nash d
See?! Steve Nash does so play D!!

Joseph White, AP Sports Writer: A reader who calls himself spiderbeef23 -- I love it, by the way -- emailed me a link to White's recap of the Bulls-Generals game, saying: "For a moment there I thought I was reading a Bawful blog entry at By The Horns. Are we sure his middle name isn't 'Troll'?" And here's what spiderbeef23 was talking about:

Onward goes the Chicago Bulls' mediocre march toward the playoffs. After all, nothing says postseason like nearly blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead against the worst team in the East.
Uhm, Mr. White, you DO know that's MY shtick, right? Can you please return to the soulless, mind-numbing style of writing that is the AP's hallmark? Thanks.

The Chicago Bulls: The Bullies are fighting to hold onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. And get this: They're only a few games behind the Pistons -- whom they play tonight at the United Center -- and Detroit is struggling with injuries (to Rip, 'Sheed and the Not Answer) and losses (six in their last nine games). So, given the circumstances, taking on the woeful, worst-in-the-conference Wizards Generals, who were missing their second-best player (Caron Butler) should have been a lead-pipe cinch. But not for this Bulls team, who can beat almost anybody at home while losing to pretty much anybody on the road. Seriously, Vinny Del Negro needs to pray to Lord Baby Jesus so that He can use His Baby Jesus powers to do something about their "road game." It smells terrible and the dogs are always bothering with it...

Anyway, Chicago fell behind by 12 points early, then fought back to take an 11-point with just over six minutes to play. Then Antawn Jamison -- who lit them up for 32 points and 12 rebounds (but zero assists) --
scored 8 straight and turned the game into a dogfight that came down to the final buzzer. Oh, and I should probably mention that Javaris Crittenton, who averages 4 PPG, also scored eight straight Wizards points during the second half and finished with a season-high 18 on 8-for-12 shooting. So put him on the "Zaza List" of players who have notched a season-high against the Bulls this season. Oh, and file this one under "Wins That Aren't As Good As Others."

Tyrus Thomas: So, he shot 4-for-10. He was 3-for-4 in the paint and 1-for-6 from outside, which included misses from 19 feet, 18 feet (twice) and 17 feet (twice). Tyrus, for the love of all that's good and holy in this world and the next, STOP SHOOTING JUMP SHOTS. That is all.

Gilbert Arenas drama: Imagine my surprise: Drama surrounding the possible return of Hibatchi.

Agent Zero's comeback day is Saturday. Definitely. Perhaps. Maybe. Depending on whom you ask.

Gilbert Arenas used a variety of means Monday to indicate that he could make his season debut for the Washington Wizards this weekend against the Detroit Pistons.

"I'm playing Saturday against Detroit," he said in a text message sent to Comcast SportsNet.

Asked if it was really so, the three-time All-Star told a Washington Post reporter at the Verizon Center: "It's only true if I play on Saturday."

Arenas then told The Washington Times by phone that playing Saturday is "the plan" -- but isn't set in stone.

Arenas took a fourth approaching -- playing coy -- when approached by The Associated Press before Monday night's game against the Chicago Bulls: "Everybody's talking about Saturday, man. I don't know how you can talk about Saturday when it ain't here."

Somewhere in the middle was interim coach Ed Tapscott, who could only say that it's a "possibility" that Arenas will play Saturday. Scooped by his own player, Tapscott said he's only had a brief conversion with the mercurial star about the latest developments.

"It's wonderful that he wants to come back and play," Tapscott said. "And what we all have to do now is get together and coordinate plans and make sure that all the responsible parties weigh in so that we can do this in a way that is beneficial to everybody. That's the process we're going through now. We're hopeful that we'll have all our ducks in a line so that that will be a reality. We're not yet 100 percent sure."
Now, seriously, is all this cloak-and-dagger stuff really necessary? The Wizards Generals are a 16-win team, so unless David Stern decides to extend the season by 40 or 50 games, they're pretty solidly out of the playoffs. Hey, I like Gil and everything, but he hasn't been relevant for the last two seasons...unless you count the catastrophic damage he's done to the Wizards' Generals' salary cap, not to mention their team psyche. So he plays the last eight or nine games, during which he'll probably average around 15 PPG on 40 percent (or less) shooting, and Washington maybe scrapes out two or three more victories. So what? It's non-news.

Update! Wild Yams had this to add on the Agent Zero brouhaha: "Wouldn't it be great if Gilbert Arenas comes back and the Generals go undefeated with him and that severely hurts their lottery seeding? That way Agent Zero's destruction of Washington's season would be complete." There would be a certain poetic resonance...

The Minnesota Timberwolves: The update: Now 3-18 since Al Jefferson was lost for the season. Dear Lord Baby Jesus, lying there in your...your little ghost manger, lookin' at your Baby Einstein developmental...videos, learnin' 'bout shapes and colors...please help the Timberwolves.

Jermaine "The Drain" O'Neal: From the AP recap: "Playing without starting forward Jermaine O'Neal, who sat out as a precaution with a bruised right hip but is expected to be available Wednesday when the Heat visit Indiana, Miami blah, blah, blah...." One day I hope to track down the glass factory where The Drain was made and ask them why they don't make a better, stronger brand of glass.

The Memphis Grizzlies: They fell behind 11-0 at the start and then 30-16 after one quarter and it might as well have been "Game Over" at that point. As Hakim Warrick said: "They really jumped on us from the start. When you're playing against a team that's fighting for playoff position and playing as hard as they play, it's tough to come back from behind." Also, when you're the Grizzlies and you commit 21 turnovers, it's hard to come back from behind, or hold onto a lead, or do anything resembling winning against any team at all. But hey, they might be only 17-53, but at least they got Pau Gasol's contract off the books last season!

The New York Knicks: Okay, seriously, the AP is really trying to replace me. Here's an excerpt from their recap of the Magic-Knicks game: "Nate Robinson scored 19 on just 6-of-23 shooting for New York, which dropped its fifth straight in a late-season collapse after entertaining hopes of a playoff spot a week ago. The Knicks honored seven players from their past at halftime, then extended their dismal present by clinching an eighth straight losing season, tying a franchise worst."

Okay, that's it. I'm officially obsolete. But I'll try to offer up at least a little more semi-useful data. According to nearly 10 seconds of research, I discovered that the 2008-09 Knicks currently have 164 blocked shots on the season. That would rank as an All-Time Worst by five blocks if the season ended today. But even if they manage to surpass the 169 blocks compiled by the 1998-99 Chicago Bulls, they will still, technically, acheive an All-Time Worst since that Bulls team played during the lockout-shortened 50-game season. Next up on the list is the 1998-99 Washington Wizards, who blocked 193 shots during the lockout season. And there's no way the Knicks are catching those guys.

Wow, huh? And check out the Top Ten Fewest Block Seasons. Eight out of 10 happened in 1998-99, and the other two are this year's Knicks team and...last year's Knicks team.

Mike D'Antoni, worried about today machine: After his team suffered a fourth-quarter collapse at MSG against the Magic -- who outscored the home team 36-23 in the fourth quarter to win by 4 points -- D'Antoni said: "I'm not worried about what happened the last seven years, I'm worried about this year. I'm not very happy the way things are going right now, but we're playing pretty well, we're playing hard, and as long as we can do that, keep trying to get a little bit better." So far, a "little bit better" is all that's happened: This year's squad is currenlty up only five games over last year's Isiah Thomas-coached team. But in all fairness, they didn't have Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph this sea...BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! Oh, I thought I was gonna make it through that without busting up.

The Los Angeles Clippers: Look, they are who we thought they were, okay? I have no idea what to even say about this team anymore. So here's a fun fact: 98 percent of us will die at some point in our lives.

Stephon Marbury: Last night he contributed 3 points (1-for-6), 3 assists, a steal, 2 fouls and one blocked shot against in almost 20 minutes of PT. And sadly, that might be his third or fourth-best game as a Celtic. Now, I'm not a stat geek or anything, but I will allow that PER is basically a way to compress a player's stats -- which do need to be viewed and analyzed independently -- into one tidy little number. Well, Steph's PER is currently 0.9. Now, according to Hollinger's PER reference guide, a score of 11.0 suggests "Scrounging for minutes," a 9.0 means "Definitely renting," and 5.0 equates to "On next plane to Yakima." And that's it. The guide doesn't go any lower.

Now, this spurred me to do a little extra research and, believe it or not, Starbury only has the 15th lowest PER in the league. Seriously. The bottom 11 actually have a negative PER, with Courtney Sims notching a -26.2 (in only one game). Our buddy Jake Voshuhl has easily appeared in the most games (32) of any player in the bottom 15, and he has a PER of 0.4.

For one last bit of perspective, Mario "The Mario" West currently has a PER or 13.9, which would make him a significant upgrade over Marbury. Think about THAT.

Glen Davis / Me: Basketbawful reader Ruben astutely observed that: "By saying you would choose Big Baby over Darko, you stat-cursed Glen Davis into a 1-for-11 shooting night, while Darko went 4-8 in a good impression of a decent back-up center." Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that, Glen.

Me again: An anonymous commenter corrected an omission from yesterday's Worst of the Weekend post: "How can you post that 'He was a good horse' line from George Karl without the (un?)intentionally dirty next line -- 'He was a guy you could ride and feel really good about.'" Wow. What a boner on my part. Now, Ruben followed up this comment by saying: "Will 'Good Horse' become J.R's new nickname?" Yes. Officially. From this day forward.

Update! The Denver Nuggets: Wild Yams provided some Nuggety tidbits from today's Daily Dime: "Winning in Phoenix has not been a strength of the Nuggets franchise. Denver has lost eight straight, 17 of 21 and, going even further back in the annals, 37 of 44 in the Valley of the Sun. ... The Nuggets have not defeated a team with a record over .500 since March 4, when they beat the Trail Blazers in Denver. Their last road victory against a winning team was Feb. 18. Right now when I look at the Denver Nuggets I do not see a team capable of making a run to the Western Conference finals, as was once thought to be the case. I see a team that will once again be one-and-done, and that is a tough pill for Nuggets fans to swallow." I guess all that strong play after the Billups-for-Iverson trade was, what, a dead player bounce?

The Phoenix tease: Oh sure. After dropping five in a row -- thereby dooming any realistic playoff hopes -- the Suns win five in a row to make us all think, "Hey, maybe...." Well, I call shenanigans. It ain't happening. That fact kills me, but it's the truth. At this point, the Suns and the playoffs go together like Chinese food and chocolate pudding.

Shaq, delusions of grandeur machine: He hit four of five free throws in the final 5:04 -- and seven out of eight in the game -- and then quipped: "That's what I do, baby. I'm Shaq-ovich. We needed them. I'm known that when you really need them, I'm going to make them." When you really need them...like last year in the playoffs against the Spurs, when Gregg Popovich was employing Hack-a-Shaq? Like then? Because I seem to remember The Big Forgetful going 6-for-13, 5-for-11, and 2-for-8 in three of the Suns' losses in that series. I'm just sayin'.

Lost opportunities: Bad news for Kevin Arnold as well as any "Wonder Years" fanatics out there: Winnie Cooper is off the market. Good to know there's life after 80, or however old she is now.

Lacktion report:

Wolves-Hawks: Shelden Williams came off the shelf for Kevin McHale and accrued suck differential markers at an efficient rate, going one-per-minute with a +4 in 3:54 via two bricks, one rejection, and one foul.

In the midst of yet another record-padding home stand, the Hawks opted to give Mario West more playing time than he probably has ever seen in his life, a full SIXTEEN MINUTES! Such a drastic shift in lacktator strategery required a reallocation of bench resources like none other, as the rest of Atlanta's non-contributors were needed to fill the void. Thomas Gardner cultivated a two-brick +2 in 2:07 from downtown, while Othello Hunter acted ot a +1 of his own in that same time period through a foul. And Randolph Morris had +1 via brick in 1:21!

Grizzlies-Heat: Chris Quinn mightily made 2.1 trillion for Miami.

Suns-Nuggets: Stromile Swift quickly established himself as an effective lacktator tonight, giving up the rock once in 4:47 and fouling three times for a +4.
Kobe Bryant: Mamba called up Danica McKellar's new husband to congratulate him, then added, "But you know I had her first, right?" Then he called up Fred Savage and said the same thing.

Labels: , , , ,

34 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
EPIC Man love!!

http://bigdonsboys.com/basketball/darko_milicic/images/darko_milicic_018.jpg

Blogger Junior said...
Oden get almost a ego-ectonomy yesterday, i'm trying to find the video but NBA took it off, it was the play number one on they top five from yesterday night

Blogger Wild Yams said...
I'm so glad to see Starbury make a return to the WOTN. It's been too long. I'm still totally perplexed by his current stint with the Celtics. I expected him to either be the catalyst which pushes Boston firmly into the lead as the league's best team or to cause them to implode; what I didn't expect was for him to sit there quietly and be essentially a non-contributor. With the way he's playing, Boston should have just kept Sam Cassell.

The Denver Nuggets probably deserve a mention in there somewhere today. Today's Daily Dime has some great tidbits about the Nuggets:

Winning in Phoenix has not been a strength of the Nuggets franchise. Denver has lost eight straight, 17 of 21 and, going even further back in the annals, 37 of 44 in the Valley of the Sun...

The Nuggets have not defeated a team with a record over .500 since March 4, when they beat the Trail Blazers in Denver. Their last road victory against a winning team was Feb. 18.

Right now when I look at the Denver Nuggets I do not see a team capable of making a run to the Western Conference finals, as was once thought to be the case. I see a team that will once again be one-and-done, and that is a tough pill for Nuggets fans to swallow.


Really, the West is not as tough as many people in the media think it is this year.

Wouldn't it be great if Gilbert Arenas comes back and the Generals go undefeated with him and that severely hurts their lottery seeding? That way Agent Zero's destruction of Washington's season would be complete.

Blogger chris said...
Wild Yams: Don't you understand though that in having Starbury just stand around and score one field goal or less a night, the C's open up many opportunities for Pruitt, Walker, and Giddens to effectively provide lacktion in their roles as human victory cigars?

Now, the obvious question is, "why isn't Starbury himself the HVC for Doc and company?" I understand that they're trying to platoon it in the wake of the blockbuster Patrick O'Bryant trade, but Stephon is becoming way too forgettable with barely-contributory ball.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Come on Bawful... The Drain isn't made solely of glass. He's also made of pipe cleaners (he's gotta have something midly flexible for joints, right?)

Blogger chris said...
Dan B.: Pipe cleaners? THOSE at least are somewhat durable. I was thinking more like flexible straws...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Here in Denmark we are so fortunate to have a live broadcasted game every week to the few basketball fanatics (me) delight.
The last game was Miami - Detroit, and one of the danish commentators repeadetly claimed that the reason why Wade have gone wild since the all-star break was pretty much solely because of the arrival of JO.
Since im a daily reader of the best basketblog on the cyberweb i found this quite funny since i couldnt help thinking about the lack of love JO get in here. So i was just wondering what your take was on that statement mr. Bawful?

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
"I love continuous functions and proving if functions are continuous or not," she said.

"...the proof is known as the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem..."

"Danica McKellar, 34, the mathematician and actress who played Winnie Cooper on the hit TV show "The Wonder Years," married composer Mike Verta, 36, on Sunday in La Jolla, Calif.,"

I hate you Bawful, how could you toy with my heart like this? I've never fallen in love so fast, and immediately gotten heartbroken so fast. I'm going to read the abstract over a glass of brandy.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
A random question- where do you fine people watch highlights of games (online, since I don't have a TV) when you can't catch a game?

The ESPN "highlights" are atrocious and I would love to see them compiled into a "worst of." Often, the "highlights" ESPN compiles are a grand total of 15 seconds/two possessions in the fourth quarter. When the Lakers played the Bulls the other night ALL of the highlights were Lakers baskets- literally just 7 or 8 shots of Kobe and Pau scoring. I don't understand why they can't put a nice three minute highlight reel together. So frustrating.

Blogger tonious35 said...
B-Bawful & Chris,

Can I just say that Sheldon Williams is actually now lowering the value of Candace Parker, if he continues to rack up the suck differentials.

Since Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng, does it look like any players coming from Duke via draft just suck like GARBAGE???

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Steve Nash plays stellar D. You could call it Jedi D. Pure mind tricks. No contact, no foul ...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
bawful, i haven't heard your take on shaq's pregame 'bowling.' what do you think?

Anonymous Anonymous said...
oh, and tonious35,

IMO shelden williams' endless suck value can actually increase candace parker's marketability. ya know, they can advertise her as something like, 'she's a better baller than her husband, and her husband is in the NBA!' (ok, so technically he's still in the NBA)

and if their kid turns out to be a great baller? it's all on candace.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0323/nba_g_kg_268.jpg

kevin garnett will kill us all.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
Miller31 -- Oh, that is classic. I think I might have used it in a post once before, but I'll use it this summer when I start my "Classic Man Love" series.

Junior -- Find the video and it'll go up immediately, if not sooner.

Wild Yams -- Yeah, Starbury's total non-impact, either for good or evil, is mystifying. I think, in addition to the long layoff, trying to become a solid citizen has denuded his intuitive sense of the game, such as it was. I mean, I don't know if you play ball or not, but most players have a specific style of play and that's all they know how to do. Put them in a different role -- and you see this in the NBA all the time, particularly after major trades -- and they become lost. And Steph is lost out there. You can tell.

chris -- They want, and I would even say they need Marbury to become a contributor. They need a solid, dependable backup at the point. So Doc is going to try to develop him. Sadly, I'm not sure there's anything to develop. I really thought they should have tried to sign Lindsey Hunter, because he's a defensive minded backup ball-handler who can stick the open trey...which is all they really wanted/needed. Now Hunter is languishing on the Bulls' bench, not doing anything for anybody, save for tutoring Derrick Rose in practice.

Dan B. -- You make a good point, but I have to agree with chris...flexible straws for sure.

Dr. Armando -- I'm certainly not ready to say that The Drain made Wade better. No way. I think it has more to do with Wade getting hot and the need for him to go absolutely apeshit for the Heat to hold onto a playoff spot. Because seriously, without his regular superhuman efforts, that team is pretty bad. This is eerily similar to Kobe's 2005-06 season...only Wade is playing much better: Better shooting, more assists, fewer FGAs, a higher PER, etc.

And don't forget: This offseason was the first in which Wade took conditioning and strengthening his body seriously, working out with Michael Jordan's former personal trainer, and that's kept him strong, healthy and capable of lifting his game for the stretch run.

AnacondaHL -- Dude, I know, I know. It reminds me of the time I was getting a lapdance from an exceptionally hot stripper who happened to be a total geek for video games, anime, cosplay, pro wrestling and the Chicago Bulls. Alas that I was nothing but a walking stack of singles to her.

La Dolce Vita -- If you get NBA League Pass, you get access to all the games online as well as through your cable package (assuming they offer it). So I don't usually have to seek out highlights...which means I can't help you. Anybody else?

tonious35 -- Well, Sheldon really hurt her value by knocking her up. Has he no respect for her place in the game? Doesn't he realize the WNBA needs its stars? Selfish prick. Take your demon seed elsewhere, Sheldon.

And hey, don't be dissing the Duke grads! Christian Laettner was the third pick in the '92 draft and...oh, shit. Alaa Abdelnaby? Cherokee Parks? Mike Gminski? Danny Fe...you know what, forget it. I guess they're called "Dukies" for a reason.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I second AnacondaHL's sentiment.

I found myself strangely EVEN MORE INTENSELY attracted to Winnie once I found out she was a mathmologist.

Let's just say I would put the point-slope form of my linear equation into her solution set if she asked me to- heh heh heh.

Who else thinks Houston is going to fly out in the first round? I mean, has there ever been a more paper-thin team masquerading as a playoff contender? I honestly don't see how they can win a series against even Dallas or Phoenix, let alone Denver or New Orleans.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
AK Dave -- The thing is, the Mavs, Nuggets and Hornets -- Phoenix isn't making it, sorry -- aren't exactly overpowering. I could see Houston beating any of them in the first round. Plus, I think that fate will decree it must happen, if only to spite Tracy McGrady.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
La Dolce Vita, other than League Pass as Mr. Bawful mentioned above, the best place to get really comprehensive highlights is usually just from doing some searches on YouTube. It's best if you can find someone who's dedicated to making their own highlight reels for whatever team you're following and then just check their YouTube page for the latest videos. I agree that ESPN's highlights are awful, but that's always been their problem with Sportscenter for decades now, preferring to show a fancy play rather than an important one.

If you want to see more highlights from that Lakers-Bulls game (unfortunately it's just more completely Laker-centric highlights), click here.

AK Dave, I think how Houston fares in the playoffs will really just depend on who they face. There are so many weak teams that the media thinks are good in the West that I think Houston definitely has a shot, especially if they have HCA. I could see them beating Denver and Dallas for sure, and maybe New Orleans as well. Portland's gonna be a tough out for whoever gets them in the 1st round, but the Blazers' inability to play well on the road combined with their overall youth and inexperience means they're most likely going home in Round One. Utah and the Spurs are gonna be much tougher, and though I don't see Houston falling to the 8th seed, if that happens they stand virtually no chance of beating the Lakers unless LA has a major, major injury or two.

The best thing Sheldon "The Landlord" Williams has done since entering the NBA is get car-jacked outside the barber's shop.

And I also think that The Landlord's atrocious sucktitude helped end the Billy Knight reign of terror down here in the ATL, so I can't really complain about that.

Plus we got Mike Bibby out of him...

Blogger chris said...
Bawful: At least Starbury being lost is better than the active anti-game of Iverson and Knee-Mac...

tonious35: Is it me, or are the Wolves home to the most bizarro couples in basketball? In addition to Williams/Parker, we also had (until the trade to Suckramento) Rashad McCants and one of the random Kardashians, resulting in "Star Status" moping at the breakup.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Maybe I underestimate the powers of Von Wafer and Luis Scola...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
A link to some Jazz players discussing Twitter. J-Slo's comments are priceless! He's such a crotchety, unintentionally hilarious old man!

http://www.kjzz.com/video/41751562.html?video=pop&t=a

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Mr. Bawful is into anime and cosplay? Does this mean a future update with pictures of our gracious host in full Dragonball Z getup from the live action movie premiere is already in the works?

La Dolce Vita: I have the same problem. We rarely get NBA games down here (though the recent addition of NBA tv, legally that is, somewhat stymies that) and ESPN highlights are absolutely terrible. My search is ongoing, and I'll relay any results your way. Any chance you're a Fellini fan, btw?

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Si, hellshocked, very much a fan of Fellini (though I like Antonioni even more).

Thanks for the recommendations everyone...I'm surprised that they don't even have highlights on the nba.com/team pages. I'll try the youtube route.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
AK Dave: Don't bring that weak math up in here. I'd get some like-like interaction with her, so we'd become a spin pair in a high energy assignment. When she's loving my local cylinder events, I'd use her flexibility of multiple edges between sites. (Somehow I think linking these comments to her forums for middle school girls wouldn't go over so well).

Also, I highly recommend the "Do you hide your smarts (especially around guys)?" quiz, unintentionally hilarious beyond belief.

hellshocked: This was actually a story Bawful told me to console me for liking anime. It ends with me saying his correct move should have been to ask what characters the stripper cosplayed, and if they sucked to make fun of her for being otaku.

Blogger DDC said...
Matt McHale, you evil genius!!!! I've laughed 10 minutes straight after reading, "Well, Sheldon really hurt her value by knocking her up. Has he no respect for her place in the game? Doesn't he realize the WNBA needs its stars? Selfish prick. Take your demon seed elsewhere, Sheldon." Damn funny stuff, my friend.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
AnacondaHL said...
AK Dave: Don't bring that weak math up in here....

Wait a minute- I think I know AnacondaHL's true identity!


(Oh, you better watch this one first....)

Anonymous Anonymous said...
AnacondaHL: The extent of my anime knowledge is Miyazaki and Akira. Anything other than that (otaku?) flies over my head. I was just teasing. Don't think it was mean spirited though I did...play...Warcraft...after all...

La Dolce Vita: Nice. I'm also a fan, though I've been woefully underexposed to both. I'm working on it. Are you Italian?

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Nope, I'm in San Francisco, just love film and Italian culture (especially the ladies and food). For Antonioni, "The Passenger" is a good place to start- it's in English and starring Nicholson in his prime...if you like that try "L'eclisse" (The Eclipse). For Fellini "La Strada" (starring Fellini's wife) and "Amarcord" are a couple of other favorites besides the obvious choices.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I've seen "The Passenger" and "Blowup" from Antonioni. Fellini I'm a bit more acquainted with ("8 1/2", "Satyricon", "Roma", "La Dolce Vita") but I still need to see a bunch by both. I'm a huge huge huge huge movie buff and english isn't my first language so believe me, the lack of subtitles wasn't part of the appeal of "The Passenger". :)

Back to basketball: what is the opinion here on Derrick Rose? It seems people everywhere have already anointed him as the future best point guard in the NBA but I find him rather underwhelming. He is certainly not selfish but doesn't seem to have that ESP-like court vision the great ones have and he hasn't exactly made anyone on that team better. Yes, he's young, super athletic and quite talented but he reminds me not of CP or Deron but of Jay Williams both in playing style and impact.

Blogger Nick Miller said...
http://bbs.hoopchina.com/attachment/Mon_0903/176_3007396_346d8f00fed851f.jpg

this confuses me.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Here's an observation from the Rockets-Jazz game: Joey Crawford looks like the Orc that notices something fishy about Frodo and Sam when they are dressed in the Orc armor in the Return of the King. Also, Yao Ming is gigantic.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Same highlight problems here. I live in Holland and we only get a few minutes of one game on sunday afternoon so I get most of my nba stuff from the internet. We also have a sportspaychannel broadcasting games, but that's pretty expensive. Those highlights on ESPN suck, those on NBA.com are a bit better, but only around 2,5 minutes long.

On a sidenote: I was wondering how many non-American readers check out basketbawful.

On another sidenote: is it just me or does it look like blogger ran out of wordverifications that didn't look like real words? Mine is bucki.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
hellshocked: Otaku is just a term that means someone who is "an extreme fan of something", such as a military otaku for someone who loves tanks and planes, or even basketball otaku for stat geeks like me, but it's meaning has shifted recently to mean "an anime fan that is creepy and does creepy cosplay and is probably a pedo and you should avoid this person unless you want to learn the worst qualities of humankind."

AK Dave: That video was great, until I saw the author was "DukeUniversityImprov".

And don't you mean that my secret identity was the cameraman for THIS VIDEO? (YOUTUBE, BUT PROBABLY NOT SAFE FOR WORK)