Sports talk (formerly NBA talk)
by udosuk » Thu Feb 01, 2007 3:45 am
Wow, perhaps I should declare I'm quitting this forum too...
For the record, personally I appreciate Mike's puzzles and his graphical creativity, and admire his musical knowledge... It's a shame he decided to stop posting all together instead of restraining a bit on the joking about others...
Hud, the Jazz has lost their best player Carlos Boozer to injury for 4-6 weeks, and Iverson is set to miss a couple more games with his ankle... If the Spurs get another injury on Duncan/Ginobili/Parker tonight then the Suns would almost be guaranteed to win the next 3 games against Spurs/Jazz/Nuggets...
For the record, personally I appreciate Mike's puzzles and his graphical creativity, and admire his musical knowledge... It's a shame he decided to stop posting all together instead of restraining a bit on the joking about others...
Hud, the Jazz has lost their best player Carlos Boozer to injury for 4-6 weeks, and Iverson is set to miss a couple more games with his ankle... If the Spurs get another injury on Duncan/Ginobili/Parker tonight then the Suns would almost be guaranteed to win the next 3 games against Spurs/Jazz/Nuggets...
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by Hud » Thu Feb 01, 2007 4:37 am
The first half is over up in Salt Lake City and the Jazz should be up by 10 instead of down 2. They have been getting inside and drawing lots of fouls, but are missing many layups and many foul shots. At the other end of the court, the Spurs are finding open men in the corner for 3 pointers. I think the Suns know how to finish when they get inside like the Jazz are.
Speaking of injuries, I just cross my fingers that Nash/Marion/Amare don't get injured. If they were to lose Nash, I think they'd be a .500 team.
The last time I looked, the Sonics were giving the Rockets a tough game and the Mavs weren't very far ahead in their game either.
Gotta get back to the game. Kiki V is showing who he thinks will be the reserves in the all star game.
Edits: Kiki's reserves didn't look all that exciting. He had the 3 Suns that I wish would just be 2. I can't see 3 players from the same team in one of these games. When he was done, he remembered that he omitted Allen and Parker. The Jazz really played tough and showed what kind of team they are. They lack finesse, but never let up and keep pounding the ball inside. Now the Spurs are probably mad and will be out to get the Suns.
Speaking of injuries, I just cross my fingers that Nash/Marion/Amare don't get injured. If they were to lose Nash, I think they'd be a .500 team.
The last time I looked, the Sonics were giving the Rockets a tough game and the Mavs weren't very far ahead in their game either.
Gotta get back to the game. Kiki V is showing who he thinks will be the reserves in the all star game.
Edits: Kiki's reserves didn't look all that exciting. He had the 3 Suns that I wish would just be 2. I can't see 3 players from the same team in one of these games. When he was done, he remembered that he omitted Allen and Parker. The Jazz really played tough and showed what kind of team they are. They lack finesse, but never let up and keep pounding the ball inside. Now the Spurs are probably mad and will be out to get the Suns.
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by udosuk » Thu Feb 01, 2007 8:26 am
Ray Allen had an unbelievable night of offense, hitting jumpers after jumpers with double/triple teams guarding him (much like KG's game against the Suns)... Luckily for the Rockets T-Mac was equally hot, and he had more teammates to help him out... That's why I think Ray should get to be an All-star this year... But now with both Boozer and AI (and Yao) out, the Suns ought to have their big 3 included... The only ones whom I see can challenge Marion's spot are Zach Randolph from the Blazers and Marcus Camby from the Nuggets, but Marion is a class better than both of them... And now with AI out, I think Chris Paul (just recovered) could replace his spot...
The Spurs did have an injury, but it was Ginobili who got his nose crushed by Kobe's elbow a couple nights ago (Kobe got suspended a game for that)... So the Suns amazing run of facing every elite team with at least a key player out or hurt is intact...
The Spurs may be mad, but I wonder if they can stay with the Suns' pace after such a banged-up night in Utah with the Suns well-rested at home... My money's still on the Suns...
The Spurs did have an injury, but it was Ginobili who got his nose crushed by Kobe's elbow a couple nights ago (Kobe got suspended a game for that)... So the Suns amazing run of facing every elite team with at least a key player out or hurt is intact...
The Spurs may be mad, but I wonder if they can stay with the Suns' pace after such a banged-up night in Utah with the Suns well-rested at home... My money's still on the Suns...- udosuk
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by udosuk » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:53 am
It's all decided:
All-star rosters
The Suns trio all got in as expected (it'd be a sin to deny Marion the chance to play in his own college)... But Melo & Josh Howard have both missed out... It seems Marion has beaten Josh as speculated, and Tony Parker has beaten Melo for a better conduct, a better team performance and a better girlfriend... He did play great in the loss to the Jazz last night... With 2 replacements for Yao & Boozer to be picked by Stern, the hot choices would be Melo & Josh, and Ray Allen would probably miss it due to poor team success...
One thing that interests me is the clash of uniform-numbers... One of Duncan & KG will have to give up on his #21... And one of T-Mac & Amare will have to give up on his #1... Amare probably has to give way here but I wish he won't choose Yao's #11 instead...
The Spurs-Suns game is underway now... The Suns seem to be starting cold in offense but it's still very early... The Heat beat the Cavs in a thriller with another huge game from Wade... They are still a very dangerous team in the East despite their poor record...
Added after the game:
Just as I predicted, the Suns' energy was too much for the Spurs... Amare & Marion combined for 35 rebs and limited Duncan to 6/18 FGs, which is very impressive, and Barbosa had a great night of offense... The game was very close until the final 2 minutes where the Suns simply mowed over the Spurs for a 16-pt victory... Let's see if they can replicate tonight's effort against the Jazz...
All-star rosters
The Suns trio all got in as expected (it'd be a sin to deny Marion the chance to play in his own college)... But Melo & Josh Howard have both missed out... It seems Marion has beaten Josh as speculated, and Tony Parker has beaten Melo for a better conduct, a better team performance and a better girlfriend... He did play great in the loss to the Jazz last night... With 2 replacements for Yao & Boozer to be picked by Stern, the hot choices would be Melo & Josh, and Ray Allen would probably miss it due to poor team success...
One thing that interests me is the clash of uniform-numbers... One of Duncan & KG will have to give up on his #21... And one of T-Mac & Amare will have to give up on his #1... Amare probably has to give way here but I wish he won't choose Yao's #11 instead...
The Spurs-Suns game is underway now... The Suns seem to be starting cold in offense but it's still very early... The Heat beat the Cavs in a thriller with another huge game from Wade... They are still a very dangerous team in the East despite their poor record...
Added after the game:
Just as I predicted, the Suns' energy was too much for the Spurs... Amare & Marion combined for 35 rebs and limited Duncan to 6/18 FGs, which is very impressive, and Barbosa had a great night of offense... The game was very close until the final 2 minutes where the Suns simply mowed over the Spurs for a 16-pt victory... Let's see if they can replicate tonight's effort against the Jazz...
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by Hud » Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:41 pm
Last night's game went like many of the Suns' wins lately: They hung around for 3 quarters, then turned on the heat at the end. As usual, I didn't watch it. Ginobili always seems to have the Suns' number. Parker did play great in the game vs the Jazz. I hope that since Parker got named to the all star game, Eva Longoria will show up. There was a great article in yesterday's Arizona Republic about Parker and Diaw. They were room mates when they were 16 years old in France attending a sports related school. I suppose it was sports and academics. They continue to be great friends and I think that's great.
Just to see if anyone lurks here, here's a pretty good joke I just got. The end is somewhat predictable though:
On his trip to Great Britain, George Bush had a meeting with Queen Elizabeth. He asked her, "How does one manage to run a country so smoothlly?"
"That is easy," the Queen replied. "You surround yourself with intelligent ministers and advisors."
"But how can I tell whether they are intelligent?" he inquired.
"You ask them a riddle," she replied, and with that she pressed a button and said, "Would you please send in Tony Blair." The Queen asked the Prime Minister: "Your parents had a child and it was not your sister and it was not your brother. Who was this child?"
Blair replied, "That's easy. The child was me."
"Very good," said the Queen, "You may go, now."
So President Bush went back to Washington and called in his chief of staff, Karl Rove. He said to him, "I have a riddle for you, and the answer is very important. Your parents had a child and it was not your sister and it was not your brother. Who was this child ?"
Rove replied, "Yes, it is clearly very important that we determine the answer, as No Child Must Be Left Behind. Can I deliberate on this for a while?"
"Yes," said President Bush, "I'll give you four hours to come up with the answer."
So Mr. Rove went and called a meeting of the White House Staff. He asked them the riddle. After much discussion and many suggestions, none of the staff members had a satisfactory answer. Karl Rove was quite upset, not knowing what he would tell the President.
As Rove was walking back to the Oval Office, he saw former Secretary of State Colin Powell approaching him. So he said, "Mr. Secretary, can you answer this riddle for me. Your parents had a child and it was not your sister and it was not your brother. Who was the child?"
"That's easy," said Powell, "The child was me."
"Oh thank you," said Rove, "You may just have saved me my job!"
As the sun set slowly in the West, Mr. Rove went to the Oval Office and said to President Bush, "I think I know the answer to your riddle. The child was Colin Powell!"
"No, you idiot!" shouted President Bush. "The child was Tony Blair!"
Just to see if anyone lurks here, here's a pretty good joke I just got. The end is somewhat predictable though:
On his trip to Great Britain, George Bush had a meeting with Queen Elizabeth. He asked her, "How does one manage to run a country so smoothlly?"
"That is easy," the Queen replied. "You surround yourself with intelligent ministers and advisors."
"But how can I tell whether they are intelligent?" he inquired.
"You ask them a riddle," she replied, and with that she pressed a button and said, "Would you please send in Tony Blair." The Queen asked the Prime Minister: "Your parents had a child and it was not your sister and it was not your brother. Who was this child?"
Blair replied, "That's easy. The child was me."
"Very good," said the Queen, "You may go, now."
So President Bush went back to Washington and called in his chief of staff, Karl Rove. He said to him, "I have a riddle for you, and the answer is very important. Your parents had a child and it was not your sister and it was not your brother. Who was this child ?"
Rove replied, "Yes, it is clearly very important that we determine the answer, as No Child Must Be Left Behind. Can I deliberate on this for a while?"
"Yes," said President Bush, "I'll give you four hours to come up with the answer."
So Mr. Rove went and called a meeting of the White House Staff. He asked them the riddle. After much discussion and many suggestions, none of the staff members had a satisfactory answer. Karl Rove was quite upset, not knowing what he would tell the President.
As Rove was walking back to the Oval Office, he saw former Secretary of State Colin Powell approaching him. So he said, "Mr. Secretary, can you answer this riddle for me. Your parents had a child and it was not your sister and it was not your brother. Who was the child?"
"That's easy," said Powell, "The child was me."
"Oh thank you," said Rove, "You may just have saved me my job!"
As the sun set slowly in the West, Mr. Rove went to the Oval Office and said to President Bush, "I think I know the answer to your riddle. The child was Colin Powell!"
"No, you idiot!" shouted President Bush. "The child was Tony Blair!"
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by udosuk » Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:48 pm
tarek wrote:a very small "c" (smallest font) can be mentioned today
I suspect Australia deliberately lost that match (and gave England a bonus point) to squeeze NZ out of the finals... It's not the first time they apply the "stuff-the-Kiwis" strategy... (During the last World Cup they deliberately score runs at a very slow rate against the West Indies to give the latter an edge in the net run rate so that NZ would get eliminated... Not sure if that ploy was successful though...)
BTW great joke Hud... The elements are old but with the particular characters it plays out to a hilarious effect...
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by Hud » Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:05 pm
I just saw some highlights from the Suns/Spurs last night. On one play, Ginobili drove to the hoop and kneed Amare right in his package. Amare considered going after him, but cool heads prevailed. Now I wonder what happened between Gino and Kobe? Too bad the Suns don't have "The Mailman" on its team.
On the surface, I can't see how the Jazz can possibly stay with the Suns tonight. I think their only chance is to really slow the game down, and pound the ball inside. It was nice to see the Suns outrebound a good team last night.
On the surface, I can't see how the Jazz can possibly stay with the Suns tonight. I think their only chance is to really slow the game down, and pound the ball inside. It was nice to see the Suns outrebound a good team last night.
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by udosuk » Sat Feb 03, 2007 2:08 am
I read about that play too... It's hard to prove that Ginobili did that deliberately, but Amare was assessed a Tech Foul for "putting a hand to Ginobili's face"...
I think Raja Bell is the Suns' "Mailman"... Remember what he did against the Lakers (Kobe in particular) in the last playoffs... But I don't oppose to a bit of roughness in the game... Last night Lebron "high tackled" Wade to the floor, and there was not much love loss between the two...
Speaking of which, the Superbowl is on tomorrow... I think the Bears have a chance to upset the Colts... But I suspect you're supporting the Colts because of the Baltimore connection...
I think Raja Bell is the Suns' "Mailman"... Remember what he did against the Lakers (Kobe in particular) in the last playoffs...
But I don't oppose to a bit of roughness in the game... Last night Lebron "high tackled" Wade to the floor, and there was not much love loss between the two...Speaking of which, the Superbowl is on tomorrow... I think the Bears have a chance to upset the Colts... But I suspect you're supporting the Colts because of the Baltimore connection...
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by Hud » Sat Feb 03, 2007 2:48 am
We're getting wall-to-wall news about the Super Bowl. I am for the Colts, but it's mostly by default. Chicago is creeping up on my most hated city of teams list mostly due to the fact that every other person in Arizona is from there and you would wonder why they ever left if it's so great. When the Colts played the Ravens a couple weeks ago, I was for the Ravens. Whenever the AZ Cardinals play the Bears, Green Bay, or Pittsburg their fans come out of the wookwork and make the games home games away from home for their teams. I can see them having their hometeam as their second team, but not their first when they live here. Maybe it's a homer thing since the Cardinals suck. It used to be the same at Suns games against the Lakers, Celtics, and Knicks but now that the Suns are winning, they've all become Suns Fans.
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by udosuk » Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:48 pm
The Rockets lost to the Hornets in an ugly game... Their PG Alston was ejected with Hornet's Desmond Mason over a hard foul on T-Mac, which I wonder had a big effect on the result (Mason is a pretty important player for the Hornets too)... The Rockets could definitely have used Alston's 3-pt shooting (all the other shooters except T-Mac went for 5/22 on 3s)... But in games like this they'd probably fought better if Yao was there (Mutombo in replacing Yao had 0 pts/6 rebs while the team was outrebounded 49-36)...
The Jazz had proven themselves as a legitimate contender in beating Spurs & Suns with Carlos Boozer out... They didn't outrebound the Suns, and didn't have a better FG% or 3P%... I think the most telling stat was the FT% (Suns 19/27 or .704 to Jazz 16/18 or .889)... Diaw missed 2 crucial FTs in the last seconds which could have tied the game...
I think another key factor was Nash's defense against Deron Williams (28 pts, 10 asts, 12/17 FGs). With Raja Bell out Nash's weak D was totally exposed and Barbosa couldn't help much... And Shawn Marion had a quiet night (4 pts on 2/7 FGs before fouling out)... I suspect it had something to do with AK47's defensive ability...
Their PG Alston was ejected with Hornet's Desmond Mason over a hard foul on T-Mac, which I wonder had a big effect on the result (Mason is a pretty important player for the Hornets too)... The Rockets could definitely have used Alston's 3-pt shooting (all the other shooters except T-Mac went for 5/22 on 3s)... But in games like this they'd probably fought better if Yao was there (Mutombo in replacing Yao had 0 pts/6 rebs while the team was outrebounded 49-36)...The Jazz had proven themselves as a legitimate contender in beating Spurs & Suns with Carlos Boozer out... They didn't outrebound the Suns, and didn't have a better FG% or 3P%... I think the most telling stat was the FT% (Suns 19/27 or .704 to Jazz 16/18 or .889)... Diaw missed 2 crucial FTs in the last seconds which could have tied the game...
I think another key factor was Nash's defense against Deron Williams (28 pts, 10 asts, 12/17 FGs). With Raja Bell out Nash's weak D was totally exposed and Barbosa couldn't help much... And Shawn Marion had a quiet night (4 pts on 2/7 FGs before fouling out)... I suspect it had something to do with AK47's defensive ability...
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by Hud » Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:56 pm
I read that the Suns didn't come out with much intensity. If so, I don't know why. They made a go at winning the game late, but The Jazz free throw defense was pretty good. I'm hoping it'll be a wakeup call for the next time they play.
The Rockets are a hard team to figure, but the Hornets aren't patsies. There was an article in today's paper speculating that when Yao comes back, T-Mac will have to be more involved in the offense than he was early in the season. I'm sure they'll have an adjustment period to go through.
The Rockets are a hard team to figure, but the Hornets aren't patsies. There was an article in today's paper speculating that when Yao comes back, T-Mac will have to be more involved in the offense than he was early in the season. I'm sure they'll have an adjustment period to go through.
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by Hud » Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:25 am
I just finished watching the end of the FBR Open Golf Tournament in Scottsdale. I was thinking, Oh no, not another Aussie Golfer (Aaron Baddeley) to see win a tournament, but I just found out he was born in the US. He must have moved to Melbourne to be near his Uncle Cec at a young age since he does still has his accent. Another thing that bothers me is why can't these pro golfers get prettier wives? We didn't get around to attending this year mostly because no one offered us free tickets. The weather wasn't all that great either til today. Now it's off to watch the Super Bowl. Hope it's a good one and the refs don't try to decide the game like last year.
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by udosuk » Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:43 pm
So the Colts won... I watched for about one and a half quarters and although the Bears were still leading I could sense they're in trouble as their offense started to stall and couldn't get the first downs... But you should have enjoyed it despite the rain, as the refs didn't have too much impact on the results...
Aaron Baddeley, despite being an Aussie in nationality, is born in USA and "lives" in Scottsdale, Arizona 11 months a year... So to me he's more American (and Arizonian) than he's Australian to you... To be honest I don't care much about him... As I don't care much about most other Aussie (male) golfers...
As for pro golfers' wives, I've never seen Baddeley's... Perhaps that's because he hasn't played well in Australia in the last 5 years... But speaking of this topic the only golfer's wife whose story interests me is Stuart Appleby's first wife Renay, who used to be his caddie on tour and died in a freak car accident in the pickup area outside a UK train station...
The Suns and the Jazz will play their last regular season game on April 14... By then the Suns could have Raja Bell and Kurt Thomas back in a healthy full team (if they're lucky), but the Jazz also could add Carlos Boozer to the current lineup... I wonder what would happen if the Suns play the Jazz in the playoffs with the home advantage, but having been swept 4-0 in the season series...
Now that the Suns' W-L record fell behind the Mavs, people are starting to rave about the Suns having 3 All-stars to the Mavs' 1... It's hard to say the Mavs are definitely a better team than the Suns (despite the 2-0 head to head) but I feel Marion might not have beaten out Josh if the game was not staged in Las Vegas... Let's hope he won't disappear in the All-star game like he did against the Jazz...
Aaron Baddeley, despite being an Aussie in nationality, is born in USA and "lives" in Scottsdale, Arizona 11 months a year... So to me he's more American (and Arizonian) than he's Australian to you... To be honest I don't care much about him... As I don't care much about most other Aussie (male) golfers...
As for pro golfers' wives, I've never seen Baddeley's... Perhaps that's because he hasn't played well in Australia in the last 5 years...
But speaking of this topic the only golfer's wife whose story interests me is Stuart Appleby's first wife Renay, who used to be his caddie on tour and died in a freak car accident in the pickup area outside a UK train station...The Suns and the Jazz will play their last regular season game on April 14... By then the Suns could have Raja Bell and Kurt Thomas back in a healthy full team (if they're lucky), but the Jazz also could add Carlos Boozer to the current lineup... I wonder what would happen if the Suns play the Jazz in the playoffs with the home advantage, but having been swept 4-0 in the season series...
Now that the Suns' W-L record fell behind the Mavs, people are starting to rave about the Suns having 3 All-stars to the Mavs' 1... It's hard to say the Mavs are definitely a better team than the Suns (despite the 2-0 head to head) but I feel Marion might not have beaten out Josh if the game was not staged in Las Vegas... Let's hope he won't disappear in the All-star game like he did against the Jazz...
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