With the recent flurry of trade deadline moves changing the face of the Western Conference, the annual complaints about the balance of power in the NBA has begun.

While ESPN and other sports media outlets gush over the talent that has made its way out West in recent years, the Eastern Conference has been effectively, and unfairly dismissed as the league’s pretenders. Funny that the top two records in the NBA belong to the Celtics and the Pistons. Granted, the East also owns the league’s two worst records, with D-Wade’s Heat and (Al Jefferson’s?) Timberwolves settling in quite comfortably in the NBA’s basement.

The farther down the East’s standings you glance, the more apparent it becomes that there is certainly a discrepancy between the records of the conference’s 4-8 seeds and their Western counterparts. The Warriors, currently in a dead heat with the Nuggets for the eighth seed in the West, would find themselves at the four spot in the East. There is no denying the fact that the West is a more competitive conference, but anyone who completely disregards teams like the Magic, Pistons, Celtics, and possibly even the post-trade deadline Cavs, is flat-out misinformed for a number of reasons.

Western supremacy has been a very popular system of belief since Michael Jordan packed his bags and left the East to fend for itself, but this one-sided approach to the NBA has spread like wildfire since the trade deadline. But how much really changed on February 22nd?

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Pau Gasol’s move to the Lakers was an in-conference deal. While the big man has been lighting it up so far running the floor with Kobe Bryant, the top teams in the West all made key additions at the trade deadline, and I foresee the rest of the regular season, as well as the playoffs, functioning as a full-out brawl that will leave the West’s representative in the finals bruised and battered, the Laker’s dynamic duo included.

While the Gasol trade is widely considered to be one of the most ridiculously unfair trades in recent memory, the Suns’ acquisition of Shaq may be the stupidest. Steve Kerr was out of his mind giving up the 29 year-old, versatile Shawn Marion who can score, defend, and rebound with the best of them, for an aging, injury-prone center who takes five minutes to make it from one end of the court to the other. The East actually got better by shipping Shaq off, though Marion is most likely already planning his escape from Miami.

Though the Mavs scored big in acquiring Jason Kidd, they gave up a young, promising point guard in Devin Harris who was posting career-highs all across the board in his first season as a starter. The loss of center DeSagana Diop also raises some serious issues with depth in the Dallas frontcourt.

At the heart of the West vs. East debate is marketability. The best teams in the East are largely considered to be a defensive-minded group — a style of play that does not translate into the flashy, high-scoring product that has become standard procedure out West. Interestingly enough, the Spurs have used the East’s grinding, defensive approach to become the West’s most dominant team in recent years. In a way, Kerr’s trade for Shaq is a concession that the Western Conference’s run-and-gun style of play may look good on TV, but ultimately does not win championships.

The pre-game show for last Sunday’s matchup between the Suns and Pistons featured a nauseating 29 minutes of coverage dedicated to Shaq and the West’s trade deadline moves before the commentators clarified that there was, in fact, another team that would be competing that afternoon. Roughly two hours later, Jeff Van Gundy and Co. were left to discuss McLovin’s potential Oscar snub while the Piston’s bench padded a 34-point third quarter lead. Needless to say, it was a satisfying turn of events.

The common perception of the West as the dominant conference is really just a marketing smokescreen. Four of the past five finals matchups have featured either the Spurs or the Pistons or both — two teams that play “boring” basketball. Five of the top seven franchises in all-time finals appearances hail from the Eastern conference. While the West may have a monopoly on 30-something stars, the East boasts three of the league’s most exciting and productive young players in Dwight Howard, LeBron, and Wade.

Yes, the majority of the rosters in the East pale in comparison to the West’s, but the Pistons and Celtics have enjoyed considerable success in inter-conference play. Before dropping three games immediately following the All-Star break, the Celtics were a perfect 15-0 against the West. Detroit, meanwhile, is 15-7 in play outside of the East, including a 15-point road win against the Hornets on Dec. 5, not to mention Sunday’s 116-86 dismantling of Phoenix.

I recall the day during my senior year of high school, in the heyday of Shaq and Kobe’s dynasty in L.A., when I made a pre-playoff bet that the Pistons would win it all. While I was criticized for “giving away” my money against the mighty West, a month later I was the one collecting money. I knew the East was better than people let on. Three years later, I found myself making the same bet. Come June, I’ll be 10 bucks richer.

When I went to ESPN.com this morning, it was somewhat vindicating to see some support for what I wrote about last week. NCAA lists five major violations against Sampson, Indiana Staff The NCAA alleges Sampson broke five more recruiting rules. This includes breaking rules during which he was already under sanction.

As I wrote last week, I do not think that Kelvin Sampson should be allowed to coach in the NCAA at least for a given period of time. There needs to be stricter penalties for those who cheat so that they don’t think its ok to do so.

When I went on to espn.com this morning the two big stories were about steroids in baseball and this. What happened to going on to ESPN.com to see highlights from a baseball game, or a preview of a good basketball matchup.

Some may counter that ESPN is sensationalizing this news. I on the other hand think that its cheating that has gotten out of hand and that leagues and organizations should clear house of anyone who knowingly cheats the rules.

This was not the way it was supposed to end. Not this time, not this year.

Everyone expected Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to become the new Don Shula and Mercury Morris—the new perfect team of the modern era of football that would tout themselves until no end as the greatest team ever because of their unblemished record, popping the corks every time the last unbeaten fell.

Someone forgot to tell Tom Coughlin’s New York Giants that that was how it was supposed to go. Eli Manning, the Giants defensive line and David Tyree ruined the dreams of sports fans hoping to see history and shut up the ’72 Dolphins, while at the same time showing everyone that some things are still right in the world. That cheaters never prosper. And that the underdog always has a shot.

It is nights like February 3, 2008 that reminds me why I love sports. As cliché as that sounds, Bill Belichick’s early exit from the manicured turf of the University of Phoenix Stadium was a touching end to my football season, not to mention seeing a gigantic smile creep across the boyish face of the much-maligned Eli Manning while hoisting the Lombardi trophy his older brother brought home just a year ago.

But I’d like to focus on Belichick, the most-hated and most-copied coach in the NFL. The man known for “Spy-gate.” The man, that after eighteen straight wins, couldn’t hold himself to a high standard and take his first loss in over a year with some class and dignity. The incident I’m referring to is when the clock had one second left and Belichik and Tom Coughlin met at midfield, thinking the game was over. The two shook hands with as much enthusiasm as if they were in the waiting room for a prostate exam, exchanged a few words, and were then rushed off the playing field because the officials, rightly so, were requiring the Giants to snap the ball in order to run the clock out.

It is what happened immediately after this moment that really grinds my gears and shows how little respect New England’s head man deserves.

I’m talking about when Belichick refused to give Eli Manning and the Giants their moment in the sun: the endgame knee. The point where Manning takes the snap, kneels and finally gets a chance to revel in his success. It’s the point where the opponent is supposed to realize and accept the fact that his team didn’t play to its potential and just got beat.

Belichick was not man enough to give Eli his moment. He was too much of a coward to have some class and civility. He walked off the field early, further showing that he is a classless individual when it comes to the basics of sportsmanship. We’ve seen earlier displays this last season when his teams would run up the score on lesser opponents and throw long bombs throughout. I don’t even want to get into the fourth down attempts when the game has been well in hand.

And I can hear you yelling out right now. “It was just one second!” “Everyone thought it was over!”

Mybe you’re right. Maybe I’m being too picky, but the other truth is this: you are supposed to respect your opponent. That’s the first rule of sportsmanship, and Belichick refuses to follows these rules. It has been seen in the Spy-gate incident, his postgame walk-off, running up the score during the regular season and his laughable post-Super Bowl interview with Chris Meyers (You couldn’t help but feel bad for that guy).

But, the sports world confirmed Sunday that some things do ultimately work out—the Pats lost and Belichick could face further repercussions with the Spy-gate situation. Thank goodness karma exists.

credit AP

Today marks college football’s second coming of Christmas in National Signing Day. It is the first day that recruits for the class of 2008 can put their name on the dotted line of a National Letter of Intent to officially become a part of a college football program. And Memorial Stadium wasn’t numb to the buzz of this Wednesday.

Ron Zook and his staff have pulled in another group of talented athletes for next year’s football squad that is ranked in the top 25 by both Rivals and Scout. The highlight of the day for Illini fans had to be when Florida defensive tackle Corey Liuget stuck with the orange and blue when his LOI hit the football office fax machine at 10:26 am. On the other hand, Illini nation was dealt a bit of disappointment when highly touted Jacksonville-area running back Jamie Harper spurned the Illini and other programs for Clemson. But all in all, it was a good day for Ron Zook and his staff. Every recruit who was verbally committed signed on with the Zooker, so there were no surprises there.

And this is definitely the deepest class by far of the three Zook has pulled in since being in Champaign highlighted by athletes at receiver such as Cordale Scott and A.J. Jenkins, cornerbacks Patrick Nixon and Tavon Wilson, and tons of beef on both lines with Liuget, Graham Pocic, Reggie Ellis and Tyler Sands. Illinois also inked a quarterback for the post-Juice era with North Carolina native Jacob Charest. You can look at a full list of the class here.

For comments from Zook on the class and a live report from Adam Harris, tune into WPGU 107.1 FM at 5pm, also online at the217.com. You can also pick up a copy of Thursday’s Daily Illini and tune into WPGU Saturday at 6 pm for a full breakdown of the class, the Illini’s prospects for the class of 2009, and an exclusive interview with Cordale Scott.