Monday, May 24, 2010

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- Loved Rajon Rondo’s hustle play against the Magic, which was a perfect illustration of the heart and effort of the Celtics destroying the weak Magic. Up 17 in the first half, Rondo dove head first to steal a loose ball that he and Jason Williams were chasing into the backcourt. Williams had the lead and the edge in the race but Rondo’s effort made the difference, and he then got up with a couple dribbles and made a lay up to increase the blow out. The Magic have shown no heart in the series and will likely be able to schedule tee times for tomorrow morning when their off season begins.

- John Axford’s mustache is awesome. I don’t know anything about the guy, but I logged on to watch the end of Sunday’s Brewers win over the Twins and saw Axford’s mustache on the mound closing out the game. It looks straight out of the 70’s. Almost as important as the facial hair was the fact that he was throwing in the mid to high 90’s. That is something the Brewers entire pitching staff has been missing for years. They haven’t had a guy with an electric fastball that can keep hitters from digging into the batters box and being able to stay in there with no fear of the pitcher owning the inside of the plate.

- Amare Stoudemire responded well in Game 3 to rightfully deserved criticism for being soft during the first two games against the Lakers. He had a monster game with over 40 points and double-digit rebounds. The more impressive part was the versatility he showed on offense while hitting mid-range jumpers, and squaring up and driving past his defenders in addition to his typical mad crashing of the rim on great passes from Steve Nash. Like Amanda Seyfried, he showed the full range of his abilities with his back to the basket/camera (in Big Love) and facing up (in Chloe). The question is whether the rejuvenated Amare will be enough if Lamar Odom gets back on a sugar high in future games because he looked like he ran out of Skittles in game 3.

HATE

- The idea of a cold weather Super Bowl. It does not really have anything to do with the fans or the corporations that buy Super Bowl tickets. The bigger issue is that if the weather does not cooperate, it diminishes the level of play on the field. Yes, games in the snow can be fun to watch on television, but don’t you want to see the best teams playing at their highest level of play? Teams having to play in the rough elements will change the game dramatically and force them to alter the way they played to get to the Super Bowl. Where would you rather hang out with Sara Tomassi – at a ski resort where you are only getting glimpses when you’re at the hot tub of the resort or would you rather spend a week in Miami where she’s in a bikini by the pool all day every day? Seems like a no brainer that you would want to keep the Super Bowl in nice weather to make it the most likely that the teams will be able to showcase their skills on the biggest stage.

- Regardless of your political views, why is President Obama wasting time doing a sit down interview with Marv Alberts? I get the whole “I’m a man of the people and a huge sports fan” angle thing that he has been trying to portray. I appreciate him liking sports, but there seems to be some bigger issues out there in the world that need his attention……finance reform, European debt levels going through the roof, unemployment, an oil spill threatening to wreck the gulf coast, terrorism, etc. And stumping for LeBron to come to Chicago is just pathetic and seems overly contrived.

- RIP to Lima Time. Jose Lima died of an apparent heart attack this weekend in Los Angeles and was only 37 years old. Lima was known for his quirky habits, playing the guitar and talking to himself incessantly on the mound. He had success with the Houston Astros but also played for many teams including the Mets, Royals and Dodgers. He was the type of fun-loving, eccentric personality that you could easily root for as a fan.

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