From Spectacular Plays to 'Slippery' Balls, What an Exciting Stretch in Sports
There seems to be many things that I could spread out and post through various topics regarding the past few weeks in sports, but instead, I am going to give you some random short thoughts about these various happenings in just one article. This way it should be fun for everyone.
OK, Here we go... My favorite play recently came from none other than the "ever-quirky" Gilbert Arenas. Against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 3, the Wizards were tied with 6 seconds left. Arenas promptly dribbled up the court, froze the defender Charlie Bell, rose up and drained the game-winning three-point bucket from 32 feet away. Absolutely nothing but net. Although the shot was remarkable, it wasn't even the best part of the play. The best part was that Arenas shot the ball, then started walking to the bench immediately with a confidence and swagger that was amazing to witness. After the game, Arenas told reporters, "Once I let it go, I'm like, 'That's in. I don't even need to look at this one.'" I get excited every time I even think about what transpired during those 6 seconds. I don't even need to rewatch the scenario.
(On a side note, I was so impressed with Arenas, I decided to try and emulate that shot in front of my teammates before conditioning on Sunday, showing them exactly what happened. Sure enough, a little hesitation dribble and a 32-foot jumper that left my hand hit NOTHING but the bottom of the net. The only difference was I just walked away without looking at the shot, so I just heard the swoosh at the net. But hey, don't believe me. Ask the crowd.)
Staying with basketball and superstar players, is there anything else I can say about my boy D-Wade? He gets hurt and they play dismal, falling to 13-19. He comes back, and they win three in a row. There is not a player like him in the NBA. Luckily the East is pitiful, and the Heat should not have a problem making the playoffs. Not that I expect them to repeat as champions, but if they get Shaq back sooner than later and can start playing good basketball, the Heat could make a serious run by peaking at the right time.
Switching over to the NBA Finals losers, the Dallas Mavericks, I was lucky enough to catch a game in Dallas over Christmas break. If I didn't despise Dirk "The Big Overrated, especially in meaningful playoff games" Nowitzki, I could easily have been sucked into becoming a huge Mavs fan. The atmosphere in that arena is like nothing I had been a part of prior. Also, seeing Mark Cuban in action, although I'm not a huge fan of his either, is quite impressive, and I can definitely respect what he has done for the Mavs and the whole Dallas area as well as the NBA as a whole. He has really set the bar high as far as how an organization should be run. Any player in the league should immediately accept an offer to play in Dallas if they ever get the opportunity (But if they want to win championships, I'd wait until Dirk leaves).
The last NBA-related topic for the time being deals with the Suns manhandling of the Cavs. Basically, it was a championship performance from the Suns, even though they were playing a mediocre Cavs team who has a good record because, as mentioned before, the East is atrocious. One writer for ESPN put it best when commenting on Steve Nash's game saying it was the most dominant performance by a player who only scored four points. Just four points. To make up for it though, Nash made sure the rest of the starting-5 plus Barbosa were in double figures scoring by dishing out 21 dimes. Incredible.
THE Ohio State University provided me with some major disappointment and some major jubilation on back-to-back evenings. The first night, they apparently had decided that their season was finished with the Michigan game and did not feel like participating in the National Championship. However, even though the Buckeyes did not have a solid performance, Florida was easily the better team and deserved to win the game, no question about it. Congratulations to Chris Leak for finally shutting up all of his critics. I've been a fan of his for the past four years, and even though I am disappointed, I am still happy for the senior quarterback. The jubilation occurred when the Wisconsin Badgers dominated the Bucks on the basketball court. Yes, it was only a 3-point victory, but that was only because of a last minute charge, which was almost capped off with a potential game tying shot from Jamar Butler. Again, OSU relied too much on streaky outside shooting, and Mr. Oden was not a factor thanks to an array of Badger big men. Alando Tucker and Chris Rock, errr, I mean Kammron Taylor led the 'Sconsin charge in the victory.
Not much to say about this, but congratulations to Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn for making the Hall of Fame (as if it were ever in question).
The only thing I have to say about Tony Romo is I sincerely hope that the only time he sees during the Pro Bowl (how the hell did Tony Romo make the Pro Bowl) is to hold snaps. That would probably be one of the funniest sports moments in history for me if it were to occur. Please, NFC coaching staff, answer my wishes!
Ending on a positive note for the evening, Trey and I split 55 bucks by combining our superior college football knowledge to win the office pool. Maybe our method of randomly picking the importance of each game (1-32 points depending on your confidence in the pick) helped us. But as the pool manager stated, "When you pick all of the games right, it doesn't matter what number you put on each game." We ended with a 25-7 record.
OK, Here we go... My favorite play recently came from none other than the "ever-quirky" Gilbert Arenas. Against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 3, the Wizards were tied with 6 seconds left. Arenas promptly dribbled up the court, froze the defender Charlie Bell, rose up and drained the game-winning three-point bucket from 32 feet away. Absolutely nothing but net. Although the shot was remarkable, it wasn't even the best part of the play. The best part was that Arenas shot the ball, then started walking to the bench immediately with a confidence and swagger that was amazing to witness. After the game, Arenas told reporters, "Once I let it go, I'm like, 'That's in. I don't even need to look at this one.'" I get excited every time I even think about what transpired during those 6 seconds. I don't even need to rewatch the scenario.
(On a side note, I was so impressed with Arenas, I decided to try and emulate that shot in front of my teammates before conditioning on Sunday, showing them exactly what happened. Sure enough, a little hesitation dribble and a 32-foot jumper that left my hand hit NOTHING but the bottom of the net. The only difference was I just walked away without looking at the shot, so I just heard the swoosh at the net. But hey, don't believe me. Ask the crowd.)
Staying with basketball and superstar players, is there anything else I can say about my boy D-Wade? He gets hurt and they play dismal, falling to 13-19. He comes back, and they win three in a row. There is not a player like him in the NBA. Luckily the East is pitiful, and the Heat should not have a problem making the playoffs. Not that I expect them to repeat as champions, but if they get Shaq back sooner than later and can start playing good basketball, the Heat could make a serious run by peaking at the right time.
Switching over to the NBA Finals losers, the Dallas Mavericks, I was lucky enough to catch a game in Dallas over Christmas break. If I didn't despise Dirk "The Big Overrated, especially in meaningful playoff games" Nowitzki, I could easily have been sucked into becoming a huge Mavs fan. The atmosphere in that arena is like nothing I had been a part of prior. Also, seeing Mark Cuban in action, although I'm not a huge fan of his either, is quite impressive, and I can definitely respect what he has done for the Mavs and the whole Dallas area as well as the NBA as a whole. He has really set the bar high as far as how an organization should be run. Any player in the league should immediately accept an offer to play in Dallas if they ever get the opportunity (But if they want to win championships, I'd wait until Dirk leaves).
The last NBA-related topic for the time being deals with the Suns manhandling of the Cavs. Basically, it was a championship performance from the Suns, even though they were playing a mediocre Cavs team who has a good record because, as mentioned before, the East is atrocious. One writer for ESPN put it best when commenting on Steve Nash's game saying it was the most dominant performance by a player who only scored four points. Just four points. To make up for it though, Nash made sure the rest of the starting-5 plus Barbosa were in double figures scoring by dishing out 21 dimes. Incredible.
THE Ohio State University provided me with some major disappointment and some major jubilation on back-to-back evenings. The first night, they apparently had decided that their season was finished with the Michigan game and did not feel like participating in the National Championship. However, even though the Buckeyes did not have a solid performance, Florida was easily the better team and deserved to win the game, no question about it. Congratulations to Chris Leak for finally shutting up all of his critics. I've been a fan of his for the past four years, and even though I am disappointed, I am still happy for the senior quarterback. The jubilation occurred when the Wisconsin Badgers dominated the Bucks on the basketball court. Yes, it was only a 3-point victory, but that was only because of a last minute charge, which was almost capped off with a potential game tying shot from Jamar Butler. Again, OSU relied too much on streaky outside shooting, and Mr. Oden was not a factor thanks to an array of Badger big men. Alando Tucker and Chris Rock, errr, I mean Kammron Taylor led the 'Sconsin charge in the victory.
Not much to say about this, but congratulations to Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn for making the Hall of Fame (as if it were ever in question).
The only thing I have to say about Tony Romo is I sincerely hope that the only time he sees during the Pro Bowl (how the hell did Tony Romo make the Pro Bowl) is to hold snaps. That would probably be one of the funniest sports moments in history for me if it were to occur. Please, NFC coaching staff, answer my wishes!
Ending on a positive note for the evening, Trey and I split 55 bucks by combining our superior college football knowledge to win the office pool. Maybe our method of randomly picking the importance of each game (1-32 points depending on your confidence in the pick) helped us. But as the pool manager stated, "When you pick all of the games right, it doesn't matter what number you put on each game." We ended with a 25-7 record.
posted by SteveO at 1:19 AM
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