Rants and Ranks

The minute I read, "Steve Nash injures himself carry luggage," I knew that he was in trouble.  But let's face it, the minute he suited up in purple and gold it hasn't been pretty; it's been downright ugly. He broke his leg his second game as a Laker, eventually missing 32 games.  That unfortunately was his best LA season.  The next year he played in a whopping 15 total contests.  It's a really sad way for a legend to end his career.  It's certainly not the first time we've seen something like this, but it doesn't make it any easier to digest.   Nash will officially join the "Ring-less Club" as soon as his contract expires at the end of this year.  I mean in reality he is already retired because he's not playing this year, and even if he wanted to play more, who in their right mind would sign him?  So even though he hasn't "officially" used the "r-word" it's pretty common knowledge he's done.   So wh...

Here are some thoughts leading into the new season.  (In no particular order.) 1. This is the first season in many years where we don't need to ask about the health of Andrew Bynum and Greg Oden.  Neither are currently in the league.  I could see someone taking a flyer on Bynum towards the end of the regular season, but I think Oden is done.  He's having some legal woes, and doesn't seem to be worth the headache; not that Bynum is.  The question is: will the two injury-prone talents now be Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose?  Obviously the repercussions of these two are infinitely higher than the other two knuckleheads.  (More so for Rose and the Bulls than Kobe and the Lakers at this point.) 2. What's Cleveland going to look like?  Is it too good to be true?  Or will LeBron be able to pull it all together?  That team wasn't exactly a harmonious place last year. 3. How will the "grandpa" Spurs hold up?  Popovich is the minutes-...

Nobody reading this probably knows who Reggie Williams is, and that is precisely the point.  Reggie was picked just ahead of Scottie Pippen in the '87 draft.  I would be willing to bet money that you know who Pippen is. The Clippers are who drafted Williams, who was coming off 24 PPG at Georgetown his Senior season. That seems like a pretty good selection for the 4th pick.  Pippen on the other hand, was a virtual unknown, who was actually booed when he was drafted. (It also needs pointed out that the Sonics are the ones who drafted Pippen before trading him that night for nothing in the same stratosphere as Pippen's talent.  Whoops factor on that trade: 5!  This is a double whoops scenario.) Williams topped out at 18.2 PPG in the '92 season, which was inflated due to being on the "run and gun" Nuggets of the early 90's.  He was in actuality a 10-13 PPG scorer the majority of his career, which ended in '97.  (Just for the record, in 1992 Pippen...

I've revised drafts in the past.  Now I'm looking at specific picks and how not only were they busts, but the very next pick ended up being a big time player.  For argument's sake, we are only discussing the very next pick, even if there were other future all-stars still on the draft board.  We're going to call it the "Whoops Factor," and we're starting with Darko. Darko Milicic went 2nd overall in the 2003 draft.  The '03 draft is considered one of the greatest NBA drafts ever.  That fact alone makes Darko under extreme scrutiny considering he was in fact that number 2 pick.  Thankfully he wasn't picked above LeBron, but he was picked right before Carmelo Anthony.  (Yes Bosh and Wade were still available, and Wade had a better career than anyone not named LeBron in that draft, but that's not what we're going for.  Remember it's all about what went down in consecutive picks.) Carmelo has been one of the most prolific scorers since b...

One of my favorite rotations ever in the NBA was the 7 seconds or less Suns.  Specifically the 2007 season.  Let me set the stage for you. At center was Amar'e Stoudemire.  He was coming off a lost season the previous year, and he had something to prove in '07.  He made his first and only All NBA 1st team this season. At power forward was Boris Diaw.  Diaw had won Most Improved Player the year before, and was called upon to play numerous positions and help fill the void that was left when Stoudemire went down with injury.  This particular season he got to play alongside Stoudemire, and had less responsibilities, but was no less important to the team's success. At small forward was Shawn Marion who was pound for pound possibly the most well-rounded player in the NBA at the time.  (Despite his hideous looking jump shot that was somehow effective.) The previous year he had a career season, which was to be expected, for the same reasons that Diaw di...

I've been a Kevin Love fan since the day he entered the league.  The moment I read an article after the Timberwolves played the Spurs early in Love's rookie year, where Duncan essentially told Love after the game that he "was going to be something special," I knew I needed to pay attention to this kid. Coupled with the fact of being a fantasy basketball nerd and seeing Love's rebounding numbers in limited minutes at the time (he had to split time with Al Jefferson) I knew he was someone to take note of.   So what's the conundrum?  I'm not worried about how he will coexist with LeBron, I know he will do fine even if he has a rocky start.  My main concern is much more selfish.   Will I even still like Kevin Love by the end of the season?   Let's face it, the hype machine isn't as much as it was for Miami in 2010, but it's still there.  The Eastern Conference is absolutely putrid, and with Paul George probably out the entire season the Pacer...

In a very shocking turn of events, Jay Briscoe upset Michael Elgin for the ROH title at Saturday's big show in Toronto.  I call it an upset because Elgin has been destined for the championship since his big breakout during Wrestlemania weekend in 2012.  They may have waited too long to put the belt on him, but at least they finally did, and presumably would let him run with it.  Or so we thought. My first thought (aside from "Why have him lose?") was "Why Briscoe?"  He's a tag team guy.  That's what he's known for.  Yes, he's a former champion, but that didn't exactly work out so well for ROH the first time now did it? I naturally needed more info, and started scouring the web for reasons why they would prematurely end the reign of their "golden boy."  The first story indicates that Elgin had been interviewed recently saying he would like to try his hand in professional baseball.  That's interesting to say the least.  Somewh...

Turtle mania is sweeping the nation just like it's 1991 all over again.  I was looking forward to the new movie, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  I also enjoyed it thoroughly, so I'm not too surprised that it is as big of hit as it has become.  That being said, I'm extremely nostalgic.  Much to the chagrin of my wife, I will seek out old shows or movies that I watched as a kid and see if they hold up.  My biggest hope is to see if they give me the same feeling they did as a kid.  (We all want to be a kid again right?)  Usually the answer is "no," but every so often I'm reminded of why I did like it initially.  And in an even more rare scenario, they are just as good as I remembered.  I hope I'm not a total lame-ass for doing this, but over the years I've checked out things from my youth, if nothing else for just a laugh.  The following is some of the things I've checked out and whether or not it stands the test o...

His goofiness could always make me laugh. Robin Williams was one of my favorite actors.  As a kid I enjoyed his goofy shenanigans on the big screen, but as I grew older I really appreciated his more dramatic roles.  It's pretty incredible really, not too many comedians could make that transition.  These movies I consider his best individual performances, not necessarily my favorite movies of his.  1. Dead Poets Society 2. Good Will Hunting 3. Patch Adams 4. Jack 5. Mrs. Doubtfire 6. Hook 7. Aladdin 8. Happy Feet 9. Night at the Museum (Teddy Roosevelt rules!) 10. Insomnia I would like to point out that I've never seen Jumanji or Good Morning, Vietnam which are two fan favorites.  So that is why they aren't included. 

Last week I was going to write about who I thought would make the final 12 man lineup.  I was going to base those predictions off the scrimmage last Friday.  In probably the biggest sports story in the last few weeks, Paul George snapped his leg and changed my mind about writing such a piece. That was a major bummer.  I'm a big George fan, and I feel really bad for the Pacers.  I would think that Larry Bird has probably broken a few pieces of a furniture in the past week, and I can't blame him.  The way this Pacers team is constructed now, they may not even make the playoffs. So that was obviously a major blow to the team.  PG was all but penciled in to start.  Now Kevin Durant withdraws!?!?  Holy moly, that is news.  So you lose the best player on the team, (who happens to be the reigning MVP) now what? Team USA was already lacking power forwards, with Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Blake Griffin not playing for one reason or anoth...