From The Stands

GAME 4

Any person who has followed this blog from the beginning or at least since last basketball season would know me and Soul are big Laker fans.  I've followed them for a long time and am probably one of the few who didn't think the Kobe and Shaq years were any fun.  I loved the Nick Van Exel days I love this team now. 

That being said, and with the start of this season, I can not get game 4 out of my mind.  Any Laker fan would know what game 4 means, but if you don't, let me explain.  Game 4 was the game the Lakers quit in the Finals against the Celtics.  That game hit me so hard I could barely watch the rest of the Finals and did not watch anything sports related for a few weeks after that. 

The Lakers are off to an awsome start.  They made a decent Blazers team look bad, beating them by 20.  They made a bad Clippers team look worse, beating them by 38.  As a fan I could not ask for more from a team who got embarrased last year, but I will watch this entire season with game 4 on the back of mind.  And no it's not championship or bust for me, hell it's not even finals or bust.  It's play hard or don't even bother showing up.

HUMBERT

Lakers

Lakers are opening their season tonight against Portland. A lot of experts are picking the Lakers to win it all this year. I'm one of those experts.

Its 7:30pm and the Lakers game should be on, but the Celts-Cavs game is still on. There's 2 minutes left and the Celts are up 82-78. I guess that's one of the perks of being the Champs. Next year it'll be the Lakers opening the season and getting their rings. Cleveland might've had a chance but Bron made only 3 of 7 ft's. Bron at the FT line=Rigo.

Great, missed the first few minutes of the Lakers game. Lakes are up 9-4 early. Bynum in the middle makes a big difference. A good match up in this game is Oden vs. Bynum. Oden is actually making his debut. D Fish just made a nice lay-up over Oden. Starting lineup for the Lakers is Fisher, Bryant, VRad, Gasol and Bynum in the middle. I would rather have Ariza instead of Vrad. Which brings me to an interesting point about my boy Humbert. He loves Ariza, by love I mean he sprouts wood every time he hears his name called. The weird thing is Ariza is known for his defensive prowess. Of all the players that Humbert could like he picks a defensive specialist? If you’ve ever seen Humbert play you would know that he does one thing and only one thing well, shoot the ball. That’s it. That’s all he does. Shoot the ball. He doesn’t play defense, he doesn’t rebound, he doesn’t pass, he doesn’t move without the ball. All he does is shoot. Granted, he shoots well, but that’s all he does. He doesn’t even try to do anything else. You would think that his favorite player would be a guy like JR Rider, a guy who did nothing but shoot and roll dice on a street corner. The last guy you would think of would be a guy like Ariza. I’m not hating on my boy, I would rather play with him than with anyone else, but I just think his fixation on Ariza is beyond weird.

Oden looks real stiff on offense. He just got called for his 2nd foul on a moving screen. Doug Collins compared Kobe to Brandon Roy. What? Snap!!! Vrad just got a steal. I guess he means what he said in the newspaper about playing hard to stay in the starting lineup. Lakers are up 13-4 and Kobe still hasn't taken a shot. That would've been unfathomable a few years ago. Vrad just took a shot that missed, Bynum took the offensive board and scored all in one smooth motion. He looks real good 17-6 Lakers. Odom just threw an alley oop to Bynum and he blew it. Freaking Odom just passed the ball to Sasha, the problem is that Sasha wasn’t in the game. He was on the bench. That was hilarious. It would’ve been even funnier if Sasha would’ve taken the shot. Doug Collins blamed it on Sasha, he said that he should’ve been SITTING on the bench, not standing.

My boy Humbert is going to have hot flashes, Trevor Ariza just checked in the game with 2 minutes left in 1st quarter. He just got rebound and he was wide open for an alley oop but Farmar didn’t get him the ball, he then got in on the wing and dunked over Prizbilla. Now he makes a 3. Nice start by Ariza. If he continues to play well it will make it easier to trade Odom. Sasha missed a 3 to end the 1st qtr. Lakes up 24-14. Dammit, I thought Frank TV was only on TBS, I just saw a commercial for Dish TV by Frank Caliendo.

I like Odom a lot, I think he’s better starting. Especially in the lineup with Bynum. We’ll see how the season plays out. He’s playing well with Ariza. Lakes are killing the Blazers 30-14. Farmar just ran a great fast break, he found Gasol on the wing for a dunk. Sasha looks awful on defense and he just hit the side of the backboard on a shot. 6 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter and Bynum is still on the bench. I wonder if Phillip is playing with his head.? Why isn’t he in the game? Oh, I think I know what he’s doing, Oden just checked in and now he brings in Bynum. Love Phillip. He’s brilliant. BTW Bynum is killing Oden. Killing him on D, and killing him on the boards. Kobe’s made a couple of shots, he’s warming up and Lakes are up by 22. Holy Snap!!! Another steal by VRad. Halftime!!! Lakers are up 49-34. The best part of the 1st half was the Lakers defense. They were flying around, getting steals, getting rebounds.

Charles just ripped Oden, he said he’s gotta learn how to score. Charles also said Sasha doesn’t have a conscience. Humbert should’ve picked Sasha as his fave player. The State Farm commercial with Lebron was funny. One more reason to love Lebron

2nd half began with Bynum swatting away a shot by Steve Blake. Blazers cut the Laker lead to 10. Down to 8. Prizbilla just gave Kobe a shove and then kind of stared him down. Wrong move, Kobe then drained a 3, then a lay-up and a foul. A foul on Prizbilla. That was a nice move by Kobe. Way to go Prizbilla. Lakes now up by 17. Bryant made a 3, then he made a nice up and under move to put the Lakers up by 21. He’s killin it. Farmar just threw a nice alley oop pass to Gasol who tried to lay it in. Dammit, you’re 7 ft tall, dunk that ball!!! End of the 3rd quarter, Lakers up 72-53.

Charles was right, Sasha has no conscience. Odom set a pick for him and got open on the roll. Instead of finding him Sasha took an off balance fade away shot that was way off. OOOHHH, Ariza just got into it with Frye. Ariza got hit with a Technical Foul. Alley oop by Farmar to Bynum. Nice! That’s the future of the Lakers right there. Ariza just swatted away a shot by the Blazers, awesome. Wow! Sasha just passed the ball to Ariza, who made a lay-up and got fouled. Bynum just blocked a shot, but the Blazers made a 3. Game is getting sloppy. Bynum just made a smooth move, he posted up, turned toward the baseline and made a nice jumper. Lakes up 85-69 with 5 minutes left. Kobe just checked in and he busts a turnaround jumper on the baseline. That shot reminds me of me. He just faked Outlaw out of his shoes, drove to the basket and threw one down. That reminds me of me 15 years ago on an 8ft rim. AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! More FrankTV commercials. WTF?!?!?!? The Bill Clinton one was funny. I don’t understand why he doesn’t try to play Obama too? You know it’s garbage time when Chris Mihm checks in to the game. Lakers win 96-76.

Observations: I don’t like Kobe’s shoes. Lakers D was awesome. They were flying to the ball on defense. Luke Walton didn’t get off the bench until 2 minutes left in 4th quarter, I think Phillip is going to turn him into the Lakers victory cigar. The chick sitting behind Kobe on the bench was nice. By nice, I mean niiiice. If Bynum stays healthy he’s going to make THE difference, not only this year, but for the next 10 years. Ariza should be starting ahead of Odom and VRad. You can look forward to 81 more of these semi/running blog posts. Ha! Just kidding. Post game: Charles just called the Lakers the deepest team in the league. Kenny Smith just mentioned Kobe was the best clutch player in the NBA right now, he actually compared him to Nick Van Exel. Nice.

Soulman.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (WEEK 8)

THE GOOD:

Cowboy "D" and Punter-  I haven't had a whole lot of good things to write about the cowboys and really there wasn't much good happening this week either, except of course for their defense and Punter.  The entire D stepped up this game and shut down the feisty Bucs and Jeff Garcia limiting them to field goals.  But I need to talk about the guy who sparked the whole defense, the punter, did you guys see the hit he put on the return man.  It wasn't like a pushout running down the sideline, this was a open-field-down-the-middle-you-get-by-me-and-you-score-takedown.  The hit was awsome.

Ted Ginn Jr.-  175 yds. on 7 receptions.  Helping Miami get another win and more impressively beating a very good Buffalo team.  Jbrad I think you should start paying attention now.

Drew Brees-  Have I said that I like this guy.  He put the wood to his ex-team.  After the game he said "This game was not about me proving a point or proving anybody wrong or saying they shouldn't have let me go, we beat a very good team today that needed a victory as badly as we did."  Let me interpret that for you "The Chargers are a crappy team and they shouldn't have traded me but I'm glad they did.  I look forward to playing them everytime and yes I will make them pay everytime". 

THE BAD:

Ben Roethlisberger- I was watching a little bit of the third quarter and the Steelers were up 14-9 and seemingly having this game on lock down.  I checked the box scores later and found the Giants had pulled out a win.  I didn't watch the whole game (actually only about 10 mins. of it)  but if your QB throws 4 INT's he's a pretty big part of the lose.

THE UGLY:

Vernon Davis-  What's worse than being benched (J.T. O' Sullivan)?  Being sent to the showers before the game was over.  His coach was so disgusted by his half assing he told him he would better help the team if he showered.  I don't know much about Mike Singletary but I like his no-nonsense attitude.

Peyton Manning-  The Colts offense for that matter.  These guys are the Spurs of the NFL.  They're arn't getting better, just older.  They look tired and the Titans were all over Mannings passes.  He was trying to force balls into coverage and when his receivers were wide open they were just dropping passes.  Imagine the kind of crappy passes he would throw if he were getting hit.

IS ANYBODY WATCHING?

The World Series is almost over.  The Phillies are up 3-1 and can end it tonight.  But I was just thinking, is anyone watching? 

I know I'm not, I have very little interest in this thing.  I've heard something about some questionable calls and blah, blah, blah.  Selig should've given the people what they wanted.  Live and learn.

FREE THROWS AND HSM3

I know what your wondering, and yes I am talking about High School Musical 3, what does free throws have to do with HSM3?  Individually they have nothing to do with each other, but Soulman is a fan of HSM.  He says it has to do with his daughter, but I know better.

The other night Soulman sent a text, with a lot of excitement, about HSM3 coming out and who wanted to go and see it this weekend.  I said no, rather sarcastically and Rigo declined the invitation saying he didn't want to seem like a pedophile.  I expected texts to go back and forth but I never expected what came next. 

Soul sent a text challenging Rigo to a game of free throws.  Best of 10 to be exact.  If Rigo makes more than Soul he is off the hook and doesn't have to see HSM3.  If Soul beats Rigo he not only has to go see HSM3 but also has to blog about it (look at the extremes we have to go through to make Rigo blog about something).  I was thrown into the mix, for whatever reason, and am also participating.

We have membership at Jaques N Jills (Maritza is currently trying to get them as our sponsor, I have complete confidence she will come through), we go there pretty regularly and we (Me, Soul, Miza and Rigo makes a cameo every month or so) get together on Tuesdays and Thursdays to play basketball.  This contest will go down tomorrow at about 5 p.m. 

Jbrad I expect a reporter and cameras there.  If Jbrad can't come through I will post about it tomorrow.

HUMBERT

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (WEEK 7)

I'm this close to giving up on the Cowboys this season, but I can find solace in that the Cowboys gave up first.

THE GOOD:

Matt Cassel- I watched the better part of this game, Cassel didn't do anything spectacular, he didn't have any shot down field.  He just took care of the ball and got it to his recievers.  He didn't do it from the beginning though, there first three times in the redzone resulted in fieldgoals, but he put himself together and threw for 3 touchdowns.

Steven Jackson- This guy is essentially a faster version of Marion Barber, complete with dreads and everything.  He rushed for 160 yds. and scored 3 TD's.  During the game the announcers kept on saying how much Jackson wanted to play against the Cowboys because they overlooked him in the draft and signed Julius Jones.  Stupid Tuna.

Jeff Garcia- Despite what T.O. thinks about this guy, I have always liked him.  He doesn't say much, doesn't need a lot of baby sitting, doesn't draw any attention to himself.  He just goes out there and works.  He completed 75% of his passes for 310 yds.  He isn't a pocket passer, mostly because he has never had much of pocket to stay in, but he can pass on the run very well.

THE BAD:

Peyton Manning- He threw two picks that were returned for touchdowns.  I thought all that crap he does before he gets the ball is unnecessary, how he is the offensive coordinator on the field, reading defenses and making adjustments.  Turns out it is. 

L.T.-  I guess a big toe injury is more bothersome than some would think.  Than again if he wasn't a (enter your favorite term for "weak" here) he'd play much better through it.  14 carries for 49 yds. that's a little less than 3 yds. a carry.  When you're known for being able to avoid tacklers and break away for big runs and you're putting up those types of pathetic numbers week in and week out, you need to check yourself.

Ronnie Brown- Dude did worse than L.T., 13 carries for 27 yards, that's a hair over 2 yards per carry.  Miami should now stop running those "Pop Warner" plays.  They got nothing out of it against the Ravens and will surprise no one from here on out, except for maybe the Cowboys. 

THE UGLY: 

The Cowboys- I was happy when Tony Romo went down last week.  I was even happier after watching the first drive of the Cowboys against the Rams.  They moved the ball very easily and scored, but  that would be the last time I smiled in that game.  The game was so bad, Fox didn't even bother to show the 4th quarter.

Brett Favre- No country for old men indeed.  2 INT'S and 3 fumbles.  Oh and they lost to the Raiders.  The Packers were trying to do this guy a favor, he should've listened.

HUMBERT

"HET, HET...PAY THAT MAN HIS MONEY"

That is one of my favorite lines in one of my favorite movies.  I know Soul hasn't seen it, since Ed Norton comes out in it.  It's from Rounders and the very last line of one the funniest and most intense scenes, in my opinion (and really it's the only one that matters to me), you will ever find in cinema.  A scene between John Malkovich (member of the Russian Mob KGB) and Matt Damon (a Rounder), Malkovich delivered that line after Matt Damon put the wood to him in a card game.

As you all know, the Dodgers lost last night.  Bringing what could've been a Cinderella story to a screeching halt.  I know it's hard to feel good about this season or even start to look forward to next season, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do this off-season.

Manny Ramirez, is now a free agent and wants "his money".  There's been a lot of chatter how there's only a hand full of times that have both the money and the interest to give him what he wants, which is up around 30 mill a year.  The Dodgers are one of those few teams.  Nobody is denying the talent, everyone is questioning his character.  Truth be told, he was mashing when he was unhappy and raised it up a notch when he was happy, THAT'S what I see.  I'm not a Red Sox fan so I don't have any idea what was going on over there, what I do know is that they're secretly wishing he was still in that lineup, hitting in front of Big Papi.  You can pitch around one but you can't pitch around two.

The Dodgers have a lot of young talent.  I was talking with Rigo earlier in the week, we were discussing how the Dodgers are in pretty much the same situation the Phillies were in last year.  The Phillies made it in to the playoffs, they were young and inexperienced, they got swept in the first round.  Cole Hamels got rocked.  One year later, with that experience under their belts, they come back into the playoffs and look what they did.  Look what Hamels did.  The Dodgers have so much talent, they just need one more year.  They got Loney, Kemp, Either, Blake and Martin.  In the Bull Pen they have equal young talent, Kershaw, Billingsley, Braxton and hopefully Mcdonald.  They look good next year, but they would look like a championship caliber team with Manny in there.

So McCourt, "PAY THAT MAN HIS MONEY".

HUMBERT 

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (WEEK 6)

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy weekend in the NFL.  I usually start doing this on Sunday night but I needed a day to pass before all I wrote about was the Cowboys.

THE GOOD:

Drew Brees- He had exactly the same numbers as Romeo did.  320 yds. 3 TD's and NO INT's.  The difference: HE'S NOT AN IDIOT. 

St. Louis Rams-  Then there was two.  Props to the Rams for ruining what could've been a record breaking season.  3 teams going defeated for the entire season.  I still got the Lions and Bengals to hold that dream strong.  By the way, the Rams didn't just get a win, they beat the Redskins.

THE BAD:

Joe Flacco- 3 picks and 2 fumbles.  He kinda makes me glad to have Romo as QB...no not really.

Wade Phillips- This guy has got to go.  His happy-go-lucky-see-what-happens attitude is not only frustrating but is counter productive.  This jack-ass seemed to be content with what could've been a win, calling it "almost a miracle finish".  If the Cowboys had played hard throughout the game and it ended the way it did, then so be it, but to try do blow it off with "almost a miracle finish" is unacceptable.  I'm not saying the Big Tunas style was good either.  Cowboys need someone who will get in your face when you do something stupid and just as quickly give you a pat on the back when you do something right.  Let me think...who can do that...hmmmmmmmm...oh I know, Jason Garrett.  My only concern with this guy is when he does become head coach (which I hope is sooner rather than later), will he employ the rest of his family members?

Eli Manning-  It took 6 weeks to put this guy in this section.  I knew he wouldn't let me down and his true self would show sooner rather than later.  Last night he did just that, he threw 3 INT's, one of which was in the redzone 3 yds from the endzone.  Bye, bye perfect record (like as if they ever really had a shot).  They'll probably win next week but look for them to drop out of playoff contention by week 10.

THE UGLY:

Tony (insert you favorite expletive here) Romo-  How can a QB who threw for 321 yds. 3 TD's and NO INTS end up in the ugly section?  If you would've watched the game you'd understand.  I have had it with this guy trying to make something happen and only cause either loss of yardage or a turnover.  When the game is on the line I don't trust him with the ball.  As soon as he breaks out of the pocket and starts looking downfield all that's going through my mind is "This guys gonna throw a pick, this guys gonna throw a pick, this guys gonna throw a pick". 

I guess a day to calm down did nothing for me.  In case you're wondering, I wrote most of this before I found out he broke his pinkie and I don't feel any different.

HUMBERT

Game 3 NLCS

Wow!!! What a start to the game. Just what the Dodgers needed. They got to 57 year old Jamie Moyer in the 1st inning. Blake DeWitt's bases clearing double turned a good start into a great start. Game over in the 1st inning.

It was a great game if you're a Dodger fan. Dodgers won and they finally paid the Phillies back for hitting Russ Martin and throwing high and tight and behind Manny.

In the first 2 games Philly pitchers were throwing inside. That's cool, its a part of the game. But I think they crossed the line when they buzzed Martin's head, then Myers threw the ball BEHIND Manny. Tonight they hit Martin in the 1st inning, his next at bat their pitcher threw at Martin's head, AGAIN. Martin then grounded into a double play and you could tell dude was pissed. How much more would Dodger pitchers let go before they stood up for their teammates? After the 2nd out in the next inning Shane Victorino came up to bat, Hiroki Kuroda threw the ball a little over his head. Victorino took offense to that saying that he should've thrown at his ribs not his head. Blah, blah, blah. He should take that up with his pitchers. After he grounded out he got into it again with Kuroda and the benches emptied. Calm was maintained and nothing happened after that.

Charlie Manuel said in the post game news conference that there was no room in baseball for throwing at a guys head. Ah, excuse me Charlie? Did you tell that to your punk pitchers who buzzed Russell Martin, who threw BEHIND Manny, who hit Russell Martin even AFTER the umpires issued warnings? That is a punk ass thing for a manager to say. Especially when his pitchers have been headhunting the whole series.

Victorino was mad about Kuroda throwing at his head. I love Russell Martin's quote after the game "we didn't throw it at his head, we threw it over his head."

If Victorino is mad at somebody he should be mad at his pitchers. They're writing checks that the hitters have to cash.

It was a great night for the Dodgers. It was a must win game and they came out blazing. Kuroda pitched well, the bullpen came in and shut down the Phil's. Broxton was throwing some heat. Philly better not piss this guy off, he will decapitate you.

Tim McCarver is the worst announcer in baseball history. When Blake DeWitt hit a bases clearing double in the 1st, Manny Ramirez was at 3rd base. He says "Ramirez scores easily." He also kept harping on the Manny trade from Boston, AGAIN. He's a horrible analyst that only states the obvious. Never gives you any insight into the game. He's a gasbag who loves to hear the sound of his own voice.

I heard part of the Dodgers pregame show on the radio. Rick Monday said there were more than 800 media credentials issued for game 3 in LA. He said something like 8 networks, 30 daily newspapers, various wire services, numerous websites. My question to JBrad is this: Why cant you ask for a media credential for Humbert and me? We could cover Game 5 and the World Series for the IV Press. Seriously. Think about it.

By the way, Joe Torre going with Nomar instead of Loney worked out. Torre also had a quick hook tonight, he got Kuroda out as soon as he started struggling. Something he should've done with Lowe and Billingsley in Game 1 and 2. Game 4 is Tuesday night at 5:30pm. Derek Lowe going against Joe Blanton. Lowe will be going on 3 days rest, which apparently is good for a sinkerball pitcher. I like the Dodgers in Game 4.

Soulman

PHILLIES VS. RAYS?

I'm not saying this is going to happen, I'm definitely not saying I want it to happen,  but it's a possibility.  Can baseball afford for that TO happen?  NO.  I was thinking about this the other day.  The NBA got the Finals they wanted (with or without the help of the refs) and the NBA got the winner they wanted (with or without the help of the refs).  Nobody outside of San Antonio and Detroit wanted to see either one of those in the Finals.  I think I can safely say nobody outside of Philadelphia and Tampa Bay wants either team in the World Series. 

So the question is: Is Bud Selig willing to go David Stern and do what is necessary to make a Dodgers Vs. Red Sox World Series a reality?    I don't want to say that the Dodgers or the Red Sox couldn't make it with out any help, but hey you can't forget the old montra of professional sports, actually there's two: If you aint cheating you aint trying and it's only cheating if you get caught. 

Think of all the back stories you can come up with.  How the prodigal son returns along with his hated uncle.  They can go crazy with throwing stats and comparisons of Bay and Manny.  What can they talk about with the Phillies and Rays?  How a pop up gets lost in Tropicana Field and how Citizens Bank Park is launching Pad and a stupid design of a baseball field?!?  With a Dodger Vs. Redsox WS they can even go buckwild talking about the stadiums. 

I know Selig will do the right thing.

HUMBERT