Categories
Olympics

Odds and Ends: Hair today, gone tomorrow

The Olympics are rapidly approaching and the one question on everyone’s mind is, “Will the Nigerian football team players cut off their sweet locks or what?”

Nigeria’s Olympic football coach Samson Siasia has warned his players that he expects short hair and correct clothing for the Beijing Games, a federation spokesman said on Friday.

Siasia, known as a stickler for discipline, believes that his players are devoting too much time to their elaborate hairstyles, time which he believes could be better used in fine-tuning their performances.

And the coach goes as far as to claim that players with short hair are more aerodynamic and so find it easier to find their rhythm on the pitch.

So the hair makes all the difference, huh? Well, explain these athletes then.

In other news…

[Awful Announcing]: Jeff Brantley does not want to run into Ken Griffey Jr in a dark alley

[JoeSportsFan.com]: We still can’t believe we actually beat Mr. X

[ESPN]: Best NFL playoff performances

[Athlebrities.com]: Baron Davis has a Shemagwhat?

[SportsByBrooks.com]: Erin Andrews’ bed. Mmmmmmmm, Erin Andrews’ bed

[Sportaphile.com]: Homophobic ad No. 1…

[BottomLineCom.com]: And homophobic ad No. 2

[Uncoached]: We heart New York

[Need4Sheed.com]: Optimistic about Kwame?!? Bwah-hahahahahahahaha!!

[UniqueDaily.com]: Another completely pointless record gets broken

[Tirico Suave]: Groundhog stew. Mmmmmmmmm, groundhog stew

[Yahoo! Sports]: Pat Riley is still a sucker for yellow

[Larry Brown Sports]: Would really expect anything less from Randy Moss’ daughter?

[WagRankings.com]: The 21 hottest sports movie WAGs

[Dbacks.com]: Diamondbacks fans love their dogs

[BannedInHollywood.com]: Golden Bear goddess

And finally, friendship moves!

Categories
New Orleans Hornets

Around the Rim: Hornets swarm the Spurs


1. Pressure? What pressure?
Just when it looked like the pressures of inexperience were finally catching up with the playoff green New Orleans Hornets, they stepped up again against the veteran defending champs. The Spurs owned a three-point advantage at halftime, just like in Games 1 and 2, but promptly had their socks blown off in the third period, just like in Games 1 and 2, when David West helped led his team on a 28-11 run in the quarter. By the time the final buzzer sounded, New Orleans had a 101-79 victory and a 3-2 lead in the series. The Spurs had no answer for West who recorded playoff career-highs with 38 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks on the same night San Antonio reserve Robert Horry played in his 238th postseason game, the most in league history. The Spurs philosophy of shutting down Peja Stojakovic (3-8 FG, 9 pts) offensively with Bruce Bowen worked once again, but, once again, they had no such luck against West or Chris Paul who finished with a 22-point, 14-assist double-double. Tim Duncan could not find his range, missing 13 of his 18 shots, but still posted 23 rebounds while Manu Ginobili erred his way to a team-high 20 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Game 6 is on Thursday in San Antonio where it will be do-or-die time for the home team.

2. It’s over!

In the final seconds of the game, Hedo Turkoglu went for a dunk that would have brought Orlando within a point of the Pistons. But Tayshaun Prince swooped in to make a game-changing block, forcing the Magic to foul and Detroit strolled into the Eastern Conference Finals with a 91-86 win. The Pistons are playing in their sixth consecutive conference finals, tying them with three other teams for the third most in NBA history after defeating Orlando in five games. Despite playing without Chauncey Billups for the final two contests, the Pistons were still the superior team, led by the starters who combined for all but four of the team’s points in the series closer. Richard Hamilton was perfect from the free-throw line, hitting all 16 of his attempts en route to a game-high 31 points and Antonio McDyess was outstanding with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Hamilton also became the franchise’s all-time leader in postseason points with 2,282 in 110 career games. For the Magic, it’s another disappointing to finish to an impressive season. They continue to take baby steps or in Dwight Howard’s case, man-child steps forward, but until Howard truly becomes the unstoppable offensive threat he is capable of being then these early exits will continue to occur.

3. Pain in the back
Going into Game 5 of the Lakers/Jazz series on Wednesday night, there’s really only one question that matters: How’s Kobe’s back? The MVP was in obvious pain during Game 4, but he still managed to almost record a triple-double in the loss, scoring 33 points to go with eight rebounds and 10 assists. So, in order to make sure their star was as close to 100 percent as possible, the Lakers rested Bryant during practice on Tuesday. Bryant said he would be “fine” for the momentum swinging game tonight which will give the winner a 3-2 advantage. We’re expecting a big game out of Bryant tonight; after all, if he can play with the weight of a sexual-assault trial on his back then a little tweak should be no problem at all.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: David West vs. San Antonio 44 min, 38 pts (FG: 16-25, FT: 6-7), 14 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 5 blk

Buzzer Beater: After carrying bags and bringing in the doughnuts for an entire season, it’s time to give the NBA’s rookies a little love. The league’s All-Rookie teams were announced yesterday and the Hawks Al Horford was the only unanimous selection on the first squad. Surprisingly, the NBA Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant received only 57 of a possible 58 votes. Joining the hands-down best rooks in the game was Luis Scola from Houston, Al Thornton with the Clippers and Durant’s teammate Jeff Green. Second teamers included Jamario Moon (Tor), Juan Carlos Navarro (Mem), Thaddeus Young (Phi), Rodney Stuckey (Det) and Carl Landry (Hou).

Categories
LA Lakers

Lakers successes make Snoop Dogg wanna sing rap

We all know that Snoop D-O-double-G is about the purple and gold and this season he’s got a whole lot to be happy about. Kobe Bryant is the MVP, Pau Gasol is turning out to be the best pickup since Kevin Garnett went to Beantown and the Western Conference Finals are within reach for the first time since 2004. But why are we telling what Snoopy has to be thankful for? We’ll let him do that himself since he’s dedicated an entire rap to the Lakers latest postseason campaign.

Who would have ever predicted in a million years that Jordan Farmar would be getting shout-outs from the Doggfather in a song! Probably the same people who picked Atlanta would push Boston to the brink.

Links:

[Sportaphile.com]: Snoop Dogg & Kurupt Record “L.A. Lakers Theme” For 2008 Playoffs

Categories
Utah Jazz

Around the Rim: Home cooking rules the West


1. Jazz jump on Kobe’s back
Utah came roaring back on their home floor over the weekend, winning both games to tie their series against the Lakers after getting punked-out on the road. Despite having a bad back for most of the game, Kobe Bryant poured in 33 points and 10 assists, helping the Lakers force overtime where they fell to the Jazz 123-115. It’s difficult to say a team that gave up 115 points played good defense, but Utah did. Jerry Sloan’s boys forced 12 turnovers, blocked 10 shots and stole the ball seven times during the 53-minute grudge match. Deron Williams paced the Jazz with 29 points and 14 assists while Carlos Boozer (14 pts, 12 reb) and Mehmet Okur (18 pts, 11 reb) posted double-doubles. Game 5 should be a doozie back in L.A. on Wednesday. If the Jazz want to win this series, they are going to have to take a game on the road at some point.

2. Champs have new life

San Antonio came roaring back on their home floor over the weekend, winning both games to tie their series against the Hornets after getting punked-out on the road. (Hmmmm, this sounds familiar.) The Spurs finally looked like the defending champions against New Orleans on Sunday, pounding the Hornets 100-80 in a contest that was all but finished in the second quarter. San Antonio led by 2 points after one, 13 at the half and 24 by the end of the third quarter, tying the series at two games apiece. Tim Duncan was solid with 22 points, 15 boards and four swats while Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili chipped in a combined 36 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists. San Antonio allowed Chris Paul (23 pts, 5 ast) to get his by design, choosing instead to limit his teammates. Bruce Bowen kept Peja Stojakovic out of synch, limiting the sharpshooter to just six points on 3-of-9 shooting. David West was well below average as well, missing 11 of his 15 attempts. Game 5 should be a doozie back in N.O. on Tuesday. If the Spurs want to win this series, they are going to have to take a game on the road at some point. (Hmmmm, this sounds familiar.)

3. Rick Carlisle heads to Texas
The Mavericks have a new head coach and his name is Rick Carlisle. The former Pacers and Pistons big cheese now heads to Big D where he hopes to change the fortunes of the franchise after a pair of brutal first round exits and one monumental Finals collapse. The news conference is set for Wednesday and the parties appear to be looking at a contract of four years worth a guaranteed $17.5 million. Carlisle has experienced similar disappointments in the postseason with a 30-32 combined record, but the guy was good when he had solid talent around him. With Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard and Jason Terry to play with, we expect Carlisle to lead the Mavs back to respectability after finishing seventh in the West this season. The mystery remains if he can get the soft Mavericks to show some guts in the postseason.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. Los Angeles Lakers 44 min, 29 pts (FG: 9-13, 3FG: 3-4, FT: 8-8), 3 reb, 14 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Buzzer Beater:

“I’m not trying to be arrogant or cocky or anything like that,” said [Jameer] Nelson after the Magic fell to the Pistons 90-89 Saturday in Game 4. “But tonight, we let it slip out of our hands. Game 2 we let slip out of our hands.”

“We’re going to win this game in Detroit.”

Categories
LA Lakers

Around the Rim: A tale of two kings


1. The new king of the league
He’s got the rings and now he’s got the trophy. For the first time in his career, Kobe Bryant can officially be called the MVP. It took 12 seasons of patiently waiting for his turn in the spotlight, but Bryant ran away with the award on Tuesday, taking 82 first-place votes for a total of 1,105 points compared to Chris Paul who finished second with 28 first-place votes and 889 total points. Kevin Garnett finished in third while LeBron James came in fourth place. Bryant will receive his trophy tonight before the Lakers host the Jazz in Game 2 of their second round series. There’s no doubting Bryant deserved the award with his 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.84 steals per game during the regular season, but we’re figuring it was the wins that earned him the trophy. After all, besides winning more games, his numbers are virtually identical to his production over the previous five to eight seasons. If you ask us, there is a distinct bias against young players amongst the MVP voters. It the same bias that kept the award out of Bryant’s hands in the past and kept Paul from winning his first MVP despite posting better numbers than Steve Nash did in either of his two MVP reigns.

2. Knocked off his throne

It wasn’t pretty for King James or his court in Game 1 against the Celtics. LeBron James finished with just 12 points on 2-of-18 shooting as Cleveland lost 76-72 in an ugly, ugly offensive game. Despite grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out nine assists, the game was one of James’ worst ever considering he racked up 10 of the team’s 17 turnovers. LBJ became just the third scoring champion to have two or fewer field goals in a playoff game the same year they won the scoring title. It was that bad. While the grass was greener on the Celtics’ side of the fence, it still wasn’t all that great. Ray Allen went scoreless for the first time since his rookie season and Paul Pierce missed 12 of his 14 attempts, finishing with just four points. Luckily, Kevin Garnett’s 28 points proved to be enough in a tremendously disappointing game for both teams and the fans alike.

3. Mike D’Antoni weighs his options
Chicago might have finally found its next Mike. While Michael Jordan won’t be walking through the arena’s doors anytime soon, Mike D’Antoni very well could be. The current Suns coach appears to be off to the Windy City where he will become the latest person to attempt to make the baby Bulls grow up. Chicago GM John Paxson sounded impressed after a pair of interviews with D’Antoni, but New York is still a possible landing spot. Personally, we think it’s a good move if the Bulls want to put together a European-style, run-n-gun offense, but the defense will never be a priority under D’Antoni. Rick Carlisle would be a much better candidate for turning Chicago around, but it’s sounding more and more like he’ll be heading to Dallas.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Kevin Garnett vs. Cleveland 40 min, 28 pts (FG: 13-22, FT: 2-2), 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl

Buzzer Beater: From the “Too little, too late” file:

The NBA admitted Chauncey Billups’ 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter of Monday’s Detroit-Orlando playoff game should not have counted, but said referees weren’t allowed to review instant replay to determine that.

League president Joel Litvin also said the disputed shot, which gave Detroit a 78-76 lead in its 100-93 victory, could not have been replayed after the clock malfunction was discovered.

“After reviewing the video of last night’s Pistons-Magic game, we determined that the play that concluded with Chauncey Billups’ 3-point field goal at the end of the third quarter took approximately 5.7 seconds,” Litvin said in a statement. “Because there were only 5.1 seconds remaining in the quarter when the play began, the shot would not have counted had the clock continued to run.”

Categories
Phoenix Suns

Shaq will do almost anything for a ring

Phoenix’s trade for Shaquille O’Neal didn’t exactly work like they hoped it would. Instead of hoisting another trophy over his head, Shaq is instead, sitting at home after the Spurs sent Phoenix packing after the first round. Quite frankly, we miss the big fella. O’Neal is always the life of the party and without him we just feel empty inside, especially when the press conference’s coming rolling around.

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Categories
Atlanta Hawks

Zaza Pachulia knows "nothing easy," not even the English language

Before Zaza Pachulia got decimated by a Kevin Garnett pick during Boston’s Game 7 blowout, he was already a little loopy in the head. Following Atlanta’s home win in Game 6, Zaza did his best Ivan Drago impression for the crowd.

After getting pounded in Game 7, Pachulia was overhead saying, “He is not human, he is a piece of iron” about Garnett.

Links:

[TiricoSuave.com]: Zaza Pachulia Englishes The Shit Out Of The Microphone

Categories
Phoenix Suns

Around the Rim: Finally time to smile


1. Suns start climbing out of their hole
It took four games and over a week of playoff basketball, but the Suns finally grabbed their first victory of the postseason. After getting pummeled in Game 3, Phoenix returned the favor on Sunday, spanking San Antonio by 19 points, 105-86, leading the entire contest. Raja Bell scored a game-high 27 points and Boris Diaw was a pair of assists shy of recording a triple-double, posting 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in place of Grant Hill who didn’t play. Amare Stoudemire was off target all game, connecting on only 3-of-11 shots for seven points and Steve Nash recorded a mere four assists, but the Suns were still able to build leads that reached 32 points. Tony Parker was the Spurs biggest scorer, tallying 18 points after posting a playoff career-high of 41 points in Game 3. San Antonio must now wait until Tuesday for another chance to close out the series at home.

2. Last second heartbreak in Washington

The Wizards hung tough for 47 minutes and 44 seconds, but then Delonte West delivered the dagger. With 5.4 seconds left in a tie game, West gave LeBron James a break and hit the game-winning 3-pointer to give Cleveland a 100-97 victory and a 3-1 lead in the series. James was on fire once again, posting 34 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to go with a blow to the head from DeShawn Stevenson. Stevenson smacked LBJ toward the end of the opening half and it looked like fists would fly between the two momentarily, but cooler heads prevailed. However, Stevenson could be in for some repercussions after the league reviews the flagrant foul. It’s been a physical series thus far and Wednesday’s Game 4 should be no different even if Stevenson can’t suit up.

3. Up and down, up and down
After dropping Game 1 at home and Game 3 in Philly, the Pistons tied up their series against the 76ers by taking a 93-84 win on the road. Tayshaun Prince led Detroit with 23 points, backed by Rasheed Wallace’s 20-point, 10-assist double-double while Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups posted 18 points and seven assists apiece. The Pistons struggled against their seventh-seeded opponents again in the first half, but they bounced back after the break, outscoring Philly 34-16 in the third quarter to go from 10 down to eight up. The Sixers finished with six players in double-figures on offense; unfortunately, Thaddeus Young led the squad with a measly 15 points. Andre Iguodala raised his series average to 10.5 points per game by posting 12 on Sunday in yet another pathetic playoff performance.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James @ Washington 44 min, 34 pts (FG: 11-25, 3FG: 3-8, FT: 9-14), 12 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl

Buzzer Beater: Dallas desperately needed to win Game 4 against New Orleans to gain some momentum to climb out of a 0-2 hole. No such luck. David West led Nawlins with 24 points and nine rebounds while Peja Stojakovic scored 19 and Chris Paul appeared to actually be human with 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the 97-84 win. The Hornets now have a strangle hold on the series, leading 3-1 with Game 4 coming on Tuesday evening in the Hive. Dallas is spiraling out of control as a franchise quickly. The first home loss to New Orleans since January of 1998 is only the tip of the Mavericks problems. Josh Howard went 3-of-16 from the field after calling half the league potheads and admitting to getting stoned in the offseason. American Airlines Arena was devoid of virtually all fans for over half of the final period. The city is beginning to call for the head of Avery Johnson and the team has quite possibly literally lost their testicles since planning a parade when they went up 2-0 on Miami in the Finals two years ago. Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted Big D because at this rate people will be wearing grocery sacks over their heads to the games once again. Ah, the good ol’ days.

Categories
Utah Jazz

Around the Rim: Utah takes a deuce on Houston


1. Houston’s choking away a great season
The Jazz got slapped in the face when they were forced to open their series against Houston on the road despite owning the fourth seed in the West. But it didn’t end up mattering because Utah stole both games in Clutch City to take a 2-0 lead back home where they went a league-best 37-4 during the regular season. Kyle Korver helped to seal a 90-84 victory for Utah when he opened a five-point lead with 20 seconds remaining and the shot clock expiring. The shot ensured Deron William’s team-high 22 points and Mehmet Okur’s 16-point, 16-rebound double-double were not in vain. Tracy McGrady had a spectacular outing with 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, but once again appears poised to be one-and-done. With about a minute left in the game, Bobby Jackson hit a 3-pointer that would have tied the game, but Luis Scola was called for an offensive foul when he shoved Andrei Kirilenko away from the action and, in essence, shot his team in the foot.

2. Cleveland is rocking

For the second consecutive game, the Wizards wore their awful gold and black uniforms and for the second consecutive game, they scored 86 points and lost. Only this time, the score was actually uglier than the apparel. Cleveland pounded Washington 116-86 on Tuesday, taking a 2-0 lead in the series behind 30 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds from LeBron James while Wally Szczerbiak added 15 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. On the other side of the court, Washington’s wiz kids were nowhere to be found. Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas shot a combined 10-of-33 for 28 points in 94 minutes. The series shifts to Washington for Thursday’s Game 3 and it can’t come a moment too soon for road weary Wizards. Washington is a much better team at home, but at this point, LBJ has his hands around its neck and knows a third win means the squeezing begins.

3. Ask a stupid question…
As the Western Conference’s top seeded Lakers are sitting on a 1-0 series lead over Denver, en route to what could be the team’s first playoff series win since 2004, MVP candidate Kobe Bryant was asked if he wants to stay with the organization for the remainder of his career. After all, now does seem like a great time to bail out, right?

“Absolutely,” Bryant said the day after the Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 128-114 in their playoff series opener. “I’ve always wanted to be here. I just felt like I was in a position where I didn’t really have a choice. They wanted to go in an opposite direction. My legs aren’t as young as they used to be. Just let me know.

“I love the weather. I love my ’63 drop-top Impala. I love the 405 [freeway]. I love my guys.”

Monday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James vs. Washington 39 min, 30 pts (FG: 9-19, 3FG: 2-6, FT: 10-17), 9 reb, 12 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Buzzer Beater: Unlike the MVP award, there was no doubt about the sixth man award. Manu Ginobili won the honor in a landslide, taking 123 of 124 first-place votes for 615 total points, leaving Leandro Barbosa (283 pts) and Jason Terry (44 pts) sitting on the bench. Ginobili came off the pine in 51 games, averaging a team and career-high 19.5 points, in addition to 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists. The last time a sixth man award winner led his team in point production was in 1990 when Ricky Pierce averaged 23 points for Milwaukee. And think, Manu was a steal at the 57th overall pick back in 1999. The Spurs shooting guard has proven worthy of the award thus far in the postseason, hitting the game-winner of Saturday’s double-overtime instant classic against the Suns.

Categories
LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Gasol-ine Pau-ered


1. Pau, right in the kisser!
With so much talk about the “Big Three” from the Eastern Conference’s top seed, it would be easy to forget about the trio of superstars on the West’s No. 1 team, but they won’t let you. Even without their big man Andrew Bynum, the Lakers took a 1-0 lead in their series against the Nuggets on the slender shoulders of Paul Gasol, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom. Gasol was stellar in his playoff debut with Los Angeles, scoring 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting to go with 16 rebounds and eight assists, leading his squad to a 128-114 victory. Bryant finished with 32 points, including a span down the stretch when he scored 13 consecutive for his team, while Odom posted a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds. The Nuggets day started with a bus breakdown on their way to the arena and ended with an Allen Iverson meltdown that got him ejected with 2:10 remaining in the game. Before being tossed, A.I. scored 30 points to match Carmelo Anthony for team-high honors. Unfortunately, Denver was spelled with no `D’ on Sunday, especially in the third quarter when the Lakers posted 39 points. Guess the pregame slam dance didn’t do the trick for George Karl. As far as Bynum goes, his return continues to be delayed with the only certainty being that he will not play in this series.

2. Detroit’s detour

The road to the Eastern Conference finals got a bit bumpy for the Bad Boys in Game 1 as Philadelphia managed to pull off a shocker, winning 90-86 in Detroit. Philadelphia trailed 62-47 in the third, but then ripped off 10 unanswered points and limited the Pistons to only 35 points in the second half, allowing for the upset. Andre Miller put up a team-high 20 points while Willie Green set a personal playoff-high with 17. Rasheed Wallace led Detroit with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, but even his eavesdropping on the 76ers huddle late in the game couldn’t help his team’s cause. Everyone expected the Pistons and the Celtics to basically cruise to a showdown in the conference finals, but it is now obvious that Detroit has a ways to go before they are on Boston’s level. The Celtics took no mercy on their lower seeded foes, destroying the Hawks 104-81 in a contest where Atlanta never held a lead greater than two points.

3. Raptors forgot to pack their kryptonite
Dwight Howard dressed up like Superman during the All-Star break then he went out and played a Man of Steel against the Raptors, leading Orlando to its first playoff victory since 2003. Howard was heroic with 25 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks in a 114-100 victory in front of a blue and white clad home crowd. It was just the 12th time in postseason history someone posted at least 25 points, 20 board and five swats. Orlando harpooned the Raptors early, scoring 43 points in the first quarter, including a playoff record-tying nine 3-pointers, to take a 20-point lead after 12 minutes. All five Orlando starters scored in double-digits with Jameer Nelson’s 24 and Hedo Turkoglu’s 21 taking a backseat to Howard’s quarter. Anthony Parker tallied a team-high 24 points in a losing effort while Chris Bosh struggled to connect on 4-of-11 attempts en route to 21 points.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Pau Gasol vs. Denver 45 min, 36 pts (FG: 14-20, FT: 8-8), 16 reb, 8 ast, 3 blk

Buzzer Beater: Sunday’s action was great, but we all know the Spurs and Suns stole show during the postseason’s opening weekend. It took ten extra minutes for San Antonio to fight its way out of an early deficit, trailing for nearly all of regulation, but after an amazing series of shots from both squads, round one went to the home team by the slimmest of margins. Tim Duncan scored a game-high 40, including a double-overtime-forcing trey, and Manu Ginobili bounced around like a pinball for 24 points with the last two coming on the 117-115 game-winner. Many are calling this the greatest first round series ever and you won’t get any argument from us after watching Game 1. The blood isn’t flowing yet like it was from the nose of Steve Nash during the opening game of last year’s battle, but it’s defiantly boiling as both sides nearly went hoarse from complaining to the refs in a physical matchup tallying 57 total fouls. Expect another bruiser in Game 2 on Tuesday.