If the UFL actually thinks that bringing in Terrelle Pryor alone will juice interest in the largely hapless fledgling football minor league -- or if fans actually would have an interest (even passing interest) in the UFL if it did sign a known college star like Pryor -- then it makes it all the more obvious what the UFL's optimal strategy should be:
Undercut the NFL's draft age-restriction by two years, then recruit star college players after their freshmen and sophomore years directly into the UFL, to spend one or two years getting paid to hone their NFL skills until they are draft-eligible in the NFL.
We've been over this before: If the UFL could promise some money and, perhaps more importantly, a full-time focus on maximizing the players' draft prospects (and, ultimately, their long-term NFL prospects), they could not only bring in the "name" players that would increase interest in the league, but ultimately position itself as a viable development pipeline for NFL talent.
Again, this is all based on the assumption that single "name" stars from college, like Pryor, would materially move the needle for the UFL. If those individual players wouldn't, then the plan wouldn't work -- then again, why would people be talking about Pryor now if there wasn't some intrigue? You wouldn't need to recruit every talented rising college sophomore or junior -- just some of the bigger names, names you could market around ("See them now before you see them on the stage on the first night of the NFL Draft.")
What makes it so frustrating is both how obvious it is and the UFL's boneheaded insistence on trying to be a crappy version of the NFL, rather than taking advantage of the most glaring inefficiency in the NFL's development system -- its arbitrary age limit -- and arbitraging the 1-2 years between the emergence of college stars and their drafting into the NFL.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Bill Simmons' Grantland Launches Today
Today is the launch day of Bill Simmons' new ESPN-backed project Grantland.com. I jotted down a few launch-day/pre-launch thoughts. If this topic is of interest to you, please give it a read.
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
06/08 (What the Heat?) Quickie
Grantland.com launches today. As a fan of all media start-ups, sports and otherwise, I had a few things to say. Onward...
Heat, LeBron choke away Game 4 to the Mavs: All credit to Dallas for gutting it out, but for a second time in this series, the Heat collapsed.
Yes, Dwyane Wade was incredible, but -- yikes -- LeBron was a non-factor, in a way that seems to trouble most everyone.
It's not that he didn't score -- I don't care about that. It's that he wasn't aggressive or engaged, which has yet to be accounted for in post-game reports. The "Why?"
LeBron is the most talented player in the NBA -- that doesn't necessarily mean he has a killer instinct. He has shown flashes, but then again, he has shown flashes of NOT having it.
Here's the thing: LeBron and the Heat will win a ring (or rings) eventually and inevitably. It doesn't matter how much he has to do with that, because we'll largely only remember the titles.
Even games like last night -- or last year's check-out vs. the Celtics -- will be buried under the weight of "CHAMPION," as these things almost always are.
But games like last night have a way of sticking with people. In the same way it elevated our already out-of-this-world appreciation of Dwyane Wade, it diminished our belief in LeBron.
A few other thoughts:
*Terrelle Pryor leaves Ohio State: The guy was bad news from the start, even before he signed with OSU. He should have played elsewhere -- then again, would he have earned that $40K in autographs in Ann Arbor or Happy Valley or Gainesville or Eugene? (Maybe, if he was inclined to.)
Pryor leaves a legacy of winning, but not ultimately winning; he always seemed to have terrible games in those single losses that ruin Ohio State's season. (Ohio State fans who focus on Big Ten titles rather than national titles are missing the point.) He also leaves a legacy of scandal.
*Tiger drops out of the US Open: If he's too hurt to play -- or play well -- he's too hurt to play. But it just reinforces the idea that he'll never compete at the elite level (winning majors, I mean) again.
*The Pistons hiring Isiah would be a joke. The Pistons hiring Laimbeer would be inspired.
*Red Sox beat Yankees: Just can't get excited about this yet. (On the flip side, I'm going to be in Tampa for July 4 weekend and have every intention of going to a Rays game. Extra 2%, baby!)
*Congrats to Arizona State women's softball on winning the College World Series (over Florida, yes).
Tons of great stuff on Quickish today -- recommendations to the best NBA Finals Game 4 analysis, more reactions to today's top news and no more meta-coverage of Grantland -- just money quotes and links to Grantland's best stuff.
-- D.S.
Heat, LeBron choke away Game 4 to the Mavs: All credit to Dallas for gutting it out, but for a second time in this series, the Heat collapsed.
Yes, Dwyane Wade was incredible, but -- yikes -- LeBron was a non-factor, in a way that seems to trouble most everyone.
It's not that he didn't score -- I don't care about that. It's that he wasn't aggressive or engaged, which has yet to be accounted for in post-game reports. The "Why?"
LeBron is the most talented player in the NBA -- that doesn't necessarily mean he has a killer instinct. He has shown flashes, but then again, he has shown flashes of NOT having it.
Here's the thing: LeBron and the Heat will win a ring (or rings) eventually and inevitably. It doesn't matter how much he has to do with that, because we'll largely only remember the titles.
Even games like last night -- or last year's check-out vs. the Celtics -- will be buried under the weight of "CHAMPION," as these things almost always are.
But games like last night have a way of sticking with people. In the same way it elevated our already out-of-this-world appreciation of Dwyane Wade, it diminished our belief in LeBron.
A few other thoughts:
*Terrelle Pryor leaves Ohio State: The guy was bad news from the start, even before he signed with OSU. He should have played elsewhere -- then again, would he have earned that $40K in autographs in Ann Arbor or Happy Valley or Gainesville or Eugene? (Maybe, if he was inclined to.)
Pryor leaves a legacy of winning, but not ultimately winning; he always seemed to have terrible games in those single losses that ruin Ohio State's season. (Ohio State fans who focus on Big Ten titles rather than national titles are missing the point.) He also leaves a legacy of scandal.
*Tiger drops out of the US Open: If he's too hurt to play -- or play well -- he's too hurt to play. But it just reinforces the idea that he'll never compete at the elite level (winning majors, I mean) again.
*The Pistons hiring Isiah would be a joke. The Pistons hiring Laimbeer would be inspired.
*Red Sox beat Yankees: Just can't get excited about this yet. (On the flip side, I'm going to be in Tampa for July 4 weekend and have every intention of going to a Rays game. Extra 2%, baby!)
*Congrats to Arizona State women's softball on winning the College World Series (over Florida, yes).
Tons of great stuff on Quickish today -- recommendations to the best NBA Finals Game 4 analysis, more reactions to today's top news and no more meta-coverage of Grantland -- just money quotes and links to Grantland's best stuff.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
06/07 (Zip Around) Quickie
*Bruins thump Canucks: Sure feels like one of those beatings that complete flips a series, but small sample size... yada yada yada... let's wait until Game 4 is over.
*Warriors hire Mark Jackson: He might be the next Doc Rivers, but even Doc Rivers wasn't Doc Rivers until he had three Hall of Famers and the best assistant coach in basketball. That's not Jackson's situation with the Warriors; the "no previous coaching experience, head or otherwise" is the reason to be skeptical here.
*MLB Draft: So different from the NFL or NBA Drafts, where the impact at the top can be instantaneous. Most of these top players won't see the MLB level until 2013 at the earliest. That's a long way to go. Good thing we have...
*Bryce Harper Watch: After clocking a HR off a team that beaned him two days ago, Harper blew a kiss at the opposing pitcher, endearing him to no one. I don't mind the showmanship (or lack of sportsmanship) because this is obviously just who Harper is. He should be ready for the blowback, though. I'm sure the Nationals are trying to figure out how to mitigate the PR damage -- while secretly thrilled he keeps making national news as a single-A player.
*USC stripped of 2004 BCS title: I'm in the "let's not leave it vacated -- let's give it to Auburn." And I think the AP is derelict -- not to mention going against its stated goal of "not making the news itself" -- by not having the old voters re-vote. I think that would be tremendous in an otherwise slow offseason.
*West Virginia football coaching mess: Seriously, WTF? There's no way current head coach Bill Stewart can make it through this. And I suspect WVU can fire him for cause, thus voiding the hefty remainder of his deal. (Or, at the very least, settle for a figure way less than paying him out in full, if they simply fired him as they seem to want to.) Dana Holgorsen might be a flawed guy, but I think everyone is ready to see what he can do as a head coach. Let's get it going already.
*NFL planning for 8-game season? No, not "planning" as in "that's what it's going to be," but "planning" as in "contingency." And, frankly, let's be pragmatic: An 8-game season is better than a zero-game season. Would make for an insane sprint for the playoffs -- can you imagine how insane fans will have become without NFL in September and October?
*Tennessee AD Mike Hamilton resigns: Too little, too late.
*Michael Crabtree isn't sure about Alex Smith as 49ers QB: Who isn't? (This is news?)
*NBA Finals Game 4 tonight: Needless to say, it's a must-win for the Mavs.
Stick with Quickish all day for great recommendations and the best takes on the biggest stories.
-- D.S.
*Warriors hire Mark Jackson: He might be the next Doc Rivers, but even Doc Rivers wasn't Doc Rivers until he had three Hall of Famers and the best assistant coach in basketball. That's not Jackson's situation with the Warriors; the "no previous coaching experience, head or otherwise" is the reason to be skeptical here.
*MLB Draft: So different from the NFL or NBA Drafts, where the impact at the top can be instantaneous. Most of these top players won't see the MLB level until 2013 at the earliest. That's a long way to go. Good thing we have...
*Bryce Harper Watch: After clocking a HR off a team that beaned him two days ago, Harper blew a kiss at the opposing pitcher, endearing him to no one. I don't mind the showmanship (or lack of sportsmanship) because this is obviously just who Harper is. He should be ready for the blowback, though. I'm sure the Nationals are trying to figure out how to mitigate the PR damage -- while secretly thrilled he keeps making national news as a single-A player.
*USC stripped of 2004 BCS title: I'm in the "let's not leave it vacated -- let's give it to Auburn." And I think the AP is derelict -- not to mention going against its stated goal of "not making the news itself" -- by not having the old voters re-vote. I think that would be tremendous in an otherwise slow offseason.
*West Virginia football coaching mess: Seriously, WTF? There's no way current head coach Bill Stewart can make it through this. And I suspect WVU can fire him for cause, thus voiding the hefty remainder of his deal. (Or, at the very least, settle for a figure way less than paying him out in full, if they simply fired him as they seem to want to.) Dana Holgorsen might be a flawed guy, but I think everyone is ready to see what he can do as a head coach. Let's get it going already.
*NFL planning for 8-game season? No, not "planning" as in "that's what it's going to be," but "planning" as in "contingency." And, frankly, let's be pragmatic: An 8-game season is better than a zero-game season. Would make for an insane sprint for the playoffs -- can you imagine how insane fans will have become without NFL in September and October?
*Tennessee AD Mike Hamilton resigns: Too little, too late.
*Michael Crabtree isn't sure about Alex Smith as 49ers QB: Who isn't? (This is news?)
*NBA Finals Game 4 tonight: Needless to say, it's a must-win for the Mavs.
Stick with Quickish all day for great recommendations and the best takes on the biggest stories.
-- D.S.
Monday, June 06, 2011
06/06 (Advantage: Heat) Quickie
Get over to Quickish to catch up on last night's game and everything else from the weekend. Meanwhile: Let's get to it...
Heat win Game 3: Dwyane Wade was phenomenal. Chris Bosh was good enough. And this LeBron "shrinking" meme is ludicrous -- none of this works without him.
Meanwhile, it's yet another game that the Mavericks coulda-shoulda-woulda won, and when they lose the series, they'll look back and say "If only..."
Nadal d. Federer in French Open final: The big discussion today is Nadal's rising place on the "all-time" list. That he's even in the discussion should be good enough.
Albert Pujols: That is all.
Plaxico Burress freed from prison: He was wearing a Phillies cap, which was clearly intentional -- Philly is where Mike Vick landed, and they could use him.
West Virginia crazy: So that story about WVU coach-in-waiting Dana Holgorsen getting busted at casinos for being drunk and disorderly? Apparently the leaks came from the current coach, who apparently kind of resents the "in-waiting" thing.
MLB Draft today: UCLA P Gerritt Cole is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Pirates, but there is no Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg mega-star in this year's field.
Olympic rights bidding presentations: NBC/Comcast vs. Fox vs. ESPN, in Switzerland. Can't even begin to guess who will win, but suffice to say these folks are playing chess where the rest of us kind of muddle along playing checkers.
Lots more to come today on Quickish. Pop by!
-- D.S.
Heat win Game 3: Dwyane Wade was phenomenal. Chris Bosh was good enough. And this LeBron "shrinking" meme is ludicrous -- none of this works without him.
Meanwhile, it's yet another game that the Mavericks coulda-shoulda-woulda won, and when they lose the series, they'll look back and say "If only..."
Nadal d. Federer in French Open final: The big discussion today is Nadal's rising place on the "all-time" list. That he's even in the discussion should be good enough.
Albert Pujols: That is all.
Plaxico Burress freed from prison: He was wearing a Phillies cap, which was clearly intentional -- Philly is where Mike Vick landed, and they could use him.
West Virginia crazy: So that story about WVU coach-in-waiting Dana Holgorsen getting busted at casinos for being drunk and disorderly? Apparently the leaks came from the current coach, who apparently kind of resents the "in-waiting" thing.
MLB Draft today: UCLA P Gerritt Cole is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Pirates, but there is no Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg mega-star in this year's field.
Olympic rights bidding presentations: NBC/Comcast vs. Fox vs. ESPN, in Switzerland. Can't even begin to guess who will win, but suffice to say these folks are playing chess where the rest of us kind of muddle along playing checkers.
Lots more to come today on Quickish. Pop by!
-- D.S.
Friday, June 03, 2011
06/03 (Mavs!) Quickie
Never been more happy to be wrong. Writing off the Mavs after Game 1 was a mistake -- but, let's be honest: It took a collapse of epic proportions by the Heat last night to keep it from being 2-0.
That's what makes it so delightful: The complete and utter collapse, particularly after that little celebration after Wade's 3 put Miami up 15 (Wade leaving his hand up, like Sidney shooting against Billy Hoyle in "White Men Can't Jump" then LeBron giving Wade that "boxing-punch" move.)
Let's start with this: The celebration was not even close to out of line, based on other celebration comps. If there hadn't been a time-out, it wouldn't have even happened (well, maybe the Wade hand thing).
But if the celebrating made the Mavs mad enough to come back -- or, equally, made the Heat satisfied enough to let Dallas do it -- then that's the reality.
I'm not sure I would attribute the comeback to "I'm so mad that I'll play better!" -- mainly because the corollary (that you weren't playing your hardest to begin with) is so depressing to consider -- as much as Dallas executing at an extraordinarily high level and Miami imploding in a similar extraordinary way; with no margin for error, it took both.
And so we have the proverbial "It's a series." Everyone is better for it, mostly fans.
****
Federer knocks off Djokovic: Greatest win in Fed's career? Certainly his greatest non-title-match win.
Knicks split with Donnie Walsh: This can't end well for the Knicks, whether or not Isiah Thomas is involved.
Shaq's retirement press conference: He is so savvy -- and authentic. Killer combo. And "The Big AARP" is genius.
Giants GM Brian Sabean appears to want Scott Cousins hurt and his MLB career ended: Sabean is presumably defending his biggest star -- and certainly offering red meat to his fans -- and while I'm sure Buster Posey appreciates the sentiment as a projection of his own pure frustration, he can't possibly want to see Cousins drummed out of MLB, right?
As for Sabean basically announcing the retaliatory measures, it touches on one of my least favorite things in MLB -- "the unwritten rules." I hope Joe Torre tells Sabean that if anything happens to Cousins, Sabean will get personally fined $500,000 dollars and the offending player(s) suspended for 50 games. Baseball's unwritten rules are stupid.
Looks to be an amazing weekend ahead -- both in sports and just out and around. Enjoy it, and please stop by Quickish all weekend long for the best takes on the latest news, plus recommendations to some fantastic reads, both off the news and kind of serendipitous.
-- D.S.
That's what makes it so delightful: The complete and utter collapse, particularly after that little celebration after Wade's 3 put Miami up 15 (Wade leaving his hand up, like Sidney shooting against Billy Hoyle in "White Men Can't Jump" then LeBron giving Wade that "boxing-punch" move.)
Let's start with this: The celebration was not even close to out of line, based on other celebration comps. If there hadn't been a time-out, it wouldn't have even happened (well, maybe the Wade hand thing).
But if the celebrating made the Mavs mad enough to come back -- or, equally, made the Heat satisfied enough to let Dallas do it -- then that's the reality.
I'm not sure I would attribute the comeback to "I'm so mad that I'll play better!" -- mainly because the corollary (that you weren't playing your hardest to begin with) is so depressing to consider -- as much as Dallas executing at an extraordinarily high level and Miami imploding in a similar extraordinary way; with no margin for error, it took both.
And so we have the proverbial "It's a series." Everyone is better for it, mostly fans.
****
Federer knocks off Djokovic: Greatest win in Fed's career? Certainly his greatest non-title-match win.
Knicks split with Donnie Walsh: This can't end well for the Knicks, whether or not Isiah Thomas is involved.
Shaq's retirement press conference: He is so savvy -- and authentic. Killer combo. And "The Big AARP" is genius.
Giants GM Brian Sabean appears to want Scott Cousins hurt and his MLB career ended: Sabean is presumably defending his biggest star -- and certainly offering red meat to his fans -- and while I'm sure Buster Posey appreciates the sentiment as a projection of his own pure frustration, he can't possibly want to see Cousins drummed out of MLB, right?
As for Sabean basically announcing the retaliatory measures, it touches on one of my least favorite things in MLB -- "the unwritten rules." I hope Joe Torre tells Sabean that if anything happens to Cousins, Sabean will get personally fined $500,000 dollars and the offending player(s) suspended for 50 games. Baseball's unwritten rules are stupid.
Looks to be an amazing weekend ahead -- both in sports and just out and around. Enjoy it, and please stop by Quickish all weekend long for the best takes on the latest news, plus recommendations to some fantastic reads, both off the news and kind of serendipitous.
-- D.S.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
06/02 (Shaqadelic) Quickie
Shaq retires: Shaq and I are almost the same age, and I vividly remember him at LSU (worth a trip to YouTube), then -- of course -- when he took over the NBA.
My favorite part about all the tributes from the past day (you've got to see the Quickish "Shaq" stream for the best of the best) is this:
Shaq intuitively understood the intersection between sports and entertainment. From the Pepsi ads to his rapping to his early adoption of Twitter, he was a populist at heart.
Yes, he didn't necessarily maximize his talents by working out maniacally -- then again, he was so good, he didn't have to; he won multiple rings and individual awards anyway.
He had work-life balance in a way we don't see or appreciate in the NBA anymore -- now it's all "Rise and Grind," with Kevin Durant's work ethic as the standard.
And that's all fine and good -- I certainly find a lot to admire about Durant's approach. But there is something to be said for Shaq's way, even if he was uniquely talented to pull it off.
More on the radar today:
*Stanley Cup: Oh my god, I can't believe this happened.
*NBA Finals Game 2: Must-win for the Mavs? Pretty much, yes. (All eyes on that injured left finger of Dirk's.)
*Ricky Rubio coming to the NBA: Can't shoot. Can't play D. But a showman! (And, frankly, that's what the T'wolves need. If you're not going to contend, you might as well be entertaining. And between Rubio, Kevin Love and -- presumably -- Derrick Williams, Minnesota will be.)
*Steve Spurrier wants to pay college football players: They already get massive extra benefits, so a little bit more cash will hardly tilt the balance. (But again: Where does it stop? If your standard is "The school makes millions off of them," then a few thousand bucks extra will never cut it.)
*Spelling Bee: One of my favorite events of the year, a sports event far more pressure-packed than an NBA Finals game or NHL Stanley Cup final game. As is my penchant, I tend to favor the competitors with previous experience -- I'll take Laura Newcombe.
Much more all day. Please pop by Quickish for the best takes on the biggest topics (moments of "breaking news" like Shaq's retirement are always a lot of fun).
-- D.S.
My favorite part about all the tributes from the past day (you've got to see the Quickish "Shaq" stream for the best of the best) is this:
Shaq intuitively understood the intersection between sports and entertainment. From the Pepsi ads to his rapping to his early adoption of Twitter, he was a populist at heart.
Yes, he didn't necessarily maximize his talents by working out maniacally -- then again, he was so good, he didn't have to; he won multiple rings and individual awards anyway.
He had work-life balance in a way we don't see or appreciate in the NBA anymore -- now it's all "Rise and Grind," with Kevin Durant's work ethic as the standard.
And that's all fine and good -- I certainly find a lot to admire about Durant's approach. But there is something to be said for Shaq's way, even if he was uniquely talented to pull it off.
More on the radar today:
*Stanley Cup: Oh my god, I can't believe this happened.
*NBA Finals Game 2: Must-win for the Mavs? Pretty much, yes. (All eyes on that injured left finger of Dirk's.)
*Ricky Rubio coming to the NBA: Can't shoot. Can't play D. But a showman! (And, frankly, that's what the T'wolves need. If you're not going to contend, you might as well be entertaining. And between Rubio, Kevin Love and -- presumably -- Derrick Williams, Minnesota will be.)
*Steve Spurrier wants to pay college football players: They already get massive extra benefits, so a little bit more cash will hardly tilt the balance. (But again: Where does it stop? If your standard is "The school makes millions off of them," then a few thousand bucks extra will never cut it.)
*Spelling Bee: One of my favorite events of the year, a sports event far more pressure-packed than an NBA Finals game or NHL Stanley Cup final game. As is my penchant, I tend to favor the competitors with previous experience -- I'll take Laura Newcombe.
Much more all day. Please pop by Quickish for the best takes on the biggest topics (moments of "breaking news" like Shaq's retirement are always a lot of fun).
-- D.S.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
06/01 (Heat FTW) Quickie
It's over.
Is it too early to say it's over? Because it's over. Oh, the Mavs might win a few games in Dallas, but after last night's spectacle, it is hard to think they can win 4 over these Heat.
Maybe those 3s don't go down for LeBron and Wade in future games -- maybe Dallas (particularly its bench) figures out how to shoot (or stop shooting... Jason Terry.)
But the Heat's defense appears relentless. And the stars -- yes, Bosh too -- are clicking, as they have been for the past month. By the end, the Heat were clowning the Mavs.
This is the new reality: Heat as champs. More that that, Heat as champs for a while. So settle in. Last night is the first of another dozen or so wins just like it over the next 3-4 years.
-- D.S.
Is it too early to say it's over? Because it's over. Oh, the Mavs might win a few games in Dallas, but after last night's spectacle, it is hard to think they can win 4 over these Heat.
Maybe those 3s don't go down for LeBron and Wade in future games -- maybe Dallas (particularly its bench) figures out how to shoot (or stop shooting... Jason Terry.)
But the Heat's defense appears relentless. And the stars -- yes, Bosh too -- are clicking, as they have been for the past month. By the end, the Heat were clowning the Mavs.
This is the new reality: Heat as champs. More that that, Heat as champs for a while. So settle in. Last night is the first of another dozen or so wins just like it over the next 3-4 years.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
NBA Finals Preview/Picks: Heat in 7
The narrative for the NBA for the next half-decade was set last July when LeBron (and, to a lesser extent, Chris Bosh) went to Miami to join Dwyane Wade.
Everything would be framed around that decision/Decision -- if the Heat fell short of an NBA title, it would be schadenfreude of the highest order. It would be about the Heat losing, not [Champion X] winning. The narrative would look ahead to next year, or the year after, or the year after. They would win eventually.
And if the Heat won an NBA title -- most specifically, if they won an NBA title immediately, in their first year together, right now -- it would be an affirmation of the strategy that brought them together: The "super-team."
I will never begrudge LeBron for leaving Cleveland to join Miami to try to win a championship. I have been looking for mega-stars to do that for 20 years -- to put winning a ring ahead of everything else.
Like everyone else, I loathe the way he did it. I can also root against LeBron and the Heat's ultimate success -- I find the "schadendfreude" narrative much more interesting than the "dynasty" one.
And so I will root against the Heat, but I can also recognize that they should win this series. It shouldn't be done as handily as the first three series -- let's hope it goes 7 games, if only for the drama -- but it will be done, a combination of the Heat's stars and the Heat's D.
For those hoping the Mavs defy the experts and the pundits and the sheer gravitational pull of the inevitability of a Heat title, I think back -- as I always do the day before the NBA Finals start -- to 2004, when I went on Around the Horn and said the Lakers would beat the Pistons in 4.
That year, the Lakers were assumed to be vastly superior to the Pistons, who -- as we all remember -- clobbered the Lakers so severely that it shifted the NBA globe a bit, permanently.
It is a good lesson that when everyone (or "everyone") says something is going to happen, it rarely turns out precisely the way they/we think it will.
And so I'll stick with Heat in 7, but root like hell for Mavs in any way possible. I'm not alone.
-- D.S.
Everything would be framed around that decision/Decision -- if the Heat fell short of an NBA title, it would be schadenfreude of the highest order. It would be about the Heat losing, not [Champion X] winning. The narrative would look ahead to next year, or the year after, or the year after. They would win eventually.
And if the Heat won an NBA title -- most specifically, if they won an NBA title immediately, in their first year together, right now -- it would be an affirmation of the strategy that brought them together: The "super-team."
I will never begrudge LeBron for leaving Cleveland to join Miami to try to win a championship. I have been looking for mega-stars to do that for 20 years -- to put winning a ring ahead of everything else.
Like everyone else, I loathe the way he did it. I can also root against LeBron and the Heat's ultimate success -- I find the "schadendfreude" narrative much more interesting than the "dynasty" one.
And so I will root against the Heat, but I can also recognize that they should win this series. It shouldn't be done as handily as the first three series -- let's hope it goes 7 games, if only for the drama -- but it will be done, a combination of the Heat's stars and the Heat's D.
For those hoping the Mavs defy the experts and the pundits and the sheer gravitational pull of the inevitability of a Heat title, I think back -- as I always do the day before the NBA Finals start -- to 2004, when I went on Around the Horn and said the Lakers would beat the Pistons in 4.
That year, the Lakers were assumed to be vastly superior to the Pistons, who -- as we all remember -- clobbered the Lakers so severely that it shifted the NBA globe a bit, permanently.
It is a good lesson that when everyone (or "everyone") says something is going to happen, it rarely turns out precisely the way they/we think it will.
And so I'll stick with Heat in 7, but root like hell for Mavs in any way possible. I'm not alone.
-- D.S.
05/31 (Tressel Quits) Quickie
Be sure to check out all the Jim Tressel coverage on Quickish -- it is a fast way to catch up on all the best columns, Tweets and more.
The Sports Illustrated article is all well and good -- the new info was the expanded scope of the tchotchkes-for-tatts thing -- but the Jim Tressel story remains incredibly simple:
He lied.
He lied to his school. He lied to the NCAA. He could get away with the former, mostly because the AD and president are so derelict. But the latter did him in.
It is a Quickie essential: It is always the cover-up and rarely the crime, never more on display than here. Jim Tressel lied -- repeatedly -- and when the truth was revealed, it cost him his job.
Tressel was finished as soon as it turned out he misled the NCAA about the proverbial "what did he know and when did he know it." (Answers: "Everything" and "very early.")
The lying was enough to take down any coach, no matter how celebrated. The fact that Tressel held himself up as some sort of moral vanguard among college coaches compounds his problems.
The swag-for-tattoos story isn't even that big of a deal -- have to imagine this is pretty prevalent across college football and basketball.
What IS a big deal is that Tressel lied, misled and deceived -- intentionally and repeatedly.
That is why he resigned in disgrace. That is why the NCAA will hammer Ohio State and the coach himself.
Terrelle Pryor and the players didn't do this to Tressel. The tattoo parlor workers didn't do this to Tressel. The NCAA didn't do this to Tressel. The media didn't do this to Tressel.
He did it to himself when he tried to cover all this up -- not just repeatedly to the school and NCAA, but when he did everything possible to ensure he would take the field with would-be ineligible players, denying other teams' players and fans a fair game.
He sanctimoniously portrayed himself as better than that. He wasn't.
More:
*NBA Finals Game 1 tonight: Heat in 7.
*Who's next for Ohio State? Urban Meyer.
*MLB Storyline of the Day: Jo-Jo Reyes wins!
*NCAA LAX: Congrats to UVA.
*FIFA: Even more corrupt than Ohio State.
*Weekend recap: The Indy 500 finish was the best possible scenario for open-wheel in the US.
-- D.S.
The Sports Illustrated article is all well and good -- the new info was the expanded scope of the tchotchkes-for-tatts thing -- but the Jim Tressel story remains incredibly simple:
He lied.
He lied to his school. He lied to the NCAA. He could get away with the former, mostly because the AD and president are so derelict. But the latter did him in.
It is a Quickie essential: It is always the cover-up and rarely the crime, never more on display than here. Jim Tressel lied -- repeatedly -- and when the truth was revealed, it cost him his job.
Tressel was finished as soon as it turned out he misled the NCAA about the proverbial "what did he know and when did he know it." (Answers: "Everything" and "very early.")
The lying was enough to take down any coach, no matter how celebrated. The fact that Tressel held himself up as some sort of moral vanguard among college coaches compounds his problems.
The swag-for-tattoos story isn't even that big of a deal -- have to imagine this is pretty prevalent across college football and basketball.
What IS a big deal is that Tressel lied, misled and deceived -- intentionally and repeatedly.
That is why he resigned in disgrace. That is why the NCAA will hammer Ohio State and the coach himself.
Terrelle Pryor and the players didn't do this to Tressel. The tattoo parlor workers didn't do this to Tressel. The NCAA didn't do this to Tressel. The media didn't do this to Tressel.
He did it to himself when he tried to cover all this up -- not just repeatedly to the school and NCAA, but when he did everything possible to ensure he would take the field with would-be ineligible players, denying other teams' players and fans a fair game.
He sanctimoniously portrayed himself as better than that. He wasn't.
More:
*NBA Finals Game 1 tonight: Heat in 7.
*Who's next for Ohio State? Urban Meyer.
*MLB Storyline of the Day: Jo-Jo Reyes wins!
*NCAA LAX: Congrats to UVA.
*FIFA: Even more corrupt than Ohio State.
*Weekend recap: The Indy 500 finish was the best possible scenario for open-wheel in the US.
-- D.S.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day Shocker: Jim Tressel Resigns
Jim Tressel has resigned as head football coach at Ohio State.
The timing is a surprise -- or not, if they wanted to mitigate the fall-out by announcing it on a national holiday -- but the outcome is not. This was inevitable and obvious from the minute Tressel was caught lying and covering up NCAA violations.
His legacy at Ohio State is now primarily that of a disgrace, who happened to win a national championship and umpteen Big Ten titles -- rather than as a champion who had to resign.
But what is next at Ohio State? It is impossible to think that they don't spend the next year with this interim guy, but hire Ohio native Urban Meyer, who grew up rooting for Ohio State and is one of few coaches with the stature to rehab the program -- it doesn't hurt that Ohio State is one of the few mega-programs worth Meyer's time and energy. (As a huge Meyer fan and Ohio State hater, this entire thing is a disappointment, because he'll crush everyone there.)
The smartest thing for Ohio State and Meyer to do would be to cut a deal ASAP that names Meyer "head coach in waiting" for 2012, so he can begin to help the program recruit; if they wait too long, they will get pummeled for the entire recruiting cycle and set the program back even more than it will be with the inevitable NCAA sanctions.
Anyway, the headline remains: Jim Tressel is out. And no one is really surprised.
-- D.S.
The timing is a surprise -- or not, if they wanted to mitigate the fall-out by announcing it on a national holiday -- but the outcome is not. This was inevitable and obvious from the minute Tressel was caught lying and covering up NCAA violations.
His legacy at Ohio State is now primarily that of a disgrace, who happened to win a national championship and umpteen Big Ten titles -- rather than as a champion who had to resign.
But what is next at Ohio State? It is impossible to think that they don't spend the next year with this interim guy, but hire Ohio native Urban Meyer, who grew up rooting for Ohio State and is one of few coaches with the stature to rehab the program -- it doesn't hurt that Ohio State is one of the few mega-programs worth Meyer's time and energy. (As a huge Meyer fan and Ohio State hater, this entire thing is a disappointment, because he'll crush everyone there.)
The smartest thing for Ohio State and Meyer to do would be to cut a deal ASAP that names Meyer "head coach in waiting" for 2012, so he can begin to help the program recruit; if they wait too long, they will get pummeled for the entire recruiting cycle and set the program back even more than it will be with the inevitable NCAA sanctions.
Anyway, the headline remains: Jim Tressel is out. And no one is really surprised.
-- D.S.
05/30 (Memorial Day) Quickie
Special thoughts for everyone who served the country and sacrificed their lives -- either in combat or in the years afterward -- and their families.
Day 4 of "No NBA still?" and Day 3 of "No NHL yet?" -- everyone been catching up on their sleep... or their life?
With the stage all to itself, the Indy 500 had its most exciting finish ever, with rookie JR Hildebrand losing a sure win on the final turn. Watch the insanity here.
That's tough luck for Hildebrand but amazing luck for the sport itself -- nothing is more accessible for the non-fan than an epic choke. The four best words for a struggling league are "DID YOU SEE THAT?"
NASCAR had a similar finish last night, with Dale Jr. in the lead in the last lap, then running out of gas and watching the field pass him by in the last quarter of the track. Watch that here.
Luke Donald is the best golfer in the world.
Tom Watson is the oldest ever to win a senior major -- fair question: Can you imagine Tiger playing (and winning senior major tournaments) in his early 60s? I can't.
Huge congratulations to Northwestern women's lacrosse, which beat Maryland in the NCAA title game to win its 6th national title in the last 7 years (after losing to Maryland in last year's title game). There is no better dynasty in sports right now than NU's women's LAX team.
Pop by Quickish today for a really good selection of recommendations, including the best of Peter King's MMQB, Joe Posnanski on Tom Watson, some Heat-Mavs pre-series analysis and more.
-- D.S.
Day 4 of "No NBA still?" and Day 3 of "No NHL yet?" -- everyone been catching up on their sleep... or their life?
With the stage all to itself, the Indy 500 had its most exciting finish ever, with rookie JR Hildebrand losing a sure win on the final turn. Watch the insanity here.
That's tough luck for Hildebrand but amazing luck for the sport itself -- nothing is more accessible for the non-fan than an epic choke. The four best words for a struggling league are "DID YOU SEE THAT?"
NASCAR had a similar finish last night, with Dale Jr. in the lead in the last lap, then running out of gas and watching the field pass him by in the last quarter of the track. Watch that here.
Luke Donald is the best golfer in the world.
Tom Watson is the oldest ever to win a senior major -- fair question: Can you imagine Tiger playing (and winning senior major tournaments) in his early 60s? I can't.
Huge congratulations to Northwestern women's lacrosse, which beat Maryland in the NCAA title game to win its 6th national title in the last 7 years (after losing to Maryland in last year's title game). There is no better dynasty in sports right now than NU's women's LAX team.
Pop by Quickish today for a really good selection of recommendations, including the best of Peter King's MMQB, Joe Posnanski on Tom Watson, some Heat-Mavs pre-series analysis and more.
-- D.S.
Friday, May 27, 2011
05/27 (Heat Like Whoa) Quickie
Whoa. That's the only reaction to last night's close-out by the Heat to dispatch the Bulls in 5 games and advance to the NBA Finals.
If the earlier wins in the conference finals -- or that first win in Boston that effectively ended the Celtics' chances -- were the teaser, the final three minutes of last night's game were the Heat's jaw-dropping potential, fully realized.
LeBron, dominant on both offense and defense. Wade, supremely effective. And even Bosh, with the quietest 20 and 10 you'll see.
This is it -- the arrival. Or, more accurately, the Arrival.
Because barring a Mavs win in the Finals -- and they certainly seem like they could pull it off -- we have entered the Heat dynasty. Lament as you see fit.
About that entirely tantalizing Heat-Mavs Finals, I am waiting for the moment when the Heat switches Bosh off of Dirk and lets LeBron guard Dirk, the same way he guarded Rose. As unstoppable as Dirk has been this spring, LeBron seems like he could be the one to contain him.
Like many, I'm rooting for the Mavs, both because of the "Anyone But the Heat" factor and because I have come around to appreciate the aging, last-chance storyline from Dallas (not to mention appreciating the way they mowed down the West). But I'm saying Miami in 7.
More on the radar:
*Second-day Buster Posey reactions: People applauding him for blocking the plate (even if he wasn't really blocking the plate) are the same ones applauding the football players who "just shake it off" when they get a concussion. Catchers should stay the hell out of the way -- and baserunners should be ejected for initiating contact with catchers. The bigger point is that Posey needs to move to first base.
*Ohio State scandal, cont'd: It's so clear that the athletic department was actively delinquent in their "investigation" that I have to wonder if you can apply "lack of institutional control" to the Athletic Director himself.
*This weekend: Barca-Man. U in the Champions League final tomorrow afternoon. Even if you don't like soccer, well worth tuning in for. Barca is playing just about as well as any club team has ever played.
*Indy 500: Another event where I don't care much about the sport, but I will tune in for the pageantry and excitement of the event itself.
*Love the sale of 20% of the Mets to David Einhorn, basically a rich fan. It's important for those last two words -- he's rich, meaning he can/will buy the other 80% (or at least 31%) when the Wilpons finally crumble under the weight of the Madoff problems. And he's a fan -- a Mets fan -- meaning he will care deeply about the team and want it to succeed. Best news for Mets fans since they made the NLCS half a decade ago.
*So funny that USC is shocked -- shocked! -- that the NCAA denied the appeal that the program was corrupted during the Reggie Bush scandal.
*Caroline Wozniacki out at the French Open: The French has always been a quirky tournament, but this is a stunning exit for the world No. 1. Wasn't even close.
Have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend. We'll be going strong all weekend long at Quickish, so pop by to keep up quickly with all the best takes on the biggest things that are happening, plus recommendations to some really good stuff worth spending your time on this weekend.
-- D.S.
If the earlier wins in the conference finals -- or that first win in Boston that effectively ended the Celtics' chances -- were the teaser, the final three minutes of last night's game were the Heat's jaw-dropping potential, fully realized.
LeBron, dominant on both offense and defense. Wade, supremely effective. And even Bosh, with the quietest 20 and 10 you'll see.
This is it -- the arrival. Or, more accurately, the Arrival.
Because barring a Mavs win in the Finals -- and they certainly seem like they could pull it off -- we have entered the Heat dynasty. Lament as you see fit.
About that entirely tantalizing Heat-Mavs Finals, I am waiting for the moment when the Heat switches Bosh off of Dirk and lets LeBron guard Dirk, the same way he guarded Rose. As unstoppable as Dirk has been this spring, LeBron seems like he could be the one to contain him.
Like many, I'm rooting for the Mavs, both because of the "Anyone But the Heat" factor and because I have come around to appreciate the aging, last-chance storyline from Dallas (not to mention appreciating the way they mowed down the West). But I'm saying Miami in 7.
More on the radar:
*Second-day Buster Posey reactions: People applauding him for blocking the plate (even if he wasn't really blocking the plate) are the same ones applauding the football players who "just shake it off" when they get a concussion. Catchers should stay the hell out of the way -- and baserunners should be ejected for initiating contact with catchers. The bigger point is that Posey needs to move to first base.
*Ohio State scandal, cont'd: It's so clear that the athletic department was actively delinquent in their "investigation" that I have to wonder if you can apply "lack of institutional control" to the Athletic Director himself.
*This weekend: Barca-Man. U in the Champions League final tomorrow afternoon. Even if you don't like soccer, well worth tuning in for. Barca is playing just about as well as any club team has ever played.
*Indy 500: Another event where I don't care much about the sport, but I will tune in for the pageantry and excitement of the event itself.
*Love the sale of 20% of the Mets to David Einhorn, basically a rich fan. It's important for those last two words -- he's rich, meaning he can/will buy the other 80% (or at least 31%) when the Wilpons finally crumble under the weight of the Madoff problems. And he's a fan -- a Mets fan -- meaning he will care deeply about the team and want it to succeed. Best news for Mets fans since they made the NLCS half a decade ago.
*So funny that USC is shocked -- shocked! -- that the NCAA denied the appeal that the program was corrupted during the Reggie Bush scandal.
*Caroline Wozniacki out at the French Open: The French has always been a quirky tournament, but this is a stunning exit for the world No. 1. Wasn't even close.
Have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend. We'll be going strong all weekend long at Quickish, so pop by to keep up quickly with all the best takes on the biggest things that are happening, plus recommendations to some really good stuff worth spending your time on this weekend.
-- D.S.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
05/26 (Win or Bust) Quickie
Today's storylines: Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant vs. Expectations, Wilson Valdez vs. Buster Posey, Mike Brown vs. Kobe Bryant, Lightning vs. Bruins,
A common theme I write about here is the power of expectations, and it was on full display last night.
*Marvel at Dirk's reaction to winning the Western Conference title:
Nothing.
That's because the conference title is meaningless to him. All that matters is the NBA title. Anything less than the NBA title is a failure.
For the past few years, the Mavericks have been one of the few teams that are actually trying to WIN NOW -- that particular season -- accompanied by the expectation of "NBA ring or bust."
And so the West title is necessary but not sufficient. It was refreshing to see Dirk saunter right off the court, not even bothering to do a postgame TV interview, because he couldn't care less.
Aside from not wanting the Heat to win, it's easy to get behind rooting for Dirk and the Mavs in the Finals.
*Meanwhile, there is Kevin Durant and the Thunder. Durant was devastated. Yes, the individual games were a few plays from breaking the other way, yet the series was not close. Durant looked like he was sure he was going to win the NBA title -- or certainly the West title -- and presented the entirely fair idea that he couldn't care less about the Mavs.
And yet the expectations for the Thunder -- let's say preseason (or even at the start of the playoffs) -- were that they would make some steps this season, but not yet be ready to compete for an NBA title. In that respect, they entirely matched their expectations -- perhaps even exceeded them.
If they had won a first-round series then lost in the West semis, the idea would have been "Progress." Getting to the West finals is "Progress!" It is not unreasonable to accelerate OKC's expectations in '11-12 that anything less than winning the West is a failure.
Welcome to real expectations.
***
*Lightning-Bruins going to Game 7 on Friday. Nothing better in sports than an NHL Playoffs Game 7 with the Stanley Cup Finals on the line (except with the Stanley Cup title on the line).
*Today's Name to Know: Wilson Valdez, the Phillies position player who got the pitching win last night when the Phillies-Reds game went 19 innings. Awesome. Watch this homemade video.
*Buster Posey: Yikes.
*Should the Lakers have consulted Kobe about hiring Mike Brown? Here's the downside: What if Kobe says he's not a fan. Then the Lakers either kowtow to their aging star or mock him by making the hire anyway.
(Here's the thing no one is talking about: The way the Lakers were drummed out of the playoffs this year? That's not going to get better. The Lakers are no more likely to win the NBA title next year -- or beyond -- than they were the day after they got swept out. As of now, they fall in the bucket of "fascinating, but not a real contender." In that case, who cares WHO is coaching? For that matter, if they love Andrew Bynum too much to trade him for Dwight Howard, why not trade Kobe? It's hardly heresy. The only thing keeping Lakers fans from dealing with this is their denial that the window hasn't slammed shut this year.)
Keep up with Quickish all day.
-- D.S.
A common theme I write about here is the power of expectations, and it was on full display last night.
*Marvel at Dirk's reaction to winning the Western Conference title:
Nothing.
That's because the conference title is meaningless to him. All that matters is the NBA title. Anything less than the NBA title is a failure.
For the past few years, the Mavericks have been one of the few teams that are actually trying to WIN NOW -- that particular season -- accompanied by the expectation of "NBA ring or bust."
And so the West title is necessary but not sufficient. It was refreshing to see Dirk saunter right off the court, not even bothering to do a postgame TV interview, because he couldn't care less.
Aside from not wanting the Heat to win, it's easy to get behind rooting for Dirk and the Mavs in the Finals.
*Meanwhile, there is Kevin Durant and the Thunder. Durant was devastated. Yes, the individual games were a few plays from breaking the other way, yet the series was not close. Durant looked like he was sure he was going to win the NBA title -- or certainly the West title -- and presented the entirely fair idea that he couldn't care less about the Mavs.
And yet the expectations for the Thunder -- let's say preseason (or even at the start of the playoffs) -- were that they would make some steps this season, but not yet be ready to compete for an NBA title. In that respect, they entirely matched their expectations -- perhaps even exceeded them.
If they had won a first-round series then lost in the West semis, the idea would have been "Progress." Getting to the West finals is "Progress!" It is not unreasonable to accelerate OKC's expectations in '11-12 that anything less than winning the West is a failure.
Welcome to real expectations.
***
*Lightning-Bruins going to Game 7 on Friday. Nothing better in sports than an NHL Playoffs Game 7 with the Stanley Cup Finals on the line (except with the Stanley Cup title on the line).
*Today's Name to Know: Wilson Valdez, the Phillies position player who got the pitching win last night when the Phillies-Reds game went 19 innings. Awesome. Watch this homemade video.
*Buster Posey: Yikes.
*Should the Lakers have consulted Kobe about hiring Mike Brown? Here's the downside: What if Kobe says he's not a fan. Then the Lakers either kowtow to their aging star or mock him by making the hire anyway.
(Here's the thing no one is talking about: The way the Lakers were drummed out of the playoffs this year? That's not going to get better. The Lakers are no more likely to win the NBA title next year -- or beyond -- than they were the day after they got swept out. As of now, they fall in the bucket of "fascinating, but not a real contender." In that case, who cares WHO is coaching? For that matter, if they love Andrew Bynum too much to trade him for Dwight Howard, why not trade Kobe? It's hardly heresy. The only thing keeping Lakers fans from dealing with this is their denial that the window hasn't slammed shut this year.)
Keep up with Quickish all day.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
05/25 (Heat On Brink) Quickie
This morning: Heat vs. Destiny, LeBron James vs. Derrick Rose, Canucks vs. the Stanley Cup Finals, Mike Brown vs. Kobe Bryant, Barry Bonds vs. what you think of Barry Bonds, Hines Ward vs. Emmitt Smith and more.
Heat stave off Bulls to take commanding/decisive 3-1 series lead: And there you have it. The Heat are going to win the East and make the Finals.
LeBron seems unstoppable (particularly when guarding Derrick Rose, who has fallen apart; it's as if LeBron is taking the MVP-vs-MVP thing very very seriously). Wade had a terrible game...right up until he took over. Bosh was solid.
The Bulls are the new Cavs: Built for regular-season success, then stumbling in the playoffs against a team with more star power and experience -- a theme that also runs in the West, with the Mavs putting away the green Thunder. (But Derrick Rose's dunks: Oh my.)
Canucks win West, headed to Stanley Cup: I'm merely a casual hockey fan, but I can get behind a Canadian team in the Cup finals. The game-/series-winning goal is a must-see.
Mavs closing out Thunder tonight? Probably. More opportunities for fans to appreciate Dirk in new ways.
Lakers hiring Mike Brown? The reviews are in, and they are almost universally... "meh." You can only imagine what Kobe is thinking.
Barry Bonds paying for Bryan Stow's kids' college educations: You can dislike Bonds -- you can hate him, frankly -- but you mustmustmust admire what he did here. (And that he didn't look for publicity -- it just sort of leaked out.)
Hines Ward wins "Dancing With the Stars": Continuing the dynasty-like dominance of athletes on that show.
Politics: I'm a sucker for all videos of President Obama playing sports. Here he is playing Ping-Pong in England.
New post on Varsity Dad? Actually, two new posts on Varsity Dad.
-- D.S.
Heat stave off Bulls to take commanding/decisive 3-1 series lead: And there you have it. The Heat are going to win the East and make the Finals.
LeBron seems unstoppable (particularly when guarding Derrick Rose, who has fallen apart; it's as if LeBron is taking the MVP-vs-MVP thing very very seriously). Wade had a terrible game...right up until he took over. Bosh was solid.
The Bulls are the new Cavs: Built for regular-season success, then stumbling in the playoffs against a team with more star power and experience -- a theme that also runs in the West, with the Mavs putting away the green Thunder. (But Derrick Rose's dunks: Oh my.)
Canucks win West, headed to Stanley Cup: I'm merely a casual hockey fan, but I can get behind a Canadian team in the Cup finals. The game-/series-winning goal is a must-see.
Mavs closing out Thunder tonight? Probably. More opportunities for fans to appreciate Dirk in new ways.
Lakers hiring Mike Brown? The reviews are in, and they are almost universally... "meh." You can only imagine what Kobe is thinking.
Barry Bonds paying for Bryan Stow's kids' college educations: You can dislike Bonds -- you can hate him, frankly -- but you mustmustmust admire what he did here. (And that he didn't look for publicity -- it just sort of leaked out.)
Hines Ward wins "Dancing With the Stars": Continuing the dynasty-like dominance of athletes on that show.
Politics: I'm a sucker for all videos of President Obama playing sports. Here he is playing Ping-Pong in England.
New post on Varsity Dad? Actually, two new posts on Varsity Dad.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
05/24 (OKC Choke) Quickie
That was just about as big of a choke as you will see in sports: Losing a 15-point leads in the game's 5 minutes -- playing at home, in a must-win playoff game no less.
This doesn't feel like the kind of loss that you rally from, at least this season. It feels indelible. The Thunder go to Dallas to try to steal one in Game 5, bringing the series back to OKC for Game 6. Then -- if they win that -- a toss-up Game 7 with all the momentum back.
But this doesn't feel like that kind of loss. This feels like a door-slamming, come-back-when-you're-old-enough loss. This feels like the loss that fuels your workouts all summer and toughens you up for the next playoff opportunity when you are up 15 with 5 minutes to play.
It doesn't feel like the kind of loss where you simply bounce back, then win three straight -- including two on the road against a veteran team playing better than anyone right now.
I don't want to lean back on the easy narrative -- young team folds in face of vets. In any systemic failure like we saw, it's not a single thing, but (per Hollinger) at least a dozen things that all had to happen for this to end like it did. If any of those individual things breaks differently, the Thunder win and it's "what gritty competitors!" as the narrative.
But they didn't win -- they blew it and it almost assuredly cost them their season. I'm not sure that OKC wins 2 of 3 from Dallas had they tied the series last night. I'm sure they don't win 3 straight.
Not against a Mavs team so sure of itself that even a 15-point deficit with 5 minutes to go isn't enough to finish them off.
If you didn't drop by Quickish yesterday, there were some incredible must-reads from Shanoff/Quickish favorites -- Jeff MacGregor on Lance, Wright Thompson on Harvey Updyke, Tommy Craggs on Chris Bosh -- and just a bunch of other good stuff. (Be sure to check out that "save of the playoffs" by Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.)
-- D.S.
This doesn't feel like the kind of loss that you rally from, at least this season. It feels indelible. The Thunder go to Dallas to try to steal one in Game 5, bringing the series back to OKC for Game 6. Then -- if they win that -- a toss-up Game 7 with all the momentum back.
But this doesn't feel like that kind of loss. This feels like a door-slamming, come-back-when-you're-old-enough loss. This feels like the loss that fuels your workouts all summer and toughens you up for the next playoff opportunity when you are up 15 with 5 minutes to play.
It doesn't feel like the kind of loss where you simply bounce back, then win three straight -- including two on the road against a veteran team playing better than anyone right now.
I don't want to lean back on the easy narrative -- young team folds in face of vets. In any systemic failure like we saw, it's not a single thing, but (per Hollinger) at least a dozen things that all had to happen for this to end like it did. If any of those individual things breaks differently, the Thunder win and it's "what gritty competitors!" as the narrative.
But they didn't win -- they blew it and it almost assuredly cost them their season. I'm not sure that OKC wins 2 of 3 from Dallas had they tied the series last night. I'm sure they don't win 3 straight.
Not against a Mavs team so sure of itself that even a 15-point deficit with 5 minutes to go isn't enough to finish them off.
If you didn't drop by Quickish yesterday, there were some incredible must-reads from Shanoff/Quickish favorites -- Jeff MacGregor on Lance, Wright Thompson on Harvey Updyke, Tommy Craggs on Chris Bosh -- and just a bunch of other good stuff. (Be sure to check out that "save of the playoffs" by Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.)
-- D.S.
Monday, May 23, 2011
05/23 (Bosh!) Quickie
What we saw last night was the reboot of Chris Bosh's reputation, up 'til this point plenty maligned -- I've been a solid proponent of the "Big Two-and-a-Half" theory, but when Bosh is playing like that (and LeBron and Wade are playing like they did), the Heat are unbeatable.
I love what Tommy Craggs wrote over at Deadspin about Bosh last night:
Anyway: With a Bosh breakthrough, I think it's Heat in 6.
Tonight: Thunder-Mavs Game 4 in a must-win for OKC, playing at home down 2-1 in the series. Should be a fun one.
Lance Armstrong on "60 Minutes": Michael Wilbon -- who is turning into a quality value-add follow on Twitter -- set the new conventional wisdom: It is very very very hard to continue to believe Lance Armstrong's denials. Hamilton was simply too credible-sounding, even with the lies in his past (which would be necessary to conduct the initial cover-up anyway).
Must-see video: Kyle Singler's latest trick-shot vid is really well done.
Great "longish" read: The New Yorker on Fred Wilpon, the Mets owner, who either spoke entirely too frankly about his star players or knowingly figured that if he trashed Reyes and Wright and Beltran, it would distract sports fans and media from the bigger story that his franchise's financial situation is a shambles and he really should lose the team.
Lots of great stuff on Quickish today. Pop by and catch up!
-- D.S.
I love what Tommy Craggs wrote over at Deadspin about Bosh last night:
"I don't go in for all the "Chris Bosh is soft" crypto-gay-baiting. Big men don't all have to be Moses Malone to be useful (remember when Hakeem Olajuwon turned David Robinson inside-out with nothing but fallaway 10-footers?). But what Bosh did yesterday — hitting jump shot after jump shot, finding little seams in the paint, and generally looking like a very elongated version of Ricky Pierce — was soft, as soft as it was deadly, and triply demoralizing as a result. He hung 34 points on Chicago in all, and as a Bulls fan I can report that it was a bit like being smothered with a goose-down throw pillow for three hours."Meanwhile, in the not-so-crypto-gay-baiting world, there was Joakim Noah shouting "F--k you, f-----t!" at a Heat fan, which was depressing for me in two ways: (1) I hate that kind of talk and (2) I'm a huge Noah fan and thought of all players, the sophisticated Noah would be way above something like that. (I thought the same thing about Kobe, but probably double for Joakim.)
Anyway: With a Bosh breakthrough, I think it's Heat in 6.
Tonight: Thunder-Mavs Game 4 in a must-win for OKC, playing at home down 2-1 in the series. Should be a fun one.
Lance Armstrong on "60 Minutes": Michael Wilbon -- who is turning into a quality value-add follow on Twitter -- set the new conventional wisdom: It is very very very hard to continue to believe Lance Armstrong's denials. Hamilton was simply too credible-sounding, even with the lies in his past (which would be necessary to conduct the initial cover-up anyway).
Must-see video: Kyle Singler's latest trick-shot vid is really well done.
Great "longish" read: The New Yorker on Fred Wilpon, the Mets owner, who either spoke entirely too frankly about his star players or knowingly figured that if he trashed Reyes and Wright and Beltran, it would distract sports fans and media from the bigger story that his franchise's financial situation is a shambles and he really should lose the team.
Lots of great stuff on Quickish today. Pop by and catch up!
-- D.S.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
May 21 (Rapture) Quickie
Everyone still here? Good.
*I said this over at TimTeblog yesterday: I knew Judgment Day wasn't upon us because Tim Tebow's autobiography doesn't come out for another 10 days. He wouldn't schedule its release after today if he thought he (and the rest of us) would have other plans.
*The lack of an NBA game last night meant that it's a slow morning -- but between the Rapture and the death of Randy Savage, which became an overwhelming sports sensation (mostly because Savage's prime came at a moment when many/most in sports media where impressionable kids),
*The Cubs' return to Fenway after forever was memorable -- one of those things where it kind of doesn't matter that the game itself sort of sucked.
*Preakness: I'm all for an Animal Kingdom win -- the potential for a Triple Crown is the only thing that keeps horse racing relevant -- but it would be beyond absurd/amazing if Mucho Macho Man won.
*Mavs-Thunder Game 3 tonight at 9: Is it me or is it absolutely ridiculous that the Heat and Bulls are taking a full three days between games. Imagine if baseball ran the ALCS or NLCS like this -- the outrage that would be involved. Anyway, fascinating game tonight on a couple levels: Can the Thunder press the newfound home-court advantage? Can the Mavs snatch it back? What happens with Russell Westbrook int he 4th quarter if the game is close? (I have to figure Brooks plays him regardless, even if it costs them the game.) Will Kevin Durant make another poster?
Speaking of Westbrook, I found this amazing animation over at Daily Thunder this morning. Random but awesome.
Enjoy the day. We're all still here and it's a good day to go appreciate your life.
-- D.S.
*I said this over at TimTeblog yesterday: I knew Judgment Day wasn't upon us because Tim Tebow's autobiography doesn't come out for another 10 days. He wouldn't schedule its release after today if he thought he (and the rest of us) would have other plans.
*The lack of an NBA game last night meant that it's a slow morning -- but between the Rapture and the death of Randy Savage, which became an overwhelming sports sensation (mostly because Savage's prime came at a moment when many/most in sports media where impressionable kids),
*The Cubs' return to Fenway after forever was memorable -- one of those things where it kind of doesn't matter that the game itself sort of sucked.
*Preakness: I'm all for an Animal Kingdom win -- the potential for a Triple Crown is the only thing that keeps horse racing relevant -- but it would be beyond absurd/amazing if Mucho Macho Man won.
*Mavs-Thunder Game 3 tonight at 9: Is it me or is it absolutely ridiculous that the Heat and Bulls are taking a full three days between games. Imagine if baseball ran the ALCS or NLCS like this -- the outrage that would be involved. Anyway, fascinating game tonight on a couple levels: Can the Thunder press the newfound home-court advantage? Can the Mavs snatch it back? What happens with Russell Westbrook int he 4th quarter if the game is close? (I have to figure Brooks plays him regardless, even if it costs them the game.) Will Kevin Durant make another poster?
Speaking of Westbrook, I found this amazing animation over at Daily Thunder this morning. Random but awesome.
Enjoy the day. We're all still here and it's a good day to go appreciate your life.
-- D.S.
Friday, May 20, 2011
05/20 (Thunder Mania) Quickie
That the NBA conference finals -- both of them -- found a road team winning by the end of Game 2 only underscores that we are in the middle of the best NBA Playoffs in recent memory.
The story of the Thunder's win over the Mavericks in Dallas to tie the series (to MAKE it a series, really) is that starting/star PG Russell Westbrook spent the prime minutes of the 4th quarter on the bench, while Kevin Durant led a team of OKC reserves to the win. Just one more thing to add to the Thunder's mystique -- that their bench is so loaded that it can topple the Dallas' starters.
The reactions to the Westbrook thing range from "This is SO going to be a thing!" to "This is SO not a thing." Let's see what happens in Game 3. I can't believe that coach Scott Brooks is going to keep Westbrook on the bench late in a second straight game, even if it is not unreasonable after last night to wonder if -- in fact -- the Thunder are better with a less spectacular (if more steady) hand running things late against the Mavs.
BTW: You have GOT to watch this dunk by Kevin Durant, an instant poster.
*It is totally lame that there isn't another Heat-Bulls game tonight. Wouldn't it be ideal for the NBA to alternate between conference-title games on a nightly basis?
*NHL: Thrashers to Winnipeg? I feel bad for Atlanta hockey fans, but NHL hockey in Winnipeg just feels so right.
*CFB: Paying players? Fascinating to see conferences like the Big Ten routing around a potential NCAA nationwide rule about "paying players" by offering "stipends." Two observations:
(1) If one league does it, everyone else will do it (the Pac-10 and SEC have already indicated they are interested), because it is a recruiting advantage, however small the extra payment might be.
(2) I have always felt that the biggest issue with paying college athletes extra was the slippery slope. I guarantee a lot of people will quickly say "Why only $3000?" Let's call it progress.
*MLB: Jason Giambi with 3 HR last night, in one of the most unlikely single-game power bursts of the past half-decade in baseball.
*NBA: Jerry West joining the Warriors? Even if it's just as an "advisor," it is still a huge get for a franchise trying to re-invent itself under new owner Joe Lacob. (The league's young star power is amazing, but don't discount how valuable it is to have owners like Lacob and Ted Leonsis trying to turn around historically mediocre franchises.)
*Lance Armstrong: Yikes. No athlete has built up more goodwill with fans and media than Lance. Which is the only way he has withstood the barrage of claims against him like no other athlete of this era. I suspect most fans think Lance used PEDs -- and are totally fine with it, in a way that they simply aren't with Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens.
*CFB: Condolences to family, friends, teammates and fans of Oklahoma LB Austin Box, who died yesterday of an apparent drug overdose, which makes it all the more tragic.
Please be sure to check out Quickish all day today (and throughout the weekend) for the best takes on the biggest stories (plus other recommendations of things you might find interesting).
Going strong all weekend -- then again, if things break wrong tomorrow, I'll only be seeing some of you on Sunday and next week. To the rest of you, enjoy!
-- D.S.
The story of the Thunder's win over the Mavericks in Dallas to tie the series (to MAKE it a series, really) is that starting/star PG Russell Westbrook spent the prime minutes of the 4th quarter on the bench, while Kevin Durant led a team of OKC reserves to the win. Just one more thing to add to the Thunder's mystique -- that their bench is so loaded that it can topple the Dallas' starters.
The reactions to the Westbrook thing range from "This is SO going to be a thing!" to "This is SO not a thing." Let's see what happens in Game 3. I can't believe that coach Scott Brooks is going to keep Westbrook on the bench late in a second straight game, even if it is not unreasonable after last night to wonder if -- in fact -- the Thunder are better with a less spectacular (if more steady) hand running things late against the Mavs.
BTW: You have GOT to watch this dunk by Kevin Durant, an instant poster.
*It is totally lame that there isn't another Heat-Bulls game tonight. Wouldn't it be ideal for the NBA to alternate between conference-title games on a nightly basis?
*NHL: Thrashers to Winnipeg? I feel bad for Atlanta hockey fans, but NHL hockey in Winnipeg just feels so right.
*CFB: Paying players? Fascinating to see conferences like the Big Ten routing around a potential NCAA nationwide rule about "paying players" by offering "stipends." Two observations:
(1) If one league does it, everyone else will do it (the Pac-10 and SEC have already indicated they are interested), because it is a recruiting advantage, however small the extra payment might be.
(2) I have always felt that the biggest issue with paying college athletes extra was the slippery slope. I guarantee a lot of people will quickly say "Why only $3000?" Let's call it progress.
*MLB: Jason Giambi with 3 HR last night, in one of the most unlikely single-game power bursts of the past half-decade in baseball.
*NBA: Jerry West joining the Warriors? Even if it's just as an "advisor," it is still a huge get for a franchise trying to re-invent itself under new owner Joe Lacob. (The league's young star power is amazing, but don't discount how valuable it is to have owners like Lacob and Ted Leonsis trying to turn around historically mediocre franchises.)
*Lance Armstrong: Yikes. No athlete has built up more goodwill with fans and media than Lance. Which is the only way he has withstood the barrage of claims against him like no other athlete of this era. I suspect most fans think Lance used PEDs -- and are totally fine with it, in a way that they simply aren't with Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens.
*CFB: Condolences to family, friends, teammates and fans of Oklahoma LB Austin Box, who died yesterday of an apparent drug overdose, which makes it all the more tragic.
Please be sure to check out Quickish all day today (and throughout the weekend) for the best takes on the biggest stories (plus other recommendations of things you might find interesting).
Going strong all weekend -- then again, if things break wrong tomorrow, I'll only be seeing some of you on Sunday and next week. To the rest of you, enjoy!
-- D.S.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
05/19 (About The Heat...) Quickie
This is the era we live in -- perhaps the way it has always been: Conventional wisdom one day flip-flops entirely just 48 hours later.
After Game 1 of the Bulls-Heat series: THE HEAT ARE DONE!
After last night's Game 2: THE HEAT SOLVED IT AND WILL WIN!
It's not something to get frustrated about -- again, this is the reality of "instant history" and I have been propagating it (or perhaps merely following fans' interests) for a decade.
The reason why the Heat's win last night DOES qualify for more meaning than most is not just because it came after that Game 1 seeming-beatdown. It is because it came on the road, flipping home-court advantage to the Heat and proving after an "oh-fer" season that Miami can solve Chicago's perceived defense and rebounding advantage.
And so exhort your "THINGS HAVE CHANGED TECTONICALLY" storyline -- right up until the Bulls win one of the next two in Miami. Then we can go round-and-round again.
But that's totally fine. It's what we all do. For now, advantage Heat.
****
Other things on the radar:
*Canucks go up 2-0: And their fans flash Sharks' players in the penalty box.
*Must-see: Dirk vs. Durant tonight for Mavs-Thunder Game 2.
*NBA Draft Combine: Expect at least one player to get the "Ooh: More athletic than we thought!" tag and, consequently, rise on draft boards.
*Ohio State scandal: It should be unsurprising the school's AD supports Jim Tressel. But let's add that it's not labeled the "dreaded vote of confidence" for nothing.
Lots on Quickish this morning already -- a few choice recommendations on Heat-Bulls -- but scroll down the page to see what you might have missed yesterday afternoon.
-- D.S.
After Game 1 of the Bulls-Heat series: THE HEAT ARE DONE!
After last night's Game 2: THE HEAT SOLVED IT AND WILL WIN!
It's not something to get frustrated about -- again, this is the reality of "instant history" and I have been propagating it (or perhaps merely following fans' interests) for a decade.
The reason why the Heat's win last night DOES qualify for more meaning than most is not just because it came after that Game 1 seeming-beatdown. It is because it came on the road, flipping home-court advantage to the Heat and proving after an "oh-fer" season that Miami can solve Chicago's perceived defense and rebounding advantage.
And so exhort your "THINGS HAVE CHANGED TECTONICALLY" storyline -- right up until the Bulls win one of the next two in Miami. Then we can go round-and-round again.
But that's totally fine. It's what we all do. For now, advantage Heat.
****
Other things on the radar:
*Canucks go up 2-0: And their fans flash Sharks' players in the penalty box.
*Must-see: Dirk vs. Durant tonight for Mavs-Thunder Game 2.
*NBA Draft Combine: Expect at least one player to get the "Ooh: More athletic than we thought!" tag and, consequently, rise on draft boards.
*Ohio State scandal: It should be unsurprising the school's AD supports Jim Tressel. But let's add that it's not labeled the "dreaded vote of confidence" for nothing.
Lots on Quickish this morning already -- a few choice recommendations on Heat-Bulls -- but scroll down the page to see what you might have missed yesterday afternoon.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
05/18 (Dirk) Quickie
Oh, wow: Dirk.
We have entered a Dirk Nowitzki moment where he has elevated his game (and his team) to such a level that even though he was already an NBA superstar, he (and his damn-near-patented step-back jumper) has gained new admiration from all corners of NBA fandom.
We have been looking for "the next Dirk" for a decade -- it's not unlike looking for the "next Durant" now. But the thing is that Dirk, like Durant, is exceptional for his size-n-shooting combination, as well as his single-minded obsession with improving.
The transcendent players -- and Dirk is there -- don't really have an analogue and they aren't replicable. That is worth keeping in mind as the NBA Draft moves into its post-Lottery phase -- and worth keeping in mind as we all find a renewed appreciation for Dirk's game.
NBA Draft Lottery: Great for the Cavs, who -- thanks to their midseason trade with the Clippers -- get a franchise PG in Kyrie Irving plus another talent at No. 4 (isn't it worth at least asking if the Clips are better off with Derrick Williams at No. 1 and their pick of Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker at No. 4?) Great for 14-year-old Nick Gilbert.
Not great for David Kahn, who not only fronted an extremely unwise joke about the Lottery being fixed (and let's presume he was joking), but he uniquely manages to turn a "two-star draft" (Irving and Williams) into a one-star draft, because Williams plays the same position as the T'wolves' existing young talents.
The big question marks: The international players, from Enes Kanter to Bismack Biyombo to the Euro "V" guys (Valanciunas and Vesely). They should all go Top 10, and at least one will out-perform his pre-draft expectations (so much of that depends on context and opportunity, but I love Biyombo's potential).
NHL: Tyler Seguin is the New Big Thing in Boston. And if you get the Boston sports fans behind you, the national media will follow.
Bulls-Heat Game 2 tonight: This isn't a must-win for the Heat, but at the very least, you want to see some improvement in their rebounding deficiencies from Game 1 (not to mention their inability to solve the Bulls' defense).
A ton of great stuff on Quickish today: Amazing analysis of Dirk, a few mock drafts, some love for Seguin and a link to the must-read SI cover story on the aftermath of the tornado in Alabama -- and that's just this morning. Stick around all day -- and into the evening for Bulls-Heat.
-- D.S.
We have entered a Dirk Nowitzki moment where he has elevated his game (and his team) to such a level that even though he was already an NBA superstar, he (and his damn-near-patented step-back jumper) has gained new admiration from all corners of NBA fandom.
We have been looking for "the next Dirk" for a decade -- it's not unlike looking for the "next Durant" now. But the thing is that Dirk, like Durant, is exceptional for his size-n-shooting combination, as well as his single-minded obsession with improving.
The transcendent players -- and Dirk is there -- don't really have an analogue and they aren't replicable. That is worth keeping in mind as the NBA Draft moves into its post-Lottery phase -- and worth keeping in mind as we all find a renewed appreciation for Dirk's game.
NBA Draft Lottery: Great for the Cavs, who -- thanks to their midseason trade with the Clippers -- get a franchise PG in Kyrie Irving plus another talent at No. 4 (isn't it worth at least asking if the Clips are better off with Derrick Williams at No. 1 and their pick of Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker at No. 4?) Great for 14-year-old Nick Gilbert.
Not great for David Kahn, who not only fronted an extremely unwise joke about the Lottery being fixed (and let's presume he was joking), but he uniquely manages to turn a "two-star draft" (Irving and Williams) into a one-star draft, because Williams plays the same position as the T'wolves' existing young talents.
The big question marks: The international players, from Enes Kanter to Bismack Biyombo to the Euro "V" guys (Valanciunas and Vesely). They should all go Top 10, and at least one will out-perform his pre-draft expectations (so much of that depends on context and opportunity, but I love Biyombo's potential).
NHL: Tyler Seguin is the New Big Thing in Boston. And if you get the Boston sports fans behind you, the national media will follow.
Bulls-Heat Game 2 tonight: This isn't a must-win for the Heat, but at the very least, you want to see some improvement in their rebounding deficiencies from Game 1 (not to mention their inability to solve the Bulls' defense).
A ton of great stuff on Quickish today: Amazing analysis of Dirk, a few mock drafts, some love for Seguin and a link to the must-read SI cover story on the aftermath of the tornado in Alabama -- and that's just this morning. Stick around all day -- and into the evening for Bulls-Heat.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
05/17 (NBA Lottery) Quickie
Thanks to all for the good wishes for my kid's 5th birthday yesterday. Much appreciated.
He ended the day by opening a dozen or so presents, ranging from a new box of crayons to a LEGO Pizza Store that he REALLY wanted to a new two-wheel scooter (gifting his old three-wheel scooter to his little brother, who was ecstatic). There was also a new mini basketball hoop (the old one got demolished in an unfortunate dunking accident), which he is now obsessed with. The next Jon Scheyer!
Tonight is the NBA Draft Lottery or -- as it is known to we Bullets/Wizards fans -- "The Playoffs." Winning the Lottery this year is underwhelming -- Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams? The Wizards winning the John Wall Lottery last year was one of the most exciting moments of my life as a fan, if only for the combination of the player involved and the sheer unexpectedness of the Ping-Pong balls going for the Wiz, which only happens when Kwame Brown is involved.
I think the draft isn't nearly as bad as many say -- just because so many of the top college players skipped out doesn't mean it is full of duds, and I could easily see the foreign players that will make up at least half of the Top 10 turning into legit contributors. (Euros, typically, get short-shrift from fans in advance of the draft.)
Speaking of lightly regarded (at the time) Euro draftees, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs play Game 1 tonight against the Thunder. The Thunder have youth, energy and some tough match-ups; the Mavs have veteran savvy and arguably the best player of the playoffs so far in Dirk. I'm rooting for the Thunder but will say Mavs in 5.
The story of the day? I'm sort of obsessed with Royals RP Vin Mazzaro, who gave up 14 runs in less than 3 innings of work last night, unprecedented and probably underappreciated. Before last night, no one knew who Mazzaro was; now, everyone does. That's something, isn't it?
Last question: The Heat figure out how to rebound yet? Even with a few extra days between games, doesn't seem like the kind of adjustment you can make in the middle of a series.
-- D.S.
He ended the day by opening a dozen or so presents, ranging from a new box of crayons to a LEGO Pizza Store that he REALLY wanted to a new two-wheel scooter (gifting his old three-wheel scooter to his little brother, who was ecstatic). There was also a new mini basketball hoop (the old one got demolished in an unfortunate dunking accident), which he is now obsessed with. The next Jon Scheyer!
Tonight is the NBA Draft Lottery or -- as it is known to we Bullets/Wizards fans -- "The Playoffs." Winning the Lottery this year is underwhelming -- Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams? The Wizards winning the John Wall Lottery last year was one of the most exciting moments of my life as a fan, if only for the combination of the player involved and the sheer unexpectedness of the Ping-Pong balls going for the Wiz, which only happens when Kwame Brown is involved.
I think the draft isn't nearly as bad as many say -- just because so many of the top college players skipped out doesn't mean it is full of duds, and I could easily see the foreign players that will make up at least half of the Top 10 turning into legit contributors. (Euros, typically, get short-shrift from fans in advance of the draft.)
Speaking of lightly regarded (at the time) Euro draftees, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs play Game 1 tonight against the Thunder. The Thunder have youth, energy and some tough match-ups; the Mavs have veteran savvy and arguably the best player of the playoffs so far in Dirk. I'm rooting for the Thunder but will say Mavs in 5.
The story of the day? I'm sort of obsessed with Royals RP Vin Mazzaro, who gave up 14 runs in less than 3 innings of work last night, unprecedented and probably underappreciated. Before last night, no one knew who Mazzaro was; now, everyone does. That's something, isn't it?
Last question: The Heat figure out how to rebound yet? Even with a few extra days between games, doesn't seem like the kind of adjustment you can make in the middle of a series.
-- D.S.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Varsity Dad: My Older Kid Turns 5
My older son Gabe turns 5 today. It is impossible not to reflect on the last five years and how it so dramatically changed my life.
Here's a wild thought: Five years ago today, I was into my 4th year of writing the Daily Quickie for ESPN.com...
...Well, wait: I was in the hospital on May 16th, so here's the edition I filed the first day back from a brief paternity leave (I don't make a habit of going back and re-reading old Quickie columns, so what I'm struck by when I look at the one from May 24: goddamn, I wrote the hell out of that column every day. /reverie).
Little did I know with that little newborn that I would leave ESPN.com a few months later. Then start blogging here. Then do some consulting (and more blogging, Varsity Dad, along with finishing that awesome screenplay), while coming nominally close to creating my own indie version of a blogging all-star team (others pulled it off, to spectacular effect). Then join Associated Content. Then another kid. Then leave AC and do more consulting, projects and blogging (TimTeblog). Then found and launch Quickish.
Aside from my wife, the constant over the past five years is Gabe, from super-cute infant to yapping (and still-cute) toddler to the brilliant and joyful boy he is today. My wife and I have been beyond lucky.
But for now I'm just going to focus on a sports angle: We had exposed Gabe to spectator sports when he was 3 and a half or so. We took him to the local minor-league baseball and I took him to a college basketball game (and, later, the Knicks). He was kind of interested, but mostly too young to really appreciate it. A big lesson I learned: You just can't -- or shouldn't -- force these things. There's plenty of chances to dress them in team-logo'd T-shirts and jerseys.
But right around this past Selection Sunday, something clicked: He became as obsessed with sports -- the NCAA Tournament, specifically -- as he had previously been about animals or ice cream or doing tricks on his scooter.
He filled out a bracket, then followed the games avidly. He picked Florida to win it all, then jumped on the Butler bandwagon when Butler knocked out the Gators. (An early application of the transitive property of picking up the team that knocks out your team.)
Now he will watch any sports on TV we can find: NASCAR (and funny cars!), Premiership and La Liga soccer on ESPN. Just yesterday, we spent at least 10 minutes watching women's billiards.
But he has been really into the NBA Playoffs. He picks teams to root for based mostly on who happens to be winning the game -- or who won. (Bandwagoning during the playoffs? This makes him fairly typical among sports fans -- certainly among sports media and punditry.)
He wants to know not just who is winning and not even merely by how much, but the precise score, so he can calculate the spread himself. He yelps out from his bedroom "What's the score?" while I am watching games in the living room. And when he rolls out of bed in the morning, his first question usually is: "Who won the game?"
His new obsession with big-time sports is kind of awesome. (By the way, his mom and I are certainly doing our best to encourage participation in sports so he learn good lessons about being active -- I appreciate the secondary effect of a deeper appreciation of the game by playing).
It has allowed Gabe to connect with my wife and me on a new level. We already did all sorts of fun things together -- reading, games, biking, practicing his writing -- but this is so close to what I have spent my lifetime doing professionally (and something my wife and I have invested so much of myself personally) that being able to share it with him and expose him to it is surprisingly meaningful for both kid and parents.
As a parent, it is really hard to take the 10,000-foot view -- there are just too many little details you have to focus on all day, every day that keep you in the moment.
But in a way, that is a great thing, because it allows for extra (and extraordinary) meaning for things as simple and surface-level as "Daddy, what's the score?"
-- D.S.
Here's a wild thought: Five years ago today, I was into my 4th year of writing the Daily Quickie for ESPN.com...
...Well, wait: I was in the hospital on May 16th, so here's the edition I filed the first day back from a brief paternity leave (I don't make a habit of going back and re-reading old Quickie columns, so what I'm struck by when I look at the one from May 24: goddamn, I wrote the hell out of that column every day. /reverie).
Little did I know with that little newborn that I would leave ESPN.com a few months later. Then start blogging here. Then do some consulting (and more blogging, Varsity Dad, along with finishing that awesome screenplay), while coming nominally close to creating my own indie version of a blogging all-star team (others pulled it off, to spectacular effect). Then join Associated Content. Then another kid. Then leave AC and do more consulting, projects and blogging (TimTeblog). Then found and launch Quickish.
Aside from my wife, the constant over the past five years is Gabe, from super-cute infant to yapping (and still-cute) toddler to the brilliant and joyful boy he is today. My wife and I have been beyond lucky.
But for now I'm just going to focus on a sports angle: We had exposed Gabe to spectator sports when he was 3 and a half or so. We took him to the local minor-league baseball and I took him to a college basketball game (and, later, the Knicks). He was kind of interested, but mostly too young to really appreciate it. A big lesson I learned: You just can't -- or shouldn't -- force these things. There's plenty of chances to dress them in team-logo'd T-shirts and jerseys.
But right around this past Selection Sunday, something clicked: He became as obsessed with sports -- the NCAA Tournament, specifically -- as he had previously been about animals or ice cream or doing tricks on his scooter.
He filled out a bracket, then followed the games avidly. He picked Florida to win it all, then jumped on the Butler bandwagon when Butler knocked out the Gators. (An early application of the transitive property of picking up the team that knocks out your team.)
Now he will watch any sports on TV we can find: NASCAR (and funny cars!), Premiership and La Liga soccer on ESPN. Just yesterday, we spent at least 10 minutes watching women's billiards.
But he has been really into the NBA Playoffs. He picks teams to root for based mostly on who happens to be winning the game -- or who won. (Bandwagoning during the playoffs? This makes him fairly typical among sports fans -- certainly among sports media and punditry.)
He wants to know not just who is winning and not even merely by how much, but the precise score, so he can calculate the spread himself. He yelps out from his bedroom "What's the score?" while I am watching games in the living room. And when he rolls out of bed in the morning, his first question usually is: "Who won the game?"
His new obsession with big-time sports is kind of awesome. (By the way, his mom and I are certainly doing our best to encourage participation in sports so he learn good lessons about being active -- I appreciate the secondary effect of a deeper appreciation of the game by playing).
It has allowed Gabe to connect with my wife and me on a new level. We already did all sorts of fun things together -- reading, games, biking, practicing his writing -- but this is so close to what I have spent my lifetime doing professionally (and something my wife and I have invested so much of myself personally) that being able to share it with him and expose him to it is surprisingly meaningful for both kid and parents.
As a parent, it is really hard to take the 10,000-foot view -- there are just too many little details you have to focus on all day, every day that keep you in the moment.
But in a way, that is a great thing, because it allows for extra (and extraordinary) meaning for things as simple and surface-level as "Daddy, what's the score?"
-- D.S.
05/16 (Heat Thumped) Quickie
If you want the Heat to lose this series, last night's Game 1 in Chicago was a best-case scenario.
After looking so unstoppable against the Celtics, the Heat looked overmatched against the Bulls' defense (quantum leap from Boston) and rebounding (offensive) and posterizing (Taj Gibson!)
Chris Bosh even had a good game, and it didn't matter. The home crowd cheered the Bulls, everyone at home (or on Twitter) jeered the Heat and after a taut 1st half, it was essentially over after the 3rd quarter, without even a "patented NBA run" proffered by the Heat.
Now, let's go back to the old playoff maxim: They don't really start until someone loses at home. If the Heat win Game 2, the series script instantly flips.
So enjoy it now.
***
Thunder run past Grizzlies to reach NBA West finals: Hard not to root for OKC to get past Dallas, putting Kevin Durant on the Finals stage (although it's hard to pick against the Mavs, who dispatched the two-time defending champs so effortlessly).
By the way, let's take a sec to praise the Grizzlies, who as an 8-seed nearly got to the conference finals -- all without their best wing player, the injured Rudy Gay. If they can keep Marc Gasol, making it back to the NBA's version of the Elite Eight isn't unreasonable to expect.
Jorge Posada apologizes: I understand why he did (and, by the way, it was a half-hearted "kind of" apology), and he's certainly not very good, but I go back to Joe Sheehan's point that this all comes back to Joe Girardi's unwillingness to do anything about the Jeter issue. And when the Yankees end up not making the playoffs -- and Girardi ends up being fired -- maybe they will finally deal with it. (Meanwhile, don't let this noisy object off to the side distract you from the way the Red Sox came to NYC and swept the Yankees.)
Jose Bautista hits 3 HR: Three words -- Not. A. Fluke.
Amazing story out of Phoenix, where Suns CEO Rick Welts went public yesterday that he is gay, a rare open exec at the top levels in sports. (It dovetails with that PSA that ran on TV yesterday of the pick-up hoops players using "gay" as a slur for "dumb," then being admonished by Grant Hill and Jared Dudley for it. Great to see that effort getting airtime on a game as watched as Bulls-Heat Game 1.
It is my older son's 5th birthday today. More on that milestone later. It's a big one for him -- and for me and his mom.
-- D.S.
After looking so unstoppable against the Celtics, the Heat looked overmatched against the Bulls' defense (quantum leap from Boston) and rebounding (offensive) and posterizing (Taj Gibson!)
Chris Bosh even had a good game, and it didn't matter. The home crowd cheered the Bulls, everyone at home (or on Twitter) jeered the Heat and after a taut 1st half, it was essentially over after the 3rd quarter, without even a "patented NBA run" proffered by the Heat.
Now, let's go back to the old playoff maxim: They don't really start until someone loses at home. If the Heat win Game 2, the series script instantly flips.
So enjoy it now.
***
Thunder run past Grizzlies to reach NBA West finals: Hard not to root for OKC to get past Dallas, putting Kevin Durant on the Finals stage (although it's hard to pick against the Mavs, who dispatched the two-time defending champs so effortlessly).
By the way, let's take a sec to praise the Grizzlies, who as an 8-seed nearly got to the conference finals -- all without their best wing player, the injured Rudy Gay. If they can keep Marc Gasol, making it back to the NBA's version of the Elite Eight isn't unreasonable to expect.
Jorge Posada apologizes: I understand why he did (and, by the way, it was a half-hearted "kind of" apology), and he's certainly not very good, but I go back to Joe Sheehan's point that this all comes back to Joe Girardi's unwillingness to do anything about the Jeter issue. And when the Yankees end up not making the playoffs -- and Girardi ends up being fired -- maybe they will finally deal with it. (Meanwhile, don't let this noisy object off to the side distract you from the way the Red Sox came to NYC and swept the Yankees.)
Jose Bautista hits 3 HR: Three words -- Not. A. Fluke.
Amazing story out of Phoenix, where Suns CEO Rick Welts went public yesterday that he is gay, a rare open exec at the top levels in sports. (It dovetails with that PSA that ran on TV yesterday of the pick-up hoops players using "gay" as a slur for "dumb," then being admonished by Grant Hill and Jared Dudley for it. Great to see that effort getting airtime on a game as watched as Bulls-Heat Game 1.
It is my older son's 5th birthday today. More on that milestone later. It's a big one for him -- and for me and his mom.
-- D.S.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
05/14 (Party) Quickie
Mrs. Quickie-Quickish and I are hosting 10 pre-K kids for my son Gabe's 5th birthday, which is Monday. (More on that milestone on Monday.) So this will be brief:
*Grizzlies taking Thunder to Game 7: At home, OKC should be a favorite. But Memphis already won there once, and strategically, the Thunder have to find a solution for the Grizzlies' deployment of OJ Mayo as a way to open up the middle for Zach Randolph.
*Cripes, what the hell happened to Derek Boogaard? Very sad and shocking news.
*I think that Justin Verlander taking a no-hitter into the 6th inning after pitching a no-hitter the last time out is just about as much as we could ask from him.
*Happy graduation to Troy Polamalu.
Back to party prep. Very slow day in sports, but Quickish has more than a few great recommendations for you, updating all day long (and in the capable hands of editor Michael Katz). Pop by!
-- D.S.
*Grizzlies taking Thunder to Game 7: At home, OKC should be a favorite. But Memphis already won there once, and strategically, the Thunder have to find a solution for the Grizzlies' deployment of OJ Mayo as a way to open up the middle for Zach Randolph.
*Cripes, what the hell happened to Derek Boogaard? Very sad and shocking news.
*I think that Justin Verlander taking a no-hitter into the 6th inning after pitching a no-hitter the last time out is just about as much as we could ask from him.
*Happy graduation to Troy Polamalu.
Back to party prep. Very slow day in sports, but Quickish has more than a few great recommendations for you, updating all day long (and in the capable hands of editor Michael Katz). Pop by!
-- D.S.
Friday, May 13, 2011
05/13 (Technical Difficulties) Quickie
Blogger was down for a while, so writing late today isn't my fault this time! A few thoughts:
*The Bulls will give the Heat a tougher series than the Celtics. I am certainly rooting for Chicago, but I'm not quite sure I can bring myself to pick them to win the series.
*Thunder-Grizzlies Game 6 tonight: I think Memphis, playing at home, wins and forces an entertaining Game 7. My favorite part is that I think either of these teams can beat Dallas.
*Tiger quitting the Players: If he was near the top and still in pain, he would have kept playing, so let's not sugarcoat what happened yesterday -- he sucked and he was probably in pain, too. But most of all, it was humiliating, and that -- more than anything -- is what Tiger couldn't abide. The injury was a convenient excuse, but he felt good enough to play the tournament to begin with, so he couldn't have felt THAT awful. But let's be clear: He quit.
I love the folks saying "Hmm: He might not set the record for career major titles anymore!" No, he might not win another major again, period. In fact, I'd put the probability greater that he never wins another major than he doesn't break the Nicklaus record. Let's go one better: I think there's a better chance he never wins another major than he ever wins another major. Not willing to take bets on it or anything, but it simply wouldn't surprise me if that's how it played out. ("Ever" is a long time, and so I want to allow for some one-in-a-million freak run he goes on 10 years from now at Augusta.)
*Sharks survive Game 7 vs. Red Wings: The difference between now and 24 hours ago is everything. Folks might nominally remember that the Sharks blew a 3-0 lead, but in the end, they advanced, and history tends to be very forgiving of things like that. (It's only when you complete the collapse that history piles on top.)
*Harmon Killebrew enters hospice care: I'm sad for him and his family and Twins fans, but I'm glad he and his family have control of their end-of-life decision-making. If you haven't yet, you should read Atul Gawande's piece from the New Yorker from last August that just won a National Magazine Award for "Public Interest" reporting.
*Doc Rivers re-ups with the Celtics for 5 more years (at $5-7M a year). It's great for the Celtics and great for Doc -- although if he had wanted to take off the next two years to watch his son play at Duke, he could have returned to the NBA at the same salary structure. Unsure how good Doc will look when his team can't get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs -- if that -- over the next five years.
*Lakers want Rick Adelman? I think Kobe likes Brian Shaw personally but all Kobe cares about is winning. If Adelman offers a better chance of that, Kobe will be fine with it.
-- D.S.
*The Bulls will give the Heat a tougher series than the Celtics. I am certainly rooting for Chicago, but I'm not quite sure I can bring myself to pick them to win the series.
*Thunder-Grizzlies Game 6 tonight: I think Memphis, playing at home, wins and forces an entertaining Game 7. My favorite part is that I think either of these teams can beat Dallas.
*Tiger quitting the Players: If he was near the top and still in pain, he would have kept playing, so let's not sugarcoat what happened yesterday -- he sucked and he was probably in pain, too. But most of all, it was humiliating, and that -- more than anything -- is what Tiger couldn't abide. The injury was a convenient excuse, but he felt good enough to play the tournament to begin with, so he couldn't have felt THAT awful. But let's be clear: He quit.
I love the folks saying "Hmm: He might not set the record for career major titles anymore!" No, he might not win another major again, period. In fact, I'd put the probability greater that he never wins another major than he doesn't break the Nicklaus record. Let's go one better: I think there's a better chance he never wins another major than he ever wins another major. Not willing to take bets on it or anything, but it simply wouldn't surprise me if that's how it played out. ("Ever" is a long time, and so I want to allow for some one-in-a-million freak run he goes on 10 years from now at Augusta.)
*Sharks survive Game 7 vs. Red Wings: The difference between now and 24 hours ago is everything. Folks might nominally remember that the Sharks blew a 3-0 lead, but in the end, they advanced, and history tends to be very forgiving of things like that. (It's only when you complete the collapse that history piles on top.)
*Harmon Killebrew enters hospice care: I'm sad for him and his family and Twins fans, but I'm glad he and his family have control of their end-of-life decision-making. If you haven't yet, you should read Atul Gawande's piece from the New Yorker from last August that just won a National Magazine Award for "Public Interest" reporting.
*Doc Rivers re-ups with the Celtics for 5 more years (at $5-7M a year). It's great for the Celtics and great for Doc -- although if he had wanted to take off the next two years to watch his son play at Duke, he could have returned to the NBA at the same salary structure. Unsure how good Doc will look when his team can't get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs -- if that -- over the next five years.
*Lakers want Rick Adelman? I think Kobe likes Brian Shaw personally but all Kobe cares about is winning. If Adelman offers a better chance of that, Kobe will be fine with it.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
05/11 (Fin De Celtics) Quickie
If things hold to form, the Heat should close out the Celtics tonight. It will represent a huge moment in the NBA -- slightly bigger than Miami's win in Boston on Monday night, which was fairly seismic in and of itself.
It is the end of the Celtics as a legitimate NBA title contender, at least in its "Big Three + Rondo" incarnation. It is the breakthrough -- the immediate breakthrough, mind you -- of the LeBron/Wade Heat. It lays the template for the Eastern Conference -- perhaps the NBA championship -- for this year and the next several, on top of it.
I hold out that the Celtics can grit out a win tonight, then one more in Boston, tightening the choke-hold on the Heat's necks, even if they end up prevailing in Game 7. I don't want it to be this easy for Miami. Not in Year 1. Not yet.
And yet that's how it will likely play out. This Heat team is better than we thought -- particularly if you were in the group that thought it would take at least a year for the team to break through.
A few extra notes:
*I'm a lifetime Bullets/Wizards fan, so I get a moment to say: Hey, those new uniforms are not just "not terrible," but actually really really good. I'm a huge fan. And between uniforms that most fans seem to think are pretty cool and John Wall, it makes it a little less painful that the team won't make the playoffs next year or anytime in the foreseeable future.
*Halladay-Johnson was solid, if not spectacular. It was certainly a fun thing to track on a random early-May night.
*I have no dog in the fight, but I couldn't be rooting harder for the Red Wings to come back from being down 3-0 vs. the Sharks to pull off the 4th 3-0 comeback in NHL history.
*I don't think the Bulls will beat the Hawks in Atlanta in Game 6 -- which makes Game 7 a you-don't-want-to-chance-things toss-up -- but I do think Chicago pulls this out, then exhausted, gets run over by Miami.
*Anyone else in NYC going to this tonight? Should be really fun.
*There are some incredible "longish" recommendations on Quickish throughout this morning and afternoon. Please check it out (and pop by all day for more).
-- D.S.
It is the end of the Celtics as a legitimate NBA title contender, at least in its "Big Three + Rondo" incarnation. It is the breakthrough -- the immediate breakthrough, mind you -- of the LeBron/Wade Heat. It lays the template for the Eastern Conference -- perhaps the NBA championship -- for this year and the next several, on top of it.
I hold out that the Celtics can grit out a win tonight, then one more in Boston, tightening the choke-hold on the Heat's necks, even if they end up prevailing in Game 7. I don't want it to be this easy for Miami. Not in Year 1. Not yet.
And yet that's how it will likely play out. This Heat team is better than we thought -- particularly if you were in the group that thought it would take at least a year for the team to break through.
A few extra notes:
*I'm a lifetime Bullets/Wizards fan, so I get a moment to say: Hey, those new uniforms are not just "not terrible," but actually really really good. I'm a huge fan. And between uniforms that most fans seem to think are pretty cool and John Wall, it makes it a little less painful that the team won't make the playoffs next year or anytime in the foreseeable future.
*Halladay-Johnson was solid, if not spectacular. It was certainly a fun thing to track on a random early-May night.
*I have no dog in the fight, but I couldn't be rooting harder for the Red Wings to come back from being down 3-0 vs. the Sharks to pull off the 4th 3-0 comeback in NHL history.
*I don't think the Bulls will beat the Hawks in Atlanta in Game 6 -- which makes Game 7 a you-don't-want-to-chance-things toss-up -- but I do think Chicago pulls this out, then exhausted, gets run over by Miami.
*Anyone else in NYC going to this tonight? Should be really fun.
*There are some incredible "longish" recommendations on Quickish throughout this morning and afternoon. Please check it out (and pop by all day for more).
-- D.S.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
05/10 (Heat + 3OT) Quickie
I am happy (if tired) to report I was able to stay up for all 3 OTs from last night's Thunder-Grizzlies game.
Partly, that's because it's part of the job and partly, it's because there is something awesome about the super-late-night pivotal playoff game going into the wee hours, where the only thing you have to keep you company is the flickering TV (virtually muted to not keep my wife up) and the patter on Twitter.
In the end, it was worth it, because if in fact the Thunder won the series with last night's epic win, it may go down as the playoff trial that defined them as a team and franchise.
That was the theme of the night -- the Heat's win in Boston was certainly the biggest win of the "Big Three" era in Miami. I would call it the biggest win of LeBron's career (and certainly Bosh's); Wade gets a "ring" exemption to "biggest win" talk.
This was it: Say what you want about the Celtics' weaknesses, this was still the defending East champs playing on their floor, where LeBron and Wade and the Heat haven't won in forever, in a game that Miami really needed -- the difference between being up 3-1 on the Celtics and tied 2-2 (having lost 2 straight) is everything.
It feels comfortable to say the Heat are going to vanquish Boston in this series -- and maybe from relevancy as an elite NBA team, just as the Mavericks did with the Lakers on Sunday.
It feels comfortable to say that the Heat just had their "breakthrough" as a team, and that not only does it seem inevitable that they will win the East, but it finally feels realistic that they will win an NBA title in their first year of being together -- a once-unthinkable proposition for me.
The end of the Heat-Celtics game had my mind racing at the implications -- it flowed right into the taut Thunder-Grizzlies game that saved OKC's season (if also layering it with this meta-intrigue of big brother Durant vs. little brother Westbrook, battling for shots).
While the Celtics and Lakers are being ushered out, fans and pundits are cheering for more from the Thunder and Grizzlies -- a best-of-three series, with the entire spotlight on them (and Bulls-Hawks, oddly, as a kind of afterthought), feels like a worthy way to spend the rest of the week.
One quick unrelated note: Josh Johnson vs. Roy Halladay tonight, in the pitching match-up of the year in baseball and one that is worth finding the sports bar or friend with MLB Extra Innings to crash at and enjoy.
-- D.S.
Partly, that's because it's part of the job and partly, it's because there is something awesome about the super-late-night pivotal playoff game going into the wee hours, where the only thing you have to keep you company is the flickering TV (virtually muted to not keep my wife up) and the patter on Twitter.
In the end, it was worth it, because if in fact the Thunder won the series with last night's epic win, it may go down as the playoff trial that defined them as a team and franchise.
That was the theme of the night -- the Heat's win in Boston was certainly the biggest win of the "Big Three" era in Miami. I would call it the biggest win of LeBron's career (and certainly Bosh's); Wade gets a "ring" exemption to "biggest win" talk.
This was it: Say what you want about the Celtics' weaknesses, this was still the defending East champs playing on their floor, where LeBron and Wade and the Heat haven't won in forever, in a game that Miami really needed -- the difference between being up 3-1 on the Celtics and tied 2-2 (having lost 2 straight) is everything.
It feels comfortable to say the Heat are going to vanquish Boston in this series -- and maybe from relevancy as an elite NBA team, just as the Mavericks did with the Lakers on Sunday.
It feels comfortable to say that the Heat just had their "breakthrough" as a team, and that not only does it seem inevitable that they will win the East, but it finally feels realistic that they will win an NBA title in their first year of being together -- a once-unthinkable proposition for me.
The end of the Heat-Celtics game had my mind racing at the implications -- it flowed right into the taut Thunder-Grizzlies game that saved OKC's season (if also layering it with this meta-intrigue of big brother Durant vs. little brother Westbrook, battling for shots).
While the Celtics and Lakers are being ushered out, fans and pundits are cheering for more from the Thunder and Grizzlies -- a best-of-three series, with the entire spotlight on them (and Bulls-Hawks, oddly, as a kind of afterthought), feels like a worthy way to spend the rest of the week.
One quick unrelated note: Josh Johnson vs. Roy Halladay tonight, in the pitching match-up of the year in baseball and one that is worth finding the sports bar or friend with MLB Extra Innings to crash at and enjoy.
-- D.S.
Monday, May 09, 2011
05/09 (End of Lakers Era) Quickie
First of all, a huge kudos to Michael Katz, who has been doing phenomenal editorial work for Quickish for the last month, on his work this past weekend -- it was as busy as a sports schedule gets (particularly with big news) and he crushed it. If you haven't yet, zip down through the weekend's coverage to get a sense of all the awesomeness from Saturday and Sunday (the page automatically adds more posts as you hit the bottom).
Now: The Lakers.
There's a lot of angles here. Let's pick a few of the more interesting ones:
*Is the dynasty over? If the definition is "Lakers as true title contender" -- a stretch dating batck to Phil Jackson's first title with LA -- the answer is yes. Part of that is because Phil Jackson is gone; part of that is because Kobe just isn't Kobe (and the supporting cast was exposed).
*Phil Jackson's legacy: I was never a big "Jordan Bulls" fan (and wasn't a "Shaq/Kobe Lakers" fan, either), but I have always loved Phil Jackson (I have a similar feeling about Bill Belichick). I think Jackson is the greatest coach in NBA history -- and it is precisely because he had the superstars. Winning championships is brutally hard; winning championships while first winning over best-ever players seems like it would be even harder. Consider the number of mega-talents who just never were able to put it together for those 16-win seasons in the spring.
(I loved Jack McCallum's idea that a team hire Phil to be president, not coach. Unclear who would do it -- Phil has that independent streak -- but I would be thrilled if it was my Wizards.)
*How the Lakers finished up: Well, which part? That they were swept? That they lost Game 4 worse than any team in NBA history? That they got a little thuggy at the end with the fouls (and the frustration)? That they acted overly miffed as they walked off the court? Two-time defending champs (and teams that have been dynastic over the past decade) get a bit more leeway than, say, LeBron or Dwight Howard, who haven't earned the right to act pissy.
There is also this (and it sort of dovetails with the Jeter-aging story of the past few weeks/months): This isn't the Lakers losing after the first three-peat, with Kobe looking at a few more years of "prime" -- not to mention the rejuvinating effect of trading for Pau Gasol a few years later, triggering Titles 4 and 5. This is the Lakers, recognizing that this may be it, for a long, long time -- more importantly, for the duration of the stars' careers. Chris Paul won't save the Lakers. Dwight Howard might, but it's unclear the Magic are interested in Andrew Bynum and his 40-year-old's knees. They are entitled to be a little dickish. You'd like them to be a bit more statesmenlike, but the same qualities that helped them win those titles are the ones that turn them into pricks when they lose. It's hard to disqualify them for that.
A few other notes:
*Few conference semifinal games feel as must-see as Heat-Celtics tonight. Totally curious how the Heat treat Rondo's elbow. (And even Thunder-Grizzlies feels like a must-win for OKC.)
*Anyone think that it doesn't really matter who wins the Bulls-Hawks series -- that either/both would lose to the Celtics-Heat winner?
*Reading all the Seve Ballesteros coverage over the past 48 hours, I regret not appreciating him more while he was active and playing well.
-- D.S.
Now: The Lakers.
There's a lot of angles here. Let's pick a few of the more interesting ones:
*Is the dynasty over? If the definition is "Lakers as true title contender" -- a stretch dating batck to Phil Jackson's first title with LA -- the answer is yes. Part of that is because Phil Jackson is gone; part of that is because Kobe just isn't Kobe (and the supporting cast was exposed).
*Phil Jackson's legacy: I was never a big "Jordan Bulls" fan (and wasn't a "Shaq/Kobe Lakers" fan, either), but I have always loved Phil Jackson (I have a similar feeling about Bill Belichick). I think Jackson is the greatest coach in NBA history -- and it is precisely because he had the superstars. Winning championships is brutally hard; winning championships while first winning over best-ever players seems like it would be even harder. Consider the number of mega-talents who just never were able to put it together for those 16-win seasons in the spring.
(I loved Jack McCallum's idea that a team hire Phil to be president, not coach. Unclear who would do it -- Phil has that independent streak -- but I would be thrilled if it was my Wizards.)
*How the Lakers finished up: Well, which part? That they were swept? That they lost Game 4 worse than any team in NBA history? That they got a little thuggy at the end with the fouls (and the frustration)? That they acted overly miffed as they walked off the court? Two-time defending champs (and teams that have been dynastic over the past decade) get a bit more leeway than, say, LeBron or Dwight Howard, who haven't earned the right to act pissy.
There is also this (and it sort of dovetails with the Jeter-aging story of the past few weeks/months): This isn't the Lakers losing after the first three-peat, with Kobe looking at a few more years of "prime" -- not to mention the rejuvinating effect of trading for Pau Gasol a few years later, triggering Titles 4 and 5. This is the Lakers, recognizing that this may be it, for a long, long time -- more importantly, for the duration of the stars' careers. Chris Paul won't save the Lakers. Dwight Howard might, but it's unclear the Magic are interested in Andrew Bynum and his 40-year-old's knees. They are entitled to be a little dickish. You'd like them to be a bit more statesmenlike, but the same qualities that helped them win those titles are the ones that turn them into pricks when they lose. It's hard to disqualify them for that.
A few other notes:
*Few conference semifinal games feel as must-see as Heat-Celtics tonight. Totally curious how the Heat treat Rondo's elbow. (And even Thunder-Grizzlies feels like a must-win for OKC.)
*Anyone think that it doesn't really matter who wins the Bulls-Hawks series -- that either/both would lose to the Celtics-Heat winner?
*Reading all the Seve Ballesteros coverage over the past 48 hours, I regret not appreciating him more while he was active and playing well.
-- D.S.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
05/08 (Happy Mother's Day) Quickie
First (and most), happy mother's day to all the moms out there...
...Especially my own mom (who is spending the weekend visiting my brother and sister-in-law, who became a new mom two weeks ago, which was my third new nephew/neice in the last 6 weeks -- so a huge first-time happy mother's day to my sister and my wife's sister-in-law.)
And, of course, a very happy mother's day to Mrs. Quickish, whose two boys greeted her this morning with cards and homemade presents.
***
Some life out of the Celtics (even with that gruesome injury to Rajon Rondo's elbow, that he came back from but remains to be seen what the full impact is), which are one win from taking back momentum in the series. Even for a longtime Celtics-hater, hard not to root for them last night to make it interesting versus the just-as-hatable Heat.
Huge win for the Grizzlies, who have yet to lose at home in the playoffs (until they do). That gives them the advantage, with two more games in Memphis in the series and a 2-1 series advantage after yesterday's OT win.
No-hitter for Justin Verlander: A bit more overpowering than Francisco Liriano's.
Derby win for Animal Kingdom: If you read Quickish earlier this week, you knew that was NYT horse-racing writer Joe Drape's savvy pick to win. (It was not my own pick to win.)
Manny Pacquiao beats Shane Mosley in snoozer: Everyone knew this dud was coming, since it was set. So why the frustration when it turned out to be a dud?
Andre Ethier's hit streak ends at 30: Still impressive.
CBB Coaching: Sean Miller has no interest in Maryland, signs extension with Arizona. I'm a bit surprised, but the programs are not so disparate that this is a huge shock.
NBA Draft: Terrence Jones going back to Kentucky. I will never begrudge a player his decision -- going pro or staying -- but I think that Jones is probably making a mistake. A solid season won't improve his 2012 draft stock ahead of 2011 (mid-to-late Top 10), not with so many awesome players coming out next season. If he wants an NBA career, he would have been better off on an NBA team, getting NBA coaching, finding his NBA fit. But wow, Kentucky is going to be loaded next year.
Today: Is this the end of the run for the Lakers? Given that it's a "when" not "if" situation this month, does it really matter if the Lakers lose in 4 versus 5 or 6 or 7? Probably not. I mean, going out in 6 or 7 would at least show they had some life, versus a sweep, which would be like stamping out the Lakers' relevancy as a title contender for the forseeable future.
-- D.S.
...Especially my own mom (who is spending the weekend visiting my brother and sister-in-law, who became a new mom two weeks ago, which was my third new nephew/neice in the last 6 weeks -- so a huge first-time happy mother's day to my sister and my wife's sister-in-law.)
And, of course, a very happy mother's day to Mrs. Quickish, whose two boys greeted her this morning with cards and homemade presents.
***
Some life out of the Celtics (even with that gruesome injury to Rajon Rondo's elbow, that he came back from but remains to be seen what the full impact is), which are one win from taking back momentum in the series. Even for a longtime Celtics-hater, hard not to root for them last night to make it interesting versus the just-as-hatable Heat.
Huge win for the Grizzlies, who have yet to lose at home in the playoffs (until they do). That gives them the advantage, with two more games in Memphis in the series and a 2-1 series advantage after yesterday's OT win.
No-hitter for Justin Verlander: A bit more overpowering than Francisco Liriano's.
Derby win for Animal Kingdom: If you read Quickish earlier this week, you knew that was NYT horse-racing writer Joe Drape's savvy pick to win. (It was not my own pick to win.)
Manny Pacquiao beats Shane Mosley in snoozer: Everyone knew this dud was coming, since it was set. So why the frustration when it turned out to be a dud?
Andre Ethier's hit streak ends at 30: Still impressive.
CBB Coaching: Sean Miller has no interest in Maryland, signs extension with Arizona. I'm a bit surprised, but the programs are not so disparate that this is a huge shock.
NBA Draft: Terrence Jones going back to Kentucky. I will never begrudge a player his decision -- going pro or staying -- but I think that Jones is probably making a mistake. A solid season won't improve his 2012 draft stock ahead of 2011 (mid-to-late Top 10), not with so many awesome players coming out next season. If he wants an NBA career, he would have been better off on an NBA team, getting NBA coaching, finding his NBA fit. But wow, Kentucky is going to be loaded next year.
Today: Is this the end of the run for the Lakers? Given that it's a "when" not "if" situation this month, does it really matter if the Lakers lose in 4 versus 5 or 6 or 7? Probably not. I mean, going out in 6 or 7 would at least show they had some life, versus a sweep, which would be like stamping out the Lakers' relevancy as a title contender for the forseeable future.
-- D.S.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
On Gary Williams
Before the Florida fandom, there was the Maryland fandom. Maryland basketball, specifically.
In 1989, I was 16 years old and had spent my sports-fan puberty (say, 12 to 16) ricocheting from Len Bias at his best to Len Bias dead to what Maryland fans gloss over as "The Bob Wade Era."
If you're under the age of 33 or so and don't remember, you have to understand that the program was a wreck after Bias died, so they went and hired a high school coach.
Predictably, he was awful. Really, really awful.
Then, in 1989, the program hired Gary Williams, a former player and a coach with a solid record of success at Boston College and Ohio State.
Maryland was totally screwed back then -- NCAA penalties, scholarship reductions, no NCAA Tournament, no games on TV.
Maryland's best player was Walt Williams -- the Wizard, who in high school had led his team over my high school in the state title game. He had the chance to go pro, but he stuck it out with Gary Williams and helped give the program a new foundation.
From there, Williams recruited a solid mix of locals (like Keith Booth -- who got Maryland back into Baltimore recruiting -- and Johnny Rhodes). Then Joe Smith. Then relevancy.
And then the early part of the new century. First the continuous struggles against Duke -- 2001 was epic in its failure.
Then, in 2002, the national title. This was just after I met my wife and began rooting for Florida. Maryland's hoops title was like perfect closure on the rooting interests of my childhood.
I don't claim a Terps fandom like real fans or alums or students -- although I will say that anyone who was 13 and a Terps fan and went through the Len Bias death gets some kind of fan dispensation for at least 20 years.
But I sincerely appreciate what Gary Williams did for the program. Yes, there was Lefty Dreisell, and he was legendary.
Gary Williams took the program from purgatory and turned it into a national champion. What more could any fan base ask for?
****
I agree with every top hoops analyst who thinks that Maryland is one of the most underrated job openings in college basketball. This is not Mizzou or NC State or Tennessee. The Maryland recruiting base of the District, Maryland and Virginia (the "DMV") is so rich -- and Williams had tended to it so tenuously -- that any coach with a nose for recruiting is going to stockpile talent like Williams rarely had and create a Top 10 program for a decade.
They will still be measured by their ability to win a national title like Gary Williams.
-- D.S.
In 1989, I was 16 years old and had spent my sports-fan puberty (say, 12 to 16) ricocheting from Len Bias at his best to Len Bias dead to what Maryland fans gloss over as "The Bob Wade Era."
If you're under the age of 33 or so and don't remember, you have to understand that the program was a wreck after Bias died, so they went and hired a high school coach.
Predictably, he was awful. Really, really awful.
Then, in 1989, the program hired Gary Williams, a former player and a coach with a solid record of success at Boston College and Ohio State.
Maryland was totally screwed back then -- NCAA penalties, scholarship reductions, no NCAA Tournament, no games on TV.
Maryland's best player was Walt Williams -- the Wizard, who in high school had led his team over my high school in the state title game. He had the chance to go pro, but he stuck it out with Gary Williams and helped give the program a new foundation.
From there, Williams recruited a solid mix of locals (like Keith Booth -- who got Maryland back into Baltimore recruiting -- and Johnny Rhodes). Then Joe Smith. Then relevancy.
And then the early part of the new century. First the continuous struggles against Duke -- 2001 was epic in its failure.
Then, in 2002, the national title. This was just after I met my wife and began rooting for Florida. Maryland's hoops title was like perfect closure on the rooting interests of my childhood.
I don't claim a Terps fandom like real fans or alums or students -- although I will say that anyone who was 13 and a Terps fan and went through the Len Bias death gets some kind of fan dispensation for at least 20 years.
But I sincerely appreciate what Gary Williams did for the program. Yes, there was Lefty Dreisell, and he was legendary.
Gary Williams took the program from purgatory and turned it into a national champion. What more could any fan base ask for?
****
I agree with every top hoops analyst who thinks that Maryland is one of the most underrated job openings in college basketball. This is not Mizzou or NC State or Tennessee. The Maryland recruiting base of the District, Maryland and Virginia (the "DMV") is so rich -- and Williams had tended to it so tenuously -- that any coach with a nose for recruiting is going to stockpile talent like Williams rarely had and create a Top 10 program for a decade.
They will still be measured by their ability to win a national title like Gary Williams.
-- D.S.
05/05 (Lakers Done?) Quickie
A Top 3 moment in Daily Quickie history was the "Two words: It's. Over." after Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS. It was on the front page of ESPN.com the morning after. I was spectacularly wrong (as was everyone else, of course).
The big question this morning is whether the Lakers deserve an "It's. Over." moment. Are they done? Down 2-0 after two games in LA? Needing to win 4 of the next 5, which would include at least 2 of 3 on the road in Dallas to a Mavs team that has proven itself better in nearly ever way?
This is entirely different from the Celtics being down 2-0 after two games in Miami -- it is entirely reasonable that the Celtics could win the next two games in Boston, evening the series and reclaiming some semblance of momentum.
But the current running through both the Lakers and the Celtics is that both look old... tired... yes: done.
I didn't think the Mavs would be the ones to knock off the Lakers, but it certainly feels like we're on that brink.
Typically, I default to the old '95 Rockets "Never underestimate the heart of a champion" thing. It is perhaps my biggest blind spot as a pundit and fan.
But in this case, it is hard not to believe what my eyes are seeing: The two-time defending champs, reeling. It was going to happen at some point. I thought it would happen after this year.
In the end, the top of the NBA is simply too good for a team -- no matter how title-experienced -- to "turn it on" when it matters most against a similarly elite team, at least not in a way that can net you 4 wins in 5 games when home-court advantage is a distant memory.
The Lakers are done, and it is happening so fast and so relatively unexpectedly that I don't think fans are quite ready for it. But it's coming.
****
Speaking of done: The Capitals. It's not just that they lost in the conference semifinals -- well short of the Stanley Cup finals, let alone a championship -- but that they were swept out, as ignominious an ending as there is. It is even worse than losing a 3-1 series lead and falling in 7 games.
The Capitals have reached that place -- perhaps the most favorite place in Quickie mythology: "Championship or bust." Title or failure. It is so simple and so binary and so much higher stakes than so many teams and fans can relate to.
The particular twist the Caps put on it is that they perennially underachieve. Every year, everyone thinks this time will be different. Every year, the result is the same. This year was supposed to be different -- aren't they all?
Playoffs in basketball and hockey aren't set up for one-time quirkiness, like the NCAA Tournament or college football schedule. Oh, sure, you can have the "hot goalie" theory, but if you lose 4 of 7 games, that's a pretty decent sample size that the other team is better.
When you lose four straight -- 4-0 -- it is decisive as it is damning. You weren't even close to good enough. Maybe you checked out mentally. Maybe the other team was just better (or hotter).
Whatever: The Caps simply can't break through. Now, there are lots of other "title or bust" teams that struggled against a ceiling for a few years -- certainly longer than the Caps' 3-year run -- but the Caps feel particularly far from the ultimate goal. Again.
-- D.S.
The big question this morning is whether the Lakers deserve an "It's. Over." moment. Are they done? Down 2-0 after two games in LA? Needing to win 4 of the next 5, which would include at least 2 of 3 on the road in Dallas to a Mavs team that has proven itself better in nearly ever way?
This is entirely different from the Celtics being down 2-0 after two games in Miami -- it is entirely reasonable that the Celtics could win the next two games in Boston, evening the series and reclaiming some semblance of momentum.
But the current running through both the Lakers and the Celtics is that both look old... tired... yes: done.
I didn't think the Mavs would be the ones to knock off the Lakers, but it certainly feels like we're on that brink.
Typically, I default to the old '95 Rockets "Never underestimate the heart of a champion" thing. It is perhaps my biggest blind spot as a pundit and fan.
But in this case, it is hard not to believe what my eyes are seeing: The two-time defending champs, reeling. It was going to happen at some point. I thought it would happen after this year.
In the end, the top of the NBA is simply too good for a team -- no matter how title-experienced -- to "turn it on" when it matters most against a similarly elite team, at least not in a way that can net you 4 wins in 5 games when home-court advantage is a distant memory.
The Lakers are done, and it is happening so fast and so relatively unexpectedly that I don't think fans are quite ready for it. But it's coming.
****
Speaking of done: The Capitals. It's not just that they lost in the conference semifinals -- well short of the Stanley Cup finals, let alone a championship -- but that they were swept out, as ignominious an ending as there is. It is even worse than losing a 3-1 series lead and falling in 7 games.
The Capitals have reached that place -- perhaps the most favorite place in Quickie mythology: "Championship or bust." Title or failure. It is so simple and so binary and so much higher stakes than so many teams and fans can relate to.
The particular twist the Caps put on it is that they perennially underachieve. Every year, everyone thinks this time will be different. Every year, the result is the same. This year was supposed to be different -- aren't they all?
Playoffs in basketball and hockey aren't set up for one-time quirkiness, like the NCAA Tournament or college football schedule. Oh, sure, you can have the "hot goalie" theory, but if you lose 4 of 7 games, that's a pretty decent sample size that the other team is better.
When you lose four straight -- 4-0 -- it is decisive as it is damning. You weren't even close to good enough. Maybe you checked out mentally. Maybe the other team was just better (or hotter).
Whatever: The Caps simply can't break through. Now, there are lots of other "title or bust" teams that struggled against a ceiling for a few years -- certainly longer than the Caps' 3-year run -- but the Caps feel particularly far from the ultimate goal. Again.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
05/04 (Heat, Whoa) Quickie
Here's a personal secret I keep:
Definitive pronouncements are the stock-and-trade of sports pundits -- all pundits, really. And I kind of hate that part of sports punditry -- the self-certainty -- particularly when backed up by nothing more than opinion or conjecture or bland qualitative evidence. These are the pundits you see self-assuredly saying "The Heat have no spine!" one day and "The Celtics are too old!" the next.
My operating philosophy has always been that in the face of new or more compelling evidence, not only will I change my mind -- but I am HAPPY to change my mind. I actually get more of an intellectual surge from being turned on to some new way of thinking about things that makes me see something differently than I do from being right, which is totally overrated -- and almost entirely meaningless in sports punditry.
Which brings us to the Heat and the Celtics.
Now, the Celtics might still win both games in Boston -- tie the series at 2-2, take back the momentum, put the Heat on their heels -- but that sure doesn't look like the case now.
What looks like the case now is that the Heat are younger, more athletic, more star-powered, faster, smarter, more hungry.
I thought they would need at least a year -- maybe more. It looks like my presumption was wrong.
I can dislike LeBron (although I like Wade) and dislike the Heat, yet still appreciate one of the most enjoyable events in sports: The Breakthrough, when potential transforms into reality.
Ideally, that comes after some struggle --it's an appealing narrative that goes back to Homer or even the origins of storytelling itself -- but maybe the Heat just condensed that struggle into nine months of more scrutiny than any team has faced in sports history.
It helps that I hate the Celtics, too -- that the Heat's breakthrough (again, presumptive) comes at the expense of Boston makes it more palatable. It makes it more dramatic, certainly, because the Celtics are the standard-bearer of championship toughness. The Heat surmounting that has always been the biggest storyline of the playoffs.
And now they are halfway there. Already.
****
Notes on a few other things:
*Francisco Liriano's no-hitter: That it was chock full of walks (and not many strikeouts) only makes it that much more interesting, doesn't it? It was certainly unexpected, given his (and the Twins') start to the season.
*Derrick Rose is NBA MVP: We can argue he was the best player on the most surprisingly successful team -- that LeBron and/or Chris Paul and/or Kobe and/or Dwight Howard were equally worthy. But I'm fine with Rose -- I enjoy the novelty that he is the youngest MVP in NBA history -- and found his acceptance speech homage to his mom to be particularly winning.
*Caps imploding, down 3-0 vs. Lightning: As a nominal Caps fan, beyond disappointing, particularly that they aren't even making it a series (the games are close, but not the series).
*Rashard Mendenhall: Let's distinguish between free speech -- a fundamental freedom, no matter how much you disagree with what is being spewed by someone -- and being stupid.
Keep up with Quickish all day. Lots of smart reactions to the Heat-Celtics, Liriano, Caps and more, including recommendations to some great reads. Thanks for your support.
-- D.S.
Definitive pronouncements are the stock-and-trade of sports pundits -- all pundits, really. And I kind of hate that part of sports punditry -- the self-certainty -- particularly when backed up by nothing more than opinion or conjecture or bland qualitative evidence. These are the pundits you see self-assuredly saying "The Heat have no spine!" one day and "The Celtics are too old!" the next.
My operating philosophy has always been that in the face of new or more compelling evidence, not only will I change my mind -- but I am HAPPY to change my mind. I actually get more of an intellectual surge from being turned on to some new way of thinking about things that makes me see something differently than I do from being right, which is totally overrated -- and almost entirely meaningless in sports punditry.
Which brings us to the Heat and the Celtics.
Now, the Celtics might still win both games in Boston -- tie the series at 2-2, take back the momentum, put the Heat on their heels -- but that sure doesn't look like the case now.
What looks like the case now is that the Heat are younger, more athletic, more star-powered, faster, smarter, more hungry.
I thought they would need at least a year -- maybe more. It looks like my presumption was wrong.
I can dislike LeBron (although I like Wade) and dislike the Heat, yet still appreciate one of the most enjoyable events in sports: The Breakthrough, when potential transforms into reality.
Ideally, that comes after some struggle --it's an appealing narrative that goes back to Homer or even the origins of storytelling itself -- but maybe the Heat just condensed that struggle into nine months of more scrutiny than any team has faced in sports history.
It helps that I hate the Celtics, too -- that the Heat's breakthrough (again, presumptive) comes at the expense of Boston makes it more palatable. It makes it more dramatic, certainly, because the Celtics are the standard-bearer of championship toughness. The Heat surmounting that has always been the biggest storyline of the playoffs.
And now they are halfway there. Already.
****
Notes on a few other things:
*Francisco Liriano's no-hitter: That it was chock full of walks (and not many strikeouts) only makes it that much more interesting, doesn't it? It was certainly unexpected, given his (and the Twins') start to the season.
*Derrick Rose is NBA MVP: We can argue he was the best player on the most surprisingly successful team -- that LeBron and/or Chris Paul and/or Kobe and/or Dwight Howard were equally worthy. But I'm fine with Rose -- I enjoy the novelty that he is the youngest MVP in NBA history -- and found his acceptance speech homage to his mom to be particularly winning.
*Caps imploding, down 3-0 vs. Lightning: As a nominal Caps fan, beyond disappointing, particularly that they aren't even making it a series (the games are close, but not the series).
*Rashard Mendenhall: Let's distinguish between free speech -- a fundamental freedom, no matter how much you disagree with what is being spewed by someone -- and being stupid.
Keep up with Quickish all day. Lots of smart reactions to the Heat-Celtics, Liriano, Caps and more, including recommendations to some great reads. Thanks for your support.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
05/03 (Underdog) Quickie
The common wisdom about playoff series is that they don't really start until the home team loses.
That suggests that this year's NBA conference-semifinals round is already so on. Haven't seen the stat for 3 of 4 road teams winning Game 1s of conference semis, but I have to imagine it's rare.
It's hard not to watch the Mavs and Hawks and -- most of all Grizzlies -- and not think they absolutely can win 4 of 7. Chances are they won't, but if you can win Game 1 on the road, is it so crazy to think they can win 3 more, including 3 shots at home for themselves?
And then there is the Heat-Celtics series. By the definition at the top, it hasn't started yet. Maybe it will tonight -- if the Celtics can split in Miami, it is a psychic blow the Heat might not get over. And even if the Celtics lose, they have two chances at home, not just to even up the series but to reclaim any/all momentum heading back to Miami for Game 5.
So the biggest constant of Game 1s remains: We really don't know very much. But it's fun to see unfold.
On a side note, I just finished a small Quickish project I've been meaning to tend to. I'll throw it out there tomorrow or Thursday for everyone to see. The task involved going back over all Quickish tips tagged "longishreads" -- going back more than 4 months, I was blown away by the amazing stuff I have been lucky enough to showcase and recommend.
Hoping this new little spin-off of Quickish will keep that going.
-- D.S.
That suggests that this year's NBA conference-semifinals round is already so on. Haven't seen the stat for 3 of 4 road teams winning Game 1s of conference semis, but I have to imagine it's rare.
It's hard not to watch the Mavs and Hawks and -- most of all Grizzlies -- and not think they absolutely can win 4 of 7. Chances are they won't, but if you can win Game 1 on the road, is it so crazy to think they can win 3 more, including 3 shots at home for themselves?
And then there is the Heat-Celtics series. By the definition at the top, it hasn't started yet. Maybe it will tonight -- if the Celtics can split in Miami, it is a psychic blow the Heat might not get over. And even if the Celtics lose, they have two chances at home, not just to even up the series but to reclaim any/all momentum heading back to Miami for Game 5.
So the biggest constant of Game 1s remains: We really don't know very much. But it's fun to see unfold.
On a side note, I just finished a small Quickish project I've been meaning to tend to. I'll throw it out there tomorrow or Thursday for everyone to see. The task involved going back over all Quickish tips tagged "longishreads" -- going back more than 4 months, I was blown away by the amazing stuff I have been lucky enough to showcase and recommend.
Hoping this new little spin-off of Quickish will keep that going.
-- D.S.
Monday, May 02, 2011
05/02 (OBL) Quickie
It goes without saying that the killing of Osama Bin Laden is one of those pieces of news that eclipses anything/everything in sports -- even intertwining when it can.
That's why the defining moment of the day might have been the Heat dispatching the Celtics in Game 1 of their playoff series, but by midnight, it was the video of Phillies fans chanting "U-S-A!" as news of Bin Laden's death circulated around iPhones and Blackberries and Twitter feeds and Facebook status updates throughout the stadium.
I'm looking around the Web for more intersections of the OBL news and sports. For example: Here is a post from Mets blogger and sports-media expert Jason Fry.
Most of the time, people dislike the intersection of sports with anything else. There is plenty to say about how the 32 NFL teams fared this weekend (there's a great tip going on Quickish later this a.m. with the best draft grades I've seen) and how the Grizzlies are suddenly the team to beat in the NBA and, of course, Round 1 of Heat-Celtics.
But in a "sports-is-life" world, sometimes life supersedes sports. This is one of those moments.
-- D.S.
That's why the defining moment of the day might have been the Heat dispatching the Celtics in Game 1 of their playoff series, but by midnight, it was the video of Phillies fans chanting "U-S-A!" as news of Bin Laden's death circulated around iPhones and Blackberries and Twitter feeds and Facebook status updates throughout the stadium.
I'm looking around the Web for more intersections of the OBL news and sports. For example: Here is a post from Mets blogger and sports-media expert Jason Fry.
Most of the time, people dislike the intersection of sports with anything else. There is plenty to say about how the 32 NFL teams fared this weekend (there's a great tip going on Quickish later this a.m. with the best draft grades I've seen) and how the Grizzlies are suddenly the team to beat in the NBA and, of course, Round 1 of Heat-Celtics.
But in a "sports-is-life" world, sometimes life supersedes sports. This is one of those moments.
-- D.S.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
So About That "Celtics in 5"
I'll revise to Celtics in 7, because I think it's pretty hard to say that the Celtics can now win in 5. (Still sticking with the C's!)
05/01 (Heat-Celtics) Quickie
I said this earlier this week: Celtics over the Heat in 5.
The Heat falling short of an NBA title this year has been obvious since the night of the Decision. Getting drummed out by the Celtics in the conference semifinals would inflict maximum humiliation -- not unlike the way LeBron was drummed out a year ago, when he quit.
The Heat are better than they were in the middle of the season, when the Celtics punched them in the face, repeatedly. But the playoffs are so different than the regular season, and this is where Boston's mental toughness -- a qualitative assessment, to be sure -- is superior to LeBron's or Bosh's.
The Celtics have one more ass-kicking in them (maybe two, if the conference finals count), and what would be more epic (aside from a title) than kicking the Heat's ass.
-- D.S.
The Heat falling short of an NBA title this year has been obvious since the night of the Decision. Getting drummed out by the Celtics in the conference semifinals would inflict maximum humiliation -- not unlike the way LeBron was drummed out a year ago, when he quit.
The Heat are better than they were in the middle of the season, when the Celtics punched them in the face, repeatedly. But the playoffs are so different than the regular season, and this is where Boston's mental toughness -- a qualitative assessment, to be sure -- is superior to LeBron's or Bosh's.
The Celtics have one more ass-kicking in them (maybe two, if the conference finals count), and what would be more epic (aside from a title) than kicking the Heat's ass.
-- D.S.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
04/30 (Mallett and Memphis) Quickie
Two big stories I'm thinking about this morning: The Pats drafting Ryan Mallett and the 8th-seeded Grizzlies ousting the top-seeded Spurs in 6 games.
Pats draft Mallett: My favorite part about this is the whiplash from the experts (or "experts") who had been dogging Mallett for months.
Simply by being picked by Bill Belichick and the Patriots, he is validated -- even if he will do no more than serve as trade-bait a few seasons from now, like Matt Cassel. Flipping a 3rd-round pick into a 1st- or 2nd-rounder is a huge success for a team with a Hall of Fame incumbent QB who isn't going anywhere for a half-decade or more.
But I just love the idea of "He sucks... he sucks... he sucks... -- oh, wait: the Patriots drafted him? BRILLIANT MOVE!"
The Grizzlies bounce out the Spurs: An 8-seed drumming out a 1-seed in 6 games is unprecedented in NBA history, doing one better the celebrated Warriors series win over the Mavs a couple years ago. These Grizz are totally likeable, if afterthoughts during the regular season to the casual fan; they are now the bandwagon team. That they are playing last year's bandwagon team -- the Thunder -- in the conference semifinals is a hipster fan's dream. It is the greatest moment in Grizzlies franchise history -- a history that hasn't been all that notable.
Get smart reactions to the Grizzlies and Mallett, along with all the other big storylines of a relatively quiet Saturday in sports, from Quickish. Please stop by!
-- D.S.
Pats draft Mallett: My favorite part about this is the whiplash from the experts (or "experts") who had been dogging Mallett for months.
Simply by being picked by Bill Belichick and the Patriots, he is validated -- even if he will do no more than serve as trade-bait a few seasons from now, like Matt Cassel. Flipping a 3rd-round pick into a 1st- or 2nd-rounder is a huge success for a team with a Hall of Fame incumbent QB who isn't going anywhere for a half-decade or more.
But I just love the idea of "He sucks... he sucks... he sucks... -- oh, wait: the Patriots drafted him? BRILLIANT MOVE!"
The Grizzlies bounce out the Spurs: An 8-seed drumming out a 1-seed in 6 games is unprecedented in NBA history, doing one better the celebrated Warriors series win over the Mavs a couple years ago. These Grizz are totally likeable, if afterthoughts during the regular season to the casual fan; they are now the bandwagon team. That they are playing last year's bandwagon team -- the Thunder -- in the conference semifinals is a hipster fan's dream. It is the greatest moment in Grizzlies franchise history -- a history that hasn't been all that notable.
Get smart reactions to the Grizzlies and Mallett, along with all the other big storylines of a relatively quiet Saturday in sports, from Quickish. Please stop by!
-- D.S.
Friday, April 29, 2011
04/29 (Draft Hangover) Quickie
You can/should check out Quickish to quickly catch up on everything that happened in last night's NFL Draft, but here is a super-handy page that has all the best commentary from each pick, listed chronologically from No. 1 to 32.
A special shout-out to the sports folks out there who got up early this a.m. and had the wherewithal to tweet about the wedding, with a specifically sports slant. You can mock it all you want, but approximately 250 times the number of people watched that than watched the first round of the draft last night, which a non-fan would probably say: "So you spent your night in front of the TV watching large people in suits wait for their name to get called, then parade on a stage, all while serenaded by TV analysis that ranged from the overly enthusiastic to the staggeringly banal?"
The answer is: OH YES.
I happen to enjoy the draft, both the NFL and NBA varieties. Here are a few things from last night that stood out for me:
*Roger Goodell was booed, deservedly so. And he took it in stride, to his credit. Frankly, the brief public humiliation probably did more to help his cause than if he avoided it, because it was a form of catharsis for fans that increases their tolerance for him and the league. It was a necessary step, and I think he knew it.
*Cam Newton was booed, too. Beyond that, there was a few minutes where he mattered, then it was on to all the rest of the picks. The draft was defined less by Newton at No. 1 than by the flurry of QBs taken in the Top 12...
*Jake Locker to the Titans at No. 8? Yikes, what a reach. He feels like Vince Young 2.0. Blaine Gabbert at No. 10 in a trade-up by the Jaguars? You know how I'm going to feel about this: The Jaguars' original sin was not drafting Tim Tebow a year ago. And the Vikings drafting Christian Ponder was a total reach. (Do you think they feel like chumps for panicking before seeing Andy Dalton -- who doesn't seem all that different from Ponder -- could be had at the top of the 2nd round?)
*Prince Amukamara's family won the night. Von Miller's tears at No. 2 were another highlight. Special merit award to Mark Ingram for his spontaneous tears when Suzy Kolber read the email to him from his dad, who is in prison.
*I never tire of watching the Pats play chess while everyone else plays checkers. And with the top pick of the 2nd round, think they aren't fielding incredible offers from teams trying to move up?
*The biggest winners of the first round? The Saints got a great defensive player (Cam Jordan) and an RB to replace Reggie Bush (Mark Ingram). The Browns got a ton of draft picks from the Falcons for Julio Jones. But my biggest winner was the Lions, who drafted Nick Fairley to team with Ndamukong Suh -- they will be better and they will be so watchable. Lions fans have to be thrilled.
*Early pick for 2011 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: AJ Green. (Defensive Rookie of the Year: Patrick Peterson.)
Keep up at Quickish with more draft reactions all morning and into the afternoon, along with all the other big topics.
-- D.S.
A special shout-out to the sports folks out there who got up early this a.m. and had the wherewithal to tweet about the wedding, with a specifically sports slant. You can mock it all you want, but approximately 250 times the number of people watched that than watched the first round of the draft last night, which a non-fan would probably say: "So you spent your night in front of the TV watching large people in suits wait for their name to get called, then parade on a stage, all while serenaded by TV analysis that ranged from the overly enthusiastic to the staggeringly banal?"
The answer is: OH YES.
I happen to enjoy the draft, both the NFL and NBA varieties. Here are a few things from last night that stood out for me:
*Roger Goodell was booed, deservedly so. And he took it in stride, to his credit. Frankly, the brief public humiliation probably did more to help his cause than if he avoided it, because it was a form of catharsis for fans that increases their tolerance for him and the league. It was a necessary step, and I think he knew it.
*Cam Newton was booed, too. Beyond that, there was a few minutes where he mattered, then it was on to all the rest of the picks. The draft was defined less by Newton at No. 1 than by the flurry of QBs taken in the Top 12...
*Jake Locker to the Titans at No. 8? Yikes, what a reach. He feels like Vince Young 2.0. Blaine Gabbert at No. 10 in a trade-up by the Jaguars? You know how I'm going to feel about this: The Jaguars' original sin was not drafting Tim Tebow a year ago. And the Vikings drafting Christian Ponder was a total reach. (Do you think they feel like chumps for panicking before seeing Andy Dalton -- who doesn't seem all that different from Ponder -- could be had at the top of the 2nd round?)
*Prince Amukamara's family won the night. Von Miller's tears at No. 2 were another highlight. Special merit award to Mark Ingram for his spontaneous tears when Suzy Kolber read the email to him from his dad, who is in prison.
*I never tire of watching the Pats play chess while everyone else plays checkers. And with the top pick of the 2nd round, think they aren't fielding incredible offers from teams trying to move up?
*The biggest winners of the first round? The Saints got a great defensive player (Cam Jordan) and an RB to replace Reggie Bush (Mark Ingram). The Browns got a ton of draft picks from the Falcons for Julio Jones. But my biggest winner was the Lions, who drafted Nick Fairley to team with Ndamukong Suh -- they will be better and they will be so watchable. Lions fans have to be thrilled.
*Early pick for 2011 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: AJ Green. (Defensive Rookie of the Year: Patrick Peterson.)
Keep up at Quickish with more draft reactions all morning and into the afternoon, along with all the other big topics.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
04/28 (Drafty) Quickie
The most interesting storyline of the 2011 NFL Draft -- the reason it is absolutely must-see, even if this season you are inclined to skip it (perhaps for the Lakers-Hornets game on at the same time) -- is because this is when Roger Goodell meets the fans, the boisterous fans of the NFL Draft, in primetime on national TV.
And how those fans react -- likely with boos -- will be the most powerful symbol of where the league stands with this lockout, even more powerful than the "STAY DENIED" from last night from Judge Susan Nelson.
Yes, whether the Panthers take Cam Newton will be interesting. Yes, the other picks of the 1st round -- particularly the number of QBs (and perhaps trades to get QBs) -- will be interesting, in their own way.
But the real drama this year is between Commissioner and his fans.
(Can't you picture some toady whispering to the Commish: "Sir, they're not saying 'Boo!' They're saying 'Gooooo!-dell.'")
*****
Spurs shock Grizzlies, everyone else: The Spurs were done. Manu's toe was on the line, the 3 became a 2 and the Spurs were finished, a 1-seed humiliated in 5 games in one of the most shocking results in NBA Playoffs history. And then: Gary Neal. Amazing.
Will Cam Newton go No. 1 overall? Yes. And I really hope that his career lives up to that selection. I think he has the talent. I have no questions about his character. As with Tebow a year ago, what will make or break Newton's career is the willingness of the Panthers coach staff to reject NFL strategic orthodoxy and build a new offense around the talents of their new QB.
Heat close out Sixers: All that matters is that it sets up the Miami-Boston conference semifinal showdown that is the apex of the playoffs this year -- it is more important/interesting than the Finals themselves (unless it is, say, Lakers-Heat). I'll say Celtics in 5.
Thunder close out Nuggets: Now that they're both bounced out, it would be fun for the Nuggets and Knicks to have an exhibition 7-game series, wouldn't it? Maybe on off nights during the conference finals?
Bruins dispatch Habs in Game 7 OT: That series absolutely lived up to all the pre-series expectations. Exceeded them, actually. How often does that happen?
Roger McDowell: He should be fired. Period. It goes beyond the worst judgment for a coach and representative of the team and league and goes to the idea that this is just a bad guy. The Braves can find a pitching coach that is just as good as McDowell -- without the bigoted baggage.
-- D.S.
And how those fans react -- likely with boos -- will be the most powerful symbol of where the league stands with this lockout, even more powerful than the "STAY DENIED" from last night from Judge Susan Nelson.
Yes, whether the Panthers take Cam Newton will be interesting. Yes, the other picks of the 1st round -- particularly the number of QBs (and perhaps trades to get QBs) -- will be interesting, in their own way.
But the real drama this year is between Commissioner and his fans.
(Can't you picture some toady whispering to the Commish: "Sir, they're not saying 'Boo!' They're saying 'Gooooo!-dell.'")
*****
Spurs shock Grizzlies, everyone else: The Spurs were done. Manu's toe was on the line, the 3 became a 2 and the Spurs were finished, a 1-seed humiliated in 5 games in one of the most shocking results in NBA Playoffs history. And then: Gary Neal. Amazing.
Will Cam Newton go No. 1 overall? Yes. And I really hope that his career lives up to that selection. I think he has the talent. I have no questions about his character. As with Tebow a year ago, what will make or break Newton's career is the willingness of the Panthers coach staff to reject NFL strategic orthodoxy and build a new offense around the talents of their new QB.
Heat close out Sixers: All that matters is that it sets up the Miami-Boston conference semifinal showdown that is the apex of the playoffs this year -- it is more important/interesting than the Finals themselves (unless it is, say, Lakers-Heat). I'll say Celtics in 5.
Thunder close out Nuggets: Now that they're both bounced out, it would be fun for the Nuggets and Knicks to have an exhibition 7-game series, wouldn't it? Maybe on off nights during the conference finals?
Bruins dispatch Habs in Game 7 OT: That series absolutely lived up to all the pre-series expectations. Exceeded them, actually. How often does that happen?
Roger McDowell: He should be fired. Period. It goes beyond the worst judgment for a coach and representative of the team and league and goes to the idea that this is just a bad guy. The Braves can find a pitching coach that is just as good as McDowell -- without the bigoted baggage.
-- D.S.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
