bad nba broadcast

espn used to do a pretty good job on the nba, but last night's LAL at MIA game was so bad, it deserves some smack talk.

There was a lot of Mark Jackson kissing Kobe's ass, then Lebron's. Oh yeah, Wade's assed also got kissed a lot.

Something Kobe said that I didn't particularly liked was when he revealed that he talked to Wade the day before the match. This was concurred by Wade, who said they have a brotherly, special bond because of the Olympics.

Too bad these guys don't hate each other like Shaq and Kobe.

The obvious complaints are the unnecessary blips and swooshes, odd sounds that are completely annoying and ear piercing. Too many missed plays due to predictable long close up of "player who scored shot" when the other team just used less than 4 seconds to score on their own.

My main rule with NBA broadcasts are, "Leave the camera on one angle and leave it at that for the whole entire game, unless there is some kind of important reason to leave center court, ala if Ron Artest gets into a fight with a fan moment."

Mad cold in Vancouver

WTF is going on around here with the weather? It's friggin -5 on my balcony right now, and it's like 10:30AM already. Outside the roads are mostly trapped under big layers of ice. Ice puddles, very slippery shit.

Global Warming is pretty shitty for Vancouver. Because now, it's like snowing all the time and shit. Frigging unbelievable.

marbury at the lakers game in LA

This gotta be one of the most bizarre stories in all of nba. During the Laker game last night, cameras showed that Marbury was in attendance as a fan. He was sitting bassline, courtside front row seat.

At first it was hard to figure out why he was there, or whether he was officially invited by the Knicks, sort to speak.

Then during the halftime interview, it became obvious that Marbury was there as a fan, as in somebody gave him tickets to the game, and he went.

Why Marbury would choose to accept a Knick game at Staples is beyond comprehension. He is basically trying to court as much media attention as possible. Why not show up to all the Knicks games?

In fact, I think it gave the Knicks a big spark and almost led their almost victory in LA.

remember inspectah deck?

Checking out resident patient 2.

He sounds a heck of a lot like 50 cent nowadays.

Not a bad album though. I'm digging the beats.

Scorpio Mix

From Taipei, 24 C.

The Shining

Two questions regarding The Shining. Can a man really live w/ his family in a secluded hotel retreat for 6 whole months w/out going crazy?

If the Scatman Crowthers character had a strong premonition when he met Danny and Jack Nicholson, then why didn't he warn his superiors that something awful might happen?

About question number #1, I don't think a man should murder his whole family, but most men would probably suffer from some sort of mental break down under such circumstances.

It must be said though that there was already something seriously wrong w/ the Jack Nicholson character from the very beginning. If he also had strong deja vu premonitions during his first visit, why would he bring his family up there at all? I guess perhaps he needed to make some money to support them.

NBA 35th Anniversary Team

the nba named only 11 players to their all-time 35th anniversary team. pretty cool link on wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_35th_Anniversary_Team

got me thinking. they should do the same shit for their 65th anniversary year. i would go with 12 players.

magic
bird
jordan
kareem
wilt
russell

oscar
baylor
west
duncan
erving
shaq

1962 Finals, Game 7

i'm carefully watching the 1962 game 7 finals with the celtics and lakers. bill russell makes the most amazing play. he grabs a rebound, throws it out to cousy for a fast break, and russell finishes it on the other end with a lay up and found.

what's so amazing is that when russell grabbed the rebound, he was easily, tied for being the guy that was furthest away from his own basket, but he somehow beats everybody back, literally out racing everybody, and was the first to reach the basket on the other end.

Independent Refs

I was watching the Phil Jackson press conference today and heard him talk about his idea of having the nba refs switching to an independent source. I like this idea. At least its worth a try. I don't see any real negatives about it.

Unless, they become even more corrupted by the gamblers, which could be really bad.

But getting back to Phil, he did say a couple of funny things regarding the refs. In the current system, because the NBA are running the refs, nobody inside the game can criticize it. He compares it to a "Sacred Cow" in the sense that people on the inside are only allowed to say, oh shucks, the refs tried their best but blew it.

The other funny thing Phil mentioned was in his response to a question about corrupt refs. He says that ultimately, we're all "lemmings" in that we follow fads and fashion. Although he didn't really elaborate on the specifics, it's not too hard to understand what he means, which is that as lemmings, no system can fully protect people who want to gain more money through gambling associations.

I would love it if the NBA has a judge or higher official that can over rule calls if they are deemed to be wrong or correct calls that are wrong.

Ranking MLB Uniforms

1. Yankees
2. Red Sox
3. Dodgers
4. Cardinals
5. Cubs
6. Tigers
7. A's
8. Giants
9. Phillies
10. Indians
11. Angels
12. Pirates
13. Reds
14. Orioles
15. Braves
16. Twins
17. White Sox
18. Blue Jays
19. Nationals
20. Royals
21. Mariners
22. Mets
23. Diamondbacks
24. Astros
25. Rangers
26. Rays
27. Marlins
28. Brewers
29. Padres
30. Rockies

American Gladiators

Season 2 just started on Monday.

I would call this season's theme the special olympic's version of American Gladiators. They have contestants with no hearing, and no lower right leg/feet.

I have mixed feelings about the special olympic contestants because I just don't see how that guy without right feet/calf can really do the joust.

The new rocketball event looks promising. A little bit too easy but I sure would like to try flying into the air like that.

I'm not too sure however about the two new Gladiators. They invited back Season 1's two winners and made them American Gladiators. Seems lame to me. Their names are Evan and Monica. Apparently, it was part of their prize for winning the whole thing but I really can't remember them mentioning that during any of the shows.

Shocker in Atlanta

I couldn't believe it when I found out the Celtics had lost to the Hawks. Huge upset, right?

The first thing I noticed when watching the game was that the Celtics were wearing their alternate black and green Celtics jersey?

This doesn't seem like a very good idea. Unless they had a really good road record with those jerseys on, I wouldn't tempt fate and choose to not wear the traditional green and white road jerseys.

Maybe this is Red Auerbach's way of telling the Celtics to go back to wearing their regular normal road jerseys.

In any case, if the Celtics lose in game 4 again, they better not even think about wearing that one again (even if it's their traditional green and whites).

NBA Play-offs

Here's my crazy NBA play-off predictions:

FIRST ROUND

Lakers vs. Denver: Lakers in 7.

Celtics v. Atlanta: Celtics in 4.

Hornets v. Mavs: Hornets in 5.

Pistons v. 76ers: Pistons in 5.

Spurs v. Suns: Spurs in 5.

Orlando v. Raptors: Magic in 6.

Jazz v. Rockets: Rockets in 7.

Cavs. v. Wizard: Cavs in 6.

SECOND ROUND

Lakers v. Rockets: Rockets in 7.

Hornets v. Spurs: Hornets in 5.

Celtics v. Cavs: Cavs in 6.

Pistons v. Magic: Pistons in 4.

THIRD ROUND

Hornets v. Rockets: Hornets in 5.

Pistons v. Cavs: Cavs in 7.

FINALS

Hornets v. Cavs: Hornets in 6.

Championship Odds

Top NBA Teams, chances of winning championship:

Celtics: 24%
Lakers: 20%
Spurs: 20%
Pistons: 15%
Hornets: 13%
Phoenix: 8%

Four hour cycles

I just got back from China and my sleep cycle is all messed up.

My sleeping has been broken up into two cycles, each about 4 hours. For the past couple of days, I've been taking a nap around 5 PM and waking up at 9PM. Then, later in the night, I go to bed at around 4AM and wake up 8AM.

I haven't noticed any problems with this sleeping setup. In fact, I haven't been tired or groggy at all in the mornings when I wake up at 8AM.

I'm not sure how much longer I can continue this but I would like to keep it up to see if there are any real benefits.

Mystery Time-out in NBA

They've really got to stop the mandatory time-out rule in every single NBA game.

I hate the fact that there has to be a mandatory time-out at the first stoppage of play after the 6 minute mark if no time-out has been called.

This totally disrupts the flow of the game and breaks it up into little chunks.

It makes little sense other than to block the natural flow of any good basketball game.

Think if you're a player, a fan, or an owner. Everybody in the building wants the game to continue. Only the TV producer wants to stop the game.

Well, screw TV. Ratings are going down the drain anyways, so why bother everybody with unnecessary commericals?

It would be so much easier if only players and coaches can call time-outs and only when they have possession of the ball.

In almost every NBA game, there are always a couple of mystery calls. Defensive 3 seconds is a really stupid call that they make, sometimes randomly.

Wait, didn't they allow zone defensives now? Kind of, only if you are not randomly standing in the lane guarding nobody in particular.

I see some of the benefits of this rule, but sometimes it seems like a ref would hesitate to make a 3 second defensive call if it was in the last 20 seconds of any regular or play-off game.

... In the background I have the John Tesh NBA on NBC music playing, and it's already getting me psyched up for an NBA game.

NBA on ESPN/ABC sucks

It's ruined even before the opening tipoff.

The intro song to last Sunday's Spurs vs. Mavs showdown was a Def Leppard song.

Horrible, compared to the 90's NBA on NBA John Tesh theme song.

Why can't ABC just ask John Tesh to make a new song for ABC? He's already created one all-time megahit, why can't he do it twice?

The Mavs should release George

I hope that the Mavs and Nets can still pull off the Kidd trade. If they do and Devean George is not one of the players involved in the trade, they should seriously consider releasing George anyways just to teach him a lesson. It's not like they really have any use for him.

But, things have a way of working out and wouldn't it be funny if George ends up hitting a game winning shot in an NBA Finals game.

Jason Kidd non-trade

I wished the Jason Kidd trade actually happened a few days ago.

Damn Devean George and his Bird rights. And damn Stackhouse for his big mouth. Apparently, the plan b/w the Nets and Mavs was for Nets President Thorn to immediately release Stackhouse and put him on waivers. If he cleared, he would return to the Mavs after 30 days.

There were all these direct quotes from Stackhouse about how the trade wasn't such a bad thing for him because all he had to do was sit at home for 30 days and then rejoin the Mavs.

This Stackhouse quote didn't sit well with too many other NBA GMs. It also ticked off Stern who made the decision to block Stackhouse from returning to the Mavs.

I think this is ridiculous. Under NBA rules, a player cannot return to the team that just traded for him until 30 days later. It doesn't actually say that a player or team cannot agree on this arrangement before hand.

If Stern didn't want teams or players to blatantly agree on these kind of deals, then they should spell it out in the rule book or increase the number to 120 days. Then, there's really no issue with the whole release a player, then return to old team problem. If a player is going to sit out 120 days, then let him. It's like he was in jail for 120 days and he's done his time.

Oneill's 21

Oneill's old 21 had been sort of half retired by the Yankees ever since his last game in 2001's World Series. It was a tough loss and bitter ending to a great career. But after game 7, Oneill retired from the game.

His old number 21 became semi-tired because no other Yankee was honorable enough to wear 21. Until this year, when Morgan Ensberg will sport 21 as the newest Yankee.

WTF? Paul Oneill only won 4 rings and was a crucial member of the late 90's championship teams. When I think about the players that won rings on all 4 teams, the 6 most important players were: Mariano, Jeter, Oneill, Williams, Pettitte and Martinez.

I would have hoped that they would have saved 21 to the next great Yankee. Not Morgan Ensberg who might not even be a Yankee next year.

Devean George is powerful

I've never heard of the 2nd contract with 2nd team rule.

How the hell does Devean George have no trade in his contract? Did Dallas and New Jersey have any prior knowledge of this?

It's nonsense that this ex Laker with multiple championships (three?) just busted open the third mega trade this month.

I still hope that Kidd gets sent to Dallas because its going to make the fight for the West very interesting to say the least.

Unlike ESPN's Hollinger, I think this trade is going to be huge for Dallas.

Kidd is not the same player anymore. But he is still playing at a high level.

He can certainly be a steady point guard in tough times and help beat the super teams like Lakers, San Antonio and Suns.

And what a great story it would be. Kidd returning to his original franchise and helping them to a title.

What if Clemens is telling the truth?

Clemens looks really bad. Both Andy Pe. and Chuck Kn. admitted to being injected by Brian McNamee. And even Andy Pe. admitted that Roger Cl. told him about using HGH.

But why is Clemens so upset?

Maybe because the HGH didn't work, but the steroids did.

Clemens is adament that its his hard work and diligence that paid off for him over 25 years. I bet you steroids was a big part of it. Especially post 1997. It's almost too obvious if you look at his back to back Cy Youngs.

It's virtually impossible to come up with a plausible pro Clemens support because Clemens doesn't really have a story. If Clemens did not really know he was on steroids, he would have been saying that story over and over again. "Hey, I honestly to god thought I was being injected with Lidocaine or B-12. "

If you listen to Clemen's defense, it's just I have never taken PEDs. His main defense is that he has been injected with painkillers to deal with pain. And his B-12 story is not very credible. He is hooked on B-12. He takes tablets, in pill form every single day. What kind of nut is he?

And apparently, Clemens thinks McNamee gave him three B-12 shots while in Toronto.

Why wasn't this question followed up? I would have said, hold it right there. Basically, Clemens admits to being injected with B-12. But what if B-12 was Clemens own way off rationalizing his steroid abuse?

I honestly don't buy Clemen's story and I would like to believe Brian Mc.

I think Brian has told most of the truth, like 98.57%. I suspect he still might be hiding evidence that he isn't ready to reveal yet.

That bloody syringe that he turned over as evidence is very important. If the DNA reveals that it is Clemens, then there's virtually no doubt to Brian's story.

Ordinance code 225.27

I couldn't be happier about the Shaq trade. NBA seasons are usually pretty dull.

Until the Shaq trade.

I can't wait to see Shaq in HD against whoever. It could be the Bobcats, and I would be taping that shit.

If Shaq helps the Suns win a ring, it makes Shaq look like an ultimate champion, ala Magic Johnson, or...

He might seem like a liar because just a couple of months ago, Shaq was totally done.

You could literally feel Shaq getting old before your eyes. There was no way that he could actually do anything in the game without fouling out.

Remember his patented spin around, and then dunk in your face move?

It's now become an offensive foul.

Shaq looked washed up. You felt it.

He was averaging around 28.6 minutes per game and 14.2 points. But he was also was averaging 5 fouls and 7.8 boards a game.

Okay, I lied a bit. I didn't look up his fouls per game stat.

So what?

Can you really see him in the final minutes of the game doing anything?

Duncan is much leaner, faster and younger. Advantage Spurs.

Lakers are younger, more talented, and twice as tall. Advantage Lakers.

But how exciting is this for the NBA? Very.

I can't wait when we finally see Shaq in a Suns uniform.

Crazy NBA West playoff prediction

What if all four First Round Western Conference play-off series go seven games? They are all going to be exciting.

No matter how you want to toss it, there are ten really good Western teams vying for eight spots.

I believe this is what happens when the NBA decided to slow down the expansion of teams. It was 29 after they added the Raptors and Grizzlies in 1995, and then increased to 30 with the Bobcats in 2003 or something like that.

That's only 3 teams in the last 13 years.

Personally, I think the NBA got weaker in the late 80's / early 90's when they added 4 teams in 88-89, increasing it from 23 to 27. That was way too many teams, way too fast.

What they should have done is add the teams slowly. I would have added 2 in 88, then added 1 more in 96, and 2 more in 2004. That would be a total of 28 teams, instead of the current 30.

How significant is 2 fewer teams? It's larger than you think. Think about it, take away 30 pro players in the NBA right now, and then subtract 4 fewer draft picks each year from the last few drafts.

I would guess that at least 15 pro teams would gain significant players to their teams, and many more would get deeper overnight should you eliminate two teams right now.

For the sake of argument, what if the NBA eliminated the Clippers and Bobcats right now?

Wouldn't teams like Boston, Golden State, San Antonio, Suns, and Miami be killing each other to get any of those players right now?

Shaq trade still don't make no sense

None of these Shaq predictions are going to amount to anything until we see him in Suns uniform on the court.

I still don't think the Suns are going to be much better. There's a bit of an optimism coming out of reporters today, like on PTI, that this is a good trade for the Suns.

Shaq is old. He draws a lot of fouls. He is not a defensive player. On Miami the past 3 seasons, Mourning was the defensive stopper. Shaq is not going to be able to stay on the court in the last 3 minutes of the game. Shaq is an even worse free-throw shooter. Shaq will slow down the Suns attack.

What about Miami? I think this could be a great move for Marion. He gets to play w/ Wade, albeit injured. They would probably need to give Marion a 4 year extension, in the 65 million range. With Wade, Marion, and throw in a high 1-4 pick in the draft, the Heat become contenders in the East next season.

New Yankee Stadium is ridiculous

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3235847

Great article about the new Yankee Stadium. My first reaction is: OMG.

Now, this is my reaction, even though I've never actually gone to a game there yet.

The OMGs came from unprecedented baseball stadium features:

video conferencing rooms for clients in the daytime in the stadium.

they compare it to a 5 star hotel

party suites that seat up to 410 people

58 by 103 television screen

granite and limestone exterior

... But who knows how nice the new stadium really turns out to be until it's finished and open in 2009?

It's all going to be about the little details. I imagine alot of money goes into modeling the suites, the clubhouse, tv, construction costs, but how much time can they make the inside of the stadium look unique?

That's my main problem with all the new stadiums. On the inside, the concourses are all nearly identical. And they are all pretty bland.

If they wanted the New Yankee stadium to feel really majestic, or 5 star hotel like, then even the concourses, all the bathrooms, food courts, and even things like escalators feel incredible to the eye.

All about the mighty dollar: Potential Shaq trade

I honestly don't know if the rumoured Shaq trade is about to go down tomorrow or if at all. Everybody's saying WTF, why would the Suns give up so much and get a broken down Cadillac in 35 year old Shaq. Add in 40+ over the next two years, and you're left scratching your head.

Even at his age, Shaq can still sell out a building just by being there. Yes, he is terrible and slow, but people just look the other way.

What do the Suns get? An often injured player who fouls a lot. Hey, how many NBA stiffs foul a lot and play less than 30 minutes? They are a dime a dozen, and you certainly didn't need to pay Shaq all that money.

Unless, the Suns owners figures that adding Shaq would add more than 40 million to their pockets.

Big gamble, we'll wait and see.

How to kill a fly

It's freaking freezing outside in early February and somehow I found a fly flying in my apt.

At first, I couldn't kill it because it could totally escaped me.

This little insect's brain is no bigger than a nanometer and it's outsmarting a big brain human. 28.2 years old.

About an hour later, I heard the little bastard fly and found it hiding on my ceiling. Maybe the little guy was tired. What do I care?

This time, though, I crept up to the fly very surreptitiously. Don't even know if I used that word right. I mean, just quietly, but totally avoiding eye contact. I would take two slow steps, looking down mostly, and then peak up for 2 seconds to get an idea where the fly was on the ceiling.

I did this a few times until I was literally standing beneath the fly, but since I avoided eye contact to the ceiling, the fly didn't know that I had already spotted him.

On my first try, I killed the fly. My own personal Super Bowl. Me 1, Fly Dead.

Belichick, still one of the greatest coaches

I've heard people on WFAN complaining about Belichick's walk-off with 1 second left in the game. They say it's classless. I can't even think of a single other coach that would have received the same kind of criticism. What's the big deal with him walking off the field? How many NFL games have you seen the clock run down and players walk off the field. Every year, there are tons of games where the players essentially end it by raiding the field with the clock running down. Didn't anybody notice that Coughlin went out and gave Belichick a 3 second hug/congratulations? Why isn't Coughlin criticized for doing exactly the same thing?

Does Belichick rub people the wrong way? Absolutely. He acts like a jerk. After games, I've routinely seen Belichick literally push and throw reporters out of his way on his way to meet the other team's head coach. I don't feel sorry for Belichick because I don't remember ever seeing another NFL coach ever having to act like jerk or be so uncooperative during interview sessions. Bill simply needs to lighten up.

Is he a great head coach? Let's see. 3 out of 4 Super Bowls as head coach. 2 out of 3 as an assistant head coach. 5 rings out of 7 chances. Sounds like a pretty good coach to me.

Where would I rank him up there along with Walsh, Gibbs, Lambordi, Brown, Landry, Nohl, Parcells, and others? I'm only 28 so I've seen so little. The Giants and 49ers were dynasties when I was like 4-11 years old.

Belichick's definitely the greatest coach of the last 15 years, hands down.

Pau Gasol trade

Whew. What a trade. Looks so good on paper. But I'm not sure if it'll work out so smoothly. I got to look this up but I thought Gasol was more of a 5, then a 4. And when Bynum gets back, it'll only really strengthen one position, Center.

I don't see Bynum and Gasol playing well together. OK. I get the whole Gasol is a great passer thing. But I still won't want to see Bryant, Bynum & Gasol on the court w/ Odom and three headed monster (Walton, Farmar (sp?), Fisher)..

I would much rather see the Lakers starting Gasol, Odom, Ariza, Bryant, Fisher, and bringing Bynum off the bench, along w/ Walton, Farmar, Turiaf, Vujacic. That's a nice looking top 9 IMO. I'm probably leaving a really important Laker off that top 9 list, but by the time I remember, it'll be too late.

Bill Simmons anti Giant?

I'm dying to hear Bill Simmons' next podcast "BS Report". He has been wrong every round about the Giants. He picked the Bucs, then the Cowboys, and of course Packers in the NFC Title game.

Then again, he has been right every round about the Patriots.

To be honest, I give the Giants zero shot at beating the Patriots. Are you kidding me?

Brady is incredible and healthy. Moss is incredible and healthy. Belichick is obviously one of the greatest coaches of all time. He eclipsed his mentor Bill Parcells by winning one more title than him.

It boils down to this. Do you believe that the Giants could pull off an upset? Coughlin and E. Manning could possibly beat Belichick and Brady?

I doubt it. But I would so love to see it happen. So love it to see it happen!