Alrighty, it's upon us...one of the biggest nights of Pistons' fans sports season, the NBA Draft, or as I like to call it, "Remember the Darko"
The Pistons own 2 first-round picks...the 14th overall pick, which is the first choice outside of the lottery, as well as their own selection later in the first round.
If the Pistons do keep the 14th pick, which at this point it looks like they will, I have every digit crossed that either Texas A&M guard Acie Law or Eastern Washington guard Anthony Stuckey are available. Both players are scoring guards that have the ability to take over games on the offensive end who were great in college. I believe that Law would be a great pick for the D, and he may or may not be there depending on which mock draft you believe.
I, for one, am still hoping that Rasheed gets traded. It appears as though the Suns are intent on moving Shawn Marion this off-season, as he is headed into the last year of his deal and would be tough for them to re-sign for salary cap purposes. The dumbest man in W. Michigan radio apparently said yesterday that Sheed for Marion would be a bad move for the Pistons. That is (as usual) a completely misinformed and incorrect thought. Marion is over 3 years younger, much more athletic, and if paired with Tey Tey, gives the Pistons a pair of incredibly athletic forwards that can match up with virtually anyone on opposing teams.
While the Pistons have had scoring issues and Marion, an erratic shooter with no true go-to move, may not answer that problem, that trade would seemingly show free agents Dice and Chauncey that the Pistons are actively looking to get better.
I really believe that Durant will be a great NBA player...once the Sonics get a good nucleus around him. Right now, Seattle has no consistent post scoring and needs to figure out what to do with Uncle Ray-Ray and Rashard Lewis, a free agent that would also fit rather nicely with the Pistons in a sign-and-trade situation.
I'm intrigued to see what Yi looks like in the NBA. He has apparently told NBA teams that he is only interested in going to 4 of the lottery teams, which really should make him a well-liked guy early on if he sucks.
I would love it if the Pistons took a flier on Glen Davis, the oversized LSU forward with their 2nd first-round pick, I think, much like Maxiell, he could be a good undersized skilled post player in a year or two.
Lastly, I do not want to hear one syllable tonight from Jay Bilas or Stephen Smith. My TV gets automatic mute when they both open their traps.
Blogs will once again get a bit more regular at this point.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Saturday, June 9, 2007
An Ode to Ryno
I am going to take a couple of moments to say something nice about Mr. Ryan Wright, my longtime John Street hetero companion/neighbor who is about to tie the knot in roughly 3 hours.
His future wife, Jennifer Diamond, seems to be a rather intelligent person...which leads me to wonder why she's marrying him in the first place. OK, so I had to get one shot in.
I remember MANY days in my childhood when Ryan and my brother Phil would tag along for many baseball games at DeJonge's house. He always seemed to be a happy kid growing up on the mean streets of south John Street. He's always been a solid member of the Outlying Ravenna Area League and here's hoping that some school district gives him a job soon.
I wish Ryan and Jennifer nothing but the best of luck and I hope this day provides them with a lifetime of memories!
With that out of the way, let me now say that the postings will still be a bit sporadic. I must say, however, that my least favorite ESPN trio has hosted a few Sportscenters this week--Scott Van Pelt and Larry Beil in studio, and Stu Scott at the NBA finals. I can't take that lineup any more. I also don't get why SC went to the lineup at the side of the screen...it works for PTI, a halftime rundown talking show. I really don't like it for SC at all.
Lastly, I have already managed to get to G & L once this week, and I plan on getting there a few more times this month. Love me some chili dogs!
His future wife, Jennifer Diamond, seems to be a rather intelligent person...which leads me to wonder why she's marrying him in the first place. OK, so I had to get one shot in.
I remember MANY days in my childhood when Ryan and my brother Phil would tag along for many baseball games at DeJonge's house. He always seemed to be a happy kid growing up on the mean streets of south John Street. He's always been a solid member of the Outlying Ravenna Area League and here's hoping that some school district gives him a job soon.
I wish Ryan and Jennifer nothing but the best of luck and I hope this day provides them with a lifetime of memories!
With that out of the way, let me now say that the postings will still be a bit sporadic. I must say, however, that my least favorite ESPN trio has hosted a few Sportscenters this week--Scott Van Pelt and Larry Beil in studio, and Stu Scott at the NBA finals. I can't take that lineup any more. I also don't get why SC went to the lineup at the side of the screen...it works for PTI, a halftime rundown talking show. I really don't like it for SC at all.
Lastly, I have already managed to get to G & L once this week, and I plan on getting there a few more times this month. Love me some chili dogs!
Friday, June 1, 2007
Lower Court Coaching Experience
Prior to a lengthy Piston talk, I want to wish Ryno and everyone involved safe travels and lots of fun this weekend.
Okay, so you're playing on the Lower Court against ______ (Fill in with your favorite Ravenna basketball legend). No matter who it is, from a DeJonge to Todd Place to Pierson to even Al Braspenninx, there is a way to defend them 1 on 1 (I'd like to think that I know all of these ways, and I won't be releasing them to the general public until after next year's 20th Anniversary edition of the Ravenna Proud Day 3-on-3 Tourney).
If you can't guard that person, you have the following options:
#1--Switch with someone else.
#2--Foul them hard.
#3--Make them work on defense.
#4--Double team them.
#5--Throw a pine cone at their eyes.
Seems simple enough, right? Well, apparently not to Flip Saunders in defending Bron Bron last nite. Let's analyze previously stated options:
#1--They attempted this. Since no one would rotate over quickly enough to help Tey-Tey when he would be beaten off the dribble by LeBron (and just for the record, that isn't anything to feel badly about, and ANYONE who says it's Tey's fault that LBJ went off is an idiot), Flip attempted to put Rip, Chauncey, Lindsay, and even tried Joe D and Fennis Dembo for a possession.
While this strategy is good, without a legit shot-blocker in the middle (Dice, perhaps) if no one does it quickly enough, then you end up with a 1-man layup line, which is what the 2 OT's looked like at times.
#2--They failed to attempt this, aside from one Rasheed takedown in OT. It's OK to foul someone, and hard, especially in the playoffs, rather than have them continually get the 2-handed hammer. If Dice can hit Sideshow Bob that hard (Which, IMO, did NOT warrant an ejection. It wasn't premeditated, wasn't retaliatory in any way, and was early in the game), then surely 95 year old Dale Davis can take a shot at Lebron.
PS--If Dice is suspended for G6, it's complete BS.
#3--The first half of last nite's game was genuinely enteraining to watch. Kristen even watched the entire half without getting a magazine or painting a nail, which was a first for this series.
For some reason, however, that ball movement, scrambling, trapping zone defense and fast breaking went COMPLETELY out the window during 2nd half and OT's. I very much advocate going after Eric Snow and Damon Jones(Top Ten Hate Lister, to be abbrev. as T10HL from here forth) whenever possible on offense, but at least make it a screen-roll or SOMETHING ELSE besides a simple back-down, everyone stare and watch. The Pistons AREN'T GOOD AT THIS ON OFFENSE!!!!!
Nearly every 2nd OT possession was a post-up or a perimeter clear-out. That's why a mediocre defender like Sideshow Bob can make that block on the last possession of the game--everyone in the building knew 6-3 Billups was going to take the last shot, especially when he dribbled to the point where no offensive rebound was going to occur, so he could rotate over quickly with no fear of a big man behind him getting to the rim.
#4--Here's where I simply must lack the knowledge to grasp the Pistons' intricate defensive schema in the OT's. HOW ABOUT, oh I don't know, TAKE THE BALL OUT OF HIS HANDS??? This was done quite well for short stretches in the 4th Q and 1st OT, when Pavlovic (forced to score on the baseline off the dribble) and Gooden (forced to score back to basket) were given the ball in places that they weren't comfortable in.
There was a possession in the first OT where LBJ passed it to Snow at about 17 feet, and he didn't even LOOK at the rim. Can't you somehow manage to keep LBJ out of the paint when you know that one dude isn't going to shoot the ball EVER? (And if you wanted to ever imagine yourself in an NBA game, put yourself in Eric Snow's shoes--a slow, old, non-shooter who gets PT because he isn't afraid to hack, slap, and do whatever it takes to win).
The Pistons even did this on the next to last possession of the game, when Sideshow Bob got his 19 pushed in at the rim after the Pistons tripled LBJ near the FT line.
I simply don't understand how a veteran team can't do this more. It's not rocket science. The zone trap worked to begin the game because the ball stayed outside the paint--the Cavs had exactly zippo paint points in the first quarter. As the game went along, Pistons got lazier on defense, LBJ got to the lane more without help defense sliding over, and as a result, Cavs win.
As for #5, that might be what the D needs on Saturday night. I'm reasonably confident for no logical reason that they win G6, other than they've done this NUMEROUS times before. But I'm seriously tired of watching people complaining about calls. No one else on the team has the right to talk to a ref other than Tey-Tey, who busts his butt on nearly every play and occassionally is lucky enough to shoot.
I'll shut it down at this time with this--If they lose G6, they are officially the NBA version of the Atlanta Braves. At least the Buffalo Bills got to the Super Bowl every year. The Braves, with a raft of talent, seemed to find a way to lose in every postseason and got just 1 ring. The Pistons are on the precipice of that right now, thanks largely to (at times) unfocused play at both ends of the floor and the Darko pick.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take that pine cone and jam it into my own eye.
Okay, so you're playing on the Lower Court against ______ (Fill in with your favorite Ravenna basketball legend). No matter who it is, from a DeJonge to Todd Place to Pierson to even Al Braspenninx, there is a way to defend them 1 on 1 (I'd like to think that I know all of these ways, and I won't be releasing them to the general public until after next year's 20th Anniversary edition of the Ravenna Proud Day 3-on-3 Tourney).
If you can't guard that person, you have the following options:
#1--Switch with someone else.
#2--Foul them hard.
#3--Make them work on defense.
#4--Double team them.
#5--Throw a pine cone at their eyes.
Seems simple enough, right? Well, apparently not to Flip Saunders in defending Bron Bron last nite. Let's analyze previously stated options:
#1--They attempted this. Since no one would rotate over quickly enough to help Tey-Tey when he would be beaten off the dribble by LeBron (and just for the record, that isn't anything to feel badly about, and ANYONE who says it's Tey's fault that LBJ went off is an idiot), Flip attempted to put Rip, Chauncey, Lindsay, and even tried Joe D and Fennis Dembo for a possession.
While this strategy is good, without a legit shot-blocker in the middle (Dice, perhaps) if no one does it quickly enough, then you end up with a 1-man layup line, which is what the 2 OT's looked like at times.
#2--They failed to attempt this, aside from one Rasheed takedown in OT. It's OK to foul someone, and hard, especially in the playoffs, rather than have them continually get the 2-handed hammer. If Dice can hit Sideshow Bob that hard (Which, IMO, did NOT warrant an ejection. It wasn't premeditated, wasn't retaliatory in any way, and was early in the game), then surely 95 year old Dale Davis can take a shot at Lebron.
PS--If Dice is suspended for G6, it's complete BS.
#3--The first half of last nite's game was genuinely enteraining to watch. Kristen even watched the entire half without getting a magazine or painting a nail, which was a first for this series.
For some reason, however, that ball movement, scrambling, trapping zone defense and fast breaking went COMPLETELY out the window during 2nd half and OT's. I very much advocate going after Eric Snow and Damon Jones(Top Ten Hate Lister, to be abbrev. as T10HL from here forth) whenever possible on offense, but at least make it a screen-roll or SOMETHING ELSE besides a simple back-down, everyone stare and watch. The Pistons AREN'T GOOD AT THIS ON OFFENSE!!!!!
Nearly every 2nd OT possession was a post-up or a perimeter clear-out. That's why a mediocre defender like Sideshow Bob can make that block on the last possession of the game--everyone in the building knew 6-3 Billups was going to take the last shot, especially when he dribbled to the point where no offensive rebound was going to occur, so he could rotate over quickly with no fear of a big man behind him getting to the rim.
#4--Here's where I simply must lack the knowledge to grasp the Pistons' intricate defensive schema in the OT's. HOW ABOUT, oh I don't know, TAKE THE BALL OUT OF HIS HANDS??? This was done quite well for short stretches in the 4th Q and 1st OT, when Pavlovic (forced to score on the baseline off the dribble) and Gooden (forced to score back to basket) were given the ball in places that they weren't comfortable in.
There was a possession in the first OT where LBJ passed it to Snow at about 17 feet, and he didn't even LOOK at the rim. Can't you somehow manage to keep LBJ out of the paint when you know that one dude isn't going to shoot the ball EVER? (And if you wanted to ever imagine yourself in an NBA game, put yourself in Eric Snow's shoes--a slow, old, non-shooter who gets PT because he isn't afraid to hack, slap, and do whatever it takes to win).
The Pistons even did this on the next to last possession of the game, when Sideshow Bob got his 19 pushed in at the rim after the Pistons tripled LBJ near the FT line.
I simply don't understand how a veteran team can't do this more. It's not rocket science. The zone trap worked to begin the game because the ball stayed outside the paint--the Cavs had exactly zippo paint points in the first quarter. As the game went along, Pistons got lazier on defense, LBJ got to the lane more without help defense sliding over, and as a result, Cavs win.
As for #5, that might be what the D needs on Saturday night. I'm reasonably confident for no logical reason that they win G6, other than they've done this NUMEROUS times before. But I'm seriously tired of watching people complaining about calls. No one else on the team has the right to talk to a ref other than Tey-Tey, who busts his butt on nearly every play and occassionally is lucky enough to shoot.
I'll shut it down at this time with this--If they lose G6, they are officially the NBA version of the Atlanta Braves. At least the Buffalo Bills got to the Super Bowl every year. The Braves, with a raft of talent, seemed to find a way to lose in every postseason and got just 1 ring. The Pistons are on the precipice of that right now, thanks largely to (at times) unfocused play at both ends of the floor and the Darko pick.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take that pine cone and jam it into my own eye.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Clark Kellogg is THE MAN!
I know I don't talk about this a whole lot, but I've reffed WAYYYY too many games over the past 10 summers or so. I'm sure that I'll have multiple reffing posts over the next few months, but I gotta post my first one based on a game that I didthis past weekend.
I was in Fort Wayne reffing a Run N Slam tournament, which are sponsored by the Spiece Fieldhouse. The Spiece is an 8-court mega gym in Fort Wayne which also has a great AAU program for boys and girls in Fort Wayne as well as in Indianapolis.
Generally speaking, the teams in the Spiece-related tourneys are approximately 4,123 times better than in any AYBT tourney, largely because the Spiece tourneys get AAU teams from across the country--in fact, I did 25 games this weekend in age groups from 6th to 11th graders and reffed teams from Wisconsin, Florida, Utah, and Iowa. Now, I'm not going to say whether or not a bunch of Utah 8th grade kids need to play in a tournament in Indiana, or why their parents think that's a good idea--not my kid, so I guess they can do what they want with their money.
The game I'll talk about was a game involving 9th graders between C-BIZ. a group of kids from the Columbus, OH area, and Indiana Elite, a NW Indiana AAU club's offshoot branch in the Fort Wayne area. The Elite team had a 6-7 lefty named DeShawn Thomas, who is rated as a top-3 freshman IN THE COUNTRY and has already been offered from a number of D-I's, including Ohio State. He is a flat-out stud with an advanced offensive game, but didn't defend very well in this game.
Elite's coach ended up being one of the classic overcoaching AAU screamers, and Thomas complained about EVERY call. My partner T'd the Elite's coach up (we were playing by HS rules), which meant he had to sit down the rest of the game. Of course he had never heard of the rule and thought we were making it up, because we have nothing better to do with our weekends than torture mediocre AAU coaches.
And needless to say, the Elite's parents were screaming fools. In fact, they actually have a reputation ALREADY as 9th grade parents as a group that has to be dealt with, so our site supervisor was lucky enough to sit in the stands and deal with their tired act all game long as well. I'll deal with this at length in a later post, but I simply don't understand why parents like that don't get the fact that the more they yell about EVERY SINGLE PLAY, the more their coach gets worked up, and the more their kids get worked up. To illustrate that fact, after the Elite's coach got T'd, he was quiet for roughly 10 minutes, just long enough for his kids to go on about a 20-4 run during which they just pounded the C-BIZ.
Well, Elite won the game by 5 or 6 points. Directly before the next game started, I see a large gentleman walking out of the stands toward me. At this point in the day, usually its a parent ready to direct their misplaced anger and ignorance toward the ref who made his kids' team miss all their free throws and layups.
But in a COMPLETE surprise, it ends up being CBS college basketball expert Clark Kellogg! His son played on the C-BIZ team, and completely unprompted, he came out of the stands to tell Ryan (my partner) and I how great a job we did in handling the game. His direct quote, "If I say something to anyone in the stands or at the event about the other team's parents, it's just like pouring gasoline on the fire."
It was my own personal One Shining Moment during a weekend of forgettable ones. Clark Kellogg is now my new favorite college basketball studio analyst.
I was in Fort Wayne reffing a Run N Slam tournament, which are sponsored by the Spiece Fieldhouse. The Spiece is an 8-court mega gym in Fort Wayne which also has a great AAU program for boys and girls in Fort Wayne as well as in Indianapolis.
Generally speaking, the teams in the Spiece-related tourneys are approximately 4,123 times better than in any AYBT tourney, largely because the Spiece tourneys get AAU teams from across the country--in fact, I did 25 games this weekend in age groups from 6th to 11th graders and reffed teams from Wisconsin, Florida, Utah, and Iowa. Now, I'm not going to say whether or not a bunch of Utah 8th grade kids need to play in a tournament in Indiana, or why their parents think that's a good idea--not my kid, so I guess they can do what they want with their money.
The game I'll talk about was a game involving 9th graders between C-BIZ. a group of kids from the Columbus, OH area, and Indiana Elite, a NW Indiana AAU club's offshoot branch in the Fort Wayne area. The Elite team had a 6-7 lefty named DeShawn Thomas, who is rated as a top-3 freshman IN THE COUNTRY and has already been offered from a number of D-I's, including Ohio State. He is a flat-out stud with an advanced offensive game, but didn't defend very well in this game.
Elite's coach ended up being one of the classic overcoaching AAU screamers, and Thomas complained about EVERY call. My partner T'd the Elite's coach up (we were playing by HS rules), which meant he had to sit down the rest of the game. Of course he had never heard of the rule and thought we were making it up, because we have nothing better to do with our weekends than torture mediocre AAU coaches.
And needless to say, the Elite's parents were screaming fools. In fact, they actually have a reputation ALREADY as 9th grade parents as a group that has to be dealt with, so our site supervisor was lucky enough to sit in the stands and deal with their tired act all game long as well. I'll deal with this at length in a later post, but I simply don't understand why parents like that don't get the fact that the more they yell about EVERY SINGLE PLAY, the more their coach gets worked up, and the more their kids get worked up. To illustrate that fact, after the Elite's coach got T'd, he was quiet for roughly 10 minutes, just long enough for his kids to go on about a 20-4 run during which they just pounded the C-BIZ.
Well, Elite won the game by 5 or 6 points. Directly before the next game started, I see a large gentleman walking out of the stands toward me. At this point in the day, usually its a parent ready to direct their misplaced anger and ignorance toward the ref who made his kids' team miss all their free throws and layups.
But in a COMPLETE surprise, it ends up being CBS college basketball expert Clark Kellogg! His son played on the C-BIZ team, and completely unprompted, he came out of the stands to tell Ryan (my partner) and I how great a job we did in handling the game. His direct quote, "If I say something to anyone in the stands or at the event about the other team's parents, it's just like pouring gasoline on the fire."
It was my own personal One Shining Moment during a weekend of forgettable ones. Clark Kellogg is now my new favorite college basketball studio analyst.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Play the Lottery
I was absolutely transfixed by the lottery last night. My favorite part was watching nutjob Tommy Heinsohn's facial reaction when the Celtics' envelope was chosen at the #5 slot. At that spot, they are likely going to have to take a chance on a foreign dude, or an athlete with "tremendous upside" like Brandan Wright from UNC or Rush from Kansas.
I was also happy that the Pacers, Bucks, or Grizzle didn't get the top 2 spots for a variety of reasons, especially the fact that the Bucks, Celtics and Grizzle went into full-on tank mode late in the year.
Spurs may sweep the series. The Jazz simply aren't good enough perimeter defenders to slow Parker and Ginobili. No surprise that the Jazz (Giricek and Harpring) and Cavs (Pavlovic and Snow) have perimeter players that the other team can take advantage of, which will be both team's downfalls. Utah needs to address that position somehow if they will ever get the best out of Boozer-AK-Millsap-Deron Williams.
That's where the Pistons are so good--Tey Tey and Billups are great defenders at their positions, they can go to the zone, and Lindsay can come in and defend perimeter guys as well. Rip is, well, Rip, but at least he is someone that the other team has to account for on offense and he can make up for his below average defense by knocking down jumpers.
Busily packing for my trip home this June...lots of reffing, a pair of weddings and other very enjoyable things to do and see. Postings will become rather random, and the podcasting will happen when I get back to Cincy. Looking forward to coming home for awhile!
Today's Insane Person Award...
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2880144
Elijah Dukes, Devil Ray OF, reportedly broke into his girlfriend's middle school classroom last month and threatened to kill her.
My favorite quote..."I'm just going to play ball, that's it," Dukes told the newspaper. "I've got to go. I've got a video game to finish."
I've used this quote before on the phone, just never with a national sportswriter in answering whether or not I threated to kill a middle school teacher.
I was also happy that the Pacers, Bucks, or Grizzle didn't get the top 2 spots for a variety of reasons, especially the fact that the Bucks, Celtics and Grizzle went into full-on tank mode late in the year.
Spurs may sweep the series. The Jazz simply aren't good enough perimeter defenders to slow Parker and Ginobili. No surprise that the Jazz (Giricek and Harpring) and Cavs (Pavlovic and Snow) have perimeter players that the other team can take advantage of, which will be both team's downfalls. Utah needs to address that position somehow if they will ever get the best out of Boozer-AK-Millsap-Deron Williams.
That's where the Pistons are so good--Tey Tey and Billups are great defenders at their positions, they can go to the zone, and Lindsay can come in and defend perimeter guys as well. Rip is, well, Rip, but at least he is someone that the other team has to account for on offense and he can make up for his below average defense by knocking down jumpers.
Busily packing for my trip home this June...lots of reffing, a pair of weddings and other very enjoyable things to do and see. Postings will become rather random, and the podcasting will happen when I get back to Cincy. Looking forward to coming home for awhile!
Today's Insane Person Award...
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2880144
Elijah Dukes, Devil Ray OF, reportedly broke into his girlfriend's middle school classroom last month and threatened to kill her.
My favorite quote..."I'm just going to play ball, that's it," Dukes told the newspaper. "I've got to go. I've got a video game to finish."
I've used this quote before on the phone, just never with a national sportswriter in answering whether or not I threated to kill a middle school teacher.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
David Kircus representing GVFU well
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2878625
Apparently the former Laker blasted a dude in the face at a party after having 3 too many. Good for him...something tells me he won't be the last Brian Kelly product on the police blotter anytime soon.
My favorite sentence in the article...Kircus, who resumed his NFL career last season after spending a year away from football working in a fast-food shop, is free on $6,000 bail.
I hope that Helly somehow gets into shape and gets a spot on the Muskegon Indoor Arena Professional League (or whatever it's called) so I can read the following sentence in the Chronicle next year, "Helsen, who resumed his football career last season after spending 4 years away from the field balancing budgets and doing his friends' taxes,..."
LOTTERY TALK
My love for the NBA is well-known. I honestly am very much looking forward to the lottery, broadcast tonite at 8:30 on ESPN.
Simmons already brought up the best potential moment of the draft--when the #10 envelope is opened. If it says Bulls, then they've fleeced Isiah and the Knicks for a mid-lottery pick. If it says anything else...then the Bulls are in the top-3 of the lottery, which means Oden, Durant, or someone else who should immediately be a stud for them.
I'm not sure which one I'm rooting for. I think I want to see a non-Bulls logo, just so Isiah's face can be broadcast on every sports outlet for the next 24 hours.
Pistons have 2 first-round picks in the draft--theirs and Orlando's, which is the first pick outside of the lottery.
Apparently the former Laker blasted a dude in the face at a party after having 3 too many. Good for him...something tells me he won't be the last Brian Kelly product on the police blotter anytime soon.
My favorite sentence in the article...Kircus, who resumed his NFL career last season after spending a year away from football working in a fast-food shop, is free on $6,000 bail.
I hope that Helly somehow gets into shape and gets a spot on the Muskegon Indoor Arena Professional League (or whatever it's called) so I can read the following sentence in the Chronicle next year, "Helsen, who resumed his football career last season after spending 4 years away from the field balancing budgets and doing his friends' taxes,..."
LOTTERY TALK
My love for the NBA is well-known. I honestly am very much looking forward to the lottery, broadcast tonite at 8:30 on ESPN.
Simmons already brought up the best potential moment of the draft--when the #10 envelope is opened. If it says Bulls, then they've fleeced Isiah and the Knicks for a mid-lottery pick. If it says anything else...then the Bulls are in the top-3 of the lottery, which means Oden, Durant, or someone else who should immediately be a stud for them.
I'm not sure which one I'm rooting for. I think I want to see a non-Bulls logo, just so Isiah's face can be broadcast on every sports outlet for the next 24 hours.
Pistons have 2 first-round picks in the draft--theirs and Orlando's, which is the first pick outside of the lottery.
I'm glad I never gave Clinton Portis a puppy
I don't have a lot to say at this point about Pistons-Cavs, other than I nearly called the score at halftime (said 78-74 on the phone, you can look that 19 up)
It was an incredibly hard game to watch. Billups has problems against the Cavs because they can put Hughes (a taller, quicker defender) on him, and the Pistons' post players (except Cram Max) never actually roll to the rim on screen rolls. When this happens, Pavlovic guards Rip (which is why Hamilton actually looked aggressive offensively in the first half). And Eric Snow doesn't count as a good defender--there was a play in the 3rd quarter where Snow was aboot 7 feet away from the rim and Rasheed was BACKPEDALING away from him because he knew Snow was absolutely no threat to score.
Pavlovic was also at fault for the Pistons' last FG of the game--looking at replays, you can see him barely moving toward Billups as he teed up a wide-open wing 3 in front of a screaming Mike Brown.
I can't imagine the Pistons playing worse offensively and winning a game. Not sure why they didn't give Flip Murray a chance in the first half, especially when they were so stagnant on offense. Also completely unclear why Bron Bron wouldn't at least look at the rim on that last play before kicking it out to Luda--I mean Donyell Marshall.
"I know a lot of back roads that have the dog fighting if you want to go see it,"
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2878099
Wow. With those words, Clinton Portis has blabbed his way into Hall of Fame enemy status for animal lovers everywhere.
Now, I'm all for letting a man do what a man wants to do inside his four walls. But seriously, dog fighting may not be the best hobby for an NFL QB to be a part of. Come on Mr. Mexico, how about playing the XBox? Landscaping? There have to be many other things to do with your time rather than (reportedly) letting your live-in cousin breed dogs for fighting.
It was an incredibly hard game to watch. Billups has problems against the Cavs because they can put Hughes (a taller, quicker defender) on him, and the Pistons' post players (except Cram Max) never actually roll to the rim on screen rolls. When this happens, Pavlovic guards Rip (which is why Hamilton actually looked aggressive offensively in the first half). And Eric Snow doesn't count as a good defender--there was a play in the 3rd quarter where Snow was aboot 7 feet away from the rim and Rasheed was BACKPEDALING away from him because he knew Snow was absolutely no threat to score.
Pavlovic was also at fault for the Pistons' last FG of the game--looking at replays, you can see him barely moving toward Billups as he teed up a wide-open wing 3 in front of a screaming Mike Brown.
I can't imagine the Pistons playing worse offensively and winning a game. Not sure why they didn't give Flip Murray a chance in the first half, especially when they were so stagnant on offense. Also completely unclear why Bron Bron wouldn't at least look at the rim on that last play before kicking it out to Luda--I mean Donyell Marshall.
"I know a lot of back roads that have the dog fighting if you want to go see it,"
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2878099
Wow. With those words, Clinton Portis has blabbed his way into Hall of Fame enemy status for animal lovers everywhere.
Now, I'm all for letting a man do what a man wants to do inside his four walls. But seriously, dog fighting may not be the best hobby for an NFL QB to be a part of. Come on Mr. Mexico, how about playing the XBox? Landscaping? There have to be many other things to do with your time rather than (reportedly) letting your live-in cousin breed dogs for fighting.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Dump Day Pride!
Ahhh, there's nothing like small-town traditions. Ravenna in May brings post-season high school tournaments. Prom & graduation day. Getting the clubs out and playing the Creeks. Yardwork and the fresh smell of manure wafting through the air.
For about the last 10 or so years, another tradition unlike any other (TM) has taken hold of Ravenna---DUMP DAY. To the untrained eye, Dump Day would simply be a chance for the village residents to throw out anything that they don't want that they garbage man won't take--washers, furniture, roofing tiles, you name it.
That, however, would be selling the night short. What Dump Day provides, besides the ability for people to throw out anything and not feel bad about overloading the Muskegon County landfill, is the chance for "normal" people to file thought people's junk and add to their own personal junk piles.
And don't for a second get a picture in your mind that the Dump Day shoppers are the unwashed types. There are many college graduates living in the greater Ravenna metro area who enjoy trolling the mean streets looking for anything that they might use. My sister was on the lookout for a "3-legged chair, a mattress without springs, or a table with no legs" for my next birthday present.
My mother, on Sunday, was a bit depressed after this year's Dump Day, as her junk was actually rejected by the garbage men. It wasn't that it was junk that wasn't good enough to be called junk, but rather she found out that they wouldn't take her half-used cans of old paint.
Helly and Al went out on the town on Friday night and came back emptyhanded, but Jason had a great theory regarding DD07, "It was a down year. I think everyone's pile was the stuff that they had taken from everyone else's piles over the past few years, so we need a year to recycle that stuff out and get some fresh stuff out there for next year."
That incredibly warped logic (which I understand completely) is what DD is all about--you gotta get out there and put in the leg work to fully experience what the tradition is all about.
Pistons-Cavs open tonight. Time for 2 solid weeks of me talking about how much I detest Varajeo and Damon Jones. Bring on the worst offensive sets in the NBA dressed in the ugliest road jerseys!
For about the last 10 or so years, another tradition unlike any other (TM) has taken hold of Ravenna---DUMP DAY. To the untrained eye, Dump Day would simply be a chance for the village residents to throw out anything that they don't want that they garbage man won't take--washers, furniture, roofing tiles, you name it.
That, however, would be selling the night short. What Dump Day provides, besides the ability for people to throw out anything and not feel bad about overloading the Muskegon County landfill, is the chance for "normal" people to file thought people's junk and add to their own personal junk piles.
And don't for a second get a picture in your mind that the Dump Day shoppers are the unwashed types. There are many college graduates living in the greater Ravenna metro area who enjoy trolling the mean streets looking for anything that they might use. My sister was on the lookout for a "3-legged chair, a mattress without springs, or a table with no legs" for my next birthday present.
My mother, on Sunday, was a bit depressed after this year's Dump Day, as her junk was actually rejected by the garbage men. It wasn't that it was junk that wasn't good enough to be called junk, but rather she found out that they wouldn't take her half-used cans of old paint.
Helly and Al went out on the town on Friday night and came back emptyhanded, but Jason had a great theory regarding DD07, "It was a down year. I think everyone's pile was the stuff that they had taken from everyone else's piles over the past few years, so we need a year to recycle that stuff out and get some fresh stuff out there for next year."
That incredibly warped logic (which I understand completely) is what DD is all about--you gotta get out there and put in the leg work to fully experience what the tradition is all about.
Pistons-Cavs open tonight. Time for 2 solid weeks of me talking about how much I detest Varajeo and Damon Jones. Bring on the worst offensive sets in the NBA dressed in the ugliest road jerseys!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Random thoughts on a Friday...
Tigers enter an interesting 9-game homestand today...struggling Cardinals come back to a chorus of boos, followed by the Angels, then the Central-leading Indians, who suddenly have the best starting staff in the division. The D managed to score a whopping 2 runs in a game yesterday in which they had seven doubles. That's tough to do.
Astros peed down their leg in the 12th last night, giving Lidge yet another loss. They have suddenly (kind of) righted the ship, thanks largely to a solid bullpen and the play of rookie CF Hunter Pence, and hopefuly Jason Jennings and Brandon Backe can get healthy soon. They host the Rangers in "Rivalry Weekend", then leave for 2 four-game road series with the Giants and Diamondbacks.
Let me again restate something--if Chauncey doesn't re-sign, the Pistons should blow it up. Period. They have built it nicely with some long-term deals for Rip, Tey-Tey and Sheed, but if Chauncey doesn't come back, they might as well get Cram Max in the lineup right away and draft VERY smartly with their 2 first-round picks this year. If the Cavs win tonight, then the East Finals begin on Monday, if it goes to a seventh game, then the East Finals begin on Wednesday.
Bulls, with Durant or Oden thanks to Isiah, are going to be tough...maybe. They still have MULTIPLE choices to make with their free agents. PJ Brown and Nocioni are both unrestricted free agents after this year, and after next season, Thomas, Deng, Gordon, Thabo Sefalsha, and Duhon will ALL be free agents. While Brown and Nocioni are likely both gone, especially if the Bulls luck their way into a top-2 pick, they will have some decisions to make next year, and if they don't trade Gordon, they'll still have a smallish backcourt which big guards like Billups can take advantage of. And the fun part of the Bulls' cap--Ben's contract is nearly ONE THIRD of their total salary!
Looking forward, as always, to new episodes of Charm School and Fit Club on Sunday. Not going to lie--I LOVE both shows, can't get enough of the Charm Schoolers, they continue to amaze me with their ability to say and do ignorant things. Fit Club will be fun this week because Screech is on the verge of a beatdown from Harvey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in-bKq1vQQo&mode=related&search
Relax, watch, enjoy.
Tigers enter an interesting 9-game homestand today...struggling Cardinals come back to a chorus of boos, followed by the Angels, then the Central-leading Indians, who suddenly have the best starting staff in the division. The D managed to score a whopping 2 runs in a game yesterday in which they had seven doubles. That's tough to do.
Astros peed down their leg in the 12th last night, giving Lidge yet another loss. They have suddenly (kind of) righted the ship, thanks largely to a solid bullpen and the play of rookie CF Hunter Pence, and hopefuly Jason Jennings and Brandon Backe can get healthy soon. They host the Rangers in "Rivalry Weekend", then leave for 2 four-game road series with the Giants and Diamondbacks.
Let me again restate something--if Chauncey doesn't re-sign, the Pistons should blow it up. Period. They have built it nicely with some long-term deals for Rip, Tey-Tey and Sheed, but if Chauncey doesn't come back, they might as well get Cram Max in the lineup right away and draft VERY smartly with their 2 first-round picks this year. If the Cavs win tonight, then the East Finals begin on Monday, if it goes to a seventh game, then the East Finals begin on Wednesday.
Bulls, with Durant or Oden thanks to Isiah, are going to be tough...maybe. They still have MULTIPLE choices to make with their free agents. PJ Brown and Nocioni are both unrestricted free agents after this year, and after next season, Thomas, Deng, Gordon, Thabo Sefalsha, and Duhon will ALL be free agents. While Brown and Nocioni are likely both gone, especially if the Bulls luck their way into a top-2 pick, they will have some decisions to make next year, and if they don't trade Gordon, they'll still have a smallish backcourt which big guards like Billups can take advantage of. And the fun part of the Bulls' cap--Ben's contract is nearly ONE THIRD of their total salary!
Looking forward, as always, to new episodes of Charm School and Fit Club on Sunday. Not going to lie--I LOVE both shows, can't get enough of the Charm Schoolers, they continue to amaze me with their ability to say and do ignorant things. Fit Club will be fun this week because Screech is on the verge of a beatdown from Harvey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in-bKq1vQQo&mode=related&search
Relax, watch, enjoy.
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