To the Winner Goes the MVP

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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.