The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[Hud]

That was a sad story about Stuart Appleby's wife awhile back. It was great how the other golfers rallied around him then, and you could tell the feelings were genuine. I know you realize I had tongue-in-cheek when talking about golfers wives. Most of them should be on the trophy shelf with the other winnings. Our news media refers to Baddeley as Australian.

I forgot to mention that there was an article about Sun Ming Ming in the paper the other day. He's now playing in a minor pro league in the states (in Maryland I believe). He still has aspirations of playing in the NBA, but as you once pointed out, his growth being from a pituitary condition probably isn't good. I never thought Manute Bol (no pituitary involvement I think) was very good when he played, but he has done good works since his retirement.

[udosuk]

Here is an article I read about Appleby... You'll be glad to know that he had got over the tragedy and remarried... It's a pretty long story though, and would make a pretty nice Hollywood romantic film...

I was following Ming Ming's development a bit too from here... He signed with the Maryland Nighthawks of the ABA (the new one, not the old one where Dr. J played)... And in here you can find a photo of him holding the ball, which looked like a tennis ball in his hands...

And it seems Nash has injured his shoulder in the victory against the Nuggets, which also missed Iverson and Camby... I hope Nash hadn't jeopardized his All-star weekend... Luckily for them this month's schedule isn't too harsh for Nash/Raja/Kurt's recoveries... Better now than later...



About Cricket:

I think tarek can finally get excited to talk about the "c" word now... I speculated the Aussies deliberately gave the match to England to avoid facing the Kiwis in the final, but that England actually pulled off the miracle still surprised me a little bit... Consider how close it was for NZ to blow it at the end... If any of the last 3 matches' results had gone the other way they wouldn't have been eliminated... And now the Barmy Army can stay in the land of Oz for a bit longer...

[Hud]

I liked the article about Stuart Appleby. You're right, it would make a nice movie. Now we have to cast it. Maybe we could get Brad Pitt to play him?

I hope Nash's shoulder isn't too badly hurt. I'd like to see him take the time off during the all star break and maybe this will give him a reason to. He wasn't too keen on playing in the "skills" part anyway, but was obligated by the labor agreement with the league. Tonight's game against the Blazers will go badly if the Suns underestimate them.

The Rockets navigated the 5 game stretch as I thought they would (4-1). They seem to be hitting a nice stride especially on defense.

Ming Ming looks pretty good on the photo. I thought he looked pretty skinny and almost frail on the Oprah Tour Special awhile back.

[udosuk]

It seems Nash could miss the All-star weekend, as well as AI... So perhaps we'll have as many as 4 replacement spots up for grabs in the West...

The Rockets seem to be warming up for the double clashes against the Mavs (twice in a week)... For the Suns sake I'm sure you'll be wishing them well...

The Suns ability to pull out tight games (like today's OT win against the Blazers) is truly amazing... They say they're the only team so far which hasn't lost by double digits the whole season (remember the Mavs was crushed by 31 to the Rockets)... So they have been able to stay close to opponents until the clutch (if not posting a big lead), and more often than not pull it out at the end... Let's see if this ability stays with them in the playoffs...

[mikejapan]

As I said on Djape's site, I've been away in the UK for a short break and have now just returned. As people have been writing about me in my absence, I'd like to say a few words.

Hud
Thanks for your nice PM

Emm
You're a sweeite-pie but prone to gross exaggeration.

Udosuk
I don't appreciate being called a mean, insensitive rascist by someone who is supposedly against offensive personal attacks. Nothing I had written warranted such an over-the-top response.

You left me with two options. I could have ripped into you but, contrary to your popular belief, I am quite a nice guy, so instead I chose a dignified withdrawal.

Please don't ever do that again because next time I guarentee I won't be so restrained.

[Hud]

Mike, welcome back. I hope you stick around awhile.

The Suns did everything but lose last night's game. I read that a guy on the Blazers blew a layup with 1.5 seconds left in regulation. The Suns will be in dire trouble when or if Nash gets badly injured. I will be rooting for the Rockets against the Mavs. I predict that they'll split the 2 games.

[udosuk]

Well done the England cricket team! Paul Collingwood is surely a great player! Cec, I'm sure you enjoyed the match, as I know you always like exciting thrillers...

From the Australian team's standpoint I'm sure they'd appreciate a couple losses as a wake-up call for the upcoming big tournament...

[Cec]

"Well done the England cricket team! Paul Collingwood is surely a great player! Cec, I'm sure you enjoyed the match, as I know you always like exciting thrillers... :.."

Yes, this was a great victory for the English team. I actually tipped the "Aussies" would lose this match as both England and New Zealand are playing better and Australia was probably due for a loss after such an extraordinary run of winning. McGrath had a "shocker" and perhaps should have retired at the same time Langer and Warne retired. Stuart Clark, who was omitted by the selectors from this match, showed his thoughts by returning his best bowling figures of 8 for 58 in the Pura Cup match.
Paul Collingwood's effort with good support from Bell, was outstanding. I hope he sends a mobile phone call to Shane Warne that his OBE was justified. Should be an interesting second final tomorrow at the Sydney Cricket Ground. I'll be changing the TV knob from cricket to golf after Karrie Webb's course record 62 today to lead the Australian Masters after the third round.

Cec

[udosuk]

And Lleyton Hewitt lost to an unknown Belgium player in Davis Cup 1st round... I think it could be the bad karma for what he did to Kim Clijsters...

The "Aussies" did lose to England last Friday too... So technically they're in a 2-match losing streak to England while England is on a 3-match winning streak overall (including the win against NZ)... I won't be surprised if Australia lose tomorrow too... It'd surely fire them up for the World Cup... Better to lose now than next month...

[Hud]

The Suns aren't the same team or even close without Nash. I didn't like Nash saying that if they were playing a good team last night, he would play. I didn't see any of the game, but where was the defense? Amare and Marion both fouled out so maybe that hurt the D? I expected the Rockets to stay closer against the Mavs also. I think it'll be a lot different when they play at home.

The east seems to be getting better, and the best teams seem to be finding their strides. I really like the Pistons better than any others, and the Raptors are playing well also. The Raptors have a Phoenix connection with Brian Collangelo being involved with them now. I don't think Danny Ainge will be around very long in Boston.

[udosuk]

The Rockets bounced back by beating the Bobcats by about the same margin the Mavs did them... I think being at home also helps them greatly... Yao could be back before the end of this month and I hope it only takes them a week or so to re-adjust... But from the past few games it seemed whenever T-Mac shared the ball with other players they often win... So perhaps the adjustment is not as difficult as we imagine...

The Pistons beat the Raptors tonight... I think the Pistons are among the elites in the league right now but a big worry for them is that Rasheed Wallace has accumulated 15 Tech fouls and will be suspended a game for any 2 Tech fouls from now on... At the rate he is going right now (1 Tech foul each game), he'll miss a game after every two, and will miss 1/3 of the remaining games in the schedule... And it continues in the playoffs too... I think they need him for every game against the Wizards or the Heat to win a series...

They say Boston is tanking games to make sure they get one of the top 2 picks in the next draft (2 great players are in it)... But they're playing some great teams in this span, so the losing streak can continue for a while... I believe Danny Ainge is another player with a Suns-connection?

The Suns next play the Bulls, and I reckon if Nash doesn't play they're in danger of losing another one...


Cricket:

The England team defeated Australia soundly in the finals, which like I said isn't too surprising... At least it gives Australia a chance to re-assess their lineup, and make the changes required (such as Stuart Clark as Cec suggested)... It's nice that Glenn McGrath got a wicket in the last ball he bowled on Australian soil, but I'd say it's appropriate he retires right now...


Added later:

Arenas has made a clown out of himself big time... He said he was gonna score 50 pts against the Blazers to avenge Nate MacMillan's involvement in him being dropped in Team USA, but was contained to 9 lousy pts... Hud, you should be glad to see this development...

And the Suns lost to the Bulls by 13 without Nash & Diaw... It's the first time they lost in double digits the whole season... So 2 things are shown: Nash is truly the MVP he deserves, and the Suns' lack of depth is a real worry in the playoffs... I think they had 2 players fouled out, and 3 players on 5 fouls...

Also, Shawn Marion seems to be in some sort of offensive slump... Perhaps he's focusing on defense, or he really can't score without Nash's passing...

[Cec]

Cricket:
"....It's nice that Glenn McGrath got a wicket in the last ball he bowled on Australian soil, but I'd say it's appropriate he retires right now..."

Although McGrath put in a "shocker" in the first final as I previously mentioned I thought he bowled reasonably well in the second final taking two wickets for 42 from his ten overs. I feel Lee is letting Australia down spending too much time "eye-balling" and mouthing off the batsmen and looking at his replays on the big screen. He took one wicket for 53 runs plus two no-balls and five wides which is effectively 60 runs from his ten overs. Our prime batsmen (Hayden (5), Ponting (7), Clarke (0) and Hussey (0) only managed twelve runs between them with Clarke again failing with the bat or should I say another "Bingle". I agree the loss has shaken the team up and better now rather than in the coming World Cup.

I'm sure Tarek feels better after England's great fightback to win the Final 2 Nil

Cec

[udosuk]

Cec,

Personally I think Lee's style could be useful in the World Cup against other batsmen... The English players have pretty much got used to him at the end of the series... And I wonder would McGrath perform as well on foreign pitches, with the crowd against him? But Stuart Clark should be their #1 fast bowler as of now...

[Cec]

udosuk,

As you probably gather, I'm not over impressed with Lee's bowling statistics, notwithstanding he has produced some good performances as opposed to many not so good performances, being hit around for too many runs. As well as Stuart Clark, the bowler I like is Shaun Tate (Tait?) who has tremendous speed and swing albeit sometimes losing his control with wides. I find it disappointing that with all his experience, Lee has still not been able to control his run-up to reduce his "no-balls" by not stepping over the mark. It should be interesting to see how Lee performs overseas in the coming World Cup.

Cec

[Hud]

Udosuk, I did have to chuckle when I saw Arenas' Stats against Portland. I guess he didn't give very many "habachis" in the game. I believe he was 0 for 8 from 3 point land.

I'll bet Shawn Marion's game is more dependant on Nash than I thought. I watched the first half of the game last night and the Bulls must have licked their chops to get at the Suns sans Nash. They shot very well in the first half also. D'Antoni must start playing more players even when Nash returns. Banks is looking like a decent player. Burke is a stiff and shouldn't be on the team. He shot a 3 and hit the back of the backboard from the corner, and another time he inbounded over a Bull and the guy jumped up and caught it. The announcers said maybe that's why he doesn't play much. I hope the fouls start decreasing. The Bulls shot 40 FTs. Please, oh basketball gods, don't let Nash play in the all star festivities.

Edit: I was just listening to a local sports talk show and they mentioned that Shawn Marion and Raja Bell both need a play maker to score well. Barbosa and Amare can create their own shots. Banks isn't a good enough assist man to get them involved. Diaw is the second best assist man on the team and he's down for a bit. As you probably know, Steve Nash is out for the Sonic Game and the all star game. At least some prayers are answered. Now, if it only would turn out that I'm the father of Anna Nicolle Smith's kid, I'll be in fat city.