Hands-free or Loose Screws?

Back when cellphones first made it out to the public, the rare person with a handsfree headset always looked like a crazy person. This especially goes for NYers since there are plenty of crazies walking around talking to themselves already. Here we are, many years later with Bluetooth sets and they still look like lunatics! This morning, I was in a quiet, but full subway car. While it was above ground, a woman was talking in a normal tone. I looked over and she wasn't talking to anyone... a one-sided conversation. She was on the phone with a Bluetooth set. I guess these things make people look crazy because once they're on the phone, they're in their own world. They imagine the friend on the other line talking to them in person. The woman didn't even realize she was blocking the path to the doorway and almost made another woman miss her stop!

Basketball 101

If you asked anyone who the best team was out in the West, most would have answered the OKC Thunder. It was the Spurs who quietly got the 1st seed. They have nothing flashy and no single scoring leader like Durant. For them, it was all about the solid core, great roleplayers and solid fundamental basketball. Last night, they went up 2-0 against OKC and they have made things look easy so far.  In Game 2, it was all Spurs as they took their young opponents to school. How many times did Manu cut to the basket and kick out for a 3!? They even got Harlem Globetrotter moves in there! OKC did make a run at the end of the 3rd and part of the 4th, but the Spurs took the punch and went on for the win. That game was a lesson in Playoff basketball.

True Champ

"I'm not going anywhere. You can print that wherever you want to. I'm here and I'm a Spur for life."
--Tim Duncan

That was Tim Duncan after winning Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. This is the kind of mentality that makes a team successful. The organization loves it. The fans love it. And loyalty like this filters down to all teammates. It's why the Spurs have held together the strongest core since Michael Jordan's Bulls. I wish there was more of this in the NBA. After Duncan retires, I can only say that I see this in Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant. No one else comes to mind.

Memorial Weekend Sports Wrapup

NBA East
In a close game 7, the Boston Celtic earned the series  win against the Philadelphia 76ers. I thought the Sixers were the better, deeper team, but playoff experience gave the Celtics the edge. I would have liked to see thee hardworking Sixers play it out with the Heat. It would have been a similar series to the expected Bulls vs. Heat. Now Miami will probably just run over Boston. They started it last night with a blowout victory.

NBA West
The Western Conference should be more exciting with 2 of the best teams in the league. Game 1 on Sunday didn't disappoint as  the game was close throughout. The Spurs were even down 9 at the start of the 4th. Then Ginobili came in and did what he usually does... close games off the bench. The Spurs earned the 2nd best record in the NBA and played without Manu for most of the season. So it means they're even stronger than they were before.It's like the best team adding an additional All-Star for the postseason!

Yankees
A series sweep of the A's gave the Yankees their first 5-game streak of the year. More importantly, sleeping bats came alive. A-Rod and Teixiera seemed to have broken out of their slumps. As a result, more RISP were batted in. In Game 3, Hiroki Kuroda pitched a 4-hit gem and won the pitcher's duel 2-0. And Jeter continued his assault on the all-time hits leaderboard, passing George Brett for #14.

No Chivalry Please

Chivalry doesn't pay when you're exiting a bus or train. This is mainly because it's too hard to tell if someone intends to exit or not. If you need to get out the next stop, just go right up to the door.  The person standing near it is more likely a blocker than someone trying to get out the next stop. This is more of a problem in the bus where the doorway really only fits one person. There's always one idiot who stands there and isn't even getting off an upcoming stop. If you're getting, just stand right next to him and shove him out of the way if necessary. He shouldn't be blocking if he's not exiting. I'm waiting for the day someone blocks the door completely so I can shove him right out of the bus!

Yankees' Finest

Who would have thought that Andy Pettitte would come back from retirement so quickly and pick up right where he left off. As of now, I feel he's the best guy in the rotation. Everyone else, CC included has been shaky and inconsistent. Pettitte lost his first game, but if you break it down, he really only made a couple of mistake and got little run support. I don't think he looked rusty in his first game at  all. Then he pitched a 9-strikeout, 8-inning shutout game  for his 2nd. Last night was another high strikeout game (8 I think) as the Yankees won 8-2. I think the players even feel more  confident when Pettitte is on the mound.

Subway Tales: The Long Way

"We'll take the long way."
- Queen Amidala

 ...says Queen Amidala after clearing the hangar area. Darth Maul had just appeared behind the blast doors for the "short way." Just like in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, sometimes taking the long way ends up being faster than the shortest path when it comes to navigating the subway dungeons. I'm not talking about the layout of the lines. It's the slow moving people. They tend to clog the shortest route. So it's ironic that the fast movers need to go around them. When the subway doors open and I'm not the closest one to the stairs, I will head for the far side of the steps rather than the close side because I know the close side will get clogged first.

Weekend Sports Wrapup

Yankees
Andy Pettitte pitched one of  his best games on Friday night. It was just his second game back from retirement and he showed no rust at all. He struck out 9 batters in 8 shutout innings. The Yankees were locked in a pitcher's duel with former Red Sox Bronson Arroyo until they knocked him out of the 8th. That was the only good new for the Yankees this weekend though. They ended up losing their 1st interleague series against the Red, dropping 2 close ones after Friday's big win. It's the usual slow start, but the problem this year is that they'll have to go the rest of the season without Rivera. So it may not be the same story. On top of that, Robertson is also on the DL now, sliding Soriano over to the closer role and Logan to setup.

NBA
The Spurs closed out the Clippers last night, keeping their win streak alive. They're the most dangerous team in the Playoffs right now because they're in a groove. They haven't lost in over a month, which means they forgot how to. The Pacers made things exciting when they went 2-1 over Miami, but they lost yesterday and now it's all even.

Alternates

With the Bulls eliminated from the Playoffs, I would like to see one of these teams win it all and here's why:

Pacers
They are the lone representative of the Central Division now. The improvements they made this year remind me of when the Bulls broke out of the post-Jordan losing streak. The Pacers play with effort and teamwork. They have a good leader in Danny Granger who plays the right way and says the right things.

Sixers
Doug Collins is part of the Bulls family. He did a great job making something out of nothing, building the first Philly team that's got a shot since Allen Iverson. Andre Iguodala deserves it as well. He's a guy that's worked hard for years, but has never had the right system around him. The Sixers are very much like the Bulls and Pacers. All are built with good pieces and are products of years of growth.

Thunder
They are the Bulls of the West. The make up of the team is comparable to the present-day Bulls... solid core, great role-players and depth all the way to the last man. Even with rising stars on the team like Westbrook and Durant, no one has an ego. Durant is very much like Derrick Rose. If a Western team wins, I'd prefer it to be OKC.

Spurs
This is the team with the closest thing to a dynasty since the 90's Bulls and Duncan originally came aboard during that era. They have had a solid core for years... probably longer than any team. They play with great fundamentals. I feel like this is a 90's style team that's getting the job done against the teams making all the headlines.

Obama's Chances

Last year, on May 2, I mentioned that Obama had won the election with his leadership in the campaign that ultimately killed Osama Bin Laden. Well, he may have just cancelled that out by coming out and saying that he's pro-gay marriage. I'm glad he did it. It was the honest and right thing to do and it made me respect him even more. But the reality of it is that half of the country is still anti-gay. So he's going to lose a lot of his support. I already knew he was in favor of gay marriage and I'm sure other people did too. But when he comes out and says it straight up is when people will leave him. The previous election was a landslide, so maybe he still has a shot. But one thing's for sure... the 2012 election will be a close margin.

He has my vote on the fact that he's a hardcore Bulls fan. That says a lot about his personality and is all I need to know about him!

Weekend Sports Wrapup

Rose Surgery
I haven't been in the mood to watch any basketball over the weekend. I'm sure I'll go back to it before the Finals to root on whoever is playing against the Heat, but for now I'm in baseball mode. I am still reading up on Bulls news though. There are a lot of concerns with the way the season ended. First and foremost is the health of Derrick Rose. He underwent successful surgery over the weekend, which is very good news. Now he just needs to get through the recovery part, which many have mentioned is very intensive, mentally. I think he's the type of guy with a big enough heart to make a full recovery and comeback the player he always was. Remember, Jordan had a potential career ending ankle injury at the beginning of his career. He came back better then before he got injured.

Return of the Stare
Andy Pettitte rejoined the Yankees for Sunday's game. Though they lost the game, I thought he looked good on the mound. He really only made a few mistakes and didn't get a lot of run support. He didn't look rusty and he didn't get knocked out early. So I think he can be a solid part of the rotation still.

Next?

Last night's elimination game played out like a normal Bulls regular season game. They came out strong in a close 1st quarter. The drought came in the 2nd. They played poorly, but with defense and pressure, kept the deficit to just 5. The Bulls then went on a 20-6 run in the 2nd half. Where the game was different was the final minute. They turned the ball over andd Asik missed 2 free throws that would have sealed the game. Instead, it was Iguodala that had the game winning FTs on the other end. The Bulls got nothing from their 3 Jazz players in this game, which contributed to the close game.

So what now? Rose still has to get surgery and may not be available at the beginning of next season. Deng and Noah will recover faster. But this means the Bulls are down one man assuming the rest of the team is intact. Just like last year, they're one player away from a championship. That one guy was supposed to be Hamilton this year. That one guy could have been Kirk Hinrich oir Ben Gordon had it not been for LeBron James pulling everyone's leg. I think the Bulls need to make a serious move for Hinrich. He's available and willing. Gordon is still under contract. Hinrich would be a great compliment because he's a bettter dribbler and defender than Rose. The 2 of them can switch point and shooting like they did when they played together 2 years ago.

Life or Delayed Death?

The Bulls at least avoided elimination at  home and played like they normally did all season long. Last night it was themthat got the hustle plays and rebounds. Deng woke up and finally had a good playoff  game, scoring a team hight 24. Boozer had a double-double and Gibson had 4 much needed blocks. Asik emulated Noah, who sat out again and there were good scoring contributions from everyone else. But the most important thing was the defense. It was a gritty, physical game. That's  what the Rose-less Bulls needed.

Now the team needs to carry this over into the next game. They need to  be the great road warriors they were for the regular season because the Sixers want to close this out at home. One thing of note is that Taj Gibson tweaked his ankle last night. He gottaped up and came back in, but what happens with swelling over the next 2 days could determine if he plays or not.

Blogger Sucks

You may have noticed that the number of posts I put up with images has dramatically reduced over the past year. It's because I've been typing most of these on an iPad on the go to save time. It's a growing platform and the instant on is convenient. It's why I use my iPad more often than my netbook now. With that in mind, one would think that it would become more supported. Over the past week or so, Google updated the admin interface for Blogger and it has become almost unusable on the iPad. Because of this, I may reduce my posting rate. Here are some of the issues:

1) When making a new post on the iPad, there's no way to switch between HTML and WYSIWYG modes. You're stuck in HTML. That's  the mode I usually use to edit, but now there's no spell check in HTML mode. So basically, I can't spellcheck when posting from the iPad. I have to submit... then reopen on desktop!

2) There's no way to edit an existing post on the iPad. If you hit "edit," you get a blank form.

3) The user interface is non-standard for all devices. They now have the title of the form at the top instead of a useful admin navbar.

4) HTML mode behaves differently. It used to insert hard breaks automatically when you hit "enter" twice. Now you actually have to type the BR or P tags.

5) Some styles were redefined and may break existing code. For example, try placing a Picasa slideshow widget (also made by Google).

6) If you save a post (and don't publish) and then start a new post, the textarea will be filled with the previous saved post. All you have to do is delete it, but it's confusing.

The White Flag

The Bulls don't appear to be able to handle the 8th seeded Sixers. After Noah went down in Game 3, they dropped 2 games. Now they find themselves in the 3-1 hole that no NBA team climbs out of in the Playoffs. I think the Bulls have more than enough talent to get past the 1st 2 rounds, but I think the heart and fire is gone. The Bulls bench has beaten some of the best teams over the course of the season, but they can't seem to win one playoff game without their stars. Maybe Rose going down came as a shock and they're not prepared? Or could it be that some of the 1st timers are getting playoff jitters? In game 4, the Bulls got plenty of production from Boozer, Watson and Gibson. Deng, playing with his injured wrist has not had an impact and Hamilton hasn't been effective either. There's less margin for error without Rose and Noah, so everyone has to contribute. If the United Center crowd can't resuscitate the Bulls in Game 5, then it might as well be over now.

Contagion

Apparently torn ACLs are contagious. In another freak accident, Mariano Rivera suffered the same injury as Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert. It was on a routine fly ball during batting practice. Rivera typically hangs out in the outfield for flyballs to keep in shape. Yesterday, his knee buckled as he looked up. This injury is very likely then end of his career. He had unofficially mentioned that this would be his last season and torn ACLs take almost the full season to recover from. It's sad because it's really not the way anyone expected him to leave the game. At 43 years, we all saw him leaving in peak form.

Unprepared

The Bulls may have sounded ready to play before the game, but it looked like the Bulls prepared for the wrong 76ers team. They came in ready to play the regular 76ers who they've beaten without Rose before. But wiht news of Rose's injury, the Sixers played with more passion. Getting past the 1stt round became a possibility. They shot with more confidence, which was aided by lack of defense by the Bulls. They also got more of the loose balls and rebounds, stealing the Bulls' game away from them. Chicago was just not ready to the pumped Sixers and now they've lost the homecourt that they worked so hard for. 

Handing Over the Broom

The Knicks have no chance of beating the Heat. They got blown out of Game 1 and came up with the win last night despite fooling around and playing poorly. I want the Heat to make the conference finals because it's who the Bulls are destined to play. It's who they need to go through to make this run satisfying. Anything but a Bulls/Heat Eastern Conference Finals would be disappointing. I was  hoping the Knicks would slow them down though. But with Iman Shumprt's torn ACL (same day and simalr play to Rose's injury) and Stoudemire punching a glass fire extinguisher case last night was pretty much like handing Miami the broom. Chicago will have to dispatch of the 76ers quickly in order to match what Miami is doing.