Author: Mitchell Laurren-Ring

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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!
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    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?
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    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

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    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.
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    Songs for a Graduation

    My nephew, Mike Fox, IM’d me the other day asking for some songs he could use for his graduation. Not sure what else to suggest, I suggested a few songs about school:

    Alice Cooper/School’s Out
    Pink Floyd/Another Brick in the Wall
    The Ramones/Rock and Roll High School
    Chuck Berry/School Days

    After I couldn’t think of anymore that were about school, Mike suggested songs about saying goodbye. Great idea! In the next 15 minutes I reeled off these (with a little help from iTunes):

    The Beatles/Hello Goodbye
    Neil Young/Long May You Run
    The Clash/Should I Stay or Should I Go (as a joke)

    Then I started thinking about the occasion more, and these came to mind:

    Neil Young/Sugar Mountain
    Jeff Buckley/Hallelujah
    Nanci Griffith/From A Distance (no Bette Midler!)

    I’ve made a playlist in iTunes for these but I’m looking for more. What do you suggest?