Fresh off a win against alternate MVP frontrunner Chris Paul’s New Orleans Hornets, Kobe Bryant does a hell of a job convincing us who deserves the MVP this year:

Nuff said.

The month of April is upon us. There’s April Fool’s Day, April showers, the start of the baseball season, but most importantly - THE START OF THE NBA AND NHL PLAYOFFS.

Granted, the NBA is still playing its regular season, but most games are already being played with playoff-like intensity as teams jock for position in the standings.

We had the Phoenix Suns-San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks-Utah Jazz, and Golden State Warriors-Denver Nuggets. All were stellar games. And it only gets better tonight as the New Orleans Hornets are in town taking on the Los Angeles Lakers, a game I will be fortunate enough to attend. The teams are a mere 1.5 games apart in the battle for first place in the West, and it promises to be another late-season classic.

Basketball talk aside, the Stanley Cup playoffs are already underway. As I mentioned before, for the sake of hockey, we should be rooting for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Given recent developments in recent weeks, I am now writing this post to make you all privy to another team slash player to watch: Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

Caps fever is everywhere, as they managed to pull over a 9-1 streak to finish the season and catapult themselves to the top of their division, thus earning them the 3rd seed in the East. In the process, Ovechkin was dominant, just as he has been all season, breaking Luc Robitaille’s single-season goal scoring record by a left winger with 65 goals.

His final line: 65 goals, 47 assists, 112 points, +28 - DAMN

He gets my vote for Most Valuable Player, as not only did he excel statistically, but he essentially carried his team on his back into the playoffs. Who are the Capitals without him?

Granted, general manager George McPhee should be commended for landing an All-Star caliber goalie, Cristobal Huet, at the trading deadline, but this team is all Ovechkin. He is by far the most dynamic, fun-to-watch player in the league.

He scores REDONKULOUS goals and seems to be having the time of his life doing it.

Oh, and if you didn’t pick up on this other fact from that previous video, he straight STEAMROLLS dudes on the ice:

Well done setting that one to Iron Maiden’s “Mother Russia”

Ovechkin has lured many a person into Capitals fan-dom, myself included.

Perusing my new source for all things Caps, you can see how big of a following Ovie has. The band Pummeler pays tribute to Alex in a song that I yearn to have as my new ringtone:

(don’t be) fooled cuz he’s a Russian
(it’s) your body he’ll be crushin
(it’s your) tears that will be flowing
(and your) blood that will be gushin

Diving further into the realm of freshly minted hockey songs, you can find quite the catchy Capitals fight song, as recorded by Darkest Hour.

His bobblehead even rocks out to freaking Journey:

OK enough with the YouTube and musics I suppose. If you didn’t get it by now, WATCH THE KID PLAY. He is the most entertaining player in the league and is now rivaling Sidney Crosby in importance. In my other post I said that there would potentially be many new Penguins fans drawn in by Crosby, but now I’m adding Ovie and the Caps to the mix.

I’m a Los Angeles Kings fan, but you bet your ass I’m tuning in and rooting for Ovie and the Caps during the playoffs. They’re good for the NHL, and they’re even better to watch.

I had the misfortune of having to go to class on my birthday today to turn in an assignment. However, I have loose attendance morals and ended up leaving to go home and blog (sad).

Browsing the web in class, an ESPN article caught my eye concerning the Seattle Supersonics’ potential move to Oklahoma City. Apparently a deal is being negotiated to leave the Supersonic name, colors, etc… in Seattle for the next franchise that could come around.

Brilliant, I say!

Following this idea, the NBA would be an interesting place if names and identities were left behind from whence they originated.

The Los Angeles Lakers is an odd fit, seeing as how the Lakers originated in Minneapolis. Solution: give the Minnesota Timberwolves the Laker name, and have L.A. adopt the old ABA Anaheim Amigos or Los Angeles Stars monikers.

The San Antonio Spurs made the right move by leaving their former identity as the Dallas Chaparrals behind. Why won’t the Mavs rekindle that old flame? Their name isn’t there’s anyways since it originally belonged to the Houston Mavericks of the ABA. Solution: the Rockets (who got their name from their San Diego roots anyways) change their name to the Chaparrals and send their name to Dallas for the Mavericks name plus future considerations.

Memphis Grizzlies? Please. It’s a retarded name to start with, but I guess it somewhat made sense for the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies, since apparently the grizzly bear is a “longtime cultural symbol of Canada” (thanks Wikipedia!). Memphis had a slew of various names for their basketball teams, including the Pros, Tams, and Sounds. I vote for the Memphis Sounds - if that doesn’t speak of the identity of a city, I don’t know what does.

Most recently, the New Orleans Hornets relocated from Charlotte to their new home. The name definitely made sense in Charlotte, as General Cornwallis once referred to the area as a “veritable nest of hornets.” The current Charlotte Bobcats have one of the worst names and logos there is (another reason why you shouldn’t let idiotic casual fans name things). Lastly, why wouldn’t the New Orleans Jazz want to make a comeback? Yes, I’m aware they currently play in Utah, but does anyone care? Solution: Let’s orchestrate a three-way trade. Rename Utah’s franchise the Mormons and call it a day. Everybody plays, everybody wins.

Any other contributions to this list are welcome! To check out some more obscure old teams, check out Remember the ABA - or just Wikipedia your favorite team and see what you find out!