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April 26, 2011

“Check”ing In On My Hockey Picks

By mceezy

Love that wordplay reference to my favorite move in hockey. Two weeks ago I weighed in my expert opinion on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The logical thing would be to wait until tomorrow before revisiting my first round picks, but odds are hockey won’t even cross my mind for the next week at least. So, let’s get to it….

I went 3 for 4 in the West – or Campbell Conference, for the hockey purist. Even more impressive when you consider I picked the 1-4 seeds to advance. That’s really going out on a limb. I had the Canucks in 6, Sharks in 5, and Red Wings in 5. Instead, it was the Canucks in 7, Sharks in 6, and Red Wings in 4. The Orange County Ducks of Anaheim were the only higher seed to get bounced, losing to Nashville in 6.

In the East, I nailed the Capitals in 5. The Flyers took Game 7 instead of the Sabres, like I had so bravely predicted. Montreal will win tomorrow night as scheduled and the Penguins will take three extra games to dispose of Tampa rather than sweeping. I can’t wait to see how tomorrow unfolds so I can make my second round picks! Or can I…?

6 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

April 24, 2011

Sunday NBA Easter Eggs

By mceezy

The second I saw the lineup for today’s NBA playoff games, I could tell I’d be watching a good share of basketball today. I see myself taking a break somewhere centered around the Hawks-Magic game, since that’s the least appealing game to me, but here’s a few quick notes on each game – what I’m expecting to see…

Miami vs. Philadelphia – Philly came out of the gates strong, appearing poised to extend the series at least one more game. As I’m writing this though, the Heat have put down a 22-2 run to move in front and take a 1 point lead into the half. I expect the game to continue this theme until the Heat eventually are on top when the final buzzer sounds.

Boston vs. New York – The Knicks have a lot of new players, and they seem eager to get their first offseason in the Big Apple started. I’d love to see the Knicks rally back from 0-3, but I just don’t see it happening. They know this isn’t their year, so why keep working when you can go on summer vacation? Boston sweeps in Madison Square Garden…. tough return to the postseason for NY fans.

Orlando vs. Atlanta – This series has seven games written all over it. The Magic will probably win today, making it a best of three series. If they don’t, it only means they’ll win the next two to tie the series at 3, and force game seven. IN Orlando. All I’m sayin is…. 7 games.

Lakers vs. Hornets – This is the game where the Lakers make it clear that game one was a fluke – if they haven’t already. Today they’ll go up 3-1, and after they close it out in 5, will get to sit back and watch the Mavericks – Blazers, which suddenly looks destined for seven games as well.

2 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Sports

April 18, 2011

What’s Gotten Into Webber?

By mceezy

This isn’t really a post; it’s more of a question. During tonight’s Bulls-Pacers game, I can’t help but feel like C-Webb is going a little over the top tonight with his color commentary. It’s almost like someone put a bug in his ear before the game to step his enthusiasm game up. Either that or Gus Johnson gave him a pep talk before tipoff. Whatever the case, he definitely sounds a couple octaves higher and even sounds like a video game at times. Maybe it’s just me, but I think it’s Derrick Rose. He had me more excited tonight for a single player than anyone else in a while. How would he top his 39 points in Game One’s improbable victory? Though he hasn’t really done anything too spectacular tonight, he still managed to put up 34pts, 8reb, 6ast – ho hum. Surely Webber’s just giddy at the sight of this season’s MVP.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

April 14, 2011

Silver and Black Attack!

By mceezy

No explanation needed…..

4 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Sports

April 13, 2011

Webber And Barkley On The Kings Leaving Sacramento

By mceezy

I know I probably talk about it more than anyone cares to hear, but once the dust settles, I’ll be very sad about all this. As much as the current ownership has alienated myself and fans alike, I can’t forget that past 26 years. Even while turning in 20-win seasons year after year, Sacramento fans packed the house every night and cheered like it was the NBA Finals. Don’t take it from me though. Take it from C-Webb and Sir Charles (from TNT’s Inside the NBA last night)…..

Webber: “I didn’t want to go there (Sacramento). I tried to run away from there. They still accepted me. I can’t imagine what Sacramento would be like without basketball … I hope we do not lose the team. I’ve been talking to people there. I know everyone thinks the team is gone, but I’m doing all I can to keep the team there. I may sound like a fool on national TV, but I’m working to do that. Other people are working to do that … It’s very selfish. I won’t have a basketball home if Sacramento doesn’t have a basketball team. I was talking to (former Sonics star) Gary Payton. He doesn’t have his jersey hanging in any arena. There is no team in Seattle. Selfishly for myself, and for the fans in Sacramento ….

Ernie Johnson: “What are you doing (to further efforts)?”

Webber: “What am I doing? I’m trying to keep the team here. We don’t want to talk about it, but … what else am I supposed to do? I love this team. I still want to have a home in Sacramento. Hopefully it’s not a lost cause. I love Sacramento.”

Barkley: “You know, it’s very frustrating to me because I love the city of Sacramento, and I’ve said before, they had the best fans in the NBA for a long time. I really like the Maloof brothers. I want to make that clear. But I’m very disappointed … because they should have found a way to keep that team in Sacramento … I agree with Chris. Even when the team sucked, they (fans) were great. I mean, they were raising hell every night. I’ve always had great respect for the Maloof brothers. They’ve always been great to me. I’m just disappointed they didn’t try harder to make it work … It’s like they (NBA, owners) screwed Seattle. That place was crazy. But Sacramento … I agree with both of you guys. You all were great when you weren’t very good. It was all the same.That place was loud. I hate the fact they’re leaving Sacramento.”

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Sports

April 12, 2011

Stanley Cup Playoff Preview

By mceezy

It’s the eve of the Stanley Cup Playoffs…. Who better to turn to for expert analysis on the NHL? Collectively, the Doin Work writers have the ice hockey knowledge of an entire nation. (And when I say nation, I’m thinking somewhere like Nepal or Brunei Darussalam) Chappy and I played a lot of NHL 94 on Sega back in the day. Dyslecix and I did fantasy hockey league in 2006. (We finished first and third, respectively) Now that you’re clued in on the level of expertise we’re dealing with here, let’s get into the matchups….

CAMPBELL CONFERENCE

Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks – The Blackhawks are the defending champs I believe. They were a pretty good checking team on NHL 94 on Sega, so you know opposing teams will be intimidated. The Canucks, however, had the best record in the league, proving that they’ve overcome the loss of superstar Pavel Bure, and more importantly, his wife, DJ Tanner (or was that the other Bure?) Canucks in 6

San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings – The Sharks have arguably the most rabid fan base of people who’ve never touched a hockey stick. The Kings might be a close second, if they had more fans. I’d imagine the Sharks will make quick work of the Kings, since David Stern will surely step in and have this series fixed, in order to make sure nothing interferes with any scheduling of Lakers’ playoff games. Sharks in 5

Detroit Red Wings vs. Phoenix Coyotes – One city a storied hockeytown, the other a place where no hockey game was ever played prior to 1996 probably. Shane Doan’s pretty good, because I’ve heard of him. It probably won’t be enough to beat the Wings with Steve Yzerman though. He IS still on the team right? Red Wings in 5

Anaheim Ducks vs. Nashville Predators – The Predators are in the postseason for the 6th time in 7 years… not bad for a 12 year old expansion team in Tennessee. The Ducks are also no stranger to the postseason…. not bad for a team who’s first coach was Emilio Estevez. The Ducks seem poised to make one last run deep into the playoffs, as they enjoy their last season as sole tenants of The Pond, before the NBA team comes in and takes over the place. Ducks in 7

PRINCE OF WALES CONFERENCE

Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers – There are a few things we know about these two teams. Ovechkin is pretty good. Okay, make that one thing we know about these two teams. Good enough for me! Capitals in 5

Philadelpha Flyers vs. Buffalo Sabres – I saw a Tweet somewhere online that said Buffalo is the second hottest team in hockey right now. That tells you something. They also play in Buffalo, and since they have to put up with the Bills, I’m rooting for them. I’m sure fans of “The Office” are too. They’re a lock for a first round upset if you ask me. Sabres in 7

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens – This is a great matchup of cities that are unlike the rest of their respective countries. Montreal is more like France than Canada, and Boston is more like Russia than the United States. On the ice though, these guys are all from the same place: Hockeyville. If I recall, these two teams had a pretty heated series last season. (Upon further review, they didn’t even play each other last year. Boston swept Montreal two years ago).  Canadiens in 7

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning – I can’t believe I’m still talking about hockey. I don’t even care anymore at this point. Every 4 or 5 years, I’ll get into hockey and get on the Sharks’ bandwagon and watch their playoff games, but this isn’t one of those years. It isn’t one of those years for the Tampa Bay faithful either. Penguins in 4

5 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

April 7, 2011

Slow Out Of The Box

By mceezy

There’s quite a few surprise teams here in the first week of the MLB season, like the Orioles and Royals, but let’s focus on the negatives here. There are four teams that are playing downright ugly baseball to start the season. It’s not hard for us A’s fans, since we’ve had the privilege of witnessing 10 errors in the team’s first 4 games. Fortunately they were able to scrape out a 2-1 victory today to pull back up to 2-4. The Giants were able to do the same by beating the Padres pretty handily, though Brian Wilson had a shaky debut. 2-4 ain’t pretty, but to me, it’s a whole lot better than 1-5, or even worse, 0-6…. No one expected the Rays to be contenders this year, but no one thought they’d be this bad. Even fewer people thought the Red Sox would be this bad. I’m loving it of course, but I’ll hold back from piling it on until the season’s over and they DIDN’T make an improbable run into the playoffs. Obviously they’re off to the most disappointing start, but which team here has the most reason to panic early on?….

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

March 29, 2011

Overhyping The A’s

By mceezy

Oh man, here we go some more… Don’t get me wrong, I love the media noticing the A’s, but too much hype can spell doom for a professional baseball team – just ask the Mets. I’m all for the sleeper picks to win the AL West, and even homers like Chappy picking them to win the World Series, but now ESPN’s tagged Jerry Crasnick’s awesome new piece with “AL Favorites?” I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard writers call them the “Giants of 2011.” All this hype just makes me worry more and wish the season would hurry up and get here. Whew… three more days. Trevor Cahill vs. Felix Hernandez on Friday night. Can’t wait!

9 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Sports

March 28, 2011

OOZINATOR!!!!

By mceezy

Stumbled upon this a little over a week ago and keep forgetting to post it. I don’t remember this from back in the day, and quite frankly I’m glad, but this is pretty funny. I started out checking out old commercials like the Spyrograph and various Play-Doh contraptions, but then I came across this modified Super Soaker. It’s still a water gun, but it also shoots “ooze”. Not sure who’s idea this commercial was, but they inadvertently made a classic. I guess maybe the name Jizzinator was taken…..

…it’s a tad bit late, but Nate Dogg (rip) and Warren G had to oozinate….

3 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Comedy

March 20, 2011

We’ve Got To Put Up With This Now?

By mceezy

Just when it looked like the USF Dons were making their move back into the WCC’s elite, the elite is getting eliter. Gonzaga looked like they had all but fallen from the perch they’ve owned for a decade now, and I even proclaimed that they had – prematurely. St. Mary’s took a big step back this year when they failed to make the NCAA tournament, and subsequently got ousted in the first round of the NIT by Kent State. Though USF has been making strong run to the Elite 8 of the prestigious CIT, surprisingly my attention was squarely focused on the Gonzaga-BYU game yesterday in Denver.

After Gonzaga turned their season around and won the WCC tournament, they dominated St. John’s and looked poised to make another cinderella run in the tournament. But then they ran into BYU. After a pretty close first half, the Cougars steamrolled the Zags and disposed of them 89-67. The scary part is, BYU is coming to the West Coast Conference next season. Gonzaga has ruled the conference for the last 11 years, and BYU has just squashed them like they were nothing. Part of me finds relief in the fact that Jimmer Fredette won’t be around next year, but another part of me knows that Brigham Young is a perennial 20-win team with 8 NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 10 or 11 years. Despite CIT wins over Idaho and Hawaii, the Dons suddenly move down to the fourth best team in the WCC next season. It’s gonna be lot harder to get back into the NCAA tourney for the first time since 98…..

3 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

March 18, 2011

Goodbye Arco

By mceezy

Tonight should be an interesting night. I’ll likely be paying my last visit to a building I practically grew up in. From the first year the Kings played in Sacramento in 1985 through 1998, I paid about 20 visits a year to Arco Arena. For those keeping track, yes I did stop going the year before they acquired Chris Webber, Jason Williams, and Vlade Divac and started winning. That’s when I became a Warriors fan. So, I’ve only seen two playoff appearances between the two while I was a fan.

But unless I end up at one of the five remaining homes games after tonight, this is looking like it’ll be my last time watching the Kings up here. It’d be really nice if they could break out the 80s light blue jerseys for me, but I think they’re trying to avoid any jerseys that says Kings or Sacramento on them. I’m curious to see how tonight will go. Though I’d prefer the Kings to stay, I’m hardly a fan of what’s become of them since the Maloofs took over, so in that aspect, I won’t be sad to see them go. It’s just too bad that someone else is going to enjoy Demarcus Cousins in his prime instead of us. Then I’ll know how Seattle fans feel about Kevin Durant.

7 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Sports

March 15, 2011

NBA Refs Gone Wild

By mceezy

This may or may not be Bill Spooner - who actually knows which ref Bill Spooner is?

 

Minneapolis – An NBA referee has sued the Associated Press and one of its sports writers over a Twitter message suggesting he intentionally made a bad call to make up for a previous bad call that went against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In a federal lawsuit filed Monday in Minneapolis, veteran NBA referee Bill Spooner claimed AP sports writer Jon Krawcynski defamed him in the Twitter message, sent while he was covering the Jan. 24 Rockets-Timberwolves game.

The Tweet: “Ref Bill Spooner told Rambis he’d ‘get it back’ after a bad call. Then he made an even worse call on the Rockets. That’s NBA officiating folks.”

First off, when did Jim from The Office become a sports writer? The main thing here for me is why is this guy suing over this? I think we already know where I stand on NBA officiating – I made it pretty clear last week. Now they’re denying that the “make-up call” even exists? C’mon, we’ve all accepted it as a suitable way to make up for a previous bad call, but to say you are being defamed and even suing someone for it? The league, of course, found the tweet to be “without substance.”

 

8 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Sports

March 10, 2011

Things I’m Tired Of Hearing About This NBA Season

By mceezy

Anything Heat Related – There might have been one or two Miami Heat squads I actually liked during their entire existence. I can’t name any off the top of my head, but I’d guess that Glen Rice was on the team. To this day, when I think of the Heat, I think of guys like Kevin Edwards, Jon Sundvold, and Rony Seikaly. No matter how much the NBA is trying to shove this Heat team down my throat, I’m not gonna budge. But it’s like Stan Van Gundy said, when you hold the championship celebration in August, the scrutiny will come. I can barely even watch Heat games anymore. If they didn’t have Erick Dampier, they wouldn’t be worth watching at all.

David Stern Still Being David Stern – Seriously, how has this guy not been fired, sued, or bitch-slapped yet?! He’s by far the most arrogant commissioner in the sport with the biggest egos. How is he still in control? (I know, the answer is obvious… money) He has pretty much single-handedly destroyed my favorite sport. I love basketball, but I can barely tolerate the NBA anymore. The officiating has blatantly become just a means of manipulating  the outcome of games. It’s like recess was in elementary school: just as you started breaking a sweat and having fun, some asshole blows a whistle and everyone has to go back in the classroom. Or in this case, stand around and watch one guy shoot a ten foot set shot. Add to that the special treatment various players get no matter how obvious, and it just makes me wanna text Rasheed Wallace and say “look at this sh!t NOW, record hater.” I think I’m even more peeved than usual after reading Stern’s cocky-ass comments about SVG today.

The Spurs – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sacramento Kings: Will They or Won’t They? I know… no one outside of Sacramento really has to put up with this news, but there is literally a new story about whether or not the Kings plan to leave town after this season, and more often than not, it’s not even news. For example, today’s biggest story is that fans are trying to sell out the second to last home game of the season, fittingly against the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics. Look, few people spent as much time at Arco Arena as I did growing up (not Power Balance Pavilion, not the Livestrong Center, not the Tiffany Dome, and not the Friendship Bracelet Fieldhouse. Sorry, I’ll stop), but at this point, I feel so alienated by this franchise, I don’t even feel like they’re my home team anymore. This is a city that sold out every game for the first 13 years here, and then after a few down months, the next 7 or 8 again. It’s not the city that’s the problem. I love the movie Major League, but I hate seeing the same strategy being employed in real life. At least the movie had two things the Kings don’t: Charlie Sheen, and duh – winning!

11 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Sports

March 7, 2011

Sapporo Commercial

By mceezy

I feel like I’ve seen this before, but I don’t remember being as impressed with it as I am now. Maybe it’s because American beer commercials are either funny or stupid, or both.

3 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in beer

February 28, 2011

Doin Rants: NBA Trades Have Gotten Ridiculous

By mceezy

Alright, this has gotten out of hand. Enough is enough. I just stopped by espn’s nba page and 4 or 5 of the ten headlines were about contract buyouts. This is my boiling point. My frustration has mounted enough to warrant a Doin Work rant. It all started when the NBA began requiring that all trades need to be within 10% (I believe) of each other’s matching salaries. A few years later it got to the point where teams weren’t even swapping comparable talent. Expiring contracts were all of sudden worth more than good players. NBA franchises are supposed to be run like businesses, so why would your business strategy ever be to hire older guys who are close to retiring and can only perform at a fraction of their prior productivity level. Sure, you want the money to come off the books, but you still have to hire someone in their place. Sure, you save a couple bucks, but what’s the point, you’re surely overpaying a few guys on your team, and guess what… you’re going to do it again. Now, though? NOW…. teams aren’t even keeping the guys they’re getting in trades!! Instead, the trade deadline has really just come to be the day before the league’s BUYOUT deadline, where teams can have their crack at a fresh crop of savvy veterans who can help them in their postseason runs. Guys like Troy Murphy and Mike Bibby are available, all because their former teams gave away decent players to buy them out. The Warriors gave up Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric for Troy Murphy (and then not) and a 2nd round pick. Those guys are far from all-stars, but Wright is the guy they traded Jason Richardson for the rights to, essentially imploding the We Believe team immediately after the great upset of 2007. (Imagine that, a rant about ridiculous trades has ultimately led me to the Warriors…)

So Murphy is rumored to be ending up in Miami, as is Bibby. Something doesn’t seem right about this. I’m not talking about Miami getting these two guys, they’re not going to get them a ring or anything. I’m just talking about teams trading a decent player to a better team, subsequently waiving the newly acquired player, and then that player signs with a contender. Or we’ve also got the Hornets and Kings trade that Mark Cuban pointed out. The Hornets were recently taken over by the league to help re-stabilize the franchise to make it a more attractive investment, but their first trade is a move to take on salary? They gave up Marcus Thornton, who was making $10 an hour, for Carl Landry, who’s owed about $3 million. I give them credit for making a good personnel move, but taking on salary doesn’t seem like a wise business decision. Perhaps the worse business decision from the Kings’ side though. Already struggling to attract fans in a one-sport city, they traded away a guy who was the league’s best 6th man when they acquired him, for Thornton, who has some great potential, but isn’t exactly going to convince fans to come out. Teams these days are putting crap on the table and getting mad when the fans don’t eat it. Something has gone terribly wrong.

So I’m looking forward to the offseason. I love the sport of basketball, but the NBA has by far become the kookiest sports league on Earth. Whatever they all end up agreeing to can’t be worse than how it already is. I can’t even began to comprehend how unnecessarily overcomplicated they’ve made it, but so many moves make so little sense. They need to tie in the D-League, so teams can at least get some “prospects” in return.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports