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Aubrey’s Sports Stack Archives |
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April 21, 2008
♠ So maybe it’s not wise, but I feel compelled to comment each and every day about the NBA playoffs. Professional basketball is my favorite sport and every time I watch a game, no matter the game, I feel I have to share my commentary.
♠ Tim Duncan hitting that three on Saturday to send the Spurs’ opener with the Suns into overtime was brilliant. My poor neighbors, I was SCREAMING when I saw that shot. Hands down, that was the best first round game this year.
♠ Hats off to LeBron James for starting a beef between Soulja Boy and Jay-Z. I know Jay-Z is out there reading my page and thinking “huh?”. Yeah, LeBron James compared himself to you and some cat on the Wizards (I say some cat because it was not Gilbert Arenas) to Soulja Boy. The best about all of this is hearing the announcers repeat this nonsense over and over again in their milquetoast announcer voices. Good times.
♠ And speaking of the Wizards… Game two of their series with the Cavaliers was awesome. I liked the three that dropped the Wizards deficit to 16 points when the fellow (I am not calling any of these dudes by their names because I’m trying to get across how shameful the behavior is) decided to gloat a little. Yep, gloating when you’re winning is easy, but when you’re down 16 points with no chance of making a comeback that’s gangsta! OK… and then the fight. Zydrunas was nowhere around this time, but Haywood got ejected after doing a flying tackle at LeBron in order to prevent him from getting one more poster out of the game. The foul was flagrant but even this basketball aficionado is stuck trying to figure out how there are degrees of flagrants. What? Flagrant one is like a sprained ankle whereas a flagrant two is a broken clavicle? C’mon people!
♠ My last comment after the shenanigans on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday is about the Detroit Pistons. First of all, Big Ben has been in a downward spiral since he left the Pistons. I think that team was carrying the hard-fro-wearing-rebounding-is-my-only-game Wallace while he was with them, and his true skill (mediocre as it is) is showing now. He had one worthy dunk tonight, but otherwise, I’m all about Wally Sczerbiak.
♠ Oh yeah, congrats on your win in Japan, Danica!
April 19, 2008
♠ OK, this just in, Antawn Jamison (Wizards) called Zydrunas “I’ll jump in for LeBron” Ilgauskis an mf at about 1.3 seconds left in the first half today. That and LeBron’s dunk (after Ilguaskis should get penalized a game… That dude is a master antagonist.
♠ Contrary to what logic tells me to do, I am putting my NBA bracket online for all to see. *Sigh* The NCAA thing didn’t turn out so well, but hey, I am only human. Yes, in case you’re wondering, I do have the Spurs and the Celtics in the championship and I’m not backing down from that! And just so you know, NO, the fact that the Suns beat the Spurs three times in the regular season does not make them a first round favorite against the Spurs! Click here for Aubrey’s Bracket
♠ And *about* the final playoff line up… why is it the West is always over 50 and half the teams in the East are always under 60? We are long overdue for a shake up of the association lineups.
♠ Pouring some out on the curb right now for the SuperSonics, Timberwolves, Blazers, Kings, Raptors… oh no… wait a minute… the Raptors are in the playoffs? And the Atlanta Hawks? Mike Bibby is still one of the guys I like to see run the court. Chris Bosh and Rasho Nesterovic are also players I like to see. They won’t get very far, but it’s nice to see them in the playoffs.
♠ Isaiah Thomas fired… Let me be the first to join the group of people saying ‘bout damn time!
April 6, 2008
♠ OK. My NCAA bracket dreams are over thanks to North Carolina and UCLA. I mean really, what happened? Then, when all else failed, I pulled for Memphis. I was all ready to spout off at the mouth. Here’s a little taste of the post I prepared. “You can’t get this good through practice alone, kids. It takes an innate, intrinsic, almost spiritual talent. Hee hee hee!” But, alas, North Carolina and UCLA didn’t show up. At least I don’t have to watch more footage of Kevin Love taking shots at full court!
♠ Here’s what I like about Chris Paul: the kid is brilliant and not just at basketball. He’s the only NBA All-Star I know of that has done Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. Yep, that’s enough to impress… oh yeah, and he’s a phenomenal basketball player. Right now he’s averaging 22 points per game (also his age), 12 assists, and 4 rebounds even though I could swear he’s got more of those (he’s only 6 ft tall, too). Have I mentioned he’s not bad to look at? I like this kid enough to show him going to town on my boys the Celtics.
♠ This past weekend in the Tampa Bay area that was the St. Petersburg Grand Prix and the NCAA Women’s Basketball final four. I didn’t get to see either one due to other obligations. No, it had nothing to do with me beating Devil May Cry 4 in record time.
March 29, 2008
♠ Sooo, my NCAA Basketball bracket isn’t shot… Nope… It’s not… Don’t make me say I told you so, don’t make me do it! Now after this weekend I may be singing another song but right now, I feel no pain.
♠ Danica Patrick needs to gain weight? Seriously? You want to go with that racing whiners? Really? That’s what we’re going with?
Sure, she’s about half the size of some of the drivers but what about keeping your seat at that weight when you’re slamming around curves? Not as easy as it looks. When I heard last year that some racers were complaining that she had an unfair advantage, I didn’t pay much attention. But, this silliness is back! So far, I don’t know of any complaints about skinny guys racing. (feel free to correct me, I’m good with constructive feedback) . How much did Jeff Gordon weigh back in the day?
March 23, 2008
♠ OK, who do you have in your bracket? No, don’t be shy. Go ahead and tell me. I’m completely OK with saying that mine is already shot, so I’m not committing to naming a winner. (North Carolina beats UCLA (even though I like West Kentucky’s style) or Xavier (I’m always partial to Xavier)… Not Texas. take it to the bank.. Oh yeah, and sorry Florida but you had it coming after last year).
♠ So, I’m late. I’ve never seen this show before, but I have noticed it on my guide as I tried to find something on… Yesterday, while editing a novel (vegetating) I watched Joes versus Pros on Spike. Oh, I like it!
So in this episode Nick Van Exel, Warren Moon, and Al Leiter go up against these regular guys in a passing, one on one, and hitting match. Warren Moon exhibited his passing skills. Nick Van Exel went one on one with them, and Al Leiter threw 90+ mph pitches for these guys to hit. Then they went into “overtime” and the guys had to do this willy nilly thing where they ran through three stations at a time. OK, as I’ve said, I enjoyed the show and watched a veritable marathon… but I kept wanting someone to get tackled or to take a hard charge in the chest… Is that so wrong? Can’t we have contact on this show?
♠ Today, I watched the Spurs defeat the Mavs. How I love those guys! Sure, someone could make the argument that Dirk Nowitzki went out with an injury (faker!) but I think the Spurs adjust to opponents and circumstances better than any other team around. Now about those Mavericks. It’s my understand that Mark Cuban went into of Avery Johnson to discuss the 9-7 record since the acquisition of Jason Kidd.
Maybe this conversation should have happened before they added him to the roster. Jason Kidd, love you dude, but I don’t think this trade was the answer to what ails the Mavs. Just take a look below, I said it weeks ago. And by the way, they lost that game to Houston 98-113. Jason Kidd is not the finisher the Mavs need him to be. I do enjoy that Josh Howard, though.
March 4, 2008
♠ I will prepare for the hate mail, but you can’t stop me from saying it… Jason Kidd wasn’t worth it. Did you see the game against the Lakers? Well I did. Dirk Nowitzki ignored an open Kidd to take bad shots the whole game long. Didn’t notice it? Wait for the match up with Houston... even without Yao.
♠ Aubrey’s MVPs this week:
1) Brett Favre — Ahh Brett, how can you leave me like this? Hold on, I need to put the Cooley High Hard to Say Goodbye on repeat as I write this! All time record for touchdowns… all time record for picks. On field shootouts… off field blackouts.
2) Dale Davis — No, he’s not in the news this week, but I have to bring him up every now and then. I can’t prove it, but I think that guy has anger management problems (not like Zach Randolph). Maybe he’s worked them out since the Portland Trail Blazer days. Maybe he’s worked them out since the 2006 Miami Beach incident that ended up with him be tased (btw he was acquitted of all five of his misdemeanor charges) but he still gets a mention. One of my favorite basketball moments was him ripping his shirt off in the 2000 playoffs after he got ejected and throwing it in the stands. Now, I’ve seen stars do this, but really it was classic.
3) Even though I CRINGE as I write this, LeBron James has to make my list. Now, normally I am not a King James fan, but at 2:37 left in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Bulls, he gave me chills. I mean he was beyond the top of the key, almost at the three point line and he just sailed in, floating on the air as he slammed the ball in. It was beauty. It’s why I love basketball. And if it wasn’t enough, he was stunning for three plays in a row. Points 85, 87, and 89 for the Cavs were genius. You still won’t catch me wearing a LeBron jersey, but he gets his props for turning it up in that game… *Granted* the Bulls are not on my list of teams to watch. I know they’ve had a major set back due to injury, but well… I’m not as excited about the talent, including Ben Wallace as I hear some commentators be.
4) Mike Huckabee — Way to stick it out.
5) Hillary Clinton — no… seriously, way to stick it out.
Honorable Mention: The Celtics — They are number one and they are not coming off this list unless somebody dies or gets traded.
I have to point out, though, that I am Spurs fan. Love the Spurs and love their 10 game winning streak.
Have I also mentioned that I am a fan of the Lakers (I’ve hated them for YEARS since Rick Fox, Derek Ander, Devon George, the freakin’ MailMan, Gary Payton, Shaq, Kobe, Tyron Lue, Robert Horry, and that damn Luke Walton) these days? There a Lakers fans turning over in their graves as we speak!
February 22, 2008
♠ I would desperately like for people to stop dropping their jaws every time a new allegation of cheating pops up around Bill Belichick. We know what he did. Shame on him for doing it. Glad he didn’t win the Superbowl. Let’s move forward. In the same vein though, (am I really moving forward?) I’d like for people to stop coming out of the woodworks to expose Patriots’ cheating after the fact.
♠ OK, when I saw the title and tagline for the article linked below, I was… um… physically excited. It mentioned something about athletes getting naked for the perusal of scouts. I clicked on the link solely because I thought there would be pictures. There were none. :-( Take a look. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-thegameface022208 . Now, while I understand that scouts want to know what they are getting into when pursueing an up and comer, I can’t help but think of this as something similar to the auction block of slavery days. The very idea ruins any heretofore horniness I’ve mustered up. This process is frightening and degrading for the athletes, but they go through it because making it in football is their one driving goal in life. I get it. Still, all the fun has been taken out of my ogling of perfect male specimens… maybe not all the fun.
February 19, 2008
♠ Shaq and Jason Kidd traded… Kobe pinky surgery… All Star Game shenanigans!
February 5, 2008
♠ Now on to important things. Yep I bet the Superbowl. That’s why you get the special fireworks! :-D Go Giants… Yeah… Tiki Barber tee-hee… Bill Belichick… *sigh* ... Oh the Superbowl, how I loved it! Let’s see there were the awesome passes of Eli Manning, unbelievable work by the defense. Wonderful. Some people were bored with the game. While I missed much of the third, I was excited and still very pleased with the fourth.
Of course, just like a million of my peers out there, I have to comment on my favorites ads. Stop over in my Silliness section to see my picks! While I thought Naomi Campbell looked phenomenal in the Life Water Thriller commercial, I was thrilled that DWade finally made it in Charles Barkley’s Five, and I am infatuated with Justin Timberlake, none of those commercials made my list. Oh yeah, and I considered adding the big wheel commercial simply because my parents had to kidnap my Dukes of Hazzard big wheel before I would give it up for a bike! But, no, it’s not there either. Another honorable mention goes to the Coca Cola ad featuring Bill Frist and James Carville and the Godfather ad… Now, on to the plays!
♠ One of the best plays that everyone’s been talking about was the 32 yard pass Eli Manning threw to David Tyree. The guy kept possession of the ball with a defender all over him by pressing the ball *one-handed* to his helmet. Look to your left! Awesome, but not my favorite play.
♠ Why I love #44 Ahmad Bradshaw: In 2004 CSTV.COM wrote: Ahmad Bradshaw was an all-state running back in high school, but the incoming Virginia football recruit was unable to outrun a pair of Charlottesville, Va., police officers last weekend. Bradshaw was arrested at 1:50 a.m. Saturday night and charged with underage alcohol possession and obstruction of justice, according to Charlottesville Police Sgt. M.G. Davis. Police approached Bradshaw in front of Coup de Villes and asked him what type of drink he was holding. The 18-year-old initially cooperated, telling the officers it was a Long Island Iced Tea. When officers asked Bradshaw for identification, however, he gave them incorrect information. Davis said that Bradshaw was then informed that he was not free to leave yet and he would be patted down for the officers' protection. It was at that point that Bradshaw fled the scene. Police chased him for about a quarter-mile before stopping him near the Rotunda. Davis said there was a struggle between the parties when the officers were trying to handcuff Bradshaw, leading the officers to use pepper spray. He was then taken to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail and was released later Saturday on a $1,000 bond. The obstruction of justice charge is a Class I misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. The underage alcohol possession charge carries only a small fine. "If he would have went with the program, he would've gotten a summons and that would've been it," Davis said. "He would've been able to walk away." Bradshaw's status with the Virginia football team is uncertain. Reports early this week suggest that the Virginia coaching staff had learned about at least one another run-in with the law Bradshaw had as a juvenile and called his high school coach to find out more information.
So much for his career with UVA. He got kicked off the squad before he even started after they… uh… potentially discovered that he had had some run ins with the law as a teenager. Sooo, then he enrolled at Marshall.
Now I know, I know… These seem like good reasons *not* to like Mr. Bradshaw but hear me out: He’s a cute kid AND he got wrapped up around the throat by Ty Warren in the first quarter on a 3rd and 1 but powered his way to a first anyway. The guy is 5’9” 198 lbs, hardly a big fellow by football standards, but I just loved the way he pushed through. That take determination and strength of will. He had some other good plays but that was my favorite. I guess (oh no this was a long way to go for a bad joke) Baby, he was born to run! LOL.
♠ On to Osi Umenyiora. My very own MVP. In another of my favorite plays, he recovered a fumble and would not let it go saying to the Pats “It’s mine. I got it, man. It’s mine.” That’s one hell of a defensive end.
♠ Ohhh yeah, and I have to make mention my trip to the convenience store the next day. While I live in Florida, everyone that’s works within five minutes of me seems to be a Native New Englander. So, some of my betting pals were very upset about the outcome of the game. That’s when the conspiracy theories started. They said that the Giants were apparently “mind readers” because they knew every play New England was going to run… *sigh* I should not comment on this at all… In fact I won’t. I’m just going to add a link by one of my favorite sports commentators Frank Deford.
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