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Dear Denzel, Jack, LC, Leo, Tobey, Weezy, Wayne, et al.,

I hate you. And not because you are terrible people, but because you are Lakers fans (which sort of makes you terrible people, now that I think about it). And because you were all there at the Staples Center last night, to watch your beloved Purple and Gold demolish the upstart Orlando Magic in Game One of the NBA Finals.

See, I am an Orlando Magic fan (yes, we exist). I have been one for 20 years now. I went to the first-ever game at the (then) Orlando Arena -- a November 11, 1989, preseason tilt that we actually won, 111-106 over the New Jersey Nets -- rode high through the Shaq and Penny years, bottomed out during the lean times, had hope during the the T-Mac era, lost that hope during even more lean times, and now, am recharged by the Dwight Howard administration. I have followed this once hapless (and hopeless) franchise to the cusp of championship glory ... something I never believed I'd be able to say. And now, all that's standing in the way is the loathsome Kobe Bryant, the hirsute Pau Gasol, the gangly (and overrated) Phil Jackson and, of course, all of you.

Which is why I hate you. All of you. I mean, the Lakers have won 15 world championships already. They stole Shaq away from the Magic, destroying not just the franchise, but the entire fanbase, for roughly a decade. They play in Los Angeles, a glamorous and amazing place, packed with beautiful people and expensive boutiques and more professional teams than I can rattle off here (yet no actual Lakes, but I digress). You people have it all.

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By Saimon Kos

Saturday's NBA playoff game between the Hawks and the Cavaliers in Atlanta featured some major celebrity spectators. Young Jeezy, Nelly and T.I. were all courtside taking in the action, as LeBron James and his Cavs continued their playoff dominance.

The hip-hop heavyweights weren't exactly wearing their home team's colors, but at least Nelly was showing respect to one of the greatest ballers of all time, rocking an Air Jordan T-shirt.

The fourth (and possibly final) game of the series is tonight in Atlanta and will surely feature some more celebs taking in the action.

By Jayson Rodriguez

University of Southern California's
Mark Sanchez was the New York Jets' first-round draft pick (and fifth overall) in last weekend's NFL draft, and already the frenzy about his future has begun.

The USC star has Hollywood looks, so they're saying he's a marketing team's dream — but don't sleep on what's inside his dome piece. Sanchez is a graduating senior at USC, and it turns out he's pretty sharp when it comes to his music. Here's what he told us recently about some of his favorites:

"Growing up, my brothers really got into the Dave Matthews Band when they went to college, so I love them and the Counting Crows," he said. "I listen to a lot of stuff from the guys on my team, from Lil Wayne to Jay-Z. Snoop Dogg is a huge USC fan, so he's been around campus. I'm a fan of his — he does everything, it's hard not to like him.

"Taylor Swift, I got a chance to meet her and she was cool, so I keep tabs on her," he continued. "She's pretty awesome. I went to a Rascal Flatts concert and didn't know much about them, but they were some cool guys. They're huge Ohio State fans, so they were bummed. [He laughs.] I like the Killers a lot, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I like oldies, too, because my mom and dad used to listen to music a lot in the car. I try to be well versed in music."

By Nick Neofitidis

I can hear my man Dicky V. now: "Oh, baby, what a play!" "Unbelievable, baby!" Makes my heart ache and my soul illuminate.

That's right, kids: It's NCAA March Madness time! The tourney started today at 12:20 p.m. ET, and we here at MTV News are ready to go. We have submitted our brackets, argued our points to the death, and yesterday, we had a battle royale as to why UConn is the team to beat and North Carolina is always so overrated. (OK, fine — that's just my opinion. Go Huskies!)

If you're a fan of the tourney, you know that 99 percent of the time, some Cinderella team comes out of the blue to ruin your brackets and destroy your interest by the Sweet 16. You may still painlessly watch in hopes of maybe finishing in the money, but the reality is, you messed up by not picking the #15 seed Binghamton over #2 seed Duke in the first round (I know I just cursed myself). Read More...