Suns cannot overcome loss of Diaw and Stoudemire in loss to Spurs.
BIG Strike 'Em Out, Throw 'Em Out news coming tomorrow.
Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tomorrow's Story
What will be the lead tomorrow? Will it be "Suns overcome loss of Diaw and Stoudemire to defeat the Spurs" or "Suns cannot overcome loss of Diaw and Stoudemire in loss to Spurs"?
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Suspensions
The NBA kicked themselves again in the rear by suspending Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw`for Wednesday's Game 5 between the Suns and Spurs.
What did those guys do? NOTHING!!!! Sure they may have stepped onto the court after Big Shove Rob hip-checked Steve Nash into the scorers table, but they encountered no Spurs and had NO IMPACT on what transpired. You throw in the fact that Stoudemire was in an offensive-defensive substitution pattern in the last few seconds because of 5 personal fouls and what you have in an NBA Office that wants to hand the series to the Spurs.
Maybe their ratings go up when the TV pans to Tony Parker's fiance Eva Longoria? Maybe Tim Duncan's incessant whining attracts the 18-35 year old demographic of kids who got picked on High School? Maybe the American viewer is anti-Canadian and the NBA knows they don't want to see Steve Nash go on?
Whatever the reasoning behind the rule, it needs to be changed. The rule shouldn't give an automatic suspension for anyone leaving the bench. here is what the rule should say:
"If a player leaves the bench then they are up for review by the league office to see if they in any way assisted and/or was involved in any on court ruckus. If they were involved then they are suspended. If they were not involved and were merely curious as to what was going on then they will not be suspended."
If the rule is as hard and fast as the NBA made it out to be on Tuesday, then they need to look at the stepping pattern of players checking into games. You see all the time that players who are on their way to the scorers table will step onto the court. SUSPEND THEM. Also watch for coaches who wander too far out of their assigned box. GIVE THEM THE BOOT.
The NBA is SO lax with so many of their rules (can someone please say traveling) that to suspend Stoudemire and Diaw, who were subdued by their assistant coaches and ended up nowhere near the altercation is an atrocity.
Horry deserves the suspension. He should have been suspended longer. Granted he didn't do any irreparable harm, but his actions were uncalled for.
I just wish the NBA would take a step back and realize what they have done. Had they wanted to give the series to the Spurs they could have done so in many less-obvious ways.
==NBA Playoffs==
Warriors - Thanks for the good times. See you next year.
The Bulls manhandled the Pistons in Detroit to bring the seires one step closer at 3-2. In a year that we saw the 8-seed Warriors defeat the 1-seed Mavs in a Best-of-7 series, it is not impossible to think that the Bulls can come back to from a 3-0 deficit.... until you wake up and smell the coffee. The Pistons are just too good to lose the next 2 (one of which will be back in Detroit).
==MLB Roundup==
I checked my calendar today and it confirmed that it is 2007. What is Randy Johnson doing with 9Ks, 1 H, 0 ER in 6 IP? Again, this is 2007, not 2001.
Happy Humpday to all,
- SEO, TEO
What did those guys do? NOTHING!!!! Sure they may have stepped onto the court after Big Shove Rob hip-checked Steve Nash into the scorers table, but they encountered no Spurs and had NO IMPACT on what transpired. You throw in the fact that Stoudemire was in an offensive-defensive substitution pattern in the last few seconds because of 5 personal fouls and what you have in an NBA Office that wants to hand the series to the Spurs.
Maybe their ratings go up when the TV pans to Tony Parker's fiance Eva Longoria? Maybe Tim Duncan's incessant whining attracts the 18-35 year old demographic of kids who got picked on High School? Maybe the American viewer is anti-Canadian and the NBA knows they don't want to see Steve Nash go on?
Whatever the reasoning behind the rule, it needs to be changed. The rule shouldn't give an automatic suspension for anyone leaving the bench. here is what the rule should say:
"If a player leaves the bench then they are up for review by the league office to see if they in any way assisted and/or was involved in any on court ruckus. If they were involved then they are suspended. If they were not involved and were merely curious as to what was going on then they will not be suspended."
If the rule is as hard and fast as the NBA made it out to be on Tuesday, then they need to look at the stepping pattern of players checking into games. You see all the time that players who are on their way to the scorers table will step onto the court. SUSPEND THEM. Also watch for coaches who wander too far out of their assigned box. GIVE THEM THE BOOT.
The NBA is SO lax with so many of their rules (can someone please say traveling) that to suspend Stoudemire and Diaw, who were subdued by their assistant coaches and ended up nowhere near the altercation is an atrocity.
Horry deserves the suspension. He should have been suspended longer. Granted he didn't do any irreparable harm, but his actions were uncalled for.
I just wish the NBA would take a step back and realize what they have done. Had they wanted to give the series to the Spurs they could have done so in many less-obvious ways.
==NBA Playoffs==
Warriors - Thanks for the good times. See you next year.
The Bulls manhandled the Pistons in Detroit to bring the seires one step closer at 3-2. In a year that we saw the 8-seed Warriors defeat the 1-seed Mavs in a Best-of-7 series, it is not impossible to think that the Bulls can come back to from a 3-0 deficit.... until you wake up and smell the coffee. The Pistons are just too good to lose the next 2 (one of which will be back in Detroit).
==MLB Roundup==
I checked my calendar today and it confirmed that it is 2007. What is Randy Johnson doing with 9Ks, 1 H, 0 ER in 6 IP? Again, this is 2007, not 2001.
Happy Humpday to all,
- SEO, TEO
Big SHOVE Rob
The Suns came from 11 down in the 4th IN SAN ANTONIO to defeat the Spurs and tie the series up at 2. With the other 3 series at 3-1, this is obviously the only one left to watch and what a series this will turn out to be. As it stands, the teams have alternated victories, with Game 5 on Wednesday in Phoenix.
The big event of the night was the shove by Robert Horry that threw Steve Nash into the scorers table in the waning seconds of the game. With the Suns up 3, the Spurs missed a layup that was boarded by the Suns. Nash got the ball and was pushing it up the court when he ran into a brick wall, named Robert Horry. Horry was given a Flagrant 2 and ejected from the game. I fully suspect him to be in street clothes on Wednesday.
The big question is Amare Stoudemire. When the players on the court started in on each other after the hit, Stoudemire is clearly caught on tape leaving the bench. His defense is that in the late moments of the game, with 5 fouls, he was in an offensive-defensive substitution situation and was just running to the scorers table t9o check in. I am not sure why, but I believe him and don’t expect him to sit out Wednesday.
The Spurs losing Horry, while a big deal, would be nothing compared to the Suns losing a First Team All NBA player. If the suspensions happen as I see them, Suns will win Game 5 in Phoenix to take a 3-2 series lead.
In the other game last night, LeBron scored 30 and Eric Snow’s D on the last possession disrupted Vince Carter enough to squirt the ball out of Vince’s hands and the series, seemingly out of the Nets reach.
==MLB Round Up==
Dice K gets his first MLB Complete Game against Detroit. This comes a day after Tigers skipper Jim Leyland calls out the hype of Dice K Mania.
Slow day today,
- SEO, TEO
The big event of the night was the shove by Robert Horry that threw Steve Nash into the scorers table in the waning seconds of the game. With the Suns up 3, the Spurs missed a layup that was boarded by the Suns. Nash got the ball and was pushing it up the court when he ran into a brick wall, named Robert Horry. Horry was given a Flagrant 2 and ejected from the game. I fully suspect him to be in street clothes on Wednesday.
The big question is Amare Stoudemire. When the players on the court started in on each other after the hit, Stoudemire is clearly caught on tape leaving the bench. His defense is that in the late moments of the game, with 5 fouls, he was in an offensive-defensive substitution situation and was just running to the scorers table t9o check in. I am not sure why, but I believe him and don’t expect him to sit out Wednesday.
The Spurs losing Horry, while a big deal, would be nothing compared to the Suns losing a First Team All NBA player. If the suspensions happen as I see them, Suns will win Game 5 in Phoenix to take a 3-2 series lead.
In the other game last night, LeBron scored 30 and Eric Snow’s D on the last possession disrupted Vince Carter enough to squirt the ball out of Vince’s hands and the series, seemingly out of the Nets reach.
==MLB Round Up==
Dice K gets his first MLB Complete Game against Detroit. This comes a day after Tigers skipper Jim Leyland calls out the hype of Dice K Mania.
Slow day today,
- SEO, TEO
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Playoff. DRAMA
WOW! How much drama could you have in one NBA Playoff game… in Utah?
Last night will be forever remembered in Utah for the point gaurds. All three PGs on the Utah roster brought their own drama and intrigue to an unbelievable game.
In chronological order of intrigue, first you had Dee Brown. The Illini alumni was involved in a freak accident where Mehmet Okur fell on Brown and virtually crushed his spine. Anyone who say Brown “walk” off the court, saw a man that was visibly shaken. Good news is that reports are that X-rays were negative and Brown will be fine.
Next you had Derek Fisher. Fisher missed the first game of the series to be with his daughter in NY. When the game began Fisher was nowhere to be seen and even heading out of the locker room after halftime, Fisher wasn’t anywhere. Come the middle of the third quarter the TV cameras started following Fisher dressed in street clothes to the locker room. Five minutes later Fisher was on the floor. Thought he only ended up with 5 points (on 1-1 from 3 and 2-2 FTs) Fisher was an inspiration to the crowd and his team. Though it is not listed in the box score in today’s paper, besides his 5 points, 1 reb and 3 assists, Fisher also got 2000 air miles last night.
Lastly you had Deron Williams, Brown’s Illini teammate and 2005 3rd overall pick. When this guy was selected by the Jazz that high, I thought they were out of their mind. But Williams has hushed every critic this postseason. Last night, with less than three seconds on the clock, Williams hit a runner to tie the score at 113 and send the game into overtime. TV commentator Reggie Miller kept saying, “At home you go for the tie, on the road you shoot the 3 for the win.” Was he ever right, Williams’ runner sent the game into an extra frame and that was all she wrote for the Warriors, who managed only 4 points in overtime, compared to 14 for the Jazz, leading to a 127-117 Jazz victory and 2-0 series lead.
This series is turning out to be a classic. Two really close games. Home team winning both. Lots of intrigue. Going into the series I saw this as the least entertaining of the 4, but I was wrong.
==MLB Wrapup==
BoSox manager Terry Francona stepped in to quiet his players down on the Bonds topic. This comes after consecutive days of Big Papi and Schilling commenting publicly on the Bonds steroid issue (although with conflicting interpretations). Good job Terry. No need for this type of distraction.
Last on this, but Monday night, Rickey Henderson, sitting in the stands at AT&T Park caught a foul ball AND REFUSED TO GIVE IT TO A KID saying he has always wanted to catch a foul bal. For a guy that probably caught 10,000 fly balls in his 25 years, what is going on? He used this story as a platform to announce that he wants to return to the majors, and will listen to any offer. This just adds another layer to Henderson’s already hilarious resume (Joh Olerud, $1M check, Gwynn)
In non-sports related news, Austin City Limits Festival lineup was announced. My bachelor party will be EPIC.
- SEO, TEO
Last night will be forever remembered in Utah for the point gaurds. All three PGs on the Utah roster brought their own drama and intrigue to an unbelievable game.
In chronological order of intrigue, first you had Dee Brown. The Illini alumni was involved in a freak accident where Mehmet Okur fell on Brown and virtually crushed his spine. Anyone who say Brown “walk” off the court, saw a man that was visibly shaken. Good news is that reports are that X-rays were negative and Brown will be fine.
Next you had Derek Fisher. Fisher missed the first game of the series to be with his daughter in NY. When the game began Fisher was nowhere to be seen and even heading out of the locker room after halftime, Fisher wasn’t anywhere. Come the middle of the third quarter the TV cameras started following Fisher dressed in street clothes to the locker room. Five minutes later Fisher was on the floor. Thought he only ended up with 5 points (on 1-1 from 3 and 2-2 FTs) Fisher was an inspiration to the crowd and his team. Though it is not listed in the box score in today’s paper, besides his 5 points, 1 reb and 3 assists, Fisher also got 2000 air miles last night.
Lastly you had Deron Williams, Brown’s Illini teammate and 2005 3rd overall pick. When this guy was selected by the Jazz that high, I thought they were out of their mind. But Williams has hushed every critic this postseason. Last night, with less than three seconds on the clock, Williams hit a runner to tie the score at 113 and send the game into overtime. TV commentator Reggie Miller kept saying, “At home you go for the tie, on the road you shoot the 3 for the win.” Was he ever right, Williams’ runner sent the game into an extra frame and that was all she wrote for the Warriors, who managed only 4 points in overtime, compared to 14 for the Jazz, leading to a 127-117 Jazz victory and 2-0 series lead.
This series is turning out to be a classic. Two really close games. Home team winning both. Lots of intrigue. Going into the series I saw this as the least entertaining of the 4, but I was wrong.
==MLB Wrapup==
BoSox manager Terry Francona stepped in to quiet his players down on the Bonds topic. This comes after consecutive days of Big Papi and Schilling commenting publicly on the Bonds steroid issue (although with conflicting interpretations). Good job Terry. No need for this type of distraction.
Last on this, but Monday night, Rickey Henderson, sitting in the stands at AT&T Park caught a foul ball AND REFUSED TO GIVE IT TO A KID saying he has always wanted to catch a foul bal. For a guy that probably caught 10,000 fly balls in his 25 years, what is going on? He used this story as a platform to announce that he wants to return to the majors, and will listen to any offer. This just adds another layer to Henderson’s already hilarious resume (Joh Olerud, $1M check, Gwynn)
In non-sports related news, Austin City Limits Festival lineup was announced. My bachelor party will be EPIC.
- SEO, TEO
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Band-Aids for All
The NBA Playoffs are heating up. Anchored by the Spurs-Suns last night, the 2006-2007 NBA is finally becoming Fantastic once again after a sub-par regular season.
In the nightcap, the top two teams in the West again faced each other in Phoenix. I had said earlier that if the scores were in the 80 the Spurs would win, if the scores were in the 100s the Suns would win. I didn’t mean in the same game, obviously, but that is how the scores fell. Suns won 101-81 behind 27 pts from Amare and 16 dimes from Nash.
An interesting thing happened in Phoenix though, and that was the presence of the nose band-aids in tribute to Nash’s gash in game one. It reminded me of two phenomena’s from the 80s. First was Lakers fan wearing the Kurt Rambis glasses to all the games. You would see the entire home crowd, including all the Hollywood elite, donning thick framed, black glasses during the Lakers Show Time era.
In 1985 you also had Jim McMahon and the headband craze. Spurred on by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle’s fine of McMahon for wearing an adidas headband, McMahon came out the next week and sported “Rozelle” Sharpied onto this headband. Again the home faithful caught on and headband sales reached an all time high (I could only assume). There were also copycat headbands around, such as Ohio State donning them in support of fired head coach Earl Bruce during the 1988 Michigan game.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Suns faithful keep the band-aid thing going when the series returns to Phoenix for game 5 on May 16.
In the other game, LeBron’s 36 pts and 12 dimes paced the Cavs. The game was tied going into the 4th quarter, but there was too much Cavs for the Nets to keep up with. Jason Kidd narrowly missed yet another triple-double with 17/10/8.
What really gets me about this series, though, is that patch of hair below Drew Gooden’s headband. WHAT IS THAT DREW? Did the barber miss a spot? Seriously. Shave that off!
==Chasing The Record==
The guy in San Fran moved one step closer to the all-time record with his 745 blast of his career. The big news that came out on this day regarding his HR hitting was from Curt Schilling’s weekly radio show in Beantown. Schilling said “He admitted to cheating on his wife, cheating on his taxes, and cheating on the game, so I think the reaction around the league, the game, being what it is, in the case of what people think. Hank Aaron not being there.” He then went on to say he wouldn’t give Bonds a pitch to hit if the record was on the line in June when the Giants played in Fenway.
In other record news, Matt Capps pitched 2 scoreless innings in a non-Holds appearance and is still stuck on 10.
Til tomorrow
- SEO, TEO
In the nightcap, the top two teams in the West again faced each other in Phoenix. I had said earlier that if the scores were in the 80 the Spurs would win, if the scores were in the 100s the Suns would win. I didn’t mean in the same game, obviously, but that is how the scores fell. Suns won 101-81 behind 27 pts from Amare and 16 dimes from Nash.
An interesting thing happened in Phoenix though, and that was the presence of the nose band-aids in tribute to Nash’s gash in game one. It reminded me of two phenomena’s from the 80s. First was Lakers fan wearing the Kurt Rambis glasses to all the games. You would see the entire home crowd, including all the Hollywood elite, donning thick framed, black glasses during the Lakers Show Time era.
In 1985 you also had Jim McMahon and the headband craze. Spurred on by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle’s fine of McMahon for wearing an adidas headband, McMahon came out the next week and sported “Rozelle” Sharpied onto this headband. Again the home faithful caught on and headband sales reached an all time high (I could only assume). There were also copycat headbands around, such as Ohio State donning them in support of fired head coach Earl Bruce during the 1988 Michigan game.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Suns faithful keep the band-aid thing going when the series returns to Phoenix for game 5 on May 16.
In the other game, LeBron’s 36 pts and 12 dimes paced the Cavs. The game was tied going into the 4th quarter, but there was too much Cavs for the Nets to keep up with. Jason Kidd narrowly missed yet another triple-double with 17/10/8.
What really gets me about this series, though, is that patch of hair below Drew Gooden’s headband. WHAT IS THAT DREW? Did the barber miss a spot? Seriously. Shave that off!
==Chasing The Record==
The guy in San Fran moved one step closer to the all-time record with his 745 blast of his career. The big news that came out on this day regarding his HR hitting was from Curt Schilling’s weekly radio show in Beantown. Schilling said “He admitted to cheating on his wife, cheating on his taxes, and cheating on the game, so I think the reaction around the league, the game, being what it is, in the case of what people think. Hank Aaron not being there.” He then went on to say he wouldn’t give Bonds a pitch to hit if the record was on the line in June when the Giants played in Fenway.
In other record news, Matt Capps pitched 2 scoreless innings in a non-Holds appearance and is still stuck on 10.
Til tomorrow
- SEO, TEO
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
NBA Playoffs
The Utah Jazz won a close game 1 in Salt Lake City last night behind another strong performance by Carlos Boozer 35 pts, 14 reb. Golden State and the Jazz traded blows late in the game until Stephen Jackson’s potential game winning 3 ended up hitting the front of the rim with less than 10 seconds to play. Matt Harpring secured the rebound and the Jazz the victory.
This does not swat me away from my original 4-1 series victory for the Warriors, it just makes it a little more difficult to attain. As I stated before, the biggest factor in the series is the play of Boozer, who showed last night that his size, strength and speed will create awkward match-ups for the smaller, faster Warriors. I still feel the Warriors will win it, but have expanded the series to Warriors in 6.
In the other match-up of the night, the Pistons again dominated the Bulls, bring home a 108-87 victory. The Pistons are up 2-0 heading to Chicago and look unstoppable. In the first two games the Pistons have oursscored the Bulls 203-156, but as we all know the NBA’s winds can change at anytime. I am still sticking by my original pick of Pistons in 6.
Game Two tonight between the Suns and Spurs. A MUST WATCH
==MLB Wrap Up==
In the biggest news of the day for baseball David Ortiz was quoted as saying he didn’t think Bonds used steroids to help him hit all those long balls. All that does is make me wonder if Big Papi is just trying to validate the use of Roids.
==Capps Watch==
Matt Capps, in his pursuit of the single-season Holds record, has been suspended 4 games for his hit of the Fresh Prince (Fielder) of Bel Aire.
Quiet day for a Monday.
- SEO, TEO
This does not swat me away from my original 4-1 series victory for the Warriors, it just makes it a little more difficult to attain. As I stated before, the biggest factor in the series is the play of Boozer, who showed last night that his size, strength and speed will create awkward match-ups for the smaller, faster Warriors. I still feel the Warriors will win it, but have expanded the series to Warriors in 6.
In the other match-up of the night, the Pistons again dominated the Bulls, bring home a 108-87 victory. The Pistons are up 2-0 heading to Chicago and look unstoppable. In the first two games the Pistons have oursscored the Bulls 203-156, but as we all know the NBA’s winds can change at anytime. I am still sticking by my original pick of Pistons in 6.
Game Two tonight between the Suns and Spurs. A MUST WATCH
==MLB Wrap Up==
In the biggest news of the day for baseball David Ortiz was quoted as saying he didn’t think Bonds used steroids to help him hit all those long balls. All that does is make me wonder if Big Papi is just trying to validate the use of Roids.
==Capps Watch==
Matt Capps, in his pursuit of the single-season Holds record, has been suspended 4 games for his hit of the Fresh Prince (Fielder) of Bel Aire.
Quiet day for a Monday.
- SEO, TEO
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