Insomnia is a hell of a thing: Because of it I am up listening to Sports talk radio and hearing the rumor that Shaq may now be engaged to Hoopz from the first season of Flavor of Love...come on Shaq this better be false!
Since I am lazy I will just link to a site that showed up when I googled the rumor http://thetvrealist.com/gossip/Shaq-and-Hoopz-Engaged-3352193.html
At least I can fall asleep knowing that of the many crazy things I do constantly, multi-millionaires do crazier things...allegedly.
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Monday, August 23, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
You are not a ‘chick’ you are a football player!
I get supremely tired of the paternalistic attitude that our society takes towards women in general and women in sports. I completely believe in equality, yet many persons who claim they want equality between the sexes hide behind the veil of ‘women are the weaker sex and should be protected’.
Only in terms of actual muscle size are women the fairer sex, but beyond direct head to head competition between men and women there is no reason to consider women as weaker than men, and certainly NOT when they are engaged in their own sporting activities.
Elizabeth Lambert is a football player (soccer in America) who went in a word NUTS during a game. She punched an opponent in the back (granted after she took an elbow), did a few dangerous and aggressive tackles, pulled an opponent down so vigorously by the pony tail (let that soak in for a second) that the girl’s head jerked and she fell to the ground as if she had been shot, and she punched another in the face. Any one of those acts could have earned her a red card and suspensions for a few games, (but the refs did not sanction her – seriously the quality of reffing in all sports this year is atrocious -) taken all together, they obtained her an indefinite suspension.
Now there are some saying that the attention paid to her incidents are because she is female. Look I do not doubt that some attention has been paid to her solely because she is a woman, but at the same time I think much of the attention has been paid because she seriously went CRAZY. When have you ever seen a man engage in activity like that and not get vilified? For instance let me place you on a grander stage but with a simpler act: Zidane in the World Cup delivered a head butt to the Italian defender who insulted him and his family, take note it was one blow a head butt, one act - an instant dismissal, and world-wide shame. Elizabeth Lambert did not receive nearly the scorn that was heaped on Zidane yet I should believe that most of this is because she is a woman? And again, I know in terms of importance the scale is different, the World Cup versus NCAA playoffs but the reactions can be compared. If Zidane had not only head butted the Italian but also punched him, done dirty tackles and grabbed a pony tail (and yup in that game there was enough hair for pony tails) we would still be combing through video tape of the incident.
When American Football players pull players down by the face mask and cause injury, it tends to be the lead on ESPN. Even simple locker room fights get coverage. And yet I have never seen a player do as much in a single game as Lambert did in her game. If Chad Ochocinco ever decides to try and remove the front teeth from his opponent’s mouth in the manner in which Lambert attempted to do dentistry on her foe, I am pretty sure his career would be severely impacted for a year.
But, let us take one of the greatest examples of male players going NUTS in recent history: ‘The Malice at the Palace’ or you might know it as Ron Artest running into the stands with half of the Indiana Pacers riding shotgun with him. Artest started a melee and contributed to one of the greatest non-boxer Athlete punches I have ever seen (I would post video of it, but the NBA takes that down immediately as it goes up so the link would be dead by the time you read this anyway) Jermaine O’neal hitting a tubby guy so hard that I felt it in my fillings. I still maintain that because O’neal slipped while swinging that guy is still walking this earth.
Thanks to that incident we now think of Ron Artest as a mad-man, Stephen Jackson as a man completely willing to rearrange your grill and the Indiana Pacers have become a team that many feel has on purpose decided to become the whitest team in the league (man I really hope that is just coincidental and not really related to the malice in the palace because that would really be sad and a bad reflection of prejudice).
So under the Ron-ron parameters I am now obligated to think of Elizabeth Lambert as a completely insane woman, who should not be let back onto a field until she is completely re-evaluated…only fair right? After all, we are all equal.
Only in terms of actual muscle size are women the fairer sex, but beyond direct head to head competition between men and women there is no reason to consider women as weaker than men, and certainly NOT when they are engaged in their own sporting activities.
Elizabeth Lambert is a football player (soccer in America) who went in a word NUTS during a game. She punched an opponent in the back (granted after she took an elbow), did a few dangerous and aggressive tackles, pulled an opponent down so vigorously by the pony tail (let that soak in for a second) that the girl’s head jerked and she fell to the ground as if she had been shot, and she punched another in the face. Any one of those acts could have earned her a red card and suspensions for a few games, (but the refs did not sanction her – seriously the quality of reffing in all sports this year is atrocious -) taken all together, they obtained her an indefinite suspension.
Now there are some saying that the attention paid to her incidents are because she is female. Look I do not doubt that some attention has been paid to her solely because she is a woman, but at the same time I think much of the attention has been paid because she seriously went CRAZY. When have you ever seen a man engage in activity like that and not get vilified? For instance let me place you on a grander stage but with a simpler act: Zidane in the World Cup delivered a head butt to the Italian defender who insulted him and his family, take note it was one blow a head butt, one act - an instant dismissal, and world-wide shame. Elizabeth Lambert did not receive nearly the scorn that was heaped on Zidane yet I should believe that most of this is because she is a woman? And again, I know in terms of importance the scale is different, the World Cup versus NCAA playoffs but the reactions can be compared. If Zidane had not only head butted the Italian but also punched him, done dirty tackles and grabbed a pony tail (and yup in that game there was enough hair for pony tails) we would still be combing through video tape of the incident.
When American Football players pull players down by the face mask and cause injury, it tends to be the lead on ESPN. Even simple locker room fights get coverage. And yet I have never seen a player do as much in a single game as Lambert did in her game. If Chad Ochocinco ever decides to try and remove the front teeth from his opponent’s mouth in the manner in which Lambert attempted to do dentistry on her foe, I am pretty sure his career would be severely impacted for a year.
But, let us take one of the greatest examples of male players going NUTS in recent history: ‘The Malice at the Palace’ or you might know it as Ron Artest running into the stands with half of the Indiana Pacers riding shotgun with him. Artest started a melee and contributed to one of the greatest non-boxer Athlete punches I have ever seen (I would post video of it, but the NBA takes that down immediately as it goes up so the link would be dead by the time you read this anyway) Jermaine O’neal hitting a tubby guy so hard that I felt it in my fillings. I still maintain that because O’neal slipped while swinging that guy is still walking this earth.
Thanks to that incident we now think of Ron Artest as a mad-man, Stephen Jackson as a man completely willing to rearrange your grill and the Indiana Pacers have become a team that many feel has on purpose decided to become the whitest team in the league (man I really hope that is just coincidental and not really related to the malice in the palace because that would really be sad and a bad reflection of prejudice).
So under the Ron-ron parameters I am now obligated to think of Elizabeth Lambert as a completely insane woman, who should not be let back onto a field until she is completely re-evaluated…only fair right? After all, we are all equal.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Jordan Crawford dunks on Lebron James
So, TMZ hyped their video but turns out Ebaum nation has a much better clip. HERE IS THE LINK...hiding it just made it take on legendary status!
http://ebaumnation.com/2009/07/22/jordan-crawford-dunks-on-lebron-james
http://ebaumnation.com/2009/07/22/jordan-crawford-dunks-on-lebron-james
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Lebron is a brat, plain, simple and understandable
It is easy to bash Lebron after his graceless exit following his team’s loss to Orlando over the weekend. A player who has coveted and basked in the media’s spotlight for years suddenly did not want to deal with the harsh light of reality when the biggest question he might be asked would be “Why did your team lose?”
Spare me the he is young excuse. Lebron is 24 and has been in the league for 6 years, he is so mature that most people in their 40s could look to him for guidance. Yes he had to grow up fast but when you have the publicity/support/monetary machine that surrounds
Lebron, you grow up fast.
The fact that the league has not (yet) fined him for skipping out on the post game press conference is farcical and proves the conspiracy wonks right…the league favors its stars.
Many Lebron backers are saying he left without doing the obligatory post game press conference because he did not want to bash his team mates – and that is a defense? I am supposed to believe that Lebron was merely following the principle of “if you cannot say something nice don’t say anything at all”. Well that is (in old sportswriter terminology) HOGWASH. There were plenty of nice things he could have said: “We lost to a better team”, “We got our butts Kicked”, “We were out hustled, out-maneuvered”, “The Magic are a great team”, “Dwight Howard is superman and he owns my team” ok he would probably never say the last one, but it is true.
But if he really wanted to be the ‘King James’ that many expect him to be, he could have come out and said something that I would have really admired, allow me for a moment to be Lebron answering an imaginary question:
Reporter from Cleveland: “Lebron what are your thoughts on this your second straight exit just before the NBA finals”
Lebron: “What can I say? We were out coached so badly that it makes it even funnier that Mike Brown won coach of the year when anyone who follows basketball knows that we won 60 plus games because I play on this team, we caught fire at home, we have great fans, caught many a team flat, played with intensity because for most of our players the greatest thing we can aspire to is a great record not a title. Our coach won coach of the year because writers are often too lazy to look at actual circumstances and would rather just look at plain numbers; “Team X has more wins so they must have the best”. Because it would be too hard to swallow that the coach of Oklahoma has less talent and tougher circumstances and did a much better job even if his team had less wins, or that Greg Popovich had to deal with injuries all year but still got his team a great record. Or how about George Karl and his bunch of knuckleheads, his team was practically transformed in the middle of the season and still he was a force in the West, and this is before we get to the coach of the team that beat us!
“But what are my thoughts? Did you see my team out there? I have a guy making predictions that we are the better team, the best team in the NBA and then he cannot hit a jump shot if you widened the rim to 5 feet and lowered it 3 feet. I have power forwards who could not make my high school team. We could not stop anyone and this team won 2 games ONLY because of me, not partly because of me…ONLY. That 3 pointer I hit in game 3 was ridiculous; did you see how I celebrated after that? And of course no ref dared T me up like they did D ho ’cause I am LBJ, I am that good.
MY TEAM SUCKS, no really put that in the paper, WE SUCK, everyone automatically assumed I would make the finals, and I stared to believe it. I have more commercials out right now than games played in the Conference finals. I might as well go help Kobe look for his “3 championship rings” because that is the closest I am getting to a ring this year. I put up 38/8/8 and still could not even make a game 7 much less the finals. If you think I am going to sign that extension you are crazy or you have some last second ransom you are going to spring on me to force me to stay, because as soon as I can get out of here I am going.”
Cavaliers’ management scrambling to podium: “PRESS CONFERENCE OVER!”
Or of course he could have just said “Both teams played hard” (Shout out to Rasheed Wallace)
But to just put your headphones on and walk out to the bus, that was bush league. To not even shake the hand of your Olympic team-mate, that was tasteless. But, wait, you have been given a chance to redeem yourself, you can hold a press conference after you have had a chance to cool off, surely now you will say something contrite and explain away the childish behavior.
WRONG!
In his press conference a day after the game, LBJ did not apologize for his actions instead he offered up excuses: He told us that he emailed Dwight Howard…look I have enemies I respect enough to actually call if I have to congratulate them, much less a team-mate that I won a gold medal with. He then told the world that he walked off because he is a winner and that winners do not like to lose (ignore the oxymoron for a second) and that no one congratulates the person that kicks their ass.
So what I take from this is that Lebron has never watched a single Boxing match, MMA fight, Karate Tournament, any version of Rocky, a hockey game, a little league match, Tennis (especially Serena vs. anyone from France), old highlights of Jordan (he wears 23 too) vs. the Lakers/Pistons/Celtics. Hell apparently he never played a friendly pickup game, or flag football or just a game of cards apparently Lebron has only ever watched Lebron. It is a time honored part of sports to congratulate your opponent win or lose. It is not humiliating it is respect. It is not humbling yourself; it is acknowledgment of the nature of the shared activity.
Look even Mike Tyson at the end of a fight with Lennox Lewis where he previously threatened to eat Lennox’s children (HIS CHILDREN!) congratulated Lennox on beating him into submission. If Tyson, one of the craziest and most dangerous men ever to engage in an athletic endeavor can have the grace to shake his opponents hand, your not doing it, diminishes you.
But really Lebron – you are a winner so you did not shake your opponents hands? Uhmm, if you are such a winner why is your team now “Gone Fishing” while the Magic play this Thursday? Can you really call yourself a winner when your team just got soundly beaten and LOST? You lost the game and then you lost respect by your actions…man up!
There is currently a very popular phrase in the vernacular of the streets…Bitch Made; Lebron, I never thought I could apply that to you, but those actions this weekend were Bitch Made. This is the first time that I have seen that you lacked that positive male influence in shaping your youth that would have told you…“that is not cool you never walk off like that.”
Some are now saying this has done irreparable harm to your image, I even heard a sports talk host here in LA claim that you would lose endorsements because of it. That is just reactionary talk, you will overcome this, mainly because your marketing machine is so good that they will immediately impress upon you that this can never happen again. But, I hope you will overcome this because of the strength of character that I think I see in you.
You came into the league with incredible pressure on you, and for the most part have handled it better than anyone could have expected, learn from this and come out better than ever.
p.s. I really wish someone when you were 13 had told you, do NOT wear number 23!
Spare me the he is young excuse. Lebron is 24 and has been in the league for 6 years, he is so mature that most people in their 40s could look to him for guidance. Yes he had to grow up fast but when you have the publicity/support/monetary machine that surrounds
Lebron, you grow up fast.
The fact that the league has not (yet) fined him for skipping out on the post game press conference is farcical and proves the conspiracy wonks right…the league favors its stars.
Many Lebron backers are saying he left without doing the obligatory post game press conference because he did not want to bash his team mates – and that is a defense? I am supposed to believe that Lebron was merely following the principle of “if you cannot say something nice don’t say anything at all”. Well that is (in old sportswriter terminology) HOGWASH. There were plenty of nice things he could have said: “We lost to a better team”, “We got our butts Kicked”, “We were out hustled, out-maneuvered”, “The Magic are a great team”, “Dwight Howard is superman and he owns my team” ok he would probably never say the last one, but it is true.
But if he really wanted to be the ‘King James’ that many expect him to be, he could have come out and said something that I would have really admired, allow me for a moment to be Lebron answering an imaginary question:
Reporter from Cleveland: “Lebron what are your thoughts on this your second straight exit just before the NBA finals”
Lebron: “What can I say? We were out coached so badly that it makes it even funnier that Mike Brown won coach of the year when anyone who follows basketball knows that we won 60 plus games because I play on this team, we caught fire at home, we have great fans, caught many a team flat, played with intensity because for most of our players the greatest thing we can aspire to is a great record not a title. Our coach won coach of the year because writers are often too lazy to look at actual circumstances and would rather just look at plain numbers; “Team X has more wins so they must have the best”. Because it would be too hard to swallow that the coach of Oklahoma has less talent and tougher circumstances and did a much better job even if his team had less wins, or that Greg Popovich had to deal with injuries all year but still got his team a great record. Or how about George Karl and his bunch of knuckleheads, his team was practically transformed in the middle of the season and still he was a force in the West, and this is before we get to the coach of the team that beat us!
“But what are my thoughts? Did you see my team out there? I have a guy making predictions that we are the better team, the best team in the NBA and then he cannot hit a jump shot if you widened the rim to 5 feet and lowered it 3 feet. I have power forwards who could not make my high school team. We could not stop anyone and this team won 2 games ONLY because of me, not partly because of me…ONLY. That 3 pointer I hit in game 3 was ridiculous; did you see how I celebrated after that? And of course no ref dared T me up like they did D ho ’cause I am LBJ, I am that good.
MY TEAM SUCKS, no really put that in the paper, WE SUCK, everyone automatically assumed I would make the finals, and I stared to believe it. I have more commercials out right now than games played in the Conference finals. I might as well go help Kobe look for his “3 championship rings” because that is the closest I am getting to a ring this year. I put up 38/8/8 and still could not even make a game 7 much less the finals. If you think I am going to sign that extension you are crazy or you have some last second ransom you are going to spring on me to force me to stay, because as soon as I can get out of here I am going.”
Cavaliers’ management scrambling to podium: “PRESS CONFERENCE OVER!”
Or of course he could have just said “Both teams played hard” (Shout out to Rasheed Wallace)
But to just put your headphones on and walk out to the bus, that was bush league. To not even shake the hand of your Olympic team-mate, that was tasteless. But, wait, you have been given a chance to redeem yourself, you can hold a press conference after you have had a chance to cool off, surely now you will say something contrite and explain away the childish behavior.
WRONG!
In his press conference a day after the game, LBJ did not apologize for his actions instead he offered up excuses: He told us that he emailed Dwight Howard…look I have enemies I respect enough to actually call if I have to congratulate them, much less a team-mate that I won a gold medal with. He then told the world that he walked off because he is a winner and that winners do not like to lose (ignore the oxymoron for a second) and that no one congratulates the person that kicks their ass.
So what I take from this is that Lebron has never watched a single Boxing match, MMA fight, Karate Tournament, any version of Rocky, a hockey game, a little league match, Tennis (especially Serena vs. anyone from France), old highlights of Jordan (he wears 23 too) vs. the Lakers/Pistons/Celtics. Hell apparently he never played a friendly pickup game, or flag football or just a game of cards apparently Lebron has only ever watched Lebron. It is a time honored part of sports to congratulate your opponent win or lose. It is not humiliating it is respect. It is not humbling yourself; it is acknowledgment of the nature of the shared activity.
Look even Mike Tyson at the end of a fight with Lennox Lewis where he previously threatened to eat Lennox’s children (HIS CHILDREN!) congratulated Lennox on beating him into submission. If Tyson, one of the craziest and most dangerous men ever to engage in an athletic endeavor can have the grace to shake his opponents hand, your not doing it, diminishes you.
But really Lebron – you are a winner so you did not shake your opponents hands? Uhmm, if you are such a winner why is your team now “Gone Fishing” while the Magic play this Thursday? Can you really call yourself a winner when your team just got soundly beaten and LOST? You lost the game and then you lost respect by your actions…man up!
There is currently a very popular phrase in the vernacular of the streets…Bitch Made; Lebron, I never thought I could apply that to you, but those actions this weekend were Bitch Made. This is the first time that I have seen that you lacked that positive male influence in shaping your youth that would have told you…“that is not cool you never walk off like that.”
Some are now saying this has done irreparable harm to your image, I even heard a sports talk host here in LA claim that you would lose endorsements because of it. That is just reactionary talk, you will overcome this, mainly because your marketing machine is so good that they will immediately impress upon you that this can never happen again. But, I hope you will overcome this because of the strength of character that I think I see in you.
You came into the league with incredible pressure on you, and for the most part have handled it better than anyone could have expected, learn from this and come out better than ever.
p.s. I really wish someone when you were 13 had told you, do NOT wear number 23!
Monday, June 01, 2009
Why Orlando could win but the Lakers should…
Ok the title is not the greatest, I really hate when sports writers waffle and refuse to pick a side, yet at the same time I understand it.
Well if I am going to just wantonly give a prediction, I will say Orlando in 6 with the Lakers having the choking label attached to them!
See looking at that sentence you would say, come on he is crazy, if you are going to pick Orlando it has to be a hard fought series going all the way. BUT, history favors the home team winning game 7s so if I predict a 7 game series and I trust history I would have to give the win to LA, right? And history says the Lakers struggle against speedy guards …Skip to my lou is so much better and faster than Derek Fisher at this point in their careers that the point guard advantage is strongly in favor of Orlando?
The Lakers were the most talented team in the playoffs by far. I know many predicted Denver over the Lakers, but I think most of those predictions were based on hope and fatigue at the Laker hype and Kobe and Lebron puppets. In a head to head matchup there are few players on the Denver starting 5 that could replace the Lakers starting 5. Yes they are flashier, much more likeable guys but when you really dig deep down to your core as a fan, do you prefer likeable to championships? Before you answer that think again about John Stockton…very likeable guy…zero wins. Now if you are a Utah fan would you have traded all those years of Stockton for 2 titles with Kobe?
Or Lakers fans who now claim that the best decision was cutting Shaq. Would you have been fine with having discontent in your team but 3 more titles? Or are you really happy with the last 5 years of your team? I know many now claim that it was a great decision to get rid of Shaq but really, how good a decision was it? The team went into a spiral, has the label of petulant and soft and is one of the most hated franchises in the league…with Shaq you would have been hated but champs. And please do not give me the garbage of Kobe threatening to leave if Shaq stayed. Kobe was a petulant child (maybe still is) who pouts when he does not have his way, he has held your franchise ransom time and time again (hell there was even a rumored threat that he would play for the Clippers) bashed team mates and always came back. He was never leaving as long as he thought he could keep winning with Shaq.
But sorry, I have floated so far away from the topic that I could be a plot line on Family Guy (insert random fight with a chicken here). Orlando presents matchup problems for the ‘Talented Lakers’, who on the Lakers is going to guard Dwight Howard? Other than the refs I mean. I am constantly amused by the new ways in which a ‘superstar’ like Dwight does not get ‘superstar’ calls? Does David Stern have a daughter? Did he catch her in bed with D Ho? Did he defile Stern’s wife? What is it? Lebron gets free throws if a fan from the other team stares at him. Dwight has a foul called on him for a clean block on a 3 point attempt that did not even need replay for the world to see how bogus it was.
Is it because he is signed to Adidas? Is the league owned by Nike? The ads would seem to suggest that.
A colleague of mine has for ages drank the kool aid (probably lemon lime or some other weak flavor like that) that D Ho is soft. I have argued that he is not soft, people just do not give him enough credit and are not exposed enough to his games. I now add to that analysis, I think part of the problem is that when he plays ‘hard’ he picks up ridiculous fouls and technicals and thus has to spend so much time on the bench that his ‘soft’ play is necessary for continued minutes.
To buttress this argument I point to the technical that was rescinded by the league. D ho was being mauled under the hoop by Anderson V (one of the sneaky dirty players in the league) catching the ball he goes up strong and gets a basket and an ‘and one’ he flexes like ‘players with passion’ are supposed to react and he gets T-d up for taunting…hmm. I think because he has the body and strength of Shaq but did not build up the cache of good will and publicity that Shaq had received from his brief time at LSU, D Ho is yet to get the respects of the refs. I suspect that by next year some of the ticky tack fouls that he has to deal with now will no longer be a problem and he will be allowed to be more ‘aggressive’.
The 5 best players in the NBA in no particular order are Kobe, Lebron, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Tim Duncan (when healthy – increasingly rare), my Spurs bias says that Tony Parker is knocking on that door, before you laugh completely at that, look at his stats in the last finals, and look at his playoffs stats every year, then get back to me with your laugh. I am not sure where to put Carmelo, I think he could replace Paul…but not sure.
Now the problem for the rest of the league is that on that list of 5, 2 have players on their team that can at any given month be in the top 25 players in the league. Kobe has Gasol and Odom. Duncan has Ginobli and Parker. Lebron has a bunch of scrubs (Boobie it pains me to say this, but you have to be more consistent to rise above the scrub label) and a maybe in Mo Williams. Chris Paul has a decent supporting staff, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that pieces are missing and that maybe he is not quite the leader he needs to be, yet. Dwight Howard has a bunch of adequate shooters surrounding him and a ton of players with that immeasurable statistic, Heart!
So in the finals if we looked solely at stars it would be Kobe – Gasol – Odom – D Fish’s knees - over-rated Bynum – Ariza and some mixture of Walton/Brown/and 24 more fouls to give vs. Dwight Howard – Hedo – Rafer Alston (Skip to my Lou) – possibly Jameer Nelson (I listed Rafer first because of health) and a bunch of players that at this stage are just interchangeable.
So on paper it really should be the Lakers, most of the players on Orlando would struggle to make the Lakers playoff roster yet, Orlando has looked like the more impressive team, how come? I say it must be D Ho!
Point to anyone in this league that can guard him; the only physical presence similar to his is Shaq and Shaq lacks his athleticism. If he is allowed to play free of the simplistic fouls that have plagued him, he could systematically destroy the Lakers front line. The greatest mystery to me of these playoffs is the fact that Anderson Varajo did not foul out every game in the first half.
D Ho has the power of Shaq, the athleticism of Lebron, the shooting touch of Vlade Divac and unfortunately the ball handling skills of a first day porn star. If he improves his handle and his shooting touch he will be unstoppable. Have I mentioned that his free throws have improved to the point that a team cannot risk adopting the hack-a-Dwight strategy?
Kobe will get his points, no one in the league is truly a Kobe Stopper, I am looking at you Ruben Patterson, if you are even still in the league. But I suspect the strategy will have to be to try to contain Kobe while shutting down the rest of the Lakers. Lakers fans will hate hearing this but I love seeing D Fish shoot, if he is out there jacking up shots it means that one less reliable Laker has a chance to touch the ball, “shoot Fish shoot”. The wild card as it almost always is; is Odom. Gasol is guaranteed to be consistent, he will get his points, he will get his rebounds, we will all call him soft but he will do the job he is supposed to do. But, Odom, Odom might average 24/11 or he might disappear and turn in 12/6 performances all series.
Odom is basically part of the beauty of sports and why predictions are so difficult…until the game is actually played you cannot really know what is going to happen. Detroit can beat LA when Shaq and Kobe were already being fitted for their rings. Mine that Bird can win the Derby as a 50-1 underdog; while a filly that was not even in the race goes on to win the next leg of the Triple Crown. A tiny island known more for reggae music than sports can sweep the sprints at the Olympics and take the spotlight from a pot-smoker that floats in a pool. And Superman might decide to put on his cape and deliver some Magic in the NBA finals.
Well if I am going to just wantonly give a prediction, I will say Orlando in 6 with the Lakers having the choking label attached to them!
See looking at that sentence you would say, come on he is crazy, if you are going to pick Orlando it has to be a hard fought series going all the way. BUT, history favors the home team winning game 7s so if I predict a 7 game series and I trust history I would have to give the win to LA, right? And history says the Lakers struggle against speedy guards …Skip to my lou is so much better and faster than Derek Fisher at this point in their careers that the point guard advantage is strongly in favor of Orlando?
The Lakers were the most talented team in the playoffs by far. I know many predicted Denver over the Lakers, but I think most of those predictions were based on hope and fatigue at the Laker hype and Kobe and Lebron puppets. In a head to head matchup there are few players on the Denver starting 5 that could replace the Lakers starting 5. Yes they are flashier, much more likeable guys but when you really dig deep down to your core as a fan, do you prefer likeable to championships? Before you answer that think again about John Stockton…very likeable guy…zero wins. Now if you are a Utah fan would you have traded all those years of Stockton for 2 titles with Kobe?
Or Lakers fans who now claim that the best decision was cutting Shaq. Would you have been fine with having discontent in your team but 3 more titles? Or are you really happy with the last 5 years of your team? I know many now claim that it was a great decision to get rid of Shaq but really, how good a decision was it? The team went into a spiral, has the label of petulant and soft and is one of the most hated franchises in the league…with Shaq you would have been hated but champs. And please do not give me the garbage of Kobe threatening to leave if Shaq stayed. Kobe was a petulant child (maybe still is) who pouts when he does not have his way, he has held your franchise ransom time and time again (hell there was even a rumored threat that he would play for the Clippers) bashed team mates and always came back. He was never leaving as long as he thought he could keep winning with Shaq.
But sorry, I have floated so far away from the topic that I could be a plot line on Family Guy (insert random fight with a chicken here). Orlando presents matchup problems for the ‘Talented Lakers’, who on the Lakers is going to guard Dwight Howard? Other than the refs I mean. I am constantly amused by the new ways in which a ‘superstar’ like Dwight does not get ‘superstar’ calls? Does David Stern have a daughter? Did he catch her in bed with D Ho? Did he defile Stern’s wife? What is it? Lebron gets free throws if a fan from the other team stares at him. Dwight has a foul called on him for a clean block on a 3 point attempt that did not even need replay for the world to see how bogus it was.
Is it because he is signed to Adidas? Is the league owned by Nike? The ads would seem to suggest that.
A colleague of mine has for ages drank the kool aid (probably lemon lime or some other weak flavor like that) that D Ho is soft. I have argued that he is not soft, people just do not give him enough credit and are not exposed enough to his games. I now add to that analysis, I think part of the problem is that when he plays ‘hard’ he picks up ridiculous fouls and technicals and thus has to spend so much time on the bench that his ‘soft’ play is necessary for continued minutes.
To buttress this argument I point to the technical that was rescinded by the league. D ho was being mauled under the hoop by Anderson V (one of the sneaky dirty players in the league) catching the ball he goes up strong and gets a basket and an ‘and one’ he flexes like ‘players with passion’ are supposed to react and he gets T-d up for taunting…hmm. I think because he has the body and strength of Shaq but did not build up the cache of good will and publicity that Shaq had received from his brief time at LSU, D Ho is yet to get the respects of the refs. I suspect that by next year some of the ticky tack fouls that he has to deal with now will no longer be a problem and he will be allowed to be more ‘aggressive’.
The 5 best players in the NBA in no particular order are Kobe, Lebron, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Tim Duncan (when healthy – increasingly rare), my Spurs bias says that Tony Parker is knocking on that door, before you laugh completely at that, look at his stats in the last finals, and look at his playoffs stats every year, then get back to me with your laugh. I am not sure where to put Carmelo, I think he could replace Paul…but not sure.
Now the problem for the rest of the league is that on that list of 5, 2 have players on their team that can at any given month be in the top 25 players in the league. Kobe has Gasol and Odom. Duncan has Ginobli and Parker. Lebron has a bunch of scrubs (Boobie it pains me to say this, but you have to be more consistent to rise above the scrub label) and a maybe in Mo Williams. Chris Paul has a decent supporting staff, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that pieces are missing and that maybe he is not quite the leader he needs to be, yet. Dwight Howard has a bunch of adequate shooters surrounding him and a ton of players with that immeasurable statistic, Heart!
So in the finals if we looked solely at stars it would be Kobe – Gasol – Odom – D Fish’s knees - over-rated Bynum – Ariza and some mixture of Walton/Brown/and 24 more fouls to give vs. Dwight Howard – Hedo – Rafer Alston (Skip to my Lou) – possibly Jameer Nelson (I listed Rafer first because of health) and a bunch of players that at this stage are just interchangeable.
So on paper it really should be the Lakers, most of the players on Orlando would struggle to make the Lakers playoff roster yet, Orlando has looked like the more impressive team, how come? I say it must be D Ho!
Point to anyone in this league that can guard him; the only physical presence similar to his is Shaq and Shaq lacks his athleticism. If he is allowed to play free of the simplistic fouls that have plagued him, he could systematically destroy the Lakers front line. The greatest mystery to me of these playoffs is the fact that Anderson Varajo did not foul out every game in the first half.
D Ho has the power of Shaq, the athleticism of Lebron, the shooting touch of Vlade Divac and unfortunately the ball handling skills of a first day porn star. If he improves his handle and his shooting touch he will be unstoppable. Have I mentioned that his free throws have improved to the point that a team cannot risk adopting the hack-a-Dwight strategy?
Kobe will get his points, no one in the league is truly a Kobe Stopper, I am looking at you Ruben Patterson, if you are even still in the league. But I suspect the strategy will have to be to try to contain Kobe while shutting down the rest of the Lakers. Lakers fans will hate hearing this but I love seeing D Fish shoot, if he is out there jacking up shots it means that one less reliable Laker has a chance to touch the ball, “shoot Fish shoot”. The wild card as it almost always is; is Odom. Gasol is guaranteed to be consistent, he will get his points, he will get his rebounds, we will all call him soft but he will do the job he is supposed to do. But, Odom, Odom might average 24/11 or he might disappear and turn in 12/6 performances all series.
Odom is basically part of the beauty of sports and why predictions are so difficult…until the game is actually played you cannot really know what is going to happen. Detroit can beat LA when Shaq and Kobe were already being fitted for their rings. Mine that Bird can win the Derby as a 50-1 underdog; while a filly that was not even in the race goes on to win the next leg of the Triple Crown. A tiny island known more for reggae music than sports can sweep the sprints at the Olympics and take the spotlight from a pot-smoker that floats in a pool. And Superman might decide to put on his cape and deliver some Magic in the NBA finals.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
As much as I hate showing Kobe love...player not beef
This was a sick play, passing to yourself to beat the defender will always earn respect
That said, he should get suspended for that elbow he threw to Artest's neck
...but he wont
That said, he should get suspended for that elbow he threw to Artest's neck
...but he wont
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
WNBA brawl = relevancy for 15 minutes.
First things first, I had no idea the WNBA season had even started! I know I say this every year, but unless something happens to let me see a game on TV (like accidentally stumbling on a game) I never know when the damn season is on (not that I am ever looking for it).
Anyway, there was a huge brawl in the WNBA tonight...and of course all of a sudden the WNBA is mentioned on Sports radio. Thing is, no one mentions any highlights or about any of the other games that were played, the brawl was the last 5 seconds of the game and that is all anyone cares about.
Let us be honest, if the NBA itself was not so insanely successful, the WNBA would be DEAD! That league cannot sustain itself! I can pretty much name the starting 5 of any team in the NBA, I cannot name 5 girls total in the WNBA, and this is a league that sports TEXAS players and I still cannot name them.
Anyway, peeps are over-reacting that one of the male coaches may or may not have shoved one of the 'ladies' during the brawl. What is clear, is that he was trying to protect one of his players who was in the melee, if he did shove Lisa Leslie, so be it. I do not think he was trying to 'attack' a woman and I do not think he was intentionally at any point trying to hurt a woman. I believe that he was doing the rational thing which is trying to defend himself in a natural manner (Without throwing a punch) because she THREW A PUNCH AT HIM! Look if she is going to attack him as if she is a man, he has every right to defend himself to the best of his ability. I am just so happy he did not punch her (because that would be harder to defend) because even if he were in the right he would 'forever be in the wrong'.
--Pushing someone backwards in a brawl is natural, whether they are male or female
Bloody funny that this fight occurred in Detroit, the sight of the last major Bball brawl, and that Rick Mahorn is again involved as a 'peacemaker'
Crappy video for now, I am sure someone will upload a better one but as a commenter on youtube said "Who the hell DVRs a WNBA game?"
Anyway, there was a huge brawl in the WNBA tonight...and of course all of a sudden the WNBA is mentioned on Sports radio. Thing is, no one mentions any highlights or about any of the other games that were played, the brawl was the last 5 seconds of the game and that is all anyone cares about.
Let us be honest, if the NBA itself was not so insanely successful, the WNBA would be DEAD! That league cannot sustain itself! I can pretty much name the starting 5 of any team in the NBA, I cannot name 5 girls total in the WNBA, and this is a league that sports TEXAS players and I still cannot name them.
Anyway, peeps are over-reacting that one of the male coaches may or may not have shoved one of the 'ladies' during the brawl. What is clear, is that he was trying to protect one of his players who was in the melee, if he did shove Lisa Leslie, so be it. I do not think he was trying to 'attack' a woman and I do not think he was intentionally at any point trying to hurt a woman. I believe that he was doing the rational thing which is trying to defend himself in a natural manner (Without throwing a punch) because she THREW A PUNCH AT HIM! Look if she is going to attack him as if she is a man, he has every right to defend himself to the best of his ability. I am just so happy he did not punch her (because that would be harder to defend) because even if he were in the right he would 'forever be in the wrong'.
--Pushing someone backwards in a brawl is natural, whether they are male or female
Bloody funny that this fight occurred in Detroit, the sight of the last major Bball brawl, and that Rick Mahorn is again involved as a 'peacemaker'
Crappy video for now, I am sure someone will upload a better one but as a commenter on youtube said "Who the hell DVRs a WNBA game?"
Monday, June 23, 2008
"Kobe tell me how my a@@ tastes" --Shaq and the Cali J loses weight
Looks like the feud has not ended!
But we will get to that in a second. I am worn out 2nite. Hit the gym, and tried to double the size of my chest in one night (it did not happen). I know I have not been giving regular updates on my gym progress but that is because I have set goals for the Sept 24th deadline and while I am on pace for them, I figured no need to give constant updates. Anyway I will just give a basic run down of how it goes.
My goal has been to get down to 185lbs by the 24th (should be a national holiday, but that will prolly happen when I die). I am a couple months ahead of schedule on that goal, not there yet, but closer than I thought. Note I am coming down from 232, when I started the goal, and a high of 236 at one point.
My strength has improved, my speed has improved and my stamina has improved. Sadly those who know me in person, know my knees are shot but even with my 80 year old knees I have improved.
I have suffered a variety of injuries, which is of course to be expected when you set a goal to lose almost 50lbs. I had stress fractures in both feet (horribly painful), I rolled my right ankle so badly that for awhile I thought I had torn a tendon. My chest and arm routine took a hit when I suffered a dislocation of my shoulder (not the first, so something I was able to deal with and did not cause depression). The latest set-back was the infamous late night cracked toe. Nothing like kicking a laptop (accidentally) while barefoot to ensure that you are not running for a month.
I can finally do sit ups without looking around for a sip of water and a break.
I can finally break a 10 minute mile, again for most peeps that is no biggie, but if you had my knees and were coming from where I am coming from you would be ecstatic.
(I should add, when I was fitter, I would routinely do 8 minute miles, even though I jogged every day while in high school, I could never do fast miles, I suspect 8 minute miles will be the goal for next year - oh and look morons out there...before you say something dumb like..."who cannot run an 8 minute mile?" I can run one now, but what good is that? At the end of that 8 minute mile my work out would be OVER! No way am I running a sub-8-minute mile and continuing cardio for the day. So rather than running for speed, I currently run for stamina and fat burning, when I do my marathon at age 35 [mark your calendar Jackie, you are doing it with me] I will then show off my speed)
I can do cardio-Kick boxing without feeling fatigued, yoga no longer tires me, I kill the bike in spinning class, I can finally swim a mile, I no longer wheeze like a smoker going up stairs (never smoked in my life). And I love, absolutely love stepping into some of the back and leg machines at the gyms and selecting their maximum weights.
Now I need to strip the outlying layers of fat and improve the chest work-out and I will have completed all my goals.
Shotta, Assassin and female-me, I hope you guys are keeping your regimens up too!
---
The Shaq-Kobe feud has always amused me. Some of the things that they fight about amuse me and I love the fact that because those 2 could not get along the Spurs had a much easier route to the finals for years. Look, Shaq+Kobe + harmony would have always been a title threat. The biggest problem for Kobe in this feud is that Shaq is inherently likable and Kobe is not. Kobe just rubs peeps the wrong way. Hell even his nickname (SELF IMPOSED) of the Black Mamba just came off forced and stilted and quite frankly ridiculous. Shaq gives himself a new nickname every year and hell nicknames half the league (Tim Duncan aka the big Fundamental to name one) and they crack peeps up.
Anyway Shaqs latest salvo in the feud is below. Shaq claims it was all in fun and no ill-will was meant...you decide.
But we will get to that in a second. I am worn out 2nite. Hit the gym, and tried to double the size of my chest in one night (it did not happen). I know I have not been giving regular updates on my gym progress but that is because I have set goals for the Sept 24th deadline and while I am on pace for them, I figured no need to give constant updates. Anyway I will just give a basic run down of how it goes.
My goal has been to get down to 185lbs by the 24th (should be a national holiday, but that will prolly happen when I die). I am a couple months ahead of schedule on that goal, not there yet, but closer than I thought. Note I am coming down from 232, when I started the goal, and a high of 236 at one point.
My strength has improved, my speed has improved and my stamina has improved. Sadly those who know me in person, know my knees are shot but even with my 80 year old knees I have improved.
I have suffered a variety of injuries, which is of course to be expected when you set a goal to lose almost 50lbs. I had stress fractures in both feet (horribly painful), I rolled my right ankle so badly that for awhile I thought I had torn a tendon. My chest and arm routine took a hit when I suffered a dislocation of my shoulder (not the first, so something I was able to deal with and did not cause depression). The latest set-back was the infamous late night cracked toe. Nothing like kicking a laptop (accidentally) while barefoot to ensure that you are not running for a month.
I can finally do sit ups without looking around for a sip of water and a break.
I can finally break a 10 minute mile, again for most peeps that is no biggie, but if you had my knees and were coming from where I am coming from you would be ecstatic.
(I should add, when I was fitter, I would routinely do 8 minute miles, even though I jogged every day while in high school, I could never do fast miles, I suspect 8 minute miles will be the goal for next year - oh and look morons out there...before you say something dumb like..."who cannot run an 8 minute mile?" I can run one now, but what good is that? At the end of that 8 minute mile my work out would be OVER! No way am I running a sub-8-minute mile and continuing cardio for the day. So rather than running for speed, I currently run for stamina and fat burning, when I do my marathon at age 35 [mark your calendar Jackie, you are doing it with me] I will then show off my speed)
I can do cardio-Kick boxing without feeling fatigued, yoga no longer tires me, I kill the bike in spinning class, I can finally swim a mile, I no longer wheeze like a smoker going up stairs (never smoked in my life). And I love, absolutely love stepping into some of the back and leg machines at the gyms and selecting their maximum weights.
Now I need to strip the outlying layers of fat and improve the chest work-out and I will have completed all my goals.
Shotta, Assassin and female-me, I hope you guys are keeping your regimens up too!
---
The Shaq-Kobe feud has always amused me. Some of the things that they fight about amuse me and I love the fact that because those 2 could not get along the Spurs had a much easier route to the finals for years. Look, Shaq+Kobe + harmony would have always been a title threat. The biggest problem for Kobe in this feud is that Shaq is inherently likable and Kobe is not. Kobe just rubs peeps the wrong way. Hell even his nickname (SELF IMPOSED) of the Black Mamba just came off forced and stilted and quite frankly ridiculous. Shaq gives himself a new nickname every year and hell nicknames half the league (Tim Duncan aka the big Fundamental to name one) and they crack peeps up.
Anyway Shaqs latest salvo in the feud is below. Shaq claims it was all in fun and no ill-will was meant...you decide.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Bloody insomnia sucks vol 2394.34
Since I am up all night I decided to go through blog posts just to clean up stuff, just found this post in my drafts list, clearly from the title listed below it was supposed to be posted DURING THE NCAAs...not sure why I did not post it at the time, I guess I probably tried to throw the pc out of the window while watching the game.
Anyway here goes.
Original title: Things I learned while watching the NCAAs
Rick Barnes (the Texas coach) hates me. He clearly wants me to die of a heart attack! There is no other way to explain his coaching technique today!
Minorities in commercials are mean to everyone, my old roomie and I used to marvel at the old Ad with the guy constantly being an ass about how great his phone was. Now I see a VW ad where the guy constantly sets off the car alarm.
Former Prez Bush likes Texas cheerleaders, that was the biggest smile I have seen on his face...ever!
Despite the fact the housing market is horrible, we are being told to buy buy and buy more houses.
Though you cannot drink booze at any NCAA games, the NCAA is completely fine with advertising to its core student audience the joy of alcohol.
Those Old Spice (Jackie Moon) 'Semi Pro' ads really suck. Normally I do not see them because of DVR but watching the game live you have little choice but to sit through them and wonder..."Who wrote this crap?"
(Nothing to do with the tourney but I saw a Hilary Swank movie and, seriously there is just something about her face, she is not ugly, but she is not beautiful either, thankfully she can act!)
Anyway here goes.
Original title: Things I learned while watching the NCAAs
Rick Barnes (the Texas coach) hates me. He clearly wants me to die of a heart attack! There is no other way to explain his coaching technique today!
Minorities in commercials are mean to everyone, my old roomie and I used to marvel at the old Ad with the guy constantly being an ass about how great his phone was. Now I see a VW ad where the guy constantly sets off the car alarm.
Former Prez Bush likes Texas cheerleaders, that was the biggest smile I have seen on his face...ever!
Despite the fact the housing market is horrible, we are being told to buy buy and buy more houses.
Though you cannot drink booze at any NCAA games, the NCAA is completely fine with advertising to its core student audience the joy of alcohol.
Those Old Spice (Jackie Moon) 'Semi Pro' ads really suck. Normally I do not see them because of DVR but watching the game live you have little choice but to sit through them and wonder..."Who wrote this crap?"
(Nothing to do with the tourney but I saw a Hilary Swank movie and, seriously there is just something about her face, she is not ugly, but she is not beautiful either, thankfully she can act!)
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Rock Chalk Jayhawk...and good friends
You know good friends are the ones who make you tilt your head, crinkly your mouth into a wry smile and say..."I need to avoid these people."
Tonight I watched the Kansas Jayhawks step up to the plate and provide us with a great national championship game! The last second shot by Chalmers to send the game to OT was amazing. Maybe now the big 12 will get some love. We put 2 teams in the Elite 8 and one team won it all. We are more than just a football conference...though we are great at that too.
Anyway after the game which was viewed at a brewery (but I did not eat or drink...I was still full from lunch) I headed to the gym and while at the gym received a call, ordering me to the bar that was next to my home...read back the old blogs and you will see where I both lamented and rejoiced the fact that a bar was literally on my block.
Let me back track, part of why I did not eat at the brewery was because I ate so much for lunch I was still full at dinner time, and since I had, had a drink with Delz during lunch it just did not seem practical to consume more alcohol. Of course after working out, the boozing restriction seemed less important.
When I went to the bar, my original intention was just to meet up with my friends cry mercy and go home to eat dinner since as noted above I had just worked out and needed nourishment. Instead once I entered the bar I was handed a G and T and it went downhill from there. The great thing about neighborhood bars is that they let you bring in outside food etc. I have never been carded at 'The Box' and I have never been hassled, so I went and got some snacks to eat inside the bar since their kitchen had already closed. And because I live Soooooooooooooooo damn close I actually ran upstairs to burn a CD for my friend while my next G and T was coming.
In fact when the neighborhood bar knows you, you can order a drink, take it to your table then leave the bar to go get the cash to pay for the drink...try doing that in a Gaslamp bar! On purpose though, I avoid the box unless others invite me to go there, and I NEVER drink alone, I maintain that rule.
But despite the pretense I loved spending time with my friends, it was great watching the game with the old USD crew and great hitting the Jewel Box with K and J, and it was fun playing the non-peacemaker role with the Twins for our late night Balboa Park excursion.
Tonight I watched the Kansas Jayhawks step up to the plate and provide us with a great national championship game! The last second shot by Chalmers to send the game to OT was amazing. Maybe now the big 12 will get some love. We put 2 teams in the Elite 8 and one team won it all. We are more than just a football conference...though we are great at that too.
Anyway after the game which was viewed at a brewery (but I did not eat or drink...I was still full from lunch) I headed to the gym and while at the gym received a call, ordering me to the bar that was next to my home...read back the old blogs and you will see where I both lamented and rejoiced the fact that a bar was literally on my block.
Let me back track, part of why I did not eat at the brewery was because I ate so much for lunch I was still full at dinner time, and since I had, had a drink with Delz during lunch it just did not seem practical to consume more alcohol. Of course after working out, the boozing restriction seemed less important.
When I went to the bar, my original intention was just to meet up with my friends cry mercy and go home to eat dinner since as noted above I had just worked out and needed nourishment. Instead once I entered the bar I was handed a G and T and it went downhill from there. The great thing about neighborhood bars is that they let you bring in outside food etc. I have never been carded at 'The Box' and I have never been hassled, so I went and got some snacks to eat inside the bar since their kitchen had already closed. And because I live Soooooooooooooooo damn close I actually ran upstairs to burn a CD for my friend while my next G and T was coming.
In fact when the neighborhood bar knows you, you can order a drink, take it to your table then leave the bar to go get the cash to pay for the drink...try doing that in a Gaslamp bar! On purpose though, I avoid the box unless others invite me to go there, and I NEVER drink alone, I maintain that rule.
But despite the pretense I loved spending time with my friends, it was great watching the game with the old USD crew and great hitting the Jewel Box with K and J, and it was fun playing the non-peacemaker role with the Twins for our late night Balboa Park excursion.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Hard to believe I could feel sympathy for an Aggie!
But man they got robbed by the refs, this last picture is just proof. All game it seems the refs were caught up in the partisan atmosphere. I would love to have seen how much a UCLA loss would have killed the brackets in my pool.
Credit for the photos belongs to http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1118800&forum_id=7
The rules for blocks are hand = ball, but damn this Kat got mugged driving to the lane, blows to the elbow and forearm do not a block make!
Wow:
Thursday, March 20, 2008
March Madness begins v1.3
Can Texas go all the way? I have so many brackets out there that I have actually forgotten some of the websites I am registered with.
I am showing love to the Big 12 and Pac 10 in most of my brackets and discounting the Big East getting 8 teams in. Going chalk in most of the regions except of course for the South where I am going TEXAS Longhorns all the way.
Legal notice, remember all these games are for fun...gambling on college games is prohibited.
Even if apparently 58% of employed persons in America engage in pools
I am showing love to the Big 12 and Pac 10 in most of my brackets and discounting the Big East getting 8 teams in. Going chalk in most of the regions except of course for the South where I am going TEXAS Longhorns all the way.
Legal notice, remember all these games are for fun...gambling on college games is prohibited.
Even if apparently 58% of employed persons in America engage in pools
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About Me
- Cali J
- Cali-J ueber alles in der Welt. Some think that I am mean; (I call them friends), in fact I am not that mean. What I am is sarcastic and dry to the sandpaper level. I have friends that I have never said a kind word to their face, but I praise to the ends of the earth to anyone I know and will defend them to the end. That’s just how I roll! My boys know that I am down for them, my girls know that no matter what I will keep them safe (and occasionally flirt with them [If you are a female friend of mine and think I haven’t flirted with you it just means you didn’t notice, it was extremely subtle or…not yet ]). No one is safe from my sarcasm even my own parents; hence of course as a kid I spent a significant amount of time in punishment. I treat people with respect if I think they deserve it – everyone starts off with the same amount of respect from me (a lot). You don’t need to earn my respect; you have to keep my respect.