Idea (II)

As you were invited to over the weekend, here are a few of the moments that stuck out to me this year in sports. Of course, there were a good bit that I was fortunate to have attended, whether it was related to the Beacon, SNYS or as a fan. Yet, there will be other posts about that throughout the holidays.

All credit to the original uploaders.

• Beyond being there and meeting Joe Frazier (though I should have finished the article... oops), this was such a thorough and unexpected domination by Bernard Hopkins, even the most avid Kelly Pavlik supporters had to stand in awe and respect.

• After two barbeques in South Jersey and actually getting some sleep, this epic match was the cherry on top of a great Fourth of July weekend.

• Sure, there are a lot of you who are Boston Celtics fans now, but your hearts were in your laps because of a team no one expected to win more than a game in the first round... let alone three. Welcome back to the NBA, Atlanta. We've missed you and your ridiculous pyrotechnics!

• Who would have thought that the NHL would have given us the first treat of a phenomenal 2008? Oh, that's right, the people that watched this game on New Year's Day. If you were subjected to the anti-climatic bowl games later that evening, I hope you at least enjoyed this earlier that afternoon. (By the way, I recognize how much many puckheads dislike Sidney Crosby or at least the hype around him. However, you had to have appreciated this moment.)

• Sorry, Patriots fans. (Note: If anyone has a video with Marv Albert's radio call, please send the link. If you can't recall, let's just say that I'm not a fan of FOX.)

• Finally, since there isn't a great video from YouTube and MLB does not allow embedding, search "All Star Home Run Derby 2008" in its video site.
  For those who followed me one the journey to Dallas back in July, I was able to add photos and videos from the last game before the All-Star break (revisit, if you will). Instead of covering the All-Star Game festivities myself, I was at a hotel in suburban Dallas with a face stuffed full of pepperoni, sausage & Sprite, excitedly jumping up and down like a stressed-out nicotine fiend without smokes.
  To say that what Josh Hamilton did the following night at Yankee Stadium defied our wildest imaginations is an understatement. However, it was great to see a football-crazed state hold off all the talk about the Cowboys, the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners, if only for a little while. There's a bonafide superstar in the making in Arlington and the Rangers need to do everything possible to build around him.

So, share you favorite moments, no matter where they may come from.

Quick

It's still very early in the NBA season, but a few quick observations:

• This bullet is New York-focused and for good reason: most of the good vibes going towards the Knicks these days has automatically been correlated to head coach Mike D'Antoni. His "seven seconds or less" offense is still a work in progress and the schedule has been favorable because of short-handed teams, but the Knicks have something else thast has carried them over: small forward Wilson Chandler.
  It has been quite a while since the Knicks have had the sort of athleticism at the three-spot on both ends of the floor; arguably since Bernard King was dropping 800 points on those sorry New Jersey Nets squads in the early eighties. This is not to say that Chandler will suddenly have his name in the Hall of Fame or even the MSG rafters, but he's been the young, dynamic two-way player that the Knicks have needed for years. He played well late last season, but it is this season in which the NBA fans will get to know what he's all about. Fourteen points a game, just under 6 rebounds and a block in 28 minutes may not sound like much, but Chandler has a solid repetoire to work with: spin moves to the basket, very good size to defend shooting guards and small forwards, plays the mid-range game and he does not turn the ball over much when he's on the court.
  A friend said he could be an All-Star in this league. Let's start with  early candidacy for Most Improved Player of the Year honors.
  
  
• Someone seriously needs to sit Daniel Gibson down and talk with him about his hair.
  
  
• That Atlanta Hawks - Boston Celtics game Wednesday night was as good as it gets. It was the highest rated game in the history of the Boston area Comcast SportsNet affiliate. As commented here in Fang's Bites, I wonder if this was because Celtics fans were expecting fireworks because of that epic first-round playoff series last year or because the Hawks are the point of intrigue.
  
  
• Something that may have slipped under the radar: is the Ginobili rule taking effect as players and referees are mindful to not flop or are the officials just letting these guys play through?
  
  
• Eleven and a half years ago, the Washington Bullets renamed themselves into the Wizards because owner Abe Pollin wanted to shed a name with violent connotations, considering the rising homocide rate in DC. While this idea may not stem from a similar civic duty, can we have a new campaign for the Oklahoma City Thunder? Well, maybe it's not the name, but the kalediscope of colors make themselves look more like the junior Knicks than their own team.
  There should also be a contest for the Charlotte Bobcats, but that's for another day.
  

Any quick observations from you, leave them here.

17

Funny things about the Celtics winning their 17th title in franchise history:

So NOW Paul Pierce is a Celtic legend?!?! The guy carried the franchise for a decade, yet it seems that now he's appreciated not just throughout the country, but in New England.

Danny Ainge winnng Executive of the Year is a bit odd. Luck and a long-lasting friendship with Kevin McHale shouldn't be reasons to be given the award.

Thrilled for Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Absolutely thrilled. P.J. Brown... not so much. Some fires won't ever be put out ;).

I kid. Congrats.

It may seem crazy, but Rajon Rondo has a game similar to Tony Parker, except that the jumpshot isn't there just yet.

As for the Lake Show: as one of the Boston-area commentors mentioned on a ESPN Conversation board, this is nice right now, but the Lakers will have their day. Don't doubt that for a second.

The best team in the league all season long was outplayed in every game by a team that never strayed from their game plan. Will they figure that out in November remains to be seen.

Kobe is going to single-handedly destroy the PLANET in Beijing.

Finally, no matter what, ESPN/ABC must do everything possible to keep their lead broadcast team of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy together.

Proud

The cliche goes "a picture is worth a thousand words", yet, there is not one that can describe that emotion.

Not one.

On this possible clinching night, much has been said about Doc Rivers' emotional moment during Friday's press conference over the weekend. Considering that it's Father's Day and the Celtics maestro had buried his own dad seven months ago, there was an 'understandable' lapse in mind and body.

I say 'understandable' because really, it's hard to understand until (please forbid) it happens. To reach a major life milestone - academic, amateur, professional or personal - while wondering what a lost loved one would have said or thought is one of the most painful, yet joyful experiences that a person can even endure. Especially with a relationship involving a parent or guardian and child.

Painful and joyful are two other words that don't seem to work here. See, the pain of not having the physical presense with you never goes away. Neither does the joy of knowing how happy that person would have been of you. Those words just don't suffice because again, the emotions of a loss are so overwhelming that you cannot describe them.

Even if this is not the clinching night for Boston or if by some miracle, the Los Angeles Lakers make a comeback, those tears and that pause would still be there for Rivers. With everything that the coach has gone through in his career - especially in New England - the fact that he was able to keep positive and rebuild a tattered legacy in a tough sports region is something that his father would have been equally as proud of.

Believe me. I should know.

From ESPN

From Yahoo!

Say What?!?!: A late Daddy's Day gem from the New York Times

Twiddling

So you're trying to figure out how to pass the time until baseball starts up again (in Tokyo, if you need a reminder, Red Sox and A's fans). In all honesty, that's kind of sad, but it's your perogative. Yet, there are plenty of other sports that give thrills, chills and if you attend live, unfortunate beer spills. It's very easy to just say watch more basketball or hockey or even read a book, but instead, here are five games and events in February to keep an eye on.

Of course, Scribe advises that you should just watch anything where there's a ball and a bunch of people running for it, with it or at it.

• Saturday, February 9th: San Antonio Spurs @ Boston Celtics - Though the defending champs are not clicking on all cylinders at the moment, these two games will be considered NBA Finals previews. Neither team has played each other this season, but the always-intriguing matchup between Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will take center stage. With Tony Parker out of the lineup for the Spurs, Rajon Rondo may avoid the same fate as Daniel Gibson suffered in last year's Finals. Parker sped past Gibson so much that the Cavaliers guard is still chasing the Frenchman's shadow. The rematch takes place on Monday, March 17 in San Antonio.
  


• [Above] Saturday, February 16th: Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor II, Undisputed Middleweight Championship - Boxing had an outstanding 2007 and much of this can be attributed to this gem of a fight. Back in late September, an undefeated champion, Taylor, had scored a knockdown on Pavlik in the middle of the second round. With still over a minute left in the round, Taylor threw just enough to keep Pavlik at a distance. Big mistake. Pavlik fought himself back into the fight to the point that judges had scored the fight even leading into the seventh round. And then, Arkansas' son crumpled in the corner from a beautiful combo from Pavlik. The Youngstown, Ohio native shocked the boxing establishment with his win and set up this rematch at a catch weight of 166 pounds. Taylor's no bum, but even in his previous fights since defeating Bernard Hopkins for the undisputed championship, he hasn't looked like the anointed boxing star he was supposed to be. With the loss to Pavlik, there are more questions surrounding the former champ than with his two questionable wins over Hopkins. Order the fight, go to a sports bar or get real close with a friend (just not me).
  
  
• Wednesday, February 20th: Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers - You know that ESPN or ABC will scramble to air this game nationally, even if it means telling Lost to get lost for a week. Yes, the whole Shaq versus Kobe angle was played out long before the Disney broadcasters pushed it on us in recent Christmases. However, the Suns, whose up-tempo, seven-seconds-or-bust style has been compromised (to say the least) when they traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for the fourteen-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion. No one knows what to expect from O'Neal - or even if he will play - but expect the Lakers to have worked out some of the kinks as their newest acquisition settles in. Pau Gasol should have two more weeks under him with his new team by then (also helped by the All-Star break). The Lake Show will have its first post-break test against a team still widely considered to be Western Conference contenders.
  
  
• Ongoing: The head coaching search of the Washington Redskins - Giants fans and 'fans' (those bandwagoners that suddenly believed in Eli Manning after the Super Bowl ended), be very, very afraid. Not that the personnel will suddenly forget how to play defense when the new season rolls around, but if first-year defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is offered and accepts the head coaching position with rival Washington, it may not bode well. Owner Daniel Snyder loves the big splash of free agent signings and coaching hires, even if the success has not followed. Though he would join in on a trend of hiring the hot, young coordinator, hiring the architect of the league's most talked-about defense would put the Giants in a very peculiar spot of having to find another DC who can utilize the players in a similar manner. Spanoulo originally came from Philadelphia, but it is unlikely that New York would look in that direction again. The respect and admiration that he gained from that lockerroom is something that cannot be replicated with just anyone if he departs, and neither will the production if they end up defending their Super Bowl championship without him.
  
  
• All month: College basketball - while Scribe doesn't delve too much into college sports, March Madness is just around the corner. Duke's win over UNC tonight should serve as a reminder of how intense the games are getting right about now. What should also stay on the periphery: top-ranked Memphis host (7)Tennessee and the hopes are that loading the home schedule with big-name national opponents will garner the best possible bracket in the NCAA Men's Tournament. Also, (6)Georgetown and (19)Connecticut command Big East attention, fifth-ranked UCLA has (17)Stanford and (9)Washington State to worry about and Kansas will test their number 4 ranking with some tough outs [Baylor, at (12)Texas, a rematch with Kansas State and (18)Texas A&M]. Can't forget the ladies, either.

Say What?!?!: Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida will feature the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers and the AFC Champion New York Jets. No worries, Jets fans. As you have come to expect, the good fortunes are just a cruel joke. They'll find a way to let Alex Smith throw seven touchdowns in the second half for the red-and-gold's sixth championship.