Sidenote: What the hell is with the Hornets being so cheap? They now have
no picks this draft, and selling a late first round pick (hello Suns) is
generally an iffy proposition. Yes, you save money, and it is fiscally smart,
plus it keeps your roster flexible. I would, if I was an NBA GM, prefer a
second-round pick to a late first rounder. Less of a commitment in terms of
length of contract and money (in fact, second-rounders aren't even guaranteed,
right?). But selling picks for nothing, as opposed to getting a future pick or
at least two of those Blazer second-rounders (again, nothing to lose)?!? That
seems cheap more than smart. End sidenote.
Back to the Blazers: What the hell are they going to do with 5 picks this
year, plus a few next year (three?), plus Rudy Fernandez and Greg Oden joining
the team this year? Maybe they'll go long-term, and use a bunch of picks on
Euro players to stash overseas. Still, if any team should be dealing tonight,
it should be the Blazers. You would hate to waste two or three picks (or more)
on players that will just get cut after the summer league.
Where are the Euros?
Indeed, the rarely talked about story is the diminishing Euro presence in the
NBA. A couple of factors at play here. One is the failure of a Euro
superstar to emerge in the past seven drafts. According to the NJ
Ledger writer David D'Alessandro, drafting Euros is declining:
Consider: Europe hasn't produced a single NBA star since early in the decade,
when Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Mehmet Okur came out of the 2001 draft. It has
produced a large number of good but flawed players -- Boris Diaw, Andris
Biedrins, Nenad Krstic and Sasha Vujacic the best of them.
Indeed, Manu Ginobili, Dirk Nowitzki, et al... they are all from pre-2001.
This seems supported by the fact that only one foreigner is ranked in the top-15
this year: Danilo Gallinari.
Even more surprising: there is an overall declining trend in Euros,
period:
The bigger picture reveals that in just half a decade -- from 2000-01 to
2005-06 -- the number of Europeans in the NBA doubled from 26 to 52. But in the
past two seasons, that number has dropped significantly, with 40 Euros on
opening day rosters for 2007-08.
And many of them are actually returning to Europe long before retirement age,
including Jorge Garbajosa, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Ersan Ilyasova, Zoran Planinic
and Victor Khryapa in the past two years alone.
Indeed. Jorge Garbojosa accepted a buyout of his contract so he could go
back to play in Spain. This despite being on a Euro-friendly Raptors team that
just gave another Spaniard - Jose Calderon - the reins. Another Spaniard point
guard (this time Juan Navarro) has left the Memphis Grizzlies to sign a $24
million deal with a Euro team. And there are rumors floating that a Greek team
has made a tempting offer to Carlos Delfino (not a Euro, technically, but an
Argentine. They have tripled from 2 to 6 in the timespan discussed; not sure if
David D'Allesandro included them in as "Euros" or not), and even a rumor that
Anthony Parker has attracted interest from overseas.
So two storylines to keep an eye on here: One, the emerging declining
interest or reluctance to draft Euros high. When was the last season two
American-born white players (in this case, Kevin "Bill Walton" Love and Joe "Tom
Chambers" Alexander) went before the first Euro was picked? Could happen
tonight.
Two, the Euro League are competitively stealing away talent from the NBA.
They have some money, and the larger and more profitable those clubs get, the
more they can really become a problem for the NBA. Right now losing some
mid-level talent (all four players mentioned are starters or in the 8-man
rotation for their respective teams), particularly talent that was originally
from the Euro leagues, isn't that bad. But it does send a sign to other players
that playing in Europe isn't that bad. After all, all four players chose to go
back, even after getting into the NBA and making their mark. It might make a
few players think about Europe. Especially if Brandon Jennings exploits Europe
for one or two seasons.
Who is the big dog in Toronto?
Speaking of the Raptors (looking at losing three players to Europe!)... the
big pre-draft day deal seems to be Jermaine O'Neal finally leaving Indianapolis
(one year too late to be team with Kobe), heading to the Raptors in exchange for
TJ Ford and spare parts.
This seems a great trade on the surface for the Raptors: they give up a
surplus player, one who is only in the way of Jose Calderon's emergence (his
numbers last year as a starting point guard are astonishing), and fill a huge
need: another big man to help Chris Bosh out, especially since Bosh seems more
suited to play PF, not C. O'Neal is injury-prone, but it's not like TJ Ford is
much better. And the best part for the Raptors: O'Neal's contract might
be bigger than Ford's, but is not longer. The Raptors immediately become a
top-4 team in the East, no?
Well, only if one question is answered during the season, and quickly: Who is
the top dog (what is the pecking order)? You might think this is a
simple question to answer, but it's going to be hard. See, here you have three
players, all coming from different places, with the same determination to prove
themselves. Bosh has been the top dog in the pecking order for a few years
now. O'Neal was the top dog in Indy for many years, and unlike Bosh, he's
played a big role on teams that have made it deep into the playoffs. He may not
defer to Bosh, and vice versa. Oh, and then you add in Jose Calderon, who may
not shot much, but is a high % shooter when he does, and who will control the
offense and the ball. Come clutch time, he might want to establish himself,
too, as the go-to guy.
The worst case scenario for the Raptors: a situation where everyone gets good
stats and numbers, but where the lack of a structure causes numerous breakdowns
in the final minute, and a lack of "chemisty" not unlike what the Bucks have.
Is it Mo Williams night, or Michael Redd's? Or is Bogut or Yi?
The best case scenario: Sam Mitchell quickly lays it out, puts some hierachy
in place (they can always change, depending on how things go), and let's
everyone know their role. O'Neal emerges as the top dog, with Bosh and Calderon
and Bargnani all learning and accepting their roles. The Raptors become a top-4
team next season, outgunning the Magic, only behind the big three in the East:
Celtics (due for a letdown), Cavs and Pistons.
We'll go more into depth next week, when we hopefully talk to a couple of
Raptor bloggers.
Who is Gunnin For That #1 Spot?
I am seriously thinking of checking out this new documentary from
that Beastie Boy (MCA/Adam Yauch) about the first annual Elite-24 high schooler
game at Ruckers a few years back. Check out the lineup: four guys going in the
top-15 tonight: Michael Beasley (seen clowning around in the
trailer), Kevin Love (seen talking about sneaker companies again), Jerryd
Bayless (more on him in a bit), and Donta Greene. Also, the aformentioned
Brandon Jennings, and my favorite, Coney Island legend Lance Stevenson (and 2010
#1 pick), seen in the trailer schooling cats three years older than him. Expect
a review next week.
What are the Knicks going to do/the Brook Lopez factor?
Finally, let's end with a Knick topic, since I am a Knick blogger at heart.
The Knicks are picking #6, with rumors swirling that they have a deal with the
Grizzlies to get the #5 pick (for Malik Rose and David Lee, supposedly). It
seems unlikely to me that the Grizzlies like Lee that much, but if they do,
let's go for it. I've left my thoughts on this over in the comments in Posting And Toasting's recent
posts on this very topic. The bottom line is that I've always been an advocate
of trading Lee while his value is at its highest, provide we get something good
back for him. The #5 pick seems good to me, since coupled with the #6 pick it
gives the Knicks a chance to really rebuild.
The key for the Knicks tonight, regardless of whether they get the #5 pick or
not, is to see what happens in the top-four. Because the top four teams are
very likely to pick from this five-man group: Rose, Beasley, Mayo, Bayless, and
possibly Brook Lopez. If Lopez does go in the top-four, the Knicks then have a
good chance at Bayless (or, a longer shot, Mayo), since the rumor is the
Grizzlies will take Kevin Love at #5 (provided no trade with the Knicks occurs,
and I'm betting it won't happen).
Knicks fans have to be hoping someone pulls the trigger on Lopez. Because,
realistically, here are your top-choices if you are the Knicks: OJ Mayo, Jerryd
Bayless, then either Danilo or Russell Westbrook. There are two other good
options, but not at #6: Joe Alexander and DJ Augustin. I wouldn't be oppose to
trading down for those guys, especially Augustin. He might be a good fit for
the Knicks, even if him and Nate Robinson could combine at times to form the
smallest backcourt in NBA history!
If I'm home tonight (I will try), I will try to do something along the lines
of a live posting of the NBA draft over at Sports On My Mind.
Alternative title: Baron Davis has surpassed Gilbert Arenas as the most likeable, light-hearted (goofy) NBA player.
You may have read about this charity, free to the public, soccer event Steve Nash held today at Stanton Field in Sara Roosevelt Park in Manhattan. Labeled "The Showdown in Chinatown" (though Stanton and Forsyth is borderline Chinatown, and more LES nowadays than Chinatown, but we'll save that discussion for Friday), Steve Nash brought together a nice crew of NBA and MLS All-stars to the game. I decided to head down there, and take some pics of the event. And, man, did I have a great location to see the players, if not the game itself.
The crowd was huge. Everywhere around the field there were people to be found: Steve Nash's teammate, Leandro Barbosa, was first to arrive. The stars all came via car, and entered by the back entrance that I was lucky enough to have staked out. Here's Barbosa:
... so feel free to leave the blogging world, if you really mean what you wrote.
Now to the more adult conversation: Let's start of with a link to Dave Lozo's excellent breakdown of Will Leitch's weird post the other day in which he took a few shots at Deadspin's primary rival, The Big Lead. Lozo's post goes methodically through Leitch's words, line by line, and credits Leitch wherever he made a valid point, while properly taking Will to task whenever he was BS-ing. Simply: Young William got schooled by Lozo. No more Big Willy!
One of the more interesting results of Will's column was that, despite very little response from TBL (other than to briefly drop a few lines here and there in the comments section of his own site, on this topic), several of Leitch's cronies have taken this opponent to jump into the fray and bash TBL even more on this topic. They must not have gotten the memo that Leitch's original post seemed slightly bitter and unnecessarily harsh.
It seems a good time to mention that TBL is getting bashed over two quotes he gave an LA Times article. While Leitch and his minions (more on them in a minute) are right in that not every blogger agrees with Buzz Bissinger in that blogs should exercise more, um, restraint, there are some prominent bloggers besides TBL who think Buzz might have had a point. Leitch doesn't agree, referencing Dan Steinberg's column (a good column, by a really good writer, but one that misses the point: Buzz says most, if not all, blogs are sh*t. Yeah, so most, if not all, journalism writing is sh*t, too. That doesn't necessarily counter Buzz's point; all it does is expend Buzz's contentions to another medium). But perhaps Leitch and crew missed this article by Adam Reilly in The Phoenix on the topic, in which he got a quote from none other than the original king of sports blogs, and therefore another prominent blogger, Bill Simmons:
The bloggers, too, are capable of a modicum of self-reflection. For his part, Simmons argues that the lad-maggiest sports blogs, like Deadspin and the Big Lead, should ease up on traffic-generating but salacious posts about drunk athletes and the like. And in time, he predicts, they will. “The blogs will figure it out,” he says. “It’s still early. I have faith.”
Bill Simmons might have faith, but posts like this from Simmon's former "long-time" Page 2 colleague, Dan Shanoff (in the blogging biz, apparently being an employed writer for a few years = "long-time"), make me a bit doubtful. Overreacting to the quotes even more so than his hero, Leitch, Shanoff calls it "quite possibly... the era's lowest point..."
Shanoff goes on to write that he doesn't appreciate that Jason McIntyre of TBL "doesn't speak for [Shanoff]", and that he "doesn't speak for the rest of us". Later on, though, Shanoff hints at the clique-y nature of the sports blogging world:
I find it hard to find anyone who says they respect Jason McIntyre or The Big Lead. The rep: McIntyre as an empty apple-polisher who lacks a position of authority or respect among his peers.
I'll wrap this up quickly: Shanoff's column is full of venomous attacks. My fave: on TBL best-known feature, Shanoff describes it as "95% of the time, functionally retarded" (did Shanoff learn such stellar writing techniques while attending arguably the second best J-school in the country, Medill?). I'm not sure what TBL has done to warrant this type of attack from "his peers" (Shanoff, Leitch, Ufford), but I'm going to give ya'll my opinion. And yes, I am speaking for only myself, not the clique of bloggers that I roll with or whatever.
It seems TBL is wearing the crown. Simple as that. And some of ya'll might think this means we've answered the question of "Who will replace Will Leitch (as de facto King of the Blogs) now that he's leaving the sports blog biz?"
If so, then you missed the larger point. Leitch was already replaced, and he knew it. In between writing his book, promoting his book, and changing the vision of his site (oops, you should never change the vision of your site), Deadspin was passed by TBL. I won't spend time on how it surpassed Deadspin (I can answer those questions in the comments), but summing it up: Deadspin was losing its edge as the most popular sports blog, or whatever you want to call it, and Leitch knew that. He surrendered, and took a job in the old media world. In the meanwhile, he's trying to fire a last shot, as he's leaving the room, at the man/site that essentially forced him out.
Why go after TBL, when other bloggers, including Bill Simmons, agree with him? Perhaps Will Leitch is still thankful towards Jimmy Kimmel for laughing at his poor Woody Allen impersonation (oddly similar to the one Leitch put on during his HBO appearance, while Buzz Bissinger screamed on him), and therefore doesn't want to attack Kimmel's good friend, Bill Simmons?
Or perhaps the likelier truth is simply that there is a bit of jealousy among Leitch and his "peers" at The Big Lead's success, in areas that Deadspin itself failed (reaching out to real media types, maintaining credibility, reaching out and being able to post on various different topics and sites without snark, etc)? Whatever the true motivations for the recent attacks on The Big Lead, this much is clear: there seems to be a cabal of sports blogs out there that admittedly and openly disdain TBL. And with all that said, we're going to add only one last though: D-Wil is right... I don't care who is in charge of these "sports bloggers", and whatever silly values they represent while trying not to say anything different, or have too strong of an opinion! It's time for representation for the Independent (Sports) Media... and I want guys like David Zirin, D.K. Wilson, Charles Modiano, and Mike Tillery representing. Newspaper writers looking for a quote and an opinion... that's where you should go to. Why keep asking guys who have no opinion on anything (except when they are leaving the business, then they are suddenly not so apolitical anymore!), when you can ask the aforementioned quartet? Just a thought....
Leitch on 4/30/08: We cannot imagine any reasonable human being watching that display and saying, "doggone it, that raving man has a point!"
DJM on 5/1/08:
I come not to bury Bissinger, nor to praise him. I come to say, however, that he did have a point...
So here's my hope: the next time somebody asks Leitch to defend blogs,
he say something like "I don't speak for all blogs. I speak for my
blog, which is often juvenile and deals with certain aspects of public
humiliation because I think they're funny, newsworthy, and our
business." Or something. And then we can have the debate over whether
pictures of quarterbacks at birthday parties or at clubs are funny,
newsworthy, and any of our goddamn business.
Bissinger is a total idiot. He's also not totally wrong.
Leitch today: The best sports blogs are based in truth and passion, and, yeah,
sometimes that truth and passion come out in profane bursts, and
sometimes they involve quarterbacks doing beer bongs.
So freaking what? Did Buzz Bissinger really convince people there was
something wrong with that? Or was everyone just faking in the first
place?...
We're proud of the work we've done here. Some of it has been stupid and
juvenile; some of it has at least attempted to be intelligent; some of
it has been masturbatory. If you liked it, awesome, we were glad to
have you. If you didn't, there are tons of other options.
Of course. WILL: OF COURSE. A thousand times of course.
However, this means that Will agrees that Bissinger did have a point [again, a very very poorly made point, but a point nonetheless]. And since Leitch is presumably a "reasonable human being" I think it's fair to ask: Will, what the hell was that argument you were making earlier?
SML has some thoughts about blog credibility that I'll let him fill in here. I'm glad to see that the honest response has finally come out, which is "We're having fun and fuck everyone who doesn't like it." As long as we're on honest ground now, we can talk about that argument like grown-ups. Pretending that it wasn't the case wasn't helping a goddamn thing, like most everyone was doing by shaking their heads about the crazy old man and his crazy ideas. He had. A fucking. Point.
"I don't give a shit!" is a fine response.
"He's a loon!" is not.
Glad to see that we've gotten to this point. But it really shouldn't have taken this long.
SML aside on credibility: Just a quick thought on Will Leitch's semi-attack (or at least a friendly lob at The Big Lead for their quote in the LA Times article on not running a post with the Kobe Bryant rumor): It seems to me that TBL was making a case that, now that he is a big blog with a big readership, he needs to maintain some (journalistic) credibility. I don't see why that offends or bothers Leitch so much.
I think TBL has always tried to be a more journalistic site than Deadspin (though Deadspin is now playing catchup in that game), making it's name on interviews with sports writers (the Whitlock interview remains the big break-through). It certainly takes popular blog elements (link dumps, pics of girls in bikinis, drunk athlete posts) but it combines it with these journalistic tendencies. So Jason McIntyre does have a reason to attempt to maintain some credibility.
To be fair, I think Will Leitch's point was directed more at Jason stating that "two years ago I would have run with [the Kobe affair story]". Leitch's specific comments on this seem to be aimed at the change in McIntyre's mind over the hypothetical two year period:
But seriously: If you have a vision for a site, don't you have to just follow
through with it? Why would you change your vision for a site just because more
people are reading it?
Of course "visions" can change in two years. The market changes. You adapt. Specifically, there is more of a backlash against blogs (and "real" media, too) nowadays that post rumors that turn out to be false than maybe there was a few years back. Will Leitch himself caught a lot of flack for posting the rumor that Albert Pujols was directly linked to HGH (via Jason Grimley's trainer). So I guess the question to Will Leitch is this: Would you still post that rumor if it came up today? Or have you maybe learned a bit about the blogging world? Maybe you've changed that aspect of "your vision"?
Seriously, I don't get how not posting a rumor now like you might have two years ago indicates a change in your overall blogging philosophy... The Big Lead doesn't seem too much different now than it was two years ago. But it has adapted over the years, has as Deadspin.
Okay, we’ll start the day off with a quick update on the Euro2008 soccer
tournament, as it reaches its final four. Later on I’ll have a look at draft
combine results of some of the NBA draft’s biggest names.
The quarterfinals went according to script; none of the previously undefeated
group winners won their games. Two of them lost outright; two ended in draws,
and only one advanced to the semi-finals via penalty kick shootout. If you bet
on any of the four first round group winners (Portugal, Croatia, The
Netherlands, Spain), previously 12-0 in the tournament to win, you lost all four
times. The gambling syndicates must have made a killing.
Let’s quickly review the exciting action of the past week before previewing
the final three games:
Portugal 2 - Germany 3. The taller and larger Germany team
used it’s size advantage over Portugal to win this mild upset. Portugal were
emerging as the favorites to win the title (behind Player of the Year favorite
Christiano Ronaldo), but Germany struck first behind a beautiful goal by
Schweinsteiger. Actually, the lead pass was beautiful - check the 20 second mark of this video
to see the goal.
In the second half, after Portugal cut the lead to 2-1, Germany put the game
away with a nice header goal during a free kick from their captain Michael
Ballack, who got away with a bit of a push in the back on the Porto defender.
The Portugese needed a bit of help from the referees if they were going to beat
the larger, taller, more physical German squad, or a big game from
Ronaldo. They did not get either.
Croatia 1 - Turkey 1. After already giving the Euro2008
tournament the most memorable game of the first round, Turkey on Friday gave us
another one for the ages. Regardless of who actually wins, this tournament will
be remember most for Turkey’s incredible comebacks.
After playing to 0-0 draw for over 119 minutes (soccer rules: 90 minutes
of play; if tied, one 15 minute OT, followed by a second 15 minute OT), the
ancient Turkish goalkeeper Ruster Recber (a sub, since the GK for the Turks in
the first round, Volkan Demirel, was suspended from two games due to a late red
card at the end of the last quarterfinal game) made a mistake, and that should
have been the end of Turkey’s run. But Recber made up for it with a beautiful
free kick in stoppage time (the 122th minute), which set up an amazing goal from
Semih Senturk, tying the game. No goals in 119 minutes, followed by two goals
in two and half minutes?
The shootout went Turkey’s way, as Croatia missed penalty shot after
shot.
The Croatian team dominated the action through most of the game, with a very
strong passing attack, but they lacked the finisher, the striker, to actually
put the ball into the goal. If ever Brazilian-born Croatian striker Eduardo Da
Silva was needed, it was this game. Unfortunately he was out recovering from a
brutal broken leg suffered during a match for the Arsenal.
The Turkish team advances yet again, despite more than a few injuries of
their own, and despite Volkan’s suspension. Recber gets one more game in goal,
in the semis against the German team. I’ll be rooting for the Turkish team to
pull off one more miracle against the big bullies.
Holland 1 - Russia 3: I would cite this game, Tim
Donaghy-style, as the prime example of how international soccer must fixed, but
the refereeing in the game seemed fine. Besides, the Dutch always choke in the
quarterfinals, don’t they (actually not true: they have lost in the
semi-finals the past two Euros, and three of the previous four overall)?
Russia had no business winning this game, against a Netherlands team that
destroyed the World Cup winner and runnerup teams, Italy and France, in the
first round.
Spain 0 - Italy 0: The Italians did what they do best -
played tough defense, and held the Spaniards to no goals. The Spaniard team,
arguably the deepest in the tournament - their bench looks like an All-Star team
- won on penalty kicks, though. In doing so, they upped their undefeated streak
in international competitions to 20 games in a row, with the weak Russia team
the only thing in the way of an appearance in the Euro2008 Finals.
I’m gonna go ahead and pencil Spain into the Finals.
Germany-Turkey (a must-see) is Wednesday the 25th, at 2:45 EST. Spain-Russia
is the next day, also at 2:45 EST. The final game is scheduled for Sunday the
29th at 2:45 EST.
Anthony Randolph is listed as a 20-year old, 6’11, 220
lb SF/PF from LSU.
Should the
Knicks add a third Randolph to their front court, alongside
Zach Randolph and Randolph Morris?
Right off
the bat: he's a stringbean. He averaged 15.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 1.2 apg last year at LSU.He also had an impressive 1.1 spg and 2.3
bpg.Good numbers for a really young guy, right?
Now let’s
look at the bad:46.4 FG%.Not a good enough jumper to be a SF, not
reliable enough to be a PF.69.3 FT%.10.5 3PT%.Ouch.
Also: 3.0 turnovers a game.That number fits in
all too well with Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry in the front court.Not that the Knicks even need a PF, with Zach
Randolph and David Lee already vying for time there.
Anthony is
left-handed, which will no doubt delight Stephon Marbury.Damn, I miss Stephon's interviews. Randolph is long, quick, lanky, thin.He’s often compared to Brandon Wright,
Tayshaun Prince, and Chris Bosh.Those
names come up repeatedly in his various draft profiles.But are they
valid comparisons?
He’s not a
strong, take-it-to-the-hoop PF.He has
finesse moves.In fact, let’s quote
Draft Express for this one:
“…settling for weak, off-balance, turn-around
jumpers from midrange, fading away from contact in the post…”
Snap
Judgment:Not good.But let’s delve deeper.Here is what is written in his NBA Draft
profile:
" Runs the floor like a deer and has amazing
fluidity ... "
What the
f*ck do I want a Bambi on the Knicks? I suppose that's a better compliment than "runs the floor like a gazelle".
Randolph scored a 10 in size.So does Eddy Curry.
He also
get a 10 for "potential".Again, so does Curry.
When it
comes to, you know, actual basketball skills, like "defense", "jump
shot", and "passing", he gets an overly-generous 7 in those
categories (try finding a draft pick with less than a 7 in any category).
He sorta sounds
like a short Marcus Camby, or maybe the next Andrei Kirilenko?Keep in mind that Camby at least dominated
college, enough to be the #1 overall pick, before moving into the NBA. Then keep in mind that it took him a lot of years, and a few injuries, before he become a strong center in the NBA and an All-Star.
"A high risk, high reward type pick at this
stage of his career."
How many
times has that turned out good for anyone?Free Darko calls this "The Myth of the Next (Andrew Bynum/Jermaine
O'Neal, etc)...".It’s rarely works
out for a team.Wait, there’s more:
"Must gain confidence and not
get discouraged when things aren't going well "
"He's a very shy, quiet kid,
and the year in Baton Rouge has been great for him but he could really use a
second year to continue his maturity and off court development before taking on
the bright lights and distractions that exist at the next level. "
"Must get a lot stronger
physically, needs about 25-30 pounds minimum ... Also must get a lot tougher mentally
... "
Okay, I’m
now totally sold on the idea that Randolph is a skinny version of Eddy Curry.Maybe the Knicks can lock them in a room
together with a plastic surgeon, and have the surgeon graft 25-40 lbs of fat/muscle
off Curry and onto Randolph?
It’s clear
that Randolph’s long neck is why he is sometimes compared to Chris Bosh.
Combine
Results:Decent strength for a skinny
guy, with 7 bench presses of 185 (not bad, though, for comparison, Joe
Alexander benched it 22 times, for the second highest score, and little DJ
Augustin benched it twice for the lowest score).Randolph put up decent, run of the mill
times in the ¾ Court Sprint (3.26 seconds), Lane Agility (11.86) and vertical
jump (35 inches).
More
important in his case, though, is the measurement results, since that is what
his potential is based on, right?Well,
turns out his height and weight are actually a bit misrepresented.He’s 6'9 without shoes, 6'10.25 with
shoes.Close enough.He also weighs a whopping 197 lbs.For personal reference, I weigh 205, am 6’2,
and am considered “slim”.A guy 8 inches
taller than me, weighing 10 pounds less?“Anorexic” is the first adjective that comes to mind.
He does
have a 7'3 wingspan, hence, the Tayshaun Prince comparisons.He has a 9'1 standing reach, and 4.7% body
fat.But before we assume that he’s the
next Tayshaun Prince, let’s give Tay some credit: he’s not just good defensively simply because he’s
tall and lanky.He worked hard at the
craft of playing defense, and he’s got quick feet.He’s Draft Express on Randolph’s defense:
“Where Randolph seems to need the most work, especially when considering
how he’ll have to be used at the next level, in his defense. He gets pushed around in the post
mercilessly; being unable to hold his spot on the block, and thus letting
most big men just have their way with him as they please.”
Conclusion:Anthony Randolph is exactly the kind of
player I hate at #6: a guy with upside based
on nothing more than his height and size.The Knicks certainly need defense, but Randolph isn’t strong enough to be a PF, and
his jumper is not reliable enough from the outside to be a SF.The best case scenario for Randolph is that someone drafts him to play
SF, a team that has enough offense already to not need Randolph to contribute too much, and he
becomes a defensive stopper.Sort of
like what happened to Prince.Of course,
Prince dropped to the Pistons; Randolph is surely a lottery pick.The best case scenario for him would be to be
picked by the Nets (teamed with Sean Williams in the front court) or the Kings, teams with strong scorers on the wing already.He would also be a great defensive anchor on
the Blazers, if he fell that far.
Another exciting day in the Euro2008 Tourney. Just to get you caught up: this is the biggest soccer tournament in the world outside of the World Cup. The Euro happens every four years, right at the halfway point between World Cups, and features 16 of Europe's best teams, battling for the right to be called the third best soccer team in the world.
The first round has been going on for the past two weeks; it wrapped up today with the last two games of Group D (Spain-Greece, Sweden-Russia) going on at the same time - 2:45 PM (EST), on ESPN. Spain beat Greece to go undefeated in the first round (3-0), while Russia beat Sweden to advance to the second round.
Let's get ya'll caught up with the key plot lines, as the quarterfinals will kick off on Thursday (again, at 2:45 PM EST):
Quarterfinal Game 1 (Thursday, 2:45): Portugal vs. Germany As expected Portugal made it to the QF behind the stellar play of the best Euro player in the world right now, Cristiano Ronaldo (named after Ronald Reagan). The quiet star of the team has been striker Deco, who has been doing the work that keeps the opposing defense honest against Ronaldo.
Unfortunately, the reward for going undefeated in the first round is the toughest second-round matchup: a game against the Germany team. Germany and Italy are the only two of the four traditional European powerhouses to advance to the second round; France got bumped off in the first round, and England didn't even qualify. What makes those four teams the "powerhouses"? They are the four European countries to actually win a World Cup (the other three countries are all South American - Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay).
Portugal is at least a bit rested (having taken it easy in the final game of the first round), whereas the German team had to fight it's way into the quarterfinals, after losing to Croatia in the second game. These teams battled for third place in the World Cup, with Portugal losing 3-1. Portugal has the most explosive player, and offense, of any of the teams left. The key for Germany is to get an early score, and play the tough defense they are known for. Better yet, expect Germany to try to play for penalty kicks. They always do that when they are up against a tough offense!
Prediction: Either Portugal wins 3-1, or it ends in a 1-1 tie, with Germany winning the PK shootout. My instincts say "bet on Ronaldo & Deco"
Quarterfinal Game 2 (Friday, 2:45): Croatia vs. Turkey
Who is the bigger surprise? Well, while Croatia was ranked 15th overall in the world, and seemed a good bet to advance to the second round, nobody expected them to destroy their grouping the way they did. 3-0, including a solid 2-1 victory over the Germans? Their defense was tight. That one goal to the Germans was the only goal they allowed in their three games.
As for the Turkish team... down 2-0 to the Czech Republic at the 75 minute mark. They needed at least a tie to have a chance to advance to the quarterfinals. That's like being down 8-0 in the 7th inning of a baseball game. Then one goal, plus another one at the 88 minute mark to tie. The stadium is melting down with the joy of the Turkish fans, and the anguish of the Czech fans. A tie would mean penalty kicks would decide who advances to the quarterfinals.
But one more goal two minutes later for Turkey caps one of the most unbelievable comebacks in Euro tournament history.
There was bad news for the European team from the Asian continent: goalkeeper Volkan Demirel will miss the game against Croatia due to a suspension for a red card foul at the end of the Croatia game. The reserve keeper is no novice - he was the Turkish keeper in the 2002 World Cup. That was six years ago. Expect the rusty reserve to give up more goals than the stingy Croatian defense.
Prediction: Croatia 2, Turkey 1.
Quarterfinal Game 3 (Saturday, 2:45): Netherlands vs. Russia I hate the Dutch soccer team. But the numbers speak for themselves: 3-0, 9 goals scored, 1 goal allowed, in the toughest grouping of the first round. The Netherland, ranked #10 in the world at the start of the tournament, took on the #3 team (defending World Cup champions) Italy, the #7 team (World Cup runner up France), and the #12 team (Romania, who fought those other two teams to draws) on, and demolished all three squads.
And for their troubles, they get a pretty clear path to the Finals. To make it to the semi-finals, they have to beat a 24th-ranked Russian team that beat Sweden (the worst team in the tournament) and Greece (0-3 in the first round) to make it this far. Not exactly staring down the Juggernaut there.
Prediction: After surely beating the Ruskies easily (unless the Dutch players go on the polonium-210 diet), the Netherlands will take on the winner of the Spain-Italy game. Having already spanked Italy once in the tournament, you have to believe the high-scoring Netherlands team will be a pretty confident bunch. Their next challenge may not come until the Finals. Speaking of the Spain-Italy game...
Quarterfinal Game 4 (Sunday, 2:45): Spain vs. Italy Spain also went 3-0 in the first round, meaning the four group winners (Portugal, Croatia, Netherlands, Spain) absolutely dominated the first round. If Storyline # 1 of Euro2008 so far has been the failure of the traditional four teams, then Storyline # 2 has been the dominance of the top four teams in this tourney. Don't expect any of them to lose in the second round, as the second-place finishers (Germany, Turkey, Russia, Italy) aren't quite playing their best yet. Time is running out for them.
How is Spain playing? Sh*t, that's 19 unbeaten matches in a row now for Spain. They are en fuego. Their hot streak going into the tourney pushed their ranking up to #4 overall in the world.
Note: the top three teams are the South American powerhouses Argentina and Brazil, followed by Italy. So yes, the Italian team has some life of it's own. After getting spanked in the opening game by the Dutch team, then being able to barely draw the Romania team, they are starting to gel again. The 2-0 victory over the French, coupled with the Romania loss, gave the Italians a last second entry into these quarterfinals. Let's see if they will make anything of it.
Prediction: Spain is pretty tough to stop right now. The flopping blue team will need some referee help to advance past Espana. I wouldn't bet on it. Spain wins 2-0.
Armenia: Stereotype: Weren’t they all… like… genocided, or whatever?
Truth: No. NO! THERE WAS NO GENOCIDE! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK THAT? NO GENOCIDE! THERE WASN’T ANY NO NONE NO NEVER GENOCIDE. DON’T YOU EVER EVER SAY THAT AGAIN.
Previous Olympic History: Armenia first participated as an independent country in the 1994 Olympic Games. They have since participated in the 1996, 2000, 2004 Summer Games, apparently after learning in 1994 that winter sports were not their particular forte.
In 1996 Armenia won its first two medals, both in wrestling. Armen Nazarian won a gold medal, and Armen Mkerchian won a silver. In 2000 Arsen Melikyan (not actually Armenian, but in fact from Arsenia) won a bronze in weightlifting. Later, Armen Arsenian and Arsen Armenian wrestled so hard they fused into one man: Arsenmen Armensenian. And he, of course, is now in fucking prison.
After winning the gold medal in 1996 for Armenia, Armen Nazarian switched his citizenship to Bulgaria, and wrestled for them in the 2000 and 2004 games, winning another gold, plus a bronze. He’s also a traitor, so, you know, hope you sleep well, Armen. With one eye open.
In the 2004 games Armenia sent 6 competitors. Only one came home alive. Wait, no, that’s not true. A couple did okay: Armen Martirosyan lost in round 1 of the Men's triple jump; Armen Nazaryan was defeated in the Men's Judo (60 kg) first round. It's worth noting that he is not related to Armen Nazarian (different last names, yo!), and that he has won four medals in the European championships in Judo - one every year from 2003 to 2006. He is the best bet for an Armenian winning a medal in the 2008 Olympic games.
Also note that Ara Abrahamian won a silver medal in 2004, but for Sweden (his country of residence). He would have competed for Armenia, but only people named “Armen” are permitted. Luckily, 94% of the population is named Armen.
2008 Olympic Prospects: Pretty limited. The country is smaller than Maryland, you know. So let’s focus on Olympic gymnast Jordan Jovtchev, who is competing for Bulgaria (Bulgaria, Armenia - same ish). He’s a 35 year old ring and floor specialist (ooh, boy!) who has had a brilliant career so far. He won a silver and a bronze in 2004, and two bronzes in 2000. He has won four golds, four silvers, and four bronzes (the man is symmetric) in world championships, going as far back as 1995, up to as recent as 2007. If he wins one more bronze, he can trade all those in for a gold! And then he can waggle them in Armenia’s face and be like “Yeah, boyee! Bulgaria represent! WHAT!?” and then he’ll do a little dance.
He’s also that tough little guy from the Ninja Warrior specials. On that crazy Japanese game show that makes American Gladiators look like little kids’ stuff [DJM’s note: isn’t it kids’ stuff?], Jordan has made it to the final (fourth) stage one time, in the 8th competition, but rain hampered his performance (pussy). He therefore earned the moniker “the world’s toughest gymnast”. But he’s not Armenian. So, uh, it’s sort of off-topic. Shut up. You try finding stuff to write about a country the size of midtown. Superman dat flo'!
Armenian History: In 301, Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official state religion. The Church rejected all other churches that came later, and Armenia Orthodox is independent of both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The Persians took over not too long later. They tried to impose the Zoroastrian religion on Armenia (holla, Freddie Mercury), but the Armenians resisted. So thus came the Battle of Avarayr (451), a sequel to the Battle of Thermopylae (as depicted in "300"), in which 66,000 Armenian troops, lead by Saint Vartan, fought, and lost, to a 200,000 strong Persian Army lead by those Immortals and War Elephants (motto: "crushing Spartans and Vartans for over a hundred years").
The Byzantines beat the Persians in 591, and took over Armenia. The usual players in history have ruled over Armenia - Persians, Greeks, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Turks, and your mom.
Oh. Snap.
The Ottoman Empire took over in the 1400's. From 1915 -1923, when the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, the ethnic cleansing of Armenians (over 1.5 million died) “supposedly” took place. To avoid controversy, we’ll use the passage from Wikipedia: "The Ottoman Turks accused the (Christian) Armenians as liable to ally with Imperial Russia, and used it as a pretext to deal with the entire Armenian population as an enemy within their empire". The Turkish side of the story is that the death were caused by a civil war and famine. The famine part might have been related to the mass deportations of Armenians that took place - they were sent off into the desert to die. Okay, very touchy subject handled delicately and objectively.
Now the true story: GENOCIDE GENOCIDE GENOCIDE! What are you gonna do about it, Turkey? Cry? The Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA) was established in 1918. Two years later they declared war on Turkey, which only had a population that was about 20 times larger. Four months later, Armenia had lost the war badly, and, per the treaty, had to disarm its military, and give up over 50% of its land. Rough stuff.
While the negotiations were taking place, the nearby Soviet Russian empire invaded (rolled three sixes to Armenia’s two fours. Ouch), via Azerbaijan, and took over Armenia. They kicked the Turks out, but then decided to make a deal with them. Russia would get Adjara (see our Georgia preview for more info on that mess), and the Turks would get the Kars territory. Though the Kars territory isn't that big in size, it contains some pretty important Armenian sites, including Mt. Ararat (the landing place of Noah's Ark), Mt. Rararat (the landing place of the Lusitania) and Mt. Ratatat (groovy synth music). And Armenia was now under the USSR's rule. Armenians are no doubt still a bit pissed about that genocide [IT WASN’T GENOCIDE! I’LL KILL YOU!] thing, as well as that “taking our holy mountain” thing, too. So yes, they don’t like Turkey very much. They only eat ham. Ba-dum-ching.
Armenia became independent of the USSR in 1991. There was some beef [hey-oh! OK, we’ll stop] prior to that, in 1988, when Armenia took a small chunk (Nagorno-Karabakh) with a large Armenian population (130,000 Armenians) out of neighboring satellite country Azerbaijan. Follow the Armenian victory against Azerbaijan's army, the countries of Azerbaijan and Turkey both imposed a blockade against Armenia. That remains to this day. As for Nagorno-Karabakh, it is considered a de facto independent republic that is part of Azerbaijan, but controlled independently, receiving protection from the Armenian army. Also, Armenia said “eff it”, and took over some extra Azeri land, too. For a small country, Armenia loves to go at it with the big guys in the neighborhood.
And, if you are keeping score at home - we have now covered five (5!) of the six "unrecognized republics" in the world. To recap those 5: Abkhazia (see our Georgia preview), Kosovo (as predicted in our Albania preview), South Ossetia (what up, Georgia?), Transnistria (Moldova), and now Nagorno-Karabakh. We'll save the 6th one for next week, as it gets its own Olympic Preview.
Pop Culture: Most Armenians live in other countries, due to the diaspora that occurred during the genocide [IT WAS A FAMINE! A FAAAAMIIIINE!]. Armenia's population itself is only 3.2M, but Russia has 1.1M people of Armenian descent; the Ukraine has 100K; the US has 385K; France has 500K but they’re not allowed to say so; Iran has 40K but Ahmedinajad denies that they exist; Georgia has 250K; Syria, Jordan and Lebanon have about 400K combined. Even Argentina has 130K. Germany, Canada, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Greece, Turkmenistan, Hungary, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Iraq... you name it, and Armenians are there. There are over 5 million Armenians in the world outside of Armenia. Their last names always end in –ian, except for the occasional -yan.
Famous Armenians: Kim Kardashian (daughter of OJ lawyer Robert Kardashian): Our chances of getting linked to by The Big Lead just went up 400%.
Atom Egoyan - the Canadian-Armenian director of The Sweet Hereafter and Afarat.
Michael Omartian - produced all those classic Donna Summer albums from the 70’s. My favorite Donna Summer song? This Time Its For Real just edges out that weird one about the cake melting in the San Francisco park.
Cher (real name Cherilyn Sarkisian). The Armenian Donna Summer, but with an Oscar. Um, I could have posted a clip from If I Could Turn Back Time, but rather than to look at Cher's thong again, here's (nerd alert) the ending of the X-Files episode "Post-Modern Prometheus", one of the best episodes in X-Files history:
Athletes: Andre Agassi, sort of. Agassi’s father was Iranian of Armenian descent, and represented Iran at the Olympics as a boxer in the 50's. He lost the “-ian” ending in Iran.
Argentine Tennis player David Nalbandian.
Garo Yepremian, former NFL kicker credited with “the worst pass attempt in NFL history” except for every one thrown by Ryan Leaf:
Garry Kasparov, chess champion (lost the -ian ending in Russia in a bet with Bobby Fischerian)
Jerry "the shark" Tarkanian (former coach of those great UNLV that maked the Suns look like the Spurs) and Steve Bedrosian, former pitcher.
Others: Ross Bagdasarian, creator of Alvin & The Chipmunks
System of a Down.
Leon Redbone – not the singer of Come and Get Your Loving (that’s just “Redbone”). His real name might be Dickran Gobalian. No one knows for sure. Nothing is known about Leon, despite many appearances, dating back to the 70's. Most people thought he was Andy Kaufman, but that rumor died down when Kaufman died, yet Redbone lived on. Others think he's really the comedian who places Father Guido Sarducci.
Joe Strummer, drummer for The Clash. Favorite Clash song: have to say it’s a tough call… but here's a video for Straight To Hell:
Conclusion: SAY GENOCIDE JUST ONE MORE TIME AND WATCH WHAT HAPPENS! WATCH! Special Thanks to Canadian DJM for inserting humor and insight into this post. Always appreciated!
Via Slam Online, quoting Danilo Gallinari in The Star-Ledger:
“I like New Jersey and New York. I like those two places,” the Italian
forward said matter-of-factly after his one-hour, one-man workout with the Nets
yesterday in East Rutherford. “Now I will work out for New Jersey and New York
(today), then I don’t know (about) other teams.”
The reason being? He has all the leverage a teenager needs, in the form of a
very lucrative multiyear offer from his team in Milan, so he doesn’t have to
play in the NBA at all.
And so we have a nice synergy between the blogger at Slam Online, backing the writer at Star-Ledger, in assuming this is some sort of slight at the rest of the US.
Certainly that is possible. Hey, maybe Danilo Gallinari, like Yi Jianlian and his handlers last year, wants to push to be in a city where he will be more comfortable. Certainly the Italian food in NJ, and NYC, is far better than the Italian food in the rest of the US (exception: Providence, supposedly. Oh, and New Haven has really good pizza). But is that really what Danilo Gallinari was saying here?
Read that quote again:
“Now I will work out for New Jersey and New York
(today), then I don’t know (about) other teams.”
Now, keeping in mind that English is not Danilo's first language, doesn't it seem possible... more likely, even... that what Danilo meant is that he doesn't know when he will be working out for other teams? As in, "Hey, I don't know my schedule". It seems that way to me. Especially since, well, I'll bet big money that Danilo will work out for other teams in the upcoming weeks.
I think what here we have a local beat writer for the Nets trying to make it seem like the Nets, with pick #21, are somehow in play for a top-7 talent. And the way the media works nowadays, one big blogger (soon to be followed by other bloggers wanting an easy post) follows the lead blindly, without giving much thought to the context of the quote, or motivation of the original writer.
Next thing you know, there will be a discussion on ESPN about Danilo as the next Yi Jianlian (or Steve Francis, or Kobe Bryant), a draft pick with the balls or hubris or ego to demand a trade if they don't like where they were picked. And yes, there will be a discussion of the Milan contract offer as leverage, and whether the NBA is going to have to deal with this competition from Europe in the future. And the reality is this: Danilo played for Milan for the past three seasons. If he wanted to stay in Europe, he didn't need to declare for the draft, period.
This is the second straight season the likely top foreign draft pick (a tall SF, ironically) has been rumored to be a prima donna, demanding the location of his choice. Yet as we saw last year, Yi Jianlian "settled" for Milwaukee with minor arm-twisting. Perhaps the beat writers should focus more on actually trying to give us insight into Gallinari's game... will he be able to adjust to the NBA or not?...
The number one ranked team in the world, ARGENTINA, is here on Sunday to play the US national team in a friendly at Giants Stadium. I will be there, thanks to my wonderful GF.
The US team played Spain in Madrid last night, and lost 1-0 in a defensive battle. The Argentina team took on Mexico in San Diego in a game that started at 11:00 PM EST. Argentina is looking to continue expend on it's number one ranking (it helps come time for the World Cup groupings) over Brazil (they play in Boston on Saturday night) with victories over Mexico and the U.S.
The last time Argentina played the U.S., they crushed them 4-1 in the Copa America tournament (2007). The American team was a bit short-handed then. This time the America team is suppose to be fully loaded, while Argentina will be resting one of the best players in the world: Carlos Tevez of Manchester United, who needs some rest after a long Premiership season that didn't end until penalty kicks earned Man U the Champions League final victory against Chelsea less two weeks ago. But Argentina still has Lionel Messi, Maxi Rodriguez, Hernan Crespo, Javier Saviola and even aging captain Juan Riquelme. It's for that reason that you probably see the odds of a US victory, even in a meaningless Friendly, are so long: 4-1.
One last personal note that nobody who reads this site will care about but me: Boca Juniors lost in the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores against Fluminense ("The Flu" are a Brazilian club) 3-1, eliminating them from a chance to repeat as the champs of South America. Despite having taken 13 shots on goals (that's a lot for a soccer game), Boca could only convert one. Since these teams tied in the earlier semi-final matchup between the clubs (the Copa Libertadores works in that semi-finals are a home-and-road matchup), Boca faced the tough task of going into the Maracana having to beat a team that was undefeated in the previous five tourney games at home, outscoring opponents 13-1. That's a home stadium advantage! The Flu goes against Ecuador's LDU club in the Finals. The Euro 2008 Tourney starts this Saturday. Saturday's action:
Noon game: Switzerland vs. The Czech Republic. The most even game of the first round. The Czech team is much better (they are the fourth highest ranked team in the Euro 2008), but since this game is being played in Geneva, in front of a home country Swiss crowd... that makes the #44 ranked Swiss team dangerous - anything can happen. Crucial game for both teams, especially the Czech team. They can't afford to lose this game, in a tight grouping that features the tourney-favorite Portugal, and a strong Turkey team. A loss here could open the door for Turkey to advance to the second round instead of the Czech team. Tough game to open the tourney for the Czechs - having to go against wild home country crowd in a "better win or else" game.
2:45 game: Portugal at Turkey. Turkey would love to pull a tie off with the favorites of the tourney. We're putting our money on Portugal, and Cristiano Ronaldo (the best player in the Premiership this past season) and our old favorites Deco (supremely underrated) and Nani (always on the opposite from Ronaldo, providing a second option to keep the defense honest). It's a good bet, since the Portugal team is only ranked #11 overall, and paying out good money if you take them to win the tourney. This is a team that's done exceedingly well in recent history: Portugal finished second in Euro 2004, and made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup (4th place finish). Bet on them to advance to the quarter-finals, and beyond.
Sunday's action: 12:00 Austria vs. Croatia. The Croatia team is in good position to go deep in the tournament. They will struggle against the mighty (but aging) Germany team, but Austria and Poland are very beatable. Austria is en frio, with only one win in its last 14 friendlies. They are the KC Royals of Europe. On the plus side: they have home field advantage (they are co-hosts along with the Swiss). The hopes of the former Yugoslavia are riding on Croatia. Keep a close eye on Luka Modric of Croatia, the fundamentally-strong passer who recently was transferred to Tottenham for over $35 million dollars.
2:45: Germany will destroy Poland (7-1 underdogs to win) like it's 1941 again. That joke never gets old for me.
Monday: Cutting work at 12:00 to go check out the Romania-France game, the start of a day of great matches in the toughest grouping of the tournament. Mainly because France looks weak. What's with Romania getting almost respectable 4.75-1 odds here against the #7 team in the world? When did Romania, who failed to make the World Cup two years ago, climb up to #12 overall in FIFA's rankings? It doesn't help that France is possibly without Patrick Vieira, that Thierry Henry doesn't show up enough in big games, that Zidane is retired, and that Franck Ribery is probably should join Zidane in retirement soon.
2:45: The best game of the week: The Netherlands (Argentina's World Cup tormentor) versus defending WC champs Italy. Azzurri is the highest ranked team (according to FIFA) in tourney, being #3 behind the South American powerhouses (Argentina and Brazil). The Netherlands are in their usually range, at #10 overall. They always seem to be in that second tier, in the #7-10 range, just behind the perpetually overrated England team. Not surprisingly, guess who is #9 overall? Sadly, the loser here may not even make it out of the first round, as this group is that stacked with talent.
Tuesday: Spain vs. Russia Greece vs. Sweden.
This grouping is a joke. Spain is the favorites here - they are #4 overall, and the second-best team of the tourney. They are big favorites over a weak Russia team,one which failed to make the WC in 2008. Greece may not have made the Cup, either, but they are the defending champs and ranked #8 overall, just ahead of England.
Still, Spain has historically underachieved in big tournaments, and Greece may have won the last Euro, but their World Cup performance is atrocious. Point being, neither team, despite their high rankings, is really clutch. And if another strong team was in this group - say Croatia - I would feel more confident in them than either Greece or Spain. Spain is one of those teams that does well in pre-tourney games because they are very patient, and don't make many mistakes. That's an excellent strategy against weak opponents. Against good teams with talented playmakers, though, you have to eventually step up and make a move. The Spaniards haven't had a big name world-wide talent in a long time.
We'll be rooting for the Greek team, given our affinity for Greek people (The Greek Professor, the various Greek Ex-GFs, Tas from The Basketball Jones).
Thankfully for both teams, they will face little competition from the "slightly better than Denmark" vodka-swigging duo of Sweden and Russia ("we can crush Lithuania!").
Upset pick of the first round: Romania over France. Most likely to tie: Netherlands-Italy; Czech Republic-Switzerland. Straight up winners: Portugal, Germany, Croatia, Spain, Greece.
Raw I'ma give it to ya, with some trivia: About four years back, I download a track from somewhere (can't remember where I found it) - it was El Michels Affair, "Glaciers of Ice". I thought I had found the sample Raekwon used on what I would call the one of the best songs off the Cuban Linx album. It took me a couple of years before I came to the realization who El Michels Affair is.
Turns out that El Michels Affair is a backing band that performs for the Wu-Tang (or, really, for Ghost and Raekwon). Leon Michels is the head of the group, and the co-founder of a record label called Truth & Soul, which specializes in nu-funk/soul music. El Michels Affair has a sound that could be from the 70's, but that's not where they come from. Instead, the band is mostly seen playing live for Raek & Ghost, or releasing "instrumental" versions of Wu classics. Peep the video below to see some footage of El Michels Affair and the Wu doing C.R.E.A.M. live:
Why stop there? Raek & the EMA performing Ice Cream live (apparently minus Cab-badonna, who was no doubt making pickups in Baltimore, which he loves like he love his d*ck size):
And here's a soulful instrumental version of C.R.E.A.M. recorded by El Michels Affair (not to be mistaken with the actual song The Rza sampled for C.R.E.A.M., which is "As Long As I Got You" by The Charmels):
Rap styles vary: In case you are wondering how EMA got that sweet 70's sound down - one of the first cats they signed to the label was an old-timer who goes by the name of Tyron Ashley, from Plainview, NJ. When he was a young man playing in bands in the 70's, Plainview was the spot for funk/soul music. It's the hometown of Parliment (yes, George Clinton grew up there), and there was lots of black musicians in the city back in those days - gospel, R&B, soul, funk, doo wop - you name it. And the studio that everyone supposedly passed through belong to none other than... Tyrone Ashley. This is a man who might have heard some good music in his time, you dig?
The Saga Continues: Truth & Soul operates out of a studio in Brooklyn, on North 10th Street in Williamsburg. That's really Williamsburg, not Bushwick a.k.a. "East Williamsburg" as the realty stars have been known to sell it. That kinda kills me, actually. It's funny how Bushwick, Flatbush, Crown Heights, and even Bed-Stuy have all sort of disappeared or shrunk over the past ten to fifteen years, to be replaced with new names. Sh*t, from now on I'm no longer telling people I live in Queens, but in "East Manhattan". But I'm digressing.
Rappening is what's happening: That British cokehead sure does know where to go to find some retro-sounding bands, doesn't she? And the answer is North Brooklyn. The day of Brooklyn as the center of hip-hop may have passed (thank Rudy Guiliani and gentrification for that), but even if D&D studios isn't as influential it once was, Brooklyn is still churning out hits in a new form. For the record, here's my favorite Brooklyn track from that era, if only because it still cracks me up to hear Chubb Rock getting angry political on a track.
In '95 we take back Ebbets' Field: Completely unrelated piece of trivia to share - Charles Ebbets's (the sports executive for whom Ebbets' Field was named after) nephew (Charles C. Ebbets) was a photographer during 20's and 30's, and took one of the most famous and iconoclastic photos of NYC ever - "Lunch Atop A Skyscraper": Some more stuff to check out: The El Michels Affair's cover of "Walk On By" (sounds like the Isaac Hayes soul version, not so much the DIonne Warrick + Burt Bucharach original version): http://www.ubiquityrecords.com/mpeg/ur195_01.mp3
Steve Nash's teammate, Leandro Barbosa, was first to arrive. The stars all came via car, and entered by the back entrance that I was lucky enough to have staked out. Here's Barbosa:
And with all that said, we're going to add only one last though: D-Wil is right... I don't care who is in charge of these "sports bloggers", and whatever silly values they represent while trying not to say anything different, or have too strong of an opinion! It's time for representation for the Independent (Sports) Media... and I want guys like David Zirin, D.K. Wilson, Charles Modiano, and Mike Tillery representing. Newspaper writers looking for a quote and an opinion... that's where you should go to. Why keep asking guys who have no opinion on anything (except when they are leaving the business, then they are suddenly not so apolitical anymore!), when you can ask the aforementioned quartet? Just a thought....
Anthony Randolph is listed as a 20-year old, 
Superman dat flo'!
Our chances of getting linked to by 
