I am still not sure how the Cavs lost game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It is coming up on 24 hours since the game ended and I caught myself thinking that the Cavs had won and they should be even better in game 2. But then I remembered the second half of that game. At the beginning of the game Anderson Varejao scored the first 6 points of the game in the paint. Oops I typed that wrong, it was Lebron that scored those right? No, Varejao, in the paint, on defensive player of the year Dwight Howard. The Cavs' movement was so effective that when Howard was on big Z he was being drawn out by the big man's ability to shoot when open, and when they switched onto Varejao Howard was watching Lebron and would get lost. Everything was perfect, Lebron was distributing and the Cavs were kiling. No one can play with them when they play like that. Take the little run in the second quarter, Joe Smith blocks Dwight Howard, quick outlet to Lebron who took off from his front porch in Akron and dunked the ball and the Q explodes. The next trip down Lebron blocks Howard, trails the play and hits a three and gave the crowd a look that would straight up scare a man out of his pants. I thought this is the defining moment every team needs to become a champion. Ya know, the moment when the last seconds are ticking off the clock in the championship clinching game and the announcers say "you could really tell this team had a chance to win the trophy when...". That is a defining moment that every team has. If you don't believe me start researching and you'll see. Then the second half happened. The ball started sticking and everyone was watching Lebron light up on offense. Unfortunately, when any team starts standing on offense and going one-on-one there defense is really what pays the price. Lebron was scoring nearly every possession in the third quarter, but the Magic were scoring EVERY possession and hitting a lot of threes. All of a sudden the game started to tighten up and so did the Cavs (minus Lebron) and the Cavs' fans.
Could Delonte West and Mo Williams miss any better shots in the second half? Mo was missing in the first half as well, but both of them going ice cold in the biggest game of the year so far is a bad bad sign. I want to set the record straight. I don't want to hear everyone saying that the Magic just let Lebron get his 49 and shut down the rest of the Cavs. That is not a true statement. Lebron was shooting lights out and was still looking for teammates and setting them up for great shots. His teammates shut themselves down. I was convinced all season that the Magic's defense would be what gave the Cavs trouble in the playoffs. That is not it at all. The Cavs were getting shots that they normally would make and just didn't in the second half. Watch the first half on TiVo again and you'll see what I mean. All of a sudden it became a stand and watch game, and the Magic will beat you in a game like that, they shoot too well and don't give up too many offensive boards. The constant moving in the first half is what opened lanes for Lebron to pass and drive into and gave them better shots at rebounding because Howard was out of position. I can't talk about this anymore, I'm going to lose it. But I do want to say this. My new favorite three plays of the entire playoffs may have come from this game. 1) Lebron's dunk from somewhere in row 3, 2) Howard's dunk that broke the shot clock, 3) Lebron's block on Howard. All three were pretty unreal plays.
The Lakers-Nuggets series is going to get chippy once again. The Lakers have been part of a chippy series the entire playoffs. I'm beginning the think it's just them. I have always been a Kobe hater. Since he's been in the league I have never liked him. The last few games have reminded me on exactly why that is. If you have kept up on my previous blogs, I hate Duke. I despise Duke even. But Shane Battier (former Duke Blue Devil) gained all the respect I can give him considering his alma-mater this year. Kobe talked trash all game, yelled at him and the announcers about how he couldn't guard him, and Battier just kept playing and smiling at Kobe. I think we can all stop the Jordan comparisons (if we couldn't stop them about 10 years ago) with Kobe. Jordan talked trash and used the slightest things to motivate him to another level. But Jordan never had to draw attention to himself beyond playing the game. Kobe yelling at the announcers to let them know Battier can't guard him doesn't need to be done if Kobe just goes out and drops 40 on him. Instead, he yells and screams and pounds his chest because he feels that he needs to do that. Jordan would score 40 on whomever was guarding him without it appearing he said a word. He didn't have to, he made sure everyone knew he was better. Also, Kobe is a cheap player. In the Rockets series he threw indiscrete elbows or knees the entire 7 games. Now watching game 1, Kobe injures his finger and bumps into Kenyon Martin putting him to the floor. All of the other times Kobe has done something cheap he made it look like it was part of the game. This is probably just the Kobe Hater talking, but watch the replay of that play and look to see if Kobe doesn't just lay into Martin a little bit. Then think about all of the other times Kobe has thrown and elbow or landed with his knee on someone's face (Battier game 1 if you don't believe me) and tell me it isn't a little suspicous. Furthermore, Kobe is always yelling at someone. He never seems to support his teammates. The talking heads on TV always talk about how he is a great teammate because he treats them to dinner. That isn't supporting teammates. Support is slapping them on the head and letting them know they'll make the next shot instead of glaring and wishing he would get the ball to shoot. Watch Jordan on ESPN classic someday. Specifically game 6 of the 1997 Finals. Jordan tells Steve Kerr to be ready to shoot the ball when he gets double teamed. He trusts his teammates, and Kerr responds with yeah I'll be ready. His teammates trust him. Kobe doesn't have that, he never has.
Also, the Lakers are going to get more lenient technical foul calls on them because the NBA can't afford to have Kobe suspended for a game. In game 1, Melo and Kobe were battling for position and Melo got called for a foul. Melo said something that constituted a technical foul and was promptly given one. Later, Kobe takes about 3 or 4 trips up and down the floor screaming at the referees to give him a call. No technical until later when he slams the ball down and accidently loses control. If he keeps that ball in his hands it's probably not a T, and he wouldn't have gotten one all game. That has been bothering me all year and I am waiting for some legitimate sports writer out there to pick up on it and write about it.
Melo was something else in game 1. A lot of times when some player is dominant in high school and moves to college it takes him/her a long time to transition into the next level of play because the game is much too fast for them. You see it all the time with great players coming into the NBA as well. Well, the game has finally slowed back down for Carmelo Anthony. Not that he wasn't a great player before, he has finally found the motivation he needs to be an elite player in the league. He was killing Kobe down low in game 1 and I think that is going to have to be a key for the Nuggets throughout the series. Beat on Kobe on the defensive end so it slows him down on the offensive end. The Nuggets could steal a game in LA, they just need to remember what got them there. For instance, George Karl has become one of my favorite coaches in the NBA. However, why didn't he keep Chris Anderson in on the second to last possession and have him taking out the ball instead of Anthony Carter. When I was watching the game live I was yelling at the TV, then when he threw the ball away I had to walk outside to avoid throwing something through my TV. The NBA is all about match ups, and since Karl called the timeout he gets to look out and see who the Lakers have out there and when he saw the two bigs he should have known to keep Birdman out there because Carter wasn't going to beat Odom to the hoop anyway. Carter gave the Nuggets little or no advantage on offense and Birdman opens up the chance for offensive rebounding or a 50/50 ball that he will for sure beat anyone else to.
I'm excited for the rest of the playoffs though. Game 2 is going on as I write this in the Denver series, the Lakers are up 7. My picks after cheating and watching the first games are Cavs in six and Lakers in 5. The reason I'm still sure that the Cavs will win it is because they won't shoot that poorly again, and fatigue seemed to have set in a little bit toward the end. Lebron is probably one of the best conditioned athletes in the league and he was exhausted. They have their game lungs back but won't steal them both in Orlando. The Lakers just have too many favorable matchups in their series. The Nuggets have to either go small on Kobe or let Melo get tired on D and hope their seconds are better than the Lakers and I'm not convinced they are. We'll see though, I'm not the best at picking but that's why we love sports.
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Mike Brown, floorseat sitter somewhere near the Cavs bench, maybe coach sometimes? What happened in game one. Why does Mike Brown leave Varejao in to guard Rashard Lewis on the last play? Let Delonte West, who is an extremely underrated defender, and leave Varejao to take a spot up three point shooter so that he won't get broken down on the dribble. The Cavs had the shot clock in their favor. If they give up a two and the game is tied, Lebron can plow into the lane and not worry about turning it over and going to overtime without Howard. Instead, down one they had to play smart and he still got West the best look ever. Furthermore, Z can't guard Howard. I'm sure this is obvious but Mike Brown didn't notice. What does he pay his assistants for? When the Magic go big, put in Joe Smith and let Z guard Battie and Smith can move quicker laterally and stop that hook shot. Finally, what did he do with the playbook in the second half? The Cavs looked unstoppable and all of a sudden they just completely stopped. I don't know what happened, I just feel I need to keep repeating that. You are the coach of the year Mr. Brown, ready whenever you are to earn that award. Ugh, still not talking about it though.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Early Round Two
According to Doc Rivers, Brian Scalabrine and Stephon Marbury were the Celtics two best players in game 1 of their series with the Magic. Stephon Marbury hasn't been the best player in a game for 2 or 3 years and Scalabrine just popped his player of the game cherry in game 1. The Celtics are the defending champs, and yet when the time comes to protect homecourt advantage in a series that is going to be based a lot on where the games are played, their two best players were Brian Scalabrine and Stephon Marbury. (Easily the two ugliest Celtics as well, Starbury with the tatoo on his head and Scalabrine...well there is more than one thing wrong with the red headed wonder) Rajon Rondo had seven turnovers and is getting the best looks on offense out of everyone in green and white. What I don't understand is that if a player gets paid to do nothing but play basketball year around, how in the world can that player not hit a wide open 18 footer. The Magic are collapsing the key and begging Rondo to keep firing up bricks so Dwight Howard can go ahead and grab 20 boards a game for the rest of the series. What Rondo did so well against the Bulls (who didn't have a shot blocker like Howard in the key) was attack the space they were giving him so he met the defender with a head of steam and could get to the basket easier. Even if Rondo charges the hoop and throws something up off the glass and Howard tries to block it, it will give Perkins and Davis a chance to rebound without having Howard standing flat footed against them.
Technically it is my fault that Ray Allen got outscored by J.J. Redick. I talked Allen up big time in my previous post, and I have been known to rag on former Duke players; especially Redick. Those two things combined let Redick outscore Allen and suddenly have his own statline put on the screen about how he has scored 27 points in the previous 2 games. The reason I am looking forward to game 2 is because I think we will see a completely different Celtic team out there than in game 1. Allen won't be missing shots, Rondo won't be turning the ball over, and Pierce will come back from the dead. Actually the last one isn't true, there has to be a rule that if you have played in 8 playoff games and people are still wondering when you are going to put an entire game together, I'd say fatigue has set in. Think about it, Pierce has been playing with the Celtics on his back since KG went down in March. He willed them to the 2nd spot in the east, and (with the help of Allen) willed them past the Bulls; the guy is exhausted. (His beard is even tired and refused to grow in thicker than a 12 year old boy's) This isn't like when he used to put the terrible Celtics of the past on his back and lead them to 20 win seasons, this is the playoffs and he is wearing down. He is in a physical battle with Hedo Turkoglu. Paul Pierce, in a physical battle with Hedo Turkoglu and losing. He is too tired to match up with the Turkish sensation! If the Celtics survive, which I feel they will despite looking like garbage in the first game (the Magic don't have the killer instinct); how will Pierce match up with Lebron who looks like he will have another easy series where he gets to the hoop whenever he likes?
The Rockets somehow lulled the Lakers and their fans asleep to sneak game 1 away from LA. Rick Adelman got second this season in the Coach of the Year balloting. After game 1 I want to take the award away from Mike Brown and give it to Adelman. His game plan worked to perfection to shut down the Lakers. It doesn't hurt the Lakers couldn't make anything from the outside, but I was shocked at how effectively Shane Battier and Ron Artest worked together to keep Kobe quiet. Granted he had his 32 points, but he also took 31 shots. That's the vintage Kobe that Phil Jackson does not like to see out there. When the Lakers are at their best Kobe is taking between 18-24 shots and making about 50% of them. Then he can use his teammates to open himself up for easy baskets where he doesn't have to get beaten up to score. The Rockets went ahead and let any other Laker and their mother go ahead and try to beat them and forced Kobe to take bad shots and make tough plays. Their only hope is to wear down the Black Mamba and try to get him to go 2006 Kobe on them and just try to make Sportscenter every night despite his teammates standing around watching and the Lakers losing. I don't see the Rockets pulling out a win in this series, but if the Lakers continue to shoot like that they might surprise me. For as big of a game as Trevor Ariza talks, the Rockets sure weren't worried about him taking some big shots down the stretch wide open. In fact, they were almost asking him to do it. For the Lakers to win this series, they are going to have to wake up and realize they are in the NBA playoffs and the teams in the Western Conference aren't just parade bystanders on their way to their match up with the Cavs. I'm a lot more excited about this series than I was before it started. The Rockets need to keep being perfect and the Lakers need to keep being not and I could be eating my words from my previous blog.
Denver is still looking great. I'm almost getting to the point where I am enjoying watching them play. (I said almost) I like how George Karl just leans on the scorer's table nearly the entire game popping hard candy and cough drops like Brett Favre and his pain killers. He just lets his team play and tries to stay out of their way as much as possible. Even when J.R. Smith shoots an ill-advised 28 footer he just shakes his head and chuckles to himself. With a team that is as talented as Denver, that is what a coach needs to do. In the Western Conference defense isn't preached like it is with the Eastern powerhouses of Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando. The key is just getting up and down the floor and scoring a lot of points; and Karl is the perfect coach for a team that is built to do just that.
I have to give Carmelo Anthony some credit too. At the beginning of the fourth quarter in game 2 of the Dallas-Denver series it was a tied game and I said outloud that Melo disappoints me because he doesn't take over the 4th quarter of games like D-Wade, Kobe, and Lebron. Then Melo comes out and scores 15 4th quarter points, and had a couple of assists that were key to the Nuggets' huge run to bust the game open. When Anthony decides he is going to be the best player on the court there are few that can stop him. I hope he is maturing and getting more hungry as the playoffs go on and we will continue to see the production out of him.
As for Dallas, I am a little concerned because Dirk is trying to do everything on his own. Maybe the series will get more interesting once the series gets back to Dallas, but if Denver keeps playing like this they can't be touched. The Mavs have tried going big and Nene and Martin are too quick for their bigs. They try going small and Birdman Anderson tears them up on the inside. What I have noticed is that the Nuggets just want it more right now. Take Birdman for instance, he isn't the most talented player on the floor by any stretch of the imagination and yet he makes his living making plays off of just outhustling the Mavs. I think that Mark Cuban needs to go have another talk with his team and threaten to give them away again. It worked the first time and it won't take much of a spark to get the crown behind them in Dallas and get them back into this series.
Finally, the Cavs-Hawks series is going to be everything we hoped. The 27 point blowout in the first game was the first time I have ever told someone that a 99-72 game wasn't as close as the score indicated. It looked like the Hawks had no answer for Lebron and Company. The only disappointing thing about Lebron's 34 point night was his lack of assists. I am the ultimate advocate for thinking that America is going to keep raising the bar for Lebron until he can't meet it anymore. I feel it is unfair to the choosen one, but I even felt myself raising the bar in game 1 a bit. Lebron was dominating the game by getting to the hoop and shutting down everyone on the defensive end (he had 4 steals). But I caught myself saying, that he wasn't going to get a triple-double unless he passes more. What level has Lebron reached if fans are now expecting a triple-double every time he steps foot on the floor? I think fans need to enjoy what Lebron has been doing and I wouldn't be surprised to see a triple-double before this series is over. I want to see more out of Joe Johnson this series, but he's not getting any looks at the hoop with Cleveland's swarming double teams flying at him everytime he touches the ball. The only thing I am sure of after the first few games of round 2 is that the Cavs will still most likely sweep the Hawks, the rest of the series are up in the air a little more.
SHOUT OUT OF THE DAY: Rick Ankiel. The St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder smashed head first into the wall after making a running/diving catch against the Phillies on May 4. If you haven't seen it, Youtube it. The fact that he ran down the ball at all was an amazing feat. Then he caught it and lost his balance and barrelled into the base of the wall at full speed. He didn't even get the chance to get his hands up. Baseball is one of the few sports where you only play half the time, but get more chances to put your body on the line for your team. That is exactly what Ankiel did. He escaped without any broken bones or any serious injury. He should consider himself lucky, and the Cards should consider themselves lucky to have that caliber of player and person on their team.
Technically it is my fault that Ray Allen got outscored by J.J. Redick. I talked Allen up big time in my previous post, and I have been known to rag on former Duke players; especially Redick. Those two things combined let Redick outscore Allen and suddenly have his own statline put on the screen about how he has scored 27 points in the previous 2 games. The reason I am looking forward to game 2 is because I think we will see a completely different Celtic team out there than in game 1. Allen won't be missing shots, Rondo won't be turning the ball over, and Pierce will come back from the dead. Actually the last one isn't true, there has to be a rule that if you have played in 8 playoff games and people are still wondering when you are going to put an entire game together, I'd say fatigue has set in. Think about it, Pierce has been playing with the Celtics on his back since KG went down in March. He willed them to the 2nd spot in the east, and (with the help of Allen) willed them past the Bulls; the guy is exhausted. (His beard is even tired and refused to grow in thicker than a 12 year old boy's) This isn't like when he used to put the terrible Celtics of the past on his back and lead them to 20 win seasons, this is the playoffs and he is wearing down. He is in a physical battle with Hedo Turkoglu. Paul Pierce, in a physical battle with Hedo Turkoglu and losing. He is too tired to match up with the Turkish sensation! If the Celtics survive, which I feel they will despite looking like garbage in the first game (the Magic don't have the killer instinct); how will Pierce match up with Lebron who looks like he will have another easy series where he gets to the hoop whenever he likes?
The Rockets somehow lulled the Lakers and their fans asleep to sneak game 1 away from LA. Rick Adelman got second this season in the Coach of the Year balloting. After game 1 I want to take the award away from Mike Brown and give it to Adelman. His game plan worked to perfection to shut down the Lakers. It doesn't hurt the Lakers couldn't make anything from the outside, but I was shocked at how effectively Shane Battier and Ron Artest worked together to keep Kobe quiet. Granted he had his 32 points, but he also took 31 shots. That's the vintage Kobe that Phil Jackson does not like to see out there. When the Lakers are at their best Kobe is taking between 18-24 shots and making about 50% of them. Then he can use his teammates to open himself up for easy baskets where he doesn't have to get beaten up to score. The Rockets went ahead and let any other Laker and their mother go ahead and try to beat them and forced Kobe to take bad shots and make tough plays. Their only hope is to wear down the Black Mamba and try to get him to go 2006 Kobe on them and just try to make Sportscenter every night despite his teammates standing around watching and the Lakers losing. I don't see the Rockets pulling out a win in this series, but if the Lakers continue to shoot like that they might surprise me. For as big of a game as Trevor Ariza talks, the Rockets sure weren't worried about him taking some big shots down the stretch wide open. In fact, they were almost asking him to do it. For the Lakers to win this series, they are going to have to wake up and realize they are in the NBA playoffs and the teams in the Western Conference aren't just parade bystanders on their way to their match up with the Cavs. I'm a lot more excited about this series than I was before it started. The Rockets need to keep being perfect and the Lakers need to keep being not and I could be eating my words from my previous blog.
Denver is still looking great. I'm almost getting to the point where I am enjoying watching them play. (I said almost) I like how George Karl just leans on the scorer's table nearly the entire game popping hard candy and cough drops like Brett Favre and his pain killers. He just lets his team play and tries to stay out of their way as much as possible. Even when J.R. Smith shoots an ill-advised 28 footer he just shakes his head and chuckles to himself. With a team that is as talented as Denver, that is what a coach needs to do. In the Western Conference defense isn't preached like it is with the Eastern powerhouses of Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando. The key is just getting up and down the floor and scoring a lot of points; and Karl is the perfect coach for a team that is built to do just that.
I have to give Carmelo Anthony some credit too. At the beginning of the fourth quarter in game 2 of the Dallas-Denver series it was a tied game and I said outloud that Melo disappoints me because he doesn't take over the 4th quarter of games like D-Wade, Kobe, and Lebron. Then Melo comes out and scores 15 4th quarter points, and had a couple of assists that were key to the Nuggets' huge run to bust the game open. When Anthony decides he is going to be the best player on the court there are few that can stop him. I hope he is maturing and getting more hungry as the playoffs go on and we will continue to see the production out of him.
As for Dallas, I am a little concerned because Dirk is trying to do everything on his own. Maybe the series will get more interesting once the series gets back to Dallas, but if Denver keeps playing like this they can't be touched. The Mavs have tried going big and Nene and Martin are too quick for their bigs. They try going small and Birdman Anderson tears them up on the inside. What I have noticed is that the Nuggets just want it more right now. Take Birdman for instance, he isn't the most talented player on the floor by any stretch of the imagination and yet he makes his living making plays off of just outhustling the Mavs. I think that Mark Cuban needs to go have another talk with his team and threaten to give them away again. It worked the first time and it won't take much of a spark to get the crown behind them in Dallas and get them back into this series.
Finally, the Cavs-Hawks series is going to be everything we hoped. The 27 point blowout in the first game was the first time I have ever told someone that a 99-72 game wasn't as close as the score indicated. It looked like the Hawks had no answer for Lebron and Company. The only disappointing thing about Lebron's 34 point night was his lack of assists. I am the ultimate advocate for thinking that America is going to keep raising the bar for Lebron until he can't meet it anymore. I feel it is unfair to the choosen one, but I even felt myself raising the bar in game 1 a bit. Lebron was dominating the game by getting to the hoop and shutting down everyone on the defensive end (he had 4 steals). But I caught myself saying, that he wasn't going to get a triple-double unless he passes more. What level has Lebron reached if fans are now expecting a triple-double every time he steps foot on the floor? I think fans need to enjoy what Lebron has been doing and I wouldn't be surprised to see a triple-double before this series is over. I want to see more out of Joe Johnson this series, but he's not getting any looks at the hoop with Cleveland's swarming double teams flying at him everytime he touches the ball. The only thing I am sure of after the first few games of round 2 is that the Cavs will still most likely sweep the Hawks, the rest of the series are up in the air a little more.
SHOUT OUT OF THE DAY: Rick Ankiel. The St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder smashed head first into the wall after making a running/diving catch against the Phillies on May 4. If you haven't seen it, Youtube it. The fact that he ran down the ball at all was an amazing feat. Then he caught it and lost his balance and barrelled into the base of the wall at full speed. He didn't even get the chance to get his hands up. Baseball is one of the few sports where you only play half the time, but get more chances to put your body on the line for your team. That is exactly what Ankiel did. He escaped without any broken bones or any serious injury. He should consider himself lucky, and the Cards should consider themselves lucky to have that caliber of player and person on their team.
Monday, May 4, 2009
One Round Down
I had to wait to post another blog until after the first round of the NBA playoffs finally finished. With Atlanta's blowout win over Miami, we finally get to move to round two and I couldn't be more happy. Don't get me wrong, the first round had some amazing series. Take the Celtics-Bulls series. We were one fight short of it being the most exciting series ever, and it was in the first round. If after Noah dunked all over Pierce's face in game six, he would have paraded in front of the Celtic's bench, Kendrick Perkins and the hobbled Kevin Garnett would have broken him in two that would have pushed it to the greatest sports even ever. What was better about Noah's dunk, was the look on Doc Rivers' face after it happened. His superstar just got dunked on in a critical juncture of a close out game, picked up his sixth foul, and ensured his overaged team was going to have to play in a vicious game 7 that would ensure they would be too exhausted to repeat this year. He figured all of this out about the same time and could do nothing but put his hands on his knees and look like he was going to cry. I loved it. The NBA, where grown men always look like they are going to burst into tears happens.
Speaking of crying, has this year's playoffs had more "verbal flopping" than anytime in the league's history. A verbal flop is when a player goes to the hoop (Paul Pierce) and just screams as loud as he can as he throws the ball at the hoop. The scream, if loud enough, sometimes draws a foul call because it takes the ref by surprise. The aforementioned Pierce has been the most noticeable verbal flopper so far. He hasn't taken a shot without screaming yet this year. Another player who has gotten pretty bad during playoff time is Chauncey Billups. Normally, Chauncey just goes to the hoop, takes his shot and falls to the floor. But now the playoffs have come around and his flopping A-game is out. Watch closely in round two and you will notice just how bad this has become. David Stern needs to do something about it, or else make it so the fans watching on TV can't hear it. That may help the NBA gain a better fan base.
In other news, Lebron averaged 32, 11, and 7 in his first round domination over the Pistons. Look at those numbers again, I'll wait. No one took notice of this because the Cavs swept the Pistons so easily. The Bulls-Celtics series took over everyone's attention, and one of the most historic playoff performances ever went under the radar. Has America just finally gotten used to Lebron throwing up such video game like numbers that we forget that what he is doing is historic? Not very often in sports does this complacency set in. I think it happens with Tiger sometimes, and I'm sure we all got used to Jordan tearing up the NBA; but this is something we should be enjoying.
Speaking of the Cavs, Joe Johnson and the upstart Atlanta Hawks are going to be rolling into town to try and steal a game from the nearly unbeatable at home Cavs. I love to watch Joe Johnson play, and if anyone out there does not know who Joe Johnson is, take in this series. Basically run out of Phoenix, Johnson signed with the Hawks who had won 13 games the previous year. THIRTEEN! Since then, he's become a three time all-star; been invited to join the Jordan team; and led the Hawks to a 47 win season this year. Don't get me wrong, he's been surrounded with much better players since he moved to Atlanta, and it isn't like he is single-handedly pushing them to the playoffs like Dwayne Wade, but Johnson is a quiet superstar who comes up huge in the biggest moments for his team and no one even notices. In the series with the Heat, Johnson was in a huge slump for the first six games. In game seven he hit a three to open the game up to a seven point game early in the second quarter. The next trip down he fired a thirty footer in Wade's grill, and splashed it. (He was also fouled on the shot by Wade which made it that much more impressive but the announcers failed to mention that) He just got up, and walked down the court looking for his man to guard. Two plays later he hit another out-of-this-zipcode three and forced the Heat to call timeout. Now I love the NBA, but at this moment most superstars would be playing up to the crowd, or pounding their chest, or hip bumping the excited 12th man. Johnson wiped the sweat off his forehead and walked quietly to the bench while his teammates mauled him. That is what makes Joe Johnson such a special player, he's happy to be there and doesn't need to show up anyone else becaues he lets his play speak for him. If you don't believe me; watch this series which has Joe's teammates Josh Smith and Mike Bibby, Lebron, and pretty much the whole Cavs team celebrating after every made basket. There is nothing wrong with having fun and doing everything the Cavs and Lebron do with celebrations, in fact it makes the game more fun to watch for fans, but the humbleness and quietness of Johnson's superstardom is special.
I'm curious about the second round of the playoffs because nothing that surprising has happened yet. The Cavs and Lakers caked walked their respective series, and the other teams that were supposed to win did. Before everyone jumps out of their seats about the Bulls-Celtics series remember that the Celtics won; it was a great series but the team that was supposed to win did. I think this round when Boston beats the Magic in five or six games we'll see just how good that Bulls team really was. Watch out for them next year. If they can resign Kirk Heinrich and maybe trade Ben Gordon who at times seemed to force up shots like he was your created player on a video game; the Bulls could be dangerous. I've gotten into arguments about this because Gordon hit so many big shots in clutch moments this series. But he was also the only one allowed to take them. Him grabbing himself and parading down the floor just shows he's not ready to be thrust into the spotlight of being a clutch player. Watch Ray Allen when he hits a big shot, he gets a look on his face that lets everyone in the arena know he knew it was going in then runs the the sideline to tell everyone that he knew it was going in. Ray Allen is a clutch player because he knows how to celebrate after hitting those big shots. Ben Gordon grabbing his crotch and hopping around like he took an unfortunate shot in a dodgeball game makes me wonder if he is really as irreplaceable as people think. Could John Salmon's have hit those shots if he would've dribbled around determined to fire away? I don't know, we all don't. But because of his play in the playoffs people are going to want Ben Gordon, and the Bulls should use that to their advantage. Derrick Rose is going to be the guy to take those big shots next year; so get what you can for Gordon and build the team around Rose.
My predictions for the second round are like this. I'm taking the Lakers to beat the Rockets because Kobe hates Ron Artest more than most people (and that's saying something). The Rockets will win one game in Houston before Kobe goes off in game 5 because Artest will say something to make him mad. Denver is going to beat Dallas, but I think it goes seven. Although I'm disappointed in this because I think Dallas is better built to wear out the Lakers for the Cavs, Denver is on a different level than they have ever been on as a team. However, they are still kind of inconsistant and they will tinker around for awhile before finishing them off. On the Eastern side I don't see the Hawks beating the Cavs, but the Atlanta crowd is great for the Hawks and anything can happen with as much athleticism as the Hawks have. Lebron is still Lebron and they Cavs are well rested. Five if Joe Johnson has a thirty-plus game. Four if not. The Boston-Orlando series isn't going to be near as entertaining as we could hope. Both teams are beat up and fatigued. It'll be a sloppy series, but I think Boston pulls it out in no more than six. Although Dwight Howard gives Boston some trouble down low because the Celtics don't have a big man that can play with him, no one can guard Rondo and Ray Allen will have a clutch 30-plus game to finish the Magic off.
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Vinny Del Negro. The coach of the Bulls blew the chance to let his young team thwart the defending champs on a number of occasions during the great first round series. Although he won one of the games (because he was lucky enough to have it go to overtime) he ran out of timeouts in both of the first two games. How that happens in the NBA playoffs twice baffles me. If the Bulls could have kept one of their 20 second timeouts in the first game they could have used it to advance the ball after the made shot and draw up a play from the sideline. Instead they were forced into a desperation heave. Then in game 5 when Brad Miller was assaulted by Rondo, Del Negro should have insisted that the refs come look at Miller's bleeding face before judging Rondo's foul wasn't intentional. If that didn't work; Del Negro has to take the ball out of Miller's hands and take the chance that the player Doc Rivers chooses to shoot the free throws makes the big shots. It was obvious Miller was going to miss the free throws, the fans could actually see the stars around his head. I mean, he couldn't even miss the second one intentionally right. Bulls fans, thank Del Negro for the loss. He gets my shout out.
Speaking of crying, has this year's playoffs had more "verbal flopping" than anytime in the league's history. A verbal flop is when a player goes to the hoop (Paul Pierce) and just screams as loud as he can as he throws the ball at the hoop. The scream, if loud enough, sometimes draws a foul call because it takes the ref by surprise. The aforementioned Pierce has been the most noticeable verbal flopper so far. He hasn't taken a shot without screaming yet this year. Another player who has gotten pretty bad during playoff time is Chauncey Billups. Normally, Chauncey just goes to the hoop, takes his shot and falls to the floor. But now the playoffs have come around and his flopping A-game is out. Watch closely in round two and you will notice just how bad this has become. David Stern needs to do something about it, or else make it so the fans watching on TV can't hear it. That may help the NBA gain a better fan base.
In other news, Lebron averaged 32, 11, and 7 in his first round domination over the Pistons. Look at those numbers again, I'll wait. No one took notice of this because the Cavs swept the Pistons so easily. The Bulls-Celtics series took over everyone's attention, and one of the most historic playoff performances ever went under the radar. Has America just finally gotten used to Lebron throwing up such video game like numbers that we forget that what he is doing is historic? Not very often in sports does this complacency set in. I think it happens with Tiger sometimes, and I'm sure we all got used to Jordan tearing up the NBA; but this is something we should be enjoying.
Speaking of the Cavs, Joe Johnson and the upstart Atlanta Hawks are going to be rolling into town to try and steal a game from the nearly unbeatable at home Cavs. I love to watch Joe Johnson play, and if anyone out there does not know who Joe Johnson is, take in this series. Basically run out of Phoenix, Johnson signed with the Hawks who had won 13 games the previous year. THIRTEEN! Since then, he's become a three time all-star; been invited to join the Jordan team; and led the Hawks to a 47 win season this year. Don't get me wrong, he's been surrounded with much better players since he moved to Atlanta, and it isn't like he is single-handedly pushing them to the playoffs like Dwayne Wade, but Johnson is a quiet superstar who comes up huge in the biggest moments for his team and no one even notices. In the series with the Heat, Johnson was in a huge slump for the first six games. In game seven he hit a three to open the game up to a seven point game early in the second quarter. The next trip down he fired a thirty footer in Wade's grill, and splashed it. (He was also fouled on the shot by Wade which made it that much more impressive but the announcers failed to mention that) He just got up, and walked down the court looking for his man to guard. Two plays later he hit another out-of-this-zipcode three and forced the Heat to call timeout. Now I love the NBA, but at this moment most superstars would be playing up to the crowd, or pounding their chest, or hip bumping the excited 12th man. Johnson wiped the sweat off his forehead and walked quietly to the bench while his teammates mauled him. That is what makes Joe Johnson such a special player, he's happy to be there and doesn't need to show up anyone else becaues he lets his play speak for him. If you don't believe me; watch this series which has Joe's teammates Josh Smith and Mike Bibby, Lebron, and pretty much the whole Cavs team celebrating after every made basket. There is nothing wrong with having fun and doing everything the Cavs and Lebron do with celebrations, in fact it makes the game more fun to watch for fans, but the humbleness and quietness of Johnson's superstardom is special.
I'm curious about the second round of the playoffs because nothing that surprising has happened yet. The Cavs and Lakers caked walked their respective series, and the other teams that were supposed to win did. Before everyone jumps out of their seats about the Bulls-Celtics series remember that the Celtics won; it was a great series but the team that was supposed to win did. I think this round when Boston beats the Magic in five or six games we'll see just how good that Bulls team really was. Watch out for them next year. If they can resign Kirk Heinrich and maybe trade Ben Gordon who at times seemed to force up shots like he was your created player on a video game; the Bulls could be dangerous. I've gotten into arguments about this because Gordon hit so many big shots in clutch moments this series. But he was also the only one allowed to take them. Him grabbing himself and parading down the floor just shows he's not ready to be thrust into the spotlight of being a clutch player. Watch Ray Allen when he hits a big shot, he gets a look on his face that lets everyone in the arena know he knew it was going in then runs the the sideline to tell everyone that he knew it was going in. Ray Allen is a clutch player because he knows how to celebrate after hitting those big shots. Ben Gordon grabbing his crotch and hopping around like he took an unfortunate shot in a dodgeball game makes me wonder if he is really as irreplaceable as people think. Could John Salmon's have hit those shots if he would've dribbled around determined to fire away? I don't know, we all don't. But because of his play in the playoffs people are going to want Ben Gordon, and the Bulls should use that to their advantage. Derrick Rose is going to be the guy to take those big shots next year; so get what you can for Gordon and build the team around Rose.
My predictions for the second round are like this. I'm taking the Lakers to beat the Rockets because Kobe hates Ron Artest more than most people (and that's saying something). The Rockets will win one game in Houston before Kobe goes off in game 5 because Artest will say something to make him mad. Denver is going to beat Dallas, but I think it goes seven. Although I'm disappointed in this because I think Dallas is better built to wear out the Lakers for the Cavs, Denver is on a different level than they have ever been on as a team. However, they are still kind of inconsistant and they will tinker around for awhile before finishing them off. On the Eastern side I don't see the Hawks beating the Cavs, but the Atlanta crowd is great for the Hawks and anything can happen with as much athleticism as the Hawks have. Lebron is still Lebron and they Cavs are well rested. Five if Joe Johnson has a thirty-plus game. Four if not. The Boston-Orlando series isn't going to be near as entertaining as we could hope. Both teams are beat up and fatigued. It'll be a sloppy series, but I think Boston pulls it out in no more than six. Although Dwight Howard gives Boston some trouble down low because the Celtics don't have a big man that can play with him, no one can guard Rondo and Ray Allen will have a clutch 30-plus game to finish the Magic off.
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Vinny Del Negro. The coach of the Bulls blew the chance to let his young team thwart the defending champs on a number of occasions during the great first round series. Although he won one of the games (because he was lucky enough to have it go to overtime) he ran out of timeouts in both of the first two games. How that happens in the NBA playoffs twice baffles me. If the Bulls could have kept one of their 20 second timeouts in the first game they could have used it to advance the ball after the made shot and draw up a play from the sideline. Instead they were forced into a desperation heave. Then in game 5 when Brad Miller was assaulted by Rondo, Del Negro should have insisted that the refs come look at Miller's bleeding face before judging Rondo's foul wasn't intentional. If that didn't work; Del Negro has to take the ball out of Miller's hands and take the chance that the player Doc Rivers chooses to shoot the free throws makes the big shots. It was obvious Miller was going to miss the free throws, the fans could actually see the stars around his head. I mean, he couldn't even miss the second one intentionally right. Bulls fans, thank Del Negro for the loss. He gets my shout out.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Another Failed Bracket
I thought I had it this year. I really did feel like my curse of forsaken brackets for the NCAA tournament had come to an end going into the second weekend of the tournament. With 16 teams left, I had 14 of them still alive and felt pretty confident about my picks. Then something happened. The sports gods decided that no matter what, it was not going to be my year. By the next round I was down to 3 of the 8 teams. Coming into Final Four weekend I had no surviving teams. NONE. And it wasn't like I was picking upsets, but apparently I am not cut out for being a bracket filler. Luckily for me though, the lack of competence when it comes to filling out brackets made watching this last weekend's games way more fun. I could cheer for teams simply because I wanted to see them win and it had nothing to do with my money I had on the line any longer. I sat back and enjoyed two games that comprised of high emotions and great basketball. Personally I thought it was the best weekend of the tournament even if the games weren't that close. That was another disappointment of the tourney. The games just were not that great this year. I think we were all spoiled with the 2006 and 2007 tournaments where everything unexpected happened in drammatic fashion. Then suddenly the teams that are supposed to win do, and by a lot, and it's just not that exciting. I still love the tournament, but when you can't even get announcer Gus Johnson overly excited there is something wrong with the games.
It's opening day in baseball. People across the nation are more excited about that than anything else that happens in the great month of April. (April is hands down the best month out of the year for sports; the Final Four, Opening Day, the Masters, the NFL Draft, and the NBA and NHL seasons concluding) For me, the return of baseball isn't as cool as it used to be. I have stopped following the sport as closely as I once did. During Griffey's run in 1997 and 1998 when he hit 56 homers both years (without the help of PEDs) I watched ESPN's Baseball Tonight religiously. Now I check ESPN.com to see if Griffey even played during the day and I don't know anything about the game anymore. I'm no longer interested. That is sad I think. I have replaced baseball with NCAA football and the NBA as my favorite sports to follow now. But I am so so SO excited to see Griffey have a great year back in Seattle.
Speaking of the NBA, the Cavs are worrying me a little bit. After going on a 13 game winning streak, they lost two straight ugly UGLY games. Not only did they lose to Washington, but they got outplayed by the Wizards. Granted the Wizards, or actually the Zephyrs as they were on Thursday, had all of their former all-stars back in the lineup for the first time all season. Gilbert Arenas was back and although his shot hasn't been anywhere to be found, but he dished out ten assists which was probably more than he has had for a long time. Antawn Jamison was looking good again too. Don't get me wrong, the Cavs shouldn't have lost that game, but the Wizards are going to be good next year if they bring everyone back. The next night the Cavs played the Magic. Actually that's not true, they certainly didn't show up to play. At one point they were down 41 points in the third quarter. Maybe they needed a wake up call and this will be the point in the season when they bounce back and continue to pave their road to the championship. But maybe this is what is to come from the Cavs. I sure hope not, but I'm not as sure about them as I was this time last week. Luckily, Sunday LeBron came back and scored 38 points and the Cavs beat the pudding out of the Spurs and that made my weekend.
The weather is turning into spring finally and this time I feel like it's here for real. That is a good deal because I needed to start wearing shorts very quickly. Everyone is in a better mood when the weather is nice, and that can't hurt either. The week in school is going to be crazy, but spring break was awesome and being home for a week (despite the snow) was amazing. I am always shocked at how humbling going home for some time can be. Being on the farm and being around my family always helps ground me a little bit; and it was well over due this time.
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Tiger Woods. Coming off of knee surgery, Tiger had played in two tournaments where he was pretty much a non-factor Thursday through Sunday. (Actually he didn't even make Sunday in his first tournament back) Immediately people began to question whether or not he was going to be the same player he was before the surgery. Rick Reilly for ESPN.com didn't even waste anytime writing a column about how he has doubts that Tiger will end up as the greatest golfer ever. I think Tiger must have read about all of these doubts because he promptly came back from 5 strokes down on Sunday and won his first tournament since the U.S. Open. It was an amazing comeback that only Tiger could have done. Don't debate about when Tiger will become the greatest of all time because he already is. He is a special athlete that we should enjoy the opportunity to watch. I am not betting against him in The Masters coming up in a few weeks, because amazing people pull off amazing things that no one else can do. And Tiger is one of those people, so watch and enjoy The Masters. Then sit back and smile when he is putting on another green jacket and realize you are enjoying history.
It's opening day in baseball. People across the nation are more excited about that than anything else that happens in the great month of April. (April is hands down the best month out of the year for sports; the Final Four, Opening Day, the Masters, the NFL Draft, and the NBA and NHL seasons concluding) For me, the return of baseball isn't as cool as it used to be. I have stopped following the sport as closely as I once did. During Griffey's run in 1997 and 1998 when he hit 56 homers both years (without the help of PEDs) I watched ESPN's Baseball Tonight religiously. Now I check ESPN.com to see if Griffey even played during the day and I don't know anything about the game anymore. I'm no longer interested. That is sad I think. I have replaced baseball with NCAA football and the NBA as my favorite sports to follow now. But I am so so SO excited to see Griffey have a great year back in Seattle.
Speaking of the NBA, the Cavs are worrying me a little bit. After going on a 13 game winning streak, they lost two straight ugly UGLY games. Not only did they lose to Washington, but they got outplayed by the Wizards. Granted the Wizards, or actually the Zephyrs as they were on Thursday, had all of their former all-stars back in the lineup for the first time all season. Gilbert Arenas was back and although his shot hasn't been anywhere to be found, but he dished out ten assists which was probably more than he has had for a long time. Antawn Jamison was looking good again too. Don't get me wrong, the Cavs shouldn't have lost that game, but the Wizards are going to be good next year if they bring everyone back. The next night the Cavs played the Magic. Actually that's not true, they certainly didn't show up to play. At one point they were down 41 points in the third quarter. Maybe they needed a wake up call and this will be the point in the season when they bounce back and continue to pave their road to the championship. But maybe this is what is to come from the Cavs. I sure hope not, but I'm not as sure about them as I was this time last week. Luckily, Sunday LeBron came back and scored 38 points and the Cavs beat the pudding out of the Spurs and that made my weekend.
The weather is turning into spring finally and this time I feel like it's here for real. That is a good deal because I needed to start wearing shorts very quickly. Everyone is in a better mood when the weather is nice, and that can't hurt either. The week in school is going to be crazy, but spring break was awesome and being home for a week (despite the snow) was amazing. I am always shocked at how humbling going home for some time can be. Being on the farm and being around my family always helps ground me a little bit; and it was well over due this time.
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Tiger Woods. Coming off of knee surgery, Tiger had played in two tournaments where he was pretty much a non-factor Thursday through Sunday. (Actually he didn't even make Sunday in his first tournament back) Immediately people began to question whether or not he was going to be the same player he was before the surgery. Rick Reilly for ESPN.com didn't even waste anytime writing a column about how he has doubts that Tiger will end up as the greatest golfer ever. I think Tiger must have read about all of these doubts because he promptly came back from 5 strokes down on Sunday and won his first tournament since the U.S. Open. It was an amazing comeback that only Tiger could have done. Don't debate about when Tiger will become the greatest of all time because he already is. He is a special athlete that we should enjoy the opportunity to watch. I am not betting against him in The Masters coming up in a few weeks, because amazing people pull off amazing things that no one else can do. And Tiger is one of those people, so watch and enjoy The Masters. Then sit back and smile when he is putting on another green jacket and realize you are enjoying history.
Monday, March 23, 2009
A Little Update
So despite getting a high number of games wrong during the first week of the NCAA tournament I'm not doing too bad overall. I have 14 of the 16 teams remaining, and have some confidence that I can still get 7 of the 8 teams into the elite eight. (Washington totally hosed me, last time I listen to a professor when picking my brackets) I have Louisville winning it. Although they haven't looked the strongest in their wins over the weekend, the tough win against a feisty Sienna team makes me pretty sure they have what it takes to make the run at the championship. Other than that, the weekend wasn't as exciting as some years. There were some close games and some controversy, but the teams that were supposed to win did, and that makes March Madness kind of lame. Don't get me wrong, I loved every second of it and will continue to watch until the championship game concludes, because it's college basketball and the emotion this time of year is better than anything else on TV.
I didn't get to watch as much as I would've liked because I was playing some basketball of my own in Noxon this weekend. We ended up getting second in a tournament full of some pretty decent teams. The whole weekend was a blast, and was full of great stories and awesome memories. I am always shocked everytime I go to Noxon because the people there are unbelievably nice. When I bring people home to hang out in Sunburst I know that they will feel welcome because my family is welcoming and all my friends are nice people. In Noxon though, the people honestly make you feel like it has been your home town for years. People remember me and come up and talk with me although my last visit was in July. There aren't many places like that left in this world, and I'm glad I found one in Noxon. I totally recommend going and visiting sometime. It's gorgeous country and you will leave with more friends than you came with. Guaranteed!
Spring break is finally a week away! I'm so excited to get to go home and hang out in Sunburst for awhile. It has been too long since I have been home, and the last trip home was filled with so much activity I didn't get to spend the time I wanted with my grandma and parents. I live on a farm that has my house and my grandma's house about 50 yards away from each other. That means that I am just as close with my grandma as my parents. When I needed advice, or was fighting with my parents my grandma and grandpa were always a short walk away to freedom. Plus, my grandma is the greatest cook on the face of our great earth and I cannot WAIT to have a week's worth of lunch and dinner with her. People say that I'm a grandma's boy, and I'm OK with that. If you had a grandma like mine you would be too.
Another great thing about going home is getting to see all the new cavs that we have running around our pastures. In the middle of January we start having our first sets of new babies, and I never get to see them because I'm normally back to college. But then over spring break I get to come home and see them when I go out to feed. That is a way better time anyway because they are way cuter acting and the mom's have calmed down enough for you to get close to them without constantly looking over your shoulder. It's a great time of year on the farm. Things are starting to melt and the grass is beginning to turn green. Hopefully we'll be getting ready to seed and start another year watching our fields of barley, wheat, and canola like they are young children in a crowded mall. It is always a nerve racking few weeks waiting to the crops to come up, but once they do it's a huge relief and exciting to wonder what will come in August.
This is a short post. It's been a busy busy week but I had been away for a long time so I wanted an update. Stay classy!
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Marcus Jordan. Son of Michael Jordan. THE Michael Jordan, this poor kid has to deal with being the greatest basketball player of all-time's son. He won his state tournament over the weekend in front of his crying father and thousands of people. To deal with the pressure of being Marcus Jordan everyday must be difficult, but when you are out on a basketball floor with everyone knowing who you are and watching to see signs of His Airness, it has to be one of the hardest things to do as a prep athlete. Congrats on pulling through and taking the championship, and good luck on trying to fill the shoes of your father for the next four years at whatever college you choose. You're gonna need it.
I didn't get to watch as much as I would've liked because I was playing some basketball of my own in Noxon this weekend. We ended up getting second in a tournament full of some pretty decent teams. The whole weekend was a blast, and was full of great stories and awesome memories. I am always shocked everytime I go to Noxon because the people there are unbelievably nice. When I bring people home to hang out in Sunburst I know that they will feel welcome because my family is welcoming and all my friends are nice people. In Noxon though, the people honestly make you feel like it has been your home town for years. People remember me and come up and talk with me although my last visit was in July. There aren't many places like that left in this world, and I'm glad I found one in Noxon. I totally recommend going and visiting sometime. It's gorgeous country and you will leave with more friends than you came with. Guaranteed!
Spring break is finally a week away! I'm so excited to get to go home and hang out in Sunburst for awhile. It has been too long since I have been home, and the last trip home was filled with so much activity I didn't get to spend the time I wanted with my grandma and parents. I live on a farm that has my house and my grandma's house about 50 yards away from each other. That means that I am just as close with my grandma as my parents. When I needed advice, or was fighting with my parents my grandma and grandpa were always a short walk away to freedom. Plus, my grandma is the greatest cook on the face of our great earth and I cannot WAIT to have a week's worth of lunch and dinner with her. People say that I'm a grandma's boy, and I'm OK with that. If you had a grandma like mine you would be too.
Another great thing about going home is getting to see all the new cavs that we have running around our pastures. In the middle of January we start having our first sets of new babies, and I never get to see them because I'm normally back to college. But then over spring break I get to come home and see them when I go out to feed. That is a way better time anyway because they are way cuter acting and the mom's have calmed down enough for you to get close to them without constantly looking over your shoulder. It's a great time of year on the farm. Things are starting to melt and the grass is beginning to turn green. Hopefully we'll be getting ready to seed and start another year watching our fields of barley, wheat, and canola like they are young children in a crowded mall. It is always a nerve racking few weeks waiting to the crops to come up, but once they do it's a huge relief and exciting to wonder what will come in August.
This is a short post. It's been a busy busy week but I had been away for a long time so I wanted an update. Stay classy!
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Marcus Jordan. Son of Michael Jordan. THE Michael Jordan, this poor kid has to deal with being the greatest basketball player of all-time's son. He won his state tournament over the weekend in front of his crying father and thousands of people. To deal with the pressure of being Marcus Jordan everyday must be difficult, but when you are out on a basketball floor with everyone knowing who you are and watching to see signs of His Airness, it has to be one of the hardest things to do as a prep athlete. Congrats on pulling through and taking the championship, and good luck on trying to fill the shoes of your father for the next four years at whatever college you choose. You're gonna need it.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Duke Hater For Life
Like I knew it would, it's cold again. Not just a little cold, I'm talking real cold. I knew this was going to happen because as I mentioned previously, I said out loud that I was enjoying the nice weather. This happens yearly. Last year, it got nice for one day and then was cold for the rest of the year. I'm kind of hoping for some sun and what not in the next week or so. It has been six weeks since groundhog day, I think it is time for spring. On a positive note however, I haven't had to wash my pick up in a long time because it has been so miserable out. When it's warm out, everyone feels the need to wash their vehicles because no one wants a dingy looking vehicle when the sun is out and shining. When it is cloudy all the time and feels like it's on the verge of snowing, no one has to wash their vehicles. That's finding a positive out of something that is normally viewed as a very not positive thing. Some people are like, oh the snow and the cold is nice because it extends the ski season. I don't ski, I don't snowboard, I'm not even a real big fan of sledding. I think that rolling down a hill covered in snow isn't that cool. I don't like being cold and I don't like spending money so that immediately knocks skiing and snowboarding off my list for things to do.
One week away from the NCAA tournament. Selection Sunday is on at 4 p.m. this upcoming Sunday and I have been putting a lot of thought into my team that I'm gonna pick to win it all. I have spent a ton of time watching games, reading online, and trying to determine whether it's smart to trust a team that runs up and down the floor and might get upset in a high scoring game (North Carolina) or to trust a team that works through the inside but is sometimes stagnant on offense and could get upset by a team with a great game plan (Oklahoma). Really it won't matter because the best part of March Madness is that no matter what everyone expects, something unexpected will happen. Last year it was even unexpected that the top teams did as well as they did. There weren't as many upsets, and that made it just as exciting. My college hoops team is the Maryland Terrapins. I don't believe I'm going to have to worry about having a conflict of interest when I'm picking out my brackets this year because I can't see them being part of the 65 teams unless they go deep into the ACC tourney this week. And by deep I mean they are the team holding up the trophy at the end on Sunday. Don't see it happening but I will be rooting for them. Speaking of the ACC, I was reminded of how much I hate Duke and North Carolina once again yesterday. I think they are both on my top ten lists of least favorite sports teams of all-time. Well I know they are, and I also know there is a number 1 next to one of them that starts with a D and rhymes with puke. Year in and year out Duke becomes overrated and gets a top ten ranking in the nation despite never being that good on the road and getting more calls at home than any other team in the nation. They underachieve in the tournament and have the most annoying fans out of all sports teams. Furthermore, who was the last ultra-successful former Duke player in the NBA? I'm a Duke-hater, and proud to say it. I will continue to be on until the day I die.
I have respect for North Carolina, only because a certain Michael Jordan came from there. However, they are also annoying, but at least they produce some pretty great NBA players and aren't so annoying. (With the exception of Tyler Hansbrough, he just has that look like you need to constantly tell him, don't cry I was just kidding) The Duke-North Carolina rivalry is great and passionate. I just could care less who wins, but I think I've made my point on that.
Top Ten Least Favorite Sports Teams:
10. North Carolina Tar Heels-The retro Heels with Jordan, Worthy, and even up to Jamison were kind of cool. However, the new Tar Heels that whine all the time and have the previously mention Hansbrough drive me insane. I don't even enjoy watching them play (especially since they win all the time)
9. Utah Jazz-I think a lot of the hatred stems from the late 90s when Jordan and his Bulls had to beat out Utah for their last two championships. John Stockton was a great player and I have a lot of respect for him, but Karl Malone was a punk and he is the reason I'm a Jazz-Hater. The new Jazz with 185 year coach Jerry Sloan play the game like they are an undersized high school team just trying to keep the score close. They win a lot of games, and that's fine; just don't expect me to watch them.
8. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets-They are Miami Hurricane KILLERS when it comes to college football. There is nothing I love more than Miami Hurricane football in sports so I just have to hate them. In 2005 they ruined the Hurricane season and the Griz lost to the Cats on the same day. I have never forgiven them for that, in fact I feel some tears whelling up, I have to stop.
7. USC Trojans-They finished second in having the most pseudo-fans in sports to the Boston Red Sox with their recent success. Now it's cool to bust out USC apparel but 9 years ago no one would be caught dead in it. Just seems pretty lame to me.
6. New York Yankees-They spend and spend and spend, and that's just annoying. Now with the recent scandal with A-Roid it just makes me laugh.
5. San Antonio Spurs-Unfortunately for the Spurs, they were just eclipsed as the most boring team in the NBA by the Utah Jazz. Luckily for them, they held the title for a little more than a decade. Tim Duncan is the best player in the NBA that everyone hates. He is a whiner, and seemingly not liked by any of the players in the NBA either. But he is a hall of famer without question.
4. New England Patriots-After they overstayed their welcome as the team that was fun to watch because they beat the Rams in a huge upset in Super Bowl XVI. I think there was a conspiracty because it was after 9/11 and the PATRIOTS come out of no where to win an America Rocks themed Super Bowl? After that, they felt it necessary to add two more championships and the annoying run at a perfect season in which the New York Giants became my favorite team for the week of the Super Bowl and the month afterward when everyone talked about how they couldn't believe it. I'm smiling right now actually.
3. Boston Celtics-Sorry to the northeast but I have to hate on the Celtics too. Kevin Garnett's response to winning the championship last year was not only awkward for everyone around him and watching at home, but it established that I will never root for the Celtics again. (Actually that's not true, I'll explain in a second) They also beat out the Hawks (favorite NBA team) and the Cavs (2nd favorite NBA team) on the way to winning the championship last year. That's like the guy the not only spills his drink all over you at the bar, but he also goes home with your girlfriend.
2. Los Angelos Lakers-Remember when I said I wouldn't root for the Celtics. I sure as heck would if they were pounding on the Lakers and making Kobe Bryant get that look he had on his face the whole game six of last year. I will never forget that look. In fact, it cheers me up daily just to think about that look. Hopefully this year when the Lakers come up short again to LeBron and my Cavs he will get that look again, or maybe just cry. I'm already excited.
1. Duke Blue Devils-I hate them so much I don't even want to talk about it. (except for the rant above)
Shout Out For The Day: Bill Simmons. If you like sports, even if you don't like sports that much but just enjoy fantastic writing, check out his columns on ESPN.com. It's amazing, he has the best sense of humor and way of writing that he can actually make me laugh out loud in public as I'm reading his articles. He knows sports better than most, but that doesn't matter really. He writes about just about anything and then somehow at the end of the article ties it all together to the point where you are like wow that actually made a lot of sense. He's great, and his podcasts are equally as awesome if not better. Check him out!
One week away from the NCAA tournament. Selection Sunday is on at 4 p.m. this upcoming Sunday and I have been putting a lot of thought into my team that I'm gonna pick to win it all. I have spent a ton of time watching games, reading online, and trying to determine whether it's smart to trust a team that runs up and down the floor and might get upset in a high scoring game (North Carolina) or to trust a team that works through the inside but is sometimes stagnant on offense and could get upset by a team with a great game plan (Oklahoma). Really it won't matter because the best part of March Madness is that no matter what everyone expects, something unexpected will happen. Last year it was even unexpected that the top teams did as well as they did. There weren't as many upsets, and that made it just as exciting. My college hoops team is the Maryland Terrapins. I don't believe I'm going to have to worry about having a conflict of interest when I'm picking out my brackets this year because I can't see them being part of the 65 teams unless they go deep into the ACC tourney this week. And by deep I mean they are the team holding up the trophy at the end on Sunday. Don't see it happening but I will be rooting for them. Speaking of the ACC, I was reminded of how much I hate Duke and North Carolina once again yesterday. I think they are both on my top ten lists of least favorite sports teams of all-time. Well I know they are, and I also know there is a number 1 next to one of them that starts with a D and rhymes with puke. Year in and year out Duke becomes overrated and gets a top ten ranking in the nation despite never being that good on the road and getting more calls at home than any other team in the nation. They underachieve in the tournament and have the most annoying fans out of all sports teams. Furthermore, who was the last ultra-successful former Duke player in the NBA? I'm a Duke-hater, and proud to say it. I will continue to be on until the day I die.
I have respect for North Carolina, only because a certain Michael Jordan came from there. However, they are also annoying, but at least they produce some pretty great NBA players and aren't so annoying. (With the exception of Tyler Hansbrough, he just has that look like you need to constantly tell him, don't cry I was just kidding) The Duke-North Carolina rivalry is great and passionate. I just could care less who wins, but I think I've made my point on that.
Top Ten Least Favorite Sports Teams:
10. North Carolina Tar Heels-The retro Heels with Jordan, Worthy, and even up to Jamison were kind of cool. However, the new Tar Heels that whine all the time and have the previously mention Hansbrough drive me insane. I don't even enjoy watching them play (especially since they win all the time)
9. Utah Jazz-I think a lot of the hatred stems from the late 90s when Jordan and his Bulls had to beat out Utah for their last two championships. John Stockton was a great player and I have a lot of respect for him, but Karl Malone was a punk and he is the reason I'm a Jazz-Hater. The new Jazz with 185 year coach Jerry Sloan play the game like they are an undersized high school team just trying to keep the score close. They win a lot of games, and that's fine; just don't expect me to watch them.
8. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets-They are Miami Hurricane KILLERS when it comes to college football. There is nothing I love more than Miami Hurricane football in sports so I just have to hate them. In 2005 they ruined the Hurricane season and the Griz lost to the Cats on the same day. I have never forgiven them for that, in fact I feel some tears whelling up, I have to stop.
7. USC Trojans-They finished second in having the most pseudo-fans in sports to the Boston Red Sox with their recent success. Now it's cool to bust out USC apparel but 9 years ago no one would be caught dead in it. Just seems pretty lame to me.
6. New York Yankees-They spend and spend and spend, and that's just annoying. Now with the recent scandal with A-Roid it just makes me laugh.
5. San Antonio Spurs-Unfortunately for the Spurs, they were just eclipsed as the most boring team in the NBA by the Utah Jazz. Luckily for them, they held the title for a little more than a decade. Tim Duncan is the best player in the NBA that everyone hates. He is a whiner, and seemingly not liked by any of the players in the NBA either. But he is a hall of famer without question.
4. New England Patriots-After they overstayed their welcome as the team that was fun to watch because they beat the Rams in a huge upset in Super Bowl XVI. I think there was a conspiracty because it was after 9/11 and the PATRIOTS come out of no where to win an America Rocks themed Super Bowl? After that, they felt it necessary to add two more championships and the annoying run at a perfect season in which the New York Giants became my favorite team for the week of the Super Bowl and the month afterward when everyone talked about how they couldn't believe it. I'm smiling right now actually.
3. Boston Celtics-Sorry to the northeast but I have to hate on the Celtics too. Kevin Garnett's response to winning the championship last year was not only awkward for everyone around him and watching at home, but it established that I will never root for the Celtics again. (Actually that's not true, I'll explain in a second) They also beat out the Hawks (favorite NBA team) and the Cavs (2nd favorite NBA team) on the way to winning the championship last year. That's like the guy the not only spills his drink all over you at the bar, but he also goes home with your girlfriend.
2. Los Angelos Lakers-Remember when I said I wouldn't root for the Celtics. I sure as heck would if they were pounding on the Lakers and making Kobe Bryant get that look he had on his face the whole game six of last year. I will never forget that look. In fact, it cheers me up daily just to think about that look. Hopefully this year when the Lakers come up short again to LeBron and my Cavs he will get that look again, or maybe just cry. I'm already excited.
1. Duke Blue Devils-I hate them so much I don't even want to talk about it. (except for the rant above)
Shout Out For The Day: Bill Simmons. If you like sports, even if you don't like sports that much but just enjoy fantastic writing, check out his columns on ESPN.com. It's amazing, he has the best sense of humor and way of writing that he can actually make me laugh out loud in public as I'm reading his articles. He knows sports better than most, but that doesn't matter really. He writes about just about anything and then somehow at the end of the article ties it all together to the point where you are like wow that actually made a lot of sense. He's great, and his podcasts are equally as awesome if not better. Check him out!
Monday, March 2, 2009
March Already
It didn't seem to take long for February to fly by. The shortest month of the year always seems to be crammed full of stuff to do. I don't really know why, but every weekend there was something to do, and of course, as a college student I had to try and do it all. Now it's finally time to settle down and start taking school seriously again. For me, the first few weeks of school each semester are kind of laid back and fun. Then all of a sudden, all of the teachers realize that it's six or seven weeks into the semester and we haven't actually DONE anything so everyone panics at once and the students end up with four tests in one week. Every semester is like this and professors don't seem to catch on, or don't care. I'm afraid of which it is.
So the Sunburst Refiners have completed another basketball season. Yes, the nickname of my hometown sports teams was the Refiners. Back in the day, we used to have a refinery and that was the best anyone could come up with. It has been put under consideration to change the name, but I don't think I would like that because it has too much meaning now to too many people. But I think unofficially we have one of the LAMEST nicknames in the state of Montana. It's the Refiners or the Terry Terriers. That one is pretty bad too. Anyway, so our boys ended up getting second place at districts after an overtime loss in a game they probably should have won. It was one of those games when everyone in the stands could see the momentum shifting and no one could do anything about it. After the game went to overtime, it looked like Power (the Pirates if you were wondering, WAY better than the Refiners but kind of cliche) won already. After that they played a challenge game and made it into the divisional tournament after the win. So off I went to Great Falls to watch them play. The boys played hard but lost their first game by three, then won their second, and lost out Saturday morning to who else but the Power Pirates. It was still a fun season, and I hope the town will remember this team as one of the most talented to go down in school history.
We're approaching the most exciting time in the sports year with March Madness on the horizon. The first weekend of the tournament is the best I think. The games are on all day, no one wants to be in school and everyone that is in school is on their phone trying to check scores and update their brackets. I may be the worst bracket filler-outer there is. I put way too much thought, logic, and research into it. I give it a go and I get beat by the girl sitting next to me that doesn't know what March Madness is, but likes the name of the Cinderella team on their way to the Final Four. This is a yearly disappointment for me. I'm slowly learning to get over it, but just once I want to be the guy that can tell everyone he picked the Final Four and won the money for whatever pool he entered. Just one year. Maybe this will be the year. I'm not laying out my picks yet, but I know who I like. I'm not jynxing that poor team already though. I'll wait for the actual tournament to start to do that.
March is another time for independent basketball tournaments to start. I love playing basketball as much as I love watching and coaching it. These tourneys are a blast. We just go out and play, party, and try to be competitive each game. My buddies Nick, Danny, and I go to Noxon, Montana and play in a yearly tournament there. I also plan on traveling back home and playing with my old ball coach, Griff Bye. Griff knows everything there is to know about basketball and he and I can sit around and BS for hours about the game. He's still coaching in Sunburst and has been an important part of the program there for a lot of years. It shocks me how much he cares about the kids and how sad he is to the see the season end year in and year out.
It's finally starting to get nice out. I love shorts, and wear them whenever possible. So as soon as the sun was out this morning I was wandering around campus in my shorts. I love spring time and am looking forward to the sunny days and snowless walks around campus. Just watch, it's snowing tonight now.
Shout out for the day: My shout out goes to Ken Griffey Jr. this week. He's my favorite athlete of all-time. More so than Michael Jordan, and that's saying a lot. Growing up watching Griffey was amazing. He got traded away from Seattle and things went downhill for him. WAY downhill. But he's coming back to where it all started and I am hoping that his signing with the Mariners will somehow give his career a huge resurgence and he'll become the player we all remember. He's 39 now, so I'm not expecting big big numbers but just something to help me remember the days of 'Junior'. I'm an optimistic person, I'd even just take a full season injury-free. Griffey and I both need that I think.
So the Sunburst Refiners have completed another basketball season. Yes, the nickname of my hometown sports teams was the Refiners. Back in the day, we used to have a refinery and that was the best anyone could come up with. It has been put under consideration to change the name, but I don't think I would like that because it has too much meaning now to too many people. But I think unofficially we have one of the LAMEST nicknames in the state of Montana. It's the Refiners or the Terry Terriers. That one is pretty bad too. Anyway, so our boys ended up getting second place at districts after an overtime loss in a game they probably should have won. It was one of those games when everyone in the stands could see the momentum shifting and no one could do anything about it. After the game went to overtime, it looked like Power (the Pirates if you were wondering, WAY better than the Refiners but kind of cliche) won already. After that they played a challenge game and made it into the divisional tournament after the win. So off I went to Great Falls to watch them play. The boys played hard but lost their first game by three, then won their second, and lost out Saturday morning to who else but the Power Pirates. It was still a fun season, and I hope the town will remember this team as one of the most talented to go down in school history.
We're approaching the most exciting time in the sports year with March Madness on the horizon. The first weekend of the tournament is the best I think. The games are on all day, no one wants to be in school and everyone that is in school is on their phone trying to check scores and update their brackets. I may be the worst bracket filler-outer there is. I put way too much thought, logic, and research into it. I give it a go and I get beat by the girl sitting next to me that doesn't know what March Madness is, but likes the name of the Cinderella team on their way to the Final Four. This is a yearly disappointment for me. I'm slowly learning to get over it, but just once I want to be the guy that can tell everyone he picked the Final Four and won the money for whatever pool he entered. Just one year. Maybe this will be the year. I'm not laying out my picks yet, but I know who I like. I'm not jynxing that poor team already though. I'll wait for the actual tournament to start to do that.
March is another time for independent basketball tournaments to start. I love playing basketball as much as I love watching and coaching it. These tourneys are a blast. We just go out and play, party, and try to be competitive each game. My buddies Nick, Danny, and I go to Noxon, Montana and play in a yearly tournament there. I also plan on traveling back home and playing with my old ball coach, Griff Bye. Griff knows everything there is to know about basketball and he and I can sit around and BS for hours about the game. He's still coaching in Sunburst and has been an important part of the program there for a lot of years. It shocks me how much he cares about the kids and how sad he is to the see the season end year in and year out.
It's finally starting to get nice out. I love shorts, and wear them whenever possible. So as soon as the sun was out this morning I was wandering around campus in my shorts. I love spring time and am looking forward to the sunny days and snowless walks around campus. Just watch, it's snowing tonight now.
Shout out for the day: My shout out goes to Ken Griffey Jr. this week. He's my favorite athlete of all-time. More so than Michael Jordan, and that's saying a lot. Growing up watching Griffey was amazing. He got traded away from Seattle and things went downhill for him. WAY downhill. But he's coming back to where it all started and I am hoping that his signing with the Mariners will somehow give his career a huge resurgence and he'll become the player we all remember. He's 39 now, so I'm not expecting big big numbers but just something to help me remember the days of 'Junior'. I'm an optimistic person, I'd even just take a full season injury-free. Griffey and I both need that I think.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Going Back Home
I'm going home to take in the 10-C district basketball tournament this upcoming weekend. I always find it funny that in a small town, something like districts actually brings more kids home than a holiday such as Easter. I find the importance of sports in small towns fascinating. I remember going to games when I was younger and looking up to the athletes on the floor like they were the professionals that we see on TV. Small town athletics are different than anything else in the world. The entire town puts their hopes into teenage boys and girls that don't always have the opportunity to fully understand the responsibility they are taking on until long after they graduate and are watching from the stands; with their hopes riding on the skinny shoulders of some 17 year old.
Stanley Gordon West writes about this in his book "Blind Your Ponies". If you have never read it, I totally recommend it. It's my favorite book of all-time. If you've been part of athletics in a small town you will appreciate the detail that West uses when describing the gyms and atmosphere surrounding the games. If you haven't had the priviledge to be part of something so special, you should read it so you can get a feel for it. Walking into the gym on cold winter nights and knowing that the community is behind you is what I miss most about high school sports. When you are in a small community and ask anyone about their sports teams they always talk about the season using "we". I love how sports can bring the community together, and warm the souls of the people no matter the weather outside the gym.
Our boys this year are a talented bunch of kids that have done quite well this season. I have watched these young men grow over the years and the expectations have seldom been higher around Sunburst. No matter what happens over the next few weeks, I hope these guys enjoy their time together and the town appreciates the hard work they have put in over the last 7 seasons in preparation for the run at the state tournament. I'll keep you posted on their progress as we go.
Joe Johnson didn't win the all-star HORSE contest. Although he was the only one man enough to try some creative shots, that ended coming back to bite him in the butt when he wouldn't make them. The whole contest took too long and if they want to keep it part of the all-star festivities I think some major renovations are going to need to be done. As for the rest of the all-star weekend I thought the slam dunk contest was pretty entertaining but I was disappointed Dwight Howard didn't bring more to the table on his last dunk. The dunk on the 12 foot rim was my favorite, and people downplayed it like every player could do something like that. Let me put it in perspective for you, Dwight Howard and LeBron James are the ONLY two players in the NBA that could do that. And I'm not even sure about LeBron, but he is a freak and I am not about to doubt him. One thing I think they need to change about the WHOLE thing is allowing Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller to ever speak on air again. They were not only obnoxious with Smith declaring the winner and loser of each event about 10 seconds in and then changing his mind immediately after the next contestant started, and Miller trying every trick to get back to his glory days saying old-timers need to participate in the events more. You guys had your time, let it go. Reggie wasn't even that good of a player, he flopped all the time and couldn't lead a team to a championship because he couldn't take over a game. He was an epic shooter, but how many rings does he have? Kenny Smith had his time when he put down one of the best dunks of all-time at the slam dunk contest, but saying things just to be bold then having to backtrack every five minutes isn't entertaining at all. I just have a feeling that everytime those two try to talk, the producers are giving each other a look like someone just passed gas in an elevator. They don't know why they couldn't just hold it in.
I'm tired of the steroid talks around baseball...AGAIN. I wish the sport could put this behind them and say "our bad, let's just move on" but it just doesn't seem like it can happen. There are probably a couple reasons for this such as it is possibly one of the biggest sports corruption/cover ups in history, and ESPN has to have programming for 24 hours a day. They run out of things to talk about so they overanalyze everything. Its the same with 24-hour news stations. Sometimes I think I would prefer infomercials for like 5 hours a day just so I don't have to hear about politics, steroids, and what the body language of a certain politician means. I just don't care that much. I'm sorry if you do; I'm sure we can compromise somewhere between 10-15 hours of news a day. Anyway, that's all for today; I have nothing else to complain about I guess.
SHOUT OUT OF THE DAY: On second thought I have one more thing....Jason Richardson is the recipient of my shout for today. He was quoted as trying to be "the best father he can be". Really Jason? In case you haven't heard (and don't partake in the 24-hour news circuit), Richardson was clocked doing 90 in a 35 MPH zone. Sometimes being dumb behind the wheel of a vehicle is just a lapse of common sense (I would know, but that's a story for a different time). Richardson had his three year old son in the car with him....without a car seat. How can you possibly claim to be a good father if you are doing 90 and have your son in the car, WITHOUT A CAR SEAT. Come on man, you can't be serious. I don't know what the punishment for this should be, but I'm glad the Suns suspended him for a game. That's a good start.
Stanley Gordon West writes about this in his book "Blind Your Ponies". If you have never read it, I totally recommend it. It's my favorite book of all-time. If you've been part of athletics in a small town you will appreciate the detail that West uses when describing the gyms and atmosphere surrounding the games. If you haven't had the priviledge to be part of something so special, you should read it so you can get a feel for it. Walking into the gym on cold winter nights and knowing that the community is behind you is what I miss most about high school sports. When you are in a small community and ask anyone about their sports teams they always talk about the season using "we". I love how sports can bring the community together, and warm the souls of the people no matter the weather outside the gym.
Our boys this year are a talented bunch of kids that have done quite well this season. I have watched these young men grow over the years and the expectations have seldom been higher around Sunburst. No matter what happens over the next few weeks, I hope these guys enjoy their time together and the town appreciates the hard work they have put in over the last 7 seasons in preparation for the run at the state tournament. I'll keep you posted on their progress as we go.
Joe Johnson didn't win the all-star HORSE contest. Although he was the only one man enough to try some creative shots, that ended coming back to bite him in the butt when he wouldn't make them. The whole contest took too long and if they want to keep it part of the all-star festivities I think some major renovations are going to need to be done. As for the rest of the all-star weekend I thought the slam dunk contest was pretty entertaining but I was disappointed Dwight Howard didn't bring more to the table on his last dunk. The dunk on the 12 foot rim was my favorite, and people downplayed it like every player could do something like that. Let me put it in perspective for you, Dwight Howard and LeBron James are the ONLY two players in the NBA that could do that. And I'm not even sure about LeBron, but he is a freak and I am not about to doubt him. One thing I think they need to change about the WHOLE thing is allowing Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller to ever speak on air again. They were not only obnoxious with Smith declaring the winner and loser of each event about 10 seconds in and then changing his mind immediately after the next contestant started, and Miller trying every trick to get back to his glory days saying old-timers need to participate in the events more. You guys had your time, let it go. Reggie wasn't even that good of a player, he flopped all the time and couldn't lead a team to a championship because he couldn't take over a game. He was an epic shooter, but how many rings does he have? Kenny Smith had his time when he put down one of the best dunks of all-time at the slam dunk contest, but saying things just to be bold then having to backtrack every five minutes isn't entertaining at all. I just have a feeling that everytime those two try to talk, the producers are giving each other a look like someone just passed gas in an elevator. They don't know why they couldn't just hold it in.
I'm tired of the steroid talks around baseball...AGAIN. I wish the sport could put this behind them and say "our bad, let's just move on" but it just doesn't seem like it can happen. There are probably a couple reasons for this such as it is possibly one of the biggest sports corruption/cover ups in history, and ESPN has to have programming for 24 hours a day. They run out of things to talk about so they overanalyze everything. Its the same with 24-hour news stations. Sometimes I think I would prefer infomercials for like 5 hours a day just so I don't have to hear about politics, steroids, and what the body language of a certain politician means. I just don't care that much. I'm sorry if you do; I'm sure we can compromise somewhere between 10-15 hours of news a day. Anyway, that's all for today; I have nothing else to complain about I guess.
SHOUT OUT OF THE DAY: On second thought I have one more thing....Jason Richardson is the recipient of my shout for today. He was quoted as trying to be "the best father he can be". Really Jason? In case you haven't heard (and don't partake in the 24-hour news circuit), Richardson was clocked doing 90 in a 35 MPH zone. Sometimes being dumb behind the wheel of a vehicle is just a lapse of common sense (I would know, but that's a story for a different time). Richardson had his three year old son in the car with him....without a car seat. How can you possibly claim to be a good father if you are doing 90 and have your son in the car, WITHOUT A CAR SEAT. Come on man, you can't be serious. I don't know what the punishment for this should be, but I'm glad the Suns suspended him for a game. That's a good start.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Day One
Hey there everybody! So here I am sitting in the library thinking about all the homework I should probably be doing and instead I'm putting in the first installment of my blog. I have been signed up to write this blog for about two weeks now, but I hadn't really had any idea about writing a blog so I would bring up the screen, look at it for awhile, then check my facebook. The problem is, once you've checked your facebook, read your e-mails, and caroused around espn.com long enough; you eventually have nothing left to do but write a blog.
I suppose as an introductory post I should probably let all you readers out there know a little about me. I am 22, looking at finishing up my degree at the University of Montana in education in the next year or so; and hopefully going to be a successful basketball coach someday. I grew up in a small town known as Sunburst, MT.
I suppose as an introductory post I should probably let all you readers out there know a little about me. I am 22, looking at finishing up my degree at the University of Montana in education in the next year or so; and hopefully going to be a successful basketball coach someday. I grew up in a small town known as Sunburst, MT.
When someone grows up in a town with a name like Sunburst, people seem to want to call you that instead of y
our name. This is becoming so common that I don't even think about it anymore. Earlier this semester I had two teachers (TWO!!) call me by Sunburst instead of my name for the first few weeks. Sunburst has a high school of about 60 kids, however it is a combination of four towns (Sunburst, Kevin, Oilmont, and Sweetgrass). Although it is small, it is always a nice refuge to get away from the city and go home to a place where everyone knows you and will stop to chat at ya on mainstreet. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
our name. This is becoming so common that I don't even think about it anymore. Earlier this semester I had two teachers (TWO!!) call me by Sunburst instead of my name for the first few weeks. Sunburst has a high school of about 60 kids, however it is a combination of four towns (Sunburst, Kevin, Oilmont, and Sweetgrass). Although it is small, it is always a nice refuge to get away from the city and go home to a place where everyone knows you and will stop to chat at ya on mainstreet. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm a sports fanatic and love to watch nearly any sport. Obviously, because I aspire to be a coach I am most interested in basketball. The sport fascinates me. I always hear this argument that people enjoy college ball more because they say the NBA is all about selfish millionaires who travel all over the place and don't know how to play the game. I love to argue about this because the players in the NBA are the greatest players in the world, and if you really enjoy basketball;(like all you college fans claim you do) you would enjoy the NBA for just how amazing these players are and how there is no point in slowing down the game on an extra half-step when the athletes are as talented as these players are. My favorite player is Joe Johnson, who I just found out is taking part in the HORSE game during all-star weekend. I'm not a betting man, but I'm gonna go ahead and say he's gonna win.
Anyway, I'm sure I'll get to more sports topics as I continue to write on this. I don't plan on writing everyday, but just whenever I feel like I have a point to make (so don't hold your breath). But check it out, and welcome to Nate's World.
Shout out for the day: Alex Rodriguez--Not for coming clean about using steroids, but the excuse given for injecting performance enhancing drugs. A-Rod said felt that he needed to take the PEDs because he was feeling the pressure of being labeled as one of the best players in the game. If you were the best in the game would you really need to cheat to prove yourself? Why is no one crucifying this guy for cheating? Furthermore, why is it ok to cheat if you come clean and admit you did it? I guess maybe I'm wrong about this. (No wait, I'm not)
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