Sometimes it’s the physical game that allows a team to win a game, series, championship, but sometimes the mental aspect of a game becomes just as, if not more important.

Game 4. dying seconds. The Phoenix Suns, poised for the win, tying the series at 2 and sending it back to Phoenix for 2 of the series final 3 games, when Robert Horry hip checks two time MVP Steve Nash into the scorers table, igniting a melee. In the midst of all of the nonsense, Amare Stoudemire ventured from the bench in defense of his assaulted teammate - a grave NBA no-no. Stoudemire earns a one game suspension, providing a clear advantage for San Antonio heading into a pivotal game 5. the Spurs prevail, ripping home court advantage away from the Suns and proceed to put away a valiant, but clearly rattled Suns team in game 6, leaving folks in the desert lamenting over what may have been.

That is why San Antonio is a perennial contender.

People can say what they want about Horry thugging it up in a game that's outcome was well decided but take a closer look. Horry did not go after Nash's knee, there was no blow to the head. Horry was simply sending a message to a somewhat soft Suns team that, in a series marked by its physicality, the best, or worst was yet to come. What Horry also did, in a game that was virtually over and sensing series momentum shifting the Suns way, was cast a line hoping for a nibble. Seems like a bit of a stretch in that no one will ever know Horry's true intentions, but giving him the benefit of the doubt and looking at how the situation unfolded in retrospect, Horry's actions may grow to be considered hooligan genius.

People may cry that an NBA rule, callous and unopen to interpretation and judgement, and not the Spurs, eliminated Phoenix. To this complaint, the response should be, 'A Rule Is A Rule'. Again, 'A RULE IS A RULE''.

Every player, coach, general manager, and owner in the Association is aware that leaving the bench, under any circumstances, will result in a one game suspension. To sympathizers that wonder how anyone can expect athletes, in the heat of the moment to be able to maintain their composure, the response should be that that should be the absolute LEAST to be expected of them. That argument is a blatant cop out and lending it any credance sets a dangerous precedent. Should a hockey player who retaliates at a cheap shot with a high stick to the face, or a pitcher head hunting in retribution for a perceived show boating home run trot be forgiven because their actions were deemed to be, 'in the heat of the moment'. These are among the finest physical performers on the planet, competing at the highest level within their profession while earning tens of millions of dollars. Being able to properly control their emotions is a trait that should be expected and not hoped for.

Not that NBA basketball players, or the rest of the world for that matter, watches hockey but a valuable lesson could have been learned from the Ducks / Red Wings Western Conference Final. With the series tied at 1 and Detroit holding a commanding 4-0 lead in the 3rd game, Anaheim Defenceman Chris Pronger runs Red Wings Forward and arguably, Detroit's most impessive play off performer Tomas Holmstrom, into the boards from behind. While Holmstrom lay on the ice, visably disoriented, blood running from two separate cuts on his forehead, Red Wings players, instead of setting off an ugly scene that may have resulted in suspensions, decided to let discretion be the better part of valor and left the ice with a 5-0 win while Pronger earned a one game suspension. Had Stoudemire showed the same restraint, not only would he have been available for game 5 but one would have to think that the game officials, tired of San Antonio's antics, would have been more inclinded to call a tighter game, easily playing to the Suns strength.

Instead, the Suns have set, ultimately masters of their own demise, the Spurs continue on in search of their 4th NBA championship in 8 years and Horry adds a new meaning to his imfamous, 'Big Shot Bob' moniker.

Gotta go, 'Degrassi High' is on.

So why do we watch sports?

Obviously, we watch when cheering on and supporting our favourite team or player, but what makes us tune in when Roger Clemens or for that matter, Josh Towers, has a no-no through 7 innings, or when Kobe's got 75 through 3 quarters? It’s the desire to, in some small way, be part of sports history in the making, to be present while superstars attempt to become legends, legends add to their lore, or unknowns chase immortality. After all, sports would be infinitely boring if the favourites always won, the underdogs always lost, the great players never disappointed and the average ones never overachieved.

So why is Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons taking out Shaun Marcum after 6 innings of no hit ball after just 78 pitches?

Yes, we know the argument - Marcum, up until recently, a Jays reliever, was on a strict pitch count, as to not over extend him and risk causing him injury. This is however, yet another reason why sports fans are feeling alienated. If its not the million dollar contracts, its level of coddling that they receive from management, whose fear of injury befalling a player seems to drift further and further away from reality.

John Kruk's infamous statement, 'I'm not an athlete, I'm a ball player' notwithstanding, baseball players are in fact, considered to be world class athletes. At just 78 pitches, was a chance of injury to Marcum really more likely with each additional pitch? Proponents of the move will exercise the power of selective memory and site Oral Hershiser in 1988 literally sacrificing his career in order to secure a World Series title for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The truth of the matter is that a situation like that is a worst case type of scenario and is definitely the exception, not the rule. Athletes are constantly pushing themselves past their natural limits in pursuit of excellence. Willis Reed returning from a severely sprained ankle during the NBA championship. Emmitt Smith playing with a seperated shoulder in order to help his team secure home field advantage throughout the play offs.

In this particular case, no play off spots or championships were on the line, but for Marcum,who in all probability will be nothing more than a decent big league pitcher, a no hitter and a shot at baseball immortality was at stake. Marcum might have blown his arm out on his 77th pitch, his 78 pitch, his 79 pitch, his first pitch of his next start - Marcum and every other big league pitcher is always one pitch away from injury and letting him continue until he ran into difficulty would case no more of a risk.

After a very disappointing beginning to the season, marked by injuries to closer B.J. Ryan and ace Roy Halladay, a historic performance by Marcum just might have been the emotional boost that the Blue Jays needed, much like the no-no tossed by Mark Buehrle helped shake the Chicago White Sox out of their doldrums and vault them back into contention in the American League Central. Instead, the Jays beleaguered bullpen wasted Marcum's gem, Gibbons is left looking like he again dropped the ball, and Toronto fans are left with a sour taste in their collective mouths. Sadly for the Blue Jays, 'Wait Until Next Year' is less a cliché and more a commentary on a season that once promised such high hopes.

Gotta go, 'Battle of the Planets' is on.

In a world dominated by testosterone, machismo and ego, in order to succeed, it is sometimes wiser to admit weakness.

Take the case of the Dallas Mavericks. A veritable embarrassment of riches. 2006 Coach of the Year Avery Johnson, perennial All-Star and MVP favourite Dirk Nowitzki, and a 67 win season, tops in the NBA. So dominant were the Mavs in 2006-07, that after opening the season with 4 straight loses, Dallas suffered consecutive loses only once the rest of the way and their 4 win streaks of ten games or more set a new NBA record. Dirty Dirk, Mark Cuban and the boys seemed poised to bring a championship to big D.

The Mavs steamrolled team after team but like a brand new Mercedes making a very subtle but undeniable rattling noise; there was one team that, below the radar of the NBA cognesetti gave the Mavs fits all season. Only die-hard NBA fans would know that the Golden State Warriors thouroughly manhandled the NBA's best team, winning all the three meetings by an average margin of 16 points.

Fast-forward to the NBA's playoff push in mid-April. With the Warriors battling for their playoff lives and preparing to face the Mavericks for the third of their three meetings, in a true show of arrogance the Mavs, facing a team that had proved to by their kryptonite all season long, sat All-Stars Nowitzki and Josh Howard and produced a pitiful starting five consisting of Greg Buckner, Maurice Ager, Devean Geroge, Desagana Diop and Jose Juan Barea. Given the opportunity to all but eliminate the Warriors from any chance at a post-season berth, the Mavericks unwilling to concede any respect to Golden State, instead conceded to the Warriors a much needed win and some bonafide motivation heading into their eventual first-round playoff series.

The rest, as the saying goes is literally history, the Warriors played like the Lakers of the showtime era, becoming the first eight seed to oust a one seed in a best of seven series, and in the process, leaving the Mavericks franchise psyche in shambles.

If Dallas had taken the Warriors challenge throughout the season at all serious, they would've done anything in their power to eliminate this prominent thorn in their side and set themselves up for a first round cake walk over the injury riddled Clippers. Instead, it's the Warriors who have a legitimate shot at playing for the Western Conference Championship, it's the Warriors who find their band-wagon filling up on a daily-basis, and it's the Mavericks who are left once again to ponder what might have been.

Gotta go, ‘The Cosby Show’, is on.