The Quickie Trifecta

This is shaping into an interesting season for some NFL teams. (I'm ignoring the Adam Jones issues because, really, you get what you pay for.) Interesting in a good way (Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, and of course, the Arizona Cardinals) and a bad way (Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins). Teams that are used to losing (Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders) are not interesting. Good game (finally) for that other Manning brother - Peyton. A blocked field goal sealed the Cardinals win over the Cowboys, who just barely made it into overtime to begin with before that most terrible way to lose. And I take back what I said about the Lions. Their game was actually a little interesting considering it ended in a controversial pass interference call that put the Minnesota Vikings in position to kick a field goal for the win. Although the manner of the ending may have been a surprise, the fact that the Lions lost is not. Maybe if they were in contention for . . . anything, (other than worst team of the last century) then someone would care and maybe even calling for the head of the referee who threw the flag. But the Lions are the Lions, and the ref's job is safe and sound. At least the Lions stimulate the economy. . . .

Monta Ellis may be pissed (although looking at the above pic, he doesn't really look like he gets pissed, does he?) that the Golden State Warriors suspended him 30 games for lying about what happened to his ankle but he should really be glad that they didn't terminate his contract. Of course, he's going to appeal the decision but he doesn't have too much of a bargaining position since what he did made his agreement voidable (i.e., ripped up since riding a motorcycle violates its terms). And former-Run TMC member turned VP of basketball operations for the Warriors, Chris Mullin, has not ruled out the possibility of still voiding the contract if he doesn't play like they paid him to do (read: if he sucks). This will certainly teach him and everyone else that a) lying b) about something that can easily be verified c) where the consequence is losing your livelihood, is just not smart. To any other NBA players currently riding bikes: there are many, many other ways to get your jollies other than by risking your life and career over silliness. Find one.

Speaking of outdoor activities (sorta), the NBA staged its first outdoor game since 1972 in a preaseason matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets (minus Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony who were injured . . .right) in normally beautiful Indian Wells, California. (Indian Wells is also home to a mini-major WTA and ATP tennis tournament.) The number one priority for the league was to make sure that it didn't rain, so they took a cue from Tony! Toni! Tone! (thank me later) and went with Southern California. However, while it might not rain, it can get a bit nippy in the desert when the sun goes down, which it did on this particular night. They say the temperature was in the mid-60's but felt colder because of the 15 MPH winds. Even the seemingly "insulated" Sir Charles (Barkley) had to put a scarf on by the 4th quarter. I'm not sure this is something the NBA wants to do haphazardly. I'm sure most of these guys haven't really played pick up outside in a long time, either. There are plans to do another preseason game outside next year, and maybe even a regular season game. As for the latter, I can't really see that happening. Unless every team had to play outside at least once during the season, and the game was against a "not serious" contender, I can't see the NBA guys going for this at all. And this game had atrocious shooting and Shaquille O'Neal-level free throw shooting from O'Neal and many other players. (Nuggets' guard Mateen Cleaves had the best combined field goal and free throw percentage on the night . . . also probably the most likely of the bunch to be playing pick up ball outside this summer - coincidence?) Although Melo and AI didn't play, the Nuggets magaged to pull off the win 77-72. Pretty low-scoring for the run and gun west. If that keeps up, once the novelty wears off, so will the fans.

Happy Monday!

(Although it is allegedly also Columbus Day in some circles, I don't believe in Columbus Day, especially if we don't get the day off of work.)

Run . . . Down

Let's jump right in:

1. Ow, Yao. Just when the Houston Rockets and the Western Conference were heating up comes the news that Yao Ming is done (I decided against a bad joke here) for the season with a stress fracture in his foot. Tough spot to keep playing on it. This is a bad blow to the Rockets but the league will also be smarting because Yao in the playoffs was going to mean billions of fans. Easy come, easy go. These guys are dropping like NFL players. What's going on?

2. LeBron scored his 10,000th point - youngest in history to get there - but couldn't help the Cavs get past the Boston Celtics. Sorry, Bronie. You can break a whole bunch of records when you are the only guy scoring points on the team. Before you ask, yes, I'm hating.

3. Rutgers University women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer won her 800th game, joining an elite party of three (including her) with Rutgers' win over DePaul. And effectively putting more distance between her squad and an unnamed radio talk show host. Bravo.

4. Congress has requested an inquiry into whether Roger Clemens should be brought up on perjury charges related to his statements about his steroid use, or rather the lack thereof. I don't know about you, but while this could be important to someone somewhere, I think there may be other issues they could be addressing. Like, hunger or crime. But that's just me.

5. The Seattle Supersonics apparently forgot that defense is a necessary part of basketball, falling to the Denver Nuggets by 42 points. I am thinking that the Sonics could have just not suited a team at all, let the Nuggets just shoot the entire game, and they still probably wouldn't have won by less points. The Nuggets had to travel to Seattle for that? I know A.I. and the boys had to be a little annoyed. I know Starbucks is downsizing these days but they may need to get their team a percolator or something because they are seriously flatlining.

Durant Durant

Quick note on Kevin Durant's debut:

He may not have taken the best shots, and he was probably understandably nervous, but this kid is not afraid to take the shot, and confidence is everything in this league. He still scored 18 points in 31 points, 3-14 in the first half, 4-8 in the second, as the Seattle Supersonics dropped their opener against the Denver Nuggets, 120-103. ESPN's statisticians put in overtime again, finding that 18 points was the 4th most ever scored by a John R. Wooden Award winner (given to the top college player of the year, which he won) in an NBA debut. I'm sure J.J. Reddick has some NBA record, too, if you look hard enough.

The Nuggets look pretty good, Allen Iverson (25 points, 14 assists) and Carmelo Anthony (game high 32 points). I would love to see them make a run in the West, but they're one of the main no-defense teams out there. Still, here's hoping they work that out.

For the Sonics, Jeff Green only had 5 points in his NBA debut, but I think he'll pick it up. Hopefully the Sonics can figure out where they want to be so they can build on this young team.

But this Durant. He's going to be nice.