Author: clay

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NBA General

Around the Rim: That’s all she wrote, folks


1. Bye Bye AI (and the rest of you guys)
Tim Duncan put on quite a show during Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Nuggets, but it was Michael Finley who lit up the scoreboard and put an end to Denver’s dreams of advancing to the second round. Finley hit 8-of-9 from downtown en route to a game-high 26 points as the Spurs swept the Nuggets out of the first round, 93-78. Oh, SA lost Game 1? We forgot all about that opening loss after Robert Horry reminded us why they call him “Big Shot” in the final minute of Game 4. But Denver gave it the good ol’ college try and George Karl will get another shot next year to make his Carmelo Anthony/Allen Iverson two-headed monster become one of the beasts in the league. But Denver was just 2-23 when they didn’t score 100 points during the regular season and unfortunately they ran into a team that thrives on keeping teams below 90.

2. See ya in the fall Kobe

Kobe Bryant might be the best basketball player on the face of the planet but it doesn’t matter when you’re playing one on five. Even when the Lakers finally get a big time game out of their second best player as Lamar Odom put in a career playoff-high 33 points to go along with Bryant’s 34 point performance, Phoenix still had more firepower. The Suns’ big three of Steve Nash, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire combined for 70 points in the 119-110 Game 5 victory to eliminate Los Angeles from the post season. The losing has got to be becoming more than Phil Jackson can take. He’s been bumped in the first round in each of the past two years and still has another year left on his contract. Guess he should’ve stay retired after splitting up the greatest one-two punch in the history of the game.

3. Spurs + Suns = fun, fun, fun
If you’re enjoying the Mavericks/Warriors series or the Rockets/Jazz series, just wait until you get a load of Phoenix vs. San Antonio. You’ve got five All-Stars; you’ve got sixth men, MVPs galore, and lots of defense to go along with lots of offense. It’s gonna be a whirlwind of fantastic match-ups at every position on the floor with Tim Duncan and Amare Stoudemire highlighting the series. And if you remember back to the 2005 Western Conference Finals when these two teams hooked up, Stoudemire averaged 37 points per game and had a pair of games in which he topped 40 against SA. Too bad the plethora of points was in vain as the Spurs took the series in five games before winning their third trophy against the Pistons in the Finals. This year’s winner only gets to face the Mavs, Jazz, Rockets or Warriors in the finals out west. But can you say “battle tested?” Whoever emerges from this war will be able to.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Shawn Marion vs. Los Angeles Lakers 38 min, 26 pts (FG: 11-21, 3FG: 1-5, FT: 3-3), 10 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk

Buzzer Beater: Well, Pat Riley came out and said it. He said that his team had a severe case of being too big for their britches or, in his words, thinking they could “turn it on” whenever they wanted. Riley went on to add that it “will never be uttered again or though again.” We’d hope not, because that appears to be a reoccurring problem for the Big Broom. Shaquille O’Neal might have four rings on his humongous fingers but he has also been swept out of the playoffs six times during his career. Shaq literally and figuratively has a big head, but we just never expected his coach to call him on it.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: The Warriors’ grip slips

1. Another fight to the finish
The Warriors were down by 21 points in the first half of Tuesday’s Game 5 against Dallas, but a 3-point barrage helped them fight all the way back and take the game to another exciting finish. In the end, despite the fantastic comeback by Golden State, it was Dirk Nowitzki and his boys who barely made it off their home floor with a win, 118-112. Dallas was finally able to prevent the Warriors from getting all the way to the hoop in transition but it almost didn’t matter as GS went 16-of-35 from behind the arc. Now, the Warriors will take a 3-2 lead back to Oakland where a rowdy arena full of yellow-shirted fans will be going bonkers in hopes of seeing the first ever No. 1 vs. No. 8 upset in a seven game series. Golden State better treat this like a Game 7 because they won’t win in Dallas should the series return.

2. Marie Elie wants to be a rookie again

The Charlotte Bobcats are in need of a head coach to turn the franchise around and Larry Brown has been rumored to be in the running for the position. Brown has evolving pretenders into contenders for his entire career (minus that New York thing of course), but apparently the Cats aren’t quite ready to enter the cocoon. Well, maybe they are just exploring all their possible options because on Tuesday Charlotte interviewed former Rocket great Mario Elie for the head coaching vacancy. Elie might have potential but he’s not going to be taking this crummy team to the playoffs anytime soon. If the Bobcats decide to save some cash and go with Elie they can give their post season dreams the kiss of death.

3. Raptors almost blow a lead of Jurassic proportions
Game 5 between the Raptors and the Nets turned out to be a lot closer than anyone expected, especially Toronto’s fans. The Raptors were up by 17 in the second half but almost gave it away as New Jersey got to within two points at the final buzzer, 98-96. But hey, a win is a win and when you’re facing elimination you’ll take `em any way they come. Four of the five Toronto starters finished the game with double figures in scoring, the only one not to reach that plateau was T.J. Ford who went down in the first quarter after getting walloped and flopped on by Vince Carter. Eh, no biggie; Jose Calderon came off the bench to score a team-high 25 points to go along with eight assists. With a 3-2 Nets’ lead the series will shift back to Jersey for Game 6; maybe Chris Bosh will figure out how to be a post season All-Star by then after going just 3-11 for 11 points in the last game. Guess it was good that Ford got injured so Calderon could save the day.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Golden State 40 min, 30 pts (FG: 7-15, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 14-15), 12 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk

Buzzer Beater: Chauncey Billups will become a free agent at the end of the year and there are tons o’ teams who are desperate to add the former Finals MVP to their squad. One unexpected team to be making at run at Billups is the former champs turned first round sweep victims, the Miami Heat. Now, talk about a dynamic duo in the backcourt; Billups and Dwyane Wade would make quite the formidable threat as the Heat tried to bounce back from their fall from grace. Personally, we don’t care where Chauncey ends up as long as it’s not with that retarded PA in Detroit as he stutters out Mr. Big Shot’s first name. Hell, we’d rather see Billups suit up with Memphis than stick around for another year of Detroit’s gi-gi-gi-gimmick.

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All Other Sports

27 years after winning Grey Cup, QB gets busted with 17-year-old

When will people catch on that sex between a player and coach, or a teacher and a student just isn’t cool in the eyes of the law or most deans? Especially when the student is just 17-years-old!

Well, former Canadian Football League quarterback turned high school coach and substitute teacher Tom Porras found out the hard way on Thursday when he was arrested for suspicion of sex abuse and public sexual indecency with a student. The 49-year-old Porras confessed to the sexual abuse charge while sitting under that bright light at the Scottsdale, Arizona police headquarters.

Porras could always score on the field as he spent 17 seasons in the CFL, AFL and USFL, but now we see that the guy has some serious problems when it comes to reaching the end zone off the gridiron. C’mon, how pathetic do you have to be to hook up with high school chicks when you’re freakin’ 49? Not to mention a former professional athlete. Look, do we really have to show you where the line should be draw when it comes to sexual harassment? Let’s just say that you shouldn’t cross this line …

Actually, on second thought, don’t even approach that threshold. Especially with the minors.

Links:

[KVOA.com]: Former pro quarterback arrested on sex charges

Categories
NBA General

Taking hoops back about 60 years


Tom Newell is the son of coaching great Pete Newell and after spending his entire life involved with the game of basketball, Tom thinks he just might have figured out the formula for advancing the game beyond its current boundaries and into the future. The only problem is that his changes could turn the NBA into the WNBA and turn the WNBA into church rec league ball.

Newell wants to eliminate all the fun involved with the game and infuse it with countless, excitement inducing chest passes by raising the rim to 11 feet, doing away with the 3-pointer until the fourth quarter and increasing the shot clock by six seconds to half a minute. By raising the rim Newell is hoping to virtually eliminate the dunk from the playbook altogether.

That’s not the way the game was invented,” Newell said. “It was intended to be a template of how to work together and how to set screens and move without the ball and make the various passes that are necessary to make the plays successful.

We’ll see just how pathetic his idea is because Newell has scheduled an exhibition game for June 16 in Seattle. But Newell is taking this game pretty seriously, he’s going to have computers set up to chart every play that is run and then compare the numbers to a typical NBA game and he’s got a psychology professor who will gauge the audience’s reactions. We’re guessing they will mostly consist of yawns, stretches and the occasional boos.

Links:

[The Seattle Times]: 11-foot hoops? Newell to run a test in June

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: A pair of underdogs win must win Game 3’s, sorry Orlando

That kind of night for the Rockets.

1. Jazz finally tune up the band
The Rockets won the first two games against the Jazz with relative ease in Houston, but what a difference a change of scenery can make. Back in Salt Lake City, Utah held the Rockets to just 67 points in an 81-67 Game 3 romping as Houston hit just 21-of-64 shots from the floor. And the 19 turnovers didn’t help any either. Oh, and did we mention that the Rockets became the first team in playoff history to have only four players score in a game (Yao Ming – 26 points, Tracy McGrady – 24, Shane Battier – 11, and Rafer Alston – 6)? On the winning side of things, Carlos Boozer showed why he was considered to be an MVP candidate before breaking his leg earlier in the season by carrying the offensive load with a team-high 22 points to go along with a dozen boards.

And for all you Andrei Kirilenko fans out there, it looks like Masha still hasn’t convinced Jerry Sloan to get that interpreter because AK-47 finished the game with just two points on 1-of-2 shooting.

2. When the stars come out, the Suns set

After suffering a 28 point spanking at the hands of Phoenix in Game 2 the Lakers promptly opened Game 3 by falling behind by 17 points before the end of the first quarter. But LA has Kobe Bryant and no lead is safe when Kobe is in the building, and in typical Mamba fashion Bryant loaded up his team and took them on a ride as he blew up for 45 points. And, believe or not, he even got a little help from his friends as Kwame Brown scored 19 points (we didn’t believe it either, but its true) and Lamar Odom put in 18 of his own along with 16 rebounds. The game got a little chippy at the end as Smush Parker went up for a slam with time expiring and the game in hand which drew a hard foul from Raja Bell and some naughty words form Mike D’Antoni. Looks like we’re establishing quite an impressive card for NBA Fight Night as D’Antoni vs. Parker will warm up the crowd for the main event: Tim Duncan vs. Joey Crawford. Let’s get it on!

3. The Magic need to pull a rabbit out of their hat
The first two games of the Pistons/Magic series were both decided by eight points as Detroit left Mo Town with a 2-0 lead. But a funny thing happened when the series shifted to Orlando; the Magic actually got worse and suffered a 16 point beating, 93-77, at the hands of Flip Saunders’ boys. All five starters for the Pistons finished the game in double digits with Tayshaun Prince leading the way with 23 points while Cha-Cha-Cha-Chauncey Billups was next in line with 21. Meanwhile, Dwight Howard‘s limited scoring capabilities are being exposed as his All-Star caliber season is ending with disappointment. Howard has been held under 13 points in all three games while never making more than five field goals in a single contest. Hopefully Howard’s inability to lead the team offensively will motivate him during the off-season and the world will be witness to a whole new monster come next November.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. Phoenix 45 min, 45 pts (FG: 15-26, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 13-13), 6 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk

Buzzer Beater: ESPN released a list of “the 30 best international players in the NBA” and in a shocking move ESPN Insider John Hollinger named Dirk Nowitzki as the baddest man in the Association not American as apple pie. Why so shocking? Well, Hollinger clearly states in his “ground rules” that “I’m not basing the rankings solely on a player’s performance this past season; instead I’m looking at the big picture.” If that’s the case, how can Nowitzki be ranked ahead of a three time champion and five time MVP (2 regular season, 3 Finals) in Tim Duncan? Or even the two-time defending MVP Steve Nash? Hey, we’ll give Dirk his props; he’s probably going to grab the MVP this season and could possibly end the playoffs with a ring on his finger but none of that has happened yet. And until it does even if it does, he’s still gotta play second fiddle to Timmy D.

Categories
Minnesota Twins

Torii Hunter takes a pitch to the choppers

Anybody who has played baseball at any level has probably felt the pain of a fastball shot to the body. And for an unlucky few of you out there, you’ve even felt the sting of a ball to the head. Well, add Minnesota outfielder Torii Hunter to that list.

In the second inning of yesterday’s game against the Royals Hunter took a nasty pitch to face from Zack Greinke. For a second it looks like Hunter is ready to rumble over the beaning but as he heads to the mound the pain must have reached the neurons and receptors in his brain and he did a pretty little pirouette before dropping to his hands and knees. It was all very Wile E. Coyote-ish. But Hunter shook it off and walked off the field under his own power before getting three stitches to repair a cut on the left side of his mouth. Are you learning anything from this, D-Wade?


Bonus photo of Torii Hunter after the doctor stitched him up afterr the jump.

Continue reading “Torii Hunter takes a pitch to the choppers”
Categories
General Sports

Do you like your sports news with or without nuts?


Some people like to spend their well deserved vacation time traveling the country or world, others like to catch up with their world outside of work, and lots of folks like to just take it easy and eat Fritos on the couch for hours on end. But if you’re sports writer Mike Penner of the Los Angeles Times you spend your days off in a hospital undergoing serious surgery to transform yourself from Mike to Christine. Yup, Penner’s a transsexual and he came out to the world in an article this morning.

During my 23 years with The Times’ sports department, I have held a wide variety of roles and titles. Tennis writer. Angels beat reporter. Olympics writer. Essayist. Sports media critic. NFL columnist. Recent keeper of the Morning Briefing flame.

Today I leave for a few weeks’ vacation, and when I return, I will come back in yet another incarnation.

As Christine.

Well, that’s one way to bust down the door of that closet he’s been living in. Knowing the type of society we live in today, we’re pretty sure that this decision is going to be met with some serious hostility from some typical testosterone driven, meathead sports fans. But personally, we prefer the comical reaction that Penner’s boss gave after hearing the news for the first time.

When I told my boss Randy Harvey, he leaned back in his chair, looked through his office window to scan the newsroom and mused, “Well, no one can ever say we don’t have diversity on this staff.

Links:

[LATimes.com]: Old Mike, new Christine

Categories
Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron does his best impression of Chris Tucker doing Michael Jackson doing the Bee Gees

On Wednesday night LeBron James could be found all over the tube. He’s got commercials that are running here and there, he played in Game 2 of the Cavaliers first round series against the Wizards but nothing was quite as memorable as his brief performance on American Idol. King James turned his gay meter up a few notches as he belted out his best rendition of the Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive.” Don’t believe us? Here’s the proof.

But you can’t rip on the guy too much because it was for a good cause, the “Idol Gives Back” fundraiser which benefits poverty stricken children in both America and Africa, and he had a good sense of humor about the whole thing.

It was absolutely terrible,” said James.

So, why exactly are you putting a recording studio in your new mansion again LeBron?

Categories
NBA General

Dan Majerle still digs the long ball

We’ve been searching for this clip since we saw it on Tuesday night during the Suns/Lakers game but had no luck until the guys at PTI gave it some dap. It shows former Suns legend Dan Majerle draining a pair of unbelievable back-to-back shots as he gets ready to broadcast the game. If you thought that these guys lose their touch after retiring then let this be a lesson.

Now, of course there is an element of luck to all of this but, don’t be fooled, that takes an amazing amount of skill. Even the Harlem Globetrotters were falling out of their seats when they saw that.

Categories
Boston Red Sox

This bloody sock needs to die already



The famous sock on display in
Cooperstown

On Wednesday night Curt Schilling torched the Orioles en route to a 6-1 Red Sox victory, but that wasn’t the only story of the evening. That’s because the play-by-play voice for Baltimore Gary Thorne started yapping about Shilling’s bloody sock that he made famous during Game 6 of the 04 ALCS against the dreaded Yankees, and claimed that he was told by Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli that the sock was actually painted to give a dramatic effect to the game.

The great story we were talking about the other night was that famous red stocking that he wore when they finally won, the blood on his stocking,” Thorne said to broadcast partner Jim Palmer, the Hall of Fame pitcher, in a conversation that had begun with a discussion of Schilling’s blog.

“Nah,” Thorne said. “It was painted. Doug Mirabelli confessed up to it after. It was all for PR. Two-ball, two-strike count.”

Palmer: “Yeah, that was the 2004 World Series [sic].” Thorne: “Yeah.”

During a break two innings later, Thorne confirmed that’s what he said, and that Mirabelli had told him so in a conversation “a couple of years ago.”

“Go ask him [Mirabelli],” Thorne said.

Mirabelli was shocked, then angry, when relayed Thorne’s comments.

“What? Are you kidding me? He’s [expletive] lying. A straight lie,” Mirabelli said. “I never said that. I know it was blood. Everybody knows it was blood.

Now, this isn’t the first time that Schill has been accused of not bloodying the sock personally, but this is the first time that the source was linked personally to the pitcher. Not that any of this really matters, regardless of whether it was blood, paint, ink or anything else, all that matters is that Schilling put on a show that night and carried his team to victory in dramatic fashion. Just ask the Theo Epstein.

You’re kidding me, right?” Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein wrote in an e-mail last night. “I’m the GM of the team, not Jerry Springer. I couldn’t give two [expletives] about what was on his sock, I care that we won the game.

It is pretty stupid to still be talking about a damn sock three years after the fact. It’s time to move past all this nonsense and focus on something that is far more pressing subject matter. To be specific, was the 1985 NBA draft lottery fixed?

Links:

[Boston.com]: Bloody mess