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Contrary to popular belief and going against a legendary yule time song, this is the most wonderful time of the year.
St. Paddy's Day just ended, Easter is coming up this weekend, spring begins today (and if you happen to live in Florida, hail the onslaught of spring breakers), the start of the baseball season is just around the corner, and the annual bracket-fest known as March madness gets underway as the NCAA basketball tournament tips off today.
I think that beats a single winter-time holiday in my book.
Amidst all the warm weather (again, only if you live here) and thawing good spirits there will be millions of budding bracketologists wagering a solid $20 spot in the hopes that their monumental upsets come in, giving them the big push they need to take home the crown of King (or Queen) of the Office Pool.
Unless you're one of the millions who never picks the right upsets and sees their top pick lose in the Sweet 16 or earlier.
Like me.
But either way this is certainly a fun time on the calendar. I love seeing the people who skip work or take LONG lunches in order to catch that all-important 15-2 match up, or better yet the diehards who just hunker down on the couch for about 64 hours on the first four days of the tourney until they start to resemble the woman who got stuck to the toilet seat. They are the ones who make this time so special.
So embrace the atmosphere, soak up the sun (again, FLA residents & tourists only), and enjoy the best damn 30-day period on the calendar.
And if you really need something to smile about, check out my picks after the jump.
Sweet 16:
-N. Carolina v Notre Dame
-Louisville v Tennessee
-Kansas v Villanova
-Kansas St. v Georgetown
-Memphis v Pitt
-Stanford v Texas
-UCLA v Drake
-Purdue v Duke
Elite 8:
-N. Carolina v Tennessee
-Kansas v Georgetown
-Pitt v Texas
-UCLA v Duke
Final 4:
-Tennessee v Kansas
-Texas v UCLA
Championship Game:
-Tennessee v UCLA
National Champs:
Tennessee Vols
Okay, you can stop laughing now!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Start the Madness! The NCAA Tourney is upon us
Saturday, June 02, 2007
The day LBJ saved the NBA
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The San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons were both supposed to make it to the NBA Finals this year.
James (20 pts, 14 rebs, 8 ass) didn't have the monster game like he had in Game 5, but he didn't need to. With a career-high 31 points from rising star guard Daniel Gibson and another solid defensive effort that helped limit Tayshaun Prince to five points and Chauncey Billips to nine, the Cavs used a complete team effort to defeat the ultimate "team" in the league.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Will they get off LeBron's back now?!
An incredible, amazing, fantastic, yes, even Jordan-esque performance from LeBron James elevates the Cavaliers to the brink of the Finals
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Check out 'Sheed's face as Bron nails yet another clutch jumper
"One of the great performances all-time in playoff history."--Marv Albert
"Did you know that you were this good?"--Craig Sager
LeBron, smiling sheepishly-- "No."
LeBron James' Nike campaign slogan uses the brilliant subtlety of a simple word: 'Witness'.
Tonight we did.
I'm not really sure to begin describing what I just witnessed, as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons, 109-107 in double-overtime to take a 3-2 series lead, but I guess I'll start with the numbers, because they are so mind-boggling:
- 48 total points
- 25 consecutive Cavs points to end the game
- scored 28 of his team's last 29 points
- 35 points after halftime
- 18-33 from field
- 9 rebs, 7 assists, 2 steals
But numbers don't always do a story justice, and this game tonight between the Pistons and Cavs was about much more than numbers, although the Cavaliers are happy to be headed home with a 3-2 series advantage.
Because more than just put up nearly half a hundy en route to knocking off the 5-time conference finalist Pistons in their own building in double OT, King James took his custom Nikes and stomped on all the haters who have criticized his every move, endorsement deal and ill-advised pass on his way to becoming the face of the NBA.
Perhaps all the griping had to do with the fact that he was a poster boy for over-exposed high school athletes from the age of 14, or that he inked a $90 million dollar contract with the swoosh empire before he ever laced up a sneaker on an NBA court....
...or it might have been the fact that he has never given the haters reason to actually hate him; he's stayed clean off the court, has never been seen brandishing a firearm, wagering on 'roided-up Rotties, or raining bags full of his millions down on unsuspecting exotic dancers. Sure he had an incident or two, like walking off the court or snubbing a teammate or coach here and there...
...but c'mon, the kid is just 22 and in four years has given hoop fans more highlights and memorable moments this side of Dwayne Wade, and with Wade hurting and the Cavs poised to make it to the Finals for the first time in franchise history, the time is now for LeBron to silence his critics and take the league by the balls.
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Tonight LeBron did something that few other players have done since His Airness exited the league-the first time: put his team on his back and willed them to victory by scoring a slew of outrageous, jaw-dropping shots from all over the court and stunning a favored team in their own crib.
He hit long fadeaways. He hit driving layups. He nailed threes. He got fouled and hit 10-14 free throws. Oh yeah, and he had three monster dunks late in the game, plus a knifing layup through four Pistons that turned out to be the game winner.
Tonight, all critics will reluctantly agree, was truly LeBron's "welcome to the NBA" moment.
I'm just glad I got to witness it.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
NBA Playoffs starting to resemble the WWE
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If you see this man on the street or outside a strip club at 3:00 am, please run quickly in the opposite direction
Canadian native Nash, Horry will have to sit out two games while Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw of the Suns will each sit one game for leaving the bench in the chaos that ensued.Thursday, May 10, 2007
NBA Playoffs taken to a ho.......nuva.......level
The play of the underdog Golden State Warriors and a heartbreaking revelation by an on-court hero has rejuvenated the NBA Playoffs
Even though the Warriors collapsed down the stretch last night and wound up losing Game 2 of the Western Conference Semis, 127-117 in OT to the Utah Jazz, the scrappy team from the (other) Bay Area continued to do what they have done best this playoff season:
re-convert former NBA fans who had lost interest in the sport over the past few years due to any of numerous reasons, a group of which I am a founding member.
After commissioner David Stern globalized the sport, elevating it to one of the best professional leagues in the world, and maximized its earning potential to the zillionth degree, something happened to the game itself: it turned into a predictable, me-first snoozefest featuring a few bankable starts, a ton of talented-but-petulant wannabes and coaches who had no more control over their players than Eliot Mintz had over Paris Hilton.
And then along came the 2006-07 GS Warriors. A joke of a team at mid season (19-22), GM Chris Mullin orchestrated a ballsy trade that would either make or break the team- he dealt popular but underachieving players Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavey plus a couple of scrubs for Stephen "Action" Jackson, a guy who never met a strip club he couldn't riddle with gunfire, Al Harrington and a couple of scrubs back.
Although they didn't set the world on fire, Golden State finished the season on a 23-20 run after the deal and eked into the playoffs as the 8-seed with a 42-40 record.
One historic and hyperkinectic dismantling of the NBA's best team, the 67-win Dallas Mavericks, in the opening round later and the Warriors and their brand of fast & furious funball has electrified the league and brought some much-needed-juice back to the NBA Playoffs. Playing in an packed arena in front of collegiate-like crowds, these Warriors have given fans a reason to care again, even if it is only for a short time.
But like I said, it didn't matter that the best show on hardcourt lost the game last night and is facing a 2-0 deficit as it heads back home for Game 3 on Friday night; no, there was an even better thing that happened during & after the game, and it had nothing to do with points & rebounds, wins & losses.
When Jazz guard Derek Fisher stepped onto the court with just over 3:00 to play in the 3rd quarter to a thunderous ovation, you'd have thought the 11-year veteran might have been having the game of his life, yet it was the first time he had seen the court in the series; he had to leave the team suddenly late last week under the vague umbrella of "personal reasons", and no one was sure when he would return.Rusty, tired and emotionally spent, Fisher keyed a Jazz comeback by forcing a turnover on Warrior's guard Baron Davis late in regulation and then nailing a clutch three-pointer late in overtime to ensure the win. He finished with just five points, three assists, and one rebound in 10 minutes of play, and yet he was the unquestioned hero of the day.
Why?Immediately following the game in an emotional post-game interview with TNT's Pam Oliver, Fisher confessed to the world that he had been in New York with his 1-year-old daughter as she received an operation for a rare form of eye cancer. Having undergone successful emergency surgery & chemotherapy earlier in the day, he and his family flew back to Utah later that evening, and a man who needed a way to channel his raw emotions did it the only way he knows how, by taking the the court and thus entering into playoff history.
As he pleaded with the public to have their children visit an opthamoligist to scan for this deadly disease known as retinoblastoma, tears streamed down the face of everyone watching, and immediately the importance of the game and sports itself took a back seat to real life and the courage of this man and his family.
Best wishes to the Fisher family, and welcome back, National Basketball Association.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Spring forward with a great sports weekend
The Tampa Bay area is the hub of the sports universe as 3 major sports converge on the Gulf Coast
If there was a worse time to put the new & "improved" Daylight Savings Time plan in to effect I can't think of one.
What a weekend to lose an hour of sleep; there are so many events & games taking place in the wide world of sports that odds are a handful of marriages will not make it thru the NCAA Selection Special on Sunday evening.
And for those of lucky enough to be visiting Florida's Gulf Coast this weekend, there is an awesome array of events to attend in a variety of sports, all within driving distance of Tampa and the Gulf beaches.
Let's take a tour inside the sports universe, Tampa Bay edition.
ACC Tournament, Semi Finals & Finals
Ice Palace (i.e. the St. Pete Times Forum)
Downtown Tampa (take the Ashley St. exit off of I-275)
The arena on Channelside Drive has been hailed as an outstanding site for the tourney by everyone from commentators to league officials (well, everyone except Bomani Jones, that is), and the building has already seen some great action this week, namely three overtime games, including a 114-112 2 OT thriller won by Wake over Georgia Tech last night.
In what could be called the de facto Championship game, #4 seed Boston College will face #1 seed North Carolina in one semifinal game Saturday at 1:30. BC held off a pesky 12th-seeded Miami squad today, 74-71 in OT, while the Heels easily dispatched the Seminoles, 73-58.
Plenty of good seats should be available, as scalpers are trying to unload scads of tix for well below face value now that the travelling parties of schools such as Duke and Maryland have decided to spend the rest of the weekend trolling for shells around Caladesi Island and the Noles & Canes contingents have high-tailed it back to Tally & Dade County.
The winner of that game will take on either the Wolfpack, which knocked off Virginia today, or the winner of tonight's Va Tech/Wake matchup. Either way it looks like there should be some more great hoops being played at the Forum this weekend.
(BTW, in reference to that Bomani Jones link, the reason the ACC Tourney is so much more important in Greensboro is because IT'S IN FREAKING GREENSBORO! What the hell else are people gonna do there besides get immersed in the tourney and go catfishing? Here the fans can enjoy the hoops while also enjoying spectacular sunsets on spectacular beaches drinking spectacular, watered down drinks. Get a clue, Bomani.)
PGA Tour PODS ChampionshipInnisbrook Golf Resort, Copperhead Course
Palm Harbor (take US 19 N just past Alderman Road on the left)
The event formerly known as the Chrysler Championship gets a new sponsor (local portable storage container company PODS), new date (the Chrysler was played in late October) and new found prestige as a jewel in the PGA's newfangled Fed Ex Cup.
Although the tour's main draw, Lord Tiger, has yet to grace the event in any of its incarnations (before the Chrysler the event was known as the Tampa Bay Classic), top pros such as Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson have made appearances on the famed Copperhead course.
This year Lefty, Big Easy and the Goose have decided to skip the notoriously tough Innisbrook rough, but big names such as Sergio Garcia, Vijay, Charles Howell III and local favorite Chris Gator DiMarco have made the cut and will be in the hunt this weekend..jpg)
The wife already scored some passes to this event so I will be checking out the action firsthand on Sunday as the leaders come down to 18. Not sure if I am going to try to bring my Canon because John Daly had to withdraw this weekend after suffering a camera-related injury last weekend. But if I do grow a pair and sneak it in you can look forward to some quality shots, like this one I took three years ago as Retief was on his way to accept the trophy.
If you go remember to change out of your flip flops, gob on the sunscreen, and bring enough cash to satisfy a healthy thirst for those $7.00 Michelobs in the frosty aluminum bottles.
Grapefruit League BaseballDunedin, Clearwater, Tampa, St. Pete and surrounding towns
If half price tickets to the ACC tourney are still too expensive for your liking and you're afraid that watching golf live might actually render you comatose then what better way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon than catching a spring training game? Well, other than checking for T-backs and sucking down cold ones on loosely-restricted Mad Beach?
The Bay area is home to four major league franchises in the spring, the Evil Empire (Tampa's Legend's Field); the Philles (Clearwater's Bright House Networks Field); Toronto Blue Jays (Dunedin's Knology Park); and of course the rays (St. Pete's Progress Energy Park at Al Lang Stadium.)
I know, I know, the first thing you're thinking is "what quaint ballpark names, especially the dueling cable company ones." But despite the tacky monikers these intimate fields of dreams are among THE best places to catch open-air hardball. Cheap prices, scenic settings, autograph-friendly environments and players close enough to hear you scream "Ann Coulter thinks you're a faggot, A-Rod" all make for terrific springtime fun.
Only the Rays are home on Saturday, facing the Phils in a split squad game. But Sunday, all four local teams are in action on their home fields. If you head to any of these venues, keep these things in mind:
- In Dunedin they only serve Canadian beer, so don't get all pissy because they don't have a Sam Adams or even a Bud- it's strictly LaBatt's or Molson, take it or leave it (of course in 80 degree weather everyone learns to love Canadian beer for 3 hours)
- The Phillies stadium presents the best option for families; the kids can play either in the nice playground area or on the large outfield berm, and the parents can keep an eye on the little ones while chugging rum runners at the Tiki Bar in leftfield. Good times.
- Al Lang is one of the best places anywhere to watch a baseball game. The leftfield berm of the historic stadium offers a spectacular view of the Pier, tiny Albert Whitted Airport and numerous sailing vessels dotting the Bay, while players routinely launch homers over the scoreboard in left center, sometimes landing on the roof of the Mahaffey Theater next door.
- Despite my distaste for anything & everything Stankee, I have to admit their friggin' park is sweet. It looks more like a major league stadium than Tropicana Field (not tough) and is nicer than most every other park in the Grapefruit League. But the view sucks (oh boy, Dale Mabry Highway!) and the clientele is even worse. I try to avoid this stadium at all costs, unless the wife gets freebies like she did for a game in 2 weeks.
There are other teams that train nearby, like the Tigers (Lakeland), Reds (Sarasota), Braves (Orlando) and Pirates (Bradenton), but with all this action going on here, why leave the area? Just do what I do: go to whatever events you can, watch the other stuff on TV, and try to mix in some beach time or hit Ybor City.
Your tour of the weekend sports scene in the Tampa Bay area is now officially over. Please exit the vehilcle to the right and watch your step disembarking.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Duke & Carolina end the regular season on a sour note
North Carolina 86, Duke 72
A vicious foul led to a bloodied Tarheel & ejected Dukie as the 223rd installment of the Tobacco Road rivalry nearly turned into a real backyard brawl.
AP photoThere have been many miraculous moments and incredible plays in this long & storied cross-town rivalry, but not since the early '60s, when Carolina's Larry Brown and Duke's Art Heyman squared off in an on-court brawl that resulted in suspensions for both players, has an edition of the classic contest come to such a pugnacious conclusion.
The game was a disjointed affair all along, pretty much dominated by Carolina save for a few scoring spurts that kept Duke close enough to let them think they had a chance of pulling the upset. But by the last 4:00 of the game, with Carolina up big and garbage time setting in, things started to get a little chippy. It might have had to do with the fact that Deputy Dawg had most of his starters in the game despite the fact that his team was enjoying a comfortable margin (80-65) with little time left (1:04) for a Duke comeback.
With the game well in hand and less than a minute to play the Tarheels scintillating sophomore (Dickie-ism) Tyler Hansbrough went up an grabbed an offensive rebound, then attempted to put the ball back up towards the rim. As he tried to make a move he was hit with a forearm shiver from an airborne Gerald Henderson Jr., resulting in Hansbrough hitting the deck like a ton of bricks. Hansbrough lay prone on the court for a minute, blood trickling down his nose onto the hardwood before he jumped up looking like Jake LaMotta after his St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
After regaining his composure and clearing the blood from his vision, Hansbrough became 
enraged and looked to take on the entire Duke team. As his teammates held him back, Hansbrough immediately left the court and headed to the locker room as the referees went to the scores table to review the incident and determine what, if any, penalty needed to be meted out.
Upon further review the stripes decided that Henderson's flying elbow smash was a flagrant foul, therefore he was ejected from the game and, according to ACC rules, will be suspended for one game. Thanks to Duke's loss, that game will be Thursday night here in Tampa in the first round of the ACC tourney, in which the Devils are the #7 seed.
After the game there was a lot of talk about whether the play was intentional or not. That notable bastion of superior knowledge Billy Packer thought it was a hard, but unintentional, foul, although other analysts believe Henderson's intent was to do damage to whoever got in the way of his wayward elbow. Either way the play will go down as a black mark in the history of the series, and will also certainly taint the normally saintly Blue Devils, who were not only swept by the 'Heels and have now lost 4 of 5 between the two, but lost some of their respect also. Not to mention the fact that Henderson, an improving freshman who has shown flashes of brilliance this season, will not be remembered for his Vinnie Johnson-like 16 points off the bench, but for one foolish play that will live with him forever.
Especially in Chapel Hill.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Durant and Law put on another spectacular show
Texas 98, Texas A&M 96, 2OT
their teams stage a classic late-season conference battle last night in Austin, a perfect precursor to March Madness that was one of the best games of the season so far.The 6'3" senior had already proven his worth as a money player with many clutch shots in the waning minutes of games, most memorably for Longhorns fans one year ago when his 3-pt dagger over Daniel Gibson at the buzzer gave the Aggies a 46-43 win. He also hit the winning shot in A&M's 69-66 victory at Kansas one month ago for the Aggies first win ever in Allen Fieldhouse, and nailed another game-tying 3 against Texas Tech, only to witness the Red Raiders' Jarrious Jackson get the last laugh with a length-of-the-court buzzer beater for the win.
87-80 lead with 1:16 left to play. But the Aggies' Lithuanian sharpshooter Antanas Kavaliauskas nailed a clutch trey and Law followed with a layup off a steal to cut it to two, 87-85, and after Texas got one free throw to push it to 88-85, Law took over again. No sooner did ESPN's Fran Fraschilla say "you better get out the handcuffs for Law" he nailed another three to tie the game and send the burnt orange-clad crowd into a collective state of shock & awe. Double OT, baby!Saturday, February 17, 2007
Will someone please ban Nate Robinson from the dunk contest?
This will be the only trophy the C's hold this year
Howard, the 6"11 wunderkind of the Orlando Magic, had petitioned the league to allow him to dunk on a 12 foot high rim, instead of the usual 10', for his part of the contest. Apparently taking his cue from the No Fun League, commissioner David Stern nixed Howard's plan, using the standard "integrity of the game" bullshit excuse.
Guys this thing is more tired & washed up than Tara Reid. Couldn't you just look the other way this one time, for the good of the event and the benefit of the fans that are still watching, and let Howard attempt to pull off something that has never been done before?
Evidently not. Stern said no, but Howard responded by pulling off a dunk that nobody had ever seen before anyway, just for shits & giggles.
And he still lost.
To a midget who attempts more dunks than a squadron of cops at a donut shop.
But before Nate would use all of that time (plus the extra 2 dunks) in the final Howard would be robbed on one of the most creative and impressive dunks in the history of the contest. After wowing the crowd with a fierce throwdown from just inside the dotted circle in the first round that only netted a 43 from the panel of Dunk Gods- MJ, Dr. J, Kobe, Vince Carter and 'Nique- his second dunk defied all logic.
Way up there is a little sticker of Dwight's smiling faceAnd that's why the dunk contest sucks.
Little guys who need extra time to complete their dunks are rewarded and advance while big guys who come up with original ideas are denied and robbed of the chance of living the event up.
I did not make that up. At least that's what my son told me happened. I feel asleep on the couch after spending 6 hours at the Little League field today.
I just hope none of the players get arrested or worse in Sin City tonight.
But I know that Dwight Howard already got robbed.
Friday, February 16, 2007
A night of basketball beatdowns
Why would I expose myself to 4 hours worth of such defense-free, airball & brick-filled video game level trash? Two reasons:
1.) I have a blog now and it's fun to watch shit like this just to rip it later
2.) My son, whom you'll remember just turned 10, loves this stuff
And what 10-year old kid wouldn't love watching young stars like Nick Cannon, (No More Lil) Bow Wow, Reggie Bush, and LaDanian Crybaby Tomlinson? Unfortunately that meant Dad had to endure watching C-listers like James Denton ("Desperate Housewives"), Jonathan My Career Ended Before it Started Silverman, David Mr. Cox Arquette, not to mention real losers like Carrot Top, Chris Tucker and Jamie Kennedy. Plus one of the coaches was Greg I'll Have Another Anthony and the whole mess was emceed by Stu Left Eye Scott. Oh yeah, and Food Channel great Bobby Flay was on the roster as well. Seriously.
Honest to God I though the wife had slipped me a Peter Pan & jam sandwich because it was like I had passed on and entered purgatory.
Did I mention Vegas dinosaur Wayne Newton was an honorary captain? If Celine Dion had sung the anthem my heart would have exploded on the spot.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
As the "action" progressed the score was like 10-3 West after one quarter and the East looked as bad as Britney Spears after a 3-day bender: airballs, turnovers and enough bricks to please a Colombian cartel leader. Things didn't get much better for the east as Bow Wow scored 6 quick points, blocked a couple of shots, and generally looked like the only one who knew what he was doing out there.
But some guy named Tony Potts , who is a weekend co-anchor on Access Hollywood, stole the show. You know, that Tony Potts. Whoever he is this guy came to play. He was all over the place all night and earned the coveted MVP trophy for his monster 14-point, 8-rebound effort in the West's "impressive" 40-21 victory, a fact that really seemed to aggravate Stu-ya, who was slurping Bow Wow big time by practically asking Potts to give the trophy to him. Potts wouldn't budge, though, and the guy did inspire some of the most entertainment in this otherwise sad night.
We can't believe you won it either, dude
The game was so bad that my son & I played a game of NBA 2K7 on the 360 in the middle of it just to pass the time (even he was appalled at the display being presented to us- numerous times he shouted at the TV "I could've made that shot"- and he was right). Unfortunately I got my ass handed to me in that game just like the East as my son used his new favorite 2K7 team (the Rockets), and his new 3-point weapon (Luther Head) to drub my Magic by 27. Suddenly I felt like David Arquette to his Tony Potts.
Next up was the Rookie/Sophomore game, possibly the only game on the planet where there is
less defense played than in the NBA All Star game & the Pro Bowl combined. These kids (and most of them are just that) played such "ole" defense in this thing that thirteen guys scored in double figures, 4 players had over 20 points and one, David Lee of the Knicks, went for 30 on 14-14 shooting; Lee continued the Year of the Gator (not counting Grossman)by earning the MVP award.
The score was 77- 48 Sophs at the half as Lee got off to a smokin' hot 8-8 start on a steady dose of alley oops, layups and walk in baskets. It got to the point he was so money that I said to Drew "this guy is hotter than what's-his-name-Potts." For some reason that set my son & I on a laughing jag for about the next 5 minutes. It was that kind of night. For the rest of the night we kept injecting the phrase "What's His Name Potts" into the game, for instance "get the ball to What's His Name Potts", or "Chris Paul is giving What's His Name Potts a run for the MVP trophy"...
In hindsight I guess it was one of those 'you had to be there' type things.
Anyway the Sophs annihilated the Frosh, 155- 114, and not only did Lee go for 30 & 11 but Chris Paul nearly had a triple-double (16 pts, 17 ass, 9 stls) and little-known Monta Ellis of the Warriors threw down 28, most of them on nasty alley-oops from Paul. The kids were led by littler-known Paul Millsap of the Jazz and Rudy Gay of the Grizz, who both had 22 points.
All in all it was a night of terrifically bad basketball by many involved including the East celebs, the Freshmen stars and my 2K7 Magic team.
At least What's His Name Potts had a nice night.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Duke & the Celtics: 2 teams coming apart at the seams
-Celtics drop 18th straight, 107-105 to Minnesota
Wouldn't you know that Davis & Blount, along with KG (26pts, 11 rebs, 10 assists), would add to Boston's misery by defeating their former team. Davis had 28 points on 11-17 shooting, including three 3-pointers in an 18-point 3rd quarter output, and also con-tributed 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Blount, a player who always over-valued himself in Boston which contributed to their willingness to let him go, threw in 20 points and 5 boards.
Duke jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead on a jumper & 3-pointer by Greg Paulus (14 pts, 4 ass, 7 TOs) but saw that slim margin oblit-erated by a 19-2 Terrapin run, during which Duke missed 7 of 8 shots and committed 7 turnovers. After Paulus stopped the bleed-ing (temporarily) with another jumper, Maryland ripped off a 10-point run for a 29-9 lead with just under 9:00 to go in the first half. Wow. Not exactly textbook Duke basketball.
**UPDATE** With the loss the Blue Devils dropped out of the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll for the first time in its 10-year history and out of the AP top 25 for the first time in 200 weeks, stretching back to the end of the '95-'96 season, the second-longest streak in history (UCLA.)
Friday, February 02, 2007
How low can C's go?How 'bout 14 "L"s in a row.
Get rid of that look, guys, 'cause Larry Bird isn't coming through that door anytime soon. Neither is Kevin McHale or The Chief, either. Please don't look, Red. Put down the cigar and get back to the conversation you are probably having with Wilt, Albert Einstein and Dr. James Naismith. And whatever you do DON'T pay any attention to the team you helped nurture from an NBA infant into a Green-clad dynasty.
The Boston Celtics lost its franchise-record 14th con-secutive game tonight, 100-89, to the Los Angeles Clippers (24-22) at TD FleetNorth Bank Garden Center. Think about how sad this is: not only are the C's (12-34) far, far below the level of the Lakers (28-19), the team that trounced them Wednesday night, but now Boston is failing at just being on a level with the friggin' Clippers.
How bad is this injury-riddled installment of the Green Machine? On top of the barrel-scraping record, which is currently slightly (1 loss) better than Memphis', they have now lost 11 in a row at the TDFNBGC to run their home record to 4-19 and have a horrendous 2-20 record since star Paul Pierce went down with a foot injury in December.
The only good news for Celtic Nation? Kevin Durant had a No.1 draft pick-like 37-point, 23-rebound performance against Texas Tech the other night.
So we got that going for us.
BTW, good related piece here by the Sports Guy, who says it's okay to wish for your team to tank it in order to get the number 1 pick. I disagree. Remember what happened to Pitino in 1997?
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Random blogging...
First and foremost I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to my better half, my wonderful wife T., who turns 29 today. Again.
Hope you had a great birthday honey, and I'm sorry that inflatable Brad Pitt doll never arrived.
In other news I had my first article published on Associated Content. For those of you unfamiliar with AC it is a site that publishes articles from amateur writers like myself as well as from freelancers and professionals. Basically they pay people like me to do what I have been doing for free all this time. Pretty cool.
Anyway, since I have only 1 piece published to date I will give you the link to that and when I build up my home page I will supply that connection.
Some other things that have caught my attention lately....
4 I couldn't care less about the Super Bowl. I am so sick of hearing the same old stories ("will Payton finally win the big one?"; "will Rex Grossman implode like a supernova?"; "how long have Lovie and Tony been black coaches?") that I am completely abstaining from sports talk radio, selectively perusing ESPN.com and have cut Sportscenter completely out of my diet. (Speaking of that Lovie/Tony comment, I read an interesting article by the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi about the original version of that question, infamously uttered by a reporter to Redskins quarterback Doug Williams before Super Bowl XXII. Only it never happened.)
4The Boston Celtics are a complete disgrace. The once proud team lost its franchise record-tying 13 straight game, 10th in a row at home, to the Lakers the other night as Kobe Bryant blitzkrieged the C's for 43 points, including 7 3-pointers, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. The Shamrocks can set the Green record for futility tonight when the other L.A. team, the Clippers, roll into the TD FleetNorthBank Garden Center.
Long gone are the days of 40-1 home records and towel-waving jubilation. This pitiful edition of the lean, Green sputtering Machine possesses a putrid 4-18 mark at their home arena and the fans have sunk so low as to cheer for members of the other team. Not just any other player & team, but for Kobe the (alleged) Rapist Bryant and the Lakers. That's right as Bryant was nailing threes from improbable angles and generally making the entire Celtics roster look like AAU players the fans at the Whatever They're Calling It Now Arena started to cheer for Bryant and chanted "M-V-P."
Wow. I never thought I'd live to see the day. This behavior coming from fans who not only invented the "Beat L.A." chant but did so to serenade the Philadelphia 76ers after they knocked Boston out of the playoffs and were going on to play the Lakers in the 1982 Finals. The same fans who forced Jack Nicholson to shoot the Garden crowd the moon during the 1984 Finals after his choke sign aimed towards the home team backfired. That's how bad Celtics fans hated the Lakers.
Now they cheer for alleged rapists and, as a bewildered Doug Gottlieb reported on ESPN Radio (I can only listen at night- it's not as bad) that night after the game, were high-fiving Bryant as he left the court at the end of the game.
Thankfully Red was not around to witness this blasphemy.
4It looks like Lane Garrison is going to have a serious case of deja vu pretty soon. According to TMZ it seems as if the artist formerly known as Tweener was high on coke and blasted on Grey Goose when he crashed his SUV and killed a teenage boy a couple of months ago in L.A. It's just another example of how fame can go to a guy's head, even if that guy is a C-lister just coasting on his 15 minutes of TV fame by using it to get into Hyde and charm 17-year-olds with his line-snorting and Goose-chugging abilities.
Talk about life freakin' imitating art. BTW, what's with the rash of celeb accidents lately? Garrison might want to angle for a coed cell with pop singer/actress Brandy (Moesha), who not only faces vehicular manslaughter charges for an accident that killed a driver back in December, but she is also being sued for $50 million by the victim's family. Yikes.
At least she wasn't snorting blow with the guy beforehand.
4Great installment of the NBC Comedy Block tonight. All-new eps of all four shows including a hilarious edition of The Office, complete with lap dances, Michael unhooking Dwight's bra, and more Jim/Pam intrigue. Sadly my new favorite character Andy was noticeably absent after his meltdown last week, but thankfully there was a great cameo from David Champ Kind Koechner as Michael's buddy Todd Packer.
If Andy's off the show for good I'm putting in my vote for Packer to become a regular. Oh yeah, great subliminal shoutout by Jim to Tampa-based search engine Wikipedia.Also, the more I watch Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock the more I am thinking that he might be the funniest man on TV, slightly ahead of Steve Carell. The way Baldwin delivers Jack Donaghy's snappy lines, with a hushed confidence and biting wit, the more I am convinced he deserved to win both the Globe and SAG Awards for his portrayal. When Jack clips off lines like "I slay polar bears and bed supermodels" or "I've showered with Greta Van Susteren" you can't help but think "how many takes does these guys have to go through to nail the scene?"
Lastly for all those Duke Haters out there I'm sure last night's last-second overtime loss will warm the cockles of your black hearts. Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
What's going on outside of the NFL?
I have been so immersed in football that I had to take a timeout from the pigskin posts to blog about some other happenings making news now.
Also the Monday Night game was so lopsided I had to get my mind off of it.
-One hiker found dead & two still missing on Mt. Hood
This story is gripping the nation right now, mainly because it's the kind of heart string-tugging emotional event that wolves like Nancy Graceless and Fox News can pounce all over.
We all know the story by now: 3 experienced hikers set out 
to scale the dangerous north face of Oregon's Mt. Hood, only to be snowed in after a sudden vicious storm swept through the region.
The men had been missing since last weekend before one was discovered deceased yesterday in an ice cave near the summit, some 11,000 feet above the ground.
Military personnel and volunteers have searched feverishly for over a week to find the missing men, but the discovery of Kelly James body apart from the other two was not what anybody had expected.
Now experts believe that the other two men fell from the point they were anchored just near one of two ice caves where James body was found and perished in the snow below. Ugh.
Being an earth bound guy who never in a million years would climb a mountain like that I sit back fascinated at what makes people try to temp fate and defy nature by doing things like this.
Do I feel sorry for these men? Yes. But time & time again when people decide to take their life in their hands, either sky diving or base climbing, cave diving or mountain climbing, people are so quick to act like it's a national tragedy.
It isn't. It's an unfortunate turn of events that is a result of someone's desire to push the envelope, live life on the edge, and dare to do something that is extremely dangerous.
And for all the people who say "yeah, but you could get hit by a bus tomorrow", I say I'd rather be splattered by a bus than freeze to death in an ice cave at 11,000 feet.
Did they ask or deserve to die during this trip? Of course not. But they knew that could be a possibility. No risk, no reward as they say.
-NBA commish lays down the law for Fight Night at the Garden
and 2 ahead of Dwyane Wade.Ironically ever since then he has been smack dab in the middle of one controversy after another, and while his draft contemporaries have enjoyed the success that comes with being an NBA champion (Wade) and money-making global phenomenon (James), 'Melo has soiled his reputation forever after yet another careless act.
Anthony has been making national news programs for his sucker punch that caught New York's Mardy Collins square in the jaw; Collins, who instigated the whole thing by clotheslining J.R. Smith on a layup attempt, was suspended for 6 games. Smith will sit out 10 games, meaning Denver will be without its top 2 scorers for the near future.But Carmelo's future could be even cloudier. Although he has finally burst out of the shadows of his buddies by leading the NBA in scoring, controversy has followed him like a cloud since he came into the league.
First it was an incident at the airport where he was found with pot in his bag. He avoided trouble when one of his lackeys, errr posse members, took the fall and said the stash was his (wink wink.) Then came his appearance in a bootleg street video from his home town of Baltimore talking about how snitches end up in ditches in the 'hood they all come from. Not exactly the image Mr. Stern wants to project for his multitude of millionaires.
He's also had numerous on-court flare ups, including walking off the court before the end of a game, tossing his headband and getting ejected in the season opener and stripping to his skivvies while on the way to the locker room after a loss in Atlanta.
And now this. Not only did he throw the punch while Collins was being held, he ran like a chicken bleep after he dished it out. Real street of you 'Melo. All very immature acts from a guy who is supposed to be a leader both on and off the court, someone the Nuggets have invested a ton of cash in to be the face of the franchise.
Time to grow up and mellow out Anthony.
-File under 'strange but true': runner DQ'd for failing gender test
Then came this story. An Indian runner who won the women's 800 meter race in the Asian Games has been stripped of his/her medal after failing a post-race gender test.
Excuse me, a what? You mean a drug test, piss test?
No I mean a test to see how he/she pissed. And evidently the answer was standing up.
This story is disturbing on so many levels, not the least of which is WHY THE HELL SHOULD ANYONE OUTSIDE OF A RED LIGHT DISTRICT HAVE TO DO A GENDER TEST?
And how did they test him/her? Certainly not by bringing in Danny Bonnaduce or Eddie Murphy, I can guarantee that.
I need to move on before I throw up.
-Let's end on a positive note: Miss America may be so bad she's good
Nobody knew the name Tara Conner before last week. But today everyone in the country will know her name and face because she is going to be plastered on every tabloid rag and program for the foreseeable future.Miss Conner is the artist formerly known as Miss America 2006. But in true Trump style she has decided to become her own entity. How? By embroiling herself in a drug/sex scandal so juicy it makes Lindsey & Britney look like former Mousketeers by comparison. Wait a minute...
Anyway, it appears that ever since the gorgeous Miss Kentucky was crowned in April she has
been hitting the nightlife hard and fast, breaking about 75 of the pageant no-nos including underage drinking, coke use, dating sleazy actors and even shacking up with Miss Teen USA Katie Blair. Reeeaalllyyyy now?
And they also share a place with Miss Universe.
Pinch me please.
The best part about the whole thing is that Trump, owner of the pageant (along with almost everything else) let the situation simmer for a few weeks, according to TMZ, in order to let it generate enough buzz for the Donald and his many properties, including his new edition of The Apprentice.
But my bet is that it succeeds in gaining Tara a boatload of instant fame and notoriety, the kind that will get her a Penthouse spread (already offered) and a free ticket into Hollywood hot spot Hyde (sure to be coming to TMZ soon.)
And let's hope the Donald's Apprentice: L.A. tanks and he decides to make a reality show out of the three beauty queens living together. Maybe contestants can vie for the right to have a sleepover with the girls. Can you imagine the ratings that would get? It would blow Hef's Girls Next Door out of the water.
I've even got the perfect title:
Pick Me. (kidding honey)
