Wow

Every now and then, there's an upset in the world of sports which is so shocking, so stunning and so unexpected that it takes your breath away. The Warriors' demolition of the Dallas Mavericks falls into that category. I get that it's all about matchups, but you sit there and ask yourself, "How can this happen? How can a team that lost 25 more games than their opponent over the course of a season triumph in a seven game series without holding the home court advantage?

It obviously takes a lot of talent and good coaching to win 67 games, but I honestly can't see how Dallas can ever recover from this. If last year's loss in the Finals to Miami was the Titanic, where they slowly sank below the waves, then this year's loss is the Hindenburg - a giant explosion, falling in flames in mere minutes. It got so bad last night that I joined Steve Kerr in feeling sorry for the Mavericks, although even at that point I enjoyed the look on Mark Cuban's face when they showed him in the stands. I actually like Cuban - his blog is great - but when you invest that much into something (and I mean emotionally, not monetarily) related to sports, you're just asking to have it all come crashing down on you.

And what can you say about Dirk Nowitzki? Fairly or not, he now stands on the precipice of having his career defined by this series, even while he remains a strong contender (odds on favorite?) for this season's MVP award. But at his level, what you do in the big games is what counts. And in what may have been the biggest game of his life, he disappeared; a total non-factor who looked timid and as if he had no business being out there. It's sad, because he's a good guy. But in much the same way that David Robinson needed the Spurs to win a title after he was schooled by Hakeem Olajuwon after winning his first MVP award, Nowitzki desperately needs to win a title, or he will forever remain someone stuck in the "the agony of defeat" category.

But let's also give some credit to the Warriors, and their incredible crowd, which reminded me a lot of what it was like when the Sacramento Kings returned to the playoffs in 1999 after a 14-year absence. There is literally nothing in the world like an unexpected victory in sports to give you a high - and whatever happens from here on out, the Warriors deserve to bask in the glory of this triumph until next October, when the grind begins again. They were all great, but I have to single out Matt Barnes, fellow alumnus of Del Campo High School, and Baron Davis - what a courageous, incredible performance. When he pulled the hamstring, my first thought was, "that's it - it's over." Suffice to say that it wasn't.

And on behalf of bearded men everywhere, let's also honor Baron for having one of the great beards in the sporting universe - none of this soul patch, Van Dyke, "whatever you want to call it but please don't call it a beard" stuff for Baron - full on hair, and lots of it. The way it should be done.