The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[Hud]

OK, my last thoughts and the reason the Mavs lost the series. I was just listening to a local Phoenix sports talk show and one of the moderators mentioned that Jason Terry is coming up on free agency next season. He was speculating on whether or not the Suns would be interested in him. They decided that the Suns wouldn't have a place for him to play and that Mark Cuban would never let him go anyway. Next, they said that Cuban was on David Letterman's late night show and was bragging about how letting Nash go was a good deal since Terry was working out well, and the Mavs had won the first 2 games easily. Talk about your bad karma, Cuban brougnt down the wrath of the gods with that statement.

The Suns have the 21st and 27th picks in the upcoming draft. Today they worked out a kid from Senegal who has been playing in Belgium for awhile. I can't recall his name, but he's 7 feet tall and weighs 232 (I believe). He seems a bit raw, but I hear many teams have him on their radars.

Udosuk, it's been fun talking about the games with you and I'm glad Tracy dropped in for a visit. We'll have to do it again next season; it was fun.

The soccer powerhouse of Ghana sent the US team home with its tail between its legs. They were saying on radio that the US had been ranked 5th in the world. That had to be either a mistake, or a ploy to generate fan interest in this country. We got one goal in 3 games, and someone said the one goal was due to a bad throw back to the goalie by Italy. I'm not certain that that happened, but it wouldn't surprise me.

[Hud]

The 06 NBA Draft disappointed some Suns fans, but I can see why they chose to not draft anyone. They supposedly targetted 4 players and when they either weren't able to trade up for them or the players failed to fall to them, they chose to save some money to resign Tim Thomas and Boris Diaw. All of a sudden, they don't seem satisfied with Barbosa, but that might just be posturing to get him more cheaply in the future.

[udosuk]

I read someone said the Suns are short on cash... Guess the Mavs or the Knicks would never have that problem...

Another tall foreigner (Italian this time) gets the top pick... I wonder if this will become a trend in the future... But I was particular in favour of the Italian big man Gregor F-something (forgot the surname) who played in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and wonder why he never made it to the NBA...

Also, I retract the declaration to stop posting here... It seems Hud (and perhaps others) would like to express their views about basketball... And in a few months we'll have the world championships to go, from which we need some glory to chase after the soccer... Well the Ashes are still months to go...

[Hud]

Just a quick NBA post since this is the equivalent to baseball's "hot stove league". Tim Thomas was made an offer he couldn't refuse, and I wish him well (except against my beloved Suns). The Clips lost a forward to the Lakers so they had to pull the trigger on Thomas and possible overspend on him. I think the Suns will pull a couple rabbits out of their hat though. Please let Amare return healthily.

[TKiel]

Kudos to Tracy for making a bold prediction that turns out right

Don't give me too much credit for a statement I all but retracted after the first two games. Guess I wasn't as confident as I may have led you too believe.

I've enjoyed easedropping on you gentlemen's conversation and have been impressed by the depth of your understanding of the game. Not just the big things, but the little things.

Well, I guess preseason basketball starts in about a month, so it won't be long before this thread is current again.

Tracy

[udosuk]

I think we'll be talking about the World Basketball Championships in Japan soon...

According to this page the world ranking in men's basketball is like this:

Men rankings (top 20)

1. USA 832.2
2. Serbia & Montenegro 708.0
3. Argentina 700.0
4. Lithuania 460.0
5. Spain 439.0
6. Italy 433.0
7. Russia 362.0
8. Greece 304.0
9. Australia 279.0
10. France 273.0
11. Puerto Rico 247.6
12. Canada 231.0
13. Germany 227.0
14. China 209.0
15. Brazil 203.0
16. New Zealand 178.0
17. Angola 156.0
18. Turkey 129.0
19. Croatia 125.0
20. Venezuela 99.6

I am quite surprise to see France, Canada, Germany, China, Brazil, etc. with their NBA super stars, are ranked below Australia... Guess they're measuring teamwork more than star power...

[Hud]

I have to agree that in the World Championships, teamwork cancels out individual star power. I'd really like to see a top flight US College team like whomever won the NCAA Tournament, play for the US in this. As it is now with the so called "dream teams", winning is expected, and losing is laughable.

[TKiel]

As it is now with the so called "dream teams", winning is expected, and losing is laughable.

...and teamwork is almost non-existant.

Tracy

[Hud]

Tracy, I just heard a nationwide sports radio guy talking about Ben Wallace, his work ethic, and his value to a team. I hope he can stay in Detroit, but it is a business, and a million dollars here and there can add up to real money.

It looks like Chicago is seriously trying to become a title contender again.

My wife mentioned that a pool collapsed like yours when we lived in Baltimore. It wasn't our pool by the way.

When I was around 16, I caught a bunch of carp and the guy who was to take them wasn't around. I tried throwing them back into the creek, but it was too far away, and the fish landed on a road. When I got to the last carp, I recalled that a family several blocks away had a 10 or 12 foot dia pool in their yard and I threw the 12" carp into it. He was swimming around happily when I checked him a little later. I'd love to know what they said next morning.

[udosuk]

I'd love to know what they said next morning.

Mmm... Yummy!

[TKiel]

Mmm... Yummy!

LOL!!

[Hud]

I just heard that Ben Wallace did indeed take the offer from the Bulls. I heard another sports guy state that he wasn't a total superstar due to his offensive problems. I suppose one could say the same thing about Nash due to his poor defense. I wonder what effect his departure will have on the Pistons? I'm sure he'll make the Bulls even more of a tough defensive team.
Our local Phoenix press is pooh-poohing Tim Thomas's departure. I kinda agree with them as long as Amare anc Kurt return healthy for the whole season.
I wonder what kind of rabbit D'Antoni will pull out of his hat as far as getting a back-up point guard?

[udosuk]

The Pistons just got Nazr Mohammad from San Antonio to replace Big Ben...

And the Suns did sign a veteran Cezch player (Piatkowski or something like that)... But I reckon he'll spend most time on the bench, given D'Antoni's coaching style...

If they get a back-up point guard, I wonder that will be much significant, as D'Antoni will probably play Nash for 47 minutes every game (in playoff time)...

[Hud]

In today's paper, there's a report that Phoenix Suns might sign Romain Sato as a backup point guard. He was a 2d round pick by the Spurs in 04 and claims he learned much from The Spur's guards. If Nash stays healthy, we don't need much insurance, but who knows what could happen?

[udosuk]

Before the championships... Let's play a game... I've always wonder if we pick an international all-star team against the "team USA" who would be stronger... If I could pick the international team, I could have:

Starters:
PG: Steve Nash (Canada)
SG: Manu Ginobili (Argentina)
SF: Predrag Stojakovic (Serbia and Montenegro)
PF: Dirk Nowitzki (Germany)
C: Yao Ming (China)

Backups:
PG: Tony Parker (France)
G: Sarunas Jasikevicius (Lithuania)
F: Andrei Kirilenko (Russia)
F: Vladimir Radmanovic (Serbia and Montenegro)
F/C: Boris Diaw (France)
F/C: Pau Gasol (Spain)
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Lithuania)

You think it's good enough to beat USA? I could have added some young guys like Andrew Bogut (Australia), Nenad Krstic & Darko Milicic (both Serbia and Montenegro), Leandro Barbosa (Brazil) etc. but I decided experience is more important...