Yeah, we’re back.

The Champ sits here in his home writing this in anticipation of tonight’s game. The Octagon is now here, good to see him. We’re still waiting on the arrival of The Franchise, and The Custodian is MIA.

The Octagon thinks Kyle Korver looks like Ashton Kutcher. Ok he has a point.

Now we see a Ashton Kutcher camera commercial, which really sucks.

We now ponder the past prospects of the Hawks drafting Chris Paul. ooooh.

That’s the Hawks uniforms: ATL? ha.

Tipoff: Still no Franchise.

The Octogan is moderately surprised when Vince Carter hits a three pointer.

Jason Williams puts up a very bad shot and misses.

Craig Sager and camo? Really? Fucking camoflague?

Josh Smith: big dunk.

The Octagon is suggesting the Magic employ a whitewash to get their hearts back into the game.

Josh Smith is talking about his maturation, not something else…

Howard’s picking up his game now.

Adam Morrison: Human Victory Cigar – the Octagon.

The Octagon points out that the longest losing streak is less games than the longest winning streak- so its easier to be really good than really bad?

Where is the Franchise? This will not go unsettled.

The Octagon thinks Anthony Johnson has breasts.

Jamal Crawford once put up 50? News to us.

Joe Johnson, the Octagon feels he's underrated.

BUCKS/THUNDER! yeah baby!

Zaza Pachulia, what a dumb foul.

Marcin Gortat should open a ski resort on his face – The Octagon

OK: If you could punch a basketball player in the face past or present who would it be?

The Champ – Tyronne Hill: to see if he could get any uglier.

The Octagon – Ben Wallace? Adam Morrison? Damon Jones?

The Franchise – Ron Artest 

Mike Bibby looks great in a chef’s hat.

Joe Johnson hits for three, we lament his leaving of the Suns.

The Franchise has finally arrived… with his sister.

Vince Carter and the Magic look to rebound in the second half.

The Octagon has been looking up basketball books on Amazon. (Hey Freelancer! put our Amazon link here)

But anyway Orlando has brought the score within four. Orlando 56 Atlanta 60

Hey Look! Dwight Howard has a type!

The Octagon is willing to take one for the blog come May.

REDDDDDICCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!

Anthony Joshnson should not be in the NBA.

Look it’s Anthony Johnson!

We hate the Fred Martin Car Guys.

So the Octagon was watching YouTube videos for the past half hour maybe?

Anywho, Orlando 80 Atlanta 71.

Where is the Hawks’ offense?

Anthony Johnson oh my lord.

OK the Magic win, the Freelancer is the best live blogger.

We really don’t have anything left to say other than: Go Herd.

Hey Look! Dwight Howard has a type!

…but Nashville passed Columbus in the standings.  And the Jackets are also sinking into the murky waters of eighth place in the Conference standings.  You can either say thank goodness for the great start or it would be a lot worse.  Or you can say the good start was merely a mask over some troubling issues.  It’s up to you, fans.

I’m concerned about the defense because it is the same group as last season.  Not a stronger group, but definitely not weaker.  Do we really miss Aaron Rome and Christian Backman that much?  I don’t know about you, but I miss last season’s Mike Commodore and Jan Hedja. I sure wish they would re-join the team.

As for the offense, the lost Jason Williams, Michael Peca, and Manny Malhotra.  To fill in for them, the team now has Mike Blunden and Nikita Filatov.  Well, at least Rick Nash is putting up enough numbers to make up for the loss of Williams.  I guess you could say that this area needs more work.

And then there is Steve Mason.  Goalies are different and back when I played my goalies would always confirm that statement by shutting out the best teams and then not be able to stop a beach ball the next night.  Columbus has a history of being fooled by goaltenders, from Marc Denis to Pascal Leclaire to Freddy Norrena.  They all got off to solid starts in the net for the Jackets and then forgot how to play the position within a short period of time.  I’m no goalie expert (but I have seen them on TV) so I don’t have any ideas here.  Rest him up?  Send him down for a few games?  Ride the storm out?  Trade him?  You tell me.  But if his GAA doesn’t start moving down to the number three neighborhood and his SV% stays below .900, then the season for him is lost.

It was a tough one to lose today as Vince Carter once again got the better of his former team.  Watching him out there is both energizing and demoralizing if you are a fan.  The crowd was once again all over him for the entire game but he seemed to feed off of the poisonous energy for one of his better games since coming back from injury.  The Raps went cold in the 4th quarter and Carter stuck it to them like an ex girlfriend dating your best friend.

Vince drives past Turkoglu on his way to another dominating performance against his old club

Zan for Three

Perimeter Defense

Is it just me, or could we put this one in here every game?  Gee, I wonder if word is getting around the league that Calderon, Jack, and Derozan can’t guard the outside.  The Magic took advantage of the terrible D all afternoon.  JJ Reddick looked like he was wearing his Duke uniform as he knocked down big jumper after big jumper, Jason Williams glided to the net with ease and then there was Dark Lord of the ACC that once again dominated, especially in the fourth quarter.  You can handle Carter having a big game from a coaching standpoint but making Reddick look like an All Star is where you have to draw the line.  Get a hand in his face, hell, force him to the basket where he isn’t that effecient.  The guy is about as one-dimensional as they come so why not get up on him and guard the three? Belinelli was seriously missed today.

Derozan

Heir Canada got schooled today, plain and simple.  The teacher dominanted  the pupil.  Derozan didn’t really show up today and ended the game with only 1 point.  If he plans on keeping his starting job he is going to have to pull up his socks and start living up to his self annointed nickname. He looked more like Air Canada circa 2004 when he started phoning it in.

Vince

The guy loves to stick it to Toronto fans.  It hurts a little inside everytime he does it. It’s like a slow motion car crash:  you know it’s coming but you can’t  look away.  Once again he used our hate to fuel the Magic’s victory, that and our terrible defence on the perimeter.   He was a true game changer and snatched away what could have been a huge victory.  It is scary to think this guy now plays with Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson….the Magic are stacked.

Honorable Mention…

Amir Johnson

Quickly becoming a fan and blogger favourite.  Provided key minutes and points off the bench today.  Looks like a keeper.  Keep your feet moving on defence and avoid that foul trouble though.

Zan of the Night

Air Canada

Who else?  The guy is pure Evil.  He has been dubbed ‘He who shall not be Named’ and tonight he gave the Raptors D the Imperius curse.  Once again the Evil one shoved our boos right back down our throats and enjoyed every minute in doing so.

Not Zan of the Night

Jose Calderon

Dude, play some D! He’s beginning to resemble a pylon out there on a regular basis. He is a black hole and everyone in the building knows it. Offensively he missed three big buckets in the 4th that sealed victory for the Magic…not a good day at the office.

Another thing: Did anyone see Jay break the clipboard over his knee?  That was awesome! The only thing that would have been better would be have been if he turned green and his arms ripped through his suit.  I like the passion and anger.  This is what Jose’s Defence is doing to all of us.

Today ex-New Jersey Nets and former NBA star Jayson Williams sad, and long drawn out self-inflicted downfall both personally and financially is about to come to a conclusive resolve. The retired NBA star accepted a plea deal in  his shooting case, and will face prison.

A person with knowledge of the case against retired NBA star Jayson Williams says the former player has agreed to a plea deal that would send him to prison for up to three years for shooting a driver55-year-old limousine driver Costas ”Gus” Christofi at Williams’s estate .

It has been reported that Williams was playing with a shotgun while giving a tour of his 30,000-square home when the weapon fired, killing Christofi.

In 1992, Williams was accused of breaking a beer mug over a patron’s head at a saloon in Chicago. Two years later, he was accused of firing a semiautomatic weapon into the parking lot at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. He was never criminally charged in either case,which led to him being free to murder the innocent driver in cold blood.

A report concerning the case is quoted here from Wikipedia….

That April, Williams was acquitted of the more serious charges against him, but the court’s jury deadlocked on a charge of reckless manslaughter, and he currently faces a retrial on that charge. He was convicted on four counts of trying to cover up the shooting. In January 2003, the family of Costas ”Gus” Christofi settled with Williams in a wrongful death civil lawsuit for $2.75 million.

On April 21, 2006, a Hunterdon County appeals court ruled that Williams can be retried on a reckless manslaughter charge stemming from the shooting death of Christofi.^[2][3] The court repeatedly delayed the retrial for a series of reasons, such as the State’s 2008 appeal of a ruling relating to prosecutorial misconduct at the first trial.^[4] A September 2009 hearing is expected to resolve the misconduct issue so that the retrial can begin.^[5] The maximum sentence for the charged manslaughter is 10 years…. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayson_Williams

Williams had been offered plea deals that would have allowed him to spend less time in jail, but they were turned down by the defense attorneys.

Maybe it has something to do with his contentious divorce he is going through with his wife Tanya Young Williams.

She filed the divorce papers on Valentine’s day of this year, because she is mad and fed up with the conflicted Williams. 

The divorce papers were filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court just hours before the seventh anniversary of the day Jayson fatally shot his limo driver in his New Jersey mansion after a booze-fueled night spent entertaining a some Harlem Globetrotters and friends. 

In the papers filed Tanya alleges that Williams threatened to kill her, faked committing suicide, falsely said that he had stomach cancer and urinated in the kitchen sink. His wife also allegedly found cocaine and condoms in his drawer, sources familiar with the case said.

Tanya Williams, who is black, also claims in the court papers that he cruelly bragged to her that he performed oral sex “on white girls.”

“Here is a guy who has spent wildly and dissipated marital assets and has, of course, acted reckless and been just absent, violent and not a father, not a husband,” said her lawyer, Malcolm Taub.

That sounds like a reason to want to be locked away in prison for as many years as possible.

One of the earlier offers, the person said, came just before a hearing last month on whether a racial slur used by a detective and other conduct by the county prosecutor’s office should result in dismissal of the reckless manslaughter count and the cover-up convictions.

 State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman later rejected the defense’s claim that, had they known about the slur, they would have changed their trial strategy.

If calling a black perpetrator of a murder or any crime at all a racial slur, in this case it was the ”N” word, is the grounds to be acquitted of a crime, then a lot of brothers in prison would be set free, and some of them need to stay there.

I am not condoning the vile usage of the word by any race of law men, but I think the murder trumps the racial slur.I say send the person that used it to sensitivity training, but it is an insult to the deceased family, to allow it to be used as a grounds for dismissal.

I contend that the deliberate use of a racial slur is basically bad behavior, but the use of it in this investigation had no affect on the trial of Jayson Williams, and would not have been used to impeach any of the evidence. It simply was an O.J. Simpson style of racial defense, but the dynamics are incredibly different.

There are some actual occurences where it could be used to impeach a witness, or cast suspicion on an investigator, and the false usage here only diminishes the relevance of the real cases. We need to stop using race as an excuse for all of our bad behavior, and I can see how that might frustrate a lot of white people who  generally are not racist, but may not be held up as examples of racially sensitive beings…I mean are any of us immune to being imperfectly human,…I don’t think so.

Jayson Williams will plead guilty to aggravated assault charges on Friday and will have to serve at least 18 months in prison.

That should give him time to think about how to deal with his soon to be ex-wife, as well as make it difficult for her to get at him.

I used to admire Jayson Williams, because his father was a construction contractor just like my dad, and he, just like me, had been involved in expanding the family business. I also saw on a documentary about him, how he actually helped build his expansive estate, along with his now deceased father. It reminded me of my own family, except without the NBA money and fame.

It is truly sad for me to see how he made a shamble of his life, and I can only hope he gets it together.

For more details on these sad developments for Jayson Williams, click on the links below…

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4670272

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/item_2mrfaFcTI6sqKNk1E1UCvM

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/11/19/general-nj-jayson-williams-plea_7140600.html

We’ve been doing Duke highlight vids on youtube for quite some time now at dukeblueforever, and we want to take our fan-made video blogging to another level with our new approach to this site.

If there is a spectacular play that gets us out of our seat, we’ll post a video highlight on the next day so you can relive the moments.

Throughout the season, we’ll be adding weekly video recaps of the Blue Devils’ games, win or lose.

We’ll also continue making and posting player tributes, top plays, and great moments from Duke history.

Consider this your destination for Duke video highlights…and ENJOY!

Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images

Wings beat Canucks 3-1

On Steve Yzerman Hall of Fame night, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 at Joe Louis Arena. Forward Tomas Holmstrom scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season, while Henrik Zetterberg posted the game-winner in the second period. Defenseman Niklas Kronwall’s insurance goal and empty-netter was his third tally in as many games. With Chris Osgood and Kirk Maltby out with the flu, netminder Jimmy Howard stopped 31 shots and Drew Miller made his debut in the Winged Wheel.

The win gives Detroit five in six games. It was the first game back at the Joe for former Wing Mikael Samuelsson. A couple bloggers have their thoughts of the game, including The Production Line and Winging It In Motown.

Detroit dominates Columbus in 9-1 win

Seven different players scored in the 9-1 blowout over the Blue Jackets with each one interestingly scoring their third goal of the season on Wednesday evening. Forward Dan Cleary got the score going with a tally just 1:05 into the contest. Kronwall posted two power-play markers, while forward Justin Abdelkader added two third-period goals.

You can read recaps from the following websites/blogs: Babcock’s Death Stare, Big Red Machine, Bingo Bango, Motown Wings, Octopus Thrower, Red Wings Blog, Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle, The Production Line, The Triple Deke, The Scrappy Octopus, and Winging It In Motown.

In Other News

• The Wings picked former Spartan Drew Miller off of waivers on Wednesday. Some bloggers chimed in with their thoughts on the Wings’ pickup: Babcock’s Death Stare, Motown Wings, The Production Line, and Winging It In Motown.
• The Detroit Free Press describes what you can find in the new Steve Yzerman exhibit at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
• Chris McCosky of The Detroit News writes that the Wings are not interested in goaltender J.S. Giguere.
• MLive.com reports that Jason Williams will not need surgery on his broken leg. He will be in a cast for six weeks and will then need two more to practice and skate before returning to the lineup.
• The Phoenix Coyotes are in need of a defenseman and they are scouting former Wing Chris Chelios as a possibility.
• Led by Red Wings vice president Steve Yzerman, the Red Wings are teaming up with Fifth Third Bank to encourage Southeast Michigan high school students to volunteer in the community. The new S.H.O.T.S. program (Students Helping Others Through Service) is an initiative designed to encourage high school students to volunteer their time and efforts while creating a competition among the student groups with monthly and overall winners taking home several great prizes.

Red Wings: 9 Blue Jackets:1

It’s hard to explain what coming home to a score like last night’s is like. Bob from Detroit4lyfe put it best on his Twitter last night. I checked ESPN.com during class half-expecting Columbus to be up 1-0, and saw that the Wings hung 4 goals on Steve Mason in the first period. By the time I got home, it was already 6-1.

Regardless, this type of game was long overdue as far as the Red Wings’ fanbase is concerned. Seeing the Wings come out and firing on all cylinders after losing Jason Williams to a broken fibula (among the other injuries) is, for lack of a better word, a relief. Most of the Red Wings bloggers I read barely remember the last time the Wings didn’t make the playoffs. There have only been two Red Wings captains in my lifetime. The Detroit Red Wings are synonymous with the word “success” in my book.

I think the best way to describe the first month of the season would be “puzzling.” Most Wings fans didn’t know why the team was starting slow with the burn of last year’s Cup Finals still smoldering in the minds of the Detroit faithful. We wondered why the team fell flat on its face in the homecoming games in Sweden. Then there was disbelief with the injuries to both Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula. The Wings stars weren’t performing either.

I don’t want to reflect on it too much, because it looks like the Wings have turned the corner (knocks on wood). Via The Chief:

Subtract the Toronto game for just a moment. Take it away. Forget that Voox and JJ jinxed us. Forget that the Wings continued a trend of going prison skinny guy at the ACC and just erase that for the very brief time being.

Because if you do? Jeez. We’re looking at a Wing team that’s allowed no more than one goal in four games. We’re looking at a Wing team that, suddenly, has outscored their opponents (Boston and San Jose, ahem, being two of them) 14-3.

My D4L colleague Jessie has a similar take at Bingo Bango:

Sure they are still THE organization, THE example to all other 29 teams in the league, but a 9-1 victory was a pleasant and unexpected treat.

They bent the BJs, Nash, and Mason over and had their way nine different times, 7 different guys. Sure that sounds like a cheesy porn, but tonight it best describes the ass kicking that took place in Columbus.

The guys at The Triple Deke are a bit perplexed, but excited all the same:

I did not see that coming. Not at all. I did think that by some strange form of reverse-reverse logic that the Wings would win (you know, as opposed to a legitimate reason such as “talent”), but not this way. There is nothing to complain about. In other words, this game was Drew Sharp’s worst nightmare.

Unfortunately, the Wings don’t get to revel in this big win for long. The Vancouver Luongos Canucks are in town and hoping that the Wings forgot to leave some goals in the tank for tonight. The Detroit News [via A2Y] is reporting that Chris Osgood and Kirk Maltby are out tonight. Jimmy Howard will be in goal while Maltby will be replaced by the newest Wing and former MSU standout Drew Miller.

To keep busy until game time, make sure to check out Kyle’s interview with Canucks blog Dan Cloutier for Vezina over at Babcock’s Death Stare. Also, one of today’s hot trends on Twitter is #unpublishedNHLbooks. I’ve helped contribute to that “discussion.” There are some really funny ones being posted.

More to come later, including highlights, Tigers coverage, and a midseason Lions review.

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Three former Wings to be inducted into HHOF today

Former captain Steve Yzerman, Luc Robitaille, and Brett Hull — all members of the Stanley Cup-winning 2001-02 squad –  will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this evening.The ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast live on TSN (Canada) and the NHL Network (Canada and U.S.).

• Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com writes a fantastic article about Yzerman’s career and I highly recommend checking out the article.
• Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press had a lengthy exclusive interview with Yzerman with topics ranging from how he has never regretted his decision to retire to what he has learned since joining the front office.
• MLive.com quoted Yzerman as saying getting enshrined in the HHOF was the “greatest honor.” MLive.com also looked back at the 10 key moments of Yzerman’s 20-year NHL career.
• The Detroit News looks back at Yzerman’s early start in hockey at the age of five.
• Greg Eno of Out of Bounds discusses how the Wings did pretty well with their backup plan: drafting Yzerman when Pat LaFontaine was already taken.
• Ted Lindsay wasn’t at a loss for words when it came to talking about The Captain.
• The Windsor Star talks about how Yzerman feels strange to now be considered a Hall of Famer.

Wings fall 5-1 to Toronto

In the Hockey Hall of Fame game on Saturday in Toronto, the Wings dropped a 5-1 decision to the Maple Leafs. Before the game, the 2009 HHOF class was honored (see picture above). The Detroit News noted the one highlight of the loss as Dan Cleary scored his 100th career goal to snap a 12-game scoreless streak. Red Wings Blog, The Triple Deke, Winging It In Motown, and Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle posted their thoughts on the loss.

Forward Jason Williams fractured his right fibula according to The Detroit News. The Red Wings’ GM Ken Holland told the Detroit Free Press that he expects the forward to be out for eight weeks with the injury, but does not anticipate calling anyone up since Patrick Eaves’ foot is feeling better and he should be able to re-enter the lineup.

In Other News

• Former Red Wings defender Chris Chelios returned to Michigan this weekend when his Chicago Wolves (AHL) faced the Grand Rapids Griffins and Van Andel Arena. He told The Grand Rapids Press that his 25-game tryout with the Wolves has allowed for more family time, especially with his ill father who lives in Chicago.
• The blogger behind Big Red Machine was able to attend the Red Wings’ autograph signing in Toronto on Friday afternoon and shared a picture of the poster signed by the team (minus Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen).
• Brad May doesn’t like to wear a visor, but believes the NHL should mandate that visors be a requirement and yes he realizes those two statements conflict.
• The amount of injuries popping up to the Wings has some bloggers worried, including Abel to Yzerman, The Production Line, and On the Wings. Drew at Nightmare on Helm Street reminds us that the Wings still have some great players left, who are not injured so don’t press the panic button yet.

Today was Jason’s 30th birthday!! Even though Jason isn’t sure how he feels about it, and even though I’ve made him feel like an old man these past few days, 30 is not old! It’s the new 20 and I’m pretty convinced that Jay is going to look as young as he does for a long, long time. He’ll just be that lucky.

I wanted to plan something special for him, but we don’t have a whole lot of extra cash these days. We have some really amazing friends who all helped me throw Jason a surprise party on Tuesday evening, the night before. He had absolutely NO IDEA and just thought we were going to our regular Bible study that we have each week. Our great friends Katelyn and Casey hosted and Katelyn helped me to get everything set up before we got there (thank you Katelyn!!). It was so great to hang with friends and about 25-30 people came, which was absolutely perfect.

I do have to say that Jason’s cake did look like it was on fire with the amount of candles we put on it! I wanted to make sure he blew out 30 candles and no less! So we all ate cake and relaxed for a little bit and Jason was totally surprised!

Today, Wednesday the 4th we spent time together as a family! We’ve had a lot of those days lately but this day was extra fun! We didn’t have too much planned, but we did manage to make our way into the Apple store. Jay decided that it was time to exchange the phone that he’s had for our ENTIRE MARRIAGE for a brand new iPhone!! I’m not kidding- that phone that he had was seriously one that Zach Morris from Saved By The Bell probably used during his time at Bayside. He’s had it forever! So it was completely time for him to upgrade to the new millenium and join the rest of us with an iPhone. Ha! I’m glad he did!

Our little man crashed from ‘partying’ to hard with mom and dad. We hadn’t even left the Apple store yet and he was already zonked out!

We ate lunch at Liberty Market after our time at the mall. When it’s your birthday, they give you a meal up to $10 for free!! So Jay got an amazing pizza made by none other than Andrew Sterbenz and we visited with Andrea Alley while we were there too!

Our evening was pretty simple- we had a family dinner at Olive Garden (one of Jay’s favorites!) and then headed home. After we put Cruz to bed, we sat on the couch with baseball on TV and worked. Yes, we had to work on his birthday. We don’t have the luxury right now of having a day off- THAT’s how busy we are! But we are super grateful to have each other and to be able to celebrate another birthday together! Birthdays are super special to me- life is too short and you never know how many birthday’s you’ll have together. Gotta make ‘em count for sure.

Happy 30th Birthday to the love of my life, Jason! I love you and I can’t wait till we turn 60 together! I love you!

it gets real in Alaska!!!!


Via KhanONE

La temporada ha comenzado, y en Orlando sueñan con alcanzar el anillo que el año anterior Los Angeles Lakers les arrebató. El general manager de Orlando Magic ha movido hilos y ha conseguido traer viejas glorias para contrarrestar la juventud del equipo. Este año cuentan con una plantilla más larga y de más calidad que le ha de permitir no bajar los brazos durante ningún segundo de partido.

Echemos un vistazo a su plantilla: La estrella del equipo, Dwight Howard, quiere seguir con su dominio debajo de los aros. Jugador imparable cuando coge la pelota sólo puedes detenerle haciéndole una falta para mandarle a la línea de tiro libre donde tiene muchos problemas. Junto a él continúan jugadores importantes como Rashard Lewis y Jameer Nelson, encargados de dar el equilibrio que necesita el equipo para gozar de un quinteto titular fuerte con el cual poder luchar por todo lo que se propongan y dirigir al equipo a lo más alto. También cuenta con grandes especialistas como Mickael Pietrus o Marçin Gortat; el primero es el encargado de secar a las estrellas exteriores de los equipos rivales; y el segundo es un perfecto recambio para Howard, pívot rocoso y poco ortodoxo pero efectivo. Este año debe ser más importante dentro del equipo. Y para acabar con los que continúan tenemos a J.J.Reddick, ¡raza blanca, tirador!, excelentísimo tirador desde más allá de 7 metros, pero que no contará con demasiadas oportunidades, como también es el caso de Anthony Johnson, jugador que por culpa de su edad y la pérdida de físico puede que sea su última temporada en activo.

Vince Carter, incorporación estelar

Y atención porque llega lo importante: los fichajes. Nuevos jugadores que completaran una plantilla más competitiva acorde con las necesidades del equipo y de las características que gustan a su entrenador Stan van Gundy. Y es que hay llegadas importantes, y este es el caso del gran Vince Carter, que viene de hacer unas temporadas bastante flojas en New Jersey Nets, pero debe ser el revulsivo necesario para completar una plantilla de ensueño. Llega a este equipo habiendo perdido cualidades físicas, pero con una mejora considerable en el tiro como buen veterano que ya es, aunque creo que en puntuales ocasiones nos seguirá deleitando con sus entradas imposibles y algún que otro mate espectacular. Otra llegada importante es la de Jason “Chocolate Blanco” Williams, que después de anunciar su retirada vuelve con muchas ganas de baloncesto. Este jugador, conocido por sus idas de olla y tiros sin sentido llega en plena madurez. Todo ha cambiado: su mejora en la dirección del equipo y los restos de su magia  con  asistencias increíbles deben hacerle un jugador importante saliendo del banquillo. Y para acabar tres incorporaciones más: Brandon Bass (Dallas Mavericks), otro jugador defensivo y potente para dar fuerza al equipo; Ryan Anderson (New Jersey Nets), ala-pívot muy buen tirador y que pelea todos los balones que salen rechazados del aro y Matt Barnes (Phoenix Suns), más madera para el tiro exterior.

Finalmente analicemos los pros y contras de este equipo:

• Pros: Howard, el referente imparable aportará puntos y muchos rebotes, candidato a jugador defensivo del año e incluso a MVP. Aportación de los veteranos, ya que anteriormente con un equipo relativamente joven les faltaba esta experiencia en determinados momentos, y junto a los jugadores defensivos que disponen este año tienen un peligro increíble tanto ofensiva como defensivamente. Y mucha atención, porqué este año disponen de aún más grandes tiradores de 3.

• Contras: Los tiros libres de Howard, aquí pierden gran cantidad de puntos por los malísimos porcentajes del pívot, y en partidos igualados puede hacerles perder más de un partido. Y también deben de tener mucho cuidado con la selección de tiro, muy típico en la NBA, a veces los egos de cada uno va por encima del buen juego del equipo, y ese puede ser un problema de irregularidad y acierto, sobre todo cuando hay tantos tiradores.

Estamos ante un equipo importante de esta liga, creo que como mínimo aspiran a volver a llegar a la final de la conferencia, incluso llegar a la final y tener opciones de ganarla. Todo dependerá de la suerte que tengan en las lesiones al llegar a playoff, si consiguen que los jugadores importantes estén al 100% físicamente pueden ser imparables. ¿Qué opináis vosotros?

Partidazo el que acabo de encontrar y que no voy a dudar en dejaros: Sacramento Kings de Jason Williams, Webber, un joven Stojakovic… contra los Jazz de Stockton y Malone…. Un lujazo. Corresponde al 5º partido de los Play-Off de 1999.

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Fuente: Descargas de Basket

I thought J-dubbs was dead.  Here’s a quote from a recent press conference–

“If throwing a behind the back pass is what’s gonna help my team win that’s what Im gonna do, but if it takes a regular pass that’s what I’ll do too.  I’m all about winning now.”

Yup.  Jason Williams said he was “ALL ABOUT WINNING NOW“.

But there is hope.  Immediately after, he says–

“I’m still a kid at heart.  I still do stupid things at times… when I’m out on the court I’m not worried about what other people are thinking.“

He’s still not worried about what other people are thinking.  Somewhere deep inside him white chocolate still lives.  And that achromatic candy is what will make me watch a billion magic games this season.

And when he’s 75 feet away from the hoop and sees Vince streaking to the basket, he better throw the oop.  He has too.  Unless J-Dubbs is truly gone forever.

- “Enciendes el televisor y ves una jugada de este tipo, y otra, y otra. Y, Lama, que no entiende de esto, se quedó hasta el final”.- “¿Pero y este tío? ¿De donde ha salido este tío?”- “ Son dos jugadores que viven de la fantasía”- “Hay que alimentarse de este tipo de cosas”

 Dos minutos de conversación sirven para entrever que clase de jugador es Jason Williams. Solo para entrever. Para comprender realmente todo su magnetismo es necesario verle en acción.
Así lo quería él: nunca le gustó dejarse ver fuera de las canchas. Ya hablaba suficiente en ellas.

 Nunca fue All-Star, aunque protagonizó más highlights (mejores jugadas) que nadie.
Nunca fue un icono de la NBA, aunque, durante años, su número 55 de Sacramento arrasó, en forma de camiseta, por las calles americanas.
Niños negros (y blancos, y amarillos) con la camiseta de un jugador blanco. ¿Blanco?

 “White Chocolate” : Un base blanco que jugaba como un negro. Fácil y pegadizo. Incluso nuestro amigo Montes se rindió ante la brillantez del mote.

 Huía de los convencionalismos. Cada pase, cada dribbling, cada tiro, era pura fantasía. Solo él podía ponerse a comer palomitas tras un pase en contraataque. Aunque, a decir verdad, solo él podía dar ese pase.
Si Daimiel, el abono de 82 partidos estaba justificado.

Llegó a los Kings en el 98 y desplegó su magia durante 3 años en Sacramento. Tras un gran año rookie (incluido en el mejor quinteto de debutantes de la temporada), consiguió mejorar sus prestaciones en el segundo (13 puntos y casi 8 asistencias de media). El equipo se convirtió en la mayor atracción de la liga, con un juego vertiginoso que cautivó a miles de aficionados y les valió para meterse en playoffs, donde fueron eliminados por los Lakers.

Aunque empezó la siguiente temporada flirteando con las drogas (reconocido consumidor de marihuana) y perdiéndose algunos partidos, Sacramento volvió a ser una de las sensaciones de la NBA con Williams como timonel. Pese a un espectacular record de 55 victorias y 27 derrotas, los Kings sucumbieron en segunda ronda, una vez más, contra la todopoderosa fiebre amarilla.

Tras ser eliminados, el equipo buscó un cambio de rumbo y Jason se convirtió en cabeza de turco. Sus pérdidas y sus desplantes a aficionados y managers pesaron más que su talento y sus geniales malabarismos. Los mismos que le habían aplaudido y vitoreado le hicieron perder la fe en su juego. 

 Podría contar que nuestro hombre jugó con Pau Gasol en Memphis o que, varios años más tarde, ganó un anillo en Miami a las órdenes de Pat Riley. Y que se retiró en 2008 para no ser suplente de Baron Davis en los Clippers, y ha vuelto este año para serlo de Jameer Nelson en Orlando.

Pero no serviría de nada. Una vez fuera de Sacramento la llama se apagó. Le cortaron  las alas e intentaron cambiar su forma de entender el juego y Jason nunca volvió a disfrutar de él. El artista perdió las ganas de crear, de componer.

“Me han robado mi alma de negro y cambiaría todos los porros que he fumado por recuperarla y volver a jugar un partido en el Arco Arena al lado de Chris Webber”. 
Ojalá fuese tan fácil.

Jason recibiendo ordenes

En este baloncesto actual, donde priman los sistemas, las defensas zonales, la pizarra y el catenaccio, ver el juego de Chocolate Blanco me dibuja una sonrisa en la cara. Como dijo el gran Daimiel: “por esto tiene que existir Jason Williams“

Red Wings: 5 Kings:2

I apologize for the lack of posting the past couple days. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather lately and didn’t feel up to getting a proper recap up for Thursday’s Wings-Kings game. Since I’m a couple days late, I’ll keep my thoughts short.

I thought the Wings’ effort was 1,000% better than Tuesday night’s debacle against the Buffalo Sabres. Chris Osgood got back to the same type of sharp goaltending effort we saw in the Chicago and Washington games. I’m concerned about how easily the Kings’ skaters got to the front of the net and the liberty they had with Osgood when they got there. Brad May’s presence was sorely missed in that regard. I think May is a better enforcer for the Wings than Aaron Downey was because he is a better skater and all-around player. It’s unfortunate that someone else has to sit when he plays, but it’s a nice problem to have.

Once again I was impressed with the effort of Valtteri Filppula and Ville Leino. As Matt at On the Wings put it:

Williams, Fil and Leino were probably the Wings’ best line through two. I thought they fell off in the third and weren’t nearly as noticeable, but for the first 40, they were putting on a good show. You know Fil and Leino are good when they make Williams look like a hockey player.

I noticed that Leino was especially active on the defensive end. He seems to have that Helm-like mentality where he almost takes it personally after a defender takes the puck from him, and then he busts his tail until he gets it back. It’s a nice thing to see from a guy whose defensive abilities were questioned at the start of the year. Hopefully he keeps this effort up to quiet the naysayers.

The final score was a bit misleading because the game was closer than that score indicated, but I never felt as if the Wings were going to let their lead slip away. Even after the Kings cut the score to 3-2, I thought the Wings were controlling play enough to salt the game away. They eventually did on Kirk Maltby’s second goal of the year on his third shot of the season. Maltby has never been known as a sniper, but if the guy is going to step his game up to keep his lineup slot, more power to him.

The Wings are set to drop the puck with the upstart Avs in just a few minutes. I’m home with the parents for the weekend, so I’m not sure how much of the game I’ll get to see. Hopefully the Wings can continue their hot start at the Joe tonight before their first west-coast swing.

Maryland’s basketball season starts tonight with “Maryland Madness” at Comcast Center in College Park, Maryland.   Coach Gary Williams is entering his 21st season as Head Coach of the Terps with expectations of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.  The team is returning 4 of is 5 starters, and 8 of its top 9 scorers, Dave Neal being the lone senior to graduate from last season’s squad.

Coach Williams has faced his fair share of criticism as the team made only its second tournament appearance in five years, after the team had made the tournament 11 straight years from 1994-2004.   When the team settled for the NIT 3 out of the past 5 years, Williams’ future with the University was put under pressure from both boosters and fans.  However, Coach Williams was awarded a 1 year extension on his contract this off season after a strong 2008-09.  The team finished last season with a 18-12 record, going 7-9 in ACC play, advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament, only to fall to the Memphis Tigers.

The team hopes to replace Neal’s presence in the front court with two four-star-recruits this season.  The team welcomes Jordan Williams, a 6-10 Forward from Torrington Connecticut, and James Padgett a 6-8 freshman from Brooklyn New York.  Williams reminds me a lot like former Terps big man Lonnie Baxter, both being wide bodied centers weighing over 250 pounds.  In 2002 when the Terps won their lone National Championship, the team was lined with plenty of guards and a solid front court presence lead by Baxter and high-flying-power forward Chris Wilcox.  I see a lot of similarities in the 2002 with the current 2009 roster,  I just hope either Padgett or current starting power forward Landon Milbourne can replicate Wilcox’s playing style and maybe return us to the final four.  It will be interesting to see how quickly the young freshman can make an impact after the departure of Neal and Sophomore Braxton Dupree, as he transferred to Towson during the offseason.

The Terps are returning a strong backcourt, lead by senior point guard Greivis Vasquez, who averaged 17.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game last season.  Vasquez flirted with the idea of entering the NBA draft last season, but withdrew at the last minute sighting unfinished business back at Maryland.  I look forward to seeing senior guard Eric Hayes to improve is outside shooting this season, he lead the way for the Terps in the tournament last season shooting 50% from the floor.  The added size in the front court will hopefully free him up to hit the big shots from behind the arch.  Sean Mosley will look to improve off of his impressive freshman season.  The 6’4 Mosley was by far the hardest working defending on the team last year, collecting 31 steals and 11 blocks, despite averaging less than 20 minutes a game.

With a majority of the ACC’s top performers heading to the NBA last season, I feel as though the Terps could compete for the third spot in the ACC, behind the always talented North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils.

I had a discussion with loyal BDS citizen Zach before the game. We mulled over the various stages of grief over our Franzen-related depression, and we both agreed upon the importance of this game. I noted it in my last post, but I’m not sure if I stressed it enough. This game was to showcase our depth, and nothing would have made me happier than to see Detroit dominate. It would say good things about our depth, and just.. re-assure me that we can do good things without Franzen. Because, if you think about it, Franzen was pretty much just a checker until late in the 2007-08 season. He was like Filppula, in a sense, that he just looked like he has all kinds of skill but it looked like he might never break out of his role. I feel like I, along with many fans, has been been waiting for Filppula to do that, and he’s got a chance to do so this year. So we scored hilarious amounts of goals before the Mule got super confident in himself, and I was hoping to see some of that tonight.

It wasn’t completely as I had hoped, but I was impressed with the win tonight. To expand on that, my attention wasn’t 100% in tune with the game. The 8 PM Michigan/Iowa (dammit Robinson) and Florida/LSU (zzz) games started,  so the Wings got pushed onto my laptop, forcing me to rely on inconsistent streams and sometimes lose a little focus because of crucial plays in between those games. So I don’t have any hard-hitting, well-supported analysis from the Wings, just general impressions of things I noticed when my wireless was cooperating.

- I thought Filppula looked like a man possessed. FSN’s pre-game kind of unfairly singled him out as the guy the Wings were looking at to step up with no Franzen. I expect him to as well, but I was looking at Bertuzzi, Williams, Eaves, Leino, and Abdelkader more, because they’re all new guys I’ve said in the past can really break out for Detroit. Needs to be a committee, in my opinion. But Filppula seemed to be the only guy to really take that challenge seriously. In the first, I felt like he was trying to do too much. He Samuelsson’d it and made an extra move at the line, twice, sending himself offsides and Leino (partially his fault) on another occasion, and tried an unusually finesse and powerful move in trying to split the defenseman (well, one was Mike Green) on the play where Green took a holding call on him. However, in the final 40 minutes he seemed to be all over the place. And for a player on who’s balance I rip on almost all the time — it is pretty bad — he knocked 6′3 super-gump Tyler Sloan on his back and came out on top over contact with Ovechkin. He seemed angry. I like it.

- Oh boy! Williams scored from the point. But don’t acknowledge it, so you can bash him when he makes his once-every-three-game mistake despite the fact that he’s been the better PP2 point man than Kronwall 4 out of 4 games. However, he was invisible other than that, to me. Better than being visible for the wrong reasons, I suppose.

- One big switch from the line combinations from the pre-game. Bert took Holmstrom’s wing spot with the Eurotwins and Homer was bumped down to Abdelkader and Williams. I think that’s the first time in the Mike Babcock era that Holmstom hasn’t been with one of the Eurotwins. However, he responded well. He looked angry as well (that’s what I want to see in this team, if you haven’t figured that out yet), and scored that big goal. Bertuzzi didn’t do much with his new linemates, but I like the idea — I’m hoping he’ll get a few more games there. I haven’t been blown away yet, and frankly I thought he’d be a little more involved offensively (however, he’s been better defensively than I thought he could be), but if he can regain his form and become a player that can take over a game, as he’s said he thinks he can, he’s certainly getting the right opportunity to. Like him or not, I think you have to admit if there’s a hidden gamebreaker on this team, it’s gotta be Bertuzzi. And again, I did notice additional anger in him, but no penalties or… incidents. Probably an unneeded shot there, but I’m going to leave it in, as I’m the only blog that doesn’t take regular shots at that.

- Biggest problem on this team right now: Draper/Maltby goals: 2, Zetterberg/Datsyuk goals: 0. Okay, so neither Datsyuk or Zetterberg have had the luxury of a shorthanded breakaway and a retarded defensive zone turnover leading to a short break on Huet the super-sieve, but credit to Draper and Maltby for making those things happen. I wasn’t opposed to Maltby being scratched tonight because he hadn’t done much outside of the first period of the Blues game, but I have been impressed that both of them finally look like they realize they’re not guaranteed lineup spots in a Babcock lineup. Datsyuk and Zetterberg have been noticeable in spurts, but for the most part, too quiet for the roles they play. I feel like Zetterberg especially has been trying to do too much. He’s never been the guy to make a quick move through three defenders; he’s so good because he always makes the right play and finds the open guy.

- Patrick Eaves looked like a player tonight who decided he didn’t want to be a regular healthy scratch on his new team. He was energized, and had a couple of shots, but no great chances. However, Babcock noticed and tried him with Zetterberg and Datsyuk for a while. I don’t recall for how long, and he didn’t do much. But I hope he realizes that that’s a hell of an opportunity. This is a guy who was bought out over the summer, and then he finds himself in a close game on a line with two of the best players in the world. If you want to revitalize your career, you’ve got to take a few chances and make an impact. Detroit could sure use it.

- Barely noticed May tonight other than the occasional heart-stopping feeling I instinctively get when I see the Wings’ #24 with the puck. Only 6:24 played I see. Just noting this because I’m only going to notice him if he’s running guys questionably late, Aaron Downey-style. Just hoping that May comes out if/when Maltby comes back in; Eaves was much better, and like I said when Abdelkader got sent down, he’s not here to sit. Darren Helm is targeting a Tuesday return as well. I’m thinking Detroit might not actually send May down because they have so much cap space now with Franzen on LTIR, so I hope the 4th line rotation can keep everyone in that mix (May, Eaves, Draper, Maltby, and Abdelkader to an extent, though he will get more leeway since he’s not as old as time or Patrick Eaves) honest. Need to make your minutes count if you’re staying in — May did that in the pre-season, but not tonight.

- For the time being, no longer clenching up inside every time a puck goes towards Osgood. The first goal was weak, but he was excellent for a second straight night. I expect he’ll have a few off nights — I don’t expect playoff form every night. All I expect from our goaltending is to not be the reason we lose. Teams that see that more often than not are teams that have hard times making the playoffs. Detroit has too much talent to lose on goals that they lost in with Osgood/Howard in Sweden.

- Meech has been decent in his two games, but the Wings need to be able to count on a 6th defenseman for more than 10:05. I realize a lot of speculation in the past few days has been for a cheap top-six scorer, but I wonder if the Franzen cap space makes a  Lebda + mid-round pick trade for a more reliable, stay-at-home #6 a possibility instead of waiting for Lilja. The trade would come at a cheaper price than a deadline deal, and it’s going to all be wasted cap space anyhow, regardless of when Lilja comes back. You wouldn’t need to worry about him being rusty or slightly less effective, either.

- I’ll try to keep people updated on the Griffins as well. They dropped to the Toronto Marlies tonight. Jeremy Williams and Doug Janik gave them a 2-0 lead but the Marlies took it 3-2.  Daniel Larsson took the loss. Tomas Tatar was still a healthy scratch — was almost positive Curt Fraser said he’d get in this weekend. I’ve said that he needs to be on the scoring lines to make an impact, but there’s no sense keeping him scratched when he could be playing meaningless 4th line minutes to get adjusted to the speed of the game. He’ll definitely see a few games, but this tells me that Plymouth is looking like a good option for him. And clearly, Plymouth needs him. They won 9-2 tonight with the help of five points from Tyler Seguin, who’s already improved his stock from “definite first round pick” to “challenging for #1 overall” with a rather impressive 25 point in 10 game start. Tatar is starting to look mouth-wateringly good as his winger. Ohhh man.

Panic level has fallen about 10 levels. A nice win tonight. Give me some thoughts on the comments — I did not pay as much attention to the game as I would have liked, and I’ll probably re-watch it on NHL GameCenter (which is infinitely improved from last year with full screen multi-game, more HD broadcasts and, subsequently, adaptive streaming quality, as well as the pausing/rewinding functionality) tomorrow if it’s up in time for when I inevitably shut the Lions off whenever the Steelers are by up enough to put Charlie Batch in. I want to look a little harder at Williams, Bertuzzi, Eaves, and Filppula.

I hate hockey so, so much.

Ugh. Just when Detroit showed some, but not a whole lot, signs of being a competent and competitive team not in the Taylor Hall sweepstakes, this happens.

I don’t even want to write about this. I’d recommend you check out On the Wings, because Matt was on top of all the updates and comments from the team.

Basically, here’s what happened from my perspective. My post-game concern was for Jonathan Ericsson, who looked like he was in a world of hurt after a shot off the foot and he could barely get off the ice. Post-game, I was relieved because Mike Babcock said he’d be okay. Yesterday morning, they said Ericsson should play against Washington tonight, but Franzen might not practice. It seemed precautionary. I rolled my eyes, because that’s just what Franzen does. He gets minor injuries that never change his effectiveness on the ice.

Then I went for a quick skate, came back… and… I don’t want to even say it.

He tore his ACL!? What? No, no, no, no, no, no. Why does Franzen always get hurt against Chicago? In October. I hate hockey.

Franzen, initially reported to have “gotten bumped” in the Chicago game. In the first period. Before he scored. In a game he finished. With a blown ACL. Cocaine’s a hell of a drug.

This is the part of the video game where I’d turn it off without saving.

So now we get too see how deep we are. Dammit. This means significantly more Abdelkader, he may be a Wing permanently now. Most likely, a lot more May. And more than that, the Williams, Bertuzzi, and Eaves signings I defended because I viewed them all as three players who could have breakout/comeback seasons.. need to live up to that hype. Eaves is only making his debut tonight after doing not a whole lot in the pre-season. Williams looked good to me the first three games, made too many mistakes against Chicago (though I felt like Kronwall has been the weak link on that powerplay so far). Bertuzzi has actually been the opposite of how I thought he’d be. He’s actually playing well in his own end and backchecking hard, but so far he hasn’t been a factor offensively.

George Sipple just posted tonight’s lines against the Washington Ovechkins. We’ve got Eurotwins:

Henrik Zetterberg | Pavel Datsyuk | Tomas Holmstrom
Ville Leino | Valtteri Filppula | Dan Cleary
Todd Bertuzzi | Justin Abdelkader | Jason Williams
Brad May | Kris Draper | Patrick Eaves

Babcock says the Eurotwins reunion isn’t permanent. But it will be if they each score 4 goals tonight, which is what I’m expecting. I still want them together, I felt they were separated too much last season. Right now neither have been much of a factor, so hopefully together they can do some damage. Meanwhile Leino and Filppula have been playing really well together, I think that’s a solid second line. And that third line.. interesting. Abdelkader is going to need to play a lot better than he did in the pre-season to make it work. Bertuzzi keeps saying he feels like he can take over a game still — he needs to on this line. I’ll be watching those three like a hawk tonight. Eaves gets his shot tonight as well — if anyone on the top three lines is struggling, he moves up, so he needs to give Babcock a few reasons to put him there.

On the bright side, Osgood was quite good against Chicago. The team was on their heels early, but they withstood the Kopecky-led barrage and got the win. This is the part of the season where the team hopefully realizes they no longer have the skill needed to win games in a period. Complete efforts. Nobody slacks. And naturally, that’s got to be as difficult as possible against a team that can score 14 points in a period.

On a side note, now that he’s not in the lineup instead of Abdelkader, I kind of like that we have Brad May. His fight was impressive, a clear win, and I love how he went right after Cam Barker after he leveled Maltby. He’s noticeable on the ice and that’s something that we haven’t always had in our 4th line the past few years. As long as he doesn’t get too comfortable here, I like it. Also, as I tweeted, his interviews are great. The way he looks at the camera, and how soft he speaks, just make me feel like he’s about to say “My, uh, new series of audiobooks is available on Amazon right now.” Just soothing. I would listen to those audiobooks.

On a more depressing side note, two career-length contracts for Zetterberg and Franzen. It starts with Zetterberg missing the pre-season with a groin injury, and Franzen missing more than half of the first season. Great.

I miss the Mule.

Trying to find playing time for every player on the bench is a sometimes daunting task for even some of the NBA’s best coaches. When teams are in a losing streak, sometimes coaches try and shake things up by alternating which players start and come off of the bench. Even on some rare occasions, management may decide to bring a star player back from injuries a little slow and limit their minutes by also bringing them from the bench. When the latter occurs, their is usually a backlash from the star player which sometimes creates irreparable harm to team chemistry and the player/coach relationship. For an example look no further than last season’s A.I./ Detroit Pistons fiasco.

Coach Stan Van Gundy, of the Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic has no such problem. He actually has a few players who prefer to ride the pine and be injected for instant offense or as a late game defensive specialist. I read recently that forward Mickael Pietrus, who was spectacular in the Magic’s postseason run, has told his head coach that he wants to come off the bench in games. Pietrus and newly acquired Matt Barnes were in a battle through training camp to decide who would be the starting small forward. It appears that Pietrus, who averaged 9.4 points in 24+ minutes mostly as a reserve last season, has stepped aside and made Van Gundy’s decision for him. Matt Barnes, who is entering his first season in Orlando, had been mostly a journeyman NBA player having been on 7 teams in his 6 seasons, before having perhaps his best season averaging double figures in scoring with Golden State last season. Known primarily for his defense, Barnes apparently found his offensive stroke by averaging 10.2 points while starting 40 games for the Warriors and seemed to flourish under coach Don Nelson’s system. Both Barnes and Pietrus are known to play excellent defense with Pietrus regularly getting the unenviable assignment of guarding the other team’s best player, like during the postseason when he did his best to contain Lebron and Kobe.

Of course for the team’s first 10 games, all bets are off since Rashard Lewis who usually plays the PF spot, will not be available because of his steroid suspension and consequently will cause some roster shuffling. One would assume that Brandon Bass would take over the starting PF spot alongside Barnes or Pietrus at the 3 spot. Van Gundy may decide to go with a smaller lineup during those first ten games depending on the opponent and have Vince Carter play at SF with Jameer Nelson at SG, allowing Jason Williams some time at the point. Van Gundy definitely has some options with such deep team.

It is just refreshing to actually here a player comply with a coach’s wishes or volunteer to come off of the bench to achieve the team’s goal of winning a championship and not behave badly like Iverson’s multiple tirades(twice – he did it in Philly too when Chris Ford was coach) of taking offense at not starting. Detroit may be in for the same situation all over again with Rip Hamilton and new free agent Ben Gordon. Hamilton made it known that he also wasn’t kosher with a bench role along with A.I. last season. Gordon, I’m sure, came to Motown to start rather than be a reserve. If not, he is being handsomely paid for sitting on the bench. I speculate that Detroit isn’t big enough for the both of them and Hamilton will be traded before the season is up.

I was feeling rather lazy (also, rather homeworky) this morning so I didn’t talk about last night’s game. However, the Wings lost to Toronto for the second straight night 2-1. This afternoon, the Wings forced a decisive Game 9 beat the superstar-less Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1. And a good time was had by all.

The Toronto game was basically the Jonas Gustavsson story. The Wings got a taste of him as he played the first period of Friday’s game, but he came in Saturday for the final two periods and was nothing less than spectacular. Currently the internet-hype for him is at an all-time high, but he didn’t have too many difficult saves. Although we do now know what happens when a Rhino meets a Monster. Despite the fact that many people are fawning over how he hasn’t let up a goal in North America, I think Gustavsson showed everyone that he’s legit. There’s no doubt in my mind that Detroit played well enough to win — I think they would have if Vesa Toskala stayed in net. I don’t think it’ll be too many games before Gustavsson unseats Toskala.

This afternoon’s game against Pittsburgh was a much better effort from Detroit. They were on their heels early but Jimmy Howard played lights out all night and maybe silenced a few doubters on the way. Just a few though, because he wasn’t exactly facing a powerful lineup. What Pittsburgh did have in the lineup was a lot of sour grapes. As soon as he could, Matt Cooke had words with a surly Kris Draper, and Draper had some words of his own when he gave Fleury and unnecessary snow shower on the following shift. In the third period, the Penguins seemed more concerned with gooning it up, highlighted by Kunitz jumping on Franzen and Guerin throwing punches after the altercation was broken up. Shortly thereafter, after a weak and routine hit by Derek Meech, a cluster of Pengapes started throwing punches at a line that included noted fighters like Mattias Ritola and Kris Draper. Yes Pittsburgh, we’re all very, very impressed. All this certainly supports the theory that Pittsburgh is less enjoying their victory and more ensuring Detroit knows that they won, but I digress.

These notes will be more comprehensive, reflecting both yesterday and today’s game as well as the pre-season as a whole on some of these guys.

Chris Osgood — He played the first half of yesterday’s game and came up with his best pre-season performance. He gave up a few strange rebounds early, but only let in one goal. A blast from the point, low, but there was traffic in front.

Jimmy Howard — He was pretty strong in relief of Osgood last night, only letting up a slam dunk in front, and he was very good today. Only goal against came after a big post-to-post save that left him slightly overcommitted. Pascal Dupuis had a whole side of the net to shoot at, and he was further helped by Derek Meech who decided to stand in front and let the puck bank in off his stick instead of getting low in any attempt to block a shot. Howard stopped Jordan Staal on a breakaway and then a penalty shot, and probably stopped about five other solid chances by Staal. He looked great tonight, he made me a little more confident in him going into the season.

Logan Pyett — Played today after a bunch of games off. Looks intimidated and overmatched. I can’t see this guy ever playing in the NHL.

Andy Delmore — He’s a nightmare in his own zone, but he played decent today. He put a hook on Jordan Staal — or what looked like a clear one — but he didn’t actually tug on him. So Staal got a good shot off and then got a penalty shot anyway. I’m not saying it was a bad call, because it looked like Delmore was going to hook the hell out of him. I’m just saying if you’re Delmore, either let the guy go or tug him to the ground.

Derek Meech — Much stronger today than he has been all pre-season. Looked like someone who could maybe challenge a very struggling Brett Lebda eventually.

Jonathan Ericsson — Again, much better tonight than Friday’s quadruple minor penalty game. Made some strong defensive plays, and seems to have a very good idea of when to join the rush or jump in the zone. His shot is something amazing, I can’t believe he didn’t score more in the AHL.

Jakub Kindl — Just when you think to yourself, “man, he’s not having a great game,” you see him work his magic on the powerplay. He had a pretty long shift there today, one of his first of the pre-season, and was much more confident and in control than at any other point this pre-season. Almost invisible other than that, which is both good and bad.

Brad May — I got to thinking last night, who would I rather have, May or Maltby? I felt like May was all over the ice last night, and I was astounded to see he played only 8 minutes. I felt like Maltby played 3 minutes tonight, and I was astounded to see he played 15. I get the Maltby argument — he’s savvy, he’s got experience. I agree. I like Maltby. But I also like 4th liners to have that kind of impact when they come on the ice. If I had the choice, I’d take the guy making the most of his minutes in May. But I know May will at least start in Grand Rapids. I hope he gets a contract, I like his game.

Jason Williams — I can’t help but notice that everyone who made him out to be the worst player ever hasn’t said a word about what’s been a very impressive pre-season for him. I like him with Leino and Filppula. Today he made not one, not two, but three impressive keeps at the blueline. He got shots through traffic. His goal was luck, but still a smart play as he drove into traffic. I’ll take him over Sammy any day if he keeps this up.

Johan Ryno — Still impressed. Wasn’t great last night, but he’s shown enough where I’m intrigued. I commented here that I don’t buy Ryno’s comments, and based off the fact that Ryno is still playing a lot and the Wings seem to think he’ll report to Grand Rapids, I think he’ll show up. He’s officially down now. He’s skilled, but if he got aggressive and a little stronger he could be a force. People don’t really understand how rare this blend of skill and size is. You don’t just throw it out because you’ve heard a few comments through the grapevine. Give him a year in Grand Rapids and see how he acclimates.

Evan McGrath — I noticed both last night and tonight he came out with a lot of jump. He’s a much improved skater from where he was in the OHL. He seems to be the only guy on the Wings who’s trying to “make” the team still, even though there’s no spots available. Some of that could have to do with the fact that he was playing in Toronto last night, not too far from his home town of Oakville. Auditioning for the hometown Leafs maybe, now that he’s on waivers? Probably not, but I really think he’s a 4th line player in a pinch. I don’t know what he has to learn from another year in the AHL.

Patrick Eaves — Had a quiet pre-season, but I felt he came on in his last two games. It’s easy to notice his speed, I felt today he was around the puck a little more. He’s definitely a useful 4th line player for now, hopefully he can continue doing things with the puck.

Jan Mursak — Still not great, but I think he’s in for a much better sophomore season in Grand Rapids. Like Ritola, he looks like the type of player that does well on the Red Wings. Smart with the puck, good speed, and a surprisingly well-developed two-way game. He didn’t play a whole lot, but I noticed him a little more today.

The Wings are now down to 23 players. Bruce MacLeod tweeted that Johan Ryno, Mattias Ritola, Francis Pare, Jakub Kindl, Andy Delmore, and Evan McGrath were sent to Grand Rapids (UPDATE: Jan Mursak, Doug Janik, Jeremy Williams, Kris Newbury, and Thomas McCollum, too). Brad May was released, but only so Grand Rapids could sign him because I’m assuming you can’t send a tryout player to the minors. It looks like they’re still going to make a decision on him.

So here is the 23(ish) man roster headed to Sweden.

Forwards (13): Abdelkader, Bertuzzi, Cleary, Datsyuk, Draper, Eaves, Filppula, Franzen, Holmstrom, Leino, Maltby, Williams, Zetterberg.

Defensemen (7) : Ericsson, Kronwall, Lebda, Lidstrom, Meech, Rafalski, Stuart.

Goalies (3): Howard, Larsson, Osgood.

Injured: Axelsson, Emmerton, Fournier, Helm, Lilja

Obviously, Axelsson and Emmerton are going to the AHL when they’re healthy, and Fournier’s going to the QMJHL. You just can’t send down injured players.

Larsson will go down no matter what when Detroit gets back, he’s Grand Rapids’ starter (though McCollum narrowed the gap this pre-season). Also, I heard that the NHL is letting teams take 24 players to Europe just in case. I’m not sure who Detroit intends to have along as the reserve. Zetterberg and Bertuzzi are definitely a little banged up. Meech can slide up front, but I wonder why they sent a guy like Ritola down when they could bring him to Sweden without the cap. Maybe something’s in the works, I’m not sure. Lastly, with all these slight injuries, I wonder if Abdelkader will ever even be sent down. This just has the makings of a season of injuries. Not a bunch of guys at one time, but consistently at least one or two injuries all season. Abdelkader definitely staked out an NHL job with his impressive pre-season.

30 Previews in 30 Days!, no this is not an ABC Family holiday gimmick: this is the official Paints in the Point 2009-2010 Season Preview.

We start of course with the Champ, for I will be kicking off this series and will bring it to a close in thirty days.

The format that the “Paints Dudes” have decided on is that of regular season records, worst to best, which means the first team to be previewed, is the once-mighty Sacramento Kings.

A Little History:

“The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. The Kings are members of the National Basketball Association (NBA).”

…or maybe not.

Let’s see, the Sacramento Kings’ roots trace back to Cincinnati when they were the Cincinnati Royals and acquired superstar Oscar Robertson. The Royals never won a title in the Robertson era, but they saw elite individual success from Robertson. In the 1961-1962 season, Robertson averaged a triple-double, and in 1964, won The NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. In 1963, Jerry Lucas, another superstar joined Robertson in Cincinnati, but by the end of the decade both were traded to other teams. Robertson was traded to Milwaukee where the Bucks won a championship in 1970.

The Royals became the Kings during the move to Kansas City in 1972, as the result of the Kansas City Royals baseball team. Also, during the Kings’ tenure in Kansas City, the ownership thought it would be brilliant to split home games in Omaha as well. Oddly enough, this turned out to be a tremendous failure. The Kings in this era were borderline obscure and did not achieve great playoff success until their move to Sacramento in 1985.

But it would take a while once the Kings found their latest home in Sacramento. It was not until their acquisitions of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and the draft selection of Jason Williams, as well as the arrival of Peja Stojakovic, until the Kings found significant success. Under the “Princeton Offense,” the Kings scored points in bundles, but were criticized for their poor defense. In 2001, Williams was traded to Vancouver (yes, Vancouver, which moved to Memphis) for Mike Bibby, which led to the best season in franchise history with a record of 62-21, winning the division as well as having the best record in the league, only to lose in seven games to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Unfortunately, 2001 marks the peak of the Kings at that time, for the team has not achieved such playoff success since. In 2005, sniper Peja Stojakovic was traded for Ron Artest, following 2004’s “Malice at the Palace.”

The Royals became the Kings during the move to Kansas City in 1972, as the result of the Kansas City Royals baseball team. Also, during the Kings’ tenure in Kansas City, the ownership thought it would be brilliant to split home games in Omaha as well. Oddly enough, this turned out to be a tremendous failure. The Kings in this era were borderline obscure and did not achieve great playoff success until their move to Sacramento in 1985.

But it would take a while once the Kings found their latest home in Sacramento. It was not until their acquisitions of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and the draft selection of Jason Williams, as well as the arrival of Peja Stojakovic, until the Kings found significant success. Under the “Princeton Offense,” the Kings scored points in bundles, but were criticized for their poor defense.

In 2001, Williams was traded to Vancouver (yes, Vancouver, which moved to Memphis) for Mike Bibby, which led to the best season in franchise history with a record of 62-21, winning the division as well as having the best record in the league, only to lose in seven games to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Unfortunately, 2001 marks the peak of the Kings at that time, for the team has not achieved such playoff success since. In 2005, sniper Peja Stojakovic was traded for Ron Artest, following 2004’s “Malice at the Palace.”

But Artest had his issues on and off the court, meanwhile shooting guard Kevin Martin began to emerge as a star in the league. Artest went to the Rockets, and now presently the Lakers while Martin continues to lead a young team…

A few more basics:

2008-2009 Record: 17 – 65 (Worst in NBA),  5^th in Division

Coach: Paul Westphal

Projected Lineup:

PG: Beno Udrih: a 6’ 3’’ point guard from Slovenia, who is said to thrive under low expectations. A decent scoring average at 11 points per game, and a decent assist per game average of 4.7 a game, but a below average starting point guard in the National Basketball League.

SG: Kevin Martin: The face of the franchise, K-Mart has probably the most unorthodox shot in the NBA, and shows promise of developing into a superstar if the Kings improve. Martin was seventh in league scoring averages last year with an impressive 24.6 points per game, but with a less than average 2.7 assists per game. Martin’s defense is questionable but his numbers are getting better over time.

SF: Francisco Garcia: A true shooting guard who will split time with Andres Nocioni at the SF position, Garcia looks for improvement. Even though he has already signed an extension which keeps him in Sacramento, Garcia has said he wants to win more games, which preferably means an increase in last year’s scoring average from 12.7 points per game.

PF: Jason Thompson: The only player in NBA history to come from Rider College, Thompson’s numbers in the pros have held up well. A long armed rebounder and a competent shot blocker, Thompson shows promise at 23, and has proved himself to at least put up a fight against other NBA Power Forwards.

C: Spencer Hawes: The young center out of Washington has really yet to prove himself in this league. Hawes, does have the qualities of a traditional center (Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Yao Ming), and seems like an equitable replacement to Brad Miller.

Hawes does share an interesting likeness to a certain Olympic Swimmer:

Key Gains:

G Tyreke Evans: The King’s draft choice (1^st round, 4^th Selection) offers promise at the starting point guard position if given the chance. The guard out of Memphis showed spectacular play in the NCAA Tournament.

The Kings are not a spectacular franchise involved in the free agent market.

Key Losses:

C Brad Miller: The Chicago Bulls now have the veteran Center.

Key Quote:

“For me to be wealthy means having the opportunity, along with my teammates, to bring Sacramento basketball back to its winning ways, and compete for a championship very soon. Being wealthy also is about being a positive role model to our young kids who look up to us, and make Sacramento a better place for them.” – Kevin Martin

Scottie Pippen = Kevin Martin?

Anybody?

Also See:

An Argument for Kevin Martin

Recap:

1. Sacramento Kings
2. Washington Wizards
3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Golden State Warriors
8. New York Knicks
9. Toronto Raptors

Miami, we have a problem. Well, sort of.

“Super” Mario Chalmers was nothing short of amazing last season. He started in all 82 games for the Heat and averaged 10 PPG, and 5 APG. Chris Quinn, a 3-year veteran, was Chalmers’ main back-up support for most of the season. Quinn himself did a terrific job backing Chalmers up. He averaged 5 PPG and 2 APG in 66 appearances with the Heat. If you think back to training camp last year, coach Spoelstra said that Chris Quinn was probably going to get the starting job in the backcourt with all-star Dwyane Wade. That wasn’t the case; Chalmers somehow beat him for the starting bit and was talented enough to keep Quinn in the backup role. A role, none the less, that is very important. Just the year before, during thenightmare season of 15 wins, the brightest spot was Quinn. He started in 25 games and averaged over 8 PPG and 3 APG. Coming off such an impressive season just in his second year, Spoelstra was ready to give him the reigns to the offence, but then, Chalmers began to impress. If you remember correctly, the first depth chart was as follows: Chris Quinn, Marcus Banks, and Mario Chalmers… Then, it was Marcus Banks, Chris Quinn and Mario Chalmers.

Here’s my beef with the Heat right now. No offence to Chalmers or Quinn, I love them both.  But, we need another point guard. We need someone who can be a scoring threat as much as a defensive wall. We need someone like Gary Payton, or, Jason Williams. If we could find someone with the defensiveness of The Glove, and the scoring threat of The White Chocolate, we would have the greatest point guard ever. Hey wait a minute; I think I know a guy, how about Allen Iverson? Oh wait, he’s with the Grizzlies now. Okay, well there’s a decent one out there called Jamaal Tinsley, I’m sure we can get him; he would come cheap and will be a good addition to our point guard repertoire. But no, Pat Riley says he is not interested in adding a point guard via free-agency. Alright, so let’s trade with the Nets. Let’s give them D-Wright and Yakhouba Diawara for ex-Heat guards Rafer Alston and Keyon Dooling.Wouldn’t that be a sweet reunion? Alston has a 5.25-mil expiring contract so he’s perfect for Riley’s plan and then we can just deal Dooling away. We all know that Riley has questioned Dooling’s basketball IQ so I’m not sure he would like to try him out again. But as for Alston, he would do it in a heartbeat.

What do you guys think? I am really found of that Heat-Nets trade. Anyone have a better trade scenario?