Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A Kite in the Wind
You listen with all the might you have within you to the sound that has been piercing your heart. Its a sound so resound and strong that with it you begin to reminisce of its beginnings. Days and years spent around he and his maker. The two of them so eerily similar that at times you find yourself jealous for you have no comparison. But then with that memory you sit and pull him forward and hold him tightly for he needs you today. You are his countenance and his strength this moment. Time has passed since that moment of change but the pain still lingers. You brave yourself for the power and will to be strong and more than who you've ever been. At this juncture you've become a guide and a tool to his growth and to his moving forward. He is your friend and you two have been placed here for this moment. A moment of remembrance and the struggles of loss. One day you may understand and know full well the importance of loss but as of today you forget meaning and focus on love. There are days when you realize that his pain is yours to bear for one day you will need him to do the same for you. With this you assume his burden, his hardship and his grief and you do this for him because he is your friend. As his tears fall upon your chest, you listen and pray for the strength to be silent and to love. You then proceed to tell him that this is not the end, this is not goodbye.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Untitled
There he is, that young kid so numb and full of love, reeling from the loss he's experienced. His youth and naive soul trembling as the pain hits his heart full bore with nothing but a cry to easy his burden. As the bus rides along, with cheers and dancing around, his eyes well up and look out the frost laden window. Dreams have been had at this juncture before, visions of grandeur and the promises of success all beset his trail. However, this day is not the day for dreaming, for on this day his heart has been broken, his dreams have died and for the first time in his life he's come to understand its reality. As he hurts and waits for something to calm his heart, he starts to draw a picture to remember it all for. He starts to try and find something to hold on to, to lay his dreams upon. With his picture all but lines full of hope and a journey lost, he begins to look up and wonder how such sorrow could have happened. How life could be so cruel to such a young soul. But as his tears continue to flow, he remembers...and that is all he can do now.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
With only 30 games left, time for my early predictions
With two thirds of the games played as of today, the 2008/09 NBA season has sure had its fair share of story lines. For starters the Kobe vs LeBron comparisons have certainly raised the level of casual fan interest the league hasn't seen since its glory days of Magic vs Bird. If these two stars can cary their respective teams into the finals, this years grand spectacle will surely bring about a clash for the ages. Having witnessed Kobe go off for 61 at the garden two weeks ago, to having LeBron narrowly missing a triple double of massive proportions two days later, the games and league have to be happy with the play of its two marquee stars. I must mention before I go on that the week of Feb 2nd to the 8th has to go on record as by far the greatest scheduled week ever. Kobe to MSG, LeBron to MSG, Celtics to MSG, Celtics/Lakers to Lakers/Cavs, what a week!!!!!
However, as much as Kobe and LBJ have stolen the spotlight most of the time, there still have been a great number of awesome headlines to be had.
- Firstly has to be the re-emergence of Shaq, what a force, what a player, the guy has played well and re-invigorated his career. It's unfortunate that he's stuck in a lower tier team such as Phoenix. If only that trade to Cleveland had gone through, he'd even be more pumped.
- Charles Barkeley, oh how you've fallen. DUI...nuff said. You'd better behave Chuck, C Webb might slide under the radar and steel your job.
- The emergence of Kevin Durant has certainly been great to watch. How unfortunate for Portland. I feel bad for them and how they succumbed to pressure and hype of Oden, who'll maybe become a poor man's David Robinson. It stands here to say that I doubt it.
However, Durant what a game, the guy can play. I'll go out on a limb here but he's got "it", I see it in his eyes, he's got that "it" quality that Kobe possess, the "I'm not afraid of you quality". In my opinion he's got just as much upside as LeBron basketball wise, even more so. If he could just eat a sandwich I'd say he'll replace Kobe as the games finest in 5 years. Yes you read that, I see more killer in him that I do LeBron. LeBron's just a physical specimen no one's ever seen before, but he ain't no killer.
- The wear and tear of KG. His intensity is still there, his passion hasn't left him but oh boy have those 40+ minutes a game carrying that brutal 'Sota team worn him down. Take into account his lack of injuries and 1000 + games and you can understand his dropoff this season. Watch him and Duncan and you can see why Popovich has kept Duncan's minutes low for the past few seasons, the man hasn't aged. KG's newest injury might come as a blessing in disguise for the Celtics.
- Stephon Marbury + 20 million + sit on your ass = UNFAIR Stupid Isaih!!!
- So the league is hurting financially and well I'm going to take a page out of Charley Rosen's book and suggest that David Stern and company consider downsizing the league 4 or 5 teams. Yeah those cities will go ape shit over this proposal but if its for the betterment of the league than I say do it. It will save the league tons of cash while also helping to increase team competitivity. Goodbye Sacramento, Golden State, Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans and the Clippers. I'd also include the Nets, Raptors and Thunder but those teams do have a couple things going for them. The Nets and Raptors have great money markets and the Thunder just received their team so with that I give them a pass for now.
much much more but I'll do that later.
Now on to those predictions:
Rookie: O.J. Mayo - I'd give it to Rose, but Mayo's been more flashy and voters tend to go with that
MIP: Devin Harris - He has this by a landslide, the kid has taken quite well to Frank's system
Sixth: Richard Hamilton - Jason Terry or Ginobili would win this in a cake walk, but due to their injuries, I'm going with Hamilton. To be honest I actually couldn't come up with another player.
Defensive: Dwight Howard - This award in my opinion is a crock of shit, Howard is a horrible defender but however, due to his size the man can block shots and rebound. In my opinion Duncan or Kobe should win this thing every year. Kobe's the best man defender in the game, and Duncan is the best man and help defender for big men. The fact that either has never won the award is crap.
Coach: Phil Jackson - Best team, best coach. He may have Kobe, but he certainly deserves credit for developing Farmar, Vujacic, Bynum, Ariza and to an extent Odom.
Executive: Mitch Kupchak - Has put together a cohesive group of veterans, youth and talented players. This group is young and could be a force for some time to come. Excellent drafting as well.
MVP: Kobe Bryant - Not his most dominating statistical season, but by far his finest. 28, 5, 5, 1.5, 48%, 87%, 35% and zero games missed are great achievements. But what separates him from LBJ is his leadership, his ability to control a game and his experience. Could he easily put up bigger numbers? Sure, but he doesn't need to, stats don't tell the whole story. Also his team swept Boston and Cleveland and his matchups with LBJ have been landslide victories. Kobe checked and guarded LBJ to the point of some of his worst games of the season. LBJ has been great and he's vastly improved, but where he needs to grow vs Kobe is his overall understanding of the game and until he does this Kobe will still be the man. However, all the pleas and points I make still wont garner Kobe his second MVP, LeBron is gonna win this thing due to the fact that writers have since the beginning of the season picked him to win the thing. They made up their minds back then and there's nothing Kobe can do about it. I guarantee that once LBJ wins the award this year, next year they'll be like "well now it's Wade's turn". Fucking bs. Let me point this out again, that Shaq has ONE MVP, Kobe has ONE MVP and Nash has TWO. WTF????????????????
All NBA 1st: Paul, Kobe, LBJ, Duncan, Garnett
All NBA 2nd: Williams, Wade, Pierce, Gasol, Howard
All NBA 3rd: Nash, Granger, Durant, Nowitzki, Yao
All NBA Defensive 1st: Paul, Kobe, Prince, Duncan, Garnett
All NBA Defensive 2nd: Wade, Ariza, Pierce, Camby, Howard
Finals: Los Angeles vs Cleveland = La in 7 (homecourt proves to be important)
Finals MVP = Kobe
later.
However, as much as Kobe and LBJ have stolen the spotlight most of the time, there still have been a great number of awesome headlines to be had.
- Firstly has to be the re-emergence of Shaq, what a force, what a player, the guy has played well and re-invigorated his career. It's unfortunate that he's stuck in a lower tier team such as Phoenix. If only that trade to Cleveland had gone through, he'd even be more pumped.
- Charles Barkeley, oh how you've fallen. DUI...nuff said. You'd better behave Chuck, C Webb might slide under the radar and steel your job.
- The emergence of Kevin Durant has certainly been great to watch. How unfortunate for Portland. I feel bad for them and how they succumbed to pressure and hype of Oden, who'll maybe become a poor man's David Robinson. It stands here to say that I doubt it.
However, Durant what a game, the guy can play. I'll go out on a limb here but he's got "it", I see it in his eyes, he's got that "it" quality that Kobe possess, the "I'm not afraid of you quality". In my opinion he's got just as much upside as LeBron basketball wise, even more so. If he could just eat a sandwich I'd say he'll replace Kobe as the games finest in 5 years. Yes you read that, I see more killer in him that I do LeBron. LeBron's just a physical specimen no one's ever seen before, but he ain't no killer.
- The wear and tear of KG. His intensity is still there, his passion hasn't left him but oh boy have those 40+ minutes a game carrying that brutal 'Sota team worn him down. Take into account his lack of injuries and 1000 + games and you can understand his dropoff this season. Watch him and Duncan and you can see why Popovich has kept Duncan's minutes low for the past few seasons, the man hasn't aged. KG's newest injury might come as a blessing in disguise for the Celtics.
- Stephon Marbury + 20 million + sit on your ass = UNFAIR Stupid Isaih!!!
- So the league is hurting financially and well I'm going to take a page out of Charley Rosen's book and suggest that David Stern and company consider downsizing the league 4 or 5 teams. Yeah those cities will go ape shit over this proposal but if its for the betterment of the league than I say do it. It will save the league tons of cash while also helping to increase team competitivity. Goodbye Sacramento, Golden State, Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans and the Clippers. I'd also include the Nets, Raptors and Thunder but those teams do have a couple things going for them. The Nets and Raptors have great money markets and the Thunder just received their team so with that I give them a pass for now.
much much more but I'll do that later.
Now on to those predictions:
Rookie: O.J. Mayo - I'd give it to Rose, but Mayo's been more flashy and voters tend to go with that
MIP: Devin Harris - He has this by a landslide, the kid has taken quite well to Frank's system
Sixth: Richard Hamilton - Jason Terry or Ginobili would win this in a cake walk, but due to their injuries, I'm going with Hamilton. To be honest I actually couldn't come up with another player.
Defensive: Dwight Howard - This award in my opinion is a crock of shit, Howard is a horrible defender but however, due to his size the man can block shots and rebound. In my opinion Duncan or Kobe should win this thing every year. Kobe's the best man defender in the game, and Duncan is the best man and help defender for big men. The fact that either has never won the award is crap.
Coach: Phil Jackson - Best team, best coach. He may have Kobe, but he certainly deserves credit for developing Farmar, Vujacic, Bynum, Ariza and to an extent Odom.
Executive: Mitch Kupchak - Has put together a cohesive group of veterans, youth and talented players. This group is young and could be a force for some time to come. Excellent drafting as well.
MVP: Kobe Bryant - Not his most dominating statistical season, but by far his finest. 28, 5, 5, 1.5, 48%, 87%, 35% and zero games missed are great achievements. But what separates him from LBJ is his leadership, his ability to control a game and his experience. Could he easily put up bigger numbers? Sure, but he doesn't need to, stats don't tell the whole story. Also his team swept Boston and Cleveland and his matchups with LBJ have been landslide victories. Kobe checked and guarded LBJ to the point of some of his worst games of the season. LBJ has been great and he's vastly improved, but where he needs to grow vs Kobe is his overall understanding of the game and until he does this Kobe will still be the man. However, all the pleas and points I make still wont garner Kobe his second MVP, LeBron is gonna win this thing due to the fact that writers have since the beginning of the season picked him to win the thing. They made up their minds back then and there's nothing Kobe can do about it. I guarantee that once LBJ wins the award this year, next year they'll be like "well now it's Wade's turn". Fucking bs. Let me point this out again, that Shaq has ONE MVP, Kobe has ONE MVP and Nash has TWO. WTF????????????????
All NBA 1st: Paul, Kobe, LBJ, Duncan, Garnett
All NBA 2nd: Williams, Wade, Pierce, Gasol, Howard
All NBA 3rd: Nash, Granger, Durant, Nowitzki, Yao
All NBA Defensive 1st: Paul, Kobe, Prince, Duncan, Garnett
All NBA Defensive 2nd: Wade, Ariza, Pierce, Camby, Howard
Finals: Los Angeles vs Cleveland = La in 7 (homecourt proves to be important)
Finals MVP = Kobe
later.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
My Top 10 NBA Trade Value
As I listen to Bill Simmons debate his 9th annual Top 40 NBA Trade Value, I feel it is my duty as an avid NBA fan and blogger to write and do my own list (a shortened version mind you) since a Top 40 would just take too long. This list however, does follow Bill's rules for which I have cut and pasted for you below (okay so I'm being lazy tonight)
1. Salaries matter. Over this season and the next three, would you rather pay David West $37.9 million or Andrei Kirilenko $63.3 million?
2. Age matters. Would you rather have Rasheed Wallace for the next four seasons or Al Horford for the next 12?
3. Pretend the league passed the following rule: For 24 hours, any player can be traded without cap ramifications. So if Team A tells Team B, "We'll trade you Player X for Player Y," would Team B make the deal or not?
4. Concentrate on degrees. For instance, neither San Antonio nor Orlando would make a Howard-Duncan trade. But at the very least, the Spurs would say, "Wow, Dwight Howard's available?" while the Magic would say, "There's no frickin' way we're trading Dwight Howard." That counts in the big scheme of things.
5. The list runs in reverse order (Nos. 50 to 1). So if Carmelo comes in at No. 14, players 1 through 13 are all players about whom the Nuggets would probably say, "We hate giving up 'Melo, but we definitely have to consider this deal." And they wouldn't trade him straight-up for any player listed between Nos. 15 and 50.
Now on to my list:
10. Brandon Roy
Awesome player who can score, defend and lead. His Blazers are playing well, they're young, athletic and growing fast, with Roy undoubtedly at the center of it all. Plus paying him 3, 4 and 5 mil respectively for the next 3 seasons has to be a plus as well.
9. Derrick Rose
Fastest player in the league by far, with a huge ceiling for growth. Come next season that CP3/DWill "who's the best pg in the league" comparison will certainly need to be including him in it. And I'll be the first to say it here, good luck picking the starting pg for the 2012 Olympics. Good luck!!!
8. Deron Williams
What kind of tear has he been on lately and he isn't on the All Star team? No All Star for he and Melo? Garbage in my opinion. The guy can flat out play.
7. Kevin Durant
The best pure scorer in the league next to Kobe, LeBron and Melo. Will challenge for the best player in the league soon, has a huge upside.
6. Dwayne Wade
Has raised his game considerably since recovering from his injuries. Unfortunately for him his team blows and looks to be average for a few more seasons. His situation reminds me of where Kobe was 4 seasons ago. Let's hope he can stay healthy! Needs to improve his outside shooting or he'll run down soon.
5. Chris Paul
Pure assassin! Takes over a game so effortlessly. He's Isiah re-incarnate.
4. Tim Duncan
Not much else to be said, unless one of the top 3 is offered there is no way he's moving.
3. Kobe Bryant
Would be No. 2 if he were a tad younger, but he's now in his 30's with over 1000 games behind him. He may be the best in the league now and for the next 5 seasons but if Howard or LeBron were available I find it hard to imagine LA saying no, especially with LBJ being 24 and Howard being 23.
2. Dwight Howard
If he can continue to develop offensively and maintain his focus defensively he will become unstoppable. My only thing with him is "does he have the right focus and killer attitude to lead a team to championship" sometimes I not so sure on that one. He has too much of a David Robinson vibe for me to be comfortable with. But still with his size and age him being number 2 is about as low as I can put him.
1. LeBron James
Did you really expect anyone else? Could go down as the best ever but I highly doubt that he will. I just don't see him loving the game as much as Jordan and Kobe. Like I've pointed out before, LBJ and Shaq have by far the highest ceilings of any player in history. Shaq's going to go down as one of the best, top 5 for sure but man could he have dominated had he tried a little harder, for some reason I see that same thing for LBJ. Will go down in the top 5, but as number 1, not so sure.
later.
1. Salaries matter. Over this season and the next three, would you rather pay David West $37.9 million or Andrei Kirilenko $63.3 million?
2. Age matters. Would you rather have Rasheed Wallace for the next four seasons or Al Horford for the next 12?
3. Pretend the league passed the following rule: For 24 hours, any player can be traded without cap ramifications. So if Team A tells Team B, "We'll trade you Player X for Player Y," would Team B make the deal or not?
4. Concentrate on degrees. For instance, neither San Antonio nor Orlando would make a Howard-Duncan trade. But at the very least, the Spurs would say, "Wow, Dwight Howard's available?" while the Magic would say, "There's no frickin' way we're trading Dwight Howard." That counts in the big scheme of things.
5. The list runs in reverse order (Nos. 50 to 1). So if Carmelo comes in at No. 14, players 1 through 13 are all players about whom the Nuggets would probably say, "We hate giving up 'Melo, but we definitely have to consider this deal." And they wouldn't trade him straight-up for any player listed between Nos. 15 and 50.
Now on to my list:
10. Brandon Roy
Awesome player who can score, defend and lead. His Blazers are playing well, they're young, athletic and growing fast, with Roy undoubtedly at the center of it all. Plus paying him 3, 4 and 5 mil respectively for the next 3 seasons has to be a plus as well.
9. Derrick Rose
Fastest player in the league by far, with a huge ceiling for growth. Come next season that CP3/DWill "who's the best pg in the league" comparison will certainly need to be including him in it. And I'll be the first to say it here, good luck picking the starting pg for the 2012 Olympics. Good luck!!!
8. Deron Williams
What kind of tear has he been on lately and he isn't on the All Star team? No All Star for he and Melo? Garbage in my opinion. The guy can flat out play.
7. Kevin Durant
The best pure scorer in the league next to Kobe, LeBron and Melo. Will challenge for the best player in the league soon, has a huge upside.
6. Dwayne Wade
Has raised his game considerably since recovering from his injuries. Unfortunately for him his team blows and looks to be average for a few more seasons. His situation reminds me of where Kobe was 4 seasons ago. Let's hope he can stay healthy! Needs to improve his outside shooting or he'll run down soon.
5. Chris Paul
Pure assassin! Takes over a game so effortlessly. He's Isiah re-incarnate.
4. Tim Duncan
Not much else to be said, unless one of the top 3 is offered there is no way he's moving.
3. Kobe Bryant
Would be No. 2 if he were a tad younger, but he's now in his 30's with over 1000 games behind him. He may be the best in the league now and for the next 5 seasons but if Howard or LeBron were available I find it hard to imagine LA saying no, especially with LBJ being 24 and Howard being 23.
2. Dwight Howard
If he can continue to develop offensively and maintain his focus defensively he will become unstoppable. My only thing with him is "does he have the right focus and killer attitude to lead a team to championship" sometimes I not so sure on that one. He has too much of a David Robinson vibe for me to be comfortable with. But still with his size and age him being number 2 is about as low as I can put him.
1. LeBron James
Did you really expect anyone else? Could go down as the best ever but I highly doubt that he will. I just don't see him loving the game as much as Jordan and Kobe. Like I've pointed out before, LBJ and Shaq have by far the highest ceilings of any player in history. Shaq's going to go down as one of the best, top 5 for sure but man could he have dominated had he tried a little harder, for some reason I see that same thing for LBJ. Will go down in the top 5, but as number 1, not so sure.
later.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Mecca takes a hit as Kobe and LeBron come to town
As a fan of basketball you couldn't ask for more when it comes to great performances this week. With Kobe draining in a very efficient 61 on monday and LeBron killing it tonight in a 52/11/10 game you have to hand it to the leagues two brightest stars for delivering on the games biggest stage. What is it with MSG and these picturesque performances? Is it Spike Lee's face courtside that gets the boys all fired up? Not sure, but hey who cares, with performances likes these I'll certainly keep my questions to a minimum. As for the boys themselves well...what can I say except WTF???
As of today, I fully annoint these two the best players on the planet now and for at least the next 5 years (barring no major injuries). So to all you crazy folk out there clamoring on about how DWade and CP3 deserve mention in this dubious category because in my opinion you can shut the Fuck up! There's no doubt about their greatness, Kobe and LeBron are in their own categories all together, the same one's as Magic and Bird, Magic and Michael, Russel and Wilt, y'know the greatest of all time and by far the best of this generation. Personally I view them as Kobe being a more crisp version of Michael and LeBron being a cross of Magic and Dominique.
And to think they square off against one another on Sunday, Yeah!!
What a week. Gotta love it!
later.
As of today, I fully annoint these two the best players on the planet now and for at least the next 5 years (barring no major injuries). So to all you crazy folk out there clamoring on about how DWade and CP3 deserve mention in this dubious category because in my opinion you can shut the Fuck up! There's no doubt about their greatness, Kobe and LeBron are in their own categories all together, the same one's as Magic and Bird, Magic and Michael, Russel and Wilt, y'know the greatest of all time and by far the best of this generation. Personally I view them as Kobe being a more crisp version of Michael and LeBron being a cross of Magic and Dominique.
And to think they square off against one another on Sunday, Yeah!!
What a week. Gotta love it!
later.
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