This Guy's The Man.

See more here on Ball Don't Lie . The President attended Friday night's matchup between the Wizards and his hometown Bulls. It probably shouldn't matter to me that he enjoys taking in an NBA game and drinking a beer. I did the same in Boston on Friday night. Perhaps we are of the same minds. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Leave your thoughts.

Can Steph Help the C's Get Their Swagger Back? Plus..the Playoff Picks

Don't try and convince yourself, that was not a close game last night. The setting was perfect for them to make a statement, and because of that it would have been nice to see a sense of urgency. Even if they hadn't been sliding, this was a huge game. I had it circled in December, during the midst of a huge winning streak, because I knew Cleveland was right on our heels (those were good days..) and I knew that this was a possible Eastern Conference Finals matchup. This should have been one of the most epic games of this regular season. And yet, the only player on the court that seemed to grasp the magnitude of the night was LeBron James.


Now, I'm not panicing by any means. Kelly Dwyer has been saying this week that what we're seeing from the Celtics is "regression to the mean". I like the way that sounds. Normal NBA teams go through these types of skids. But, something happened this morning that I never expected:


I woke up, got out of bed, and said to myself "man, we NEED Stephon Marbury."


I was livid when I first read the reports that the Celtics were interested in bringing Marbury on board. But, this morning, it makes sense. They said on the radio last night that Rondo has been in a lot of pain from being knocked hard to the floor so many times. We're not even halfway through the season. He's going to need some stretches in which he plays fewer minutes. On top of that, although he did have a stretch earlier this year where he looked like the best point man in the East, Rondo is still a work in progress.

Marbury would give the Celtics a guy that could play a lot of minutes when Rondo struggles. Additionally, he will keep defenses more honest than Rondo or House can. Teams cannot leave him open to shoot as they do with Rondo, and yet he can create offense and handle the ball better than House can. In fact, he could be very dangerous on the floor with the starting unit.

Marbury's "cancer" effect is well documented (if you haven't read this yet, get on it!). But, I'm not really concerned that he will be able to negatively change the chemistry of this team. The leadership is too solid. On top of that, who in the NBA has more to prove than Marbury (you could argue several people here, but just stick with me)? The guy DOES NOT WANT to be a cancer. He grew up devoting his life to basketball. I'm sure it kills him that he has developed this reputation. I think the sense of rejection that he felt from the Knicks this season really hurt him and led to the actions that we're seeing (sorry, I've been attending native american peacemaking circle training for the past two days and I am going for the final day in about 15 minutes). I think he will be ecstatic to be joining such a great organization, and I think he will be happy to contribute.

I have heard several people on the radio make the "Manny to the Dodgers" comparison. That doesn't work that well for me. I think Randy Moss to the Patriots is a more accurate comparison. The Oakland Raiders and the New York Knicks parallel one another in many eerie ways. Marbury is a real talent, and I think he would relish the opportunity to join forces with guys like KG, Pierce, and Ray Allen (as Moss felt with Tom Brady). This is a shot at redemption for him.

So, there it is. I'm crying out for Stephon Marbury. We need some swagger back. We need to shake it up. I also really, really hope PJ Brown is working out right now and that he and Danny Ainge have already had phone conversations about when exactly he will be joining the team, but only time will tell.






The Picks:

TITANS OVER RAVENS: This is going to be a battle, but I expect the Titans to run on Baltimore. The Titans will lock down McLain and Mcgahee.

CAROLINA OVER ARIZONA: The line is something insane (I think 9.5) on this one. I don't expect it to be that lopsided, but Williams and Stewart will keep Carolina's offense on schedule.

GIANTS OVER EAGLES: A new season starts now for the Giants. If you've actually been watching the Eagles, they aren't that scary. If Philly plays the game they played last week, the G-Men will run away with this one.

SAN DIEGO OVER PITTSBURGH: The Steelers can't protect Ben Roethlisberger, and I don't think their offense will be able to do anything against the Chargers, who have just the right kind of momentum right now.

Roomofzen Podcast Episode #5: Week 12 Picks

Babcock and I briefly touch on Kevin Garnett's suspension, and then delve into what we expect in Week 12. If we had a gun to our head and we had to hire Marvin Lewis or Andy Reid as our head coach, who would we pick? Are either of us taking the Lions to pick up their first win? The Titans to pick up their first loss? Who is living the better life right now, Kurt Warner or Matt Leinart? Has Matt Leinart slept with Kurt Warner's wife? We have all your answers here. Enjoy.....



Subscribe Free
Add to my Page

Remember, to get old episodes, click on the round post button and you'll get a dragdown menu.


Uncle Tupelo: New Madrid

Roomofzen Podcast #1

We've been dreaming of doing podcasts for a long time. Babcock and I stumbled upon some technical information this week, and figured we'd go ahead and try to pump one out in about 2 hours. Well, as it turns out, it was two hours before we could even figure out how to record. We finished recording at about 10:45 last night. It is now 7:13 AM, and I can finally publish this post with some confidence that the file we created will actually play.

Is it good? Not really. But, we had a blast. I definitely say "real fast" 3 times in the first 20 seconds. We say that Dan Orlovsky stepped out of bounds last week when it was really 3 weeks ago. I also utter the phrase "Leon Powe has the ability to score at will." But, those things aside, it's not bad. We discuss the Celtics opener on Tuesday, the prospects of the Cavaliers this season, week 9 in the NFL, and Mike Singletary as the 49ers new coach. Babcock loves Singletary in that role, and how could you not after reading this story about his motivational techniques at halftime last week. All in all, it's 69 full minutes of fun. Please enjoy.....

Boomp3.com


If the player shits out on you, here is the link to listen to it in a different window. It works a lot better.


We've got a long way to go if we ever want to approach the level of the BS Report or the Basketball Jones (TBJ in my mind is the sickest podcast out there). But, we've been successfully improving the site all along. Next week: look for us to get more of the staff involved, we will work on a musical intro, we will do some more scripting so we don't ramble as much, and we will answer our podcast e-mail question sent in from Matt in Seattle (sorry Matt, we were rambling, and then suddenly we were well over an hour. We'll get you next week).

Embrace the Weekend.......

We've got a great lineup of college and pro football, the Red Sox playing to keep their season alive tonight, and the whole time we will all be anxiously waiting for the association to tip off in 10 days. I love this time of year.

Here are my week 7 picks

Here is Babcock's Take 5

Here are some sick Michael Jordan highlights: