Caron Butler must have been reading the roomofzen yesterday when he saw me question his clubbing habits with his wife. Not only does he redeem himself with a game-winning shot, he turns around and single-handily brings the Wizards back into this series. Amazing. Thank you very much, Caron. Your name is now back to Tough Juice and no longer the guy with Grim Reaper Tattoos who goes to clubs with his wife at 2 am the night before games guy.
Having Lebron miss the game-winning shot definitely changes this series and gives momentum back to the Wiz:
- Now we go back to DC where the crowd has been excellent (surprisingly)
- Now Gilbert is on the sideline, hopefully not messing up the rotation, and letting his team win like they have been all season
- Now Lebron James will question himself when he has the game winning shot on the line (he may have been questioning himself before when he passed it to the mediocre Delonte West as an aside)
- Now the Wizards can tie it up at home, hope Lebron has a bad game 7, and come away with the series.
In all truthfullness, I can't say I predicted this outcome. It just wasn't likely with the way Lebron has been playing. But if the Wizards win this series and the Celts somehow progress, this blog will explode.
ROOMOFZEN STORE
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Avery Johnson Takes the Fall for Cuban's Incompetence
As the owner, Mark Cuban obviously has the right to do anything he wants with the Dallas Mavericks. And, if he wants to head in a new direction, then maybe it's the right move. However, if he is looking to drop the hammer on someone for the disappointing way the Mavericks' season turned out, there is only one appropriate person for him to fire: himself. Seriously, I've been saying it ever since it happened, the Jason Kidd trade was a basketball crime fueled by nothing more than a desire to sell tickets and jerseys. Cuban gave up the future, made the team smaller, paid out 30 million in luxury tax dollars, and brought in a new player at the most important position on the court more than halfway through the season.
Seriously, think about this trade:
The Mavericks get: Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright
The Nets get: Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, 3 million bucks, Keith Van Horn's decaying corpse, and TWO FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS (2008 and 2010).
TWO FIRST ROUND PICKS! For a first round playoff exit!
I understand that the Mavs weren't playing up to their potential at the time of the trade, and I understand that the moves the Lakers and Suns made left other Western Conference fans calling for their respective teams to beef up. But, in these situations the burden is on the team executives not to get swept up by the hype. This trade was absurd. Jason Kidd did not provide the Mavericks with anything that Devin Harris could not have during these playoffs. The 35 year old Kidd was outplayed by Chris Paul every night and was even ejected from Game 4.
Let's not forget that this is the same guy (Cuban) who had a falling out with Don Nelson because of his refusal to match the Suns offer for Steve Nash. Now, it seems that Avery Johnson is the next coach to be the scapegoat for Cuban's missteps.
I don't mean to harp on this trade every week, I just can't believe how ridiculous it is. All I ever hear about is what a great owner this guy is. And he has turned that franchise around. But, this move was horrible. Totally unthinkable. It wasn't a roll of the dice gone wrong, it was a large, metal door slamming shut on the Mavericks future.
Again, if Cuban wants to move in a new direction, then I have no problem with the firing. However, I think it will be hard to move in that new direction when you're without a first round pick in two of the next three drafts. Johnson cannot be blamed for the way this season ended. This was not a championship team.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the TD Banknorth Garden and heckle Al Horford.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Megadeth
It's taken me about two days to recover and compile my thoughts on Saturday's Megadeth concert. As some of you may know from experience, heavy metal concerts tend to kidnap your brain, beat the crap out of it, and finally set it free with a nasty hangover as ransom. The aural onslaught which waterboards your cranium and leaves you begging for mercy is, of course, purely voluntary and even expected when you pay good money to see Megadeth live. But Gigantour featuring Megadeth was no exception to the rule of metal concerts just kicking ass beyond all belief and leaving your senses in utter disarray. In fact, it was one of the best concerts I've been to in a long time and my soul is finally being mailed back from the gates of hell, postage paid for 666 cents. Here is why:
Megadeth is one of those rare bands which simply performs better live. It's hard to explain this concept if you haven't experienced it, but some bands just sound better when they're wailing away on a five minute power rift being amplified 1,000 times by on-stage speakers. For the imaginary fan, this guitar solo doesn't sound the same when you're blasting it on your car's stereo system, and the true energy or meaning of the song is oftentimes lost in translation. As Metallica would say, “Sad but True."
But Symphony of Destruction, Megadeth's seminal ballad which propelled them to fame and metal hysteria among the uneducated masses, took on a whole new level of awesomeness and intensity when I heard it blasting from Mustaine's customized Les Paul. It was as though the snarling lyrics:
You take a mortal man,
And put him in control
Watch him become a god,
Watch peoples heads aroll
Aroll...
...just propelled the crowd into total mayhem and chaos, and yet strangely left Mustaine in control of an army of metal supplicants. Imagine over 5 thousand Megadeth acolytes head-banging in unison, screaming the lyrics with blood-thirsty cries, and quickly unfurling mosh pits of insansity even wrestler Mankind would be hesitant to enter. And then imagine the gates of hell opening wide and the maw of Satan's lair becoming visible to the crowd in the springtime dew. Think Indiana in the Temple of Doom when he looks down on the cult sacrificing that innocent worker.
And then suddenly you hear the Symphony ringing through the quickening darkness, Dave Mustaine’s siren call to his followers, which prompts his minions to enter the maw which gapes wide and beckons for your entry. This is scary stuff when you hear it blasting at 100,000 decibals on a temperate Saturday evening and Mustaine just kept delivering like a madman. It was fucking unreal, no doubt about it.
As you can probably imagine, the song and the gates of hell had a huge affect on the crowd. They quickly bowed down to Mustaine and as the song hit a finale, he literally morphed into a god of rock and roll before our very eyes. After the song I looked over to my friend Nick, his eyes wide and pupil's dilating, and he said:
"Dude, Mustaine sold his soul to the Devil to play like that."
I replied, "My thoughts exactly."
You can’t buy that shit on an album....you have to see them live. Take my word for it.
Megadeth is one of those rare bands which simply performs better live. It's hard to explain this concept if you haven't experienced it, but some bands just sound better when they're wailing away on a five minute power rift being amplified 1,000 times by on-stage speakers. For the imaginary fan, this guitar solo doesn't sound the same when you're blasting it on your car's stereo system, and the true energy or meaning of the song is oftentimes lost in translation. As Metallica would say, “Sad but True."
But Symphony of Destruction, Megadeth's seminal ballad which propelled them to fame and metal hysteria among the uneducated masses, took on a whole new level of awesomeness and intensity when I heard it blasting from Mustaine's customized Les Paul. It was as though the snarling lyrics:
You take a mortal man,
And put him in control
Watch him become a god,
Watch peoples heads aroll
Aroll...
...just propelled the crowd into total mayhem and chaos, and yet strangely left Mustaine in control of an army of metal supplicants. Imagine over 5 thousand Megadeth acolytes head-banging in unison, screaming the lyrics with blood-thirsty cries, and quickly unfurling mosh pits of insansity even wrestler Mankind would be hesitant to enter. And then imagine the gates of hell opening wide and the maw of Satan's lair becoming visible to the crowd in the springtime dew. Think Indiana in the Temple of Doom when he looks down on the cult sacrificing that innocent worker.
And then suddenly you hear the Symphony ringing through the quickening darkness, Dave Mustaine’s siren call to his followers, which prompts his minions to enter the maw which gapes wide and beckons for your entry. This is scary stuff when you hear it blasting at 100,000 decibals on a temperate Saturday evening and Mustaine just kept delivering like a madman. It was fucking unreal, no doubt about it.
As you can probably imagine, the song and the gates of hell had a huge affect on the crowd. They quickly bowed down to Mustaine and as the song hit a finale, he literally morphed into a god of rock and roll before our very eyes. After the song I looked over to my friend Nick, his eyes wide and pupil's dilating, and he said:
"Dude, Mustaine sold his soul to the Devil to play like that."
I replied, "My thoughts exactly."
You can’t buy that shit on an album....you have to see them live. Take my word for it.
Paranoia
Hopefully it is just a passing feeling. But, first of all you have to wonder a little about what's happening to the chemistry. Why aren't they moving the ball well? Why are we chucking three pointers? And why is Doc changing shit up? Why didn't he put Tony Allen or James Posey on Joe Johnson? Sure, Johnson had a great fourth quarter, but we gave them an obvious mismatch when we left Ray Allen on him for the entire time. Tony Allen would have been a great option. Why do we hardly see any Eddie House? Is Paul Pierce hurt? And, if so, how badly is that back bothering him? Something was missing last night, as it was on Saturday night. Why does Sam Cassell continue to not look at all to pass, and then take bad shots? For now, all we can do is hope for the best. The Cs could take this series easily in the next two games, and this feeling might be a distant memory. But, one thing is for sure, the road to the finals has become much longer and windier than any of us had anticipated. There are chinks in the armor that we may not have seen before. Hopefully, a decisive win at home tommorow night can get this team back on track.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Goddamit
It will be domination Wednesday night in Boston.
I don't want to sound like Tommy, but I've never seen such bad officiating. The no-call when Rondo got put to the floor, the BS offensive foul on Pierce, the fact that Bibby was warding off defenders with that arm all game. A disgrace.
Also by far the worst performance that we have seen from Sam Cassell since he joined the team.
Hopefully these last two games were part of a neccesary wake-up call.
I don't want to sound like Tommy, but I've never seen such bad officiating. The no-call when Rondo got put to the floor, the BS offensive foul on Pierce, the fact that Bibby was warding off defenders with that arm all game. A disgrace.
Also by far the worst performance that we have seen from Sam Cassell since he joined the team.
Hopefully these last two games were part of a neccesary wake-up call.
Roger Clemens: The Other Woman
Do not crowd the plate against the Rocket, Mindy..
I had almost begun to forget about Roger Clemens, but alas, I guess we're not that lucky. In the newest chapter of this strange and laughable saga is an alleged "relationship" that Clemens has had ongoing with Country Music artist (?) Mindy McCready, shown above after taking batting practice with Clemens in 2001. The claims have been brought out of the woodwork at the worst possible time for Clemens. One of the few shreds of dignity that he was left hanging onto after the release of the Mitchell report was his supposed "family man" image. It is tough to maintain such an image when there is an alleged adulterous affair with a 15 year old lingering in your past.
.
McCready's rap sheet is impressive; more or less what you would expect from a girl who rose to short lived Country Music stardom and then dropped off the face of the earth. If you don't yet own an Album of hers: congratulations. I can honestly say that I had never heard of her before this report surfaced, but then again, I'm not really up to snuff on who was opening for George Strait in the mid 1990s. But something about the story intrigued me, so I did a little legwork and by watching a few of her videos on YouTube, it is evident that McCready was obsessed with Roger Clemens, deriving her greatest inspiration from her life as his Gumar.
.
Take for example her heartfelt epic: "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now". In the song McCready spins the tale of a lonely woman who is taken for granted by her man. The images in the video draw heavily upon a woman sitting around in a nice hotel room waiting for a starting pitcher to arrive from his post game shower. Her distress is palpable, the song is terrible.
But that's just the beginning. McCready even draws heavily on the Steriod Issue to create her opus "Guys Do It All The Time". It is not that far of a stretch to say that what she is talking about is not going out and drinking and partying with the girls but is in fact a word by word transcription of a telephone conversation she had with the Rocket in 1995:
McCready: "So Roger, I hear that some of your teammates use performance enhancing drugs?
Clemens: "Yeah Mindy, Guys Do it All The Time."
McCready: "You're going to leave your wife right, you told me you were going to leave your wife...don't you remember?"
Clemens: "No, you must have mis-remembered."
The video (yes I really watched these) shows a pool scene that is eerily similar to the now infamous Jose' Canseco pool party. If you look very closely you can see a young Alex Rodriguez coveting a mullet headed Hispanic man's young wife. The Video even takes a shot at the side effects of steroid use by women as McCready is shown shaving her face on several occasions. This is clearly a shot at Clemens' wife, an admitted user of performance enhancing drugs. This is her way of saying, "Hey, I'm banging your husband." By the way, this song went to #1 on the Billboard Country Music Charts in 1996. Looks like Major League Baseball wasn't the only entity to have its statistics inflated by the Steroid Era.
Finally I came across the gem "All I want Is Everything". Apparently Roger did not listen carefully to this one. What does it take to keep McCready quiet? Listen and you will know; Cars, diamonds, you name it. How many men have gotten blackmailed by their mistresses via a country song? I guess you would have to be a dominant pitcher from Texas to have that on your resume.
Ultimately, we will have to wait and see how this all turns out. McCready will have her day in court (again). As for Clemens, no news is good news, and this is news. So, regardless of what comes out of this strange sideshow its not going to help his rapidly crumbling legacy, especially if McCready has any of the Rocket's "DNA" lying around on old tissues. For McCready however this opens the door for an amazing comeback, I'd say that the chances are very strong that we'll see an album from her in the next six months. Look for the singles "See...Guys DID do it all the time" and "I'm so Glad I could Help Ruin Your Life".
Go Long Or Go Home
Since I can't seem to find the footage of John Daly playing a round of golf shirtless, without socks or shoes on, this little clip will have to suffice. How come this didn't air during this years coverage of The Masters? As far as golf commercials go this one has to be up there in the top 10, if there are in fact at least 10 badass golf commercials out there.
The Stevenson-Lebron Spat
For those of you who haven't been following the recent Deshawn/Lebron drama, you can read about it here and here. Apparently the following things happened:
1. Lebron said something bad about Deshawn Stevenson and the Wizards; the comments were made within earshot of Deshawn's best friend (Drew Gooden).
2. Gooden relayed those comments to Deshawn who responded by saying: a. these comments were intentional and b. Lebron is "overrated."
Regardless of whether or not Lebron said something inflammatory, I have to ask the question: are we still in third grade? Are we playing a game of phone tag? What the hell is going on here? Did these guys graduate from kindergarten?
"Did you hear what Lebron said about you?"
"I can't believe he said that about me! I have to get back at him!"
Deshawn's "overrated" comment sparked a media frenzy leading up to the playoffs and things quickly got out of hand when Jay Z, a good friend of Lebrons', decided to get involved. Jay Z apparently made a rap song dissing Deshawn which got played a local DC club the night before Game Four. According to the Washington Post:
"witnesses at the club said that the DJ gave the microphone to Cavaliers reserve Damon Jones. Jones allegedly made some unsavory comments about Stevenson and the Wizards, according to people in attendance. And just before 2 a.m., the song was played...One of the people in attendance at the club was Caron Butler. Stevenson said Butler paged him and told him about the song and was so upset that he walked out immediately."
Ignoring the ridiculous fact that Jay Z went out of his way to make a song about a Wizards role player, why on earth was Caron Butler at a night club the night before Game Four? Even worse, why was Lebron hosting a party at 2 AM and having Jay Z play inflammatory music in their opponents home town? A few things to note here:
1. Last time I checked, staying out late the night before an important game is a punishable offense by most teams and coaches. Why? Not getting enough sleep negatively affects your performance unless you are Allen Iverson.
2. Caron Butler's performance has been noticeably lacking during this playoff series. Maybe it's because he's hanging out in nightclubs at 2 AM during the playoffs! Just a guess!
3. Jay Z clearly has some time on his hands if he's making raps about Deshawn Stevenson. I would think that between dating Beyonce, managing a trillion different businesses, rapping full-time and part-owning the Nets, Jay Z would be fairly busy. I guess he and Lebron really like he each other. Beware Cavs fans!
4. I'm half expecting Stevenson and Lebron to start fighting if this bravado continues. Unfortunately for Stevenson Lebron is 6'9, 250 and probably has a longer reach. I wouldn't count out the little guy, though. Stay tuned for a massive brawl if this continues.
1. Lebron said something bad about Deshawn Stevenson and the Wizards; the comments were made within earshot of Deshawn's best friend (Drew Gooden).
2. Gooden relayed those comments to Deshawn who responded by saying: a. these comments were intentional and b. Lebron is "overrated."
Regardless of whether or not Lebron said something inflammatory, I have to ask the question: are we still in third grade? Are we playing a game of phone tag? What the hell is going on here? Did these guys graduate from kindergarten?
"Did you hear what Lebron said about you?"
"I can't believe he said that about me! I have to get back at him!"
Deshawn's "overrated" comment sparked a media frenzy leading up to the playoffs and things quickly got out of hand when Jay Z, a good friend of Lebrons', decided to get involved. Jay Z apparently made a rap song dissing Deshawn which got played a local DC club the night before Game Four. According to the Washington Post:
"witnesses at the club said that the DJ gave the microphone to Cavaliers reserve Damon Jones. Jones allegedly made some unsavory comments about Stevenson and the Wizards, according to people in attendance. And just before 2 a.m., the song was played...One of the people in attendance at the club was Caron Butler. Stevenson said Butler paged him and told him about the song and was so upset that he walked out immediately."
Ignoring the ridiculous fact that Jay Z went out of his way to make a song about a Wizards role player, why on earth was Caron Butler at a night club the night before Game Four? Even worse, why was Lebron hosting a party at 2 AM and having Jay Z play inflammatory music in their opponents home town? A few things to note here:
1. Last time I checked, staying out late the night before an important game is a punishable offense by most teams and coaches. Why? Not getting enough sleep negatively affects your performance unless you are Allen Iverson.
2. Caron Butler's performance has been noticeably lacking during this playoff series. Maybe it's because he's hanging out in nightclubs at 2 AM during the playoffs! Just a guess!
3. Jay Z clearly has some time on his hands if he's making raps about Deshawn Stevenson. I would think that between dating Beyonce, managing a trillion different businesses, rapping full-time and part-owning the Nets, Jay Z would be fairly busy. I guess he and Lebron really like he each other. Beware Cavs fans!
4. I'm half expecting Stevenson and Lebron to start fighting if this bravado continues. Unfortunately for Stevenson Lebron is 6'9, 250 and probably has a longer reach. I wouldn't count out the little guy, though. Stay tuned for a massive brawl if this continues.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
New Jordan Commercial
Say what you want about MJ, but this commercial is bad-ass and takes me back to the days when this guy was awe-inspiring every time he stepped on the court.
Bow down to King James and his Sidekicks
When Delonte West beats you from three point range and shuts down your three time all star, you probably don’t deserve to win a playoff game, let alone an entire series. No offense to Celtics fans, but Delonte West is really not that good. Yet the Wizards let him dominate and drive a steak through their hearts, which effectively ended our chances to either win or climb back into this series. To be blunt: three all stars couldn't stop a former Celtics bench player.
The domination pretty much started and ended with the Wizards pissing off King James and the resulting fury he unleashed on his unwitting opponents. Hard fouls, trash talking fans, Deshawn Stevenson calling him “overated.”
What on earth were they thinking?
This is the third player in NBA history to average 30 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds in the regular season. Guess who the other two guys are: Jordan and Oscar Robertson, two of the best players of all time. King James answered the Wizards challenge with 34 points and a near triple double. Nice try, said the King.
Playing good defense is one thing and Game Three proved how the Wizards could mitigate King James by denying him the paint. But trying to intimidate, bloody or even psyche-out Lebron has proven to be disastrous thus far and he really made the Wizards pay for their cheapness and petty tactics. For instance, Deshawn took a vicious swipe at Lebron in the 2nd quarter and risked being thrown out of the game for unsportsmanlike conduct. And then Deshawn started talking more trash after he got the flagrant foul! Deshawn has played excellent basketball this year, but now people will remember him as the guy who talked Lebron into kicking our asses four times in a row.
The domination continued with atrocious rebounding. The Wizards couldn't rebound if their lives depended on it and the Cavs scored about 30 points on second-chance shots. On the strategy front, the third quarter could have been a time to play guys like Blatche, McGuire, and Songaila (some guy as babcock likes to call him) who can actually rebound. But Coach Jordan didn’t think to “go big” until the 4th quarter and by then the damage was done by his smaller lineup. Smaller players = terrible rebounding for the Wiz.
But I’ll give credit where credit is due: King James, Gibson, and Delonte West really played well and they essentially ended the Wizard's hopes for an 7 game series. 1/20 teams, down 3-1 in the playoffs, come back and win. And judging from today's performance, Game Three really just looked like an abberation which sucks because they really got me excited with that blow-out.
Pending a miracle, this series is over. And to think of what the Wizards could do against Lebron when they're not talking trash or making cute passes makes me wish next season was here already.
The domination pretty much started and ended with the Wizards pissing off King James and the resulting fury he unleashed on his unwitting opponents. Hard fouls, trash talking fans, Deshawn Stevenson calling him “overated.”
What on earth were they thinking?
This is the third player in NBA history to average 30 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds in the regular season. Guess who the other two guys are: Jordan and Oscar Robertson, two of the best players of all time. King James answered the Wizards challenge with 34 points and a near triple double. Nice try, said the King.
Playing good defense is one thing and Game Three proved how the Wizards could mitigate King James by denying him the paint. But trying to intimidate, bloody or even psyche-out Lebron has proven to be disastrous thus far and he really made the Wizards pay for their cheapness and petty tactics. For instance, Deshawn took a vicious swipe at Lebron in the 2nd quarter and risked being thrown out of the game for unsportsmanlike conduct. And then Deshawn started talking more trash after he got the flagrant foul! Deshawn has played excellent basketball this year, but now people will remember him as the guy who talked Lebron into kicking our asses four times in a row.
The domination continued with atrocious rebounding. The Wizards couldn't rebound if their lives depended on it and the Cavs scored about 30 points on second-chance shots. On the strategy front, the third quarter could have been a time to play guys like Blatche, McGuire, and Songaila (some guy as babcock likes to call him) who can actually rebound. But Coach Jordan didn’t think to “go big” until the 4th quarter and by then the damage was done by his smaller lineup. Smaller players = terrible rebounding for the Wiz.
But I’ll give credit where credit is due: King James, Gibson, and Delonte West really played well and they essentially ended the Wizard's hopes for an 7 game series. 1/20 teams, down 3-1 in the playoffs, come back and win. And judging from today's performance, Game Three really just looked like an abberation which sucks because they really got me excited with that blow-out.
Pending a miracle, this series is over. And to think of what the Wizards could do against Lebron when they're not talking trash or making cute passes makes me wish next season was here already.
Ask Raja: The All-Celebrity Edition
The Suns website has this Ask Raja segment regularly. In this one, he reveals something about Steve Nash that I really didn't think was true...
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
A Game for the Ages
An epic struggle occurred at the Verizon Center last night and a victor emerged tempered by the flames of Hades and near defeat. The Wizards, facing almost certain extinction from the first round and circles of NBA respect, stood tall at the fiery gates of hell and took on their 12th labor against a mighty, three-headed beast. To slay the blood-thirsty Cerberus and prove once and for all that they were not a team of false promises or regular season hype, they had to wrestle Lebron into submission and capture the haughty Cavaliers on the battlefield. Centuries from now the Muses will ask, “how did the Wizards fight their way out of the third circle when their best player fell silent in the first quarter?”The Wizard’s first task was to visit Eleusis and learn how to thwart King James with guile and cunning. How else could they traverse Game Three with a chance for glory and fame? Their fearless leader (Coach Jordan) navigated these waters brilliantly by instructing his motley crew to crowd the paint, double team when possible, and force King James into jumpers. They key to this strategy was denying King James access to the rim where he torched the Wizards for 32 points in Game Two. Instead the Wizards plotted on forcing King James to shoot jumpers and threes, effectively taking him out of his element and into uncharted waters.
One could argue this decision was akin to fighting the Scylla when the Wizards could have easily passed through the Wandering Rocks by letting Lebron continue his quest to the basket. But those who let Lebron drive to the paint suffer defeats like Game Two, so Coach Jordan had to take his Argonauts elsewhere. Facing the Scylla ultimately prevailed because while guys like Haywood picked up fouls and worsened their league reputations for dirty play, King James could not convert from the field (Cavs went from shooting 52 percent to 37 percent and Lebron could not get his jumper started). The monster still reared its ugly head (22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists), but the Wizards passed through to victory virtually unscathed. If only Jason’s six Argonauts were so lucky.
The Wizard’s second task was to go on the offensive and restore the temple of Apollo after King James and his vile myrmidons had pillaged and dispatched the unarmed Wizards in Game Two. Improved shooting from the field and three point lines proved to be the elixir and the Wizards delivered, shooting 42% from three point range and 52% from the field. Doubling your three point and field goal percentages from one game to the next was important, but a whole new level of teamwork was needed to row the Wizard’s boat out of the river Styx. Once again the Wizards delivered and over five different players scored in double figures (this is in stark contrast to Game Two where only three players were in low double figures). As predicted two days ago on this weblog, Antawn Jamison led this charge with a heroic performance and a game for the ages. He was beat down, battered, and bloodied, but the aging warrior slogged on and willed his team to victory. It was incredible to watch and I bow down to greatness.
So where do the Wizards go from here and how will they pass through the Peloponnesian caverns to face Boston in the Second Round? Coach Jordan would give you the following sage advice:1. Continue to play solid defense and force Lebron to either pass the ball to open teammates or shoot the jumper. Lebron's perimeter game is his weakness and having the Cleveland Cavaliers beat you is much better than letting Lebron run wild. In fact, take away Lebron and you have a very average team which is beatable by the Washington Wizards.
2. Continue to pass the ball and only take open shots. Games one and two were punctuated by nervous play, adrenaline, and vile tempers. Sit back, relax, have patience, and take your shots when they're open. Do not force possessions or shots. Do not panic. You are better than this team if Lebron is contained. Take a deep breath and play your game.
3. Continue playing like the Detroit Pistons and do not be afraid of a seven foot white guy. Hitting Lebron in the mouth will intimidate him and elbowing Z will throw his game off. Continue the hard fouls, but do not commit flagrant fouls. Make the Cavs pay when they drive to the paint and rebound like a bat out of hell.
In closing, I'd like to leave you all with a little bit of excitement and awesomeness. This video basically describes how I feel right now, so enjoy:
Thursday, April 24, 2008
U2 Is Not Classic Rock Vol. II
Well, it was only a matter of time before I was back with another edition of U2 Is Not Classic Rock. As I mentioned in the first edition, I don’t need an excuse at all to purchase albums, in fact when I have an excuse (such as an upcoming roadtrip, or say, the fact that it is a Wednesday) I tend to go a little overboard, which is evident by the first album up for review today: As always, I’ll keep this to two paragraphs or less, and grade on a scale of 0-3 Cocks, or roosters, if you will…
Patti Smith “Horses”
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this described as a “groundbreaking” , “revolutionary”, “quintessential” album. I bet its at least three or for times. Well, I have a tendency to act on such adjectives, so I saw this album and thought, ‘what the hell? Ill give this a shot’. What the hell indeed. Do you have to be a chick to appreciate this? I think maybe you do.
First off, if you are like me you are thinking ‘hey Patti Smith, didn’t she sing that really sick 80s jam “The Warrior” that was featured prominently during the Charles Barkley montage in the ‘NBA Superstars’ VHS that came out in like 1988?’ Well that happens to be PATTY SMYTH and her band Scandal. This is Patti Smith; a strung out punk rock chick reading… er…singing…poetry about horses and the oceans. Her artwork has been described as extremely vaginal. Ok, I stole that line from the Big Lebowski, but it fits here. The actual music isn’t that bad, but I lose all interest when Patti starts yelping about this or that. Also I saw her in an interview on some documentary and I swear to god she had a moustache. This just isn’t my bag. ½ a Cock.
Joe Walsh “The Definitive Collection”
A couple of weeks ago I was complaining about relying on “greatest hits” albums to fill up your musical library with well known artists, so I’ll be the first to kick myself in the balls for going out and buying a “definitive collection” a few days later. What a hypocrite you might say…however, my point was only that if all you ever buy are greatest hits records than you are selling yourself short, ESPECIALLY when it comes to older artists and groups. So there’s a couple of reasons that I bought this particular Joe Walsh album: 1) I have wanted to get a James Gang album for a long time (that’s his earliest band) but I haven’t been able to find one in a record store around here (Gaithersburg, MD at the moment) and this album has a mix of his early James Gang recordings as well as his solo stuff. 2) There was a decent mix of songs that I knew and didn’t know from many albums; this allows me to pick and choose future albums based on which tracks I liked the best. 3) This was the only Joe Walsh album at the store I went to.(Sidenote: you are thinking “two paragraphs or less doesn’t mean anything when you can just write really long run-on paragraphs”, you’re right, but I make the rules here)
In closing, it is clear to me that Joe Walsh kicks ass. There are so many great tracks on here from “funk 49” and “Walk away” to “The Bomber” “Mother Says” “Turn to Stone”, and a surprise track “Life of Illusion” which you will almost immediately recognize as the song playing during the opening scene of “40 year old Virgin”. It’s infectious. You’ll also get his radio staples “Life’s been good” and “Rocky Mountain way” so there’s something familiar there too. I won’t recommend these kinds of albums too often, but today I must. 3 Cocks.
And here's a little treat for you:
Next time on U2 Is Not Classic Rock: The Blues...Old School Blues.
Dem Boyz
Late last night I had the good fortune of reading Nick's excellent post on the Cowboys and Pacman Jones. Do yourself a favor and read it immediately. He brings up a host of good points, the most important of which is this: Pacman's signing is not out of character for Jerry Jones. In fact, if you follow the NFL, it should come as no surprise.
The Cowboys have a history of signing or carrying troubled players who either break the law (Irvin) or piss off their owners (TO). Take Michael Irvin for example. Irvin was arrested twice for cocaine (and once for drug paraphanalia), accused of sexually assaulting a woman, and apparently cut his teammate with a pocket knife "by accident." The cocaine arrest came on the eve of an important game, and when he went to court, he made a mockery of the system by wearing a full-length mink. Classy, Michael.
How about Nate Newton? Remember him? Newton was arrested with 200 pounds of weed in his van and after securing bail two weeks later, he was caught with another 175 pounds of weed. While it's tempting to laugh about a 300 pound lineman smoking weed and getting snacks, I really just find this absurd. 375 pounds of weed is not for person use; it's for drug dealing. So what was Jerry Jones thinking when he signed this guy? I promise you it was all about football and not about character. You don't go from being an upstanding guy to selling 400 pounds of weed in a few years...sorry.
Now the Boys signed Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson, two of the most notorious off-the-field-distractions in recent NFL history. For those of you who don't follow the NFL, let's review Pacman's rapsheet which is about as long as the line outside Chipotle every night:
2005: He's arrested on charges of assault and felony vandalism; incident occured at 4 AM at a strip club.
2006: He's arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication; a few months later, he's arrested for misdemeanor assault when he apparently spat in a woman's face.
2007: Late one night the police say Pacman and a stripper got into a fight over money. To get back at Pacman, the strippers took his money off the stage "without his permission" and Pacman got furious. In retaliation Pacman slammed the strippers head against the stage which prompted the security guards to get involved. A fight broke out with Jones' entourage and the guards eventually kicked them out of the club. A few hours later, the police say members of Pacman's entourage came back to the club and shot three of the security guards. Now one of the guards is paralyzed from the waist down.
A few months later, he's caught doing 80 in a 55 MPH zone.
See a pattern yet? Do I need to go over Tank Johnson's rap-sheet to get the point across? The Cowboys have no problem signing troubled players, so now the question is, "why?"
The easy explanation is that Jerry Jones will do whatever it takes to win and if that involves signing troubled players, so be it. Jones can easily say to himself: let's give this guy a chance, pay him next to nothing, and give him a way to redeem himself. The Cowboys organization will provide a culture which helps troubled players move beyond their bad habits and back into success. With mature leadership we can rehabilitate Pacman Jones into a contributing member of the team and society (okay, maybe not).
(The obvious assumption here is that the redemption players are very good to begin with. Why bother otherwise? It's only their lack of maturity, their questionable friends, or some sort of criminal streak which distracts them to the point of not being able to play professional football, right?)
The more difficult explanation is that Jerry Jones doesn't give a shit about anyone except his team and their W-L record. Everyone knows this and that's why the Boys signing Jones was no surprise. It's a very selfish mindset and unfortunately guys like Dan Synder emulate it. Let me explain:
The NFL suffers when guys like Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson are given second chances. Like it or not the NFL is a brand and a brand always has to be concerned about its reputation or appeal to consumers (fans). When the league gives a second chance to a guy with six arrests and a record of spitting in a woman's face, they run the risk of pissing off regular guys because this is unacceptable behavior; it's even repulsive as far as I'm concerned.
Other teams have to suffer from a diminished image thanks to guys like Jerry Jones who keep giving these guys second and third chances. Along the same lines, a terrible example is set for young kids when they watch Pacman and Johnson get millions of dollars despite their reprehensible actions. It sends a terrible message and it's basically an afront to fans: we know you dont give a shit about how these players act or carry themselves. We're assuming all you care about is wins at the end of the day, and regardless of how badly these players act, you'll just turn a blind eye or pretend not to notice. We know you don't care about the example these guys are setting, so we're going to sign him anyway.
What the league should have done is this: establish a policy that says if you are arrested more than twice, you are out of the league for good. You get one freebie and that's it. If you screw up again, you have no one blame except yourself and you're out.
No exceptions. And yes, I really don't like the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys have a history of signing or carrying troubled players who either break the law (Irvin) or piss off their owners (TO). Take Michael Irvin for example. Irvin was arrested twice for cocaine (and once for drug paraphanalia), accused of sexually assaulting a woman, and apparently cut his teammate with a pocket knife "by accident." The cocaine arrest came on the eve of an important game, and when he went to court, he made a mockery of the system by wearing a full-length mink. Classy, Michael.
How about Nate Newton? Remember him? Newton was arrested with 200 pounds of weed in his van and after securing bail two weeks later, he was caught with another 175 pounds of weed. While it's tempting to laugh about a 300 pound lineman smoking weed and getting snacks, I really just find this absurd. 375 pounds of weed is not for person use; it's for drug dealing. So what was Jerry Jones thinking when he signed this guy? I promise you it was all about football and not about character. You don't go from being an upstanding guy to selling 400 pounds of weed in a few years...sorry.
Now the Boys signed Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson, two of the most notorious off-the-field-distractions in recent NFL history. For those of you who don't follow the NFL, let's review Pacman's rapsheet which is about as long as the line outside Chipotle every night:
2005: He's arrested on charges of assault and felony vandalism; incident occured at 4 AM at a strip club.
2006: He's arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication; a few months later, he's arrested for misdemeanor assault when he apparently spat in a woman's face.
2007: Late one night the police say Pacman and a stripper got into a fight over money. To get back at Pacman, the strippers took his money off the stage "without his permission" and Pacman got furious. In retaliation Pacman slammed the strippers head against the stage which prompted the security guards to get involved. A fight broke out with Jones' entourage and the guards eventually kicked them out of the club. A few hours later, the police say members of Pacman's entourage came back to the club and shot three of the security guards. Now one of the guards is paralyzed from the waist down.
A few months later, he's caught doing 80 in a 55 MPH zone.
See a pattern yet? Do I need to go over Tank Johnson's rap-sheet to get the point across? The Cowboys have no problem signing troubled players, so now the question is, "why?"
The easy explanation is that Jerry Jones will do whatever it takes to win and if that involves signing troubled players, so be it. Jones can easily say to himself: let's give this guy a chance, pay him next to nothing, and give him a way to redeem himself. The Cowboys organization will provide a culture which helps troubled players move beyond their bad habits and back into success. With mature leadership we can rehabilitate Pacman Jones into a contributing member of the team and society (okay, maybe not).
(The obvious assumption here is that the redemption players are very good to begin with. Why bother otherwise? It's only their lack of maturity, their questionable friends, or some sort of criminal streak which distracts them to the point of not being able to play professional football, right?)
The more difficult explanation is that Jerry Jones doesn't give a shit about anyone except his team and their W-L record. Everyone knows this and that's why the Boys signing Jones was no surprise. It's a very selfish mindset and unfortunately guys like Dan Synder emulate it. Let me explain:
The NFL suffers when guys like Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson are given second chances. Like it or not the NFL is a brand and a brand always has to be concerned about its reputation or appeal to consumers (fans). When the league gives a second chance to a guy with six arrests and a record of spitting in a woman's face, they run the risk of pissing off regular guys because this is unacceptable behavior; it's even repulsive as far as I'm concerned.
Other teams have to suffer from a diminished image thanks to guys like Jerry Jones who keep giving these guys second and third chances. Along the same lines, a terrible example is set for young kids when they watch Pacman and Johnson get millions of dollars despite their reprehensible actions. It sends a terrible message and it's basically an afront to fans: we know you dont give a shit about how these players act or carry themselves. We're assuming all you care about is wins at the end of the day, and regardless of how badly these players act, you'll just turn a blind eye or pretend not to notice. We know you don't care about the example these guys are setting, so we're going to sign him anyway.
What the league should have done is this: establish a policy that says if you are arrested more than twice, you are out of the league for good. You get one freebie and that's it. If you screw up again, you have no one blame except yourself and you're out.
No exceptions. And yes, I really don't like the Dallas Cowboys.
Kobe's 49 from last night
Watch it all...especially towards the end. 49 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Roomofzen Deportes: World Class Player in LA
For those people who do not know, there is a world class soccer player who now is involved in the MLS. He is known for great hairdos, facial hair and is an icon throughout the world. His name is not David Beckham.
His name is Ruud Gullit and he is the coach of the LA Galaxy. He was voted the best player in the world twice in the late 80's and if he was playing now in his prime he would have had much more of an effect on MLS soccer.
For non fans of soccer, the expectations for David Beckham were way too great for the type of player he is. He was never going to take over a game like Pele use to be able to or someone of Gullit's talent. This is not to say David Beckham is not good at soccer, he is just VERY good at specific things, such as free kicks, corners and crossing the ball. He is not the type of player who could dribble past 5 players or do a bicycle kick that would grab the attention of the common sports fan. He could be compared to Peja Stojakovic of the NBA. He can shoot three pointers superbly but he is not a type of player who is going to take over a game by himself. He needs players that can get him the ball when he is open. Ruud Gullit took over games and was a maestro of the soccer field.
David Beckham is more known for his marriage to former pop singer and spice girl, Victoria Beckham than his soccer skills. He has become one of the richest athletes in the world because of his hairdos and personal style. But seriously look at the mustache and dreads Ruud Gullit had when he played. Fohawks will go out of style (hopefully soon) but a great mustache never will not to mention sick dreads!
Americans don't understand that in England David Beckham is often the center of jokes and is on covers of many gay magazines. Surely as can been seen Ruud has much more timeless sex appeal than Beckham, he should be the one that is getting all the media attention. I will leave you with a video of Ali G making fun of Posh Spice and David Beckham at a charity event.
His name is Ruud Gullit and he is the coach of the LA Galaxy. He was voted the best player in the world twice in the late 80's and if he was playing now in his prime he would have had much more of an effect on MLS soccer.
For non fans of soccer, the expectations for David Beckham were way too great for the type of player he is. He was never going to take over a game like Pele use to be able to or someone of Gullit's talent. This is not to say David Beckham is not good at soccer, he is just VERY good at specific things, such as free kicks, corners and crossing the ball. He is not the type of player who could dribble past 5 players or do a bicycle kick that would grab the attention of the common sports fan. He could be compared to Peja Stojakovic of the NBA. He can shoot three pointers superbly but he is not a type of player who is going to take over a game by himself. He needs players that can get him the ball when he is open. Ruud Gullit took over games and was a maestro of the soccer field.
David Beckham is more known for his marriage to former pop singer and spice girl, Victoria Beckham than his soccer skills. He has become one of the richest athletes in the world because of his hairdos and personal style. But seriously look at the mustache and dreads Ruud Gullit had when he played. Fohawks will go out of style (hopefully soon) but a great mustache never will not to mention sick dreads!
Americans don't understand that in England David Beckham is often the center of jokes and is on covers of many gay magazines. Surely as can been seen Ruud has much more timeless sex appeal than Beckham, he should be the one that is getting all the media attention. I will leave you with a video of Ali G making fun of Posh Spice and David Beckham at a charity event.
The Jerry Jones Traveling Circus
Watching the Celts on Comcast, but obviously flipping to TNT at halftime to hear Sir Charles give us some gems such as "The Lakers are way too good of a team to be playing zone. Playing a zone is basically saying 'we suck on defense'". Love that the Celts are making Bibby look stupid after his comments, and love the energy. Hopefully we can put it away without Pierce having to play too many minutes with that back.
Real quick, I wanted to switch gears to the Giants and just say how happy I am to hear that the Cowboys signed Pacman Jones. Like Babcock, I am a big believer that Pacman would have been a good acquisition for New England. That would be a situation in which his distractions would be minimal, he would be around a group of guys that are focused 100 per cent on football, and Belicick would provide the structure and discipline that he would need. Dallas could not be more of the oppisite, and I can't help but laugh at what a circus my hated division rival has become.
Wade Phillips is the coaching equivalent to that dad who is a great guy and doesn't want to be too hard on his kids so he looks the other way on things like drinking or other clues in the form of innapropriate paraphanielia. Sure, more often than not his kid will end up alright. But, a really badly behaved kid will take advantage of him and could get into serious trouble. Nobody will want to blame the dad because he's a good guy and he loves his kid. But, at the end of the day everyone knows he should have stepped in somewhere. He is not the right guy to be coaching Pacman. Tank Johnson is a guy who, much like Pacman, seems to be totally self-destructive. These are two guys who have been given several chances by the league, and who have had a very clear picture painted of what their behavior should be. Both have violated it time and time again. It's completely unfathomable. Now, they are playing on the same defense. Between TO mouthing off and accidently overdosing on medication, Tony Romo running off to Mexico with Jessica Simpson, and Wade Phillips proving last season that he does not have much (if any) control over his players actions, it is very suprising that Dallas would take a chance on one of these two guys. But both of them! A roster of felons is nothing new for Jerry Jones, but I just don't think this team has the talent of the old Aikman/Irvin/Smith teams. It looks like a division title is in the cards for Big Blue next season.
I've posted this many times before. But, I'll never get sick of watching it:
Tommy just screamed at the top of his lungs "Bruce Willis almost caught that!" Can we please get a Heinsohn/Barkley duo? Just for one game. Please. I'll order it on Pay-Per-View if I have to.
Sunday Night Introductions
This is a video of the introduction from Sunday night's playoff opener. As long as I live I will never forget the energy in the building during this sequence.
Suns-Spurs
1. Amare Stoudemire crapped his pants last night. He scored 20 points in the first half and then virtually disappeared in the second, going completely ice cold from the field. In the first half he was making outside jumpers, fade-aways, and his patent slash and dunk plays to the rim. It was awesome to watch and I think he went 9/11. In the second half, however, he just kept throwing up bricks, going 0/6 in the third quarter and eventually scoring a few more points. What gives?
2. The Suns looked like Denver last night: A lot of scoring, a lot of pizazz, but virtually no defense. The result: Parker and Ginobili had clear paths to the rim the entire night, and made the Suns suffer. My sense is that the Suns coaching staff told their team to lay off the fouls last night. Shaq and Amare stayed out of foul trouble and the paint was virtually uncontested for the Spurs perimeter players. But this strategy backfired because the Spurs play good defense and completely shut down the Suns on offense. For this strategy to work, your team has to match the points you're giving up on defense.
3. Ginobili is a soulless robot. He actually looks like an alien, cold and emotionless, just sitting there on the bench doing math problems in his head. He rarely shows emotion, let alone a smile or even a scowl. His 6th Man of the Year award really drove this point home: he couldn't even smile or say thank you for the award when they handed it to him. At least look like you're happy, you damn fool!