On Sunday night, I went to the movies rather than watch Game 1 of the Miami Heat v Chicago Bulls series. Part of it was poor planning on my part. However, when I realized my "mistake" I decided I'd follow through on movie night as opposed to watch the game since I thought the game wouldn't be a good one and I wanted to catch up with my friend, Megan (aka Pita).
As soon as the movie, ended I ran home to check the score and watch the end of the game. I landed in front of the TV with 8 minutes left in the game, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the score of the game. The Bulls were up ~ BIG. It was a beautiful sight!
I sat perched in front of my TV in disbelief as the Bulls fought for rebounds and played extraordinary defense. I also watched Taj Gibson deliver two major exclamation points when he put "up" (i.e. or is it "down") two massive dunks.
The final score was 103-82. The Bulls won.
Sure it was only Game 1, but it still counts. The Bulls made quite a statement. Tonight is Game 2, and of course Coach Erik Spoelstra will make adjustments. I'm sure the Heat won't lie down tonight. I've said it before, and I'll write it again. I like Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, and Dwyane Wade. I just can't root for LeBron or Chris Bosh.
It should be a good one in Chicago... Make no mistake. I will not be at the movies... I can't wait to see what Derrick Rose and his squad do tonight.
Oh, and for those of you that don't watch PTI, check out Michael Wilbon and this clip. It's awesome!
Are my eyes deceiving me or is Vitaly Potapenko really an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers? Wow. I just saw him sitting behind the Pacers bench. I knew Vitaly back when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Ukraine Train was very good friends with my first fiancee, and went to college at Wright State University (i.e. where I grew up). When my ex and I started dating, Vitaly was around. I like him. I remember that he got engaged first, then I did, and then Bobby. **** Incidentally the 3 couples who all got engaged never got married and there was one "switcheroo".
The stories I could tell, but won't... I should dig up the pictures of the crew back then. It all seems like a lifetime ago! I haven't kept up with the Pacers much this season (i.e. obviously), but I'm very impressed with how well they've been playing against the Chicago Bulls.
Over the weekend, I went to Atlantic City and saw the score during the 4th quarter for Game 1 of the Pacers v Bulls series and couldn't believe my eyes. The Pacers were in the lead. Chicago came back to win, thanks to Kyle Korver and Derrick Rose.
Game 2 looks like it's following the same script! 23.4 seconds left and the Bulls only lead by 2, 88-90.
I was catching up with someone about the NBA and the NCAA Tournament, and my friend mentioned my trip to the Final Four in 2008. Honestly I hadn't thought about 2008 since 2008, but my friend had an interesting revelation. When I was in San Antonio for the Final Four I watched the UCLA Bruins play the Memphis Tigers. What does that mean? It means, that I saw UCLA's Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love go up against Memphis' Derrick Rose.
Wow. Immediately, I went through my pictures to see if I had any gems. This is what I found.
The opening tip: UCLA Bruins v Memphis Tigers
Derrick Rose (#23) going against Kevin Love (#42)
Oh and for those of you that don't remember, Memphis defeated UCLA in that game (i.e. with a final score of 78-63). Further, Kevin Love did not have a double-double in that game.
Kevin Love finished his road to an NCAA Championship with 12 points and 9 rebounds, but Russell Westbrook was the high scorer of the two (i.e. in this Final Four game) with 22 points.
Derrick Rose ended his college career with 25 and 9 rebounds.
Here's a shot of the scoreboard at the end of the game.
UCLA's road did end here
Now let's time travel to "present day":
Love's accomplishments in the NBA have been well documented as he plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Michael Beasley.
Russell Westbrook and his teammate, Kevin Durant, are a tremendous duo for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Derrick Rose has been amazing for the new-look Chicago Bulls, and he has his name in the hat for the NBA's MVP award this season. Incidentally, the Bulls took the top spot in the East (i.e. over the Boston Celtics) after last night's victory over the Washington Wizards.
I'm telling you, if you've never been to the tournament, GO!!!!
The Chicago Bulls won a close one in the last few seconds of the game. Final score 87-86. Derrick Rose had 27 points and Luol Deng had 18 points. **** This picture is of Derrick from Christmas Day, when they Bulls played the New York Knicks.
Someone needs to tell the Miami Heat that there are 4 quarters in a game. Actually, don't. I like watching them lose. I'm down with Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Dwyane Wade. I'd toss LeBron James and Chris Bosh in two seconds.
Regardless, I can already hear the "We need to take a long hard look in the mirror," talk and I've already silenced their voices and excuses in my head. Seems like just yesterday that those fools were counting all the championships that they were going to win on their fingers. Fools.
Here's the clip of LeBron counting all the championships the Heat are going to win, now that the unholy union has been formed in South Beach.
The Bulls and the Heat met most recently on February 24, and the Bulls won that game also. I'll share my favorite clip from that game with you. It's Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh. Bosh falls and tries to sell a hard foul to the refs. It's pathetic.
The Miami Heat are the anti-Charlie Sheen. They're not winning.
Icing on the cake? According to Brian Windhorst (Twitter: WindhorstESPN), "Spoelstra said some Heat players are crying in the locker room at the moment."
Seriously though. There's no crying in professional basketball. These guys need to man up. At least they didn't blame the refs for the loss like Gabrielle Union (i.e. Wade's girlfriend, Twitter: itsgabrielleu), "Congrats REF u just won the game...how does that feel???!! Great game...too bad the ref bet on the bulls."
Thanks to my friend, Teri, I scored a ticket to NBA All-Star Saturday night. This is not an easy ticket. When I stopped at VIP Tickets to see what they had in terms of inventory on my way back to the hotel, and they only had upper-level tickets left. They were selling them at face value. I think that face value was $300-$315, I'm not really sure. I don't sit in the upper-level so I never saw the ticket price.
I got a text that my ticket was waiting for me at Will Call and walked to the Staples Center. I arrived just in time for the Skills Challenge. Perfect timing. Stephon Curry won the Skills Challenge, but here's a good one of Derrick Rose competing.
Cee Lo Green rocked green, performed his hit, and then found his seat for the 3-Point Contest.
Cee Lo Green talking to Spike Lee on the way to his seat
After Cee Lo's performance, it was time for the 3-Point Contest. Paul Pierce was the two-time champion and is from California, but since he's a Celtic the crowd booed him. Ray Allen, who surpassed Reggie Miller as the 3-point king, also competed in the contest. Surprisingly, out of the pack, the Miami Heat's James Jones ended up winning. While Kevin Garnett and rooted on his teammates, Dwyane Wade (i.e. and his son) cheered Jones on from the front row.
Far East Movement performed after the 3-Point Contest.
Last but not least, was the highly-anticipated Slam Dunk Contest. The favorite to win was Blake Griffin, but JaVale McGee and DeMar DeRozan weren't about to lie down and die. Javale McGee dunked 3 balls at once. He also brought out another hoop to dunk two balls at the "same" time. Ultimately, Blake Griffin won and his final dunk was the one where he jumped over the front of a car with a gospel choir singing, "I Believe I can Fly". Wild Stuff!
If you want to see the highlights, I'm sure you can Google for them. I may try to upload the video I have later. Until then, enjoy the pictures included.
I was talking to my friend, Teri, over the weekend and we were talking about the Eastern Conference and how it's "weak" relative to the Western Conference.
The final 2 spots in the East as of now are being held by 2 teams that are below .500. When was the last time any of you basketball fans were clamoring to see the Sixers or the Pacers this year? Yeah, I know. Me neither.
Boston Celtics
Miami Heat
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks
Orlando Magic
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers (17-23)
Indiana Pacers (16-22)
Granted it's still early, but my initial reaction is "ewwwwwww".
I like the Boston Celitcs on top and with Kevin Garnett back in the line-up, let's hope they stay healthy. Now I just need to check and see if there's a time table for Kendrick Perkins. I know Perkins has practiced, but last I saw he was on the bench during the game.
I'm anti-Lebron but pro-Dwyane Wade/Erik Spoelstra/Pat Riley, so I'm torn when it comes to the Miami Heat. Even being anti-Lebron, I have to admit that play when he twisted his ankle, went out of bounds, and then drained a 3 from the corner was impressive. Yes, I'm not blind. I saw it, and I was impressed.
How about Derrick Rose's triple double (i.e. granted it was against the Memphis Grizzlies, but it still counts)?!?! What about Kyle Korver's 3-point shooting? If those guys can keep up the effort and keep making shots while Boozer is out, then I'd consider the Chicago Bulls to be a viable threat. I'm just not sure about their strength with Joakim Noah still out of the line-up.
I think the biggest surprise is Atlanta. In the words of Elmer Fudd, they've been "very, very quiet" yet the numbers don't lie (27-15).
I like the Knicks and am impressed with how well Amare Stoudemire is playing. I anticipate heading to Madison Square Garden again before the NBA All-Star break to catch the Los Angeles Clippers and/or the Los Angeles Lakers in town. I'm not sure how long the Knicks can continue to "bring it", but I am pulling for them.
Today I went to Madison Square Garden for my first New York Knicks home game. The Knicks were hosting the Chicago Bulls and my seat for the Christmas Day performance was SICK!
I was sitting about 5-6 rows behind the Chicago Bulls bench. Don't get me wrong... When I don't have a horse in the race, I have a tendency to root for the home team. As a girl who adopted the Knicks as her team (i.e. when Patrick Ewing was drafted), I also had reason to root for the Knicks.
Earlier in the week Charles Oakley was named to Paul Silas' Charlotte Bobcats coaching staff, and I received a free pass to not have to go home to Ohio for Christmas. Soooooo, of course I took it as a sign to go to New York for the day and watch the Knicks at home.
I decided to take the train, since Amtrak dropped me right off at Madison Square Garden and I didn't want to risk driving in holiday traffic. The game tipped off at 12 noon and I arrived at The Garden with about 80 minutes to spare before the opening tip. People were arriving early. Before 11AM, when they started to let people in the entrance was packed full of people standing shoulder to shoulder.
As I walked in and went to my seat, I started to take in The Garden. Yeah, the Knicks game was a sellout and you could tell that the Knicks fans were ready to battle. There were a decent amount of Bulls fans in the stands, but they even seemed to be cheering for the Knicks here and there.
Another thing that was strange. The Knicks were wearing green uniforms... Yeah, I get it. It was a decision to make the game appear more festive for the holidays (i.e. green for the Knicks, red for the Bulls). Admittedly, as a "basketball purist" I thought the green was corny.
Today's match-up was a high-flying, physical game and I was excited to see Amare Stoudemire perform with his "new" team. Amare delivered 20 points, 10 boards, and 6 blocked shots. For those of you that think Amare doesn't play defense, he did his best to show you what he could do today. For all of you doubters, that was your Christmas present.
2 of Amare Stoudemire's points
Since I was at the game, I wasn't paying attention to numbers. I had to check the box score, but here are the details. Raymond Felton came up big with 20 points and 12 assists. Danilo Gallinari was not to be ignored, since he hit 75% of his 3 point attempts and finished with 15 points. Wilson Chandler also dropped 15 points and gathered 10 boards. The Knicks were balanced and earned the victory.
The Bulls were without Joakim Noah, but Carlos Boozer and Derrick Rose came up strong. Boozer dropped 26 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. Rose had 25 points and 8 assists. I took another look at Kyle Korver, and I still think he resembles Carrot Top.
Boozer looking light as a feather
The Knicks ended up winning the game and defeating the Bulls with a final score of 103-95.
I can cross Madison Square Garden off of my list. By the way, parents please listen. If you bring your child to a basketball game, please make sure the kid either wants to be there or is old enough to tolerate being there. I was sitting next to a kid who screamed, "I want to go home!" for most of the 3rd quarter. This wasn't pleasant for anyone in earshot, and believe me ~ this kid had a set of lungs!
Thanks to Amare Stoudemire's effort, the "Christmas" party at The Garden was also a "block" party! Enjoy the pictures from the game.
**** Oh and did I mention that David Kahn, President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves was sitting behind me during the game? Maybe it's something. Maybe it's nothing. It is interesting though...
Last night, I parked myself in front of my TV and flipped channels. That might sound lame to some, but for me, it was about all I could handle.
First up was Game 3 for the Washington Caps and the Montreal Canadiens. I started watching hockey, 15 mins into the game. Before you knew it the Caps were up 4-0. Nice! Realizing that the Caps didn't need my moral support I started focusing on the Cavs game.
The Cavs were up 10 points and Shaq was on the bench sweating like Patrick Ewing. A 10 point lead isn't the end all, especially since it was early, but I wasn't interested in watching the game. No matter how I tried to get into the game, the Cavs v Bulls series just doesn't interest me. I don't believe that the Bulls are a threat to the Cavs. I'm not a fan of Joakim Noah either. I didn't like him in college, and I don't like him in the pros. He seems awkward to me. I remember I had dinner with some of my sporty friends and one of them told me that Noah was killing it on the boards and really proving himself. As I politely smiled and then yawned into my napkin, I'm sure my disinterest was apparent. The only Noahs that interest me are Yannick and the one who managed to gather pairs of animals and survive a storm for 40 days and 40 nights. Both of those men's stories, I find far more fascinating than the youngest Noah. Shoot... When I was in Paris, I found myself intrigued by the billboard I saw for Yannick's concert. However, while in Chicago, Joakim was the furthest thing from my mind... I wanted to see Derrick Rose and the United Center. Yep, the building was more exciting to me than Joakim.
Yannick > Joakim
**** There's an "I hate Joakim Noah" facebook group. I thought about joining it, but next to "Affiliation" it reads, "Peyton Manning is overrated." Um, excuse me. As a Colts fan, I'm definitely not down with that. Oh well. They almost had me.
Can someone tell me what Joakim's problem is? Why does he think he can start jawing with LeBron James in Cleveland? Further to cement, my feeling that Noah is just terrible, check out the video of him trashing Cleveland. Now, I'm sure that Cleveland isn't at the top of the list in terms of vacation destinations, but I'm also confident that there are at least 20,000 people who'd be more than happy to put Noah on the Rapid and send him back to the airport. Don't worry, Joakim. You'll be on vacation soon enough! Feel free to go wherever you want in the off season.
The last game I watched was the Jazz v Nuggets game. It was Game 2 and was being played in Denver. The injury riddled Jazz managed to defeat the Nuggets. Injury riddled... With Kirilenko out and Mehmet Okur rupturing his Achilles it should've been an easy game for the Nuggets... "Should" was the key word. What is going on with the Nuggets? Sure, they're not the same team they were now that George Karl is tending to his health, and Adrian Dantley has assumed coaching responsibilities. George Karl's presence is obviously missed. I know Adrian Dantley is knowledgeable, but he only had 1/10 of the passion to win last night's game compared to me. I'm actually a little surprised that the folks in Denver didn't tell me to, "Shut up," because my inside voice was SCREAMING last night.
The Nuggets are supposed to win this series! Am I the only person that knows this? Has anyone told the Nuggets that they can and should win? ARGH! It's almost as if the refs didn't want the Nuggets to win either. Is it just me, or did it seem like every time I heard a whistle blow, one of the Nuggets had drawn a foul. Crazy...
**** I just checked. Numbers don't lie. Fouls for Denver looked like this:
Anthony: 6
Nene: 5
Martin: 5
Afflalo: 5
Billups: 5
I was still steaming after the game and started thinking ahead to the Suns v Trailblazers game in Portland on Saturday. I remembered thatI knew a former front office executive for the Blazers and decided to drop him an email. I also started thinking about Carlos Boozer and got reminded of the debacle in Cleveland when he duped management and left for Salt Lake City. Don't remember? How can you forget? Well, just in case you can relive the nightmare by reading the following link. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/ian_thomsen/07/09/paxson.boozer/index.html
Being a Cavs fan, I'll say this. I know Gordon Gund to be a class act, and I respect Jim Paxson. I believe in Paxson's basketball knowledge. Based on those statements, you can deduce how I feel about Boozer (i.e. especially when it comes to the Cavs). Boozer had a very strong performance last night. Come on Denver, let's stop getting tattoos, practice, get it together, and WIN!
Kenyon Martin had 15 pts, but was hampered with 5 fouls Monday night
Actually now that I think about it, when the Nuggets were in town to play the Wizards, the Wizards won 107-97.
Seriously... What is wrong with Denver?
Enough about all that. Today is a brand new day and there is a full slate of games on tonight.
Bucks and Hawks tip at 7.
Heat and Celtics tip at 8. **** Earlier tonight, for his Twitter fans, dwadeofficial, posted this: "First 1 to get this question rt. How many players on Miami and Boston R from chicago??? And name them." If you're not on Twitter and you're a fan, you might want to correct the situation.
Trailblazers and Suns tip at 10:00.
Thunder and Lakers tip at 10:30.
If you follow this blog, you know who I want to win... Let's go guys! BRING IT!!!
Last night I made my first trip out to the United Center to watch a Bulls home game. If you're a Bulls fan and you missed last night's game, you should be ashamed of yourself! Upon arriving to the United Center, I didn't see any scalpers outside so I went ahead to the ticket window and picked up the best ticket they had.
When I entered the arena, I decided to look for a Bulls hat and had my heart set on getting a red one, especially since I was wearing my green Masters hat and realized it appeared as though I was rooting for the Celtics. Whoever is in charge of Bulls merchandise needs to recognize that it's an unwise decision to only offer the fitted red hats with the simple Bulls logo. It's even dumber to only offer those fitted red hats in the size XL. Good luck trying to move those hats. **** I settled on an adjustable white hat.
Can anyone tell me why there seemed to be a carnival theme on the concourse? I saw a lip reader, a man with a rubber duck, and a magician out on the concourse. I didn't make a full lap, but I can only image what else I missed. The bands playing on the concourse were great, and the people that stood to listed to them play definitely enjoyed the sound.
When I sat in my seat, the first thing I did was look towards the rafters. Here are the banners that interested me. I also noticed a ton of Chicago Blackhawks banners and began to regret not going to Sunday's game. However, there's no way that I would've been able to muster the energy.
The Bulls are in a dogfight with the Raptors to keep the 8th and final spot in the playoff race in the East and needed to win.
Opening tip: Game on!
Ultimately the Bulls defeated the Raptors, 101-93. Derrick Rose scored 39 points (i.e. a new career high), and Kirk Hinrich scored 30 points (i.e. season high).
Scottie Pippen was in attendance and received a warm ovation as he was commended on his Hall of Fame induction.
Scottie walked out onto the court
For the half time show, the Bulls had Christopher. I've seen many half time performances, and Christopher's Michael Jackson act is special. If you haven't had the pleasure, here's a clip for you.
During the game, Rasheed Wallace even helped the Bulls out, when accidentally he scored 2 points for the Bulls when he shot at his own team's bucket.
Told you... If you are a Bulls fan, you should've been there!
Any if anyone in charge of selecting items for the team shops reads this, why not offer something like this? Women don't want fitted hats...
