Category: Basketball

[Business Day One] The Right Merch

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A friend of mine came to me with a dilemma this weekend, and I’m going to share it with all of you.  This friend (we’ll call him Marcelo) is a big basketball fan and wants to purchase a jersey that says as much.  The problem is that he’s just not certain what to buy.  See, hoops merch is loaded stuff.  With baseball or football uniforms, you’re looking at the team emblem more than the player name.  A Tom Brady Jersey is roughly equal to a Tedy Bruschi jersey in the grand scheme of things.  They both show that you’re a Patriots fan and that you have some disposable income to dispose of.  If you’re in a Johnny Bench jersey, it means that you’re a Reds fan and likely have been for a while.  Fairly straightforward.

But basketball is a different kind of thing.  It’s a game of individuals.  With five per side on the hardwood, individual players have a tremendous impact on the game.  And since they don’t wear Are you man enough to wear his jersey?hats, pads, face cages, or mouth guards, you can see their face and hear their smack talk.  Of all the four major sports, basketball is the one that lends itself the most to fans learning what kind of personality an athlete has based on the game they play.  You can see the Charge Of The Light Brigade-style determination in Kevin Garnett’s eyes.  You can muse over the inhuman level of calm on Chris Paul’s face.  You can gaze in fear at the “WHAT, MAN!  I GOT NOTHING TO LOSE!!!” rage painted on Rasheed Wallace.  You’re more informed about what’s going on with these men than you are with what’s happening behind Joe Mauer’s catcher’s mask.

Combine that “game of individuals” mentality with the “you ain’t nothing if you don’t play at Rucker” grittiness that permeates the game and you can get a sense of why the average suburban youth (or in Marcelo’s case, the average lawyer from Guam) can experience difficulty in choosing the perfect jersey.

So here’s a bit of a guide on what to look for in a jersey.  After all, you should feel as comfortable wearing it as the pro’s do. Read More

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Minus Their Super Brother, Rockets Still Smashing

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McGrady is resting

It had all been going so well for the Houston Rockets. They were making a solid playoff push in the hellacious Western Conference, undefeated for the past month. Under first-year skipper Rick Adelman and a still-stingy defense left over from Jeff Van Gundy, the Toyota Center was rocking from the opening tip to Rafer Alston’s dribbling out the clock. Houston’s win streak didn’t exactly catapult them up the ladder but it did solidify them as a team to contend with, especially in a season where the playoffs might end up looking like hockey’s: an utterly chaotic grind, no one safe, duck and cover. Even Tracy McGrady was getting his proper love. The cousin in Vince Carter’s grand and unnecessary shadow, McGrady is going on four years with his third team, and as option #1A on the Rockets, the 28 year old was hitting his prime in stride, piloting Houston to a 12th straight victory with a 110-97 dub over the Bulls. The very next day, according to the entirety of the voices covering the NBA, their beatdown of Chicago became the high point of the season.

See, that day franchise center and all-around tall man Yao Ming went down for the season. Read More

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One Column For The Price Of One

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Barnsley

It’s been three weeks since the Patriots gagged away the Super Bowl on a house blitz. I’ve kept down food for six days now and the green/red contrast isn’t blurring anymore, so Doc. Eakin gave me the a-okay to get writing again. She was wonderful, thank you, Doctor! Whenever I clamp down on a wood bit, I’ll think of you. Here’s what you may have missed:

-The NBA has seen been blown around by trade winds in the past two weeks, but the end result is the same: the Western Conference is strong. The addition of Pau Gasol to the Lakers makes LA a playoff favorite; their late game lineup of Derek Fisher/Jordan Farmar, Kobe, Lamar Odom, Gasol, and the returning Andrew Bynum may be the strongest in the league. There are questions about depth, but in a thirty team league depth, like chemistry, only matters if you absolutely lack it. Speaking of chemistry, Shawn Marion, who freely admitted he’d prefer to be a top dog on a terrible team, can now spread his team play and joys on the charred, crippled remains of the Miami Heat. With Shaquille O’Neal now manning the post for Phoenix, the big beneficiary of this deal is Amare Stoudamire. Back at power forward he terrorized the Lakers for 37 points and 15 boards Wednesday night. Jason Kidd’s return to Dallas is a win-now move which will put more pressure on Josh Howard to boost his 20 PPG average. The Spurs (Kurt Thomas), Hornets (Bonzi Wells), and the Jazz (Kyle Korver a few weeks ago) also made deals, lifting the fortunes of the top six teams in the West. To be fair to the East, the Cavs got Ben Wallace’s corpse! Read More

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Flawless Victories

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Flawless Victory

As of Wednesday they remain at seventeen wins and zero losses. Their woefully overmatched opponents cower in fear, thankful they won’t run into such awesome force again. The offense is nearly unstoppable, running up the score with speed and long-range outbursts. The talent disparity is ungodly, separating them from…the rest. They are on an inexorable march to the southwest, where they will be heavy favorites to take their crown. Some players still show flashes of youthful exuberance, but they are well cautioned to avoid revealing it to their stoic coach, a surefire Hall of Famer now fully moved out of his mentor’s grand shadow. On Sunday, February 3, they will likely be striding confidently as undefeated, but today they still face the enormous pressure of history. ??????? The mythical unbeaten heroes of over thirty years ago refuse to go quietly; each passing year grows their legend. But there is little doubt in my mind that this team will quiet any doubters and run the table to 19 and 0.

Of course, North Carolina will still be 21 wins away from a perfect season. Read More

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Everything is bigger in Texas!

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A week and a half ago while on a business trip to the fine city of Dallas, TX, I was able to score some tickets to a Dallas Mavericks v Phoenix Suns game (thanks Stub Hub). I don’t know if all the games that happen at the American Airlines Center are that good, but for me, it’s 100% accurate so I’m just going to assume all games are similar.

Giant TV at the AACFirst off, there is the American Airlines Center which is a large television screen covered and wi-fi enabled arena sponsored by Mr. Mark Cuban. I’m not joking about thebeing covered in TVs. The main entrance has 2 moving screens that flank the big screen above the doors. Oh, and there was another one before you got to those 3.

One of the moving TVs at the AACOnce we got past all the screens, we went into the arena and sat down in the Jack Danial’s restaurant by the buffet and watched the Celtics get their third loss. The view from where I was sittingThe close game and sad outcome for the boys in green left a bad taste in my mouth. Entrance to the American Airlines CenterThat was quickly remedied but a delicious pile of smores. ??????? ??? ??? After I had had my fill of deliciousness, it was time for some basketball, and we headed to our seats — as far back and away from the floor as possible. ???? ????????? ??? ????????? Read More

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Fly Straight And True

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It’s Christmastime in my neck of the woods, and that means it’s the season for giftgiving and merrymaking. Since I am in a giving mood, I’ve decided to curl up by the hot-stove fire and share with you my one Christmas wish for the 2007 season. ???? ??????? Without further ado:

Hotlanta Hawks

It’s for the Atlanta Hawks, and it’s a good basketball team. Poor Atlanta. Their baseball team is no longer the juggernaut it once was in the days of My So Called Life and Democratic Party competence. ???? ??? ???? Their football team apparently folded at the completion of last season. ????? ???? ???? ????? Their hockey team isn’t important enough for me to even look up to make a joke (I know they are the Thrashers and that one should not joke about cars in regards to them). And the Atlanta Hawks, oh dearie me, the Hawks are 14-12, bolstered by their decent 9-6 home record. Oh, but it is often a cruel and disappointingly temperate winter in Peachland, and the Hawks have never so much as reached a conference final in their history. In 1969, they lost to the Lakers in the Western Division Final, but “Western Division Final” should give you a good idea as to how friggin’ long ago that was. It may be said that the Hawks have never had a season for fans to discuss with great pride; the ’94 campaign boasted 57 wins and an embarrassing second round flameout against the young Indiana Pacers.

To me Atlanta has boasted an inordinate amount of likable players over the years; I think of Doc Rivers, Dominique Wilkins, Mookie Blaylock, Stacy Augmon, 58 year old Kevin Willis, and the vexing stopovers of Shareef Abdul-Rahim, JR Rider, and Antoine Walker. Even their coach, the reserved and decent Lenny Wilkens, was a Providence College alum, instantly making him my beloved family. (He’s the winningest and losingest coach in NBA history, if you remember. You probably don’t.) To see this franchise year-in and year-out take up 25 seconds of highlight time 43 minutes into Sportscenter saddens me, if only because they deserve something for not moving by now. Flash forward to this year, with Joe Johnson, the Joshes (Smith and Childress), and Marvin Williams running the show, with rookie duo Al Horford and Acie Law IV providing a glimpse of the future. Under the totally anonymous leadership of Mike Woodson, the Hawks could very feasibly make the playoffs this season, ending a NBA-leading eight year drought. Who wouldn’t root for the Hawks?

Have a Merry Christmas, or don’t. Either way, take Tuesday off.

Basketball ,

The Neverending Story

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Young Jerry SloanOlder Jerry Sloan

15,374 days.

That’s how long it’s been. Some days it snows and some days the sun burns your skin as you wait for your bus and some days Presidents are impeached and some days, some glorious, magical days, fate smiles upon you and yours and leaves you the ultimate champion. Jerry Sloan is waiting for that day. Read More

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Catching Up With The Home Teams – Boston Edition

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The Zakim BridgeI titled this post as “Boston edition,” but it’s not like there’s going to be another edition. I live in Boston and root for Boston teams. Then again, there is always the hope that someone else here will be a fan of another team and write a competing entry.

New England Patriots
Hey, the team is still undefeated. And peoples around the blogosahedron are waiting to watch the Patriots again when they are 16-0 (Deadspin, Bleacher Report, Blown Coverage, You Been Blinded, ArmchairGM). Now we can add Nerds on Sports to that list becaus: New England Patriots: 16-0 (18-0 if you count postseason).

So, it looks like the Patriots-Colts Pumped Soundgate Noisegate The Skipping Crowd Conspiracies Speakergate was just an issue with the broadcast. But, as a Patriots fan, I can’t believe that this is the truth until I get a bit more closure on the situation. I want a team of investigative reporters to sneak into the RCA Dome and set up some noise meters (like you would find at a terrible talent show to measure who the winner is) and record during games. If that doesn’t work, perhaps some sort of non-football competition between Manning and Brady. Maybe something involving being sexy and making shitloads of commercials. ???? ??????? My money is on Manning – Brady may out sexy him, but Peyton’s commercial making prowess is impressive. Read More

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