I have a feeling Kobe, DFish and Co. were drinking better than us this past weekend -- not that Moose Drool Ale and $10 stoggies are a bad thing.

Now that the dust, champagne, confetti and rioting has settled, let’s look back at some thoughts from a weekend in Vegas, my 32nd birthday (I’m feeling really old after this one) and, oh yeah, the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Finals in five games over the Orlando Magic:

• I might not love Derrick Fisher as much as ESPN Radio’s homerish crew of Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown and Dr. Jack Ramsay, but damn did that dude save the trip and the birthday. I don’t think I went to an ATM once this weekend thanks to the dough we bankrolled off those bombs he hit in Game 4.

• Speaking of sportsbooks, a look at the favorites to win the 2010 title: Lakers favored at 5-2, Cavs at 3-1, Celtics 5-1, Orlando 7-1, Denver 12-1. Thirteen teams are 100-1, including three from Calif. – Golden State, Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers. Time to shake your moneymaker Lambo and get some dough on them Clipps.

• Speaking of Vegas pros, where’s Lakers sixth man Ryantific’s contributions after this victory?

• What a difference a year healthy Trevor Ariza and unhealthy Kevin Garnett make.

• Who was the second best team in the playoffs this year? Thuggish Ruggish Nuggets get my vote.

• Anyone in the media going to ask Phil Jackson if he’s going to return next year? I know he’s under contract, but dude admitted he wasn’t himself this year and that this was a “learned” group that he didn’t exactly have to coach up. Big Phil’s got 10 rings as a coach, passing Red, dates a former Playboy model who is also the owner’s daughter, and has a cabin near some of the best fly fishing waters the world has to offer in Montana. What more does he have to prove?

• Kobe Bryant had plenty to prove during these Finals. And he proved worthy of the Finals MVP, even though he didn’t have his best series.

• What a great year and a half it’s been for Kobe. First MVP, gold medal, Shaq-less NBA title, Finals MVP. Awards aren’t everything, but they tend to be nowadays when trying to decide who’s the “greatest.” On a side note, did you know George Mikan, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, John Havlicek and Rick Barry never won MVPs? Crazy stuff.

• Is Kobe’s legacy that much greater now that he’s won a title without Shaq? In this day, maybe. But dude’s one of the greatest to play no matter what. Just think of all those great players who never won titles (Barkley, Ewing, Malone, Stockton, Iverson, Kidd, Nash), and Kobe’s got four!

• At the same time, let’s not forget Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant had plenty of help from Scottie Pippen Pau Gasol and  Tony Kukoc Lamar Odom and Steve Kerr Derrick Fisher this time around.

• So this one is a big one for Kobe. Those three with Shaq were largely because of Shaq. After all, Shaq won all three of those Finals MVPs, and also helped D-Wade and the Heat win a title a few years later (look at where the Heat were before and after that).

• Either way, you have to have experience and a big man (or in this day of centerless teams, a power forward like Gasol or KG or Duncan) to win an NBA title.

• Orlando has it’s big man, so the difference this year was clearly the experience (which is always key, especially for 32-year-old, broke-ass bloggers in Vegas). Kobe (31), Fisher (34), Phil (older than Yoda) had it. Dwight, whoever their starting point guard was on a given night, Stan VanG didn’t.

It’s nice to see being old pays off from time to time.

1. Lakers vs Celtics – Being a die hard Laker fan, there is no greater a finals match up. The Lakers and Celtics own 31 of 62 NBA Championship titles, making them the most storied rivalry in all of basketball. It would be a great rematch of last years NBA finals with the Lakers a more complete team than last years.

2. Lakers vs Cavs – Also known as Kobe vs Lebron. The two superstars could actually leave their supporting casts at home and basketball fans would dial in to watch a best of seven one on one match up between the two superstars. 

3. Lakers vs Heat – D Wade vs Kobe. Not as great as Kobe vs LeBron but Wade and Kobe actually match up against each other more often then Lebron and Kobe. Wade is the current top NBA scorer in the League and Kobe can light it up on any given night. I’d predict a couple 50 point games from each of them in this very unlikely Finals match up.

4. Lakers vs Magic – The most intriguing matchup would have been the battle of the young centers, Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard. Unfotunately it may not play out even if these two teams make it to the finals becuase of the injury that Bynum suffered in January. Also with Jameer Nelson out for the season, the Magic don’t have the complete game plan to compete on the main stage as they did earlier in the season. 

Final Match Ups we don’t want to see.

There are a couple of  finals match ups that we definitely don’t want to see.

1. Cavs vs Spurs – The rematch of the Finals series from a couple of years could put us all to sleep. Spurs are too old now and LeBron would get his revenge for the embarassment of his first Finals stage when he was swept by the Spurs. I’m sure there would be some monster dunks by LeBron on Duncan’s dome.

2. Spurs vs anyone – Let’s face it… we don’t want to watch the Spurs in the finals playing anyone. The Spurs were a great team. But with Duncan starting to show some wear and tear and Ginobli still not fully recovered from his ankle surgery, they don’t have it any more to challenge the likes of the Cavs or Boston. They are the dark horse to win the Western Division Championship but there is no way they can win the championship.

3. Cavs vs Mavs – Really… Yeah, the only reason why I put this here is because it would drive me insane to hear “the CAVS vs the MAVS” and “CAVS MAVS Series”! No other reason. This series would suck.