So Much Things to Say Right Now
The immortal words of Bob Marley who was clearly talking about the best/worst game 7 in the history of NBA game 7s. While at the same time the Big 12 is either plotting something really big, or just may be the most arrogant sons of bitches on the face of the earth. Sprinkle in some World Cup, US Open, and just one hell of a great France story.
Either way, this has been a long time coming so hold on...
Repeat
I've allowed myself ample time to digest this and so I'm ready for this. First and foremost, I still have absolutely no idea how the Lakers won that game. None at all. Kobe sucked, Gasol sucked for 3/4 of the game, Odom pulling and Odom, and Bynum was limited to about 12 minutes yet again. Couple that with about 7% field goal percentage and Rondo sniffing a triple-double and you've got an 8-10 point Celtic win. I can only imagine how sick this made Celtic fan (and I kind of like it) - I was sick to my stomach for what were quite possibly the most grueling 3 quarters of basketball I've seen since the Pistons/Spurs championship (remember that? naaa, you don't remember it). Seriously, the Celts are going to have a hard time getting over that one - they had control over the game for all but the last five minutes.
And then came Ron Artest. Alright, let me just remind everyone that I was all about this trade when it happened. I was very excited and I knew this was an upgrade at the small forward position. Tell me what Durant does? What Richardson does? What Pierce does....with Trevor Ariza guarding them. I'll tell you, they are putting up at least 7-8 more points per game. Additionally, I said coming into this series that I was taking Boston in 6 with the caveat that if Lakers won, it would take seven games and be because of Ron Artest. He CARRIED this team throughout the entire game. No shit. I wouldn't say that if I didn't truly believe it. Fisher hit a big 3 with about four minutes to play, but Artest's was with a minute to play. He had 20 points with 10 in each half. He had five steals. FIVE STEALS IN A GAME 7!
As ugly as that game was, Artest and Rondo quietly put on shows that went seemingly unnoticed in the sleeper hold that was this game. I don't even want to get into the Laker free throw shooting so I won't....horrible.
What can I say, winning ugly is still winning. Kobe gets another notch in his cap, Artest gets his ring, Gasol takes the next step in proving he's a top 5 player in the league, and Fisher....does he have like 19 rings now? Tough, tough year/playoffs - all of them said it, this was the toughest by far. And we can believe it. What a turnaround from two years ago. I will take it.
What next for Boston....
I think this is likely the end of the reign of the Big 3 in Bean Town. Let it be known that this gamble more than paid off. Big time. All signs point to Doc Rivers heading out, and they've got some guys on the free agent list this summer - Ray Allen, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson, Sheldon Williams, etc. - Paul Pierce has a player option, but he'll make easily over 20 million if he stays and I'm betting he's a lifer. And sounds like Sheed will be retiring.
Still, they've got Perkins, KG, Pierce and Rondo - that's a solid core. They still have Davis, but I'm pretty sure he's a slower, fatter, less athletic Lamar Odom...only worse. Nonetheless, he gives solid minutes for Perkins. They'll still compete, but after seeing them just completely run out of gas was noticeable. This team is well built for the playoffs and not well built for regular season. And they'll still be in the thick of the playoffs next year, but they need to either re-sign some guys, but I'd suggest getting younger and you need to find a service-able replacement for Ray Allen.
What next for Los Angeles...
The Lakers are certainly primed to maintain their place at or near the top of the Western Conference. Most of their free agents are players who got little to no time - Adam Morrison (restricted...he's gone), DJ Mbenga, Josh Powell and Shannon Browne. I do love me some Shannon Browne and hope they keep him around. Aside from this, Farmar (restricted) and Fisher are free agents and they certainly need to shore that up as those are your point guards. I think they need to look at point guard longer term - Fisher is like Kareem, you just keep waiting on him to break down and he doesn't. I like Farmar, but I don't love him. I don't know, I'll take it I guess.
Hopefully Kobe skips the World event this summer and just gets his surgery and rests/heals...but I somehow doubt it. My concern? Bynum. I like him and you can clearly see he's getting better. Hell, he's closer to 7'1" than he is to 7' and he's like 285 pounds. That's a big body to have in the paint - and he I he's only 22 or 23. BUT, I just don't know if he's ever going to play a complete season. I know he's young, but at some point, you have to wonder how long this is going to continue. I've mentioned the Chris Bosh rumor - not sure if this is real or not (or even possible), but I'd still consider it. Either way, I like how this team looks going into the next 2-4 years. And one thing Kupcheck has done is earn our trust/respect.
Big Twel-aaaaaIIII mean Ten
So I'm surprised I wasn't more worked up about this - the heat of the NBA finals was a nice distraction. But now that I've had time to digest it, let me reiterate that I sure as hell hope something is up because this is not an optimal outcome, that's for sure.
First and foremost, for those of you who think this is no big deal because Colorado and Nebraska weren't "that good". Let me remind you that Nebraska has won 20% of the last twenty national titles. You can go back further than that and look at how dominant this program has been. The fans are loyal, travel well and quite honestly, are pretty good fans. People still want to go to Nebraska...a lot of them. Make no mistake Big 12 fans, this was a big loss. They may not have been as good in the last 4-6 years, but who doesn't think they're back on the right track?
So I'm pretty sure this isn't entirely over because of two things: 1) conferences need twelve teams to qualify for a championship game, and 2) guess who has the rights to a few of those games over the coming years? Jerry Jones. You think he's just going to let this go without a fight? Billionaires don't just do that. It's not secret that Texas was calling the shots here and the Big 12 commissioner did a hell of a job piecing this 11th hour save together, but I'm still kind of scratching my head. It's all about money, but are they really going to make as much money? I don't know, but will be interesting. Rumor has it that there may be some discussions going on with Arkansas to join the conference which would leave a nee for yet one more team. TCU? Tulsa? Could it be...Notre Dame? Not going there just yet.
Who knows what will happen, but I do know this, I think this first phase was as much to feel everyone/everything out and I just have to believe the powers that be in the Big 12 will not be content to be a lesser conference. And make no mistake, if things stand as they are, the Big 12 is a much weaker conference.
Oh, and by the way, I'm not buying for one second that the SEC was actually interested in extending an offer to A&M. Really? The SEC with their billion-dollar contract and top billings and preferences was going to add just one more team and that team was the Aggies? Say it out loud and tell me you still believe it. And Aggie fan, did you want this? Other than money and TV revenue, what does that get the Aggies? Better recruiting? Where? Look, the Aggies haven't gotten out of the 8-4 (9-3 at best) over the last several years and this was in the Big 12. What, you're going to go play LSU, Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas EVERY YEAR and turn things around? I wasn't there, I know nothing about this, but I do know that no matter how many people say they read this or that on some douche bags' twitter feed because "they work in the athletic department", I'm not buying for one second that this was close to happening.
Finally, nice move by the Pac 10. Not only did they get themselves a conference championship game, they upgraded. Utah and Colorado are nice additions - not Texas, OU and the band of gypsies good, but good nonetheless. What Texas fan didn't want to see Oregon, Arizona, USC, Cal, etc. on the schedule each year? We'll see what happens, but if the Big 12 can pull some crazy, off the way coup here before too long, would be really sweet.
World Cup
Man, you know, I'm really trying to give this a shot and it's sooooooo boring. I watched the entire US vs England game and have caught other matches on and off. It makes me crazy that it can end in a tie. Just can't get beyond that. Couple that with the officiating and other general shenanigans that break out at Soccer games and you've lost me.
This girl at work used to live in Italy and big time soccer fan - she knows I know nothing about these players/teams (I asked her if Pele was still playing), but I bet her $5 that the England/Algeria game would end in a tie. "You're an idiot, England will kill them." So bet me I responded. Guess who's got $5. I'm keeping it rolling through rest of this group play nonsense. Ending in a tie....my goodness. Even hockey has figured it out.
My favorite part of this World Cup you ask? France. Yes, my second favorite country, France. Are you sitting down? The team quit....at practice.....they just quit. The French soccer team quit....AT PRACTICE. They all just quit and left and are some sort of....what? I have no idea. I heard this and thought, "yeah, that sounds about right."
US Open
Who?
Non-Sports Thoughts of the Week
Ok, so here's where I take out my hypocrite hat - I've been fighting and fighting this twitter madness for a while, but I've been convinced to give it a shot. I'm going to be setting up an account soon and once I figure it out (and yes, I realize that all 3 of you reading this probably have it figured out) I'll let you know
In the meantime, here's what I need from you all - if you have people you follow who you think I would like to follow, please let me know. I will not scour the....whatever it is to find people and I sure as hell ain't following Ashton Kucher. So I'm counting on you as you are the only ones I trust - as the little hologram of Princess Leah said, help us obeiwon, you're our only hope. Not terribly relevant, but when you feel a Star Wars reference coming, it's best to let it out.
One more random note - can we please stop following the BP CEO around and documenting his every move. This may shock some of you, but I don't care if he was on a yacht recently. I really don't. Tell me, what's going to happen if he doesn't go on the yacht? Will the well cap itself? Is the entire solution to all of this centering around if this asshole goes on a vacation or not? Doubtful. Let's take it easy folks.
I hope there's a guy somewhere, maybe a General or something, who has a plan in a drawer somewhere on how to "deal" with the drug cartels. I'm thinking this guy looks a lot like Powers Booth.
Either way, this has been a long time coming so hold on...
Repeat
I've allowed myself ample time to digest this and so I'm ready for this. First and foremost, I still have absolutely no idea how the Lakers won that game. None at all. Kobe sucked, Gasol sucked for 3/4 of the game, Odom pulling and Odom, and Bynum was limited to about 12 minutes yet again. Couple that with about 7% field goal percentage and Rondo sniffing a triple-double and you've got an 8-10 point Celtic win. I can only imagine how sick this made Celtic fan (and I kind of like it) - I was sick to my stomach for what were quite possibly the most grueling 3 quarters of basketball I've seen since the Pistons/Spurs championship (remember that? naaa, you don't remember it). Seriously, the Celts are going to have a hard time getting over that one - they had control over the game for all but the last five minutes.
And then came Ron Artest. Alright, let me just remind everyone that I was all about this trade when it happened. I was very excited and I knew this was an upgrade at the small forward position. Tell me what Durant does? What Richardson does? What Pierce does....with Trevor Ariza guarding them. I'll tell you, they are putting up at least 7-8 more points per game. Additionally, I said coming into this series that I was taking Boston in 6 with the caveat that if Lakers won, it would take seven games and be because of Ron Artest. He CARRIED this team throughout the entire game. No shit. I wouldn't say that if I didn't truly believe it. Fisher hit a big 3 with about four minutes to play, but Artest's was with a minute to play. He had 20 points with 10 in each half. He had five steals. FIVE STEALS IN A GAME 7!
As ugly as that game was, Artest and Rondo quietly put on shows that went seemingly unnoticed in the sleeper hold that was this game. I don't even want to get into the Laker free throw shooting so I won't....horrible.
What can I say, winning ugly is still winning. Kobe gets another notch in his cap, Artest gets his ring, Gasol takes the next step in proving he's a top 5 player in the league, and Fisher....does he have like 19 rings now? Tough, tough year/playoffs - all of them said it, this was the toughest by far. And we can believe it. What a turnaround from two years ago. I will take it.
What next for Boston....
I think this is likely the end of the reign of the Big 3 in Bean Town. Let it be known that this gamble more than paid off. Big time. All signs point to Doc Rivers heading out, and they've got some guys on the free agent list this summer - Ray Allen, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson, Sheldon Williams, etc. - Paul Pierce has a player option, but he'll make easily over 20 million if he stays and I'm betting he's a lifer. And sounds like Sheed will be retiring.
Still, they've got Perkins, KG, Pierce and Rondo - that's a solid core. They still have Davis, but I'm pretty sure he's a slower, fatter, less athletic Lamar Odom...only worse. Nonetheless, he gives solid minutes for Perkins. They'll still compete, but after seeing them just completely run out of gas was noticeable. This team is well built for the playoffs and not well built for regular season. And they'll still be in the thick of the playoffs next year, but they need to either re-sign some guys, but I'd suggest getting younger and you need to find a service-able replacement for Ray Allen.
What next for Los Angeles...
The Lakers are certainly primed to maintain their place at or near the top of the Western Conference. Most of their free agents are players who got little to no time - Adam Morrison (restricted...he's gone), DJ Mbenga, Josh Powell and Shannon Browne. I do love me some Shannon Browne and hope they keep him around. Aside from this, Farmar (restricted) and Fisher are free agents and they certainly need to shore that up as those are your point guards. I think they need to look at point guard longer term - Fisher is like Kareem, you just keep waiting on him to break down and he doesn't. I like Farmar, but I don't love him. I don't know, I'll take it I guess.
Hopefully Kobe skips the World event this summer and just gets his surgery and rests/heals...but I somehow doubt it. My concern? Bynum. I like him and you can clearly see he's getting better. Hell, he's closer to 7'1" than he is to 7' and he's like 285 pounds. That's a big body to have in the paint - and he I he's only 22 or 23. BUT, I just don't know if he's ever going to play a complete season. I know he's young, but at some point, you have to wonder how long this is going to continue. I've mentioned the Chris Bosh rumor - not sure if this is real or not (or even possible), but I'd still consider it. Either way, I like how this team looks going into the next 2-4 years. And one thing Kupcheck has done is earn our trust/respect.
Big Twel-aaaaaIIII mean Ten
So I'm surprised I wasn't more worked up about this - the heat of the NBA finals was a nice distraction. But now that I've had time to digest it, let me reiterate that I sure as hell hope something is up because this is not an optimal outcome, that's for sure.
First and foremost, for those of you who think this is no big deal because Colorado and Nebraska weren't "that good". Let me remind you that Nebraska has won 20% of the last twenty national titles. You can go back further than that and look at how dominant this program has been. The fans are loyal, travel well and quite honestly, are pretty good fans. People still want to go to Nebraska...a lot of them. Make no mistake Big 12 fans, this was a big loss. They may not have been as good in the last 4-6 years, but who doesn't think they're back on the right track?
So I'm pretty sure this isn't entirely over because of two things: 1) conferences need twelve teams to qualify for a championship game, and 2) guess who has the rights to a few of those games over the coming years? Jerry Jones. You think he's just going to let this go without a fight? Billionaires don't just do that. It's not secret that Texas was calling the shots here and the Big 12 commissioner did a hell of a job piecing this 11th hour save together, but I'm still kind of scratching my head. It's all about money, but are they really going to make as much money? I don't know, but will be interesting. Rumor has it that there may be some discussions going on with Arkansas to join the conference which would leave a nee for yet one more team. TCU? Tulsa? Could it be...Notre Dame? Not going there just yet.
Who knows what will happen, but I do know this, I think this first phase was as much to feel everyone/everything out and I just have to believe the powers that be in the Big 12 will not be content to be a lesser conference. And make no mistake, if things stand as they are, the Big 12 is a much weaker conference.
Oh, and by the way, I'm not buying for one second that the SEC was actually interested in extending an offer to A&M. Really? The SEC with their billion-dollar contract and top billings and preferences was going to add just one more team and that team was the Aggies? Say it out loud and tell me you still believe it. And Aggie fan, did you want this? Other than money and TV revenue, what does that get the Aggies? Better recruiting? Where? Look, the Aggies haven't gotten out of the 8-4 (9-3 at best) over the last several years and this was in the Big 12. What, you're going to go play LSU, Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas EVERY YEAR and turn things around? I wasn't there, I know nothing about this, but I do know that no matter how many people say they read this or that on some douche bags' twitter feed because "they work in the athletic department", I'm not buying for one second that this was close to happening.
Finally, nice move by the Pac 10. Not only did they get themselves a conference championship game, they upgraded. Utah and Colorado are nice additions - not Texas, OU and the band of gypsies good, but good nonetheless. What Texas fan didn't want to see Oregon, Arizona, USC, Cal, etc. on the schedule each year? We'll see what happens, but if the Big 12 can pull some crazy, off the way coup here before too long, would be really sweet.
World Cup
Man, you know, I'm really trying to give this a shot and it's sooooooo boring. I watched the entire US vs England game and have caught other matches on and off. It makes me crazy that it can end in a tie. Just can't get beyond that. Couple that with the officiating and other general shenanigans that break out at Soccer games and you've lost me.
This girl at work used to live in Italy and big time soccer fan - she knows I know nothing about these players/teams (I asked her if Pele was still playing), but I bet her $5 that the England/Algeria game would end in a tie. "You're an idiot, England will kill them." So bet me I responded. Guess who's got $5. I'm keeping it rolling through rest of this group play nonsense. Ending in a tie....my goodness. Even hockey has figured it out.
My favorite part of this World Cup you ask? France. Yes, my second favorite country, France. Are you sitting down? The team quit....at practice.....they just quit. The French soccer team quit....AT PRACTICE. They all just quit and left and are some sort of....what? I have no idea. I heard this and thought, "yeah, that sounds about right."
US Open
Who?
Non-Sports Thoughts of the Week
Ok, so here's where I take out my hypocrite hat - I've been fighting and fighting this twitter madness for a while, but I've been convinced to give it a shot. I'm going to be setting up an account soon and once I figure it out (and yes, I realize that all 3 of you reading this probably have it figured out) I'll let you know
In the meantime, here's what I need from you all - if you have people you follow who you think I would like to follow, please let me know. I will not scour the....whatever it is to find people and I sure as hell ain't following Ashton Kucher. So I'm counting on you as you are the only ones I trust - as the little hologram of Princess Leah said, help us obeiwon, you're our only hope. Not terribly relevant, but when you feel a Star Wars reference coming, it's best to let it out.
One more random note - can we please stop following the BP CEO around and documenting his every move. This may shock some of you, but I don't care if he was on a yacht recently. I really don't. Tell me, what's going to happen if he doesn't go on the yacht? Will the well cap itself? Is the entire solution to all of this centering around if this asshole goes on a vacation or not? Doubtful. Let's take it easy folks.
I hope there's a guy somewhere, maybe a General or something, who has a plan in a drawer somewhere on how to "deal" with the drug cartels. I'm thinking this guy looks a lot like Powers Booth.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 10:16 PM
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