Think of it as a "right of passage." Think of it as a "learning experience." Maybe they're "paying their dues." But there's a bright side to the events occurring with the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as the Chicago Bulls. They're both young, relatively inexperienced teams. They're both up and coming, extremely exciting teams.
They weren't supposed to win this year. The Bulls vastly over-achieved this year (were projected to be a 4 or 5 seed before season began). The Thunder over-achieved, building on last year when they took the Lakers to 6 games, and gave the eventual champions all they could handle. They were supposed to take the "big" step this year. They took the "next" step, but there's no skipping steps in the NBA. One at a time. That's the rule. Know your roles.
The Thunder are in a great position for the future. Three young stars (yes three, Harden is greatly overrated and will be 6th man of the year next year, put money on it today) and a defensive mentality are a recipe for success. People want to rip Russ Westbrook for taking more shots than Durant, and having too many turnovers. Well, he's not a point guard. He's a shooting guard playing point guard. He's also 6'6". He brings the ball up the court and sees a defender who is usually 3-4" shorter than he is. You're telling me you wouldn't want to shoot it every time with that kind of height advantage? BS. Of course you would. Or if you wouldn't, that's why you've never played basketball. Sorry, but it's true. You see a mis-match, and you want to exploit it. You have the ball in your hands already, and you're going to do what you want. It didn't hurt that Durant didn't exactly "light it up" in the playoffs. He played well, don't get me wrong, but he wasn't exactly Mr. Efficiency (aka Dirk Nowitzki). Stop killing the kids. They're young. They will learn from this. Hopefully they remember how bad this feels right now, and use that as motivation to never want to feel it again.
Who is going to top the West next year? The aging Lakers? Maybe... but if you ask me, Kobe is way more past his prime than people want to admit, Bynum won't be healthy (surprise!), Ron Artest is, well Ron Artest, and Pau Gasol may be in a shell the rest of his life. Oh yeah, and Lamar Odom might get eaten by a dinosaur, the Kardashasaurus-Rex. What about the Spurs? If Duncan can use a walker on the court, and Tony Parker doesn't sleep with any of his teammates wives (doubtful), and Manu Ginobli gets some Rogain, then maybe. But I doubt it. The Mavericks? That's wild card. Dirk is old, but he's German, and spends most of his time outside of the lane. But Jason Kidd is on his last legs, Shawn Marion's shot is going to have to stop going in eventually, it's hideous, Tyson Chandler is a free agent, and J.J. Barea can't be Mighty Mouse forever. The Grizzlies and the Blazers will be your other teams of the future, barring injuries and airborne gambling rings. But the Thunder are in a great position to be at the top of the West for the next, oh, 5 to 6 years.
The Bulls are the new-age Cleveland Cavaliers, except I can't drive from work to watch them, and they have Joakim Noah. Ugh. How do you make the NBA and still shoot with two hands? Nobody taught him? High School? College? Come on now, it's embarrassing, for all of us. Alas, that's not the point. Derrick Rose is only going to get better. Don't think he's not going to have an outside jump shot next year. Some people, who's opinion is worth little more than mine (Cowherd), want to bash Rose because he can't play defense like LeBron. I don't need to go into all the reasons on why that's a ridiculous argument, but here are a few: 1) LeBron is a freak athletically; 2) Derrick Rose is 6'3" 190, a freak athletically, but still small by NBA standards.... did I mention that LeBron is 6'9" 280 lbs? Oh yeah, Cowherd, Derrick Rose should definitely be able to lockdown Lebron. Idiot. I did it again, that's not the point to be made.
The Bulls have arguably the best young point guard in the game, they have a lockdown wing defender in Deng (nobody shuts down LeBron, so don't use that as an argument), they have their high-energy defender/rebounder in Noah, and they have their overpaid waste of space player necessary on every time in Carlos Boozer. Wait, that's not right. It's true, but isn't part of a delicious plan for a championship. The Bulls are either going to trade Boozer for a SG (go after OJ Mayo.. just do it already), or they need to spend the whole summer and lockout to work on Boozer's awful defensive ability, and shrinking confidence. (Oh yeah, the lockout. Forgot about that. See ya Boston. Bye-Bye Lakers, Au Revoir Spurs.) The Bulls are one piece away (sound familiar Cleveland... ugh... damn you Delonte! Chipotle!) from taking that next step, to be able to beat the Heat, and stop the travesty that is happening in the NBA today.
But what about the Heat? Isn't this the worst that they're going to be in the next 6 years? They're going to cut away all the crappy players who they signed to 1 year contracts and bring in the big guns to fill in around the Big 3 and the small 2 (Haslem and Miller). They're going to be so much better when they get that point guard they need, and an established big man. They're going to be so much better. It's such a good thing they'll have cap room after this year when all those players come off the books.
Oh yeah... about that... with the combination of around 6 (takes the roster size down to around 6 active players) players coming off the books, and increases in annual salary of the "big three (d-bags)," the Heat will have a whopping $2 million coming off the books. The Heat will have $2 million in cap space? For six players? Who are better? Ohhh... that's okay, they'll just trade some assets to get that cap room. Like... Zydrunas Ilgauskus... and Mario Chalmers... who wouldn't want them (I do love Z... but come on, give it up Z)? Oh, and the kicker.... remember that lockout thingy? Yeah, the salary cap is around $65 million dollars right now. More than half the league's teams are losing money. The cap is going to go down. So the $2 million under the cap could become, oh, $5 million over. Uh oh... now there's trouble in South Beach. Yeah.. this might be the worst that we see the Heat, because they'll begin to mesh a little better... but it could also be the best we see the Heat for awhile. Don't worry about them.
The rest of the East? The Knicks? They don't play defense, and are still waiting for that 3rd star who will never come... sorry New York.. keep telling yourselves that the NBA is better when you're good.. becuase it's not. When was the last time New York won a title? Oh yeah, I was -14 years old. I think the NBA's done alright without those Knickerbockers (maybe they should officially change their name back to that, and wear Knickerbockers, that could help). The Magic? Yeah.. maybe if they get Penn and Teller to conjour up a magic trick to get Dwight to stay. Oh yeah, and Gilbert Arenas... enough said. The Hawks? Here's a bold prediction- they will make the playoffs, probably a 4 or 5 seed, and at some point they will lose 4 games by about 100 points total. The Celtics? The Celtics are like that team at open gym, you know, the 40 year olds that still come to play with the high schoolers? They come, and they'll win a couple games, but after a couple games to 16, they're not getting up and down the court very well, their shots aren't falling, and the only advantage they have is the amount of sweat lubricating their inexplicably bare backs. Sorry C's... Rondo can't carry your sweaty backs forever.
The Cavs? Lol.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Damnit....
I feel like the USA just lost to the USSR in the 1981 Winter Olympics Hockey. Where's the miracle? I'm pretty sure Rose's shot was supposed to go in. Can we get another take on that? Somebody messed up the score in that game. Did that really happen?
Yes, sadly. Yes it did.
It takes a big man to admit he was wrong... fortunately I wasn't technically wrong. I was merely rooting for an outcome, not predicting or guaranteeing one. Alright, I was wrong about the 7 game series.... there's still about a 4% chance that I'll be right, but for all intents and purposes, I was wrong about that. It's a shame.. the NBA could have milked a couple million more dollars out of the networks.
Can we say it now? Is it okay? Can we finally admit this truth, because it is true, though nobody wants to admit it? It's time to move on. The first step of that... no.. let's say like the fifth step of that, or maybe the final step.. is admitting this one, devastating truth:
I'm Sorry.....
LeBron James, is the best player in the NBA, and will win a NBA championship this year... and probably for years to come. And he will not be wearing a Cavs jersey while doing it.
It's sad. It really is. He still acts the same as he did on the Cavs.. his sh*t talking... his crying to the refs... his unnecessary celebrations... but I just don't like them anymore. What is he doing now that he didn't do on the Cavs? Taking over. End to end. He can't be stopped. LeBron took it to the hole last night, finished with his left hand over Noah, and when he didn't get the "and one" foul call (though he wanted it), you could see him saying "I don't want your foul," or something like that. Nasty.
Then, he shuts down the best young point guard in the game. 6'9" 280 lbs LeBron guarding 6'3" 190 lbs (soaking wet) Derrick Rose. That's just stupid... in the complimentary way. Do you know how hard it is to guard a point guard when you're not one? Very hard. At every level. LeBron is the only player in the NBA now, and probably in history, that can guard, successfully, every position on the floor. 1 through 5, LeBron can do it. It sucks. He's really, really good. He's the best.
Dan Gilbert's words are all but eaten. The preseason victory party finally has it's reason. The Heat are going to win the championship. I might not watch the NBA for 5 years. That's probably not entirely true, but I want it to be. Just because they're winning, doesn't mean it's the "right way." They still cheated the system. They cheated the Matrix. They chose the red pill... maybe it was the blue one.... either way, they broke the norm. We don't like that. That's why it's the norm. Because that's what everyone is supposed to do. They didn't.
The Celtics started it, but didn't completely cheat. They may have tanked to get a lottery pick, the stole an aging star in Garnett, and stole (but gave up a lottery pick.. that turned into Jeff Green.. who ironically is on the Celtics now) Ray Allen. But these were trades. These are the off-season activities we as fans like. Trades. That's why there's an ESPN "Trade Machine," not an ESPN "Free Agent Superteam Machine."
The Knicks did it post-Heat, but still didn't completely cheat. They signed Amare in the off-season, the first free agent signing, so not too much to feel bad about. LeBron could have gone there, would still be hated, but not as much as he is now. Then the Knicks gutted their roster, gave it all to the Nuggets (who did better in the playoffs) for Carmelo. Two pieces, and they'll have to wait another year for their third piece... and hope beyond hope that Amare's body doesn't fail him.
Let's hope that this is the "heartbreak" that every young team has to go through. Like Jordan's Bulls, Isiah's Pistons, Kobe's Lakers, LeBron's Cavs (damn!)... they all went through that "close, but not good enough" phase. Let's hope the Bulls and the Thunder are going through that right now. They built their teams the "right way"- through the draft, and strategic signings. They developed their own players, made some timely trades and signings, and created a deep, balanced team. Unfortunately, they're just too young right now (I hope).
Let's just hope that Dirk continues to be unguardable. He's going to have a 3 inch advantage over LeBron, and has the luxury of being an amazing jump-shooter. I don't count on it.. I want the Mavericks to win, but I'm not getting my hopes up...
Yes, sadly. Yes it did.
It takes a big man to admit he was wrong... fortunately I wasn't technically wrong. I was merely rooting for an outcome, not predicting or guaranteeing one. Alright, I was wrong about the 7 game series.... there's still about a 4% chance that I'll be right, but for all intents and purposes, I was wrong about that. It's a shame.. the NBA could have milked a couple million more dollars out of the networks.
Can we say it now? Is it okay? Can we finally admit this truth, because it is true, though nobody wants to admit it? It's time to move on. The first step of that... no.. let's say like the fifth step of that, or maybe the final step.. is admitting this one, devastating truth:
I'm Sorry.....
LeBron James, is the best player in the NBA, and will win a NBA championship this year... and probably for years to come. And he will not be wearing a Cavs jersey while doing it.
It's sad. It really is. He still acts the same as he did on the Cavs.. his sh*t talking... his crying to the refs... his unnecessary celebrations... but I just don't like them anymore. What is he doing now that he didn't do on the Cavs? Taking over. End to end. He can't be stopped. LeBron took it to the hole last night, finished with his left hand over Noah, and when he didn't get the "and one" foul call (though he wanted it), you could see him saying "I don't want your foul," or something like that. Nasty.
Then, he shuts down the best young point guard in the game. 6'9" 280 lbs LeBron guarding 6'3" 190 lbs (soaking wet) Derrick Rose. That's just stupid... in the complimentary way. Do you know how hard it is to guard a point guard when you're not one? Very hard. At every level. LeBron is the only player in the NBA now, and probably in history, that can guard, successfully, every position on the floor. 1 through 5, LeBron can do it. It sucks. He's really, really good. He's the best.
Dan Gilbert's words are all but eaten. The preseason victory party finally has it's reason. The Heat are going to win the championship. I might not watch the NBA for 5 years. That's probably not entirely true, but I want it to be. Just because they're winning, doesn't mean it's the "right way." They still cheated the system. They cheated the Matrix. They chose the red pill... maybe it was the blue one.... either way, they broke the norm. We don't like that. That's why it's the norm. Because that's what everyone is supposed to do. They didn't.
The Celtics started it, but didn't completely cheat. They may have tanked to get a lottery pick, the stole an aging star in Garnett, and stole (but gave up a lottery pick.. that turned into Jeff Green.. who ironically is on the Celtics now) Ray Allen. But these were trades. These are the off-season activities we as fans like. Trades. That's why there's an ESPN "Trade Machine," not an ESPN "Free Agent Superteam Machine."
The Knicks did it post-Heat, but still didn't completely cheat. They signed Amare in the off-season, the first free agent signing, so not too much to feel bad about. LeBron could have gone there, would still be hated, but not as much as he is now. Then the Knicks gutted their roster, gave it all to the Nuggets (who did better in the playoffs) for Carmelo. Two pieces, and they'll have to wait another year for their third piece... and hope beyond hope that Amare's body doesn't fail him.
Let's hope that this is the "heartbreak" that every young team has to go through. Like Jordan's Bulls, Isiah's Pistons, Kobe's Lakers, LeBron's Cavs (damn!)... they all went through that "close, but not good enough" phase. Let's hope the Bulls and the Thunder are going through that right now. They built their teams the "right way"- through the draft, and strategic signings. They developed their own players, made some timely trades and signings, and created a deep, balanced team. Unfortunately, they're just too young right now (I hope).
Let's just hope that Dirk continues to be unguardable. He's going to have a 3 inch advantage over LeBron, and has the luxury of being an amazing jump-shooter. I don't count on it.. I want the Mavericks to win, but I'm not getting my hopes up...
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The Best Blog Post of All-Time....
What? Exactly.
I think too many people are obsessed with labeling things "the best ever." Especially in sports. I like basketball the best. Jordan has 6 rings, Russell has 11, but Malone doesn't have any, Magic was a 6'9" point guard, Pistol Pete had the best court vision ever. All of these arguments are silly. When you argue about music, you're making a subjective argument based on your tastes, so you're right... to you.
When you argue about the best basketball player ever, you can use championships as your measure... except Russell had 11 and Jordan had 6 and Kobe has 5 and Shaq has 4. Yeah, but Russell played too long ago, so his 11 championships aren't good enough.
You can use stats to bolster your argument. Oscar Robertson averaged a triple double, and Wilt scored 100 points in a game, and Jordan averaged over 35/game in a season, twice (but didn't win a championship in either year he did it), and Kobe scored 81 in the "modern era."
I love that. The "Modern Era". Here's some statements that will anger a lot of people. Kobe is as good as Michael Jordan. LeBron is the best player of all time. I don't buy into either of these, but walk into a sports bar and say that really loudly. Just do it.
Venom.
"Dude! What? No Way. You're an idiot, do you even know what basketball is?! Idiot!"
Why are we obsessed with labeling players? Does anybody stop to think how ridiculous it is? Even today. LeBron is better than Kobe. No way. Really? I'm better than my dad in basketball. Why? Because I've got mad skills. Also, he's twice my age and his knees are gone. Oh, and Kobe's knees are still there? And he hasn't played 7 more seasons than LeBron? Oh, that's right.
Well, when Kobe was in his prime he was better than LeBron. Yeah, well LeBron was a senior at St. V, and then a rookie in the NBA. I would the top player in the game was better than a high schooler. Yeah, but.. if you took Kobe in his prime against LeBron in his prime, then Kobe would be better. Why?
Kobe has 5 rings. What? Idiots.
Here's the point. You can't compare Kobe in his prime to LeBron in his prime, because it didn't happen at the same time. Why would Kobe be better? He has the "killer instinct" and he's "clutch" and he can score "81"... I mean, 81, it actually was 81. Kobe is the best scorer... but LeBron is bigger, and rebounds more, and averages more assists.
Kobe has 5 rings. Stop it.
So Jordan is better than Kobe. Because he's a better scorer, and had more assists, and more rebounds. And he had 6 titles. Facts. Did in his prime Jordan play against in his prime Kobe? No. Will they ever? No. We have a fresher memory of Kobe... but Jordan is like the Zeus of basketball. Nobody shall dare to be compared to him. But isn't the talent level higher now? Are players more athletic today? Aren't there better developmental programs today? Aren't the training programs, workout programs, rehab programs, and accommodations better today? Aren't the rules more beneficial to scorers today? Yes, yes, yes, yes....yes.
E) All of the above.
You can't take players out of one era and put them into another. You can't go from old to new, and new to old. You can't. There are great players in every generation. There may even be the "greatest player in a generation." But how do you compare a player from today's game to a player from 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30, 40, 50 years ago? Or vice-versa. You can't. Deal with it.
Guess what? There won't ever be another Jordan. Or another Magic. Or another Bird. Or another Russell, or Kareem, or Big O.
Guess what else? There won't ever be another Kobe. Or another LeBron (ugh). Or another Wade. Or another Iverson. Or Shaq, or KG, or Duncan, or Dirk.
Stop it. We don't have to have greatest ever. Most people who argue these things nowadays aren't old enough to even remember all these people play. You know Shaq was in his prime 10 years ago now? I don't remember 10 years ago. I know he was good... but, 10 years ago? I'm old. I'm 24.... my memory is gone. Let's just enjoy what we have in today's game, and compare these players. These arguments are dumb.
Besides, Kobe has 5 rings...
And Jordan has 6....
And Robert Horry has 7.
I think too many people are obsessed with labeling things "the best ever." Especially in sports. I like basketball the best. Jordan has 6 rings, Russell has 11, but Malone doesn't have any, Magic was a 6'9" point guard, Pistol Pete had the best court vision ever. All of these arguments are silly. When you argue about music, you're making a subjective argument based on your tastes, so you're right... to you.
When you argue about the best basketball player ever, you can use championships as your measure... except Russell had 11 and Jordan had 6 and Kobe has 5 and Shaq has 4. Yeah, but Russell played too long ago, so his 11 championships aren't good enough.
You can use stats to bolster your argument. Oscar Robertson averaged a triple double, and Wilt scored 100 points in a game, and Jordan averaged over 35/game in a season, twice (but didn't win a championship in either year he did it), and Kobe scored 81 in the "modern era."
I love that. The "Modern Era". Here's some statements that will anger a lot of people. Kobe is as good as Michael Jordan. LeBron is the best player of all time. I don't buy into either of these, but walk into a sports bar and say that really loudly. Just do it.
Venom.
"Dude! What? No Way. You're an idiot, do you even know what basketball is?! Idiot!"
Why are we obsessed with labeling players? Does anybody stop to think how ridiculous it is? Even today. LeBron is better than Kobe. No way. Really? I'm better than my dad in basketball. Why? Because I've got mad skills. Also, he's twice my age and his knees are gone. Oh, and Kobe's knees are still there? And he hasn't played 7 more seasons than LeBron? Oh, that's right.
Well, when Kobe was in his prime he was better than LeBron. Yeah, well LeBron was a senior at St. V, and then a rookie in the NBA. I would the top player in the game was better than a high schooler. Yeah, but.. if you took Kobe in his prime against LeBron in his prime, then Kobe would be better. Why?
Kobe has 5 rings. What? Idiots.
Here's the point. You can't compare Kobe in his prime to LeBron in his prime, because it didn't happen at the same time. Why would Kobe be better? He has the "killer instinct" and he's "clutch" and he can score "81"... I mean, 81, it actually was 81. Kobe is the best scorer... but LeBron is bigger, and rebounds more, and averages more assists.
Kobe has 5 rings. Stop it.
So Jordan is better than Kobe. Because he's a better scorer, and had more assists, and more rebounds. And he had 6 titles. Facts. Did in his prime Jordan play against in his prime Kobe? No. Will they ever? No. We have a fresher memory of Kobe... but Jordan is like the Zeus of basketball. Nobody shall dare to be compared to him. But isn't the talent level higher now? Are players more athletic today? Aren't there better developmental programs today? Aren't the training programs, workout programs, rehab programs, and accommodations better today? Aren't the rules more beneficial to scorers today? Yes, yes, yes, yes....yes.
E) All of the above.
You can't take players out of one era and put them into another. You can't go from old to new, and new to old. You can't. There are great players in every generation. There may even be the "greatest player in a generation." But how do you compare a player from today's game to a player from 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30, 40, 50 years ago? Or vice-versa. You can't. Deal with it.
Guess what? There won't ever be another Jordan. Or another Magic. Or another Bird. Or another Russell, or Kareem, or Big O.
Guess what else? There won't ever be another Kobe. Or another LeBron (ugh). Or another Wade. Or another Iverson. Or Shaq, or KG, or Duncan, or Dirk.
Stop it. We don't have to have greatest ever. Most people who argue these things nowadays aren't old enough to even remember all these people play. You know Shaq was in his prime 10 years ago now? I don't remember 10 years ago. I know he was good... but, 10 years ago? I'm old. I'm 24.... my memory is gone. Let's just enjoy what we have in today's game, and compare these players. These arguments are dumb.
Besides, Kobe has 5 rings...
And Jordan has 6....
And Robert Horry has 7.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Thoughts from the weekend... We're all still here...
Rapture:
6 pm May 21st came, and it went... and at least nobody in Cleveland was chosen to go to the great beyond. My first thought was more an affirmation, that God, in fact, does hate Cleveland. However, that was more for my own amusement, and then I just wanted to talk to someone who truly, truly believed that Saturday was going to be the beginning of the end for us on earth. How do they explain themselves now? People quit their jobs because of this. What do they say when they apply for a new job?
Interviewer: "So why did you leave your last job?"
Crazy Person: "Well, I was kind of banking on being raptured up to Heaven..."
Interviewer: "....And?"
Crazy Person: "Yeah... I'm still here..."
Idiots. Sorry, I guess if they truly believed it, they shouldn't be made fun of for their beliefs. But then again, how many times do you get to actually prove somebody's belief's wrong? Most of the major religions (all that I'm aware of) are based off of things that are unable to be proven, but also unable to be disproven. The whole point is to actually believe in something. So what happens when you believe in something, change your life for it, and then... "Wait.. Wait... Santa isn't real?!" That's the closest comparison I can think of for something like this, but I highly doubt parents quit their jobs because Santa Claus was coming to town. I can only hope that I run into somebody who based their beliefs on the world ending on this:
"May 21, 2011, is Judgment Day, upon which the righteous – which totals 3 percent of humanity – will be whisked away to the sweet hereafter, leaving the rest of us to weather five months of extreme natural disasters until Oct. 21, whereupon God destroys the entire universe and everyone left in it.
2. The number 722,500 is made up of two sets of an identical series of numbers: 5x10x17 x 5x10x17 = 722,500.
3. Now, since the number 5 stands for atonement (Says who?) and 10 stands for perfection (Since when?) and 17 stands for Heaven (Give me a break!), this formula means, "Atonement has been completed for Heaven," and it is repeated twice for emphasis."
6 pm May 21st came, and it went... and at least nobody in Cleveland was chosen to go to the great beyond. My first thought was more an affirmation, that God, in fact, does hate Cleveland. However, that was more for my own amusement, and then I just wanted to talk to someone who truly, truly believed that Saturday was going to be the beginning of the end for us on earth. How do they explain themselves now? People quit their jobs because of this. What do they say when they apply for a new job?
Interviewer: "So why did you leave your last job?"
Crazy Person: "Well, I was kind of banking on being raptured up to Heaven..."
Interviewer: "....And?"
Crazy Person: "Yeah... I'm still here..."
Idiots. Sorry, I guess if they truly believed it, they shouldn't be made fun of for their beliefs. But then again, how many times do you get to actually prove somebody's belief's wrong? Most of the major religions (all that I'm aware of) are based off of things that are unable to be proven, but also unable to be disproven. The whole point is to actually believe in something. So what happens when you believe in something, change your life for it, and then... "Wait.. Wait... Santa isn't real?!" That's the closest comparison I can think of for something like this, but I highly doubt parents quit their jobs because Santa Claus was coming to town. I can only hope that I run into somebody who based their beliefs on the world ending on this:
"May 21, 2011, is Judgment Day, upon which the righteous – which totals 3 percent of humanity – will be whisked away to the sweet hereafter, leaving the rest of us to weather five months of extreme natural disasters until Oct. 21, whereupon God destroys the entire universe and everyone left in it.
Camping says that because Jesus was crucified on Friday, April 1, 33 AD, and that it takes exactly 365.2422 days for the earth to complete one orbit of the sun, we can conclude that, on April 1, 2011, Jesus was crucified exactly 722,449.07 days ago. Add 51 days to this to get to May 1, and you get a figure of 722,500.07"
"1. From the time of the crucifixion on April 11, 33 AD (a date that is not agreed upon by scholars) to May 21, 2011 is a total of 722,500 days.
2. The number 722,500 is made up of two sets of an identical series of numbers: 5x10x17 x 5x10x17 = 722,500.
3. Now, since the number 5 stands for atonement (Says who?) and 10 stands for perfection (Since when?) and 17 stands for Heaven (Give me a break!), this formula means, "Atonement has been completed for Heaven," and it is repeated twice for emphasis."
Really? Seriously? "Repeated for emphasis" I love it... Sorry guys...
NBA:
First, I have to mention a prediction a one JD made for the Cavaliers. Just so it's here, in type, with credit, JD believes that the Cavs will trade Ramon Sessions to the Knicks for their #17 draft pick, and the Cavs will draft Providence Guard Marshon Brooks (I think... he'll correct me if I'm wrong), a 6'5" SG who is a born scorer. Noted.
Second, can we all just agree that travelling is a farce of a violation in the NBA and they should just stop calling it all together? There is nothing more frustrating than watching these terribly bias officials call travelling on the "Players not named LeBron, Dwayne, Kobe, or Carmelo" when they take an extra step, and then blatantly ignore the infractions when "Players name LeBron, Dwayne, Kobe, or Carmelo" take 4-6 steps on every other possession. It's getting ridiculous. The part that makes this the worst, is that travelling is probably the least subjective violation in basketball. You get 2 steps. If you count three, it's a travel. At least missed foul calls are up for interpretation, and can be sold either way with over-dramatizing of the highest magnitude. Flopping can be very misleading. But travelling? All you do is count. 1...2... 3...4.....5....6... I mean... Maybe our refs can't count that high, but you only have to get to 3 for a travel! Next time you watch an NBA game, watch the feet of players. I like to do that sometimes when I know the refs have picked a side, because it's fun to see how many players can switch their pivot foot without being called, and those are the least blatant of all the calls. LeBron taking a pro-hop (a travelling in some forms depending on who does it) AND THEN take 2 more steps to the hoop is the obvious violation. It's disgusting.
Thirdly and Fourthly, watch for OKC and Chicago to both win their game 4. They're both in must win games, and the NBA is approaching a lockout, so they need as many games as possible before this season ends so they can bank as much money as possible. Look for two seven game series in the Conference Finals, and then a Seven game NBA Finals. It's all about money, so don't expect either team to go down 3-1... just don't.
Lastly on the NBA..... I still hate Miami.
MLB:
The Indians are awesome. I was getting worried when we dropped 2 in a row to the White Sox... but we swept the NL Central leading (at the time) Cincinnati Reds at home, in a variety of ways. We had a comeback win on Friday, a pitchers duel won on Saturday, and a blow-out on Sunday. We get the Red Sox tonight, on national television no less, so hopefully we can pull this one out as well. It seems every time a Cleveland team gets on national TV, we suck, so don't be surprised if Masterson gives up like three HR through two innings...but either way.. Go Tribe.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Most Electrifying Blog in Internet Blogs Today!!
Finally... a blog.. that compares the NBA to the WWE!
With only 4 teams left in the NBA Playoffs, we're getting close to the end. OKC/Dallas seem to play every other day now, while the Heat/Bulls series could go until June at the rate they play. But with these four teams remaining, it's remarkable, just how different each team is from the other. Equally, possibly exceedingly, remarkable, is how each team can be compared to prominent Professional Wrestling Factions (Will not be limited to WWE, WCW will also be in here). Without further ado...
3. Degeneration X
The Bulls
Easily the most popular of the stables in wrestling history. I'm not talking about original DX, and I know I know, we all love HBK. But the HBK/HHH DX was bound to fail. You had two guys and a shemale, that's not going to last. So we look at the DX that made wrestling famous. The DX that came invaded the competitions arena and caused trouble (like the Bulls team defense). You had the obvious alpha dog on this team in HHH (Derrick Rose). He was the unquestioned leader of DX, the other members fed off of him, and they would never win a 4 man tag without him. When HHH gets hurt, DX was irrelevant, just like the Bulls. What about the New Age Outlaws? Multiple time tag-team champions, BA Billy Gunn and the Road Dogg Jesse James were great. They followed Hunter's lead, but could work on their own, as displayed by the tag team success. You can't really tag team in the NBA, but the whole "work on their own" is displayed on the Bulls by Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. They are fully capable of working on their own, playing defense (Deng) and hitting the pick and pop jumpers (Boozer). If they don't perform well, DX doesn't have a chance. Then there's little ole' X-Pac. X-Pac, the undersized little buddy of the group, couldn't do much on his own. Yeah, he might be able to work over some smaller or older opponents, but he primarily excels when he's teamed up with HHH and can bring energy to the match. If he can pull off his Bronco Buster in the match, maybe a well-timed superkick, he could help propel team DX to a victory. Who would this be? Kyle Korver and Taj Gibson. Kyle Korver with his 3-point shooting (the only thing he can do) and Gibson with his defense and dunks. They can't produce much on their own, but they feed off the crowd and get theirs from Rose.
That brings us to my favorite comparison in this group. Chyna. Who didn't love Chyna? A Man trapped in a woman's body. Or maybe a woman trapped in a man's body. Either way, she did her job. She didn't do much on her own accord, and basically acted as the enforcer for DX. Look at that scowl. A low blow here, a distraction there, a conventiently placed metal chair, and DX wins. Who is this? I think you already know...
With his disturbing appearance, terrible shot, but tenacious/irritating defense, he often plays a major role in propelling the Bulls to victory.
4. The nWo
Besides the process of elimination, do I really need to tell you who gets compared to arguably the most hated stable of all time? Okay, I will.
The Miami Heat.
More similarities than you may think. If you recall, in the mid 1990's, WCW and WWE were very competitive. Two wrestles, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, were out of contract and decided to join WCW, kind of. They were known as the Outsiders, and were quickly fan favorites- to hate. The tag team had long promised a 3rd partner, but it wasn't until Bash at the Beach in 1996 that the third member was revealed. In a stunning betrayal of fans' hearts, Hulk Hogan turned on his long-time friend (in WCW) Randy Savage, and joined the "evil" Outsiders, thus forming the nWo, or New World Order. Interesting, isn't it? We'll say Scott Hall is Wade, only because he went to WCW first, or in this case, the Miami Heat. He recruited Kevin Nash fairly quickly, who we'll call Chris Bosh. This was already a quick start to despising the Miami Heat team, but it was obviously still incomplete. The new leader, the supposed alpha dog, the great betrayer, LeBron joined the Heat (nWo) in grand fashion. Hulk Hogan went from one of the most loved wrestlers, to the most hated. The nWo ran amuck for a couple years, before egos took over, and the super power was disbanded and divided. Will that be the fate for the "Heatles"? They have already proclaimed themselves champions, and have the ability to achieve that goal this year.
Which Stable will prevail?
If ya smell..... what the Rock..... is cookin'...
With only 4 teams left in the NBA Playoffs, we're getting close to the end. OKC/Dallas seem to play every other day now, while the Heat/Bulls series could go until June at the rate they play. But with these four teams remaining, it's remarkable, just how different each team is from the other. Equally, possibly exceedingly, remarkable, is how each team can be compared to prominent Professional Wrestling Factions (Will not be limited to WWE, WCW will also be in here). Without further ado...
1. Evolution
This one is a little new for some of you, I'm sure.. .though it's about 5 years old by now, I would guestimate. Included in this stable is HHH (he is awesome enough to jump from stable to stable), Randy Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair (woooooooooo!). Who, you may ask, could I compare to this group of young and old players?
The Dallas Mavericks.
HHH again, is the leader. The idea behind this stable was they had the last generation in Flair, the current in HHH, and the future in Batista and Orton. HHH is a veteran, and in his prime. He calls all the shots, takes some advice from Flair, but is the unquestioned leader. He is the champion of this group. Thus, Dirk Nowitski is the obvious choice. He's at the top of his game right now. He's been in the league for 13 years now, but is playing better than ever. The Mavericks go, as Dirk goes. Randy Orton and Batista, very talented, fairly young, wrestlers. Some exciting entrances, exciting finishing moves, but again, they feed off HHH. But HHH can't win alone, he needs these two. Randy Orton is definitely Jason Terry. Terry can take over if he needs to with his 3's, he gets the crowd involved (even though the crowd hates Orton, they're still involved), and can swing a game within about 2 minutes. Batista would have to be Tyson Chandler. He's the muscle, he does the dirty work, he intimidates the other team. He's overly muscular (Batista) so his move array is kind of low (capped off by a Batista bomb- Tyson's dunks), but he plays a vital role in the dominance that Evolution showed in the mid 2000's. And for the Nature Boy, Ric Flair. Way past his prime, holding on to his past. He's a lot slower now, his moves are limited to a chest slap and a figure-four leg lock, though still effective. He loves his kids, waves to them in the crowd while in the ring... I made that up, but it's a great segway to: Jason Kidd. J Kidd came into this league in 1994. 17 years he's been playing, he's past his prime, way past. But he's effective. He's a good floor general, he controls the tempo of the game, and he helps Dirk get his. But it's important to reiterate... he is very, very old.
WWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. Rock and Sock Connection
Oklahoma City Thunder
I know, I know, I said 2 people can't make a stable. But 1) I didn't the Nation qualified for this team, and how could I do a wrestling blog without the Rock? And 2) there is a correlation here. The Rock, arguably the best wrestler, at least in the last 20 years, teamed with an "in his prime" Mankind. Stay with me here- Mankind isn't the best example, but it works here. The tag team won the belts when they teamed up, but the Rock was definitely the better of the two. Mankind's wrestling was, unconventional yet exciting (being thrown off the top of a 20 foot steel cage? crazy bro), and could sometimes lead to the detrimant of the team, but when he was at the top of his game, they were unstoppable. See where I'm going here? DO YOU? Kevin Durant, could arguably be, the best scorer in the league today (Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!) but sometimes, his buddy thinks he could be too (Have a nice day!). When Mankind steps out of line, his team loses. It's hard for the Rock to put Mankind in his place in a language he could understand, so the message didn't alway get through. Kevin Durant is The Rock. Russell Westbrook is Mankind. If The Rock doesn't tell Mankind to "Know your role, and shut your mouth" then they are going to lose. Russell Westbrook- the fans love you, you're fun to watch, you do some crazy impressive stuff that some people wouldn't even think of doing, but you've got to let Durant do his thing. That's the only way you're going to win the Tag-Team Championship... you've got to let the Rock be the People's Champ.
3. Degeneration X
The Bulls
Easily the most popular of the stables in wrestling history. I'm not talking about original DX, and I know I know, we all love HBK. But the HBK/HHH DX was bound to fail. You had two guys and a shemale, that's not going to last. So we look at the DX that made wrestling famous. The DX that came invaded the competitions arena and caused trouble (like the Bulls team defense). You had the obvious alpha dog on this team in HHH (Derrick Rose). He was the unquestioned leader of DX, the other members fed off of him, and they would never win a 4 man tag without him. When HHH gets hurt, DX was irrelevant, just like the Bulls. What about the New Age Outlaws? Multiple time tag-team champions, BA Billy Gunn and the Road Dogg Jesse James were great. They followed Hunter's lead, but could work on their own, as displayed by the tag team success. You can't really tag team in the NBA, but the whole "work on their own" is displayed on the Bulls by Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. They are fully capable of working on their own, playing defense (Deng) and hitting the pick and pop jumpers (Boozer). If they don't perform well, DX doesn't have a chance. Then there's little ole' X-Pac. X-Pac, the undersized little buddy of the group, couldn't do much on his own. Yeah, he might be able to work over some smaller or older opponents, but he primarily excels when he's teamed up with HHH and can bring energy to the match. If he can pull off his Bronco Buster in the match, maybe a well-timed superkick, he could help propel team DX to a victory. Who would this be? Kyle Korver and Taj Gibson. Kyle Korver with his 3-point shooting (the only thing he can do) and Gibson with his defense and dunks. They can't produce much on their own, but they feed off the crowd and get theirs from Rose.
That brings us to my favorite comparison in this group. Chyna. Who didn't love Chyna? A Man trapped in a woman's body. Or maybe a woman trapped in a man's body. Either way, she did her job. She didn't do much on her own accord, and basically acted as the enforcer for DX. Look at that scowl. A low blow here, a distraction there, a conventiently placed metal chair, and DX wins. Who is this? I think you already know...
4. The nWo
The Miami Heat.
More similarities than you may think. If you recall, in the mid 1990's, WCW and WWE were very competitive. Two wrestles, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, were out of contract and decided to join WCW, kind of. They were known as the Outsiders, and were quickly fan favorites- to hate. The tag team had long promised a 3rd partner, but it wasn't until Bash at the Beach in 1996 that the third member was revealed. In a stunning betrayal of fans' hearts, Hulk Hogan turned on his long-time friend (in WCW) Randy Savage, and joined the "evil" Outsiders, thus forming the nWo, or New World Order. Interesting, isn't it? We'll say Scott Hall is Wade, only because he went to WCW first, or in this case, the Miami Heat. He recruited Kevin Nash fairly quickly, who we'll call Chris Bosh. This was already a quick start to despising the Miami Heat team, but it was obviously still incomplete. The new leader, the supposed alpha dog, the great betrayer, LeBron joined the Heat (nWo) in grand fashion. Hulk Hogan went from one of the most loved wrestlers, to the most hated. The nWo ran amuck for a couple years, before egos took over, and the super power was disbanded and divided. Will that be the fate for the "Heatles"? They have already proclaimed themselves champions, and have the ability to achieve that goal this year.
Which Stable will prevail?
If ya smell..... what the Rock..... is cookin'...
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
-Balls!
Ping Pong!
I have never liked Ping Pong more in my life! Is it sad that I'm excited that the Cavs "win" last night was only possible by having the 2nd worst record in the league, and took on $28 million worth of Baron Davis' beard from the 8th worst team in the league? Yes, it is sad. But you know what else is sad? Having the second worst record in the league... going on a 26 game losing streak... and saying "there's always next year" before this year even starts. So when what you were looking forward to when you said "there's always next year" is here, you get excited about it. And not only did the Cavs get the #1 pick in the draft, we got the #4 in the draft as well. There's so many options with that pick! Do we take a foreign big man? Do we go Center or Small forward? Do we trade down and try to get another pick in NEXT year's draft? Do we trade UP and try to finagle our way to the #1 and #2 pick? And that's all assuming we know we're picking Kyrie Irving with the #1! There will be plenty of time to ponder of these possibilities between now and June 23... all I hope is we don't botch it completely, and if all goes well, we can get rid of Ryan Hollins... and maybe Ramon Sessions.... come on, you know you don't want them either.
Base!
How about those Indians?! Not since Rick Vaughn have the Indians been this exciting. Even when Grady Sizemore gets put on the 15 day DL for a bruised knee, and everyone starts thinking... "Oh no.. here we go again," what happens? 19-1! That's what happens! 19-1! Are you kidding me?! Then they turn around and win 7-3 the next day, I mean... when will this magic carpet ride end? And who's our Aladdin? Manny Acta? Is Pronk our Eddie Murphy? Who doesn't want to have a beer with Matt Laporta? I've never enjoyed watching baseball this much before, I can only hope it lasts at least another 4 days.
Foot!
Peyton Hillis on the cover of Madden- That's awesome! Our 2011 Draft- that went swimmingly. Colt McCoy leading off-season workouts on his own- that's a leader. Josh Cribbs' hair- its still awesome, even when it's not coming out of his helmet. But you know who has become my favorite Brown over the course of the past 3 months? Joe Haden. I know, I know, he has his flaws. He went to Florida. But the way he has embraced this city is awesome. He dressed up like Baron Davis and Anderson Verajao at Cavs games. He's been at multiple Indians games, and went all out Baseball uniform at the last one he was at. He attended the Draft Lottery with Cribbs and Bernie Kosar (and Nick and Dan Gilbert), sporting a personalized Cavs Jersey. Haden has epitomized a model athlete, as far as being a team player goes. There was a time when a hometown player would show up to home games, but sport opposing apparel, or stand on the opposing sideline. Really, LeBron? Who's your PR guy? Fire him, he's an idiot. How many times do you need to get ripped in the media before he is gone? Haden has supplanted himself as the newest "face" of Cleveland, and I love it.
Hockey!
That one doesn't fit, which is why I'm not going to talk about hockey. Go.. Monsters..?
I have never liked Ping Pong more in my life! Is it sad that I'm excited that the Cavs "win" last night was only possible by having the 2nd worst record in the league, and took on $28 million worth of Baron Davis' beard from the 8th worst team in the league? Yes, it is sad. But you know what else is sad? Having the second worst record in the league... going on a 26 game losing streak... and saying "there's always next year" before this year even starts. So when what you were looking forward to when you said "there's always next year" is here, you get excited about it. And not only did the Cavs get the #1 pick in the draft, we got the #4 in the draft as well. There's so many options with that pick! Do we take a foreign big man? Do we go Center or Small forward? Do we trade down and try to get another pick in NEXT year's draft? Do we trade UP and try to finagle our way to the #1 and #2 pick? And that's all assuming we know we're picking Kyrie Irving with the #1! There will be plenty of time to ponder of these possibilities between now and June 23... all I hope is we don't botch it completely, and if all goes well, we can get rid of Ryan Hollins... and maybe Ramon Sessions.... come on, you know you don't want them either.
Base!
How about those Indians?! Not since Rick Vaughn have the Indians been this exciting. Even when Grady Sizemore gets put on the 15 day DL for a bruised knee, and everyone starts thinking... "Oh no.. here we go again," what happens? 19-1! That's what happens! 19-1! Are you kidding me?! Then they turn around and win 7-3 the next day, I mean... when will this magic carpet ride end? And who's our Aladdin? Manny Acta? Is Pronk our Eddie Murphy? Who doesn't want to have a beer with Matt Laporta? I've never enjoyed watching baseball this much before, I can only hope it lasts at least another 4 days.
Foot!
Peyton Hillis on the cover of Madden- That's awesome! Our 2011 Draft- that went swimmingly. Colt McCoy leading off-season workouts on his own- that's a leader. Josh Cribbs' hair- its still awesome, even when it's not coming out of his helmet. But you know who has become my favorite Brown over the course of the past 3 months? Joe Haden. I know, I know, he has his flaws. He went to Florida. But the way he has embraced this city is awesome. He dressed up like Baron Davis and Anderson Verajao at Cavs games. He's been at multiple Indians games, and went all out Baseball uniform at the last one he was at. He attended the Draft Lottery with Cribbs and Bernie Kosar (and Nick and Dan Gilbert), sporting a personalized Cavs Jersey. Haden has epitomized a model athlete, as far as being a team player goes. There was a time when a hometown player would show up to home games, but sport opposing apparel, or stand on the opposing sideline. Really, LeBron? Who's your PR guy? Fire him, he's an idiot. How many times do you need to get ripped in the media before he is gone? Haden has supplanted himself as the newest "face" of Cleveland, and I love it.
Hockey!
That one doesn't fit, which is why I'm not going to talk about hockey. Go.. Monsters..?
If (and when... please) the Heat don't win....
This comes from a discussion I had with my brother on the Heat. There will be a much happier post soon after this one.
If they don’t win this year, they’ll say “Well, it was their first year together, they hadn’t figured out how to play together yet.” And then they’ll say “And they have an incomplete roster, they need to fill out some more pieces.” So that says to me:
- They just want to give them an excuse, because good basketball players figure it out… how did team USA figure it out with ALL those other stars? Didn’t they know they wanted to play together because, um, they played together? How do pick-up games work? What about AAU teams? Are they just not good enough to learn how to play with each other after 100 games? Really?
- They want to make the excuse, and assume, that good players are just going to flock to Miami to win a title. Where is all that money coming from? Don’t they have 3 max contract guys, and Mike Miller, and Haslem for a good amount of money? Isn't the salary cap going to shrink? Where are these great role players coming from? Will they be illegal immigrants that they don’t have to pay? Can they restructure their contracts so they can get better players? What “great” free agents are there that are going to fit there?
1) false, and
B) Even the teams that had 2 great players, they also had great role players. The 2 great players on every team still had an alpha dog great, and a deferring/role playing great. When Kobe won with Shaq, it was Shaq’s team, Kobe knew his role, and they had Fisher, and Horry, and Fox, and Shaw and good role players who played defense and made shots when they needed to.
When the Bulls won, they had Jordan, the obvious alpha dog of them all, and Pippen, who was capable of scoring, but was a 1st team NBA defender and rebounded, plus Rodman, Kukoc, Kerr, Harper, a bunch of great role players.
The Spurs had 1 great in Duncan, and 2 really good players that would add up to a 2nd great with Parker and Manu, and a bunch of really good role players.
NO TEAM has ever won with 2 GREAT, TOP 5 players, a 3rd top 25 player, and then a bunch of garbage. You can’t win basketball with 3 players. You can’t. They can’t. They better not.
LeBron was SO much closer with the Cavs than he is with the Heat. He had the role players. And if he would have manned up and, um, committed to playing in Cleveland, maybe a free agent WOULD have landed here. I hate listening to people talk about how garbage the Cavs roster was- they weren’t, and LeBron had a hand in picking them all. We couldn’t attract free agents because LeBron wouldn’t tell them he’d be there, bottom line, end of story. We get Amare- it’s a dynasty. We get Bosh- dynasty. We get Ray Allen- we win at least 1. The Cavs were built completely around LeBron, and were 1 key player away from being complete, and unfortunately, LeBron swallowed that key, because he had already made up his mind long before June 2010.
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