LINKBAWL: 3/31/08

• Cuzoogle putting together the best ankle busters in the NBA.

• The final four is set! No not that final four.

• Blazer's Edge held down an interview with Blazers assistant coach Monty Williams.

• The Association is not a fan of the Lakers' training staff.

• NBA fans are getting ejected these days. This is actually pretty damn funny.

• Mike Bibby is suing a former NBA player in an attempt to get one of his cars back. Come on Mike, just pay the bill!

• Shaq's new chick?

• Celtic's Blog with 5 reasons to follow the run to the east playoffs.

• Andruw Jones on his new Jordan baseball shoes. (Basketball themed of course)

• Michael Jordan looking at a Jupiter Island home?

• Str8 Hoops with his Star and Goat of the week.

• Kevin Garnett down on all fours? Some defense says Red's Army.

• Matt from Blog a Bull wondering why he is still watching the Bulls this season.
  

NBA Article Reflecting: Episode 1

Article 1: LaMarcus Aldridge as the NBA’s most improved player.

The first article today hit home as a Blazers fan and avid Aldridge supporter. The idea of LMA winning this award should come as no surprise to anyone with any sort of basketball IQ. The Blazers could still be considered the front runners for “Story of the Year” even with a sort of dismal second half. They have endured a few sore spots since the break including a possible season ending injury to team savior, Brandon Roy followed by a nationally known trip to 24 Hour Fitness by heralded rookie Greg Oden.

The one bright spot however has been Aldridge. Hitting the 20 point mark in 9 games since the All-Star break should give this second year player the edge over some of the competition. Are Hedo Turkoglu and Beno Udrih really worthy of such an award? Who the hell is Beno anyway?

Article 2: The art of the NBA nap.

Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune threw out my favorite article in quite some time yesterday on NBA players and their ritual naps. It is very interesting to think that players are so superstitious these days that missing a nap can be the sole reason for a horrible game. Many of the players in this article admit that around the league, naptime is a well known activity.

I have to admit that during my short basketball career, I found it difficult to sleep before a game. I was always afraid I would be groggy and lack enough energy to perform at a high level. According to this article, that seems to be the exact opposite feeling for most NBA players and sleep experts. Maybe I should have slept a little more and you would have been writing this blog about me!

The funniest part of the article has to be Caron Butler and the bad decision he made by rooming next to Gilbert Arenas on the road during the playoffs. Up until 3 am dribbling? That doesn’t surprise me at all with Agent Zero.

Article 3: 5 coaches on the NBA hot seat.

Travis Heath of Hoopsworld put together a list of the coaches he could see without a job, come this spring. Here are my predictions to his 5 worthy candidates.

Sam Vincent: He’ll get one more year. I’m going to give MJ a little more credit with the idea that he wasn’t expecting immediate results. Expect Vincent for one more year and then he’ll be gone-sers.

Isiah Thomas: Not leaving either. With Donnie Walsh on his way over, he’ll let Thomas squirm through one more season before pulling the plug. I would expect to see some legitimate moves for the Knicks come this off season.

Avery Johnson: They miss the playoffs and he’s done. Too much personality for him to co-exist with Mark Cuban.

Marc Iavaroni: Who are the Memphis Grizzlies again? Oh, that team! Yeah he’s fired.

Larry Krystkowiak: Pretty sure he’s done. Some major changes are taking place with the Bucks including an exit of all Larry’s.

Article 4: Ford Field for the Final Four?

Some mixed reviews from the Elite 8 at Ford Field. After watching these games, you definitely noticed a lack of crowd participation or energy. The place is just too damn big for a basketball game.

Did you see the guys in the upper decks? Did they actually sell those tickets or were they just foolish enough to want to sit up there? How about the poor guy from the article talking about his “sweet” seats in the end zone that turned out to be duds? What about the raised floor? And the depth perception being thrown off for the players? Too many questions and not that many answers from Detroit.

I’m sure the NCAA will take a look at some of the complaints and one can only hope they aren’t just concentrating on the attendance numbers. 50,000+ may seem like a great number for a college basketball game, but I’m guessing most fans would rather sit in Cameron Indoor than watch Brandon Rush break his neck falling from the 3 foot raised court through binoculars.

5 Reasons that Four #1's is Great

For the first time in NCAA tournament history we have all 4 number 1 seeds making the Final Four. I couldn’t be more excited about this and this will surely be a championship to remember for years to come. Three of the four teams are from a big time conference and one for an aspiring conference; how can you ask for more? Here are the top 5 reasons that having all four #1’s is the best thing for the tourney (and my life).

1. We don’t have to hear that bulls%&t talk about “re-seeding the Final Four.”

How annoying is that year after year after year? Every time the Final Four rolls around, Dick Vitale opens his ridiculous mouth and starts jabbering about having to re-seed the entire Final Four to make it more competitive. And from there, someone argues that maybe we should re-seed in the Elite 8, and so on down the entire tourney. It takes on a life of its own and I absolutely cannot stand it. A giant “Thank you” to Kansas, North Carolina, Memphis and UCLA for saving me, at least for this year.

2. You can finally assume that the Seletion Committee got it right!

The four top seeds making the Final Four? Thank you Selection Committee! Whoo hoo! Now please, shut up Arizona State, Jim Boeheim, and Bob Knight. We do not need 128 teams in this tournament EVER. Do you really think that extended the tournament will make it any more enjoyable or relevant? Why make the entire regular season any more meaningless than it already is?

3. Thank god for no Cinderella ruining a competitive Final Four.

That’s right people, I completely hate Cinderella teams! Not only do they ruin my damn bracket, but they ruin the Final Four. Was George Mason really a fantastic story? I think not. Do I really want to see a top tier team with superstars, get bounced by a lucky one-time shot from a wannabe football player like Jai Lewis only to get trounced on the biggest college basketball stage of the year? Davidson might have been a great story with the young rich kid dropping Kevin Martin-esque ugly 3’s, but a matchup with the #1 seed in the Final Four would have been embarrassing. Plus, they also would have ruined my #1 and #2 reasons.

4. Possible William Wesley chatter!

With the program that William Wesley built dominating the world the last 2 rounds, maybe it will inspire another TrueHoop post from our man Henry! Worldwide Wes has been known as a major factor in the recruiting process for Memphis and as you can see, the guy has an eye for talent. He could be considered THE reason that Derrick Rose joined the Tigers rather than with Eric Gordon up at Indiana. Come on Henry, give us some more “Wes Love.”

5. Your office pool just got dominated by some tool.

You can start hanging your head now “college basketball bracket pro”! The guy that picked all high or #1 seeds just cashed in on your supposed brilliance. All that bragging about West Virginia and Gonzaga in the finals really sounds “brilliant” now doesn’t it? Who's the tool here?

Friday Deep Basketball Thoughts

Greg Oden and the 24 Hour Fitness Debacle

An injured Oden decided with his team out of town that it would be ok to head on down to the local 24 Hour Fitness last night and tear up some local kids in a pickup game? I actually laughed a little out loud when I heard this and a few people gave me the “umm….weird guy!” look. I don’t really need to go into how absurd this idea of his was because it really speaks for itself here.

What really makes me laugh is the fact that he went into a public facility to play a pickup game of basketball and actually thought no one would find out? Maybe this is one of the reasons David Stern would like to extend that college rule to 2 years? The guy signs multi-million dollar contracts with who knows how many companies, hasn’t played a single game yet, but thinks it is ok to play an unauthorized pick up game with some local folk?

Come on Greg! At least you didn’t have the fro-hawk when Nate McMillan called to destroy your ego and make you feel like the 19 year old that you are.

This Nate McMillan quote is classic though: “We called him and we told him he can't do that," coach Nate McMillan said Friday. Right, I’m sure that’s how it went down Nate Mac.



The Return of Nene

A pretty remarkable thing happened last night when Nene of the Nuggets chalked up a whoppin’ 1 minute in a game against the Mavs. That’s right, 1 minute! Of course the playing time is not really the point here. Nene returned last night after having a tumor removed from his lower “man area.” While many thought we’d never see him again, he actually worked hard to enough to prove those wrong.

I’m actually pretty surprised, well am I? The guy has been Mr. Injury over the last few seasons and always manages to return. I guess maybe it shouldn’t be all that surprising now that I think about.

George Karl said it perfectly before tip-off, “It's not about how he plays.”

NBA Europe Time?

“10 years,” says Sternie. I’m trying to figure out if this is a great move or a move I don’t really care about. 10 years is way too far away for me to be laying that much strain on my brain.

If you were unfortunate (or lucky) enough to be a part of one of the European expansion teams, you’d be traveling like a bread salesman (which is really bad, and an inside joke). It would seem like an OK deal to be living in Europe, but what if you were drafted and thought that living in France would be as irritating as calling french fries, freedom fries? Your family is in the states, your friends are in the states and you are 19 and on an airplane for 8 straight months.

Hmmm. At least the teams still in the US get to take nice paid vacations to Europe every year?

The Best Sports Blogs

In case you may be interested, we are running the top 50 sports blogs over at The Sports Dollar. The ranking system is almost identical to our top 25 NBA basketball blogs.

LINKBAWL: 3/27/08

• Andrew Bogut truly is a clown.

• Hardwood Paroxysm running an interview with the NBDL's president. Great read.

• The McDonald's High School All-American game was last night and everyone has been in love with Brandon Jenning's House Party-esque hair. So ill.

• Kwame Brown the party animal.

• Kobe hit his league leading 15th techie last night. What's the deal Kobester? First Colorado, then the tats, now technical machine?

• Carolyn of And One with a running Cavs game blog from last night.

• The top 10 most popular jerseys! No real surprises here?

• David West the 17-foot assassin.

• Top 10 Shaq criticisms about the Miami Heat. Is it just me or has Shaq's banter just become childish and annoying? Enough already big man.
  

• Yes it's true, Brandon Roy is possibly out for 2 weeks or the rest of the season. I was at the game and it was a pretty nasty fall. He actually attempted to come back but just couldn't do it. Was still a great year my little Blazers!

• The Basketball Jones wants to know if you are a homer?

• Stop Mike Lupica on the end of the New York Knicks legacy and the continued mess that stays.
  

Blazers vs. Wizards: Gut Rot!

I usually am not into putting up recaps or stories from games I've attended but I had so much fun doing my NCAA running tourney blog that I thought I would do some more!

This is not necessarily a running blog, but it is a "Life of Kellex" sort of blog. I hope you all don't mind?

We were at the Blazers vs. Wizards the other night here in Portland and found ourselves in awe of what the Blazers were doing. Aldridge was out with an ankle issue and Brandon Roy went down early with a nasty groin injury that will keep him out at least 2 weeks.

The Blazers though, without their two stars, tore the hell out of Washington and the game was never really close. Martell Webster had a hell of a night and was unconscious most of the time. Travis Outlaw had himself a night too and James Jones was killing it as usual from deep.

What an atmosphere the Rose Garden has become again!

And if someone can find me video of 'Blaze' the mascot dropping cake all over some grandma's face, I will love you forever.

True fan!

Is this what court-side money gets you? A seat next to Mr. Kiwi?


Top view before the game. I still love this scoreboard every time I see it. Thank you Paul Allen for being a huge nerd and making millions!

Blaze owning up some fan with silly string. (Blaze is pretty much the worst mascot in the history of the game, but when he goes all air blown and puffy, it's worth watching.)


Oh lord, what are we thinking?

Oh my, what the hell was I thinking?

See not even close...thanks Wizards for making that road trip!

Loving Portland right now with Blazer mania. You can really feel the buzz starting to come back and everyone is so freakin' excited for next year.

Thanks for letting me share my adventures!

LINKBAWL: 3/26/08

• A very sad Chris Webber fan. I'll have to admit, it is a sad day for basketball. This guy was a tremendous player in college and on through the NBA.

• If you play fantasy basketball like I do, you better read this. In my opinion, the only way to play the game.

• Just when I thought Shaq had grown up a bit, he fires back at Pat Riley. The comment about Ricky Davis and Chris Quinn was pretty damn funny though wasn't it?

• Obama can save the NBA?

• New Carnvial of the NBA! Not sure why I didn't participate...oh yeah! The NCAA tourney was happening!

• A comparison of the careers of Penny and Webber. Not comparable to me.

• Kobe more important than valuable?

• Yes this is Magic Johnson and no it is not photoshopped.
  

NBA "Feel Test" Rankings

Rather than breaking down stats and turning Hollinger-esque on everyone I decided to put together my "feel test" rankings for the NBA. The "feel test" method involves simply, how I feel about each team and what kind of feelings they are giving off down this home stretch to the playoffs.

Do they feel streaky? Do they feel rock solid? Do they feel over-hyped? Do they feel too soft to make a deep run? Do they feel like last year's Mavericks? Lets find out...


Boston Celtics - Rank: 5

Do the Celtics feel like champions? Sorry Boston fans, but I'm going to say "no." They may be running over the west this year but I just don't get that strong sense of dominance that I get from the Lakers, Suns and Spurs. Maybe my feelings need a good jolt or a wake up call, but this just doesn't seem to be their year. I'm afraid they'll start to break down in the next couple of weeks and KG will be left trying to carry the load yet again. That is never a good thing, just go ask Minnesota.


Utah Jazz - Rank: 4

As much as this hurts me to say, the Utah Jazz feel reeeeeeeal good this year. They have been flying under the radar all season long which makes absolutely no sense after reaching the conference Finals just a year ago. The "Deron Williams Love Fest" ended sometime early on when CP3 showed up as the next great thing and joined Team Jordan. Deron, however, strikes me as the type of guy to take things like that personal and will look forward to dominating come playoff time. And don't forget the Alaskan King Crab, Carlos Boozer!


Detroit Pistons - Rank: 3

If I was playing out west, I would be really frightened at the thought of having to play the Detroit Pistons for an NBA Championship. Chauncey Billups said the other day that the Pistons are finally playing like a "team" and they feel like everything is falling into place. Don't you just feel it too? The thought of the Pistons claiming another championship seems quite possible this year.

L.A. Lakers - Rank: 2

Kobe Bryant winning an MVP? Yes. The Lakers winning an NBA Championship without Shaq? Maybe. I get the the feeling that the Lakers have what it takes to win it all, but there is just one problem, the return of western Diesel. Yes the Lakers made the right move in acquiring Gasol and yes they'll be absolutely dominant if Bynum joins the show, but I just don't feel like this is the year.


Phoenix Suns - Rank: 1

That's right! Phoenix is giving me all kinds of loveable feelings! I made this prediction a while ago when the Shaq trade had just gone down and I'm starting to feel pretty good about it. Steve Nash has been letting his teammates grow and learn to play without him directing each play and Shaq has turned into a young version of himself. He can run again! We just need a few more Aristotle quotes to really get this lovetrain moving. Phoenix, this is your year! Feel it!

LINKBAWL: 3/24/08

Back to the NBA!

• The Sports Dollar has an article up called "The Sports Blogger's Guide to BallHype" and it seems to be pissing some people off. 6 down votes, eek.

• Round 9 of the Bloger MVP and Roy rankings are out!

• Bad day in Dallas.

• Oh Tony Parker, I could have told you this was a train wreck waiting to happen!

• One on one with my buddy Carolyn!

• The Suns finally relying less on Steve Nash? They are looking damn good these days. Shaq said to give them time!

• 3 Shades of Blue throws out an interview with the Nugg Doctor.

• Bob Costas still running into the blog world. This time it's a good thing though!

• Sure enough, Brent Barry is a Spur again. Surprised? No.

• I didn't know Dime was running a 1 on 1 tourney?

• These poor SuperSonics fans.

• Greg Oden and shopping! We really are in love with this guy aren't we?

• Thank you Cuzoogle.
  

Friday: Running Tourney Blog

Late start today with Barack Obama being in town!

If you missed yesterday's post, check it out here. It is filled with fun photos of the Portland life.

Opening Session:

Just got to the 'Tortoise' for round 2 and the Mirror Pond is flowing. I actually found the perfect seat with 4 plasmas surrounding me in this neat little wooden booth that I can just lounge back in. I missed most of the first session action with the bus ride downtown but I'm already disappointed in the 5 minute update I just received.

Gonzaga is dropping to frickin' Davidson and Drake is about to go down to Western Kentucky of all teams. Drake in the Elite 8? Probably not a wise choice was it? Tennessee decided to turn it on which is good with them being my runner up to UCLA once it's all said and done. It does look like St. Mary's won't pull the upset over Miami and that may hurt a little.

*Update*

Drake is turning it on and pulled within 1. Come on boys of Drake! Not even sure what the mascot is, damn mid-majors (The Bulldogs).

Oh boy! 3 pointer with 25 seconds to play from Drake to tie followed by a horrible charging call against Western Kentucky. Drake holding for the final shot...a missed layup...OVERTIME.

Somebody tell me why Western Kentucky would foul when the game is tied with 30 seconds left? I'm not a coach by any means, but what the hell? OH, he missed one and then Kyle Korver's brother fouls out putting WK to the line. This would be huge for Western Kentucky and absolutely horrible for my bracket. Only 21.3 to play and Drake ball, down one...OMG BUZZER BEATER BY WKU! Wooooo the first of the tourney!

Second Session:

It's on for the second session! Every game looks to be goin as planned with UConn just getting underway. This session of games shouldn't pose any problems to all of you bracketologists.

I just ate myself away for the day with a 'Tortoise Shell' burger which is a 1/2 pounder topped with a fried egg, ham, bacon and the works. Damn was it good, but damn is my gut going to hurt within the hour.

Ok, second session update doesn't have much with most of the games being blowouts. We do have the optimal setup for watching every game and I'll post a picture in a minute. The one good game is UConn down early second half to USD (University of Spoiled Daughters). If UConn loses, it shouldn't upset too many brackets as you ought to be slapping yourself if you had them going any distance this year.

Ok they lost. I'd be glad I wasn't playing in Tampa this year if I was any other high seed. That's 2 overtimes and 2 losses for high seeds down in Florida.

Picture time!

The setup.

The busted bracket. See all of those scratch marks?

Session Three:

This should be the blockbuster of the day once again. We'll be surrounded by Oregon fans any time now and this place will be rocking!


Passing the time in between sessions.


Here is me showing my Duck love without truly being an Oregon fan.

My Oregon fan-dom shoes did not hold it down and they blew yet another lead. How about Mississippi State? Solid performance from them to take out a Duck team that didn't deserve to be here.

Oklahoma and St. Joe's was a good game with Oklahoma holding it tight at the end. Another wrong pick by Kellex! I did have Oregon going down, but don't let everyone in this bar know that.

How about Sienna? The performance of the tournament so far belongs to them. Vandy is the same team that dropped #1 Tennessee two days after they had taken down undefeated Memphis, remember? Congrats to the mid-major!

The rest of the evening session is going to plan as long as Dr. Eric Gordon takes over against the Razorbacks. Ok, he didn't and Indiana is out and Dakich is likely out as coach. It was fun watching Gordon for his one college year, he'll be a solid pro.

After watching today's games, I really feel bad for anyone that has to play in Tampa ever again. Two 12's and two 13's run through Tampa? That place is cursed for 4 and 5 seeds!

Overall Recap:

It was a fabulous 2 days in Portland and I'm glad Ken and I did our thing. We consumed a ton of beer and a bunch of greasy, gut rotting food but it was totally worth it. I hope you all enjoyed a little tour of my fine city with some random bar hopping blogging and photo fun! The rest of the weekend will be taken in on my couch in basketball shorts and the bag of lettuce in my fridge will be force fed down my throat to clear them arteries.

Thanks for tuning in to the running 2 day tourney blog. I'll have the last of the pictures up tomorrow; I'm just too tired to do it tonight.

Our 2 day stomping ground.

The girl picking me up in Le Basketmobile.

Back to the NBA grind, peace.

Thursday: Running Tourney Blog

It's on! I thought about taking the hiatus but when you are blogging from downtown Portland, while bar hopping to catch every game, how can you not put all those crazy thoughts down?

The day begins...


Opening Session:

The day started with a full on, overload of caffeine, from a Vitamin Energy courtesy of Vitamin Water. Citrus is the best by the way! And then to a Portland fixture known as the Cheerful Tortoise to watch the opening game which just so happened to be Portland St. vs. #1 Kansas.

In case you didn't know, the Cheerful Tortoise is right on the Portland St. campus and was packed! Blood Mary's, Mirror Ponds, and the $7.50 New York Steak breakfast are a no brainer. What a start to the day, and then PSU got crushed by the Jayhawks.

There was one good game in the opening session with Xavier and Georgia that came down to the last few minutes. Xavier looked to be the first top seed to drop and then somehow turned it on late and ran over Georgia. Let's hope this second session lives up to some historical NCAA hype.

The highlight of the morning had to be the sales rep that picked up the first bill. Thanks Jason for giving us all a reason to not hate on the sales profession!


Second Session:

A bunch of blowouts again. Not too many updates, but I do have some pictures from the bar change! And, my bracket is absolutely perfect until USC loses this next session.

Picture time! Third session update tonight.

Portland streetcar, our transportation.

Mean streetcar folk.

Coffee and rain, the Portland standard.

Powell's book store. If you come to Portland, you better make your stop here.

Ken and I on the way over. (Word.)

The journey continues.


Third Session:

I am now ruined because of USC! I was actually dumb enough to put them all the way into the Elite 8. Don't ask. The other game I lost on the day was BYU dropping tight one to Texas A&M but that doesn't worry me since they'll be getting crushed by UCLA on Saturday. This session was by far the best of the day. What about Duke almost going down?

The first day was definitely a success which ended with a screening of a friend's documentary at a local theater. The documentary could actually make it to the Toronto Film Festival which would be amazing!

Long day, but a ton of fun. Ken and I will be back at it tomorrow morning! Well, after he hangs out with Barack Obama for a bit.

NCAA Tourney Hiatus!

Don't worry! I'll just be disappearing for 2 days on my journey into the realm of NCAA land. I'll hopefully be able to post at night, but I might just want to pass out the minute I get home. New posts to come soon!

In the meantime, check out Le Basketbawl's list of the Top 25 NBA Basketball Blogs! Or make sure your entries have made it into our little game we like to call Guess that NBA "OH" Face! Week 1 and week 2.

LINKBAWL: 3/18/08

• Le Basketbawl would like to introduce The Sports Dollar. We have been secretly working on a blog that is dedicated to helping sports blogs make money. We've listed tips and tricks that will cater to sports blogs by using regular money making blogs and tweaking them to the sports world. It is obviously in the beginning stages and doesn't have much as of yet, but feel free to check it out.

• Bob Costas called into Deadspin yesterday to clarify the statements he had made about bloggers. He definitely didn't back down which gave me reason to understand why he is so damn pimp.
  

• Empty the Bench on the Timberwolves owner dissing the hell out of Kevin Garnett. Who is this guy kidding? He actually has the balls to rip the guy that made his franchise relevant for the last 10+ years?

• Steroids aren't just in baseball and football people. Billiards has jumped on the list! Hah!

• The Basketball Jones on what is going on with those World Champions?

• Allen Iverson makes his return to Philly! This ought to be a great night for Sixers fans. They are winning again without A.I. and then he returns in a must win game for the Nuggets. Woo!

• Basketbawful's worst of the night for 3/18.

• Just a couple of nights removed from scoring 168 points, the Nuggets give up 136 and lose to the Pistons.

• The NBA went all out for St. Patty's day and Ball Don't Lie is worried, kind of.

• I hope Rudy Fernandez is just acting like he isn't think about the Portland Trail Blazers. You are just kidding right Rudy?

• Celtic's Blog runs through a Q&A with The Dream Shake.

• Cuzoogle running an NBA dance war! I love ending with NBA dance teams.
  

For Blazer Honk, Next Year will be Fabulous!

While running this general NBA basketball blog I’ve tried to remain as objective as possible through most articles but feel it is time to finally write my own little Blazer honk post. Of course I love to hack on Kobe and you also will rarely see a Spurs post on here unless it has something to do with Tony Parker’s annoying wife, but other than that it stays fairly flat across the board. I’m actually hoping that most of you had no idea that I was Blazers fan!

Today marked the real beginning for the Portland Trail Blazers. You may be asking “Why now Kellex?” My answer is simple, “Darius Miles is gone son!”

Kevin Pritchard acknowledged today that Darius Miles will be sent off to an independent doctor to be evaluated. The hope, is that the doctor will look at his knee and say “Yep! That’s career ending my boy ‘D’!” At that point, Darius will collect his remaining $18 million and be on his way to another strip club. That $18 million will then be removed from the Blazers cap and they can sign LeBron! (Ok too far there.) They can sign a real 3 point threat and get rid of Martell Webster!

There is one small issue with Miles and that lies in the possibility of him returning to another NBA franchise. If that were the case and he managed to play 10 games for this new team, then the $18 million would count against the Blazers. However I can assure you that will never happen. The “Jail Blazer” days will officially be over with.

And then, Portland gets Oden back! Greg Oden went down with season ending micro-fracture surgery last summer and was already caught on camera dunking the hell out of people just last week. Watching him throw down brought a smile to my face that would make Oden’s FroHawk envy. Not that this year has been anything short of amazing, but imagining the possibilities of Oden, Aldridge and current NBA All-star Brandon Roy playing together is wonderful.

The fact that Oden will be playing his first year next year may actually be better than him playing this year. (Did that make any sense?) This year allowed Brandon Roy to blossom into an All-star in only his second season while Aldridge racked in enough playing time to really put together a solid game. He could win the NBA’s most improved player! These two will come into next year as NBA veterans who have been through a playoff race which included the return of an electrified crowd at their home court, the Rose Garden. Roy and Aldridge can handle the pressure while Oden takes a while to adjust to playing at this level. Plus, Oden had an entire year to watch and learn from the best in the world with fantastic courtside seats!

But wait, there’s more! They’ll have Rudy Fernandez (Unless he flakes?) and hopefully Jarrett Jack, Martell Webster and Raef LaFrentz will all go away. The Blazers will have to make moves with the amount of players they’ll have after the draft and that will most likely mean some solid role players for once! It should be another exciting off season for Portland and who knows, if they miss the playoffs they may get lucky enough for another #1 pick! (Setting my hopes high, you see.)

I’ll continue to hope for a strong finish and a possible push for that ultra-competitive 8th playoff spot, but what I’ll really be thinking about is opening tip, next year.

Why hasn't Beasley been handed Player of the Year yet?

Someone seriously give me a good reason why Michael Beasley is not a sure thing to win the NCAA Basketball Player of the Year award. Is Tyler Hansbrough your answer? Are you kidding me? That Mark Madsen look-a-like?

Are we simply rewarding players now because they stay longer in college? Are we rewarding players because they play at a school with Dick Vitale’s jock smothered all over it? Are we rewarding players because they play “the right way”? I'm so disappointed.

Kevin Durant was hands down the Player of the Year last year while averaging 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Beasley is putting averages of 26.5 points and 12.4 rebounds per game! Those numbers alone should speak for themselves, shouldn’t they? Oh and I forgot to mention he’s eclipsed the 40 point plateau 3 times this year while breaking Carmelo Anthony's record for double doubles in a season.

Tyler Hansbrough-Madsen has had a solid year, don’t get me wrong. But when you look at the performances Michael Beasley has put together how can you discredit anything he has done? Is it because he ran his mouth a few times? One thing I’ll say is that he guaranteed a win against Kansas and actually lived up to it. When was the last time that happened in any sport on any level?

Hansbrough is surrounded by North Carolina talent while Beasley is stuck in Manhattan, KS with a broken down Bill Walker. Rather than rewarding a guy who has the best players in the country playing with him, why don’t we look at the guy with no talent that has had to raise his game just to squeak out 20 wins for his school? Player of the Year awards should not be based on TV ratings or the extra kisses blown their way from ESPN. They should be based on how damn good the player actually is no matter where they lace ‘em up.

If you sit there at your little desk and say to yourself, “I wonder who will have the more successful basketball career?” What is your answer?

Monday Deep Basketball Thoughts

David Stern Making College Basketball Better?

There has been chatter that David Stern may look to extend the stay of high school graduates to two years in college and really piss off those youngsters looking to make millions by their 19th birthday. I definitely have some mixed feelings on this idea which would not go into effect until at least 2011.

My biggest issue is the fact that by taking away 2 years from these kids, you are also potentially taking away a lot of money that may not be available 2 years from now. Injuries and poor performance in a system that may not fit the player’s style could have a negative effect. Most college programs are not built with an NBA offense and many of the top college basketball players do not translate into good pros. If a kid coming out of high school has a ton of hype around his potential, he may risk losing that hype by sticking around the college ranks for 2 years.

Of course if a player DOES stay in college, they tend to turn into a more mature player which could, in the long run, help out an NBA career. The college game also sees a return with the fact that the game is so much more entertaining to watch with older, more mature players. Tyler Hansbrough may not become an NBA All-Star, but he should has made college basketball fun to watch again hasn’t he?

The 1 year program was a great idea from the NBA, but I’m just not so sure that taking away another year’s worth of earnings from someone is a logical step. Maybe it’s about time we pay college athletes?


Are the Houston Rockets Legit?

“No.”

Tracy McGrady and his loveable Houston Rockets have been quite the story and I have enjoyed watching their miraculous run as much as the next fan. I’m just not so sure this will continue on come playoff time.

It’s like a “feel” test with the Rockets. When you sit back objectively, do you really feel like they are a championship contender? No Yao Ming and a leader who has never been out of the first round of the playoffs do not say much to me.

They have some nice role players, but do they have role players like Derek Fisher or Bruce Bowen who have been there and done that and won championships? Has Rick Adelman really proven himself as an elite coach over the last 10 years? Are we positive Rafer Alston won’t be “skipping” into jail anytime soon? Is Luis Scola’s hair really prettier than Mike Miller’s? I keep answering “no” to all of these questions.


The NCAA Tourney is Life?

“Yes.”

I’m actually PTO’ing Thursday and Friday to pounce onto a bar stool with 10+ HD TV’s blasting in every ear on my bubbly little head! Oh the tourney! It will be one long weekend that’s for sure. I’m even skipping St. Patty’s tonight to prepare for the long haul that is awaiting.

Thursday’s Itinerary:

• Bus to local Portland State bar to join buddy and act as a loyal fan. (Look at me being responsible in 2 ways!)
• Bloody Mary & chicken-fried steak for breakfast to lather up Mr. Gut.
• Pitchers of Mirror Pond Pale Ale until lunch.
• Streetcar to local “yuppie bar” for lunch to escape “college drunk guy bar.”
• Enjoy rest of day with pitchers of something Belgian or possibly gin and tonics. (We’ll see how Mr. Gut is holding up)
• Girlfriend leaves work and joins the fun.
• We order her a late afternoon Bloody Mary (her fav) and catch her up on the upsets and ridiculous buzzer beaters of the day. (We’ll probably be talking REALLY LOUD TOO at this point)
• I attempt to eat dinner. (Burger! Ok, probably salad so I don’t pass out in the booth)
• Ride home with GF and think about blogging. (Can you imagine what might come out of me?)
• Sleep. (Thanks IKEA!)
  

Friday’s Itinerary:

• (See Thursday)
  

  
  

  
  

Winning your Work NCAA Bracket Pool

Stop picking upsets! The bracketologists have done the work for you by seeding every single team. They know a lot more than you do remember? If you pick high seeds in almost every game, you’ll dominate. I’m sure all week you will hear the guy in the office next door bragging about Coppin State or Drake, but once the first weekend is over, he’ll already be out of the money. Sucker.

I Love Rumors 10!

• Bruce Bowen seems to be a little upset over his "dirty player" tag. Is he serious?

• Randolph Morris wants to remain a Knick! Wait, who is Randolph Morris again?

• Greg Oden's return to practice last week may not have been the first? Get out of town! Come on gullible people, of course he's been practicing.

• I'm starting to worry about the future of Gilbert Arenas! I actually predicted earlier that he would shut it down for the season in my Whacky Predictions for the Second Half but deep down I was hoping it wouldn't be true.

• NBDL headed to Eerie!
  

• I pointed out earlier that being a Sonics blogger isn't much fun this year, but I'm guessing that goes for Bucks bloggers as well.

• Could Mourning be making another return? I think it's time to hang 'em up Zo!

• Bad things happening in Los Angeles these days. Weren't we all so happy just days ago?

• The Nuggets could end up with the best record ever to not make the playoffs. And look at New Jersey, 10 games under .500! Chaaaaaaaanges! Ohhhhhh Chaaanges!

• Oh, and they just scored 168 points!
  

LINKBAWL: 3/17/08

• Sonics bloggers are not having much fun this year and it is pretty tough to come up with anything positive to say to them. Look forward to Beasely next year?
  

• Oh Tyson Chandler, you just got embarrassed.
  

• It looks like the Knicks should have joined a bowling league if they were looking for any sort of success this season.

• Nate McMillan captures career win number 300 as the Blazers roll over the lowly T-Wolves. The Blazers looked hot Saturday night and I actually started getting excited for next year!

• Nugg Doctor on a look back in time for 3/16.

• Bay Area Kicks with the Reebok Answer Low's and their new baseball series. These shoes really are a thing of beauty aren't they?

• Make sure to check out Talk Basket for your EuroBasket needs!

• Pistons Nation laying out some heat on the Pistons dominating performance over the Hornets yesterday. Damn these Pistons are starting to look reeeeeeal good!

• Yesterday was definitely a day for role players, namely Jarvis Hayes and Rafer Alston. Empty the Bench has the lowdown.

• Sactown Royalty's weekend footnotes.

• Double Viking with Bruce Bowen's 9 greatest hits. The sad thing is, there are probably 15 more to add to this list.

• Fast Break Blog wondering about Pat Riley's illnesses...a little mysterious are they?

• A reason to be a Celtics fan rather than a Lakers fan.
  

LINKBAWL: Weekend Edition

• Ball Don't Lie interviews a guy who's goal was to visit every single NBA arena this year, and he is on the verge of doing it. Check it out here!

• Sports Sayers on the rumor that David Stern will make high school ballers stay 2 years in college soon instead of just 1. 2011 maybe?

• Rip Hamilton, and one, to seal the deal against the reigning Champs.

• Did Vladimir Radmanovic just ruin the Lakers chance at that title?

• The Jazz are sooooooo underrated! They laid a whoopin' to the Celtics last night to end Boston's 10 game win streak. More here.
  

• Celtic's Blog chatting it up with Frank of Brew Hoop. I always love a little blog on blog love especially between Eastern rivals!

• Jones on the NBA against the Artest heckling. How good could he have been?
  

• 10 reasons that Kevin Johnson should become mayor of Sacramento.

• A little eye candy. Not all that related to basketball but Amare is in a picture!

• Deadspin changing some things up? Moderately Cerebral Bias caught a little hint.

• Slam Dunk Central on the rebirth of Boston as Hoopcentral USA!

• Of course I had to put something in here about Gisele and LeBron. Here you go!
  

7 Words to Describe an NBA Superstar

Within the last month, CBS ran a story about an author and his most recent book which describes the lives of people summed up into 6 words. The author held some sort of contest with the idea and eventually had celebrities jumping on the bandwagon to submit their own 6 word memoirs. I had actually started working on this post without knowledge of the book or the story but thought I should do my research on the topic incase something like this already existed (Don’t I sound brilliant? Pfft). Sure enough someone else had thought of it! “Oh well,” I thought to myself, and quickly moved on with it because I love hackin’ on our NBA superstars!

Feel free to write your own in the comment section. The possibilities are endless aren’t they?


Kobe Bryant – Greatest of era, this year’s MVP, maybe.

LeBron James – Greatest of next era, king, touched Gisele.

Steve Nash – Should have 4 MVP’s, lies about championships.

Tim Duncan – Greatest whiner, dresses bad, please stop winning.

Dwight Howard – Superman it is, Petway is a joke.

Kevin Garnett – Worst goatee, heart, is this the year?

Brandon Roy – Portland savior, too nice, need Oden’s help.

Tracy McGrady – Who needs a big Chinese guy anyway?

Yao Ming – Broken foot, “Yo!”, come back for Olympics.

Baron Davis – Master of beards, Maverick killer, movie time!

Dirk Nowitzki – Fake MVP, give it back to Nash.

Dwyane Wade – I got my championship, thank you Shaq.

Chris Bosh – Funny commercials, mini Predator,

Chris Paul – Pro bowler, rebuilding New Orleans, too good.

Carmelo Anthony – Cornrows, million dollar smile, married MTV’s LaLa.

Gilbert Arenas – Pro blogger

Vince Carter – Air Canada? Not in a long time.

Shaquille O’Neal – Aristotle, Kazaam, Steel, Neon, Shaq Fu, Diesel.

Allen Iverson - Will I ever get a new hairstyle?

Greg Oden – Fro-hawk was a classic, not Sam Bowie.