Live From Terminal 2…
6:58am — Toronto Pearson Airport, Lounge J
Not much to report yet. Woke up at 5, showered, finished packing, said goodbye to Nora, and then grabbed a cab to the airport. We made great time on the 401, and then I flew thru the line-ups at check-in thanks to those convenient e-ticket kiosks and old peoples fear of technology.
Oh, I did have my first “basketball conversation” though. It was with a pretty intense Customs officer:
Customs Officer: What are you going to New York for?
Me: The NBA Draft.
Customs Officer: Oh, yeah? Who’s going first?
Me: Um, probably the Italian kid. Bargnani.
Customs Officer: Italian? Pfft.
Me: Ha. You don’t like that, eh?
Customs Officer: He’s Italian! Come on…
Touche. OK, I need a coffee. And I gotta figure out whether this guy sitting across from me is baseball analyst Peter Gammons. Think he used the kiosk? Hmm…
Comments (5)Do I Need A Draft Suit?
OK, its official Internet peeps: I’m going to the NBA Draft.
Yeah, I’m not quite sure how, but I’ve somehow — probably mistakenly* — been invited by the fine folks at AOL Sports to fly down to New York to help “cover” the NBA Draft.
Now before you go gettin’ all pissy — I know, I know — why in the world (wide web) would AOL Sports ever decide to take me? Um, I’ve got no idea. I mean, let’s break it down for a second: I know very little about college ball, I don’t update this site nearly as often as I should, and well, let’s be honest, me righting be not so good. Oh, all that, and I’m Canadian! Gasp!
But whatever, I’m going and it’s going to be awesome. The plan is that I’m going to try and live-blog the whole adventure, from door-to-MSG-to-door. I’ve got an iBook, a Mini-DVD camcorder, a digital camera, and an umbrella in case of rain/Reddick. I’m all set.
So, tomorrow morning… you, me, and an 8 a.m. United Airlines flight. Whatta say?
* $10 says some new, AOL intern accidentally typed J.E. Skeets instead of J.A. Adande.
Comments (8)Born Inside The Winter Wind…
First off, no, I’m not dead. The TBJ servers were tired yesterday so I told them to take the day off. They went to the beach, sipped margaritas, watched some soccer; made the most of it I’d say. They feel good now.
Second, I’ve been layin’ low for the last little while because I’ve been preparing for something like Saer Sene’s wingspan. Yes, big. Now I don’t want to give away to much information — you know, in case this chance completely blows up in my face — but let’s just say, if this thing happens, it’ll be at least half as cool as the Who Shot Mamba? movie project.
In fact, if I had to use another movie to describe this “big news” of mine, I’m pretty sure I’d go with Jim Varney’s 1987 classic, Ernest Goes To Camp. Yeah, goose bumps, people. Goose. Bumps.
All right, that’s all you get for now. Stay tuned Internet peers.
[Note: I’d probably substitute ‘Skeets’ for ‘Ernest’ and ‘the NBA Draft’ for ‘Camp’. But hey, that’s just me…]
Comments (11)Your 2006 NBA Champions…
Well, well, well … that didn’t take long to get up and running, eh Mr. Stern? (Conspiracy!)
Kidding. Congratulatory handshake extended to the 2006 World Series Champions of Basketball, the Miami Wades. Err, Heat.
I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk/bitch about tomorrow, but until then, I leave you with one simple question:
Who wants to sex Alonzo?
Live-Blogging Miami-Dallas Game 6 [True Hoop]
(BONUS: On Monday night I made a quick appearance on Sports Bloggers Live to talk NBA Finals with Jamie, Chris and CT. The clip is now up. Check it out if you want to hear me profess my man-love for D-Wade’s game.)
Comments (2)Game 6: Judgement Day
If the NBA is rigged, then here’s how tonight’s Game 6 will go down…
Pre-game Show:
- Mike Breen and Hubie Brown welcome us. Hubie is wearing a crown. Odd.
- Quick video package hyping up the series so far. Highlights include: Stack taking out Shaq (shown from multiple angles, with over-the-top SFX), Haslem’s bleeding eye, Wade’s heroics, and Cuban pointing and screaming at Stern.
- Breen informs us that Bennett Salvatore, Dick Bavetta, and Earl Hebner are refereeing tonight’s game.
Miami Heat Introductions:
- Boisterous ‘You Suck’ chants from the sold-out American Airlines Center crowd.
- Jason Williams drives out in a ‘65 Impala Convertible Lowrider.
- Shaq walks out a crawling Antoine Walker, who’s attached to a dog leash.
Dallas Mavericks Introductions:
- Stackhouse gets a huge pop. Looks like a Pepsi…
- Dirk enters the court thru Sec. 125 and walks down the aisles. He spits water all over the crowd.
- Quick shot of WWE wrestlers, Triple H and Shawn Michaels, sitting courtside.
- Commissioner David Stern pulls a chair up beside the scorekeeper.
1st Quarter Action:
- Shaq wins the tip with a nice side Russian legsweep.
- Wade hits his 2nd triple of the game. Miami jumps to a quick 12-2 lead. Stern nods accordingly.
- Cuban is down on the ground, slapping the hardwood, trying to pump up this Dallas crowd.
- Terry ducks a Posey clothesline, tags in Harris on the fly, who then finishes on the break. Nice. End of 1: Miami 22, Dallas 16.
2nd Quarter Action:
- Dirk is struggling from the field, shooting only 1-for-6. Hubie breaks it down:
“You are Dirk Nowitzki. You have fireman carried your team throughout these playoffs. You KNOW tonight that it’s do-or-die, and you KNOW you’ve got to step up your game. Now … you know that your game is a submission type of game, and you KNOW that Haslem’s shoulder is hurting him. You need to attack it. Now … you also know there is only one move for you to do it successfully — you need to get on an arm-bar. You know this is going to be TOUGH.”
- End of 2: Miami 46, Dallas 39.
Half-time:
- The Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat Dancers have a bra-and-panties match at center court. Everybody wins, except the fabric.
3rd Quarter Action:
- The Mavericks come out swinging: Howard dropkicks/screens Walker, rolls back door, and then jams home a nice alley-oop pass from Terry.
- White Hot Cheats? Stack gets a steal and is alone on the break, but Riley trips him up! Salvatore turns a blind eye. The crowd goes crazy!
- Payton drives to the net, scoops one over Diop, and manages to draw a ticky-tack foul. Diop goes nuts and starts eating the protective foam padding underneath the net. End of 3: Miami 71, Dallas 70.
4th Quarter Action:
- Great exchange to start the 4th:
Williams misses a jumper, rebound up, Stack and Posey battle for position and go to the floor locked up. Ball goes out of bounds. Stack and Posey break, and then back in they go. Oh, stare down; the two go nose to nose. Posey with a take down, sharp (3-point) shooter try, but Stack counters into a single leg submission. Posey counters into a side headlock. Both up, and Stack executes a full (Don) nelson suplex. Stack with the cover … 1 … 2 … Posey kicks out! The ball is finally in-bounded.
- The teams exchange
rightsbaskets for 7 straight minutes. Miami stays up 1. Only 31 seconds left.
- Wade kills some clock, comes off a pick and beats his man. It looks like he’s got an easy lay-up for 2, but NO! — Dirk with a boot to the face! “I Am A Real Germanian” blasts through the PA system. The crowd goes nuts! Dirk gathers up the loose ball, dribbles to the line, launches a game tying three … it’s GOOD! Dallas 95, Miami 93!
- Riley wants a timeout. The AAC erupts! Dirk rips off his jersey and puts his hand to his ear. OH NO! Salvatore calls a technical foul for showboating! WHAT!? Miami will shoot one, AND get the ball back!
- Wade at the line … he calls “GLASS!” … and knocks it down. “He’s as a cold as ice!” Dallas 95, Miami 94.
- 22 seconds left: Wade near the top, killing some clock … spins left, pulls it back … 10 seconds to go … Avery’s yelling at the whole Mavs team to get on Wade … Wade somehow keeps his dribble alive … everyone is on him; even Cuban’s out there! … 5 seconds to go, Wade beats four defenders … he pulls up for the jumper … 4 … 3 … WOAH! Wade finds a wide open Shaq under the rim … 2 … Shaq going for the dunk …
- Breen: “OH MY GOD, IT’S KOOOOOOOBE!” Kobe Bryant, sitting front row, grabs his chair, and absolutely clocks Shaq in the skull … Shaq and the ball slump to the floor … the buzzer goes! DALLAS WINS! DALLAS WINS!
- We fade to commercial as we see an evil looking Kobe – in a charming blue sweater vest, mind you – being paid off by Cuban!
Winners: The Dallas Mavericks via scoring more points @ 48:00
Comments (9)A Letter To Dirk…
Dear Mr. Nowitzki,
Next time, wipe my ass down.
Sincerely,
Stationary Bicycle
[Gif credit: ‘Howie’ from NBA Basketball and Other Unrelatedness via YAYsports!]
Comments (4)Game 5: Heat 101, Mavs 100
Skeets says: Dwyane Wade gives me a boner. There, I said it.
Tas says: LOL. For some weird reason, I believe that.
Skeets says: Miami 101, Dallas 100. Overtime. Unbelievable!
Skeets says: Wade puts up another 40+ points, “get the fuck on my back performance”, and is now one game away from single-handedly winning this Heat team a ring.
Tas says: You are bang on. I guess the team with the best player can win. I thought the better team would win after having watched the start of this series.
Tas says: Dirk unstoppable? No, Flash is truly unstoppable.
Skeets says: What about that phantom foul call at the end though? It looked like no one even touched him. I think the refs just got whistle happy because Wade was sort of flailing and stumbling around the double team. It looked chaotic…
Tas says: That was freakin’ ridiculous Skeets! Come on! I am sick tired of these superstar calls.
Skeets says: Hey, it’s a shame when any close game has to end on free-throws like that. But what are you gonna do?
Tas says: I don’t mind it ending on free throws, but what more could the triple team he was up against do? They played D-Wade so well on that drive. But, I loved the creativity by Riley to get him some room by starting him in the backcourt.
Skeets says: True. He’s obviously much more difficult to contain with a full head of steam going.
Skeets says: Let’s talk about Josh Howard though. If I’m the Mavs organization, I’m making damn sure there ain’t a razor blade or rope within ten-feet of the poor kid tonight. That was tough to watch. The two missed free-throws, the Webber-esque timeout. And man, he was having such a GOOD game up until then…
Tas says: That timeout ranks high on the ‘Strangest Things Ever in the NBA’ list. Everyone knew what Avery Johnson wanted, refs included. He wanted the timeout after the 2nd free throw.
Tas says: Little men get no respect.
Skeets says: No, no, no … Howard definitely CALLED that timeout. He was walking off the court while he was calling it. Complete brain-fart by him. Brutal.
Tas says: He took a couple of steps towards the bench, and put his hands together in that famous ‘T’, it’s true. Mistakes happen.
Tas says: But Josh Howard can give anyone a boner at anytime. He’ll make anyone feel like they’re going through puberty again. Like, he’ll be setting a pick, and boom, there’s a chubby in the house.
Skeets says: That was by far the oddest sentence ever typed on MSN.
Skeets says: My theory on the T mishap was that Howard saw Avery hand signaling a “T” and a “2”, and thought, “Oh, ok, we got 2 timeouts left. Let’s ice Wade with one now, and save the last one to advance the ball.”
Tas says: You think the coach tells his players on the floor we have 2 timeouts left from the bench? That never happens. He always signals to his players that we will take the ‘T’ after the 2nd free throw. That’s why he was holding those 2 fingers up. Josh just fogot what was going on. It was OT, he was tired.
Skeets says: Why’d Avery go away from Hack-a-Shaq? Wasn’t it working perfectly? I’m especially talking OT here when Harris fouled Shaq, but it wasn’t bonus yet. Then, for some weird reason, the Mavs immediately abandoned the plan and let Wade score 2. Thoughts?
Tas says: Just bizarre. But if you saw AJ after one of the Hack-a-Shaqs, he wasn’t happy. It looked like he didn’t want it to happen at all. But why do it twice and stop before you hit the bonus. I think Johnson has a little too much pride to keep going back to it. In OT, he used it only for a change of pace in my opinion - to either change the D to a zone, or get a whistle.
Skeets says: Shaq was building whole sub-divisions with those bricks he was tossin’ up. Until he proved he could knock down two in a row, the Mavs really should’ve stuck with it in my opinion.
Skeets says: And somewhat related: Is maybe the reason Shaq misses so many foul-shots simply because he wipes his shooting hand on his sweaty face before every sinlge attempt?
Tas says: Maybe he wants to be in the ‘I need to touch part of my face at the free throw line club’ and he couldn’t think of anything more creative.
Tas says: Sort of like my previous line. I couldn’t think of anything more creative to write.
Skeets says: Blow a kiss to Jason Kidd’s big headed kid, wrap the ball around your torso ala Agent Zero, do anything besides wipe your goddamn hand on your ridiculously sweaty face. Jeesh.
Tas says: Either way, we have ourselves a heck of a series on our hands.
Skeets says: You like Dallas — and the refs — in Game 6 I take it?
Tas says: Totally. I don’t like saying it, but the game should favor the home side more. You?
Skeets says: Dallas. Stack’s back, they got the home court crowd, this thing was meant to go seven; it just all makes sense, doesn’t it? But man, Avery’s really got to figure out a way to get the ball out of Wade’s hands. Shit, Hack-a-Wade maybe? Anything!
Tas says: It doesn’t work Skeets. He chased him with 3 guys on the last possession and he still got to the line. No, but seriously, you must get a couple guys out there pressuring him from way up the floor. Why haven’t we seen a press yet? This team was meant to run wasn’t it?
Skeets says: It’s an interesting idea, but full-court pressure and trapping just doesn’t work in the NBA. The offensive players are too quick, too tall, too smart…
Tas says: Listen, it’s time to get desperate. Just like the way Detroit brought two guys to pressure Wade up top, the Mavs need to do the same. Make other people hits shots all night.
Tas says: Then again, this game could have gone either way. Maybe a game in the Mavs’ version of the American Airlines Arena will do the trick.
Skeets says: Yeah, this thing’s going 7 for sure. This year’s playoffs wouldn’t have it any other way.
Skeets says: Alright, I’m off to go play my Robert Miles CD and introduce myself to the neighbours. Night.
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Game 4: Heat 98, Mavericks 74
Tas says: Lets get it started…
Skeets says: Thanks, Will.i.Am…
Tas says: Don’t start with the snappy comments. I lost money on this stinkin’ game — I’m in no mood.
Skeets says: Shit, I forgot about that. How much you put on Dallas?
Tas says: Don’t worry about it.
Skeets says: Miami 94, Dallas … what– 16? This best-of-seven is all tied up at 2, baby! Any thoughts on Game 4, Fergie?
Tas says: I’d call you the Filipino dude but you’re definitely not cool enough to be him.
Tas says: Thoughts? Well, a big thing for me was Dallas settling for too many jumpers. Dallas’ big advantage is their athleticism and by staying outside on offense, they played right in to the Heat’s hands.
Skeets says: Completely agree. At times tonight the Mavs just looked like they forgot they were allowed to put the ball on the floor. They definitely wanted to get back in the game with the ol’ 10-point moneyball.
Skeets says: And on a night when a) they couldn’t buy a bucket, and b) the refs were calling damn near EVERYTHING … well damn, you gotta go to the net!
Tas says: They put Harris in to the starting lineup for a reason but they didn’t utilize their team speed.
Tas says: I’m so angry right now, I’m lucky John Legend is helping me settle down.
Skeets says: Re: team speed. It’s not like Coach Avery wasn’t preachin’ it. I can count multiple times where Avery had the “let’s go, push the damn ball/send the runner from third” hand signal going…
Skeets says: And woah, John Legend? You’ve been watching too much Oprah dude…
Tas says: The man can sing. But maybe we have to give the Heat a little credit for playing that zone really well. They rotated quickly and the Mavs settled for those jumpers, even if most of them were fairly open.
Skeets says: True.
Skeets says: Hey, did you hear what happened to Dirk right after the game?
Skeets says: John Starks called him and said, “Thanks for trying.”
Skeets says: 2-for-14. Gross.
Tas says: They weren’t falling. He didn’t take bad shots, but he definitely got comfy outside.
Tas says: I actually thought Shaq’s early fouls were a blessing in disguise. That got ‘Zo in the game, forced the Heat to go small and it got everyone moving for them. They weren’t standing around watching Shaq work and that helped them get their legs working on the defensive end as well.
Tas says: Plus, ‘Zo finally worked some kinks out cause he got some major minutes. And those blocks were huge. When’s the last time you’ve seen a stare down like that after a foul, not a block, a foul.
Skeets says: Classic ‘Zo. Best part of the night though was Stack’s flagrant foul/tackle on Shaq. That was exactly what this lackluster Finals needed. A little hate, a little spice…
Tas says: For sure. I thought Cuban did a good job of that when he dissed Riley on Letterman on Wednesday. That was weak. Does the guy ever shut his mouth and respect his elders?
Skeets says: So what’s Avery telling the guys right now? It’s pretty obvious that Game 5 is this series…
Tas says: No way. Game 5 is this series for the Heat, but not for the Mavs. They Heat can’t win 2 in a row in Dallas but the Mavs can, they’ve already done it.
Tas says: Avery is going to keep it simple, attack, attack, attack. Run on the fast break and go at their inside people with moves to the hoop. They were getting Shaq and ‘Zo in foul trouble when they did it occasionally tonight.
Tas says: They have to use their freakin’ strengths. Run and drive against the slower team, no more of the Vince Carter jumper syndrome.
Skeets says: I really wish Dallas could have kept this game close tonight, just so we could’ve seen Wade get 40 again, maybe 50.
Skeets says: Is there a better guard in the game today at using the glass? He’s smooth.
Tas says: Hubie said no.
Skeets says: And Hubie is God.
Skeets says: So, you got any Game 5 predictions, champ? How you gonna win back your money? The line’s at [-1.5] for Miami as I type…
Tas says: I am really tempted to go with the Mavericks. It seems like this series is about will and I see Dallas playing with more urgency on Sunday. I think if each team played as hard as they could for 48 minutes, Dallas would be the winner most of the time. So I’ll go with a desperate AJ-lead squad in game 5.
Tas says: You kimoswabe?
Skeets says: “It seems like this series is about will”. Bingo. Every game has been won by the team who chalks up more hustle plays: loose balls, offensive rebounds, etc. Contrary to what you believe, I say Game 5 IS this series. And because of its importance, I’ll pick Dallas to win and for them to roll in 6.
Skeets says: Now with that said, Wade is playing scary good right now, and usually — USUALLY the team with the best player on the court wins. But I’m stickin’ with Mavs in 6.
Skeets says: OK, one last thing. Umm… am I seein’ what I think I’m seein’?
Tas says: Wow. Really tough call. That may be the rear peeking through.
Skeets says: Hmm… maybe. Whatever. I bet she likes John Legend…
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Shaq Rocks Burgundy Briefs
It’s true. NBA.com’s Jeff Dengate reports:
Shaq, what’s your favorite color?
In fairness, that question was offered up only because Shaq was harrasing the Boston Globe’s Jackie MacMullan in the interview room. He picked her out of the crowd and coerced her to ask a question. When that was answered, he demanded a second. For the record, Shaq prefers burgundy.
“My favorite color is burgundy. Yeah, burgundy,” O’Neal offered up. “I’m wearing burgundy underwear right now, too.”
Sure the room laughed, but Jackie’s only response was, “That’s more than I wanted to know.”
Chat Session [NBA.com: The Real Time Finals Blog]
Comments (3)Who Wants Larry O’Brien?
Current bid: US $78.00
End time: 20 hours 58 mins (Jun-15-06 17:29:48 PDT)
Shipping costs: US $8.00 US Postal Service Priority Mail®
Ships to: United States
Item location: New York, New York, United States
Highest bidder: theglove (0)
History: 11 bids:
US $78.00 — theglove (0)
US $78.00 — theglove (0)
US $78.00 — theglove (0)
US $77.00 — bigticketminny (6)
US $75.00 — armsthatkillchildren (28)
US $70.00 — theglove (0)
US $65.00 — armsthatkillchildren (28)
US $60.00 — theglove (0)
US $50.00 — winkifyouagree (479)
US $50.00 — armsthatkillchildren (28)
US $30.00 — big_wheeler_18 (7)
2006 NBA FINALS Championship Trophy — Mint With Box! [eBay]
(UPDATE: Under 6-hours left and it’s still only at $78.00. I’m seriously considering getting this now. I mean imagine awarding this to next year’s Fantasy League champ? I’m surprised Simmons hasn’t placed a bid yet…)
Comments (3)About
The Basketball Jones is a NBA blog and podcast, written and recorded five times a week by J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas and Jason Doyle. Comments, questions and cold hard cash are always welcome and much appreciated. Contact us.
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