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Post-Mortem: Familiar Feeling I wrote a version of this...

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:24:00 -0400

Post-Mortem: Familiar Feeling

I wrote a version of this right after I came home from being a pretend hockey fan for two days. I spent Game 6 and Game 7 of the Leafs-Bruins series out at a local bar in Toronto, taking in more hockey than I probably have in years.

I waited a day, just because I wanted to take in the smarter takes the brutal finish to Game 7 in Boston, like Bruce Arthur’s recap, or Sean McIndoe’s piece at Grantland, and Mike Spry over at The Barnstormer.

Now, my turn.

The first jersey I ever owned was a Mats Sundin Maple Leafs sweater. I made sure it was the one with the C on it. I saw the end of the Pat Burns era, forgot about what happened between that and when Pat Quinn arrived and an army of veteran reinforcements made us perennial contenders (or close to) year in and year out. But when the lockout happened, and it happened again a few years later, I lost interest in hockey. Maybe in another city, the sport would’ve brought me back. But it’s hard to climb a bandwagon here in Toronto. In one sense, the bandwagon is always full. In another, it feels hopelessly empty. What are we rooting for, when it’s just failures and disappointments over and over.

Gradually, football, baseball and basketball took precedent. It doesn’t help that on some nights, the local sports networks preempt NBA playoff games because a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game is in overtime. The distaste grows almost on principle alone.

But then, after a hastily firing of Brian Burke before this lockout-shortened season began, the Leafs found themselves in a playoff spot as the season neared its end. And this time, they held on, and returned to the post-season for the first time in almost a decade.

When I was at a bar after we won Game 2 in Boston, I asked the people around me how old they were last time they saw the Leafs win a playoff game. Some ignored me, because they were too busy screaming; others said they were a completely different person by then; and most of them were too young to even remember or have any recollection at all.

When a franchise, and the city, spins it wheels and toils in mediocrity for so long, a playoff win in the first round matters. Having a competitive team you can be proud of, or just standing up to the competition matters. Sometimes you get beat down for so long, you start finding respect in the smallest things. You can file Game 2 in that category.

When we fell behind 3-1 in the series, and the city started an uproar over who Elisha Cuthbert was rolling her eyes at, there was disappointment, but a resignation that these were the playoffs, we’re the Maple Leafs; one didn’t really belong with the other.

But sports is weird. Being a fan, most certainly so. A road win in Game 5 that was more an escape than a victory and finally a win in front of the home crowd in Game 6, and here we were: third game in four night, who knew, this team was growing up, taking steps towards something better, and — if we dared — maybe even moving onto the second round.

No one — well, except everyone in the city especially those at Maple Leaf Square — had thoughts of a Stanley Cup. Even at the bar where my friends congregated for the last two games, it was just about how just another week or two of hockey would be good for this city. For commerce, for pride, for just feeling good about sports.

And it felt great when the Leafs scored one, and than another in the third period. A 2-1 lead now became 4-1. Another close finish now became a foregone conclusion. We celebrated, some people chanted inappropriate things about Boston, about the Bruins, and then they settled down and celebrated some more.

And then it was 4-2. The mood was not subdued. There wasn’t much time left. We’re the better team.

With under two minutes left, the net empty on the other side, the Bruins scored again. 4-3. Now people looked confused. But still, nothing’s ever easy. Not here in Toronto, where we know heartbreak and disappointment like they say we supposedly know the back of our hands. This is what we get for letting ourselves go for just a bit, to breath a sign of relieve, even bask in the glory of pulling off a comeback like this against a team we’ve rarely beaten, especially in recent years.

And then, it was tied. The bar that was once on the verge of collapsing from its collective joy now seemed untenable. Shock, anger, and the painful realization that this wasn’t even over yet. There was still one more act to this whole thing.

At intermission, we all tried to remain positive. There wasn’t surprise, just the pain of realizing this felt too familiar.

And then, the inevitable ending in overtime. 5-4. The comeback was complete. The drinks on everyone’s tab went from celebratory pints to consolation drinks. The worst thing.

Here’s the truth: the city, any city, is built on things more meaningful than sports. But without success in this arena where we all cheer and come together, we can’t really escape the identity of being a failure in some sense. People woke up angry yesterday, disappointed, sad, even traumatized if you must, but life goes on. It does, but it’s also just what people say when they rationalize the most painful losses in sports.

In the end, it was just a Round One loss. That’s the truth. I know we all want to rush and compare the collapse to Buckner, or Norwood, or Bartman. But the stakes in those games were considerably higher. I think that matters. No one lost a championship, or eve a chance to advance to the Finals on Monday.

But in the grand scheme of things, for this team, for this city, it’s just another chapter. Another round of comforting one another, of rationalizing failure, and then moving on and being hopeful again.

Eventually this cycle stops, and I can stop writing about sports in Toronto with such somber tones.

But this doesn’t really feel too sad. Maybe because I’m detached from hockey, or probably, because this feeling is so familiar that it doesn’t feel surreal or surprising at all.

Episode 27: Chris Towers Chris Towers of CBS Sports drops by to...

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:00 -0400

Episode 27: Chris Towers

Chris Towers of CBS Sports drops by to talk all things fantasy basketball. We look at players who were supposed to make a leap this season but didn’t, look at the prospects of guys like DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Bradley Beal, Paul George, Dwight Howard and much more. Also, a few minutes on Boris Diaw’s weight.

You can follow Chris on Twitter @CTowersCBS

Enjoy the show.

FYI, there’s a Twitter feed specific to just the podcast here.

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Elsewhere: Manny Ramirez and Baseball in Taiwan I’m...

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:47:49 -0400

Elsewhere: Manny Ramirez and Baseball in Taiwan

I’m happy to announce that starting this week, I’ll be contributing a regular Monday column to the good folks at The Sports Fan Journal. The team over there have been nothing but supportive, and you can feel free to get to know a few of them who’ve guested on the podcast: Eddie Maisonet, Jason Clinkscales, Justin Tinsley and Mark Trible.

Today, I wrote about Manny Ramirez’s signing with the EDA Rhinos of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, and took a dive into the history of professional baseball in Taiwan.

You can read the full piece here.

Episode 26: Andrew Forbes The podcast takes a detour, as I head...

Sun, 12 May 2013 11:30:34 -0400

Episode 26: Andrew Forbes

The podcast takes a detour, as I head to the world of Google Hangouts for a little show and tell segment with Andrew Forbes, senior editor of The Barnstormer. The premise for this one is simple: pull all the hats and jerseys off our racks and closets and share them with the world. Todd Day, Darius Miles and Donyell Marshall fans: this one’s for you.

You can follow Andrew on Twitter @forbesAG

Enjoy the show.

FYI, there’s a Twitter feed specific to just the podcast here.

Click here to subscribe to podcast on iTunes

NBA Playoffs Diary: The Return Of Amar’e Over at The...

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:30:30 -0400

NBA Playoffs Diary: The Return Of Amar’e

Over at The Barnstormer, I answered a few questions about the NBA playoffs, including the impact of Amar’e Stoudemire’s return, which will happen later today for Game 3 in Indiana.

You can read the full piece here.

Why I Write, or, Whining About Life When I was in 7th...

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:15:00 -0400

Why I Write, or, Whining About Life

When I was in 7th grade, I went through this phase where I stopped caring about school and just wanted to spend recess at the water fountain, taking in excess amounts of water in my mouth then mimicking the HHH water spit while doing multiple Degeneration X chops.

Somewhere during that phase — which lasted like one semester — I went from a really good student to a terrible one. When I got my mid-term results, my grades were terrible. My teacher was so concerned that she pulled me aside and we had a conversation after class. She was worried I was throwing away my potential.

Looking back now, I think the disappointment in her and the concern when my parents saw my grades set me along this path of never wanting that feeling again. From that point on, all the way until I graduated university and pursued an accounting designation, I was very strong academically.

I don’t think my university transcript shows that I’m smart, it just shows that I cared.

I never really thought about my career too much, or tried to plan my future according to some well-drawn out plan. I just put my head down, did what I knew was required of me from an education standpoint, and knew that the rest would take care of itself.

Working in any corporate environment sucks to a certain extent. People become these weird variations of themselves, cobbled together from a bunch of stereotypes that they’ve learned and decide to emulate. People don’t often think with their own thoughts. Instead, they stop and assess every situation as if to think “what would someone in my position do” and then they do whatever’s necessary.

I respect people who hustle that way, I just don’t like them.

And so, the general satisfaction of having a stable job in a career field that you don’t particularly like goes something like this:

Because of that, I think a lot of people in my position start exploring different creative outlets, if they’re not really into becoming just another corporate drone. Drones make money and move up, I just want respect, man.

But once you get such a late start to this, if you want the writing thing to be more than just a hobby, to be something more, it gets hard, because the window of opportunity looks something like this:

As you get older, it shrinks more. It’s harder to have the time and resources to devote everything just to yourself. Which is not a bad thing. Listen, owning property, having a career, getting married, starting a family, these are all exciting things. They’re great. There are people going through worst than you, blah, blah, blah. In the end, satisfaction with what you’re doing in your life matters too. Trying to balance all of that is difficult.

I write to get better at it, to entertain, to provide a different voice because even though there was great voices out there, there are shitty ones too. I want to fit in with the better group. I never understood people who write sports to be right about something, or wrong about something. This shit isn’t black and white man, you suppose to explore the grey area because that’s the most interesting part. Predictions are fun, but predicaments are more enjoyable to read about.

But I suppose all I really wanted to do was whine about this, and how I think life sucks because life is not perfect, and: I encourage anyone who has any interest in anything to pursue it with full force.

I myself have found restrictions in tackling this writing thing full force. It’d be so great to just spend five years going back to school and rebuild my career. But I don’t have the time, I don’t have the money to do that without sacrificing the other things I want. So while you can, do it, because that window’s always shrinking.

And if I ever go back to school, I’m definitely taking an elective in illustration in MS Paint.

Episode 25: Eddie Maisonet Eddie Maisonet returns to the podcast...

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:57:00 -0400

Episode 25: Eddie Maisonet

Eddie Maisonet returns to the podcast to chat about the Spurs-Warriors and Thunder-Grizzlies series. Also, we discuss our favorite wardrobe from high school, including my (in)famous Avirex turtleneck, and Eddie shows appreciation for Derek Fisher and throws shade at Geno Smith.

You can follow Eddie on Twitter @edthesportsfan

Enjoy the show.

FYI, there’s a Twitter feed specific to just the podcast here.

Click here to subscribe to podcast on iTunes

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Episode 24: Andrew Ungvari Andrew Ungvari returns to the podcast...

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:55:03 -0400

Episode 24: Andrew Ungvari

Andrew Ungvari returns to the podcast to catch-up on the Lakers. We chat about the season that was, the Clippers-Lakers dynamic, Magic Johnson’s criticism of the team, Dwight Howard’s impending free agency, Kobe’s future and much more.

You can follow Andrew on Twitter @drewunga

If you missed Unga’s previous podcast appearance, catch-up with it here.

Enjoy the show.

FYI, there’s a Twitter feed specific to just the podcast here.

Click here to subscribe to podcast on iTunes

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Four Decades of Blue Jays Baseball So, real huge life...

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:30:00 -0400

Four Decades of Blue Jays Baseball

So, real huge life accomplishment last week, when I bought Jeff Blair’s Full Count: Four Decades of Blue Jays Baseball and finished the Kindle version in nine hours.

Which is great except I’ve actually spent almost two decades consuming the pain of being a baseball fan in Toronto. The book covers the Jays franchise in its entirely from its expansion days up to the start of what was supposed to be (and might still be, maybe, probably not, hopefully) a glorious 2013 season. It doesn’t dwell on the World Series years. In fact, after several chapters, it jumps straight into the post-1993 years, or as I refer to it: my own experience as a Jays fan.

I was happy to revisit these unhappy days, just to remind myself of all the craziness that’s happened, and remembered some of the good stuff too. Yes, there were some. Below are some of my favorite moments from the book:

I had completely forgot that at the time we hired J.P. Ricciardi as general manager, Dave Stewart was angling for the position as well. In the book, it’s made clear that he was a long-shot candidate to replace Gord Ash, except he took it as a slight because he was an African-American. He even told the Associated Press at the time: “They think the only people capable of doing these jobs are white people.” After the Ricciardi hiring was announced, Stewart fired back: “The more qualified guy didn’t get the job. I can swallow some crap, but I can’t swallow this much.” Stewart is now a sports agent in San Diego.
Speaking of Ricciardi, the Red Sox wanted to hire him when he was our general manager, and Paul Godfrey gave Ricciardi a contract extension to end all that talk. So, the John Farrell thing isn’t really new territory. Add to all the media bickering since Jack Morris and Dirk Hayhurst accused Clay Buchholz of throwing the spitter last time, and well, the Red Sox-Blue Jays rivalry is officially on! Wait, I just checked the standings. Maybe not.
There’s an entire chapter devoted to the late Ted Rogers that’s amazing. According to Paul Beeston: “Ted really had no idea what the game was about. How many innings there were in a game, who the players were, how many strikes or balls, none of that stuff.” Phil Lind, the vice-chairman of Rogers Communications, also chimed in and said that one time he was watching the Jays with Rogers and he asked Lind why a player who had just drawn a base on balls “wasn’t running, for god’s sake.”
Tanyon Sturtze! Pedro Borbon Jr.! No mention of Ty Taubenheim! What a trip down memory lane these names are. That lane is full of car crashes that you can’t look away from.
Let’s never forget how ridiculously good Carlos Delgado’s 2003 season was. He finished second in MVP voting to A-Rod though. An argument for Delgado is made here.
In the summer when we signed B.J. Ryan and A.J. Burnett, we almost had Brian Giles for 3 years, $33 million. He took less money to re-sign with San Diego. Maybe it was for the better?
Remember when Gil Meche was the missing piece?
The best quote of the Ricciardi era, after he withheld information of how badly B.J. Ryan was injured: “they’re not lies, if we know the truth.” I’d wear that t-shirt.
In his first year as assistant general manager, Alex Anthopoulos made $38,500.
Great quote from Anthopoulos that really summarizes the way he evaluates players. He’s speaking about Jeremy Giambi specifically: “Great walks. But I’m just not feeling it. The numbers are so good, but I didn’t like what my eyes were telling me. I guess that’s the moment I realized it was about more than stats; the moment I realized you need to ask yourself why a guy’s numbers are what they are.”
Tim Lincecum for Alex Rios? Sure, we can debate who’s the more effective player now. But Lincecum at his very best paired with Halladay would’ve been something. Maybe even enough to finish second in the AL East back then.
I know people talk a lot about all the conversations that Anthopoulos engages himself in to make sure he’s always aware of deals that are available in the market. A great example from the book: he flew to south Florida in the off-season to meet with free agent pitcher Anibal Sanchez as much as to gauge his interest with the Jays, but also to get information on former Marlin teammate Emilio Bonifacio. Also, when Reyes was a free agent the year before, Anthopoulos scheduled a meeting with Reyes’ agents just to meet them face to face, even though Toronto was not in the bidding. So yeah, I’m sure 90% of Anthopoulos’s due diligence ends up being for nothing, but in this case, it did end up being for something.
As has been reported elsewhere, Anthopoulos was ready to walk away from the Marlins trade because they were asking for Jeff Mathis, just because he didn’t want to renege on a promise to Mathis, whom had just signed a contract extension during the 2012 season to return as a back-up catcher. But in the end, he came to his senses, in his words: “I just realized: if I’d lost this deal because of Mathis, Paul would have fucking choked me. He really would have.”
There’s some Brett Lawrie- Canadian baseball content in here. There’s an anecdote about Lawrie’s charisma even as a child that goes: “when Lawrie was 11 years old, he made a play that was so audacious that the teams just walked off the field, even though there were only two out in the inning.” And then the paragraph moves onto other things. I feel like we need video footage of whatever this play was. #dicedpineapples
Brian Butterfield on Lawrie: “There are times when you’re doing a lot of work with him and you’ll be talking to him and it’s like he’s looking off someplace else. Right away you’re saying to yourself, ‘Aw, geez, I’ve lost him.’ You think ‘what is it with this guy? He had attention deficit disorder or something?’ But just when you think you need to back off a bit, he goes out and applies it that night. It’s like he’s listening when you think he’s not.” #mentality

NBA Playoffs Diary: Presumptions First of all, that’s...

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:30:00 -0400

NBA Playoffs Diary: Presumptions

First of all, that’s Diddy in the upper left hand corner of the photo as J.R. Smith is celebrating right? This picture just keeps getting better and better.

Second, if you missed it, I recorded a podcast with Sean Highkin of USA Today Sports over the weekend previewing the second round of the playoffs and many other things. Do check it out here.

The opening weekend of the playoffs was chalk, in which all the home teams opened with a victory in Game 1. And just when it seemed safe to presume that most of the first round would go quickly and according to form, we were treated to six Game 6s and one Game 7, and three lower-seeded teams ended up moving on.

The thing about the NBA, and especially the playoffs, is that it’s essentially a two-month exercise in giving us answers to questions we spend all season posing, or sometimes, seasons. LeBron this, LeBron that, and then LeBron wins the title. There’s your conclusion.

The presumption coming into the post-season was that the Oklahoma City Thunder were at least co-favorites with the Spurs to come out of the West. Meanwhile, we’ve spent several years fascinated with those Memphis Grizzlies. Because of their front court, their defense that seems to disrupt their opponents into that grit and grind game that the Grizzlies love so much, and because of their upset of San Antonio in the first round several years ago, and how well they match up against not only the Spurs, but the Thunder as well.

The Thunder stormed to a 2-0 lead against the Rockets in the first round, at the same time, Chris Paul was putting the finishing touches to a masterpiece in Game 2 that sent the Grizzlies into a 0-2 hole.

At that particular moment, our presumptions stood up: the Thunder were primed for an extended playoff run. The Grizzlies? Tantalizing, but perhaps drawing the worst possible match-up in the Clippers.

Of course, four straight wins from the Grizzlies later, and a season-ending injury to Russell Westbrook, and suddenly it’s the Grizzlies who’ve assumed the co-favorite role, while every win from the Thunder is a surprise to most at this point, just a matter of extending the season as long as possible without their point guard.

But then, the playoffs are weird that way. And one shift leads to another. In yesterday’s Game 1 match-up in Oklahoma City, Durant put up 35 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists, including the go-ahead basket with 11 seconds left. The Thunder made a rousing comeback at home, and even though it’s a long series, now the Grizzlies have given up one that they should’ve had. You only get so many opportunities in a seven-game series.

And so, we might shift again. With Kevin Martin responding with two straight strong outings, perhaps it’s the Thunder that are now moving out of their adjustment phase without Westbrook. Or just like in the first round, the Grizzlies will respond to the challenge after falling behind in the series.

It’s going to be great theater.

Footnotes (or, my other playoff thoughts):

1. I’ll admit, I didn’t watch a single minute of the Pacers-Hawks first round series. I did ask around on Twitter for a Yelp review of the series. Jared Wade of the excellent Pacers blog Eight Points Nine Seconds obliged: “Standard diner fare. Nothing on the menu will blow you away, but you won’t leave hungry. Big portions. Polite service.” Sounds like I didn’t miss much!

2. Vinny Del Negro will have a lot of time with the Team Stream app on his iPad now that the Clippers season ended early. Speaking of which, for all the vitriol the Lakers received throughout this season, keep in mind that since the Chris Paul non-trade to the Lakers, both Los Angeles teams have won one playoff series each. Things might look dire for the Lakers right now, but would you bet on the Clippers getting to the Finals before the Lakers do again?

3. J.R. Smith and David West getting into a tussle seems inevitable, right? Or maybe Tyler Hansbrough.

4. I need to make sure no one misses this tweet from Roy Hibbert.

5. Amare Stoudemire is schedule to return in Game 3. You can just see it how can’t you: Knicks win Game 2, then struggle mightily in Games 3 and 4 as it coincides with Amare’s return. And to think, those first 40 or so games of Stoudemire’s New York tenure were so great. That was Knicks basketball revived. The Garden was rocking every night.

6. There’s a lot of stories — and there will be a lot this round — written about Derrick Rose’s non-return to the Bulls. The latest seems to be that he’s struggling with muscle memory with his knee. As I’ve said previously, once Rose didn’t come back during the last few weeks of the regular season, I considered this to be a non-story and that he wouldn’t be back until training camp next year. There doesn’t need to be a merged narrative of what the Bulls are courageously doing in the face of injuries to key players on their team and what Rose isn’t doing as he sits on the sidelines. Or put it this way: the story isn’t about what Derrick Rose isn’t doing, but it’s more about what the Bulls are doing without him. We can keep those two separate, it’s actually okay.

7. The Spurs just roll over the Warriors right? Even as they’ve become more enjoyable on the court and fun to root for overall, San Antonio remains the buzzkill waiting just around the corner just when an underdog seems like they might just make a deep playoff run.

8. The picks: Grizzlies in 6 (I initially had them in 5, but how great I get to adjust it because I’m writing this after Game 1), Heat in 5, Spurs in 5, Knicks in 7.

Episode 23: Sean Highkin I caught up with Sean Highkin of USA...

Sun, 05 May 2013 10:23:00 -0400

Episode 23: Sean Highkin

I caught up with Sean Highkin of USA Today Sports last night after the conclusion of the Bulls-Nets game to recap the first round and look ahead to the Conference Semi-Finals. Also discussed: Jan Vesely, Luke Babbitt, Andrea Bargnani trade machine scenarios, Andrew Wiggins and more.

You can follow Sean on Twitter @shighkinNBA

Enjoy the show.

FYI, there’s a Twitter feed specific to just the podcast here.

Click here to subscribe to podcast on iTunes

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The Links: April 2013 Edition Here’s how this works....

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:30:00 -0400

The Links: April 2013 Edition

Here’s how this works. It’s not new, it’s not special. At the end of each month, I just go into my Readability where I archive all my favorite articles for the month from other people and post them here. Then I highlight some of the things I did, and look forward to the next month. If you missed it, here’s the January, February and March editions.

As always, follow me on Twitter or like the Facebook fan page to keep up with the day to day stuff.

I’m a few days late on this since it’s May already, but seriously, who’s counting.

I. Section for other people

Two more great profile pieces from Jonathan Abrams this month: on Ricky Davis and Lance Stephenson, and on Monta Ellis.

Joe Posnanski profiles Gregg Popovich, still one of the most interesting guys in sports.

It’s the secret history of Kobe’s rap career. Seriously, the footnotes alone deserve their own 30 for 30 feature.

How did the Bubba Watson golf cart hovercraft become a real thing? Here’s your answer.

Keith Olbermann tells you about the kid in that Jackie Robinson photo.

I love it when Stacey May Fowles writes baseball. Her piece at The Barnstormer titled “Initiations”, on the right to fandom is a great read.

Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post writes about JaVale McGee, also known as “The Great Adventure”.

Jeff Pearlman reminisced about his experience as a college newspaper advisor, which went from great to terrible.

This was the best of the month: how Abel Rodriguez, a 41-year-old Mexican-American who waxes floors in Los Angeles for Metro Transportation, ended up traveling with the Real Madrid soccer team after striking up an unlikely bond with manager Jose Mourinho. Quote of the month, when Mourinho tells Rodriguez: “When you’re with me in Europe, you don’t pay for s—-.”

In the non-sports section, Lizzie Widdicombe of The New Yorker profiled Vice, and the growth of their brand through the years. Karina Longworth took a look back at the disaster that was The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Read about Hong Kong’s bookstore of banned books, and take two minutes to check out this Kowloon Walled City infographic.

II. Section for myself

This month on the podcast: Andrew Crawford caught me up on what’s happening in the Chinese Basketball Association, Justin Tinsley and I talked basketball and great rap tattoo ideas, Jason Gay dropped by to talk gym etiquette and going to a Brooklyn Nets game with Larry King, and Thomas Golianopoulos discussed his Grantland article I mentioned above about Kobe’s rap career.

Also, I was a guest on The Exchange, a weekly sports radio show hosted by Jason Clinkscales and Sumit Dasgupta.

On the writing front, I published two pieces over at ESPN’s Hardwood Paroxysm as part of a running series we’re calling “In Another Life”, in which I re-imagine NBA players in an alternate universe. The first two installments: DeMarcus Cousins as a human resources manager and Ricky Rubio as a kid working in a fast food chain.

At the blog, I bid farewell to Rasheed Wallace’s career, FGCU’s March Madness run and Roger Ebert’s life.

And if you can believe it, the baseball season’s not even a month old. In succession, I wrote about the Jays being in a better place regardless of how this season ends up, then told everyone not to panic a week in, then decided at the end of the month we better get things going. To be continued.

III. Looking Ahead

I’ll be doing a podcast with Andrew Forbes of The Barnstormer, where we’re just going to go over our sports collectibles, from jerseys to hats and who knows what else. This will probably be on Google Hangout, seeing how visuals are a bit important.

Things and people I want to write about this month: Turk Wendell, Rod “He Hate Me” Smart, Michael Dickerson, Jack McDowell, Marge Schott and I can’t remember the other pieces I have in draft.

Thanks for reading.

illustration via bouncex3

Elsewhere: Celebrity Encounters Over at The Barnstormer, I got...

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:29:00 -0400

Elsewhere: Celebrity Encounters

Over at The Barnstormer, I got to tell the stories of my most recent real life athlete encounters, and memorable ones from the past. This includes talking about pizza and Jeremy Lin with Landry Fields of the Toronto Raptors in the elevator, chasing Roberto Alomar at the dog park, and talking to a NHL general manager at the airport.

Excerpt below, you can read the full piece here.

“Many years ago, when I was just a 9 year-old kid – new to the country, rooting for the Toronto Maple Leafs like everyone in this city – my parents took my sister and me on a Caribbean cruise. We went to the Pearson International Airport in Toronto for our flight to Florida where we were to board our ship.

In the airport’s boarding area, an old man with grey hair who sat next to me noticed my Mats Sundin jersey and starting talking to me about the team, asking me how far I thought they would go, and if Sundin was my favorite player. The usual sports talk between a kid and an old man, no biggie.

I gave him my two cents, or as much currency I could offer with my limited knowledge. He smiled and told me that he thought the team would do much better, and that I should keep my expectations high.

I think much about our chat until we returned from our Caribbean trip. One night, when the Leafs game was on TV, they interviewed the team’s general manager, Cliff Fletcher. It was, of course, the man who’d been talking to me at Pearson. And here he was on television.

Through some reverse engineering research, necessary before the Internet made it a less challenging effort, I found the Leafs schedule, flipped to the date of my flight, and confirmed that the Leafs had played in Florida that very night. Their general manager was flying out to see his team play.”

The Gay Athlete In the May 6th, 2013 issue of Sports...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:45:00 -0400

The Gay Athlete

In the May 6^th, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated, NBA center Jason Collins comes out in a self-written piece that starts: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” It’s a landmark moment because this is the first active athlete in the four major pro sports in North America to come out.

For anyone that’s burdened themselves with an identity that wasn’t theirs, this may provide relief and inspiration for them to remove that weight off their own shoulders. Specifically in sports, if it even inspires one 14-year-old high school athlete out there to be more comfortable with who they are, it will be progress. If the stigma of homosexuality in professional sports can finally subside with this being either a starting point or another critical touch point: even better.

Aside from the larger impact of Collins’ announcement, another encouraging sign of progress is in how the collective audience seems more capable at drowning out the noise that comes with any conversation that requires a certain level of intellect and sensitivity. Or as Will Leitch put it at Sports On Earth: “By 1 p.m., ESPN was back to Tim Tebow, and everyone on Twitter was back to self-promotion again. It was fantastic.”

Of course, Leitch’s remark was true, until Chris Broussard went on ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” and expressed his disagreement with homosexuality based on his beliefs. The problem with Broussard’s statement is not the fact he let his opinion be known, but given the timing and the platform, it felt like a hijack of the important topic at hand: which was Jason Collins, and the impact of his decision to come out. This is what I mean by the noise.

That noise can be found elsewhere on social media. The immediate reaction to any sensitive news is to run a Twitter search, in this case, “Jason Collins” and any gay slur will give you a fair assessment of what people without restraint or desire for a certain level of decency are saying. If you want to familiarize yourself with this noise, Matt Binder’s Public Shaming Tumblr is a good (bad) start.

But it seems that despite the Broussard’s of this world — who cannot stand to let a story stand on its own merits without interjecting himself as the narrative – and the segment of the population who cannot pass up on calling Jason Collins a fag, it seems the more important story – the actual story – won out.

People are not letting the noise sidetrack them into subplots and discussions that are ultimately pointless. Some may still immerse themselves in it, which is almost as bad as contributing to that noise.

There are also those who hope that one day, a search of “Jason Collins fag” on Twitter will return zero results, but that is not realistic or is it necessary. No amount of noise can truly discourage that 14-year-old athlete from feeling braver today. It may make him a bit more hesitant about any decision to discuss who he is with other people, but when the overwhelming majority is positive and supportive in a decision like this, the discouragement subsides.

So yes, people will point you to the worst of the worst comments that are out there, and try to highlight that as the main takeaway of this story. But just remember that there is a whole other segment of the population that are positive, or even better, nonchalant about an active athlete coming out. That segment is the majority. That segment is drowning out the noise.

And that, is the sign of progress that seems most encouraging about all of this.

NBA Playoffs Diary: The Re-modelling I’m not entirely sure...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:40:00 -0400

NBA Playoffs Diary: The Re-modelling

I’m not entirely sure if this is a good or bad thing, but the playoffs have felt like they’ve been going on for four weeks, not one. As I’m writing this, the Lakers and Spurs are starting Game 4 of their series, and I’m just going to make the executive decision and assume the sweep will be completed.

As the Lakers spent most of the season struggling to get back to .500, let alone a playoff spot, we were all waiting for their inevitable comeuppance in the post-season. For those not cheering on the franchise, it was to be the perfect conclusion to a season full of disappointment for the team that always seems to find a way to succeed, from one era to the next.

Instead, days before the playoffs began, the Lakers lost Kobe to an Achilles injury, and with other regulars – Nash, Metta World Peace to name a few – on the sidelines as well, the Lakers are instead just quietly exiting the tournament, without much joy for their fans, or those rooting against them.

Of course, the team’s status as a contender in the West going forward is also in question as no one is sure about Kobe’s timetable for a return, and even then, whether the mileage he’s put on will finally catch up to him. The potential for financial flexibility will not exist for at least another year, and even before we worry about that, there’s the other thing about Dwight Howard headed to free agency this off-season.

In many ways, this season was set-up for Dwight Howard to avoid the spotlight after the media circus – most of which was self-inflicted – last year in Orlando. When you play for the Lakers, everyone becomes second to Kobe. But Howard started slow and took time to recover from his injuries, and by the time he did start turning a corner after the All-Star break, there was already doubt whether his personality and the dreaded “will to win” fit the culture of the franchise.

If Howard looks closely at a situation like Houston, he may find that again, the grass does indeed look greener on the other side. He seems like that type of guy anyways. But of course, the fact that the Lakers can offer him the most money is a huge factor, as it always is in free agency.

And so, once again, this upcoming season will be an important one for Howard, if only because his on and off-court exploits over the past two seasons has sent him to the rock bottom of superstar Q ratings in the league. But of course, no real superstars ever stay down for too long. Put simply, the narrative structure of these things don’t allow that to happen, but more realistically, the best players usually let their individual and team success overwhelm all the negatives we try to write about.

I have no doubt that come training camp, we will hear about how Howard was focused on improving his game this off-season, and that he feels healthier than ever and is in the best shape of his life.

At this point though, I think all of us – including Howard himself – are tired of hearing about him. It’s time to let the on-court results speak for themselves. The Lakers may not even win as many games next year as they did in this, a terrible and disappointing season. But the individual play and attitude of Dwight as he carries the team sans Kobe will speak volumes as to whether he does belong in that superstar conversation that we love to have.

Listen, if you rewind back to Shaquille O’Neal’s first three seasons in Los Angeles, they weren’t that much prettier. Successful regular seasons were wiped out by three embarrassing playoff exits, including back-to-back sweeps to Utah and San Antonio.

The questions about Shaq were plenty, but of course, once you answer them, you never have to revisit them again.

Next year, we’ll see whether Dwight’s ready to start giving us some answers. And if he doesn’t, I suppose we shouldn’t have been directing the questions at him in the first place anyways.

Footnotes (or, other week one playoff thoughts):

I just discovered the Warriors’ pet play (which other teams have employed as well), dubbed “Elevator Doors”. Read Mike Prada’s breakdown of it at SB Nation, and you’ll be like me: looking for that play to develop on every possession next time you watch Golden State.

#ff @AdriaGasol

The Patrick Beverley play that led to Russell Westbrook’s injury wasn’t unfair, it was just a by-product of the dumbest in-game rule in sports. Josh Levin of Slate discussed this point at length in a reaction piece to the Beverley-Westbrook incident.

The common reaction when a series is so entertaining – see: Nuggets-Warriors – is to wish that the series could go (insert a number much higher than 7). When in reality, these series would be even better if we returned to the best-of-five format in the first round. Consider the drama surrounding Game 3 of the aforementioned Denver-Golden State series. The Warriors’ home win would not only have sent the team up 2-1, but also pushed the Nuggets to the brink of elimination. Game 4 would’ve been a win or go home for the third seed, where a road win would give them a do-or-die back in Denver for Game 5. The magnitude of all the games, starting in Game 1 intensifies so much. I mean, look at the Chicago-Brooklyn triple overtime thriller. In a world where the first round were five games again, that would’ve sent the Nets home. Isn’t that even more exciting?

Of course, the other side of the argument to this is that the best-of-five format does little to reward teams for their success in the regular season. There are always variations that can happen, from the one seed getting four out of five games at home. But really, compared to other sports, basketball seems less prone to be subjected to small sample size examples that outweigh the population. If a favored team can’t take care of business at home for the first two games against a lesser opponent, perhaps they weren’t supposed to go far anyways. I’m ok with that.

Brandon Jennings: destined to carry the torch from Stephon Marbury and become king of Chinese Basketball one day.

Miami looks ready for the playoffs. Wait. That was the first round??

The Westbrook injury is unfortunate for sure, and now the Western Conference opens up just a little. It sucks that we won’t get a full strength Spurs-Thunder re-match. And look out, if the Grizzlies can get past the Clippers, it’s now not that inconceivable that they could come out of the West.

Reggie Miller motivational speech audio tapes should be a thing.

Non-playoff news: the hiring of Tim Leiweke by MLSE this week sparked rumors that Phil Jackson may be enticed to take the president role with the Raptors. First: if Phil is really ready and itching to return to the game, albeit in a front office role, there are several other teams with much more attractive current roster and future financial flexibility than this one. Second: we’ve seen high profiled hires in this city recently – notably Brian Burke and yes, Bryan Colangelo – who brought the same level of excitement that Leiweke has brought. A strong resume is never a bad thing, but excuse me if I’ve seen these things crumble in Toronto before. Anyhow, here’s a New Yorker profile on Leiweke for anyone looking to get familiar.

Jays Interlude: Sooner Than Later It’s early. It’s a long...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:00:00 -0400

Jays Interlude: Sooner Than Later

It’s early. It’s a long season. These are all reasonable things to say on April 26^th. The Blue Jays are sitting at 9-14, with seven one-game win streaks and just one two-game win streak so far this season. So if it feels like we’ve only see the very briefest of brief flashes of the potential this playoff caliber team supposedly possesses, those feelings are correct.

The motto – not to be confused with Melky Cabrera’s awesome walk-up music ¹ – coming into the season was that if everyone just did their jobs and produced at their average career levels, things would come together. While that might still very well be the case, a month into the season, the starting pitching has been erratic, the hitters have not delivered, defensive miscues and the inability to execute fundamental plays like laying down a sacrifice bunt become harder to ignore as the losses piled up, and in general, no one is really doing their job the way they’re capable of.

In a baseball season, over 162-games, there will be stretches when the pitching picks up the hitting, and teams win a bunch of 2-1 games. Other times, the pitchers will sputter but the offense will be there to limit the damage, and you get your 10-8 and 7-5 wins. When the pitching is mediocre and the offense good for a home run and nothing else every few innings, put that together over a month and it’s a series of 5-3 losses.

There’s really no way to understate the impact of losing Jose Reyes, with the bright side being that it’s three months, not the entire season. His absence made especially clear as the bats in the middle of the line-up have either hit for home runs, or hit for nothing.

It’s early. It’s a long season². Again, this is the time to take comfort in small sample sizes, and it’s still good to take a step back and realize that the team is in a better position to contend – for now, and for later – than we have been in a long time. Of course, when the local sports channels (run by Jays owners Rogers Communications, no less) starts replaying the 1992 and 1993 World Series in its entirety during the off-season, it does not help curb the expectations of the fan base.

Of course, no World Series was going to be won in April³, but few would admit they saw a 9-14 start coming. And so, it becomes an unacceptable beginning to a season that was suppose to start and end without any trouble, and the general feeling among the fan base seems to be a combination of panic and resignation that it was stupid of them to believe this would work in the first place.

And admittedly, it’s been very difficult baseball to watch over this first month. The team seems to be battling themselves, and after two straight losses in Baltimore earlier this week, I commented that we were reaching the point where the Jays would need to hold a team meeting to have some fun again, and lo and behold, cue the comments from J.P. Arencibia the next day: “The biggest thing is to go out and have fun. When you play this game with pressure — you watch the teams that win, they’re out there playing with nothing to lose.”

The Jays are a -31 in run differential, 6.5 games back in fifth place in the standings, 4 games back in the wild card. It’s April 26^th. I’d still not trade our roster with anyone in the AL East, but the time for arguing whose roster is better on paper is long gone. We’re off to the races and already a few lengths behind the leaders.

The Yankees might be smoke and mirrors, the Orioles just lost their first extra innings game in 18 tries in the regular season so maybe all that regression is finally happening, the Red Sox have pitched remarkably, and the Rays are, well, they’ll be in the thick of things because they’re the Rays.

What all this means is that it’s still looking like a five-team race, although the Jays are in the midst of a stretch of 20 in 23 games against the AL East (of which they’re 1-3 so far) so don’t discount these losses because eventually the task of making up ground becomes a season long uphill climb. Or as Bruce Arthur put it: to get to 90 wins, the Jays will now need to go 81-58 the rest of the way.

Not that it’s not possible; I mean, look at the Brewers, who started 2-8, then rolled off 9 straight wins to climb right back into it. That’s really all it takes, a streak here or there and suddenly getting a “Stadium Love” ringtone doesn’t seem like such a stupid idea.

The problem too, is that Jays fans, and Toronto sports fans in general have several decades of unmet expectations to fall back on. So this team is not only carrying the pressure of a slow start in April, but all the failures before that too. In a way it’s not fair, but until the team performs to expectations, the general fans’ mind remains a canvas full of failures and letdowns. There are no Joe Carter walk-off home runs in April, and hell, even as we’re throwing around stats like how the Tigers were under .500 as late as July, there’s no blueprint for making the World Series, let alone just getting to the playoffs. Some teams dominate from start to finish, others slump to the post-season than breeze through the playoffs, and on and on. For all the teams that overcome slow starts like this one, there are a dozen more that end up not making up ground over the six months.

It’s still early and all that, but damn if we can’t get one good sustained stretch of baseball to give us something to cheer about. Twenty-three games is entirely too small of a sample to made any final assessments on any team. But at some point, there needs to be signs and positives we can lean on to say that the remaining 149 games will deliver a different result.

Let’s hope I’m not copy and pasting the exact same article in a month.

Footnotes:

¹ I have no attachment to “The Motto” as a song; but as walk-up music, it is almost perfect. I feel like Cabrera can hit a grand slam with no one on base every time he comes up. Of course, in reality, he has zero home runs on the season. Also, whatever song Brett Lawrie is using right now, it sounds like he’s mentally preparing himself to shoot a scene in Spring Breakers.

² Highlights of the season so far: the Edwin Encarnacion bobblehead and John Gibbons’ reaction to seeing Kawasaki’s dance video.

³ 2013 Lakers started their season 9-14, lost the igniter of their offense Steve Nash on the second night of the season; 2013 Blue Jays start their season 9-14, lost the igniter of their offense a week into the season. I’ll stop now.

Episode 22: Thomas Golianopoulos Two weeks ago, Grantland...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:09:14 -0400

Episode 22: Thomas Golianopoulos

Two weeks ago, Grantland published an article titled “The Secret History Of Kobe Bryant’s Rap Career”, which went in-depth into Kobe’s pursuit as a hip hop artist. The author of the piece, Thomas Golianopoulos, joined the podcast to discuss the piece, and also reminisced about going to elementary school with Ron Artest and other things.

You can follow Thomas on Twitter @golianopoulos.

Enjoy the show.

FYI, there’s a Twitter feed specific to just the podcast here.

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Back In The Day: Thunder On The Rise It was the start of the...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:30:32 -0400

Back In The Day: Thunder On The Rise

It was the start of the 2010-11 season. The Oklahoma City Thunder had emerged the previous season, winning 50 games and taking the Lakers to six games in the first round. It was Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Jeff Green. This was a team on the rise.

Back in 2010, when my blog was elsewhere on the Internet, I reached out to a few basketball writers and did some team previews. Most of those pieces can’t be found anymore, no matter how many way back machines I try. But I was able to recover this 2010-11 season preview piece on the Thunder that I did with Royce Young of ESPN True Hoop’s Daily Thunder. Below is the piece in its entirety. It’s interesting to see how right and how wrong I was on certain things and how far the team has grown since.

I. The Level Of Excellence

While the notion of parity to eliminate competitive disadvantages in major sports leagues is something that is emphasized and encouraged, it is not something that exists in the NBA.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics own 33 of the 64 NBA championships. Since 1984, only seven franchises have won the title: Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, San Antonio and Miami. So while many teams have spent their time rebuilding and putting together a competent roster to contend, it’s actually short sighted to think that teams that demonstrate potential can actually ascend into the upper echelon. The more broad view from a general fan’s standpoint? Most these teams don’t stand a chance. Numbers don’t lie.

The latest team to receive this induction into the level of excellence? The Oklahoma City Thunder. Coming off a 50 win season and an encouraging first round loss to the Lakers, led by Kevin Durant, a strong supporting cast and a smart front office and coaching staff, many expect the team to make the leap this year.

Are we just repeating the same mistakes as we have with many other teams through the years, or will the Thunder lead the shift in the changing of the guard in the NBA?

II. Moving Day

A discussion of the Oklahoma City franchise has to include a precursor on how the franchise ended up there. Rather than rehash the details, the amazing but tragic documentary “Sonicsgate”, which can be found here, summarizes in detail how Clay Bennett was able to move the team from Seattle to Oklahoma City, along the way highlighting how brutal the entire experience was for the city of Seattle and its die hard Supersonics fans.

I spoke to Royce White of The Daily Thunder on this topic, to understand the perspective of the transaction from a Thunder fan’s standpoint, he noted: “Sonicsgate was extremely well done. I’ve always said I hated the way Oklahoma City got a team. As much love as we feel for the Thunder here, I can’t imagine what it would be like if someone took it away from us. And we’ve only had them for a little over two years. Forty-one is another story.”

With regards to placing blame on someone for what transpired: “I don’t really blame anyone for what happened. It was a group effort and in the end, the bitterness that’s still harbored by some in the Pacific Northwest doesn’t help anything. It’s sports. It’s business. Teams relocate and hearts get broken. It’s just how it works. It’s not my fault it happened. The team just happened to move to my city and I root for it now.”

Forgotten in all of this is the positive impact it’s had on the Oklahoma City area: “It’s meant a ton to everyone. Oklahoma City has been a place that’s only been associated with negative things. The Murrah Building bombing. The Dust Bowl. But now, there’s something positive that people around the world can see about OKC. Some of the old stereotypes are being lifted and people are beginning to respect this place a little more. As a lifelong Oklahoman, it’s cool.”

III. Familiar Endings

With the team situated in OKC and emerging as one of the most supportive and intimidating home arenas to play in, the fanbase is brimming with optimism heading into the upcoming season. However, it’s important to remember that this is a script that we’re all too familiar with. A team with a budding superstar who were on the verge of making the leap. It was not long ago that we said the same thing about Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Instead the team suffered through countless first round exits, with one appearance in the Western Conference finals before it was dismantled.

A somewhat similar situation played out in the last seven years in Cleveland as well. LeBron James as the budding superstar, who everyone loved to play with. Despite continuous regular season success and one Finals appearance, the team never put it together in the playoffs.

Other familiar scripts have played out in Portland, where the team has not won a playoff series under the guidance of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. And we should not forget Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets. Another team with countless first round exists and one Western Conference finals appearance.

One familiar theme with all these teams. They never made it to the echelon.

IV. Supporting Cast

Another familiar theme with all the teams mentioned above, they always fell short in terms of putting together a competent supporting cast. Is this what will separate the Thunder from falling into the same script of moderate success and ultimate failure?

In the off-season, general manager Sam Presti drafted Cole Aldrich and acquired perimeter help in the form of Mo Peterson and Daquean Cook. Royce believes that “Presti did what he wanted to do. He wanted an inside presence to rebound, defend and set screens. He got one of the best players in the draft at those three things. He wanted some outside shooters to stretch defenses. So he got two guys who shoot almost 40 percent from 3. Presti had goals for the offseason, and I think he met them”.

Another piece who shone late last season and in the playoffs was Serge Ibaka. I asked Royce what Ibaka’s ceiling as a player could be and how he fits into the team’s chances of contending: “I don’t think we know his ceiling right now. I have extremely high hopes for him. As for this year, he’s going to come off the bench and provide energy, defense and shot blocking for the team. He’s one of the most valuable players on the roster right now.”

V. Expectations

Above all else, it’s the magnificant play of Kevin Durant that has the Thunder in the conversation as a potential contender to dethrone the Lakers. Royce, as many around the league would concur, speaks highly of the pre-season favorite for most valuable player: “KD just has to continue evolving. He’s got a ridiculous skillset and he’s just got to keep naturally developing. His one weakness is turnovers and more specifically, ball-handling. He’s got to improve here. But as for something I’ve noticed, it’s that Durant is a much better passer than people give him credit for. He’s unselfish and he’s got tremendous vision and feel with the ball in his hands”.

So ultimately, what is the outlook on the season? Royce thinks that “these guys are still as hungry as ever. People still think we’re too young. Last year we were too young to make the playoffs. They did. This year we’re too young to compete for a championship. We’ll see what happens. I think this team will continue to succeed. Will we win the West? I don’t think so. But I wouldn’t be shocked at an appearance in the Western Conference Finals”. An ominous prediction indeed, as this is the ceiling of the other teams I spoke of above.

I asked Royce to provide a contradicting view on his outlook above, on how things could possibly go wrong. He concedes that “on the flipside, this team won 50 games last year and didn’t suffer any major injuries. If the injury bug were to hit, things might get more difficult. The Thunder will win their share of games, but getting to the #2 seed will take good health once again”.

And that is the problem with ascending to the upper echelon in this league. Things like continuity and good health are taken as a constant when we predict a team’s gradual improvement. History has shown us that it is simply not true. The Thunder have a chance to break this cycle and elevate themselves, but past results show us that it may be more difficult than it appears.

Footnotes:

Royce and I also discussed the drafting of James Harden, who was coming off a decent rookie season, but underwhelming combined to what Tyreke Evans and Steph Curry did. Royce’s counter: “Everyone wants to dog Harden, but he played a role last year. Both Evans and Curry walked in and saw big minutes from the time they arrived in camp. Harden only got around 20 minutes a night and he wasn’t even close to ever being the first option on the floor. The Thunder needed a guy that could fit beside Westbrook and Durant. They needed a complimentary piece. While Curry and Evans are wonderful players, they probably wouldn’t have fit as well. So as of right now, I still love the way Presti went”.
At the time, Chris Paul was still the point guard of the Hornets, I asked Royce whether a trade for Paul would make sense for the franchise: “Of course Chris Paul would be awesome, but it’s not happening. And absolutely I think the team can win with Westbrook. In his second year, he put up 16 points and 8 assists a game. That’s outstanding. If the Lakers can win a title with Derek Fisher, the Thunder can definitely win with Westbrook running the show.”

Playoff preview: King Of The Hill Forget about who’s winning in...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:33:22 -0400

Playoff preview: King Of The Hill

Forget about who’s winning in six, which series is going to seven, if the Lakers are getting swept. Here’s my playoff prediction: Miami in 8 weeks. That will be around the time the NBA Finals start, and short of being a contrarian for the sake of arguing about something you don’t believe in, the overarching storyline for these playoffs is fairly predictable, correct?

For several years now, we watched – sometimes in pain, most times in delight – the best player in the league struggle to turn individual accomplishments into a championship for his team. And then, the playoffs happened last year – and though it was a much tougher fight to get to the Finals than we probably will remember it for – LeBron led the Miami Heat to that elusive title.

And now, well, a 27-game winning streak, and what will be his fourth MVP award in five seasons, and it does look like we’re witnesses to the middle of a multiple title run here.

The word that would best describe LeBron and the Heat this season would be comfortable. They look confident, sure of themselves, and alleviated of all the pressure that was mounting on them from the moment The Decision happened.

The Heat may yet be challenged. But surveying their conference, and even looking beyond that to the West, no one would be particularly surprised if there wasn’t much drama in their title run this year.

But despite what feels like a foregone conclusion, the playoffs will still – as they always do – provide a series of intermediary narratives and players that will make the night to night exercise of following the games worthwhile. And after all, we spend entire regular seasons posing a bunch of questions that can only be answered in the post-season.

Below is a completely unorganized list of things to look forward to, things we might hear and read about, and things I want to happen during the playoffs:

Kobe tweeting during the Lakers’ first round games. In a five minute stretch in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s finale against the Houston Rockets, Kobe told everyone to bring the Pau Gasol trade rumors to a cease, and reminded everyone that the Lakers had a foul to give after they allowed Chandler Parsons to hit a game-tying three at the buzzer. That was a regular season game, just imagine what happens when the Lakers face elimination against San Antonio.

Stephen Jackson and Andrew Bynum showing up courtside for the Lakers-Spurs series, or at least I hope it happens

Doug Collins returning to the announcers’ booth to spare us more Reggie Miller.

“Steve Blake sends the Lakers to the Finals with an improbable 23-point fourth quarter…”, Mike Breen.

The Nuggets-Warriors series. Like Django, the D is silent.

Steph Curry’s first playoff appearance. He broke Ray Allen’s single season record for threes made, and now we’ll see how he does in a series with Denver that promises to be an offensive showcase with Curry at the top of the marquee. Other guards I want to see on the playoff stage soon: Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard and John Wall.

Zach Randolph being angry with Blake Griffin for two weeks.

Tim Duncan doing Tim Duncan things in the post-season. Via Bruce Arthur, Tim Duncan’s per 36 minutes stats in 2001-02, when he won his first MVP award: .508 FG%, .799 FT%, 22.6 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 0.7 steals, 2.2 blocks. This season’s per 36: .503 FG%, .812 FT%, 21.2 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, 0.9 steals, 3.2 blocks.

A potential Pacers-Bulls second round, that beautiful ugly type basketball that we need once in awhile.

JEREMY LIN’S PLAYOFF DEBUT.

KG calling Kenyon Martin fugazi after two games.

Jimmy Goldstein, everywhere.

Lots of J.R. Smith, who is unofficially my favorite player to watch in the league at the moment. You almost know what he’s going to do when he gets the ball, and it’s still exhilarating every time he does exactly that.

The Heat trying to clinch a berth in the Finals at Madison Square Garden.

Gregg Popovich in-game huddle sound bytes. (And via Rick Trotter, how about this Miami Heat fan soundboard?)

Reggie Miller insisting that the Grizzlies can make the Eastern Conference Finals.

Grizzlies-Thunder II. Please let this happen.

Lots of Derrick Rose pre-game practice clips, followed by a lot of shots of him in the press box.

The Spurs trailing by 13 points in a game with 35 seconds left and bringing in Tracy McGrady, because, well, remember this?

Russell Westbrook post-game press conference attire, the sequel.

Spurs-Thunder II. Please also let this happen.

Lakers fans appreciating Pau Gasol, then turning on him and rolling out the carpet for his exit out of Los Angeles all within a game

Speculating about what Vinny Del Negro is drawing out on his clip board

Shaq having entirely too much fun with Dwight Howard and the Lakers’ when it’s their time to be Gone Fishin’. Should be pretty uncomfortable.

No one remembering where they were when Pacers-Hawks series started, or ended, leading to speculation as to its existence.

James Harden winning a road playoff game in Oklahoma City. Who could’ve guessed this would be an actual possibility just six months ago.

Imagining a return to Los Angeles by Phil Jackson, with the Clippers

“THIS IS THE LAST GASP FOR THESE BOSTON CELTICS!!!!!”, for the fourth straight season running.

I was going to end with Reggie Evans versus Joakim Noah, but it looks like Noah might be out for the first round. Well, I guess there’s still all of the above.

Bye, Sheed It’s the catchphrases, the temper tantrums, and the...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:30:00 -0400

Bye, Sheed

It’s the catchphrases, the temper tantrums, and the championship belts that we’ll remember him for. When you think Rasheed Wallace, you think about “ball don’t lie”, “cut the cheque” and “both teams played hard” before you think “talented power forward”, “high basketball IQ” and “champion”.

He was never the best player at his position, not in an era where Tim Duncan dominated in San Antonio, and Kevin Garnett stood out all by himself with Minnesota, not to mention Chris Webber amongst a long list of all-time greats at power forward. But the numbers, like the memories, can almost deceive you when it comes to Sheed. With the Trail Blazers, he stood out as the most talented player in a team full of them, and yet it’s the fourth quarter collapse against the Lakers that we remember about that team.

It’s all the Jail Blazer stories that will be the legacy of those Portland teams. And it’s Sheed at the center of it all, the disinterested athlete at a charity event, the mercurial superstar who set an example on the court one technical foul at a time.

He was volatile, but also a great teammate. He couldn’t lead his team to the Finals, but later became the last piece of a Pistons team that embodied the whole saying of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.

And so, Rasheed Wallace was everything. There was no category he didn’t fit into, some for the better, some for the worst, all of them entertaining. And while a few of them might’ve overshadowed his on-court talent, his career is only underwhelming because you always thought he was capable of more. The game looked that easy to him when he played.

Maybe tantalizing is the better word to describe Sheed. As a big man, he spaced the floor with his shooting range, and when he was engaged, he had an offensive arsenal few could match, and was disruptive on the defensive end when he cared to. He never averaged 20 points in a season, or 10 rebounds, a sort of prerequisite for the greats at his position.

But between leaving us desiring for more, he filled out the rest of his resume with a personality that might’ve soured on some, but entertained many others. To pick a favorite is hard, and many of his sayings are either blog names or entrenched as part of basketball speak, but I loved the one where he once warned us about Pistons teammate Darko Milicic: “I’m telling you, Darko is a Serbian gangster. Darko’s got some bodies back there (in Serbia-Montenegro). He can go psycho on guys.”

He marched to his own drum, although sometimes that drum might’ve skipped a few bad beats, like the time he decided to wait outside the referee’s locker room after Game 7 of the Finals. But sometimes, he tuned himself just right, like when you watch him sing Jingle Bells and wonder, this guy isn’t so bad after all, is he?

Even this season, when he came out of retirement to join a bunch of aging veterans to form a Knicks core around Carmelo Anthony, there was the belief that even at his age, with time away from the game, he could contribute to the second unit.

And for awhile, he did. And then, injuries happened. Age happened. And now it looks like his career is finished for good.

But we won’t forget Sheed anytime soon. And for all the crazy things he did off the court, let’s not forget he was also a really good basketball player. Not perfect, and a little rough around the edges, but also, an All-Star, a champion, and, more memorable than most players that have come and gone.

illustration via Nathan McKee