THE PREZ-ITENTIAL ADDRESS
From the desk of the Prez

MLB season arrives; Mess in Miami; Star-studded affair in Boston; Brand to return?; Big Bad Back Ben; Gooden Good; and more...

WEST WING
Cleveland pitcher Jake Westbrook has the best performance to date this spring. The Indian right-hander was perfect over six innings in an 8-0 win over Atlanta on Monday. Westbrook is on a run stretching his scoreless innings streak to 14 innings. This writer believes the Indians will challenge the Tigers for the top spot in the AL Central.

KNOCK ON WOOD
Kerry Wood has a new role in Chicago. The hard-throwing right hander will serve as the Cubs' ninth inning option, a job Ryan Dempster filled the last three years in Chicago. Dempster has moved into the No. 3 starting role, Bob Howry and Carlos Marmol will duel in the setup role, and former starter Jon Lieber will take the pill when a starter can't find the sixth inning. Howry, who filled the closer role when Dempster was injured last year and struggled early on, but he posted a 1.85 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in the second half. Marmol pitched well enough that some believed he was the logical choice to be the Cubs ninth inning option. The right-hander sports a Randy Johnson like slider that buckles and baffles hitters, and his.169 average against -- and 96 strikeouts in less than 70 innings of work last summer -- rounds out a hell-of-a-good back side to a very good Cubs bullpen. When handicapping Cubs games this year one can feel much more comfortable about the pen holding a lead.
 
MIAMI MESS
A day after he said air travel had aggravated his bad back, Heat forward Shawn Marion stayed home as his teammates took flight on its four-game trip. It is unclear whether Marion would rejoin the team later, but he won't play Wednesday against New York or Thursday against Detroit. The Heat plays Sunday at Boston and Monday at Indiana but his huge minutes since joining Miami has taken its toll. Adding insult to injury, point guard Jason Williams did travel after having a MRI test on his sprained right thumb. Williams sat out Monday against the Bucks and was expected to miss another week of action. The Heat know any fortune they might have had this year has gone south, but approaching a double-digit dog against the New York Knicks tonight speaks volumes about the ability of the Heat to compete. 

WEDNESDAY NIGHT FEATURE
Phoenix, who is coming off an overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday, needs tonight's contest much more than the Boston Celtics. Despite having a superb 47-33 record, the Suns are still at risk of missing the playoffs in the competitive Western Conference.  The Celts, one of the few Eastern Conference organizations, have dominated the West. The matchup is more attractive from a fans perspective than that for an investor. Former MVPs Steve Nash (2005 and 2006) and Shaquille O'Neal (2000) and Kevin Garnett (2004) frontline the game along with Amare Stoudemire, Grant Hill, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen also playing in the game. The hometown Celtics are surprisingly only a five point favorite as the Suns play the second road game in three days.

CLIPPERS BRAND
Elton Brand took part in his first full-court scrimmage on Monday, this since rupturing his Achilles last summer. Head coach Mike Dunleavy hopes Brand can be back with the team for their final five or six games of this season. Does this make sense from an organizational standpoint? Brand hasn't played yet this season, and it's tough to say how much he might play in those final five or six games. If he can make it back for six games, it will make things interesting when handicapping the Clippers contests in the final two weeks of the season.

ANOTHER FAB FIVE FARWELL
According to ESPN, veteran big-man Chris Webber is ending his brief return to the NBA and is retiring. Injuries, age lack of playing time (only nine games during his comeback), along with an unproductive stint when he was on the court (averaged just 3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game) made this decision easy. No word yet on whether he will stay with the team through the final stages of the Warriors playoff run.

BIG BEN'S BAD BACK
Ben Wallace isn't expected to dress for Wednesday's contest against the Hornets because of recurring back spasms. Big Ben just hasn't been the same old dominator in the paint this season as he once was, and injuries have taken a toll on the one time All Star. Sadly, Ben is averaging just 3.5 points and 7.7 rebounds this month. The team is calling the center, day-to-day. Anderson Varejao and Joe Smith share the big man's minutes until he can return. In honesty, Cleveland is a better team without him.

DIRK DEVELOPS A DOMINATING DAMPIER 
With Dirk Nowitzki out indefinitely, Mavericks' center Erick Dampier threw a knockout punch to the LA Clippers registering 19 points and 17 boards in Dallas' 103-90 win. The Mavs are desperate for scoring options after losing the 20-plus of Nowitzki, so they will look to the veteran to pick up some of that slack. Malik Allen started at power forward Tuesday, producing nine rebounds -- but a mere six points in 27 minutes of action.
           
HEDO HURTING
Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu  was forced out of Orlando's 107-97 loss to the Spurs on Tuesday after suffering a sprained wrist. Swingman Keyon Dooling received most of Hedo's minutes recording 34 for the game. The Magic are hurting without Turkoglu. The coaching staff if forced to move guard Maurice Evans to small forward. Keith Bogans played more significantly in the loss but the Magic face matchup issues moving forward.

JAMEER JAWED
Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson had his jaw jacked early in Tuesday game. Nelson was limited to just seven total minutes and the team is calling him day-to-day. With Jameer, Carlos Arroyo received 28 minutes of court time. Arroyo has already shown this season he can put up good numbers if given the chance, and it appears that opportunity has arrived.
           
GOODEN GOOD
How about them Bulls? In one of the more consistent and patient offensive approaches on Tuesday night,  power forward Drew Gooden was at his best recording a season-high 31 points along with 16 rebounds. Chicago took the lead in a big third quarter by holding Atlanta to 14 points in the frame, eventually winning, 103-94, for a comfortable and profitable Prez cover. Andres Nocioni, who has seen his minutes decline since Gooden's arrival (which may have contributed to Nocioni's recent blow-up at coach Jim Boylan) played just 13 minutes and a healthy Kirk Hinrich was big for the Bulls on the defensive end. The Bulls are on a back-to-back tonight and they receive eight points against an inconsistent 76ers team tonight.
                       
WAITING ON GILBERT
With only 13 games remaining in the regular season, Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas knows that his opportunities to find his place on the court are dwindling. Arenas, who has missed 61 games this season continues to take part in pre-game warm-ups during the teams five-game road trip but the three-time all-star has not expected to play until next week.  The Wizards close the trip on Monday night at Utah and host Milwaukee two nights later. "I'm going to play (fewer) minutes. When I do get back, I'll be playing 20 minutes (a game)," Arenas said. "That's not enough for me to be me. I need games under my belt." Arenas expressed doubt about the latest timetable. "They're not going to clear me next week. They said that last week about this week," he said. Arenas' 20 minutes will make a good Washington offense even better.

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