Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Game 6: Thunder vs. Spurs

12:00 a.m: And with this, I'm out. Nighty night.
11:43 p.m.: Even though I'm sure so many people are going to say how Durant should've been named MVP this year because of how he's a winner and yada yada yada.  Hey, guess what?  HE DIDN'T HIT A FIELD GOAL THE ENTIRE 4TH QUARTER.  Look it up.

11:41 p.m.: I can't imagine the NBA Finals being any more exciting the Western Conference Finals.  We can only hope and pray

11:39 p.m.: Spurs scored 34 in the 1st Quarter.  They scored 36 in the 2nd HALF.

11:37 p.m.: Craig Sager looking pretty solid tonight.  Talking with the modern day Robert Horry, Derek Fisher.

11:33 p.m.: Durant hugging Mama Durant on the sideline with time still left in the game.  I guess he's deserved it.  Wow.  These are the best 2 teams in the NBA in my opinion.  Looks like the Thunder are brinign an NBA Championship to OKC.  There's no way they lose in the Finals right??  No way.

11:32 p.m.: Wow.  Spurs with an awful lapse in defense and let Perk get an easy slam.  Then compound it by Manu taking a three like there was 2 seconds left in the game.  The game wasn't over!  But it is now...

11:30 p.m.: Parker feeling the pressure, and performing well under it.  2 pretty lay-ups.

11:24 p.m.: How many huge, clutch 3's has Harden hit in this series?  Dude's got ice in his veins.

11:16 p.m.: Harden sells that foul with the flop.  Probably was a foul, but he made it look way worse than it really was.  Flopping, it's getting to be a problem in the NBA.  Hey, Mr. Stern, do something about that. (Go to the "A Modest Proposal..." section of that link)

11:15 p.m.: Parker and Duncan have gone cold in the second half.  Pop, you've made Parker work way too hard on defense.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Spurs needed some more Danny Green in this game.  Could've definitely helped spell Parker on the defensive end.

11:14 p.m.: Bill Kennedy letting us know it definitely was not a shooting foul...

11:07 p.m.: Why the Thunder are now up three:


11:05 p.m.: I immediately thought of this after seeing the below tweet

11:00 p.m.: I really should be getting to bed, I've got work in the morning.  But I can't get away... Must watch...

10:57 p.m.: This series right here is why the NBA is far and away the best basketball in the world, and far and away the best to watch.  Sorry NCAA, you're fun and all, but THIS is basketball at its finest.

10:54 p.m.: Wow, furious comeback by OKC.  Closes the Spurs lead to 1 at the end of the 3rd Quarter.  This is quite possibly the best game of the playoffs.  Obviously this has been the best series so far as well.

10:52 p.m.: Tony Parker with the prettyyyyyy spin move into the lane for the finger-roll.  Gee willikers, that was nice.

10:50 p.m.: Gary Neal draws the charge on Perk.  Hate that call.  You know Neal was going to go for the charge the entire time.  I don't like it.  Let them play.  I wish Perk could've thrown it down over Neal and just stared him down while walking back up the court.

10:49 p.m.: After being down by 15 at the half, the Thunder are now up 2 with a minute and 23 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

10:46 p.m.: In comes the barrage of tweets about Stephen Jackson having his way out there...

10:42 p.m.: Stephen Jackson with some words for Mo Cheeks and gets a technical for it.  C'mon Joey Crawford, you're killing me. It's the effing playoffs, let it go.



10:40 p.m.: I missed something, where was that foul on Westbrook.  Joey Crawford, no one likes you.

10:38 p.m: Oooooo Timmy still has it.  Got a step on the defender and threw it down over Ibaka!  He's gotta be a cyborg, and his decreased roll for the Spurs is just a way of convincing us otherwise.

10:32 p.m.: Popovich is ripping Splitter a new one.  Spurs lead has shrunk to 8 following the Thunder's 9-2 run.

10:30 p.m.: Perkins with no touch whatsoever around the basket.  With Perk and Ibaka in the line-up, it's like the Thunder are playing 3 vs. 5 on offense.  (Yes I know, Ibaka just got that and-1.)

10:28 p.m.: Timmy passes up his trademark 17-footer and passes to Ginobili for a contested three.  I don't know if that was the shot they were looking for.

10:26 p.m.: Marv Albert definitely has had botox before right?  His cheeks don't budge when he talks.

10:12 p.m.: Chuck still thinks the Thunder are going to win.  Sounded real confident.  15 points is a big deficit versus San Antonio.  It's like a 23 point deficit against other teams.

10:11 p.m.: I LOL'd. Ernie killing that gingerbread man.  Who choses a gingerbread man as a snack anyways?


10:05 p.m.: Parker flails and gets the foul call.  Give him 2 more points.  21 points and 10 assists for Parker, in the first half! Ridiculous.  Spurs leading by 15 at the half.  The Spurs can't keep clicking that well on offense, right??

10:02 p.m.: Hahaha what in the world was Timmy thinking with that floater? Ibaka should've tried to control that block if you ask me...

9:59 p.m.: I think Ibaka is now 0 for 3 from that spot tonight.  Guess he's not gonna have that 11-11 night like a few games ago.

9:54 p.m.: 4 for 4 now.  Feeling it.


9:53 p.m.: Stephen Jackson just camping out at the 3-point line and finally gets the ball.  And he nails it.   Captain Jack is 3 for 3 from downtown.  Can't be said enough how good of a job that Popovich has done coaching up Jackson.  Dude was a nightmare for Milwaukee earlier this year.

9:49 p.m.: Spurs are 7 for 12 from behind the arc. Wowzers.

-Music to Gregg Popvich's ears


9:35 p.m.: "Well, they haven't shot the ball well, and we have." - Gregg Popovich.  Good, in-depth analysis of that 1st quarter.

9:34 p.m.: Can't wait for the Popovich interview.  Possibly the best part of the series... Maybe?

9:32 p.m.: End of the 1st Quarter and the Spurs are up 14.  Feels like a lot more.  Spurs are shooting 61% from the floor.

9:27 p.m.: Good help defense from Durant on the pick-and-roll, but the Spurs are executing Pop's offense perfectly.  The three's are raining in OKC.

9:19 p.m.: Perimeter defense for Thunder is horrendous right now.  CORRECTION:Thunder defense period looks horrendous.  Parker looking like a monster for the Spurs.  One man show.  He's got 14 of the Spurs' 25 points and has 5 assists already.

9:11 p.m.: Spurs up 15-8 at the first break of the night.  Thunder struggling with turnovers early.  Tony Parker showing why he finished top 5 in the voting for the MVP this year.

9:09 p.m.: OHHHHH BOYYYY! No one shows on that screen for Westbrook, and he takes advantage by going boom time all over Kawhi Leonard.

9:06 p.m.: Quick start for the Spurs as they go up 5-0.  Good pick-and-roll defense from the Thunder on that first possession, but Manu nails a three.

8:58 p.m.: So I'm going to try a running blog of the NBA game tonight.  It's definitely going to be a new and fun experience. I'll try to throw in a few of my favorite Tweets throughout the night.  Stay tuned for my first attempt at live blogging!


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Sunday, June 3, 2012

A Hero is Born



Mark Titus has been writing for one of my favorite sites, Grantland.com, for about a year now, and he's definitely become one of my favorite writers on the site.  He started out with a blog right here on blogspot called "Club Trillion." He's a former walk-on for the Ohio State basketball team, and he's hilarious. Check out this quality video of his from his days at Ohio State:


Today, I picked up his new book, Don't Put Me In, Coach, at my local Barnes and Noble (now that I look at the price on Amazon, I'm strongly considering taking this back and buying it online).

I'm just 2 chapters in, but it's already great.  Just reading the quotes on the back cover made me want to buy it ("Mark Titus knows a lot of personal secrets of mine.  If he revealed any of them in this book, I will kick him right in the testicles.  I'm not joking" -Greg Oden).

I'll let you know my final thoughts on the book when I finish it, but in the meantime, here's a quality read from my new boy, and possibly new hero, Mark Titus.

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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Rich Cho and the Fate of the Worst Team in the NBA

Going into last night, I wasn't all that confident that the Bobcats were going to win the NBA Lottery.  After all, the last team to have the league's worst record in the previous season and win the lottery was the Orlando Magic all they way back in 2004 (when they selected in front of the expansion Bobcats, selected Dwight Howard, and subsequently sent the Bobcats down a long and terrible road for 8 years).  Not to mention, the NBA Lottery is rigged.  So, needless to say, I didn't think the Bobcats were gonna win the Anthony Davis sweepstakes.

So when the New Orleans Hornets (a team owned by the NBA since 2010) won the lottery last night, the  fate of the Bobcats was lost in all of the cries of "conspiracy!!"  The Bobcats now face a pivotal point in the history of the franchise.  By receiving the second pick in the 2012 draft, the lose out on the only (according to almost everyone) sure-fire franchise player in this draft, Anthony Davis.  The Bobcats now have to make a pick that basically NEEDS to be a foundation for the future of the team.  They have zero guys to build around on it's current roster, so this pick needs to go a long way.  Next year's draft most likely won't be one of the stronger drafts in recent history (actually it might be one of the worst in recent memory), so that make's this 2012 pick absolutely critical.  Is that pick Thomas Robinson? Michael Kidd-Gilchrist? Bradley Beal? Andre Drummond?  The pick better not be Harrison Barnes, aka The Black Falcon.

Whoever it is, it's a big choice.  All of these choices are gambles.  Robinson is a tad undersized for the PF position in the NBA, and he seems to like playing out on the perimeter a little too much.  Kidd-Gilchrist is a bit of a tweener, and doesn't have a great jump shot, but you know you're getting a hard-nosed winner.  Beal is a little skinny, but Chad Ford has said that he's "Eric Gordon meets Ray Allen."  Drummond has all of the upside in the world and has been called a bigger Amare Stoudemire, but he has been accused of lacking effort at times and disappearing for long stretches.

So, all of these guys have question marks, but the question that I and the other 2,000 Bobcats fans are wondering is whether or not Rich Cho, General Manager of the Bobcats, can make a great pick, and hopefully change the trajectory of this franchise.  This is one of the biggest picks in the short history of the team.  A bust could lead this team into several more years of being a terrible team.  So no pressure Rich, but we're all counting on you.



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Monday, April 30, 2012

Beard Playoffs

It's always bothered me that I can't grow a beard.  Not that I would necessarily grow one, but it would just be nice to know that I had the ability to grow it.  At best, my facial hair can be described as "patchy," and that's definitely a stretch.  My twin brother Josh can grow a decent beard.  It's full below the chin and decently full on his face.  But hey, I'm not hating, I'm jealous.

The NBA playoffs started on Saturday and one can't help but notice the tremendous facial hair that is being grown by today's NBA stars.  So in celebration of the start of the NBA Playoffs, and in celebration of facial hair, I have decided to combine the two.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you the Facial Hair Playoffs.

Round 1




Our first matchup is between probable Sixth Man of the Year James Harden and Los Angeles Laker Big Man Andrew Bynum.  Harden has one of the finest and largest beards in the NBA.  It's definitely a source of pride for the Oklahoma City fan base.  Bynum recently sprouted this fresh new goatee, probably at the request of Kobe, in hopes that this will be bring greater maturity for the big man for the playoffs.


Edge: Harden






Our next matchup puts #2 seed Reggie Evans versus #3 seeded Agent Zero.  With Reggie Evan's track record of being a great teammate, and Arenas, well, not being a great teammate to say the least, Evans gets the lean.  Plus I'd take that illustrious beard of Evans's over Arenas's goatee any day.









Edge: Evans







#4 Seed Mike Miller is clearly over-matched here.  His patchy scruff is no match for this behemoth of a beard/neard that #1 seeded O.J. Mayo has going on.  This thing rivals Donovan McNabb in his hey-day.



Edge: Mayo





Tough matchup here between Stan's mustache and Tyson's scraggly beard.  Chandler's beard has brought increased toughness and intensity to New York this season.  But Stan's mustache...Wow.  It's a thing of beauty.  It's got 70's porn star written all over it.  It rivals Burt Reynold's famous 'stache.  If Stan can win a title before his time in the NBA is over, it might go down in history as one of the greatest mustache's to ever grace our presence.




Edge: Van Gundy






#4 seeded Hedo is in a tough spot against the Birdman.  Hedo's facial hair is extremely scraggly and he can only manage a neard.  While Birdman should probably be penalized for having a "FREEBIRD" tattoo on his neck, he keeps his dignity by trying to cover it with this beard.




Edge: Andersen



While #2 seed Turiaf has a tremendous face of hair, you've gotta admire Woodson's goatee.  It's a picture of perfection.  Full, and well groomed.  I'm extremely jealous.






Edge: Woodson



#4 seeded J.J. has a beard that I would strive for.  But that doesn't amount to much.  Its patchy and scraggly.  While Davis may be well past his prime, his beard most certainly is not.  The beard is still alive and well in New York.












Edge: Davis


Paul's beard is your prototypical chin-strap beard. It's a picture of perfection.  But Gasol's beard is what every man strives for with a beard.  It gives him power and makes him appear to be a lumberjack.  This beard is intimidation.






Edge: Gasol





Round 2




#1 James Harden vs. #2 Reggie Evans
Tougher match up here, but you still gotta give it to Harden.  You could hide a family of birds in this thing.






Edge: Harden


#1 O.J. Mayo vs. #3 Stan Van Gundy
Mayo is trying to attain Baron Davis status with his beard, but he's just not quite there yet.  Van Gundy on the other hand is the standard for mustaches.







Edge: Van Gundy


#1 Chris "Birdman" Andersen vs. #3 Mike Woodson
Birdman is a great comeback success story, but Woodson's goatee is just too good.  Birdman looks like a meth dealer that has a lab in his trailer.  Woodson on the other hand keeps it classy with a well-groomed goatee.









Edge: Woodson




#1 Baron Davis vs. #2 Marc Gasol
Davis's beard is classic.  But Marc Gasol cannot be stopped.  He is a man among boys with his beard.  See picture -------->








Edge: Gasol




Round 3


#1 James Harden vs. #3 Stan Van Gundy
While Van Gundy's mustache may be a legendary 'stache, it's also a tad on the creepy side.  Look at this picture.  He looks like a registered sex-offender.  Harden, however, has a beard that just makes him look jolly.  Stan's run stops here just because of how he looks like a middle school gym teacher in this picture.












Edge: Harden

#3 Mike Woodson vs. #2 Marc Gasol
While Woodson's goatee may be well-groomed, it's the all-natural, mountain-man look that Gasol has going that pushes him over the edge.  That beard is just plain intimidating.  It will lead Memphis deep into the playoffs.  And remember, Grizzly Adams did have a beard.








Edge: Gasol




The Finals


#1 James Harden vs. #2 Marc Gasol
Harden was destined to win this championship.  You knew it, and I knew it.  Look at the respect his beard holds around the league.  Baron Davis, the king of the beard bows in respect of his once young padawan.  While Gasol has a powerful beard, Harden is the obvious choice.  Game, set, match.









Winner: James Harden




*Unfortunately for everyone, Lebron James and Gregg Popovich shaved their beards prior to the start of the playoffs, so they didn't make the list.
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Saturday, April 28, 2012

The Amendment


If nothing else, click the link at the bottom and watch the interview with the Reverend Sam Wells, the Dean of Duke Chapel.


I was raised in the "Bible Belt."  I go to church every Sunday.  I probably missed five Sundays over the last 5 years, if that many.  So I'm a stereotypical white male raised in the south.  But by voting against Amendment 1, I don't think as a Christian I'm being "un-Christian."  This is where I'm straying from that stereotypical, going to church, white boy raised in the Bible Belt.

In 8th grade I made a public profession of faith at a youth rally where Clayton King was speaking.  So that was where I made my own personal decision to follow Jesus Christ.  Obviously I haven't been perfect, but I've tried to be the best follower of Christ that I can be.

As a Christian, I believe homosexuality is a sin.  A big difference between it and other sins is that usually homosexuality is a "lifestyle."  While I may struggle with lying or another type of sin, homosexuality is usually embraced and not a sin that the person "struggles" with.  But no matter what you believe about homosexuality, I don't see how we as Christians can fight to legislate what we believe "marriage" is.  Yes, we as Christians believe marriage is a holy institution ordained by God, but since when have we forced the state to believe the same thing?  Basically any man and woman can go down to the courthouse and get hitched.  Do we require them to be Christians or to believe the same things about marriage?  No.

Some people say not passing this Amendment will ruin marriage.  How so?  The divorce rate is around 50%.  How will not passing this amendment "ruin" marriage?  By not passing this law, how will that change whether churches decide whether or not to perform gay marriages?  I just don't understand the logic behind this.  How can we as Christians tell the state what to do?  Wasn't this a nation founded by people fleeing persecution and founded on the principle of separation of church and state?

If this amendment forced churches to perform gay marriages then I would understand the logic.  But the fact is, the church is not the only institution that performs marriages.  How can we as Christians persecute and tell people how they should live and tell the state what they should do?  I just don't understand how this can be legal.

"You should not be in the business of trying to pass legislation to make people, who dont share your convictions, behave Christianly as you understand it, even though they've shown no desire to be Christians or to be the kind of Christians you are.  This is a nation founded on freedom and the separation of church and state." - Rev. Sam Wells


For the record I'll be voting against the marriage amendment.
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Friday, April 27, 2012

Best Albums of 2011

So I decided to change it up a bit and not post about sports.  Maybe by posting about music I'll add a few new readers in the process.  This list is my personal opinion.  I'm no where close to being a music critic, but I like to think I know what's good music (this list) and bad music (Ke$ha, Nickelback, The Black Eyed Peas, etc.). There's a big Indie Rock lean, but hey there's a lot of really talented bands that fall under this genre.

So if you like that crappy music and you're looking to change your ways, or if you want a few new bands to listen to, here's some excellent stuff.  Just missing my list were: Wye Oak, Washed Out, Tennis, The Joy Formidable, J. Cole, and St. Vincent.  So go listen to all these bands too!  With each album I've put a track off the new album.  So without further adieu, here's my list of the top 15 albums of 2011:






































Aaannddddd #1 is.......
















1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues


It was extremely hard to choose between Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes.  I've listened to Bon Iver's self-titled album around 30 times and absolutely LOVE it.  It's one of my favorite albums ever.  But when I gave Helplessness Blues a listen, I was blown away.  It's an amazing album.  These two albums are two of the best I've ever heard, and two of my personal favorites.  If you haven't listened, do yourself a favor and listen to them.





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