Author: clay

Categories
Boston Celtics

Around the Rim: The streak snappers


1. It’s over!
Despite reeling off a 22-game win streak, questions regarding the Rocket’s legitimacy amongst the league’s elite are still floating around. There are no such questions surrounding Boston. The Celtics put an end to Houston’s record-chasing run in remarkable fashion on Tuesday night, pounding the Rockets in their own gym by 20 points, 94-74. Kevin Garnett finished with a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double while Paul Pierce tallied 20 points as Boston ripped the heart out of its second Texas team in two days. There’s no doubt the Rockets are a lot better off now than they were two months ago, but all it takes now is a little slipup and their two-month tear becomes meaningless as eighth place Golden States sits a mere four games behind. This is indeed the wild, wild West.

2. Detroit outfoxes the fox

We knew the Nuggets were capable of scoring 120 points, but we had no clue Detroit could post 136 in a regulation game! We would say the Pistons had a horrible defensive outing by giving up so many points at home, but, frankly, we can’t get over the fact they blew past the century mark, recording 73 points in the opening half. Richard Hamilton was responsible for 24 while Rasheed Wallace added 21. In all, seven players reached double-digits in the highest four quarter outburst since 1990 when Detroit spanked Orlando 140-109. Of course, Flip Saunders wasn’t surprised by his club’s strange change of pace. He knows first hand how good the Pistons really are.

That’s the thing — we don’t have to play one style,” said Saunders. “We went out and played San Antonio in a grind-it-out game, and this was a little different. We’re not afraid to get out and run. We had 42 assists tonight. That’s a lot of assists.

You’re flipping right it is, Flip! In fact, Denver recorded just two more assists in its 168-116 pounding of Seattle just one game ago.

3. Lakers hold on by their fingernails
The Lakers almost let a 25-point third quarter lead disappear into a puff of smoke, but they held on for a 102-100 victory in Big D. Kobe Bryant finished with 29 points, but only posted nine in the entire second half, allowing the Mavericks to make their dramatic comeback. Dirk Nowitzki recorded 35 points,11 rebounds and five blocks and was crucial down the stretch while Jason Kidd laid an egg with one point on 0-of-3 shooting and seven assists. Los Angeles tied Houston for the conference’s best record by snapping Dallas five-game win streak. Next up for the Mavs is a contest against the Celtics on Thursday night.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Los Angeles Lakers 43 min, 35 pts (FG: 11-23, 3FG: 3-6, FT: 10-12), 11 reb, 1 ast, 5 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Denver (40-27) @ Philadelphia (33-34)
Normally we reserve this space for the day’s best matchup, but not today. Today we’re talking about practice, uh, we mean Allen Iverson’s return to the city where he became a superstar. For the first time since being traded back in December of 2006, the Answer is heading into Philadelphia wearing a different jersey. Simply seeing Iverson in a Nuggets jersey is still rather shocking, even after all this time, but to see him wear it on the court where he used to electrify the world is going to be odd to say the least. Hopefully you have your earplugs ready because A.I.’s ovation should shake the rafters.

Buzzer Beater: You’d think after all his loyal years of service in Detroit the franchise could at least remember how to spell Rip Hamilton’s name correctly.

Hamilton started the game wearing a jersey that had his last name spelled “Hamiltion,” but changed it during the first quarter.

Categories
All Other Sports

Always, always, always keep your eye on the ball

You know when you go to the game and on the jumbotron they always have a clever rendition of three-card monte? Well, this is kind of like that only when it’s over, instead of feeling stupid for being tricked, you start to feel bad about clipping that cyclist who was in full competition gear last week.

Links:

[College Humor]: Awareness Test

Categories
MLB General

Obama T-shirt guy, you’re outta here!


Major League Baseball bends for nobody. Not even Senator Barack Obama…or the dude selling Obama T-Shirts.

MLB shut down an online business called Obama Of Dreams because it was using team logos and tweaking them slightly to promote Obama. They must be Hillary supporters.

We sent a cease-and-desist letter for violating our trademark,” baseball spokesman Rich Levin said Tuesday.

Morris Levin, a supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, operated www.obamaofdreams.com and said he shut down the site March 4. He said he stopped sales on that date.

“I started the site as a fun way to show support for Sen. Obama, and I’m a big Phillies fan,” he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “I did not make any profit on this, and I think that Major League Baseball has a fantastic product of which I am a big consumer.

So, this guy gets shut down for printing Obama shirts using MLB typefaces, but we allow countless retards to sport tees that say “Vote for Pedro” and “Jesus is my Homeboy”?!? What is this world coming to?

Links:

[NewsObserver.com]: Obama supporter whiffs
[The Smoking Gun]: Obama Business Strikes Out

Categories
College Football

Odds and Ends: Terrelle Pryor is on the verge of making someone very happy


Well, the wait is almost over and it appears that either Ohio State or Michigan will be the proud owners of the rights to Terrelle Pryor at noon on Wednesday. Pryor is the latest version of Vince Young to hit the college gridiron and he should have dramatic effects on the aspirations of whomever he decides to join. Stay tuned to see if Rich Rodriguez’s jump to Michigan was worth it.

In other news…

[The Wizard of Odds]: The Wolverines just love their general studies.

[SportsOpinion.ca]: Top 20 NHL Draft Steals

[GreenBayPressGazette.com]: Favre fans just can’t let go.

[Awful Announcing]: Mike & Mike & Dave.

[iBet.pro]: John McCain is a bracket busting hypocrite.

[Wave3.com]: SEC starts issuing refunds for botched tournament. Thanks a lot Mother Nature!

[BallsDeepSports.com]: Randy Couture still hates Dana White.

[Wax Heaven]: Sports memorabilia stolen in Florida. Where’s OJ?

[Blazer Blog]: Video of Greg Oden working out. Yup, he’s still rocking a Mohawk.

[Vegas Watch]: Think you’ve filled out the perfect bracket? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Categories
New York Knicks

Where Isiah happens

This year, the NBA is where a whole lot of stuff happens. It’s where 22-game winning streaks happen and where 52-point blowouts happen. It’s where Miami collapses happen and also where referee scandals happen. But perhaps most infamously, it’s where Isiah Thomas happens.

Categories
Boston Celtics

Around the Rim: Irish eyes are smiling


1. Boston’s bounce back
Despite falling behind by as many as 22 points, the Celtics came roaring back on in San Antonio on St. Patrick’s day to defeat the Spurs 93-91. Boston was without Ray Allen for the second consecutive game, but luckily they had Sam Cassell who was more than willing to step up and hit a huge 3-pointer in the fourth quarter that put the Cs up 89-87. The Spurs almost pulled off a St. Patty’s day miracle when Bruce Bowen stole an inbounds pass with time expiring, but the normally clutch Robert Horry couldn’t connect on a game-winning trey. Kevin Garnett scored 21 points in the gutsy comeback while Rajon Rondo chipped in 20 and Paul Pierce added 22. Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with a game-high 32 points, but it didn’t prevent the Spurs from losing their fourth consecutive game and the sixth in their last seven outings.

2. Orlando isn’t LeBron’s kingdom

Everything looks pretty meager in comparison to Houston’s super streak, but Orlando is stringing together a nice series of victories as well. Thanks to a 64-point second half , the Magic now own the second longest win streak in the league with five consecutive after beating Cleveland 104-90 in the Magic Kingdom. Dwight Howard finished with a solid double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds despite shooting just 6-of-14 from the field while Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu connected on three 3-pointers apiece as they combined for an additional 38 points. In all, the Magic converted 14 treys and extended their lead over the Cavaliers to 6 ½ games. Cleveland took a five-point advantage into halftime after Orlando started 1-for-9 from the floor. LeBron James finished with 30 points, but got no help from his inside defender as Ben Wallace ended his night with two points and four rebounds in 23 minutes.

3. Green doesn’t look good on everyone
For some strange reason, the Knicks and the Bulls both decided to break out green uniforms last night. Luckily, the basketball gods were as offended by the hideous jerseys as much as we were and sent both clubs home with double-digit losses. The Knicks lost to Indiana 110-98 and the Bulls got drummed 108-97 by the Hornets. Chris Paul was scary good once again as he tallied 37 points and 13 assists in the outing and after the game he got some MVP love from his buddy Tyson Chandler.

It was all Chris Paul,” said Chandler, who finished with eight points. “The little man was all over the floor. It was incredible. It’s one of the best performances I’ve seen from him yet. He, at least to me, made his bid [Monday night] to consider him the MVP.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Chris Paul vs. Chicago 42 min, 37 pts (FG: 15-21, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 5-7), 4 reb, 13 ast, 3 stl

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Boston (53-13) @ Houston (46-20)
The Rockets might be the hottest team in the last 30-some-odd years with 22 consecutive wins under their belts, but if anyone can teach a thing or two about winning to Houston it is the Celtics. Boston rushed out to a 29-3 record to start the season and they haven’t let go of the NBA’s top mark yet. While the Rockets were able to slip by the West’s best in Los Angeles, the East’s top dog could be too much to overcome, especially if Ray Allen is cleared to play. However, the Rockets have the added benefit of catching the Celtics on the tail end of a back-to-back situation while playing in front of a rabid home crowd in an arena where they are a solid 26-9.

Buzzer Beater: No disrespect to Mike Dunleavy, but he’s no Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. However, when you’re playing against the Knicks, even guys like Dunleavy get to be like Mike. The coach’s son tied his career-high by scoring 36 points in a 110-98 defeat of New York. The Pacers snapped a two-game losing streak behind Dunleavy’s fourth 36-point outburst of the season. The loss dropped New York to 19-48 on the year, meaning the Knicks best player next year will probably be hooping it up this weekend at the NCAA Tournament.

Categories
College Basketball

St. Patrick’s Day brings out a bracket-busting leprechaun

Now, we know that some people get pretty desperate around tournament time, but are you seriously going to fill out your bracket based on the input of some guy named Spaz? We didn’t think so. What if he was in a leprechaun outfit?

Categories
College Basketball

Odds and Ends: Bulldogs dominate March Madness


Now that the NCAA Tournament is set and ready to go (minus the ever popular play-in game of course), it’s time to start filling in all the blank lines of your brackets. But as you do so, you’ll probably notice that there are a whole lotta crazy mascots in this year’s tourney. OK, so maybe you won’t notice, but the hoops junkies at Best Week Ever did and here’s their list of The 10 Most Ridiculous Mascots In This Year’s NCAA Tournament:

10.UBMC Retrievers
9.Kent State Golden Flashes
8.St. Mary’s Gaels
7.Siena Saints
6.Cornell Big Red
5.University of San Diego Toreros
4.Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils
3.Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
2.Austin Peay Governors
1.The Bulldogs of Butler, Drake, Georgia, Gonzaga and Mississippi State

In other news…

[The Power Play]: Don Cherry dresses like a leprechaun for St. Patrick’s Day. We’re not surprised.

[The Big Lead]: Charlie Murphy never told us Prince was a Lakers fan.

[PhillyBurbs.com]: April’s Playboy cover girl Maria talks about being a super hot WWE Diva.

[KansasCity.com]: All-time “Worst” NCAA Champions.

[Chili Dog Blog]: Scary video of tornado hitting the SEC Tournament.

[YouTube]: Texas’ loss to Kansas was really painful; especially for one assistant coach.

[9News.com]: Leave it to a foreigner to be miffed about a 52-point victory.

Categories
MLB General

Pull out your hankies, it’s fantasy baseball time at ESPN

We know that the NBA is “where amazing happens,” but we’re just now finding out that ESPN fantasy baseball is, well, it’s apparently where estrogen and hormones happens.

Not enough drama for ya? Well, go grab a box of Bon Bons, put on your Tweety Bird slippers and crawl under a nice, warm quilt because the fellas at ESPN put together a whole slew of commercials to keep you crying, laughing, hating, smiling, cringing and loving fantasy baseball.

Endless Drama – Episode 2
Endless Drama – Episode 3
Endless Drama – Episode 4
Endless Drama – Episode 5
Endless Drama – Episode 6
Endless Drama – Episode 7

Don’t worry if you still haven’t got your fix of fastballs to your feminine side; according to the website, there are at least two more episodes on their way.

Links:

[ESPN]: Endless Drama Home

Categories
Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: From cursed to first


1. Double deuce
Los Angeles was without Pau Gasol on Sunday afternoon, but Houston didn’t feel any mercy for the undermanned Lakers, winning its 10th straight game without center Yao Ming by beating LA 104-92. The Rockets used a 35-21 advantage in the second quarter to propel them to a 22nd consecutive victory while simultaneously taking over first place in the Western Conference. Despite Houston’s poor performance in the third quarter when it scored just 12 points, the Lakers could get no closer than two points before the Rockets pulled back ahead. Rafer Alston scored a career-high 31 points by hitting eight 3-pointers to compensate for Tracy McGrady’s 4-of-16 poor shooting performance. Kobe Bryant tallied a team-high 24 points as Los Angeles lost its third game in four outings. The Rockets are now 11 games away from tying the 1971-72 Lakers for the all-time longest win streak, but they have a difficult schedule ahead with a game at home versus Boston followed by a three-game road trip that includes New Orleans, Golden State and Phoenix.

2. Purple Hayes

Detroit has never been lacking in the playmaker department and now you can add Jarvis Hayes to the modern day Bad Boys’ list of multidimensional scorers. Hayes was unconscious in the second quarter of yesterday’s 105-84 Detroit victory over New Orleans, scoring 19 of his 29 points in the period by connecting on 6-of-7 shots, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc. The Pistons have now won four of their last five games, pulling within 4 ½ games of Easter Conference leader Boston. Chris Paul delivered 14 points and 14 assists for New Orleans while Peja Stojakovic scored 21, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Hayes’ big outing. The fifth-year player out of Georgia matched his career-high in scoring, finishing the day with seven treys while Chauncey Billups posted 17 points and Tayshaun Prince added 13.

3. Denver wins BIG
If we told you before the game yesterday that we’d give you Seattle plus 51 ½ points against the Nuggets, you probably would have bet your kid’s college tuition fund on the Sonics. Well, if that was the case, you’d have one pissed off son or daughter right now because Denver defeated the lowly Sonics by 52 points on Sunday, 168-116. That’s no misprint. Led by Carmelo Anthony’s 26 points, the Nuggets scored the fourth most points ever in a regulation game and achieved the largest margin of victory in franchise history. Only the Suns in 1990 (173 pts), the Celtics in 1959 (173 pts) and the 76ers in 1962 (169 pts) can claim better offensive outings than the Nuggets. Seattle didn’t even have an opportunity to blink before Denver posted 48 points in the first quarter! By the end of the contest, four Nuggets put in 19 or more points while all 12 players getting minutes recorded a point. Denver center Marcus Camby finished with a triple-double, scoring 13 points, rebounding 15 balls and dishing out 10 assists.

I’ve never been a part of a game like this where we won by so many points and scored so many points,” Camby said. “This is definitely a game I’m going to keep in my archives.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James vs. Charlotte 42 min, 33 pts (FG: 11-24, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 10-16), 7 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Boston (52-13) @ San Antonio (44-22)
After briefly sitting atop the talented West dog pile, the Spurs are getting dangerously close to falling out of postseason picture after playing .500-ball over their last 10 games. San Antonio is riding a three-game losing streak while dropping five out of their last six overall. The one game they won was in San Antonio where the Spurs are dramatically better, posting a 27-5 record inside the AT&T Center. Boston has won 11 of its last 12 games and is playing its second game of a five-game roadie that includes the terrifying “Texas Triangle” and New Orleans. Ray Allen missed the road trip opener against Milwaukee on Saturday night with a bruised heel, but he is expected to be ready for tonight’s showdown.

Buzzer Beater: Believe it or not, but the Hawks are on the verge of breaking into the playoff picture. We know that it’s a difficult concept to wrap your head around, but with their 109-98 win in New York, Atlanta tied New Jersey for the eighth and final postseason seed. The Nets still own the tiebreaker over the Hawks, however Joe Johnson is dead set on guiding his squad to the second season. Johnson scored 28 points and assisted on 11 more baskets, bringing his five-game average to 30.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game. It won’t take long for these two teams to settle their playoff-positioning dispute on the court because on Wednesday they’ll go head to head in Jersey.