Nashville Sounds

Actually, that's the name of their minor league baseball team here -- a AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers -- but I thought I'd use it as the title for my weekly SOUND-off on my experiences here in Tennessee.

For those of you who don't know, I'm living in Gallatin, Tenn., for the summer, at my friend Mike's house. His parents just moved down here from Wisconsin. Gallatin is about 20-30 minutes northeast of downtown Nashville and about 50 minutes to an hour from Murfreesboro, where I work at the Daily News Journal.

It's a full-time internship -- 40 hours a week -- and I've already had a few clips published on A1 (that's journalistic speak for the front page). I think it's going to be a valuable summer for me in terms of my development as a journalist.

That aside, living in Tennessee has been a blast. Two things come to mind when Nashville is mentioned: Great food and great music. I've been fortunate to experience a bit of both already in less than two weeks.

On my very first day, I stopped off at a Bar-B-Cutie restaurant for some great barbecue chicken, tasty turnip greens and out-of-this-world baked beans. A few days later, I tried the Slick Pig BBQ for some pulled pork sandwiches, spicy ribs and hickory smoked chicken wings -- all of which made me smile big.

I'll continue to try different establishments as the summer wears on, and all the while I'll search for the ultimate barbecue sauce, although I don't know quite what that is. Yet.

In terms of entertainment, Mike and I have stumbled upon several of the honky-tonk bars in downtown Nashville, my favorite of which was Robert's Western World. I wasn't a big country fan before I came down -- and I'm still not -- but still, it's a hoot to watch it live, right in front of you, after a beer or two. And there's so much talent in this town that even the street vendors are worth listening to for awhile. They're all good.

One night when we were wandering around, we encountered Mike Miller, of the Memphis Grizzlies. He was standing against a wall outside of Robert's Western World, textbook hot blonde beside him, and I went up to him and asked him if he would like to accompany us to Coyote Ugly. He nodded his head and asked where it was. I told him it was a block or two down, and that if he came with us, I'd pay his cover. He just kind of laughed and told me he was waiting for his ride. So we walked away. I regret that now. We should've stayed and piled into his limo with him. A night out on the town with an NBA player? That would've been one to remember.

Maybe we'll run into him later in the summer. Or perhaps new Titan Vince Young will join us on a bar hop or two. One thing's for sure, though: The adventures are just beginning.

A ring well earned

The Miami Heat sure deserved to win the NBA Championship this year. They proved it every time they laced 'em up.

Before Tuesday night's series-clinching 95-92 win over the Mavs, Pat Riley reportedly told his players to go after every ball, help on every drive, grab, steal, scratch and claw their way to a win. They obeyed.

Alonzo Mourning had five blocks. Dwyane Wade had four steals. Four Heat starters had double digit rebounds -- including Antoine "Tippy-Toes" Walker, who looked more nimble than normal, asserting himself all over the floor and pulling down 11 boards. Oh yeah, Wade scored 36, too.

Yes, the Heat truly seized this one. They grabbed the Mavs by their hooves. But Dallas still had its chances.

All Playoffs long, Jason Terry had been magnificent. Tuesday, he looked like he didn't belong at all. He made 7 of 25 shots and connected on just 2 of 11 triples. Down the stretch, when he shot the ball, his feet were never set, his releases always rushed. It's a wonder why Avery Johnson didn't take him out, or calm him down, or demand that Dirk Nowitzki shoot those shots. But it didn't happen, and the low percentage field goal attempts killed them.

Dirk played well, but not when it counted. He finished with 29 points, only two of which came in the fourth.

The most impressive Mavs were Jerry Stackhouse and the little-used Marquis Daniels. Stack hit two big 3s in the fourth, and Daniels sparked Dallas from the point guard spot in the third, preventing the Heat from pulling away.

In the end, Wade, Shaq and the bunch proved too much. Although Shaq scored only nine points, his 12 rebounds and distracting presence inside made things easy on his teammates -- and tough on the Mavs.

His two primary defenders, DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier, stifled the Big Aristotle to some degree, but their non-existence on the offensive end (just three points combined, and not too many more for the entire series) was, ultimately, more of a deterrent to Dallas than their D was a help.

On the Mavs' second-to-last possession, Dirk came off a screen from Dampier and found the big man open rolling to the basket. When the ball came his way, Dampier fumbled it directly to Wade.

A few possessions earlier, Wade missed a rare fourth-quarter field goal attempt, and Udonis Haslem (who was gigantic in the game, scoring a surprising 17 points on 8 of 13 shooting) pushed Dampier over like he was a cardboard cut-out, easily gliding in for the offensive rebound and putback score.

No wonder why Shaquille calls him "Ericka."

As a Pistons fan, I watched Game 6 -- and the entire series for that matter -- free of frustration. I appreciate the way the Heat played in May and June. They played well together. When they needed to, they got out of the way and let D. Wade do his thing. Talk about a luxury. (The Pistons could have him, you know.)

The Mavs were impressive, too. All of their individual players were fun to watch. They can get back, and they can win the Finals, if they only play as a team more effectively. Tuesday, they had too many turnovers (12, to only 16 assists) and too much standing around on offense to win.

They'll be back. So might the Heat. But don't count out the Pistons, either. They'll be as tough to beat as anyone next season (which I will illustrate in my long overdue State of the Pistons Address, coming soon).

I'm already eager for November.