how i hope this nba draft review makes up for my recent negligence

sorry i haven't been writing as much. getting married will definitely crimp a writing style.

here's what i think about last night's nba draft:

i think the knicks did alright. we're gonna suck next year and the year after, and we need to dump salary, so we might as well draft a kid who has a good chance to be a stud in two years or so. until we get rid of marbury, curry, randolph, crawford and richardson, this train ain't moving anywhere. and since there's probably no nba gm stutarded enough to trade for any of them (although i'm probably overestimating the lot), we might as well just ride it out.

one last time: damn you, isiah.

the nets did well, i thought. a starting five of devin harris, vince carter, yi, boone and brook lopez isn't half bad. and with ryan anderson, cdr, sean williams and some other interesting pieces off the bench (and if krstic ever comes back, all the better), they'll suck, but it'll be a promising suck - especially when they've cleared out a ton of cap space for lebronmania 2010.

and we have the warriors, who drafted 6'10" 190 lb. anthony randolph. i swear when his profile came up during the telecast, it said, "must improve: ribs". don't we already have this guy on our bench? isn't he named brandan wright? and didn't nellie not play him? and doesn't nellie have a problem playing andris biedrins, who is light years away from where this kid is and would actually be a big contributor for any other team? i think we could have used a point guard - because with this being nellie's and baron's last year, we might as well be all system's go.

and that's especially since portland's gonna win the whole damn thing for ten years straight.

so that's my review. i promise to write more, now that i have this strange item called "spare time" hanging all around me.

how i'm fine

by the time you read this, i'm sure you would have read about our nice 5.6 quake that hit the bay area tonight.

i felt it.

here's my deal:

i got off my train after work, and saw my connecting bus pull away. with this being on the worst line in the city, i knew i had another half hour wait for the next bus to roll on by. so i decided to grab some dinner and catch the start of the warriors game at park chow, which is still my favorite restaurant in the city.

being by myself, i sat at the bar.

i ordered an apple juice (the best apple juice in the world, by the way) and my appetizer and dinner.

i watched the game on the television.

then, my bar stool began to shake.

here's a primer for you: imagine you're sitting on a bar stool. shift your weight from one ass cheek to the other. allow your shoulders to slightly sway back and forth. repeat for about 10-15 seconds.

there you go. that's what it felt like.

everyone was calm, almost laughing.

and, when it ended, everyone clapped.

at which, i said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "don't encourage it". more laughter. +1 steve.

here's the best part of it (at least for me): when it happened, i was watching the aforementioned warriors game that was being played in oakland. andris biedrins was on the foul line. he's a career 45% free throw shooter. that's terrible.

when the quake hit oakland, he sunk both free throws.

so, in essence, this terrible foul shooter only nailed his shots because the target was moving.

now that's a force of nature.

for you non-californians, here's some pertinent earthquake info:
a local news article reporting the quake;
sfist's very human coverage about the bay area's reactions;
an informative piece about aftershocks;
and here's the latest on britney, because i'm sure that will be the lead story anyhow.

how there are few things i've seen as sublimely and ridiculously athletic

as when baron davis threw it down on andre kirilenko during game 3 of the warriors-jazz playoffs.

my eyes have yet to return to their eye sockets.

how nothing beats playoff time

i watched two great playoff games today in which i had rooting interest. the edge of my couch is completely worn out, and my voice left me for good sometime before dinner.

NHL: RANGERS over SABRES, 2-1 in 2OT

the rangers needed this desperately. we're just another win from tying this shindig up. it's funny how the stanley cup playoffs work: the rangers have been the better team during the past two games, but ryan miller has been insane in goal for the sabres. that's just the way the puck bounces.

this game was back-and-forth, artistic, thrilling and punishing. it's everything thats makes hockey great. and, with everything at stake, every crossing pass, every slapshot, every scrum outside the crease takes such heavy importance, and rushes your heart up your throat.

i wish the NHL could bottle stanley cup playoff games and market it throughout the season. or, better yet, just hype it up throughout the season to make it something even the casual fan would look forward to.

because, simply, it is worth looking forward to.


NBA: WARRIORS over MAVERICKS 103-99

it's amazing how, after 8 NBA seasons, dirk nowitzki has yet to grow a set.

the assumed NBA MVP plays like a scared pussycat. from fading away on all his jumpers (even from three), to passing up open shots, to hiding in the corner during crucial offensive sets and to letting drivers attack the rim unimpeded, it takes a yeoman effort to even notice that he's even on the court. and, of course, you won't find him in the paint. you can't trust him to lead a team to anything other than disappointment.

simply put, he sucks.

on the other hand, baron davis is playing like the best basketball player on the planet. and, when the point guard is playing out of his mind and is the absolute top dog on the court, he winds up making his teammates look like all-stars. he's personally responsible for this upset in the making, from his aggressiveness to power to speed to absolute daredevil attacks to the hoop and avery johnson doesn't seem to have a clue as to how to stop him (although going to a zone would be somewhat obvious). baron is everything nowitzki is not.

the mavs look like that good white suburban team playing their first game against a team from the city.

and the warriors are feasting on it.