The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[Hud]

On paper, we could probably come up with a slightly better team of U.S. players, but the games aren't played on paper. One key area is who would coach the international team?

PG Jason Kidd
SG Kobe Bryant
SF (gotta think about that one)
PF Tim Duncan
C Shaq

Subs:
PG Billips
SG Wade
SF Shawn Marion
PF Amare or Rasheed
C Ben Wallace (did he really get $16m per year from Da Bulls?)

Sorry about the lack of thought I put into this, but I'll think about it further.

I'd also like to see D'Antoni coach these guys to see how he would handle them.

[udosuk]

I think Lebron James is a good enough starting SF for you...

Vince Carter is another choice...

D'Antoni being an Italian is obliged to coach the international team (he knows how to use Steve Nash)... You guys can have Pat Riley or Avery Johnson...

I'm surprised you pick Kobe ahead of Wade...

[Hud]

I wasn't thinking very clearly this morning. James is obviously a starter. I still take Kobe v Wade (did you get that?) since he's been great longer, and his defense might also be better. Is D'Antoni Italian? I really must do more research. If he can coach the Intl team, I like their chances. I suppose I'd have to take Riley since he too has been around longer than Avery Johnson. I'm not a Vince Carter Fan. I haven't seen much of him since he's seldom on TV out here, and I don't recall seeing him in playoff games either.

OK, I Wiki'd D'Antoni and he was born in West Virginia. I thought I detected somewhat of a Southern Accent. He did play and coach for many years in Italy though. I claim him to coach my hard to coach U.S. Team

[udosuk]

Okay you can have D'Antoni. We'll take Larry Brown since he isn't wanted in your country anyway...

Vince Carter has been shining in New Jersey and frequently scores 40+ points, even in playoff time... He didn't play great against the Heat though...

I'm quite surprised how you guys' views on the NBA are based so much on TV coverage... We get all the news & recaps from the internet so maybe we have a more "comprehensive" view than yours...

And you didn't even mention Tracy McGrady... He's been pretty injured alright but should be much healthier now... It's long been conjectured that Lebron, T-Mac, Kobe & Wade are the best 4 "scoring aces" these days (not in that order)... You know who's 5th? Gilbert Arena from Washington... Allen Iverson, great as he is, is reduced to "nobody wants to play with" status now...

(More thoughts)
Carmelo Anthony/Michael Redd/Jason Terry/Rip Hamilton/Ray Allen/Elton Brand/Kevin Garnett all unpicked...
It feels heartwarming that Jason Kidd & Shaq, after all those years, still make it on your starting list... I would have picked Grant Hill too had him played more the past season... It would be strange to see Kobe & Shaq play together as starters though...

[Hud]

I really think that watching/following the Suns clouds my judgement. I think the most I watch eastern teams is during the playoffs, and I got to thinking yesterday that Carter was playing for the Nets in the playoffs. I also believe the U.S. team will be more highly motivated this time around, but I wonder if Coach K can handle them? I'm looking forward to the World Games and don't want anymore lackluster performances. Amare has been runnig and running his mouth a lot lately. I hope he can back some of it up come crucnh time.

Did you get my drift re: the "Kobe v Wade" remark?

In case you didn't (which is unlikely, but possible), The right for women to have abortions in this country was settled in a court case, called "Roe v Wade" by the supreme court. Our all knowing conservatives have dedicated their lives to overtuning the decision. Sorry to stray into politics, but at least I twisted a NBA post into it.

[udosuk]

I really didn't catch your remark... It was the first time I heard about "Roe v Wade" actually (believe it or not)... Guess American History is not my favourite subject...

Australia did have a similar issue recently, about an abortion drug called RU-486 (see this link)...

I don't think I have any personal opinion about this matter...

Back to our "fantasy game"... I think our (international) starting five could match yours (USA)... Nash + Dirk should hold a slightly edge to the old-buddy duo of Kidd + Duncan... Shaq has been beating Yao up in the last few years, but he's getting older & older and Yao's growing better & better, so I'll say they're even now (with a 100% healthy Yao)... Kobe/Wade + Lebron is too much to stop if they're both "on song", So Ginobili + Stojakovic better play the game of their lives (need a lot of 3s from Stojakovic)... If I'm the coach I might consider to promote Kirilenko to starting SF to strengthen up the D if I decide to let Nash+Dirk run the major offense...

Ah I see, defense is not your cup of tea Hud, seeing you didn't want Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest in your team...

[Hud]

Ah, Ron Artest; I hadn't even considered him. He would definitely strengthen the D. I couldn't help but speculate how he would have toughened up the Sun's almost nonexistant D at times this year. There weren't many teams who would give Artest another chance this season after some of his antics the last couple seasons. Before the episode of going into the stands after a cup thrower, he asked to be excused for a month (I believe) the previous season to promote his CD.

[udosuk]

From this wiki page we got some more info about this guy...

During his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, he was subject to criticism for applying for a job at Circuit City, just to get an employee discount...

This part amazes me... I don't think any NBA players would do that sort of things...

[Hud]

That was an interesting article. I hadn't heard the Circuit City Story before. There have been similar stories about very highly paid athletes pulling nickle and dime scams to save a couple bucks. One that comes to mind is about a player using a stolen cellular phone to make international calls.

I hadn't heard of Wikipedia until someone on this cite referred to it in answer to my first censored post. I find it much more userfriendly than some of the commercially available computer encyclopedias. I also never hear Wiki mentioned in this country, but it must be widely used. I'll have to ask my daughter who Googles prospective friends (male) if she's heard of it.

Amare update: Reports still rave about his remanufactured knee. The hunt for a backup point guard continues. Maybe Diana Taurasi (sp) would fit in?

[udosuk]

Before I've speculated a lady would some day play in NBA... But perhaps not Diana... It has to be some phenomenal girl who could shoot 90% on 3s...

[udosuk]

This is not about NBA, but news has that Cleveland Indians from the MLB has signed a 16-year-old kid called Jason Smit from Perth, Western Australia... I wonder how long he has to wait before being allowed to play in the big leagues...

Just checked the standings, the D-backs have sunk to the bottom of the ladder (in NL West)... But they're still better than all-but-one team in NL East... Must be very tough competition...

Detroit Tigers with the overall lead at the moment... Very surprising...

[Hud]

I suppose that legally (as if the major leagues care about legalities), Cleveland could play a 16 year old, but usually they prefer to have them do several years in the minor leagues first. Now if the kid throws 100mph (I promised Cec that I'd try to post metric equivalencies), is that 160km?, and can find the plate, they would speed up the process. During WW2, a 14 year old played in the majors. I'm pretty sure it was Joe Nuxall (sp).

The D-backs have hit a very rough patch and they try to heap the blame on the owner for making a distasteful comment about Luis Gonzales's 57 homerun year. These guys are supposed to be major leaguers, so there's no excuse imo. Luckily, they play in another weak division, so all isn't lost. There's speculation the the world series will be between Boston and the NY Mets. I could live with that since I hate the Yankees.

The Suns are taking fire for not filling any holes in their roster. The Tim Thomas deal is also puzzling, but I have problems with his attitude at times. He seemed ok with the Suns, but the Bulls sure gave up on him previously. I guess you can see, and have previously noted, that I'm a big character and chemistry guy when it comes to sport.

Sorry about the ramble, but I must mention how Roger Clemens (of the Houston Astros) has cleaned up his act. I used to hate him mostly due to him having played for the Yankees, but also for the episodes with Mike Piazza some years ago. I saw a game vs the Astros 2 years ago, and he spent the entire game standing next to the manager on the dugout steps. He didn't pitch, but the players really hustled and I believe his example helped.

[udosuk]

That kid Jason Smit is an infielder not a pitcher... However I know many young highschool pitchers were wastefully spent when played too much too early in their age... In Japan where the Koshien highschool baseball tournaments are so huge, some of the kids have to pitch like 27 highly strung innings (200-300 pitches) in 2 days...

The guy you talked about is Joe Nuxhall, who played for the Cincinnati Reds as a 15-year-old...

I speculate that the Suns had too many big transactions in the last few seasons and the cash problems have caught up with them...

The Rocket is always one of my favourite... I wonder which one between him and Big Unit will get more Ks at the end (probably won't exceed Nolan Ryan though)... And how about Kenny Rogers who moved to Detroit and is enjoying great success... Perhaps Detroit could still get a championship after all the disappointment in NBA & NHL...

[Hud]

udosuk (I hope I'm not the one who posted, "udosuck"),
I don't know if you've followed the Sun's pursuit of a backup point guard to fill in for Steve Nash? They tried to get Salmon (don't recall his first name), but he rejected their offer and appeared to accept a higher one from Toronto. The Suns then signed another guy ( was it Banks", I don't recall) and said he was a better fit than Salmon anyway. It sounded like positive spin, but I don't really know who is better. Anyway, next thing is Salmon got cold feet about signing with Toronto, and the last I heard, he is unsigned.

I saw Steve Nash on the sports on TV, and thought he was Jason Kidd. He had shaved his head, but will probably grow back his signature hair asap.

It seems funny watching our so called superstars vying for a place on the national team. Shawn Marion may not make it due to injuries (supposedly). I didn't realize that Mike D'Antoni is an assistant on the team.

I have a who/what am I for you. Since it's sports related, I won't post it on the general forum:

1. Terrific piece of wood
2. Almost absolutely cool
3. #9
4. Called twice
5. missing something

What am I?

[udosuk]

Being an active basketball player, I've always been believing that a shaved head/short hairdo helps the game... Perhaps it's the lighter weight on the head, or the baldness helps easing out the air friction when the body elevate... Many great NBA stars have proved this - Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Shaq, etc...

But of course, there are also players with long hair/locks that excel too, e.g. Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Ben Wallace...

About your riddle, not really committed to it yet... Is it a baseball slugger like Sammy Sosa, who has a "terrific piece of wood" inside his bat? (Don't know if he wear #9 or not...)