Maybe it was fitting that the same script was written for both the Mavericks and Suns last night. Each lost close Game Fives on the road to be eliminated in disappointing first round showings against better opponents.

Not long ago, they were two of the Western powers who could go deep into the NBA’s second season. Now, not even acquiring marquee stars such as Jason Kidd or Shaq could alter a downward spiral for each. It’s two straight years for the Mavs out in the first round. Though falling to Chris Paul and the Hornets wasn’t much of a stunner like last year’s bowing out to eighth seed Golden State.

In his third year, Paul is a legit MVP candidate along with Kobe and LeBron proving he’s legit ripping apart the older Kidd along with the rest of the Mavs. He only recorded his first career playoff triple double in closing out Dallas with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists. David West added 25 points, seven boards and four assists. Tyson Chandler was a force underneath grabbing 14 rebounds (seven offensive) and blocking three shots. Reserve guard Jannero Pargo also came off the bench for 17 shooting seven for nine from the floor with a couple of triples.

It all added up to a five-game victory and first ever series win since the Hornets relocated to New Orleans.

On the losing side, Dirk Nowitzki’s double/double (22 and 13) along with six assists and a couple of blocks weren’t enough to save the Mavs’ season. Neither was Kidd’s best effort of the series in which he had 14 points, nine assists and four boards. Jason Terry also added 13 points and nine dishes. Still, Dallas didn’t have enough to offset their younger opponent who advanced to a Conference Semifinal meeting against the defending champion Spurs.

Who isn’t excited about that match-up? Old established guard against new kid on the block. The point guard match-up between Paul and 2007 Finals MVP Tony Parker should be one to enjoy for any hoop fan.

Parker just got done finishing off Steve Nash, Shaq and the Suns going for over 30 again with a team high 31 to go with eight dimes. I’ve come to the conclusion that Mr. Parker is just The Truth. I love his game cause he never settles. Plus he’s lightning quick off the dribble making like the Road Runner.

Nash and the Suns won’t be rising as Shaq promised. Oh well. The Big Aristotle did try hard giving his all on the defensive end despite foul trouble. He had 13 points but was only two of eight from the field and misfired on 11 of 20 free throws. Yikes. Gregg Popovich’s hack-a-Shaq formula worked. O’Neal still pulled down nine rebounds, blocked three shots and had a couple of steals in over 29 minutes.

In crunch time, the Suns were right there fighting for their playoff lives. They nearly stole Game Five and got it back to Phoenix. And who would’ve bet against them forcing a seventh game? The reason they lost was because Nash had some costly turnovers. He was stripped once by freaking Robert Horry. Big Shot Bob is only supposed to be good for the occasional dagger from downtown. He shouldn’t be able to pick Nash’s pocket clean. Especially with Tim Duncan on the sidelines with Shaq out which should’ve been an edge for Phoenix on the offensive end. Wow.

Nash had a couple of other bad miscues as did teammate Boris Diaw jumping a crosscourt pass to nobody in the final minute. The Spurs didn’t screw up instead allowing Parker to do his thing and Manu Ginobili to do his from the free throw line even though he had an off night finishing with just eight. Half came from the charity stripe.

There also was a big make from Duncan where he went by Shaq off the dribble and beat the shot clock with an eight foot runner off the glass. Yeah. The Big Fundamental can still play as evidenced by his strong 29 and 17 with three blocks. He’s a gamer.

The Suns bricked 17 of 37 free throws. The worst total in 14 years. At least for them cause if I caught it right, the last time came against the Rockets. Isn’t that when they blew a 3-1 lead? Never mind.

I do have to wonder how Nash only wound up with three assists while turning the ball over five times. He also shot a pitiful four for 16. Against Parker and the physical Bruce Bowen, Nash looked old. He’s 34 and certainly not getting any younger. Maybe the pounding is finally taking its toll cause he looks like an Ewok from Star Wars out there.

So, will Mike D’Antoni get the axe for this? Should he really when new GM Steve Kerr decided to bring in Shaq and throw him into a system which wouldn’t work? No. They needed more time to jell. Ditto for J Kidd, Dirk and the rest of the Mavs coached by Avery “Squeaky” Johnson.

I concur with what TNT’s Charles “The Chuckster” Barkley said during the postgame. Both are good coaches who got thrown for a loop with big acquisitions. And it’s not that easy to just go and win with that much time left. It doesn’t account for team chemistry, etc. Did Shaq and Dwyane Wade win the first year down in Miami? Of course not.

For that reason, I wouldn’t fire either coach. They’ll be scooped up faster than Larry Brown can reach his next destination. Charlotte? Really? Is he kidding? They suck! I guess he must be really de$perate or hasn’t met Dan “Da Man” Wheeler (Wheel-ah) yet. 

Much has been made out of Carlos Delgado’s non-reaction to Met fans asking for the beleaguered first baseman to come out for a curtain call after he hit his second home run in a 6-3 win over the Braves Sunday at Shea.

Those would be the same fans who booed Delgado at every turn including earlier that day for being in the lineup. While his dreadful start warranted the classic reaction from Amazin fans, how could anyone disagree with the veteran slugger opting not to come out and show appreciation?

It was the one time he’d been cheered so far during what’s been a tough month where another slow start saw him hitting below the Mendoza Line until the other day. In a lineup which outside of David Wright and Ryan Church is struggling with just 15 total home runs, the Mets need Delgado’s big bat to heat up.

The Mets themselves aren’t exactly lighting it up either. Delgado and struggling reliever Aaron Heilman are the biggest targets at the moment with Willie Randolph not far behind. The pressure’s on to perform. Especially from a frantic fanbase that’s still fearful of last year’s September collapse having a hangover affect which might explain a 13-11 record, tied with the Phillies for second a game and a half behind the Marlins.

Until Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran get untracked, the Mets will continue to have issues. Now, those are two younger stars who are in their primes. By contrast, the 35 year-old Delgado who’s slugged over 430 career dingers won’t be revisiting his best days. Just being a productive bat who could drive the ball out would be enough to help boost his ballclub and get fans off his back.

Even if he invited criticism the past 48 hours, one can certainly understand why. He hasn’t earned it yet and knows he needs to do it consistently. If he does, maybe then you’ll see a different Delgado engage the Shea supporters.

Joe Johnson couldn’t be stopped. The top seeded Celtics had no answer for the explosive leading Hawks’ scorer who scored 20 of his game high 35 in a fourth quarter comeback to lead the big underdog to a second straight home win 97-92 in Game Four-leveling the best-of-seven first round series at two games apiece.

In a back and forth riveting playoff game at Phillips Arena which saw the eighth seeded Hawks comeback from a 16-3 hole to take an eight-point lead before a strong third quarter by Boston put them down 10, the home team rallied outscoring the Celts 32-17 in the last 12 minutes to win their second straight. Most expected them to go quietly and get swept after not being competitive in the first two games but Atlanta had other ideas taking Game Three 102-93 and using that strong fourth quarter to square the series and put all tons of pressure on Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen  along with the rest of former Hawk point guard Doc Rivers’ team.

It was Johnson and super athletic deluxe Josh Smith (28 pts, 12 of 13 FT, Hawks franchise playoff record seven blocks, six rebounds) who took all the Hawks’ shots combining to score all 32 points dominating the paint against a normally strong Boston defensive club. In particular, they weren’t able to shutdown Johnson, who toasted Allen on effective pick n’ roll isolation all quarter scoring on an array of floaters. Maybe the biggest shot in a game where his team trailed 75-65 after being outscored 27-14 in the third was a classic schoolyard crossover where defender Leon Powe was so badly faked out that he fell down allowing Johnson to step back and drain a trey from the left arc, putting Mike Woodson’s team up four with 4:41 left as a raucous crowd erupted invoking memories of Atlanta-Boston series past which featured NBA Hall of Famers Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird.

At one point, Johnson scored nine straight including a couple of ridiculous finishes where he sliced and diced the Boston D. Along with some money free throw making from Smith, they wouldn’t allow Atlanta to lose insuring that there would be another home game in the series.

Two late James Posey three’s weren’t enough as Johnson and Smith finished off the Celts at the line. In fact, the dynamic duo finished with 18 of Atlanta’s 29 free throw makes. Overall, the Hawks shot lights out going 29 for 33 as compared to the Celtics’ 10 of 18. That was the biggest difference.

They also got invaluable contributions from rookie Al Horford on the defensive glass as he finished with a game high 13 boards. Josh Childress came off the bench to grab nine rebounds including a big offensive board late to get a new shotclock. He also had a highlight reel tomahawk jam netting four points and two assists in nearly 32 minutes.

The game also featured some nastiness with Garnett and Atlanta backup center Zaza Pachulia going nose to nose before cooler heads prevailed. Pachulia took exception to a KG elbow going right after the Boston superstar nearly butting him. Both got T’s as did Sam Cassell and Johnson in which each respective coach came out making certain nobody from the bench got involved.

Good thing too because league commish David Stern was in the house looking on. There could be fines but it doesn’t look like there will be any suspensions which would be the best case scenario with a best two-of-three deciding this series.

“We all know he’s a great player,” Pachulia later indicated of Garnett who finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and six steals in a losing cause. “He’s done a lot of good things for the league. He’s a future Hall of Famer. But it doesn’t matter when we’re on the court.”

“I don’t take anything from anybody,” Pachulia added. “The message was, ‘We’re right here. Even if we lose, it’s not going to be easy.”’

Message delivered.

Two Advance: In the other two first round games played Monday night, both Orlando and the Lakers advanced to the Conference Semis.

The Magic got another 20/20 performance from man child Dwight Howard (21 pts, 21 rebs) as they eliminated the Raptors posting a 102-92 Game Five home win.

Howard paced a balanced attack which saw all five starters hit for double digits including a double/double from Rashard Lewis (18 and 13), 19 from Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu’s 12 along with a game high nine assists.

Turkoglu was presented with the NBA’s Most Improved Player before the game beating out Memphis’ Rudy Gay and Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge. Reserve guard Keith Bogans also came off the bench nailing three triples for 11 points, six boards and two assists in 35 minutes.

Toronto was paced by star power forward Chris Bosh’ 16 and nine rebounds. Supersubs Jason Kapono, Carlos Delfino and Jose Calderon each netted double figures combining for five treys and 39 points. Raptor point guard T.J. Ford added 14 but only five assists while turning it over four times.

Orlando now will await the 76ers-Pistons winner. That series is tied 2-2.

Meanwhile out West, the top seeded Lakers advanced with a hard fought 107-101 Game Four road win over the Nuggets, sweeping their talented opponent out of the playoffs. It’s the fifth consecutive year Denver’s bowed out in the first round. According to TNT, the Nuggets became the first 50-win team in playoff history to be swept in Round One.

Kobe Bryant came alive in the final quarter scoring 14 of his 31 in the last five and a half following a 17+ minute drought. Making an assortment of Kobe-esque shots as only the Laker superstar can do, he carried his team down the stretch in shooting down a more pesky Denver team finishing them off to advance to Round Two where they’ll play either Utah or Houston. The Jazz lead that series 3-1.

Bryant is a lot like Michael Jordan in that when his team needs it most, he’ll step up and make the very difficult big shots which provide sparks. This was a fun game to watch with the Nuggets refusing to go away thanks to some ridiculous hot shooting from sixth man J.R. Smith. The 22 year-old out of Freehold, New Jersey hit a couple of deep three’s including a 28-footer. That along with a three-point play put Denver back ahead by one 96-95 with over three minutes to play.

But a tough Kobe trademark 15-foot floater along with some great passing to setup an uncontested Luke Walton trey from the right corner put Los Angeles on top 100-96 with 2:37 left.

The Nuggets never seriously threatened again. It was the first time in franchise history they were swept out of the postseason.

“My wish would be that we had four games like tonight and we all could have been happier,” Nuggets coach George Karl lamented of his team which doesn’t always play disciplined on both ends.

“I’ve said all along, when they play the right way, they’re fun guys to coach.”

The dilemma for Denver moving forward is how do they change that chaotic style into a winner. They can score with Carmelo Anthony (21 pts, 11 rebs) and Allen Iverson (22 pts, 10-of-22 FG, only 2 assists) plus Smith, who becomes a free agent this summer. However, where’s the D? Marcus Camby plays hard as does Kenyon Martin, who has never quite fit in since bolting the Nets.

Unless Denver alters their style meaning not as much reliance on the offensive end at one-on-one emphasizing better team oriented play in the halfcourt set, they’ll continue to win games but not when it counts most.

It’s high time for an adjustment.

Star veteran player has best season in contract year. Gets re-upped. Then for the first time in a potential Hall Of Fame 14-year career, gets hurt and goes on the DL with a bad shoulder. Maybe it was bound to happen to star Yankee catcher Jorge Posada, who never had been on the DL before.

The 36 year-old Posada has been a fixture behind the plate for the Bronx Bombers spanning more than a decade. A five-time AL All-Star who’s finished in the top six of MVP voting twice including sixth last season in which teammate Alex Rodriguez took home the hardware, Posada’s throwing shoulder had been aching him for a couple of weeks forcing him out of action. Most alarming was that while a team MRI revealed a strain it hasn’t improved causing the respectable backstop to shut it down and visit orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews.

There’s a possibility that it could be a torn labrum which would likely spell the end of Posada’s season. He’s in the first year of a four-year $52.4 million contract. In 18 games this season, he’s hit .302 with a homer, 11 RBI’s and eight runs scored.

Once before following the 2001 season, the Puerto Rican had surgery to repair a torn labrum. The Yankees and Posada will find out the diagnosis soon. For now, the Pinstripes will have to go on without one of their mainstays who helped them win three of four World Series including three straight from 1998-2000.

“He’ll be all right. I’m not a doctor, but my opinion is he’ll be OK,” longtime teammate and Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter indicated.. “I know that Jorge takes a lot of pride in playing. It’s better off to rest it now than run into a problem later in the season. Other guys have to step up, pick up the slack.

“Obviously, Jorge is tough to replace, but every team goes through things like this. The thing is, I think he’ll still be in here (the clubhouse) and that’s important. He’ll be on the DL a couple weeks.”

For first-year skipper Joe Girardi, it’s a loss which should be felt in and out of the clubhouse.

“It’s kind of strange to go into the clubhouse and you don’t see him,” the 1996 World Series hero said of a catcher who had started at least 137 games behind the plate the past eight seasons. “He’s a quiet leader. He’s a constant in the clubhouse, you like to see guys like that.”

So, can the Yanks survive without him? Well, veteran backup Jose Molina isn’t bad by any stretch and should get the majority of the starts in Posada’s place. The ex-Angel acquired last year doesn’t possess the big bat but is a steady influence behind the plate who has a solid arm.

In a packed lineup which includes Jeter, Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui, Molina shouldn’t have to carry the load. If Robinson Cano gets out of a slump, that should bolster it. Especially with Melky Cabrera’s improved power tying Jason Giambi for the club lead with five dingers.

Molina will be backed up by 26 year-old recall Chris Stewart, who hit .300 with a .404 on-base percentage in 40 at bats with Triple A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

The good news for the Yanks who again have gotten out of the gate slowly is that they rebounded taking the last two from Cleveland to gain a split of a four-game road series. Sure. They were no-hit for five innings by 22 year-old Indian southpaw Aaron Laffey but managed to scratch out four in the sixth following infield hits by Cabrera and Jeter.

They didn’t exactly hammer Laffey instead dinking and dunking their way to home plate with just a Morgan Ensberg infield hit (third of inning) plating one of the four more conventional.

The four run sixth along with a Hideki Matsui eighth inning runscoring double in the eighth helped Mike Mussina even his record at 3-3. The 39 year-old vet wasn’t great but did just enough in going five before a Yankee pen which included the 1-2 punch of Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera did the rest silencing the Cleveland bats.

Even Kyle Farnsworth tossed a scoreless frame K-ing one. Maybe it’s the mop but he’s actually pitched better lately. More than Girardi could say for first-year reliever LaTroy Hawkins.

What it all means is that the Yanks return home for three against the Tigers back over .500 (14-13) a game out of first where there’s a three-way tie between the Rays, Birds and Sox.

Maybe they get it going now. Just don’t expect Posada to be part of it anytime soon.

There was nothing to complain about this time. The Rangers were outworked, outhustled and outmuscled by a hungrier Pens team which did what they had to do in a 2-0 shutout at Mellon Arena Sunday, taking a 2-0 series lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinal.

Beaten to most loose pucks, the Rangers were far from better than when they blew a three-goal lead to lose Game One 5-4 on a disputed call. Even in a tighter checking game more to their preference, they didn’t perform good enough to get the split instead falling into an unenviable 0-2 hole with the series hanging in the balance when it returns to New York Tuesday.

That Jordan Staal’s power play tally was enough to break a scoreless tie with 6:05 left in the second and the Rangers doesn’t bode well. With Chris Drury off for hooking Petr Sykora, the Pens stayed with it after missing two close chances. This time, Game One hero Evgeni Malkin drew a couple of Rangers before finding just enough of a hole to get the puck to an open Staal in front, who beat Henrik Lundqvist.

While it was difficult for Lundqvist who still was splendid keeping his team in it with 30 saves, the same couldn’t be said for Pittsburgh counterpart Marc-Andre Fleury.

“We need a little more traffic (in front against Fleury),” coach Tom Renney philosophized to the Associated Press of the Pittsburgh netminder who had a walk in the park stopping all 26 Ranger shots for his second playoff shutout. “I’m not going to suggest it was really easy for him, but it certainly could have been tougher. The big thing for us is to create some momentum of our own at MSG and really take this series back.” 

When the Rangers did attack which wasn’t nearly enough against a diligent checking Pens club which trapped to perfection clogging up the neutral zone, they couldn’t get shots through and didn’t get enough traffic on Fleury despite six power plays. They had their chances but weren’t willing to pay the price.

Sure. An unfortunate break went against them when Martin Straka’s apparent tying power play goal with over four minutes left was wiped out due to a quick whistle by referee Dan O’Halloran, who thought Fleury had covered the puck. NBC replays seemed to indicate otherwise.

“I thought it was an accurate call,” Renney said. “I don’t know if it was a quick whistle or not.”

No matter. Renney’s club got a do over when Jaromir Jagr nemesis Hal Gill was sent to the box with 2:22 remaining. The Blueshirts never threatened again as a stellar Pittsburgh PK easily killed it off finishing six-for-six on the day.

Not even pulling Lundqvist for an extra attacker with less than a minute left on the man-advantage for a brief 6-on-4 manufactured anything.

Instead, Broadway failure Adam Hall banked a clear from inside his end into a vacated net from 70 feet out. Funny. He didn’t score much last year but did something his former team couldn’t. Find the back of the net.

Now the Rangers will have to do it the hard way if they want to get back in this series. They’ll have something to draw on losing the first two in Buffalo before sweeping two at MSG to square last year’s Conference Semifinal series.

There’s also this. All season, they didn’t lose to Pittsburgh on home ice.

“We just have to go back home and still feel confident, we know we can beat this team,” Lundqvist pointed out. “We have to go back home and get two wins there and come back here, and it’s going to be pressure on them.”

Win Tuesday and they’re back in it. Lose and there’s almost no realistic chance. The pressure’s on.

Notes: The Pens are now a perfect 6-0 in the playoffs having registered at least one PPG in each. … In a switch, Renney dressed forward Petr Prucha in place of Colton Orr on the fourth line. He played only 5:50 and saw just a couple of shifts with Scott Gomez and Sean Avery despite Brendan Shanahan’s continued ineffectiveness. … In series history, Pittsburgh is now 8-2 on home ice against the Rangers. … They might not have come out with a win but the Blueshirts dominated the faceoff circle winning 37 of 57. Rookie Brandon Dubinsky won 12 of 19 while Drury was 10 and four. … Game Three is Tuesday and can be seen on Versus at 7 ET.

You can always find great rappers. It’s just that usually the most talented are incognito or dead. At least there’s still Nas and Kanye West. Kind of makes me think sometimes of how truly blessed we were last decade with what the rap game was like.

RIP 2Pac. RIP Biggie. RIP Big Pun AKA Big Punisher. Ah. Another great local product from the NYC representing the Boogey Down. With swicked lyrics, Pun’s 1998 Capital Punishment album went triple platinum. I still got that album on old cassette back in the dinosaur days. Me and the crew used to blast it all the time.

Truth be told, there’s not a bad song on it even though “Still Not A Player” got all the press. Pun and Fat Joe teamed up with cameos from Funkmaster Flex, Busta Rhymes, Prodigy, Miss Jones and Wyclef Jean. 

For Pun, he died young much like Pac and Biggie. However, it wasn’t from a stray bullet but rather from obesity passing away at 28 from a heart attack on February 7, 2000. In some aspect, that’s kind of sadder because if he’d taken better care of himself and stayed on a diet that had him drop 100 pounds, there’s a good chance Pun would still be around doing his thang.

Nobody ever said it was fair but hey. He became a huge star and lived the life many of us could only dream of leaving a legacy. Or like the latest Air Jordan commercial with the message, “Become Legendary,” Pun did. Maybe not to the extent of predecessors Pac and Biggie but certainly was on that path.

His former partner Joe’s still around putting out the occasional big hit. He’s good but doesn’t come close to Pun’s mic skillz. Few were better.

Let’s look at some other big hits from the one and only Pun:

Big Pun: “Beware”

first song on the 1998 album coming strong.

Big Pun: “Twinz (Deep Cover)”

a classic sound with an awesome scene and the words to go with it.

Big Pun: “Twinz (Deep Cover remix)”

another pretty strong remix from gifted youtuber Darkshadez.

Big Pun: “Punish Me”

i still think this track is off da hook. Definitely one of the best songs ever by Pun! With great chorus stuff from Miss Jones. :D

Big Pun: “How We Roll”

You know I’m well known like Al Capone, fully blown like Ton’ Montana
In a zone, sittin on chrome, stoned sippin on cham-pagna

Big Pun: “How We Roll“-Original fea. Ashanti

both are really good but the original is a little livelier and more kids in it. Very cool.

Big Pun: “25 to Life”

pretty deep stuff.

Big Pun: “Whatcha Gon Do”

pretty cool footage and shots. Greatness.

Big Pun: “Capital Punishment”

this is a dope track worth its album title. You can’t always say that for album covers. But hey. It was triple platinum!

I pretty much came to the conclusion that I could listen to all of Pun’s stuff and link it up. That’s how great a rapper he was. Gone but never forgotten. Just like the others.

Loss. How does one cope with it? Every individual handles adversity differently. To an extent, we’ve all experienced the pain of losing a loved one.

I haven’t had grandparents for a few years now but still have very vivid memories of what made them such an integral part of my life growing up. I can still see each looking down on me smiling showing off their wonderful human qualities. They always were there for myself and my younger brother.

Some of the best times we spent as kids were at my grandparents in Ocean Parkway in the BK. Whether it was going to the store for fresh fruit, hitting Brighton Beach, eating a home cooked meal or seeing a movie, it was always worthwhile. I particularly loved the playground shooting hoops on those baskets without rims. Schoolyard style. There always was something refreshing about playing b-ball across the street from Lincoln High where future stars like Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson would play.

Maybe it was something in the air. There are those moments where you can just feel it. That quite a few are spent with people we care about has an affect.

Life is great and should be enjoyed to the fullest cause one never knows when it’s up. Which brings me to death. The least understood and sad reality of life. It’s like all those times I chilled with my friend T. He concluded that as soon as we’re born, we’re dying. It sounds kind of crazy but in a way, he’s right.

That’s why you got to suck it all up and live in the moment. Death doesn’t play favorites. It can be very unfair but out of our control. My brother just found out last night that one of his closest friends lost their Mom. She was a really good person and not very old but had health issues including an aneurysm a few years back. Just overhearing the convo, I could tell it was the worst kind of news and felt extremely blank.

No longer did the Penguins coming back to defeat the Rangers mean very much. Sports are great but pales in comparison to this bone chilling topic. I was also close with his friend and knew their Mom as well as sister. I feel extremely bad about it and saddened for their loss. Making matters worse, she didn’t have life insurance and their father was a deadbeat. So, you can imagine where my sentiment is this very second.

It just doesn’t seem right. I feel fortunate to still have both my parents around. I couldn’t imagine losing either as their overwhelming support is what keeps me going.

I also can’t picture losing a loved one to a bloody murder created by irresponsible NYPD cops as in the Sean Bell case. As pretty much everyone knows by now, the 23 year-old Bell was killed on his wedding day on Nov.25, 2006 when three undercover officers fired 50 shots. The fiancee of Nicole Paultre Bell was out partying with close buddies Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield. As the bachelor party concluded outside a night club in Jamaica, Queens, they were fired at by NYPD officers Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper.

They were led to believe that Bell allegedly had a gun. Of course, nothing was ever discovered with even their claim of a fourth person near Bell’s Nissan Altima never turning up.

“Today was his wedding day - not his death day,” Bell’s Uncle Oniaja Shepherd told the New York papers Nov.26, 2006. “We were supposed to go to a wedding. Now we’re going to a funeral.”

What one ponders is how did New York’s finest get it so wrong and still fire 50 shots brutally murdering Bell and injuring Guzman? That 31 came from the gun of Oliver is even more puzzling. Isnora fired 11 while Cooper got off four.

It’s one thing if they were armed but that wasn’t the case which is why it’s so hard to fathom Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman’s not guilty verdict rendered in a New York courtroom the other day.

To hear Bell’s widow of two tell it, the decision hurt even more:

“Every march, every rally, I’m going to be right up front,” Paultre Bell said at a rally with Reverend Al Sharpton front and center promising a massive citywide demonstration in the coming weeks.

“The justice system let me down. They killed Sean all over again. That’s what it felt like to us.”

“They’ve shown they will not hold the police responsible,” an emotional Sharpton addressed reporters from his Harlem headquarters. “Well guess what? If you won’t, we will.”

At the very least, he did ask all the protesters to use good judgment. Something which couldn’t be said during this case. Whether or not the two key prosecution witnesses Guzman and Benefield were believable, there had to be some form of punishment for the three officers. They can’t just get off Scott free.

It isn’t right. Cops have very high responsibilities. Part of that responsibility is using proper judgment and not overreacting making potentially chaotic situations worse.

This script has been written before. Armadou Diallo anyone? Same end result.

Was it Oliver, Isnora and Cooper’s intention to murder Bell? Probably not. But hey. You’re still responsible for your actions. What do you think the result would’ve been if they weren’t cops? It’s not even a question.

There just can’t be double standards in such a case as this. Bell’s body won’t rest in peace and neither will his still grieving wife and distraught parents Valerie and William.

How would you feel?

Given yesterday’s circumstances with the unjust not guilty decision acquitting three NYPD officers of murdering Sean Bell outside a strip club following a bachelor party, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate song summing up things in our city.

N.W.A. was one of the best rap groups ever as the outstanding trio of Easy-E, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre teamed up to create an amazing hard core rap sound. As many would attest, quite a few of their hit songs were controversial addressing serious issues they experienced as teenagers in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Compton, California. 

One of their biggest hits was “F*** Tha Police,” off the Straight Outta Compton 1988 release.

You can pretty much figure out what the song was about. I’ll shed more sentiments later on this as well as the Bell case which is a total travesty.

Here were the Rangers with the first three against division rival Pittsburgh playing the kind of road game which certainly seemed headed their way nearly halfway through. Such a win would’ve made them four-for-four on the road to start the postseason. Something they hadn’t done in over three decades. That’s why they play 60 minutes.

Up against an explosive opponent, the Blueshirts took their foot off the gas pedal allowing the talented Penguins to score the next four and pull out a 5-4 victory in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinal at Mellon Arena Friday night. No truth to the rumor they’ll be renaming it NHL Arena. What. With a very debatable interference call going against Ranger forward Martin Straka which led to Evgeni Malkin’s power play decider with 1:41 left.

Having survived two awful sequences where they let the Pens score on consecutive shifts, a shaken Ranger club showed some mettle when favorite booing target Jaromir Jagr found an open Scott Gomez during a line change for the former Devil’s fourth of the playoffs tying the seesaw contest back up 4-4 with 9:56 remaining.

As Tom Renney had warned prior to the series’ first drop of the puck, facing the NHL’s darling Sidney Crosby was no easy task. Make no mistake. The 20 year-old 2006-07 league MVP didn’t need any help setting up one-time Ranger Pascal Dupuis 14 seconds after team antagonist Jarkko Ruutu banked one in off Michal Rozsival to change the game’s perplexion.

Sid The Kid also didn’t need either vet referee Don Koharski or Kelly Sutherland handing his team a power play with 3:20 left on what appeared to be little from Straka. Funny how the former Pen got nabbed when previously during the same shift, there were a couple of instances where Rangers were pulled down while cycling the puck in the Pittsburgh zone. Never mind.

Having successfully killed off the first four Pittsburgh power plays, the Rangers came close but couldn’t get the job done allowing such a bogus call to do them in when a Crosby one-timer from the top of the right circle deflected off Malkin’s left leg past Henrik Lundqvist. A nonsensical video review confirmed the obvious. That Malkin had no intent to kick it in. Wonder how league brass could’ve figured out that one?

What the Rangers need to figure out is how a three-goal lead slipped away. Unable to put the Pens away, they allowed the second seed to hang around down a goal entering the third. Maybe now they got the memo that this isn’t their first opponent.

Marian Hossa tied it at 4:40 when his sharp angle shot went through a maze of players eluding Lundqvist, who never was set. Twenty seconds later, he was busy scooping out former Ranger Petr Sykora’s tap-in off a gorgeous Malkin feed taking advantage of dreadful coverage. Dan Girardi overcommitted and third goalscorer Sean Avery watched instead of taking Sykora in front.

That kind of lax approach in team defense was the antithesis of the Ranger philosophy. They weren’t very detail oriented.

“Pittsburgh isn’t where they’re at because they’re a poor team and they don’t know how to bounce back,” an analytical Renney noted to the Associated Press afterwards. “We were certainly aware of that—almost to a fault.”

The evening didn’t start out great as they were outshot 8-0 and took two minors. However, some superb PK work and an early Straka power play goal got them on the board first. Taking a pass from Jagr, Straka’s centering feed for rookie Brandon Dubinsky went off a Pen for the period’s only goal. By its conclusion, shots were 9-7 Pens with the Blueshirts starting to take control.

Looking like the more poised team, the Rangers struck twice 1:45 apart early in the second. First, Chris Drury redirected home a Marc Staal point shot to make it 2-0 at 1:52. Video replays showed that Drury’s stick wasn’t above the crossbar allowing it to stand up. Avery would make it 3-0 when he converted off a three-on-two, wristing one through Fleury for his first of the series.

But a harmless Ruutu centering pass off Rozsival less than five minutes later changed the outcome entirely.

“(Ahead) 3-0 in the playoffs, you’d like to think it’s over, but what are you going to do?” Gomez said after scoring for a third straight game. “We can’t get in a track meet with those guys. It’s over, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“That one hurts. I thought we had it,” a disappointed Jagr added. “The second one is going to be even tougher, but we have to do it somehow.”

Notes: Back healthy from a broken toe, Ranger enforcer Colton Orr replaced Ryan Hollweg on the fourth line logging 5:48. … Dubinsky, Girardi and partner Fedor Tyutin had rough nights all finishing minus-two. … With two helpers, Jagr now leads the Blueshirts with 10 points (2-8-10 in 6 GP) this postseason. … New York got excellent games from tandem Marc Staal and Michal Rozsival with the top pair combining for five assists along with a plus-three rating. … Malkin notched a goal and assist while Crosby and Ryan Malone each contributed two assists. … Shots were dead even the final 40 minutes with each team getting 17 (9 and 8 respectively). Pens outshot the Rangers 26-24 overall. … Veteran Pen F Gary Roberts (groin) was a late scratch with ex-Ranger Adam Hall replacing him. … Fleury made 20 saves improving to 5-0 this postseason while Lundqvist turned aside 21 of 26 falling to 4-2. … Game Two is tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM on NBC.

So, you want a successful rap video. Well, these days outside of having notorious rapper Akon or producer Timbaland, tossing a couple of fallen rap legends into a remix of a hit song which was good to begin with ain’t a bad alternative.

Precisely what rapper The Game, 50 Cent and G-Unit Records did with fly track, “How We Do.” How hot was this song? Off the charts as it was blasted before b-ball games in the Bk. A kickass warm-up track for players to say the least along with whatever gangsta shit you could find.

It’s little secret that I’ve always been a diehard 2Pac supporter. So, any song which includes Mr. West Side and former NWA’s Eazy-E I’m all for. With The Game including Eazy’s former sidekick Dr. Dre as well in the mix, it’s just killer. Love Dre. Speaking of which, Snoop Dogg’s coming to Key Span Park this summer too. Yeah. I’ll find my way there.

Now, I’ve seen remix videos before with Pac and the clips are always great even if they’re the same. It just works. Well, to say the least, they did a great job again with California’s Thug Life and Eazy-E. I still maintain that somewhere, Pac’s kicking it with some blunts, hot chicks on a lounge chair by the beach in the Caribbean.

So, what ya think?

Anyway, I’m going to link up both the original and remix because this song is pretty dope.

The Game fea. 50 Cent, Eazy-E, 2Pac: “How We Do Remix”

the footage of Eazy being chased by the police is epic.

The Game fea. 50 Cent: “How We Do”

the start of the original is great with a classic shot of Dre with smoke coming out of his mouth with a car in the background before some dice switch to The Game with even more cool shots before headed out.