Back in Business (NBA)

**Inhales deeply**

Ahhh, the sweet smell of basketball season!

Tim Duncan after winning the NBA World Championship

The season has been well under way for a couple of weeks and it's also a sign that the NFL is nearing the end of its regular schedule.

James Harden (Houston Rockets)

The Cavaliers haven't been as cohesive and dominant as they were projected to be during the summer. Also, the Mavericks are dealing with numerous struggles in their attempt to become a force in the West.

As usual, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling to a great start in "mid-season" form. The Miami Heat are doing very well with the departure of LeBron James, with Chris Bosh and D. Wade taking over.

Even the Houston Rockets are channeling their inner "Kenny Smith and Hakeem Olajuwon" days with their recent play.

What's even more entertaining is the performance of Kobe Bryant with his "fresh and new" Lakers squad. Bryant is already in the running for MVP (who's counting votes this early anyway?!); however, his team is suffering a great deal with his "prime" performances. In addition, Bryant recently broke the record for the "most missed shot attempts" in the NBA.

Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks)

In reality, the West (as well as the East) is up for grabs. At this point, it's really too hard to tell who will really be the last team standing through 82 games.

Below, I have listed the top 5 teams to watch in the Western and Eastern Conferences (feel free to throw in your top 5, as well!)

Drake (Rapper) and Toronto Raptors mascot

Western Conference:
1) Houston Rockets
2) Golden State Warriors
3) Portland Trailblazers
4) Memphis Grizzlies
5) San Antonio Spurs

Eastern Conference:
1) Toronto Raptors
2) Chicago Bulls
3) Miami Heat
4) Washington Wizards
5) Charlotte Hornets

Tough Days in Dallas (Dallas Cowboys)

The antics of the Dallas Cowboys' past two games have been a total "180" of their performances in the first six games of the season. The display of selfishness was at an all-time high on last week's Monday Night Football, as the Dallas Cowboys took on one of their long-time rivals (Washington Redskins).

Honestly, two things should have happened that game for the Cowboys to possibly have the best chance to win:

1) Jerry Jones needed to stay in the skybox

- Apparently, Jones needed to let everyone know that he truly runs the Dallas Cowboys organization. The presence of Jones on-the-field disrupted a great deal of the chemistry with the Cowboys' sideline, and to make matters worse...Jones even took it upon himself to "give the team some inspiration.".

Jones' probably telling Coach Garrett to put Romo back in the game.

2) Tony Romo doesn't ALWAYS have to be the hero.

- With Brandon Weeden under center, the Cowboys remained competitive and continued to fight hard with Romo out due to an injured back. However, when Tony Romo hit the field once again in the 4th quarter, the chemistry wasn't the same.

What makes matters worse is how Weeden "getting pulled" in the 4th quarter could have possibly hurt his confidence to perform to his potential. I give Arizona credit for being a good team, but it's extremely difficult to beat a team when your quarterback is aware that he can get pulled out of the game any minute.

Brandon Weeden (3)

In my opinion, the Cowboys should have kept Weeden in the game against the Redskins. Not only would this have built up his confidence over time, but Tony Romo would actually have a decent recovery time. This organization (*cough, cough*..Jerry Jones *cough*) is rushing Tony Romo's recovery time, and this does not benefit anybody on the Cowboys team.

And why have we stopped running the ball?!! *Facepalm*

As the Cowboys get ready to face the Jags in London, I hope Romo has a comfortable seat on the sidelines. We're really going to need him close to 100% as we face the Giants next week.