Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - Beat a Dead Horse

-Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Jermaine O'Neal and Anthony Parker are on the All-Star ballot this year. As per usual, yours truly will also be sending in a write-in for the Shimmy - a telling sign of how meaningful this game is to myself and any true fan of the game.
-Mats Sundin has sold his home for $5.7 million dollars. You can now scratch the Leafs off of the list of potential teams.
-Tim Lincecum picks up the NL CY Young award after his 18-5, 2.62 ERA and league best 265 strike-outs. I would have preferred a winning pitcher from a winning team, but still well-deserved.
-Sam Mitchell's reasoning of not utilizing Bosh more in the game against the Celtics was that they were using their best player as a "decoy" for others to score. Brilliant and flawless X and O's once again Smitch. By the way, time is definitely not your friend, my "friend".
-Quiz time. Which of the following athletes has a Barack Obama inspired tattoo on their left hand? A. Chad Ocho Cinco; B. Gilbert Arenas; C. Terrell Owens; D. Ron Artest. The answer: Agent Zero.
-A soccer fan by the name of Shaun Allen, has been banned from attending games for three years after hitting a police horse. In court he was said to have "struck the horse and ran off", right in front of police after a confrontation with the fuzz. Real smart. Hard to decide who to give the idiot of the day award to, this tool or Sam Mitchell...
-The Atlanta Hawks have continued from where they left off after taking the Celtics to 7 games in the playoffs, they're now 6-0...while the Lake Show improve to 6-0 as well, after beating the Mavs.

Practice?

Friday, June 27, 2008 - NBA Draft Night

-Get ready for an All-NBA Draft blog.
-Derrick Rose goes #1 to the Chicago Bulls, which creates a log jam at the PG slot for the Bulls, meaning Chris Duhon or Kirk Hinrich will be expendable.
-The Charlotte Bobcats will make the NBA playoffs next year - pending the health of Emeka Okafor, Sean May and Adam Morrison. They selected my boy, DJ Augastin out of Texas to back up Raymond Felton, Kyle Weaver and France's Alexis Ajinca, a 7'0-er with a 7'8 wingspan.
-Can't go wrong with either Brook or Robin Lopez. Although you can make the argument for who is in the better environment. Brook will be getting more PT in New Jersey, but Robin will get the opportunity to play behind Shaquille O'Neal and alongside Amare Stoudamire and Steve Nash.
-Dick Vitale is a little too enthusiastic for my liking...
-So, the Heat select Michael Beasley, even after Pat Riley's negative comments. Once again, we will have to wait and see if he stays a Heat.
-Joe Alexander becomes the first Taiwan born player to be drafted.
-Kosta Koufos will fit in well with the Utah Jazz, playing behind Mehmet Okur. Good selection by the Jazz.
-The Seattle Supersonics once again draft another project big man, selecting Serge Ibaka, who will try to stand out among the other young prospects: Saer Sene, Robert Swift, Johan Petro and Jeff Green.
-The New York Knicks went out of their comfort zone and drafted international player Danilo Gallinari out of Italy at #6, who experts say won't be ready for at least a few years. Not good news for Knicks fans.
-Holy sassy molassy, Stuart Scott actually makes a solid point. Forget Rose, Beasley and Mayo, last years' overall #1 pick Greg Oden is the favourite to win ROY.
-The Portland Trailblazers will be downright scary next year, with Greg Oden making his debut and all-star guard Brandon Roy. They added Jerryd Bayless, Nicolas Batum and Brandon Rush from the draft to their already loaded bench.
-The Pistons know how to draft. Joe Dumars' recent draftees? Rodney Stuckey, Aaron Affalo and Jason Maxiell - all solid rotation players. Some less recent draft picks include: Tayshaun Prince and Mehmet Okur. Other than Stuckey, all of the players were selected from 23rd overall to the second round. This year, Dumars selected DJ White out of the rough with the second last pick in the first round, but traded the pick to Seattle for their pick and a future second rounder.
-Huge surprise, Chris Douglas-Roberts falls all the way down to 40 - where the New Jersey Nets selected him. Side note, one more pick and he could have been in a Raptors uniform. Raptors end up taking Australian, Nathan Jawai, who probably won't end up being a rotation player. Still feeling really bitter that CD-R was one pick away...
-Stopped watching after the 41st pick - as the second round is usually a crap-shoot anyhow. But don't tell that to Gilbert Arenas, Carlos Boozer, Michael Redd, Manu Ginobili etc.