An excellent time was had by all, as the Colonel, Flemmamming, J-Weezy and myself finished a solid 12th place in the outing...which was somehow in the exact right place to obtain a $10 BW3 gift certficate for each of us. The outing raised over $10,000 for St. Catherines, far surpassing last year's total....so I'm happy that I was a part of the fun!
Here's a list of what I learned this weekend..
FRIENDS
If anyone wants to buy Tim a birthday present, make it a mini-cooler...as he used a styrofoam bait bucket for a cooler yesterday.
Also, Tim broke out something called "The Farming Game"...which is basically a rural version of Monopoly. Flemmy, Mo-Mo, Uncle and I played a game, which I won...Tim finished in last and then refused to play the next day.
If you find yourself at a business at which the dude who does karaoke at the Pub is at.....turn around, walk out the door, and find another place. Trust me.
Don't let Skot use a butter knife to remove staples from anything.
A Pub pitcher now costs more than a small order of cheeze balls.
Flemmy will sell you his new LDT jersey for no less than $70 American dollars.
The Colonel is in full-on Commish mode and is fully focused on next Saturday, and I like that about him.
Josh enjoys a good man-pile as much as anyone I know.
If you are the former heavyweight Canadian boxing champion of the world....make sure your sons don't do heroin. And if they do....you may want to get them off the H train soon.
RAFFLE DRAFT
It looks like I am going to be staring down the Tom Brady Decision at the 6th overall pick...if the gentlemen above me are telling the truth (which, let's be honest, if they are it's a miracle), the top 5 picks will go
Trev--LDT
Justin--Peterson
Al--Westbrook
Nate--Addai
Tim--Barber
Now, I fully believe the top 4 people....as for Tim, he's likely just saying whatever he thinks I don't want to hear. However, the Commish has gotta be happy that the QB's may continue to slip his way in the first round.
The rough itinerary looks this way, with the final draft (I'm sure) coming from Colonel Commish this week...
2:00--2-Man scrambee tee-off at the Creeks. Teams will be chosen completely at random. Should be a good time.
4:30ish--Reconvene back at the Flem de la Casa de Flem for grill and draft.
8:55--Draft ends.
9:00--Nate announces he will win the league
9:10--The commish announces that my team sucks.
9:25--Tim begins his ceaseless trade offers, which will continue on a neverending, unyielding basis for the next 3 months of our lives.
9:35--Dave heads to Moorland Bar
9:42--Trevor begins debating the merits of Christian Laettner's college career.
9:44--Everyone leaves the room
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Olympics Part VI
2:00. The handball match ended CRAZY!! Korea scored a goal with 5 seconds left, and somehow Norway got the ball to its best player, who basically went the length of the floor and scored at the buzzer to give her team a one-goal win and a spot in teh gold medal match. They celebrated with what looked to be a game of ring-around-the-rosey in the middle of the court with their coaches.
2:02. The American women are in the gold-medal game in indoor volleyball after doing Cuba, cigar-style; just rolling them up and smoking them. The other semi, China vs Brazil, is on right now. And, wow. I mean, wow. Let's just say the Brazilian team has some absolute world-class talent. Speaking of that, my girl Logan Tom and the Americans play in the final on 8:00 AM on Saturday morning while we begin the Wildcat Open....I, for one, will be thinking of her at that time....
2:16. Tight first set between two teams who couldn't possibly look different, both physically as well as style-wise. China has the best setter in the world, so she basically is involved in every single play, whereas Brazil has a number of talented hitters and their Libero is a very good setter as well. I am surprised by the amount of time-outs in volleyball; now that they have rally-scoring in the game, where every serve ends with a point, they have "technical" time-outs once either team reaches 8 and 16 points. Seems like coaching in volleyball is a lot more important that I would have thought before watching these Olympics...and it stands in start contrast to some of the other team sports, like soccer and water polo, where in-game coaching seems to be virtually non-existant.
2:02. The American women are in the gold-medal game in indoor volleyball after doing Cuba, cigar-style; just rolling them up and smoking them. The other semi, China vs Brazil, is on right now. And, wow. I mean, wow. Let's just say the Brazilian team has some absolute world-class talent. Speaking of that, my girl Logan Tom and the Americans play in the final on 8:00 AM on Saturday morning while we begin the Wildcat Open....I, for one, will be thinking of her at that time....
2:16. Tight first set between two teams who couldn't possibly look different, both physically as well as style-wise. China has the best setter in the world, so she basically is involved in every single play, whereas Brazil has a number of talented hitters and their Libero is a very good setter as well. I am surprised by the amount of time-outs in volleyball; now that they have rally-scoring in the game, where every serve ends with a point, they have "technical" time-outs once either team reaches 8 and 16 points. Seems like coaching in volleyball is a lot more important that I would have thought before watching these Olympics...and it stands in start contrast to some of the other team sports, like soccer and water polo, where in-game coaching seems to be virtually non-existant.
RAFFLE 2008 Travershamockery, R4, V1
Back by popular demand, it's Round 4!
Unsure how closely this will track to the actual draft, but it was interesting in doing Rounds 2-3 how many WR's "they" believe will go in those rounds, and then doing our draft and noting how many of those WR's really seemed to fall to those spots. Also worth noting many of "those people" also said Rudi Johnson and Shawn Alexander were sure-fire first-round picks last year.
37-D Smith. Let's be completely honest. From this point forward, who the flip knows what this guy is going to do. Let's not forget, he could have picked as high as fourth, but he chose to pick at the back of these two rounds. I'm going to give Dave his second RB of the draft in MICHAEL TURNER.
38-BPRUWITME. Still reeling from the MEGATRON selection from Josh earlier in the day, BP thinks long and hard about Roy Williams, but instead continues to steady his 8 Bells team and selects DARREN MCFADDEN
39-Josh. I'm not sure any of you know how much I want to type in a certain QB's name who rhymes with Lon Spitka. However, I'll refrain from going Lion Crazy and instead make a sane selection for Josh, giving him EARNEST GRAHAM
40-Skot. He's got a solid team at this point, so I think Skot gets a little sassy and pulls the trigger on who he has repeatedly described during the football season as his favorite...let's say "RB", selecting FRED TAYLOR.
41-Helly. Following a short nap after his Manning/Wayne "Happy Release", he continues to stock up on RB's and adds EDGERRIN JAMES to his Channel 9 News Team.
42-Andy. He doesn't have a Seminole yet, so Hammer reaches out to ANQUAN BOLDIN, who (hopefully for him) will be traded to a big time team soon!
43-BB. This is another tough decision...or, as I love to quote from Anchorman, THIS IS HAARRRD!!! It's tough at this point to get away from my favorite 13th round draft pick in RAFFLE history, Ben Roeothleisaburger. But there are still some very intriguing WR's and RB's on the board. I'm going to roll the dice, wait on a QB until next round, and select LAVERNEUS COLES, assuming Farve is going to get this offense in full effect.
44-Timmy. I think Tim, noting my Roethlisberger decision, decides to attempt to stick it deep inside of me and take BIG STINKY BEN with this pick.
45-Nate Dogg. Plenty of rookie RB's still on the board...but I think Nate rolls the dice and takes ANGRY STEVE SMITH, hoping he doesn't get suspended for punching any more of his teammates.
46-Al-ly McBeal. I think Al thinks about a QB at this spot, but instead begins what could be a rookie RB run with JONATHAN STEWART.
47-Justin. Wyant goes WR with PLASTICO BURRESS.
48-Trevor. Needing a Lion of his own, Trevor ends the fourth round with ROY WILLIAMS.
Unsure how closely this will track to the actual draft, but it was interesting in doing Rounds 2-3 how many WR's "they" believe will go in those rounds, and then doing our draft and noting how many of those WR's really seemed to fall to those spots. Also worth noting many of "those people" also said Rudi Johnson and Shawn Alexander were sure-fire first-round picks last year.
37-D Smith. Let's be completely honest. From this point forward, who the flip knows what this guy is going to do. Let's not forget, he could have picked as high as fourth, but he chose to pick at the back of these two rounds. I'm going to give Dave his second RB of the draft in MICHAEL TURNER.
38-BPRUWITME. Still reeling from the MEGATRON selection from Josh earlier in the day, BP thinks long and hard about Roy Williams, but instead continues to steady his 8 Bells team and selects DARREN MCFADDEN
39-Josh. I'm not sure any of you know how much I want to type in a certain QB's name who rhymes with Lon Spitka. However, I'll refrain from going Lion Crazy and instead make a sane selection for Josh, giving him EARNEST GRAHAM
40-Skot. He's got a solid team at this point, so I think Skot gets a little sassy and pulls the trigger on who he has repeatedly described during the football season as his favorite...let's say "RB", selecting FRED TAYLOR.
41-Helly. Following a short nap after his Manning/Wayne "Happy Release", he continues to stock up on RB's and adds EDGERRIN JAMES to his Channel 9 News Team.
42-Andy. He doesn't have a Seminole yet, so Hammer reaches out to ANQUAN BOLDIN, who (hopefully for him) will be traded to a big time team soon!
43-BB. This is another tough decision...or, as I love to quote from Anchorman, THIS IS HAARRRD!!! It's tough at this point to get away from my favorite 13th round draft pick in RAFFLE history, Ben Roeothleisaburger. But there are still some very intriguing WR's and RB's on the board. I'm going to roll the dice, wait on a QB until next round, and select LAVERNEUS COLES, assuming Farve is going to get this offense in full effect.
44-Timmy. I think Tim, noting my Roethlisberger decision, decides to attempt to stick it deep inside of me and take BIG STINKY BEN with this pick.
45-Nate Dogg. Plenty of rookie RB's still on the board...but I think Nate rolls the dice and takes ANGRY STEVE SMITH, hoping he doesn't get suspended for punching any more of his teammates.
46-Al-ly McBeal. I think Al thinks about a QB at this spot, but instead begins what could be a rookie RB run with JONATHAN STEWART.
47-Justin. Wyant goes WR with PLASTICO BURRESS.
48-Trevor. Needing a Lion of his own, Trevor ends the fourth round with ROY WILLIAMS.
Olympics, Part V
The Mancino's here in Sturgis has potentially the greatest lunch special ever--Mon-Fri, 11-2, any 8 inch sandwich and drink, 4.95 OTD. I went chicken cordon bleu with extra honey mustard. Extra-solid work by the Mancino.
12:58--Halftime of the handball game. Korea leads Norway 15-14 at the half. Another good aspect of this sport--there are penalties and power plays, but shorthanded scoring happens somewhat regularly. Another good thing--much like water polo (and basketball, for that matter) contact is encouraged, necessary, and frequent.
Just did some Bryan Clay (officially my new man-crush) work. Of course, the first round of the decathlon was showed tape-delay...he struggled a bit in the last 2 events, finishing 10th in the high jump and 11th in the 400. But he still holds first place heading into the 2nd day of events, leading Andrei Krauchnuka by 88 points, and American Trey Hardee is in third.
The 2nd day of events begins at 9:00 EST tonite with the 110 hurdles, followed by the discus and pole vault tonite, then the javelin at 7:00 AM tomorrow morning, and then culminating with the 1,500 at 9:45 tomorrow morning. If they don't show the hurdles and discus tonight, I'm going to take Cris Collinsworth hostage.
Here's the larger question--Traditionally, the winner of the 100M dash is called the "Fastest Man Alive". The winner of the decathlon is referred to as the "Best Athlete Alive". Does that mean the Michael Phelps-fest would come to an end if Clay wins, since for some unexplaninable reason, NBC suddenly believes Phelps is comparable to Michael Jordan for all-time athletes. Or would Phelps' one-dimensional act still trump Clay's victory?
Also--I like how the "Best Athlete Alive" is crowned without stepping foot into a pool. All track and field events. No speedos, hairnets, or breastroking involved.
1:11-Norway leads 19-16 9 minutes into 2nd half and is dominating play at both ends. I know this only because Korea cannot even get a shot off, and Norway is sprinting past them up and down the floor.
Norway, much like the Netherlands in water polo, didn't even qualify for their respective Olympic tourney 4 years ago...now they stand to possibly win a gold medal. I can't imagine the amount of planning, coaching, and dedication it must take to go from completely outside the tourney to winning it within that 4-year cycle, especially in a sport that had no previous success in their country.
1:21-Halfway into 2nd half, Korea down 4. Announcer--"Everything going Norway's way". That sounded awkward. And apparently Korea needs to "step up their defense"...which to me would seem as though they need to grab, hack, and slap more...or play defense more like John Starks and Anthony Mason.
12:58--Halftime of the handball game. Korea leads Norway 15-14 at the half. Another good aspect of this sport--there are penalties and power plays, but shorthanded scoring happens somewhat regularly. Another good thing--much like water polo (and basketball, for that matter) contact is encouraged, necessary, and frequent.
Just did some Bryan Clay (officially my new man-crush) work. Of course, the first round of the decathlon was showed tape-delay...he struggled a bit in the last 2 events, finishing 10th in the high jump and 11th in the 400. But he still holds first place heading into the 2nd day of events, leading Andrei Krauchnuka by 88 points, and American Trey Hardee is in third.
The 2nd day of events begins at 9:00 EST tonite with the 110 hurdles, followed by the discus and pole vault tonite, then the javelin at 7:00 AM tomorrow morning, and then culminating with the 1,500 at 9:45 tomorrow morning. If they don't show the hurdles and discus tonight, I'm going to take Cris Collinsworth hostage.
Here's the larger question--Traditionally, the winner of the 100M dash is called the "Fastest Man Alive". The winner of the decathlon is referred to as the "Best Athlete Alive". Does that mean the Michael Phelps-fest would come to an end if Clay wins, since for some unexplaninable reason, NBC suddenly believes Phelps is comparable to Michael Jordan for all-time athletes. Or would Phelps' one-dimensional act still trump Clay's victory?
Also--I like how the "Best Athlete Alive" is crowned without stepping foot into a pool. All track and field events. No speedos, hairnets, or breastroking involved.
1:11-Norway leads 19-16 9 minutes into 2nd half and is dominating play at both ends. I know this only because Korea cannot even get a shot off, and Norway is sprinting past them up and down the floor.
Norway, much like the Netherlands in water polo, didn't even qualify for their respective Olympic tourney 4 years ago...now they stand to possibly win a gold medal. I can't imagine the amount of planning, coaching, and dedication it must take to go from completely outside the tourney to winning it within that 4-year cycle, especially in a sport that had no previous success in their country.
1:21-Halfway into 2nd half, Korea down 4. Announcer--"Everything going Norway's way". That sounded awkward. And apparently Korea needs to "step up their defense"...which to me would seem as though they need to grab, hack, and slap more...or play defense more like John Starks and Anthony Mason.
Olympics Part IV
12:15--Women's Team Handball Semifinal now on MSNBC! I heart handball. It's South Korea and Norway in a semifinal match, early first half.
Some basic handball rules--There is a restricted area roughly the size of the 3- point line in basketball in front of the goal that defenders can never enter, and offensive players can only enter once they are in the air, jumping and throwing the ball toward the goal. The court is essentially the size of a basketball court. It's 6 on 6 with a goalie.
2 30-minutes halves. No extra-time bullcrap in this sport.
A player can only hold the ball for 3 seconds at a time before doing anything. You can take 3 steps before or after dribbling. Contact is generally let go if the defender has good body position...think the block/charge call in basketball.
The ball is between a volleyball and softball in size and is not soft.
Transition offense and defense is key, just like in basketball.
I don't know how good a job I did describing the game, but it's very fun to play, having done it for a period of time during a PE course at GVSU (yes, Helly, I did get college credit for that class).
12:25--this new freecreditreport.com song/commercial is the worst thing on television EVER.
12:28--Swin Cash did the color commentary for the China/Aussie women's game. She did a reasonably good job of murdering the English language throughout the telecast. At one point she said that Aussie stud center Lauren Jackson had a "chronicle" ankle problem. Apparently her ankle doesn't enjoy reading Mike Mattson's picks?
12:31--My boy Brian Clay just threw the shot a career-best distance, putting himself solidly in first place with 2 events to go for the day. They then showed him on camera shirtless, he is not a small dude. He referred to his arms as "guns" while laughing about it, then said he is having a great time and just making memories while the rain just pelted him in the face. He said those things in the most sincere, I'm-having-a-blast way possible. The announcer said, with 7 events left, the gold medal was "his to lose".
Some basic handball rules--There is a restricted area roughly the size of the 3- point line in basketball in front of the goal that defenders can never enter, and offensive players can only enter once they are in the air, jumping and throwing the ball toward the goal. The court is essentially the size of a basketball court. It's 6 on 6 with a goalie.
2 30-minutes halves. No extra-time bullcrap in this sport.
A player can only hold the ball for 3 seconds at a time before doing anything. You can take 3 steps before or after dribbling. Contact is generally let go if the defender has good body position...think the block/charge call in basketball.
The ball is between a volleyball and softball in size and is not soft.
Transition offense and defense is key, just like in basketball.
I don't know how good a job I did describing the game, but it's very fun to play, having done it for a period of time during a PE course at GVSU (yes, Helly, I did get college credit for that class).
12:25--this new freecreditreport.com song/commercial is the worst thing on television EVER.
12:28--Swin Cash did the color commentary for the China/Aussie women's game. She did a reasonably good job of murdering the English language throughout the telecast. At one point she said that Aussie stud center Lauren Jackson had a "chronicle" ankle problem. Apparently her ankle doesn't enjoy reading Mike Mattson's picks?
12:31--My boy Brian Clay just threw the shot a career-best distance, putting himself solidly in first place with 2 events to go for the day. They then showed him on camera shirtless, he is not a small dude. He referred to his arms as "guns" while laughing about it, then said he is having a great time and just making memories while the rain just pelted him in the face. He said those things in the most sincere, I'm-having-a-blast way possible. The announcer said, with 7 events left, the gold medal was "his to lose".
RAFFLE Travershamockery, R1, V 1.1
Not going to go through the whole draft in detail...but sources close to me indicate that the Nate Dogg is not going to pull the Tom Brady Trigger in round 1 and will instead select Joseph Addai...which means that Timmy will potentially need to make the Tom Brady Decision at the 5th spot if Al chooses to go with the Westbrook Inn.
Also, it appears as though the first two selections are iron-clad locks in LDT and Peterson going 1 and 2, respectively.
This decision by Nate could also mean that the Beavers (this guy) may be willing to trade down from the 6th spot if Tom Terrific is available at that spot for anyone who has a Brady B0ner.
Lastly, I will re-do round 2 and post a round 4 by the end of the day.
here's the updated Round 1
Trevor--LDT
Justin-Peterson
Al-ley-Westbrook
Nate-Addai
Tim-Brady
BB-Barbarian
Andy-S Jax
Helly-Manning
Skot-Gore
Josh-Larry Johnson
BP-Portis
D Smith-Romo
Also, it appears as though the first two selections are iron-clad locks in LDT and Peterson going 1 and 2, respectively.
This decision by Nate could also mean that the Beavers (this guy) may be willing to trade down from the 6th spot if Tom Terrific is available at that spot for anyone who has a Brady B0ner.
Lastly, I will re-do round 2 and post a round 4 by the end of the day.
here's the updated Round 1
Trevor--LDT
Justin-Peterson
Al-ley-Westbrook
Nate-Addai
Tim-Brady
BB-Barbarian
Andy-S Jax
Helly-Manning
Skot-Gore
Josh-Larry Johnson
BP-Portis
D Smith-Romo
Olympics, part III
11:00--Water polo final--Match is tied at 8-8 5 minutes left in the match. One Dutch chick has 6 goals already! The Netherlands didn't even qualify for the Olympics 4 years ago. According to Wolf Wigo, the color commentator, this would be the "biggest upset of these Games." That doesn't sound like a good thing.
And yes, Wolf Wigo is apparently this dude's real name. He is one of thebest men's water polo players in American history, and here's the best thing I've read on the internet in quite some time, according to Wikipedia...."In December 1998, Wigo was in his father's backyard pool trying to win a bet with his 12-year-old twin brothers that he couldn't swim 20 laps underwater. He blacked out from lack of oxygen -- because he hyperventilated too much before he got into the water. His father dived in, pulled him out and performed CPR, saving his life.
11:02--Australia-China women's basketball semifinal game is on live (LIVE! I know, right?) on USA, with the Aussies leading by double-figures at halftime. The Aussie women wear one-piece spandex uniforms. No, I'm not making this up. They call them "sportsuits" and have been wearing them since 1994. Here's a link...http://espn.go.com/page2/s/worstuniform/round4/padres_australia.html
What I don't understand is why ESPN would consider these to be a "bad" uniform...?
11:04--On USA Network is the women's soccer final between USA and Brazil. We are leading 1-0....according to the scoreboard, we are in "ET1" period. I assume that means "extra time"? Man I hate soccer.
11:08--8-8 in the pool. There is a 30 second shot clock in water polo, which is another reason why it's better than soccer. Crap! Danielle De Bruyn just scored her 7th goal of the match, giving the Dutch a 9-8 lead with 26 seconds left. They just showed it on the underwater camera again--man I love that angle.
11:11--Coming out of a time-out, the Americans pull the goalie...pass it around...get 2 point-blank shots at the buzzer...and LOSE!!! 9-8 Dutch, the coaches jump into the pool and hug the players. Also not a bad reason to have the underwater camera.
11:15--In the women's basketball game, Australia is pounding the Chinese, duck soup style--hot and salty. 43-25 midway thru the third quarter. Back to the decathlon in a downpour...2nd event is the long jump. Brian Clay is possibly my new favorite track dude--smiling walking through the rain, enjoying his Olympics. Also, when you lead the Decathlon, you get to wear a special number bib that simply says "Leader" on it. I think we may need to take that into the RAFFLE draft and pass around a bib for the next person up to draft.
11:20--Clay hits the long jump in 25, 6 1'4 to keep the lead after 2 events. This makes me want to do an ORAL Olympics again in a bad way.....Jim Lampley announces, "Next up, the equestrian final." I sprain my right shoulder diving across my desk for the remote.
11:23--Australia is now doing the Chinese Kung Pow Chicken style--spicy and raw. 55-35 late third quarter. I'm going to try to get some real actual work done, will return at noon when the women's indoor volleyball semifinal between USA and Cuba is on.
And yes, Wolf Wigo is apparently this dude's real name. He is one of thebest men's water polo players in American history, and here's the best thing I've read on the internet in quite some time, according to Wikipedia...."In December 1998, Wigo was in his father's backyard pool trying to win a bet with his 12-year-old twin brothers that he couldn't swim 20 laps underwater. He blacked out from lack of oxygen -- because he hyperventilated too much before he got into the water. His father dived in, pulled him out and performed CPR, saving his life.
11:02--Australia-China women's basketball semifinal game is on live (LIVE! I know, right?) on USA, with the Aussies leading by double-figures at halftime. The Aussie women wear one-piece spandex uniforms. No, I'm not making this up. They call them "sportsuits" and have been wearing them since 1994. Here's a link...http://espn.go.com/page2/s/worstuniform/round4/padres_australia.html
What I don't understand is why ESPN would consider these to be a "bad" uniform...?
11:04--On USA Network is the women's soccer final between USA and Brazil. We are leading 1-0....according to the scoreboard, we are in "ET1" period. I assume that means "extra time"? Man I hate soccer.
11:08--8-8 in the pool. There is a 30 second shot clock in water polo, which is another reason why it's better than soccer. Crap! Danielle De Bruyn just scored her 7th goal of the match, giving the Dutch a 9-8 lead with 26 seconds left. They just showed it on the underwater camera again--man I love that angle.
11:11--Coming out of a time-out, the Americans pull the goalie...pass it around...get 2 point-blank shots at the buzzer...and LOSE!!! 9-8 Dutch, the coaches jump into the pool and hug the players. Also not a bad reason to have the underwater camera.
11:15--In the women's basketball game, Australia is pounding the Chinese, duck soup style--hot and salty. 43-25 midway thru the third quarter. Back to the decathlon in a downpour...2nd event is the long jump. Brian Clay is possibly my new favorite track dude--smiling walking through the rain, enjoying his Olympics. Also, when you lead the Decathlon, you get to wear a special number bib that simply says "Leader" on it. I think we may need to take that into the RAFFLE draft and pass around a bib for the next person up to draft.
11:20--Clay hits the long jump in 25, 6 1'4 to keep the lead after 2 events. This makes me want to do an ORAL Olympics again in a bad way.....Jim Lampley announces, "Next up, the equestrian final." I sprain my right shoulder diving across my desk for the remote.
11:23--Australia is now doing the Chinese Kung Pow Chicken style--spicy and raw. 55-35 late third quarter. I'm going to try to get some real actual work done, will return at noon when the women's indoor volleyball semifinal between USA and Cuba is on.
RAFFLE Travershamockery, R 3, V1
Alrighty, so everyone hates the Olympics. Sorry for talking.
Instead, I'll please the masses, be a sell-out, and do a mock 3rd round draft for a fantasy football league. Never thought I'd ever type that sentence in my life...
25-Trevor. Begins the 3rd round by pulling the trigger on DREW BREES
26-Justin. Wyant continues the Saints Train by taking MARQUES COLSTON.
27-Al-chemy. The Al continues the WR run by taking LARRY FITZGERALD
28-Nate Dogg. Everyone else is doing it...so Nate goes TORRY HOLT
29-TIMMY. I think he attempts to stick it to me by drafting FAT-@SS BRANDON JACOBS
30-BB. Peer pressure is a monster, so I, too, will grab a WR and go with SANTONIO HOLMES
31-Andy. After going RB-RB, he too jumps aboard the WR bandwagon and goes with ANDRE JOHNSON.
32-Helly. Jason, having went through half a box of Kleenex cleaning up his Manning-Wayne aftershocks, needs a RB and is just lucky enough to have RONNIE BROWN fall to him in the 3rd round.
33-Skot. I believe Skot is just enough of a man to take a Bengals WR, but both have been injured throughout the preseason. Nevertheless, I got Skot taking CHAD JOHNSON here. However, he may be offered a trade, because.....
34-Josh. Here's where potentially the most memorable moment of the 2008 RAFFLE Draft Extravaganza happens. Directly behind Josh is BP. You know, I know, we all know that they are both fully capable of taking a Detroit Lion ANYTIME. They may even attempt to call dibs on first Lion taken. There hasn't been a Lion taken at this point in the draft. MEGATRON is looming over everyone's head. I mean, this is the dude who has been called "LeBron in shoulder pads" this preseason!
I see this ending in a BIG ugly way as Josh rises from his chair, avoids an arm tackle from BP, stumbles to the white paper and writes...CALVIN JOHNSON!!
35-BPRUWITME. This throws BP into an immediate tailspin. In fact, I think he throws away his "Best NFC North Player Available" theory for the rest of the draft and begins to do semi-logical things, or at least as logical as he can be sitting next to D Smith, and takes WES WELKER.
36-D Smith. Dave, much like Helly, is RB-less right now...but with the giant run on WR in front of him, he too is lucky enough to have a very good one fall into his lap in the form of LAWRENCE MARONEY.
Instead, I'll please the masses, be a sell-out, and do a mock 3rd round draft for a fantasy football league. Never thought I'd ever type that sentence in my life...
25-Trevor. Begins the 3rd round by pulling the trigger on DREW BREES
26-Justin. Wyant continues the Saints Train by taking MARQUES COLSTON.
27-Al-chemy. The Al continues the WR run by taking LARRY FITZGERALD
28-Nate Dogg. Everyone else is doing it...so Nate goes TORRY HOLT
29-TIMMY. I think he attempts to stick it to me by drafting FAT-@SS BRANDON JACOBS
30-BB. Peer pressure is a monster, so I, too, will grab a WR and go with SANTONIO HOLMES
31-Andy. After going RB-RB, he too jumps aboard the WR bandwagon and goes with ANDRE JOHNSON.
32-Helly. Jason, having went through half a box of Kleenex cleaning up his Manning-Wayne aftershocks, needs a RB and is just lucky enough to have RONNIE BROWN fall to him in the 3rd round.
33-Skot. I believe Skot is just enough of a man to take a Bengals WR, but both have been injured throughout the preseason. Nevertheless, I got Skot taking CHAD JOHNSON here. However, he may be offered a trade, because.....
34-Josh. Here's where potentially the most memorable moment of the 2008 RAFFLE Draft Extravaganza happens. Directly behind Josh is BP. You know, I know, we all know that they are both fully capable of taking a Detroit Lion ANYTIME. They may even attempt to call dibs on first Lion taken. There hasn't been a Lion taken at this point in the draft. MEGATRON is looming over everyone's head. I mean, this is the dude who has been called "LeBron in shoulder pads" this preseason!
I see this ending in a BIG ugly way as Josh rises from his chair, avoids an arm tackle from BP, stumbles to the white paper and writes...CALVIN JOHNSON!!
35-BPRUWITME. This throws BP into an immediate tailspin. In fact, I think he throws away his "Best NFC North Player Available" theory for the rest of the draft and begins to do semi-logical things, or at least as logical as he can be sitting next to D Smith, and takes WES WELKER.
36-D Smith. Dave, much like Helly, is RB-less right now...but with the giant run on WR in front of him, he too is lucky enough to have a very good one fall into his lap in the form of LAWRENCE MARONEY.
Live Blog, Hour 2
10:24--2 straight US goald cut the lead to 4-2 to end the first period. There are so many good parts of water polo to like, but usually the one that everyone talks about is the underwater camera. I maybe could watch just that camera during an entire period of play. They just showed it for about 2 minutes straight, and it's nothing but people kicking the crap out of each other.
10:20--Theo Ratliff re-signed with Philly today. That means that the Pistons' post players are Rasheed, McDyess, Cram Max, Amir and Kwame Brown. Ain't exactly Laimbeer, Mahorn, Rodman, Salley and Edwards, is it? Yikes. But Jamaal Magloire is still out there. Double yikes.
10:17--Now trail 4-0. To borrow Skot's favorite baseball phrase..."we look a little RATTTT-led".
10:12--SWEET! Gold medal women's water polo match between USA and the Netherlands. It isn't live, but is sure is a whole lot better than equestrian. We are ranked #1 in the world and just went down 1-0 to the Swimming Dutch, who are ranked just 9th in the world, early in the first quarter. We also defeated the Dutch "quite easily" in 2 Olympic tune-ups, and now we are down 2-0 just 2 minutes into the match. We apparently have been the "dominant" team in the world over the past 6 years, but didn't win the gold in 2004 and we look "shaky in the pool" early on.
10:08--Clay runs the 100 in 10.44. His post-race quote "You just roll with the punches and do the best you can". This dude is locked in and not using the precip as any kind of an excuse. American Trey Hardee posted the 2nd best sprint time after the 100. I'm very much into this. These guys are doing 5 events in an absolute downpour and in the decathlon, you don't necessarily "race" against other people, but rather your scores in every event is awarded a point total based on a pre-determined scoring system.
They are now interviewing a "woman" named Chrystl Butros from the softball team. She is much bigger than me and much more of a man than Helly. Wow is she scary. Unsure why they aren't showing this game....other than it's likely the biggest upset in any Olympic event in the history of ever.
10:05--Onto the decathlon! Apparently we have a good dude named Bryan Clay from Hawaii who won the silver in 2004. Day 1--100, long jump, shot put, high jump, and 400 dash. EVERY event in one day. It's pouring down rain, freezing, and they are getting it done. You think Michael Phelps is ever swimming in the rain? Nope. Your golden boy doesn't do precipitation. All he does is eat, sleep and swim. He doesn't even have time to watch the weather channel, open an umbrella, or use tweezers on those giant hedge-sized eyebrows of his.
10:00 Garbage. Pure garbage.
Apparently showing women in spandex wasn't good enough, as today on NBC they are showing Equestrian and Rhythmic Gymnastics. Just in case any hetero male is watching, they will also have some of the first day of the decathalon and some water polo.
10:20--Theo Ratliff re-signed with Philly today. That means that the Pistons' post players are Rasheed, McDyess, Cram Max, Amir and Kwame Brown. Ain't exactly Laimbeer, Mahorn, Rodman, Salley and Edwards, is it? Yikes. But Jamaal Magloire is still out there. Double yikes.
10:17--Now trail 4-0. To borrow Skot's favorite baseball phrase..."we look a little RATTTT-led".
10:12--SWEET! Gold medal women's water polo match between USA and the Netherlands. It isn't live, but is sure is a whole lot better than equestrian. We are ranked #1 in the world and just went down 1-0 to the Swimming Dutch, who are ranked just 9th in the world, early in the first quarter. We also defeated the Dutch "quite easily" in 2 Olympic tune-ups, and now we are down 2-0 just 2 minutes into the match. We apparently have been the "dominant" team in the world over the past 6 years, but didn't win the gold in 2004 and we look "shaky in the pool" early on.
10:08--Clay runs the 100 in 10.44. His post-race quote "You just roll with the punches and do the best you can". This dude is locked in and not using the precip as any kind of an excuse. American Trey Hardee posted the 2nd best sprint time after the 100. I'm very much into this. These guys are doing 5 events in an absolute downpour and in the decathlon, you don't necessarily "race" against other people, but rather your scores in every event is awarded a point total based on a pre-determined scoring system.
They are now interviewing a "woman" named Chrystl Butros from the softball team. She is much bigger than me and much more of a man than Helly. Wow is she scary. Unsure why they aren't showing this game....other than it's likely the biggest upset in any Olympic event in the history of ever.
10:05--Onto the decathlon! Apparently we have a good dude named Bryan Clay from Hawaii who won the silver in 2004. Day 1--100, long jump, shot put, high jump, and 400 dash. EVERY event in one day. It's pouring down rain, freezing, and they are getting it done. You think Michael Phelps is ever swimming in the rain? Nope. Your golden boy doesn't do precipitation. All he does is eat, sleep and swim. He doesn't even have time to watch the weather channel, open an umbrella, or use tweezers on those giant hedge-sized eyebrows of his.
10:00 Garbage. Pure garbage.
Apparently showing women in spandex wasn't good enough, as today on NBC they are showing Equestrian and Rhythmic Gymnastics. Just in case any hetero male is watching, they will also have some of the first day of the decathalon and some water polo.
Olympics Live Blog
Alrighty, checking in at 9:00 on THursday, we'll see how long this goes for this morning...
Beginning on the TV with the women's semifinal game; the USA women are playing against Russia, were down for most of the first half, but now on a 13-2 run to begin the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 11 with 9 minutes to go.
9:44--Some thoughts from what I saw yesterday on the Olympics--Usain Bolt is absolutely crazy. He ran a 19.30 200 yesterday.
Let me break that down for you, hold your hand so you understand how fast that is. During that race, you could take a full-size basketball court and ANOTHER 3-point line and put them together, and he ran that distance at roughly 3.75 seconds. Re-donkulous.
I loved watching the indoor volleyball yesterday. The men's team's setter is named Loy Ball (appropriate, right?) He is on his 5th Olympic team and has had microfracture surgery on both knees, multiple tats and a full beard. I like all of those things about him. They downed a pesky Serbian team yesterday in a grueling 5-set match. I do declare, if you get a chance, watch the indoor game at some point during the next few days.
However, the color commentator for the indoor volleyball is a complete no-talent. They were talking about how disappointing (head shaking) the men's team has been during the past 2 Olympics, and he termed it a "Hurricane Katrina-level disaster". Maybe not the best choice of words....
The best Olympic commercial is the one where they have the 1980's pre-game National Anthem from a Laker game being sung while the men's basketball team is practicing. Straight cash. Close second is any commercial involving AT&T..."Instead, we're going to spend the weekend with the techno twins!!"
9:43--Post-game interview with Taurasi. Her quote about getting chippy with some of the Russian team--"If you're not wearing the USA uniform, I don't care". I like that about her.
9:37--Americans win 67-52. My girl Hammon struggled mightily from the field for the CCCP, going 1-6 from the floor, and then the head coach hit her in the head with the pile of rubles she took to play with Russia.
9:33--Consecutive shots to the face, one from each squad, with USA leading 64-50 with 64-50 with 2:20 left. My girl Taurasi just hit a 25-footer and then pointed at someone afterward. USA and Russia are the only 2 countries who have won the gold medal in women's basketball.
9:28--Mother Russia just 1-10 from 3's, USA 10-28 mid 4-th quarter. If you have good guards in women's basketball, you have a good team. And if you have Sue Bird on your team, well, I'm searching for a textbook to put on my lap.
9:24--Last two mornings, NBC has shown USA indoor volleyball quarterfinals LIVE (FINALLY!! LIVE EVENTS!!). We won both matches in 5 sets, very exciting action. I believe indoor volleyball has reached 4th place on my favorite Olympics events list, just behind basketball, handball, and anything that isn't swimming or gymnastics.
9:22--women's team now up 12 with 6:45 to go and beginning to pull away. I really like watching Taurasi play, but I slowly feel as though she is the Manu of the women's game, she is always starting crap with the other team, chirping at refs, and makes huge shots when her teams needs them.
9:16-Talking about Becky Hammon. SHe is a South Dakotan, played at Colorado State, and is playing fo rthe Russian Olympic team this year...she gained citizenship while playing in Moscow this past summer, as many players do. She was the MVP of the WNBA a few years ago, but wasn't even on the 24-person Olympic Trials roster for the USA, so decided to apply for Russian citizenship. She is now the starting point guard for the Russian team.
I'm not sure how to feel about this one. She makes a ton of money in Russia and said she has always dreamed of playing in the Olympics, but felt slighted by not even being on the expanded roster. The Russian women's program is always one of the strongest in the world and so she knew she would be going to a top team with a chance at a gold medal. She had a rather impassioned interview on ESPN about 2 months ago about the whole situation and I felt as though she brought up a number of good points; plus, she isn't the only person that does this kind of thing at this point...don't forget everyone favorite Tri-Unity ADD caveman, Chris Kaman, somehow showed up on the German team this year.
Beginning on the TV with the women's semifinal game; the USA women are playing against Russia, were down for most of the first half, but now on a 13-2 run to begin the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 11 with 9 minutes to go.
9:44--Some thoughts from what I saw yesterday on the Olympics--Usain Bolt is absolutely crazy. He ran a 19.30 200 yesterday.
Let me break that down for you, hold your hand so you understand how fast that is. During that race, you could take a full-size basketball court and ANOTHER 3-point line and put them together, and he ran that distance at roughly 3.75 seconds. Re-donkulous.
I loved watching the indoor volleyball yesterday. The men's team's setter is named Loy Ball (appropriate, right?) He is on his 5th Olympic team and has had microfracture surgery on both knees, multiple tats and a full beard. I like all of those things about him. They downed a pesky Serbian team yesterday in a grueling 5-set match. I do declare, if you get a chance, watch the indoor game at some point during the next few days.
However, the color commentator for the indoor volleyball is a complete no-talent. They were talking about how disappointing (head shaking) the men's team has been during the past 2 Olympics, and he termed it a "Hurricane Katrina-level disaster". Maybe not the best choice of words....
The best Olympic commercial is the one where they have the 1980's pre-game National Anthem from a Laker game being sung while the men's basketball team is practicing. Straight cash. Close second is any commercial involving AT&T..."Instead, we're going to spend the weekend with the techno twins!!"
9:43--Post-game interview with Taurasi. Her quote about getting chippy with some of the Russian team--"If you're not wearing the USA uniform, I don't care". I like that about her.
9:37--Americans win 67-52. My girl Hammon struggled mightily from the field for the CCCP, going 1-6 from the floor, and then the head coach hit her in the head with the pile of rubles she took to play with Russia.
9:33--Consecutive shots to the face, one from each squad, with USA leading 64-50 with 64-50 with 2:20 left. My girl Taurasi just hit a 25-footer and then pointed at someone afterward. USA and Russia are the only 2 countries who have won the gold medal in women's basketball.
9:28--Mother Russia just 1-10 from 3's, USA 10-28 mid 4-th quarter. If you have good guards in women's basketball, you have a good team. And if you have Sue Bird on your team, well, I'm searching for a textbook to put on my lap.
9:24--Last two mornings, NBC has shown USA indoor volleyball quarterfinals LIVE (FINALLY!! LIVE EVENTS!!). We won both matches in 5 sets, very exciting action. I believe indoor volleyball has reached 4th place on my favorite Olympics events list, just behind basketball, handball, and anything that isn't swimming or gymnastics.
9:22--women's team now up 12 with 6:45 to go and beginning to pull away. I really like watching Taurasi play, but I slowly feel as though she is the Manu of the women's game, she is always starting crap with the other team, chirping at refs, and makes huge shots when her teams needs them.
9:16-Talking about Becky Hammon. SHe is a South Dakotan, played at Colorado State, and is playing fo rthe Russian Olympic team this year...she gained citizenship while playing in Moscow this past summer, as many players do. She was the MVP of the WNBA a few years ago, but wasn't even on the 24-person Olympic Trials roster for the USA, so decided to apply for Russian citizenship. She is now the starting point guard for the Russian team.
I'm not sure how to feel about this one. She makes a ton of money in Russia and said she has always dreamed of playing in the Olympics, but felt slighted by not even being on the expanded roster. The Russian women's program is always one of the strongest in the world and so she knew she would be going to a top team with a chance at a gold medal. She had a rather impassioned interview on ESPN about 2 months ago about the whole situation and I felt as though she brought up a number of good points; plus, she isn't the only person that does this kind of thing at this point...don't forget everyone favorite Tri-Unity ADD caveman, Chris Kaman, somehow showed up on the German team this year.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
RAFFLE Travershamockery, R2, V1
Alrighty, here comes round 2, right back at that *ss!
Keep in mind, at this point in the draft, everyone feels really good about their first round pick (except Helsen, who immediately regrets his decision) and most of the teams feel really good after about a sixer.
So, here goes!
13-D Smith He completes his man-crush on the Cowboys with TERRELL OWENS, which I believe will set up a big run on WR in the 2nd round.
14-BPRUWITME. I see the 9-fingered one renewing his "Best NFC North Player Available" subscription and taking RYAN GRANT
15-Josh. This guy gets on the WR train with Dave (not the first time they've rode anywhere together, if you know what I mean, dude) and takes RANDY MOSS
16-Skot. I got the Lord Calvert-sponsored squad taking MARSHAWN LYNCH with this pick.
17-Helly. The Commish moves aside the textbook covering up his swimsuit area, awkwardly approaches the giant white paperboard with the Sharpie, takes REGGIE WAYNE to go with Manning, and announces, "It's the pants, the pleat in the pants....Don't act like you're not impressed!"
18-Andy. Needing to ensure having a RB on the field for opening day, since S Jax is still holding out, he takes MO JONES-DREW
19-BB. I have zero clue where to go here. I've never not went RB-RB to begin any fantasy league. I've got McGahee, Thomas Jones, Fast Willie Parker and Jamal Lewis staring me in the face, but there are a lot of intriguing WR options at this spot. I think I'm going to do what "they" say to do: stick with the RB combo dinner and select JAMAL LEWIS.
20-Uncle Timmy. He has the opposite of a chub for Willis McGahee, so he's out. I think Tim's going back to one of his favorite 2007 players with this pick and taking BRAYLON EDWARDS.
21-Nate Dogg. Nate needs a RB after taking Brady in Round 1....he's going WILLIE PARKER
22-Al-lendale. This is an interesting pick for the Al, because he is also looking at a lot of WR's in this spot. But I think he, too, will go for the old-school handy and take WILLIS MCGAHEE
23-Justin. The less-attractive (but--little known-fact...higher IQ) Wyant may pull the trigger on the 5th WR in the round here....but I think he takes THOMAS JONES
24-Trevor. Torres, already deep into a bottle of blue Maui, sees an "article" about Kim Kardashian on Flemmy's desk, pitches a tent, and takes her man REGGIE BUSH to end the second round.
Keep in mind, at this point in the draft, everyone feels really good about their first round pick (except Helsen, who immediately regrets his decision) and most of the teams feel really good after about a sixer.
So, here goes!
13-D Smith He completes his man-crush on the Cowboys with TERRELL OWENS, which I believe will set up a big run on WR in the 2nd round.
14-BPRUWITME. I see the 9-fingered one renewing his "Best NFC North Player Available" subscription and taking RYAN GRANT
15-Josh. This guy gets on the WR train with Dave (not the first time they've rode anywhere together, if you know what I mean, dude) and takes RANDY MOSS
16-Skot. I got the Lord Calvert-sponsored squad taking MARSHAWN LYNCH with this pick.
17-Helly. The Commish moves aside the textbook covering up his swimsuit area, awkwardly approaches the giant white paperboard with the Sharpie, takes REGGIE WAYNE to go with Manning, and announces, "It's the pants, the pleat in the pants....Don't act like you're not impressed!"
18-Andy. Needing to ensure having a RB on the field for opening day, since S Jax is still holding out, he takes MO JONES-DREW
19-BB. I have zero clue where to go here. I've never not went RB-RB to begin any fantasy league. I've got McGahee, Thomas Jones, Fast Willie Parker and Jamal Lewis staring me in the face, but there are a lot of intriguing WR options at this spot. I think I'm going to do what "they" say to do: stick with the RB combo dinner and select JAMAL LEWIS.
20-Uncle Timmy. He has the opposite of a chub for Willis McGahee, so he's out. I think Tim's going back to one of his favorite 2007 players with this pick and taking BRAYLON EDWARDS.
21-Nate Dogg. Nate needs a RB after taking Brady in Round 1....he's going WILLIE PARKER
22-Al-lendale. This is an interesting pick for the Al, because he is also looking at a lot of WR's in this spot. But I think he, too, will go for the old-school handy and take WILLIS MCGAHEE
23-Justin. The less-attractive (but--little known-fact...higher IQ) Wyant may pull the trigger on the 5th WR in the round here....but I think he takes THOMAS JONES
24-Trevor. Torres, already deep into a bottle of blue Maui, sees an "article" about Kim Kardashian on Flemmy's desk, pitches a tent, and takes her man REGGIE BUSH to end the second round.
Monday, August 18, 2008
RAFFLE 2008 Travershamockery V. 1
Alrighty, let the overly insane amount of ridiculous things being said about the RAFFLE begin!!
Here's my first mock draft, following the draft order getting set last weekend. The selections below are based largely on speculation, happenstance, rumor and innuendo, or the same set of facts that practically every gel-hair uses on the Fox Sports fantasy football show.
1-Trevor. Last year's playoff shocker, the boys return to find themselves with the top spot of the draft. Here's hoping Torres can find his way to the draft on time to make his selection...which I believe will be LADANIAN TOMLINSON.
2-Justin. The Snitches overcame a Shawn Alexander first-round selection last year by going Moss-Peterson with their next 2 picks. I think that Justin still has a chub for ADRIAN PETERSON and will take him with the 2nd overall pick.
3.-Al-abama. Last year's dominant team rolled to the RAFFLE '07 crown, then selected this slot to begin the drafting selection. His reasoning is so he does not have to make the "Tom Brady Decision", but if the above two picks go down that way, then Dreamy Tom is sitting on the table.
However, Al has made no secret for his full-on pocket rocket for BRIAN WESTBROOK, who I believe Al will be selecting with this pick....
4.-Nate....leaving TOM BRADY staring Natron in the face.
5.-Timmy. Allendale's newest student-bodyslammer has some morning wood for Brady, and there is no way Brady gets past this pick. However, with Brady away, Tim should look toward JOSEPH ADDAI with this selection.
6.-BB. Leaving me with MARIAN BARBER. I kind of want to take him simply so I can say "Marian the Barbarian" roughly 4,109 times before I trade him prior to Week 5.
7.-Andy. I believe this is where the draft gets really interesting. There are a number of RB's available with minor questions along with multiple QB options. I have the Hammer taking STEVEN JACKSON with this pick.
8.-Helly. Jason has made it absolutely clear since his Seagulls went in the toilet last year that he has a awkward 7th-grade, I-cant-control-what's-happening, put-your-textbook-over-it Ron LeFlore for a first-round QB. In this scenario, he can select PEYTON MANNING, start chanting "Cut That Meat!", then remember no team which selected a QB in the first round of the RAFFLE has ever made the playoffs.
9.-Skot. I see this guy polishing off 2 cheesewurst after winning the pre-draft golf scramble, then taking FRANK GORE, followed by drinking the strongest mixed drink in Muskegon County. And that's exactly what I like about this guy!
10.-Josh. He pulled the Peyton Manning trigger in the first round last year, and was rewarded with the worst record in the league. Josh is a lot smarter than me and should learn from that mistake. I've got him trying to take a chance on LARRY JOHNSON, who missed half the season last year but still put up some good numbers.
11.-BPRUWITME. The league's newest fiancee has usually selected based on the "Best NFC North Player Available" factor. Using that theory, well quite frankly I have zero idea who he would draft right here. We'll say he goes outside the division and takes CLINTON PORTIS, especially with Ladell Betts at less than 100% and a new coach in place in Washington.
12.-Dave. Moorland's favorite son finished fourth in the league last year, but chose to pick at the rear-end of the draft, which seems exactly right for him. I see him beginning what should be a very interesting second round by going with a TONY ROMO-TERRELL OWENS poo poo platter to end the first round and begin the second.
Here's my first mock draft, following the draft order getting set last weekend. The selections below are based largely on speculation, happenstance, rumor and innuendo, or the same set of facts that practically every gel-hair uses on the Fox Sports fantasy football show.
1-Trevor. Last year's playoff shocker, the boys return to find themselves with the top spot of the draft. Here's hoping Torres can find his way to the draft on time to make his selection...which I believe will be LADANIAN TOMLINSON.
2-Justin. The Snitches overcame a Shawn Alexander first-round selection last year by going Moss-Peterson with their next 2 picks. I think that Justin still has a chub for ADRIAN PETERSON and will take him with the 2nd overall pick.
3.-Al-abama. Last year's dominant team rolled to the RAFFLE '07 crown, then selected this slot to begin the drafting selection. His reasoning is so he does not have to make the "Tom Brady Decision", but if the above two picks go down that way, then Dreamy Tom is sitting on the table.
However, Al has made no secret for his full-on pocket rocket for BRIAN WESTBROOK, who I believe Al will be selecting with this pick....
4.-Nate....leaving TOM BRADY staring Natron in the face.
5.-Timmy. Allendale's newest student-bodyslammer has some morning wood for Brady, and there is no way Brady gets past this pick. However, with Brady away, Tim should look toward JOSEPH ADDAI with this selection.
6.-BB. Leaving me with MARIAN BARBER. I kind of want to take him simply so I can say "Marian the Barbarian" roughly 4,109 times before I trade him prior to Week 5.
7.-Andy. I believe this is where the draft gets really interesting. There are a number of RB's available with minor questions along with multiple QB options. I have the Hammer taking STEVEN JACKSON with this pick.
8.-Helly. Jason has made it absolutely clear since his Seagulls went in the toilet last year that he has a awkward 7th-grade, I-cant-control-what's-happening, put-your-textbook-over-it Ron LeFlore for a first-round QB. In this scenario, he can select PEYTON MANNING, start chanting "Cut That Meat!", then remember no team which selected a QB in the first round of the RAFFLE has ever made the playoffs.
9.-Skot. I see this guy polishing off 2 cheesewurst after winning the pre-draft golf scramble, then taking FRANK GORE, followed by drinking the strongest mixed drink in Muskegon County. And that's exactly what I like about this guy!
10.-Josh. He pulled the Peyton Manning trigger in the first round last year, and was rewarded with the worst record in the league. Josh is a lot smarter than me and should learn from that mistake. I've got him trying to take a chance on LARRY JOHNSON, who missed half the season last year but still put up some good numbers.
11.-BPRUWITME. The league's newest fiancee has usually selected based on the "Best NFC North Player Available" factor. Using that theory, well quite frankly I have zero idea who he would draft right here. We'll say he goes outside the division and takes CLINTON PORTIS, especially with Ladell Betts at less than 100% and a new coach in place in Washington.
12.-Dave. Moorland's favorite son finished fourth in the league last year, but chose to pick at the rear-end of the draft, which seems exactly right for him. I see him beginning what should be a very interesting second round by going with a TONY ROMO-TERRELL OWENS poo poo platter to end the first round and begin the second.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Olympic Hoopies and crazy-eyed quasi-Dave
I love Olympic basketball. Love it. Cannot get enough of it. Women's or Men's. Need it, want it, can't get enough of it. I have definitely built my mornings this week around watching both teams play in the morning.
The international game is fun to watch--offensive goaltending is allowed, the 3-point line is obscenely short (but is getting moved back after these Olympic games, which isn't necessarily a bad thing), every player on the good teams can shoot, pass, and dribble, the reffing is unquestionably erratic, but everyone just accepts it and doesn't complain (that much), and it genuinely looks like the men's team actually cares this year, in stark contrast to 2004.
Now, having expressed my deepest affections for this game....NBC just needs to stop worshipping at the Michael Phelps altar.
I mean it. Stop. It. Right. Now.
I honestly remember watching a ton of the Summer Olympics in 2004 and 2000. I just don't remember there being this many swimming events. I went to bed last night and swimming was on. I got to the computer today, AND SWIMMING WAS STILL GOING ON!!! How many different lengths for EVERY SINGLE swimming style are there? The last time I checked, there wasn't a 150 or 500-meter dash, or a 600-meter relay on the track.
I get that Phelps set an unbelievable record, he's all rocked up, etc. I get it. But this isn't a soap opera that you can control the plot and characters on. There are SO many different events going on with great stories that simply are getting pawned off to the other channels or simple highlights. And what happens when this neverending slate of swimming events stops? Then who does Bob Costas turns to for his man crushing on primetime television?
I assume one reason NBC is focusing so much on ALL the swimming is because of the amount of drug-fuelded stories there have been on the track side, and those events don't start until this weekend. Nevertheless, this just needs to stop with all the swimming. And don't even get me started on synchronized diving. Are we really supposed to get excited to watch 2 people dive at the same time and understand that if one guy has his toes pointed, and the other one doesn't, then you get points taken off for it? How about we watch boxing--if one guy gets hit in the face, the other dude gets a point. I like that. Simple.
I also hope both the men's and women's hoopie team start getting their games shown on NBC, and why in the name of Larry Herndon doesn't NBC take about a 5-minute segment of every men's game and show them on primetime? There have been some redonkulous dunks by Bron-Bron and Kobe. I don't want to hear about broadcasting restrictions. That's a bunch of garbage. The Olympics already schedules certain events based on American Primetime television coverage. Something can be changed if it needs to be changed.
Here are the sports that need more coverage
Indoor volleyball--Let's be honest, who isn't watching women's indoor volleyball if that's on? And the men's game is insane--they look like they all have 48" verticals and they cram and slam the ball.
Boxing--See above.
Water polo--It's 12 people in the pool at the same time kicking the crap out of each other. I'll take it.
Shooting--You can't tell me the NRA wouldn't sponsor this?
Men's Basketball--EVERY GAME needs to be on. EVERY GAME. I said it.
The international game is fun to watch--offensive goaltending is allowed, the 3-point line is obscenely short (but is getting moved back after these Olympic games, which isn't necessarily a bad thing), every player on the good teams can shoot, pass, and dribble, the reffing is unquestionably erratic, but everyone just accepts it and doesn't complain (that much), and it genuinely looks like the men's team actually cares this year, in stark contrast to 2004.
Now, having expressed my deepest affections for this game....NBC just needs to stop worshipping at the Michael Phelps altar.
I mean it. Stop. It. Right. Now.
I honestly remember watching a ton of the Summer Olympics in 2004 and 2000. I just don't remember there being this many swimming events. I went to bed last night and swimming was on. I got to the computer today, AND SWIMMING WAS STILL GOING ON!!! How many different lengths for EVERY SINGLE swimming style are there? The last time I checked, there wasn't a 150 or 500-meter dash, or a 600-meter relay on the track.
I get that Phelps set an unbelievable record, he's all rocked up, etc. I get it. But this isn't a soap opera that you can control the plot and characters on. There are SO many different events going on with great stories that simply are getting pawned off to the other channels or simple highlights. And what happens when this neverending slate of swimming events stops? Then who does Bob Costas turns to for his man crushing on primetime television?
I assume one reason NBC is focusing so much on ALL the swimming is because of the amount of drug-fuelded stories there have been on the track side, and those events don't start until this weekend. Nevertheless, this just needs to stop with all the swimming. And don't even get me started on synchronized diving. Are we really supposed to get excited to watch 2 people dive at the same time and understand that if one guy has his toes pointed, and the other one doesn't, then you get points taken off for it? How about we watch boxing--if one guy gets hit in the face, the other dude gets a point. I like that. Simple.
I also hope both the men's and women's hoopie team start getting their games shown on NBC, and why in the name of Larry Herndon doesn't NBC take about a 5-minute segment of every men's game and show them on primetime? There have been some redonkulous dunks by Bron-Bron and Kobe. I don't want to hear about broadcasting restrictions. That's a bunch of garbage. The Olympics already schedules certain events based on American Primetime television coverage. Something can be changed if it needs to be changed.
Here are the sports that need more coverage
Indoor volleyball--Let's be honest, who isn't watching women's indoor volleyball if that's on? And the men's game is insane--they look like they all have 48" verticals and they cram and slam the ball.
Boxing--See above.
Water polo--It's 12 people in the pool at the same time kicking the crap out of each other. I'll take it.
Shooting--You can't tell me the NRA wouldn't sponsor this?
Men's Basketball--EVERY GAME needs to be on. EVERY GAME. I said it.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
8-13 "Eh" List
I've done the hate and the love list. Today, I'm going to break new ground with the "eh" list. This is a list of things I can go either way on...as you can imagine, this list is a rarity for a blathering idiot like myself, but there are some things I need to speak about that I am unsure which way to go....
NBC Primetime Olympic Coverage. I openly admit to getting sucked in EVERY year by the Summer Olympics. They could show virtually anything and I'm watching it--wrestling, whitewater rafting down a manmade "river", fencing, cake decorating, whatever. But I'm tiring of the primetime sked at this point--taped synchronized diving (which I truly didn't know existed before 3 nites ago), followed by a Mary Carillo piece about something dealing with Chinese culture, then some gymnastics and swimming. I need some more Logan Tom, hoopies, and boxing on my primetime lineup. Speaking of swimming...
Michael Phelps. Yes, I get it--he's won the most golds EVER in the history of EVER. Did you know his schedule is crazy? Who knew? Guess what--ANYONE's schedule at his age is crazy. Bob Costas LOVES to say that all Phelps does is eat, sleep and swim. You could substitute virtually any verb in for "swim" in that trinity of action for any single employed 20something male. For example..."All Flemmy does is eat, sleep and play guitar hero" "All BB does is eat, sleep and talk" "All Ryno does is eat, sleep, and murder the English language" Plus, as Al brought up earlier in the week, he looks a LOT like our crazy-eyed roomie Dave from Country Place days.
Upcoming network TV season. With the amount of cable channels around, the constant pimping of new shows on network TV just seems to fall flat at this point in our world.
Gary Sheffield. The Tigers wed themselves to a LOT of questionably contracts and people over the past 2 seasons. He's one of them. It's not really surprising that Shef, who has played for, in order, the Brewers, Padres, Marlins, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees and Tigers, isn't happy being somewhere. He's 39, broken down, and on the books for one MORE year at over 14 million American dollars. The Tigers are as much to blame for this as Shef is.
Borat.
NFL preseason football.
Everyone Loves Raymond/King of Queens. Same show. Same plot. Same wife who they cast who is just good-looking enough who you know would not ever be with that guy in the real world. Same kooky friends and parents of the main character. It is an affront to society that these two shows are slowly shoving Seinfeld and Simpsons off the late afternoon television lineups in this great country of ours.
NBC Primetime Olympic Coverage. I openly admit to getting sucked in EVERY year by the Summer Olympics. They could show virtually anything and I'm watching it--wrestling, whitewater rafting down a manmade "river", fencing, cake decorating, whatever. But I'm tiring of the primetime sked at this point--taped synchronized diving (which I truly didn't know existed before 3 nites ago), followed by a Mary Carillo piece about something dealing with Chinese culture, then some gymnastics and swimming. I need some more Logan Tom, hoopies, and boxing on my primetime lineup. Speaking of swimming...
Michael Phelps. Yes, I get it--he's won the most golds EVER in the history of EVER. Did you know his schedule is crazy? Who knew? Guess what--ANYONE's schedule at his age is crazy. Bob Costas LOVES to say that all Phelps does is eat, sleep and swim. You could substitute virtually any verb in for "swim" in that trinity of action for any single employed 20something male. For example..."All Flemmy does is eat, sleep and play guitar hero" "All BB does is eat, sleep and talk" "All Ryno does is eat, sleep, and murder the English language" Plus, as Al brought up earlier in the week, he looks a LOT like our crazy-eyed roomie Dave from Country Place days.
Upcoming network TV season. With the amount of cable channels around, the constant pimping of new shows on network TV just seems to fall flat at this point in our world.
Gary Sheffield. The Tigers wed themselves to a LOT of questionably contracts and people over the past 2 seasons. He's one of them. It's not really surprising that Shef, who has played for, in order, the Brewers, Padres, Marlins, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees and Tigers, isn't happy being somewhere. He's 39, broken down, and on the books for one MORE year at over 14 million American dollars. The Tigers are as much to blame for this as Shef is.
Borat.
NFL preseason football.
Everyone Loves Raymond/King of Queens. Same show. Same plot. Same wife who they cast who is just good-looking enough who you know would not ever be with that guy in the real world. Same kooky friends and parents of the main character. It is an affront to society that these two shows are slowly shoving Seinfeld and Simpsons off the late afternoon television lineups in this great country of ours.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
8-6 Love List
10-2009 NCAA College Football. Although a tad bit easy recruiting-wise, it is still fun to build up crappy programs.
9-Michael Curry calling Rodney Stuckey the Pistons "6th starter" yesterday. Although Helly pointed out that, if he did begin games with 6 starters it would likely result in an automatic technical foul, I do enjoy hearing Stuckey's name being mentioned as a starter....fingers crossed a move is made at some point this season.
8-Glasses of wine in the summer
7-The RAFFLE
6-Cubs fans. Simply because this has happened nearly every year this decade about this time, where they suddenly burst forward from everywhere proclaiming their love of the Cubs as well as how they will win the World Series. Well, even in an incredibly watered-down National League, they may have the best roster, but they are relying on Kerry Wood, Rich Harden, Derrick Lee, and Alfonso Soriano to carry them...all of whom have, in the past 3 years, suffered a myriad of injuries keeping them frequently inactive.
5-Calls from Al between 3:18 and 4:41 in the afternoon with his HUGE update.
4-Chocolate milk
3-Wedding Crashers
2-Fountain Coke
1-Fantasy Football, GD I love it
9-Michael Curry calling Rodney Stuckey the Pistons "6th starter" yesterday. Although Helly pointed out that, if he did begin games with 6 starters it would likely result in an automatic technical foul, I do enjoy hearing Stuckey's name being mentioned as a starter....fingers crossed a move is made at some point this season.
8-Glasses of wine in the summer
7-The RAFFLE
6-Cubs fans. Simply because this has happened nearly every year this decade about this time, where they suddenly burst forward from everywhere proclaiming their love of the Cubs as well as how they will win the World Series. Well, even in an incredibly watered-down National League, they may have the best roster, but they are relying on Kerry Wood, Rich Harden, Derrick Lee, and Alfonso Soriano to carry them...all of whom have, in the past 3 years, suffered a myriad of injuries keeping them frequently inactive.
5-Calls from Al between 3:18 and 4:41 in the afternoon with his HUGE update.
4-Chocolate milk
3-Wedding Crashers
2-Fountain Coke
1-Fantasy Football, GD I love it
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
7-30 Love List
10--Summer
9--Step-Brother. Movie is flat-out funny and profanity-laced and is a must-see
8--Golf
7--Original Nintendo
6--Mandatory SHS computer training
5--Lindsay Hunter
4--Having a bed
3--My new friend...
2--Fountain coke
1--Doing a mock RAFFLE draft with Al for over an hour on the phone yesterday WITHOUT knowing who was in the league, the league order, or where either one of us were drafting at. Winners prepare to win....
9--Step-Brother. Movie is flat-out funny and profanity-laced and is a must-see
8--Golf
7--Original Nintendo
6--Mandatory SHS computer training
5--Lindsay Hunter
4--Having a bed
3--My new friend...
2--Fountain coke
1--Doing a mock RAFFLE draft with Al for over an hour on the phone yesterday WITHOUT knowing who was in the league, the league order, or where either one of us were drafting at. Winners prepare to win....
2 months, 3 states, and a job later....
I can't apologize enough for not having posted in 2 months, but without regular computer access (or a place to live for roughly 7 of those weeks, either) it was tough to do. Long story short--new job at Sturgis High School--HS English, Varsity Girl's Basketball, (possibly) JV girl's tennis, lots of interesting things in the last 2 months of my life have happened....rather than go back thru them, we will go forward..."Life should be looked at through the windshield, rather than the rear-view mirror"
Will attempt to begin semi-regular posting about life, and specifically the impending RAFFLE DRAFT (2008 team name--Prestige Unlimited) as well as posting about my hoop program (TROJAN PRIDE!!!)
Will attempt to begin semi-regular posting about life, and specifically the impending RAFFLE DRAFT (2008 team name--Prestige Unlimited) as well as posting about my hoop program (TROJAN PRIDE!!!)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
5-28 Love List
#10--PTI
#9--Kevin Smith movies not named "Jersey Girl"
#8--Seinfeld episodes
#7--Sam Cassell. Odd, but he deserves to be on this list, since he is usually the Pistons' best player when he is on the floor. As stated previously, Eddie House only looked good in the last series because the Cavs bench was THAT BAD.
#6--Cram Max. I love this guy. So angry, and so fun to watch
#5--Getting 18 holes in on a 74 degree May afternoon
#4--Mr. Herbert, the old guy on "Family Guy". Hey there muscly-arm, you wanna come down to the basement? I got a bunch of popsicles down there. MMMMMMMMMMMM.
#3--Stuckey. He needs to play at least 20 minutes a game here on out. Anything less is inexcusable
#2--Mall Chinese food.
#1--Billups gutting it out for the good of the franchise. Here's hoping the Pistons can do some voodoo magic on his hammy and squeeze aboot 16 points and 10 assists out of it for a win tonite. I'm still sticking to my original prediction--Pistons in 6.
#9--Kevin Smith movies not named "Jersey Girl"
#8--Seinfeld episodes
#7--Sam Cassell. Odd, but he deserves to be on this list, since he is usually the Pistons' best player when he is on the floor. As stated previously, Eddie House only looked good in the last series because the Cavs bench was THAT BAD.
#6--Cram Max. I love this guy. So angry, and so fun to watch
#5--Getting 18 holes in on a 74 degree May afternoon
#4--Mr. Herbert, the old guy on "Family Guy". Hey there muscly-arm, you wanna come down to the basement? I got a bunch of popsicles down there. MMMMMMMMMMMM.
#3--Stuckey. He needs to play at least 20 minutes a game here on out. Anything less is inexcusable
#2--Mall Chinese food.
#1--Billups gutting it out for the good of the franchise. Here's hoping the Pistons can do some voodoo magic on his hammy and squeeze aboot 16 points and 10 assists out of it for a win tonite. I'm still sticking to my original prediction--Pistons in 6.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Hate List, 1 day later
I can't believe I forgot my personal Piston Enemy #1--Rip Hamilton.
While he certainly wasn't the only reason why the D underachieved so horribly tonight, he certainly didn't help with his turnovers, poor shots, and cheap shot to Garnett's head during the 3rd quarter.
It was also no coincidence that the Pistons looked their best without Hamilton in the game in both the 2nd and 4th quarters. And I would be intrigued to know how much Hunter, Tey-Tey, Stuck, Dice and Sheed had played together before they hit the floor during the 4th quarter, spearheading a run to cut the lead to 6. Stuckey looked very good and deserves more time on the floor. Still not sure why they don't play Billups, Stuck, Tey, and Hunter together. Tey can defend Powe, and certainly can't do worse with Garnett than Sheed did tonight. Garnett was unguardable tonight, as Piston double-teams never came quickly enough and the Pistons failed to defend any screen-roll involving Garnett.
I really like Van Gundy as an announcer, he's not flashy, but really knows the game and has astute things to say, especially on the defensive end.
I may not be updating this until next Tuesday, but please come on back next week. Here's hoping the Pistons find themselves in Game 2.
While he certainly wasn't the only reason why the D underachieved so horribly tonight, he certainly didn't help with his turnovers, poor shots, and cheap shot to Garnett's head during the 3rd quarter.
It was also no coincidence that the Pistons looked their best without Hamilton in the game in both the 2nd and 4th quarters. And I would be intrigued to know how much Hunter, Tey-Tey, Stuck, Dice and Sheed had played together before they hit the floor during the 4th quarter, spearheading a run to cut the lead to 6. Stuckey looked very good and deserves more time on the floor. Still not sure why they don't play Billups, Stuck, Tey, and Hunter together. Tey can defend Powe, and certainly can't do worse with Garnett than Sheed did tonight. Garnett was unguardable tonight, as Piston double-teams never came quickly enough and the Pistons failed to defend any screen-roll involving Garnett.
I really like Van Gundy as an announcer, he's not flashy, but really knows the game and has astute things to say, especially on the defensive end.
I may not be updating this until next Tuesday, but please come on back next week. Here's hoping the Pistons find themselves in Game 2.
Monday, May 19, 2008
5-19-08 Hate List
As of today, here's my personal hate list. Everyone has one, it is always changing depending on what you are doing, where you are at, and possibly even what you are having for dinner that night.
#1--Many Ginobili. I name him this on purpose because there have been so MANY times while watching Spurs games that I've wanted him to suffer many injuries to many different parts of his body.
#2--Snow.
#3--People who don't use their blinkers
#4--Any Celtic. This includes Kevin Garnett, who is making his first appearance on this list; however, I'm really getting tired of the G2 commercial and I have a feeling I'm only going to see it more over the next 2 weeks.
#5--The gray hairs I saw during my last haircut
#6--Scottie Pippen. This may seem to be a bit odd, but after going through the 11-disc extravanganza involving the '89 Pistons, he gets named to this list 2 decades later.
#7--Robert Horry/Wally Sczazzberiak. Essentially the same dude at this point in their careers.
#8--Mark Jackson. Purely anticipatory; based on the Celtic Pride he displayed during Game 7. He sounded as if he were jockeying for a job interview if Doc would have been unemployed following a Celtic loss to the Cavs.
#9--Bill Simonson. He is on a Cal Ripken-esque consecutive weeks streak on this list.
#10--Storms that interrupt my DirecTV service while trying to watch G7 of the Spurs/Hornets series.
Oh, and Pistons in 6. They win G1 on the road, then everyone holds serve at home, with the D winning the series on its home floor. How sweet is it going to be to beat the Celtics, then play the Lakers in the Finals? Break out the short shorts and the Bad Boys skull and crossbones T-shirts!
#1--Many Ginobili. I name him this on purpose because there have been so MANY times while watching Spurs games that I've wanted him to suffer many injuries to many different parts of his body.
#2--Snow.
#3--People who don't use their blinkers
#4--Any Celtic. This includes Kevin Garnett, who is making his first appearance on this list; however, I'm really getting tired of the G2 commercial and I have a feeling I'm only going to see it more over the next 2 weeks.
#5--The gray hairs I saw during my last haircut
#6--Scottie Pippen. This may seem to be a bit odd, but after going through the 11-disc extravanganza involving the '89 Pistons, he gets named to this list 2 decades later.
#7--Robert Horry/Wally Sczazzberiak. Essentially the same dude at this point in their careers.
#8--Mark Jackson. Purely anticipatory; based on the Celtic Pride he displayed during Game 7. He sounded as if he were jockeying for a job interview if Doc would have been unemployed following a Celtic loss to the Cavs.
#9--Bill Simonson. He is on a Cal Ripken-esque consecutive weeks streak on this list.
#10--Storms that interrupt my DirecTV service while trying to watch G7 of the Spurs/Hornets series.
Oh, and Pistons in 6. They win G1 on the road, then everyone holds serve at home, with the D winning the series on its home floor. How sweet is it going to be to beat the Celtics, then play the Lakers in the Finals? Break out the short shorts and the Bad Boys skull and crossbones T-shirts!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Cleveland-Boston, Game 7 lowlights
G7 inventory--Nachos, check. Kool-aid, check. Sam Cassell's 5 Ace bandages, check. Let's do this!
I simply continue to be amazed at how awful both of these teams' benches are. After the "great hustle play" by Eddie House in the second quarter resulting in a technical foul for being an idiot, Cleveland was sitting on 25 points in 17 minutes. BronBron was 5-11, and the REST OF THE TEAM was 4-18 from the floor. Just to further illuminate how BAD both benches are--Eddie House is looking like a "great bench spark", according to Mark Jackson. You telling me that Gerry McNamara wouldn't look like a legit NBA player if he was being defended by Szezerbiak or Pavlovic? Sczerbiak getting picked by KG late in the 2nd quarter was FEEEnominal. I am going to go to a Cavs game next year just to ride him like a ten-cent mechanical horse at Meijer.
And why the F was Eddie House's kid in the halftime interview? Could you imagine if Salley's kid entered the shot in a halftime interview? Mahorn would shove him out of the way while Laimbeer clotheslined Salley for letting it happen. I'm guessing that Eddie House, being Eddie House, isn't exactly used to being involved in the halftime interview, so he takes that opportunity to tell his kid what to get him from the concession stand at halftime so Eddie has a nice warm meal waiting for him on the bench.
P.J. Brown is one misstep away from a serious knee injury. I think it's great that the Celtics are attempting to let a 53-year old man get a ring as an active member of a team, but they need to stop throwing P.J. out there. Although I am beginning to enjoy his 3 borderline-dirty fouls every game. He gave Joe Smith a really nice shot to the back of the head in the 2nd quarter as Smith was poudning a 2-handed hammer down. Here's today's fun fact--PJ Brown played on the same team AS RICK MAHORN!!! That basically means that the "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon" game could be played with PJ Brown tracing him directly to James Naismith.
Van Gundy brought up a GREAT point in the first quarter--he talked about how important it was to be physical ON DEFENSE early in the game in order to make the refs make hand-check calls early in the game; if those calls aren't made early, then they likely won't be made as the game goes along. BronBron was being massaged on virtually every halfcourt touch throughout the first half.
I can't believe how much Mark Jackson is tongue-bathing the Celtics, especially Paul Pierce. Jackson said that Pierce's 34 is a lock to be put in the rafters. Obviously Jackson didn't see the neat little stat the ABC people slapped on the screen a few times--PP has played in 51 playoff games, the most by any Celtic without a title. Pierce's "legacy" is certainly in place already--0 NBA Finals appearances, constant underachieving, and leading the Tanking 2007's. I'm not looking forward to the level of hate that Mark Jackson is going to level on the Pistons next week. And he also wanted to let everyone know that KG was the "defensive player of the year....in basketball". I want to let everyone know one season I was the defensive player of the year.....in NBA Live '97.
If the Pistons don't take apart either one of these teams in Game 1, then it's going to be a LONG series....espeically if it's the LeBrons in the Palace.
LASTLY--I can't believe how many cheap shots the Cavs have leveled in this game. I grew up with Laimbeer and Rodman dealing out some punishment, but you knew it was coming with those guys. The Cavs (along with Bowen and Horry) seem to enjoy the undercut/backpick variety of foul. Pavlovic's play on PP at the end of the half was just plain dirty--he hump-rode him from behind as Pierce was going up for a shot.
I simply continue to be amazed at how awful both of these teams' benches are. After the "great hustle play" by Eddie House in the second quarter resulting in a technical foul for being an idiot, Cleveland was sitting on 25 points in 17 minutes. BronBron was 5-11, and the REST OF THE TEAM was 4-18 from the floor. Just to further illuminate how BAD both benches are--Eddie House is looking like a "great bench spark", according to Mark Jackson. You telling me that Gerry McNamara wouldn't look like a legit NBA player if he was being defended by Szezerbiak or Pavlovic? Sczerbiak getting picked by KG late in the 2nd quarter was FEEEnominal. I am going to go to a Cavs game next year just to ride him like a ten-cent mechanical horse at Meijer.
And why the F was Eddie House's kid in the halftime interview? Could you imagine if Salley's kid entered the shot in a halftime interview? Mahorn would shove him out of the way while Laimbeer clotheslined Salley for letting it happen. I'm guessing that Eddie House, being Eddie House, isn't exactly used to being involved in the halftime interview, so he takes that opportunity to tell his kid what to get him from the concession stand at halftime so Eddie has a nice warm meal waiting for him on the bench.
P.J. Brown is one misstep away from a serious knee injury. I think it's great that the Celtics are attempting to let a 53-year old man get a ring as an active member of a team, but they need to stop throwing P.J. out there. Although I am beginning to enjoy his 3 borderline-dirty fouls every game. He gave Joe Smith a really nice shot to the back of the head in the 2nd quarter as Smith was poudning a 2-handed hammer down. Here's today's fun fact--PJ Brown played on the same team AS RICK MAHORN!!! That basically means that the "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon" game could be played with PJ Brown tracing him directly to James Naismith.
Van Gundy brought up a GREAT point in the first quarter--he talked about how important it was to be physical ON DEFENSE early in the game in order to make the refs make hand-check calls early in the game; if those calls aren't made early, then they likely won't be made as the game goes along. BronBron was being massaged on virtually every halfcourt touch throughout the first half.
I can't believe how much Mark Jackson is tongue-bathing the Celtics, especially Paul Pierce. Jackson said that Pierce's 34 is a lock to be put in the rafters. Obviously Jackson didn't see the neat little stat the ABC people slapped on the screen a few times--PP has played in 51 playoff games, the most by any Celtic without a title. Pierce's "legacy" is certainly in place already--0 NBA Finals appearances, constant underachieving, and leading the Tanking 2007's. I'm not looking forward to the level of hate that Mark Jackson is going to level on the Pistons next week. And he also wanted to let everyone know that KG was the "defensive player of the year....in basketball". I want to let everyone know one season I was the defensive player of the year.....in NBA Live '97.
If the Pistons don't take apart either one of these teams in Game 1, then it's going to be a LONG series....espeically if it's the LeBrons in the Palace.
LASTLY--I can't believe how many cheap shots the Cavs have leveled in this game. I grew up with Laimbeer and Rodman dealing out some punishment, but you knew it was coming with those guys. The Cavs (along with Bowen and Horry) seem to enjoy the undercut/backpick variety of foul. Pavlovic's play on PP at the end of the half was just plain dirty--he hump-rode him from behind as Pierce was going up for a shot.
Get Your Jersey Dirty Day in Boston
My favorite play of the playoffs just happened in Game 7 of the Boston-Cleveland series.
Mid-2nd quarter. Sczerbiak gets stripped at halfcourt (not surprising). He turns to chase the ball, with Eddie House of the Celtics suddenly taking off after it. Keep in mind the basketball halfcourt is 47 feet long. Sczaxzerbiak had roughly a 4-foot head start. House beat him to the ball BEFORE it reached the other free throw line. Once Wally realized House was going to beat him to the ball, he attempted to foul House. However, Eddie passed a ball to a trailing James Posey and then Scazerczbiak went ahead and fouled him. It made me laugh out loud to see Sczazerbaik attempt to chase the ball while making the basketball court seem roughly 275 feet long, then get beat to the ball, then foul 2 different dudes out of complete frustration.
And one other thing--I NEVER want to hear anyone talk about how many jump balls and bad plays there are in the women's game after this series. I can't believe how many dumb ballhandling decisions have led to players "hustling" and diving on the ball/another dude.
Mid-2nd quarter. Sczerbiak gets stripped at halfcourt (not surprising). He turns to chase the ball, with Eddie House of the Celtics suddenly taking off after it. Keep in mind the basketball halfcourt is 47 feet long. Sczaxzerbiak had roughly a 4-foot head start. House beat him to the ball BEFORE it reached the other free throw line. Once Wally realized House was going to beat him to the ball, he attempted to foul House. However, Eddie passed a ball to a trailing James Posey and then Scazerczbiak went ahead and fouled him. It made me laugh out loud to see Sczazerbaik attempt to chase the ball while making the basketball court seem roughly 275 feet long, then get beat to the ball, then foul 2 different dudes out of complete frustration.
And one other thing--I NEVER want to hear anyone talk about how many jump balls and bad plays there are in the women's game after this series. I can't believe how many dumb ballhandling decisions have led to players "hustling" and diving on the ball/another dude.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
See his ones, see his guns
Alrighty--here's the list of the NBA players who make more money than Ben Wallace did this year. Let's just say that Joe Dumars probably made the right decision not re-signing him a few years ago. Also, Wallace still has 2 more years left on his deal. Wow.
You'll see that Wallace isn't the only bad decision on this list. In fact, you may even question how many NBA contracts are offered while the GM is in some sort of altered state.
In order of highest paid,
1-Garnett. Makes sense. Drafted before the NBA rookie cap, Garnett signed a lucrative deal with the T-Wolves, effectively killing their ability to build a title contender around him, not unlike A-Rod add the Rangers. Will now do the same for the Celtics, unless you count Sam Cassell and his Ace bandage around his lower back as a key signing.
2-Michael Finley. Yep, Michael Finley. He signed a 7-year deal with the Mavs one season after averaging a career-high 22 points a game. He hasn't been the same since, and was released by the Mavs in 2006 under a special one-time provision allowing NBA teams to release teams without having it count against their cap. Dallas is still paying Finley over 18 million dollars this year to play for the Spurs, but it isn't counting against their cap. Good thing Dallas signed him and not Steve Nash. Toss in the veteran minimum 3.1 mill that the Spurs are paying Michael Finley, and you get a pretty hefty paycheck for averaging 10 points a game.
3-(tie) Stephon Marbury, Allen Iverson. Both players have 1 year left on the exact same contract. Each should have interesting seasons this year.
5-Shaq. He still has 2 years left on his deal.
6-Jason Kidd. The players aren't exactly getting younger or more worth these big deals, are they?
7-Jermaine O'Neal. Most people know him as "the softest player in the NBA." Occassionally, Pistons fans refer to him as "Detroit's best player" when the Pistons are busy double-teaming him into yet another poor decision.
8-Chris Webber. Wonder why he's always smiling on TNT? It's because of the absolutely awful contract the Kings signed him to. 7 years, 127 million dollars in 2001, following the Kings getting swept in the playoffs by the Lakers. The following year, the Kings absolutely gagged away game 7 in the Western Conference finals and were never the same. Chris Webber was absolute must-see TV in my world for about 7 years, from Michigan to his days with my man Chris Mullin and the Warriors, to teaming with Juwan Howard and Sheed with the Bullets, to those Kings teams. I was absolutely giddy when he signed with the Pistons last season. Most importantly, I'll always have fond memories of playing NBA '94 on the Sega Genesis with him and those Warriors--he was the best dunker on that game and single-handedly beat Kaffenberg's Laettner-led T-Wolves on many nights.
9-Kobe.
10-(tie) Duncan and McGrady. Duncan still has 4 years left on his deal, and the Spurs don't lose a key free agent after this season. Plus, they HAVE to be happy to get those checks from the Mavs to pay Finley's deal.
12-(tie) Baron Davis, Shawn Marion, and STEVE FRANCIS. Davis can opt out of his deal this summer and should be able to get a completely redonkulous deal from, say the Clips or Grizzle. So he'll be a mainstay on this list for years to come. Marion is entering the last year of his deal.
In August of 2002, the Rockets signed Steve Francis to a (now) mindblowing "max" deal--6 years, 90 million American dollars. He averaged 20 plus points for the Rockets and in the 03-04 season for Orlando, but has since served time with the Knicks, traded and released from the Blazers so he wouldn't poison their team...and then signed AGAIN by the Rockets to a multi-year deal?!? He played in 10 games this year, missing the rest due to a quad injury. He is returning to Houston next year to sign fat checks and back up Rafer Alston.
15-(tie) Antwan jamison, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce. This one actually makes sense. All three were drafted in 1998. Dirk and Scowlin' Paul signed long-term deals at the same time. However, Jamison played out the last year of his "max" deal this year in Washington and will be an extremely highly courted free agent this year; so much so that Gilbert Arenas has said he will take less money in order for the Wiz ro re-sign both players this summer.
18-Uncle Ray-Ray Jesus Shuttlesworth. Has 2 years left on his deal. Should be essentially immobile by then. With the incredible lack of lateral movement he is putting on display in this year's playoffs, he may immediately go from a Celtics uniform to a set of crutches.
19-Rashard Lewis. Paid immediate dividends for Orlando this year as a poor rebounding 6-10 power forward. Should effectively tie up enough money to not allow Orlando to ever sign a legit free agent point guard to be able to defend Billups.
20-Bennie. Great signing by Paxson and the Bulls. I can see why they wouldn't sign D'Antoni because they want a "defensive-minded" coach--if Paxson is busily minting money for non-shooting forwards (Tyrus Thomas? Joakim?), you better get a coach who doesn't care whether or not he has a big guy who can make a 12-footer.
You'll see that Wallace isn't the only bad decision on this list. In fact, you may even question how many NBA contracts are offered while the GM is in some sort of altered state.
In order of highest paid,
1-Garnett. Makes sense. Drafted before the NBA rookie cap, Garnett signed a lucrative deal with the T-Wolves, effectively killing their ability to build a title contender around him, not unlike A-Rod add the Rangers. Will now do the same for the Celtics, unless you count Sam Cassell and his Ace bandage around his lower back as a key signing.
2-Michael Finley. Yep, Michael Finley. He signed a 7-year deal with the Mavs one season after averaging a career-high 22 points a game. He hasn't been the same since, and was released by the Mavs in 2006 under a special one-time provision allowing NBA teams to release teams without having it count against their cap. Dallas is still paying Finley over 18 million dollars this year to play for the Spurs, but it isn't counting against their cap. Good thing Dallas signed him and not Steve Nash. Toss in the veteran minimum 3.1 mill that the Spurs are paying Michael Finley, and you get a pretty hefty paycheck for averaging 10 points a game.
3-(tie) Stephon Marbury, Allen Iverson. Both players have 1 year left on the exact same contract. Each should have interesting seasons this year.
5-Shaq. He still has 2 years left on his deal.
6-Jason Kidd. The players aren't exactly getting younger or more worth these big deals, are they?
7-Jermaine O'Neal. Most people know him as "the softest player in the NBA." Occassionally, Pistons fans refer to him as "Detroit's best player" when the Pistons are busy double-teaming him into yet another poor decision.
8-Chris Webber. Wonder why he's always smiling on TNT? It's because of the absolutely awful contract the Kings signed him to. 7 years, 127 million dollars in 2001, following the Kings getting swept in the playoffs by the Lakers. The following year, the Kings absolutely gagged away game 7 in the Western Conference finals and were never the same. Chris Webber was absolute must-see TV in my world for about 7 years, from Michigan to his days with my man Chris Mullin and the Warriors, to teaming with Juwan Howard and Sheed with the Bullets, to those Kings teams. I was absolutely giddy when he signed with the Pistons last season. Most importantly, I'll always have fond memories of playing NBA '94 on the Sega Genesis with him and those Warriors--he was the best dunker on that game and single-handedly beat Kaffenberg's Laettner-led T-Wolves on many nights.
9-Kobe.
10-(tie) Duncan and McGrady. Duncan still has 4 years left on his deal, and the Spurs don't lose a key free agent after this season. Plus, they HAVE to be happy to get those checks from the Mavs to pay Finley's deal.
12-(tie) Baron Davis, Shawn Marion, and STEVE FRANCIS. Davis can opt out of his deal this summer and should be able to get a completely redonkulous deal from, say the Clips or Grizzle. So he'll be a mainstay on this list for years to come. Marion is entering the last year of his deal.
In August of 2002, the Rockets signed Steve Francis to a (now) mindblowing "max" deal--6 years, 90 million American dollars. He averaged 20 plus points for the Rockets and in the 03-04 season for Orlando, but has since served time with the Knicks, traded and released from the Blazers so he wouldn't poison their team...and then signed AGAIN by the Rockets to a multi-year deal?!? He played in 10 games this year, missing the rest due to a quad injury. He is returning to Houston next year to sign fat checks and back up Rafer Alston.
15-(tie) Antwan jamison, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce. This one actually makes sense. All three were drafted in 1998. Dirk and Scowlin' Paul signed long-term deals at the same time. However, Jamison played out the last year of his "max" deal this year in Washington and will be an extremely highly courted free agent this year; so much so that Gilbert Arenas has said he will take less money in order for the Wiz ro re-sign both players this summer.
18-Uncle Ray-Ray Jesus Shuttlesworth. Has 2 years left on his deal. Should be essentially immobile by then. With the incredible lack of lateral movement he is putting on display in this year's playoffs, he may immediately go from a Celtics uniform to a set of crutches.
19-Rashard Lewis. Paid immediate dividends for Orlando this year as a poor rebounding 6-10 power forward. Should effectively tie up enough money to not allow Orlando to ever sign a legit free agent point guard to be able to defend Billups.
20-Bennie. Great signing by Paxson and the Bulls. I can see why they wouldn't sign D'Antoni because they want a "defensive-minded" coach--if Paxson is busily minting money for non-shooting forwards (Tyrus Thomas? Joakim?), you better get a coach who doesn't care whether or not he has a big guy who can make a 12-footer.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Yikes
I know, two in one day, right?
I gotta do it--it's halftime of the SUCKFEST AT THE Q, also known as Game 6 of the Celtics-Cavs series. Holy. Crap.
I don't want to hear Doris Burke talk about how "hard the teams are guarding each other". That makes absolutely no sense. Either you guard someone, or you don't. There are no levels of difficulty involved. And now that I think about it, I don't think I want to hear her say anything anymore. The half was terrible. BronBron tried to dribble through 5 guys on every play. Sczerbiak needs to just stop playing. Dead Ben Wallace is an absolute negative on offense. Also, what's up with him not being in the arena during introductions? I didn't know that fireworks affected people with inner ear infections. Apparently that inner ear infection also affects his ability to make a shot from outside of 6 feet, or your ability to sign ludicrously fat checks. Wanna know how much money Ben Wallace made this year? 15,500,000 dollars. Wow. There are only 16 players in the NBA who make more money than Ben Wallace. Let that little stat wash over your brain.
Amazingly enough, the Cavs discovered they had this big dude named Ilgauskus who can make a 15-footer. I have zero idea why Mike Brown continues to involve Dead Ben Wallace or Sideshow Bob in screen-rolls with BronBron. The Z-Man needs to be in every one of those screen-rolls. Also, I'm not sure who is less athletic at this point in their career; Wally Sczezzzczerbiak, Ray Allen, or me. Sxzcerbiak took a shot that caused the play by play guy to audibly gasp, followed by a mild guffaw.
And I forgot to add Damon Jones to my hate list earlier this week. He couldn't possibly suck any more. He had played exactly 0 minutes, 0 seconds in the first 5 games of this series, which is precisely how much he should play. Since the Cavs are Boobie-less tonite, they foisted Damon upon us to begin the second quarter. He managed to squeeze off 2 shots within the first 57 seconds of the quarter. Not surprisingly, neither went in. Also not suprisingly, after one of the assistant coaches told Mike Brown that Damon Jones was playing in an elimination game, Jones was seen sulking at the far end of the bench during the second quarter. Without looking it up, guess how much money Damon Jones made this year. I'm going to tell you, but you have to promise to not get angry. Promise? Okay, here goes----4,172,372 American Dollars. You said you wouldn't get angry. Stop swearing. I won't do it again. And no, those shouldn't be decimal points--the commas are placed correctly. Cram Max, Afflallo and Stuckey combined to make 3,555,480.
Also, I continue to be amazed at how the Celtics have absolutely no rotation ideas whatsoever. Cassell goes from big minutes to none. Glen "Big Double Chin Baby" Davis played more than James Posey. Garnett made 6 first half FG, rest of team 8 FG.
I gotta do it--it's halftime of the SUCKFEST AT THE Q, also known as Game 6 of the Celtics-Cavs series. Holy. Crap.
I don't want to hear Doris Burke talk about how "hard the teams are guarding each other". That makes absolutely no sense. Either you guard someone, or you don't. There are no levels of difficulty involved. And now that I think about it, I don't think I want to hear her say anything anymore. The half was terrible. BronBron tried to dribble through 5 guys on every play. Sczerbiak needs to just stop playing. Dead Ben Wallace is an absolute negative on offense. Also, what's up with him not being in the arena during introductions? I didn't know that fireworks affected people with inner ear infections. Apparently that inner ear infection also affects his ability to make a shot from outside of 6 feet, or your ability to sign ludicrously fat checks. Wanna know how much money Ben Wallace made this year? 15,500,000 dollars. Wow. There are only 16 players in the NBA who make more money than Ben Wallace. Let that little stat wash over your brain.
Amazingly enough, the Cavs discovered they had this big dude named Ilgauskus who can make a 15-footer. I have zero idea why Mike Brown continues to involve Dead Ben Wallace or Sideshow Bob in screen-rolls with BronBron. The Z-Man needs to be in every one of those screen-rolls. Also, I'm not sure who is less athletic at this point in their career; Wally Sczezzzczerbiak, Ray Allen, or me. Sxzcerbiak took a shot that caused the play by play guy to audibly gasp, followed by a mild guffaw.
And I forgot to add Damon Jones to my hate list earlier this week. He couldn't possibly suck any more. He had played exactly 0 minutes, 0 seconds in the first 5 games of this series, which is precisely how much he should play. Since the Cavs are Boobie-less tonite, they foisted Damon upon us to begin the second quarter. He managed to squeeze off 2 shots within the first 57 seconds of the quarter. Not surprisingly, neither went in. Also not suprisingly, after one of the assistant coaches told Mike Brown that Damon Jones was playing in an elimination game, Jones was seen sulking at the far end of the bench during the second quarter. Without looking it up, guess how much money Damon Jones made this year. I'm going to tell you, but you have to promise to not get angry. Promise? Okay, here goes----4,172,372 American Dollars. You said you wouldn't get angry. Stop swearing. I won't do it again. And no, those shouldn't be decimal points--the commas are placed correctly. Cram Max, Afflallo and Stuckey combined to make 3,555,480.
Also, I continue to be amazed at how the Celtics have absolutely no rotation ideas whatsoever. Cassell goes from big minutes to none. Glen "Big Double Chin Baby" Davis played more than James Posey. Garnett made 6 first half FG, rest of team 8 FG.
Eastern Finals
6 consecutive years now for the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. 6 years ago I was still student-teaching, living in a crappy apartment in Allendale and looking forward to Moosehead Thursdays. Now, I'm living in a semi-crappy apartment in Cincinnati and looking forward to the Office on Thursdays.
At this point, I would rather the Pistons play the Cavs over the Celtics. At one point in Game 4, the Cavs had West, Szerzerabiak, Pavlovic, Varejo and Wallace on the floor at the same time. Yikes. That ain't exactly the 84 Celtics.
At this point, neither team's bench is very deep, but the Cavs really lose an important piece in Boobie, an aggressive, quick shooter who had a great series against the Pistons in last year's playoffs. Tonight's game could be an interesting one...I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts give BronBron every shot he wants while trying to limit everyone else's open looks. I also don't understand why the Cavs don't get Ilgauskus going more offensively. They should be able to stretch the Celts out better if the Z--Man gets it going on the block.
Barkley said the winner of the Jazz and Lakers wins the NBA title. I would severely disagree with that statement. I believe the teams are so evenly matched in the west, there is no way you can definitively pick a winner at this point in the playoffs. What I do know is that the Conference finals are going to be incredibly intense and filled with plenty of Spurs' cheap shots, Chris Paul alley-oops, redonkulous stare-downs from KG, and plenty of Flip-Mode facial tics while Rip gives up plenty of perimeter jumpers after half-hearted attempts to double-team the ball.
At this point, I would rather the Pistons play the Cavs over the Celtics. At one point in Game 4, the Cavs had West, Szerzerabiak, Pavlovic, Varejo and Wallace on the floor at the same time. Yikes. That ain't exactly the 84 Celtics.
At this point, neither team's bench is very deep, but the Cavs really lose an important piece in Boobie, an aggressive, quick shooter who had a great series against the Pistons in last year's playoffs. Tonight's game could be an interesting one...I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts give BronBron every shot he wants while trying to limit everyone else's open looks. I also don't understand why the Cavs don't get Ilgauskus going more offensively. They should be able to stretch the Celts out better if the Z--Man gets it going on the block.
Barkley said the winner of the Jazz and Lakers wins the NBA title. I would severely disagree with that statement. I believe the teams are so evenly matched in the west, there is no way you can definitively pick a winner at this point in the playoffs. What I do know is that the Conference finals are going to be incredibly intense and filled with plenty of Spurs' cheap shots, Chris Paul alley-oops, redonkulous stare-downs from KG, and plenty of Flip-Mode facial tics while Rip gives up plenty of perimeter jumpers after half-hearted attempts to double-team the ball.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
R2
A very solid 2nd half for the D in tonight's game. Billups had the type of game expected (and needed) from him in his matchup against the Orlando point guards. I also liked putting Tey Tey on Hedo and not Lewis--that shows the respect (or lack thereof) the D has for Rashard Lewis. Dwight Howard is still a broad-shouldered one-trick pony--he can't shoot FT's, he is a BAD face-up post player outside the paint, and is not a great passer. Detroit went zone, put bodies between Howard and teh rim, and closed out effectively on shooters. And I honestly like Herrmann getting some good 4th quarter run and getting under the skin of the Orlando players.
It wasn't all roses and candy in the first half, though. Detroit stood around a TON in the second quarter as they tried to post Dice against Hedo repeatedly, with Rip attempting to throw the entry pass instead of Stuckey or Chauncey. Dooling and Hedo got to the rim rather easily at times. Also, while Maxiell had a great second half, he is not a great screen-roll player; Detroit attempted to get Howard away from the rim by getting Cram Maxx in some screen-rolls, which didn't work out well in the first half. Second half, Cram did a great job of moving from the weakside and making plays.
All in all, a very good series opener; especially considering Boston is staring down a game 7 tomorrow while the LeBrons rest up. It was also great to see everyone favorite Dookie, Redick, in the game late and squeezing off a bunch of inconsequential 3's.
I'm excited to watch the Hornets-Spurs series. I think the Lakers beat the Jazz; but I'm not sure about the Spurs getting past NO.
It wasn't all roses and candy in the first half, though. Detroit stood around a TON in the second quarter as they tried to post Dice against Hedo repeatedly, with Rip attempting to throw the entry pass instead of Stuckey or Chauncey. Dooling and Hedo got to the rim rather easily at times. Also, while Maxiell had a great second half, he is not a great screen-roll player; Detroit attempted to get Howard away from the rim by getting Cram Maxx in some screen-rolls, which didn't work out well in the first half. Second half, Cram did a great job of moving from the weakside and making plays.
All in all, a very good series opener; especially considering Boston is staring down a game 7 tomorrow while the LeBrons rest up. It was also great to see everyone favorite Dookie, Redick, in the game late and squeezing off a bunch of inconsequential 3's.
I'm excited to watch the Hornets-Spurs series. I think the Lakers beat the Jazz; but I'm not sure about the Spurs getting past NO.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Stuff
My quick and dirty thoughts (I don't get to say that enough) on the Pistons first-round playoff series.
**I hope this is the same type of great coming-out party for Rodney Stuckey as it was for Tey-Tey in his first playoff series, also against the 76ers. In that series, it was Prince's defense against Iverson which carried the Pistons to the Finals. In this series (and for the entire playoffs, for that matter) it may likely be Stuckey's offense which will prove to be essential for teh Pistons to advance. I hate to admit it, but Simmons' NBA podcast this week was spot-on in that the Pistons have suffered from a misplaced sense of security in some of their bad playoff losses over the past few years. That Cavs series last year was brutal to watch, especiallya s they seemingly gave less than maximum effort for long stretches at a time.
Hopefully the extended rest the starters got down the last 10 games of the season will prove to be beneficial for this year's playoff run. Stuckey, Cram Max, Ratliff, and Hunter all provide very different but vital things to this team as reserves and here's hoping they continue to be productive.
**I think the Pistons cruise in this series, as long as Tey-Tey and the boys contain Iguodola. The 76ers have very little scoring in the paint and are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league, which is NOT the way to beat Detroit. The Sixers try to play uptempo and get a ton of points in the paint and from midrange jumpers. Detroit should be able to get a lot of easy shots at the offensive end while not expending a ton of energy on defense.
**That last sentence is a good thing, and hopefully they'll also be able to use that rest to full advantage in Round 2 against the winner of the Cleveland/Washington series, which promises to potentially get ugly with some junk-talking from both teams occurring over the past few days.
Hope the Fun Run went well today.
Hope the cow frees itself soon.
Hope Al's Acres are growing well.
These are the kinds of days I miss home---talk of going to Tiger games, Pistons playoffs, golf, etc. Plus, I get to ref tomorrow! Yay! 7th and 8th grade boys games don't exactly excite a man on a 75-degree April Saturday afternoon.
**I hope this is the same type of great coming-out party for Rodney Stuckey as it was for Tey-Tey in his first playoff series, also against the 76ers. In that series, it was Prince's defense against Iverson which carried the Pistons to the Finals. In this series (and for the entire playoffs, for that matter) it may likely be Stuckey's offense which will prove to be essential for teh Pistons to advance. I hate to admit it, but Simmons' NBA podcast this week was spot-on in that the Pistons have suffered from a misplaced sense of security in some of their bad playoff losses over the past few years. That Cavs series last year was brutal to watch, especiallya s they seemingly gave less than maximum effort for long stretches at a time.
Hopefully the extended rest the starters got down the last 10 games of the season will prove to be beneficial for this year's playoff run. Stuckey, Cram Max, Ratliff, and Hunter all provide very different but vital things to this team as reserves and here's hoping they continue to be productive.
**I think the Pistons cruise in this series, as long as Tey-Tey and the boys contain Iguodola. The 76ers have very little scoring in the paint and are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league, which is NOT the way to beat Detroit. The Sixers try to play uptempo and get a ton of points in the paint and from midrange jumpers. Detroit should be able to get a lot of easy shots at the offensive end while not expending a ton of energy on defense.
**That last sentence is a good thing, and hopefully they'll also be able to use that rest to full advantage in Round 2 against the winner of the Cleveland/Washington series, which promises to potentially get ugly with some junk-talking from both teams occurring over the past few days.
Hope the Fun Run went well today.
Hope the cow frees itself soon.
Hope Al's Acres are growing well.
These are the kinds of days I miss home---talk of going to Tiger games, Pistons playoffs, golf, etc. Plus, I get to ref tomorrow! Yay! 7th and 8th grade boys games don't exactly excite a man on a 75-degree April Saturday afternoon.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Something worse than Lav-Mus
I CANNOT believe I didn't remember what was coming today in the Big 10 Tourney....The Semi's and Finals aren't televised by ESPN..but rather, CBS.
Soooooo....that means S & M moves over for the soul-sucking Billy Packer and his partner in crime, Jim Nantz. Gone are silly nicknames, comparison of schools' bands, and, well, humor.
In the booth will be lots of stern faces, no criticism of any coach or player EVER unless they talk to a ref, references to Big Ten Champions from at least 4 decades ago, and absolutely no mention whatsoever from B. Pack about teams from mid-major conferences. Just like Helly says--if you don't want it to exist, then it simply doesn't. Unfortunately, Packer enjoys taking this theory nationally.
So, in conclusion, we're sorry, our bad for the previous post. If you have any questions, please direct them to the brick wall.
Lastly--here's things that I hate worse than Billy Packer.
Snow
Back pain
Soccer
Any commercial involving Kyzezshwski or Vitale
Anything else involving Vitale
Manu Ginobili
That's it, that's the list.
Soooooo....that means S & M moves over for the soul-sucking Billy Packer and his partner in crime, Jim Nantz. Gone are silly nicknames, comparison of schools' bands, and, well, humor.
In the booth will be lots of stern faces, no criticism of any coach or player EVER unless they talk to a ref, references to Big Ten Champions from at least 4 decades ago, and absolutely no mention whatsoever from B. Pack about teams from mid-major conferences. Just like Helly says--if you don't want it to exist, then it simply doesn't. Unfortunately, Packer enjoys taking this theory nationally.
So, in conclusion, we're sorry, our bad for the previous post. If you have any questions, please direct them to the brick wall.
Lastly--here's things that I hate worse than Billy Packer.
Snow
Back pain
Soccer
Any commercial involving Kyzezshwski or Vitale
Anything else involving Vitale
Manu Ginobili
That's it, that's the list.
Lavs and a Burger
This will be short and sweet.
Steve Lavin and Brent Musberger need to stop. I mean, just stop it. Right now.
The Big 11 conference tourney semi-finals are today. MSU-Wisconsin, followed by Minnesota-Illinois. That means more S & M (Steve and Mus) yukking it up courtside at Conseco together.
Musberger, in the 80's, was a STUD. He did a ton of great NBA games. Lavin knows his stuff. I just think his hair product and affinity for inane nicknames gets in the way of the game, and both guys simply have no use for pronouncing names correctly (or even the same way the other guy does). With the guys at the mike, their banter is a bit tough to take sometimes, and I think I can write the script for both games.
In Game 1, there will be roughly 17 references to Brian Butch calling him a "Polar Bear", more than a few conversations about Drew Neitzel's toughness, Drew Naymick will be called "Big Red", at least 3 references to how one of these teams is going to try to "knock out the Cinderella team coming from the 2nd semi-final game", they will certainly talk about how "Bo Ryan gets the most out of his players", and Lavin will somehow talk about UCLA at least twice. Let's hope they somehow work in a U.P.-Izzo talk (Did you know Izzo and Mariucci are friends?)
Oh, and you can bet the ranch that Ohio State's bubble profile will be worked into the conversation. I'm just glad OSU isn't playing today so S & M can't butcher Kosta Koufos's name anymore, and I don't have to hear Lavin refer to the "O-Hawk" again.
The second game will show Blake Hofberger's high school shot while he was on his back at least twice, with the potential of a "kooky" shootaround re-enactment of both shots, possibly involving his Minnesota teammates and/or Erin Andrews. Definitely some tounge-bathing from S & M on how great Tubby and Bruce Weber are (and they are, I agree). They'll be tired, so a second-half conversation will take place discussing either a trip to Las Vegas, In & Out Burger, or Lavin's hair, or some combo of all 3. Also, there will definitely be some awkward flirting with Erin Andrews.
What won't be talked about (but should be) are the following--Kelvin Sampson, is Eric Gordon ready for the NBA, how the heck Illinois finished behind Penn State in the Big Mediocre this year, if Northwestern will ever finish in the top 4 of the league standings or ever make the NCAA Tourney (they never have, you can look that up), why the center floor design was created to look like a logo from the 1972 World's Fair, and if any Big Ten team will be playing on the 2nd weekend of the tournament.
Steve Lavin and Brent Musberger need to stop. I mean, just stop it. Right now.
The Big 11 conference tourney semi-finals are today. MSU-Wisconsin, followed by Minnesota-Illinois. That means more S & M (Steve and Mus) yukking it up courtside at Conseco together.
Musberger, in the 80's, was a STUD. He did a ton of great NBA games. Lavin knows his stuff. I just think his hair product and affinity for inane nicknames gets in the way of the game, and both guys simply have no use for pronouncing names correctly (or even the same way the other guy does). With the guys at the mike, their banter is a bit tough to take sometimes, and I think I can write the script for both games.
In Game 1, there will be roughly 17 references to Brian Butch calling him a "Polar Bear", more than a few conversations about Drew Neitzel's toughness, Drew Naymick will be called "Big Red", at least 3 references to how one of these teams is going to try to "knock out the Cinderella team coming from the 2nd semi-final game", they will certainly talk about how "Bo Ryan gets the most out of his players", and Lavin will somehow talk about UCLA at least twice. Let's hope they somehow work in a U.P.-Izzo talk (Did you know Izzo and Mariucci are friends?)
Oh, and you can bet the ranch that Ohio State's bubble profile will be worked into the conversation. I'm just glad OSU isn't playing today so S & M can't butcher Kosta Koufos's name anymore, and I don't have to hear Lavin refer to the "O-Hawk" again.
The second game will show Blake Hofberger's high school shot while he was on his back at least twice, with the potential of a "kooky" shootaround re-enactment of both shots, possibly involving his Minnesota teammates and/or Erin Andrews. Definitely some tounge-bathing from S & M on how great Tubby and Bruce Weber are (and they are, I agree). They'll be tired, so a second-half conversation will take place discussing either a trip to Las Vegas, In & Out Burger, or Lavin's hair, or some combo of all 3. Also, there will definitely be some awkward flirting with Erin Andrews.
What won't be talked about (but should be) are the following--Kelvin Sampson, is Eric Gordon ready for the NBA, how the heck Illinois finished behind Penn State in the Big Mediocre this year, if Northwestern will ever finish in the top 4 of the league standings or ever make the NCAA Tourney (they never have, you can look that up), why the center floor design was created to look like a logo from the 1972 World's Fair, and if any Big Ten team will be playing on the 2nd weekend of the tournament.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Syracuse should be IN!!
Okay, I really truly don't mean that at all...just wanted to get you riled up.
The Big East Dilemna. Does playing in a 16-team conference mean more to a (mediocre) at-large team than playing in a traditional-sized conference?
This is the 3rd season of the mega-sized Big East, as the league added Marquette, Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida prior to the 2005-06 season. Those schools have various degrees of success, both in and out of league play, since becoming part of the Big East. Louisville and Marquette are national powers, Cincy is in the early stages of the rebuilding process, and S. Florida has been in the bottom four of the league standings for all 3 seasons.
Adding those to premier programs like Georgetown, UConn, Pittsburgh, Villanova and Notre Dame leaves a league which is incredibly top-heavy; which, again, being 16 teams, should take place.
Over the past two seasons, the league is 18-14 in the Tourney, including an 8-6 record in the first round. In comparison, the Big Ten is 12-12, 8-4 (1-7 in the second round), the ACC is 13-11, 9-2 (3-6 in 2nd round), and the Big 12 is 10-8, 5-3.
Obviously the Big East should get more teams in, having more teams in the league, but they have a better winning % than those other leagues. Simple stats, such as that one, may indicate a strong league top to bottom. Or they may just be a 2-year snapshot and not enough of a sample size to demonstrate the league's strength.
Now, I'm not advocating taking the 9th place Big East team over the 6th place ACC team as a blanket statement. I believe a team's body of work must be considered on a yearly basis, regardless of conference affiliation, if they are a bubble team. A great example of this was on Sportscenter tonight. They put the "resumes" of South Alabama and Villanova next to each other. USA's RPI--37. Nova RPI--56. USA--Strength of Schedule--119. Nova--50. Numbers aside, USA has a number of victories against teams likely in the tournament and is 3-2 against the current RPI top 50. Nova is 4-6 against the Top 50.
Despite the losing record, does it help Nova to play twice as many games against Top 50 teams? I believe it HAS to help you. Playing in a league like the Big East really illuminates your strengths and weaknesses. I believe that type of schedule can both harm and hurt your team, especially early in the season. If a team like Nova can handle adversity within the Big East schedule and succeed late the in season, that speaks well of the team's mental toughness and ability to get better.
For example, Nova lost 4 straight games in late January, 3 on the road. Rather than throw in the towel, they rallied to win games in February against tourney-bound teams Marquette, UConn, and West Virginia. They did lose to Louisville, Syracuse and a 2-point buzzer-beater at Georgetown in that late stretch, but gaining that level of mental toughness during that schedule simply has to be beneficial....IF a team accepts that challenge and works to get better every day. And I'm not saying that S. Alabama shouldn't make it. In fact, I think they SHOULD make it this year. Further, I'm not necessarily saying Nova is a lock; they have played up and down and struggled against teams with size; however, they are tourney-tested and have a great coach in Jay Wright.
Here's another example. Let's say the Big Ten next year accepts (regional non Big East schools for the comparison) Butler, Iowa State, WMU (won their division of the MAC this year) and Drake. Butler and Drake are LEGIT, tough-minded teams who run great offensive systems. This would give the Big Ten (likely) 8 tournament teams this year. Wouldn't playing each of those teams just once (and 2 of those games taking place on the road) help, say, a middle of the road team such as Ohio State in the same way that it helped Villanova?
Or would it HURT OSU in the same way that it hurt, say, SYRACUSE this year? Playing that kind of schedule would take away a couple of lesser nonconference opponents off the OSU schedule, put a little more emphasis on conference play, and put a even bigger priority on playing well in a bigger league in order to have a better at-large resume and a better seed in what would be an even more competitive Big 16 tournament. On a year-in, year-out basis, would that hurt or help teams? Again, I simply think that must be applied to each team separately, rather than applying it across the board to every team.
Hopefully I didn't surprise or shock anyone by using logic, rather than saying something like, "THE BIG EAST IS AWESOME! 16 IS BETTER THAN 10!!" It's tough for common sense to permeate through the level of screaming and Vitale at this point in the year, I know. I really didn't give a definitive answer to the question because I don't believe there is a definitive answer. Every team can always point to a game (or games) and blame themselves for not making the tournament.
I think there are some years where the Big East, in its presently constituted form, will have deserving teams miss the tournament because of the schedule they must endure within the league (Syracuse last year). I also believe that some years, the 16-team grind may wear some teams down and possibly drag the league's overall quality down. I also believe that the teams who finish near the top of the league standings should be extremely tournament-ready, and the numbers in the first 2 years of this format prove that out.
Teams from the Big East who gain a 1st thru 4th seed in the field of 65 are 12-4 , including a perfect 8-0 on the opening weekend. In comparison, Big Ten teams are 8-5 (5-4), ACC 10-6 (9-3), and Big 12 9-5 (7-2). Those numbers would seem to indicate that really good teams playing more games against really good teams helps.
Of course, this is all a moot point when the bracket hits this weekend, which is why college basketball is a great sport at EVERY level. You are either in or out, and you either advance or die. It's pretty simple. But what has happened to your team before you land on that seeding line has a direct effect on how far your team travels.
The Big East Dilemna. Does playing in a 16-team conference mean more to a (mediocre) at-large team than playing in a traditional-sized conference?
This is the 3rd season of the mega-sized Big East, as the league added Marquette, Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida prior to the 2005-06 season. Those schools have various degrees of success, both in and out of league play, since becoming part of the Big East. Louisville and Marquette are national powers, Cincy is in the early stages of the rebuilding process, and S. Florida has been in the bottom four of the league standings for all 3 seasons.
Adding those to premier programs like Georgetown, UConn, Pittsburgh, Villanova and Notre Dame leaves a league which is incredibly top-heavy; which, again, being 16 teams, should take place.
Over the past two seasons, the league is 18-14 in the Tourney, including an 8-6 record in the first round. In comparison, the Big Ten is 12-12, 8-4 (1-7 in the second round), the ACC is 13-11, 9-2 (3-6 in 2nd round), and the Big 12 is 10-8, 5-3.
Obviously the Big East should get more teams in, having more teams in the league, but they have a better winning % than those other leagues. Simple stats, such as that one, may indicate a strong league top to bottom. Or they may just be a 2-year snapshot and not enough of a sample size to demonstrate the league's strength.
Now, I'm not advocating taking the 9th place Big East team over the 6th place ACC team as a blanket statement. I believe a team's body of work must be considered on a yearly basis, regardless of conference affiliation, if they are a bubble team. A great example of this was on Sportscenter tonight. They put the "resumes" of South Alabama and Villanova next to each other. USA's RPI--37. Nova RPI--56. USA--Strength of Schedule--119. Nova--50. Numbers aside, USA has a number of victories against teams likely in the tournament and is 3-2 against the current RPI top 50. Nova is 4-6 against the Top 50.
Despite the losing record, does it help Nova to play twice as many games against Top 50 teams? I believe it HAS to help you. Playing in a league like the Big East really illuminates your strengths and weaknesses. I believe that type of schedule can both harm and hurt your team, especially early in the season. If a team like Nova can handle adversity within the Big East schedule and succeed late the in season, that speaks well of the team's mental toughness and ability to get better.
For example, Nova lost 4 straight games in late January, 3 on the road. Rather than throw in the towel, they rallied to win games in February against tourney-bound teams Marquette, UConn, and West Virginia. They did lose to Louisville, Syracuse and a 2-point buzzer-beater at Georgetown in that late stretch, but gaining that level of mental toughness during that schedule simply has to be beneficial....IF a team accepts that challenge and works to get better every day. And I'm not saying that S. Alabama shouldn't make it. In fact, I think they SHOULD make it this year. Further, I'm not necessarily saying Nova is a lock; they have played up and down and struggled against teams with size; however, they are tourney-tested and have a great coach in Jay Wright.
Here's another example. Let's say the Big Ten next year accepts (regional non Big East schools for the comparison) Butler, Iowa State, WMU (won their division of the MAC this year) and Drake. Butler and Drake are LEGIT, tough-minded teams who run great offensive systems. This would give the Big Ten (likely) 8 tournament teams this year. Wouldn't playing each of those teams just once (and 2 of those games taking place on the road) help, say, a middle of the road team such as Ohio State in the same way that it helped Villanova?
Or would it HURT OSU in the same way that it hurt, say, SYRACUSE this year? Playing that kind of schedule would take away a couple of lesser nonconference opponents off the OSU schedule, put a little more emphasis on conference play, and put a even bigger priority on playing well in a bigger league in order to have a better at-large resume and a better seed in what would be an even more competitive Big 16 tournament. On a year-in, year-out basis, would that hurt or help teams? Again, I simply think that must be applied to each team separately, rather than applying it across the board to every team.
Hopefully I didn't surprise or shock anyone by using logic, rather than saying something like, "THE BIG EAST IS AWESOME! 16 IS BETTER THAN 10!!" It's tough for common sense to permeate through the level of screaming and Vitale at this point in the year, I know. I really didn't give a definitive answer to the question because I don't believe there is a definitive answer. Every team can always point to a game (or games) and blame themselves for not making the tournament.
I think there are some years where the Big East, in its presently constituted form, will have deserving teams miss the tournament because of the schedule they must endure within the league (Syracuse last year). I also believe that some years, the 16-team grind may wear some teams down and possibly drag the league's overall quality down. I also believe that the teams who finish near the top of the league standings should be extremely tournament-ready, and the numbers in the first 2 years of this format prove that out.
Teams from the Big East who gain a 1st thru 4th seed in the field of 65 are 12-4 , including a perfect 8-0 on the opening weekend. In comparison, Big Ten teams are 8-5 (5-4), ACC 10-6 (9-3), and Big 12 9-5 (7-2). Those numbers would seem to indicate that really good teams playing more games against really good teams helps.
Of course, this is all a moot point when the bracket hits this weekend, which is why college basketball is a great sport at EVERY level. You are either in or out, and you either advance or die. It's pretty simple. But what has happened to your team before you land on that seeding line has a direct effect on how far your team travels.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Day 3, in reverse
This was the least newsworthy day of the week, on the heels of playing games on both days preceding this one. Both games were bad double-figure losses, with minimal effort at times during both outings.
Basically, it began at 9:00 in the parking lot of the resort. Our head coach found a flat, 150-yard stretch of pavement, upon which our kids ran a dozen timed sprints. Only one kid brought a water bottle, and 2 of them wore their swimsuits under their shirts. Apparently they didn't expect to actually run after being on the business end of 3 double-figure losses in the 5 previous days.
From there, we took them to the basketball court, where we went through about a 45-minute sprint workout with some yelling taking place. One kid puked afterward all over the place, and some of it got on our coach's leg.
Afterward, we released them for the day. For many of the kids, it was their first time ever seeing a jet-ski in person, which was quite wierd for me, having been around them for most of my life.
Our dinner, provided by our friends at Island Times, was Subway. I was supposed to meet them at 6:00 in the lobby. I arrived at 5:40 to find our food on a table in the lobby with no one around it. Luckily, it was not stolen by any hungry tourists.
The next few entries will get funny/sad/busy once again.
Basically, it began at 9:00 in the parking lot of the resort. Our head coach found a flat, 150-yard stretch of pavement, upon which our kids ran a dozen timed sprints. Only one kid brought a water bottle, and 2 of them wore their swimsuits under their shirts. Apparently they didn't expect to actually run after being on the business end of 3 double-figure losses in the 5 previous days.
From there, we took them to the basketball court, where we went through about a 45-minute sprint workout with some yelling taking place. One kid puked afterward all over the place, and some of it got on our coach's leg.
Afterward, we released them for the day. For many of the kids, it was their first time ever seeing a jet-ski in person, which was quite wierd for me, having been around them for most of my life.
Our dinner, provided by our friends at Island Times, was Subway. I was supposed to meet them at 6:00 in the lobby. I arrived at 5:40 to find our food on a table in the lobby with no one around it. Luckily, it was not stolen by any hungry tourists.
The next few entries will get funny/sad/busy once again.
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