Personal news, commentary and ramblings
As always, hilarious.
(via isthisreallynecessary)
After NBA Finals Game 4 had already been decided in overtime, the Lakers’ Pau Gasol was open for a second consecutive dunk. With less than 24 seconds left on the shot clock, conventional wisdom says that you merely hold the ball and let the clock run out. Gasol, who is considered by most to be a standup guy, made a poor decision and decided to dunk the ball. The Orlando Magic’s Mickael Pietrus, a player that I have liked since he helped Golden State knock Dallas out of the playoffs a couple of years ago, likely took umbrage to Gasol’s decision and decided to take it out on Gasol. Watching the replay below, it is obvious that Pietrus made no play on the ball and intended to hit Gasol as hard as he could. Even worse, he chose to hit Gasol when he was in the air, another violation of conventional wisdom in the NBA since knocking a guy off-balance while they are in the air can easily lead to great injury and that’s why is important to have an injury attorney as Brooklyn personal injury attorney to cover at these times. Finally, watching carefully, you’ll notice that Pietrus’ follow-thru results in his sharp elbows digging into Gasol’s ribs from the back.
(Updated video below with “official” video from ESPN. Foul action starts at about 0:55.)
You can see why Gasol was upset. He was smart enough to grab the rim before dropping to the floor. Pietrus further inflamed the situation by trash-talking Gasol after the play was over. In my opinion, the foul should be upgraded from Flagrant 1 to Flagrant 2 and Pietrus should be suspended for a game. I understand the arguments against doing so (Pietrus has a clean record and it would inordinately affect the Magic’s chances of winning Game 5) but the rules are there for a reason and should be enforced. In addition to the unsportsmanlike aspect, the league also has strict rules about hitting someone with a closed fist. There is no exception for hitting in the back.
As in last year, I’ve created a group for anyone who wants to join us in predicting the winners of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Participation requires a free membership at ESPN.com. Brackets must be completed by Wednesday, March 16, 2009. Even if you know nothing about college basketball, it’s still fun to see how well you do as the tournament progresses. It’s even more fun when you beat the pants off of Thomas!
In three words – best toys and gifts for boys!
Click the photo to see the notes.
Update 12/30/08: Today I received Richard Thompson’s Across A Crowded Room and a cool Woot t-shirt. Also, I forgot to mention two pairs of loose-cuff sweatpants I got on Christmas.
Since 1998 Oregon has conducted all of their elections by mail. Registered voters receive their ballots in the mail a couple of weeks before the election and complete them at their leisure. You can mail them back if you finish them soon enough. Otherwise, you can drop them at any of the many drop boxes scattered throughout the city. Sunday night Tina and I sat down at our kitchen table and voted in the comfort of our home. We had done virtually no research prior to filling out our ballots so it took us about an hour. There were a number of ballot initiatives to wade through but the state sends booklets describing each of them as well as all of the candidates. Even though it was a little bit of work, after we were done we felt like worthy citizens.
Today we picked up apples and pears at a local fruit farm outside of Hood River. I took a few pictures with my phone as our Troop leader haggled with the owner over how many boxes for which we had paid. It all worked out in the end. Here’s a shot of Red Delicious for my homies back in Iowa. These are by far the smallest variety they grow here. My favorites are the Fuji which are a bit smaller this year but still a large apple.
Here’s another picture from my trip to the Spam Museum last month. Something about a whole parking lot painted with the word “Spam” tickled me. Or perhaps appealed to my sense of justice.
Thought of this in the shower:
