This weekend was exhausting

June 9th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

It’s been a long time since we don’t a Monday morning recap of the weekend’s sports, but think about everything that happened this weekend:

– Euro 2008 kicked off, featuring four matches on both Saturday and Sunday
– Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer faced off in the French Open final
– Big Brown attempted to win the Triple Crown
– The U.S. faced the No. 1 team in the world, Argentina, in an international friendly
– The Lakers and Celtics played Game Two of the NBA Finals

I’m almost positive I’m missing stuff. Like, somewhere, Tiger Woods probably played a hobbled round of golf. College football players were probably doing nefarious things after summer practice. NASCAR probably had some sort of circular driving competition. A tree fell in a forest. Etc.

So, in the spirit of comprehensiveness, let me see if I can remember everything I felt about sports this weekend:

CONTINUE READING THIS POST –>

Red Auerbach was ahead of his time

May 30th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

Flopping is nothing new. Hopefully, though, that era is over.

Hey Spurs: This is why you lost. You don’t piss off the ghost of Red Auerbach like this for so many years. He has a way of keeping the universe in balance. Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol doesn’t just happen, you know.

{Bullets Forever, via FanHouse}

Thank you, Kobe Bryant

May 22nd, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

If it wasn’t for you, and your incredible, jaw-dropping second half, the Spurs would have won Game 1 of this series on the road. Any other year, that probably wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but in the 2008 playoffs an opening-game road win in the Western Conference Finals would have been disastrous for everyone who officially hates the Spurs.

So thank you, Kobe Bean. I used to hate you. I don’t anymore. I just thought you should know that.

{Video HT: The Sporting Blog}

Straight cash, homey at the Staples Center

April 23rd, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

Look: we all know the ballpark, the arena and the stadium are expensive locales nowadays. So are the movie theaters, ($10.50 to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall on Sunday, wtf?) the grocery store, the bar … everywhere is expensive. But, it’s healthy to see fans at the Staples Center aren’t bitching about inflation and the economy. Instead, they’re realizing that the fun and excitement supersedes any monetary hits they’ll accrue. How refreshing.

She took a breather before going to her seats, time enough to tally the damage. Tickets, gas, parking, hot dogs, sodas, T-shirts and Lakers Crocs for the kids — she estimated that all together the day would cost near $1,000, a hefty chunk for a legal clerk and her waitress pal.

“It’s the playoffs,” she said. “Kobe and Iverson.”

But $1,000?, she was asked. That’s a lot for one game.

“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” she said, her smile tightening. “It’s just so much fun, and worth the memories . . . even in times like these, you can’t put a price on that.”

[ .. ]

“Lemme tell you,” said Anthony Flores, a carwash owner from Porterville, “this year I just couldn’t wait for the playoffs to come. . . . The playoffs are recession-proof.”

He stood in the gift shop and eyed a Kobe jersey. He said he’d driven with his family, down from the San Joaquin Valley, three hours in his Chevrolet Blazer. Expected total cost for the day? $900.

I hope this serves as an important lesson to all you out there: spending money on sports is of utmost importance. I mean, what we you rather be spending it on: your kid’s education? Investments? Taxes? Mortgage? Bills?

Seriously: can your taxes dunk a basketball like Kobe Bryant? I think not.

Magic Johnson just as insane as Isiah Thomas

January 31st, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

Isiah Thomas is no stranger to delusions of grandeur. This is the man, after all, who just a few months ago had this to say:

“I believe one day we will win a championship here,” Thomas said. “I believe couple of these guys will be a part of that. I believe I’ll be a part of that. As I sit here today, some people will laugh even more. But I’m hellbent on getting this accomplished and making sure that we get it done. I’m not leaving until we get it done.”

Right. So you can see that this is not a man in touch with reality. You’d hope that whatever advice Isiah would get would be more along the lines of: “Dump Marbury’s deal in the Hudson, son! What the hell are you doing?!” You know, something to wake the man up a little bit. Turns out, the advice he’s getting is, well, not very realistic either:

The Knicks went 0 for California, but Coach Isiah Thomas left the state with some nice parting gifts — a warm hug and a big endorsement, both from his longtime friend Magic Johnson.

Johnson, the N.B.A. legend and part owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, met with Thomas for about 30 minutes before their teams played Tuesday night. Johnson expressed sympathy and support and made this bold claim about the Knicks: “They’re going to make the playoffs. I think that they’re going to be a tough eight or seven seed, too.”

That’s a nice little vote of confidence from Magic Johnson, but it’s pretty obvious that that’s just not going to happen. And let’s be serious: this is the man who endorsed Hillary Clinton because of the whole “experience” thing, even though he won his first championship as a rookie. That makes total, logical sense. About as much sense as a Knicks playoff prediction, actually.

Kobe Bryant should be the White House press secretary

May 30th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

He is good at this stuff. To be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan — the obvious way he contorted his entire game to resemble Jordan’s has always sort of bugged me, the way the moderately popular kid in high school who tries way too hard to be everybody’s friend bothered me. It’s just, you know, be yourself man.

But recently, I am finding myself in greater and greater awe of Kobe, and not just for his basketball skills, which constitute one of the most highly refined individual skill sets in the world. No, today, I find myself totally engrossed by how well Bryant has manipulated the media (I guess we can include ourselves now) into discussing him on his terms.

First things first: it’s sort of brilliant that he’s doing it now, rather than wait until the NBA season is over. People pay attention to the NBA during the playoffs. That simple. But beyond that, to recognize that as the Spurs somewhat boringly march on to another title, casual fans and the media would be captivated by a squabble in L.A. is sort of genius. Second, Bryant has controlled the way this story is being told in almost every regard. He’s talking to reporters proactively (seriously, who does that?), he’s going on radio shows, he’s making posts on his own blog, he’s keeping the story moving forward, all of it. I have followed the story intently, and I have yet to hear a strong rebuke, with evidence that his organization isn’t lying to him, from any media member or Lakers press representative. Kobe is controlling this thing like he controls so many games: with cunning, with power, and with a refined sense of performance far above his competitors.

That said, no way he gets traded. But it was worth a shot, right?

Baron Davis is very good at basketball

April 29th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

For some reason, I always keep forgetting this. It probably has a lot to do with injuries and the fact that Davis has spent most of his career at outposts like New Orleans and Golden State, but still.

Anyway, here’s a helpful reminder of exactly how good Davis was in college. As the Lakers and Suns figure things out, I’m already thinking about whether the Warriors can really upset the Mavs. If Davis continues to unleash, that prospect looks more and more likely.

Luke Walton is not slaying Britney Spears

April 12th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanR

Thank you, Luke, for finally setting the record straight.

“The rumors aren’t true,” Walton said. “I’m sure Britney is a great person. I don’t even know her. I have a girlfriend right now. I’m in a relationship. I’m very happy with my relationship. I don’t know where it’s all started, but none of it is true.”

Walton is dating Bre Ladd, a former volleyball player at the University of Arizona, who happened to be sitting five seats down from Spears at one of the games she attended.

That wasn’t mentioned when “Entertainment Tonight” ran with the story earlier this week. Walton said his girlfriend was amused at first but has grown irritated. For his part, Walton’s been hearing from friends who haven’t called in years.

“If I was living in Milwaukee, this wouldn’t have happened,” Walton said. “It’s definitely an L.A. thing.”

Wait a second here. Luke is trying to tell us that there are rumors floating around about celebrity hook-ups in L.A. that are made up? Man, I thought that stuff was 100 percent true. This is an earth-shattering revelation for me. I’m crushed.

Anyways though, who is this Bre Ladd individual Luke speaks of? Observe:

Yes, OK, the picture is quite clear on this situation now.

Sidenote: I use that picture of Britney Spears because I feel the potential is still there, people.

(Via Fanhouse.)

David Arquette still pulling the ‘I’m odd’ bit

November 27th, 2006 | Posted by PostmanR

This photograph snapped during the Lakers-Nets game yesterday makes absolutely no goddamned sense to me. Is Arquette sending a message to Phil Jackson? Does the butter signify his relationship with Courtney Cox? Is Kobe Bryant ‘the fridge’, through which all Laker possessions must pass?

If I am not understanding something here, let me know.

(Update: PostmanE informs me this was one of Keith Jackson’s old signoffs for really lopsided college football games. Arquette is still a douche either way.)

(Second Update: As commenter Kelvin points out, looks like this saying may actually have come from Chick Hearn. Which makes sense, seeing as Hearn used to do Laker play-by-play. Thanks for the clarification.)

Opening Association night

November 1st, 2006 | Posted by PostmanR

Hey, since we’ve pretty much been all about self-indulgence this week, let’s stay with that theme, shall we?

Bulls wallop Heat of Miami. In cases such as this, we rejoice. It won’t be like this every night, but hey, we’ll take it. It felt as if we were watching the Bears on the hardwood.

Turn to the fabulous Blog-A-Bull for some happy words about last night’s game. You’ll find some sulking around these parts.

A Kobe-less (YouTube Chapelle on Kobe link) Los Angeles I’m Yours Lakers defeated the Suns last evening. Laker fans converse about their team in these parts. Suns fans get down girl, go head get down right huuur.