Tag: basketball

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Vital Statistics

I’m waiting in the airport now for my flight to board for SFO. I had a middle seat but I bought a $24 upgrade for “Economy Plus” that gets me a window seat on the exit row. It’s a scam, but still worth it.

Yesterday Thomas and I went on the annual bike ride for his Cub Scout pack. This year I chose the route and it was quite enjoyable. There’s a length of bike path on Marine Drive along the Columbia that is about 4 miles long. When we got to the end, we pushed our bikes down to the beach and the boys played in the sand for over an hour. It was hot by the time we headed back and I was sucking wind by the end. Thomas really enjoyed it, though, and wants to go on more bike rides. I need to make time for that!

Bike odometer: n/a
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli, I Love Being The Enemy by Reggie Miller and Gene Wojciechowski
Recent listening: Last Week’s Album Chart
Recent viewing: Dead Zone, Countdown, Sportscenter, Pee Wee’s Playhouse
Recent playing: Snood, Halo
Recently accomplished: Packed for trip, Cub scout bike ride, Costco shopping, filled up propane tank, paid bills, cleared Tivo bandwidth, laundry
Imperative To Do: Fly to San Francisco, check in to Marriott, pack money clip
Cool link: Flying man (or is that “falling with style”?)

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Vital Statistics

Tonight I sleep at the hospital so they can study my sleep. It’s very likely that I have sleep apnia and we’re hoping that the study results in a prescription for a CPAP machine.

Starting Sunday, I’ll be in San Francisco until Friday for the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.

Bike odometer: 27 miles (new battery)
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli, I Love Being The Enemy by Reggie Miller and Gene Wojciechowski
Recent listening: Diver Down by Van Halen, Feels Like Home by Norah Jones, Spirit Trail by Bruce Hornsby, Running On Empty by Jackson Browne, Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks
Recent viewing: Monk, Sportscenter, Countdown, Rockstar: Supernova, Last Comic Standing
Recent playing: Snood
Recently accomplished: Trimmed the hedges, fixed the new extension cord I chopped with the hedge trimmer, burned CDs for my sister, bike tune-up, fixed watch
Imperative To Do: Truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room, weed, send CDs to people
Cool link: Honey, why is the water bill so high?

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Vital Statistics

Yow! I started this entry over 10 days ago! Time flies by in the summer. Tina’s dad, Leroy, was here to visit this week. The boys really enjoyed that. The NBA Finals are over and so I’m expecting some free time to become available, but it probably won’t work out that way.
The weather has been great here but it’s getting hot today. Probably need to put the air conditioner in the window.

Current reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers, NPR Story of the Day
Recent viewing: My Life On The D-List, NBA Finals, Sportscenter, Pardon the Interuption, Futurama, Cars
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently accomplished: Deposited checks at the bank, mowed the lawn, stripped the picnic table, made appointment with sleep doctor
Imperative To Do: Install air conditioner, call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room
Cool link: Flash Flood: Flash animation illustrating the sequence of events that led to the flooding of New Orleans.

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Playoff Notes

  • Shaq drew two or three 3-second calls in the first half as he waited for his teammates to deliver him the ball. I think it’s a great move and he should continue to stand his ground in there. They need to realize it’s their fault that he’s not getting the ball enough.
  • Five minutes left in the game and who is not on the floor? Antoine Walker! Result? Win for the Heat!
  • The Heat played great in the first half, but relied on only 3 or 4 guys to score. In the second half, they played worse but luckily for them Dallas made mistakes down the stretch. They’re going to need a better game in Game 4.
  • Things that Dwayne Wade needs to improve in his game to be a great player:
    • Free throw shooting must be 80% or above
    • Must have a credible three-point shot
    • Must add a low post one-on-one game
    • Must reduce the number of turnovers he has
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    Vital Statistics

    Just woke up. I’ve been sick since Friday morning. Sore throat, cough, feeling like crap – that kind of thing. Everyday I think that maybe another day in bed will help, but then I wake up feeling like crap again. I guess I’ll just throw in the towel tomorrow morning and go back to work.

    Current reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
    Recent listening: n/a
    Recent viewing: Heat at Mavericks, French Open: Men’s Final
    Recent playing: Poker Room, Halo
    Recently accomplished: n/a
    Imperative To Do: Get better, call Sears, call sleep doctor, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank, Internet for Graham’s room
    Cool link: The Week in Unnecessary Censorship: My favorite “bit” on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

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    Playoff Notes

  • How do you think Shaq feels when the double-team comes and the open man is Antoine Walker? Is he thinking he should repost and wait for the ball to come back? Hahahaha!!
  • Walker obviously didn’t watch any of the Phoenix games where the announcers kept repeating that missed three pointers ignite the fast break.
  • Everybody talks about the excellent Mavs defense being the reason that the Heat can’t score. I’m not so sure. The Heat aren’t capitalizing on their mismatches especially Shaq vs. Diop/Dampiere. Those guys should have 5 fouls each at the end of the game, not 5 fouls total.
  • The Heat pull within 13 with 5 minutes remaining in the game. Shouldn’t Riley put Wade and Shaq back into the game?
  • Don Nelson did an incredible job building this team. Everybody thought he was crazy when he dismantled the “3 J’s” team of the 90s and replaced them with the likes of Nowitzki and Shawn Bradley. I found myself questioning Nelson’s sanity as late as 2003 when he acquired both Antawn Jameson and Antoine Walker, effectively creating a logjam (or Antoine jam?) at power forward. Here’s a few highlights:
    • 1998: Traded the draft rights to Robert Traylor and Pat Garrity for the draft rights for Dirk Nowitzki.
    • 1999: Acquired Steve Nash via trade
    • 2000: Drafted Eduardo Najera
    • 2003: Drafted Josh Howard
    • 2003: Signed Marquis Daniels as a free agent
    • 2003: Acquired Walker and Jameson in trades
    • 2004: Drafted Devon Harris
    • 2004: Traded Najera for Erick Dampier
    • 2004: Traded Antawn Jameson for Jerry Stackhouse and the #5 draft pick (which ended up being Devon Harris).
    • 2004: Traded Antoine Walker for Jason Terry after losing Steve Nash to free agency (effectively making lemonade out of lemons).
    • 2005: Signed DeSagna Diop as a free agent.
  • Given Nash’ weak defense, it now appears that letting him go was the right move for the Mavs. Terry and Harris are a potent 1-2 combination at point guard and both play better defense than Nash.
  • If Haslem can’t play because of the shoulder injury on Tuesday, I think Riley should start Mourning at power forward. Of course, I also think he should take Walker out of the starting lineup in favor of Posey, but that won’t happen, either.
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    Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 6307 miles
    Current reading: Heaven Is A Playground by Rick Telander, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
    Recent listening: Express by Love and Rockets, Story of the Day, Hindu Love Gods
    Recent viewing: Last Comic Standing, Sportscenter, Countdown, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report
    Recent playing: Poker Room, Halo
    Recently accomplished: Cleaned the garage, strung Tina’s art project, paid bills, receipts
    Imperative To Do: Call Sears, call sleep doctor, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank, Internet for Graham’s room
    Cool link: Driving Test: GMAC Insurance 2006 National Driver’s Test

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    Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 6269 miles
    Current reading: Heaven Is A Playground by Rick Telander, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
    Recent listening: Living With War by Neil Young, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Coverville
    Recent viewing: Heat at Pistons, Sportscenter, Charlie Rose
    Recent playing: Poker Room, Halo
    Recently accomplished: Mowed the lawn, fixed up a computer for Graham’s birthday, receipts
    Imperative To Do: Call Sears, call sleep doctor, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
    Cool link: Original UpRock: an old-time dance routine set to modern hip-hop

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    Playoff Notes

    • Another thing I don’t like about Antoine Walker: he has no in-between game. He’s either hoisting up three pointers or he’s in the lane. Come to think of it, he doesn’t have a low post game, either.
    • In the tradition of the “Jordan stopper” and the “Kobe stopper”, I propose to call Lindsey Hunter the “Wade stopper.” May he be just as successful as Gerald Wilkins and Ruben Patterson.
    • The new generation of NBA superstars have at least one thing wrong with their game: they can’t shoot free throws reliably. Forget Shaq and the big men, I’m talking about Wade, LeBron, etc.
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    Playoff Notes

    • I’ve noticed coaches and players are looking at the instant replay on the arena big screen after controversial calls. Sadly, the broadcasters haven’t picked up on this and viewers have to wonder exactly what the crowd is upset about.
    • Boris Diaw missed a bunch of layups tonight. Why the heck doesn’t he dunk it when he gets that close to the rim?
    • Jason Terry is probably a ball-hog who has reluctantly embraced the game of a true point guard. He took numerous bad shots tonight including some that resulted in Phoenix fast breaks, exactly what Avery Johnson tells him not to do, I’m sure.
    • Dirk Nowitzki sure can shoot that fadeaway jumper when he’s got single coverage, but I’d like to see his shooting percentage when he’s double-teamed. I don’t think he hits it nearly as much then.
    • I think the reason that I enjoy watching Steve Nash play so much is the total joy that he brings to the game. Twice during the game tonight he rushed off the bench to greet the players coming off the court in a timeout – big smile on his face, high fives and words of encouragement. I love watching people who so clearly revel in their work.
    • James Jones has completely disappeared from the offense, but has continued to impact the game through rebounding and defense. He even passed up on a wide open three pointer tonight, even though that is supposedly his specialty. Still, he has a long body and has been very effective on the Dallas guards.
    • Avery Johnson gave up on the game with 6:40 left in the game and down by 20? Did he not realize he was playing the Suns who can give up 20 in 4 minutes?
    • Kurt Thomas is back! Woo hoo!