Every few months, I go back and revisit this memory. Baron Davis throwing it down on Andrei Kirilenko during the Western Conference Semifinals. It never gets old. The Warriors didn’t put up much of a fight during that series, but this play was easily one of the greatest in recent Warriors’ history. Also worthwhile is Mike Tirico and Hubie Brown’s call. Hubie’s talking his normal basketball strategy when Tirico interjects with “OOOOHHHHHHH MAANNNNNN!!!” to which Hubie simply replies, “HELLO!”. One of the top 10 dunks of my lifetime….
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Marco Scutaro Signs With the Much Maligned Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox and SS Marco Scutaro agreed to a two year deal this morning, making Scutaro the team’s new shortstop – a position that’s been somewhat of a hole for the club in recent years. It’s unfortunate to see one of my favorite players go to my least favorite team, but I’m happy for him to get the opportunity to be an everyday player on a contending team.
In honor of Scutaro’s deal, we’re going to revisit his greatest career moment, and probably the greatest moment I ever witnessed, in person, in my career as a professional sports fan. Back in 2006, the Oakland A’s won the American League West division title, and earned a first round matchup with the Twins. The Twins had home field advantage, and many predicted the A’s would leave Minneapolis down 0-2 in the series. Scutaro had a key RBI in each of the first two games. Game 3 was out here in Oakland. After an RBI double in the 2nd inning, Scutaro came to the plate with the bases loaded and 2 out in the bottom of the 7th. With a capacity crowd chanting his name in unison, Scutaro fell behind 1-2, and then cleared the bases with a drive down the right field line, sending the Coliseum faithful into a frenzy – and me almost over the railing down into the first deck. That hit put the game out of reach, as the A’s now had an 8-2 lead, and ultimately sealed the Division Series sweep for the A’s.
Great Moments in Nets History
In honor, for lack of a better word, of the New Jersey Nets’ new record for worst start to an NBA season, I’ve compiled some clips of brighter days in the team’s history. Enjoy….
And perhaps the most famous moment in Nets history….
Beggars Can’t Be Choosers
MARIETTA, Ohio – Police said whoever donated a water jug to a charity in southeast Ohio probably didn’t mean to be so generous. The jug contained about $1,500 worth of marijuana. Police said workers at a local Goodwill Industries site recently found four bags of marijuana when they looked inside a water jug left outside by an anonymous donor.
They turned the two-gallon metal jug and the pound or so of marijuana over to police on Friday.
Marietta police Capt. Jeff Waite said the jug is probably an antique. He said authorities would be more than happy for the jug’s donor to come forward and claim it.
Charitable organizations are no doubt having a tough go during this current economic climate. With the holidays in full swing, many Americans simply don’t have the extra income to donate. That didn’t stop one Ohio man from spreading a little (a lot, actually) Christmas cheer. Unfortunately, this Goodwill Store took it upon themselves to turn over the donation to authorities. Who are they decide what is and what isn’t a good donation? I’m willing to bet hoards of less fortunate people would happily race down to the store to accept a little mistletoe. Really, this is no different than the homeless man who turns down free food because he’d rather have money for booze. The Goodwill store clearly only wants items they can sell in their store to make profit. These scrooges could’ve made numerous families’ Christmas, but instead, were only thinking of themselves. What’s next, turning over a cash donation to police because it, like over 90% of money in circulation, has traces of cocaine on it? Bah Humbug, Goodwill. We all know Santa Claus is a huge stoner; don’t be surprised when you find Blitzen’s bong water in your Christmas Tree stand!
This poor Ohio woman won't be roasting anything but chestnuts this Christmas
NBA Early Season MVP Rankings
1. Lebron James (66 pts)
This race is nowhere near decided. In fact, it’s barely getting started. Lebron only got one first place vote from our panel, but coming in at the top based on our points system just shows that we all agreed he’s one of the frontrunners. As is the case with all superstars, the Cavs have been trying to surround Lebron with quality talent to compete for a championship. Nonetheless, it’s still a one-man show, as James is accounting for about 30% of his team’s scoring. After starting 0-2, the Cavs have rung up 13 of their last 16, placing them at the top of the Central, and Lebron at the top of our list.
2. Steve Nash (65 pts)
Nash is back to his form that he won his back to back MVP awards with! Even more impressive, is how well his team is playing! They look like contenders again with Nash leading them to a 14-4 record! He’s averaging nearly 12 assists per game, and is the best on-court offensive general of this era.
3. Kobe Bryant (64 pts)
Interesting that Kobe fell behind Nash in our voting, alas at such an early stage of the season I might not begrudge it. Nash has the underrated Suns playing at a high level, while Kobe is doing what he has done for years, on a team that is suppose to win every game they play. Having said that, it’s hard to argue with the numbers Kobe is putting up. Through December 2nd his 28 pts, 5 brds, and 4 assists are extremely impressive. And his early November stretch of three 41 point games in four games was an early warning shot to the rest of the league he intends to grab his second MVP award.
4. Carmelo Anthony (62 pts)
Melo, seems to have kicked his habit of showing up two out of every three games. Maybe he finally realized that they NEED him every game and he is the main key to their success. If he can keep from having those down games and continues to play D, he should be in the MVP conversation at the end of the season.
5. Paul Pierce (54 pts)
Pierce has been Mr. Everything for the Celtics, and has been the superstar of the team. He’s shown that he can single handedly win games for them, and he knows when to take a back seat to let the others make plays. The question for him is, will his age catch up to him later in the season?
6. Dwyane Wade (48 pts)
Miami has cooled off since their hot start, and they’ll struggle to keep up with Atlanta and Orlando in the Southeast, but it’s no secret who’s running the show. They still have a respectable 10-7 record at the moment, and it’s no wonder where they’d be without D-Wade dropping 27, 5, and 5 each night.
7. Dirk Nowitzki (46 pts)
I’ve got to say Dirk is being screwed here at the 7th spot. Boiling it straight down to numbers, Dirk is averaging 27 points, 9 boards, and 3 assists a night. Factor in his 88% FT and 47% FG and he is making a massive impact on a surging 13-5 Mavericks team. I’m pissed… forget the rest of what I was going to write.
8. Joe Johnson (45 pts)
Atlanta has been taking steps forward each season, and this year looks like they might finally be on the brink of contention. They aren’t quite mentioned with the likes of the Lakers, Celtics, and Cavs, but they’re nipping at their heels. The Hawks are one of the more balanced teams, with huge contributions from Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Jamal Crawford, but this is still Joe Johnson’s team. He could probably afford to cut down his 3 point attempts, but the sky is the limit for this team. If they’re in the thick of things come April, Joe could very well find himself getting a handful of second and third place votes.
9. Kevin Durant (39 pts)
KD made his leap into the fantasy elite last season, and now is poised to make MVP runs regularly as he continues to improve his game. He’s a better version of Dirk in my mind, and has a lot more room to grow. I don’t see him winning the award this year, but as the Sonics, I mean Thunder get better he will surely be a candidate!
10. Deron Williams (22 pts)
Trailing only Steve Nash DWill is having himself a special season out in Utah. He’s very close to averaging 20 and 10, and if you round up, that’s exactly what he is. He’s helped make Boozer turn back into a superstar, and looks to make the Jazz a force come playoff time!
11. Brandon Roy (15 pts)
Has Portland keeping pace (2 games back) with division leader Denver. Plays 37 minutes/night while carrying Greg Oden around so he doesn’t hurt himself.
12. Josh Smith (11 pts)
Finally stopped jacking up threes and is blocking more shots instead.
13. Chris Bosh (9 pts)
He’ll get more love if Toronto’s record improves – or he makes more Youtube videos.
14. Dwight Howard (9 pts)
Probably should be a little higher, but collective effort in Orlando has taken away from his shine.
15. Tyreke Evans (8 pts)
A lot more likely to win the ROY than MVP, but he’s the primary reason for the NBA’s biggest surprise team in Sacramento (9-8)
16. Trevor Ariza (5 pts)
Like the Kings, the Rockets were supposed to struggle. Instead, Ariza is dropping 18 per game and leading the Rockets to an impressive start.
17. Brandon Jennings (4 pts)
Had the world in his hands after his 55 point outing, but his scoring, and the Bucks record, has been sliding of late.
18. Carlos Boozer (3 pts)
Back to his old form, averaging 20 and 10, just in time for a contract year.
19. Vince Carter (1 pt)
Averaging 20 ppg, but jacking up wayyyyyy too many shots. Pass it to Rashard, Vince.
20. Rajon Rondo (0.5 pts)
Easily the most debated spot on our list. Rondo gets the nod over Kidd for being a better PG on a great team.
NFL MVP… Brees or Manning? (…or Favre, or Johnson, or Peterson?)
1. Drew Brees, QB – New Orleans Saints
It’s impossible to pick anyone else for MVP at the moment. He leads this Saints team with his rallying warcrys before the game that even gives fires me up! He is also the main reason the Saints have the #1 offense in the league, and it looks like that should continue. If they end up undefeated and the Colts do too, we could easily have another Co-MVP year…
2. Peyton Manning, QB – Indianapolis Colts
He’s a tough luck number two in this race. I’d say it’s mainly due to the fact that he’s had a few rough games lately, and has been a little more mistake prone than we’re used to for his standards! He’d probably drop down the list if they actually lost any of those games, but they’re still undefeated! There’s nobody you’d rather have in the 4th quarter right now than Manning. He’s led 5 straight 4th quarter comebacks, and that alone puts him close to or at the top of most peoples MVP lists!
3. Brett Favre, QB – Minnesota Vikings
You won’t find any of us at Doin Work clamoring over Favre like the guys on TV, but you can’t deny what he’s done this year. He’s got the second best QB rating behind Brees, the second most TD passes, also behind Brees, and the second highest completion rate, behind Manning. Add to that, he’s only thrown 3 interceptions all year. That’s a good game for Jay Cutler!
4. Chris Johnson, RB – Tennessee Titans
With each week that Tennessee further turns around there 0-6 start to the season, Johnson’s place in this discussion elevates. He leads the NFL in rushing by over 270 yards, and his six consecutive 125+ yard performances puts him in Earl Campbell / Eric Dickerson territory. If Tennessee makes the playoffs, he makes it a four man race. If they lose their next two games, he drops out of the discussion completely.
5. Adrian Peterson, RB – Minnesota Vikings
It’s amazing that Favre’s play has made us overlook what a great season All Day is having. Maybe it’s just becuase the media has made it Favre’s team, but I’m betting if Peterson wasn’t around, Favre wouldn’t be #3 on our list today. Since he has to be accounted for, it’s no wonder Favre is having the type of season he is having! AP already is over the 1,000 yard mark, has 12 TD’s, and at 4.7 yards per carry. If he was on a worse team, he’d have better numbers than that! Really scary!
Honorable Mention: Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego and Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jacksonville
Rivalry Week!
Today is the day the U ofs meet the States. That’s right, all the rivalry games go down this week. USC – UCLA, Florida – Florida State, BYU – Utah, Clemson – South Carolina, Oklahoma – Oklahoma State, TCU – New Mexico… wait, what? How did that game get in there? Now, it’s not mandatory that all rivalry games take place this weekend, but how did some of these games sneak into the schedule? Sure, Mississippi – Mississippi State makes sense, but where did LSU – Arkansas come from? Are they really rivals? How about last night’s matchup of Cincinnati and Illinois? Some of these games don’t make sense. Nonetheless, there are plenty of rivalry games on the docket today. Along with the aformentioned games, we’ll also be treated to Georgia Tech – Georgia, Virginia – Virginia Tech, and Arizona – Arizona State. At the same time, nonsensical games like Navy – Hawaii, Syracuse – Connecticut, and Southern Miss – East Carolina will take place. Is it rivalry week or not? Regardless of the meaningless, pointless matchups, there will still be plenty worthwhile games on the schedule today. Here are the upsets I’m predicting today….
Oklahoma over Oklahoma State
South Carolina over Clemson
Arizona State over Arizona
Utah over BYU
And…. I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing Stanford roll over Notre Dame in Charlie Weis’ farewell game.
Happy Saturday!!!
Thanksgiving Games of the Day
Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions, 9:30am PST
Sentiment for dropping the Lions from the annual Thursday docket has reached an all-time high this year, but personally, I think the Lions are a Thanksgiving Day tradition. They are the tryptophan to my NFL turkey. It’s just too bad they always play the FIRST game. At any rate, today’s game should be somewhat interesting, as Matthew Stafford will take to a national stage against a division rival. Today we’ll see if the Lions are headed in the right direction, or simply mired in another aimless so-called rebuilding phase. If only they had Mel Gray!
Oakland Raiders @ Dallas Cowboys, 1:15pm PST
Many are predicting this game to be an equally bad trouncing as the first game. However, the Raiders placed a little bit of hope in NFL fans’ minds with last weekend’s upset over the Bengals. Oakland is out to prove they are a new team with Bruce Gradkowski at the helm. Meanwhile, Dallas is out to prove, yet again, that they are a legitimate contender this season. Either way, today we’ll find out exactly who these two teams are.
New York Giants @ Denver Broncos, 5:20pm PST
About a month ago, it looked like we’d have a rare big game on Thanksgiving Day. Thanks to the Broncos, losers of four straight, this is no longer true. Instead, the Giants and Broncos will play with a large part of their season on the line. The winner will remain in the playoff hunt, while the loser, presumably Denver, will suffer a devastating loss that would likely kill any hopes for momentum down the stretch run of the season.
Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks, 5pm PST
Atlanta owns the best record in the East, thanks to the spectacular play of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Jamal Crawford. Orlando has had an equally impressive start while adjusting to the reinsertion of Rashard Lewis into the lineup. Three of the five best teams in the East reside in this Southeast Division, so tonight’s game will be a key step forward for the winner of this game in controlling the division – for the time being.
Chicago Bulls @ Utah Jazz, 7:30pm PST
Chicago and Utah are two teams sort of teetering on the balance between good teams and contenders. They both feature superstar point guards in Derrick Rose and Deron Williams, along with rising stars down low in Joakim Noah and Paul Millsap. With the Bulls sitting at 6-7 and the Jazz an even .500 at 7-7, both teams will be fighting hard to pull this win out and stay above the .500 mark.
Portland University @ UCLA, 7:30pm PST
There’s plenty of college hoops action today, but given our West Coast bias, this is the game of the day. Portland has become an unlikely threat to challenge Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference. On the other side, UCLA is unranked, due in part to a season opening loss to Cal State Fullerton. They rebounded with wins over Cal State Bakersfield and Pepperdine. Tonight will be UCLA’s final tuneup before a showdown with #1 Kansas two Sundays from now.
Mel Gray – The Greatest Video Game Football Player of ALL TIME
Say what you want about Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl. Mel Gray was an unstoppable force on Sega Sports’ NFL 95. Much like Jackson, he had a combination of speed and elusiveness that made him impossible to catch in the open field. While Bo gets plenty of recognition for his in-the-console achievements, Gray is largely an unsung hero. I remember entire games where my offense never touched the ball, because Mel Gray returned every kickoff and punt for a touchdown. By my count, I’ve probably searched for Mel Gray videos once a year every year since the inception of Youtube, to no avail. So, thanks, CruduxCruo, for posting this tribute to the greatest 16-bit player to ever play the game.
Christmas Shopping With Travis Henry
How fitting is this? A Travis Henry jersey in the toy aisle! Some people put on a Santa hat to go Christmas shopping, others put on their Henry jersey to get into the giving spirit.
Photo originally posted at http://straightcashhomey.net/
Two Man Race for NBA Rookie of the Year
Perhaps many would disagree with the headline. After his 55 point performance against the Warriors, Brandon Jennings had some signing, sealing, and delivering their ballots for Rookie of the Year. Combine his ridiculous 25.3 ppg and 5.5 apg – which apparently is Michael Jordan / Oscar Robertson territory for rookies – with Milwaukee’s 8-3 record, and Jennings does, in fact, look like the easy favorite. However, we can’t reasonably expect Jennings to keep up the pace he’s started off on. At the time of writing, he’s just 6-21 for 12 points against the Spurs, in what, barring a miracle, will be Milwaukee’s fourth loss.
Lost in all this, though, is the other candidate. While Jennings grabs all the headlines, Tyreke Evans is putting his own team on his back. His averages of 18 pts and 5 ast obviously are inferior to Jennings, but keep in mind Evans scored single digits in two of his first four games, which given the smaller amount of games played in the early going, are sure to go up. That was with Kevin Martin in the lineup though. Once Martin opted for surgery that would keep him out of action for two months, Evans realized the Kings’ were HIS team. He’s responded with SEVEN consecutive 20+ point games, including a high of 32 against the Jazz en route to a big road victory in Salt Lake. While Jennings has hit the ground running, Evans took a few games to find his footing, but has clearly established himself as the second candidate for the award. I’m not saying he’ll win it, but he’ll be right in the mix when all’s said and done.
Raiders Win!
The Oakland Raiders have done it again. Coming in as huge underdogs to a Cincinnati team that finally had NFL experts convinced they were for real, the Raiders trailed for 59 minutes but managed to score twice in the last 33 seconds to record an improbable, come from behind, 20-17 win over the AFC North division leaders. Don’t have much of a recap, since the game was blacked out, as usual, here in Northern California, but this win just goes to show the team has the talent to compete with anyone. Well, almost anyone. But with Jamarcus Russell on the bench, Oakland obviously has a little extra confidence. The running game wasn’t much of a factor, totaling just 92 yards, but they did manage to gain a respectable 3.8 yds per carry. But it was the passing game that led them to victory. What’s funny is Bruce Gradkowski’s line of 17-34 for 183 yards is hardly an eye opener, nonetheless it was a performance that Raider fans would be happy to have, based on what Russell usually brings to the table. Moving forward, this is exactly what the Raiders need. With their remaining schedule, which includes 4 of their last 6 on the road, they’re not likely to make a playoff push of any kind, but they can use these last 6 games to build some confidence for next season. It’s conceivable they can win half of the games left on the schedule, and a six win season, sorry to say, would be a step in the right direction. The Raiders go to Dallas next on a short week to take on the Cowboys on Thanksgiving day. Although the Cowboys have been inconsistent this season, including a close call against Washington today, there probably isn’t much hope for a win. One can only hope the team carries the momentum from today into this Thursday’s showdown and at least competes.
Golden State Warriors Decade Summed Up In 22 Seconds
This might be slowly becoming my favorite NBA highlight of all time. I was at this game, but I didn’t think much of it at the time, because it’s Adonal Foyle. But years later, I think this clip pretty much sums up the last 10, or even 15 years, for the Warriors.
Fisher…. to Dunleavy….. finds Foyle wide open, he shoots….ANNNNDDDD it’s over the backboard and out of bounds. Sonics ball.
CSI – Gasol
In case you missed it – and let’s hope you did – here’s a short clip of Pau Gasol doing what he does best… acting. What you’re about to see hear is the aftermath of a possibly fatal car crash. Can’t tell if Pau is speaking with an American accent or not, he seems to go back and forth. Whatever the case, it appears he started a video game company with all the extra time on his hands.
Jamarcus Russell Benched For Remainder of the Season!
Great news, Raider fans! Coach Tom Cable announced today that Bruce Gradkowski will start this weekend against Cincinnati, and likely for the remainder of the season. This isn’t great news in the sense that Gradkowski will make the team that much better, rather it likely signals the beginning of the end of the Jamarcus Russell era in Oakland. No one can say he wasn’t given plenty of chances, he just simply couldn’t get the job done. Now, I’m not going to sit hear and say when they drafted him, I knew it’d be a bust. But, when they drafted him, I knew it’d be a bust.
Anyway, this gives Raider fans more of what they’ve come to know as the top of the mountain lately, which is hope. With the team looking primed for a high pick, it’s looking probable that they’ll go for Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy. That will the give the team and its fans plenty of, well, hope going into next season. Ah, what a great day to be a Raider fan.
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