nba musings

Cedric Maxwell has developed a fantastic online raffle for Game 4 to help benefit Health & Education Services (HES). HES provides a wide range of community based mental health and substance abuse, prevention and addiction services to Massachusetts’ Greater North Shore. Ticket are just $2/ea (minimum of 5).

The prizes:

• Winner and guest will be Cedric Maxwell’s special guests at Game 4 of the Celtics NBA Championship Drive against the LA Lakers.
• Winner and guest will enjoy two floor seats to the game (Section 12 Row A Seats 13 & 14). The only thing that separates you from the court is the media!
• Winner and guest will join Cedric Maxwell on the court for photos
• Winner will receive a basketball autographed by the Boston Celtics

Entry deadline: June 9, 2010, 4pm EDT
Drawing date: Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Visit the official raffle website for more information…

Go Celtics!

I got my bi-annual notice from the Paul Pierce fan club
that there’s new swag! Shwing-a-ling-a-ling…
http://paulpierce.spreadshirt.com/

I’m so bored. Is this what my evenings are going to be like without the NBA? Mindless Internet surfing and Twitter feed perusing? Wait, that’s what I do all the time anyway. It’s just that usually the NBA is on the TV in my left eye’s periphery and not an all day Monk marathon. Anyway, here is what
the muse™ has been noodling on tonight…

Just when you think T.J. Simers is the biggest dipshit columnist in L.A.
It’s since been removed, but L.A. Times columnist Ted Green (some no-name guy getting lots and lots of free publicity today) wrote a seemingly benign column about all the reasons Laker fans should hate the Celtics (like they need a list? Really? The 2008 ass kicking wasn’t reason enough for people?) until the part where he made fun of Paul Pierce getting stabbed. Yes, that’s right… getting stabbed is funny! Sigh. Dumbass. [NESN: Los Angeles Times Writer Jokes About Paul Pierce's Stabbing]

I’m sorry, but Perk is adorable
This is a non-story really, but I don’t care what Perk thinks… He’s cute as a button. [Ball Don't Lie: Kendrick Perkins is ugly, according to Kendrick Perkins]

Revenge is a dish best served lukewarm
If you follow Matt Barnes on Twitter (and if you’re not, you should be — he’s not big on censoring himself and it’s fabulous) then you know that he’s been simmering like a tea kettle for the last couple of months over some beef with the ladies of VH-1′s Basketball Wives. Well, I guess the pot finally boiled over:

Seasons over I’m waitn 4 one of u bball groupies 2 say sumthen NOW!! No 1 would know any of u if u kept ur legs closed. B EZ tricks!!!

Hmmm, that’s it? That’s the big truth he threatened to divulge about these women after the season was over — that he thinks they’re groupie whores? Gosh Matt, why don’t you just tell me that you think the sky is blue while you’re at it? It would be equally news breaking. [James Poling: Matt Barnes Challenges Groupies and Tricks on Twitter to Keep Their Legs Closed]

Elbows, techs and concussions – oh my!
This conversation I had with my mother will tell you everything you need to know about how I feel about last night’s game:

Mom: I better never catch anyone in this family cheering for the Orlando Magic during the regular season ever again. You will be disowned.
Me: Oh you won’t. They are dead to me. DEAD! Forever dead, dead, toe up in the grave, dead.
Mom: Good. Even J.J.?
Me: *silence*
Mom: Even that little pisher, J.J. Redick, right?! Right!?
Me: Yes, ok. He can suck it too.
Mom: If those damn Magic somehow make it to the finals, I swear… I’ll root for the…
Me: The Lakers? Yes, me too. Just like last year.
Mom: What?! No, I was going to say the Suns.

*silence*

Mom: You rooted for the Lakers last year?
Me: Over the Magic, yes.
Mom: Jesus.

That’s right. I’d rather root for Satan’s basketball team. So there.

Blogger’s note: I’m sneaking this post in from my work crib all super secret and all. So don’t expect many links or supporting images – I’ll have to slip those in tonight when I get home.

Keep ya day job, Barack
El Presidente picked the Lakers to win the NBA Finals. Puke. Of course, I’d be saying he’s a genius if he picked the Celtics. Duh. I guess both teams have to get there first though, don’t they? Celtics are a little closer being only 1 game away, but still. Don’t want to count the chickens before they hatch. Speaking of which, I totally blame those ESPN turdburglars – Jon Barry, Mike Wilbon, et al. for jinxing my beloved Celtics Monday night by all picking them to sweep. STOP DOING THAT. It’s a major hex and I won’t put up with it.

Pretty in peach
[Update: Turns out the software is fine. For whatever reason (encryption or something) video grabbed from TNT is not convertable, video grabbed from ESPN is. My bad luck that Craig Sager works for TNT and not ESPN.] Night 2 of the Craig Sager’s Suits Tumblr project went fine except for the fact that the WTV to MPEG software I bought sucks donkeydong. It works, then it doesn’t, then it works, then it doesn’t, then… AAAARGH! I refuse to have to run any command line bullshit… Finished software should be FINISHED. Sigh. Anyway, I was able to get a couple screenshots though, in between shaking my fist at the sky. He kind of looks like a peach cobbler. <3

I want shenanigans
How come the east coast finals get the ESPN tweedledums and the west coast finals get the Inside the NBA crew and Craig Sager? Not fair. Maybe I want to see weird Photoshopped pictures of Barkley every game! Not just Laker games! Instead I get no wacky Chuck photos, no hilarious banter and have to listen to Wilbon flip-flop about which team he thinks is going to win. Newflash, I don’t care who he thinks is going to win. ESPN doesn’t have anyone better they could pay to sit up on that panel? Nothing personal, Mike… But, it’s bad enough I have to endure being referred to as a ”knucklehead” by you every night after PTI, but I really don’t think I should have to listen to you before games too. Based on your “insight,” you have about as much NBA knowledge as my mom — who still thinks the Houston Rockets center is named Ow Ming.

Ayo, baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big Baby is finally officially on Twitter (@iambigbaby11). He is a big fan of saying “Ayo baby” and of using exclamation points. A whole damn lot of them. You’ve been warned.

If you haven’t already scoped this vid of Rondo getting plunked by a ball and barely reacting (at least at first), then you have to check it out. Hilarious. (I also love dude at the end strolling up with his microphone. Late to the party, pal.)

Credit: YouTube/espnforsberg

I’ve always liked Matt Barnes. Generally speaking, I love tough players that don’t take any crap from anyone. But, seriously? You can’t be a little more subtle than to literally body check an opposing player into your own bench? Hell, into your own coach?! Tsk tsk. I haven’t seen anything so ridiculous since Lamar Odom tackled Ray Allen out of bounds in ’08. Kudos to Rondo and the team for quickly getting over there to retrieve KG before he went apocalyptic. I guess that’s what happens though when you announce to anyone who will listen that you want to guard Paul Pierce and then forget to show up and actually, you know, guard him. Pretty embarrassing, I would imagine. But, dude seriously, loose ball? Like the loose ball Robert Horry was going for?

In case you missed it:

Credit: YouTube/espnforsberg