The Regulator

The only person who didn't under estimate the Phoenix Suns was Charles Barkley. Phoenix took the playoffs by storm, slaying giants like a modern day David. They stood toe to toe and blow for blow with the Lakers. In every boxing match at some point a fight will break out and the suns hit the Lakers dead in the mouth and didn't back down.
Just as every champ faces the up start number one ranked contender and finds a way in the latter rounds to muster up a title defense, so did the Lakers. If ever a series brought out the heart of a champion, it was this one. This Laker team showed a resolve and a toughness like never before. They countered every run that Phoenix made. As Champions do, they found a way to win.
Now its back to the grill again, Boston Gardens, Celtics, Lakers, and an under tone of payback. The saga continues for the quest of one for the thumb in the historic career of Kobe Bryant. The key lies not in Kobe's hands, but in the hands of Ron Artest. The match ups in this series are tailored made for Ron. He has spent the last 2 series chasing down some extremely athletics forwards, now he faces a more conventional in the paint Paul Pierce. At times Paul will stretch the court and throw up some threes, but not at the likes of Kevin Durant or Jason Richardson who Artest had to face. Paul's lack of speed plays to the tune of the strength of Ron Artest.
If you remember the Chicago Bulls back in the day, there was one individual to me that made the flow of the triangle offense complete. Horace Grant. Because of the attention that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen drew, Horace Grant often had open 10 to 15 foot jump shots. We saw this happen by design in the series against the Suns more so then the actual flow of the triangle offense with Ron Artest being given open shots. What makes Artest the key to this series is he can stretch that 1o foot jump shot into a 3 pointer. This will force Boston to switch on pick and rolls to protect the 3 point line giving way to an open lane for Kobe to dish and dominate in the paint without the worry of a double team.
In games past, the Celtics have always been able to double Kobe in the paint and clog the lane. I guarantee you, if Ron Artest can average 20 points throughout this series it will be very hard for Boston to beat the Lakers.
Granted we need for everyone else to play their normal roles offensively and defensively, but so as Ron goes, so will the Lakers go.

Back 2 The Grill Again.

I hope everyone peeped out game on the locker room interview on TNT when Michael Cooper presented the Western Conference Championship trophy to the Lakers. There was no celebrating, no clowning, no smiles. The Lakers have a championship attitude, this game just gives you a shot to win the title and that's it. The Lakers are about business and don't get it twisted Pay Back is coming, recognize it when you see it.

1979 World Series Champions "We Are Family"

The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates had 98 wins and 64 losses and captured the National League East Division title by 2 games over the Montreal Expos. The Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds to win their 9th National League title, and the Baltimore Orioles to win their 5th World Series Title.

Opening Day lineup

1. SS Frank Taveras
2. CF Omar Moreno
3. RF Dave Parker
4. 1B Willie Stargell
5. LF Bill Robinson
6. 2B Rennie Stennett
7. C Ed Ott
8. 3B Phil Garner
9. P Bert Blyleven

The Pirates became one of only six teams in the 20th century to have won a World Series after trailing three games to one. Two of those teams were the Pirates, in 1925 and 1979. The others were the 1903 Boston Red Socks (in a best-of-nine series), 1958 New York Yankees, 1968 Detroit Tigers and 1985 Kansas City Royals. Five Pirates had 10 or more hits in this series, a World Series record.
Willie Stargell at 39 was the oldest player to win MVP honors for both the National League and the World Series. In the World Series, he hit .400 with a record seven extra-base hits and matched Reggie Jackson's record of 25 total bases, set in 1977. Stargell, pitcher Bruce Kison, and catcher Manny Sanguillen were the only players left over from the1971 World Series, when the Pirates faced the Orioles. Orioles' pitcher Jim Palmer, Mark Belanger, and manager Earl Weaver were the only ones who were still with the team that faced the Pirates in 1971.

Game 1

October 10, 1979

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	4	11	3
Baltimore	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	6	3
W: Mike Flanagan (1-0) L: Bruce Kison (0-1)
HR: PIT – Willie Stargell (1); BAL – Doug Decinces (1)

Game 2

October 11, 1979

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	11	2
Baltimore	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	6	1
W: Don Robinson (1-0) L: Don Stanhouse (0-1) S: Kent Tekulve (1)
HR: PIT – none; BAL – Eddie Murray (1)

Game 3

October 12, 1979

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Baltimore	0	0	2	5	0	0	1	0	0	8	13	0
Pittsburgh	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	9	2
W: Scott McGregor (1-0) L: John Candelaria (0-1)
HR: BAL – Benny Ayala (1); PIT – none

Game 4

October 13, 1979

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Baltimore	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	6	0	9	12	0
Pittsburgh	0	4	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	6	17	1
W: Tim Stoddard (1-0) L: Kent Tekulve (0-1)
HR: BAL – none; PIT – Willie Stargell (2)

Game 5

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Baltimore	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	6	2
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	3	x	7	13	1
W: Bert Blyleven (1-0) L: Mike Flanagan (1-1)
HR: BAL – none; PIT – none

Game 6

October 16, 1979

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	4	10	0
Baltimore	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1
W: John Candelaria (1-1) L: Jim Palmer (0-1) S: Kent Tekulve (2)
HR: PIT – none; BAL – none

Game 7

October 17, 1979

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	4	10	0
Baltimore	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	2
W: Grant Jackson (1-0) L: Scott McGregor (1-1) S: Kent Tekulve (3)
HR: PIT – Willie Stargell (3); BAL – Rich Dauer (1)

Celtics 96 Magic 84

And Then There Was One.

Great game. Congrats to the Celtics and much respect to Nate Robinson for acknowledging his faith and belief in Jesus Christ during his halftime interview.

3 The Hard Way

I've never seen these 3 shots ever blocked:

1) George "Ice Man" Gervin's Finger Roll

2) Kareem "The Captain" Abdul Jabbar's Sky Hook

3) Julius "Dr. J" Erving's Slam Dunk

Holla at your boy if you know different.

Sometimes The Game Ends Before It Begins

In 1984 Christopher Scott Washburn was one of the top 3 high school recruits in the nation. The 6'11 Center out of Laurinburg Institute along with John Williams and Danny Manning were on the wish list of just about every college recruiter.
Washburn signed with North Carolina State University as well as Vinny Del Negro and Nate McMillan, forming one of the best recruiting classes in the nation.
Washburn was known on the court as an incredibly gifted athlete, Washburn combined incredible size with blazing speed for a big man with soft hands. But off the court and in the classroom was a totally different story. According to some of his former teammates, Washburn was a student in name only. It is alleged that he almost never attended classes, but Washburn remained eligible to play. While at N.C State Washburn was prosecuted for stealing a stereo. During his trial, the Wake County District Attorney introduced as evidence Washburn's SAT scores, which were below 500 out of a possible 1600 with 400 being the starting score.
Washburn only played one full season with the Wolf pack, at times displaying potential to take his game to the next level. He averaged 17.6 points a game and 6.7 rebounds, sharing time in the front court with future NBA players Charles Shackleford and Chucky Brown. Washburn's best game was agaisnt future NBA draft pick Brad Daugherty on Feb. 23, 1986. Before a nationally-televised audience, Washburn scored 26 points as the Wolfpack upset the then-ranked #1 Tar Heels 76-65. Washburn efforts on the court were over shadowed by rumors of grades being altered to maintain his eligibility.
Washburn left N.C. State after the 1985-86 season and was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 3rd overall pick of the 1986 NBA Draft. The highlight of Washburn's career came during an exhibition game in his rookie season against the New York Knicks, Washburn scored 16 points. Tendinitis in his knee resulted in Washburn taking anti-inflammatory medicine which led to a kidney infection. On January 28, 1987, Washburn checked into a Van Nuys drug rehabilitation clinic to deal with a cocaine problem.
Washburn played 72 games over two seasons averaging 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. He is widely considered to be one of the biggest busts in NBA draft history. Washburn was banned from the NBA for life in June 1989 after failing three drug tests in three years. By the mid-1990s, Washburn was still trying to scrape together a basketball career in various minor professional leagues. At last report, Washburn was working in the mortgage business in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
For every player that makes it, there are 5 Christopher Washburns that don't. The first rule to college athletics is "Use the system, don't let the system use you". What I mean by that is fair exchange is not considered robbery. Play the game in exchange for an education. Don't give your effort and talent away without getting anything in return. NBA dreams are cool, but no one cares about you when your jump shot starts to fade. SAT scores and class room attendance versus final four appearances and shoe contracts, in the end they win and you loose.

Tennis Anyone?

7 time Grand Slam Champion Venus Williams defeated her first round opponent Patty Schnyder at the French Open with the greatest of ease. (6-3, 6-3) But for some reason nobody remembers the match itself, other than the fact that Venus was wearing a lacy, black dress with bright red trim on her bodice and a black overlay material that made the dress appear as if it was see through, even though it was not.
As of today May 28th, the 2nd seeded Williams has advanced into the fourth round of the French Open for the first time since 2006. Venus had little trouble Friday, putting together a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 26 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, who was a semifinalist at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament last year. And lets not forget she was wearing the same lacy black dress that generated so much buzz after her wins this week, Williams hit six aces, and her 20 winners were twice as many as Cibulkova’s total.
Lets keep it real about tennis outfits, Venus's dress was no more shorter or more revealing than anything else that has been worn in a tennis match. For some this would have been a fashion statement. For others, (Venus) its a mark of controversy. And in the sports game if you win while being controversial, that makes the original controversy even more controversial.
I think its a little too late to point the finger at one dress in a sport where all the female participants dawn some type of short, semi revealing outfit. Now when Venus comes to match wearing a thong and pasties, then you have controversy.

One Lucky Shot Deserves Another.

Game 5 was all that. Steve Nash was a beast. J. Rich went to the bank and had funds in his account. D. Fish was kill'n it. Ron Artest was shooting like a gun slinger, but kept one in the chamber that made its mark, L.O had a stealth like 17 and 13 and Kobe did his thang. The Suns are getting ready to go fishing.

ONE FOR THE THUMB, THE SAGE CONTINUES.

3 is Cut Throat, 4 is a game of Spades.

Word in the street is LeBron James, Joe Johnson & Dwyane Wade are gonna get together and chop it up about each others plans for the summer. These young cats are doing it mob style, this is like the heads of families meeting.
IT AIN'T NO FUN WHEN THE RABBIT'S GOT THE GUN.
How many meetings have NBA owners had behind close doors where they decided who was gonna go where and how much money across the board would be offered? One of the coldest lines in a sports movie was from Any Given Sunday when Jamie "Willie Beamen" Foxx was talking to Al Pacino and he said "maybe its not about racism, maybe its about place-ism". The knockout line that made that statement was " the field hands get paid."
This meeting between the top free agents for this summers draft could have crazy ramifications that will change the course of NBA history. Its possible that all could agree to not accept offers from teams only to drive up the price for maybe one, two or all three of them. They could also decide to all team up on one team, at the max price for each. Even though player meetings are not illegal, I guarantee you if this pow wow flips the script and the NBA gets hit in the pocket book; David Stern may take a closer look at these extra curricular activities.
Of course some of the owners are screaming wage fixing and the elements of collusion between this modern day 3 the Hard Way. Collusion is a secret agreement between two or more parties for a fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purpose. Several NBA owners feel If indeed as reported the three players do meet, is it not fair to say that any decision made at that meeting could be considered collusion?
Where I come from we don't call this collusion; we call it cutting out the middle man. Why should these players sit back and let someone else decide their futures? My only question is "Did Chris Boch's invitation get lost in the mail, did he not get the text? These young cats are getting ready to pull spades and name a new trump. Sounds like 2 for 10 to me.

Don't Zone Out

For all you old school Chuck Taylor wearing, concrete courts and chain net street ballers, sporting high white socks and wave caps; could you imagine playing zone defense in a street game. NEVER. That's like a cat chasing a dog.
I remember back in the day if you didn't have any "D", you might as well kiss the courts goodbye cause nobody was gonna pick you up.
Gary "the glove" Payton , was one of those cats that would shut you down, call the police cause when he's on the court its a proven fact that he will steal. The NBA game was built on 5 players matching up and playing one on one defense.
For some reason a group of cats (the NBA Competition Committee) in 2001 decided the game was not being played the way most experts felt it should be played and that a more free-flowing, up-tempo type of game should be showcased. So the answer that these so called experts came up with was "zone defense in the NBA."
The concept of guarding areas instead of players should be left in the high school and college gyms. It is largely viewed as a gimmick to be avoided in a league in which nearly everyone agrees that each player should be held accountable for guarding his own man.