The Babcock Report: Thanks For Kicking My Ass

Sunday night LaRocque and I had the pleasure of attending the Genghis Tron/Baroness show at the Worcester Palladium. As I sit here typing away my ears are still ringing...a constant reminder of how pitiful I am compared to the awesome display of Metal that I witnessed approximately 48 hours ago.

I have not been to many concerts over the past couple of years. There was a time in my life when I frequented them on a regular basis but for one reason or another they have become less of a staple in my life as of late. It felt good to hand security my ticket and make my way inside to mill about pre-show with the rest of the crowd. LaRocque was immediately exposed as a potential "outsider" to the scene as he was sporting a Boston Celtics vest and sandals. However, when one of the guards commented on the badassedness of his vest he revealed the patchwork duct-taping that was holding it together, immediately sending the message to those around us that we were not fucking around. I liken this moment to an ass kicking delivered by a new guy in prison just to let the other inmates know that he is not going to be just a piece of ass candy for the duration of his stay. Needless, to say, the night was going well.

I will admit that I am not the hugest of Hard Core/Metal/Progressive Sludge (a term that has been used by other seemingly more knowledgeable folks to describe Baroness, a pretty awesome and accurate description in my opinion). The first time that I heard Baroness was a momentous Saturday morning following a trip to the Celtics game (also with LaRocque, and come to think of it he may have been wearing that same vest) that left me partially crippled due to alcohol consumption and all around debauchery. I spent twelve hours that day working, and let me tell you, the best part of that day was when I popped in Baroness' Red Album (outstanding) and let the sweet sounds of Metal bring me back to consciousness in order to become a (somewhat) contributing member of society. Since that day I have longed to experience this music in person and again, I couldn't have been more fulfilled.

As a random side note...I used to go to a lot of Metal/Hard Rock concerts where I have seen the likes of Godsmack, Ozzy Osbourne, Korn, Pantera, and the strangest thing was that at every Rock concert I went to for a 2 year period in the Boston area I saw a dude who looked and dressed EXACTLY like the WWE wrestler The Undertaker. He was usually prowling around on the fringes of a mosh pit, looking destitute and forlorn, albeit filled with rage, as if someone had perpetrated some unthinkable crime against him or his family and his only chance for redemption and revenge was to rock out really fucking hard, occasionally sending an elbow or shoulder into an unsuspecting mosher sending him crumpling to the ground. It was a sight to behold. I really kind of expected him to be there, I may even have had the balls to shake his hand.

So anyway, I didn't feel like I stood out to much, and not like I cared, I just don't like to be made out to be some tool who wants to feel badass and therefor goes to a certain kind of concert. I noticed that there were many red sox hats in the crowd, which was pleasing, and while I had no visible tattoos or piercings, when the Baroness' set began Larocque and I made our way up to what would become the edge of the Mosh pit and there we proceeded to be dominated by a symphony of shred, as it were.

One of the best things about Baroness' set (we only stayed for them and Genghis Tron-- the opener--who I will speak briefly of in a moment) was that there was no talking before or in between songs. The sound check seemed to take an awkwardly long time to complete and seemed to really be pissing the guys off. By the time the first notes were set loose there seemed to be a palpable amount of frustration and excitement built up in the musicians and the crowd alike. I cannot accurately describe the awesomeness of the set that followed; a CD will give you a taste but you owe yourself the feast that is the live experience. Just as the second song was beginning to pick up pace I directed LaRocque's attention to a guy a few rows ahead of us who was reaching up to the ceiling with both hands and shaking; he seemed to be imagining that he was holding two still-beating hearts in his hands as his fingers were opened just so as to conjure up the image. I said, "Dude, that guy is fucking intense" and then he proceeded to toss about 10 people almost nearly onto the stage as the roar of the first chorus was released. It was awesome.

Following Baroness' set I made my way upstairs to purchase a Baroness Tshirt, which is extremely badass...although, in terms of sick Tshirt designs I give the edge to Genghis Tron. I was a little overwhelmed by Genghis Tron, but it was my first experience with them and both LaRocque and I agreed, the intensity of such a band can be off putting at first blush. I have since acquired their CD and will continue my exposure to them. We capped our evening off by skipping out on the rest of the show (two other bands were set to play: The Red Chord and Converge) and ordering some wings and sodas (we seem to be maturing in some strange way) and discussing the Celtics and the NFL draft. LaRocque took great pleasure of answering my incredibly stupid question: "what pick do the Giants have?"..."Last (Insert Big Shit Eating Grin Here)". Touche old friend, touche.

That's all for now, I have recently touched down in Gaithersburg, MD where I will be residing for the next 6 weeks, so stay tuned for a "Greetings from..," post as well as more Babcock Reports and various other rants and postings of Gary Wright videos.

Thanks for stopping by.

Toadies, 1995.

Sick.

Victory.

This picture really sums up what makes this team so great.


This video doesn't, but it is still sick.

China and the Summer Olympics

Sally Jenkins finally stood up to the plate.

This is the first time I've seen a sportswriter criticize China for their human rights record and frankly, it's about time. I know sports and politics are separate, but the world of sportswriters should weigh in on this issue. As Nick will point out, sports can function as a vehicle for social change or at least social awareness. Well, everyone should be aware of what the Chinese are doing right now since it's pretty awful.

I won't draw a comparison to the Berlin games since China is not exterminating millions of people, but unfortunately the Beijing games share many similarities with Berlin. To put it bluntly: China is a regime that not only refuses to recognize basic human rights but also supports murderous dictators around the world. Why then, should they be allowed to host the Olympics which allegedly showcases the best athletes from every country? Hitler's Germany got the games, but then everyone boycotted since they were killing Jewish people. China now has the games, yet they repress people who protest against this fact.

You may ask the question, "why didn't anyone point this out when China was awarded the Olympic games?" Good question. I believe the understanding (with China) was that they would clean up their record of human rights violations leading up to the games. At the very least, the games would put pressure on China to stop their abuses, but unfortunately it hasn't. If you don't watch the news, I'll review China's record on human rights:

1. They support the Government of Mynanmar which systematically murders, tortures, and abuses citizens of Burma (yes, I said Burma). This has been well-documented by the international community. Support constitutes money, training, political support, and troops. An example is when the EU tries to put sanctions on Myanmar. China then objects and reminds the EU that billions of dollars of trade are on the line when they talk about Burma.

2. China is beating the crap out of Tibet right now. Apparently they've murdered 130 people protesting the mere fact that China gets to host the Olympic games. Does this bother anyone? Does it bother anyone that the Chinese won't allow any foreign press into the country to document how the government is reacting to the Tibet's call for independence?

3. Similar to Burma, China supports the guys in Darfur doing all the genocide and ethnic cleansing. If you've been following the Darfur crisis, it's really just flat out depressing. Thousands of women and children have been killed over tribal disputes, and every time someone tries to stop it, China steps in and says no. Maybe it's the oil they buy from Darfur?

4. China is basically preventing anyone, including the United States, from taking a hard stance on North Korea. I'll leave US politics out of this issue, but suffice to say that everyone knows North Korea has nuclear weapons and they aren't afraid to use them. This is a fairly serious issue that won't be solved with China supporting a petty dictator. Oh, and did I mention that Kim starves millions of people in his country every day?

So what should be done about this? Jenkins proposes taking away the games from China, but this seems to be somewhat unrealistic considering how much money and time China has spent so far (it's got to be in the billions). Boycotts have been discussed in Europe – Germany and France didn't rule out the options. Protests, as described by the Wall Street Journal, are being planned as well.

My guess is that:

- No one will boycott games since everyone buys so much damn stuff from China. Politicians will bluster, shoot out rhetoric, and even threaten a boycott, but I doubt no one will actually do it. At the end of the day, China knows much of the developed world relies on them for cheap labor and manufacturing. Politicians know this and will eventually keep quiet.

- The IOC will not revoke the games from China because this will set a bad precedent of politicizing the games. In other words, the IOC is supposed to stay out of politics and by taking them away, they'll be making a massive political statement. That will then open themselves up to a world of criticism which they may not want to deal with. Remember, other countries do bad stuff and they may to host the games one day. The IOC probably does not want to put itself in the role of making judgments on other country's policies.

- A few individual athletes and organizers will boycott the games in an attempt to make a statement. In fact, Steven Spielberg already did this and I suspect others will follow. The media will make a big deal about this and that's probably a good thing. A news cycle criticizing China will at the very least raise awareness about the country's deeds.

Meanwhile people continue to die at the hands of a brutal regime and there's nothing the Olympics can do to change it. Pretty sad if you ask me.

The Dream

I had a dream last night that was probably the most vivid one I have ever had. I don't usually remember my dreams. I was on the basketball court at Avon Old Farms, and for some reason the Celtics were there just shooting around. All of the other players were laughing and having fun, but Kevin Garnett looked very intense. So intense that when he walked by me, I was scared to say hello. But, he put out his fist and offered my a pound. I put my fist out. The force of his fist pound was so great that I was shot fifty feet in the air and slammed against the brick wall. I looked at him for some type of explanation, but he just looked at me like a bull in rage. My alarm then went off. I shot up, unable to believe what had just happened. The message was clear to me. The Celtics are embarrased about the way they let Monday night slip away. KG is amped, and I have a feeling the Celtics are going to pound the Suns into submission tonight.

--LaRocque

Russians and Woman's Basketball

This has to be one of the most bizarre things I've ever read in my life:

http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-russhoops26mar26,0,4366538.story?page=1

I'm speechless...

The Jordan Ads

I've been having a strange series of thoughts lately: why is Michael Jordan suddenly on TV during the NCAA tourney? Where was he before? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Jordan hasn't been on TV for awhile, at least in a major way. Now we have at least three different commercials and products touting his name during the tournament (Jumpman ads, and the two Hanes ads). Why is this happening now?

For a moment, put aside the obvious answer to my question -- Jordan is synomous with college sports because he epitomizes college hoops in its hayday. Of course everyone remembers his college career, and I doubt we'll ever see a period of college sports with that many good players competing at the collegiate level. It was awesome, Jordan was awesome, ect.

But consider Jordan's "career" since he left the Bulls:

1. He tried playing minor league baseball and failed
2. He tried playing for the Wizards and failed
3. He went to work for the Bobcats as an owner / manager and failed (is still failing?)
4. He's had a terrible divorce
5. We found out he has a major gambling problem

To say Jordan has suffered a string of bad luck and financial misfortune is understating the situation. Does he now owe a ton of money to his wife? Does he have gambling debts? Barkley has a similar situation: he gambles millions of dollars and now has to work to pay it off...

I'd like to think the answers to these questions are "no." Jordan is, afterall, the first guy who married sports and marketing for the NBA (remember "Be Like Mike"?). No one would say that his marketing efforts have been nothing short of spectacular, like his basketball career. And to say he may have spent all of his money is probably absurd.

But why is he on TV now? And why does his ad with Cuba Gooding suck so badly?

Sign PacMan Jones

March Madness

MADNESS

Ah yes, March Madness. How close can you come to TV / sports heaven? HD, beer, ESPN, multiple games, three pointers, funny ads, Bob Knight on ESPN....

Let's be honest: The Tourney is one of the best times of the year to watch sports, besides the Super Bowl, NBA playoffs, or even the Masters (yes, golf is awesome). Beer in hand, you have hours of awesome games with ESPN coverage to tide you over during commercials. And when ESPN breaks to woman's figure skating, you have decent ads to watch or even the roomofzen to waste your time. (sidenote: Babcock's post on Cancun was epic).

For once, you have a rock-solid reason not to be social or spend time with your girlfriend / significant other. All you have to do is turn on CBS (hopefully in HD) and relax. The games fire off in rapid succession and before you know it, your favorite team either won or lost down the stretch. Even better, by the time you realize that you're team lost, you're busy watching Duke get beat or Stanford narrowly escaping with a W (more on this later). The games just keep on coming and CBS just piles it on like salsa on nachos. (here I'm reminded of the nachos at Winners and the surely waitress who always bought Nick and I shots...)

What makes March Madness so awesome? Aside from the usual platitudes such as, "I love how hard college kids play in contrast to the pros," or "the upsets are so thrilling and fun to watch," March Madness, to me, is the best time to think about why you like college sports. I won't go into the typical reasons (the teams play like teams, the players hustle, coaching has more of an effect on gameplay, more threes are made, the game is shorter).

For me, it's simple: TV companies (CBS) team up with the highest advertising bidders (Pontiac) to display one of the best exhibitions of team sports and coaching known to man. What follows over the course of the tournament is a torrential downpour of ill-advised 3s, unexpected good games from middle seeds, Bryant Gumbel acting like an ass, and announcers trying their best to keep up with the action. Here are my observations from Madness so far....

The Games

The best game so far has to be the UCLA win on the back of Kevin Love. Not only does this guy have a sleazy line-beard, he has a sick fade-away jumper and ridiculous ups for a white dude (7 blocks that game...wow). Collison's tomahawk at the end of regulation sealed the deal for me. I had goose-bumps when I saw that.

Another good game was the Duke loss since I hate Duke or anything in the ACC that's not Maryland. WVA, as we saw in their league play, plays well when Alexander stays out of foul trouble. The only reason they lost was because Alexander had 10 points during the BE tourney.

The Stanford game was also pretty good and I think they deserved to lose that game due to lack of hustle (in other words, sheer talent won the game for them, not heart). A few notes on this game:

1. I now hate the Lopez twins because CBS couldn't stop talking about them. In fact, CBS's announcers during the Stanford game couldn't bother to remember any one's name except the Lopez twins. That really annoyed me. And Brooks should get a hair-cut for christ-sake.

2. Does anyone else agree with me that Stanford shouldn't be allowed to have a good basketball team? Either your school is good academically or you school is good for sports. They shouldn't be allowed to have both things at a school if you ask me. It would make the cosmic order better in my opinion.

3. Did anyone wonder why the Lopez twins' mom was taking notes during the game? Was she going to coach them up afterwards?

4. Did anyone notice how CBS kept showing the same washed-up 45 year old dude in the stands? They probably showed him cheering 9 times.

Other games I enjoyed were the Michigan State and Louisville games. Coaches like Pitino and Izzo are truly legendary....Izzo gets his under-performing senior to finally play well in the tournament (when it counts) and Pitino's Cardinals play amazing defense every minute of the game. Both of these teams are awesome in my opinion and they have coaches who somehow find a way to inspire their players to new heights. Izzo should be considered one of the greats, especially if they continue this play).

(As an aside...while I'm sad to see Georgetown lose, it's always fun to see a team like Davidson pull the upset. I can also tell you without a doubt that Roy Hibbert won't be very good in the NBA. I watched him play in HS and it still amazes me that he even got to Gtown on a basketball scholarship. He could barely run down the court in HS, let alone shoot a three like he does now.)

CBS Coverage

The CBS coverage was excellent this year. My one complaint was this: why do they take you away from the final three minutes of a game in order to see the tip-off of another (and oftentimes less important) game? But CBS mostly got it right. Gumbell was slightly annoying, but Clark had some good insights and the way they kept showing games with minimal commercials was very good.

ESPN coverage

Bob Knight was simply hilarious in an unintentional way. Whenever Digger and the other commentator would crack jokes or share a moment of excitement, Knight would just sit there scowling or barely smile. Nothing seemed to faze this guy on TV, but he would make fun of Digger or say something obnoxious from time to time. I also loved his ESPN green coaching sweater. Where can I get one?

Sign PacMan Jones

Here are the reasons why the New England Patriots should make a move to pick up PacMan Jones:

1) They will get him for virtually nothing...some numbers being thrown around are 1 year 1.5 million or less. Even if they took one of the highest rated cornerbacks in next months draft neither will have the skills and proven ability of Jones AND they will command a MUCH larger salary (AJ Hawk got something like 37 Million as the number 6 pick last year.

2) If Jones screws up in any way, the Patriots can release him and pay him nothing, all they would lose is a mid to late round pick. Considering the way that the Randy Moss deal worked out (and this deal was made despite SIMILAR although not exactly the same kind of baggage involved) the Patriots are still playing with House money...they could sign Lawrence Phillips, Christian Peters, and Maurice Clarett, have the three of them mastermind a child pornography and sex trafficking cartel, and they would still break even on what they spent on Moss.

3) The Patriots have a hole in the secondary with the departure of Asante Samuel. I really don't want to be lining up against Indy with Hank Poteat in the defensive backfield again.

4) Even if he only returned kicks, Jones could prove invaluable, giving the Pats a legit gamebreaker.

5) New England area strip-clubs could see a 20% increase in revenues for Fiscal Year 2008.

Feeling Good

It's been a hectic week. The C's have had their nose to the grindstone the last couple of nights, and we've all been up late working hard with them. The weather today was cold, windy, and wet. But, Wednesday is over, another week is almost done, and spring starts tommorow.

Some Thoughts on the MVP While Watching the 12 point lead grow to 21

As I watch the Celtics playing with a comfortable 12 point lead at the end of the third quarter, I can't help but be struck by the absurdity of the comments that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor made about KG today ( see article ). I don't want to sound like one of those fans that defends the people that play for their team to no end. But, Taylor's blatant accusations that Garnett "tanked" the last five games of last season is unprofessional and totally uncalled for. I can honestly say that I was always impressed with the effort and dedication that KG gave to the Timberwolves. There are a lot of guys out there that spend their careers on bad teams, but none seemed to handle it as well as he did. Every time I saw him in a Wolves jersey, he played as if he was competing in the NBA finals (which was obviously never the case). Reports always indicated that even when he knew his teams were not playoff bound, the Big Ticket was the last man to leave the practice facility every day. He was completely loyal to the Timberwolves franchise, the Minnesota fans, and to Glen Taylor. To have him directly slammed by this dipshit owner makes me sick.

Now, I'll be honest, I'm not privy to what was happening during the last five games of the season. Clearly, it was time for Garnett to move on, and I don't know if there's any bad blood on the Minnesota end. But, there is nothing that could have happened during that five game span that would warrant publicly slamming a player that gave so many good years. Unlike some of his peers, Garnett never publicly demanded a trade. Unlike some of his peers, I am willing to bet that if Garnett was not traded, he would have returned to the T-Wolves and given his best effort every night just like he has always done. This guy has been the ultimate professional throughout his career.

Finally, Taylor's comments clearly indicate in some way that Garnett was part of the problem with last year's team. Again, I just can't get over this. Glen Taylor is asking us to look at this team, which has made so many poor decisions in the past, and point the finger at the greatest player that ever wore that team's uniform. Taylor's words speak volumes to me about the type of people that run the Timberwolves, and I'm not suprised that they have found success so hard to come by ( I realize that Kevin McHale is the GM. But, Boston fans, let's not kid ourselves, the guy was a great player but he's a total shitshow as a GM). The fact that KG was able to stay so motivated working under these people speaks volume about his character. The fact that we are up 21 on the Rockets in the fourth quarter without Ray Allen speaks volumes about what kind of player and competitor he is. Seriously though Glen Taylor, you're right. He was probably the problem, not you. That's why he's probably going to be the MVP this year.

The Babcock Report: No Country For Old Men

A Retrospective Look At Spring Break 2008

Some of you who know me may be disappointed by what I am going to write here today. Certainly there was a time when the words "Babcock" and "Mexico" would have heralded tales of debauchery and hilarity heretofore unrivaled in the 21st century. No friends, it may have taken a trip to Spring Break 2008 in Cancun, Mexico for me to realize it, but alas, those days have come to an end.






Throughout my four years at college I never once enjoyed a Spring Break vacation of anykind. In fact the highlights of my vacations from school most often included receiving extra portions of instant mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets at the high school cafeteria where I spent my breaks fixing light fixtures and scrubbing vulgar vandalism from the girls room walls. I admit I enjoyed these times; working for the school department allowed me to come back to school with enough money to frequent Uncle Tom's on at least three or four occasions before I had to resort to shaking down my parents again for more money. Working just seemed like the sensible thing to do with my vacation; it was certainly less stressful than being at school, and I got paid. Now, in all honesty anyone who has suffered through a sweaty basement social party at Ladd House deserves a trip to Mexico to party...god knows I have earned my share of tropical vacations suffering through the various on-campus "parties" at Bowdoin college. So when my girlfriend and I booked a trip to Cancun last fall, I felt a sense of vindication...like the fat kid who never got into a football game until the last play of his senior year (inevitably to watch the other team kneel on the ball to seal victory), my time had come. Right? Maybe not.

The hotel where we were staying at was segregated into two distinct groups. People on Vacation and Kids on Spring Break. There were two separate beaches, two separate pools, and even separate dining facilities. It actually made perfect sense, and if it hadn't been that way anyone at this place trying to enjoy the peaceful sound of the waves would have had to endure some meathead with a tribal armband shouldering you out of the way to order a rum and coke and say "whats up ladies?" to any girl within a 15 yard radius every 5 minutes from 9am to 5am, every single day. I'm not kidding. Part of me wanted to say, "Man, I was just like that once." but the god's honest truth is that I never had a tribal armband.


My days in Cancun were spent by the pool, relaxing, taking it all in. Listening in on the conversations of 16 year old girls talking about how awesome such and such a foam party was, or who dry humped the longest at the Akon concert. I tried to keep an open mind. In the evenings a shuttle bus ran from the hotel to the main strip of Bars and Clubs. If you have never been to Cancun, here is a rough description of the set-up. The whole tourist area that is famous for spring break is set up along a long stretch of sand that juts out into the ocean from the mainland of Mexico like a giant skid mark. Along this finger like stretch of sand one road runs North and South...hotels and resorts are on the south end of the finger, clubs are on the Northern tip. A good analogy to this set up would be as follows: Stick your finger up your ass, all the way up. Now, the hotels would be around where your finger meets your hand; its crowded, a little hot, but there is enough light to see what you are doing and to move around a little. The clubs and bars would be at the tip of your finger; Hot, sticky, packed with horrible things, Dark, smelly, techno music constantly playing at extremely high levels...you feel ashamed of being there.


There are buses that you can hop on for a dollar that take you from one end to the other. The bus drivers will try to rip you off by giving you incorrect change every time. Sometimes when you go back up to complain they give you incorrect change a second time. Most people just give up or are too drunk to notice it in the first place. Simply put, the buses are my own version of hell. Each one that took us from the hotel to the bars/clubs had a ratio of 70 dudes to 3 girls. 99% of the dudes were already drunk. The girls were left to fend for themselves while every single dude took turns hitting on them. You see some strange things on the bus: kids that couldn't be more than twelve years old puking out of a window, girls allowing guys to motorboat them. All the while 2 or 3 actual Mexicans ride along in horror, amazed that America is actually considered one of the most advanced societies in the world.


So, you ride in this bus for about 30 minutes (actually travelling a distance of about 1 mile), and then you get into a line for a club. If you have purchased a wrist band from a tour company that guarantees you "VIP" acccess and "No lines" you usually only have to wait in line for about 45 minutes. Then you flock like lemmings to a cliff inside these dark palaces of techno and cheap mixed drinks where 8 or 9 hundred other people are allready pushing and shoving their way to a bar. Now people would have you think that these VIP passes allow you access to an open bar...not quite. Unless you tip the bartenders or are a hot girl, good luck getting anything to drink. Even when you do tip, you often have to wait in a line, fighting for your life with those around you as if you were trying to get on the last life raft of the Titanic. Most of the time I just wanted to drown. In this one club called "The City" there had to be at least 5 thousand people inside (Mexico apparently has no fire codes), the ambiance was perfectly summed up by the large portrait of Paris Hilton near the entrance, a man in a Predator like costume juggling fire on a stage and the fact that Floyd Mayweather came out on stage, raised his hand, and then went back off to some back room presumably to resume an orgy. I spent the evening we went to this club watching two teenagers simulate sex with their clothes on about 1 foot away from me. It was the grossest make out/dryhump session I have ever seen. They were doin that thing where two people make out with their tongues only their mouths aren't touching, only their tongues are. I think they were both about 17. Does this make me a pervert? Perhaps. But there was no where else for me to stand.


There were some good things about this trip. My girlfriend and I had a great dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, I saw a couple of girls make out, spent hours in the perfect water (about 80 degrees) and slept as much as I wanted to. I can't tell you how much it made me miss the United States. I don't want to put down Mexico, and I realize I was staying in one of the worst places in the world (in terms of gross activities and all around sketchiness) but I couldn't wait to have a steak and cheese and watch ESPN in English. I didn't want to drink another rum and coke made with Mr. Boston rum. I didn't want to look at the absolute scum of our country hit on girls anymore and generally make all of the Mexican's think that we are pompous dirtbags. I was fortunate enough to go on the trip with a good group of people, I was even luckier that I was there with my girlfriend; the prospects of having to fight off 700 guys to even talk to one girl is far too much like Bowdoin college than I care to relive. On top of it all I didn't have a serious tribal tattoo to get my foot in the door at the wet tshirt contest or the coed relay races.


So, anyway, I am back and happy. I realize that I really didn't miss all that much by not making it to Cancun before now, in fact I am glad I didn't. I don't think I'll ever return either. Given the fact that Cancun is just a long sand bar alone in the ocean gives me hope that some day a large wave will come and wash it all away, erasing all evidence that it ever existed. Right now the first round of the NCAA tournament is underway and I am home from work early. I have to believe that spring will be here soon and that better times are ahead for civilization. As I write this post, I am feeling a renewed sense of excitement about the world of sports: The Celtics are playing great right now, the NFL draft is just over a month away, and opening day of the 2008 MLB season is within spitting distance. It is good to be back.

End That Streak

Those people who for one reason or another still didn't see the Celtics as a serious title contender got a jolt last night when the C's climbed out of a 22 point hole to defeat San Antonio on the road. Last night's win was a major statement in my mind. One of the knocks on the Celtics has been that they can only win big. They out-poised and out-clutched the most poised and clutch team in the league last night, and they did it without the help of Ray Allen (remember, we also beat the Spurs earlier this season without KG). I can't say enough about the way the entire team played, but we are going to throw a quick spotlight on Sam Cassell's 17 points (including the three pointer that put the C's in front at the end of the game). Tonight will provide a task just as great, as the C's will attempt to take down the NBA's hottest team. What the Rockets have put together, particularly the portion of the streak that has been without Yao, is impressive. It's one of the best stories in the NBA. But, I still can't take them seriously as title contenders. Hopefully tonight won't hit me with the same jolt Celtics nay-sayers got last night. But, the big question you have to ask yourself is: Do they have an answer for KG? If they do, I haven't seen it.

The Oracle Speaks

Dear Readers,

We'd like to announce the start of our first annual college basketball tournament, otherwise known as the Path to Enlightenment. As you well know, March Madness is upon us and that means brackets, office pools, and mid-day TV viewing while you're supposed to be working. Madness also means a total drop in productivity, but the RoomofZen will be hard at work making this contest worth your while.

The RoomofZen's caretakers would like to engage our readers in March Madness by having them fill out brackets for a nominal sum of money (6 bucks). The Oracle will then donate these proceeds to the Jimmy V Foundation, and the winner of the tournament will receive a Guns N Roses hoodie and a plastic NBA figurine that will most likely be Vin Baker. (sidenote: these prizes have been handpicked for maximum domination.)

To enter the contest, please email us at Oracle@roomofzen.com

You will then receive written instructions on how to proceed, and specifically how the bracket system will work. Remember this is a way to give back, but more importantly a way to show off your knowledge of college basketball, hopefully gleamed from the RoomofZen.

- The Oracle

DEP

This is a Metal Injection interview with Greg Puciato (lead singer of the Dillinger Escape Plan). We saw them in November and the show was absolutely insane. The guy is intense. Make sure you stick with it until around the five minute mark, when he discusses going to the Grand Canyon on shrooms. Ire Works, their new CD, is really really good. I recommend it to anyone.




Also, here is a good article about Disfear. Gilby was up here a few weeks ago and brought me a copy of their new CD Live the Storm, and let's just say it kicks ass. It didn't leave the CD player for about two and a half weeks. Check them out on our links ( Cleanse Your Soul Here. )

Nobody Beats the Wiz – Nobody!

At the risk of boring our audience, I’m going to do a quick synopsis of the Washington Wizards basketball team. My sense is that if you’re a fan of the NBA, it’s hard not to like the Wizards. And even if you don’t like basketball, but maybe you like professional sports, I still feel as though you can respect the Wiz and their story.

(I’ll go ahead and assume that most of our readers haven’t been following the Wiz this year. If you have been following them, I apologize for being repetitive, especially if you read the Washington Post. And If you don't like the Wizards or don't give a you know what, please just skip the post. I promise this will be the last post on DC sports for awhile)

The Team

In a nutshell, the Washington Wizards play unselfish, team basketball. They run a quasi-Princeton offense, score fast break points, rely on outside shooters, and generally don’t play post-centered basketball. While relying on outside shooters inevitably leads to off-nights, the Wizards are now playing much better defense than last year. Caron, Daniels, and Gilbert average around two steals per game, while Brendan Haywood anchors the paint with shot-blocking and attitude. As TMac pointed out the other night, a team can't always control the accuracy of their shooting, but they can control their defense. Improved defense by the Wizards therefore hedges them against nights when their shooting (their offense) is terrible.

The Wizards are always fun to watch, although some of the shots they take are sometimes foolish or unnecessary. Kobe pointed this out last year when he played the Wizards - he said something to the effect of, "the Wizards take about 2000 shots per game and most of them are goofy..." But three pointers are fun to watch and I won't complain if they continue to good.

Gilbert, when he’s healthy, runs the offense and he generally takes the majority of shots. One of the best things about Gilbert is that he has a flair for the dramatic, hitting at least three buzzer beaters from downtown in the past few seasons. When he’s playing well, teams are forced to double cover him, leaving Caron or Antawn open for points.

Caron and Antawn are prototype guard / forwards who can play a decent post game when they have mismatches. Caron’s three pointer is vastly improved this year, and Antawn has morphed into Dennis Rodman on the boards (he’s averaging over 10 boards this year). These guys are known as the Big Three in the league.

Generally speaking, I like to think of the Wizards as a team made up of three types of players – young guns, seasoned veterans, and role-players. What makes these sub sets interesting, however, is that over the past few years, each of these subsets have gotten dramatically better than the year before. And since they’ve been playing so well, this wholesale improvement has allowed the Wizards to develop young talent, maintain cap room, stay in the playoff hunt, and withstand injuries; very cool.

The Wizards have developed one of the best stable’s of young talent in the league. The Young Guns consist of rookies Nick Young, Dominic McGuire, Oleksiy Pecherov, and third year player Andray Blatche; all of them are badasses. When Gilbert had his second knee surgery at the start of the season, the team suddenly had a void in both leadership and scoring. Remarkably the young guns filled that void with victories when the team needed it most. For example, the Wizards started their season losing five games in a row. Then, out of nowhere, Nick Young (a rookie) dropped 18 points on Portland, most of them in the fourth quarter, which lead to a Wizards’ victory. He then scored 11, 5 and then 18 points as the Wizards won three straight and snapped their losing streak. I could give you more examples (Blatche taking his game to new heights, McGuire becoming a rebounding machine, or Pecherov hitting key three pointers), but I will leave it with Nick Young and his amazing play off the bench thus far.

Aside from their young guns, the Wizards have a bunch of role players who turned into major contributors this year. The Role Players consist of Roger Mason Jr., Brendan Haywood, DeShawn Stevenson, Darius Songaila, Etan Thomas, and Antonio Daniels (AD!). This group of players, in addition to the young guns, kept the Wizards afloat while they lost Arenas for the season, Butler for most of the season, and Jamison over key stretches of games. For those of you who didn’t read the paragraph above, these are by far the Wizards’ best players. This would be akin to the Celtics losing Garnett AND Allen for most of their season. No fun.

Thus far, the 2007 season highlights how the role players have moved into the team’s leadership sub-set. On any given night, one of the role players steps up and has a good game, which almost always keeps the Wizards competitive in close games. Take the entire group of role players and compare their stats from last year. Per game, almost every statistic is up – scoring, rebounding, steals, assists, blocks – you name it. (I may be wrong, but usually the NBA does not see a large group of players increase their stats across the board like this.)

This widespread improvement comes at a crucial time – despite injuries to their top players, the Wizards still have playoff hopes and may get the sixth seed which pitts them against the Magic and not Lebron at the 7th seed. This positioning is thanks to the role players and their improved play throughout the season.

Consider Brendan Haywood who used to really piss me off because he and Etan Thomas always fought. Brendan now gets serious PT thanks to an unfortunate heart problem with Etan. How has he responded to increased minutes? He’s averaging almost a double double, has close to 100 blocks, and provides fire and leadership under the glass; in other words, 100 times better than last year when he sulked on the bench. With Etan and Thomas sharing minutes last year, the Wizards never really had a presence in the paint. Now they do with Haywood since he blocks so many damn shots and talks trash. I love it.

The Seasoned Vets round out the Wizards, and they consist of the "Big Three" – Caron, Jamison, and Arenas. Antawn Jamison is a true leader who inspires his teammates and plays through injuries; he's been this way since college. Antawn, voted to his second All Star appearance this year, has been the heart and sole of this franchise while Gilbert has been getting all the press and adulation. Night after night Antawn plays hard and refuses to complain when the team is down on their luck. To date, I have not heard Antawn complain about the injuries to their team, nor have I ever seen him take a game off. Simply put, Antawn is a classy, professional guy who plays hard every single night. I also saw him driving around DC in a Rolls-Royce Phantom, blasting Master P, which was awesome.

Caron Butler is a huge badass, plain and simple. I mean, look at the tattoo of the grim reaper on his arm – who does that? For all you UConn fans out there, you know what I mean about Caron…this guy is a gamer and he always plays for keeps. The NBA recognized Caron with a second All Star appearance this year. A big part of his All Star vote was due to his improved three pointer. Caron improved his three through relentless off-season work with a shooting coach. (Incidentally, this shooting coach worked with the entire Wizards team and brough up the team's three throw percentage to top-five in the league.) The amazing part about Caron and the Wizards is that we got him for Kwame Brown, who went to the Lakers. This has to be one of the worst trades ever made, and I can promise you that the Lakers still regret this move.

Concluding Thoughts

If you had one word to describe the 2007 Wizards it would be “persistence.” Despite their bad luck, the Wiz simply refuse to give up and call it quits. Of course people will say, “every team goes through injuries.” But how many teams have their top three players injured two years in a row, yet still make the playoffs?

Some call it the Curse of Len Bias (a topic for another rainy day), but others call it the injury bug. Jamison, Caron, Arenas, Daniels, Haywood, Thomas, and Songaila have all suffered through injuries this year. Despite injury after injury, I still haven’t heard them complain or “mail in” games. Instead they continue to play hard every night and refuse to give up. If Kobe didn’t have Gasol, I promise you he would be whining about Bynum and crying himself to sleep every night.

Despite their injuries, the Wizards are good at beating Western Conference teams. They've beaten the Hornets twice, the Suns, the Clippers, the Mavs, and the Sonics. They've also beaten Boston twice, which no other team in the East has done so far (maybe in the entire NBA...stat please?).

Look for the Wizards to continue their heroic performance in the next 6 weeks. If we can continue playing .500 basketball, get Caron and Gilbert back in the lineup, and Philly starts to falter, the Wiz can lock up the 6th playoff position for an Orlando match-up.

Oracle Speaks

Greetings Oracle,

I think you would be proud of me today. I saw a defining moment and I seized the day in the name of all that is good in this world.

As you probably know, Clay Bennett is stealing the Seattle Supersonics from Seattle with the help of David Stern in his constant quest to extort cities for money and arenas. Now the Sonics are not a good basketball team by any means, but they have competent management now with two young studs and like 25 first round picks in the next three years with cap room on the way as well. This is eerily similar to when the Whalers were hijacked except for the fact that Seattle is a major market and the team has been here for much longer than the Whale so there is little financial sense to this (this is not to understate the aggregiousness of taking the Whale, but just to provide perspective).

This issue has struggled to gain national noteriety due to geographical location, David Stern intimidation, and the helplessness and resignation that Seattlites greet the topic with. In the first real show of national condemnation against this tragedy, our beloved Bill Simmons struck out and torched Stern, Bennett, and Co. in a series of columns that brought the topic back to life. Since then, the rumors of behind the scenes local efforts have been swelling coming to a head yesterday when it became public that a small group of local investors including the CEOs of Microsoft and Costco as well as some other notable millionaires have been working with the mayor and politicians and are trying to buy the team. As part of their offer, they are willing to foot $150mm of the necessary cost of renovation to the downtown Key Arena, which is publicly owned (read: they don't get anything out of it and it is basically a 150mm donations as all future revenues from the arena go to the city). $75mm will come from taxes generated from the new arena itself so basically the city will have to pay $75mm to get a new $300mm arena.

Needless to say, Stern, Bennett, and Co. are not that psyched about this plan as they thought they were already successful in their efforts to steal the team. I popped onto ESPN.com to read what they had to say about it and there was...nothing. Some of the world's most notable businessmen are throwing 150mm down the well to save a team's future in a city that has supported a team for 41 years and this isn't newsworthy? The only explanation is that Stern, as he is wont to do, intimidated the news sources to not run the story at first (and then bury it deep on the NBA page when it became inevitable that they had to show it).

I took offense to this. I started pinging ESPN with emails, including Simmons as I know that he would not stand for this nonsense. In addition, I started emailing smaller sites like Deadspin.com who would love to break the news before ESPN and make them look like asses for trying to control the information coming out. The response from all of them was that they had no idea and were working to get something up right away. Eventually, ESPN started moving it to a place where you could actually find it.

My reasoning for creating this media frenzy you ask? Sure, there was a little bit of post-Whalers sympathy for Sonics fans who deserve a team as this is a basketball crazy town. There was also a bit of Bill Simmons like outrage that a major team could be stolen this easily with the help of the commish.

But most importantly, I was motivated by laziness. You see, I live four blocks away from Key Arena and while I am not the biggest NBA fan around, I enjoy being able to walk down the street and see games. And for that I was willing to fight as in my book there is no more noble cause than preserving the right to be lazy.
-Matt, Seattle

Matt, a truly lazy man might have done nothing. The computer is the new tool of the revolutionaries my friend, and it sounds like you are determined not to let the children in Seattle suffer as we did when our team was ripped from us so swiftly and uncompromisingly. Keep up the fight sir, nobody deserves to go through what we did. A loss of innocence like that never really leaves you. I just recently saw Saw IV, and I think we may need to start making some of those Jigsaw Traps for Clay Bennett, and then once we practice on him....we'll set the ultimate one for Peter Karmanos.

Night at the Roxbury

Awesome win by the Wizards tonight. I have to ask everyone: how much do you hate the Raptors?

Weird Article

This story is worth a read if you have the time. While I'm tempted to laugh at the situation and the people involved, I can't help but feel annoyed at Lil' Romeo going to USC (although just saying Lil' Romeo makes me laugh)....

1. Why is Lil' Romeo getting a full-ride to USC? He sucks at basketball, yet the college is using him as a recruiting tool (imagine player visits to USC - spend a night going out with Lil Romeo in LA). More importantly, he's taking someone's spot whose probably ten times better. I guess it's a play to gin up interest in USC basketball, or a weird PR stunt. On second thought, this idea may be genius.

2. Can his dad, Master P, not afford tuition to USC? Why are they paying for this guy's tuition when he sold 1.5 million records and has a dad who also sold a ton of records? I can't believe the WSJ didn't mention this fact and how ridiculous it is...

3. Floyd is actually pretty smart in having DeRozan and Lil Romeo play together. But someone has to call them out for it -- blatently using a scholarship for one player who sucks in order to get another player who is awesome. Shouldn't scholarships go to the best players?

Bad-Ass

Great recording of Genghis Tron playing "Board Up The House" live.

Oracle Speaks

After watching the Celtics sign Sam Cassell yesterday, I felt compelled to mention that the Oracle correctly anticipated this move back in October. We were at the Pats Skins game in the parking lot talking about the Cs when the Oracle mentioned how Sam Cassell would either be released or bought out by the Clippers and then the Cs would pick him up for the layoff run.

Loyal fan,
Alex

Alex,

Thank you for your e-mail. I remember the day well. The Celtics were in pre-season, the Giants were in London to play Miami, the Red Sox won the World Series, and I was in the parking lot at Gillette Stadium, preparing to see Randy Moss in person for the first time. I believe it was just the right combination of Bud Light, Monster Energy Drink, Doritos, and Johnsonville Brats that gave the oracle such clairvoyance. That being said, there were some other sources that also predicted this move during the pre-season, which means that they must have been eating and drinking the same stuff. Thank you for your e-mail. Your loyalty will not go unrewarded.....in the future. For now, it will.

Statement Made

Well, it's official, the Celtics are playoff-bound. They also now have a five game lead and the tie-breaker over Detroit for the top spot in the East. Maybe we all knew after the first pre-season game in Italy that this was a playoff team, but with a group this good, I'm not going to take anything for granted. I want to enjoy every step of the process.

Last night was an important win for many reasons. Perhaps the most significant is that the Celtics really answered the bell for the first time in a while. Ever since KG went down, this team has lost the dominant form that it had during the first 30 or so games of the season. It seemed like a little bit of the swagger was missing. The Celtics showed us last night that they still have that higher gear that they can shift to if need be. You can't expect a dominant performance every night. It's a long season. But last night was the most important game this team has played in over a month, and they played with a sense of urgency from the moment they stepped on the floor. They had to. Ray Allen was 1-9 from the field, and still I never felt for one second like we were going to lose this game. Much like the first two matchups, this felt like a playoff game.

I can't say enough about the way that Rajon Rondo has developed this year. The guy is going to have a great future. He has all the skills and all the intangibles that you could want from a point guard. He played up to Chauncey Billups' level for the whole game last night, and his drive and dunk on Richard Hamilton (on which a flagrant foul should have been called) gave us the shot of energy that we needed. He's scrappy on defense, he pulls down offensive rebounds, he's a great passer, and he's turning into a very effective scorer. Our offense takes a noticeable halt whenever Eddie House comes in. I'm very excited at the prospect of having Sam Cassell come in and spell Rondo while House plays the 2 spot.

Finally, last night was vintage KG. He was hitting shots from all over the court, adjusting shots on defense, and he showed no ill signs of his injury. This was the best game that he has played in a while, and I can't wait to see him in the playoffs. The most impressive moment for me came right after Rasheed Wallace had commited his fourth foul. KG took it at him, made a sick move to get Wallace of his feet, and forced foul number five. Because he had just gotten his fourth on the last play, the most important thing on Sheed's mind at that point was probably not commiting a fifth foul, and KG's moves are so good that he had no choice. While we're on the subject of Sheed, he played great last night. This Pistons team is well-seasoned, and they're not going to go away quietly. If last night's energy and intensity (Ray Allen elbowing Rip in the throat, Rondo getting slammed to the court) are any sign of things to come when these teams lock horns in the playoffs, this will be one of the best series in recent memory.

Round 3.

With the signings of PJ Brown and Sam Cassell, the possibility of a Celtics championship suddenly seems more real than ever. These signings should add another shot of life to the team, and I expect these two additions to play significant roles down the stretch. Two of the knocks on this team all along have been 1) That they needed a guy at point guard to take pressure off of Rondo, and to step in if he finds himself "learning" on defense during the playoffs, and 2) our depth at center/forward (This one hasn't been talked about much. But, Brian Scalabrine should never set foot on the court in the playoffs and Scot Pollard's health is a concern). Both of these areas have now been addressed.

Huge game tonight.....

Favre's Retirement & Mismanagement 101

I'm sure someone will write a nice post about Brett Favre and his storied career in professional football. Yes, he was an awesome player. Yes, he was one of the best ever to play the game. Yes, he was the man. I loved the guy and the way he played football. No debate there.

But I'd rather write about bad blood in Packer-land and the total screw-up between Favre's agent, the team, and their leadership. That's the juicy stuff. It revolves around free agency, so I'll start with the ESPN article that says:

"Favre had spoken to Moss late last week and was willing to commit to more than just this season if Moss and the Packers could come to an agreement. But the Packers did not pursue Moss, who re-signed with the Patriots on Monday (emphasis mine).”

But then ESPN quotes McCarthy as saying, "But I can tell you one thing, never once in all my conversations with Brett this off season has he ever asked or told me that we had to have Randy Moss for him to come back and play...Randy Moss' name never came up once. And it bothers me that [Favre's agent] has made this an issue."

Something fishy is going on here. First of all, why is Favre playing GM, running around making overtures for free agents? Second of all, why wouldn't Favre tell McCarthy that he would return if they picked up Moss? I suspect that if McCarthy and Favre had a healthy relationship, none of these quotes would filter through ESPN; they would have been dealt with internally. The obvious conclusion is that someone is lying. Here is what probably happened:

1. Favre did tell the Packers that he wanted Moss and that he would probably retire unless they made that personnel decision. I’m sure Favre lobbied for other high-profile players, too. (And do you blame Favre for wanting his team to sign better players to win now?)

2. McCarthy and the Packers didn't have the guts to tell Brett flat out that they didn't want him next season. They instead refused to meet his demand for resigning Moss, which meant he wouldn't play next season.

Of course Favre wants to retire on a positive note, but he did understate the problem when he said, “Do I agree with them all the time? No. But the bottom line is, none of that stuff affected my decision.” Yeah right. If the Pack had signed Moss or Chad Johnson, I promise you that Favre would be out there again.

(And let’s not forget about Donald Driver. How do you think he feels when he reads that his QB is retiring because the Pack won’t sign a big-name receiver? Like it or not, this mess is a slight to Donald Driver, Lee, and Franks)

The reality is that the Packers wanted Favre out this season, but couldn't force the decision due to his wild popularity in Green Bay. While everyone was obsessing over Favre’s retirement, the team signed a ton of young players, a green coach, and managed their cap situation for future draft choices (a new QB?). The writing is/was clearly on the wall for him to retire.

But Favre and his agent clearly took advantage of his popularity and pressed the Packers to adopt the “win now” mentality. They used strong-arm tactics, but they ultimately backfired. And as a fan, it’s very interesting to see Favre and his agent play good cop / bad cop with the Packers, a team he’s been with for 2000 years. The bitterness of Favre not getting his receiver is tangible:

"I talked to Brett this morning and I told him, 'nobody forced you to make this decision to retire, but the flip side is nobody encouraged you to play…Two years ago, Ted [Thompson, the Packers' GM] encouraged him to play, but there was nothing this time around from them offering encouragement or him to come back."

Does "offering encouragement" mean signing big-name receivers? On the one hand you have Favre saying he’s tired and doesn’t want to play anymore, but on the other hand, you have his agent saying that the Pack left him in the dust. Bad blood anyone? Something doesn't add up here and for the Pack's best player to retire like this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My questions are the following:

1. If Favre wants to play with a big name receiver, why doesn't he sign with another team?
2. How did McCarthy and Favre's relationship suddenly go down the tubes?
3. Why doesn't anyone criticize Favre for acting like a GM while he's a player?
4. Will he ever come back, considering how badly this retirement has gone with the Pack and the quote above which states he would have come back for multiple seasons had they signed a good player?
5. How do Packers fans feel about this debacle?

Anyone?

What Next?

So, free agency has begun and the Eagles have not wasted much time making moves. Signing veteran corner Asante Samuel will no doubt boost the secondary and sure up the defense overall, however, an argument can be made that the Eagles were in greater need of help at Safety. And that money! 57 million dollars with 20 million guaranteed is a lot for a corner and will certainly limit the cap room that the Eagles can use to make other improvements. I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining, but this is going to need to result in some serious interceptions and hopefully a trip to the playoffs for the deal to pay off. Word also has it that the Birds put in an offer for Randy Moss that exceeded the Patriots offer. It is understandable that Moss would want to stick with the Patriots given the current situation and a good relationship with Tom Brady, but falling short on a potential deal like this is tough to take for some fans. One can take the outlook that it at least represents a willingness to be aggressive on the part of Philadelphia's management, but I tend to think that their actions in this case were more akin to when I place a bid on Ebay on an impulse and am secretly had when I don't win because I really didn't need to spend 40 dollars on a Misfits action figure. Surely the combined salary guarantees of Moss and Samuel would have put a strain on the Birds' finances. The only problem is there aren't too many options left in the way of wide receivers. I believe that the organization is doing everything that can to have a successful off-season, but then again years of disappointment have taught me to be cautious about blind optimism.

Within Reach

Randy Moss is all but signed to a 3 year 27 million dollar deal with the Patriots...this according to ESPN's John Clayton. This is the deal that I had hoped would get done before the playoffs...but, in hindsight I think ultimately this means more NOW than it would have then. It has been a tough month for Pats fans and now all of us have a reason to smile again. Today the sun was out and for a little while I think that it almost hit 50 degrees. I think everything is going to be OK.

Soak It In

It's warming up out there. This is amazing:

SI

The March 3rd edition of Sports Illustrated is outstanding (except for the fact that Jason Kidd is on the cover). The back page features a great piece about a man who beat MJ in one-on-one, and Grant Wahl's article about Abusive Fans in College Hoops is really eye-opening and has a very strong and relevant message. This is a must-read article for any sports fan.

Those of us who grew up playing and watching sports understand that athletics can be a great vehicle for learning and community building. However, when you think about how highly universities value their athletic programs, and then you read some of the incidents from Wahl's article, you begin to understand why so many people on college campuses have a problem with athletics. Imagine not really understanding much about college basketball tradition, going to your first game as a freshman at a university, and seeing your peers (at what is supposed to be an institution of higher learning) harassing the grandmother of an opposing player (calling her a whore) to the point that she starts to cry. You'd probably be embarassed, and you'd probably wonder why your school and its alumni value this tradition so highly.

No amateur athlete should have to deal with the kind of abuse that Kevin Love and Eric Gordon have endured this season, and certainly no athlete anywhere should have to worry about the safety of his or her family as they sit in the stands at a game. I'm certainly not suggesting that cheering and rowdy fan sections should be taken out of the equation. But, hearing that these families had to come to the game with security, and despite this security a mother was still hit by objects being thrown and not a single student was asked to leave makes me wonder about how out of control the situation has become. Schools need to start being tough on this if they want to keep the integrity of college sports intact. Perhaps the most powerful piece from the whole article is the quote from Tom Izzo, who says that this problem will eventually ruin college basketball if it's not remedied. Apologies for getting soapboxy, but it's a really good article.

Laker Mania

Just finished watching the Lakers-Mavs game where Kobe exploded for 30 points in the fourth quarter. You can read about it here.

Yes, believe the hype. The Lakers are legit this year. Nick has been right about them so far in that they're the best team in the West right now and they could beat the Pistons if they met in the finals. At this point, the only team I can see beating them is the Spurs and I can only salivate at the prospects of a playoff matchup between them.

I mean, the Hornets are slumping, the Suns are playing like shit right now, and Yao is out for the season. Add ontop of the Mavs which always flop in the playoffs, and you have Laker Mania in full effect.

For a Wizards fan, it's just fun watching Kobe play the game. I may not like the team, but its always fun to watch a guy who can slash to the rim yet back up and nail 30 footers with no problem. Right now Kobe is living up to his potential, Gasol is a sick pick-up, Bynum will be motivated to play hard when he's back, and even Luke Walton is playing pretty well. The only deficiency I see in the Lakers right now is rebounding, especially on the offensive end. No offense to Eric Dampier, but he shouldn't be getting 18 rebounds.

Sidenote: does anyone else think Jason Kidd's production will fall off sharply in the next few weeks? I know he's been playing well for a few games, but I think he's trying to prove to people that he was worth the trade and the 17 million for the Mavs. I also think he's old and it won't last!

Foil in the Oven: We Love Manny

I was totally dumbfounded on Thursday as I drove around listening to WEEI. The anger and venom that callers and hosts alike were hurling towards Manny Ramirez was totally ridiculous. I'm sure by now you've all heard that the Red Sox were invited to Washington DC on Wednesday to visit the Walter Reed Medical Center and to be the guests of honor at a White House celebration. Manny Ramirez, among others, was not in attendence, which prompted President Bush to joke that his grandmother must have died again. I will say, I'm very liberal, and I haven't been one of the President's biggest supporters, but a good sense of humor goes a long way with me. His speech was full of high-quality humor. The Manny crack was great, as was his joke that he and Dice-K both "have trouble answering questions in English." Thanking Papelbon for wearing pants, that's priceless. But, I'm getting off track.....

I don't understand why these fans haven't figured Manny out yet. Fans and hosts alike always talk about what a confounding character he is. The guy isn't hard to figure out, and he's really not as unpredictable as Dennis and Callahan might have you believe. He's a great right-handed hitter. He's a serviceable left fielder. He's a guy that gets along extremely well with his teammates, but who doesn't like to be in the media spotlight. He doesn't like to give interviews, he doesn't like to make public appearances, and if you are going to expect him to be at the forefront of these types of events, you're setting yourself up to be dissapointed. Jason Varitek and Curt Schilling are the perfect guys to do stuff like this. It's just not Manny's thing.

In a perfect world, would Manny have been at Walter Reed smiling and shaking hands with injured soldiers who idolize him? Yes, of course. But, his absence certainly did not warrant the vicious protests that came from Red Sox fans. What seemed like hundreds of callers expressed their anger and dissapointment towards Manny. They called him "unpatriotic", "un-American", "ungrateful", and in perhaps the most absurd claim of all said "shouldn't he be trying to do everything he can to impress us so that we'll pick up his option for next year." First of all, I can assure you that Manny's attendance at Wednesday's festivities will have absolutely no bearing on whether or not his option is picked up. If Manny had gone on Wednesday, and then hit .200 this season with 15 home runs and 63 RBIs, he'd be playing in Tampa Bay next year. If he drives in 130 runs this year, his option will be picked up regardless of what he does or says off the field. This is the way it should be. Second, can we really call this unpatriotic? Manny never released a statement about his absence and there is really nothing to indicate that this was a political statement in any way. In fact, everything I know about Manny leads me to believe that he probably looked at the spring training schedule a few months ago and made plans to spend February 27th with his wife or with some close friends because he would want to relax. Theo Epstein wasn't there on Wednesday, and I haven't heard a single person accuse him of being unpatriotic. I haven't heard anybody say that the Red Sox should consider not extending his contract because of the absence.



I don't know why Manny wasn't there. I suspect it's because he doesn't give a fuck about anything but baseball right now. I certainly have nothing that indicates to me that his absence was an attempt to make an anti-American statement. I have no problem with it, and frankly I don't see it having any effect on the chemistry of the team. Furthermore, I wasn't suprised at all that he wasn't there. If you were suprised, then you obviously haven't been paying close enough attention over the past seven years. I love Manny, and the only thing I care about is that he's ready to hit when the season gets going. Nothing else really matters.

A wave of terror came over me when the radio announced that a former Patriot free agent had signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. I assumed the worst. My favorite player, Randy Moss, had allied himself with my most hated rival. Luckily, that player turned out to be Asante Samuel, and the anxiety quickly subsided. Samuel is a great player, and I think that he will probably be an upgrade for the wretched Ealges, but I really don't think that this move makes much sense for them.

First of all, Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown are scheduled to make 2 million and 1.75 million this year respectively. I expect that one of those two, most likely Sheppard, will now be cut. Samuel is most certainly an upgrade over Sheppard and Brown, but I have to wonder if this upgrade needed to be made. I've always thought that Sheppard and Brown are underrated, and I felt like the Eagles secondary was one of the team's strongest units last year. Frankly, I think that money could have been better spent adressing more pressing needs. For example, I can't say enough that this team needs an elite receiver if it is going to have any hope of competing in the NFC East. Randy Moss is out there right now, and reports are that he and the Patriots are not as close on a deal as people might think. Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said that the team had Samuel as the number one free agent on the market. There is no way that Asante could have the same impact on the team that Moss would if he plays as well as he did last year. That being said, if the Eagles sign Moss, I might go take a nap on the T tracks.

The Eagles rarely splurge in free agency. Javon Kearse and Terrell Owens are really the only other examples of guys that got deals this large from Philly. So, maybe they are seeing something I'm not. Certainly, Samuel's nose for the ball will prove a key element in Jim Johnson's schemes that are built around pressuring the quarterback in many different ways. But, at 5'9 Samuel isn't a guy that's coming in to shut down Plaxico Burress (6'5) and Terrell Owens (6'3, about 215 pounds, known to cry in post-game news conferences). So, the Eagles really haven't changed much. They will continue to have a good defense, and Brian Westbrook will be their only weapon on offense. If this team wants to scare me or anybody that plays in New York or Dallas, they need to bring in a big-time receiver. Until then, I'm unimpressed.

Plax is a big man, so is TO


Speaking of the Giants, they are going to need to take serious measures to add depth to the linebacking corps. The G-Men lost two key contributors this week when Kawika Mitchell and Reggie Torbor moved to the AFC East (Mitchell with Buffalo and Torbor with Miami). Mitchell was a key starter for the Giants all year long, and Torbor has been a valuable backup for several years. Torbor proved particularly valuable this season after Mathias Kiwanuka went down. Lance Briggs is still available. However, I'd like to think that we can find ourselves a better deal out there. Kiwanuka should be much improved at LB this year, but I'm skeptical as to whether he'll ever really end up being a solid all around player at that position. The guy made it to the NFL as a passrusher. I don't know if you can instill in him the instincts that a player gets from playing linebacker for many years. However, he is a great athlete, so we'll have to wait and see. All I know is, we're thin there at the moment, and I hope that need will be addressed either through free agency or in the draft.

Good piece by Jason Whitlock. I especially like his ideas about Strahan. I agree with him that Strahan, much like he did last year, will "contemplate" retirement until training camp ends. This is fine with me. Michael Strahan doesn't need training camp anymore, and frankly I'm willing to put that aside if he suits up next year. I know a lot of people don't give the G-Men any chance at repeating, but I can't understand why. Let's assume that Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Michael Johnson, Osi, and Justin Tuck are all one year better. That means our defense overall will be better than it was last year. We will most likely be without Gibril Wilson, but he generally misses the majority of the year with injury anyways. Furthermore, a much more confident Eli Manning, a healthy Plax, a healthy Shockey, an improved Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, and finally an intact offensive line. I'm not saying that it's a lock. But, the pieces are certainly there. But, Strahan is the key, and I'm willing to concede anything that he wants in exchange for his return.



I know that I've been talking about the Lakers a lot lately, but I can't help it. I'm terrified of them, and I'm just glad that the Finals are the earliest the Celtics can possibly see them in the playoffs. Look, they have missed Andrew Bynum for parts of the year and they just recently got Pau Gasol, and they still only have 18 losses! In the West! Last night was their first loss in 11 games in the West. This team is scary. The fact that they have three strong inside presences (assuming Bynum is ready to go come the postseason), a very solid bench, and an experienced point guard means that Kobe Bryant is going to be able to fully showcase his greatness for the first time since Shaq was dealt. So yes, I'm afraid of them. I'm also excited to watch them, particularly come playoff time.


Wednesday night confirmed to me that the Cavaliers are no longer a threat to the Celtics or Pistons. Certainly, they will come together more before the playoffs, but there is no way that team can matchup with Boston or Detroit on defense. That game Wednesday night was much more lopsided than the score indicates, and what stuck out to me the most was, much like the analysts predicted, the Cavaliers gave away their perimeter defenders. Ray Allen abused Wally Sczcerbiak, who is not quick enough to stay with anybody that the Celtics or Pistons have at the 2 spot. Wally was always missing time in Boston with chronic ankle problems. Those shaky ankles were on display Wednesday night, and unless he goes down again and the Cavs find another answer, I can't see them as a realistic threat to go far in the East.




March 30th in Worcester: Genghis Tron, Baroness (sick), Converge, and the Red Chords....quite a lineup.