Monday, November 30, 2009

Long Weekend Roundup

Sacramento Kings Wins: 6, 7, 8

The plate of crow, and the cost of seats, is getting a bit outrageous.

Bango the Buck

Lucky for Bango, he doesn't have to go on road games. The young lefty looking to upstage the most exciting thing in Milwaukee does. Advantage: Bango.

Actual conversation had between Spike and Charlie T.

CTH: "Did you see Brandon Jennings?"

SW: "No, what happened?"

CTH: "Double nickel vs Golden State and an 8-3 record."

SW: "Who else have they played?"

CTH: quickly googling the Bucks schedule and seeing teams like Minnesota, Knicks, GS, Nettes, Bobcats, Grizz "Uh, nobody really. Some real tests coming up though...@Spurs, @NO, Orl."

SW: "Well there is your answer. Talk to me in about a week."

Anybody on the Jennings bandwagon knows how that stretch played out.

Jay Bilas All-Stars: Anthony Randolph

My fantasy team (which is leading my league with a 27-9 record, a 6 game cushion over the second place team and coming off a 9-0 week all thanks to taking D-Wade with the first overall pick) is in a dilemma. I log on today to calculate my lead over the rest of the league and I see a trade has been proposed to me. Derrick Rose (on my roster) for Anthony Randolph. Straight up. No filler, nothing. Just Rose for Randolph. Its an easy decision really, unless your league gets points for upside, second jumpability, length, and freakish athlete. You know what, I'm not so sure he even outmeasures Rose in most of those categories anyway. Sorry Chazzmichaelmichaels, The Adam Keefes are keeping Rose and his fantasy points. Good luck with those length points.

A League of Their Own

The Nettes are rewriting the history books with every game this year. First, they were to the first team to make jump from the WNBA to the NBA. Then they tied (and should break) the record for most consecutive losses to start the season. Now they are in search of a new coach and could really be trendsetters there too. To help out the record setting Nettes, we have prepared a list of the top coaching candidates who are more than qualified to lead the Real Housewives into battle on the hardwood for the rest of this season.

10. His/her ability to relate to both genders on the team cannot be overlooked

















9. Couldn't hurt to stack the deck a little more for the 2010 bonanza
(obviously its the person on the right)



















8. Lawrence Frank was bad, but she has one of the greatest videos of all time
(also, cannot be overlooked that she is sleeping with management)




















7. Has the WNBA pedigree and looking to break into the Association in a leading role


















6. Whose name would look the best next to other "hot girl names"?



















5. Probably the closest to the job on this list













4. Seeing this after every win would put people in the seats for sure...on second thought we would never get to see it
















3. The best college coaches always go pro at some point



















2. This is our favorite...only so we can watch our TNT doubleheaders in peace

















1. Ladies and Gentlemen, the new coach of the New Jersey Nettes....Jimmy Dugan

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

You're Still Not Listening

The Wiz -

We told you how to fix the Wizards and apparently the message still isn't getting though. We will not stop until you have met our demands. Curse-ing is in full effect, just ask your fans.

- The Bullets

C-C-Courtney and Nettes

Quoted from the AP: "New Jersey guard Courtney Lee is available to play against the Denver Nuggets after missing the last seven games because of a groin injury."

Riiiiight...

Rose Family Reunion: Pete and Derrick


This summer TBC had an all access pass to the Rose Family Reunion in rural Iowa. As promised, this is the first bit of wisdom given to Derrick by one of his famous extended family members; Pete "Charlie Hustle" Rose.

When we found out Pete was going to be at the family farm we were ecstatic. Pete is a favorite around here, with my parents even giving me his namesake. I imagined hearing stories about the Big Red Machine, walking out onto the field in Atlanta as a part of the All Century Team and then pretty much telling Jim Gray where to stick it, and finding out who cuts his hair. None of our dreams came true and actually, we had a hard time tracking down Pete once we arrived.

Late into the first day we lost track of Derrick. We walked around and around the farm again and again, in vain attempts at locating the guest of honor. We checked in the barn. Nope. We looked in the tool shed. Again, not there. We checked in the cellar. Not there either. Then we went behind the woodshed and we found Pete with his arm around little Derrick, having a little heart to heart.

"You know Derrick, I was Rookie of the Year," said Pete.

Derrick is looking at him like he is speaking a foreign language, probably wondering why they are out behind the woodshed.

Pete continued. "I won the rookie of the year because I hustled. Nothing was given to me. It was a tough time trying to make it in the bigs back then. But the 60's were a great time, not quite as good as the 80's but pretty close. Anything beats those damn hippies. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, rookie of the year. Well if there is one thing I can tell you about the season after is that you are going to have anything you want. I mean anything."

Derrick stops gazing off into the distance and looks slightly interested.

Pete went on to talk about all the important people he met and all the women and just as he was about to lose Derrick's interest again he said this.

"Just make sure you go slide head first any time you can and remember the rule of Andy."

"The rule of Andy?"

"Yes. Andy. A - N - D - E. Admit nothing, deny everything. I forgot that one time and I will never, ever forgive myself for it. Oh and if that still doesn't work and you need anything else, I mean ANYTHING, here is Ronnie's number."

Take Me Back To The Omni


This Hawks team has me reaching back. Way back. Back to the days of Dominque, Spud, Doc, Willis, and some epic battles with the Bad Boy Pistons. The old Omni. The red/yellow/white wave unis. Human highlights. Why?

  • Best record in the East (tied with the defending EC champs who supposedly improved over the summer).
  • Rare source of agreement between ESPN's typically divergent Marc Stein (gut/faith) and John Hollinger (stats/reason). Stein and Hollinger are like Locke and Jack a few seasons ago on Lost, at odds but sort of needing each other. And I like them both for what they bring to the table/island. And somehow they (Stein/Hollinger, not Locke/Jack) both have the Hawks ranked #2 this week.
  • Cumulative and legitimate swagger. This team kicked it all off by pushing the Celtics around two seasons ago in the playoffs and have continued to parlay that swagger into experience and real-deal-ness. That kind of accumulated confidence over that much time can not and should not be discounted.

Euro Jazz

Who would've guessed that- with a booming record of 3-10- the Knicks would, at this point in the season, only be the league's THIRD worst team? The soon-to-be-Frankless Nettes are, by all indications, shooting for the January cover of Oprah's O magazine. As in O-for-the-season-so-far. And the Timberwolves? Well, nobody really expected much there, now did we, Mr. Rambis...

The combination of the Knicks' encouraging (for a Jazz fan) unimpressiveness and the breakout year of former Euroleaguer Brandon Jennings turns our hopeful eyes to Europe. Who are the top Euro-league prospects not named Ricky Rubio that the Jazz should consider?

Milenko Tepic? His profile here says he's not very athletic but has a "great attitude on and off the court." Oh great. If that interests you, my wife has a friend with a "really sweet spirit" she'd love to set you up with.

Nikola Pekovic? His profile essentially says he's a power player with almost no inside moves and terrible range. Add to that the fact that he's an undersized center who'd undoubtedly move to power forward in the NBA and suddenly I'm not that excited. Oooooh, but look at the notes:
Notes: A solid prospect, and one to keep an eye on

Come on, Europe. What about a Jennings-esque American who bucked Stern's "Can't Play Straight Outta High School" mandate? Is there one out there? Please?

Monday, November 23, 2009

The Bilas Bias takes on the Stephen Jackson trade

The Black Converse reached out to college hoops know-it-all and former Dookie Jay Bilas for his take on The Trade That S-Jax Forced. Here's what Bilas said:

"Now there's no denying the athleticism and wild cardology of a player like Stephen Jackson. He gives any team on any given night the chance to compete with his competitivenessation, intangibles, and streaky shooting. Just ask the Spurs and Pacers.

But Jackson wanted out. So what do the Warriors, who would really give any NCAA team a run for their money this year, get in this deal?

Vladimir Radmanovic- the former Laker/Clipper/Sonic (R.I.P) brings some bona fide beardability and a certain out-of-this-world quality. Phil Jackson called him "my favorite martian" and he was right: it's not hard to see real martianicity in Vlad's game. On the flipside, he's been proven to be a liability when it comes to truthiness, snowboardabilities, defense, and shot selection.

Raja Bell- Don Nelson has to be ecstatic with getting Raja, who's had the perfect combination of experience with old codger coaches (Jerry Sloan, Larry Brown) and loosey goosey run-and-gun coaches (D'Antoni). His upside is in his time-tested ability to knock down the following:
-three-pointers
-vegetarian meals
-Kobe Bryant


Thanks, The Black Converse, for giving me the opportunity to put that Duke education in practice with some of these, um, letters and periods and stuff."

Weekend Roundup, 910 Conversation

Boston Celtics Countdown to 10 Losses: 4
Not only did the Celtics stumble yet again, but it was to another contender.

Memphis Thirtysomethings: 4
Rudy Gay had another thirtysomething point night. Ho hum. We might have to drop any following of this team since AI got cut.

Another instance where Detroit takes a page out of the Book of Kid Rock: Saturday vs. Utah / Sunday vs. Phoenix
Saturday the Pistons decided to pull the "they are calling for an encore but I'm Kid Rock and they ain't gettin' nuthin'". They then followed it up by sending their D-League affiliate to Phoenix for the next game. They gave all the blue collar fans their money's worth for sure this weekend...as long as you were in Salt Lake City for the first half of the game.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

TeeMAK Denied

TBC Smart Points for Daryl Morey: 6
That is 6 smart points for the season, up from 1 before this story broke. I really don't think this story has anything to do with him not being physically ready to play. It has to do with the 5-man symphony that the Rockets have on the court at any given moment. They don't need a guitar solo right now, nor ever.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Spurned

We knew there would be some deviations from the typical Spur's season this year, but what has happened in the first 10 games has been a complete aberration.



A home loss to the Jazz. This is something that every team has experienced. But not the Spurs. Not now, not in this century.
This was Gregg Popovich this morning after he woke up for the first time in his own bed after a loss to the Jazz.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

The Real, Real Housewives of New Jersey

Courtney, Brook, Yi, Bobby, Chris, Rafer, and Devin. No, they aren't the model slated for the 2010 SI Swimsuit issue, they are the nucleus of the New Jersey Nettes, the first team to make the jump from the WNBA to the NBA.

At the onset of the season, we knew the Nets would be bad and just wanted to make fun of the fact that most of them have first names that attractive models would have. We never realized they would be this bad. Not only are they named like girls, but they are playing like them. It hasn't been easy starting out 0-12. Tensions are high in the locker room from losing games, but there are now problems outside the locker room credit cards are maxed out from all that post-loss, self esteem restoring, binge shopping.

Needless to say, life has been tough as a New Jersey Housewife trying to make a living on the hardwood. But we never thought the ladies would lose their composure and start acting like this:


This video was taken of the team at a restaurant in Milwaukee after losing to the suddenly resurgent Bucks.

We can only what will happen on Madison Avenue after a loss to the 1-10 Knicks on Saturday.

Right now I give the Nettes a 9 on their performance thus far, as in Title IX.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Charlotte Scrap Heap



This is what happens when you take trade advice from your main man Ahmad Rashad and Spike Lee.

Trips to the Island of Misfit Players this season: 1

The only way we could think to describe the Charlotte Bobcats at the start of the season was as a scrap heap made up of players from the Island of Misfit Players. With the addition of Stephen Jackson (6 teams in 10 years) and Acie Law (3 teams in 3 years) the scrap heap just got bigger. It is a shame that they had to send of Raja Bell, but he is the ubiquitous "throw in guy" in the NBA the last several years. Needless to say there is still room for improvement in the scrap pile.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Weekend Roundup

Bango the Buck:
Scoring 55 points as a rookie is impressive, especially 8 games into the season. Brandon Jennings antics have just about upstaged Bango the Buck as the most exciting thing in Milwaukee, but doing it against the Warriors is about as impressive as this. I mean come on, he is using a trampoline.

Boston Celtics Countdown to 10 losses: 3
Mired in a two game losing skid to the formidable Hawks and Psycho T and the Pacers leaves RaSheed's prediction in doubt for the All-Star game let alone the entire season.

Sacramento Kings Wins: 5
Don't book that trip to Hawaii yet Spike, you might be using that money for courtside seats.

Atlanta Hawks - 'Nique or Keefe:
An 8-2 start with some really quality wins so far (POR, DEN, BOS) leaves us leaning 'Nique on this.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Henry Abbott agrees with TBC: CP3 could be the next KG (in a bad way)

TrueHoop contributor and all around smart NBA guru, Henry Abbott:
  • The Hornets are in a bind. They have an MVP candidate entering his prime in Chris Paul, a local market hammered by Katrina, an owner many people don't like, some very big bad contracts, and a feeling that they need wins now to increase revenues and convince their franchise player that he is not the next Kevin Garnett (an MVP-caliber player who doesn't get to win titles because of the constraints of his poorly run small market team). (via TrueHoop)

Fueling The Fire

Apparently LeBron James thinks Michael Jordan is the basketball equivalent to Jackie Robinson.

I've got a different theory on the whole thing. It is widely known that the Miami Heat don't have much of a franchise history. To their defense, there is more of a history than some of the other teams that joined the league with them. That aside, the numbers hanging in the rafters are 23, 13, 33, and 10. Jordan, Marino, Mourning and Hardaway. The latter two make sense, the other two? Not hardly. Now that we have established that Miami has retired the number 23, lets bring Mr. James back into the picture and add this theory to the long list of "Where will LeBron go in 2010" theories.

LeBron won't be able to have #23 when he goes to Miami next season. If he can't have it then nobody can. Nobody.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

FLIPping the script

The firing of Hornets' coach (and 2008 Coach Of The Year, but that's ancient history) Byron Scott got us thinking about our CP3 Is The New KG theory.

On the one hand, the firing flips (pun most definitely intended) the script and proves us wrong. Flip Saunders had a nice long tenure (96-05) for the T-Wolves. The coach-go-round, starring McHale and Casey, started after he left. In fact, to KG's credit, it seemed like he never blamed or even insinuated that poor team play was a coach's fault. (Ahem, Deron Williams and your comment that the Jazz barely practice playing or playing against the zone.)

On the other hand, the firing proves us right. The Hornets are clearly acting to keep their franchise player happy. They need to win and win now. As a Jazz fan, I can relate to this sentiment; all Jazz fans have this stomach-sick dread that we're squandering our D-Will years and are just making it easier for him to leave (but Jerry Sloan is going nowhere and I, unlike a huge contingent of Jazz fans, don't think he should be replaced). CP3 is the new KG because his franchise is being bold (OK. Not bold. Bold wouldn't make cost-cutting moves in the offseason. Bold wouldn't hope for the best. But it would seem this is some kind of repentance for their cheapskate offseason, no?) in their efforts to right the ship and keep him happy.

Good luck, Jeff Bower. Also, please give my regards to your wife for a nicely written Wikipedia page.

Bango the Buck


Before the start of the season we looked at every team in the league and tried to figure out what intrigued us. Milwaukee was difficult because there was nothing that intrigued us at all until we saw this. The mascot of the Milwaukee Bucks, Bango the Buck, seemed to have the most upside as far as intrigue for the season was concerned. And believe us, we consulted intrigue for the season on this one.

It has come to our attention that a newcomer, who shall remain nameless by request of a faithful reader who say "He hasn't done anything as exciting as get hit in the junk by a ball while standing on the rim", is trying to upstage Bango as the most exciting thing in Wisconsin this side of deep fried cheese curds. Bango, a faithful reader of TBC, is none to happy about fans not looking forward to t-shirt cannons, trampoline dunks, ferocious hand clapping, and (according to this) his signature pizza deliveries.

It looks like we'll have to keep closer tabs on the growing tension and potential one-up-manship going on in Wisco.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Sacramento Kings: Apparently Faithful Readers Of The Black Converse

It's a bittersweet moment today at The Black Converse.

Sweet because clearly the Kings are our most faithful readers and have used our unfriendly wager as bulletin board motivational material. And it's working. City of Sacramento, you're welcome. We're happy to spur your boys on.

Bitter because, with a W last night (led by...Jason Thompson? Who? [hitting Wikipedia. No good. Hitting ESPN.com's profile page. He went to Rider? He makes $2 million this year?]), the Kings are now 4-4 and waaaaaaaaay ahead of pace to stick Charlie T and me in the lower bowl of Energy Solutions Arena on January 29. Against our will, but true to our word. I believe I heard Charlie T say these words today: "Well, I've never sat courtside at a Jazz game before." Ugh.


Is this guy to Sacto as Paul Milsap was to Utah the last couple years? The secret you hope nobody (aka: Portland) finds out about?

In other Sacramento news, Kevin Martin (since we know you and your Kings are our readership), you may want to brush up on your understanding of Bill Simmons' The Ewing Theory.

PS: Thanks for reading, Kings. The Princes jokes will stop soon.

Monday, November 9, 2009

More Potential Than You Were Ready To See-atle

Thump.

That was the sound the Magic made when OKC rolled them last night. Fine, there were some injuries- VC (but who's to say he wouldn't be hitting the OKC Post Office anyway? He has played well, but can we really hit reset so soon?) and Rashard Lewis. But what team is at 100% these days?

So, if you're a once-and-always-but-still-sadly-"former" Sonics fan, how does it feel to see the team that you grew up with, that you watched through thick and thin, all of the sudden show a real glimpse of (forgive me) GetItDoneAbility. Where does it fit on our Parallels To Nirvana scale?

It might be a little like:



Watching that first Foo Fighters video- the one that's a Mentos commercial spoof. You know, you're happy that Grohl is making it; of course you are, you knew he had it. It just feels a little...a little sooner than you were ready. And it's lacking the punch that Nirvana had and why is he being so easy-funny instead of ironic-funny like Kurt liked? But- whoa, wait, that's funny. And the song is kinda good. But it's just not the same.

Win/Win or Lose/Lose

The Jazz are in NYC to face the Knicks, which means a win is a double win (a road win AND another loss towards the Knicks' lottery campaign) and a loss is a double loss (a road loss to a very beatable team AND another win against the Knicks' lottery campaign).

In a season where:

- the Jazz appear to be a very well-motivated hockey team (3 winning and solid quarters, lots of fouls. Come on. If there were no fourth quarter, this team would be killing it. Ah, but there IS a fourth quarter. And this team is getting killed.)
- the Jazz got a loss to a Kevin Martin-less team of misfit toys (potentially the tipping point to The Black Converse having to attend the January 29 Jazz/Kings game)
- the Jazz beat the Spurs on the FRONT end of a back-to-back
- the Jazz let Dirk believe his hair had Samsonian qualities
- the weak interior defense has led many Jazz fans to (silently) wonder what Greg Ostertag is up to

it's not too hard to see how a W against this particular Knicks team could be a bona fide must-win. Unless you're shooting for TWO lottery picks...

910 Conversation: Weekend Roundup

Psycho T Meter: 8
We promised to track the Psycho-ness of Psycho Tyler Hansbrough throughout the season as he tries to translate his college hustle to the pros. Due to a shin injury we have had to put this on the back burner until this weekend when he saw his first action.

In his first professional game he managed to find a way to dive after a lose ball into the stands. We also go our money's worth of Hustle Faces. All that adds up to an 8 on the Psycho T Meter. (see below)



Sacramento Kings Wins: 2, 3
We might have to adjust our wager at this point and change it to Jazz wins by the end of January. I thought the win vs. the Jazz was an aberration, but they backed it up by inching closer to .500 against the Jay Bilas All-Stars. We may be looking at courtside seats at this rate.

Celtics Countdown to 10 loses: 1
Minus the game against Orlando where they sent their "B" team, the Suns went 3-1 on a very difficult east coast swing. The Celtics on the other hand are lucky the Baby Wolves don't know how to finish a game or this would be the Celtics 2nd loss. 72 wins is still technically on the radar.

Memphis Thirtysomethings: 3
Rudy Gay drops 33 on the Clipps. This was without factoring in the Clippers handicap. So in reality he had about 17 which is a solid night. In other Grizzlies news, our favorite Thritysomething Allen Iverson will have to really pick up the pace to appear in thirty games this year.

Phoenix Suns: 1 (pending)
Though he hasn't quite gotten it, Shaq is currently working overtime trying to figure out how to steal this late career rebirth from Steve Nash. Hey Shaq, I might be going out on a limb here, but I doubt its in the Cuyahoga Police Department.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Big Z in New York

We just got to the team hotel here in New York about an hour ago. We have a shoot around soon but I really wanted to get a few thoughts out about coming to the World's Most Famous Arena.

It has unfortunately been lightly documented that my contract is up next summer and I will be joining the free agent class of 2010. I have decided to use this blog as a way to get my thoughts and feelings out there as I prepare to make one of the biggest decisions of my life. Some other forthcoming free agents are overly protective of their thoughts on where they would like to play but I will be decidedly less so. Since the New York Knicks are on my short list, this is a good chance to let them know how I feel.

When I went to check into my room there was apparently a mix up with room keys. LeBron ended up with the keys to my room and I the keys to his. After we got that figured out, I was hoping to have a nap and/or watch some PTI to see if they had anything to say about my only trip to New York this year. When I opened the door I found a lot more than just a bed and a jetted tub. The room was filled with all kinds of stuff. A 2009 Yankees Championship hat and jacket, a letter from Letterman asking me to come by in the morning and shoot a top 10, dinner reservations to Momofuku, an Unlimited Cab Goldcard (not sure what that is), and a giant teddy bear wearing an I HEART NEW YORK Shirt. I took a picture of me with the bear to send to my boys and I'm hoping there is a way to send it to them without having to carry it on the plane. They guys will kill me for that one.

As I was looking through all the stuff I heard a cell phone ring. I found it in the pocket of the Yankees jacket and decided I'd better answer it. It was a guy on the other line and I think it might have been a joke because he said his name was something Z. He seemed kind of surprised that I answered but I didn't think too much of it.

Anyway, it seems like New York has me on their short list too. I'll have to swing by Donnie Walsh's office after the shoot around to thank him for all this stuff. If he is trying to win me over, it sure is working.

Alright, I'm off for now. I can't wait to high five Spike and maybe get a minute to pitch an idea to him. I think Big Z Working Hard would be a great documentary. I mean, nobody realizes how hard it is for someone my size to go through life; shopping for clothes, getting on airplanes, walking through doorways. I hope he goes for it.

-Z

See Big Z's other posts here

Attention, shoppers, K-Mart is getting shut down

With apologies to the original, er, second original K- Mart (Kenyon Martin), the new K-Mart is getting shut down for 6-8 weeks.

Given our wager with The Kings, this certainly makes 14 wins by January 29 less likely. In honor of that, I made a quick list of things I might be doing in Utah- rather than attending a Jazz/Kings game- on Friday January 29.

- Writing a thank you note to the country of Spain for recognizing the benefits of trading matador for matador. Carlos Boozer will have no trouble with the bulls and the NBA's first bullfighter Ricardo Montoya, if he keeps up that hustle, will have no problem finding Jerry Sloan's good graces.

- Night skiing with Robert Redford, who'll need to decompress after a long Sundance. We'll have our usual talk about Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid and how it was kind of his Catcher In The Rye and how sometimes he wishes he had more Salinger in him.

- Countdown the days until the Vancouver Olympics start while simultaneously watching the Raptors' plummet in their bid to become Canada's Team.

- Watch TMZ.

- Read some message boards about the last season of Lost, wish that ABC hadn't cast Juliet in their new show V because it kind of tells you how limited her role will be, speculate on Sawyer/Kate/Jack replacing Juliet in their love square with...Sun? But then it would be a pentagon, which would explain the government conspiracy...

- Drink the last of my personal hoarded stash of egg nog.

- Burn a couple candles for the Kings at the shrine for St. Lenny Wilkens, the NBA's losingest coach.

Dear Pat Riley, xo- Carlos Boozer

Dear Pat Riley,

Enclosed you will find a set of multimedia materials:

- a DVD of my highlights from last night's Spurs/Jazz game at EnergySolutions Arena
- VHS and Beta versions of the same footage, because you're old school
- a quote from a reputed ESPN article that has Mehmet Okur saying, ""Everybody was active, especially from the defensive end," in which the term everyone must necessarily include myself and thus is a direct reference to my defensive activity.
- A screenshot of a few trade scenarios that worked on ESPN's Trade Machine.
- A box score that highlights my 27 points and 14 rebounds.
- A signed-in-blood covenant to always defer to Dwyane Wade and yourself.
- 3 complimentary cans of Dapper Dan hair pomade.

Sincerely,

Carlos Boozer

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Bullets Will Not Be Ignored

You were warned in the preseason and you didn't listen. So naturally we had to make our message a little clearer.

Get rid of that lousy WNBA name and uniforms and we will let you be.

- The Bullets

PS We do like the Abe Lincoln tattoo. That can stay.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Guest Blogger: Zydrunas Ilguaskas

As part of our season-long 910 Conversation, we've enlisted a few guest bloggers to chime in when they feel moved to do so. Breaking the guest-blogging ice today is the Cavs' biggest (ok. tallest.) 2010 free agent, Zydrunas Ilguaskas. The floor is yours, Big Z.

Thank you, Spike. It's a pleasure to blog here. When ESPN declined to send a documentary crew to follow the exciting twists and turns of my pivotal year of impending free agency, I was sad. ESPN2 declining was also tough. But when Sport!!!Channel!!! from Lithuania declined? I hit rock bottom. Thank goodness for The Black Converse, giving this story a place to see the light of e-day it deserves.

Many have asked how The Big Z is coping with The Big Aristotle's arrival. I stick by my initial statement,

"I was just reading the news. That means I'll probably be coming off the bench."

I'm not going to get all Iversonian about it. Does it affect how I look at 2010? Yes. Do I still get paid the same amount? Yes. And, as anybody who knows the Z knows, it's all about the Benjamins.

Even as an all-star, I can accept a bench role when an all-time, Hall Of Fame player like Shaq is brought on. What is harder to stomach is:

the current technical free throw situation.

Of course, Lebron should shoot if he's on the floor. But, somebody else is currently 0-4 over 5 games. Now, if that somebody else were Shaq shooting and missing, as absurd as that scenario is, I could accept it. But my proficient free throw shooting ability is being overlooked for a guy named Boobie? BOOBIE? Who, make no mistake, has made fewer of these technical free throws than Shaq would...

In my next contract, there's gonna be a No Guys With Stupid Nicknames Get To Shoot The Technical Free Throws Over Me clause.
I have my pride.

Also, Spike, no matter what you say, I do not look like this:

Spike note: Yes you do, Z. Yes you do.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Mister Congeniality



Some people here at TBC seem to think Miss Congeniality is better than Miss Congeniality 2. That is because they are Jazz fans and Dirk did his best Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous impression tonight.

Big Night for the 910 Conversation Story Lines


CP3=KG: 1
We know its early in the season but in the game against Boston, CP3 showed some true frustration...and KG envy. A loss last night to the Knicks probably didn't help matters.

Memphis Thirtysomethings: 2

Last night was the first of many disgruntled performances from Allen Iverson, the thirtysomething darling of the Grizzlies. We put you as the first thirtysomething Allen not because we want people to know how old you are but because we knew this would mean a lot to you.
We did what you said, "Go look at my resume and that will show you that I'm not a sixth man," Iverson said. "I don't think it has anything to do with me being selfish. It's just who I am. I don't want to change what gave me all the success that I've had since I've been in this league." And you're right. You are not a sixth man, you're a thirtysomething man...and the first one in our books.
It was also the first thirtysomething point total by a Grizzly of the season, Mr. Zach Randolph. Mayo messed up his chance to be the first by trying to go shot for shot with Carmelo. (for those of you keeping score at home Carmelo's 40+ pt effort doesn't count towards TBC eating a Caramello...because it was against the GRIZZLIES...the same grizzlies who made Kevin Martin look like Kobe Bryant last night)

Sactown Race To 14 Wins: 1

The Kings are moving along at a 25% clip, right on pace to put us in the lower bowl right behind the Osmonds.
Something tells me this won't last.

TBC Smart Points for Daryl Morey: 1

@ricbucher tweeted last night after the Rockets pulled away from the Jazz that "HOU is a 5-man symphony"
We knew after last year they would be scrappy and win some tough games, but with Lil' Chris Rock leading the squad full time now they are looking mighty impressive.

Heat vs. Suns tonight

One loyal reader and Suns fan wrote in wondering if this is a preview for the 2010 NBA Finals.
One can dream...one can only dream.

Monday, November 2, 2009

The Pink Seats Aren't Exactly Beckoning. The Purple Ones? Even Less.



At 0-3, the Kings aren't exactly making us sweat our bet.



Meanwhile, the Knicks are right on schedule. They score FIFTEEN more points per game than Sacramento and still have a worse point differential. Wow. The Jazz could use somebody who blocks shots...UNC's Ed Davis might have that. Only 6 ft 10, though and we might already have a corner on the market of undersized bigs.