The best thing about this Heat-Mavericks NBA Finals matchup is that even if you’re not a fan of either team, you still have reason to be excited as a basketball fan. Although only one team will be honored, both squads feature players deserving of a championship.

In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd have a chance to be fitted for much-deserved rings. The Mavericks, while consistently competitive, have been unable to make it out of the West to compete for a title in the conference the Lakers and Spurs dominate.

I know I doubted Nowitzki’s ability to maintain a high level of play a week ago, but there’s no denying his dominance in the Mavs’ three-straight wins to end Oklahoma City’s resilient run. He was a man possessed, taking advantage of every opportunity he could while the young Thunder tried to establish a rhythm.

But if greatness is only defined by championships, it would be a tragedy for Nowitzki to miss such honor and distinction in his impressive career. By the same token, Lebron James detractors can say what they will about his role with the Heat — but he qualifies by the same logic applied to Nowitzki.

James is a juggernaut, every bit as talented as advertised and exponential times better than his most verbose opponents will ever dare admit. We all laugh at the Bad Teacher trailer when Jason Segel yells, “It’s the only argument I need, Shawn!” at a student during a heated LeBron James-Michael Jordan debate. (Skip to 1:53). It’s time to put that argument to bed.

Kidd would also like to see Nowitzki mentioned in the same breath as Larry Bird. That comparison sparks argument predicated on the ever-elusive championship.

Miami Heat fitted above via CraniumFitteds.com.

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Tiki Barber should probably stop talking. Within the year of his NBC talk-show dismissal, Barber declared his desire for a return to pro football. But this week, in a move equally despicable to leaving his then-pregnant (with twins!) wife for a 23-year-old intern, Barber fought for more negative yards when he compared himself to Anne Frank.

What’s worse is that Barber made the analogy when describing the tumultuous aftermath of said-affair with the 23-year-old intern.

Barber described life at the bottom to Sports Illustrated‘s L. Jon Wertheim and discussed how his agent, Mark Lepselter, remained supportive through his tribulations. Wertheim writes, “Barber … went into hiding in the attic of Lepselter’s house in New Jersey.”

“Lep’s Jewish,” Barber told Sports Illustrated, “and it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing.”

Is that so? Wertheim credited Barber for his “alertness” following this Anne Frank simile; but, at the very core, it’s a terribly inappropriate analogy.

Things happen in all of our lives that really suck. Not every issue is deal with easily. But being pursued by gossip columnists for a story that will fade within a week is never the same as hiding from Nazi forces during the Holocaust. Never.

Not even close.

Shield your eyes from shame with the Mitchell & Ness Giants throwback fitted below from MyFitteds.com.

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Angel Navedo is a New York-based writer, specializing in sports, streetwear, frivolous spending, and various other subjects that bring shame to his family. You can learn more about him at thatsangel.com, or follow him on Twitter because that’s what people do now.

In case you were unaware, it’s Subway Series season in New York. The Mets will leave Queens and venture into Yankee Stadium this weekend for a three-game series to determine superficial bragging rights amongst self-absorbed baseball fans hometown supremacy. (7:05 p.m., SNY/MLBN)

Okay, you got me — I’m indifferent to the Subway Series. But that’s only because I don’t believe in ostensible stakes. I do really embrace the concept of winning streaks, however brief, coming to an end, though. That’s exciting.

The Mets will carry a two-game streak into the Bronx, despite sitting five games behind first in the NL East. More impressively, the Yanks recovered from a dismal six-game skid with a three-game winning streak of their own, highlighted by last night’s 13-2 thrashing in Baltimore.

But the Subway Series matters to me for other reasons. Trolling.

Check out MyFitteds.com for the Yankees hat in Mets colors, and imagine your response to the two inevitable reactions from the respective Mets and Yankees fanbases.

Mets fans: “Those colors make the logo look better!”
Yankees fans: “Yuck! Those colors disgrace our great logo!”

For a really good time, tell them you can’t decide which team you prefer. Or, if you want to be daring, convince them you don’t see any difference.

Take a trip to ECapCity.com for the Mets hat in navy blue if you want to flip the script. Wash, rinse, repeat.

In all seriousness, and if real-life trolling really isn’t your thing, these mashups are perfect for the proud New Yorker who doesn’t have a favorite baseball team. The hats work as symbols of solidarity — after the requisite brief explanation, of course.

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I run the risk of looking like a know-it-all after the fact with my next statement, but this is my platform from which to speak and the following must be declared: I knew Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks wouldn’t match their Game 1 performance in the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder last night.

That’s not to say I’m clairvoyant; it’s just logic. And that’s not to imply that Nowitzki needed to score 48 points in a game again, because that’s illogical and unrealistic.

Kevin Durant and the Thunder absorbed Dallas’ best shot in Game 1. The well-rested Mavericks, fresh off an adrenaline-pumping sweep of the defending-champion Lakers, needed Nowitzki’s record-setting, career-best performance for a win.

Dallas benefited from a masterful combination of Nowitzki’s accuracy and dominant bench support from J.J. Barea and Jason Terry. But that kind of lightning can’t strike twice. The Mavs’ perfect storm of basketball in Game 1 still wasn’t good enough to slow down Oklahoma City; the Thunder rolled to 112 points in a losing effort. That’s insane.

Regardless, Nowitzki hammered out a team-high 29 points in Dallas’ 106-100 loss last night, so the Mavs’ first home loss in seven postseason games doesn’t fall squarely on his shoulders. The Mavs bench was outplayed, with no responses for OKC’s James Harden and Eric Maynor (the two combined for 36 points off the bench).

Given Russell Westbrook’s horrifying Game 1, and the bench-driven victory to close Game 2, it’s safe to assume the Mavericks have yet to see OKC’s best.

Lids.com is the only place to go if you want to show the Thunder some fitted hat love.

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Don’t call it a comeback, yet. It’s too soon to tell if Winnipeg is filled with Jets all the way, but unconfirmed reports indicate that the NHL is returning to Manitoba. More specifically, the Atlanta Thrashers could relocate from Georgia for snowy Canadian landscapes.

It’s more than a rumor, though. A finalized deal hasn’t been reached, but the negotiations are ongoing. Winnipeg has been without a team since 1996 when the Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes.

If you feel like reminiscing, or starting a premature celebration, MyFitteds.com can show you that Jets life, Winnipeg style.

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On Tuesday, May 17, 2011, baseball lost a legend when Harmon Killebrew passed away at 74 of esophageal cancer.

Killebrew made the crack of a bat sound like poetry. He was a pure slugger who knocked homers to obscene distances. His bat escorted 573 pitches out of parks for home runs, while notching 1,584 RBIs in his storied 22-year career. Killebrew was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.

He spent nearly the entirety of his career with the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins organization (Washington moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season) with a closing act in Kansas City for one season. In that time, Killebrew was an All-Star mainstay and an American League MVP in 1969 — great enough to have his No. 3 retired in Minnesota.

MyFitteds.com can hold you down with the hat above.

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Angel Navedo is a New York-based writer, specializing in sports, streetwear, frivolous spending, and various other subjects that bring shame to his family. You can learn more about him at thatsangel.com, or follow him on Twitter because that’s what people do now.

Welcome to our latest feature: Strictly Fitteds’ Sports Week Update. Consider it our recap from the fitted perspective. Enjoy.

I can honestly admit, without a hint of bias, that it feels fantastic knowing a new team will hoist the NBA’s Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in 2011. It’s a shot of life for the league, and for fans fatigued with the championship tug of war between the Lakers and Celtics.

Although Boston has only captured one title in this Paul Pierce era, the Celtics have been an Eastern juggernaut since Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett helped form Voltron. Besides, the rest of the league is still playing catch-up from the 60s.

With that said, let’s paint the Eastern Conference Finals red.

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The Bulls and the Heat will collide at full stride in Chicago’s United Center for Game 1 on Sunday (7 p.m., TNT). Regular season games don’t matter. (Miami proved that after trouncing Boston in five games.) And as much as Bulls fans might hate to hear this: League MVP honors may not matter much, either.

The Point God Derrick Rose, 22, is the youngest MVP in league history, and while he operates with a formidable supporting cast — featuring Joakim Noah and Luol Deng — the Bulls have the unenviable task of dispatching Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.

If King James has his “clutch touch” back — and scoring the last 10 Heat points to end the Celtics’ season suggests he does — the Bulls might have to witness the former two-time league MVP go to work.

This will definitely be a series, though — one that could rival any of the potential Finals matchups. It’s just a question of preparation and readiness. We live in a world of comparison, and right now Chicago and D. Rose resemble something akin to the Cleveland Cavaliers before James took his talents to South Beach.

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Black is the theme for those of you in mourning, struggling with your unexpected bouts of grief and despair. Lakers and Celtics fans, I understand.

CraniumFitteds.com can help fans looking to wear their hearts on their heads with predominantly Black fitteds. The New Era 59Fifty Celtics hat above can be acquired here, while Lakers fans can shield their shamed eyes with the hat below. Mourn your teams accordingly.

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TONIGHT: Oklahoma City Thunder at Vancouver Grizzlies, 9 p.m. EST, ESPN

-VS-

The Seattle Supersonics Oklahoma City Thunder and Vancouver Grizzlies Memphis Grizzlies are engaged in a very intense playoff series. Kevin Durant is doing everything he can to keep the Thunder alive while Zach Randolph and the Grizz are working to erase the franchise’s checkered history.

When it’s all said and done, one of these teams will have to face the well-rested Dallas Mavericks. With the Mavs’ swag turned up to 100 after throttling the two-time defending-champion Lakers, one has to wonder about the significance of Dallas’ time off.

Go to Lids.com to show OKC support, or check Mitchell & Ness if you ever believed Bryant “Big Country” Reeves was the future.

Angel Navedo is a New York-based writer, specializing in sports, streetwear, frivolous spending, and various other subjects that bring shame to his family. You can learn more about him at thatsangel.com, or follow him on Twitter because that’s what people do now.