- 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.
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!
Playoff Notes
- When the clock is running down and you need a basket, which veteran do you go to? Devin Harris and Boris Diaw! Simply awesome because it’s an indicator that everyone on both teams is ready to take the big shot, even the guys who’ve only been in the league two or three years.
- Best picture of the game: Leandro Barbosa giving Diaw a kiss on the cheek during the timeout after the winning shot.
- Suns up by 1 point with 2/10 of a second left in the game and Tim Thomas steps to the line for two free throws. Obviously, he should miss the second free throw so the clock runs out on the rebound. But how do you get a good miss (i.e. one that hits the rim)? Practice missing the first so you can miss the second correctly.
- Early on Boris Diaw successfully drove the lane several times, only to pass out to a three point shooter when he had his own wide-open shot from 2 feet away. D’Antoni must have said something to him because later he took the ball to the rack strong.
- Dallas was unusually cold from the field especially Dirk and Keith Van Horn. It was surprising seeing Van Horn miss so many threes after making so many against the Spurs the other night.
- I used to loathe Jerry Stackhouse because he was a dirty and selfish player. Evidently, he is now only a dirty player. I saw him pass up at least two open shots tonight that two years ago he would have put up without hesitation. And it was the right thing to do.
- Even though I dislike him, I really respect his game. He is the epitomy of everything you want from the first guy off the bench: instant and reliable offense without giving up anything defensively. How surprising was it to see him missing down the stretch?
- I don’t know which media outlet proclaimed that “it’s time to boo Steve Nash” but it showed a total lack of class. Michael Jordan never got booed going back to Chicago. Thankfully the Dallas fans didn’t really go for it.
- Nash had 16, 27 and 5 while Nowitzki had 2, 25 and 19. Does it matter which categories when the numbers are that big?
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: 6231 miles
Current reading: Barrel Fever by David Sedaris, 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, Pardon The Interuption
Recent playing: Poker Room, Halo
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, Graham’s birthday present, call doctor, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
Cool link: William Tell Overture, AKA Lone Ranger Theme, played with hands
Playoff Notes
- The NBA definitely has to do something about the bullshit flagrant foul calls. More often than not, it appears that whether a foul is flagrant is determined solely by how much of a spill the fouled player takes.
- The Heat definitely benefitted from the extra time off, especially Shaq who was extremely energetic in the minutes he played.
- Alonzo Mourning saw limited minutes in the two previous games, but he played extensively and productively tonight. He looks like he’s close to 100% back from the calf injury in March.
- I think I heard the Detroit announcer say “Deee-troit Basketbaaaaallll” about a hundred times during the Cavs series, but I only noticed it two or three times tonight.
- The Pistons likely have the best starting five in the NBA right now. So how fair is it that they can bring Antonio McDyess off the bench? I guess about as fair as being able to bring Mourning off the bench.
- And now Lindsay Hunter can shoot threes? What the hell? Why not three years ago when he was a Laker?
- Antoine Walker started off hot from the three point line but it proved to be a negative to his game. Instead of using it as a way to get some dribble penetration later on, he settled on throwing up more ugly threes – all misses.
- How weird was it that Riley went to the Hack-a-Shaq defense late in the fourth quarter? I remember when Mike Dunleavy did the same thing as the coach of the Blazers back in 2000. His team was ahead and totally in control of the flow of the game. The parade to the free throw line only served to disrupt that flow. Eventually, the Blazers went on to lose that series in seven games. I blame Dunleavy for going to the Hack-a-Shaq.
- I was disappointed to see Udonis Haslem shoot so poorly. He’s one of those role players that turns a good team into a great team.
- The Detroit starting five all shot less than 50% from the field. Except Ben Wallace who was 3 for 3 and a non-factor on offense.
- I don’t know if “under-rated” is the right word, but Tayshaun Prince is probably the best player in the NBA who isn’t considered to be elite. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone who can consistently guard him and his defense is amazing.
- Here’s the box score. Miami shot 56% and outrebounded Detroit by 10. Detroit shot 38% but it seemed much worse during the fourth quarter.
- No Detroit fan attacked a player tonight, but the series isn’t over tonight.
Vital Statistics
There was no school Friday, so Graham went with Tina to her school and Thomas rode his bike with me to work. This was his first big ride and the first time he took his bike on the Max. He did great and enjoyed playing games with they guys at work.
Bike odometer: 6211 miles
Current reading: Barrel Fever by David Sedaris, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent viewing: Pistons at Cavaliers, Spurs at Mavericks, Girl With a Pearl Earring, Punk’d, Cavaliers at Pistons
Recent playing: GooBall
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, Graham’s birthday present, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
Cool link: Evolution of Dance: Awesome video with all your favorite dance steps
Vital Statistics
I pulled a calf muscle on Saturday when I was playing basketball with Thomas. I tried to dunk the ball on the lowered hoop and pulled the muscle on the jump. Tina was amused at my foolishness but said I looked good! It’s almost all better now.
Bike odometer: 6176 miles
Current reading: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson, Rainy Day Music by The Jayhawks, Wasp Star by XTC
Recent viewing: Spurs at Mavericks, Pistons at Cavaliers, The West Wing (first and last episodes), Medium
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: Lubed and cleaned bike, receipts and bills, yard work, voted
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
Cool link: Baby Suit (defies description)
Vital Statistics
After the article appeared in the Oregonian two weeks ago, I had a lot of people tell me, “You’re famous!” After having heard this several times from people I knew, I began correcting them. “Famous means that complete strangers recognize you,” I said. “The only people who have commented on the article are people that I know.” Graham also thought it meant I was famous and bragged to everyone who would listen that his dad was in the paper. Overheard several times at Cub Scouts just the other night:
“Do you get the paper?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see my dad in it? He was in it.”
Well, today as I ordered my lunch from the burrito cart, a woman who was waiting for her lunch said to me, “This may seem weird, but I read this article in the paper awhile ago…” And so, now I am famous. A complete stranger recognized me and we had a nice chat about the article and how I am now famous and that she was the one that made me famous.
Bike odometer: 6150 miles
Current reading: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Rattle and Hum by U2, Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson, Express by Love and Rockets
Recent viewing: Mavericks at Spurs, Cavaliers at Pistons, Nets at Heat
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: Picked up my new pedals, paid bills
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
Cool link: The Daily Show Excerpt: Stewart busts Bush on Goss
Playoff Notes
- Has there ever been a crowd more schizophrenic than in Miami? They booed their team throughout Game 1 and head for the exits early, but then when the Heat cut the lead to 10 with four minutes to play, they erupted. It was awe-inspiring. But booing your team in Game 1 of a playoff series? Not cool in my book.
- The TNT team didn’t mention anything about it, but it’s pretty significant that Riley went to Doleac when Shaq drew his fourth foul. One can only assume that Mourning wasn’t able to go.
- If the Nets can’t get Richard Jefferson back in the series, they are done. He and Carter provide such a great one-two scoring punch that it’s really difficult to guard both.
- Antoine Walker sucked per his usual. I booed him along with the crowd. For God’s sake, stop shooting threes, you fool, and rebound the ball!
- Walker can really turn on the jets at times, but he looks funny when he does it. His legs start pumping way faster than it seems he’s moving. I hope we get to see more of that.
- Gary Payton also needs to stop shooting the three. What is he, like 25% career from downtown?
- If I was Pat Riley, I’d give strict instructions to let Lamond Murray shoot whenever and however he likes. NBA basketball is all about picking your poison, and Murray is usually the least poisonous on the floor.
- Evidently Jason Collins is a bleeder.
- I love watching Carter shoot the three. He hits a few but you know he’s going to go on a missing streak at any time.
- There is no way that the Nets will score 38 points in a quarter against the Heat again in this series.
- Watching Steve Nash take it past three or four guys to get the hoop has got to be one of the most sublime basketball plays to watch because you now he’s not the quickest guy out there. He does it with basketball smarts, misdirection and change-of-pace. Better than a dunk, I think.
- You could say that the Suns were incredibly lucky to land Tim Thomas after the Bulls kicked him out of Chicago. You could also say that they were incredibly lucky that he has chosen to over-achieve since he arrived, rather than under-achieve as he has for his entire career prior. You could say that, but weren’t the Suns due for a little luck after seeing Stoudemire and then Kurt Thomas go down with season-ending injuries?
- Thomas is having the same kind of career breakout post-season that Brian Williams had for the Bulls during one of their championship runs. The Bulls couldn’t afford to bring him back the next year and afterwards he never approached the greatness he showed during that post-season. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing is true of Tim Thomas after this post-season.
- Chris Kaman has to be among the top ten ugliest players in the NBA.
- Speaking of ugly, Shawn Marion has the hands-down ugliest jump shot in the NBA.
- You gotta feel sorry for Shawn Marion. After getting eaten alive by Lamar Odom in the first round, it only gets worse as he attempts to guard Elton Brand. Should the Suns make it to the conference finals, who is waiting? Most likely Tim Duncan. Ouch.
Vital Statistics
The last time we used the grill, Tina couldn’t get the burners to turn off and there were flames coming out of places that they shouldn’t. Tina bought this grill for me for Father’s Day years ago when we lived in the Mall house. It only cost $150 from Sears and over the years I’ve had to replace the burner bar and the grate and had to buy a new tank for it when they changed the laws regarding the connectors. Even so, it’s been a damn fine grill for 10 years. We bought a grill cover in the beginning, but it was always a hassle to get on and off, so it was soon lost. I also made an effort early on to keep inside during the rainy season, but that also fell by the wayside after a couple of years. Thus, it has been just outside our patio door underneath the eaves all year round whenever we cared to use it.
Well, we wanted to have steaks yesterday, so I was tasked with fixing the grill. I fired it up and soon found the problem: the burner bar was completely rusted through in the middle. The current grate was also quite rusted, so the combined replacement cost of these convinced me that it was time for a new grill. So after dinner we dropped by Lowe’s to see what they had. They saw us coming from a mile away because they had a nice array of pre-assembled grills displayed outside. After I briefly tried to convince the family that the $119 model looked like an excellent replacement for our current grill, we decided that stepping up to the $199 was a better idea.
You can see the details by clicking on the picture, but here’s the main selling points:
- 640 sq. in. cooking area (rated for 28 burgers in their flier)
- Three burners that produce 42,000 BTUs
- Porcelain cooking grates
- Porcelain heat tent
- Stainless steel
- Push-and-turn ignition
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We fired her up tonight and cooked the steaks. The push-and-turn ignition is sweet and it heated up pretty quickly. The steaks were fair and cooked a little uneven. I’ll have to learn the cold spots on this grill.
Bike odometer: 6122 miles
Current reading: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: A Prairie Home Companion, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me
Recent viewing: Lakers at Suns, Cavaliers at Pistons, Mavericks at Spurs, Nova, Sportscenter, The West Wing
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: bought a new grill
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank
Cool link: The Wrongness Singularity