I'm still putting my hands around the recent acquisition of Phil Jackson as the Lakers head coach. On the one hand, anything, and I mean absolutely anything, is better than the public relations-coaching strategy nightmare that was Frank Hamblen. And Phil has his ties to the organization, he has the basketball knowledge, he has the star power, and he can handle the Lakers pressure unique to being a member of that organization.
I think the only thing that stops me from being considerably happier (note, I am happy about this, but I could be happier) is the way in which Phil departed last year. Would he have released his book (I have read his book and though there are remarks about Kobe, Phil has remarks about many folks including coaches, refs, and other Lakers players, none of which is easy to argue against) had we renewed his contract? The book seemed like a well intended kick (not just at us, but primarily us) while we were down after losing the NBA finals (on this exact date 1 year ago). And if it was, then we have some things that I hoped have been ironed out: 1) What spurred the need for such a well timed and well-intended kick? and 2) Have those issues been fixed/remediated?
I think I will have a more concrete stand on Phil's return after I see what he does with our personnel in the upcoming draft and remainder of the off season.....
Us - That's who
Us talking about whatever we feel like talking about
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Monday, February 09, 2004
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
[Listening to: She's Hot - T.O.K. - Reggae Gold 2003 Disc 1 (03:30)]
More Super Bowl Reflections
Questionable Officiating
Through the pats last two games, there have been several controversial calls in the pats favor. It is not the number of penalties called, it is the timing of the penalties that is most important. Against the Titans, there were numerous defensive holding and pass interference calls that were simply not called. ESPN made note of this throughout the following week. In Sunday's games, there were at least two calls that were that changed the face of a drive and led to pats scores.
1) 4th and 1, pats have the ball, they run the ball, hole opens and is violently closed by the Panthers. A horrible spot from the referee leads to a first down even after review of the play and agreement among the commentators that he never go to the first down line. The replay clearly shows this, the pats were going from right to left. In a reference to watching it on TV, the rb starts towards the top of the screen with the ball in his left hand (towards the bottom of the screen), cuts back to the bottom of the screen and is nailed. Clearly only his helmet and maybe a bit of his right shoulder crossed the first down marker and that's being generous. The left side of his body, including the ball, never cross the line....ever. The referees explanation after reviewing the play....the point of the ball crossed the first down marker which is impossible since the RB at not ime extended the ball out. If the left side of his body never cross the line, how does the ball? They went on to score a drive instead of turning the ball over on Downs.
2)Tom Brady apparently is immune from Intentional Grounding. In one instance early in the game, it didn't matter since the drive ended with a missed field goal although it could have meant a different field position for the Panthers. The second intentional grounding, the Panther come with an all out blitz and Brady is in the midst of the first sack of his post season. He is between the guards as he dropped straight back. He throws the ball into the offensive line. There was no runningback, no wide receiver, no one who could legally catch the ball. The ref's call? Illegal touching because it bounced of the legs of an offensive lineman, the back of the legs no less. The difference between the two calls is Illegal touching is a 5 yarder (maybe a 10 yarder) and repeat the down. Intentional grounding is loss of down and the ball is placed at the spot the qb threw it from. Huge difference between 2nd and 15th and 3rd and 21.
Now I'm back in New England and miserable. What I wouldn't give to talk to a pats fan that knew something about the game and was realistic enough to admit that the pats had a whole helluva lotta luck this season. ON the plane ride here, there were pats fans everywhere and even the friggin stewardesses who obviously knew nothing about football are talking about the super bowl. It will only get worse.....
In my opinion, there was no Super Bowl Champion for 2004....Next. Done.
Well, for the second time in three years the patriots (I refuse to capitalize that) have won the super bowl. The first time was a bonified fluke in my opinion. If that game in 2002 is played 10 times the Rams win 9 of those ten times. It just so happened that the one that was played was the one that counted. I will not say that this last super bowl was a fluke, but I will say them being there (yes even with consideration for their win streak) is a fluke (though I have to imagine the referees had to be getting some sort of kick back).
I find it hard to cheer, congratulate, or admire a champion that is unable to truly dominate a single game. Yes, I know this is the Super Bowl and it's the matchup of the two best (or hottest) teams in the league so a close should be expected. But even looking back through their season, they weren't in a particularly strong division yet they had only one blowout victory against a pitiful Bills (although the Bills did give it to them in the first game of the season). They also lost to my Washington Redskins as well as needed overtime to beat the Texans. They required horrible playcalling in week 16 (an approximation) to get by the Colts the first time and horrendous lack of officiating to get by them the second time. They beat an injury riddled Titans team in the playoffs although it seems the Titans are always injury riddled. They were just not impressive.
My theory on teams that win in the last period of a game is contrary to what the experts would have you believe. See the experts say coming through with clutch victiories shows heart......wrong! Coming through with clutch victories against good teams or superior teams shows heart. Needing that for everyone is just a
Working in Boston my views are not looked upon in the most positive fashion. Rather, I get the all too common and oft overused 'You're a hater.' My main reason for not cheering for the pats is because I have yet to encounter a New England fan that will listen to a sensible argument about the game. They are generally the most blind, one-sided fans I have ever met. And this goes for red sox fans as well. Oddly enough, the celtics aren't winning so no one seems to notice them too much. Kinda like the amount of attention the pats received at the beginning of the year. Actually now that I think about it, there were hardly ever any crowds at the Avenue to watch most of the early season of the pats. The crowds didn't start gathering until the winning streak was solidly under way. Strange how that could happen in such a sports loyal city....
Aaaah, but what do I know. I'm just an outsider who refuses to resign my current loyalties in order to jump on the pats bandwagon so I can fit in with my peers. Maybe it's the thug in me....
I find it hard to cheer, congratulate, or admire a champion that is unable to truly dominate a single game. Yes, I know this is the Super Bowl and it's the matchup of the two best (or hottest) teams in the league so a close should be expected. But even looking back through their season, they weren't in a particularly strong division yet they had only one blowout victory against a pitiful Bills (although the Bills did give it to them in the first game of the season). They also lost to my Washington Redskins as well as needed overtime to beat the Texans. They required horrible playcalling in week 16 (an approximation) to get by the Colts the first time and horrendous lack of officiating to get by them the second time. They beat an injury riddled Titans team in the playoffs although it seems the Titans are always injury riddled. They were just not impressive.
My theory on teams that win in the last period of a game is contrary to what the experts would have you believe. See the experts say coming through with clutch victiories shows heart......wrong! Coming through with clutch victories against good teams or superior teams shows heart. Needing that for everyone is just a
- Lack of concentration
- Lack of talent
- Lots and lots of luck
- A generally mediocre performance for most of the game
Working in Boston my views are not looked upon in the most positive fashion. Rather, I get the all too common and oft overused 'You're a hater.' My main reason for not cheering for the pats is because I have yet to encounter a New England fan that will listen to a sensible argument about the game. They are generally the most blind, one-sided fans I have ever met. And this goes for red sox fans as well. Oddly enough, the celtics aren't winning so no one seems to notice them too much. Kinda like the amount of attention the pats received at the beginning of the year. Actually now that I think about it, there were hardly ever any crowds at the Avenue to watch most of the early season of the pats. The crowds didn't start gathering until the winning streak was solidly under way. Strange how that could happen in such a sports loyal city....
Aaaah, but what do I know. I'm just an outsider who refuses to resign my current loyalties in order to jump on the pats bandwagon so I can fit in with my peers. Maybe it's the thug in me....
Sunday, January 18, 2004
I just want to say that Stanislav Medvedenko has been a beast this year coming off the bench for the injured Karl Malone. I don't think he is getting enough press! He's upped his scoring output, rebounding output, and assist ouptut this year. His scoring average has risen from 4.4 to 10.3 in a single year! Give this man some love!!!!
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Now this is what sports reporters should be about. A little background first: the Lakers played the Cavaliers last night. The Lakers pulled out a victory. I notice an article on the internet entitled 'Lame Lakers Limp past Cavs'. Lame because Kobe got hurt leaving us with only one of our big four on the floor. It's also important to notice that the article was written for the Akron Beacon Journal. So I read the article and it seemed to me to be putting Lebron in a light that wasn't necessarily the case being as I saw the entire game. So after reading the article and the stats that LeBron was attributed, I shot the following email off to the author of the article:
Now I'll be the first to admit that I was looking to pick a fight, well maybe not a fight but a heated argument with this sportswriter just because I find most sportswriters to be Sports Republicans. But I was dead wrong. First, he actually responded to the email which surprised me beyond comprehension. There have been so many times where I have sent an email to an address on the internet trying to start a discussion and this is only the second time I have ever had a response. Secondly, though, his response was not at all what I expected:
I am keeping his name confidential since he didn't exactly agree to me posting this email. But I thought was exceptionally cool of him to respond and to be so non-defensive. Kudos to B%#@%@# W@%@#%@^.
I just read you Lame Lakers Limp article. I noticed you didn't mention LeBron's six turnovers since you mentioned his seven assists???
Now I'll be the first to admit that I was looking to pick a fight, well maybe not a fight but a heated argument with this sportswriter just because I find most sportswriters to be Sports Republicans. But I was dead wrong. First, he actually responded to the email which surprised me beyond comprehension. There have been so many times where I have sent an email to an address on the internet trying to start a discussion and this is only the second time I have ever had a response. Secondly, though, his response was not at all what I expected:
Xavier,
I agree it was a lame article. I filed it 37 seconds
after the game ended due to time zone and deadline
issues. I also didn't mention that he went 0-5 from
the field in the fourth quarter or that the team shot
25 percent as well.
I appreciate your thoroughness.
B******** W***********
Akron Beacon Journal
I am keeping his name confidential since he didn't exactly agree to me posting this email. But I thought was exceptionally cool of him to respond and to be so non-defensive. Kudos to B%#@%@# W@%@#%@^.
The thing with Brett is last week's loft for luck isn't the first time. He does it often, way too often. Yeah, he has a gun but he also has an issue because he's a veteran who still makes youthful mistakes. Why? Because when he gets lucky and one of this mistaken throws ends up inthe hands of his receivers, the media glorifies and gives him a scrotum scrub. When it doesn't, they conveniently forget that it ever happened.
Monday, January 12, 2004
The Patriots are the WORSE team to ever finish the season with the best record in the league. They have yet to have a dominating performance against any team. They scrape by game in and game out. Now some folks say that this is being a great clutch team. That's a crock of bowel movement product!!! If you're not playing one of the top teams in the league, you shouldn't need to be a clutch team. Being a clutch team against what is supposed to be an inferior opponent means one thing....you're not getting it done during the rest of the game. Plain and simple.
In the same strain of thought, being a great comeback artist ie Brett Favre, simply means his performance prior to the last minute comeback was less than optimal. Granted he doesn't play defense so he can't be held accountable for opponent's scoring. But he can be accountable for having to scorer in the last minute of a game. Strangely enough, I see very few mentions of his dead duck throw in yesterday's overtime period. But when Matt Hasselbeck throws a pick last week you knew about it. But it the beloved Brett Favre! Heaven forbid we remind you of his drug addiction. Heaven Forbid we mention his tendency to throw the ball up for grabs and hope his receivers make him look good. Heaven forbid we say something to a man who has a broken thumb, fumbles something like seven times in two games but has a humongous games started streak (sometimes your ego should take a back seat to the teams' needs).
Okay I'm done......for now
In the same strain of thought, being a great comeback artist ie Brett Favre, simply means his performance prior to the last minute comeback was less than optimal. Granted he doesn't play defense so he can't be held accountable for opponent's scoring. But he can be accountable for having to scorer in the last minute of a game. Strangely enough, I see very few mentions of his dead duck throw in yesterday's overtime period. But when Matt Hasselbeck throws a pick last week you knew about it. But it the beloved Brett Favre! Heaven forbid we remind you of his drug addiction. Heaven Forbid we mention his tendency to throw the ball up for grabs and hope his receivers make him look good. Heaven forbid we say something to a man who has a broken thumb, fumbles something like seven times in two games but has a humongous games started streak (sometimes your ego should take a back seat to the teams' needs).
Okay I'm done......for now
Big 12 College Football - Fanblogs.com: Steve Spurrier: Where will he land? The most interesting thing about this particular dialogue is the commenting afterwards in relation to Texas and their stadium....yes, the conversation turns heated over stadium capacity and plans.
Joe Gibbs is with the Redskins because he is supposed to be with the Redskins. It is natural. Like Tom Landry coaching the Cowboys. Like chewing tobacco at a NASCAR race. It is supposed to be. Now why the Falcons didn't jump on Dennis Green I don't know. But Joe Gibbs is where is supposed to be.
A better question is how long will Martz be allowed to ruin the Rams? I'm not a big Rams fan in the least but his playoff decision this past weekend could quite possibly be the definition of NO NUTS! How do you sacrifice a whole season with that much time left in the game and you're in the red zone. If you don't trust your quarterback then you play the one you do trust. You cannot simultaneously stand behind your quarterback and have no faith in him. Pick one!
A better question is how long will Martz be allowed to ruin the Rams? I'm not a big Rams fan in the least but his playoff decision this past weekend could quite possibly be the definition of NO NUTS! How do you sacrifice a whole season with that much time left in the game and you're in the red zone. If you don't trust your quarterback then you play the one you do trust. You cannot simultaneously stand behind your quarterback and have no faith in him. Pick one!
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Monday, December 08, 2003
FALCONS DEFENSE
If you think about the Falcons games this season, they have rarely been out of a game at halftime or even at the end of the third quarter so the defense was keeping them in it as much as could be expected. The problem in my opinion was the offense did absolutely nothing to help keep the offense off the field so they eventually got tired. Other than the debacle against Tennessee (losing a 21 point lead is unforgivable), the Falcon defense has pretty much been the highlight for this team.
BCS
Plain and simple, USC should be playing LSU. Both teams have done what they needed to year round and though all three lost one game, none of them were blowouts except for OU. There is no explaining this in any form or fashion. PLAYOFFS, PLAYOFFS, PLAYOFFS. HOw can I - AA do playoffs but the 'BIG BOYS' can't....ridiculous.....
If you think about the Falcons games this season, they have rarely been out of a game at halftime or even at the end of the third quarter so the defense was keeping them in it as much as could be expected. The problem in my opinion was the offense did absolutely nothing to help keep the offense off the field so they eventually got tired. Other than the debacle against Tennessee (losing a 21 point lead is unforgivable), the Falcon defense has pretty much been the highlight for this team.
BCS
Plain and simple, USC should be playing LSU. Both teams have done what they needed to year round and though all three lost one game, none of them were blowouts except for OU. There is no explaining this in any form or fashion. PLAYOFFS, PLAYOFFS, PLAYOFFS. HOw can I - AA do playoffs but the 'BIG BOYS' can't....ridiculous.....
Snow sucks...it's not pretty, it's not fun, it's a damn nuisance....nothing but a nuisance. It impairs my freedom and makes me sick and cold. It is Mother Nature's unnecessary weapon. There is no benefit providded by snow that has not been taken care of by simple rain fall....just a nuisance...
Now to a better topic because as I mentioned previously, snow sucks so we should not talk about it. Not only is former Hokie Michael Vick the reason for the Falcons existence, he may just be the savior of professional sports in Atlanta. With a perennial playoff contender in the Braves, Michael Vick can single handedly get more people to come watch a losing team than the Braves can get to come to a playoff game. But though Vick's numbers were outstanding, I think the gameball still goes to the Defense in this game. They picked it up like they haven't done since the first game of the season against what we come to find out is a decent Cowboys team (that is destined to lose to Washington next week). Not only did they score the game winner, they consistently stuffed Stephen Davis, one of the premier runningbacks in the league, and set the offense up with field position outside of the twenty on a regular basis. Although the secondary did get embarassed by Steve Smith on more than one occasion, all in all the Defense won this game.
But let's refocus on exactly what former Hokie Michael Vick did last night. He outrushed all runningbacks in the game singlehandedly. He broke several ankles (and along with them several egos; most notably notice how Carolina linbacker was wired for sound but rarely had something to say to Mr. Vick, but was all about talking trash to a second or third string OT, yeah big nuts there mr rucker), and countered Joe Theismann's nonstop idiocy in the process. If you heard the game then you know what I'm talking about. It seemed like right before every big Vick run, Theismann had said something about Vick being gassed, and then Boom a 'gassed' Vick is flying by the defense again....Vick is the Falcons right now and once Peerless Price gets use to Vick's passes and the Falcons pick up a halfway decent second receiver, the team will be a playoff contender. Not too mention, TJ Duckett is a bruising runner who should, in my opinion be starting in front of Warrick 'I prefer to juke nobody behind the line of scrimmage before I try to hit the hole' Dunn.
Now to a better topic because as I mentioned previously, snow sucks so we should not talk about it. Not only is former Hokie Michael Vick the reason for the Falcons existence, he may just be the savior of professional sports in Atlanta. With a perennial playoff contender in the Braves, Michael Vick can single handedly get more people to come watch a losing team than the Braves can get to come to a playoff game. But though Vick's numbers were outstanding, I think the gameball still goes to the Defense in this game. They picked it up like they haven't done since the first game of the season against what we come to find out is a decent Cowboys team (that is destined to lose to Washington next week). Not only did they score the game winner, they consistently stuffed Stephen Davis, one of the premier runningbacks in the league, and set the offense up with field position outside of the twenty on a regular basis. Although the secondary did get embarassed by Steve Smith on more than one occasion, all in all the Defense won this game.
But let's refocus on exactly what former Hokie Michael Vick did last night. He outrushed all runningbacks in the game singlehandedly. He broke several ankles (and along with them several egos; most notably notice how Carolina linbacker was wired for sound but rarely had something to say to Mr. Vick, but was all about talking trash to a second or third string OT, yeah big nuts there mr rucker), and countered Joe Theismann's nonstop idiocy in the process. If you heard the game then you know what I'm talking about. It seemed like right before every big Vick run, Theismann had said something about Vick being gassed, and then Boom a 'gassed' Vick is flying by the defense again....Vick is the Falcons right now and once Peerless Price gets use to Vick's passes and the Falcons pick up a halfway decent second receiver, the team will be a playoff contender. Not too mention, TJ Duckett is a bruising runner who should, in my opinion be starting in front of Warrick 'I prefer to juke nobody behind the line of scrimmage before I try to hit the hole' Dunn.
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