Yeah, my Creator once worked for a circus in Budapest. Next question??

Remember Doctor Who as played by David Tennant saying, “Allons-y?” (let’s go!)  *blogger’s note: I love David Tennant. But not as much as I love Richard Armitage*

David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, today’s word started out using “allez,” the imperative form of the French verb “aller” (to go) + hop/oop (an expressive word). Allez-hop or allez-oop is the cry of a circus performer about to leap and dates back to the early 1920s.

Alley-oop!

Give it a phonetic respelling and hey, presto! You have the word alley-oop.

Alley-oop: (interjection) Used as an exhortation or to signal the start of an activity.

Noun: A basketball move in which one player throws the ball to a player closer to the basket who catches it in mid-air and then puts it in the basket before hitting the floor. 

Alley-oop (Photo credit: Antonio Rull)

 To the best of my knowledge, Richard does not play basketball, although with his height and athleticism, he’s probably be pretty good at it.

Of course, Richard did spend six weeks working with a Budapest circus at 17 to earn that all-important Equity card (as if you didn’t know)–do you suppose any of the acrobats or other circus performances he assisted cried “Alley-oop?”  Of course, he also spent time with those elephants, bless his heart . . . the things a determined young man will do to get his performing arts career underway!

Oh, brother, the circus. Again. Fedoralady, fedoralady . . . what AM I going to do with you?

The answer to that, of course, is “Anything you want, Richard, my dear.”

Renardo Sidney

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are in the midst of one of their best seasons in years. The Bulldogs have many thinking they could make a deep tournament run; however, the Rick Stansbury-led team has run into trouble during their past few matchups. The Bulldogs have lost two of their last three games. The losses could be solely attributed to the Bulldogs’ inability to play against teams that play an up-tempo style of basketball.

Everyone, including the media and fans alike, are wondering why the premiere SEC West team is struggling with this playing style. Some are blaming Renardo Sidney, bad defense or Stansbury’s coaching ability. I think though, after studying the team, that the problem is offensive imbalance.

I know some are wondering, “What do you mean by that statement?” What I mean is that Mississippi State’s best offensive players — Rodney Hood and Renardo Sidney — have too small of a role, while Dee Bost and Arnett Moultrie are the focal points. The Bulldogs are struggling to get easy buckets against up-tempo teams because of this offensive dynamic.

The Bulldogs have beaten some good teams at various points this season, but I had a feeling that Sidney and Hood taking secondary roles would eventually become a problem. I think everyone must face the facts about Bost and Moultrie. They are fan favorites, but the two Bulldog stars have limitations.

Dee Bost

Bost is a talented player, but he is not a point guard. The senior’s poor decision-making and inability to control the pace of games has truly hurt the Bulldogs this season. He is also averaging 2.7 turnovers a game—while only averaging 4.4 assists per game. It has just started to show up against State’s recent up-tempo opponents.

Moultrie is having a stellar season, but he has struggled lately against good defensive teams. They have been written off as bad games, but it may have more to do with his offensive limitations. The UTEP transfer is a ferocious rebounder, averaging 11.3 per game, but he can’t score consistently in the low post. The rangy forward is most effective when scoring off of put backs, alley-oops, and his teammates’ facilitations.

When everyone takes a look at Hood and Sidney they see vastly different talents.

Rodney Hood

Rodney Hood is a true “Diaper Dandy” with a NBA skill set. He has terrific ball-handling ability, a smooth jump shot, and knows how to control the tempo. Hood has shown the ability to perform in big games as well. He is averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in his secondary role—very impressive.

Sidney, like Hood, has a vast skill set. He has obvious conditioning issues, which have been scrutinized. The hulking center, with all that said, is the most talented big man in the SEC — and quite possibly the country. He is unstoppable in the low post, can shoot the three, and the mercurial center excels as a passer. He is shooting 58.9 percent from the field — the highest percentage of any of the starters.

I think after taking a look at the breakdown of the four players that it’s apparent which players need to be the focal points.

The next question is how to make Hood and Sidney the focal points without shaking team chemistry. I think they could easily become the focal points if two things happen.

Arnett Moultrie

The first thing is that Sidney must get the ball in the post every possession… and I mean every possession. His ability to draw double teams will open up the Bulldogs’ bevy of shooters on the perimeter. Moultrie would become the clean-up guy and score off of Sidney, drawing attention of defenders. This would help the Bulldogs be more efficient on the offensive end.

The second way the Bulldogs can create better offensive flow is to make Hood the primary ball handler. Bost would settle in as a scoring point guard, but should do so without the ball in his hands most of the game. Hood would be more of a point-forward and facilitate the offense. I think this a role the forward could easily transition into, being the point guard of his high school team.

The Bulldogs would be able to control the pace of games, and this would stop teams from taking advantage of the Bulldogs by exploiting their obvious susceptibility to a fast-paced, up-tempo style of play.

I think if the Bulldogs follow this blueprint, they will be dangerous in the NCAA Tournament. If they stick with their current game plan, then another tournament exit will likely occur again this March.

What do you think the Bulldogs should do?

@JeremiahShort26

To kick things off his first field goal of the game was this nasty one-hand put back off of the Randy Foye miss:

H/T TheBlakeGriffinShow (who is quickly becoming my favorite Blake video editor, check out his other great stuff under the name Maxamillion711 too.)

Another wide open breakaway, another Blake “Quake” Griffin windmill dunk:

H/T @Jose3030

And yet another, “Oh what could have been…” (We might need to start a separate page for these “almost” highlights):

H/T @Jose3030

Finally here’s Eddie House’s forearm shiver to prevent and Beard&Blake alley-oop. Absolutely unacceptable. It’s one thing to foul him hard when he takes it to the hoop and another to just shove him out of bounds to prevent a highlight.

Make sure to watch all the way to the end of the clip and here the always badly biased Miami Heat announcing team (trust me I was a Heat season ticket holder in college in FL and watched many a Sun Sports broadcast) call it “almost inadvertent.” Get real guys.

As a welcome here are some of the great things you can check out here at QuakeGriffin.com:

You can see highlights from Blake’s last game against Chicago, including his nasty allery-oop over Kyle Korver and classic reaction from Bill Simmons (aka @Sportsguy33) here.

You can reserve your very own Quake Griffin T-Shirt here.

You can check out the current Blake Griffin Top 10 Highlights here. Think we’re missing one of the best? Let us know in the comments here.

Do you want to be featured in the next post in our  “I saw it with my own two eyes…” series? Send us your personal recap of exactly what it was like seeing Blake play in person this season.

As always, we love to hear your feedback and any ideas you might have to improve the site so don’t be shy and tell us what you think in the comments below.

H/T @BlazersEdge

Also… a very happy @Sportsguy33 after than dunk: H/T @mfricha

UPDATE: And there’s more… the sick one-hand reverse jam over 3 Bulls defenders:

H/T @BlazersEdge

You know Blake had a good one when you have 3 highlights to choose from and don’t know which is the best or where to start.

First up is what Ralph Lawler says on the play-by-play is a 50-ft. alley-oop from Rnady Foye. It’s really more like 60-ft.

H/T @Wegobomber31

Next up we have what I think is an even better alley-oop off of a move that needs its own nickname, the Blake spin out of the post alley-oop. Since we here at Quake Griffin like our forces of nature nicknames, I propose the “Category 32″ or the “Blornado” (which someone said on Twitter last night but I can’t remember who for the H/T). Anyway on to the highlight:

H/T GetBangedOn

And last but certainly not least is the Lawler called “Whirling Dervish” 360-lay up. This guys is just crazy:

H/T JayWest909

Bonus: Oh what could have been…

H/T JayWest909

Since there is maybe no more famous Clipper fan than ESPN’s the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, (other than maybe Clipper Darrell, but only die-hard NBA fans know him) and he just so happens to have a new article up today about the Clippers that includes a section about what it’s like to watch Blake in person, I thought it was a good place to start.

@Sportsguy33 from this article:

Against Denver last week, Blake stole the ball and dribbled down the right wing, with Baron Davis trailing to his left and one defender back. As Blake crossed the foul line extended, headed for a seemingly easy layup, he threw the ball back for Baron. To the uninitiated, the pass seemed idiotic. You’re giving up a possible layup? Really? But Clippers fans had been properly trained by this point. They knew. They got it. Blake wanted the Return Oop. Even as Blake was throwing the pass, the buzz started, like a low rumble of a “Whoooaaaaa.” Baron deftly took the pass and lobbed it back (“WHOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAA!”), but Blake was already jumping (“WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA!”) and climbing and climbing and climbing (here’s where the “Oh God, don’t let him get hurt” sound comes in, which I can’t even spell properly), then the slam (“HARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”) We lost our minds, basically. At halftime, I was still so wired that J.A. Adande teased me, “Look at you, you can’t stop hopping up and down, you’re like a little kid.”

no? not impressed?

need a little more convincing?

derrick rose. mvp. and that’s all i have to say about that.

Here’s Blake’s alley-oop from Baron Davis that was simply that, an alley-oop with a simple two handed finish:

H/T @outsidethenba

The biggest highlight from last night had to be Blake skying for his 10th rebound of the night:

H/T @outsidethenba

Wow. Just wow.

Last but not least, his put-back dunk in transition can be seen in this video of last night’s game highlights at the 2:20 mark.

More important to note though is Baron Davis’ INSANE decision to throw the oop to Eric Gordon at the 0:33 mark!!! Blake was right there and calling for it! Instead we got a boring Gordon lay-up in place of what was sure to be a thunderous throwdown from Blake.

Game Recaps:

ESPN:

“The best part about all of it is we’ve played consistently and played well during this stretch,” Griffin said. “It’s changed from the beginning of the season, where it seemed like we were losing every night for a different reason. Now we’re winning a different way every time. It’s a great feeling.”

Griffin talking about their recent stretch of good play in which the Clippers are 7-3 in their last 10 games since December 17th, good for second in the West in that time.

ClipperBlog - Charlie Widdoes:

In achieving his 12th consecutive 20-10 game, we saw again just how overpowering Grffin can be on a basketball court. It’s not simply that he produced another nice scoring and rebounding total, because, let’s be honest, he is a terrible mismatch for David Lee and the Warriors and we would expect him to dominate. But the way he makes the game so much easier for his teammates is what should truly inspire hope for sustained team success. His presence allows shooters to have space along the perimeter and opens up lanes to penetrate because defenders can’t afford to help off of him.

Clips Nation - Steve Perrin:

[Blake] was 9 for 11 from the line, which was nice to see. He looks more comfortable at the stripe to me right now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he shoots around 70% the rest of the season. He also almost single handedly got the Warriors bigs into foul trouble. In addition to Lee fouling out, Andres Biedrins was also disqualified with six fouls, and Dorell Wright and Vladimir Radmanovic each picked up 5.

ESPN Los Angeles - Pedro Moura:

Griffin broke the franchise record with his 23rd consecutive double-double Sunday after posting a 23-point, 12-rebound line. It was announced to cheers from the crowd after the final buzzer.

Here’s the first which just about everyone is going crazy about (be sure to check out the footage from the stands too if you haven’t already):

H/T to Ben at Blazersedge for the video.

Of course the surprise was that the second one featured Blake as the passer (a very underrated skill of his) when he threw one up to the second floor to Deandre Jordan and Jordan climbed the ladder right over Nene to get it and throw it down.

These two guys have some serious hops. And no Ralph Lawler, no team has had two guys that can jump like this, pure ridiculousness

H/T to thehoopscene.com for the video.

For the comments: What’s your favorite adjective to describe Blake’s dunking ability?

Blake Griffin is going to compete in the dunk contest this year in L.A.

Here is a leaked video from NBA.com, snatched up and reloaded to Youtube by the always awesome dunk highlights blog GetBangedOn, that interviews Blake, some of his teammates, as well as other NBA players and Clippers broadcasters about Blake being in this years Dunk contest.

Enjoy:

The report was confirmed by LA Times writer Broderick Turner:

Clippers forward Blake Griffin, who has become must-see TV because of his slam dunks, will be in the NBA’s slam dunk contest, sources said Tuesday night.

I can’t wait. This will be the most powerful dunk performance since Kemp in ’93, no doubt about it.

What do you think Blake will pull off in the contest? Leave your guess in the comments below.

It just makes sense that a one-hand alley-oop dunk with a guy hanging off him would be his first NBA basket, doesn’t it?

After yesterday’s call to action by the Godfather of Basketball Blogs, Henry Abbott over at ESPN’s TrueHoop, I knew it was officially time.

So here we are with a new blog devoted to a one man highlight reel, dubbed Quake (h/t @Winston_Wolfe), for the earth shattering dunks that happen primarily in L.A.

Can there really be a blog devoted to one player’s highlights? When that player is Blake Griffin, and the highlights are coming in every game, the answer is apparently, yes. The goal is for this site to be your one stop shop of Blake Griffin highlights, and to be a place where you can come discuss and argue for what highlights are better or your favorites and why.

I’d also like to involve you, the readers (should we get more than a few), to generate some of your own content. Have you made a great “remix” video of Blake’s highlights set to music? Send it to us. One of the features I hope to have is a somewhat frequent “I saw it with my own two eyes…” in which Clipper fans and fans who see highlights of Blake in person can e-mail/tweet/send a messenger bird of what it was like to see Blake in person. I’d also like to have a page of quotes of reactions to the highlights. I’ll also be linking to all things Blake on the “internets” to keep you up to date, so if you see something interesting about him shoot me an e-mail or a tweet.

Lastly if anyone would like to get involved and be a regular contributor to the blog please contact me at quakegriffin[at]gmail[dot]com. On that same note, comments, questions, sage advice, and constructive criticism all have a place in my inbox, so don’t be shy.

EGADS!! Am I too late to post? I have ’til midnight, right? Like Cinderella.

Usually I interview most of my subjects by phone, but occasionally I’ll get in the car and take a road trip, particularly if I think it’s something I need to see in person.

I’m working on a home profile piece for the News & Observer. When I saw the pictures of the place, located on 10 acres in Pittsboro, I decided to go, as my dad would say, gallavantin’.

Pittsboro is only about 15 miles from here, but where I ended up felt like a different world entirely. The home is literally nestled in the woods–WAY out in the woods. I drove on a gravel drive more than a mile long. It’s on these occasions I’m reminded I could use a little SUV. My beat-up BMW seemed to moan with every bump.

It was so gorgeous I stopped on that long driveway to take a picture.

Loved this sign. “Alley Oop” is something my dad would say when the family dog would go on a tear through the house, shaking socks and ripping up toilet paper. I say it now too: “There goes Sister alley ooping.” I wonder if that’s a Southern thing.

Anyway, I’m back from my jaunt. I don’t know if I’d want to live out there. It’s a long way to go to check the mail. My car griped all the way down that long bumpy drive.

And now the “check engine” light is on. Dang.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

As documentaries go, this one was pretty good.  It’s a very interesting story about one of the most popular athletes today.  Going into it, I thought it was going to be similar to Hoop Dreams, which is another basketball documentary.  There were bits and pieces that reminded me of it, but overall this didn’t touch Hoop Dreams.  I guess growing up in Ohio and hearing all the hype throughout high school, I became somewhat immune to LeBron’s popularity.  I actually went to see him play his Junior and Senior year in the High School Championship, so it was fun to remember some of the things that happened.

Because this is a documentary, no acting was required which was a plus for this movie.  The last thing we need is another Shazaam.  If you wanted to watch this movie to watch a lot of dunks and alley-oops, then you would like about 20 minutes of this movie.  I thought it did a really good job of capturing the stories of each of the players and their lives.  I wasn’t really expecting to get to know the characters as well as I did, and that is something that I like. 

It’s funny because I think that if I watched this when it came out in theatres, I would have liked it more than I did.  I obviously had some bitterness towards LeBron for the way he handled the situation with Miami, but hey, what can you do.  It didn’t take away from parts of the movie that were awesome.  I wish that more documentaries were done with this type of precision.  I feel like some documentaries just cover the surface, but this was pretty deep at times. 

As long as LeBron doesn’t think that this will boost him into an acting career, then I think we will be fine.  It’s a good movie to watch if you are interested in basketball and LeBron and his team.  If you have no interest at all, don’t bat an eye at this.  It won’t be worth your time. 

MORE THAN A GAME – 6

LA AFICIÓN DE LOS BLAZERS VOTA SOBRE EL MOTE DE LA PAREJA SERGIO-RUDY

¿Spanish Air-mada, Spanish Armada, Spanish Connection, Spanish Inquisition o Two Amigos?

Sergio y rudy dialogan

Sergio Rodríguez y Rudy Fernández son sin duda los jugadores preferidos, del público de Porland. Esto es porque se lo han ganado, a base de espectáculo y esfuerzo en el parquet del Rose Garden.

Su especial conexión en la pista, su desparpajo en el juego y sus ya clásicos ‘alley oops’ han enamorado a la exigente parroquia de los Blazers.

Pero en Portland no se ponen de acuerdo sobre el mote de su pareja española, por lo que el diario ‘The Oregonian’ ha creado una campaña para que los aficionados de los Blazers escojan el sobrenombre de la pareja Sergio-Rudy.

Las propuestas sobre las que deben elegir los seguidores son ‘Spanish Air-mada’, ‘Spanish Armada’, ‘Spanish Connection’, ‘Spanish Inquisition’ o ‘Two Amigos’, aunque ‘The Oregonian’ trata de influir en sus lectores diciendo que el mote que más le gusta a Sergio Rodrígulez es el de ‘Spanish Armada’. 

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/12/blazers_beat_poll_pick_a_nickn.html

And a big OH DAMN! to the dunk at the :25 mark.