July 30, 2008 at 10:57 am · Filed under Uncategorized
I’ve been largely disinterested in the off season this year, despite some huge signings and deals being thrown around. I think it all has to do with my P90X. I’m so concentrated on working out and getting back in shape for next year that I am not even interested in keeping up with all the soap opera of the NBA off season. So I took some time today and decided to catch up … you know …. cuz I AM a hoop-head after all.
Sacramento traded Artest for Donte Green, Bobby Jackson and a first round draft pick in 2009 and cash.
So now Houston has a trio of big time stars in Yao, T-Mac and Artest to help get McGrady past teh first round of the playoffs since forever! When you include Scola, Brent Barry and Shane Battier you start to see the makings of a powerhouse West Team.
More importantly, his chances of ever doing anything of use with his life, career-wise, is pretty much done. His fame and his criminal record hnow ensure that he can go nowhere fr peace and quiet. I feel bad for him. Some part of me feels he has become a scapegoat for the NBA with regards to all the referee’s issues we’ve seen in the past.
I know it’s not true though. Bigger, Fatter cats are grinning their Cheshire grins right now …
I am unimpressed with ‘Meka and his new contract. Between this and the other ridiculous contracts being handed out this offseason, it’s getting pretty stupid.
I mean, how in the hell is Meka gonna DESERVE 72 mil when he’s DONE NOTHING to anchor the Bobcats the way he was supposed to? They had to bring in Wallace and J-Rich to be decent ….
And then there’s Andris Biedrins, who also signed a 6 year, $62 Million deal earlier this month. Talk about throwing cash around on unproven talent. Sure, he’s been good. But so was Jerome James the year he was paid lucratively for one good year in Seattle.
Monta Ellis also signed a ridiculous 6 year, $67 Million deal with the Warriors. I mean, so they sign this kid with bad knees (he has more knee braces than our local athletic goods store!) to a HUGE deal making him a semi star overnight and basically putting the fate of their franchise on the shoulders of a palyer who got his looks because of Baron Davis!
Rony Turiaf gets a 4 year, $17 Million deal from Golden State. This is puzzling to me. So, okay, the guy is a hustle player, he gets rebounds, he defends …. but $17 Million? If the Lakers were unwilling to pay that for him – and they made the Finals last year – why is Golden State willing?
What the hell is Chris Mullin thinking?
Obviously the same thing as the Bulls – who are on the verge of agreeing to a 6 year, $71 Million deal. All I can say is that he better play great basketball this year after all the pissing and moaning he’s done recently.
Nenad Kristic has seen the madness and decided to go play in Moscow instead of staying the crooked ref, stupid deal making NBA. And all for a modest $3 Million Euros per year. Not that Kristic really deserved $71 Million …. then again neither do any of the above guys ….
And in other WTF news, Kwame Brown is going to play in Detroit …. for $4 Million per year … for 2 years. OK. It is now officially safe to say that Detroit is in rebuilding mode. Sorry to Tayshaun, Rip, Chaunce and Sheed but Kwame is gonna stink shit up in the D.
And I missed this the first time, but Andrew Bogut signed a 5 year, $60 Million extension to stay in Milwaukee. I think this was a great move by teh Bucks. Bogut is a shot blocking machine, a great rebounder and a decent scoring option on the block. I think it took some time for him to live up to the hype he created for himself coming out of college, but he’s good enough now. And in other Bucks news, they signed Malik Allen and Tyronne Lue! not sure this does anything to them one way or the other ….. but good for those players. I’ve always enjoyed seeing them play.
Gilbert Arenas signs a 6 year, $111 Million deal to stay in Washington. I’m glad for Arenas and I know he could have taken more. But he decided to play for less and leave the rest of the cash to help improve the team. It’s a tough business and I hope this doesn’t come back to bite him later on.
James Posey signs 4 year, $25 Million deal with Hornets. I’m not sure that this deal makes them any better. But it certainly doesn’t hurt them. They won’t win a championship with the addition of Posey, if that’s what they’re hoping to get by signing him.
July 25, 2008 at 3:42 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
I’d like to take a few moments away from basketball to speak my mind …
I was sitting around last night doing my Yoga-X DVD when I got the news that a good friend of mine is going through the initial stages of divorce due to an unfaithful spouse.
For the sake of privacy I will refrain from using names – not to protect the guilty, but more to protect the innocent.
I don’t want to get too much into the specifics except to say that it happened while she was away on a wedding trip and that it was NOT a one night thing. It lasted for 5 months. It was also done behind my friend’s back and the way he found out was from the other guy’s wife, who phoned him to let him know about it.
Both sets of spouses have 2 kids apiece, each too young to comprehend the actions that have taken place and the repercussions that will ensue from the decisions each person has taken. You can formulate your own conclusions on the effects that will have on the psyche and the overall outlook these kids will have of the world and relationships. I won’t waste my breath talking about that.
This couple tied the knot about 2 years ago and appeared to be happy – Except that the woman was apparently became unhappy with the relationship at one point or another. And rather than speak to him about it or try to work things out, she just decided that her best bet of getting out of her marriage was infidelity.
Despite my best efforts, I can’t seem to stay neutral on the situation as the circumstances behind the whole event make it difficult to do so.
I find this way out to be cowardly and a sure sign of the lack of integrity and weakness of character that this person possesses.
She has had a hand in ruining the lives of 8 people directly and so many more people indirectly … this is without even considering the fact that she has deeply wounded a good friend of mine and given him an emotional wound that will take a long long time to heal.
He is a good man and does not deserve this type of treatment from anyone.
Words cannot express the disappointment I feel for my friend and how deeply sorry I am for his pain. And here, in this forum, I want him to know that I will do anything and everything within my power to support him with whatever he needs.
July 24, 2008 at 6:35 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Sometimes I think I lead a pretty lonely life.
I was thinking today at some point about the last time I had a good party or hung out with friends. Or the last time I called a friend to chat. Or the last time a friend called ME just to chat.
Sadly the answer comes back most of the time …. It’s been a long time.
Sometimes I wonder if my social skills are deteriorating as I get older. Or maybe I just don’t want to try as hard to maintain friendships – especially if they’re high maintenance. I just don’t have the patience for it anymore. People like that are so inconsistent.
But the one Constant in my life has been basketball – always has.
It has seen me go through puberty, bullying, dating, marriage, surgeries, kids, heartache, different friends, different teammates, hairstyles …. it IS without a doubt, my first real love.
It’s difficult to explain to someone who doesn’t play just how significant the impact that basketball has made in my life really is …
I suppose the original reason that I began playing is that I wanted to fit in. And I did NOT fit in. I was awkward, socially inept and too sensitive. At one point in my youth I actually had to steal in order to be liked ….. those were not good times. I remember coming home from school sometimes and feeling so dirty at the things I had to do so that people would want to talk with me or hang out ….
But basketball accepted me just as I am. It didn’t judge me based on my looks, my financial wealth, my intelligence or some other form of social status measuring stick. It asked nothing of me other than to work my butt off to improve my own game. It took me in and gave me a space in this world where I could go and breathe, thrash in anger, ponder my existence and weep silently at the people that passed me by and cast me off as a friend. It brought me serenity.
And I suppose that it’s the same reason I play now.
I sometimes wish that I was funnier, or better looking or more social – I can be pretty surly most of the time. And I’ve certainly lost a bunch of people who I thought were good friends along the way. But at the end of the day it always comes down to the same thing for me:
I shouldn’t have to fight so hard to be liked by people.
In basketball, I have a space where I can be at peace when the world around me is in total chaos. And the peace I get from playing is worth more to me than the friendship of a thousand fair weather friends.
The basketball season can’t start soon enough for me …
July 21, 2008 at 2:16 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
So we took a road trip down to Minneapolis / Albertville / Grand Forks / Fargo for the weekend and we’re driving down the Freeway at midnight one night. I’m tired from having driven approximately 7 or 8 hours straight and I need to stop and sleep at this point.
So we start to look for a campground – we didn’t wanna pay premium for a hotel since we were only gonna use it for the beds. We get to St. Joseph, MN – it’s next door to St. Cloud and find one and we proceed to follow the directions to get to it.
The signs take us to the outskirts of town and then ask us to turn down a snakey country road. So we do. At midnight. We drive down this road for 10 minutes and almost hit a dog (or a fox?) as it jumps out from the ditch. Then a few minutes later after coming down from that scare, we see the sign that names the area we are driving in currently – HILL BILLY HILLS.
And my mind races …
How many times, in horror movies, is an innocent couple driving down a country road at night looking for something when their car breaks down? And then they’re forced to go to one of the houses in the area for directions / help / lodging, right? And then that house invariably turns out to be the home of a man who KILLS people who stop in to ask for said directions / lodging / help, right? Either that, or the man in the house is the father of a deformed son who kills people for pleasure, right? Or it’s a secluded cult that doesn’t take kindly to visitors, right?
Right.
So I stop the car, do a 180 and SPEED back to town. Man, fuck that shit! ~Pardon the language~ I am not gonna be a part of a movie “based on true events”. I laugh about it now, but it wasn’t as funny when I was driving there – even if I WAS laughing about the serial killer jokes.
So we drove to St. Cloud and found a campsite there (after hitting a cat) and had a great sleep.
The next day, we continued our weekend excursion and I am POSITIVE that we lived because I stopped driving in the area known as “Hill Billy Hills”
So the hornets retain the services of Chris Paul for four more years. Good for them. So long as they can keep improving the roster, they’ll be a challenge for the Spurs & Lakers for the foreseeable future.
I’ve heard a lot of pissing and moaning from NBA fanboys who are upset that Gils is getting paid after not playing this past season. All I have to say to them is this: He left $16 Million on the table for the team. Would you leave money on the table for your company?
He jumped from Chicago’s bed and joined D’Antoni in New York for this deal. I guess he’s hoping D’Antoni makes him look good now since he was unable to establish himself in the Chi. I’ve heard a lot of New York fans praising this move like it was the second coming of Sprewell, but he has to win before I will say it was a good deal or not.
regardless, I don’t think Duhon will be the answer to the perennial question “what can the Knicks do to not suck anymore?”
This is a sure sign that Jersey’s gonna tank next year in order to get some cap relief and a couple of draft picks in the lottery – rebulding. Too bad for Ms. Carter. he went from being mediocre in Toronto to straight up sucking in Jersey now.
I am predicting a mysterious “injury” that will make him second guess his desire to dunk or take it to the rim anytime now.
Because of Bennett and Stern’s BS move out in Seattle, OKC is starting to become my most hated NBA franchise right now. Almost on par with Los Angeles (Lakers).
Thanks for teh support, Oakland, and for letting me build my name back up. Now it’s time for me to flip you the finger and head for the Staples Centre.