Tag: Sports

Vital Statistics

Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Fleetwood Mac by Fleetwood Mac, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks
Recent viewing: Sportscenter, RockStar: Supernova
Recent playing: Poker Room, Bust-A-Move
Recently accomplished: Receipts, mowed lawn, pulled weeds
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room
Cool link: Last.fm: Track your music listening habits and share them with your friends.

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.

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

    • 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.

    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.