Case of the Mondays: Touch ‘Em All

May 7th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

Now that that’s over (I would use a tear emoticon here if that weren’t so emasculating), we can take a look at the weekend that was. I didn’t actually see some of these things thanks to the alcohol and family and friends and really basically just the alochol, but I heard they happened, which means we should talk about them. On we go:

The Bulls got it handed to them: Talk about a different beast. I thought Chicago would have a chance to outpace the Pistons in a manner similar to their demolition of the Heat, and boy was I wrong. I’ll let Matt from Blog a Bull take it the rest of the way here:

It’s tough to believe this Bulls team has a ton of weapons and can survive off nights from some of them. Maybe they can against some squads but not against a team like the Pistons. If Ben Gordon puts in a few more stinkers they’re toast… Nocioni was aggressively awful. In three and a half minutes he had 2 turnovers and 2 missed shots (one was a joke of an attempt that got thrown back into his face by ’sheed), and during that time the Bulls also managed to give up 3 offensive rebounds. Duhon was predictably bad, and the rookies played as such. But while this may just be bias towards the lure of potential, I’d rather see Tyrus and Thabo make rookie mistakes than Noc and Duhon just looking too undersized to do much at all…

Um, not good. Glad I was at dinner during that, and more than happy to delete it from the DVR queue without watching it. I think the best thing to do is just pretend it didn’t happen, and be utterly confused when the Pistons end the series after only three wins.

Dirk Nowitzki Had a Really Bad Day: Speaking of convincing victories, how about the Warriors not just upsetting the Mavericks … but doing it by 25 points? That third quarter absolutely sank the Mavs, cemented the series as the upset of the year, ruined Dirk’s MVP justifiability, and scheduled both Mark Cuban and Avery Johnson for about three years of psychiatry after they wake up every night seeing Nellie in their dreams. Is that on the company insurance, Mark?

The Rockets Got the Early Boot: A shame, because for some reason I can’t really stand the Jazz and I love Yao Ming. (A Sports Illustrated story from a while back - which, of course, I can’t find now - settled it for me.) Also, it’s unfortunate to see Tracy McGrady mired in the “can’t win in the playoffs” muck. Here’s hoping the Rockets go and get some help and McGrady shakes off that title next May.

Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya Struck Each Other Repeatedly: I saw the last two rounds of this fight at the bar Saturday night, so I can’t really comment, but everyone I talked to that watched the whole thing through said these two things: 1) Mayweather, without a doubt, should have had a unanimous decision, and 2) No wonder boxing is totally lacking in relevancy; the fights usually disappoint. Anyone want to add to that critique?

Fury, But No Sound: Right in the middle of the Kentucky Derby - which Street Sense came from way behind to win - the sound on NBC totally cut out. They didn’t figure this out until after the race, so no one I was with had any idea who won for a decent while after the race was already over. Talk about a sport that absolutely needs sound; for the casual viewer, every horse looks exactly alike. Here’s betting some engineering intern at NBC took a ripping from his superior Saturday.

Best Graduation Gift: Well, besides a very nice new wallet from the girlfriend and money and such from the parents, my roommate can through in the clutch with two incredible selections: The Best American Sports Writing 2006, and To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever, which I’ve been sort of thinking about reading for quite some time now. Here’s to graduation presents, the best thing about the entire process. Well, that, and future earning potential. I suppose that’s OK too.