Archive for May 19th, 2008
Continue Reading May 19th, 2008
Basketbawful is here to share his thoughts and insights about tonight’s climactic Game 7. So come and let us reason together. Or something.
San Antonio versus New Orleans: Game 7
David West. And here’s the big question: What’s the status of West’s back? In case you joined this party late and have been, I don’t know, living under a rock, Cheap Shot Rob put the business to West’s already injured back in Game 6. The Hornets need him — and desperately — if they’re going to win Game 7. And word on the street is that West’s meaty flank is “right at 100 percent” with “most of the soreness out of there.” Said West: “My biggest thing is just to go out and not think about it. I’m just going to go out there and play, try to help this team advance.”
Agony of the feet. Tyson Chandler’s bruised foot? It’s all good. So good, in fact, that he’s been running after someone even tougher to guard than Timmy D: His daughter. “She may be a little tougher to chase around than Tim Duncan. She’s been a handful out there — no disrespect to Tim Duncan. He knows he’s my guy.” Tim’s feelings would be hurt…if he were humanssZZZZZAAAACKT!!
History is with them, Part I. Through six games, the home team has won each game by an average margin of 18.2 points. But Chris Paul is all, like, whatever. “You could put this game in the middle of the desert somewhere. The previous six games really don’t matter too much.”
History is against them, Part I. No Hornets team has advanced to a conference finals - East or West - in the history of the franchise. That’s a 20-year drought. Although doesn’t a drought mean there was once a non-drought? Whatever. The point is, the Good Ship New Orleans has set a course for uncharted waters.
History is with them, Part II. The Spurs have done everything the Hornets haven’t: Four NBA Finals appearances, four titles, MVPs, Finals MVPs, etc., etc., etc. There’s no situation they haven’t faced during this mini-dynastic run. They’re not going to get rattled.
History is against them, Part II. Yeah, they have four titles in nine seasons, but — SHOCK ALERT!! — they’ve never won two back-to-back. They’ve also never come back from a 2-0 playoff series deficit, which they had early on in this series.
Home sweet home, Part XVI. Road teams have only won two games so far in the second round. And the Hornets haven’t lost a home game in the playoffs this year at all. Said West: “The reason we fought out games throughout the regular season was to be able to have a Game 7 on your home floor. We’ve been able to do that, so we’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity we have.”
Stock up on eyedrops. According to Manu Ginobili: “You’ve just got to be very focused, knowing that you can’t blink, that you can’t let the other team get on a run, get confident on a run. It’s going to be a really tense game with a lot of adrenaline. Fans are going to be going nuts. So it’s going to be a very fun game to play.” If there’s any team that can maintain its focus in a situation like this, it’s the Spurs.
My prediction: The Hornets by 15+. No. Wait. I don’t want to stat curse my boys. The Spurs by 15+.
Continue Reading May 19th, 2008
A confounding incident involving the Miami Dolphins’ Will Allen at a Miami Bed, Bath and Beyond parking lot has the veteran cornerback being questioned by local police. There are conflicting stories and it’s not entirely clear what the beef was about, but there is some speculation:
“We have two stories regarding an incident that occurred on Friday afternoon in the parking lot of Bed, Bath & Beyond on University Drive,” [Lt. Wiliam]Coyne said. “There was a dispute over money. We are investigating the statements of both parties.” …[A] report on WPLG-Channel 10 alleged that Allen borrowed money to pay gambling debts. When repayment was demanded, the person claimed Allen pulled a gun. Police would not confirm the report.
So, for all anybody knows at this point, Allen could’ve been involved in a troublesome situation involving a shady debt-collector who likes to handle his business in a public parking lot should a client actually pull a gun on him. Or, we completely underestimate how seriously NFL players and loan sharks take their sales on outdoor linens right before Memorial Day.
Police investigating Dolphins’ cornerback Allen [Sun-Sentinel]
Continue Reading May 19th, 2008
A small political site called Badger Blogger reported late Sunday that Ned Yost is likely to be fired by the Brewers this afternoon. Badger Blogger says it’s unconfirmed, but they have it from a source “close to the team.” A blog called Badger Blogger has sources? Cool. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel doesn’t think so, however.
JS beat writer Tom Haudricourt followed up on Badger Blogger’s claim and found no one with the Brewers who knew anything about a firing. Haudricourt:
I just got off a flight from Boston and contacted a very reliable club source who told me he knows nothing about any plans to dismiss manager Ned Yost, as posted late last evening by “Badger Blogger,” whatever that is.
To which a commenter on Badger Blogger replied:
Quote of the day — “…’Badger Blogger,’ whatever that is.” Pray tell in a few years, we can say “Journal-Sentinel, whatever that was.”
And Buzz Bissinger just turned a rich, vibrant shade of purple.
Badger Blogger: Hero, or goat? Whatever happens, it can’t be worse than this, can it?
Source: Ned Yost To Be Relieved Of His Duties Monday [Badger Blogger]
Blogger Claims Yost To Be Fired [Brewers Blog]
Continue Reading May 19th, 2008
Either the world of NBA fans is going to collectively groan and try to work themselves up for yet another Spurs playoff series tonight … or the Spurs’ assault on our senses will perhaps finally end. Fingers crossed.
To make sure you’re appropriately prepared for tonight’s Hornets-Spurs Game 7 in New Orleans, The Grand National Championships has a hecker’s guide so that you might effectively yell at your television tonight. A tidbit:
This is your NBA dynasty. A bunch of addicts, cheap shot artists, floppers, punks, and wannabes. They’ve brought the game back into the dark ages. I’m not writing this as a fan of the NOOCH. I’m writing this because this team has got to be stopped. I don’t care if it gives Kobe another ring. I don’t even care if it allows Boston fans to act like D-Bags.
The Spurs are all that is wrong with the on-court game of basketball. We can fade a lesser evil.
If you want to know what life is like for a soccer fan, watch the Spurs, and let your blood boil. Of course, this means they will win, and Chris Paul will spend the end of the game crawling across the floor after attacking Robert Horry’s elbow with his throat.
The Guide To Hating Your Spurs [The Grand National Championships]
Continue Reading May 19th, 2008
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sports
Nintendo Wii owners will get a chance to Skate It this fall, but EA hasn’t forgotten that those with current-gen HD consoles are also ready for their own follow-up to the game that made the last Tony Hawk look like a turkey. Two new videos posted to the official Skate site — “What happened to that Dude?” and “What happened to San Vanelona?” — feature skaters talking up players’ feats in the first game and about how the city has changed since then, before heading into some brief gameplay clips and a teaser logo for Skate 2 (above).
According to the skaters in the clips, five years have passed in the gameworld — Skate’s fictional city of San Vanelona — and large corporations have spearheaded a big-time crackdown on skating. They talk of harsher punishment than mere tickets and how obstacles have been put in place near rails and other prime trick spots to discourage skaters. Still, the second clip shows a skater and his board perched defiantly atop a concrete block with a “No Skateboarding” sign affixed to it. So, skateboarding is a crime after all — at least in Skate 2 — and it looks like you’ll be sticking it to the man (in this case, big business) a la Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.
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Continue Reading May 19th, 2008
We can’t thank The Sports Hernia enough for this beautiful photo of a Celtics fan drawing unnecessary attention to his own toupee. We’ve always taken a lot of pride in our ability to spot toupees … but this one required no specific expertise.
The Eastern Conference finals begin in Boston tomorrow night, and we can only beg this guy to have his prominent seats for all four Celtics home games. (And you just know there will be four.) We hope this guy can start a wacky playoff trend; all Celtics fans should be wearing these for all games.
Fan Unknowingly Holds Sign That Celebrates Own Toupee [The Sports Hernia]
Continue Reading May 19th, 2008
Just to follow up on what Rick was saying earlier … we don’t think we’re gonna have much reason to write about the Yankees too much longer. Once that All-Star Game is over, and we’ll just have the Yankee Stadium elegies … and then we can all go back to our lives. The Yankees looked deader than Dillinger.
The Yankees are in last place in the AL East — six games behind the Red Sox — and have the third worst record in the American League. Worse than that, though, the seem to have no potential signs of life; the bets made on the young starters have busted (so far), the lineup is banged up and old and no even even looks all that alarmed that they lost two at home to the Mets. You can’t even get worked up about Hank Steinbrenner’s cute yet vaguely disturbing attempts to do Larry David-esque impressions of his father.
But hey: You can always ask Joe Girardi a question.
It’s just odd to see Yankee Stadium go out like this, right? The last home game of the season is September 21 against Baltimore. The Yankees still have another week of games after that. Imagine the Yankees, already long eliminated from the playoff chase, drifting through Toronto and Boston as their stadium in the Bronx sits there, waiting to be destroyed. Welcome, Joe Girardi!
Continue Reading May 19th, 2008
Those who live there would know better than I, but doesn’t there seem to be a weighty, menacing cloud hovering over the Yankees these days? That’s your last-place New York Yankees, who lost to the Metropolitans, 11-2, on Sunday to complete a two-game sweep. Is Oliver Perez supposed to be beating Chien-Ming Wang? Are the Yankees supposed to be hitting .195 over their past five games? Is David Wright supposed to be getting this fired up over a sacrifice fly?
And don’t tell anyone, but the Yankees are also 4-10 against left-handed starters. This may be the final time you see them included in the lead to the closer, because frankly they’re just no longer very relevant. Even when Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada return — the former on Tuesday vs. the Orioles, we’re told — I don’t see them making a Big Brown push toward the finish. Of course there’s also the possibility I’m completely wrong. Meanwhile, the Mets — despite problems of their own — find themselves in second place in the NL East, a game behind the soon-to-be-underwater Florida Marlins. Jose Reyes homered for the second straight game and Perez (4-3) threw a three-hitter over 7 2/3 innings, the longest he’s gone this season. Wang (6-2) gave up seven runs and six hits over 7 2/3 innings, falling to 0-2 in his past three starts.
• Me Fail National League West? That’s Unpossible! The Mariners earned consecutive wins for the first time this month when Jose Lopez lined a two-run, two-out double off of the Padres’ Heath Bell in the bottom of the eighth, going on to win 3-2. Seattle has decided to win a few games before they bring Ken Griffey Jr. back into the fold. San Diego has the worst record in baseball at 16-29.
• Who’s The Man? The Cardinals celebrated Stan Musial Day by naming the street out in front after him, then knocking the Rays out of first in the AL East with a 5-4 win. Boston ascended to the top spot with an 11-7 win over the Brewers. Skip Schumaker doubled in a run in the ninth to win it for St. Louis.
• The Amazing Randy. Randy Johnson now relies on a sinker, which is all you need to now about turning 44 years old. Johnson went seven scoreless innings for his 288th career victory, tying him with Tommy John for 24th on the all-time list, as the Diamondbacks beat the Tigers 4-0. Chris Young had a double and three RBI. Guess how many times the Tigers have been shut out this season. No, higher.
• Your Lance Berkman Update. He was 2-of-5 to keep his average at .399, and his hitting streak alive at 17 games. Over that span he’s 36-of-66 with eight homers and 21 RBI. Astros beat Rangers 5-4.
• Wizard Cat Defensive Player Of The Day. Yankee Stadium Left-Field Foul Pole. The foul pole robbed the Mets’ Carlos Delgado of a three-run homer in the fourth; a play which also resulted in Mets’ bench coach Jerry Manuel getting tossed. Replays showed that the ball actually hit the pole at its base, just above the top of the stands. But the umpires couldn’t see it because the base of the pole was cleverly painted black, and despite the protests of a raving, beer-swilling Kevin James in the stands, ruled it foul. Wizard Cat gives this play: Three wands.
Contact Wizard Cat at Wizardcat@live.com
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