The Downfall of Duke

Last year Duke fell to VCU. I still remember Eric Maynor willing his tam to a win. This year Duke fell to a more formidable team in West Virginia. Joe Alexander is the man on that team, but the person who was really responsible for this victory was back-up point guard Joe Mazzula. Mazzula had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Alexander added 22 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Its also important to acknowledge Alex Ruoff's fade away 3 as the shot clock expired for sparking West Virginia's comeback.

Coach K can blame the cold for having to constantly blow his nose in the post game interview, but he'll have to blame the Mountaineers for the tears. For the Blue Devil's next trick they'll become the number one seed for the next tourney and subsequently also become the first one seed to fall in the round of 64. Or miss the tourney entirely. Either way I'll be satisfied.

Now I must watch the Michael Beasly show and hope that he and Bill Walker can beat Wisconsin, a team that rivals the San Antonio Spurs in boring but solid play.

NBA News and Notes

• The Spurs won the title again, which means the Pats will win the Super Bowl just to spite San Antonio.
• Michael Finley is one of the few Spurs players left who deserves a ring.
  
• Tim Duncan is still a bitch.
• Tony parker is marrying a succubus. (and won MVP)
  
• LeBron still needs help in Cleveland.
• Robert Horry has enough championship rings to auction one off on E-bay when he gets poor.
  
• I watched the first half of game 4 in spanish. ( had to make it interesting some how)
• Juwan Howard is now a member of the Wovles. (goodbye Mike James and Justin Reed)
• Bracey Wright is still locked up somewhere in the basement of the Target Center
  
• I love you grandma. Remember that time I threw up a bunch of orange soda on the merry-go-round? or watching "Get Smart." I'll try to get there soon.
• Its harder to type when you've been drinking
• Falco ist tot
  

LUNCH BREAK: Tigers need not wait said half hour

Yesterday I brought you a naked swimmer and today I bring you a swimming tiger. Bez pointed these pictures out to me the other day and since I had no theme for the lunch break I thought this would do. Today’s links are very Minnesota heavy so screw you, other 49 states in the union. There, I said it.

Musings from a Twins fan trapped in Chicago. Apparently they are still bitter about the sweep.

Roger Goodell’s inner monologue

Surprisingly the Wolves don’t show up on this list of the worst and best NBA drafts in the last ten years. Except for the time they passed up their pick.

Some notes about Tarvaris Jackson and Adrian Peterson from NFC-North.com.

Tim Brewster is lying, but his son is probably a better quarterback.

The T-wolves blog want Chauncey back. I just want to know how many guards Detriot would be willing to take in return.

The Cobra Brigade breaks down the NBA finals match-up by position.

Manny and Backstrom forced to appear on stage together to accept an award… Awkward.

Do not play a game of pick-up ball with THE GAME.

Randball takes time out of his busy day to scratch his head.

I want to like the NBA

For the amount of NBA basketball that I watch, which is minimal, I really don't understand why I'm so interested in the off the court/off-season stuff. I follow the NBA news religiously. I rarely will sit down and watch a game. I read many NBA blogs, follow stats, and highlights. I get really into the politics of the league. I really don't know why I am like this or if I'm alone in these actions. Maybe it's due to fantasy, maybe the inter-working of the league is more interesting then the poor product they put on the floor. I believe that it has much more to do with the later.

I have played basketball since I can remember. I quit hockey after one year when I was a kid, because I had to make the decision to play one or the other, to be honest I don't try and have regrets, but I wish I would have kept with hockey, but I digress. I am going to try and write down my feelings about the NBA and how these thoughts have progressed into how I watch this league.

I am going to call this first viewing period the Bulls Dynasty, and I believe it is what initially drew me into the NBA; I was two years old when Jordan was drafted. This period started with my first memories of watching basketball (1989??-1998). When I was 8 the Bulls won their 1^st Championship, 5 more would follow over the next eight years. I remember watching many of the Bulls playoff games over the next eight years. As a kid it was easy to get into the Bulls, they were always winning, especially when the Wolves sucked as bad as they do now; imagine that, McHale wasn't even running them into the ground at this point. I also am a Hawkeye fan, so having B.J. Armstrong on the team didn't hurt.

I remember being at basketball camp in June right after school had got out and we would be on some college campus in the TV lounge watching the NBA Finals on the big screen. Those were the days, for me at least. Back then I watched a quite few games, more then I do now and really got into the playoffs, but rarely followed any news besides the Jordan stuff. I'm not sure how you would categorize that type of fan, it's much more than casual but, not fanatic. I didn't get into the off the court things like trades or drafts, even though they had very large impacts in the league, at that age, I guess I was being a kid.














This next viewing period (1999-2003) has to be called I hate the Spurs and Lakers Dynasty. At the beginning of this time period I really lost interest completely in the NBA. There are some telling reasons to this, one I lived in Australia for some of this, also I was a dumb high school kid and my world was only as big as the 15 people around me.
Also, in this period, I went to college and started to get involved in fantasy basketball. This started to get my interest back into the NBA. This interest was based on purely selfish reason, fantasy sports. The timing of this period is a little weird, because as you will notice the time frame is only 3 years, and the Lakers/Spurs have won Championships since the end of it. There is only one reason this is so short: the Wolves went to the Conference Finals in 2004. This had a very large impact in bringing me back to watching the NBA.

The next period is also short 2004-2005. This period is called the Wolves trip to the conference finals and following season. I had some transition in my life during this period. I started to gain some more interest in the league due to the fact that a roommate that I was living with was a huge NBA fan. Actually he's a huge fan of any sport no matter what it is (he may write here sometimes). So he helped fuel the passion for it, I watched a lot of regular season games and many of the playoff games the year the Wolves were in the finals and games into the next season.

The period I'm in now 2006-present, I will call the blog period. There is so much information out there on what is going on in the NBA, much of it may be speculation, but there is so much of it, it is hard not to be interested in it. Like I said earlier, I read a lot of blogs and pay attention to stats, but watch very little. I will watch the occasional game, I went to a couple, and actually I went to two Wolves wins, one over the Jazz and the other over the Suns, stopping them on an 18 game winning streak.

In my lifetime I have gone from a fan interested in purely entertainment in my first period of NBA fanfare to complete indifference due to the hate of the Spurs/Lakers and lack of interest in the league into a fan that pays a little attention for fantasy. To someone who cares little about what goes-on on the court and more about what happens around the court.

I can have a conversation with almost any NBA fan and keep up with stats, standings, news and anything really but I seldom will sit down and watch an NBA game. I have watched about 2 total playoff games and one of them I watch the whole game (the suns-spurs game after the suspensions). I guess what I'm trying to say is, I really don't get what my infatuation is with the NBA. I don't really enjoy watching the game, besides a few teams (Suns, Wizards) that can play with some energy, not many of them can. I want to like the NBA, that's it, I really want to like the NBA, but I need some more entertainment value out of the league. Can anyone help me????

If I were to advise a GM into how to get me back into actually watching the game these are a few things I would suggest be done or at least tried.

First quit hiring coaches from the damn coaching cesspool. People don’t want to see re-treads, go out to Europe, ala Mike D'antoni and hire some guy who plays a different style from the NBA. Fans are sick of the NBA style; we want to see 4 energetic quarters.

Next, encourage more personalities in the game, ala Gilbert Arenas, by drafting guys who truly love playing basketball. It must be their passion to play basketball for them to be personable. If they’re in it just for the money get rid of them.

I could keep going but this is damn long so I will stop for now, although I will keep hoping the NBA can get me to care to actually watch the games.

San Antonio Will Win The Finals

Don’t worry Cavs fans, the only reason I said that was because I’ve noticed that any definitive statement I am forced to eat my words (here and here). The Cavs are the team I want to win, along with everyone not living in Texas, and I honestly think they have a good shot. The Cavs are absolutely nothing special without LeBron and people have been ragging on him since he entered the league about everything from free throw percentage to his ability to put up the last second shot.

That last second shot argument has always bothered me. People argue that he has been in the league for 4 years and still has troubles taking that shot. I say its because he dominated in high school and there was never any real need for that type of shot… the kid spent his high school years dominating everyone who attempted to play ball against him. When March madness rolls around who usually takes the last shot for a team? It’s the upperclassmen who have felt this pressure before. LaBron’s entry into the NBA was a baptism by fire, and he did way better than any high-schooled before him. KG may always pass up on the final shot but LeBron won’t have a problem after his best playoff performance yet.

It seems to me that LeBron figured out that he has to take control of the game and that he doesn’t have Scottie Pippen, B.J. Armstrong, Horace Grant, Kerr and Paxson. LeBron has the human equivalent of peanut brittle in Larry Hughes, a rookie who calls himself Boobie (come on ladies- lets make some interesting shirts) and Sideshow Bob Anderson Varejao. Lebron’s supporting cast is more like the supporting cast of a screwball comedy and I think he is beginning to realize this. This is why he knocked down the final two free throws in game 4 while laughing in the face of his critics. This is why he returned in game 5 with two dunks in the last 30 seconds to tie it up and followed those up with the rest of the team’s points in the two subsequent overtimes.

I truly believe that whatever sparked LeBron to a series win over Detroit saved the NBA finals. I know that I personally didn’t want to watch a Spurs/Pistons series. That sounds like the time I walked into the voting booth and got to choose between Bush and Kerry… both seemed like bad options. I only hope that LeBron can summon the force once more and defeat the darkside of the NBA. Look, I found some evidence… Its Pop and Palp.

Mr. Belding sends Nu-Ball to detention

Last night the Warriors were booted out of the playoffs by the Jazz. Tonight the Suns will most likely lose home court advantage that they gained in the previous game because David Stern has no balls. True to form, the second I make a statement and/or observation about a sport I am slapped in the face with reality. Honestly… go look at the wild live blogs, we lost every single game I wrote about and then lost the playoff series when I started calling the guy from The Battle of California a dick.

The Warriors game me hope for an exciting second season. Baron Davis’ beard could cross you over all by itself, Steven Jackson needed only his pointer and thumb to send shivers down the spines of his opponents, and in my book Matt Barnes gave himself a name. Its not something I would wish upon the man, but I wonder what would have happened if the Jazzy Warrior’s child had had more complications and Mr. Fisher had to stay behind. I wonder what would have been had the Warriors been able to take one of the very winnable first two games in the series. The Jazz proved that they belong in the playoffs by doing something that “the best team in the NBA” couldn’t, but do they belong in the NBA finals?

Now for the second series I’m going to throw a bit of a strange analogy at you. I present Zack Morris (the Spurs) and Mr. Belding (David Stern). Mr. Belding is Zack’s bitch. He can get away with anything and anyone who gets in his way will eventually be sent to detention. I state my case chronologically. First Joey Crawford’s officiating duties are revoked for the remainder of the year. Maybe the man was wrong in T-ing Duncan up twice while on the bench, but if had to deal with that preppy Virgin (islander) and his backhanded comments and sideways glances all the time I’d probably get fed up too. Why wasn’t Crawford just relegated to the eastern conference playoffs and kept from the finals?

Next is Tony Parker’s “accidental” head butt of Steve Nash in the first game that kept him off of the court for the final minutes of game one. Remember how Zack Morris managed to get the teachers to strike once and how he got a history test postponed so the Football team could learn some new plays for the big game? Well in game one Parker had Nash seeing red and in game one and Bruce Bowen took his baby making abilities away from him in game three. Two players physically harmed the rightful MVP without any repercussions other than what amounts to a couple of bucks to a pro basketball player.

When Belding finally does punish Zack it is the most laughable punishment ever. Robert Horry basically cross checks Nash in a losing effort and must pay with two games. Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw must sit what looks to be their final home game of the season (barring some act of god) for stepping onto the court. They were herded back to the bench far before coming close to a member of the Spurs and dammit, you try watching your team leader (and smallest guy) get battered and beaten all series long. Those steps onto the court were simply a reaction and I don't even have to show you the stats of these players to show how lopsided the suspensions are. I watched Torii Hunter take a few steps towards the mound after taking a ball in the face and not get suspended by Bud Selig. I heard you could kill an opposing soccer player in Europe and only have to sit out the remainder of the game.

Everybody hates the Spurs; they aren’t fun to watch, they play dirty, they bitch when things aren’t going their way and they have Stern in their back pocket. I guarantee that the kids walking around the halls of Bayside High hated Zack Morris, his big ass cell phone, his friends (I’m sure they had crushes on the girls though) and his ability to get away with anything he pleased. We are now destined for an NBA finals featuring Zack and A.C. Slater (The Pistons).

P.S. Looks like somebody else left the bench in that game.

Robert Horry’s playoff adventure #212

(Editors Note: Once in a very blue moon Mr. Robert Horry stops by to give us his old and decrepit thoughts on the playoffs. Considering the man has been to every one since dinosaurs ruled the earth we figured he’d have some insight on just about everything.)

Well ain’t that aboutabitch, the Spurs went and lost their fist game… and at home no less. I’ll tell you why it happened- they didn’t put me out on the court in the final seconds. Coach Pop musta forgot my nickname was “big shot Bob.” I had a feeling we was gonna lose before the game even started. When I came into the locker room I asked Tim Duncan what he was listening to (because I didn’t have my hearing aids in yet) and he said Kenny G. I figured this was Warren G’s younger brother but he told me it was adult-contemporary-I-don’t-even-know-the-fuck-what. Then Pop went and forgot the Geritol, I can’t be goin’ on the court with low Iron in my blood.

When I’m on the sidelines I usually sit by Brent Barry, Bruce Bowen and Micheal Finley cause them bitches is old too. Plus outside of Tim everybody else be talking Spanish and shit… I went to Alabama Goddamnit, I don’t speak no Spanish. I thought you got a championship ring just for being in the league. I was like, “how many you got, Micheal? Probably 5.” And he got all pissy and called me a prick. I got news for you Finley, I may be a prick but I’m a prick with 6 rings.

Later on Coach Pop put me out on the floor to try and talk some sense into Melo. I told him if I had done what he did to New York Walt Frazier would have slapped the shit out of me. That boy is lucky he only had to deal with Nate “25 cents” Robinson. Melo started talking some shit about my oxygen tank and sent that big Brazilian bastard Nene after me. I’m liable to break a goddamn hip out here so I made Pop take me back off.

I wanted to go back in at the end of the game but Pop was like “you wanted out.” I told him it was my time and I felt the fire, but he said that was just arthritis. I was like all I do is win, I got this 3. All we needed was a 3 and he goes with some young bucks who don’t answer to the name “big shot Bob.” At least Duncan’s grandma taped “Matlock” for me, I was afraid I was gonna miss it.