Sam Cassell's nauseating legacy

It's not easy to ruin an early-season showdown between the East's two best teams. It's even harder when it's a back-and forth nail-biter decided by points scored in last tenth of a second. To ruin a game like this borders on impossible, but in tonight's battle between the Celtics and the Pistons, the up-and-into contact, as well as the NBA rule book's incomprehensible tolerance for it, found a way.

The Celtics won the first half and, in doing so, painted a basketball masterpiece. Ray-Ray was playing a game that would have made Jesus Shuttlesworth proud, KG looked like a man among boys, Rajon Rondo flashed brilliance, and Paul Pierce found himself in the unfamiliar position of sitting back and watching his teammates put on a show.

Then they got bored. The points were coming so easily that they started hesitating and looking for the even easier shot. Their first half flow, lurched, spurted and stalled. Their spacing fell apart, and the Boston ball-handlers found themselves trying to dribble through a tangle of out-of-position Celtic Bigs and  long-armed Piston defenders. They couldn't. Detroit's ball pressure reached a fever pitch, stripping Eddie House and Paul Pierce at half-courts a few minutes apart.

At this point, the intensity was so far gone from the Celtics that their demeanor, despite the score, suggested they were in the midst of a blowout. They weren't.  The Pistons had won the first 22 minutes of the second half, and Lindsay Hunter's uncontested lay-up off a strip of Pierce put the Pistons up 7 with 2 minutes to play.

The Celtics, namely Ray Allen, won the next 116 second. Ray Ray, having already assembled a sweet stat-line, found a new gear.  He went to the basket around a monster screen from KG, and when everyone in the building was expecting a floater, Ray went around the rim and threw it down like it was 1999.  House hit a 3 off a heads up pass from Allen to pull the Celtics within 3, the Celtics got another stop, and found themselves down 3 with 30 seconds left. Then they fell into disarray, letting the chance to go for 2-for-1 slip away. 4 Celtics clustered at the top of the 3 point line, none of them open.

It didn't matter. Ray rose up and, with Tayshaun's freakish arms in his face, stroked a 24 footer like he was alone in his driveway.

On consecutive possessions the usually-clutch Chuancey Billups lost the handle going to the basket and the equally-clutch Paul Pierce missed badly on an 18-foot fade-away with 1.7 on the clock.

The stage was set for drama. One more shot for Mr. Big Shot. He caught the inbound and rose up. Tony Allen went up. The crowd rose up. None of them should have bothered. It was an upfake, and as soon as Allen left his feet, Mr. Faked Shot jumped into him and shoveled the ball to within slightly more than 8 feet from the basket.  Foul on Allen. A tenth of a second on the clock.

And after 47 minutes and 59 seconds of grit, of perfect ball movement matched by lightning rotations, of Ray Allen's firepower, or Garnett's intensity, of Rasheed's uncanny 3-point opportunism, of stifling ball pressure, the game was to be decided by a pair of free throws earned through a play that would get you laughed off of every playground in the country.

There was no protest.  Everyone knows the rule.  For some reason that nobody can adequately explain, one player can launch himself into another and flip the ball blindly at the basket, and somehow earn himself two shots at the most charitable of stripes.

Billups hit them both. Players and fans scuttled out of a silent arena, and not even the Pistons seemed too thrilled.  Detroit got the W, Boston the L, but it was basketball that took the loss.

Joe Calzaghe: "The Pride of Wales"

Joe Calzaghe is the WBO, WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion of the World, with a record of 44-0 (32 KOs). He is Welsh and I recently saw him beat Danish boxer Mikkel Kessler in a 12-round decision. I really wish I could find that fight, because it was one of the most exciting contemporary fights I’ve seen, although I might have some of it on tape.

Calzaghe is also considered one the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the world and he is fascinating to watch. He is quick and has great foot movement and I’ve never seen a fighter with a higher punch volume. When I saw him for the first time in that Kessler fight, I thought there was no way anyone could fight twelve rounds at that pace. He also has a tendency to drop his hands and square up, which is unusual.

I did find his fight against Jeff Lacy on YouTube, where you can see him brilliantly and totally dominate his opponent. I can’t wait to see him fight again. I think he is the most exciting boxer around today (that I’ve seen, anyway).

Click on the video and use the sidebar to find rounds 3-12.

It's Way Past Time to Get Psyched for Mayweather-Hatton

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is universally considered the greatest pound-for-pound for fighter in the world. The owner of my gym called him a "prodigy." He is undefeated (38-0, 24 KOs) and currently holds the WBC Welterweight title.

Frankly, the most impressive footage I've seen of Mayweather are these two videos of him training:

Make sure you watch the second video even if you get bored with the first one. It's some raw shit.

Mayweather is cocky as fuck, but it's hard to argue with his skills.

As of the September issue of The Ring magazine, Ricky Hatton is ranked 8th on their list of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, which is a pretty big deal. He's from Manchester, England, has held 4 belts in 2 different weight classes, and is also undefeated with a record of 43-0 (31 KOs).

He's known as one of the hardest body punchers in the business, illustrated here in his most recent fight, facing another great fighter, Jose Luis Castillo:



The video's a little choppy in places, but it's worth watching. You really don't see that in boxing very often, especially for a KO. In fact, I think that was the first KO of Castillo's career. There's a rumor that Hatton broke 4 of Castillo's ribs with that punch.

To be honest, I'd never heard of Ricky Hatton before now, but I gotta say, HBO has been doing a great job of promoting this fight, and they've got me excited. I've never shelled out for Pay-Per-View before, but I think I'm gonna have to this time. Hatton is definitely the underdog, and has a way better personality, so I'm kind of rooting for him, but you know the fuck what? December 8th, may the best fighter win.

Yi's a Thang

Give this post a glance-- it offers an interesting perspective on the Bucks-Rockets game last week-- more specifically, it offers insight as to how Yi is regarded in China-- the extent to which he & Yao have been made into symbols of the cultural conflict in China... I wonder if people in Milwaukee understand what a sort-of big deal this apparently is to the Chinese. I kinda think they don't. I'd be curious to hear what Pat thinks about this article.

Del Harris Interview

This was inspiring.
The message boards are going crazy. People are screaming, freaking out, fighting. Yes, Yi's been exciting. But it needs to cool out a little bit. Let the child breathe. It's been 5 games, right?

Smokin' Joe Frazier

So Mike B. and I agreed that there’s no reason not to expand the scope of this blog to cover other sports and topics in general, which I’m glad of because I’ve been interested in boxing for a while now.

I’ve been watching this particular video quite a bit lately:



And as if the music in the background wasn't cool enough, you can also watch it while listening to this:



Smokin' Joe: 32-4-1 (27 by KO)

Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World for a full 3 years running (02-16-1970 to 01-22-1973).

See and understand

The Bucks are supposedly implementing the triangle next year.
Here's what that means, according to P. Jackson and T. Winter.

Did Anyone Else Catch This?

The most fantastic Stephen Jackson development yet. I want so badly to ruin it, but I won't.

Ugh

This a depressing article.
It's about the Bucks.
It claims we're least interesting NBA team since 1988.

A Link To The...

Here's a well-researched article which makes some bold predictions regarding the 2007 Draft. Unfortunately, its really interesting claims are mostly reserved for US college players, meaning our smiling little railroad-builder isn't ranked with respect to those guys. However, they do make an effort to evaluate the foreigners-- the important paragraph is encouraging, and below:

Looking at International Players

International leagues suffer from this problem and more. The shorter seasons provide for smaller sample sizes. Key statistics for Win Score are often not included in international box scores. To assess the 2007 class, turnover and fouling stats were approximated by taking the median rate of their draft class position peers. In spite of these issues, Win Score suggests the following:

Favorites: Jianlian Yi, Marco Belinelli, Luka Bogdanovic, Jonas Maciulis, Kyrylo Fesenko, and Mirza Begic

Buyer Beware: Tiago Splitter, Petteri Koponen, Marc Gasol, Sidiki Sidibe, and Dimitri Sokolov

Win Score loves Yi Jianlian, even if we change our assumption and have him post double the median foul and turnover rate.

!!

Yes, Yes, Yes!

A Great Success, Friends, A Great Success!

How Lucky We Are!!

Oh, You Guys Are Still Into Basketball?

Yes, I seem to remember being vaguely interested in “basket-ball” at some point…that’s the one with Michael Jordan, right?


Anyway, Mike B. just told me that if I don’t start posting (and caring, and I mean really caring) about the Golden Game again, he’s going to go to River Hills and sock a baseball with my name and address written on it through Latrell Sprewell’s bedroom window, and we don’t need to assume that Spree doesn’t like to be bothered.

Injury Prone?

It looks like Greg Oden is going to be out for the year. I couldn't help but notice that at nearly every point in his short post high school career he has had some sort of health problem. From the wrist, to the teeth, and now the knee. Maybe he really is an old man and his body is breaking down...but seriously, the Blazers have to be a little worried here. I want Oden to be successful, he seems like a really great kid, but so far in his career he hasn't had a chance to scratch the surface of his potential. Think of what he would have done to the competition in college with his good hand...I wish I didn't have to wonder what he would have done to the players in the NBA with two good knees. Oden was the next great big man, and he definitely still might be, but if he never reaches his potential everyone will wonder "what if" and that is a shitty thing to think about.
There are some positive things though. For one, Oden is more of a power player that doesn't rely on his quickness as much as someone such as Amare, and we saw this past summer and the last NBA season that Amare really hasn't lost anything. Let's just hope this is the last injury at the beginning of a great career.

Basketball is beautiful....

....at least it used to be.


Remember when the Patriots got caught spying on the Jets?

Remember when Bruce Bowen tried to blow out Amare's ankle by stomping on it? Remember when Horry checked Nash into the boards and Amare got suspended?

Remember when the Patriots beat the Colts, or the Chargers, or a whole bunch of other teams who were fun to watch and even brought a bit of innovation to the game?

Remember when the Spurs beat the Suns, or Dallas, or Golden State, or a whole bunch of teams in the West who were fun to watch and occaisonally did something nobody had seen before?

Remember when the Patriots won a bunch of championships by being consistent, boring, and ruthless, and by taking all the fun out of an otherwise spectacular sport?

Remember when the Spurs did the same thing?

And as you look at the slimy Patriots wriggle out of their weekday cave and offer a perfunctory, arrogant apology before slinking back to concoct some other despicable way to win games, do you remember the last time you hated a professional sports franchise this much?

I do. It was June, 2007.

Ay! Tell your boys to run up, pimpin, if they want it. Ay! Ay! Yup! Ay!

Everyone who's a fan of anything needs to watch this video.
What it is, homies. I think think My favorite part is where he calls Stojakovic a long-range flame-thrower. Alright, Mase, alright.

Here's what his voice sounds like in real life. Also, that video reminds me of how unbelievably Foul a few of those Redd/Mason teams were a few years ago. You catch a glimpse of the Santiago, Fizer, Van Horn front-line at one point. I challenge you to imagine a more grotesque, less talented lineup. I'm not even talking about just NBA players, I mean anyone in history.

But, before I get too excited, I ought to recall what Mason's game was really like, and remind myself just how bad he's been the last few years. And here. And here. A little hater for your plate.

The Adventures of Baby Bogut

sigh


It's the only explanation for why our favorite Aussie would leapfrog Drew Gooden in the race for NBA's Stupidest Haircut.

Und...

Then More Marbury Is

According to this NYDN article, Marbury's been off the handle some lately.
I hadn't heard anything about these two interviews until today: on 'Mike'd Up", and later at MSG (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4).
I wonder where he's at right now. He's got me curious. Who's he been hanging out with?

To Poor Little Mikey Nash:

Do you think maybe you're ready to care just a tiny bit about basketball again?
There's so much to be said, but I think it's your place, not mine.
Give me something deep to sit on for a while.

Yi in the Balance; Herb Kohl vs. The CCP

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2939260

So let me get this straight...the coach of the Guandong Tigers doesn't want Yi to play for the Bucks because he won't develop in Milwaukee? Now, one could make a case that Larry Krystkoviak (I'll learn to spell his name when he get's us to the playoffs) isn't the best teacher. That's fine. But to claim that it is because the Bucks have too many tall young players to fit Yi in, that seems ubsurd.

Here's a list of Bucks 6-9 and over:

Andrew Bogut
Dan Gadzuric
Ersan Ilyyasova
Damir Markota
Jared Reiner
Brian Skinner
Charlie Villanueva

Bogut starts at center, but I don't really think Yi is a center, and I don't think the Chinese National Team wants him to be "developed" at center. Brian Skinner is a backup center. If Yi is anywhere near as good as he has been represented to be, he should immediately leapfrog Gadzuric, Ilyasova, Markota (who?), and Jared Reiner (who?) on the depth chart. That leaves...Charlie Villanueva, who managed an impressive 39 games and 11.8 points last season, and is coming off arthroscopic shoulder surgery.

So, China, find me a team where the competition at power forward is softer than in Milwaukee. It's not like Yi is sitting behind KG or Amare here. He's got one injury prone and inconsistent power forward to compete with, and a bunch journeymen backing him up.

So let's call a spade a spade. Yi's handlers have an agenda for Yi. Some of it is about marketing. They want Yi jerseys to be flying off the racks in San Francisco or Sacremento or somewhere where they can capture the precious "Ichiro effect." They want big endorsement deals (and they want a big cut of those endorsement deals) and all the trappings of playing in a big market.

But there's more to it than that. Yi is a point of pride for a country that is all about its pride. China wants its respect. Its plunge from world's most venerable civilization for over two millenia (China's name, when literally translated, means "The Middle Kingdom") to a colonial possession divided into spheres of European influence in the early 1900's and Japan's private playground during World War II was a deep wound for this proud culture, and it certainly isn't something they are ready to let go of. Everything the Chinese government does now is with an eye toward establishing themselves as a nation to be revered. In some way, the CCP keeps its legitimacy in China not through democracy, but by being the gaurdians of China's international reputation. And sports are a part of that.

And so is Yi Jianlian. The Chinese want to be sure that Yi is successful, even a star. After all, what a point of pride it would be for a Chinese athlete to dominate an American game, and what a point of pride it would be for him to become a cultural icon in America. And let's face it, Milwaukee is not the place to become a cultural icon.

On some level, the Chinese are taking a very understandable position. In the view of the CCP, Yi, as a member of Chinese society, is not only an individual but also an asset, and if they give him up to foreign play (something they are under no obligation to do), they want the best return on their investment. But they don't just want dollars in return, they want success for Yi and all the glory that it will bring to the country where he cut his hoopster teeth. And they're not confident that that glory is forthcoming in the town of bratwurst, beer, and white guys named Gary.

For more on how the Chinese view their athletes, look at the hornet's nest that Yao stepped into:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2940570

So if the Chinese don't want Yi to play where he can't hear the ocean, fine, but let's not bullshit around about how he won't develop on the Bucks. Yi would get his tick in Milwaukee, the Bucks need a power forward in the worst way (for much of the season that post was occupied by the 6-5 Ruben "O.G." Patterson), and they would make every effort to develop a running mate for Bogut and one of the most promising frontcourts in the league. Does Chen Haitao really think the Bucks took Yi sixth in a dazzling draft to stick him at the end of the bench?

Mose Milkman + Lerry the Drumma Vol. 4

In the locker room... -->

Q: How Many Grizzlies Does it Take to Defend Kobe Bryant?

A: At least six...

The "White Assassin"?

Mike, I think we're going to need a translation on this one. As you can see, I've already made my guess.

Mose Milkman + Lerry the Drumma Vol. 3

Herb Kohl Commissions Construction of Robo-Yi

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), team owner of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball franchise, commissioned the construction of what he is calling a "Robo-Yi" to take the place of recent Bucks' draft pick Yi Jianlian should the Chinaman refuse to play for the ball club.

Kohl has committed his considerable financial resources to the project, vowing not to "let the Chinese run [his] team, nor [his] life." Robo-Yi will feature joints that rotate 360 degrees, laser-guided jump shot capabilities, extendable forearms, rocket-Nikes, and many other "amazing robo-features" not yet disclosed, according to Kohl.

In the event that real-life Yi ultimately chooses to play for Milwaukee, the Senator plans to use Robo-Yi as his personal servant.

Robo-Yi (artist's rendering)

Andrew Bogut Has Become A Man

According to Joseph Campbell, in certain ancient cultures, a boy became a man when he earned his name.
Watch the first 3 minutes of this video- until you peek at the backside.
I think Bogut might have just earned his Stimmnamme, or "true name".
It's not clear, however, what it should be. Here are a few suggestions: "The Ratt"? "Conviktt"? "Boy with a Horse's Dick"? "Necklace"? "Railroader"? "Jailyard"? "Stockyard"? "Lifer"? "The Parolee"? "Donkeyer"? "Our Clansman"? "Moron"? "Rape Crisis"? "The Swimma"? "Pure White"? "Dingleberry"? "Trasher"? "Trash-head"? "Human Trash"? "The Filthy Rubbisher"? "The Shitty Junker"?

Give some suggestions. Also, you should make it so Steve can post.

p.s. some more Yi shit.

Chauncey Billups and Michael Redd Would Be Sexiest Backcourt in NBA

Moustache rides, anyone?

Lando Lands in the Valley of the Sun

It’s pretty fly that Alando Tucker went to the Suns, one of my most favorite teams. Not only is Tucker a University of Wisconsin alum, it turns out he grew up in Joliet, IL, the very same town where my dad was born. I hitchhiked out of Joliet with my girlfriend in 2002 and my experience there definitely supports Lando’s description of his childhood. Joliet is not the kind of place you want find yourself stuck in after dark. I remember walking past entire blocks of abandoned houses. Luckily, we eventually got picked up by this big black guy with big, black scars all over his arm and he drove us out along the highway to a better spot. He was really friendly, and it was one of those rides I was especially grateful for.

Joliet Prison, that once housed the infamous "Joliet" Jake.

Honey, There's Something The Matter With My Coke

Three Yi videos for Mike N. to see and one more:
1. a Nike Commercial
2. Yi's 18 Moves
3. a Sweaty Workout
4. Yi serving and served in the Olympics v. Pau Gasol

And an article from TIME a few years ago.

Do we like him better or worse if he's a cocky bitch? I think better.

Milwaukee In The Pale Moon-light

It's early Thursday morning, und things is teetering.
So many Bucks rumors, I've run out of pocket space.
An interesting one that's out lately: 6th to the Warriors for Biedrins and 18th.
I think I'd be happy with that.
I'd much rather that than Green, I think. Biedrins did some compelling things last year. He seems like he'd play well with Bogut, too.

Anyhow.
Regardless of how things turn out tonight, barring an Andrew Bogut trade, this video gave me something to clog my throat with for a few minutes. I think I may be excited to see what Bogut does next year. There's no denying that the little boy has flashes. I'd be fucking hard-up to name many other players with the skull to make that no-look tip pass to Rube near the end. That is seriously not nothing. Kukoc used to so that shit sometimes, but I can't think of many others. It's impressive.

A Little Something For All You "Lovebirds" Out There

What a fantastic shame were those 1980s Milwaukee Bucks. Gosh, I already love them to death:

watch them Go!

They're like every sad little team you ever crushed on- (the 2001 Sacramento Kings, the 2000 Bucks, the 1999 Trailblazers (the first team I seriously cared for), the 1995 Sonics) that never got to finish their dinners cause of some burly, lawless older brother that just wouldn't move out.

Mose Milkman + Lerry the Drumma Vol. 2

I'mma do what I wanna do! Play how I wanna play! Let me "Live My Life"!

by,
Mike

Mose Milkman + Lerry the Drumma

Hey Mike, click to enlarge the mother.

Reggie Miller is Gay

No, seriously. He came out last night on Larry King Live. I guess Larry was kind of grossed out.

Michael "Dogface" Finley Only Thing I Like About Spurs

He played his college ball at the University of Wisconsin, he's got a sweet outside touch, and he's got a face only a mother and lovers of lovably ugly faces could love. He's one of those no fess, no mess players that you're proud to have on your team because he gets the shiz done without coming off as a gigantic salad eater.

I used to kind of like Tony Parker, and he definitely deserved his spot on this year's All-Star team, but I'm over it until maybe he gets traded or something. The Spurs, his gay Frenchness, Eva "Dogface" Longoria, and some questionable plays this series have shaken my approval of him.

It takes a special player to rise above the disgusting cesspool that is the Spurs organization, and as of now, only ol' "Dirty Dog" Finley makes the grade.

Golden Rimmer

Stephen “Action” Jackson, who was Golden State’s second most valuable player in their historic first round upset of #1 seed Dallas, was a combined 4-15 from downtown in Games 4 and 5 vs. the Utah Jazz, in addition to forcing the issue countless times on his way into the lane, no doubt accounting for most of his 9 turnovers. How could a playoff veteran and the Warriors’ first officer under floor general Baron Davis go from being such a cold motherfucker to such a shameful liability?

But hey, a hearty “Congratulations” to the Jazz, the ugliest team in basketball, for crushing the most exciting team in the playoffs in their slimy, toothless mandibles. Does anyone not affiliated with the Church of Latter-day Saints actually like this team? Carlos Boozer may be many things, but he is most assuredly not “brilliant,” and I’m sorry to all you women out there who have a soft spot in your heart for little girls battling cancer, or whatever the fuck it is, but Derek Fisher is just not that cool.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if the Spurs manage to flop, eye-bug, and boringly claw their way past the Suns in their ongoing quest to destroy professional basketball forever, I’d have no choice but to favor them over Jerry Sloan’s latest crop of mutants. Only God knows I wouldn’t be watching.

The Bell Tolls For Thee, Motherfucker

Watching "Big Ben" Wallace hold it down today against his former team made me think back to the opening footage of this interview. I remember replaying the sequence where he puts his Bulls jersey on over and over again, trying to figure out just what the fuck was going on with his chest muscles, until I realized that dude is just ripped. He's so ripped that making those tiny motions with his hands and forearms sends fucked up shockwaves throughout his entire upper-body.

Tonight the Clocktower had 17 boards, good for more than half of the Pistons' total rebounding effort. Sure, it was a somewhat of a garbage game, since Chicago is staring summer vacation straight in the face and the Pistons got a little lazy, but hey, a Second Round W for a young team like that means more than one might think, and Ben Wallace was the veteran stalwart that held them together emotionally, I'm sure of it.

As much as B-Dub knows about winning in the postseason, he knows just as much about losing, Detroit having lost in the Conference Finals in '03 & '06, and in the NBA Finals in '05. Now that his new team has made it further along in the big show, and lost, Wallace will be able to help them bounce back without shame.

NBA Look-alikes: Carlos Boozer

Baron Davis Caught With Laura Bush and Some Chick from the WNBA

Laura Bush said come with a customized Clippers jersey or don't come at all.