown longer than Anthony. The Nationals haven’t been too successful this year, with a record below .500. The team has drawn fire for its dugout chants, which some believe lack professionalism, but I like how it has managed to show as a young team that it is still playing their hardest. While Stan Kasten’s building of a farm system for the organization is beginning to pay off, I still believe they should spend some more money on established talent to give some incentive for more fans to attend games. The Orioles started out the season as one of the hottest teams in the major leagues but have since lost momentum and fallen behind Boston and Tampa Bay in the AL East. By September they’ll be competing with Tampa Bay for last place, while the Yankees and Red Sox fight for first place and a wild card position (which happens every single season. Blame Peter Angelos).

The Champion’s League Final was amazing, with Manchester United beating Chelsea on penalty kicks. Watching John Terry miss the decisive penalty kick for Chelsea was like watching his soul be crushed. Anthony was in the same situation when his prom date ditched him for me.

Alright Paint Branch, let me close this Smacktalk out by thanking all of you who read this column regularly. Thanks to Anthony for slacking on deadlines for his Backtalk and on editing the page. For one last time, I’m out.