MYSM: Dunkin' Ain't Easy

The NFL on Sunday was pretty predictable. Bad teams lost (Detroit Lions - just get used to it), and the good teams eked out wins. Some teams whom we believed would be better at this point are looking sorta average, at least in their records (Philadelphia Eagles) while others are continuing their over-achievement streak (Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins - even though they're only at .500). The Dallas Cowboys had a scare until the Cincinnati Bengals lowered to the occasion. As usual.


Nice win for the Pittsburgh Steelers, though. On a total side note, how come I never noticed Ben Roethlisberger's "urban drawl" until today? I went back and looked at a few older videos of him and he didn't quite sound like that. Maybe it only creeps up during post-game interviews. I could blame it on rap but then how do you explain Michael Phelps? Although, if Phelps sounded more like Lil' Wayne, I think he could have an interesting endorsement future ahead of him . . .



In other news on Sunday, the Detroit Shock won the WNBA Finals with a sweep of the San Antonio Silver Stars. This is the Shock's third title in six years. Smells like a dynasty. Here comes my first DVR complaint - I set it up specifically to record . . . why didn't these record??!! That means I missed both game 2 and game 3, and since the series is over, I didn't get to see one minute of the finals. And like last time, the one picture I found was of Bill Laimbeer shaking hands. It obviously wasn't meant for me to watch the games and write about it here, but in any event, congratulations to the Shock!

Speaking of sweeps, the Chicago Cubs were swept out of the National League Division Series by the underdog L.A. Dodgers. The Dallas Mavericks of the MLB?


That takes us right into smiling. Today's videos (twice the fun) have one theme in common: dunking. Or I should say, the desire to dunk. A key but often under-appreciated aspect of dunking is actually letting go of the ball. But as attempted dunker #1 so aptly demonstrates, the ability to jump high doesn't matter if you don't include a forward motion. A reminder for us all.

#2. This should never happen. Ever.



Happy Monday!

Rundown From the Stuffed Up

My head is stuffy today. I don't know if it's allergies or whether I'm getting sick, but I do know one thing: we're running:



1. Tragic update today on Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier. While it looks like he will live, he's going to be paralyzed from the waist down and had to have his leg amputated. He was shot 14 times. Wow. The shots to the groin apparently caused clotting which required amputation. His agent says he's down and out because he won't be able to fulfill his lifetime dream. I can't imagine how he must feel. I hope they're keeping an eye on him because this is a lot for a man of his age and potential to take. I also hope that he finds his new purpose in life, because he does have one if he can find the will to keep living. Keep your head up, Collier.


2. In other sad news, last Wednesday, the 3-month old son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers' kicker Matt Bryant, Tryson, died suddenly in his sleep. It wasn't clear if Bryant, who had kicked the winning field goal the week before, would play this past Sunday. But he flew in from the funeral and not only played in the game, his field goal put the Bucs ahead of the Green Bay Packers for good. His teammates played harder for him and he rose to the occasion. I've said before that sports are a microcosm of life. Well, sometimes, they are therapy for life. My condolences to the Bryant family.


3. In happier news, Josh Howard apologized for his actions while addressing the media on the Dallas Mavericks' first day of training camp. In apologizing for his actions from the past 5 months, Howard said "this is not the way I carry myself . . ." but I say, au contraire, mon frère! This is how you carry yourself. The trick is to not get carried away . . .


4. Terrell Owens is turning on yet another QB. Just when you thought all was rosy in T.O. Land, it turns out all is still the same. By still the same, I mean still a mess - and still screwing himself out of endorsements. Following the Cowboys loss to their arch-rival Washington Redskins, T.O. had only complaints about not getting the ball from his formerly-beloved QB Tony Romo. Somewhere, despite the Cowboys' record, Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb are ecstatic that they aren't in Romo's position, even if that means they don't get to [sing country music] with Jessica Simpson.


5. Somehow, in the course of one week, I missed the entire WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Finals. The finals, which start on Wednesday, will feature the Detroit Shock and the San Antonio Silver Stars (seriously, who approved that name?). I didn't, however, miss this quote from Shock coach Bill Laimbeer: "You can't win the championship unless you're in the finals, and we're there." I'll cut Bill some slack because it probably sounded better before he saw it in print. It looks like I'll have to DVR this series in order to find some mention of it. . .


6. (I considered mentioning Monday Night Football here, but other than the overtime win, and Ray Lewis' usual antics, there wasn't much to report. Nice win, Steelers.) The Detroit Lions can take solace in the fact that at least one team in the NFL may - incredibly - be worse than they are: the St. Louis Rams. After benching QB Marc Bulger, Rams coach Scott Linehan got one better than the bench. He got the boot. You know it's bad when you blow it up with 12 more games to go. Whether this will be the same script, different cast remains to be seen . . . no, it doesn't. We can clearly see that winter in the Midwest started in September.

Check Out WNBA Finals . . . No, They Didn't Pay Me to Say That

I'm going to make a plug for the WNBA Finals. If you aren't reading this shortly after it was posted, you may miss it because the Detroit Shock are up on the Phoenix Mercury at the moment, and the Shock can take the title with a win tonight. It looks a lot better and is a lot more exciting than I remember it. Shooting has definitely improved.

I told my colleagues that I watched Game 3 the other day, and they said "So you were the one!" Hardy har har. I know there were at least two viewers, because I talked about the game with someone else. ESPN2 does some interesting things with it, too, including, as I mentioned in a comment, putting a mic on Bill Laimbeer (I think both coaches have one, but he's complaining the most). That's half the entertainment. They also do in-game, sideline interviews with assistant coaches, which is pretty different.

Plus, if you want drama, you got it. The finals are the finals no matter who's playing, and these girls are out here battling. I've seen at least one black eye and a few elbows and several "get in the face" moments.

On a side note, Karl "the Mailman" Malone's daughter, Cheryl Ford, plays for the Shock, and he's also in attendance tonight. I have never, ever (ever) liked Kountry Karl, but his daughter - she's a star (and All-Star game MVP), and she's alright with me.

I'm a little disappointed by the commercials, though. Why don't they feature the players?

**UPDATE** - The Mercury took game 4, so it's all tied up and the finals are back in Detroit. May the best woman win.

Quickie Answered

Kudos to Patrick for allegedly knowing the answer to my "Quickie!" I don't know if I believe that he didn't look this up, because I don't even know all the people on my favorite teams, much less all the people on two teams. But even if you looked it up, I'm impressed.

If you didn't see his comment, the WNBA finals features the Detroit Shock v. the Phoenix Mercury. The Shock are up 2-1 after their win last night. I watched the game last night on ESPN2 and I was surprised that I knew several of the young ladies, Diana Taurasi being the most famous, but I'm not sure I can give you a starting five. Even Google is in on the WNBA bash, because when I searched for images by typing in "wnba finals," it asked me whether I meant "nba finals." Ouch. Of course, this didn't work the other way around.

If they really want to make the sport more appealing, I think they should start by lowering the baskets. I have some other ideas as to why it's not so popular, but I think I'll save my likely controversial comments for another time when I'm ready to get hate mail.