Cup of Coffee: June 13, 2008
Posted by SBG on Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 5:36 am
Kobe? It's MJ. Yeah, um, that never happens if I'm playing.
This entry was posted by SBG on Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 5:36 am and is filed under Cup of Coffee. It is one of 2403 entries by the author. We are no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this post. Why?
52 LTEs
Sorry, The WGOM is no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this article.
Loading ...
Hopefully the Lakers losing this series will make the media's comparison of these two go away. Unfortunately I went to bed at halftime, I would have loved to see Kobe's reaction/body language during the comeback. I'm sure it was just as professional as he usually conducts himself on the court ; ).
Apparently, according to Bill Plaschke, he walked off the court with three seconds left.
Randy Moss got strung up for such behavior.
I was watching the game and did not see that. But maybe I missed it after the Lackers missed several attempts in the last few seconds.
Let's also hope it puts to rest the Phil Jackson "greatest coach of all time" nonsense. Plenty of that collapse should be laid at his feet. Out-coached by Doc Rivers. Really, how many titles do you think Zen-boy wins if he doesn't have MJ/Pippen and then Shaq/Kobe?
funny. Luc Longley didn't play de mantequilla blanda defensa in the lane like a certain 2.133M-tall Spaniard.
Last night was not only the death of Kobe as the next MJ, it was the death of the idea that you need a go to guy to win. The Celtics won that game down the stretch as a result of team play. Pierce made key plays. Eddie House. James Posey. KG had a couple of big plays. Ray Allen destroyed the Lakers. Five guys made key contributions down the stretch. Five. What we saw last night was team basketball. It was truly a beautiful thing.
with authority
SI has a reverse image of this play and it clearly shows that KG blocked the shot. I can't post it though, as they have it in a flash file.
That's not the shot I saw at SI, it was from behind KG, but this is a dandy. Wow, that is just fantastic.
No mention yet of Rincon's ousting?
Yesterday's news, pally.
In Montana, your yesterday is my today.
I'm fired up that my boy is one win from a ring.
Caption of last night's game recap photo:
Livan Hernandez's first career start vs. the Indians was a rough one.
I seem to remember a couple of starts in 1997.
Listened to AG on KFAN this morning, and much as I enjoyed hearing AG saying the obvious, two things came to mind:
1) Okay, I remember why I don't like talk radio
2) I don't want to hear about football for months
Well, I also noted how lame (and ADD) the commercials are. I've been listening to SST way too long to put up with 3-1 commercial-to-program ratio.
Listened to AG on KFAN this morning, and much as I enjoyed hearing AG saying the obvious, two things came to mind:
1) Okay, I remember why I don't like talk radio
2) I don't want to hear about football for months
Well, I also noted how lame (and ADD) the commercials are. I've been listening to SST way too long to put up with 3-1 commercial-to-program ratio.
I actually thought today's appearance went pretty well. Pete Bercich was filling in for Morris and was very friendly, in addition to being fairly smooth on the air despite telling me beforehand that he knows nothing about baseball. I agree that the Vikings talk is pretty annoying in June, but that's what the people want, apparently. Setting aside everything else, what did you think of my performance? I've been trying to get some feedback from people who have heard the first 2-3 appearances, but most of my friends/family just say, "That was good."
Way too short, AG. Seems like you were just getting started, and then you were shown the door. Although you didn't sound nervous, you didn't sound very relaxed, either. 8AM be d@mned, you need a beer beforehand.
I also think the discussion is pretty watered down compared to our typical online discourse, but that's understandable. Here, we can throw around VORP and K/9 declines, etc. - on the radio, it ends up "he's not really any good anymore." Understandable, though.
No Rincon mention that I heard, which surprised me. I agree with your Alexi call; if he can keep drawing the periodic walks, he'd be a fine leadoff even if his BA dips to .280ish. Also, I couldn't believe Dykstra was mentioned re: steriod performance and no Brady Anderson.
I didn't hear you today, but I heard the first two weeks. The first week was kind of awkward, not because of anything you said, but because I don't think the guys were prepared to talk to you about baseball. I think the second week was much better... it seemed like Morris was more comfortable talking to you. As long as he can talk to you and establish rapport, you are going to be all right.
You came across pretty well, but of course, I'm one of your biggest fans. I will say that one thing you said made me cringe a little was when you were asked about how guys can add power, your first response was that one way is through a needle. Probably true, but it sounded a little harsh. Of course, you didn't stop there, you talked about just getting stronger and so forth. So the answer was good, I just wish you wouldn't have led with the Vitamin S reference. Small quibble. I think you are addressing the audience at the right level -- not getting too stats happy for the uninitiated while still keeping things from getting, um, stupid. Just keep doing what you are doing.
All in all, you've sounded pretty at ease and I think (hope) that you have a shot to maybe get a regular radio gig out of the deal (as opposed to, or in addition to, your Friday morning spot). I've already said that they should do it and set up a good host like Sinikin to work with you and draw out your analysis. I mean, I enjoy listening to him and Double T. I think you would work really well with him, too.
Way too short, AG. Seems like you were just getting started, and then you were shown the door.
Yeah, it was only one segment today (instead of two, usually) because they had Paul Charchian calling in after me to talk fantasy football (which is amusing, given my day job).
Although you didn't sound nervous, you didn't sound very relaxed, either. 8AM be d@mned, you need a beer beforehand.
I agree with this assessment. I used to be very nervous doing this type of stuff, but am happy to say that I now have zero nerves. On the other hand, I tend to be fairly laid back and sort of monotone, which I definitely need to work on. Plus, 8:00 a.m. is a little rough. I usually try to throw in some humor, but sometimes it's tough to find anything funny to say on the fly when you're basically talking to strangers.
No Rincon mention that I heard, which surprised me.
I'm 100 percent at their mercy when it comes to topics, because we don't even talk before I show up. I get there at like 7:58, sit down, put on some headphones, and at 8:02 (or whatever) we're on the air. I was counting on them asking about Rincon, but I guess not. In fairness, today they were without the regular host and also their producer.
I will say that one thing you said made me cringe a little was when you were asked about how guys can add power, your first response was that one way is through a needle.
Yeah, there have been 2-3 spots so far where I said something and immediately thought, "That was dumb, why did I just say that?" The needle thing was one of them, but it was a "callback" attempt to something they were discussing earlier.
A co-worker of mine is more of a general sports fan than a baseball fan and is very resistant to the "new statistics". FWIW, he said that he has enjoyed your segments the last few weeks. He spent a lot of this morning asking me about Twins bloggers, what makes them better than the traditional media, etc. He was even poking around your blog earlier.
We'll get them one fan at a time, Scot, one fan at a time...
Aaron,
It's certainly hard to develop a rapport when the only thing your host can say is "That's amazing..."
At least Morris readily admits he's not the sharpest bulb in the drawer.
Morning Folks, The great Tomato salmonella outbreak has hit the meat family.
It was a
excitingnight on the pot.I think my Mother in Law got a taste of it last week. Was violently ill for a couple of days.
Moss and Moss Jr. may have had a touch of it too. No fever though...did you have any other symptoms??
By the way, here's the scoring distribution for the Cs in the 4th quarter last night:
KG: 6 points
Posey: 6 points
Pierce: 5 points
Allen: 4 points
House: 3 points
Powe: 2 points
Six guys combined for 26 points. It was an absolutely brilliant team effort. Plus, the team defense was phenomenal. 33 points for the Lakers in the second half. Unbelievable. I didn't get to see a chunk of the game because I had an unexpected visitor come over to pick up the Duct-Tape Mobile last night right during the game. But, I got to see the 4th and man, was it fun.
One reason I enjoyed the '80s Lakers wasn't because it was Magic vs. Bird (as the media would hype it), it was Magic AND Worthy AND Jabbar AND Rambis AND Scott (and, of course, it was against Bird AND Parrish AND McHale et. al.), the way basketball was meant to be played. This Celtics team is doing it the right way.
I think Jordan did it the right way, too. He was just so much better than everyone else. He's like Led Zeppelin. He was great, transcendent, but the wanna bes ruined things after him.
Magic, Worthy, Kareem. The Lakers had options. Bird, McHale, Parrish. The Celtics have options. So does this Celtics team. The Lakers have David Coverdale pretending that he is Robert Plant, if you get my drift.
Even so, MJ also played off of Pippen and Rodman, et. al, and made the whole team better. It's one thing to be great (MJ); it's another to be pretty darn good (Kobe) and selfish. Like I mentioned a few days back, it's more fun to watch a TEAM playing good ball than a single person. KG's getting his just rewards finally.
Do you think I'll run a picture of KG when the Celtics finish off the Lakers???
Does Delmon flail at a first pitch??
btw, getting a game log at the bottom of this C o' C...
I forget, Stick. Who do you want in this series again?
Kobe shows his class in these postgame comments:
When asked how he would put the loss behind him, #24 responded:
I don't know, sounds like a recipe for wetting the bed again.
It's one thing to be great (MJ); it's another to be pretty darn good (Kobe) and selfish.
I'm not a big Kobe fan, but that's a little harsh, I think. Kobe had a poor night shooting, but he only took 19 FGA and he had 10 assists. He was 4-7 from the floor in the 4th quarter and didn't attempt a three in the quarter (only 2 3pt attempts for the game). Only 2 turnovers for the game. Those aren't really the numbers of a selfish player
For the series, he's averaging 22 FGA/g, 6.3 apg.
I don't think this is about Kobe being selfish; it's about the Celtics being a better team. The Lackers really miss Andrew Bynum's interior defense. Gasol isn't a very good team-defensive player (Ray Allen's blow-by of Vujacic to seal it last night being a case in point).
There is a lot to like about this Laker team, but they need Bynum back to anchor the defense.
back to the game last night. Look at the shot chart for the 3rd quarter. The C's made SEVEN shots in the paint in the quarter. That's some bad interior defense.
The Lakers have David Coverdale pretending that he is Robert Plant, if you get my drift.
SBG is sounding a little like BSG (Boston Sports Guy) with this line!
breaking news: Tim Russert dead of a heart attack.
wow! I'm shocked
sad news
I saw that when I was looking for reaction to R Kelly's acquittal.
Moss always thought he was one of the more fair journalists. He wasn't afraid to express an opinion or viewpoint that was counter to what the rest of the media was going with.
I'm sure most people saw the interview with Loek Van Mil and Chris Cates on Gleeman's site yesterday. Those two have been getting some press recently including a small note in the latest issue of SI.
Here are a couple of images from their recent publicity surge. I've mentioned before my propensity for amusement at pronounced height differences, so I enjoyed these and thought I'd share.
Pic #1
Pic #2
I think most of us can agree that Wind Energy is a good thing. BUt I never thought about the need for more transmission lines
Also, I have lived in MInnesota all my life, and I have never once heard about fights over power lines back in the 70's. I think I need to go back to school and brush up on my Minnesota History course
You must be a young'un, dw.
Pre-senate, Paul Wellstone co-wrote a book about powerline battles.
Tired of not realizing the "Th..." tab was for The WGOM, I decided to create q uick favicon:
If the image doesn't show, here's a link to it.
Not entirely happy with it, but it's hard to do much with a 16x16 image. Feel free to adjust as desired.
heh - I created almost the exact same favicon and mailed it to SBG maybe 3 weeks ago. And I found the same limitations with the 16x16, but yours looks great; I don't think it can be improved.
Just need a
<link rel="SHORTCUT ICON" href="favicon.ico">
line, right?
Close it seems, The All Knowing Wikipedia says: <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://example.com/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon">
apparently close counts in HTML as well; I pasted the code directly from my genealogy website, where my favicon has worked fine for years. Might have to look at what I'm missing out on
Meant to post this morning, so now I get to be fashionably late.
Standards compliance is mostly what you're getting. Browsers are notoriously lenient thanks to even more notoriously bad HTML people write. I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to standards, but I'm be lucky to get two people to view my stuff.
NBC sports announcer Charlie Jones passed away today
He was one of my favorite football anouncers when I was growing up.
I don't think this is about Kobe being selfish; it's about the Celtics being a better team.
I'm not talking about this game/series for Kobe, bS, I'm talking about his career in general. If KG ever complained about his supporting cast while with the Wolves (did he?), it was because he wanted a better team. When Kobe complained (and he did - a lot), it was because he wanted better players to improve his play, not necessarily because he wanted a better team. Just ask Shaq.
I dunno. He is, to quote my UCLA buddy, "an insufferable scumbag," but I'm willing to believe that this year he has played pretty good team ball.