Tough Guy

Ladies Man

Man’s Man

There are plenty of tough guys like Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, Sylvester Stallone.

There are plenty of ladies men, pretty boys like Robert Redford, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise.

But there aren’t a lot of men’s men.  This is a short list.  My definition of a man’s man is a tough guy who chicks really, really dig.  Here’s my top five:

1.      Clark Cable

2.      Sean Connery

3.      Clint Eastwood

4.      Steve McQueen

5.      Humphrey Bogart

6.       Mark Wahlberg (courtesy of GOG)

7.       John Travolta ( as per PBT)

8.       Burt Reynolds (courtesy of Petr Johan) temporary, needs more support

9.       Kevin Costner (courtesy of Shaky Spider) temporarily on list. Needs some support

What about the current generation?  I’m scratching my head frankly.

Bruce Willis?  Matt Damon? Daniel Craig? (thanks, Southern Lion).  Don't know.

Please feel free to chime in with any men’s men I’ve left out, or how you define a man's man.

OK based on the below comments so far, I'm admitting the following actors to the Man's Man club:

Robert Downey Jr. (courtesty of Southern Lion)

Liam Neeson (courtesy of Southern Lion & Shaky Spider)

Jim Brown (courtesy of PBT)

Al Pacino (courtesy of PBT)

First stop? February 22, 1959. It's the first Daytona 500. Actually it's called The 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes. Only $8 to get in but there's no bathrooms yet so don't be drinking too much. Qualifying pole speed was 143.198 mph and that was without a restrictor plate. Compare that to Carl Edwards pole speed from Saturday the 18th at 194.738 mph with a restrictor plate. The fans at the track, all 41,921 of them got to see a photo finish after 3 hours and 41 minutes of racing. It took 3 days for NASCAR to declare Lee Petty the winner over Johnny Beauchamp.

Fast forward to 1968. Cale Yarborough is in his #21 Wood Brothers Mercury. He has a faulty transformer but Glenn Wood is able to switch one out and only lose a lap and a half doing it. A pair of 3 car accidents and some expert driving gets Cale back up to 3rd with 40 to go. He's having over heating issues now but a peek at his pit stall as he drives by lets him see Glenn Wood holding a pit board stating there's 6 laps to go. Cale sling shots past LeeRoy Yarborough and takes the checkered flag and victory.

On to 1976 and heading into turn 3 is Petty and Pearson. They're fighting hard and Petty dives to the inside and sticks it just for a second but shoots up the track and into Pearson who hits the wall hard and spins down into the grass. Petty looks as though he's going to save it but nope. He too hits the wall and stalls the car. Pearson never stalled and limps on to the finish line for the win. Petty's crew tries to push start him but the car never refires.

On to 1979. It's the first live flag to flag broadcast of The Daytona 500. Early on on lap 32 Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison and Donnie Allison get into a scuffle on the track and car repairs need to be made. Fast forward to the last lap. Cale has made up the 4 laps he lost making repairs in the pits. Donnie Allison is in first with Bobby Allison a lap down near by. A half a lap away is Richard Petty, Darrel Waltrip and AJ Foyt. Cale goes down low for the pass on Donnie. Donnie moves down and pushes Cale onto the apron and then the grass. Contact is made and the 2 go spinning into the grass. While Donnie, Cale and Bobby are swinging gloves, helmets and fists at each other Richard Petty goes by for the win.

1980 sees Buddy Baker win and set a record average race speed of 177.602 mph.

In 1981 The King and his crew chief Dale Inman out thunk every body. On lap 174 all the leaders came in and took fuel and right side tires. Petty came in 2 laps later and got fuel only. That shaved seconds off and gave Petty the victory by 4 seconds over Donnie Allison. Petty said,"We just out thunk 'em there at the end."

1987 Bill Elliot sets a qualifying speed record or 210.364 mph which stands today. It's the last year without restrictor plates. Bobby Allison has a bad wreck at Talladega that year and NASCAR brings the restrictor plate the following year.

In 1989 It's Darrel Waltrips turn. In his 17th start in the #17 Tide car we see Darrell in victory lane dancing a jig, spiking his helmet and repeating over and over...I won the Daytona 500. I won the Daytona 500.

In 2001 we lost Dale Earnhardt Sr as he came to the white stripe he was blocking for Micheal Waltrip and his son Jr for the win. Dale lost control and went head first into the wall. Micheal got the win but NASCAR lost Dale Sr. NASCAR put safety on the front burner after that day. We haven't lost any drivers since.

In 2007 Mark Martin is leading the charge to the finish line when a wreck starts and Kevin Harvick drives through it and passes Mark for the win by inches. Mark wanted to know where the caution flag was as he was crawling out. I did too. 

Last year in 2010 Trevor Bayne in his #21 Wood Brothers Ford became the youngest driver ever to win the Daytona 500.

THE CHASE & POINTS

Lets talk Chase and points.

--- Any driver leading a lap gets 1 pt

--- Any driver leading the most laps gets 1 pt

--- Race winner gets 3 pts

At the end of the race points are handed out in reverse order according to your position at the end of the race. Winner gets 43 pts....2nd place gets 42 pts....3rd place gets 41 pts...4th gets 40 pts and so forth till the 43rd place driver gets 1 pt. Maximum points in any race is 48 pts.

The Chase was introduced in 2004 to give more drivers a chance to win the championship and to intensify fan interest and drama. It's a 36 race season with the last 10 reserved for the Chase. Drivers gain points in all points events except the All - Star race. That's money, ring and trophy only. Same with The Budweiser Shootout. The top 10 drivers in the points standings get into the Chase. There are 2 Wild Card spots given to the 2 drivers in positions 11 - 20 that have the most wins. Tie breaker is their over all points. 

At the start of the Chase the top 10 drivers get 2000 points and 3 points for every win. The 2 Wild Cards get only 2000 points. The winner after those 10 races is the one with the most points.

PURSE WINNINGS

Just because you won the race doesn't mean you get the most money. There's the track purse which is divvied out by position but then you have manufacturers car decals and uniform patches. Don't forget to be drinking that Coke, Gatorade or NOS in your interviews on camera. Oh yes a smile while you do that is appreciated. There's also the $10,000 Front Runner Bonus given to the driver who leads the most laps in a race regardless if he wins or not. There are a lot of bonus programs going on for the drivers as well as team owners. So driving like hell and turning left can really pay if you lead lots of laps, get that TV exposure and smile for the camera while you drink that Coke.

In 1959 Lee Petty won $19,050 and in 2007 Harvick won $1,510,569. Tony Stewart came in last place and still brought home $334,931.

HAVE WE GOT FLAGS FOR YOU

GREEN FLAG - Track is clear.....GO!!!!!

YELLOW FLAG - Caution is out for debris from a wreck or a competition caution to check your tires. Slow done and get behind the pace car.

RED FLAG - Track is blocked by a wreck or rain is falling. Get behind the pace car and come to pit road or if things are blocked park where you are.

BLACK FLAG - You've been naughty or your can needs repair. You need to come to pit road for a consultation or repairs.

BLACK FLAG w/WHITE STRIPE - Your still being bad or still need repairs and now NASCAR has stopped scoring you so get to pit road NOW.

BLUE FLAG w/YELLOW STRIPE - Heads up. Faster cars are coming up on your bumper. You don't however have to move over just pay attention.

RED & YELLOW VERTICAL STRIPED FLAG - Used at road courses to tell you to look out for debris or slippery conditions.

CHECKERED FLAG - Race is over

SAFETY STUFF

After Earnhardt Sr passed away the HANS devise that drivers were trying out became mandatory. So did full face helmets. The drivers seat was moved toward the center of the car a few inches. Foam was put in the doors of the cars. The seat belts were revamped. Roof flaps were put in. And the new safer barriers were installed at the tracks. A safer barrier is styrofoam insulation blocks put in between the concrete wall and steel tube railing on the outside. The drivers car hits the steel tubing and bounces off way better than just concrete alone. Drivers say it still hurts but not nearly as bad. Pit crew members were required to start wearing helmets too. 

DON'T FORGET THE RULES

At  Daytona or Talladega there is no going below the yellow line to advance your position. If you get bumped down there or for whatever reason you go there if you give back your position then it's no harm no foul. If you don't give it back then you get a black flag. Not cool cause it means you'll be coming into the pits for a pass through penalty most likely and you'll be separated from the pack which means your toast.

On a double file restart you must wait till the leader gets to the start finish line before you try to pass him. actually no matter where you are in that line you must stay in your position till you cross over the start finish line. If you don't....uh huh..that's right...black flag.

When pitting you must wait till all equipment is in your box and tires are under control and up against the wall. No driving over your air hose and no taking equipment with you onto the track or you guessed it....black flag. Your tire changer better make sure all the lug nuts are on too. Of course there's the pit road speed of 55 mph to worry about going in and out of the pits. Favorite pit stalls? The ones on either of the ends, the stalls on either side of the garage entrance and on the timing lines. Since NASCAR used timing lines and not radar the guys have learnt that if your pit stall is on a timing line you can speed leaving your pit and pass 1 or more cars. Just remember to whoa up at the next timing line or you'll be coming in for a pass through penalty at pit speed of course.

When the yellow flag comes out the field is frozen and you need to slow down and get behind the pace car. There's no racing back to the finish line to gain positions. This was done after Dale Jarret became stranded like a sitting duck in the middle of the track while everyone zoomed by him.

Whether it's a big wreck or a fender bender you are going to the infield care center for a check up. This was mandated in the 80's when Ricky Rudd had a bad wreck in the then Busch series and refused treatment. He raced in the Winston Cup Daytona 500 the next day. When he got out of the car his face was so swollen he had taped his eyes open so he could race. If you get a chance to go and look that wreck up on You Tube. He came within inches of the end of an infield wall.

DAYTONA 500

So Carl Edwards got the Daytona pole position with a lap of 194.738 mph. His team mate got 2nd. Both are locked in those positions. The rest will qualify with a combination of the positions in the Gatorade Duels on Thursday, regular qualifying, top 35 owners points and champion provisionals. It's just too complicated to write without taking up too much space. 

The Daytona track is 2.5 miles and in a D shaped oval. It has 31 degrees of banking in the turns, 18 degrees in the tri oval and 6 degrees in the straights. It seats 168,000.

So there you have it. Iceman gave you the driver changes and I gave you some rules and history. Hope you'll join us on Sunday.........

I suppose it's necessary to say something about the opening of Spring training for the Major League teams. Is it just me or didn't we just finish the World Series? I would swear it was late October or Early and one team got clobbered and the other team was the champion. A lot has happened since then and I've been diverted. One regrets that the big story just now, and probably for some little while, in baseball and the eye searing ten year deal Albert Pujols got. Currently-notice, currently-he's the highest paid player . As is always the case, today's ceiling is tomorrow's floor when it come to salaries. In 1960 the country gasped when 20^th Century Fox announced they would pay Elizabeth Taylor the enormous sum of ONE MILLION dollars to play Cleopatra. One Million, just think of it. Is there that much money in the world? But the world changes and, adjusting for inflation, today, were the lady living, she could easily nail fifty million and it would be considered a good deal. (Who remembers that Miss Taylor was NOT the original choice to play the role? That honour went to Joan Collins. It's interesting to think what might have happened if that bit of casting would have been adhered to.) But we're talking big money here, folks.BBBBIIIIIGGGGGGG MMMMOOOOONNNNNEEEYYYY.

Yessiree. I haven't read or read much about his contract-the staggering sum mentioned is enough-so I don't know if this is what it's potentially worth if certain goals and conditions are met.

But Muthagawd! What goals and conditions could possibly exist to justify that kind of money. It goes without saying that, somewhere in those ten years, it's expected that he and his team will win at least one-or more-World Series. And it's hardly farfetched to think that he might be expected to maintain a batting average of no less that Ted Williams in his best years. It goes without saying that he's not just a member of the team, but is available for whatever management wants him to do. PSA's by the gross, appearances whenever and wherever, no sick days even if he's concussed on the field in front of a stand full of cheering fans. He has to get up, score the winning run, save a fan from falling from the edge of the seats into a concrete track, and do a triple back flip whilst driving a Zamboni. Is that too much to ask? Not for a quarter of a billion dollars it's not. And, with no disrespect to the gentleman, can his performance or his persona justify that amount of money?

If your answer to that question is “yes” go outside and beat yourself stupid with a baseball bat. If he could cure cancer-all forms-end world povery and hunger-then you'd find me handing over every penny I've got and so would many others. But he cannot do that nor is he expected to. But what are the expectations? Trying to be reasonable, one might say that he needs to contribute all he has to his team, be a great popular player with the fans, get along with the other players.....and lets pause right there for a moment. The other players. Now you know and I know that somewhere on that roster there will be those who think he got a gold mine and they got the shaft. Particularly some player, close to retirement, who finds his salary cut for no reason that's given to him. But then no reason need be given; It's Albert Pujols. Across the board it's hard for me to imagine that this deal was greeted with gladsome cries and statements of appreciation for what management has done. Which is effectively semi-screwed all the other players. Perhaps they'll accustom themselves to him but that for some little while there may be a tense locker room. I could be wrong, I often am, but in this case, I'm going to bet it the way logic dictactes and that's only for the sake of publicity is the team nominally behind him and, oops, there's another group to be dealt with, the fans.

This is a super star player with a glowing record so, initially, he'll be as welcome as the second coming. However, it's a tall fence to jump to keep their loyalty particularly if things don't pan out as promised. This is, after all, a new team to him, the rhythms and dynamics are going to be different. How long before they all coalesce into a productive team that allows him to do what he does best? That's not a fatuous question, it's one that's going to be on the minds of the fans. Great that he's there and now what? In the stands there's going to be the obvious reminder that they, too, have contributed to his hiring and they do so every time they buy a ticket, patronize the concessions or buy a programme. They're all a few pennies more than before and while some of it is reasonably credited to inflation, only part of it, the rest is going to pay for the newly acquired player. Even over ten years it takes a lot of pennies to have a quarter of a billion dollars. In these parlous times, putting a hundred million in the bank and letting the interest compound at current rates won't produce that 250 million in ten years and, up front, there's the matter of a loose hundred million to be found.

Unfortunately, we live in an age where monies paid have almost eclipsed deeds and performance. Three years from now when a bigger deal has been struck between another team and another player, this will be forgotten save by the team who still has to honour it. At the time the deal was made it was bruited about that the only reason it went through was to prevent another team from acquiring his services. That other team must be doing cartwheels of delight, not only did they not get stuck with a player who may or may not perform over the many years of the contract, but they saved themselves a can full of money to use making equally good if far less expensive deals.

What Pujols has signed up for is, effectively, an infinity contract. Clearly it's anticipated he'll finish out his career there and, somehow, validate the monies he's being bad to do so. (And let us not forget what he can make from endorsements and other side deals.) But the history of these things suggests that other things might happen. Like him or not, they're stuck with him and, should they choose to sell him-after, say a three year slump-it might be hard to do. There's that enormous contract to be considered and, were I Mr. Pujols, I'd hang on to the right to every penny of it.

At the end of it, I suppose what I want is for someone in five or so years to go back and, just superficially, be able to say either, “Helluva deal, couldn't have been better” or, “Well, it might have worked if he hadn't pulled a (name a muscle relevant to hitting) and they lost him for most of two seasons. And there's a third option, in some ways, the worst one; He proves to be a good player, nothing more and eventually drifts back to the farm system as the most overpaid player in AAA ball. 

My dad has been gone for six years now. He was a husband, dad to three kids, a ham radio enthusiast, loved computers, yodeling music, tinkering, building things, buying cookbooks and so many other things too numerous to mention here. He took me to my first rock concert and he didn't like rock music at all. He took me to my first Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics games despite not really caring for sports all that much.

Along with my mother, he was in the stands rooting me on when the teams I coached won championships, and he told many people how proud he was of my coaching work. He grew up without much of a stable home life, but gave my mom, my siblings and me that which he never had.

He was proud of me for my coaching...I'm proud to be the son of George Roberts.
 

During one of our Western discussions, it was Southern Lion, I think, who mentioned that the Steve McQueen movie, “Tom Horn” was one of his favorites.  Coincidentally, it appeared on cable right after that and I watched it.  It was a very good movie and made me realize that I didn’t know much about McQueen.  Fortunately, my local library had a biography in the stacks, so I checked it out.

Steve McQueen was an artist with the kind of hard knocks street cred that Jack Kerouac would have killed for.  Born to a teenage alcoholic prostitute, McQueen never met his father.  His mother abandoned him, leaving him with her parents, who themselves went bankrupt and were forced to move in with Steve’s great uncle.  At age nine, his mother reappeared and dragged him to Los Angeles, where he was beaten mercilessly by more than one stepfather.  He spent most of his time prowling the streets of L.A. with teenage gangs.

He eventually ended up in reform school, the California Junior Boys Republic in Chino.  When he was released, he traveled to New York to find his mother.  She had moved in with a new boyfriend in a small flat and Steve ended up living on the streets.  He joined the merchant marine, went AWOL in Port Arthur, Texas, worked on an oil rig and finally, joined the Marines.  He served three years and at age 21, went back to New York to look for his mother, but found out she had moved to San Francisco.  He stayed in Greenwich Village and that’s how he fell into acting.

I highly recommend this book, which tells the story of McQueen’s rise to fame and fortune.  I’m just going to list of few of the things I found surprising and interesting:

-  McQueen was a committed pothead, who may have smoked marijuana just about every day of his life from age 21 onward.  He didn’t shy away from alcohol, cocaine and LSD either.

-  He married a successful stage actress of Filipino descent, Neile Adams, when he was a complete unknown.  They had two children together and their marriage lasted for fifteen years, surviving McQueen’s rise to superstardom.  But that was only because Neile put up with his blatant philandering.     

-   He was the first choice for the role of the Sundance Kid in the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.  He wanted the part, but didn’t get it because he demanded first billing over Paul Newman, even though Newman was willing to accept co-billing.  Overall, Newman was a much bigger star, but McQueen was hot as a pistol at the time due to the success of “Bullitt”.  McQueen had always had a huge inferiority complex about the more successful Newman and tried to humiliate him during the billing negotiations.

-  McQueen’s best friend was his barber, Jay Sebring.  Sebring and McQueen spent most of their time trying to screw every last woman in Los Angeles – and very nearly succeeded, it seems.  One day in 1968, Sebring invited McQueen to a party at Sharon Tate’s house.  McQueen was all set to go, he even invited his old buddy Robert Vaughn to the party, but he ran into an old flame and decided to spend the night with her instead.  That was the night of the Manson killings.  Sebring was stabbed seven times and shot in the head.  This would mess up anybody, but a coke addict like McQueen?  Talk about paranoid.     

Overall, this book is pretty depressing for a lot of reasons.  First, the guy’s childhood was just traumatic.  Second, as an adult he was very self destructive, although he wasn’t overly abusive to his loved ones (he took out most of his pain on movie directors, who universally hated him).  And finally, he died of lung cancer at the age of 50 (most definitely mesothelioma from removing asbestos in the Marines).

I can deal with all that stuff.  That’s just life happening.  What really bothers me about McQueen is how little he got out of his talent, how little he gave us.  He’s the opposite of Eastwood in that regard.  For example, he turned down the opportunity to franchise the Bullitt character (as opposed to how Eastwood handled Dirty Harry) and instead made silly movies like “The Reivers”.  He turned down the Sundance Kid job and the Gene Hackman role in “The French Connection”.  The list just goes on and on.   

I don’t think it’s just old fogie talk to say that when you look around the Hollywood landscape today, you don’t see any actor who can hold a candle to McQueen in terms of screen presence and charisma.  The real tragedy of his life is the fact that the left so many great movies on the table.

This one can’t wait until my regular Friday gig...

Gotta do it now...

As you know...

ESPN has gotten itself in hot water over...

Chink-in-the-Armor-Gate...

An ad libbing Max Bretos first used it...

“Chink in the Armor”...

As a reference to a possible deficiency in Jeremy Lin’s game...

Ad lib...

Off the cuff...

He has an Asian wife...

All of us have had slips of the tongue...

Said something we’d like to take back...

In my book...

He gets a mulligan...

Put him back on the air immediately...

HOWEVER...

The folks at ESPN know better...

You mean to tell me that nobody caught it???

The World Wide Leader???

Owned by Disney???

So hypersensitive to stuff like that???

And nobody caught it???

Nobody issued a memo???

Maybe they didn't...

HOWEVER...

I have my doubts...

Come on, ESPN...

You deal with puns all the time...

Even if it wasn’t intentional...

It was definitely in the danger zone...

A play on words...

But perhaps because it’s about an Asian...

And not about an African-American...

With all of their outspoken activists...

The sensitivity button didn’t go off...

PERHAPS...

Let’s now fast forward to the headline...

The writer of the headline...

Was fired...

He called it an...

“Honest mistake”...

And has used the phrase hundreds of times...

And didn’t think of the negative connotations...

I am not here to judge one’s motives...

Anthony answers to a higher power...

Does he deserve to be fired???

Nope...

Give him his job back in two weeks...

Unless he's had issues in the past...

Here’s my take...

Anthony should know better...

ESPN should know better...

You guys deal with puns ALL the time...

I have written hundreds of radio commercials...

Jokes...

Most of them bad...

As you already know....

Blogs...

Comedy...

I am a pun machine...

It’s my mindset because I am a writer...

Puns are used all the time for headlines...

That’s why I am shocked nobody caught it...

And that Anthony didn’t even think about it...

Give me a break...

I get all of the irritation over political correctness...

But if this is the game we are forced to play...

By the media...

And the activists...

Then don’t squawk when we call YOU on the carpet...

You mean to tell me nobody caught it???

Nobody even thought of it???

Nobody giggled when they saw it???

Or even shared it with somebody else???

Give me a another break...

When my son showed it to me...

We laughed embarrassingly...

I got it IMMEDIATELY...

And we agreed it was in poor taste...

Not worthy of a firing...

But definitely a reprimand...

Or a mini suspension...

ESPN should have been proactive...

Not reactive...

It is REALLY hard for me to believe...

Given the mindset of the business...

That nobody...

Absolutely nobody caught it...

I am not that gullible...

So, ESPN...

If someone utters or writes the infamous...

OJ/Cancun joke...

You’re not gonna catch that one either???

How ignorant do you think we are???

dvt

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As we celebrate President’s Day I thought why not put together an All-Presidents basketball team.  We’re not exactly talking about the world’s best athletes here and size wise they would resemble a WNBA team more so than any NBA team but their intangibles would no doubt play a big factor in their success as a team.  So without further delay here’s my All-Presidents team.

Center – You need size in the middle so my choice at the 5 spot would be Abraham Lincoln. At 6’4” he is tied with Lyndon Johnson as the tallest president.  He’s a natural leader who won the Civil War and ended slavery.  I think he would be a great low post scorer and passer. Fundamentally sound. The Tim Duncan of the Oval Office.

Power Forward – By default I have go with Lyndon Johnson as my 4 man since he’s 6’4” and I need the size up front. Forget LeBron James, this is the original LBJ.  After President Kennedy was assassinated Johnson came off the bench to lead the country through some very turbulent times.

Small Forward  - Thomas Jefferson.  The guy was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence so I imagine he could probably draw up a few plays on offense for the team as well. He was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase so defensively he knows how to get steals.  He was also an inventor and spoke five different languages so the guy is creative. He would be able to get his shot off against anyone in the league despite being just 6’2" ½. Think Jerry West but in a ruffled shirt.

Shooting Guard – I need a stone cold scorer here, someone with no conscience, so I gotta go with the man simply known as “Dubya” aka George W. Bush.  This guy never saw a shot he didn’t like.  He went to war against a country that didn’t even attack us so let’s just say the guy is aggressive on offense. My guess is he wouldn’t shoot at a high percentage but don’t let his 5’11" frame fool you, he could go off and drop 50 on you on any given night although it might take him 50 shots to do it. The Allen Iverson of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Point Guard – Barack Obama. It certainly helps that he actually plays the game. A 6’1” lefty with a smooth shooting stroke. His critics say he wants to redistribute the wealth in this country so that means he would probably be a good ball distributer as well. He’s also has that killer instinct on the court as Osama Bin Laden and any random Somali pirate would attest to.

6^th Man – This was tough but in the end I had to go with the six-footer from Massachusetts John F Kennedy.  His handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis slows me that he’s a man that’s cool under pressure. Plus he had an affair with Marilyn Monroe so let’s just say the man knows how to score. 

So back to the real world, it’s all Jeremy Lin all the time. This story will just not die. He suffered his first loss the other night against the New Orleans Hornets but bounced back today as the Knicks beat the Mavs at MSG. Now the big story in Gotham is whether or not Lin and Carmelo Anthony can co-exist. Lin probably saved D’Antoni’s job and the offense is finally starting to look like the one we saw in Phoenix. On the surface Melo would seem to be the odd man out because of his style of play but there’s a place for him on this team but the pressure will be on him to not mess this up. I tell you one thing; if the Knicks lose their first game with Melo back its going to only add fuel to the fire of some people’s opinion that Carmelo is not a team player. Just a few weeks ago this Knicks team was dead in the water. A rudder-less ship adrift and Jeremy Lin has infused this team with a level of confidence and camaraderie that we haven’t seen in quite some time. Guys are playing for each other instead of themselves. Even their defense has improved. If Melo rains on this parade there will be some Knicks fans who will want him shipped out.

JR Smith was added to the mix in New York and suddenly the Knicks are players in the East. I’m not going to book their trip to the Finals just yet but with the emergence of Lin they seem to have all the pieces they need to make a serious run. Smith is a knucklehead but he’s also a very talented swingman who can get you starters type production off the bench. Mike D’Antoni started throwing some minutes to little used Steve Novak recently, a 6’10” sharp shooter and that has paid off too. They’re getting production from more guys now because the ball is moving with Lin in the lineup.

The Jeremy Lin story also has the media stumbling as how best to cover it while being creative and clever at the same time. I just read where ESPN fired an employee and suspended an anchor for using the word “chink” when referring to Jeremy Lin. They ran a headline on their website titled “Chink in the Armor” in reference to the Knicks loss against the Hornets. ESPN news anchor Max Breto used the same phrase while on the air and got a 30 day suspension. This comes on the heels of the MSG Network who last week posted an image of Lin’s head over an opened fortune cookie with the tag line “Knicks good fortune”.  The word “chink” is defined in the dictionary as crack, cleft or fissure. A narrow opening.  Chink has also been used as a derogatory term to describe Asians for as long as anyone can remember.  Because race plays such a big part in the Jeremy Lin story it’s hard to get around it. For the media it’s like navigating through a racial mine field and some people have already been blown up. In both instances I don’t think there was any malicious intent behind the gaffs but it just shows how sensitive the issue of race is.

Jeremy Lin’s influence on the Knicks just underscores the fact that this is a point guard driven league. If you have a good one you’ve got a chance to win in this league. This is why the aborted trade of Chris Paul really hurt the Lakers and may have set them back years. Paul has the Clippers running like a well oiled machine. Forget “Lob City”, they are the new Showtime in LA.

What is going on with the Portland Trailblazers? Remember when they started the season 7-2 and were considered a hot up and coming team?  Since then they are 5-6 and their struggles can be traced directly to their play at the point. Once again, the point guard is the difference between winning and losing. Raymond Felton came into camp out of shape and still has not played his way into shape as of yet. He’s never been a guy who is in peak physical condition but the extended offseason due to the lockout really affects guys like Felton, guys who don’t take care of their bodies.  He’s shooting just 36% from the field overall and a terrible 21% from the 3 point line. Add the fact that he’s not exactly stopping anybody on defense and all of a sudden the Blazers who thought they got themselves a point guard in the offseason are back in the market for one.

Come hell or high water the San Antonio Spurs just keep winning games. They won a thriller against the Clippers on Friday on a late blunder by the Clips which forced the game into OT where they eventually closed the deal.  Now Manu Ginobili is hurt again after just getting back from a broken hand.  Tony Parker has really raised his game and despite near career lows in point and rebounds Tim Duncan can still be a force. He can’t do it for long stretches but against the Clips he had just 11 points but pulled down 17 rebounds.  Ignore the Spurs at your own risk. 

Allen Iverson is broke.  I’m sure you read that and just completely fell off your seat stunned but it’s true.  Most pro basketball players go broke 5 years after they retire so Iverson is way ahead of schedule. He’s so desperate to get an NBA paycheck he is now willing to play in the D-League if it will lead him back to the Association.  One of the most dynamic players the league has ever seen is now begging to get back in. Iverson made about $154 million in salary over the course of his career and this doesn’t include endorsement deals. Most, if not all of that is gone now. It wasn’t too long ago when his pride would not allow him to come off the bench for any team. Pride unfortunately doesn’t pay the bills as he knows all too well now.

What the hell is going on with LeBron James? This guy just keeps shooting himself in the foot. With “Linsanity” in full effect people have pretty much forgotten all about James but he was back in the news with his comment about not ruling out a return to the Cavs. Huh? He left Cleveland in the worst possible way and now he says he wouldn’t rule out a return to that same place? If you’re a Miami Heat fan how are you supposed to interpret that? Is he all in with the Heat or not? Sometimes silence is golden and that couldn’t be truer than with LeBron James. Dude, just shut up and win a title.

Chris Paul has turned the Clippers into contenders overnight. He has made some spectacular plays this season but this certainly wasn’t one of them.  Give credit to Gary Neal for knocking down the big shot to send the game into OT.

"Finally..."

​"The dvt has come back to Ontario..."

After all these years...

I made it to the WWE...

And on Raw no less...

No doubt you will see me...

Here's how it happened...

The lovely Miss Kim said she got some tix for us...

Sat., Feb. 25 in Ontario, CA...

Thinking it was just a Saturday house show...

I thought that was pretty cool...

Then I decided to check it on the web...

Only to find out it's Monday Night Raw...

Pretty cool...

Then I checked the seating chart...

The arena isn't that big and I thought we'd have decent seats...

I asked her which section...

Then I did a double take...

Ringside...

Then she said...

"Row one..."

Awesome...

So...

On Monday, Feb 27...

You will probably see Miss Kim...

Her daughter Andrea...

Andrea's boyfriend Todd...

And the dvt...

I wanted to include a pic so you can recognize us...

The entrance will be to our left...

Announcers to our right...

See you there...

Thanks, honey...

dvt

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/76076_1520454729968_1192550150_31207205_222889_n.jpg

After the NFL season has concluded there is a dearth of compelling, meaningful sports in some fans eyes and there are those that try to make the NBA regular season stand in.  Free agent point guard Jeremy Lin has taken the #1 spot in the New York Knickerbockers lineup and lead them to eight wins in nine games, quite a feat for a guy that was waived many times and has slept on his brothers couch as he had no real housing.  He also is of Asian descent, which does standout in a not-so-diverse league predominantly filled by African-Americans.

It is quite a story.  I daresay it is Tebow-esque.  However, Lin is also on a team that is now .500 and has no recent history of great postseason accomplishments.  Yet the media has gone so painfully out of it's way to hype the Roy Hobbs-esque backstory and his Asian heritage that it is becoming painfully clumsy in this age of "diversity".  Over the weekend there has been an embarrassing faux pas by ESPN, when on their main page headlined the Knicks loss on Friday as being " A Chink in the armor".  Last week, Fox columnist Jason Whitlock tweeted that someone would be feeling two inches of pain-a veiled sexual reference to the oft-cited notion of Asian men aren't endowed (Whitlock apologized).  Even MSG network had a graphic on their broadcast with Lin's picture and a fortune cookie (sorry that's too funny because it's so stupid).  The media is trying so hard to CGI the hell out of this story when they should pull a Vin Scully: shut up and let the crowd tell the story!

We think we're so smart, we're so diverse.  That's all I ever hear.  Unfortunately, the media today isn't that savvy.  Go to the courts sometime.  Or the ice, or the course.  Players know.  The first time the competition might take a guy lightly who looked like Lin and not respect him.  I know they do now.  Tiger Woods went through the same thing when he came out on tour, but when he won the first time the seasoned pros knew they were in trouble.  Yet the media still tries to put it's gross stamp all over this natural phenomena.

ESPN, Fox, et. al you prove you aren't as diverse as you would like us to believe.  I appreciate quality, I appreciate results, over flash in the pan diversity.  Let's see what the kid does in the long, long term.  His baby steps in the spotlight have earned that much.

Top 25:
rank / team / prior
1 LSU 1
2 Oklahoma St. 2
3 Alabama 3
4 Boise St. 5
5 Houston 4
6 Michigan 8
7 South Carolina 10
8 Oregon 12
9 Arkansas 13
10 Stanford 6
11 Oklahoma 11
12 TCU 19
13 USC 9
14 Baylor 22
15 Kansas St. 15
16 Virginia Tech 7
17 Michigan St. 16
18 Wisconsin 18
19 Southern Mississippi –
20 Georgia 14
21 Clemson 20
22 West Virginia 25
23 Nebraska 17
24 Penn St. 21
25 Cincinnati –

Out of rankings: (23) Ark. St., (24) Notre Dame

Top 120 Permalink

Continue to full blog with Comments and Prior weeks

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Boston College Men - The Eagles lost both games this week. Virginia Tech beat them 66-65 on a tip in basket with 1.8 seconds left i the game. Ryan Anderson (pictured below) scored 17 points to lead BC.

Against Maryland, the game was a blowout with the Terrapins winning 81-65. The loss dropped BC to 8-18 on the season. Anderson scored 22 points and had 10 boards.

Hartford - The Hawks blew out Maine this week 59-40. Ruthanne Doherty had 19 points and 6 steals to lead the team. Both Daphne Elliott and Nikkia Smith scored 10 points.

Tennessee Lady Vols - Two wins this week for the Volunteers. They beat Kentucky 91-54 behind 25 points from Meighan Simmons. Shekinna Stricklen added 18 points and 6 boards while Glory Johnson had 10 points and 7 boards.

North Carolina State - Coach Kellie Harper's team had a rough week. They lost to Wake Forest 70-57. Four players hit double figures in the game (led by 13 from Kody Burke), but it wasn't enough. 

Then came Miami who took out the Wolfpack 73-61. Myisha Goodwin-Coleman had 14 points to lead the team and Marissa Kastanek added 12.

Boston College Women - It's been a long rough season for the BC women's team, but this week brough a little respite from the depressing season. The team picked up two wins, knocking off Virginia Tech 64-60 with 17 points from Katie Zenevitch and 15 points from Kerri Shields. 

BC followed that up with a 56-53 win over Clemson. Kristen Doherty was the star of the game with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals.

The team's record is just 7-19 now, but the wins end the long losing streak and perhaps gets the team back on track for the rest of the season. They aren't making postseason play this year but ending on a high note would be good.

Division III Men's Basketball - I came across a couple of interesting articles about Division 3 men's hoops and thought I'd share the links with you.

The first is about two schools becoming powers to be reckoned with: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/alexander_wolff/02/03/middlebury.mit.wolff/index.html

The second is about Derek Raridon, a star player who literally cleans up after the team: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/meet-division-iii-star-school-janitor-161354312.html

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES OF POTENTIAL INTEREST

Cheerleading Coach fired: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/cheerleading-coach-removed-calling-team-highfalutin-heifers-133347843.html

Jason Whitlock Insults Linsanity: First Whitlock, then ESPN. Someone needs to have a proofreader or a standards and practices department look at what they are writing before it airs or goes online. ESPN used the headline "Chink In The Armor" in an article about Jeremy Lin and Whitlock plays the unfunny small male genitalia stereotype card. I don't know what people are thinking these days. Read about Whitlock here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/jason-whitlock-apologizes-unfunny-jeremy-lin-twitter-145934497.html

Swimming Proposal - In the spirit of this past week's Valentine's Day, here's a link with a video clip included of a swimming medal stand wedding proposal. All together now...AWWWWWW. Here's the link: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/olympic-swimmer-proposes-girlfriend-medal-stand-video-151602945.html

COLLEGE HOCKEY

I know I really don't write much about any kind of hockey but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Boston College won the annual Beanpot tournament this past week. They beat Boston University 3-2 in the final.

Also, BC coach Jerry York won his 900th game this week as well.

BASEBALL NOTES

It appears Mets GM Sandy Alderson is stepping out on Twitter and not being shy about blaming the Wilpons for the disaster that is the Mets ball club these days. Here's the article link: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-passan_new_york_mets_wilpon_alderson_madoff_021312

If that isn't bad enough news for the Mets, the passing of Gary Carter, The Kid this week from brain cancer was a kick in the stomach for Mets fans, as well as Expos fans and practically any fan of a baseball player who just loved the game and let that natural happiness come through. As a fan of the Red Sox, there is always a twinge when Carter's name comes up. Him being the starting gun for the rally in Game 6 of the '86 World Series but the guy was a great baseball ambassador. You can't help but feel for the loss. One of my favorite authors, Peter David, posted his own personal remembrance of Carter and his generosity on his blog, you can read that post here: http://www.peterdavid.net/index.php/2012/02/16/my-best-gary-carter-story/#more-7387

Finally, there was the retirement of Tim Wakefield. The knuckler will knuckle no more. 19 years, 200 wins and the reputation of a consumate team player, Wakefield served the team and baseball as a whole with honor. Thanks Tim!

   NASCAR is trying to break up the two car super draft and by the looks of tonights demolition derby, it looks like the rule changes will end the super draft.

The most significant change is the cooling package with a less consumption in the radiator forcing the drivers to pull out and not push another car for a break away run.

The 2012 restrictor plate changes are as follows.

Smaller radiators(Maximum of 2 gallon capacity)

Smaller overflow tank(Maximum capacity of a half gallon)

Radiator inlet is moved up closer into the front center bumper area

Rate reduction in the springs - softer springs

Smaller rear spoiler - down 1/2 inch from last year

Base line restrictor plate of 29/32 inch(1/64 inch larger than last years Daytona 500)

No in car radio communication between team drivers and other team drivers

The whole purpose of the two exhibition races before the Daytona 500 is so the teams to be able to work with their engine packages and see how they relate to race conditions under the new rule changes for this year.

It looks like NASCAR has succeeded by what I saw in tonights race. The drivers tried to pull out in two car super drafts and couldn't break away from the pack because of the cooling system running high on their gage.

I notice some race cars getting real squirmy and that is due to the rear spoiler being smaller and not having the down force they had a year ago. 

I don't see NASCAR tweaking the rules they laid down like they have done in the past, only after the Daytona 500 if speeds get out of control. Why I say after the Daytona 500? Because the race car used during the exhibition races are back up cars and not the primary race car for the Daytona 500.

So what I take from tonights race is that the super draft is gone for the duration of a 500 mile race, no more pushing for a cushion and if you do,  its best used for a 1/3 of a mile for a win.  Pack racing is back! YEAH

The Storm girls game was again coached mainly by my assistant coach. And yet again, the girls put more effort into listening to her instructions than they have ever put into mine.

After taking a 3-2 lead early in the game, we gave the lead back to the Fire and never regained it. We kept the game close the entire way but never got over the hump. Too many bad shots and turnovers. Our defense wasn't great because a lot of the offense for the fire came on second chance opportunities.

Madison missed the game for some reason. Abby, Morgan, Emily, Blossom and Kaleigh didn't do much in the game.

Whitney was most notable for somehow picking up three separate injuries during the course of the game. Gabby didn't have much in the way of stats today. She had a bunch of dead on layups that she missed and she was pretty upset about it.

Isabella had 5 rebounds and 3 points. Maddy K. hit her first basket of the season. Paige had a pretty good offensive game with 13 points. We drop to 3-6 on the season. We are tied with the Fire in record but they own the tiebreaker with point differential. Thus we are in 4th place. If things stay how they are, we'll play the Sun in the first round of the playoffs. We are off for February vacation the next week but then we are facing off against the Sun in our regular season finale.

The boys team, the Nets, played a solid all around game today against the Bucks. We actually led by 7 points at halftime. The same things that have been plaguing us all season still reared their heads but we were able to overcome those problems and come away with a 37-32 win. It's our second in a row and moves us to 3-6. We are currently in 4th place with a chance to move up to 3rd place in our regular season finale.

Brandon missed the game today. Bailey, Dylan and Matt really didn't contribute much to the game today. Ray had a solid day on defense and hit for 2 points. Joe had 2 points and 7 rebounds. He was lost a bit today but got his head into the game when it counted. Ashantay had 2 points. Marque added 2 points and 12 boards. Chris had probably his best game of the season with 8 points. He also dished out some big assists. Jamiell had his second straight efficient offensive game. He had 20 points and 14 boards. He was really feeling it today. We are off for the vacation week and play the Bucks again in our regular season finale.

I’m a big John Wayne fan.  Heck, he’s my avatar.  But movie fans (and sports fans) have to discipline themselves not to fall down the slippery slope of idol worship.  Toward that purpose, I’m going to explore a forbidden topic. 

Are you sitting down?

John Wayne dodged military service in World War II.

Wayne wasn’t a coward.  He just placed his career ambitions ahead of his duty to his country.  What a lot of people don’t realize is that Wayne was not a big star in December of 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  During most of the 1930’s he appeared only in so called “Horse Operas”,  ultra low budget Westerns that played in rural movie theaters.

It wasn’t until 1939, at 32, that John Ford gave him his big break in “Stagecoach”.  After over a decade of toiling in obscurity, his path to stardom was finally open.  Leading roles in “A” films started to roll in,   but he only had the chance to make a couple of decent movies before the war broke out.

Just about every big star in Hollywood and sports was practically forced to enlist in the service out of fear of negative publicity.  Of course, many of them volunteered enthusiastically, some even for combat, including Wayne’s contemporary Jimmy Stewart.  But there were also many big stars who were reluctant to put their careers on hold, but had little choice but to enlist. 

However, this did not apply to lesser stars like Wayne.  The public hardly knew him, so there would be no negative publicity if he remained a civilian.  Wayne chose to stay home to nurture his fledgling “A” movie career, rather than serve in the war and risk derailing his ascent to fame.

It turned out to be a smart move.  With many stars unable to appear in films, more and more parts went to Wayne.  From 1941 until 1950 his star steadily rose.  He finally broke out to super stardom in 1950, when he appeared – no sh*t – as WWII war hero Sgt. John Stryker in “The Sands of Iwo Jima”.  Wayne was nominated for Best Actor in the film, the last Oscar attention he would receive until “True Grit” in 1968.

Now contrast Wayne’s record with that of Jimmy Stewart.   Stewart, who was already a trained pilot, attempted to enlist immediately after Pearl Harbor, but was rejected because he didn’t weigh enough.  He kept going back to the enlistment center until they accepted him.  Later, unhappy with his stateside morale boosting duties,  Stewart, who won the Oscar for Best Actor in 1941, demanded to be put into combat.  Eventually, the Army relented.  Before the war was over, Stewart had flown twenty B-24 bomber missions deep into German territory.  Most of the missions had survival rates of 50% or less.  

Stewart was deeply scarred by his combat experiences.  After the war, he refused to appear in any war films.  In contrast, Duke Wayne, the non combatant, made millions playing WW2 heroes.

And let’s not forget Wayne’s best friend, John Ford.  Ford was a military enthusiast and sailor who developed deep ties to the U.S. Navy during the 1930’s.  He enlisted in the Navy immediately after Pearl Harbor.  He was wounded at the Battle of Midway and was present in Normandy on D-Day.

There is plenty of evidence that Wayne sincerely regretted his decision and was haunted by it for the rest of his life.  One of his ex-wives claimed that’s what drove him to his “super patriotism” of the sixties and his vocal support for the Vietnam War.  It was as if he was overcompensating for an earlier failure.

I still love John Wayne.  He’s the greatest actor in my favorite movie genre, the Western.  Rather than despise him as a hypocrite, his mistake humanizes him to me.  At the same time, my father flew B-24’s in WW2.  As much as I like John Wayne in Westerns, I refuse to watch him play WW2 heroes.

Bristol-Plymouth - Near as I can tell, the girls varsity team finished 1-17. My former player Savahna played well in the game this past Tuesday holding the other team's top scorer to half her usual point total. She got mentioned in one of the area newspapers for it. The JV team won some games and Savahna played a big role in their relative success. (Still waiting on the JV team's record)

Upper Cape - The girls varsity finished the season on a down note yesterday afternoon. They dropped their second straight game to finish the season at 13-7. Despite 12 points from my former player Allison, they lost to Chatham 42-25. They will almost certainly be on the road for their tournament game now, likely against either West Bridgewater or Old Colony. Those two schools beat Upper Cape in routs both times each played them this season. The JV girls also had a good season finishing 12-6.

The boys varsity team had two kids that were former players of mine. They finished 7-13 on the season.

Wareham - The girls JV got crushed by Apponequet last night. I saw most of the first half before having to leave for youth league games. It wasn't pretty at all. Still, three of my former players (Jocelyn, Rae-Lyn and Brianna) all saw a lot of time for the JV team this year. They finished at 2-16.

The Wareham varsity girls closed out what can only be considered a disappointing season with a 59-46 win over Apponequet. Four of my former players (Amber, Breanna, Caroline and Gina) combined for 32 points. They finish at 9-11 for the season and lose their top scorer to graduation. Next year's team will be interesting because the program is in decline in both numbers and height/talent.

The boys freshman team, which features four players I had a hand in coaching, finished off their undefeated 18-0 season last night with a 70-49 win over Apponequet. Congrats to the team including Brandon, Mark, Michael and Jeffrey.

The JV boys team finished the season at 19-1.

The boys varsity team made a little history of their own last night. Trailing late in the game for the first time all season, they went on a 24-4 run to come back and beat Apponquet 76-59. This gives them their first undefeated regular season in school history.

They are also the only undefeated boys team in the state heading into the tournament. 5 of my former players combined for 43 points in the game. There are more players than that on the team that I had a hand in coaching though.

We have been reminded this week about the importance... 

Of family...

Of friends...

A loss hits everybody hard...

We aren’t as invincible as we think we are...

3rd Stone made an impact in the blogosphere...

He is missed...

I think of my own family...

The good times...

The laughter and tears...

I think of sports and how it was intertwined with the family...

Stephanie and Ryan are adults now...

We had some great sports moments when they were kids...

Going to their games...

Taking them to games...

We were blessed...

Stephanie played soccer and basketball...

Her AYSO team won the league and nearly the region...

We have film of her first two points in basketball...

It was a clumsy looking shot from 20 or so feet out...

She jumped up and down in elation...

At age five...

I took her to her first Angels’ game...

Up and down...

“Daddy I’m hungry...”

Up and down...

“Daddy I gotta go potty...”

I couldn’t concentrate on the game...

I finally gave her an M & M every time a batter was announced...

That worked for about two innings...

At a Dodger game...

She was amazed when somebody she never met before...

Seemingly knew everything about our family...

My name...

The dog’s name...

The car...

Her mom’s middle name...

Only to find out...

 That I was flashing the answers to him...

On my scorecard...

When she wasn’t looking...

We had Clippers season tickets, too...

Natalie Cole sang the National Anthem one night...

Stephanie rushed down to get an autograph...

And came back beaming with her prized possession...

“She’s soooooo nice,” Stephanie exclaimed...

“I’m gonna go get another one...” 

I tried to stop her...

But to no avail...

In just a few moments she returned...

Stomping up a storm...

Mad that Ms. Cole refused the second request...

“What a snob,” she proclaimed...

Well, of course...

By that time Ms. Cole was tired of signing autographs...

Stephanie loved Wally Joyner...

 We took a ball I caught at the Big A...

And got Wally to sign it at a minor league game...

She was in heaven...

Times with Ryan were fun, too...

Age eight at an Angels' game...

He begged and pleaded with me to switch seats...

Just so he could have a better chance at a foul ball...

He was bound and determined...

I was skeptical...

But I switched seats anyway...

The result???

We went home that night with a foul ball I caught for him...

Ryan was a pretty good athlete, too...

Like I said...

Bound and determined...

We called him O. T. M...

One Track Mind...

He played youth soccer, too...

One kid tried to dribble the ball around him...

And he was unsuccessful...

Because Ryan football tackled him...

I buried my head and just laughed...

That’s my son...

His best sport was basketball...

Not a scorer...

But technically sound and well coached...

A power forward and a relentless defender...

He drove his opponents crazy...

A pretty good passer, too...

Baseball and softball for a couple of seasons...

Football his freshman year...

Then he turned his eyes to water polo...

They put him at defensive set...

Similar to power forward in basketball...

He loved it...

And he was pretty good at it, too..

But what I remember most...

Was his second season of roller hockey...

As good as an athlete as Ryan was...

He was just learning to skate...

And because of that...

He would get about two minutes per half...

Rolling around the rink with lots of effort...

Taking an occasional whack at the puck as it wandered by...

He was #99...

After guess who...

If only he could skate better...

He would do better...

But he kept trying...

Ryan never gave up...

The team was awesome...

They made it to the championship game...

But before the game something happened...

Our coach’s son...

Who was phenomenal...

Made fun of Ryan...

“You have Wayne Gretzky’s number, but you’re not very good.”

So the game begins...

It’s a close one...

And we fall behind...

They find a way to stop our superstar...

Ryan gets his token shift in the first half...

Goes back to the bench until the next shift...

The second half begins...

Their goalie is incredible...

Still a shutout...

Ryan comes rolling off the bench...

Hoping for an opportunity to help his struggling teammates...

As our star player heads into the attack zone...

Ryan follows...

And manages to plant himself in front of the goal...

Here comes the shot..

A save...

The rebound...

Ryan gets his stick on the puck...

And shoves it past the goalie...

He shoots...

He scores...

You should have seen the look on Ryan’s face...

Shock!!!

And disbelief...

But he did it...

We were so proud of him...

Right place...

Right time...

And the only one who scored for us in a losing effort...

Not even the coach’s son could top that...

It was pretty cool...

Lots of wonderful memories...

Family memories with sports as the backdrop...

Treasure them while you can...

dvt

Disclaimer: Not a photo of my son...

Just a cute kid playing baseball... http://www.photographicaction.com/images/sports/baseball/having_fun_lg.jpg

It was yet another close game.

In the first half we took a quick lead but fell victim to the pressure defense of the Spurs and they ended up taking the lead away in short order.

But things evened out the rest of the way. We were tied at 16 with time running out in the first half when we fell apart defensively and let the Spurs score an easy basket to lead 18-16 at the break.

In the second half, it was more of the same to start. We finally got a bit of a streak going offensively and were able to take a lead. We built on the lead, watched it shrink and tried to build it back up all over again.

We built a four point lead and then as the time ran down, it became a battle of quick fouls to stop the clock and get the ball back for the Spurs. The first couple of times we missed the front end of the 1 and 1 foul shot. But we dropped the last one we got and it ended up with our team picking up our 2nd win of the season 34-30. (It is also our second win over the Spurs).

For the moment it moves us up to fourth place. We play the Bucks tomorrow afternoon.

While we are happy with the win, the battle to get our kids to stop turning the ball over so much continues. We also went just 2-8 from the foul line. Some of our decision making left both the head coach and I scratching our head. We get out on a fast break and our better players decide to pass the ball off to the player who can't catch the ball instead of taking the ball to the hoop.

Brandon, Matt and Bailey got limited time tonight. They just didn't give us anything when they were in the game so their playing time was cut accordingly. Dylan was just not able to give us anything either. He was OK defensively but turned the ball over at crucial junctures of the game. Chris was terrible in the first half and he got snotty when we took him out of the game. I told him he needed to knock it off. He was going to go back into the game so he needed to chill out. Joe was lost all game long.

Ray had four points in the game and played solid defense for the most part. Too many dumb turnovers though.

Marque had foul trouble in the first half so he spent a lot of time on the bench. In the second half we kept on him about going North/South with his movement instead of East/West and it led to him scoring 6 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

Ashantay had a good game overall. Again, too many stupid turnovers but he made up for it with 7 points and two big offensive rebounds. When we were trying to kill the clock late in the game, he almost took a shot we didn't want him taking. After the game we told him if he had taken the shot, the judge would've ruled it justifiable homicide when we killed him. 

Jamiell had a far better game this week. He finished with 17 points but it was a much more efficient offensive game for him. He didn't miss nearly as many shots as he did in our game earlier this week. He was active on defense and had 11 rebounds as well.

So it was a nice win to pick up and hopefully tomorrow afternoon against the Bucks we can build on this momentum.

On Friday at Daytona Motor Speedway, NASCAR found a body modification on the #48 primary race car for the Daytona 500. The infraction was on the C pillar of the 48 and according to director of competition John Darby.The C pillar from the #48 was confiscated from Jimmie Johnson's team.

According to John Darby," it was a obvious rules infraction" explained Darby by Jimmie Johnson's team lead by crew chief Chad Knaus.

Before the start of any NASCAR race, even practice, NASCAR inspects every race car to ensure no one has a unfair advantage. Templates are place over the body of the race car according to the brand of race car.

The advantage to modifying the C pillar is that it will redirect the air over the top of the race car causing less drag on the spoiler hence increasing the speed of the race car. We all know that drag will slow down a car and less drag is faster along with increase gas mileage.

My blood is close to boiling when I heard of this news today as I watched practice for tomorrow's Bud Shoot Out. This is not the first time the Jimmie Johnson group has been caught cheating. They have been caught three times during the past nine years for rules violations resulting in suspension's to the crew chief and fines to owner Rick Hendrick.

The Hendrick teams of Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon all passed inspection. If you read any of my NASCAR blogs in the past I often refer to the Hendrick team as the "Dark Side" in NASCAR for this reason they are the most over funded race team in NASCAR and they continue to push the boundaries on what they can get away with. I will keep it from now on to solely the #48 Jimmie Johnson team. I don't hate the Jimmie Johnson team but they are doing a darn good job in trying to convince me.

At the time of this blog there has been no fines or suspensions handed out by NASCAR. I"m pretty sure NASCAR will come down hard on the Jimmie Johnson team sometime before the start of the Daytona 500. NFI