Thursday, December 04, 2008

A Few NBA Observations

Forgot to mention a couple highlights from last night, and an issue I have w/ a certain Phoenix Sun.

1) Lebron's passing - he's probably the greatest dart/laser/fastball passer I've ever seen, those hard, straight, bullet passes, pinpointed right at the recipient. Last night he had a great one of those to Zy underneath the basket, and then he made a ridiculous, Harlem Globetrotter type pass on a drive, where i can't even describe the pass, but it was amazing, perfectly accurate, and led to a basket for Varejao.

2) The D Wade everything sequence - he followed Ronnie Price driving to the hoop, blocked his shot attempt from 3 feet, stayed w/ him as Price got the rebound, then stole the ball from him, passed to a teammate and streaked down the floor, then took a pass from that teammate and elevated ridiculously high to throw down a monster dunk. Pure athleticism, an epic sequence to watch.

3) Shaq - Sitting out so he never plays back-to-back games. What a soft, lazy, poor leadership move that is. He's paid $20m a year and he can't play on consecutive nights? How about losing weight, getting in shape, and giving your employer a full effort? And amazingly, I haven't heard a single complaint from the media re this....he totally disgusts me.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

USC – Ohio St. - Gameday Report

So it’s Monday 5 days before the big game and my high school buddy living in Chicago calls me at work – can I make it to the game if he has an extra ticket? Of course my answer is yes (after a subsequent clearance with the wife).

Saturday comes and after hanging with the boys all morning (3 ½ and 7 mos.), the wife takes over and I’m off to the Coliseum. I’m supposed to meet my buddy John at parking lot 4, 5, or 6, but in talking to an attendant, he learns they’re all full. I’m seeing private $100 parking lots ¾ full as I drive towards the stadium, not quite sure what the plan is. On a packed side street, I see a house trying to fill its driveway. At $60, they’re well under market and I nab a spot.

The density of cell phones and pda’s are causing cell connections to be very spotty at best, but I finally meet up with John and his two friends, very surprised to see all three of them wearing cardinal and gold (one friend is from New Jersey and works in N.Y., the other I’m not sure about). I realize shortly after that neutral colors/attire are virtually non-existent – this isn’t USC football circa 1999 anymore. I’m wearing my USC 2007 Rose Bowl golf shirt. I pondered wearing the Leinart jersey, but, he’s not even starting for the Cardinals.

We take our chest of beers and find my friends’ tailgate. Once there, we find that our beer choice (Becks, Heineken, and St. Pauli Girl) is quite popular amongst the many Coors and Bud Light drinkers – we quickly make lots of new friends. This being my first tailgate since the 2004 USC/UCLA game, I’m remembering what a blast they are, especially with such an electric atmosphere that a team like Ohio St. brings.

I talk to some OSU fans, and we quickly hit it off after I mention the last time I saw these two teams play was the 1985 Rose Bowl, when USC beat the Kieth Byars-led Buckeye team. They definitely appreciate diehard fans. The time comes to leave the party and enter the game, so we break out the 8 ziplock baggies I brought and fill them up with Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, subsequently stuffing them into our pockets to continue our buzz in the alcohol-free stadium.

John hands out the tickets while we’re in line, which is when we first discover that we’re in Row 1…nice!! I notice while in line and again once inside the stadium, there are basicaly no children here, just adults. Take the kids to the Arizona or Oregon St. games, Ohio St. is for the big boys. Before taking my seat, I chat with some ’08 SC grads outside tunnel 4. My most pressing advice, probably repeated 4 or 5 times, is to enjoy your 20’s and bachelorhood, don’t get hitched until at least a year or two after your 30th birthday.

I make it to the seats well before kickoff and see that we have 3 OSU fans to our left and the BCS Championship glass football trophy right in front of us. Our seats are right on the side of the endzone, opposite where Stanley Havili scored the first of USC’s 5 TD’s. A little pre-game discussion ensues between myself and the 3 Buckeye fans, and I close by noting that ‘we have a lot of athletes…a LOT’. They seem bothered and that ends the chat.

Finally the game starts and on their 2nd possession, Ohio St. marches down to kick a field goal and take the early 3-0 lead. USC fans are stone silent, while the various pockets of Buckeye Nation are loud and ecstatic. This doesn’t last long. First it’s the 35 yard TD pass to USC’s fullback Havili, then a 1 yarder to the backup TE and true freshman Blake Ayles. Once USC linebacker Rey Maualuga takes a pick 48 yards to make the score 21-3, the OSU faithful see the writing on the wall. The three Buckeyes next to me acknowledge that SC is dominating the trenches.

At halftime I have the spiciest Polish Cajun sausage ever, quite tasty. The OSU fans walking about have a dazed and confused look on their faces – I imagine the team might have that same look at this point. When USC scores its 4th TD halfway through the 3rd quarter, the three OSU fans leave their seats. My friends are marveling at #2 on the SC defense, so I tell them he’s Taylor Mays, our 230lb safety who runs a sub 4.4 40. They just shake their heads. Halfway through the 4th quarter we leave the stadium, convinced we’ve seen not only the future 2008 National Champions, but also quite possibly one of the best college football teams ever. Fight on, Trojans.

Friday, June 27, 2008

2008 NBA Draft – Thoughts, Reaction, Analysis

So the draft started and I was still at work, checking the pick by pick on Yahoo. Rose, Beasley, Mayo…ho hum, until pick # 4 – Russell Westbrook. I immediately emailed my entire fantasy hoops league – “Westbrook @ #4? Is the draft this shallow?” Don’t get me wrong, I love his freaky athleticism, intense D, and upside…but #4? Oh well, at least it wasn’t the big overrated stiff Brook Lopez – more on him later.

I’m still at work when Memphis goes Love @ #5 – better surround him w/ athletes, but what a passer, what a smart, heady player. The Knicks go next with this year’s favorite Eurotrash star – Danilo Gallinari. So this time it’s different, huh? This guy will pan out…look at all those skills in a big man. I think I heard this about Tskitishvili, then Milicic, then Bargnani…let’s see what he does in the ‘no pressure, no distractions’ town of New York.

My Clips pick next & I’m praying they make the right choice – Jerryd Bayless – or the bold choice – Anthony Randolph. They choose neither and go with Eric Gordon, Boooooo…Milwaukee goes Joe Alexander next, a SF, after having just traded for Richard Jefferson, another SF…hmmmmm. Also, I think they made a mistake giving up on Yi so quickly to acquire Jefferson. That franchise seems to be spinning its wheels. Charlotte takes the smurf PG DJ Augustin next. Clearly the best pure PG in the draft, but even in his high-tops he’s not 6 feet. I suddenly realize we’ve gone 9 picks and Brook Lopez is still on the board – maybe these GMs are getting smarter.

Now it’s NJ’s pick with Kiki Vandeweghe at the helm. Lopez, crying in the ‘Green Room’, is the pick. The crying is utterly pathetic, and reminiscent of Cedric Benson on draft day 3 years ago. How’d that work out for the Bears? Maybe not everyone is as down on this very pedestrian, unathletic big man like myself, but New Jersey doesn’t need a big. Josh Boone developed quite nicely this year and Sean Williams showed flashes as a rookie. And don’t they need a SG?…like Jerryd Bayless, who’s amazingly still on the board? Bayless goes next to Indy, who then trades him to Portland (jeez are they stockpiling talent!!).

Finally I make it home after my buddy texts me the 11 through 17 picks on my phone, as my car radio wasn’t working. I can’t believe Phoenix took Robin Lopez (5 rebs a game last year?!!?!?!) over Marresse Speights, whom I see a bright future for. And I love Golden State collecting another freaky athlete by stealing the aforementioned Randolph @ #14. Nice job Mullin, you’ve come a long way since signing Dunleavy to a $45m deal a few summers ago. My 3 year old is sitting in mom’s car, telling me he’s driving the bus, and asking me where I want to go. I tell him New York to the NBA Draft. He says no, so I go in the house. The next interesting pick is Orlando taking Courtney Lee at #22 – I really like him, and they needed a decent SG.

By now we’ve hit that awkward time when one lonely guy is sitting in the ‘Green Room’, waiting ever so uncomfortably for his name to be called. This year it’s Darrell Arthur of nat’l champs Kansas. Finally at #27 N.O. takes him to be traded to Portland. The painful wait is over, but ESPN still needs more painful, awkward moments, so they have their reporter ask the ridiculous question of Arthur’s crying mother, and I’m quoting the reporter, “Those tears are reflective of what?” Are you kidding me? Was this lady a poetry major in college? First of all, we don’t need the emotional touchy-feely crap, we need more analysis of the pick. How does he fit in Portland? What player should the Grizzlies take with the next pick? And secondly, if you’re going to ask a stupid question, do it in a straightforward manner – ‘Why are you crying?’ I guess when it’s put that way, the stupidity of the question is more clearly exposed.

Oops, I almost forgot to mention Kiki’s 2nd pick in the first round – yep, another big man. This time it’s Ryan Anderson from Cal at #21, another complete non-athlete softy who likes to shoot jump shots and averaged a mere .5 blocks a game for his career, despite being 6’10”. So instead of adding Jerryd Bayless (or Anthony Randolph) and Courtney Lee to their roster, the Nets added two centers who will never develop into solid starters in the league…a league dominated by athletes, that more and more plays small ball. Nice job Kiki, you’ve proven that your pick of Nicolas Tskitishvili 6 years ago was no fluke.

Anyway, here are some of the other picks I really liked:

16. 76ers – Mareese Speights…I’m flabbergasted that both Lopez twins went above this guy, who’s quite athletic & looks like a solid starting PF in a couple years.

24. Sonics – Serge Ibaka…18 year old PF from Senegal, playing Europe, great athlete, could be a gem when they bring him over in a few years.

25. Rockets – Nicolas Batum, SF…nice athlete who dropped due to heart concerns…raw, but very athletic.

34. Heat – Mario Chalmers…wasn’t this PG on the nat’l champs supposed to go around #20? Great value and fills a need.

40. Nets – Chris Douglas Roberts…Kiki stumbled into one good pick out of three.

47. Wizards – Bill Walker…very athletic SF from Kansas St. dropped due to knee concerns and attitude, but at # 47, great risk/reward pick, will likely make the team and possibly contribute soon.

One last thing – can someone please get Jay Bilas a sense of humor?