Who Dat Won Da Supa Bowl?

From Aints to Super Bowl Champion Saints!

For the first time in franchise history, the Saints have won the Super Bowl. The former worst franchise in the NFL (Clippers next? Doubt it) has fully turned themselves around winning 31-17 over the Colts. Drew Brees will be named MVP. Let the party continue in New Orleans.

GOLDEN!

LeBron got the consolation prize: Fruity Pebbles.

Kobe Wins 4th Ring, Shaq Takes Away All the Attention, Again

Shaq congratulated his former teammate for winning the 2009 NBA Finals (and being named the Finals MVP). Of course it had to be over twitter. The big thing about these finals and these Lakers was the fact that Kobe had to prove to the world that he could win a ring without Shaq. This would put him in the category of greatest players ever (as if he wasn't there already). So congrats to Kobe and Pau!

...and Now We State the Obvious

CLEVELAND (AP) -- A person with knowledge of the choice tells The Associated Press that Cleveland's LeBron James has won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.

James, who led Cleveland to a team record 66 regular-season wins and the top overall seed in the playoffs, will receive the award Monday afternoon at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, his alma mater, says the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement has not been made.

James is the first Cavaliers player to win the award.

The24-year-old averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists this season, his sixth as a pro. He also finished second in voting for defensive player of the year.

o hai, This One's For You

Two things to point out here:

1) I've been a regular reader of Bill Simmons for the past three years, roughly, but lately (past six months or so?) I really haven't read or heard anything from him that a) was particularly entertaining or b) wasn't pretty predictable (loyal Sports Guy readers probably know what I mean);

2) Before I reveal the rest of my picks in our regular season NBA awards post (coming soon!), here's my MVP pick: LeBron James. Big surprise. And guess what - I bet our other three resident NBA experts here picked LeBron, as did probably about 97% of all the NBA writers and experts out there. So anything I could say about LeBron's season would have been written already like 58 times, and then what would I really have contributed to society?

Well, in reading the Sports Guy's annual NBA MVP rankings, I found exactly what I would have wanted to write about LeBron as MVP, if I was actually a good writer, and simultaneously was reminded why I'm such a Bill Simmons fan. This is the truest and yet the most original justification for picking LeBron as MVP this year. Here it is:

Not since Magic Johnson has a superstar doubled as such a galvanizing teammate. If there's an enduring image of the '08-09 season, it's the way LeBron stamped his personality on everyone around him. They orchestrate goofy pregame intros (my favorite: the team snapshot), trade countless chest bumps, giggle on the sidelines, hang out on road trips and support each other in every way. What's telling about LeBron's in-traffic dunks -- and he unleashes them more frequently than anyone since Dominique -- is how he seeks out his bench for feedback, and even better, how they give it to him. It makes the forced camaraderie of the Lakers seem glaring. [maz-hatter note: See 1:35 to 2:30 of that last video for illustration of Lakers fraudulence; also, the rest is hilariously amateur.] If you want to watch a team that pulls for each other and follows the lead of its best player, watch Cleveland.

LeBron James Shouldn't Get the MVP Alone

He should get the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Award.