The Pocho

To the Winner Goes the MVP

2008-04-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I was all prepared to write an indignant post about how Kobe was being robbed of an MVP award. My indignation only increased after reading Scoop Jackson's great article on ESPN.com. But then a funny thing happened, the Lakers lost to Portland on Wednesday night after the Hornets lost to the Utah Jazz. I was so upset that I didn't care if Bryant won the MVP. But after reflecting on it, I remembered that my position was not based on a single game's performance, but on how Bryant has been playing for the entire season so I went ahead and finished this post.

Tonight the Los Angeles Lakers face the New Orleans Hornets in what could possibly be a Western Conference Finals preview. In addition, this game could help determine home court advantage in the western conference in the playoffs as the Lakers are two games behind the Hornets for first place in the conference. But the most important part of this game for me, and perhaps for a lot of undecided MVP voters, is that this game could determine whether Chris Paul or Kobe Bryant win the MVP award.

A few weeks ago, I wrote that I expected that when Pau Gasol went down with a sprained ankle, the chances of the Lakers getting the top seed in the west and Kobe winning his first regular season MVP award went down with him. But then a funny thing happened, the Lakers proceeded to go 5-4 without Gasol, including wins over Dallas and Utah.

But unfortunately for Kobe, during this stretch the Hornets were able to get to the top of the western conference standings and a lot of people that didn't want Kobe to win his first MVP award were giving the perfect alternative candidate in Chris Paul.

Now don't get me wrong. I love Chris Paul. He is an amazing player and he's having an amazing year. Trust me, I know since he's led my fantasy basketball team all season long and I wouldn't be in first place without him. He's undoubtedly my fantasy mvp, but in the real world, he still doesn't deserve it.

If you're going to vote for the best player on the best team, then your vote should go for Kevin Garnett, not Chris Paul. The Boston Celtics are clearly the best team in basketball right now and the odds on favorite to win the championship. One of the factors that makes them so potent is their amazing defense and from all accounts that defensive effort starts with Garnett. His intensity makes all his teammates play a little harder. Unfortunately for KG, he missed a few games earlier in the season and the Celtics didn't stop winning so he somehow dropped out of the MVP race. Plus he already has one from his days in Minnesota.

Also, Paul has a lot more help in getting that best record in the west than Kobe did. Paul has one other current all-star on his team in David West and one former all-star in Peja Stojakovic and they have played for the team all season long. While Pau Gasol is a former all-star, he did not start the season with the Lakers and he missed nine games after joining them. As for Lamar Odom, he is too inconsistent to ever be an all-star. You might say that playing with Paul has made West an all-star. I would respond by asking you to look at how badly Smush Parker and Kwame Brown have fared since they left the Lakers to see how playing alongside Kobe Bryant improved their games while they were in LA.

In addition MVP voters shouldn't forget that Kobe has been playing the last few months with a pinkie on his shooting hand that requires surgery and blows up like a balloon every time it gets hit. Kobe clearly deserves some credit for showing such heart. Finally, it's just time that one of the greatest players that has ever been in this league gets a little more recognition. It would be a shame if Kobe retired and finished a hall of fame career without winning a single MVP.

So it shouldn't matter whether the Hornets or the Lakers win tonight, Kobe deserves the MVP award. Unfortunately I have a feeling that most of the voters won't see it that way and they'll decide who gets their vote based on this one game. In the end it doesn't matter that much because I hope Kobe wants a championship more than an individual award. After all, even if he can't win the regular season MVP, if he leads his team to championship glory, he can still win the NBA Finals MVP and that in itself should be enough individual recognition.

A Tribute Through Labor

2008-03-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Cesar Chavez Day and I’m celebrating it by working from home. Last week my boss came in and told us that the office would be closed for today and that we could take the day off or work from home. Seeing as it wouldn’t be a paid holiday, three out of my four co-workers mentioned they would be working just as I would.

One of them made a comment that working on the day is actually more of a tribute to Chavez since he fought for the right to work. I was a little disappointed to hear that my co-worker didn’t really understand what Chavez, who is probably the greatest Latino leader in US history, was about. But at least she didn’t think he was a boxer. A few years ago there was a school in Northern California that was going to change its name to honor Cesar Chavez. Some of the parents protested that the school shouldn’t be named in honor of a boxer. They had confused Cesar Chavez with the legendary boxer Julio Cesar Chavez.

What Cesar Chavez actually fought for was the right for migrant farm workers to work in the agricultural industry in California under better and less exploitive conditions. He launched a union movement and a boycott of California grape growers that included personal fasts similar to those of Mahatma Gandhi to draw attention to his cause.

I consider Chavez an amazing man who did a great deal of good. But I confess that I find it odd that the greatest leader in the history of this country’s Latino community was basically a union organizer. What’s even more disappointing is that no other Latino has emerged to lead the Latino community past all the issues that plague it such as gang violence, poverty, high school drop out rates, and the anti-immigrant backlash that seems to be growing in this country.

To make things worse, when Latino leaders do emerge, they seem to invariably do something to besmirch their image, such as Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Pundits were predicting that Villaraigosa might one day become the governor of California. Then it was revealed that he was having an affair with a television reporter. At least he didn’t have to pay for his extracurricular activities unlike former New York governor Elliot Spitzer. While Villaraigosa is still in office, his political prospects don’t appear as promising as they once did. Villaraigosa is following well in the footsteps of another disgraced Latino public servant, Henry Cisneros.

Cisneros was the former mayor of San Antonio and appointed by President Bill Clinton to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He was forced to resign when it was revealed that he had lied to FBI investigators regarding payments he had made to a former mistress.

At least there’s still Bill Richardson. Richardson is the governor of New Mexico and a former presidential candidate. He was also the US Ambassador to the United Nations and the Secretary of Energy. Richardson would appear a terrific potential leader for the Latino community. The only problem is his name. How many Latinos do you know named Richardson, or even Bill. Hell, it was years before I found out that he was Latino.

So for now I’ll continue to celebrate Cesar Chavez as the greatest Latino leader in US history and I’ll honor his memory by working. But I’ll continue to hope that one day a Latino leader, along the lines of a Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X, will appear to guide the Latino community past all the problems that plague it.

A Different Kind of Madness

2008-03-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

With March Madness under way, now seems like a perfect time to talk about ... my new PSP.

I've never really been into portable gaming. My first experience wasn't a very rewarding one. I never owned a GameBoy. Somehow or other it just passed me by. I played my friend's and I loved playing Tetris but I never felt the need to own one. I think what really bothered me about it was that it wasn't in color.

Then in the early nineties the TurboExpress came out and the company that developed it proudly proclaimed that it was in color. In addition, there was an accessory that came with it that acted as a television antenna. I just had to have it even though it was probably 3 times more expensive than the GameBoy. Fortunately, my parents for some reason or other actually got it for me.

The system wasn't bad. Unfortunately, I played only one game on that little gadget, Splatterhouse, probably only a total of 10 hours. To make matters worse I don't think I advanced past the second level. Also, I was never able to track down the tv accessory so I wasn't even able to use the damn thing as a portable tv.

That experience stayed with me and even when I became addicted to gaming again, I had no interest in buying a handheld system. I've owned a PC, Nintendo 64, Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, and PS3, but the closest I got to a mobile gaming device was my laptop.

Then I started planning my trip to Hawaii when my friend El Jefe offered to let me borrow his Nintendo DS. At first my girlfriend T-Nap was less than enthused because she didn't want me to be playing it all the time. But then she realized it would be something to occupy me when she got tired of my company.

El Jefe provided me with a few games including Brain Age, Mario 64, Trauma Center, and Tetris. My favorite game turned out to be Brain Age. I briefly entertained getting my own DS at one point. I enjoyed playing with the DS and I'm glad i had it with me. But after I played Mario 64 I realized the DS wasn't for me. After playing with a joystick button since the Nintendo 64, I realized I couldn't go back to playing games with a directional pad. It just hurt my thumb too much.

Then I thought about getting a PSP which I knew had a joystick type button. But I also figured that since I didn't travel very much, there wouldn't be much of a point of buying a DS or Sony PSP. However when I got back to LA I couldn't stop thinking about getting one.

My birthday was coming up so I kept telling my girlfriend how cool it would be to get a PSP. But I thought it would be too much to spend and she had previously mentioned she didn't want to get me any more video games so I thought a PSP was out of the question. Fortunately for me, T-Nap couldn't come up with another idea for a present and she isn't as cheap as I am.

When I unwrapped my present I was completely blown away. I had no idea. But I was also a little disappointed. You see earlier in the day I had learned that there would be a new PSP bundle that would include the new God of War game and the movie Superbad. The bundle that T-Nap bought me included the game Daxter (which I probably would have purchased) and episodes of the Family Guy (which I hate). But after seeing a picture of the bright red God of War PSP, T-Nap decided I should stick with the Daxter bundle and I'm more than glad I did.

I love my PSP! It controls suprisingly well and the games I've played on it look great. I am able to connect it to my PS3 and upload photos and songs. After some homework I was also able to figure out how to connect the PSP to T-Nap's Mac and upload some video clips. If one were inclined to have adult film video clips, one would have "pocket porn", as T-Nap so eloquently put it. I take my PSP to work with me and I usually play it in my car during my lunch break. I can take it when I go to T-Nap's and play with it when she's busy doing other things.

Unfortunately I have to play inside my car because one of the only flaws with the PSP is that it's almost impossible to see the screen in the outdoors during the day, even if you're standing in the shade. The other drawback is that the battery doesn't seem to last very long.

That being said, I still love my PSP and I expect my love to grow as the PSP's capabilities are enhanced. By the end of the year, Sony is expected to allow PSP owners to tranfer copies of their blu-ray dvds from the PS3 to the PSP. In addition, a GPS add-on, already available in Japan, should be released in the United States soon. Finally, there appears to be plans in the works for a digital TV antenna add on. Finally I'm hopeful that eventually I may be able to play my PS3 via remote play using the PSP wi-fi capabilities.

Once all these capabilities are available I'll just need to figure out a way for my girlfriend not to be jealous of my PSP.

TGIF, Not!

2008-03-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

I love Fridays, especially when I’m employed. Who doesn’t love the end of the workweek and the beginning of the weekend? Unfortunately last Friday turned out to be a miserable day for me.

I was finishing up my eight hours at work and I wanted to listen to the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Hornets. Since I had never listened to a game at work my first impulse was to listen to am570radio.com. The pre-game show was broadcasting when all of a sudden the station started playing music after a really long commercial break. My co-worker looked at me and asked what the hell was going on. Then we realized that the radio station probably wasn't allowed to broadcast the game online. So we desperately tried to find another way to listen online. Eventually we figured out we had to register on Nba.com for their All Access Pass.

After I registered I was content to hear that the Lakers were leading 14 to 7. Derek Fisher bricked a few shots and I asked my co-worker, why is Derek shooting so much? After listening a little longer my next thought was, why isn't Pau touching the ball?

Then Spero Dedes, who does play-by-play for the Lakers on the radio, uttered those words that sent my day into a tailspin: “We're still waiting to hear word on Pau's ankle sprain.” I was crushed. It was so perfect. During the registration process I was asked who my favorite player was. I initially selected Kobe, but on second thought I chose Pau and now it seemed the Basketball Gods were punishing me.

After wondering how long Pau would be out and how far down the Lakers would fall in the standings, my next thought was: how would my fantasy basketball team fair. Usually I don’t like having my favorite player on my favorite team on my fantasy basketball team because as Bill Simmons once described, when that player gets hurt, you feel it three times over. In my defense, when I took Pau with my first pick, he was a Memphis Grizzly. Of course, that little fact didn’t take away the sting and I’m in serious doubt about whether I’ll be able to maintain my slim 2.5 point lead.

There was one other ramification that Bill Simmons didn’t discuss about losing your favorite player on your favorite team, the impact on a fan’s video gaming. After the Gasol trade, I went out and purchased NBA 2K8 for the PS3. How could I not, I was so giddy about the thought of playing with Kobe, Pau, Lamar, and Andrew Bynum. It was so sweet to play the game and just throw it into the post with Pau and know he could make it from anywhere in the paint. Since I started playing, Pau has regularly been the leading scorer for me. Now I can’t play the game without being reminded that Pau is hurt and the Lakers are in trouble.

So that’s why I wasn’t thanking God it was Friday last week. The misery continued on Sunday as the Lakers went down to the Houston Rockets and dropped the Lakers out of first place in the West and possibly Kobe out of the MVP race. For now I’ll just hope that Pau is back in two weeks and next Friday, when Pau should be back, I can once again think TGIF.

Thank You Number 4

2008-03-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

Brett Favre announced yesterday that he would be retiring. And while I think it was the right decision I couldn't help feeling a little bit sad.

The reason is that Favre made me care about professional football. I wasn't much of a sports fan growing up. When I first started becoming interested in sports in junior high, most of my attention was directed at the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Dodgers. After all, both teams won championships in 1988.

Sure, the Raiders had won a championship in 1983 but I didn't really remember it. One of my closest friends was a huge Los Angeles Rams fan, but they never won anything. That's not to say I didn't like football. I often used to play a little touch football during lunch breaks with some of my friends. But I can't remember ever watching an NFL game on TV. Of course, my interest in the NFL didn't grow when the Raiders and Rams both moved out of LA.

But all that changed when I watched Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. I found a reason to watch games. I started watching because I loved seeing all the passion and determination that Favre played with.

I got a kick when he pretended to keep the ball after a handoff and oversold a fake throw, when he talked smack after getting sacked, when he jumped in the air and raised his finger. He really seemed to enjoy playing the game and that appreciation somehow rubbed off on me and made me appreciate the game more.

But it wasn't just about his passion. All that passion would have meant nothing if Favre didn't win games. Favre not only won games, he took his team to two Super Bowls, winning one of them. Sure he sometimes took too many gambles, but that just added to his aura.

Then there was his "aw shucks" demeanor off the field. Maybe it was all just an act, but Favre really did seem like the down to earth guy next door that you could have a beer with while watching the game instead of some prima donna. His cameo in "There's Something About Mary" may never be topped by any other athlete.

So while it's nice to see Favre leave the game while he is still playing at a Pro Bowl level and wearing a Packers uniform unlike so many other great players that stay too long (see Jerry Rice), I know I'm going to miss him come fall when I see a Packers box score and can't find Favre anywhere. But I appreciate all the fond memories of watching him play and for that I simply want to say: "Thanks!"

Something is Missing

2008-02-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, ESPN’s the Sports Guy dedicated a column discussing the recent trades in the NBA. In reference to the Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown trade he said that Laker fans “should feel really, REALLY lucky right now.”

Truer words have never been written. I haven’t felt this happy to be a Laker fan since 2003-04 when the Lakers, with the newly signed Gary Payton and Karl Malone, began the season with an 18-3 record.

The Lakers are 9-1 with Pau Gasol. Kobe, when not getting ejected out of games as he did last night, is playing great with his bad pinkie. Bynum’s recovery appears to be going well. Lamar Odom is playing some of the best basketball of his NBA career. The bench is continuing to perform extremely well.

The only thing missing aside from a championship, is Chick Hearn’s voice. It’s been six years since Hearn passed away and listening and watching Laker games hasn’t been the same since. Sure Hearn had started making a lot of mistakes while calling games, like referring to Shaq as Kareem, towards the end of his broadcasting career, but there was still that something about his voice that just screamed “Los Angeles Lakers.”

Since Hearn stopped calling games, there have been three individuals who have tried to fill the shoes of that giant of sports announcing: Paul Sunderland, Joel Meyers, and Spero Dedes. Sunderland called games for the Lakers from 2002 to 2005. I didn’t have much of an opinion of Sunderland. I knew he was in a no win situation since he was Chick’s immediate successor. He was a little bland but I thought he did an admirable job.

Chick Hearn was one of the only announcers who did a simulcast of the game for television and radio. Somehow he managed to do an excellent job of describing the action well enough for the radio listeners to get a good picture of what was going on without boring the television viewers with descriptions of what they were watching. After Sunderland’s first season, the Lakers did away with the simulcast and made Sunderland the television guy and hired Joel Meyers as their radio voice. When Sunderland was let go, Meyers took over the television spot and Spero Dedes was hired to do radio play-by-play.

I didn’t mind Joel Meyers as the Lakers radio voice, since I don’t usually listen to a lot of radio games. However, when he switched over to television I was exposed to him a lot more and quickly grew tired of him. One of the first things that really stood out for me when I started watching him is that he was much more of a homer than I expected, especially when it comes to complaining about the referees. Now I’ll be the first to complain about bad officiating, but as a fan, that’s what I’m supposed to do. I don’t need to hear it from an announcer who I expect to be somewhat impartial. I just don’t get much insight from listening to Meyers. It doesn’t help that he looks like a turtle.

So now I’m hoping history will repeat itself and that Dedes will eventually replace Meyers. I like the way Dedes calls a game. He doesn’t complain about the refs as much as seems a lot more objective, more like Chick used to call games. However, no one is perfect and I do have one bone to pick with Spero. Last week before the Phoenix show I was listening to the pre-game show while I was on the road. Matt “Money” Smith, host of the pre and post-game shows, and Spero were discussing Pau Gasol’s first game as a Laker at Staples Center and the reception that the Laker fans gave him. Then Spero made a reference to the large Spanish population in Los Angeles. I wanted to reach through the radio and smack Spero on the head. Obviously Spero meant Latino not Spanish. But I can’t really hold it against him too much since he is from the East Coast. But now that he's in LA, he needs to learn how to tell the difference between Spanish people from Europe and Latinos from Latin America.

Hopefully he’ll get straightened out soon and won’t make the same mistake again. And hopefully he takes over television duties soon. He won’t be able to truly replace Chick, but I’ll be able to enjoy the Lakers’ recent success a little more.

All-Star Thoughts

2008-02-18T11:45:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share a few thoughts on this weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities.

Celebrity Game
I was in the Maui airport for a layover on the way back to the mainland during the game. I watched some of it in an airport restaurant. I didn’t pay too much attention to it. My only real impression is that Gabrielle Union, the coach for one of the two teams, is pretty hot. Alyssa Milano was the coach for the other team. I used to have a huge crush on her until I heard she used to date Brad Penny, the overweight All-Star pitcher for the Dodgers. That soured me on Milano a bit. Same thing happened with Eliza Dushku.

Rookie Challenge
Also missed this one due to by travel plans. As much as I enjoy watching the game every year and was looking forward to seeing Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, and Jordan Farmar, I think I made the right decision in choosing Hawaii over the game. I did hear about the game and looked at box score and it was nice to see Farmar ended up with 17 points and 12 assists. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll play in the actual All-Star game along with the Laker’s young center Andrew Bynum.

Shooting Stars
Not much to say. The San Antonio team won. It was amusing to see David Robinson out there with the other “legends” Bill Laimbeer, Eddie Johnson, and B.J. Armstrong. Also don’t know how Chris Duhon ended up representing Chicago when Detroit, Phoenix, and San Antonio sent all-stars Chauncey Billups, Amare Stoudamire, and Tim Duncan.

Skills Challenge
I don’t know why but I got a kick out of the two finalists, Chris Paul and Deron Williams, being on my fantasy team. It was a shame that Williams, who won the competition, was not in the real game, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

3-Point Shootout
It always surprises me how entertaining this event can be. Sometimes it’s even more exciting than the dunk contest because of the clock and the absence of judging. Jason Kapono was very impressive in defending his title and tying the record for most points in this competition.

Slam Dunk Contest
First of all, I want to say that Dwight Howard was amazing. I absolutely loved his first dunk when he threw the ball behind the backboard and dunked with his head behind the backboard. I also loved his first dunk of the final round in which he threw the ball while in the air off the backboard with his left hand and caught the ball with his right and powered it through the rim. However I had a couple of issues with the Superman dunk. While I thought it was creative, it wasn’t a real dunk. He threw the ball through the rim a foot or two away and his hand never touched the rim. For me, a dunk has to involve the player touching the rim, usually with his hand, although for Vince Carter it can be the player’s elbow. My other problem is that Shaq is the real Superman. It’s too soon for Howard to try to take that nickname. I also agreed with Dr. J that Gerald Green didn’t get enough credit for his socks dunk and I was really impressed with his birthday cake dunk in which he blew out a candle while dunking. He probably should have saved that one for the final round.

57th NBA All-Star Game
When I learned that the NBA would force Kobe Bryant to play in the All-Star game despite Kobe’s injured finger, I was somewhat upset. But upon further reflection, it was the right decision. The game is meant to be for the fans. The fans voted for Kobe to be in the game and if he’s healthy enough to play for the Lakers, he’s healthy enough to start for the All-Star team. The game was somewhat boring since the East was in control for much of the game. It didn’t help that the uniforms made it hard to tell the teams apart. My girlfriend T-Nap mentioned that it looked like there were three teams out there, a blue, red, and white team. The end of the game was really exciting and I thought Ray Allen deserved the MVP award for stopping the West’s run although LeBron James did have a hell of a game.

Getting Lost

2008-02-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning I will be heading to Hawaii for a little vacation. Even though I’ve lived most of my life on the West Coast, this will my first trip there. I plan to stay four days in Oahu and four days on the Big Island. I can’t wait to lay out on the beaches, go snorkeling, see a luau, and visit all the sights. I’m also excited about being at the location where Lost, ABC’s award-winning drama, is filmed.

Before I go any further, I do want to offer a little spoiler alert. If you haven’t watched through last week’s season premiere of Lost, you probably shouldn’t read any further. I first checked out the show back in season one. I resisted the hype for a while, but eventually I gave in and watched a couple of episodes. I didn’t get hooked. Part of the problem is that I didn’t know the characters. I also felt I had been down the road before with supernatural shows like Twin Peaks and The X-Files. I hated the way both of those shows ended and I didn’t want to get sucked in again. I also felt the show didn’t make much sense and got the feeling that the writers were making things up as they went along without a vision of where the show was to go.

But then a funny thing happened. I started dating a girl that loved the show. The Not-A-Pocha (T-Nap for short) convinced me to give Lost another shot. It didn’t hurt that the Sports Guy was raving about how great the third season finale was. T-Nap had season one on DVD and we started to watch it. Her dvd player was in her bedroom so it also gave me a nice excuse for lying in her bed.

After watching the first season, I got reeled in. Despite my qualms about the show, there is no denying that it is really suspenseful. The writing and acting is also top notch. I also love the diversity of the cast, even if the two Latinos weren’t necessarily role model figures, one being an obese, mentally unstable lottery winner and the other being a cop turned vengeful vigilante.

But I don’t think I’ll ever love the show as much as T-Nap does. I still get a sense that the writers are pulling stuff out of nowhere. It doesn’t help when story lines are dropped. For example, what was the point of showing that Libby was in the mental hospital with Hurley if the writers were only going to kill her off a few episodes later. Also whatever happened to Michael and Walt. Although I guess Walt’s brief appearance at the end of season three suggests we will see more of them eventually.

It also drives me crazy when the characters act stupid on the show, recent examples being when no one bothered checking to see if Mikhail or Naomi were really dead. Speaking of dead, it also bothers me how many cast members have died. When so many characters die (Boone, Shannon, Ana Lucia, Libby, Mr. Eko) it takes away from the shock when the next character dies. I was bothered by the fact that Charlie’s death didn’t really impact me as much as I think it would have if those other characters hadn't gotten killed off.

Nevertheless, I still do enjoy the show and I’m very upset that this season may only last eight episodes because of the writer’s strike. But I am excited about the Hawaii trip and seeing locations in person on Oahu that I’ve only seen on television. I just hope that my flight doesn’t pull a Lost on the way there or on the way back. While I’m looking forward to seeing the beaches, lush jungles, and green hills, I’d rather not see any killer polar bears, Others, or smoke monsters.

Christmas in February

2008-02-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

It’s funny how the vicissitudes of life can take you from one emotional extreme to another. Thursday night I was depressed. The Lakers had lost by one point to the Detroit Pistons. I think it was the low point of the Laker season for me. Even though I had fully expected for the Lakers to lose to one of the best teams in the league on the road without their blossoming young center Andrew Bynum, it still hurt to see them so close to winning the game but having victory snatched away like that. To make things worse, I was tracking the game on the internet since it was tape delayed on television and when I hit refresh on my browser I initially read the final score as a Laker victory and squealed with delight. When I realized my mistake it felt like I had been punched in the gut. I really should work on my reading skills.

That feeling carried over the next day until about noon. I checked my cell phone and listened to a voice mail message. My friend El Jefe told me that the Lakers had traded Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol. Of course I was sure he was lying to me. So before I even called him back I checked ESPNews. And much to my delight there it was in the ticker. I called El Jefe back and just started saying “Dude!” and “Oh my fucking God.” I told him that I didn’t believe him and he told me he was telling the truth. Then I told him I had already check the news. We were giddy like schoolgirls. This had to mean the Lakers would win a championship within the next two years. His brother called him so I got off the line and started calling my other Laker fans.

I called Johnny Ringo and he didn’t answer so I left a message. Thursday night he had taped the UCLA basketball game so he was avoiding all sports news before he watched the game. So when he called me back his first question was “Are you fucking with me because you know I can’t check the news.” He broke down and checked and confirmed the news. I also called Vayacondios and when we spoke he also said he still didn’t believe it was a done deal and was sure that the deal would somehow fall apart. How could the Lakers have turned an athlete that was recently voted by his fellow players as the player doing the least with the most talent into a past All-Star still in his prime? When I saw Gasol on the bench of the Washington Wizards game on Sunday, I finally believed it was true.

Now being the “optimist” that I am, I do have some concerns. I remember feeling this excited when Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined the Lakers in the summer of 2003. While that team came close, in the end they failed to win a championship, in part due to an injury to Malone in the playoffs. So I know nothing is guaranteed (just ask the New England Patriots). The Boston Celtics are still currently the best team in the league and the Lakers will still have to get past the Suns, Mavericks, Hornets, and/or San Antonio to get to them.

My other concern is Lamar Odom. When Andrew Bynum returns from injury, Pau Gasol will move to the power forward position and Odom will once again play at the small forward position. The Lakers experimented earlier this year with Odom playing the three and the experiment failed and Odom was moved to the four again and began playing better. Odom might have come into the league as a small forward but he now seems better suited to being a power forward. The Lakers should be fine if they keep Odom, but El Jefe pointed and I can’t help thinking that the team would be better with a more defensive oriented small forward that can consistently make three pointers. If the Lakers could trade for Ron Artest or Shane Battier, they would really be unstoppable.

My final concern is that Gasol is a Spaniard. Being a Mexican American I have some issues with Spaniards. I hold grudges and it’s a little hard to get over the thought that some of my ancestors raped and killed some of my other ancestors. But I guess if Gasol helps the Lakers win a championship, I’ll get over it.

Despite all my concerns, there is no denying that Friday felt like Christmas for me. Though the obvious present was the Lakers getting Gasol from the Grizzlies, the real present for me was the hope that I got from the Lakers. I went from wondering if the Lakers would make the playoffs with Bynum being out for another six weeks to wondering how many championships this team will win. Sometimes it’s better to receive than to give.

No Deja Vu in Football?

2008-02-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

I wasn’t planning on doing a Super Bowl preview. First of all, I figure there’s enough coverage of it without me putting in my two cents. Furthermore, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I was really disappointed that the Green Bay Packers are not going to be facing off against the New England Patriots.

But then my buddy, and one of my handful of readers, e-mailed me that I should write about how underrated the New York Giants are and how he expects an upset similar to the one in Super Bowl XXV when the underdog Giants beat the mighty Buffalo Bills. Although I was planning to write on how disappointed I was by the season premiere of Lost, I couldn’t ignore Dr. X’s request.

As I type this, the Patriots are 12 point favorites. Now my understanding of Vegas lines is that they aren’t really predictions of outcomes of games. Rather, they’re used to try to get half of gamblers to bet on one team and the other half on the other team. When that happens, the casinos win regardless of the outcome of the game because they still get their juice, their commission from taking the bet. Since the line hasn’t moved that much since it opened, it would appear that there still isn’t that many people thinking the Giants could win.

I know one thing for sure, if I were in Vegas I would be betting heavy on the Giants. I’m not saying they will win, but the way the Giants have been playing and as vulnerable as the Patriots have appeared against the Chargers and these same Giants at the end of the regular season, I just don’t see a 12 point win.

My friend Dr. X goes even further than that. He actually thinks the Giants have a shot at winning the game. He suspects that all the media attention that the Patriots have gotten will finally get to them and they won’t be as prepared for the game as the Giants will be. As I mentioned above, he also sees parallels between this Super Bowl and Super Bowl XXV. Back in 1991, the Giants defense was able to contain a much-ballyhooed offense powered by Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, James Lofton, and Thurman Thomas.

Unfortunately for Dr. X and New York fans, that Giants defense will not coordinated by Bill Belichick as it was in 1991. The Giants defense has played well, but this time around Belichick will be on the opposing team’s sidelines. And while the Patriots no longer have Adam Vinatieri, one of the best kickers in NFL history, I don’t see their current kicker Stephen Gostkowski being the second coming of Scott Norwood, who notoriously missed a game-winning field goal for the Bills.

So I’m predicting a Patriots victory. And since my friend Johnny Ringo is a bigger Pats fan than Dr. X is a Giants fan, that’s what I’m hoping for also. Although it would have been pretty funny to see the Giants win without the retired Tiki Barber or the injured Jeremy Shockey. It also would have been funny to see the Pats go undefeated in the regular season but fail to win the Super Bowl. Then again I have a strange sense of humor.

On Monday: Christmas in February, the Pau Gasol/Kwame Brown trade.

My Ballot, Part Two

2008-01-29T12:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I discussed whom the fans selected for the Western Conference All-Star team and whom I would have voted for if NBA.com didn’t require registration to vote. Today I’ll focus on the opposing team.

Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd were selected to fill the guard positions on the Eastern Conference team by the fans. Two years ago I probably would have also voted for both of them. However, this year is an entirely different story. Both the Miami Heat and the New Jersey Nets are out the playoffs right now, although the Nets are only half a game out of eighth place in the east. Sure Wade is putting up great numbers, but his team just snapped a 15 game losing streak. As I mentioned when discussing Yao Ming yesterday, individual performance on bad teams shouldn’t be rewarded.

Kidd on the other hand is basically quitting on his team and demanding a trade (although I admit I wouldn’t mind if he ended up on the Lakers if it didn’t cost them either Lamar Odom or Andrew Bynum). He is also shooting 36% from the field. That doesn’t really say all-star for me. All that being said, he would probably still get my vote because there just aren’t many great guards in the east right now with Gilbert Arenas being hurt. I would vote for Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons, who is averaging 18 points and 7 assists on the second best team in the east, in place of Wade. But neither Ray Allen of the Celtics nor Richard Hamilton of the Pistons make very compelling arguments to replace Kidd. I might have even just left the second guard position empty on my ballot.

At the forward position are two of the best players in the game: LeBron James and Kevin Garnett. As amazing a year as James had last year almost single-handedly leading the Cleveland Cavaliers into the Eastern Conference Finals, James started the year playing even better. He’s averaging nearly 30 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists on a team that’s 24-19 and 4th in the standings. I’ve longed argued that Kobe Bryant was the best player in the league, but every day that passes it gets harder and harder to make that argument with a straight face.

As much as I hated to see Kevin Garnett go to the Boston Celtics and dash all hopes I had of him becoming a Los Angeles Laker, you can’t dispute that Garnett is the best player on the best team (at least record wise) in the NBA. The only reason he wouldn’t be on my ballot would be out of spite. And if I were to vote for another forward, it would probably be for Caron Butler who is doing an amazing job of keeping the Washington Wizards in the playoff hunt without Gilbert Arenas.

Finally, at the center position, the fans chose Dwight Howard. Once again, I can’t disagree with the fans on this one. Howard is a beast in the middle and this year he has the help around him to lead his team to compete with Boston and Detroit. When you look at the alternatives at the center position in the east (Shaquille O’Neal, Rasheed Wallace), the decision really is a no-brainer.

So all in all the fans did a good job of selecting the all-star starters. Thankfully, the coaches can correct the couple of oversights that took place and I’m sure we’ll see Paul, Nowitzki, Stoudamire, and Billups when the all-star reserves are announced on Thursday. However, I’m sure the coaches will also make some screw ups and I’ll be back soon to correct them.

My Ballot

2008-01-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

With Super Tuesday and the California primary only a little over a week away, it seems like a perfect time to discuss politics. But I’d rather discuss a different ballot, my ballot for the 2008 NBA All-Star game. (Although for the record, I'll probably vote for Clinton and "No" on all the propositions.)

I had intended to submit my vote, but when I logged onto NBA.com, I discovered that the league was requiring fans to register to vote rather than simply inputting a confirmation code to prevent overzealous fans from voting more than once a day or setting up computer programs to vote multiple times. I didn’t feel like supplying my e-mail address to yet another web-site and getting more spam or just going through the registration process so I declined to vote and instead I plan to go over who the fans chose and mention who I would have voted for.

At the guard position on the Western Conference team, the fans selected Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant. There’s no doubt that Bryant would have been on my ballot. He’s simply one of the best players in the league on a team that only a week or so ago was on top of the Western Conference standings. While a recent turn of events have shown how valuable Andrew Bynum is to the Los Angeles Lakers, there is little doubt that the team would also be struggling if Bynum were healthy and Bryant was out.

As for Iverson, he probably would have been left off my ballot. There is little doubt that he deserves to be a starter. Iverson has been a fan favorite for many years and is currently averaging 27 points, nearly 7 assists, and more than 2 steals on a team that is battling for the lead in the Northwest division. But my vote would have gone to either Chris Paul or Steve Nash considering that both of these players are leading the New Orleans and the Phoenix Suns respectively into a battle for the best record in the conference. Given that Chris Paul has led my fantasy basketball team into first place in my fantasy league, my vote would have gone to Paul.

Iverson is joined on the All-Star team by his Denver Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony at one of the forward positions. Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs occupies the other forward position. Like the Answer, Anthony also deserves to be named a starter after averaging 25 points and 7 rebounds for the season. However, once again a Nugget would not have been on my ballot. My pick would have been Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, or Josh Howard. Of the three, Dirk would have gotten the nod because even though he struggled earlier in the year, he is still putting up 22 points and 8 rebounds and is leading the Mavericks to a record of 30-13. As for Duncan, it’s hard to argue with the selection of a player who has consistently led the reigning NBA champions.

That leaves us with the center position. This year the fans chose Yao Ming to represent the Western Conference. Yao is averaging 22 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks and normally that would be enough for me to vote for him to be the starting center for the west. But this year, Yao is getting those stats on team that is only 24-20 and is out of the playoffs as I type. Individual accomplishments on bad teams generally should not be recognized. So my vote would go to Amare Stoudamire who is averaging a rebound less on a team that is near the top of the conference standings. Amare barely edges out Marcus Camby who is having a tremendous year for the Denver Nuggets with 14 rebounds and almost 4 blocks a game.

Tune in tomorrow for my Eastern Conference picks.

Letting Go

2008-01-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

One of the saddest things in the world of professional sports is when an aging athlete refuses to acknowledge the ravages of time and retire from the sport that made him so famous and wealthy. We saw it with Jerry Rice, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Evander Holyfield, Roger Clemens, and on and on. Sure there are exceptions. I thought Brett Favre should have retired a couple of seasons ago but apparently he had at least one great season, if not playoff run, left in him. But usually athletes end up playing longer than they should.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Shaquille O'Neal could miss as much as a month with acute inflammation of the left hip and quadriceps. The news wasn’t much of a surprise. Shaq has already missed eight games this season due to injury. However the news was a reminder that it really is time for Shaq to retire.

Shaq really has nothing left to prove. He’s been the most dominant force in the game and has four championships. While the Lakers might be in a better position than the Heat this year, Miami has one championship since the trade that sent Shaq to Florida while Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are still waiting for another trophy.

The Diesel is still putting up decent numbers with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks on 58% shooting, but there are too many games in which he shows that he is almost 36 years old and is in his 16th season in the NBA. Games like the last game he played when he got 10 points and 5 rebounds in 28 minutes or like his game against Washington on December 13 when he ended up with only 7 points and 6 rebounds.

But after reading this quote from a conversation with ESPN Radio’s Jack Ramsey, it appears that Shaq has ruled out any notion of retirement: “I am the son of an army drill sergeant, and when we enlist, we go full term. So I've got two years left on my term, and after that, I'll be looking to do other things.” Of course the fact that he is due $40 million over the next two seasons is also providing motivation for him to go full term. I can’t really blame him. Even thought he’s made millions already, it would be insane to walk away from that much money. But I’m hoping that if the Heat offer any kind of buy out of his contract, Shaq takes it and stops tarnishing the image he once had as the most feared force in the league.

Damn Giants

2008-01-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

I’ve been ignoring the NFL for most of the season. After 12 years without a professional football team in Los Angeles, I’ve just had it. It didn’t help that my fantasy football season was a complete disaster after drafting Steve Smith, Shaun Alexander, and Vince Young. While I did miss the game a little, I found other ways to occupy my time.

Of course it was impossible to completely ignore the NFL. Although I failed to watch a single game from start to finish, I did know about the New England Patriots’ pursuit of a perfect season and the resurgence of Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. I was intrigued by the story lines because I hate the Patriots and have been a longtime fan of Brett Favre. I also embraced the controversy surrounding the Patriots for their cheating and bad sportsmanship and the portrayal of Favre as an old, revitalized gunslinger on what might be his last journey.

So as the playoffs neared I couldn’t help but think about the possibility of a match-up between both of these memorable teams. There were only two potential obstacles, the Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys. The Colts had the second best record in the AFC behind the Patriots and the Cowboys had home field advantage over the Packers after beating them during the regular season. Then a funny thing happened. The Colts lost to the injury depleted San Diego Chargers and the Cowboys lost at home to the New York Giants.

Now I started to get excited. There was no way the Chargers were going to beat the Patriots. Also, the Packers were looking strong after thumping the Seattle Seahawks 42-20 and I figured they wouldn’t have any problem with the Giants at home in sub-freezing Green Bay. The battle between Good and Evil was going to take place and I had a feeling Good might be able to pull off the upset. Since the Patriots were the favorites against any NFC team, even the Patriots fans were excited at the idea of exacting a little vengeance for the Pats' loss to the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI back in 1997.

Unfortunately, Eli Manning and the New York Giants didn’t get the script. They had their own story to tell about a much-maligned quarterback coming through when it counts. A story about a team who lost its star running back, Tiki Barber, who had disparaged that same quarterback and the team’s coach, and made it to the Super Bowl without him.

To be honest, that’s not that bad of a story. But I haven’t liked Manning since he refused to play for the Chargers after they drafted him and I really don’t care about Barber. So once again the NFL has let me down. After truly looking forward to the Packers/Patriots match-up, all I have is another battle between New York and Boston, as if the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry wasn’t sickening enough. Oh well, at least I’ll have the Super Bowl commercials to look forward to.

To Boo or Not To Boo

2008-01-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

Hello again. I’ve been away for a little over a year taking care of other business. But I’m back just in time to discuss the Lakers’ decline. At least I didn’t start writing again before Andrew Bynum, the Lakers’ promising young center, hurt his knee. If that were the case, I probably would have blamed myself for jinxing the team.

Anyway, tonight the Lakers play the Denver Nuggets and one of the key questions for me, aside from whether the Lakers have learned to play without Bynum or how much Trevor Ariza’s absence will hurt the team, is how the crowd will respond to Bynum’s replacement by Kwame Brown.

Last time the Lakers played, last Thursday night against the Phoenix Suns, the home crowd roundly booed Brown. Even though I think the trade for Brown in 2005 was a travesty for the Lakers and I have completely given up hope on the idea of him helping the Lakers, I did not join in the boos. I despise Kwame Brown. I’ve literally screamed out the words “I hate you Kwame Brown” while watching him miss a slam-dunk against the Memphis Grizzlies. I live for July 1st when Brown will become a free agent and leave the Lakers. But I don’t think I could ever bring myself to boo Brown, or any other individual Laker, during a Lakers game.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against booing. I routinely engage in booing when I attend Laker games. Usually my jeers are directed at referees and horrendous officiating, but every once in a while the Lakers become my target. The boos come out when the Lakers are dogging it: when they don’t play defense, forget to rebound, take too many threes, or generally don’t hustle. Most memorably for me was game two of the 2004 NBA Finals. After the Lakers lost game one of the series I expected to see them put forth a tremendous effort in game two. When it didn't happen, my frustrations boiled over and the boos came forth. I was so annoyed that I couldn’t even enjoy Kobe Bryant’s three-pointer that tied the game or the overtime that was dominated by the Lakers.

Some might see my stance as a bit illogical and neither type of booing as supportive. I don’t dispute that I can be irrational, but let me explain why I see a difference between booing your team’s player and booing your team. When I boo the Lakers, I’m not booing them because I don’t love the Lakers or want them to stop playing. I’m booing them because I’m trying to motivate them to play better after my cheering has failed. On the other hand booing just one player is like an attack. When I saw people booing Brown, I saw animosity. Sure some people might be hoping for him to pick up his game, but generally they are hoping that he gets taken out of the game and replaced with another player. There is no support in that.

So tonight when Brown blows another lay up or fumbles another rebound or pass, you might hear me curse Brown and call him the worst player ever, but you won’t hear me booing him. And who knows, if the Lakers are able to get a victory, you might even hear me cheering him.

Taking Sides Again

2007-01-19T12:57:00.000-08:00

I’ve thought about going to Vegas for Super Bowl weekend for a few years now. I’ve heard that there is a pretty cool buzz around the city for the big game and I could imagine that watching it at the Caesar’s sportsbook would be a lot of fun. Unfortunately the closest that I’ve gotten is meeting up with some grad school friends to watch the conference championships back in 2003.

That was the year the Oakland Raiders made it to the Super Bowl to face off against Tampa Bay. My friends and I watched the Raiders beat the Tennessee Titans and Bucs beat the Eagles at the Bellagio. We had hoped to watch the games at the sportsbook as we had other sporting events on other trips. Unfortunately we showed up late and there was no room. Fortunately the casino set aside an area near a bar to watch the game. It was a lot of fun to hear the fans for the different teams cheering as the games went back and forth, particularly the Raiders fans. One of my friends was a Raiders fan and was one of the louder spectators.

I don’t actually remember whom I was rooting for or even remember what I bet on. I do remember my other friend AbogadosDeNegros betting on the Raiders and Tampa Bay hoping to jinx them because he wanted to see two black quarterbacks, Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair, in the Super Bowl. Of course since my friend ADN has the anti-Midas touch both McNabb and McNair lost, but at least he made a little money to console himself with. It was a great experience and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you don’t want to the pay $25 a hand to play blackjack on Super Bowl weekend.

This weekend I’ll be watching the games from home instead of from Vegas. But that won’t stop me from picking sides so without further ado, here’s who I’ll be rooting for this weekend.

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears
Even though I was rooting for the Eagles last week, I really was happy to the Saints advance. As I mentioned last week, I’m a fan of both Drew Brees and Reggie Bush. I’m not sure how much their success has helped restore the city of New Orleans, but it’s nice to see that an area that was hit so hard by one of the most devastating natural disasters in this country’s history get a small reason to celebrate. So how can I not cheer for the Saints this weekend, especially when they are facing the team that cost me a fantasy league playoff spot, the Chicago Bears.

On paper, I really do think that the Saints are the better team and if they faced off against the Bears on a neutral field, the Saints would probably win. Unfortunately this game will be played in Chicago and the weather forecast is calling for snow and a high of 30 degrees on Sunday. The Saints play indoors in the infamous Superdome at home and it generally seems that dome teams don’t play well on the road in January. Sure there have been recent exceptions to the rule like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the aforementioned 2003 NFC championship game against the Eagles in Philadelphia. There was also the Falcons/Packers game in Green Bay back in 2002 when people still thought Michael Vick would be the next great quarterback. So it’s not inconceivable that the Saints will win, they’ll just have one more obstacle to overcome with the weather.

New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
I really do dislike Peyton Manning. There’s just no getting around it. I didn’t think it was possible but Manning found a new way to increase my disdain for him. After the Colts win last week, in which the Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri scored all the points for his team, Manning actually complained that he should get more credit for the team’s win since he gets all the blame when the team loses. That was truly pathetic. If you want the credit, throw a couple of touchdown passes and don’t get picked off. If you don’t want the blame, don’t play like a loser as you have in the past in big games. I don’t see Vinatieri or Marvin Harrison in all those Mastercard or Gatorade commercials. You’re the team’s quarterback. Act like it.

Despite how much I loathe Manning I still am going to have support the Colts this weekend because I do like Vinatieri, Harrison, and the team’s coach Tony Dungy. I also want to see the Patriots humbled a little bit, especially since they weren’t willing to pay Vinatieri what he wanted and let him walk away as a free agent after he had done so much for the team. This is probably the Colts' best chance to finally beat the Pats, but if I were putting money down on the game, I would probably put in on the Pats. That’s how little confidence I have in Peyton Manning. But I’m still going to root for him and the Colts and hope that he finally learned how to play in January when it counts.

The Once and Future Piston

2007-01-17T11:23:00.000-08:00

Last week when I first heard that the Philadelphia 76ers planned to buy out Chris Webber’s contract, I was mildly intrigued. I remember back in his Sacramento days, there was talk about how much Webber wanted to play in Los Angeles with Shaquille O’Neal. So I couldn’t help wondering if, after clearing waivers and became a free agent, Webber would be interested in playing for the Los Angeles Lakers even though Shaq was long gone.

A day later I learned that the Lakers were one of the handful of teams that Webber was considering playing for. I was pleased and actually did a little fist pump. I knew that Webber wasn’t the same player he was four years ago, but given how thin the Lakers are in their front court thanks to injury, I couldn’t help thinking that he would be a good boost for the team.

My excitement didn’t last long. The very next day I read on Yahoo! Sports that Webber was headed to Detroit. But I saw in the LA Times that Webber was in contact with the Lakers so I still thought there was a chance that the Lakers would get him. On Monday, Webber made his decision and even attended a Detroit Pistons game.

I was a bit disappointed but also a bit relieved. When dealing with Chris Webber, you’re not just dealing with physical frailties; you’re dealing with emotional ones as well. It's bad enough that he seems to be playing on only one leg after having microfracture surgery on his left knee three and a half years ago. What makes things worse is that it’s not quite clear if he’s come to grips with that.

Apparently part of the reason that Webber chose the Pistons is that after having a conversation with Laker’s head coach Phil Jackson, he wasn’t assured that he would be given a starting spot. It says a lot about Webber that he wasn’t confident enough in himself to think he could beat out players like Kwame Brown, Andrew Bynum, Brian Cook, Ronny Turiaf, or Vladimir Radmanovic on his own without a promise from Jackson.

It really is a shame. I’ve always had a soft spot for Webber since he was one of the cornerstones of my first fantasy basketball team back in 2000. I even contemplated buying a Webber jersey after my fantasy team won the league. When Webber underperformed or declined to take clutch shots against the Lakers in the playoffs, I would actually try to defend him. I would have enjoyed seeing him in purple and gold even if only for one season. Instead the Lakers are stuck with playing Brian Cook at the power forward position until Lamar Odom gets back. That might not be such a bad thing. If he keeps getting 25 points and 10 rebounds like he did on Sunday against the Miami Heat, I’ll continue to remember Webber more for that timeout he took in the NCAA championship game than for the couple of days he flirted with becoming a Laker.

Taking Sides

2007-01-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, my football teams went three for four, much to my surprise, thanks to a little ineptitude by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and the New York Giants defense, which was unable to stop the Philadelphia Eagles from marching down the field to set up the game-winning field goal by David Akers. Unfortunately Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were too much for the NY Jets to handle. So I’m back this week to once again share who I’ll be rooting for in this weekend’s NFL playoff games.

Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens
I rooted for the Colts last week mainly because I’m tired of hearing that the Colts’ head coach Tony Dungy and quarterback Peyton Manning have never won the big game. I still feel a little bad for Tony Dungy that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl the year after they dumped Dungy and hired Jon Gruden. So I’m sticking with the Colts this weekend even though I don’t have anything against the Baltimore Ravens. In fact I really like Raven’s quarterback Steve McNair. He’s obviously been one of the league’s best QBs during his career but what has really set him apart in my mind is his willing to play through injury to help his team. I was really shocked that the Titans let him go in the off-season but was happy to see him experience success with the Ravens. Nevertheless, I’m sticking with the Colts even though I think the Ravens actually have a better shot of winning.

Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints
I have similar dilemma in this game. Last week I went with the Eagles and I feel compelled to root for them again even though I actually like the Saints team. Drew Brees, like Steve McNair, was cast off by his old team in the off-season, in this case the San Diego Chargers, but has been able to find unexpected success with his old team and I definitely respect that. In addition, the Saints have Reggie Bush. I’m not a big fan of USC football even though I’m from the LA area and I didn’t go to UCLA. But I had to appreciate how good Bush was at USC. Some of those highlights that I saw of him were simply amazing. I really want to see him duplicate that success in the NFL so I can see more of those breathtaking plays. Plus you have the whole post-Katrina sympathy for New Orleans. But I still want to see the Eagles win the Super Bowl without Donovan McNabb for the sake of the Sports Guy Ewing theory so I’m sticking with the Eagles.

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears
Now we’re getting to the easy ones. I rooted for the Seahawks last week because of Shaun Alexander and Mike Holmgren and I really don’t have any reason to root for the Bears. I don’t know why, but I don’t really like Rex Grossman. Finally, the Bears defense helped kill any shot I had to make the playoffs in my fantasy league. I was up by 25 points or so in my match-up going into the Monday night game between the Chicago Bears and the St. Louis Rams. My opponent had the Rams’ running back Steven Jackson. I hoped that the vaunted Bears defense would keep Jackson to about 20 fantasy points. Jackson ended up with 2 touchdowns, 80 rushing yards, 58 passing yards, and 10 receptions for a grand total of 30.90. Obviously I blamed the Bears for my defeat rather than my own management skills and I swore that from that day on I would hate both teams. So I’ll be cheering as loud as I can for the Seahawks when these two teams take the field.

New England at San Diego Chargers
I’m not sure how I feel about the Chargers. Since the Rams and Raiders left, they’re the closest thing that Los Angeles has to a National Football League team. But they’re still a San Diego team so I can’t really embrace them. I do like LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates. Plus I really do feel that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick must be stopped for the sake of football. I love the parity in the NFL and we don’t need one team to threaten that. So I’ll be rooting for the Chargers, but I still wish my friend Johnny Ringo, a longtime New England fan, good luck with the Pats.

Regardless of the outcome of these games I’ll be back next week with my picks for the conference championship games.

Sympathy for the Devil?

2007-01-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to feel sorry for professional athletes. They get paid millions of dollars to play games. They get special treatment from all segments of society and are able to retire in their thirties to pursue other interests. Even after that humiliating, enormous screw-up by Tony Romo that cost his team a playoff victory in their match-up against the Seattle Seahawks last weekend, when he was unable to hold the ball for the Cowboys kicker, I would probably trade places with him in a heartbeat. Professional athletes just seem to have it that good in this country.

However, despite my general lack of sympathy for ball players, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Mark McGwire when I learned yesterday that he only received 23.5% of the vote on this year’s baseball Hall of Fame ballot. McGwire was eligible for HOF induction for the first time this year along with Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken. Both Gwynn and Ripken attained the 75% of the vote required for induction and there’s no question in my mind that they both merited it.

Of course that’s not saying much since I don’t know a great deal about what makes a player HOF-worthy. A few months ago I was actually arguing with my friend Dr. X that Kenny Lofton and Nomar Garciaparra deserved to be in the HOF. Of course Dr. X told me I was an idiot and after taking a better look at their numbers, he’s probably right. But one thing that I did know about making it to the baseball Hall of Fame is that hitting 500 homeruns was pretty much a ticket in. There have been 20 players in Major League Baseball’s history that have hit at least 500 and of the 16 players that are eligible for induction, all 16 are in the Hall.

When Mark McGwire retired it sure looked like his induction was a sure thing. Sure some might say that aside from his homers, Big Mac’s numbers weren’t that great. But at the time he was number five on the all-time homer list with 583 dingers so I thought he was still a shoe-in. But then the steroid cloud started forming with Ken Caminiti and Jose Canseco exposing what baseball, sportswriters, and fans had been ignoring for too long. Ultimately, the cloud led to congressional hearings in which McGwire was called to testify and consistently refused to answer any questions about the past.

I couldn’t help feeling betrayed when I saw what I considered Big Mac basically admitting he was on the juice when he broke the single season record for homeruns. I really hoped that baseball writers would make an example of him and keep him out of the Hall of Fame. I felt the same way about Barry Bonds even though my friend pointed out that Bonds had a Hall of Fame career even before he presumably started taking steroids.

Well I got my wish, at least for one year, but now I’m starting to wonder whether such treatment is really fair. Baseball didn’t prohibit the use of steroids at the time and while their use without a doctor’s prescription might have been illegal at the time, Big Mac has never been convicted of anything. Plus, it seems we will never really know who was taking steroids at the time so without a positive steroids test, like Rafael Palmeiro, exclusion does not seem to be the right answer. Unfortunately from what I've been hearing and reading, it seems like my view is in the minority.

So what now? Well if McGwire really cares about getting into the Hall of Fame, he’s going to have to come forward and admit that he used steroids. Americans have short memories and love to forgive heroes that have fallen. If Pete Rose had made his admission about betting on baseball before cashing in on it by writing a book about it, he might have been forgiven and would be in the HOF right now. Of course the question remains whether Big Mac really cares. It seems he has tried to stay of the limelight since he’s retired from baseball. He had his glory days, including all of the personal accolades and a World Series championship in 1989. Does he really want to castrate himself just so baseball writers and fans can feel better about themselves? My guess is no and I really couldn’t blame him. I just hope that McGwire doesn’t become a scapegoat and that if he is to be kept out of the HOF, all other players under the steroids cloud, including Barry Bonds, receive the same scrutiny and are denied induction when their turn comes.

A Rooting Interest

2007-01-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

I haven’t paid that much attention to the National Football League for the last couple of weeks. I failed to make the playoffs in my fantasy football league after winning it all last year, somewhat like the Pittsburgh Steelers, and with no hometown team to root for, my interest in the sport has waned. But now the fantasy season is over and it’s playoff time in the real world so I’m planning to tune in again this weekend. But rather than give you my picks of who I think will win, which might be used against me in the future, I’m going to tell you who I’m rooting for. Unfortunately, given how the Lakers and Dodgers have performed in recent years, that might not be such a good thing for the teams I’ll be cheering for.

Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts
This is a tough game for me. I like both of the head coaches, Tony Dungy and Herm Edwards. I also like the Colts’ star wide receiver Marvin Harrison and Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez. These guys have been the best at their respective positions for years but carry themselves with a quiet confidence rather than any loud arrogance. I’m not a big fan of Peyton Manning. Sure he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the game, but I’m tired of seeing him in all those commercials and it bothers me how everyone seems to overlook the fact that he often fails to deliver in big games. But I’m also getting tired of hearing about Manning and Dungy never winning it all. So I guess I’ll be rooting for the Colts, just not very enthusiastically.

Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks
This game is probably the easiest for me to pick sides. I’m a big fan of Shaun Alexander, Seattle’s star running back, since he was the MVP of my fantasy football team last year. I’ve also been a Mike Holmgren fan from when he was the head coach for the Green Bay Packers as I was one of many that jumped on that band wagon. While he might not have managed the clock well in last year’s Super Bowl, I still think the biggest reason the Seahawks lost was because of bad officiating so I think the league owes them.

As for the Cowboys, they’ve won enough in the past. The Cowboys have won 5 Super Bowls with the most recent in 1996. I’ve also disliked Terrell Owens since he was a 49er. He’s just such an egomaniac. And while I respect Bill Parcells as a great coach, he’s always seemed like a bit of a jerk whenever I’ve seen him during a press conference. Finally, I’ve really gotten tired of the Tony Romo hype machine. While the hype has died down since he’s struggled in the last few weeks, if the Cowboys win, I know the machine would just get revved up again and none of us want that, do we.

New York Jets at New England Patriots
This game is also a little tough. My friend Johnny Ringo is a longtime Patriots fan while my other friend Heavy Hitter is a Jets fan. What makes the choice easier is all the success that the Pats have had in last five years. Three Super Bowl victories are more than enough. I’ve also gotten sick of hearing about how great Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are. There hasn’t been as much talk about them this year since the team hasn’t been as dominant as it has in the past and I’d like to keep it that way.

New York Giants at Philadelphia
As much as I dislike Peyton Manning, I find his brother Eli even more annoying. It all dates back to when he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers and whined and was able to get himself traded to New York. It’d be so funny if the Giants got eliminated in the first week of the playoffs and the Chargers, who have a bye this week, went on to win the Super Bowl. I also can’t stand Jeremy Shockey. As you can probably tell by now I’m not a big fan of arrogant players. I forgive Kobe Bryant because he plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and he’s actually won something.

I would also find it very amusing if the Eagles proved the Sports Guy’s Ewing Theory and somehow were able to win the Super Bowl without Donovan McNabb. It would be even more amusing if the Eagles ended up facing the Cowboys in the NFC championship game and Jeff Garcia was able to knock Terrell Owens out of the playoffs after all the taunts directed by Owens at Garcia.

So that’s who I’m rooting for this weekend. Again, I’m not saying you should put any money on the teams I’ll be supporting. In fact, it would probably be a better idea for you to put money on the opposing teams. I’ll chime in again to jinx a few more teams next week.

Ringing in the New Year with the Lakers, Part 2

2006-12-29T12:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I listed the resolutions that I want to see the Lakers’ best starting five make. Today I’m going with the bench players.

Vladimir Radmanovic: Channel the spirit of Dennis Rodman.
No I don’t mean I want to see Vlad dye his hair, get tattoos and body piercings, or wear wedding gowns. Although as Phil Jackson recently put it, it appears that the Lakers’ free agent acquisition over the summer is a “space cadet” so it might not be too long before we start seeing some odd behavior from him. He’s already got the long hair and headband going. Who knows what’s next. What I actually meant with the Rodman reference is that I want him to start grabbing rebounds and playing hard defense. Seriously, how is it that a guy who’s 6’10” has a career average of only 4.5 boards per game. It’s not like he hasn’t had playing time; he’s averaged almost 26 minutes per game for his career. Obviously the fact that he’s a perimeter player prevents him from getting many offensive rebounds, but that doesn’t explain why he doesn’t get more defensive rebounds.

Andrew Bynum: Develop a killer instinct.
As much as I’ve been pleased with Bynum’s development this season, I have become concerned by Bynum’s seemingly easygoing nature and Phil Jackson’s criticisms regarding his work ethic. When I see him get interviewed or read his quotes I sometimes wonder if he has the passion to be a great player. (I wonder about his skills too when I see him play, but he does seem to be improving.) The good thing is that I had these same questions about Yao Ming. If in a couple of years Andrew ends up playing at a level anywhere near the level that Yao was playing at this season, I’ll be a very happy fan.

Jordan Farmar: Lean to play defense in the NBA.
I didn’t watch Farmar that much during his time at UCLA so I wasn’t sure exactly what type of player he was going to be. My friend El Jefe watches more Pac-10 so I asked him his opinion of Farmar. He didn’t have much to say but he did say that Farmar played good defense. The Lakers have needed good defense at the point guard position for some time now so I was pleased. Imagine my disappointment when I saw Farmar in NBA action and kept seeing opposing point guards drive right by him. I have no idea what happened. My guess is that Farmar hasn’t adapted to the NBA game yet, at least defensively. I’ve been pretty content with his offensive game and am hopeful that his defense will come along.

Sasha Vujacic: Start seeing a shrink.
Despite the occasional flashes of competent play from Sasha, including a nice effort in the Lakers win over Orlando on Wednesday, I can’t help but wince every time I see Sasha on the floor. Every time I see a basketball in his hands I get a feeling that something bad is going to happen. I still can’t believe that he gets as much playing time as he does. My friend Vayacondios has a theory that Sasha has some compromising pictures of Phil Jackson with a donkey and that’s why Phil plays him so much. The more likely reason is that by all accounts, Sasha plays well in practice. Unfortunately for the Lakers, he usually can’t duplicate that success when the game counts. It has to be some sort of mental block and I really think Sasha could benefit from seeing a mental analyst or therapist.

Ronnie Turiaf: Stop being a foul magnet.
In less than two seasons, Ronny has become one of my favorite Lakers. I love the energy and hustle that he brings to the team and I’m very grateful that he seems to have gotten past his heart condition. I would love to see him on the court more often but it’s tough to get much playing time when you average almost one foul every five minutes. One particularly bad game was against the Atlanta Hawks. He got four personal fouls in about five and a half minutes. Hopefully as he gets more NBA experience he’ll start figuring what he can and can’t get away with.

Brian Cook: Continue to improve my game.
It’s been a bit of a tough season for Brian Cook. He hasn’t gotten that much playing time for a variety of reasons. But he’s played decently since becoming a starter during Lamar Odom’s absence. Hopefully he can continue to develop his game and complement his smooth shooting touch with some good defense and rebounding.

Maurice Evans: Continue playing hard.
Even though I didn’t know much about Evans when the Lakers acquired him, I liked what I saw when I looked at his statistics. He has been a solid acquisition and I have been pleasantly surprised by his offensive game. He hasn’t been the defensive stopper he was rumored to be, but he seems adequate enough on defense. So far he’s been well worth the second round draft pick the Lakers gave up to acquire him.

Chris Mihm, Aaron McKie, and Shammond Williams: Get traded for a serviceable player.
Combined these guys are making about $7.4 million and yet they are contributing almost nothing to the team. You can’t really blame Mihm for his injury. I don’t even really blame McKie and Williams. It’s not their fault Mitch Kupchak, the Laker’s general manager, foolishly decided to sign them. But I can’t help thinking that $7.4 million is a lot of money and could probably get you a decent player. Although it’s unlikely, it would be great if another NBA team wanted to dump some salary and the Lakers could cast off these guys.

Even if none of the players adopt any of these resolutions, I’ll be more than happy if the Lakers continue playing as well as they have so far. The NBA seems to be wide open this year with no truly dominant team. San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, and Utah are all very good teams, but they all seem vulnerable. If the Lakers do resolve to improve their defense, Lamar comes back soon, the rest of the team stays healthy, and they continue to play as a team, who knows what the Lakers might do in the playoffs. I’m not saying this team is going to win a championship, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them in the Western Conference Finals.

Ringing in the New Year with the Lakers, Part 1

2006-12-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

I’m not much for making New Year’s resolutions. When you have as many flaws and deficiencies as I do, it’s hard to figure out where to start. But that doesn’t stop me from advising others on what they should resolve to do. So in keeping with the New Year’s spirit, and even though it’s a little trite, I present to you the resolutions I’d love to see made in the Los Angeles Lakers locker room.

Smush Parker: Play every game as if this was my contract year.
Lots of Laker fans were upset with Smush and wanted him off the team after the dismal performance in last spring’s playoffs. Part of the reason Jordan Farmar has been so readily embraced by Laker fans, aside from the fact he’s a decent player and is a hometown boy, is that he’s seen as Smush’s eventual replacement. But I have a soft spot for Smush since I saw him play in the Long Beach summer league in 2005 and thought he would make the team. Also, without Smush’s steal there would have been no victory in that amazing Game 4 against the Suns. But I’ve been really bothered by the way he’s played this year. I just want to see him play with more intensity, like he did in his 18 point third quarter of last night’s win against the Orlando Magic. Smush will be a free agent this summer and if he wants a shot at a nice contract (probably from another team), he’s going to have to pick up his hustle on the court.

Kobe Bryant: Stay healthy for the rest of the season.
It’s hard to improve much when you’re already one of the best players in the league. I wouldn’t mind if he focused a little more on his defense, but my real concern is that he stay on the court. With Lamar Odom out for the near future, the team would obviously be devastated if Kobe had to sit out any time during the next month or two.

Luke Walton: Become a little more athletic.
I’ve already written about how I’ve been impressed with the development of Luke’s game. He has struggled a bit recently due to Lamar’s absence and his own injury on his non-shooting wrist, but he is still finding a way to contribute to the team’s success. But one area where he still needs help is his defense. It’s not his fault he’s a little slower than the players he’s guarding, but it would be nice if he was a little quicker.

Lamar Odom: Grow another MCL.
This is probably the least likely resolution to be fulfilled given that as far as I know, it’s medically impossible. The Lakers have played surprisingly well without Odom, who sprained his MCL earlier this month, but they’re going to need him to get back ASAP if they plan to make any noise in the playoffs. It’s unlikely, but I would really love it if Odom came back by the end of January and the Lakers could manage to get home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

Kwame Brown: Earn my money.
This resolution is almost as improbable as Lamar’s. When the Lakers lost to the Washington Wizards earlier this month, I was again reminded about how much I’m disappointed by Kwame and how much I detested the Lakers trading away Caron Butler. It’s bad enough that he’s only averaging 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds. What really rubs salt in the wound is that he’s getting paid about $8 million to do so. I’m not sure what the problem is. He has the physical gifts, aside from the small hands made of stone. He probably doesn’t have the right frame of mind, but sometimes I think that he just doesn’t get enough touches. Whatever it is, it seems unlikely that Kwame will earn his money and reach the goal set by Phil Jackson before the season of averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds. At the very least he could give a little more effort.

That takes care of the team’s best starting five. Check in tomorrow for the rest of the squad.

Fight Night at MSG

2006-12-19T12:51:00.000-08:00

Over the summer I raved here about how Carmelo Anthony was the best player on the United States men’s basketball team. My friend Rich took exception to that. He argued that Carmelo was just a punk who would be in jail if he didn’t pay his friends to take drug raps for him. Rich was making reference to a couple of incidents. Earlier this year, Anthony loaned his car to a friend who was pulled over and cited for marijuana possession. Back in October 2004, Carmelo carried a backpack with an ounce of marijuana in it as he was boarding a plane and got caught. Another friend of Anthony’s claimed the pot was his.

Of course immediately following Saturday’s brawl between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden I got an e-mail from him saying, “See, I told you so.” Yup, that’s the kind of friends I have.

After reading Richard’s e-mail, I went to find a recap of the game on Yahoo Sports. Then I tuned in to ESPNEWS to see the footage myself. At first it didn’t look that bad and that the main culprits for escalating the tensions were J.R. Smith and Nate Robinson by going into the courtside seats. And then I saw it. As things were quieting down, Carmelo decided to sucker punch Mardy Collins, the player who committed the flagrant foul on J.R. Smith to start the whole mess. That punch is one of the most cowardly acts I have ever seen.

If you’re going to throw a punch during an NBA game, at least be a man about it. Don’t throw the punch while someone’s guard is down and starting running away like a scared five-year old. As bad as Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson’s conduct was in the Detroit/Indiana melee a couple of years ago, at least they didn’t run away. I would have a lot more respect for Anthony if he had stood up to Mardy Collins after the punch and not run away from Nate Robinson, who happens to be about a foot shorter than him.

While I still don’t see the connection between being a pothead and throwing a sucker punch at an NBA game, I do admit that my impression of Carmelo has been tarnished. I still consider him one of the best players in the game. He’s leading the league in scoring and has guided his team to the playoffs every year that he’s been in the league. I just hope he learns a thing or two from the 15 game suspension that he has received from the NBA.

When I first heard that the suspension would be for 15 games I was a bit surprised. I was expecting between 5 and 10 games. Obviously the NBA is trying to make a statement that such behavior will not be tolerated and the suspension would not have been as long if Ron Artest had not gone into the stands in that Detroit/Indiana brawl. While I understand the league’s position, I still consider the punishment unfair and don’t consider the incident that grave. Frankly the incident was a pillow fight in comparison to the University of Miami/Florida International University fracas that took place a couple of months ago.

However, I do approve of the $500,000 fine the NBA imposed on both the Knicks and Nuggets since I felt that the coaches of both teams were somewhat culpable in the incident. It appears that Isiah Thomas of the Knicks ordered the flagrant foul after the Nuggets head coach George Karl left his starting players with a minute left in the game and a 20-point lead. Karl defended his actions by saying that his team had a habit of blowing big leads and that's why he kept his starters in. But did he really think the Knicks could overcome such a large deficit in a minute. I just don't buy it. Regardless, now that David Stern has made his decision and the punishments have been handed out, hopefully we can avoid another Fight Night at an NBA game for the foreseeable future.

Being Jack Nicholson

2006-12-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to watch a Los Angeles Lakers game from Jack Nicholson’s courtside seat at Staples Center? Unless you’re obsessed with the Lakers like I am, the answer is probably no. Well, I have and last Sunday I had an opportunity to get a glimpse of what it’s like when I attended an epic battle between the Los Angeles D-Fenders and the Colorado 14ers.

At this point you’re probably thinking to yourself “What in the world are D-Fenders and 14ers?” Actually, before Sunday I had never heard of the 14ers myself. Well it turns out that they are both teams in the National Basketball Development League. The NBDL, or D-League, was set up by the NBA as something of a minor league. Players that aren’t quite ready for the big time can spend a year or two in the D-League seasoning their game in the hope that they will eventually get called up.

So now you might be wondering, "Pocho, you attend Laker games regularly, why would you want to go to a D-League game?" That’s where Jack Nicholson comes in. Most NBDL teams are affiliated with two or three NBA teams. The Lakers decided to do things differently and own their team, I would imagine so they might have more control over the development of their players. So they went ahead and bought their own team, the D-Fenders. This year, the D-Fenders are playing their home games at Staples Center before Laker games and anyone with a Laker ticket can get admission.

Normally that still wouldn’t be enough to get me to a D-Fenders game. But this week I got a promotional e-mail from the Lakers that the first 75 Laker season ticket holders that arrive would get courtside seats for the D-Fenders game. I asked my friend Vayacondios if he was interested in going and being as obsessed with the Lakers as I am, he was up for it.

We arrived at the game a little late but the courtside seats were still available. From years of watching Lakers game I knew exactly were Jack Nicholson sat and made a beeline for his seat next to the opposing team’s bench. It was a whole new world. It actually felt a little surreal being that close to the action. I could actually see the players, when the 14ers’coach wasn’t standing in my way, instead of distant blurs that I see from my regular nosebleed seats. I could hear the coaches complaining about the calls and the players yelling encouragement to each other. I even felt like I was more a part of the game as the players walked by me to substitue into the game and loose balls bounced my way.

Sure, instead of Kobe vs. Wade I was watching Von Wafer vs. Devin Green, but it was still a good time. Speaking of Devin and Von, both former Lakers had pretty good games. Devin had an outstanding first quarter in which he scored 13 points and helped guide the D-Fenders to a narrow lead at halftime. Von, playing for the 14ers, had a big second half and ended the game with 29 points to help rally the 14ers past the hometown team. He also had the line of the night as he walked past me and my friend during a timeout and said “They better stop playing that [bleeping] zone.”

Of course my friend and I weren’t allowed to stay in those seats for the Lakers/Spurs game. Nicholson actually didn’t even show for the Spurs game, so it’s not like he was going to need the seats. Nevertheless we had to head to the top of the arena to our regular seats. Fortunately the Lakers strong effort helped me forget about how far away I was from the court. It was a big victory to finish off the first quarter of the season in which the Lakers played 16 out of 20 games at Staples Center (including one “road” game against the Clippers). After going 14-6 in that stretch, hopefully the Lakers can carry the momentum as they head out to Texas to face the Rockets and Mavericks. Those two games will probably give us a better picture of how far the Lakers can go this season. But that picture won’t compare to the view I had at the D-Fenders game. Now if only I can figure out a way to sit courtside for a Laker game.

Goobye Mr. Maddux

2006-12-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

After helping lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to the postseason earlier this year, it looks like Greg Maddux is packing his bags and taking his 333 career wins and heading south to sunny San Diego. The 40 year old pitcher will be getting a two year deal worth about $20 million if he pitches enough innings in his second year with the Padres.

I can’t blame Maddux for taking the deal. Nor can I blame the Dodgers for not making more of an effort to keep Maddux, especially if, as Foxsports.com reports, they have reached an agreement with free agent pitcher Jason Schmidt. I was really excited over the summer when the Dodgers were able to trade for Maddux since I figured he would help get the Dodgers into the playoffs. But I also figured, along with all other Dodger fans, that he was probably only going to be a rental and would be leaving Los Angeles at the end of the season.

The only thing that bothers me about Maddux’s farewell is the fact that he’s going to a division rival. Given that San Diego’s PETCO Park is one of the friendliest stadium for pitchers, I expect Maddux will have his share of success next year and that success might keep the Dodgers out of the playoffs. It also hurts that if the Dodgers had offered Maddux arbitration and Maddux had signed with San Diego, the Padres would owe the Dodgers a draft pick. Apparently the Dodgers feared Maddux would accept and be awarded too much money in the arbitration. It’s unfortunate, but I still can’t blame the Dodgers or Maddux for the decisions they made.

A couple of other players that will be packing their bags are J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo. Not only will they be packing their bags but they can also share a flight, as both of them will be playing for the Boston Red Sox next year. It’s a little ironic. For the last couple of years it seemed that the Dodgers had been making an effort to become the Boston Red Sox West with the acquisition of Derek Lowe, Nomar Garciaparra, and Bill Mueller and the hiring of Grady Little. Now it’s the Red Sox that are going after one-time Dodgers.

While Lugo had some nice games for the Dodgers, his departure will hardly be noticed. I learned about the signing last night while watching ESPN News. This morning I went on to the Los Angeles Times site and read the Maddux/Drew story and found no mention of Lugo. I just found that a little amusing.

As for Drew, I won’t rehash the issue of whether he was morally right or wrong to opt out of his contract. He got his money so I’m sure he and his agent Scott Boras will be happy now. I am a bit bothered by the rumors I heard before the signing that Boras had mentioned Drew to the Red Sox prior to Drew’s exercising his option. But I’m just so happy to be rid of Drew that I don’t even really mind the tampering.

I’m also hopeful that the signing might help clear the way for Manny Ramirez to become a Dodger. While I’m somewhat excited by the signing of Jason Schmidt, who has been one of the National League’s best pitchers over the last five years, and the return of Nomar, I still really want to see the team acquire a big bat. Sure Manny is a bit of a diva and his elevator might not go all the way to the top, but you can’t deny he knows how to hit. Hopefully Dodger’s GM Ned Colletti will figure out the right pieces to send to Boston to get Manny without giving up too many of the Dodger’s young players. Now that the picture is a little clearer with all the recent signings, maybe it will finally get done.

Heee's Baaack

2006-12-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

For the first time in 15 games, Kwame Brown was back in the starting lineup as the Los Angeles Lakers center in their game Thursday night against the Utah Jazz. But I guess there was a slightly bigger story and a return of another sort in last night’s victory over the Jazz. And as often is the case in games taking place at Staples Center, Kobe Bryant was the focus of that story.

In his most dominant performance of the year, Kobe scored 52 points in three quarters and shot an unbelievable 73% from the field. Earlier in the day, I was talking to a friend and while he said he was happy that the Lakers have been playing well this season, he confessed that he missed the old Kobe and wondered if Kobe would ever be the same.

According to him, the new Kobe, wearing number 24 this season, just wasn’t as explosive. He could barely dunk. He couldn’t finish lay-ups. He was averaging 11 points less than last year. Sure he had knee surgery in the off-season, but he was also entering his eleventh season in the league so my friend wondered if we had to be content with a good Kobe and forget that only last season, some were calling Kobe the best player in the game.

I told him that Kobe would be fine and that he was starting to look better. I said the only reason he struggled in the last two games was because the referees didn’t call any fouls. And even in the last game against Milwaukee, I was impressed how he tried to will the Lakers back by making six three-pointers. But even I wasn’t expecting to see what I witnessed on Thursday night.

Early in the game I was actually concerned about Kobe’s play. I actually thought he was taking too many shots. While I enjoy watching Kobe’s incredible performances, in order for the team to have more success and maybe even win a championship, the other players have to be more involved. But he was making almost all the shots he took. I also figured he was upset, and rightfully so, after the Lakers’ loss to Michael Redd’s 45 points and the struggling Bucks in their previous game. So I cut him a little slack.

All those concerns were washed away at the end of the first half. Kobe’s regained explosiveness was showcased by a thundering slam dunk in which Bryant jumped from a step or two inside the free throw line and appeared to jam over the entire Jazz team. He seemed to carry the momentum into the third quarter in which he scored 30 points and just couldn’t miss and almost single-handedly turned a 12 point Laker lead, into a 22 point blowout. If there were any questions about Kobe regaining his old form, he unequivocally answered them with that amazing performance.

As for Kwame Brown, with Kobe getting 52 points, there weren’t a lot of shots to go around. He missed the two shots he did take in 22 minutes of play and collected only five rebounds. He did have a few nice assists but overall I was not impressed by his performance. Andrew Bynum wasn’t much better and they were both outplayed by Ronny Turiaf. I’m not sure if Phil will stick with Kwame in the starting rotation. I would probably go with Bynum just so he gets more experience sooner rather than later. But to be honest, with the real Kobe back, it might not really matter.

The Kids are Alright

2006-11-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

Sunday night I was at the Laker’s game with my friend Vayacondios. As often is the case during Sunday games, our talk turned to football. He wanted to know who in our fantasy football league had picked up Tony Romo off of waivers. Then he started telling me about where he was when Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe as the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback. He was at the gym where they were showing the Cowboys/Giants game. When he saw Bledsoe benched, he actually laughed out loud and figured the ploy would blow up in head coach Bill Parcells’ face.

Well right now it looks like Parcells is getting the last laugh. The Cowboys are 7-4 and primed to make the playoffs behind the play of Romo who threw for 5 touchdowns on Thanksgiving Day versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to lead the Cowboys to there third victory in a row.

Not only was Parcells right about Romo, it seems that he has also inspired a couple of other coaches around the league to ditch their veteran quarterbacks. As I looked around Staples Center, I caught the score for the Carolina Panthers/Washington Redskins game, 17-13 Washington. Given that Carolina needed the win to boost their chances to make the playoffs while the Redskins seem to be out of it after losing Clinton Portis for the season, I was more than surprised by the result. I wondered how the Redskins’ new quarterback Jason Campbell had done.

When I got home after the Lakers victory over the New Jersey Nets, I saw that while he only threw for 118 yards, he did throw two touchdowns and most importantly got the win in his second start for the Redskins. While the Redskins at 4-7 are out of the playoff hunt, it still looks like benching Mark Brunell and playing Campbell was the right choice for head coach Joe Gibbs. Meanwhile in Tennessee, rookie Vince Young rallied the Titans past the New York Giants and in Minnesota, rookie Matt Leinart threw for 405 yards in the Arizona Cardinals’ loss to the Vikings.

Then there are the Denver Broncos. I tuned in on Thanksgiving night to watch the NFL Network air its first live broadcast and was surprised to hear Cris Collinsworth say that the game would probably be the last start for Jake Plummer this season. There had been talk all season regarding the possibility of Plummer getting benched for rookie Jay Cutler, but I never thought it would happen. Despite Plummer’s struggles, the Broncos were still playing fairly well going into their game against the Kansas City Chiefs and looked to be a lock for the playoffs.

Plummer didn’t really play badly, but the Broncos still lost to the Chiefs 19-10 and made head coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to go with Cutler seem a little more sensible. But does it really make that much sense? Sure Plummer has thrown five more interceptions this season than he did all last season and his quarterback rating is down almost 20 points from last years 90.2 rating, but the Broncos were still winning with him.

Apparently winning regular season games and possibly making the playoffs isn’t enough for Shanahan. He wants another Super Bowl ring and doesn’t think Plummer can get him one. I can’t really argue with that but I do wonder whether Cutler will give him a better chance. Sure the kid might have looked good in the preseason, but will he really be ready for the next level after playing last year at Vanderbilt, that well-known football powerhouse. Romo has at least been in the league for four years. This is the second season for Campbell. While Leinart and Young are also both rookies, at least they both played in the BCS National Championship Game last year. Plus, neither the Cardinals nor the Titans have a chance to make the playoffs so their struggles won’t keep their teams out of the post-season.

Can’t say the same about the Broncos. If Cutler struggles, the Broncos will probably miss the playoffs for the first time in four years. So I still wonder whether Shanahan has made the right choice. I guess we’ll all find out this Sunday night when the Broncos take on the Seattle Seahawks.

Sitting This One Out

2006-11-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Today is PS3 day; the Sony PlayStation 3 is finally hitting American shores. Nintendo will follow with its new console the Wii on Sunday, November 19. The other big console, Microsoft’s XBox 360, has been out on the market for about a year. As a video game addict you would think I’d be really excited and camped out at my local electronics store to get my hands on one.

But to be honest I can’t say I’m very enthused about the next generation of game consoles and I don’t see myself owning any of them by the end of the year. I’ll try to explain why.

Let’s start with the XBox 360 since it’s been out the longest. There are a couple of reasons why I haven’t given Microsoft my $400 yet. First of all as I’ve mentioned before, I hate Microsoft and I don’t want to contribute to Bill Gates’ plan to rule the world. The second and most important reason, I haven’t been impressed by the games. None of them seem much better than the games released for the last generation of consoles. I think it says a lot that the system has been out a year and only now are 360 owners finally getting what might be a must-have game: Gears of War. I haven’t seen a review for Gears of War yet, but I was thoroughly impressed by the preview in last month’s Electronic Gaming Monthly.

Granted launch titles are usually not very strong, but you can usually count on at least one really great game that is exclusive to the new console. That’s what sold me on the original XBox. If it weren’t for Halo, I probably would never have bought the system. The 360 just didn’t have that. Perfect Dark Zero was supposed to be it, but the game didn’t live up to the hype. Finally, a big feature of the 360 was the expanded on-line service. Since I’m not a big on-line gamer and don’t like the idea of having to pay extra money for stuff that should be in a game to begin with, that wasn’t much of a selling point. So for now, I have no plans to buy a 360. There are a couple of games coming out next year, like Mass Effect, that might change my mind, but for now I’m saving my $400.

Then there’s the PS3. At this time last year, I was a lot more excited about the PS3 than I was about the 360. First of all, the game trailers for the PS3 looked a lot better than the 360 ones, especially for Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Granted there was some controversy regarding whether the games would actually look as good as they did when you played them, but I was still sold. In addition, the PS2 had much better exclusive titles than the XBox and I figured history would repeat itself and if I were only going to get one system, it would be the PS3.

But then things started going downhill. First of all, and most importantly, it was announced that the system would cost $200 more than the 360. Sure there’s a lower end model that cost’s $500, but if you’re going to spend the money, you might as well get the system with all the bells and whistles. Yes the PS3 would come with a Blu-ray DVD player, but $600 still seems like an obscene amount to pay to play video games. I also started doubting whether the Blu-ray DVD format would be successful. Not only is there the competing HD-DVD format, but there’s also the question whether consumers will be interested in a higher quality media format. Does anyone remember laserdiscs?

Then came out the stories about the lower number of consoles that would be available at launch. Even if I wanted a PS3 it looks like it’ll be impossible to get one unless I sell one of my kidneys and a lung on eBay and use the proceeds to buy the PS3 on the same site. Then I heard about the price drop for systems sold in Japan but not in the United States. The base model there will sell for only $423. Then I found out that of the 22 or so launch titles, only 6 of them would be exclusives. And out of those six, only one of them, Resistance: Fall of Man, looks like it’s going to be any good. So now I’m kind of soured on the PS3 as well. There should be a lot more exclusives available next year and probably a price drop and of course greater supply. Maybe then I’ll get around to buying one. For now, I’m perfectly content to continue playing my PS2, finishing up the exquisite Okami and Final Fantasy XII and patiently waiting for the release of God of War II early next year.

Finally we come to Nintendo’s Wii. I initially thought the console’s name was pretty stupid but it has actually grown on me. Like everyone who’s seen the system’s motion-sensitive controller, I was very intrigued by the new console. Unlike the 360 and PS3, it looked fresh and innovative. I also loved to hear that it would only cost $250 and would focus on gaming rather than try to be some sort of media center like the 360 and PS3. I was all set to buy the Wii early next year (I figured it would be too difficult to get it before Christmas).

But then Nintendo slapped me in the face when I found out that the GameCube version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess would be released about a month later than the Wii version, which would be a launch title. I felt that Nintendo was sending all GameCube owners a big “Ha ha.” Not only will you not be able to find a Wii to play the new Zelda game; we’re not even going to let you play a version of the game on our old system. This is even though there were hardly any good exclusives for the GameCube and Twilight Princess was originally supposed to be released last year for the GameCube. I also took a look at the release dates of their future games and realized it probably wouldn’t be worth owning a Wii until spring of next year at the earliest.

So for now I’m sitting out the next generation of video game consoles. I hope there’s a wave of games next year that convince me to shell out my money. If not, I’m going to have to find a new addiction.

Keeping It Fresh

2006-11-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight marks the season finale of the tenth season of South Park. Has it really been ten seasons? Damn that makes me feel old. I first started watching South Park when I was in grad school and it quickly became one of my favorite shows.

But after ten seasons you have to start to wonder when will enough be enough. Since it’s an animated show where you don’t see the actors age, it could conceivably go on for another ten seasons as long as nothing happens to the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. But after a while, even though the characters don’t age much (the boys have gone from the third to the fourth grade over the last 10 years), they can get stale.

Just look at The Simpsons. For years it was my favorite show. But as the 18th season was about to begin this year, I just decided that I was tired of the show and had been watching it just out of habit. Sure it was still one of the funniest shows on television, but I had had my fill of Homer and the gang. I had seen them in almost every conceivable scenario and every “new” episode just seemed to echo shows from the past. Since it didn’t appear that the creators had any plans of pulling the plug, I had to take matters into my own hands and launch my personal boycott of the show.

Fortunately South Park is still a ways from season 18 and this season has been a pretty good one. My favorite episode this year was “Make Love, Not Warcraft” in which the kids become obsessed with an on-line computer game. As a video game addict, I identified with the kids and got a good laugh out of all the jokes making fun of folk like me. I don’t play games on-line, but I know enough about it to see what a great job the show did of capturing the culture. Sure, it’s an old stereotype that video game players are fat and have no lives, but the show did more than just focus on that.

I also really identified with the two-part “Cartoon Wars” episode. In the episode, Cartman is obsessed with putting an end to the show The Family Guy, which planned to show an image of Muhammad. Cartman hates The Family Guy because he doesn’t like the show’s humor and all the other boys are surprised. The show resonated with me because my friend Vayacondios was shocked when I told him I didn’t like The Family Guy and told me he thought it was exactly my type of humor. I wouldn’t go so far as to try to take the show off the air, but this was one of those rare times I found myself siding with Cartman.

“Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy” was another hilarious episode this season in which a teacher has a torrid love affair with Kyle’s little brother Ike. I was wondering when the show would finally tackle the topic of female teachers having affairs with young boys and the show didn’t disappoint. “The Return of Chef!” was a bittersweet episode for me. It was a great episode but it also marked the departure of Chef after Isaac Hayes, the voice of Chef, asked to leave the show due to the airing of an episode on Scientology the previous season. Finally, I really enjoyed the “Tsst” episode, as detailed in an earlier posting this month.

Of course the season was far from perfect and there were some clunkers. The two biggest culprits for me were “Smug Alert!” and “ManBearPig.” Although in fairness to the show, my dislike for the episodes might have a little to do with my left-wing leanings. “ManBearPig” focused on ridiculing Al Gore and his warnings about global warming. I don’t mind if the show goes after Gore, I just think they could have been funnier about it. “Smug Alert!” dealt with hybrid car owners and their smug attitudes. Since I haven’t run across smug hybrid car owners, the humor rang hollow for me.

But all in all, it’s been another fantastic season. I look forward to tonight’s finale and as long as the show stays fresh, another season next year.

Greed is Good

2006-11-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

I got my first contributor. I went to the Pistons debacle on Friday with Vayacondios and we talked about J.D. Drew. I asked him if he wanted to write about it and luckily for us he agreed. As you can see, he had a lot to say:

J.D. Drew: Life Lessons for the New Millenium
By Vayacondios

Last week I was making dinner for myself. I had some frozen taquitos in the oven, a piece of bread in the toaster oven, and a chicken breast on my Foreman Grill. All of a sudden, the oven, toaster oven, and grill stopped working, along with my television. Since my food was already done, and I have another TV, I simply took my food out and watched TV in the other room. Dealing with the core issue was not an option for me – I simply wanted the problem to go away without me having to do anything. Since I’m sitting here 5 days later without my Foreman Grill, this might have served as a lesson about how no problem goes away without you taking action. However, given the saga of J.D. Drew that has played out this week, I’m still holding out hope that inaction equals happiness.

The short recap: Armed with the ability to opt out of the last 3 years of a contract slated to pay him $11 million per season, and aided by Scott Boras, Drew exercised his contractual option and decided to leave town. Never has a single action produced such contradictory reactions.

Reaction #1: Yippee! Let’s be honest – no one who is a Dodger fan thought giving the injury-riddled outfielder a 5 year, $55 million deal was a remotely good idea at the time the contract was signed. Typically, people whose career high in RBIs do not exceed 100 don’t get money like that. Everyone emphasized how J.D. was a “5 Tool Player”. That seems hard to fathom. Drew stole exactly 3 bases as a Dodger. In 2006, one of his best seasons, he hit a home run every 24.7 at bats for a whopping total of 20. A partial list of players who hit more than that includes players you’ve never heard of such as David Ross and Lyle Overbay and others you’d die before giving out $11 million to at this stage of their careers such as Mike Cameron and Moises Alou. Of course, none of those guys are All-Stars like Drew has been. Actually, check that. Cameron and Alou have been All-Stars. Drew? Not so much.

It’s not that Drew’s a bad player, simply that when you have a team that has won 1 playoff game in the last 18 years (such as the Dodgers) with a payroll over $100 million (such as the Dodgers), it’s probably time to try looking for something different. Drew’s a nice player, but can you envision him being the piece that helps put anyone over the top, or the centerpiece of a winning team? Anyone who says yes is either lying or delusional. Drew is probably not part of the problem, but he’s also not part of the solution, and maybe that’s even more damning. The Dodgers didn’t get too far with him, and neither did any other team he’s been on. The Cardinals have been to the Word Series twice since he left. The Braves made the playoffs the year after he left. This is not to suggest that he was somehow a cancer holding those teams back, merely that losing Drew didn’t seem to make much of a difference one way or another.

Therefore, Dodger fans should be thanking their lucky stars that he is gone. This is an opportunity to use the newly freed $11 million, put in a couple of more dollars, and get a true difference maker into the line up. It’s the equivalent of upgrading from the solid but limited Saturn to the do-it-all Lexus for less than you thought it would cost. All this at a point when you were positive you couldn’t even afford a Lexus. Yippee, indeed.

Reaction #2: Wow, what a disloyal jerk. The spin is that after publicly stating for months that he would stay, JuDas immediately put his finger in the wind, tested the market and decided to leave. The weird part about this is that there was never a reason for Drew to announce that he was staying at all. The state of the free agent market is precisely what everyone thought it to be. It seems odd that Scott Boras needed to wait until the end of the season to figure out that this was not a fantastic year for free agents, and realize that Drew might get more money than he was presently making. One assumes Boras should have had a decent handle on the free agent market long before the season ended. In light of that, when asked about his contract situation, Drew could have simply given the old “I’m not thinking about my contract or the offseason at all right now. My focus is on getting this team to the playoffs, and what happens will happen”. Everyone would have been fine with that, so why even say you want to stay at all? It seems a tad disingenuous.

[Side note – I’m not going to challenge the assumption that Drew may get more money on the free agent market, but there’s one thing to consider. NO team overpays and overbids like the Dodgers do. If you don’t believe me, ask Darren Dreifort, Kevin Brown and Rafael Furcal. The point is, without a dummy like the Dodgers in the market overbidding and pushing the price for Drew up, Boras may not be able to get what he thinks he can for his client. On the other hand, Boras’ other clients should all see extra money since the Dodgers will now undoubtedly be out there overbidding for every mediocre free agent they can.]

I’m troubled, though, that I’m judging Drew harshly for this. What did he do wrong? He bargained for this right in the contract, and simply availed himself of the same in a timely manner. That’s called business. It’s strange that fans knock the disloyalty of athletes and how they’ll go anywhere for an extra dollar, while ignoring that (a) they’d do the same thing and (b) their teams of choice do the same thing. First case in point: The Dodgers blew out Eric Gagne’s arm by pitching him way too much in 2004 and recently declined to exercise his $12 million option. No one said a word about it, although one could argue the Dodgers totally mishandled him and really owe him a heck of a lot.

Second case in point: Recently, the Lakers message boards lit up with the news that the Lakers might want to sign Jalen Rose. When some posters pointed out that the Lakers might be loathe to do so since it would require extra money to buy out Aaron McKie and his $2.5 million contract, others (many, many others) seemed to take the myopic position that McKie should accept a buyout of well south of the agreed upon price, since he hadn’t played or produced much as a Laker. Huh? Since when do people give up valuable rights because they feel a little guilty about their good fortune? This should be like one of the Donald-isms from the “Apprentice” – “RIGHTS ARE VALUABLE. DON’T THROW THEM AWAY. MY HAIR IS REAL.” Please! Like any of these people likely at work using company time and resources to post to a Lakers message board will go to their boss at the end of the day and give her back $1 because they took time off to post their lame views on the internet. They wouldn’t, and neither should McKie. Note that the Lakers once actually waived Brian Shaw after he produced 3 championships because they didn’t want to pay him something like $1 million. I was aghast at the time, and really thought the Lakers screwed it up. Luckily, Shaw and his people are smarter than me, since they didn’t seem to hold a grudge either way. Logical people are fun.

Fans are either stupid, or myopic, or both. There’s no loyalty here, nor should there be. Drew clearly decided that the mix of making $11 million and living in Los Angeles would not make him as happy as $13 million and living in some other city. That’s all that happened here. It wasn’t disloyalty by Drew, any more than if the option had been in the Dodgers favor and they declined to exercise it. I’d love to ascribe something more sinister to all this, but I simply cannot.

So, it’s time to sum up what we’ve learned from all of this:

1. Losing J.D. Drew is not the end of the world. In fact, it’s likely for the best.
2. Drew didn’t do anything wrong by leaving.
3. Problems sometimes go away without you having to do anything.
4. Fans are crazy.
5. The electrical wiring in my house has serious problems.

All in all, a good week. Now to close my eyes and hope my oven fixes itself. Hey, given that it can clean itself, is it too much to ask that it also take care of itself?

My Fantasy Stud

2006-11-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

Despite the title, this article will not be dedicated to homoerotica. Rather, I’m focusing today on one of the biggest fantasy basketball surprises of this young NBA season: Luke Walton. With his toned, young body and golden locks, oops went down the wrong track.

Earlier this week I picked up Luke from the free agent list for my fantasy basketball team. A month ago, the only way I could have seen having Luke on my team would have been as some sort of joke. To be frank, I didn’t even expect him to play more than fifteen minutes a game after the Lakers acquired Vladimir Radmanovic in the off-season. The Lakers acquired Vlad because they wanted another scoring option, something which for most of his career Luke has never been.

But when training camp started for the Lakers it became apparent that Luke would retain his role in the starting lineup, a role he earned at the end of last season with some good play and lack of better options for the Lakers. Luke beat out Vlad in this year's preseason because he was simply more familiar with the triangle offense. It didn’t help that Vlad injured his shooting hand. Nevertheless I was sure that this was only a temporary arrangement and that sooner or later, Luke would go to the bench where he belonged.

Then the Lakers started the regular season. Luke played well enough in his first couple of games but still wasn’t on my fantasy basketball radar. Then in game three, Luke lit up the box score with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. He made 7 out of 10 shots, including 2 three pointers. That’s the type of well-rounded play that helps fantasy basketball players win leagues.

He’s continued that strong play and is currently averaging 15.3 points, 5.5 boards, 3.8 dimes, 1.3 steals and almost a block a game. He’s also shooting 58% from the field with a little over 1 three-pointer per game. These numbers have him ranked at number 12 for the season according to Yahoo's fantasy basketball rankings. That’s better than Dirk Nowitzki and Gilbert Arenas who are rated 13 and 14 respectively.

This level of play is a long way away from where he first started. His first couple of seasons I doubted whether he even belonged in the NBA at all. I never doubted his basketball IQ, court vision, and passing, but his shooting and defense were so deficient that I was sure he would be out of the league as soon as his rookie contract expired. But he did show flashes of promise. Like in game 2 of the 2003-04 NBA Finals. Walton helped propel the Lakers to their sole win of the series with 7 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots coming off the bench.

But I still didn’t expect this. Last year I saw that Walton had worked on his shooting and rebounding. His defense was still suspect but even that showed some improvement. He played well in the playoffs against the Suns, but I thought that had more to do with the Suns style of play. Now it’s starting to look like it’s for real.

Can he keep it up? While I think he can remain focused (I believe this is a contract year for him), I’m not sure if he’ll stay healthy. It seems every year he has at least one minor injury and he is his father’s son. Bill Walton might have been one of the top ten centers of all time if he hadn’t been plagued by injuries throughout his NBA career. There’s also the threat from Radmanovic. Unfortunately, I think his hand injury will prevent Vlad from eating into Luke’s minutes. All things considered, I do think Luke will continue his strong play and continuing being my fantasy stud.

Fed Up with RAW

2006-11-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

Despite the apparent decline in popularity of World Wrestling Entertainment, I have continued to follow it over the last few years. Even though Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock have left, I still tune in on Monday night to watch RAW. Despite the inferior quality of the wrestlers and the less entertaining story lines, I still consider myself a WWE fan. But now the WWE is pushing me too far. They brought in Kevin Federline.

This is not the first time a celebrity, or pseudo-celebrity, has gotten involved with professional wrestling. Federline is following in the proud footsteps of Andy Kaufman, Pete Rose, Dennis Rodman, Lawrence Taylor, and David Arquette. All those celebrities were either promoting themselves or some project and Federline is no different. Apparently he is still under the delusion that he has some talent other than getting women pregnant and is trying to get a music career off the ground. After listening to a snippet of one of his songs on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean Show, I’m pretty sure it’s going to stay on the ground.

Aside from the obvious ratings ploy, which apparently is succeeding, it’s not quite clear why Vince McMahon has decided to get Federline involved with the WWE. Maybe they’re trying to boost the popularity of John Cena, Federline’s WWE nemesis. Although Cena has been popular with some of the WWE crowd, other segments of the audience despise him. For a while earlier this year, the boos would drown out the cheers during his matches. I thought he was better as a heel, when he would do a dumb rap to insult the home crowd, than as a baby face, but I don’t have much of an opinion of him.

John Cena stars in the most rest WWE movie, The Marine. Perhaps McMahon was thinking that if he paired up Cena with someone everyone hates, it might make Cena more likeable and might sell a few more movie tickets. Not sure if that’s working though since the movie has only made $16.9 million after being out four weeks. Maybe next time the WWE will focus on making a better movie (its Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating is only 21%) rather than on making one of its wrestlers more likable.

Federline’s first appearance on RAW was surprising and mildly amusing, especially thanks to the resounding chorus of boos that was showered on him. But then he came back the following week and embraced the hate. He also took part in last Sunday’s WWE pay per view event and had a hand in John Cena’s defeat. After realizing that he’s actually enjoying himself and after having to put up with the promotion of his “music endeavor,” I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t want to watch RAW this coming Monday because he’ll probably be on again.

Fortunately there is a light at the end of tunnel. He’s scheduled to face off against Cena in the wrestling ring on New Year’s Day. There's nothing I’d rather see than Federline completely thrashed. But I know that won’t happen so I don’t plan to tune in. But hopefully now that Britney Spears has filed for divorce, Federline’s 15 minutes will be running out soon and New Year’s Day will be the last day Federline will be associated with the WWE. Until then I’ll do my part and stay away from RAW.

Don't Turn On the Lights!

2006-11-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

Last night was a bit of a landmark for me. It was my first regular season game as a Los Angeles Lakers season ticket holder. I had gone to a couple of preseason games, but those don’t really count. It also happened to be the first home season opener that I ever attended. I’ve been regularly going to Laker games for the last three years but until yesterday, I hadn’t been able to snag tickets for the first game.

Obviously I was very excited about going to the game, but my enthusiasm was dampened by a couple of things. First of all there was uncertainty over Kobe Bryant’s playing status for the game. I was 90% sure Kobe would play but I turned out to be 100% dead wrong. The other issue that had me a little bit less eager to attend the game was the Lakers’ Lights Out promotion.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an e-mail from the Lakers regarding the promotion. I had no idea what the e-mail was about and for the most part I forgot about it. On Monday night I was talking to Vayacondios, the guy I hold the tickets with, and he asked me if I knew anything about the Lights Out promotion. I told him I didn’t. Yesterday morning, I checked my e-mail and discovered that the Lakers had sent me another message about the promotion.

The e-mail requested that fans attending the game wear black and mentioned something about creating a unique atmosphere. Then it suddenly dawned on me. They were going to dim the lights in the arena. I immediately thought it was a horrible idea and it would hamper the experience of attending my first season opener.

You see, three years ago I had the good fortune of attending the NBA All-Star game in Atlanta. My friend AbogadosDeNegros was a Hawks season ticket holder at the time. (yes, he’s a bit of a masochist) and was able to get four tickets to the game. Even though our seats were really high in the arena, I was just glad to be at the game. ADN didn’t see it might way, especially since he had courtside seats at the time and felt completely disrespected. He took no solace in the fact that Brian Jordan, formerly of the Atlanta Braves and one-time Los Angeles Dodger, was only a few seats over from us. In fact, I think ADN eventually cancelled his season tickets because of those all-star seats.

My other friend Heavy Hitter found much amusement in the fact that Jordan was sitting nearby since the guy was making $10 million or so at the time. When HH was coming back from the john, he approached Jordan and asked what kind of year he expected to have as the start of baseball season was only a couple of months away. Of course Jordan said he would have a great year and HH responded that he would draft Jordan for his fantasy baseball team. HH was only pulling Jordan's leg and had no intention to do so since Jordan was a becoming a shell of his former self and ended up only playing 66 games in 2003 thanks in part to injury an in part to age.

Shortly after we got to our seats in Atlanta’s Philips Arena, I realized that the lights were out in the stands and only the court was lit. I thought it was strange but didn’t give it much thought. Then the game started and I started to notice something. The crowd was strangely subdued. I knew it was just an exhibition but I was surprised by how lifeless the crowd was. Then I thought it had to be because the lights were off. It felt like being in a movie theater. I really didn’t see why the NBA was doing this. Part of the reason that people enjoy going to sporting events is because they want to be part of a crowd all rooting for a common goal. When you can’t see the crowd, you just don’t get the same feeling. I still had a good time since the game was a thriller and went into double overtime, but the darkness definitely dulled my enjoyment of the game.

So I was fearful that the same thing would happen Tuesday night. The e-mail the Lakers had sent me had mentioned they would be asking for feedback the next day and I was already planning the venom I would spew as I took my seat. Sure enough as the game began I felt a different vibe than the one I’m accustomed to at Staples and the home team seemed to be affected as well as they fell behind the Suns by 19 points in the first quarter.

I naturally blamed the lights and not the fact that the Lakers were playing without their leading scorer. Then a funny thing happened. The team started coming back. They narrowed the Sun’s lead to only five points by the end of the first half. I was still sure they would lose. VCD made me agree that if the Lakers won, I would have to give positive feedback regarding the Lights Out promotion. I reluctantly agreed and the rest is history.

Lamar Odom was amazing, making me forget about Kobe and getting me thinking that the Lakers got the better end of the Miami trade. Andrew Bynum made me wonder if the Lakers had found their next dominant center. The Lakers got a little bit of revenge after the crushing playoff defeat last spring against the team picked by Sports Illustrated to win the NBA championship. And I found myself embracing the darkness and hoping they keep the lights off for the rest of the season if the Lakers keep playing like they did last night. I don't need to see the crowd as long as I'm watching the Lakers winning.

Where Did Everybody Go?

2006-10-30T12:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the draft for my fantasy basketball league "Baseball Sucks." While I’m looking forward to the draft (and have thoroughly prepared for it) I can’t help but feel a little wistful for a draft that won’t be taking place this year, the draft in my original grad school league.

The fantasy league I’ll be taking part in tonight started primarily with friends from college back in the fall of 2001. Earlier that year, we had gotten together for someone’s wedding or some other event. I regaled my friends with my war stories of my grad school fantasy basketball league, like the time Heavy Hitter traded Theo Ratliffe to Abogados de Negros for Kevin Garnett on the final day of the league. I was in first place by a point at the time. ADN was trailing me in the block category by only a couple of blocks. The two of them were hoping that ADN would pass me in blocks, take away a point from me and let a third friend, Big Straight Al, win the league. Fortunately I still won the league.

It turned out that a couple of my college buddies had also been playing fantasy sports. We decided that once fall rolled around, we would set up a league. I’ve been playing with them ever since and been enjoying it even though I’ve only won a couple of championships against them, one in basketball and one in football. But this league will never really compare to my original grad school league.

I started playing in that league in 1999, my last year of grad school. I still remember having the first draft in a fast food restaurant and how we decided on the draft order. Originally HH, who first suggested we start the league, tried to make the draft order according to NBA IQ. He placed himself last, with the highest NBA IQ and made me second to last. Rather than be complimented by his respect for my NBA knowledge, I protested that I knew nothing about basketball and insisted that we have a lottery to determine the order. Of course when we had the lottery I ended up with the last pick. But since we did a snake draft (last in first round goes first in second round) that actually worked out pretty well for me and I ended up winning the league.

After grad school my friends and I decided to keep the league going. Since we were a little scattered throughout the country, with one guy in NY and another in Atlanta, we had to have a teleconference for our next draft. It actually worked out pretty well and we continued that for a few years and it was more fun than the on-line draft that I did in my college league. Over the years we added a couple of guys, experimented with having keepers, and I threatened to quit couple of times over collusive attacks against me. It was all good fun.

The league hit its peak and started to unravel during the 2003-04 NBA season, much like the Los Angeles Lakers. That year my friends and I decided to meet up in Las Vegas and have the draft there. I loved the idea and thought it would be our best draft ever. We couldn’t decide who would commissioner that year so we decided to have a three-on-three pickup game with the two teams each captained by one of the candidates. I was sure that my team was going to lose but we managed to pull out the minor upset.

Unfortunately, ADN wasn’t able to make the trip to Vegas. He told us he would be available by phone to take part though. When we called him, his cell phone was off and we weren’t able to get through to him the entire weekend. So the actual draft was postponed. We eventually chose another date but another friend, Big Money, was going to be out of town on the rescheduled day. Once again we agreed to give him a call so he could take part and once again we weren’t able to get through. But this time instead of rescheduling we just drafted a team for Big Money. Needless to say he wasn’t very happy and he ignored his team for the rest of the season.

The following season we had another teleconference draft, but as the season progressed, more teams started being neglected. It got to the point that in an eight-team league, only three teams were really following the league and keeping their rosters current. So last year I decided to try to merge my grad school league with my college league and we had a prize in order to get people more involved. It sort of worked, but we lost two of the eight members of the grad school league.

This year I invited everyone to join the same league. Although there’s still time for people to sign up, it looks like we’re going to lose another three guys from my grad school league. I’m still looking forward to this coming fantasy basketball season and this opportunity to win a championship, since I haven’t won since 2003, but I can’t ignore the feeling that this is an end of era and wonder, where did everybody go?

R.I.P. Cliford

2006-10-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight the third season of The Dog Whisperer premieres on the National Geographic Channel. I’ve been waiting for the new season to begin all summer long. I only wish it had a different time slot as it’s up against Monday Night Football and WWE’s RAW.

The show is focused on dog expert Cesar Milan and his work with his clients. Every episode we are introduced to new dogs that are causing trouble and their owners who turn to Cesar as a last resort to fix their dogs. The funny thing is that usually he ends up fixing the humans and how they relate to their pets instead of fixing the dogs.

I started watching The Dog Whisperer after seeing a hilarious South Park episode that aired last May. In the episode, Cartman’s mom becomes frustrated with her son and decides to turn to television nanny shows like Nanny 911 and Supernanny for help. Of course, they are no match for Cartman, so his mom has to bring in Cesar. What surprised me about the episode is that the show’s writers, Trey Parker and Matt Stone didn’t try to skewer Milan as they do many of their subjects. They didn’t even make fun of his Mexican heritage or accent. Instead they actually seem to have some respect for his methods of establishing dominance in dog/owner relationships, and I guess in child/parent relationships.

Cesar’s methods primarily revolve around the idea that the dog owner must act and be seen as a pack leader by his dog. Dogs, like wolves, have a natural instinct to form packs and follow a single dominant dog. Milan feels that when a dog misbehaves or will not obey its owner, the dog is asserting its dominance. This is often a result of the owner failing to instill discipline in the relationship with his dog or treating the dog like a human child instead of the animal it is.

To establish the role of pack leader, Cesar recommends daily walks with your dog that last between 30-45 minutes. However, the walk must be done correctly. Rather than having the dog in front you, dragging you along, the owner must be in front leading the dog. However, if you’ve ever walked an untrained dog you know that can be easier said than done. To accomplish the correct walk, Cesar emphasizes placing the leash high on the neck. He also tends to use choke chains and will apply a touch to the dog’s neck with a “tsst” sound. The touch is supposed to resemble a dominant dog putting its jaw on another dog to discipline it. By associating it with the sound, eventually only the "tsst" is necessary to correct any unwanted behavior.

Not everyone agrees with these methods. Recently I’ve noticed that NGC is running a disclaimer emphasizing that not all methods are proper for all dogs in addition to the original disclaimer at the beginning of the show in which they recommend not using the methods shown without the assistance of a dog trainer. Of course my question is “Than why am I watching the show if I’m still going to have to resort to hiring someone.” Obviously the answer is that the network is simply trying to protect itself from any possible lawsuits.

Other trainers prefer to use positive reinforcement and rewards rather than these somewhat punitive measures. This debate, as the South Park made clear, is similar to the argument over child rearing and spanking. Growing up, my dad would occasionally spank me and looking back on it, I think it probably did me some good. So I don’t have any problems with Cesar’s disciplinarian approach. Plus the proof is in the pudding. It really is impressive to see how Cesar can turn an out of control dog, in some cases on the verge of being put down by its owners, into an obedient, balanced animal.

Unfortunately, my loyal viewing of the show, it reruns on NGC all the time, hasn’t led to me having obedient dogs. I have two dogs right now, Zelda and Leia. I got Zelda, a German Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix, about 2 1/2 years ago, a few months after my first dog Patch was put down. Zelda was rescued from the local animal shelter. She was supposed to be only a year old, but I later found out when she was taken to the vet that she was actually seven. She’s been a great dog but she does have some issues.

First of all, she pulls me when I walk her. She’s improved since I started watching the show, but I still haven’t mastered the walk. She is also scared to death of loud noises like fireworks, which are legal where I live. I have come to dread the Fourth of July because I know she’s going to go crazy. I usually give her a sedative and that helps a bit. Finally, she has a bit of a predator drive in her and will go after cats and birds in the backyard and unfortunately she has killed a couple of them.

I was worried about getting my second dog Leia, a Schnauzer/Maltese mix, because of Zelda’s predator instinct. I first saw Leia on a trip to Mexico to visit some family. My cousin’s dogs had just had puppies. I really became enamored of Leia’s father, Cliford, and when my cousin saw this, she offered to let me take one of the puppies home. I didn’t at the time because Leia was only a few weeks old and her mother was still nursing her. But when my mother visited Mexico a couple of months later, she was able to bring Leia back with her. Fortunately Zelda accepted her and there hasn't been any problems between them. Leia is a bit of a handful and will occasionally growl and nip at me. But using some of the methods I’ve seen on The Dog Whisperer, I have been able to make her a little more obedient.

Unfortunately my family in Mexico doesn’t watch The Dog Whisperer. I found out yesterday that Cliford got loose and was hit by a car and has passed on. When I heard the news, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Cliford would still be alive if my cousin had walked him daily and trained him not to run out when the door was open. I guess I’ll never know. But to try to make sure that doesn’t happen to Leia, I’ll be tuning in tonight to become a better dog owner, even if it means missing out on a little MNF and RAW.

You will be missed Cliford.

Incorrect Political Correctness

2006-10-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Dodgers would not be firing Steve Lyons for his remarks during a Fox broadcast of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series between Oakland and Detroit. Fox fired Lyons shortly after the game. Last season, Lyons provided color commentary alongside play-by-play announcer Charley Steiner on the 40 or so games that Vin Scully did not call.

I really don’t have much of an opinion about Lyons as an on-air personality. If Vin Scully isn’t calling the game, I don’t really care who the announce team is as I simply don’t pay as much attention to what they say. So it wasn’t Lyons’ name that drew me to this story. What piqued my interest was the circumstances surrounding the decision by Fox to fire Lyons and the Dodgers decision to keep him on board.

Lyons called Game 3 of the ALCS with Thom Brennaman and Lou Piniella. During the game, Piniella made an analogy between having unusual success at the plate and finding a wallet on Friday. I don’t quite understand Piniella’s analogy but that’s not really relevant. He followed up that statement by saying that the Oakland A's Frank Thomas needed to get “en fuego” and was currently “frio.” Brennaman responded by saying the “The bilingual Lou Pinella.” Then Lyons chimed in with what would prove to be very fateful words for him: “Lou is habla-ing some Español there, and I'm still looking for my wallet. I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit close to him now.” Fox felt these comments were inappropriate and insensitive and decided to fire Lyons.

Sure it was a dumb joke but the only party that is in wrong in this case is Fox. Fox apparently felt that Lyons’ comment might upset the Latino community and be interpreted as suggesting that Spanish-speaking people are larcenous. However, in my mind, by firing Lyons and asserting that the comment was inappropriate, it is Fox that is being culturally insensitive.

Before this story developed, I had no idea that Lou Piniella was “Hispanic,” as the media is now reporting. Well after a little research it turns out Piniella isn’t “Hispanic.” He and his parents were born in Tampa, Florida and his family is originally from Spain. Last time I checked, Spain is in Europe, not Latin America. By firing Lyons, Fox is drawing a connection between the Latino community and thievery that wasn’t there when Lyons made his comment. Piniella laughed at Lyons' silly joke during the broadcast and defended him after Lyons was fired.

Fortunately, Dodgers management had decided not to make the same mistake and will allow Lyons to continue to call team games. They are requiring that Lyons take some diversity training which doesn’t seem necessary but at least they are not overreacting like Fox has.

Long Odds

2006-10-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

On Friday, the President of the United States signed into law the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006. Five years after 9/11, the US government has finally adopted measures to improve the security of this country’s ports. Usually I would join the 98 Senators that voted for this act and support a measure that seeks to protect this country without violating my civil liberties.

Unfortunately, the prudes in Congress attached a provision to the act that is meant to put an end to internet gambling in the United States. This provision basically prohibits credit card companies from facilitating transactions with internet gambling sites, which are generally based outside of the United States.

I’m not a very big gambler. Whenever I go to Las Vegas I usually make a couple of sports bets and I like to make friendly wagers with my friends once in a while, but that’s about it. If I were to gamble on-line, it probably wouldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 times. And most of those times it would have been to try to jinx a team I dislike, say the San Antonio Spurs or New York Yankees, or whoever the Lakers are facing.

When it comes to sports, I’m a bit superstitious. I like to bet on outcomes that I don’t want to see happen, like the Spurs winning another NBA championship. I figure my bet is like a religious offering to the sports gods. Besides, worst case scenario, if the team I dislike wins or the team I like loses, at least I get a few bucks to help console me. But now, thanks to the SAFE Port Act, unless I go to Vegas or find a bookie in Los Angeles and risk getting my thumbs broken, I can no longer do that.

But that’s not the worse part about this new law. The worse part is the hypocrisy. The internet gambling provision of the act specifically excludes wagering on horseracing. I guess the horseracing industry had better lobbyists and offered better perks. That’s the only explanation I can come up with since I can’t fathom the difference between betting on a football game over the internet and betting on a horserace. I won’t even start on the fact that most states in this country sponsor some type of lottery.

Fortunately, according to an article on MarketWatch, some people are already coming up with ways to get around the new regulations. One simple answer is to open up a bank account or obtain a credit card outside of the United States since those institutions might not fall under the U.S. government’s jurisdiction. Another possible solution is payment through gold or silver or some other commodity.

While I applaud these possible solutions, I don’t plan to resort to these measures. Instead I’ll just have to find another offering that I can make to the sports gods. Or maybe I’ll just sue the U.S. government on the grounds that the new law is infringing on the free exercise of my religion. Although the odds of such a suit winning probably aren’t that good. Too bad I can’t use the internet to put any money on it.

A New Hope?

2006-10-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

I love the NBA pre-season. Every team is going to make the playoffs. Every player will average 20 points next season. Every rookie will become an all-star. Plus, unlike pre-season football, you get to see the starters for more than just five minutes of the first quarter. Also, since it’s the pre-season, I can just enjoy the game without really caring which team wins.

So Thursday night I had to tune in to watch the Los Angeles Lakers face the Seattle Supersonics at the Honda Center in Anaheim. It was actually the second pre-season game for the Lakers. They defeated the Utah Jazz, 94 - 79 in Fresno on Tuesday. Unfortunately that game wasn’t aired on television so I had to wait until yesterday to get my fix of pre-season basketball.

The Laker’s starting line-up was made up of Smush Parker, Maurice Evans, Vladimir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom, and Kwame Brown. Kobe Bryant, who had surgery on his knee this summer, had to watch the game in street clothes alongside Chris Mihm and Sasha Vujacic. I was pleased to see Radmanovic get the start. He was the Lakers big off-season acquisition and a lot of whether the Lakers are able to improve on last year’s performance depends on how much he can contribute to the team.

Things didn’t go so well for Radmanovic or the Lakers to begin the game. He committed a foul and missed his first three-point attempt and the Lakers got behind very quickly. But I was still encouraged by the hustle that I saw Radman exhibiting. He was driving to the lane and crashing the boards. That effort helped make up a little bit for his 1-8 shooting performance from the floor. Hopefully, once Kobe suits up, Radman will get better looks and boost that field goal percentage. Although given that his career FGP is only 41.4, there might not be that much improvement.

The Lakers narrowed the lead as the first quarter progressed. Smush made back to back threes and Kwame had a nice post-up play. Despite all the gripes in the last couple of weeks about the NBA's new ball, most loudly from Shaquille O’Neal, the players didn’t seem to have any problems with it.

Aaron Mckie made a rare appearance along with Shammond Williams, the other free agent signing by the Lakers this off-season, in the first quarter. I was almost livid when I saw Mckie. My first thought was “Why on earth isn’t Jordan Farmar playing?” I saw Farmar a couple of times during the summer pro league and was really impressed. I was eager to see him in action against NBA competition. I had seen a rumor in the Los Angeles Times that he might be sent to the NBA’s development league and when I looked at the box score of the Jazz game on Tuesday, I noticed that he didn’t get any minutes. Needless to say I thought the Lakers were making a mistake.

McKie’s play didn’t do anything to convince me otherwise. At this point it’s clear that the Lakers need to waive McKie because he really doesn’t have anything left in the tank and the Lakers could use the extra roster spot. Perhaps the Lakers were thinking of using his salary to facilitate a trade, but unless something develops in the next two weeks, it makes more sense to just cut him and keep someone more useful.

Around the three-minute mark of the first quarter, Andrew Bynum and Brian Cook subbed into the game. Another rumor that I’ve heard is that the Lakers are in discussions to give Cook an extension. I’m not sure how I feel about this possible development. On one hand Cook has improved every season and there’s no doubt he can shoot. He ended up leading the team on Thursday with 16 points. On the other hand his defense and rebounding still need a lot of improvement. Andrew seemed a little more comfortable than he has in the past. He had a nice dunk and a put-back after a rebound. Unfortunately he sprained his ankle in the first half and sat out the rest of the game.

Farmar finally made his Laker debut with seven minutes left in the second quarter. He started off a little slowly, but had a couple of nice plays after warming up a bit. One was a great pass to Ronny Turiaf for a dunk and another was a nice lay up off a pass from Kwame Brown. It was great to see Turiaf getting some playing time as well. You just have to love the energy an enthusiasm that he brings every time he steps on the floor. The Lakers finished the half trailing the Sonics 55-53 but I still felt good about what I was seeing from the young players on the team.

Aaron Mckie and Shammond Williams were on the floor to start the second half of the game. Once again I couldn’t understand why McKie was on the floor. Williams made a couple of nice plays, but I didn’t see anything that would have me believe he will be replacing Smush Parker as the starting point guard. Radman continued to struggle with his shooting touch but he made a nice pass to Odom.

As the game continued I kept hoping for Farmar to get back on the floor. Once he finally made it back on the floor, Farmar continued to impress. He made a great outlet pass to Turiaf and followed it up with a dunk of his own. He added a nice pass to Maurice Evans for a three-pointer. He ended the game with 10 points, 5 assists, 2 steals and only 1 turnover in 19 minutes and was playing in crunch time as the Lakers held on to win the game 104-101.

Hopefully Farmar’s performance will start convincing Lakers’ management that he belongs in the NBA, not the NBDL. We should know soon enough. The main reason I love pre-season basketball is because it means that the regular NBA season is just around the corner. In the next two weeks we should whether Farmar makes it and for the sake of the franchise’s future, I really hope he does.

Let's Play GM

2006-10-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

Even though it’s only been a few days since the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Mets and the National League Championship Series won’t begin until tomorrow, it’s not too early to start thinking about what the Dodgers can do to improve for next year. While it was disappointing to see the team get swept, I still think making the playoffs was a feat in itself and hopefully it’ll be something to build on.

Since I’m basically just a bandwagon fan when it comes to the Dodgers, I had to turn to a couple of friends, Big Money and Johnny Ringo, to pick their brains. We all thought that the biggest priority for the Dodgers should be their starting pitching. Fortunately, there’s a guy out there that’s going to be a free agent that could really help them out: Barry Zito. Zito went 16-10 last season with a 3.83 ERA. His numbers aren’t as good as they were his first few years in the league, but he’s still one of the better pitchers in the league.

Unfortunately, Zito will have many suitors this off-season, especially if he does well during the rest of the playoffs. After losing to the Tigers, the Yankees will be sure to target Zito to improve their pitching. Hopefully, Zito’s ties to California - he went to high school in San Diego and college in Santa Barbara before transferring to USC - will persuade him to stay on the west coast, albeit a little farther south. Plus LA would probably be a better fit for the somewhat eccentric Zito than New York.

If the Dodgers aren’t able to acquire Zito or decide they have more money to spend on another free agent, Alfonso Soriano would be another excellent target. My friends and I agree that pitching should be the Dodger’s priority, but Soriano would be an excellent consolation prize after becoming only the fourth player in league history to hit 40 homeruns and get 40 stolen bases.

However, signing Soriano might be a problem if he insists on playing second base since the team already has Jeff Kent. After grumbling about playing second before the season started, Soriano relented and played in the outfield this season for the Washington Nationals. He didn’t have much of a choice. As a free agent, Soriano will have all the leverage he needs to get to play in the infield. But I would imagine if the price is right, Soriano would be willing to play any position.

If the Dodgers aren’t able to lure either of those two big name free agents, one other possibility is to look into trading for Alex Rodriguez. Some of my buddies might get a kick out of that suggestion since I’ve been calling Alex Rodriguez a loser since that first season with the Texas Rangers. I thought his decision to go to the Rangers was incredibly greedy and he deserved to rot on a losing team for the rest of his career. What really upset me was when he described his decision as what was best for his family, as if half of the $250 million he signed for wouldn’t have been enough.

I actually spoke to my buddy Heavy Hitter, a big Yankees fan, after the second game of the Detroit/New York series was rained out. I told him I was sure the Yankees would win the World Series this year, even with A-Rod on the team. I guess the A-Rod effect was too strong. Of course it wasn’t completely Rodriguez’s fault, although going 1 for 14 in the series didn’t help. So why on earth do I want to see him on the Dodgers?

Because he’s still one of the best offensive players in the game and I think that the Yankees might be desperate enough for the Dodgers to get him for a lot less than he’s actually worth. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that the Dodgers should give up all their best young players and mortgage the future for A-Rod. But if the Dodgers could package Brad Penny (or J.D. Drew), Andre Ethier, and one or two other pieces for A-Rod, I think they should pull the trigger, assuming A-Rod is convinced to waive his no-trade clause. The Dodgers might never win the World Series with A-Rod on the team, but they should be able to win their division and that would be some nice improvement.

Finally, there is still the question about what to do with some of the players that were on the squad last season like Nomar Garciaparra, Greg Maddux, and Eric Gagne. It really is a shame that Nomar had to tear his left quadriceps muscle in the series against the Mets, especially since it was on the eve of winning the NL Comeback Player of the Year award. Nomar had a wonderful season and exceeded all of my expectations, but he just seems too fragile to give a big contract. It would be great to see him return next year, but I would only give him a two-year deal at most for no more than he made this year.

The same goes for Maddux. The Dodgers wouldn’t have made the playoffs without Maddux but at this stage in his career, you have to wonder when the tank is going to be empty. I would try to bring him back but I wouldn’t break the bank for him. As for Gagne, I'd just let him walk away. Johnny Ringo thinks we should offer him an incentive-heavy contract, but I doubt he would take it, especially with Scott Boras as his agent. He had a couple of tremendous years with the Dodgers but it's unlikely he’ll ever regain his form.

Hopefully Ned Colletti, the Dodger's real GM, will pull of the right moves this off-season. He’s already made a fan out of me by getting the Dodgers in the playoffs. Let’s see if he can get them back there next year.

The Invisible Sport

2006-10-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening I decided to watch the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes face off against the Buffalo Sabres to kick off the 2006-07 National Hockey League season. The Sabres got a little revenge after losing to the Hurricanes in the eastern conference finals last season by winning the game 3-2 after a shoot-out. It was a pretty good game but I’m sure most televisions across American weren’t tuned in.

Nobody watches hockey on television and American sports fans just don't seem to care about the NHL. The league has a core of loyal fans and attendance seems to be healthy. I’m always surprised by how many jerseys I see in the stands when I watch a game in person. It really seems that more hockey fans wear jerseys than in any other sport and that’s a sign of how dedicated those fans are.

Last year the NHL made a strong return after the cancelled 2004-05 season. Hockey fans were glad to have the sport back and embraced the new rules, which opened up the game and replaced ties with shoot-outs. Revenues and attendance were up. But TV ratings and the general popularity of the sport continued to slide. I’m sure the move from ESPN to the Outdoor Life Network, now called Versus, didn’t help matters.

You would think that a game that combines the violence of football, the speed of basketball, and the grace of baseball would be more popular. I have a few theories why it’s not. The first problem is you don’t have a player right now in the NHL that transcends the sport. The sport needs another Wayne Gretzky, someone who all sports fans can identify as being the best in his sport and possibly best ever. Thankfully for the league, there are two youngsters who showcased last year that type of potential in their rookie campaigns: Sydney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. If one or both continue to develop and win a couple of Stanley Cups, they might be able to draw more people to the sport.

The next issue that is hindering the popularity of hockey is one that is not unique to this sport, but still needs to be addressed. There are too many teams in the league. Do we really need the Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, or Anaheim Ducks? If the league was whittled down, the remaining teams would become more talented and the action on the ice would become more exciting.

A third possible explanation for the limited appeal of the sport is the influx of European players. For the longest time players in the NHL were usually from Canada or possibly the United States. In the nineties you began to see more European players, particularly Russians, and their number continued to grow until the league actually divided all-star teams into a North American team and World team from 1998 to 2002. I don’t have anything against the European players, but their presence does make the sport feel more alien than it did when it was mostly Canadians playing. I really have no idea how this issue can be addressed. Obviously getting more American youth to play the sport would help, but outside of the northeast, I don’t see how that can happen.

So what does the future of hockey hold. I’m not sure but it doesn’t look good. I fear the worst. But even in the worst case scenario, I think with the changed rules in place and the current collective bargain agreement, the league should be able to hold on to its core fans. That means that at the very least I’ll still be able to jump on the LA Kings bandwagon whenever they make the playoffs again. As for when the Kings might do that, that’s a story for another day.

The Rest Is Gravy

2006-10-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

For the second time in three years the Los Angeles Dodgers have made it to the playoffs. It wasn’t easy. Only a few days ago they trailed both the San Diego Padres for the National Division title and the Philadelphia Phillies for the wildcard playoff spot. I was getting worried the Dodgers wouldn’t live up to the playoff prediction I made back in July, but my buddy Johnny Ringo reassured me that the Dodgers had a better team than San Diego and Philly.

The playoff berth was particularly satisfying for a couple of reasons. First of all, the Dodgers clinched it by beating the San Francisco Giants on Saturday and ended the season on a high note by completing the sweep on Sunday. The other reason that this post-season opportunity is so gratifying is because the moves that the Dodgers made at the trade deadline really paid off. I'm sure the Dodgers would have fallen short if they hadn’t gone out and acquired Greg Maddux, Wilson Betemit, and Julio Lugo.

I have to give team owner Frank McCourt some credit. I’ve criticized him in the past for not spending enough money for players, being obsessed with the Boston Red Sox, getting rid of the player names on the jerseys, etc. However, his decision to dump Paul DePodesta and hire Ned Colletti as the new general manager in the off-season sure looks like a stroke of genius right now. I can’t see DePodesta making the same moves that Colletti made.

So what now? As a reward for their hard work, the Dodgers get to face off against the Mighty Mets, the best team in the National League. Of course the Mets aren’t as mighty as they were in August with Pedro Martinez out of commission until next year with a torn rotator cuff. But as much as it pains me to say it, I still think they have more than enough to take out the Dodgers.

They have three guys in the top ten of National League RBI leaders in David Wright, Carlos Beltrán and Carlos Delgado. They have one of the best shortstops in the game in Jose Reyes who also happens to lead the NL in stolen bases. For pitching they have Tom Glavine - still going strong, Orlando “El Duque” Hernández - one of the best playoff pitchers ever, and Billy Wagner - one of the best closers in the game.

Against such a loaded team, all I ask is that the Dodgers make it a series and take it to five games. The Mets did go 14-15 in September and the Dodgers were able to split a four game series in Shea Stadium. Even that would just be gravy since just making the playoffs was a nice accomplishment for the team. And with all the young players on the team like Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, and James Loney, I’m feeling pretty good about the Dodgers' future. And who knows, maybe these kids will be so young and foolhardy that they won’t realize or care that they’re supposed to lose and find a win to win.

Oops!

2006-09-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last season I was watching a Lakers game at Staples with my friend Vayacondios. Although I was content with the Lakers progress last season, I couldn’t help but wonder how they could improve next year. VCD and I started talking about free agents that the Lakers could sign and I mentioned Bonzi Wells, who played well towards the end of the season and was great in the first round of the playoffs for the Sacramento Kings.

I thought the Lakers could play him as a shooting guard and move Kobe Bryant to the small forward position. VCD liked the idea but figured the Lakers couldn’t afford him since they could only offer the mid-level exception (about $5 million) and Bonzi would probably be looking for $6-8 million and would probably get it from some other team.

Turns out we were only half right. Wells was looking for more than the mid-level as he turned down an offer from the Kings for five-years for $36 million. But it turns out that the Kings were the only team that was willing to give him that much. So earlier this week, “poor” Bonzi had to settle for a two-year deal from the Houston Rockets for $5 million, with the option to become a free agent next summer.

This has got to be one of the biggest mistakes by a free agent in NBA history. It’s right up there with Michael Olowokandi turning down a seven-year $50 million extension from the Clippers and ending up with a three-year $16 million deal from the Timberwolves the following year. Obviously Bonzi and his agent overvalued Bonzi’s worth and misread the market for a 30 year old shooting guard with a career average of 12.8 points per game.

Nevertheless, another friend of mine, AbogadoDeNegros, maintains that Bonzi didn’t make a mistake and simply chose Houston because he wants to win. ADN doesn’t think there’s much of a difference between $10 M and $36 M since Bonzi has already made a lot of money during his NBA career. He sees Bonzi as playing the Scottie Pippen role to Tracy McGrady’s Jordan. While he admits there are better championship contenders, he thinks that Houston was the best fit for Bonzi.

I’m sure ADN is right. Even though Houston didn’t even make the playoffs last year, I’m sure they’ll win the title in 2007. I’m also sure Bonzi will be able to fit the Pippen role really well even if he’s coming off the bench since Houston traded for their starting small forward Shane Battier earlier this summer. And I’m sure that Bonzi’s firing of his agent earlier this month had nothing to do with there being a huge difference between the $36 M they turned down and the $10 M offer Wells ended up with.

I still wish that Bonzi had somehow ended up on the Lakers, even if it meant giving him the mid-level for five years. But I am hopeful about the Vladimir Radmanovic signing and think it would have been a mistake for the Lakers to wait for Wells. But if it doesn't work out for either the Lakers or the Rockets, there's always next summer and hopefully next time around Bonzi won't make the same mistake.

Please Just Go Away

2006-09-28T12:39:00.001-07:00

Dear Mr. Bonds,

Yesterday the Los Angeles Times, quoting your agent Jeff Borris, confirmed that you would return next year to play your 22nd season in Major League Baseball. While I knew that your return was more than probable, I am going to take this opportunity to beseech you to hang up your cleats.

The obvious reason you will be coming back at the ripe old age of 42 is to try to catch Hammerin’ Hank Aaron’s career home record of 755 homeruns. You currently stand at 734. Since you’ve hit 26 this year (with three games left to play), it’s quite conceivable that you could get 22 more next year to pass Aaron.

And I’m sure next season ESPN will be doing everything possible to remind us of your pursuit of the record. Every homerun you hit will be mentioned on their sports ticker constantly taunting me as I watch. Once you get closer to 755, ESPN will cut into their programming to show us everyone of your at-bats live. That’s just going to be so insufferable.

No one outside of San Francisco wants to see you break the record. On the contrary, some people, including myself, would rather see you in jail for allegedly committing perjury to the grand jury that was investigating the BALCO scandal and possible tax evasion.

You’ve made your money, won your MVP awards, gotten the single season homerun record along with a bunch of other records, and surpassed Babe Ruth’s homerun total. Sure you never got your World Series ring but that probably wouldn’t happen next year anyway, unless you went to the New York Yankees. Plus, don’t you want to spend more time with your family?

So please, just go away. Then maybe I can start enjoying baseball again.

Sincerely,
The Pocho

P.S. Please go easy on the Dodgers this weekend. They’re going to need all the help they can get to make the playoffs.

Delayed Karma

2006-09-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday 28-20 in Heinz Field in Pennsylvania. While the game was significant because it was an AFC north division match-up and might have playoff ramifications down the road, I saw a different importance to the game. I saw another opportunity for karma to rough up the Steelers after their Super Bowl victory in January.

I was a little torn while watching this year’s Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks’ running back, and Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers’ quarterback, were on my league winning fantasy football team. As I’ve said before, since LA doesn’t have an NFL team for me to root for, I have to focus on my fantasy team.

Since Alexander played a much bigger role in my fantasy team’s success, I was slightly leaning towards Seattle. But once the game started and the refs started blowing call after call for the Steelers, I stopped rooting for the Steelers all together and stopped enjoying the game. I thought it was a shame that such a big game was being ruined.

Over the summer, when I heard that Roethlisberger was involved in a motorcycle accident, I couldn’t help but think it was some kind of karmic payback. But he made a full recovery and wasn’t expected to miss any part of the regular season. Then, just as the season was about to begin, I learned that the Pittsburgh QB underwent an appendectomy. It really started to look like the football gods were frowning on the Steelers.

Roethlisberger’s recovery from the surgery kept him out of the first game of the season. However, with Charlie Batch at the helm and the Pittsburgh home crowd still riding the Super Bowl high, the Steelers were able to still win. I don’t mean to sound like Earl from the NBC sitcom, but I couldn’t help wondering what karma was up to.

Things only looked brighter for the Steelers as their star quarterback would be returning to the field for week two of the football season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But then a funny thing happened, the Jaguars dominated the Steelers with a 9-0 shut out win.

This Sunday offered another opportunity for karma to even the scales. The Steelers were able to the get to the Super Bowl last season after Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer suffered a severe knee injury during their playoff match-up. This game offered a little payback although the outcome was far from certain. Cincinnati let at half time but Pittsburgh came back to take the lead in the third quarter. However Roethlisberger and the Steelers made key mistakes in the fourth quarter and the Bengals were able to take a lead that they would not surrender.

So what does this all mean? Will the Steelers continue to lose and fail to make the playoffs? Will the Bengals go undefeated and win the Super Bowl? Probably not. But at least for one weekend, a little karmic balance was restored.

The Closet Sexist

2006-09-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

I hate fantasy baseball. While I really enjoy playing fantasy basketball and football and usually do pretty well in those leagues, I generally struggle in baseball leagues. I do have one championship, but that victory is tainted since I got a lot of advice from my friend and even let him run my team for a couple of weeks while I was traveling in Europe.

There are a few reasons I dislike fantasy baseball compared to other fantasy sports. The season is too long, there are too many players that come out of nowhere, and there is a lot inconsistent performance. To this day I’m haunted by memories of drafting Jose Lima the season that the Houston Astros moved into Enron Field in 2000. Needless to say, when I took him in the middle of the draft, I wasn’t expecting a 42+ ERA after two starts.

Despite my aversion to fantasy baseball I decided to join a league one of my college roommates, Cappuccino, was setting up. One of the best parts about playing fantasy sports is that it helps me keep in touch with friends from college and grad school and I figured at the very least the league would let me do that over the summer.

Another reason that I signed up was because we decided to change formats from a rotisserie league, where you get points based on how you do in different categories for the season, to a head-to-head league. I’ve played head-to-head in football for a few years and like a lot of other sports fans, really enjoy it. I had tried it with basketball but that didn’t work out too well because the number of games teams play in a given week can vary too much.

Cappey wanted to get as many teams as possible so he invited a few people that I hadn’t played with before. One of the new team owners was Mel, Cappey’s wife. At first I thought it was a little weird that a woman was going to join the league. I didn’t even know that she was interested in sports. But I thought having a husband and wife in a league might make things interesting.

The league was actually pretty quiet for most of the season. I secretly dreaded facing Mel and losing to her. We faced off against each other twice; we tied 5-5 the first time and I beat her 8-2 in our second meeting. I headed into the last week of the "regular season" in fourth place; the top six teams would make the playoffs. The final week was actually pretty exciting, at least in fantasy sports terms, as there were four teams in contention for the final playoff spot. To make things even a little more interesting, I had a friendly wager with Big Money, my grad school roommate, that he wouldn’t make it. He was in seventh place at the time.

To top it all off, Cappey was in sixth place and facing off against Mel, who was only a few games back. Well things couldn’t have worked out any better. Mel destroyed Cappey 8-2. Big Money won his match-up 6-4, but Mel’s dominating performance catapulted her into the final playoff spot and I won my friendly wager.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out so well for me the following week. As the fourth seed, I faced off against Heavy Hitter, a friend from college and grad school, who was the fifth seed. The first and second seeds got byes. I actually started playing fantasy sports with HH in grad school back in 1999. I don’t know why, but he got the idea to start a basketball league and invited me and four other guys. I won that first league and the following season. I think he was traumatized by those early losses since he’s admitted to me that he sees me as his fantasy nemesis and relishes every time he gets to beat me.

Well he got his opportunity when we met in the baseball quarterfinals this year. He trounced me 7-3. In the other quarterfinal meeting, Mel took out the third seed by the same score. While I wasn’t happy about the result, I really didn’t care that much and was more excited about my first week match-up in my fantasy football league, which I ended up winning thanks to Art Shell’s terrific coaching of Lamont Jordan, who was on my opponent’s team.

I was pretty sure that HH and Mel would lose to the top two seeds in the semi-finals, as those teams had been pretty strong after the all-star break. Of course, I was wrong and both HH and Mel advanced to the finals. So now I was in a bit of a dilemma. Who should I root for? HH took me out of the playoffs and has a better fantasy sports profile rating than I do, 69 to my 60 (there are unconfirmed reports that he pads his numbers by playing in other fantasy leagues with second graders). But Mel is a girl.

I don’t consider myself a sexist. In fact, I think of myself as a feminist in the strictest sense of the word in that I believe there should be equality between men and women. Sure I enjoy the occasional sexual objectification of women, but what red-blooded heterosexual male doesn’t.

I still believe that men and women should be given equal opportunities and the same pay for the same work. If a woman wants to take my place in the military, more power to her. I don’t care if Michelle Wie and Danica Patrick want to compete against men in their respective sports as long as they are able to qualify. But I just can’t stomach the thought of a woman winning a fantasy league that I'm competing in. Does that make me a sexist?

Sure it was funny when Mel beat Cappey. As long as I know him, I’ll never let Cappey live that down. He could win every fantasy league I’m in for the next 10 years and I would still mock him for losing to his wife. But I have to draw the line somewhere and that’s why I’m rooting for HH. So far I’m backing the right horse as he’s up 6-2-2. Hopefully he’ll be able to finish it off and I’ll just have to focus on beating HH in fantasy football, just like I did last year, to close in on his higher rating. I guess that makes me a closet sexist. Sorry Mel.

It's a Shame About Ryan

2006-09-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ryan Howard hit his 57th homerun of the year. It actually would have been his 58th if an umpire had correctly ruled on Saturday that a fan interfered with a ball hit by Howard before it fell into the field of play.

Now you might say, “Pocho, what’s the big deal?” The major league record for homeruns in a season is 73 and there’s no way that Howard is going to hit 17 more in the next two weeks to break that record. And you would be 100% correct. There is absolutely no chance that Howard will hit 74 this season.

So why do I care? I care because if Howard hits five more homeruns between now and October 1st, he will be the first batter to hit 62 homeruns since Major League Baseball began testing for steroids.

Should Howard succeed, he will actually be the fourth player in MLB history to surpass Roger Maris’ previous record of 61, a record that lasted for 37 years. Barry Bonds hit 73 in 2001. Mark McGwire hit 70 in 1998 and 65 in 1999 and Sammy Sosa hit 66 in 1998, 63 in 1999, and 64 in 2001. But the accomplishments of all three of them have been shrouded by the cloud of the steroid controversy.

I still remember the race between McGwire and Sosa in 1998. Like a lot of other sports fans, I had been put off by baseball’s labor troubles and was pulled back into the game by the race. I usually have a pretty bad memory, but I can still recall being on the phone talking to my college roommate as McGwire’s homerun blast barely cleared the fence. It was a great moment. I was witnessing history in the making. Something I might never see again. Or so I thought. Who knew then that it would happen five more times in the span of three years.

After the steroid controversy blew open, Congress held its hearings, and I saw McGwire choking back tears, those fond memories were flushed down the toilet. I actually felt betrayed. Since then I’ve mostly stayed away from the game. I barely remember the last time I saw a game at Dodger Stadium.

So that’s why it matters to me. I want to see someone without the taint of steroid scandal hit 62 and put an asterisk on Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa. Unfortunately, even if Howard does it, I doubt I’ll be watching and I know I won’t feel the way I did back in 1998. Despite any evidence, there will be a part of my brain that can’t help but think "I bet Howard just hasn’t gotten caught yet." And that’s the shame about baseball in the post-steroid era.

Social Experiment or Cheap Gimmick?

2006-09-15T12:42:00.000-07:00

I decided to watch the season premiere of Survivor last night for the second season in a row. Last season I tuned in to watch a classmate from grad school. Unfortunately he didn’t last very long and I stopped watching as soon as he left. This season I decided to watch after learning that the show’s producers had decided to group the contestants by their ethnicity.

When I first heard about the idea I was somewhat alarmed. There’s enough segregation, voluntary and involuntary, in our society. I didn’t think devoting a show to it would be beneficial. But I was intrigued and figured I should at least check it out.

There are 20 contestants divided into 4 groups: African American, Asian, Caucasian, and Latino. They will be “stranded” for 39 days on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. One by one they will be voted off each week until there is a winner who will be rewarded with a million dollars.

Yesterday’s show was more entertaining than I expected. The contestants were apparently not aware that they would be separated by ethnicity until the game started. While they seemed to be surprised by it, none of them really seemed to have a problem with the notion and they all seemed to embrace it as a social experiment.

But if it’s really supposed to be an experiment, what exactly are they trying to find out? Which ethnic group is superior? Whether people get along better with members of their own ethnicity? Or are the show’s producers really only concerned with how they can get the highest television ratings possible.

After watching last night’s show, I would probably go with the latter. The show seemed to be focused on trying to make distinctions between the groups. It also couldn’t resist throwing in some stereotypes here and there. One of the African Americans was portrayed as being lazy while one of the Asians was using mystical healing techniques.

That’s not to say I’m condemning the show. I just think that CBS and the show’s producers should be honest about what they’re doing. As I mentioned before, I did find the show entertaining. I enjoyed meeting “Cao Boi,” a colorful Vietnamese nail salon manager. I couldn’t help rooting for the Latino clan in the immunity challenge. I also got a kick out of seeing the African American group send Jonathan, a member of the Caucasian band, to exile island for stealing a chicken from the Asian group.

So while I’m not proud to admit it, I have to say that CBS’ gimmick worked. I plan to tune at least for another week to see what happens. But let’s be honest, this is pure sensationalism. There is no greater humanitarian goal here. It’s not about bringing greater understanding between ethnic groups in the United States. In truth, it’s all about the ratings. But hey, it’s a network television show, what more can you expect.

Open Season

2006-09-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

Last season, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was knocked out of the playoffs after sustaining two torn knee ligaments in the AFC wild card game. Palmer suffered the injury after a low tackle by Kimo von Oelhoffen.

This off season, the NFL made a rule change to better protect quarterbacks in Palmer’s situation. According to the new rule, defenders may not hit quarterbacks below the knee when the quarterback is in the pocket and has at least one foot on the ground. Such a hit will be considered rouging the passer and will result in a 15-yard penalty,

You would think that this rule change was in response to the injury that Palmer suffered, but according to Kevin Goheen of The Cincinnati Post, that is not the case. Goheen quoted referee Ron Winter’s explanation that the issue “came before the competition committee probably a couple of years ago. It takes that long to go through the system.”

Whether or not the rule change was a result of the Bengals misfortune isn’t that important. What matters is that by instituting this new rule, the league was reinforcing its message regarding the importance of protecting the league’s quarterbacks. That message was clouded yesterday when the league stated that it would not fine nor suspend Robert Geathers for his hit on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green.

In case you missed it, Geathers clobbered Green during Sunday’s game between the Chiefs and Bengals on a play where Green was scrambling and running towards out of bounds. He began to slide and was almost completely prone when Geathers came in and plowed into Green. As I was watching I immediately yelled, “Where’s the flag!”, as my understanding was that a defender couldn’t hit a sliding quarterback and I didn’t feel Geathers made any attempt to avoid the contact.

Green lay motionless for a few minutes. While I was surprised that a penalty wasn’t called, I was sure that the NFL would at least fine Geathers. You have to protect the quarterbacks don’t you. When they showed the replay, I saw that a KC player made contact with Geathers prior to the hit but it still seemed to me that Green made his slide early enough and Geathers rather than try to cushion the blow, appeared to lower his head. I’m not saying there was malicious intent, but it did appear to be unnecessary roughness.

The NFL didn’t see it my way. The AP reported that the NFL ruled in a statement by Ray Anderson, the league’s senior vice president, that Green initiated a late slide as Geathers was about to tackle him. In addition, as a Chiefs player hit Geathers in the back, he was no longer in control of his body and twisted in order to avoid driving his helmet into Green. My question is, if he wasn’t in control of his body how could he have twisted it in order to avoid a helmet-to-helmet hit?

My other question is “What’s the point of having a slide rule?” It’s not like I’m a Chiefs fan or have any Chiefs players on my fantasy football team. I actually love to see quarterbacks getting sacked. But if you are going to have rules to protect quarterbacks, you have to enforce them consistently. By ruling as it did, the NFL has all but declared open season on quarterbacks and I think the game will suffer as a result.

The Wait Is Over

2006-09-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a momentous day for me. After two and a half years of waiting I finally became a Lakers season ticket holder. I wish I could say that this was a lifetime dream come true because it might sound like a bigger deal. But in reality I’ve only been a Laker fan for about half of my life and never really thought about owning season tickets until four of five years ago.

Part of the reason I never thought about buying tickets is that I never really had the funds to buy them. My father wasn’t a basketball fan and I really wasn’t interest in basketball when I was younger, so he never took me to any games. When I started getting interested in the sport, I was still in high school and didn’t have my own money to buy tickets.

I started working part time jobs in college but I was living in the Boston area during most of the NBA season. I was able to go to the Boston Garden/Fleet Center a couple of times to watch the Lakers play, but that was about it. I went to grad school in the Northern California, so I was able to see the Lakers play (and lose) to the Golden State Warriors a few times as well, but I still never really thought about one day getting Laker season tickets.

I finally finished up school in May 2000 and returned to Los Angeles full time, right as the Lakers won a championship. At work I met a colleague who had season tickets and that’s when I first seriously started thinking about getting tickets. But I figured that since the Lakers were at a peak in their popularity, I wouldn’t be able to get tickets so I didn’t even bother looking into it. Instead I continued to follow them on television. I didn’t really mind given that the team was winning championships.

Then right before the 2003-04 season was about to tip off, my friend VCD (vayacondios) told me about an e-mail he had received. Sven, a season ticket holder, was looking for someone to buy half of his season tickets. This was after Karl Malone and Gary Payton had signed with the Lakers to try to take the championship trophy back from the San Antonio Spurs. Needless to say, I was very interested.

However, there was a catch. Sven wanted a premium, almost a 50% mark up. We would be buying $35 tickets for $50. Given how excited I was about Malone and Payton, I relented and we bought the tickets. It was definitely one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. The 2003-04 season was one hell of a ride -- from Kobe flying back and forth between Los Angeles and Colorado to attend court hearings to Malone getting injured and coming back late in the season to Phil and Shaq’s aborted contract negotiations.

We had made a deal with Sven that we would also split the playoff tickets so I was able to attend the close-out games against Houston, San Antonio, and Minnesota. I was also able to attend the second game of the finals against Detroit when Kobe hit a three pointer to send the game into overtime. Unfortunately it ended up being the last game I saw at Staples Center that season as the Pistons went on to win the series in five games.

I was hooked. After watching so many games in person I knew I had to find a way to become a season ticket holder. So I did some investigation and wrote to the Lakers office in El Segundo. I made a small deposit and was placed on the waiting list. I was number 1347. I did all this as the Lakers were being dismantled. Phil was gone, Shaq asked to be traded, and Karl was contemplating retirement. I was disappointed by these developments, but part of me was also thinking it would make going up on the waiting list a lot quicker.

As the 2004-05 season began, VCD e-mailed Sven to see if we could work out a similar deal. Unfortunately, Sven, who had been a student the previous year, had graduated and started a job and no longer was interested in selling his tickets. So VCD and I went to plan B. We tried to buy as many individual game tickets as possible. VCD was also able to get a bunch of tickets through some American Express program. So we ended up going to about 15 games that season. While it was nice to make it to that many games, I really missed having the same seat for 20 games or so.

This last season VCD found another season ticket holder that was looking to sell half of his tickets. Since Shaq was gone, there wasn’t going to be a premium this time around, even though Phil Jackson was coming back to coach the Lakers. I got a letter from the Lakers inquiring as to whether I wanted my deposit back or wanted to stay on the list after going from 1347 to 970 on the list. Obviously I decided to stay on the list.

This last season wasn’t as great a ride as the 2004 season, but it still had its moments. I was there when Kobe had 62 points against Dallas in three quarters and I was there for game 4 of the Phoenix series when Kobe hit a last second shot to send the game into overtime and another one to win the game in OT. In the middle of the season I contacted the Lakers office to give them my new address and was informed I was 420 on the waiting list. I was also invited to a town hall meeting the team holds for its season ticket holders. Needless to say I was excited and hopeful that I would be able to get season tickets this season.

About two weeks ago I got the notice. I was invited to Staples Center to select my seats. When I first saw the e-mail I wasn’t sure if I was actually getting the tickets. I called VCD to let him know and ask him what he thought the e-mail meant. After calling me an idiot, he pointed out that since the e-mail mentioned an invoice and payment it probably meant we were getting tickets. But he wasn’t completely sure either. When I mentioned that I wanted to write about getting the tickets, he asked me to hold off on it until we had actually gotten them as to not jinx anything.

So I went to Staples yesterday and got to choose my seats. As you might expect, the selection was limited. We got there 15 minutes early so we had to wait until it was our turn. We had expected that most of the available seats would be in the upper level behind one of the baskets. While we were waiting, we got to see that while most of the available seats were in the upper level, there were a few that were in the center sections. When we finally got attended to, we went up to look at some seats in section 334, which were $36 per game. VCD wanted get aisle seats but I saw a couple of seats that were closer to the center. I went to look at some seats in the $26 section and then went back to middle seats in section 334.

I sat in those seats for a while just looking down at the court and imagined watching a game. All the time, VCD was trying to convince me to get the aisle seats. He liked the aisle seats because you can quickly go to the bathroom and back during a timeout. As he was talking I notice a father and daughter walking towards those very same seats. I overheard them and it sounded like they were about to take them. Since I wanted the middle seats I just continued sitting there listening to VCD. I told him I preferred the center seats but he pleaded for us to take the aisle seats. But it was too late. The father and daughter had taken the aisle seats. VCD was annoyed and told me the other new season ticket holders were smarter than me. I just smiled knowing that I got my way. VCD was mad but he was also just about to become a Laker season ticket holder so he got over it. At least I think he did. As were leaving Staples after paying for the tickets, he started plotting how he could get rid of me and assume sole ownership of the tickets. So if I ever stop posting here, you’ll know what happened. But while I’m still around there's a new wait for me. The wait until the start of the NBA season.

Will the Real Dodgers Please Stand Up

2006-09-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I proclaimed that I was ready to board the Dodger bandwagon. I was excited by the trades that they made to boost their chances of making the playoffs. Well one month later and I’m still on the wagon, but I’m worried about falling off.

One of the reasons is I’m not sure what team I’m rooting for as the Dodgers keep showing me two different faces. Are they the team that lost 13 out of 14 games after the All-Star break? Or are they the team that won 19 out of 22 after that. Are they the team that got swept by the San Diego Padres? Or are they the team that won 7 in a row after that to open up a four game lead in the National League West division. Unfortunately I’m starting to worry that the real Dodger team is the one that has lost four of the last five games and is only half a game ahead of the Padres as I write this.

It’s hard to say exactly what the problem is. On one hand, the team has been shut out in two of its last three games, against Milwaukee and New York, so the bats aren’t swinging as well as they should. On the other hand, the Brewers and New York combined for 16 runs in those two games so the arms have been a little shaky.

The upcoming schedule doesn’t look very promising for the Dodgers either. 12 of the last 22 games, including tonight’s game against the Mets -- who have been the best team in the National League, are on the road. This season the Dodgers are 30-39 outside of Dodger Stadium. And to make things even better, of the 10 remaining home games, four of them are against the Padres, who as I mentioned are only trailing the Dodgers in the standings by half a game. Those same Padres have owned the Dodgers head-to-head this season having won 11 out of 14 games.

Yes, the situation looks a little bleak. But I’m still hoping that the real Dodgers are the team that won 19 out of 22 in August and they decide to make a stand and go off on a similar tear in these last 22 games of the season. Only time will tell who the real Dodgers are.

The Best Show You've Never Seen

2006-09-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

Last night the G4 network, channel 354 on Directv, began airing reruns of Arrested Development, the short-lived, Emmy-winning comedy series that aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006. The show follows the misadventures of Michael Bluth, played by Jason Bateman, and his dysfunctional family.

His family includes his incarcerated father George Sr., his manipulative, alcoholic mother Lucille, his magician brother GOB, his twin sister Lindsay, his aspiring actor brother-in-law Tobias Fünke, his niece Maeby, his helpless brother Buster, and his dependable son George Michael.

Normally I wouldn’t be happy about a sitcom airing on G4. I first discovered the channel about a year ago and quickly became hooked. At the time it was almost completely devoted to video games. I was in heaven.

Unfortunately, my newfound heaven slowly began to change as the network attempted to gain more mass appeal. I guess there weren’t enough gamers to support the station or those gamers preferred to play rather than watch television shows about the games they were playing. The network started airing repeats of Fastlane, The Man Show, and Star Trek. I refused to watch any of these shows as my own personal boycott. To be honest, boycotting Fastlane, an undercover cop drama starring Bill Bellamy, doesn’t take much of an effort. The show’s foulness does most of the work for you.

But when I found out that G4 had bought the cable rights to AD, I knew my boycott would come to an end. Arrested Development was the funniest show on TV for the last three years. The writing and cast were brilliant. The show was critically acclaimed and won the Emmy for best comedy series its first season.

But for some reason nobody wanted to watch it. Last week, Michael Sera, who played George Michael, and Alia Shawkat, who played Maeby, were interviewed on G4’s Attack of the Show and they offered one explanation why the show didn’t register with the general public. Shawkat explained that the series was like one big episode. “That’s why it’s hard if you just tune in to one episode. It’s not like a Will & Grace where you can just get giggles out of it.” It also didn’t help that the show wasn’t really promoted by Fox and its time slot was moved around.

In case you’re interested in watching and missed the pilot episode last night, here’s a quick synopsis so you won’t feel left out of the loop. The pilot episode begins with a retirement party on a yacht for George Sr., who is the head of the family company. After he names his wife as his successor, the Securities and Exchange Commission boards the yacht and George Sr. is placed under arrest.

Upon discovering that his mom would succeed his father as head of the company instead of him, Michael Bluth decides to sever all ties with his family. George Michael is saddened to learn of his father’s plans after seeing his cousin Maeby for the first time in a while and developing a crush on her. Before leaving town, Michael visits his father in prison where he explains that the reason he didn’t name Michael as his successor was so Michael wouldn’t be charged as an accomplice. He wasn’t worried about his wife being charged because he thought that a husband and wife couldn’t be charged for the same crime. Eventually Michael decides to stay and take care of his crazy family.

As ludicrous as that sounded, the actual show is even crazier and truly hilarious. So please, please tune in and watch, weeknights at 11:30 p.m. EST on G4. While the series may have been cancelled, there’s still hope that if enough people tune in, a movie based on the show will be made. And that would truly be a little piece of heaven.

Sayonara FIBA Gold Medal

2006-09-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

The 2006 FIBA World Championship final game is set. The surprisingly strong Greece team will face off against the team from Spain, which might be without Pau Gasol after a foot injury in the semi-final game against Argentina. Before I get any further, I want to apologize to anyone who followed my non-advice (I do not advocate gambling of any sort) and put money on Argentina to win it all. As the defending Olympic gold medallists, I really thought they would at least make it to the gold medal game. Guess not. At the same time, those who put money on Spain or didn’t put money on the US don’t have to thank me. Knowing I was right is more than enough satisfaction for me. Yes, I am spinning the truth a little bit but hey, it’s my blog so I’ll do what I want.

I originally planned to write this column about how good the Argentina team was and how difficult it would be for the United States team to win the championship. I was even thinking of starting it before the games were played. It’s funny how plans have a habit of blowing up in your face.

So instead this column will focus on what happened with the US team in their 101-95 loss to Greece. I wish I could say something about the Spain/Argentina game, but after watching the US lose I really didn’t feel like recording the second game, although I expected it would be a good one and it appears it was.

The loss by the US was not a complete surprise. It seemed a lot of people were expecting the team to lose in the tournament, from The Sports Guy to Michael Wilbon to more than a couple of my friends (all of whom e-mailed me this morning to remind me they were right). Even as the game started I felt a little bit of dread that the US would lose.

But it was still a real disappointment for me. Halfway through the game I couldn’t help but be reminded of the NBA finals two years ago between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons. Like the Lakers, the US appeared to be more talented, but Greece was able to play more cohesively as a team, just like the Pistons.

So what went wrong? Well the most obvious problem was missed free throws. The United States was 20 of 34 from the not-so-charitable stripe. For those mathematically challenged like me, that’s 58.8%. LeBron James was 1 of 4, Dwayne Wade was 6 of 9, and Carmelo Anthony was 6 of 10. In the NBA last season, James shot 73% from the free throw line and Wade and Anthony were around 80%. Granted, the guys were playing in something of a hostile arena. Everywhere the camera turned you saw Greek banners and Greek fans. I can’t remember seeing one American flag during the whole game. But if these guys had made their free throws, the outcome of the game might have been a little different.

The second biggest problem was the US defense. The team started off playing very good defense and held Greece to only 14 points in the first quarter. They were even able to open up a 12-point lead in the second quarter. However that lead did not last long and at half time the US trailed 45-41 after a 22-5 run by Greece. Greece was able to exploit the US team’s inability to defend the high pick and roll. It’s such a basic play but I know from watching the Lakers when Shaq was on the team how difficult it can be to defend. Nonetheless, I really would have thought that the US coaching staff would have done a better job of preparing the team to deal with it.

Another area where the team’s defensive efforts killed them was the perimeter defense. Greece went 8 for 18, 44.4%, from downtown. I mentioned how this was a problem for the US in an earlier column. Unfortunately the coaching staff once again failed to drive home the importance of keeping a hand in the face of the shooters, preferably without fouling them. Although in fairness to the team, some of those three pointers were tough shots that were just able to find a way to the bottom of the basket.

The American team on the other hand made only 9 of 28 of their three-point shots. LeBron was 0-4 and Chris Paul was 0-2 (0-5 from the field overall). Maybe Gilbert Arenas was right when he complained earlier this week that he should have been on the team. Wade was 1-3. It really amazes me that despite how good he is, he’s such a mediocre perimeter shooter.

The third major problem that I saw was the lack of a consistent rotation. Earlier I wrote that I thought that Coach K had decided on a regular starting line-up of Paul, Shane Battier, Anthony, James, and Dwight Howard. Well, only Anthony and James were in the starting line up for this game. They were joined by Kirk Hinrich, Joe Johnson, and Dwight Howard. If the US hopes to do better in China (assuming they qualify next year after the Tournament of the Americas), the coaching staff will have to stop thinking of the team as an all-star team and more like a regular team, with a set starting lineup and a more rigid rotation.

As disappointing as the US defeat was, it’s not a complete disaster, at least not yet. I think the problems mentioned above can be fixed. While a FIBA championship would have been nice, the real focus is still on the Olympics in China two years from now. In fact historically, the United States has never dominated the FIBA championship like they have the Olympics. They won it in 1994, 1986, and 1954; were second in 1982, 1959, and 1950; came in third in 1998, 1990, and 1974; were fourth in 1967 and 1963; were fifth in 1978 and 1970; and of course there was the horrible sixth place finish in 2002. If the US can salvage some pride and beat Argentina for the bronze medal, then this tournament may provide a good stepping stone for the Olympics.

As The Pocho, you might expect me to root for Spain in the final game given that some of my ancestors probably hail from Spain. Truth is, since some of those ancestors probably brutalized my other ancestors when they came to the New World, I tend not to cheer for Spain in any context. (Although, I really did enjoy my trip to Barcelona six years ago.) So I don’t really care who wins the FIBA gold medal. I’ll be more interested in the bronze medal match and hoping that the US team can show me they’ll be able to win gold in China in two years.

Someone Else's Shoes

2006-08-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the season finale of the FX network television show, 30 Days. In case you’ve missed it, the show is hosted by Morgan Spurlock, the man who brought us the brilliant documentary Super Size Me. In the movie, Spurlock subjected his body to a diet consisting solely of McDonald’s food for 30 days.

The show takes that formula and expands it to other areas of life. Every week, a different individual, usually on one side of a controversial issue, is plucked out of his normal routine and environment and thrust into a whole new world. For example, in the season premiere, a Minute Man (the vigilante group that has taken upon itself to patrol the border between the U.S. and Mexico) spends 30 days living with a family of undocumented immigrants.

It has been a pretty good season this year as the show has looked at the issues of immigration; outsourcing -- by sending a laid off American to India; atheism -- by sending an atheist to live with a devout Christian family, new age healing -- by hooking up an average Joe with a life coach; and abortion, by sending a pro-choice family planning employee to live at a maternity home run by an anti-abortion activist.

This week, the show will take a look at the prison system, specifically that of Virgina. Spurlock will spend 30 days in a county jail in Richmond, VA. The prison system in this country doesn’t seem to be working very well. Rather than focus on trying to stop people from committing crimes in the first place, the system seems to be more focused on just sequestering a significant portion of the population, particularly African Americans and Latinos.

Part of the problem is that politicians find it a lot easier to get votes from the American public by talking about getting tough on crime rather than by talking about how to improve the lives of individuals who live in crime-ridden areas and end up following the examples all around them.

I’m sure tonight’s show will try to depict what it’s like on the other side and that’s one of the reasons I really enjoy the show. The basic idea of the series is to try to get the audience to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. The show tries to present what I consider a balanced view of the issues it tackles. But at its core are two progressive principles: tolerance and understanding. I really do think that the world would be a far better place if people could just consider other people’s perspectives before making their judgments.

People don’t always change their ways of thinking of course, but they do seem to become more sympathetic. For instance, in the immigration episode, the Minute Man member decided to stop patrolling the border. After spending a few days in the Mexican town where the family was from, he was bothered by the idea of helping return people at the border to those impoverished conditions. Instead he decided to focus more on petitioning Congress to tighten security at the border. It’s not a renouncement of his ideals, but it’s a start.

So if you feel like taking a walk in someone else’s shoes, you can catch 30 Days tonight at 10 p.m. EST on the FX network.

An Office Affair

2006-08-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

The 58th Annual Emmy Awards were held last night at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. While I didn’t bother to actually watch the award show, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that The Office won for best comedy series.

Frankly I didn’t know the show was even nominated. I mean who really cares about the Emmy Awards. Nevertheless, it was still nice to see the second best comedy series on TV last season get some recognition. The best series last year was of course Arrested Development, which won the award two years ago and was nominated again this year, but that’s a story for another day.

This was the second season for The Office but the first season that I watched. The show is an adaptation of a British series of the same name. I had heard about the British version of the show and a friend had recommended I watch it. But it wasn’t until after the first season of the American version had already aired that I finally got see a couple episodes of its UK predecessor. I truly enjoyed the British version and I thought Ricky Gervais, the lead and co-creator of the show, was a genius.

The American version was a mid-season replacement last season. Its ratings were strong at first but were fairly weak by the first season’s finale. However NBC decided to bring it back this season. Fortunately for the show, The 40-Year Old Virgin was released last summer and was a solid success. The movie starred Steve Carell, who plays the lead in The Office, and gave the show some buzz which led to a push by NBC before the start of the second season. This push was rewarded with some fairly good ratings.

I actually wasn’t very impressed by the first couple of episodes of the second season. My friend had warned me not to hold the US version to the standard set by the UK version but I couldn’t help it. Fortunately I stuck with the show and the show really improved as the season progressed.

The show takes place at a paper company and is done in a mockumentary format where the characters will occasionally speak directly tothe camera to express their thoughts on the events that are taking place. The writing is sharp and the actors are great. I also appreciate that it has one of the most diverse casts on television.

The office environment might put off some people. Sometimes the humor hits a little too close to home. You really wouldn’t want to work with most of these characters in real life. But more often than not when working in the real world you will run across a Michael, an overbearing boss, or a Dwight, an annoying suck-up, and face similar issues like sexual harassment training and the office holiday party. While some people appreciate finding humor out of real life frustrations, some people find the show a constant reminder of those annoyances. As you might have guessed, I belong to the first group.

And thankfully it appears that most Emmy voters belonged to that first group as well. So if your interest has been piqued and you haven’t been watching the show, it airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on NBC.

Prime Time?

2006-08-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, Kobe Bryant turned 28 years old. While I'm sure this was a happy occasion in the Bryant household, I couldn't help but be reminded that it means Kobe has been in the league for 10 years.

Has it really been a decade? I can still remember the skinny, fresh-faced youngster with the bald head who electrified Laker fans with jaw-dropping dunks. I still remember worrying what Kobe's arrival would ultimately mean for Eddie Jones, who was my favorite Laker at the time. Of course three straight championships made it a lot easier to forget about Eddie.

Most NBA players enter their prime around age 28. And scoring wise, last year was undoubtedly Kobe's best season. But given that Kobe entered the league at the age of 18 and has been in the playoffs all but one season, I wonder how long that prime can last and whether Kobe can find a way to win another championship with the Lakers before he leaves the team.

Frankly, I don't have any idea. Part of me takes solace in the fact that the team almost defeated the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs and the Suns made it to the Western Conference Finals. The same part of me hopes that Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown will improve and that Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar will develop into all-stars and provide enough of a supporting cast for Kobe to get the job done. The same part of me appreciates that Phil Jackson, the greatest basketball coach ever, is leading the team.

The other part of me is worried about the wear-and-tear on Kobe over the last 10 years. It sees that the Lakers' window is closing and wonders how the team could ever beat San Antonio or Dallas. It fears that Lamar doesn't have enough intensity and Kwame doesn't care enough. It sees Bynum as nothing more than a stiff and wonders if it wasn't an accident that Farmar dropped near the bottom of the first round of the draft. It remembers that Jackson only has two more years left on his contract.

Well, regardless of whichever part of me turns out to be right, I know one thing for certain. Whatever happens I'll be watching. After 10 years, I know at the very least I'll get a good show.

Not So Mad About Madden

2006-08-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Madden NFL 07 was released yesterday. For many video game fans, Madden Day has become something of a holiday. As both a football fan and video game fan, you might think that I would be excited about the release of latest version of the game. In truth, I couldn’t care less.

I first played Madden about 10 years ago when I was still in college. I really wanted to like the game. A couple of my roommates loved playing it and I was a football fan so I thought I would enjoy it too. One day, when no one was around to mock me as I played it for the first time, I loaded up the game. I decided to play with the Green Bay Packers as I was a big Bret Favre fan at the time.

It was a debacle. I couldn’t pass the ball. I couldn’t run it. I couldn’t even play defense. After about 5 minutes and a couple of turnovers, I was down 14-0. Needless to say I started getting frustrated. After the computer scored a third touchdown I turned off the game and decided to hang up my video game cleats.

A few years ago I decided to come out of retirement and give Madden another shot. This time I even tried out some of the practice drills. But once again, once I started playing an actual game, my team looked like the Houston Texans.

So for yet another year, Madden Day came and went without me. That’s ok, NHL 2K7 Day and NBA 2K7 Day are just around the corner.

So Far So-so

2006-08-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, the US basketball team defeated the Slovenia team 114 - 95 to win their third game in the tournament and clinch a spot in the round of 16 in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. While this accomplishment isn’t anything to write home about, at least the team has gotten off to a better start than its 2004 predecessor, which was defeated by 19 points in its first game of the preliminary round of the Olympics by Puerto Rico.

So far the team has shown some encouraging signs as well as some causes for concern. On the bright side, it appears that Coach K has decided on a starting five and tightened up the rotation a bit. Nothing is set in stone but it looks like the team will start Chris Paul, Shane Battier, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard.

While I might have started Kirk Hinrich because he’s a bigger threat from the perimeter than Paul is, I really like this line-up. Paul is a great passer and ball handler. Battier provides an outside threat and some hustle and defense. Carmelo gives you a great scoring punch. LeBron gives you a little of everything. And finally, Howard gives you rebounding and interior defense.

Halfway through a quarter, Coach K brings in Hinrich, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, Antawn Jamison, and Elton Brand. Coach K is still mixing up the rotation a bit but these two units appear to be working well together. At 115 points per game, the team is the only one in the tournament to be averaging over 100 points.

Another positive is that the team is doing a great job of forcing turnovers. That was Coach K’s plan from the outset and it appears to be working. In its first three games, the US is forcing the opponent to commit over 20 turnovers per game. That figure will probably go down as the competition gets tougher, but it’s a good sign.

I also like how the perimeter game is going. One of the biggest problems for the US team in recent years has been the inability to make perimeter shots in the face of the zone defenses that are favored in international play. While the team is missing Michael Redd and Ray Allen, they are currently hitting 37% of their shots from the 3-pt line, good for 10th among the 24 teams playing in Japan. I wouldn’t mind a little improvement there, but that’s not a bad start.

On the other hand, the two teams with the best 3-pt accuracy thus far are Puerto Rico and Slovenia, both of which hurt the United States from behind the arc. Puerto Rico made a blistering 10 of 16 (62.5%) three-point attempts while Slovenia was 6 of 15 (40%). China, the other team the US had faced, made 13 of 31 from 3-pt land (42%). I would feel a lot better about the team’s chances if it defended the three a little better.

Another area where I’m a little concerned is the team’s ability to stop dribble penetration by the opposing teams’ guards. Part of the problem is that the team gambles in order to try to force turnovers. When those gambles fail, it’s a lot easier for the guards to get to the rim. Hopefully the team will be able to find the right balance in the next couple of games against Italy and Senegal before the next round of play. Regardless, I still think the team will bring home the gold. Only time will tell.

If I Could be Like

2006-08-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

Six years ago I took a short trip to Europe with a few friends. One evening I was talking to one of them and he asked me a funny question. He asked if I could be any one person in the world, who would I want to be.

Without even a second’s thought I answered Tiger Woods. My friend was surprised. He knew that I was a big fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and assumed I would say Kobe Bryant.

When he told me that, it made me reconsider. Who wouldn’t want to be Kobe Bryant? This was the summer of 2000, right after the Lakers had won their first championship since 1988. While Shaquille O’Neal had been named the Finals MVP, Kobe had played well and was already being compared to Michael Jordan. This was before the Colorado incident, before Kobe helped drive Shaq out of LA, and before Kobe became won of the least popular athletes in the country.

Upon reflection I explained my initial answer. Yes, Kobe Bryant seemed to have it all. He had money and fame and was one of the best basketball players in the world. Basketball was and continues to be my favorite sport. I’ve dreamed of being able to dunk like Kobe. Unfortunately, at 5’5” the closest I will ever come to that is dunking on an eight foot rim outside of an elementary school. At the same time, up until that point, I had never even swung a golf club.

But what set Tiger above Kobe in my eyes is that while many felt Kobe could go down as one of the best in his sport, most people believed Tiger had a shot to be the very best in his field.

In basketball, most fans would say that Michael Jordan is the greatest. But there is no single criterion that marks him as the greatest. He didn’t score the most points or win the most championships. That’s why occasionally you get some arguments about who really is the best basketball player ever. Some fans, including myself say it was Magic Johnson. Others say Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the best.

In golf, there doesn’t seem to be much of an argument. Jack Nicklaus is the best golfer ever because he won 18 major championships. Sure Sam Snead won more PGA Tour events than Nicklaus, but what people really care are the majors. Regardless of what Kobe did the rest of his career, the most he could hope for was to be considered one of the best. Even now, while he’s in his prime and after scoring 81 points in a single game last season, some argue that Dwayne Wade or LeBron James is better.

With Tiger, all he has to do is win 19 championships and he’ll be the G.G.O.A.T., Greatest Golfer Of All Time. Back in the summer of 2000, Tiger was dominating golf and in the middle of completing the Tiger Slam, holding all four major championships, though not in the same calendar year.

There was a stretch of time when there was some doubt about Tiger becoming the greatest. He failed to win a major in 2003 and 2004 when he was changing his golf swing to reduce the wear and tear on his knee. With his PGA Championship win yesterday, his second major in a row and fourth in the last two years, Tiger seems to have erased any doubt of getting to 19. He is now only seven championships away from overtaking Jack Nicklaus.

I actually first remembered my friend’s question last month when Tiger won the British Open. Seeing his poise and dominance and his emotional breakdown after winning the tournament reminded me of why I started watching Tiger in the first place. Yesterday, that dominance was on display again. He started the day sharing the lead with Luke Donald. It only took one hole for him to assume sole possession of the lead.

That poise is another reason why I wish I could be Tiger. Kobe is arguably a clutch player and has hit his fair share of heroic shots to win games. But he has also missed his fair share of game-winning shots. Tiger doesn’t miss. With his win yesterday, Tiger is 12-0 when he’s leading or co-leading a major championship after three rounds. Now that’s domination and why six years later I still find myself saying if I could be like anyone, I want to be like Tiger.

The Reclamation Project

2006-08-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight marks the start of a journey for twelve young Americans in the Land of the Rising Sun. The 2006 FIBA World Championship begins tonight in Japan. As a public service I decided to offer my unsolicited preview and analysis of the eight teams with the best chance to win the championship according to the odds posted yesterday at bodog.com. For the record, I am not advocating any type of gambling, merely providing some information.

France
A France championship will reward its supporters with $16 for every $1 they wager. The team is tenth in the FIBA rankings and features five current NBA players: Mickael Pietrus of the Golden State Warriors, Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns, Johan Petro of the Seattle Supersonics, and my favorite French player, Ronny Turiaf of the Los Angeles Lakers. That’s a fair amount of NBA talent. Tony Parker was on the team’s roster but a broken finger right before the tournament will keep him out of commission.

The team also features Frederic Weis, who was immortalized during the 2000 Olympics when Vince Carter literally dunked over him. Earlier this week, the French team beat the European Champion Greece 72-68 in an exhibition game in China. The French team isn’t a bad sleeper pick. But the fact that it’s in the same group with Argentina and Serbia & Montenegro makes it less likely the team will advance.

Greece
I was shocked to see that betting on Greece would pay out 10 to 1 since the only Greek player I could think of was Jake Tsakalidis and he’s not even on their roster. According to the FIBA rankings, they are the eighth best team in the world. In 2005, the team won the FIBA Europe Championship. The team throttled Germany 84-47 in an exhibition game a few days after the loss to France. They are in Group C with Brazil and Lithuania so like France, I don’t see them getting very far.

Brazil
Like Greece, a bet on Brazil will pay out 10 to 1. Brazil is fifteenth in the FIBA rankings and its roster includes two NBA players: Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns and Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers. I did not find Nene Hilario on the team’s roster and I assume it’s because he is still recovering from the knee injury that had him miss all but one game of the 2005-06 NBA season. Last year Brazil won the FIBA Americas Championship with victories over Argentina and the United States. Brazil faced the United States in an exhibition game earlier this month and lost the game by only four points. However, the team followed that game with a close loss to Germany so I’m not sure how strong their team really is.

Lithuania
Now we’re getting to the true contenders. A dollar will get you $8 if you bet on Lithuania to win it all. According to FIBA, the team is the fourth best in the world. It features three NBA players, although I only recognized one of them, Darius Songaila of the Chicago Bulls. The other two NBA players are Arvydas Macijauskas of the New Orleans Hornets and Linas Kleiza of the Denver Nuggets. I’m not sure why Sarunas Jasikevicius of the Indian Pacers isn’t on the team this year as he has been a prominent member of the team in the past. Lithuania was easily defeated, 104-90, by the United States earlier this week and barely beat South Korea 83-81. However I still consider the team a good bet since they usually do well in international competition. They faced the United States in the bronze medal game in the 2004 Olympics. Even though they lost the medal game, they defeated the US during the preliminary round.

Serbia & Montenegro
A bet on Serbia will pay out at 7 to 1. Serbia doesn’t have a FIBA ranking but FIBA ranks the now defunct Yugoslavia team as number 2 as their rankings are based within the scope of the last two Olympic games. The only NBA player on the team is Darko Milicic of the Orlando Magic, whose claim to fame until now has been the dubious distinction of being selected with the second pick in the 2003 NBA draft, before Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh.

While Darko may never be as good as those three players, he did show signs of improvement after being traded from Detroit to Orlando. In 30 games for the Magic he averaged 7.6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in about 21 minutes. He averaged 1.5 points, 1 rebound, and half a block for Detroit in 5.6 minutes. Last week he helped lead Serbia to a blowout victory over Argentina, 83-64. Serbia is the defending FIBA World Championship having won the tournament in 2002. However, I would be hesitant to bet on Serbia given that they failed to get out of group play at the 2004 Olympics.

Spain
A dollar will get you $6 if you decide to put your money on Spain. The team is fifth in the FIBA rankings and features Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies and Jose Calderon of the Toronto Raptors. Spain has been playing very well in the exhibition games leading up to the tournament with convincing victories over Argentina, 87-66, and Serbia, 80-65. They might not be as dominant once the tournament begins, but they wouldn’t be a bad pick to win it all.

Argentina
A bet on Argentina will pay out at 5.5 to 1. If I were going to put money on the tournament, I would bet on them. That’s not to say I think Argentina will win, I just think you’re getting good odds with this bet. The team is the third best in the world according to FIBA and features Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto of the San Antonio Spurs, Andres Nocioni of the Chicago Bulls, and Carlos Delfino of the Detroit Pistons. The team is the defending Olympic gold medallist and came in second at the 2002 FIBA World Championship. They also came in second place at the 2005 FIBA Americas Championship. They haven’t played well in the exhibition games leading up to the tournament having lost to both Spain and Serbia. But they should be very tough to beat once the tournament gets going.

United States
And now we come to the reclamation project. The US basketball team is on a mission to reclaim its positions as the preeminent hoops squad in the whole world after finishing with only the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and coming in sixth place at the 2002 World Championship. I sincerely hope and believe they can do it. They are my pick to win the championship. But at 1 to 5, you’d have to be a fool to put money on them.

According to the FIBA rankings, the US team is still the number 1 team in the world. However it hasn’t felt that way since that awful showing at the 2002 World Championship. The team is the only one to feature 12 NBA players: Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Kirk Hinrich, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Brad Miller, Chris Paul, and Dwayne Wade.

At this point I would like to formally apologize to Carmelo Anthony for suggesting in an earlier column that he be left off the team. Carmelo has arguably been the team’s best player and seems to be the most dedicated to restoring glory to the US. I thought the team had too many small forwards and hadn’t even considered the possibility of going with smaller line-ups (with James at the 4 spot at times). I guess that’s why Coach K is in Japan leading the team and I’m sitting at home.

Aside from a narrow victory against Brazil, the US has looked impressive in its five exhibition games over the last few weeks. While I don’t expect the team to dominate, I do like how the team is composed. You have your three superstars and team captains in Anthony, James and Wade; a good ball-handling guard in Paul; good perimeter shooters in Hinrich, Battier, and Johnson (the latter two also being excellent role players and defenders); big men that have range in Jamison and Miller; and finally you have athletic big men in Brand, Bosh, and Howard. Sure it would be nice to have Kobe Bryant, Shawn Marion, and Michael Redd on the team, but I have confidence in this team and fully expect them to bring home the championship and reclaim the title of the best basketball team in the world.

I Don't Get It

2006-08-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

For the last few months there has been a bit of a buzz surrounding the release of the movie Snakes on a Plane. Most of this hype has come from the internet and it apparently has influenced the movie's content. When the studio considered taming the film's goriness to avoid an R rating, the uproar on the internet helped convince the studio to make the movie even gorier. Every new development in the movie's progress has been met with a great deal of fanfare from a segment of the internet community and it seems a lot of people are eagerly anticipating the movie's release this Friday.

After hearing the basic plot and seeing some of the trailers for the movies, I find myself lost. I just don't get it. Why are so many people excited about a movie that looks so horrible.

As a fan of the Sports Guy, I'm fully aware of the appeal of unintentional comedy and I do find myself amused by it. But this seems more like intentional unintentional comedy and I can't understand the appeal of that.

Why reward a movie studio with my hard-earned money for releasing an awful movie. There seems to be enough garbage out there without me supporting a movie studio for putting out more.

Maybe it's a cultural thing. Or maybe I'm too old. Or maybe I'm not cool enough. Whatever it is, I think it's pretty silly to waste your time and money on a piece of trash. But who am I to judge, I go to summer league basketball games and it's pretty hard to come up with something that's a bigger waste of time than that. I guess to each his own.

To Hell with the NFL

2006-08-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight begins a new era in Monday Night Football with a pre-season game between the Oakland Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings. While the most obvious change would be the move from ABC to ESPN, the biggest change for me is the new announce team, particularly the debut of Tony Kornheiser.

Most sports fans know Kornheiser from his show on ESPN, Pardon the Interruption, which he co-hosts with Michael Wilbon. Since 2001, the two of them have entertained America with their insightful and humorous banter on the latest sport headlines. Last spring, Wilbon branched out from PTI and became part of ABC’s NBA pre-game shows. This fall, Kornheiser will get his chance to do a little moonlighting.

Back in February, ESPN announced their MNF announce team would consist of Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann, and Kornheiser. With the choice of Kornheiser, ESPN seems to be looking for the next Howard Cossell. Unfortunately for Kornheiser, trying to live up to the legend of Cossell can be a daunting task. Just ask Dennis Miller. Six years ago ABC surprised football fans when they hired Miller to announce games with Al Michaels and Dan Fouts. The experiment lasted only two years.

Will Kornheiser fare any better? It’s tough to say. Part of what makes PTI work so well is the chemistry he has with Wilbon. While Hornheiser seems like he’d be easy enough to work with, we won’t really know how he’ll mesh with Theismann and Tirico until the football season starts.

Another potential pitfall is that Tony arguably runs the show on PTI. He and Wilbon are equals, but Kornheiser is the driving force. He’s the one that puts on the silly costumes and makes the silly jokes and does the stupid penguin dance. On Monday Night Football, Tirico, as the play-by-play guy, will be running the show.

Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to seeing their debut tonight and I’m excited that the real football season is only a few weeks away. However, this excitement is tainted with a lot of bitterness. This will be the twelfth football season without a professional football team in the City of Angels and frankly I’m getting a little perturbed.

Twelve years ago if you had told me that I’d have a better chance of watching an NFL game in person in Mexico City rather than in Los Angeles, I would have said you’re nuts. After all, LA had two football teams at the time (although the Rams actually played in Anaheim). But I would have been dead wrong as last October the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers faced off against each other in a in a packed Azteca Stadium for a regular season game. While it was cool to see over 100,000 exuberant Mexicans watching an NFL game, the event really underscored how ridiculous the situation has become.

When the Rams and Raiders left the LA area in 1995, I completely agreed with city leaders that the taxpayers shouldn’t have to bear the burden of financing new stadiums for fat cat NFL owners. I was even proud that my city wouldn’t bow down to the NFL. I also figured that NFL needed LA more than the city needed the NFL. I imagined that it would only be a few years before LA had another football team.

As the years passed I became aware that while the city really doesn’t need the NFL (since it still has the Lakers, Dodgers, UCLA, and USC), the NFL really doesn’t need LA either. As a matter of fact, the league has only grown in popularity and prosperity since it abandoned LA. Sure without LA you end up having the Super Bowl in cities like Jacksonville and Detroit, but I guess that’s a small price to pay.

But I continued hoping that LA would get a team again. In 1999 it seemed I would get my wish as the NFL was set to approve an expansion team. But once again, the issue of financing resulted in Los Angeles missing out and Houston ended up getting the new team instead.

Since then, LA has become the NFL boogey man. Whenever a football team wants a new stadium, it just has to mention the possibility of relocation to Los Angeles to get the local taxpayers in line and approval of public financing for that new stadium. Over the last few years I’ve heard rumblings about the Vikings, Colts, Chargers, and Cardinals moving to LA. But in every case, the team ended up getting what it wanted from their home cities and the rumblings ceased. My desperation for a new LA team has gotten so bad that I was actually hoping that Los Angeles would benefit from the misery of New Orleans and host the Saints last season after Hurricane Katrina.

Frankly I’m tired of it. Damn the NFL, damn them to hell. I don’t care if LA gets an NFL team or not. Of course that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop watching and I fully intend to watch MNF on ESPN tonight and I can’t wait for the regular season to start. Thankfully, even if Los Angeles doesn’t have a team, thanks to the good people at Yahoo! Fantasy Football, I have my own team and this year they’re the Defending Champs. God Bless the NFL.

Adios PS2 and Friends, Part 3

2006-08-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

The PlayStation 2 is the undisputed champ of the current generation of consoles. Since first being released in 2000, Sony has sold more than 100 million units worldwide. That’s more than double the number of Xbox and GameCube units combined.

Despite the system’s popularity I held off from buying it for a while. I was happy with my XBox; and my Nintendo 64 and PC before that. Sure occasionally I would see commercials for a PS2 exclusive that looked pretty good, but I always fought the urge to buy it.

But in 2004 I couldn’t fight off the temptation anymore, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was going to be released. I had played Grand Theft Auto III on my PC rather than the PS2. When Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was released, I borrowed my friend’s PS2, in exchange for my Xbox, for a couple of weeks to play it, and eventually bought it when it was released for the Xbox months later. With San Andreas, I didn’t want to wait.

So I ponied up $150 and joined the other 100 million PS2 owners. I still continued to primarily play my Xbox, but the PS2 purchase opened up a whole new world of video games for me. On the bright side, I was able to go back and buy great games I hadn’t played for less than half what they originally cost when they were first released.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 PS2 games according to X-Play.

1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
This game is almost perfect. It builds on all that is good about Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City. The developers add enough nuances to truly expand the freedom you have in this sandbox game. I also loved that the game is set in the fictional state of San Andreas with cities that closely resemble Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. The game really captures the essence of these cities with its landmarks and characters you come across. I really got a kick out of running around causing havoc in the cities that I know and love. The main story line was pretty strong but when it comes down to it, it’s all about the freedom to stray from the path.

2. God of War
To be honest, my top ten list would probably have Grand Theft Auto III at number 2 and Vice City right below that. But I can see why X-Play chose only one game per series for their list and God of War is a worthy choice for the number two spot. God of War is an awesome game. The action is fast-paced and unrelenting. You play the game as Kratos, a Spartan seeking vengeance against the Ares, the god of war. The story is strong and the visuals are amazing. Truly a spectacular game.

3. Shadow of the Colossus
It was a bit of a surprise to see this game so high on the list. But as I mentioned in the Xbox article, the staff at X-Play loves originality. What makes this action game different is that you basically go through the entire game only fighting boss battles. In most other action games, you face countless minor enemies before getting to a boss. This unique recipe works for Shadow. What makes it work is the magnitude and variety of your enemies. The game is a truly unique and satisfying experience.

4. Guitar Hero
Think of it as Dance Dance Revolution for the guitar with a dash of karaoke thrown in. The game features a controller in the shape of a guitar that you use to play along with your favorite rock songs. I never played it myself, but the game looks fairly amusing.

5. Katamari Damacy
Another truly original game. In the game you play a prince of all cosmos that has to go around rolling balls out of different materials to replace stars that have fallen out of the sky. I swear I’m not making this up. The game probably would have been more fun if I was high while playing it. Unfortunately I was sober and only played it for about half an hour before giving up on it.

6. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
I enjoyed playing Metal Gear on the original Nintendo. I never got around to playing the first two Metal Gear Solid titles, mostly because I didn’t have a PS or PS2, but also because I tend to dislike stealth games. However, the glowing reviews for Snake Eater convinced me to try it out. After playing it for half an hour, I was ready to sell the game. I hated the camera angle that prevented me from seeing where the enemies where coming from. Fortunately I wasn’t able to find a buyer and I forced myself to play the game. I was rewarded with a thoroughly engaging, cinematic experience. Once I got used to the game, the boss battles were terrific and the final hour of the game was one of the most intense video game experience I’ve ever had.

7. Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
I avoided this game for a while because of the because the visuals are cartoonish and the game seems to be aimed at a younger audience. Once again though, the reviews convinced me to give the game a chance. And once again I was not disappointed. The amount of varied game play makes this a really fun game to play. The story is strong and has a good amount of humor. I enjoyed this game so much that I went back and played Sly 2: Band of Thieves, which I actually enjoyed even more than Sly 3.

8. ICO
This game, by the developers of Shadow of the Colossus, is another novel experience. You play as an acrobatic young boy with horns who attempts to escape from a fortress where he’s being held along with a young girl he finds while being pursued by shadowy enemies. It’s hard to say what makes this game so enjoyable. It is fairly simple as you just climb around the fortress trying to find a way out. But the game draws you in and you become engrossed with it. I’m not sure it would have made my top 10, but it’s a very good game.

9. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
I made the mistake of playing the third game in the series, Up Your Arsenal, before playing this one, it’s immediate predecessor. Up Your Arsenal was a great game. Unfortunately, when I went back and played Going Commando, I found myself looking for some of the features found in the third game. Despite my disappointment, Going Commando is a solid game that does a great job of combining platforming with combat and flying missions. While it’s not as funny as Up Your Arsenal, the story line and dialogue are very amusing.

10. SSX Tricky
I played this snowboarding game, or one of the other SSX titles, on the Xbox. It’s a nice enough game but I got bored of it fairly quickly. Maybe if I was an X Games fan I might have enjoyed it more. Needless to say, it wouldn’t have made my top 10.

Notable exclusions: Final Fantasy X. I can’t believe this game is not on the list. I loved this game. It would have been number two on my list. It’s a turn-based role-playing game so it’s not as exciting as most action games. But the story line and graphics are fantastic. It was the first time I played a Final Fantasy game so I was really blown away by all the creatures and magic I encountered in the game. I really can’t fathom why it didn’t make the list. Devil May Cry. If you want action, this is your game. You play as a half demon, half human trying to save the world with his trusty sword and guns. The action is very intense. I’m ashamed to admit but I had to play the game on the easy setting as I couldn’t handle the normal difficulty.

Bye George!

2006-08-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last week the Dallas Mavericks signed Devean George, formerly of the Los Angeles Lakers, to a two-year, $4.2 million contract. Most basketball fans probably thought this rather insignificant news. Frankly, most Lakers and Mavericks fans probably didn’t care much either. But for me the signing marked the end of an era.

George started his Laker career as a pleasant surprise but he turned into a serious disappointment. He was drafted by Jerry West in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft out of a small Division III school named Augsburg. He was taken with the 23rd pick, just one spot ahead of Andrei Kirilenko. In fairness to Jerry West, Kirilenko had a contract with a Russian team and wouldn’t actually play in the NBA until the 2001-02 season.

As expected, George didn’t produce much in his first two seasons with the Lakers, playing only 7 minutes the first season and 10.1 the next. He made some progress in his third season and averaged 7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 21.5 minutes. These numbers along with 11 points and 6 rebounds in the fourth game of the 2002 NBA finals garnered him a four-year, $18.4 million contract.

That’s when the surprise started to turn into disappointment. George’s game hit a plateau after his third year and his averages hovered around 7 and 3.7. There were some bright moments like when he returned from injury during the playoffs against San Antonio in 2003 and when he was the fifth Beatle with the four hall of famers at the beginning of the 2003-04 season. But for the most part, Laker fans felt George was stealing money from the team with his mediocre performance.

Nonetheless, I couldn’t help feeling a little sadness when I heard the news. I actually wouldn’t have objected if the Lakers had kept George around for the veteran’s minimum. Right now it looks like the Lakers will be playing Vladimir Radmanovic and Luke Walton at the small forward position with Lamar Odom playing at the 4. While I like Radman and Luke, neither is really known for his defensive ability or athleticism. Having George available on the bench would have been a nice luxury.

But that’s not why George’s departure marked an end of an era for me. Aside from Kobe Bryant, Devean was the only other player that remained from the Lakers mini-dynasty. The pieces have been falling away over the years. It started with Robert Horry signing with the Spurs, one of Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak’s biggest mistakes. Then Shaq was traded, Derek Fisher signed with the Golden State Warriors, and Rick Fox was traded/retired.

I realized that the team hasn't been the same since then. But I wanted to keep some connection from those glory years. However with George gone and Kobe changing his jersey number from 8 to 24 next season, the ties have been severed. It really is a new team. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just the end and I guess all things must come to an end.

Class is in Session

2006-08-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening I set out to watch a Dodger game for the first time all season. I had caught bits and pieces of games while channel surfing, but this was the first time all summer I had looked at the baseball schedule and set aside time to watch the entire game from the first pitch.

I have never been much of a baseball fan. You could probably tell as it’s the middle of the summer and this is my first article on baseball. I have flirted with the LA Dodgers, but I have never made a full commitment like I have with the Lakers.

It doesn’t help that baseball has been saddled with the steroid controversy and I was very skeptical of the purchase of the Dodgers by Frank McCourt. My problem with McCourt was that I thought he was more interested in the Boston Red Sox and turning Dodger Stadium into condos than the Dodgers.

And despite the fact that the Dodgers finally won a playoff game in 2004 for the first time since 1988 and this season they signed Nomar Garciaparra, one of my favorite baseball players, I was still staying off the bandwagon because I didn’t think they were a legitimate contender.

All that changed on Monday when the Dodgers traded for The Professor, Greg Maddux. I know Maddux is 40 years old and has struggled this season and the Dodgers are three games behind San Diego in their division. But it was still a breath of fresh air to see the Dodgers make a move at the trading deadline to solidify their chances for the postseason.

So I made it a point to tune in and watch The Professor’s Dodger debut against the Cincinnati Reds Thursday night. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating and as I sat down to watch the game I was treated to a pre-emptive rain delay. Even though it apparently wasn’t raining yet, the Reds decided to delay the start of the game.

Eventually the game got started. I missed the top of the first inning with Eric Milton pitching and the homer Olmedo Saenz used to welcome Maddux to the Dodgers for a two-run lead. I also missed the first couple of batters that Maddux faced but I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of his classic performance.

When I tuned in, Maddux was facing Ken Griffey, Jr. Sure this match-up would have been more exciting five or ten years ago, but I was still thrilled to see two of the biggest names in baseball facing off, with one of them in a Dodger uniform. Maddux got the upper hand in this meeting by getting Griffey to hit into a double play with the Professor and his 15 Gold Gloves tagging first base to get Griffey out.

The second inning was more of the same as Maddux continued his masterful pitching. As he’s done his entire career, he doesn’t try to overpower his opponents. He just puts the ball where they can’t get a good hit, even without much help from the umpire Thursday night. Wilson Betemit, another recent Dodger acquisition, gave Maddux the help he needed with some nice fielding on two of the three outs in this inning. Playing with the Dodger defense and in Dodger Stadium should definitely help Maddux turn back the clock the rest of this season.

The next couple of innings brought more of typical Maddux. He only had a couple of strikeouts in the game but he was in complete control of the Reds lineup. By the end of the fourth I started to notice that he hadn’t allowed a hit.

Maddux carried his no-hitter into the sixth. Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a nicer debut and I purchased my ticket on the Dodger bandwagon for the rest of the season. But then Mother Nature decided to go off the script and it started to pour after the top of the seventh inning.

We had ourselves another rain delay. Part of me hoped that the rain wouldn’t stop so Maddux’s no-hitter would be kept intact. Surprisingly, despite his years of dominance, Maddux has never pitched a no-hitter.

Alas, Mother Nature again refused to cooperate and the rain stopped after half an hour. I really didn’t want to see Maddux out there again, despite the potential no-hitter, because I thought the delay had been too long. Much to my relief, I saw Joe Beimel about to take the mound. Maddux placed the team ahead of his own personal glory by not taking risk of coming out after cooling off. Fortunately his new teammates didn’t let him down. Julio Lugo, another new Dodger acquisition, padded the lead in the eighth with a triple that scored Rafael Furcal and the Dodger bullpen completed the shutout.

Despite the rain delays and the aborted no-hitter, I really couldn’t have asked for a better game. The victory was the Dodgers sixth win in a row. Unfortunately, since San Diego also won, the Dodgers didn’t make up any ground. But after Maddux’s performance I’m more confident than ever that the team will make the postseason. There’s no way the Dodgers can fail Making the Playoffs 101 with the Professor teaching.

Adios PS2 and Friends, Part 2

2006-07-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

The Xbox was actually the first of the current generation of game consoles that I purchased. However, the decision to buy it was not an easy one and I wrestled with it for weeks.

I hate Microsoft. I can’t stand its business practices and how it achieved dominance in the world of computers. I begrudgingly use their products and try not to purchase them. When word first came out that Microsoft would enter the video game market, I had absolutely no interest in it because I didn’t want to support the evil company.

But then the evil company did what if often does to get its way: it threw around some of its ill-gotten gains. In this instance, Microsoft used its substantial funds to buy the game developer Bungie. At the time, Bungie was working on a little something called Halo.

There was a lot of buzz surrounding Halo prior to Microsoft’s takeover. Many were saying it would be the best first person shooter ever. After seeing the trailer I was eagerly anticipating its release for the PC.

Microsoft was obviously aware of the buzz and figured it needed a top-notch exclusive game to launch the Xbox and Halo fit the bill. Halo eventually was released for the PC, but at the time it appeared it would only be available on the Xbox.

This put me into quite a quandary. Would I relent and give my hard-earned money to the evil company or would I stand by my principles. Well, once I saw the commercials and read the reviews for Halo, my decision was made and I purchased the Xbox.

I don’t regret my decision (though I still hate Microsoft) as Halo turned out to be one of the best games I ever played. I’ve gotten a lot of entertainment from the Xbox and it’s the console that I’ve played the most. Besides if I hadn’t purchased it, I wouldn’t be able to offer my thoughts on X-Play’s top ten Xbox games:

1. Halo 2

As much as I love the first Halo (and would have made it number 1 on this list) I hated Halo 2. Sure I enjoyed dual wielding weapons, the energy sword, and playing as a different character for parts of the game, but I abhorred the ending of the game. Most people that love this game are able to get past the horrible ending because the multi-player aspect of the game is so good. I on the other hand don’t usually play multi-player so I need a good single player campaign with a good story line for me to truly value a game. This game unfortunately gave me only half a story that left me cheated after I realized the game was over.

2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Now this game had a good story line. The game has a more engaging and intense plot than the last three Star Wars movies combined. This was my first turn based role-playing game. While the slower game play took a bit getting used to and isn’t as much fun as action games, the drama truly draws you into the game. Another aspect that sets KOTOR apart is that you have some control of whether to follow the light or dark side and the end of the game depends on the choices you make. I’ve played this game multiple times and it is one of my favorites of all time.

3. Ninja Gaiden

This game can be summed up in one word: hard. The first boss had me on the verge of quitting the game. But I battled through it and was rewarded with a great video game experience. It’s one of the best looking games of the last generation. The story is a little weak, but it at least provides a conclusion and the action more than makes up for it.

4. Burnout 3: Takedown

I was very surprised to see this game at number 4. It’s a good game and was a lot of fun, but it’s basically just a racing game with really cool crashes. Maybe if I was into multi-player I might enjoy it more. But I’m not and I didn’t.

5. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

I would also quibble with the ranking of this game. It belongs in the top 10, but I would probably have it down at number nine. In the game you play Riddick as he attempts to escape from prison. The game has a good mix of stealth and combat. This game is another example where the video game was better than the movie.

6. Psychonauts

I really loved this game, as did most video game reviewers. Unfortunately the video gaming public generally ignored the game. It has a very Tim Burton feel and look to it (I mean the pre-Planet of the Apes Tim Burton). It’s one of the funniest games I have ever played and it’s also one of the best platformers.

7. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

I only played about ten minutes of this game. This was the third game in the series. While I played through the first one and found it very enjoyable, as I began playing Chaos Theory I didn’t really feel I was playing anything new so I stopped playing it. Apparently the multi-player and co-op aspect of it is very rewarding, but I wouldn’t know.

8. Beyond Good and Evil

Another game that the critics and I loved but didn’t do very well in terms of sales. It’s a very original adventure game with unique characters and great game play. You play a girl named Jade that’s trying to save the world with help from her half pig/half man friend. I’m not sure if it would make my top ten as it’s a little cutesy, but I truly enjoyed playing it.

9. Jet Set Radio Future

The staff at X-play really values originality and this game is undoubtedly unique. You basically go around a futuristic city on roller blades and painting graffiti. I played it for about half an hour before getting bored.

10. Forza Motorsport

Another racing game with on-line capability so you can race against your friends wherever they might be. Since that’s not my cup of tea I never picked it up.

Notable exclusions: Half-Life 2 (a port, it first came out on PCs, of one of the best first person shooters ever), Doom 3 (see Half Life 2), Prince of Persia (amazing adventure game with fantastic visuals and game play), Jade Empire (an action/martial arts RPG by the folks that brought you KOTOR), Dead or Alive 3 (a simple fighting game but a lot of fun), Max Payne (a great action game and the first video game to use Matrix-type bullet time), and NBA Street 2 (a cross-platform basketball game that was one of the most fun games I’ve ever played).

And Then There Were 15

2006-07-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, USA Basketball trimmed its roster from 18 to 15 players. Adam Morrison and Luke Ridnour were the two players left off the roster along with Shawn Marion who suffered a minor knee injury earlier this week.

The 15 players that did make it are: Gilbert Arenas, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Antawn Jamison, Shane Battier, Bruce Bowen, Elton Brand, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, and Brad Miller. That’s not a bad collection of players.

The departures of Morrison and Ridnour are not surprising seeing as Morrison was the only remaining invitee without NBA experience and Ridnour, while a good player, does not have the talent that Arenas, Hinrich, or Paul have.

The 15 remaining players will continue to practice until August 3 when they will play an exhibition game in Las Vegas against Puerto Rico, who beat Team USA at the 2004 Olympics. Then they will travel to Asia for four more exhibition games before the 2006 FIBA World Championship on August 19 in Japan.

The team roster must be trimmed down to 12 before the world championship begins. And as a public service I decided to offer my advice to as to who should get the ax.

The most obvious candidate is Bruce Bowen. One of the criticisms of the most recent USA basketball teams is the lack of role players on the team. The argument was that the team needed players who would do some of the little stuff like play good defense and make perimeter shots. I can appreciate that argument and Bruce Bowen does fill that role. But I have to wonder how much he has left in the tank at age 35. In addition, it’s not clear that his aggressive defense will be tolerated in the international game. Finally, he plays for the San Antonio Spurs and the Spurs suck, at least in the eyes of this Laker fan.

The next cut is a difficult one. Even without Bowen, the team has four small forwards on the team in James, Anthony, Jamison, and Battier. James can play shooting guard and Jamison plays power forward for the Wizards. But it still seems the next cut should come from this group. James and Anthony are the two most talented. Jamison’s perimeter game would appear to be well suited to the international game. Battier also has a good perimeter game, plays good defense, and would be a great role player.

My initial inclination would be to cut Battier but after some reflection, the choice would be Anthony. Anthony is a great player but it’s not clear that his game is well suited to international play. In addition, it seems there is nothing he can add that isn’t already provided by another player. There are enough scorers on this team. There are better rebounders and perimeter shooters. Anthony is a great clutch shooter, but Wade can fill that role. This doesn’t mean I would exclude Anthony from future USA teams, just from this year’s team.

The final cut I would make would be one of the five big men: Brand, Howard, Bosh, Stoudamire, and Miller. Brand is probably the best post player of the five and Miller is the only true center on the team so they both make the roster. Although Bosh is a tremendous player and would look great in a Laker jersey, the few times I’ve seen him play it has appeared that his game is a little soft. While that’s not necessarily bad for the international game, it does raise some concerns.

However, my final cut would be Stoudamire. While he has apparently done well in practice scrimmages, that fact that he is still trying to come back from a major knee injury makes him too risky a pick for the team. If he is able to fully recover and has a strong season next year, then he clearly belongs on the 2008 Olympic team, assuming the United States qualifies. But for now, he doesn’t belong on the roster.

Of course, a lot can happen in the next three weeks as the team gets ready for the world championship. Fortunately for Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and managing director Jerry Colangelo, they won’t have to make their final decisions until August 18. Let’s just hope they follow my advice and makes the right ones.

Adios PS2 and Friends, Part 1

2006-07-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite television shows right now is X-Play. If you don’t play video games, you’ve probably never heard of it. Even if you do play them, you probably think the show has something to do with porn.

Unfortunately, the show is actually about video games, game reviews to be exact. It airs on G4, channel 354 on DIRECTV. The show has some of the funniest writing on television and it is perfectly delivered by the two hosts, Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. Another plus is that Webb is hot. She might not fit the classic definition of beauty, but she gets extra points for her game knowledge.

Anyway, with the advent of the next generation of game consoles, Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PlayStation 3 will debut and join the Xbox 360 by the end of the year, the show decided to do top ten lists for each of the current consoles. Since I’m too lazy to prepare my own lists and haven’t played all the games, I decided instead to simply offer my comments on their lists.

We’ll begin with Nintendo’s GameCube, the runt of the litter as it was the least popular of the three consoles.

1. Resident Evil 4

Absolutely no arguments here. The atmosphere and game play are amazing. My heart raced as I explored the creepy environments looking for or trying to protect Ashley, the president’s daughter from possessed villagers, crazy monks, and homicidal mercenaries. The game really pulled you into the action as you were forced to pay attention even during cut scenes. RE4 is undoubtedly one of the greatest games ever.

2. Metroid Prime

Another no-brainer, although I thought it might be at the third spot. I loved the original Metroid on the old Nintendo. The game was able to transition from a two-dimensional perspective to a first person shooter without losing any of the elements that made the original game so much fun. I do have a confession to make about this game though; I still haven’t been able to defeat the final boss. Hopefully it’ll happen one day.

3. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

I was not a very big fan of the original Legend of Zelda game but I truly enjoyed the two Zelda masterpieces for the Nintendo 64, Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. Wind Waker was a fun game and deserves the third spot on the list, but the cutesy animation and the familiar game play left me wanting more. It looks like the next Zelda game, Twilight Princess, will deliver on what was missing in Wind Waker.

4. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

I only played this game a couple of hours. It was an enjoyable game but too similar to the N64’s Mario Kart, which was a really fun game. I probably would have put it lower on the list.

5. Super Smash Brothers Melee

This is the first of four games on this list that I haven’t actually played. It looks like a good game but I just never got around to playing it. It’s basically a fighting game with Nintendo characters.

6. Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario is another series that I’m never been a big fan of. I played the original on the NES but never made it very far. I watched my college roommates play Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64 but never really felt like playing it myself. I guess the problem once again is that it appears too childish for my taste despite the great game play.

7. Animal Crossing

It’s a game about farming. Sorry to say, that’s not really my cup of tea.

8. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem

Like RE4, this is one of the handful of mature games on the GameCube. As you might guess from the title, the story line is a bit dark. It’s also the best part of the game. The story fully immerses you into the game as you travel through times and play as different characters trying to stop the end of the world. Unfortunately the game play is a bit difficult to get used to. The combat can be very annoying at first and it’s not always clear how to progress in the game. But overall, it is very satisfying and something very different.

9. Viewtiful Joe

The fourth game on this list that I never played. It’s an old-fashioned two-dimensional scroller. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to go back to 2D once you’ve played 3D.

10. Soul Calibur II

I’m not a big fan of fighting games, but this is a very good game. The game came out on all three consoles, but the GameCube version allows you to fight as Link. The game features a Weapons Master mode, which allows you to purchase many of the weapons Link has used in past games.

Notable exclusions: Unfortunately, with the GameCube's limited number of games, there aren’t any.

A Test at the Pyramid

2006-07-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening I headed over to the Pyramid at Cal State, Long Beach for the second time this summer to take another look at what the Lakers summer league team had to offer. The Laker team would be facing the Memphis Grizzlies team which included Hakim Warrick (Memphis’ first round draft pick last year), Rudy Gay (the eighth overall pick this year), and Kyle Lowery (the 24th pick).

The game began with a big disappointment when I saw that Andrew Bynum, the “future of the franchise,” was not in the starting lineup. I looked over to the team bench and saw that Bynum was dressed in street clothes. Later on I would find out that he had suffered a knee bone bruise. It’s not a significant injury and he should be healthy in two weeks.

That was little consolation to me given that I made the trek to Long Beach mostly to see how much progress Andrew had made at the close of his second summer league. I had watched him in his second game and was encouraged by his progress. I had also seen the box scores from his other games and was looking forward to seeing him play again. Unfortunately I’ll have to wait until October when he should get playing time in the Laker pre-season games.

Fortunately there was still Jordan Farmar, the Lakers’ first round pick, who had also impressed me a couple of weeks ago. His other box scores had also looked good. I thought this game, without Bynum, would be a good test for Farmar since he was joined in the starting lineup by Von Wafer, Devin Green, Marcus Douthit, and Ed Fobbs. Needless to say, I thought it would be tough for Farmar to get any assists.

Sure enough, the Laker team played very disorganized to begin the game and the Grizzlies team got off to a quick lead. But the team rallied back and was down by only five points at the end of the first half.

Since Farmar could not rely on his teammates to do any scoring (he ended the game with only three assists), he put the responsibility for getting points on the scoreboard on himself. He made a couple of three pointers and drove to the basket, getting a couple of lay ups and some free throw opportunities. He also got his shot blocked a couple of times but it didn’t stop him from continuing to be aggressive.

That was one of the finest single half scoring performances I’ve ever witnessed at the summer league in the five years that I’ve attended. While I was pleased with Farmar’s offensive game, his defensive effort was disappointing. He was guarding Kyle Lowery who Memphis had selected two picks before Farmar was taken by the Lakers with the 26th pick.

Although Farmar had no trouble scoring against Lowery, he had some difficulty staying in front of him on defense. It seemed that Lowery could get past Farmar at will. Defense at the point guard position has been a problem for the Lakers the last few years. I was hoping Farmar would be better since he had a reputation for good defense in college. However, it looks like he’s going to have to continue to work on it.

The Grizzlies came out of the halftime break with a vengeance and got the lead up to 21 points in the middle of the third quarter. The Lakers rallied again but could only whittle the lead down to ten at the end of the quarter. Farmar tallied another seven points.

The fourth quarter began with Farmar on the bench and I feared he would remain there if the Grizzlies got the lead to 20 points again. However, the Lakers managed to stay within ten points of the Grizzlies until he got back into the game halfway into the quarter.

The stage was set. If Farmar could come in and lead the Lakers to a come from behind victory, visions of future NBA championships would dance in my head until the start of the regular season. If the Lakers lost, those visions would be replaced with images of the Lakers routinely making the playoffs only to face first round elimination for the next few years.

I’ll give Farmar credit for trying but his effort came up short. He took a couple of shots after getting back into the game but missed on both of them and went scoreless for the rest of the game. He also had a couple of passes that were not converted.

Nevertheless, the Lakers managed to stay in the game with some big plays by Devin Green, including a three-pointer and a drive to the basket. Green’s play this summer merits an invitation to the Lakers training camp, but it seems that with the acquisition of Maurice Evans, Green’s days with the Lakers will come to an end at training camp. Despite Green’s heroics, the Lakers lost the game 111-108.

So Wednesday’s game did turn out to be a good test for Farmar. He started off with the right answers but the Laker loss and his struggles in the fourth quarter changed my grade for him from an A to a B. Which isn’t bad, but it makes me wonder if it’ll be enough to get the Lakers to the next level. I guess we can only wait and see how he does on his next exam.

The Selfish Patriot

2006-07-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I learned that Kobe Bryant underwent knee surgery and would need eight to twelve weeks to recover. After the initial surprise, I found myself unusually happy about this development.

Given that I’m a Laker fan, you would imagine I’d be concerned to hear that Kobe went under the knife, even if it was only to clear up scar tissue and loose cartilage in his knee. Let me explain. You see, prior to learning of the surgery, I had read that the United States men’s basketball team would be getting together soon to prepare for the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.

I’m probably one of the handful of people that still cares about the US basketball team. America loves winners, not underachieving prima donnas. After the dismal sixth-place performance of the US team at the world tournament in 2002, a lot of American basketball fans soured on the team.

Frankly, they weren’t that supportive to begin with as attendance at the tournament in Indianapolis was low. Support for the team took another blow when the 2004 Olympic team became only the third American team (along with the 1972 and 1988 teams) to fail to win gold and ended up with the bronze medal.

But I still care. It’s one of the few things that I actually feel patriotic about. There is a lot to love about the United States, but there is also a lot to be ashamed of. So I’m not always vocal of my support for the US in athletic competitions. In fact, when the United States faces Mexico in a soccer match or little league baseball game, I find myself rooting for my parents’ homeland.

When it comes to basketball though, I want to see the US dominate. I love basketball. Without a doubt it’s my favorite sport to watch and play. I mostly reserve my viewing to NBA basketball rather than college because I want to see the very best in the world. I know that the NBA still features the best players, but when I see the US lose to other countries it makes me wonder. It’d be like being an NFL fan and finding out that the teams in the Canadian league are better.

Even after the sixth place finish in 2002 and the bronze medal in 2004, I was looking forward to seeing the US compete this summer. I was hopeful that with Bryant on the team, the US might win the championship and get the automatic berth for the 2008 Olympics.

But another part of me was worried that Kobe might get hurt during the tournament or the additional wear and tear of playing organized ball over the summer would lead to injury during the regular NBA season. The worry was compounded by the fact that Lamar Odom, the only other legitimate starter on the Lakers, had also been invited to play for the team and might also be exposing himself to injury.

So when I found out that neither Kobe nor Lamar (whose infant son died last month) would be playing for the US, I felt a sense of relief (along with sympathy for Lamar’s loss). As much as I want to see the United States emerge victorious, my sports loyalty will forever remain with only one team: the Los Angeles Lakers.

Besides, the US team will still be very talented as those that have been invited to play for the team include: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Gilbert Arenas, Chauncy Billups, Chris Paul, Elton Brand, Michael Redd, and Kirk Hinrich

With so much firepower on the team, the US will undoubtedly still be one of the favorites. Of course I’ll be loyally watching them and rooting for them. But I’ll also be grateful that whatever happens, it won’t adversely affect the Lakers’ chances to make the playoffs next season. Maybe that means I’m not a true patriot. Well, at least I won’t be rooting for Argentina.

Kwame in the Clear?

2006-07-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office announced that there would be no sexual assault charges brought against Kwame Brown. While I’m happy for Brown and hope the allegations were indeed unfounded, I don’t know if this announcement was necessarily the best news for the Lakers.

I know I’m a horrible person for thinking this, but after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, it occurred to me that it might not be so bad if Brown was charged and either plead guilty or was convicted. Then the Lakers could void his contract and sign a high-priced free agent next summer.

While it’s true that Brown played well in the final month of the season, averaging 12.8 points and 8.6 rebounds in April, I can’t forget how disappointing he was leading up to March 14, when he assumed the injured Chris Mihm’s place in the starting line-up. He also continues to be maddeningly consistent in his inconsistency, getting just 2 rebounds in one game and 11 in the next as he did against the Suns.

This disappointment was compounded towards the end of the season, despite the good play, when I learned that Brown had been given a full three-year deal, rather than two years with a team option as reported the previous summer.

To be honest, I was never in favor of the Brown trade. At one point in the 2004-05 season I had considered the possibility of trading Caron Butler for Brown. But by the end of the season, as Butler finished the season strong (with Lamar Odom out of the lineup) and Brown ended up suspended by his team during the middle of a playoff run, I no longer had any interest in Brown. I also became convinced that Odom could play the power forward position in the triangle offense.

What made the trade bearable was that with a two-year deal, the Lakers might still be able to preserve cap space for the 2007 free agency period. The Lakers would be over the salary cap until then because of the enormous Brian Grant contract the team received when it traded away Shaquille O’Neal.

While it was true that Yao Ming and Amare Stoudamire had already signed contract extensions and would no longer be free agents in 2007, there were other good players available, like Rashard Lewis, who might help Kobe and Lamar win a title for Los Angeles.

However, those dreams died when I learned that the Lakers would not be able to dump Brown after the 2006-07 season and he would probably be a Laker until 2008. In addition, this summer the Lakers signed Vladimir Radmanovic to a five-year deal so it seems the plan to clear cap space has been abandoned.

Since Radmanovic’s contract is reasonable, part of me thought it could still be traded away if Brown was found guilty and cut. Now that the district attorney’s office has announced its decision, the team is stuck with Brown.

I guess there’s still a chance for the Lakers to get Lewis, the team might still be able to trade Kwame for an expiring contract. One can only hope. Either that or hope Brown proves me wrong and demonstrates he deserves the $8M or so he’ll be making next year.

2006-07-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Farming at the Pyramid

On Sunday afternoon I headed out to the Pyramid at Cal State, Long Beach. Although the atmosphere did not match last year’s buzz with the debut of Andrew Bynum, there was still excitement surrounding the drafting of Jordan Farmar and continued hope for the development of Bynum.

It was the fifth year I had made the trip out to Long Beach. And if you ask me why I keep making the trip, it’d be tough to give you an answer. The level of basketball is vastly inferior to the NBA and it’s getting worse every year as NBA teams abandon Long Beach.

This year the number of NBA teams was down to four: the Lakers, Grizzlies, Mavericks, and Wizards. Teams like the Clippers, Raptors, and Knicks have taken their NBA hopefuls to greener pastures in Vegas and other cities.

Most of the players will never make it to the pros and since the NBA summer league teams don’t come together until right before the league starts, the games are only slightly better than pick up games at the Y. (Although they are still more entertaining to watch than any women’s basketball game.)

I guess what keeps me coming back is the hope of seeing a diamond in the rough that will help propel the Lakers to another championship. Last year, although Bynum’s name was on the marquee, he was upstaged by Smush Parker, an obscure player that had been in and out of the NBA. While I would have never imagined he would turn out to be the Lakers starting point guard, it was clear at first glance that he had NBA talent and would help the Lakers in a triangle offense.

So the hope of finding another Smush compelled me to see what the 2006 Lakers summer league team had to offer. Unfortunately, this year there was no new Smush. However, the trip was not disappointing as I got to take a look at another player who might be able to drive the Lakers a lot closer to another championship: Jordan Farmar.

Prior to the draft Farmar’s name had been bandied about as a possible Lakers pick. To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed by Farmar’s performance for UCLA in the NCAA tournament. But the fact that he was clearly the leader on a team that got to the final game got me thinking he might not be a bad choice and I was pleased when the Lakers drafted him.

So I was anxious to see him on Sunday. Farmar was almost in a no-win situation. If he failed to excel, the Lakers pick would be another lost opportunity. If he performed well, it wouldn’t mean anything since players like Devean George, Darius Miles, and Nikoloz Tskitisvili have looked like potential hall of famers in the summer league only to turn out to be mediocre at best in the pros.

Nevertheless, I really hoped Farmar would show me something. And he did, even before the opening tip. One of the most surprising things that I learned after the Lakers drafted him was that Farmar has a 42-inch vertical jump. He never struck me as very athletic the few times I saw him play for UCLA. Well, he put to rest any doubts I might have had when he made a couple of dunks during the lay-up drill.

Once the game began, he continued to impress. Farmar had played well the day before, but I had to see him in person to really get the impression that he could play in the NBA. He clearly looked like the best player on the court and exuded a certain calm confidence.

Farmar was in control of the tempo of the game but did not try to force anything. His athleticism was also on display on a couple of rebounds and a jump ball. He guarded his man well and stayed with him over screens instead of going under them.

He didn’t have much of a second quarter, but his strong play in the third helped the Laker team build an insurmountable lead. Farmar showcased his offensive game in this quarter with a couple of floaters that reminded me of Jeff Hornacek (in a good way) and a three pointer. Granted all this was against Dallas’ B team (their A team with their first round pick, Maurice Ager, plays in Vegas), but it was still comforting to see.

As for the rest of the squad, Bynum and Devin Green impressed me a bit and Pinnock showed flashes. Although Bynum’s offensive game is not developing as fast as one would hope, he continues to be a defensive presence on the court. He was swatting away balls with ease and was a monster on the boards and ended up with 5 blocks and 15 rebounds.

One of my concerns about Bynum is that he doesn’t finish at the rim despite his seven-foot frame. Jelani McCoy, a former UCLA bruin who’s been in and out of the NBA the last few years, was guarding him throughout the game.

There were a couple of times when he was a foot away from the rim and instead of just going up to dunk it, he tried to coax the ball into the rim and either got blocked or missed wildly. However, in the third quarter he started to play with a little more poise and was a lot smoother at the rim, including an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Green. It was also nice to see Bynum make his free throws as he promised he would after he was drafted. The previous year, nerves appeared to affect his shooting stroke.

Another concern I have about Bynum is his stamina. While he played great in the third quarter, by the time he was taken out of the game with a minute left, he looked like he needed an oxygen tank. I can understand that lugging around those 275 pounds would take its toll. But the guy is not overweight and is only 18, so you would think he would have more energy. Hopefully as he continues to train and develop he’ll find a way to stay on the court a little longer.

Finally, Devin Green had a very strong third quarter after a horrible first half and Von Wafer played well in garbage time. However, it’s not clear that either deserves a spot on the Lakers’ real roster. I plan to take another trip to the Pyramid on the 19th and will report on whether either earns that spot and how Farmar and Bynum progress.

Hola World

2006-06-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well this is my first ever The Pocho post. I've been talking about doing this forever. What can I say, I like to procrastinate. I started writing this in June and didn't publish it until July.

So why did I first think about writing? Well it started simply enough with me lurking on a Lakers newsgroup. After years of that I finally started posting my own messages a couple of years ago. I really enjoyed getting my opinions out there and getting feedback on them from absolute strangers. Yeah occasionally I would get called an idiot, but it was still fun.

Then my sister, an amateur photographer, set up a site to showcase her artwork and I thought, why can’t I do the same thing and showcase my ramblings. Which brings us to this point.

So you might be wondering what this site will be about. Well, I like to surf the web but it always seems that my favorite sites never have any Mexican-American perspectives. (That's where the term "pocho" comes from. It's a pejorative term used by Mexicans to refer to Mexican-Americans.)

I decided to try to fill that void by offering my thoughts on the topics that appeal most to me: sports, video games, movies, television, politics, and above all the Los Angeles Lakers. Think of me as a Mexican-American, wannabe Sports Guy.

Hope your interest has been piqued and this will be the start of a beautiful friendship.