Round One
JR Giddens-6'5', more notable for his off the court issues then his game. He better be able to play D or it will be the D league for worse or this youngster. I gotta say, the best bet was a backup center, maybe even a Euro. But Who Cares,....Si Se Puede!!!
Trade-Sent cash to Washington for Bill Walker-6'6', more notable for poor injury background.Then again, so was Leon Powe.
Round Two
Semih Erden-7'1'-(Turkey) See you in 5 years, unless the US dollar continues to fall quicker then a Rajon Rondo break out for a layup.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The Giant Awaken?
For a decade and a half I have lived under the allusion that the United States men’s soccer team was a potential giant in International futbol. There have been pretenders, Ghana, South Korea, or Japan. I just figured that increased exposure to the sport via the World Wide Leader in Sports, a stable domestic league, and advertising money would build the USA into a powerhouse. Now in terms of Concacaf this has been accomplished. Stomping Mexico here at home has become routine. Beating them in Mexico has proven a different story. The Mexican national team does not lose at home. This is a hurdle I would have hoped to clear at this point. It is strange how expectations change.
This has been made more complicated during the Euro 2008 championships. It has been a great tournament. However, with the emergence of Russia to the Semi-Finals, the international futbol fan must take a great warning. The current Russian squad is well coached, and more importantly, the youngest team in the tournament. They have looked uneven and outmatched at times, particularly against the Spanish. However, their dismantling of the Dutch was a masterpiece. They forced the Dutch to resort to their all too regular tactic of aborting teamwork in favor of individual glory. I very impressed by the Russian attack. If that nation continues to progress, consider them the next great power. Despite the weather in Russia, they seem to have the size and certainly the willingness to be a futbol powerhouse. Money has flooded into Russia since 1991, and soon it will be the world’s most dominant oil producing power. Only time will tell, but this tournament may be the coming out party.
Its time for the Americans to step up....
Ubuntu
This has been made more complicated during the Euro 2008 championships. It has been a great tournament. However, with the emergence of Russia to the Semi-Finals, the international futbol fan must take a great warning. The current Russian squad is well coached, and more importantly, the youngest team in the tournament. They have looked uneven and outmatched at times, particularly against the Spanish. However, their dismantling of the Dutch was a masterpiece. They forced the Dutch to resort to their all too regular tactic of aborting teamwork in favor of individual glory. I very impressed by the Russian attack. If that nation continues to progress, consider them the next great power. Despite the weather in Russia, they seem to have the size and certainly the willingness to be a futbol powerhouse. Money has flooded into Russia since 1991, and soon it will be the world’s most dominant oil producing power. Only time will tell, but this tournament may be the coming out party.
Its time for the Americans to step up....
Ubuntu
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Fantastic!
The past 10 months were the most trying of times for The Dude socially and professionally.
The saving grace was the 2007/2008 Boston Celtics. On 6/17/08, the night before the last day of the school year in my district, an incredible team demolished a competent rival and cruised to a well deserved victory. It was totally worth the pain of the Rick Fox/Dino Raja era. The entire organization contributed and they should be a commended for their work this season. Now its it time to crank TDKM, take the T, and enjoy the rolling rally…
Ubuntu!!!
The saving grace was the 2007/2008 Boston Celtics. On 6/17/08, the night before the last day of the school year in my district, an incredible team demolished a competent rival and cruised to a well deserved victory. It was totally worth the pain of the Rick Fox/Dino Raja era. The entire organization contributed and they should be a commended for their work this season. Now its it time to crank TDKM, take the T, and enjoy the rolling rally…
Ubuntu!!!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Clutch
My ablity to speed home and watch the last 5 holes of the U.S. Open playoff,.....totally clutch.
Monday proved that like me, Tiger Woods was once again totally clutch. The question is, did Kevin Garnett learn anything? 1-4 on free throws in the last five miuntes last night. Lets go KG!!!
The Fox 5 coverage of the post Mets Double Header player, manager, and GM interviews on Sunday was hilarious. Yo Wilpon...Keep Willie,...this has Isiah Level comedy written all over it...All it is missing is a Law suit....
Monday proved that like me, Tiger Woods was once again totally clutch. The question is, did Kevin Garnett learn anything? 1-4 on free throws in the last five miuntes last night. Lets go KG!!!
The Fox 5 coverage of the post Mets Double Header player, manager, and GM interviews on Sunday was hilarious. Yo Wilpon...Keep Willie,...this has Isiah Level comedy written all over it...All it is missing is a Law suit....
Friday, June 13, 2008
Time to start the bus.....
The Boston Celtics are one win from an NBA Championship, the Red Sox are practically unbeatable at home, the European Soccer Championships are getting good coverage on ESPN, and summer vacation is 5 days away. June…Where Freedom Happens.
I missed the 3rd quarter of game four, only to be woken up by having water spilled on me while I was sleeping. Thankfully, I caught the entire 4th quarter. It was magical…
Ray Allen’s drives in the 4th quarter were remarkable. James Posey’s three with just over a minute left was pure stones. Think Posey gets a start in Game 5? I do.
Its time to take it home...
I missed the 3rd quarter of game four, only to be woken up by having water spilled on me while I was sleeping. Thankfully, I caught the entire 4th quarter. It was magical…
Ray Allen’s drives in the 4th quarter were remarkable. James Posey’s three with just over a minute left was pure stones. Think Posey gets a start in Game 5? I do.
Its time to take it home...
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Hold the Glue
The first four hours of the Belmont Stakes were wonderful. It was the perfect place for my first horse race. I found a sweet spot that gave me a 180 degree view of the final 200 yards. The spot was so sweet that I was not going to be able to move. So there I stood, against a railing looking out at the second deck of the venue. From 12:00 to 4:00, I really enjoyed myself. There was a bit a breeze, I was in the shade, and there was a sense that good things were happening all over the park.
Then things changed. Despite being totally stoked about the upcoming Belmont Stakes, the races got further apart. 45 minutes of standing between races started to wear on me. My horses started loosing with New York Knicks like consistency. It would have been fine to go grab some food or place another bet, but I couldn’t move. Soon, I would turn around and see ten people standing behind me. News of a Yankees comeback trickled through the crowd. The mood started to turn.
By 6:00 I was on fumes. The crowd went crazy each time Big Brown was on the two jumbotrons set up on the infield. The pomp and circumstance of the big race was lost on me. Everyone was standing, everyone was plastered, and I was on my toes. For the first half of the race the crowd was optimistic, ready to go crazy for Big Brown. With the horse loosing momentum, the jockey pulled up. Instead of the site of Big Brown dashing toward victory, I saw a defeated horse slowly galloping to a chorus of boos as it crossed the finish line dead last. Some people cried fix, others wondered out loud if the horse was hurt and should have raced at all. I picked up my bag and sloshed to a food stand. I was spent. Six hours in that kind of heat has been known to kill the elderly. As I sat down to eat and check my bets, the silence of the park was defining. It is tough to make 125,000 people quiet. I didn’t care who won the race. When Big Brown pulled up I thought the day had come to a disastrous conclusion because the horse that couldn’t loose had lost. I was naive. The real race was the trip home.
I went back to the second deck. With so many people dashing to trains, I could sit down. I figured if I left after the last race I could easily grab a train. I was wrong. Me and 75,000 of my best friends stayed. I wondered through an ecological disaster. I had gotten word around 3:00 that the bathrooms had been closed and people had started pissing on the doors. The garbage inside the park was only equaled by what had been left outside. If that Native American guy was there he would have spontaneously combusted. I walked out of the park a tired free man, only to be herded like cattle. Within 25 minutes I was able to get to a train, only to be forced to stand. This would not have been terrible if the train had departed on time. We waited for 45 minutes before leaving. It was a Seinfeld episode. So much for the ridiculous “trains will leave every 15 minutes” rhetoric of the state of New York. This was followed by a mad dash through the steamy subways of NYC. That place deserves its own reality show, “Survivor: NYC Subway System” I was able to get back to Grand Central Station a little after 10:00 and hopped on the train to New Haven. Two and a half hours later I was home; I regained my humanity, but was out hundreds of dollars.
‘Can’t wait for next year.
Then things changed. Despite being totally stoked about the upcoming Belmont Stakes, the races got further apart. 45 minutes of standing between races started to wear on me. My horses started loosing with New York Knicks like consistency. It would have been fine to go grab some food or place another bet, but I couldn’t move. Soon, I would turn around and see ten people standing behind me. News of a Yankees comeback trickled through the crowd. The mood started to turn.
By 6:00 I was on fumes. The crowd went crazy each time Big Brown was on the two jumbotrons set up on the infield. The pomp and circumstance of the big race was lost on me. Everyone was standing, everyone was plastered, and I was on my toes. For the first half of the race the crowd was optimistic, ready to go crazy for Big Brown. With the horse loosing momentum, the jockey pulled up. Instead of the site of Big Brown dashing toward victory, I saw a defeated horse slowly galloping to a chorus of boos as it crossed the finish line dead last. Some people cried fix, others wondered out loud if the horse was hurt and should have raced at all. I picked up my bag and sloshed to a food stand. I was spent. Six hours in that kind of heat has been known to kill the elderly. As I sat down to eat and check my bets, the silence of the park was defining. It is tough to make 125,000 people quiet. I didn’t care who won the race. When Big Brown pulled up I thought the day had come to a disastrous conclusion because the horse that couldn’t loose had lost. I was naive. The real race was the trip home.
I went back to the second deck. With so many people dashing to trains, I could sit down. I figured if I left after the last race I could easily grab a train. I was wrong. Me and 75,000 of my best friends stayed. I wondered through an ecological disaster. I had gotten word around 3:00 that the bathrooms had been closed and people had started pissing on the doors. The garbage inside the park was only equaled by what had been left outside. If that Native American guy was there he would have spontaneously combusted. I walked out of the park a tired free man, only to be herded like cattle. Within 25 minutes I was able to get to a train, only to be forced to stand. This would not have been terrible if the train had departed on time. We waited for 45 minutes before leaving. It was a Seinfeld episode. So much for the ridiculous “trains will leave every 15 minutes” rhetoric of the state of New York. This was followed by a mad dash through the steamy subways of NYC. That place deserves its own reality show, “Survivor: NYC Subway System” I was able to get back to Grand Central Station a little after 10:00 and hopped on the train to New Haven. Two and a half hours later I was home; I regained my humanity, but was out hundreds of dollars.
‘Can’t wait for next year.
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