Rival Country

Interview with Max Neumann

2007-10-25T22:49:00.001-05:00

Rival Country will be making a move in theme. The new focus will be on Small Private High School Basketball. I have both played and coached at this level, and its something I am passionate and a little knowledgable about. I also think I can finally get an audience, however small it may be who will interested.

My first order of business is an interview with Max Neumann, the senior guard/forward from the Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, Maryland. The Hebrew Academy competes in the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference, a small private school conference in the Washington DC Metro Area. Max is a potential all-conference type player from Kemp Mill, Maryland. His stat line last year was 7.1-ppg, 4.0-rpg, 2.0-spg, 33%-3P. He is the leading returning scorer from last year's 14-15 Hebrew Academy Squad.

Rival Country: As a returning starter where do you think you fit on this years team?
Max: This year I feel that I have stepped into a big leadership role on and off the court. As the starting small forward, I play a large role in the execution of plays and I anchor the defense. Off the court, I pride myself on keeping the team in a close circle, which creates a positive atmosphere during practices and during games.

RC: What style of play do you prefer?
Max: I prefer a running style. Both an offense and defense which are focused on getting up and down the court quickly, controlling the tempo of the game.

RC:What are your strengths and what are your weaknesses?
My strengths includes being 'basketball smart', quick reflexes, long arms, a good stroke from beyond the arc and above average speed. My weaknesses would be aggression and upper body strength. I've been known as a lanky player, but it gets the job done.

RC: What did you do this summer to prepare for your senior season?
Max: This summer, I played on the varsity summer league team and spent some time running track and in the weight room.

RC: What are the big games you're looking forward to this year?
Max: We have two games against the Jewish Day School, our main rivals, and then after the regular season the team plans to attend the Saracheck Tournament, which we hope to make some noise in.

RC: Do you have any plans for college?
Max: In regards to sports, I don't really see myself playing anything. I do intend to attend the University of Maryland College Park Campus as an engineering student. This unfortunately means that basketball will fall to second on my to do list.

RC: Are there any players on the team that you expect to have a break out year?
Max: I expect our starting shooting guard, Benjy Karlin (2006-07 5.3-ppg, 2.2-apg), and out starting center, Efry Ahdut (2006-07 4.0-ppg, 3.6-rpg), to have break out seasons. They both possess multiple weapons, which they can use to attack an opponent. They both have excellent outside shots and have very strong quick moves to the basket. Until now, their opportunities have been limited, but this year they will have a lot more freedom to attack.

RC: What is your goal for the season?
Max: I expect nothing short of the PVAC championship banner and a saracheck tournament championship title. But until later in the season, I can only focus on the game at hand and try my hardest to win.

The Hebrew Academy is lead by long time coach Steve Achhammer and is in re-rebuilding mode after losing 9 seniors from last year's middle-of-the-pack PVAC finish. Joining Max, Benjy and Efry are seniors Jeremy Lamkyes, Michael Leeb, Yehuda Margulies, Paul Creeger, Yonatan Isser, and Jessie Fisch, juniors Hanania Falik, Brandon Berry, and Natan Haramati. The 2007-2008 season gets going after Thanksgiving with the annual alumni game.

The Itch

2007-10-22T23:49:00.000-05:00

Its about the time of the year that I get the itch for basketball. The air is turning a little colder, and the days are creeping towards November. Somewhere down in the pit of my being, I can feel that its basketball season.

I'm not longer an athlete, in any sense of the word and my recent coaching stint is over. Regardless, I imagine that for the rest of my life, I'll know when its time for vacant gyms to be filled with the sounds of full court lay up drills, wind sprints and offensive terminology.

I'm excited about this season. Gonzaga should against have a competitive season. Air Force will struggle, but should continue their unorthodox style. John Beilein is going to turn Michigan into a Big 10 version of his West Virginia squad. Harvard has Michigan's old coach, and could become competitive someday.

More than anything I can't wait for small to mid-major basketball teams playing on national tv. I can't wait to see players who have some idea of team basketball, passing and cutting, shooting the three with impunity. This is my time of year.

I love it.

Untitled (The Legend of B.J. Symons)

2007-10-14T21:49:00.000-05:00

5,833 passing yards
9 games with 400 yards of offense
448.69 passing yards per game
52 TD's
25 INT's
661 yards v. Ole Miss (3rd highest of all time, he also has the 7th and 15th highest games)

That's one season. ONE SEASON. Those would be pretty solid career numbers for most quarterbacks. But B.J. Symons only got one season to start at Texas Tech. Symons was a fifth year senior by the time he got a chance to play. Kliff Kingsbury had finally graduated and moved on to a mediocre NFL career (the same place Symons ended up). B.J. took advantage of the opportunity, as you can see up there. His worst senior game was 230 yards and his best was 661. He played the second half of the season with a torn ACL. The guy was a gunslinger through and through.

The point of this story, is that both that Mike Leach is a genius, and he has recruited some badasses. Looking back, Kliff Kingsbury was probably the worst QB of the Mike Leach era. B.J. Symons, Sonny Cumbie, Cody Hodges, Graham Harrell. All badasses

On that note Graham Harrell should be in the Heisman race this year. I agree with Mike Leach when he says that the fact that Harrell is really really good at what he does, should not work against him with Heisman voters.

European Basketball is More Fun to Watch

2007-10-06T00:34:00.000-05:00

If you care about basketball at all, then learn some Spanish, Italian or French and start watching European basketball. Its better. It really is. I can't throw and fancy stats out there to tell you why but I was watching a Spanish League highlight video today which included almost no dunking, and the dunking it did include was almost all produced by exceptional passing. What it did include was the aforementioned exceptional passing, players who could actually make jump shots, point guards making plays instead of dribbling around the court meaninglessly, big men with real post moves, and an unfortunate clip of Walter Herrmann taking off his entire uniform, so that he could dunk in his boxers.

I won't go on my rant about why the NBA sucks. Other than having a league filled with a bunch of offensively deficient guards, athletic post men with little or no polish, and being entirely focused on superstars and their personal achievements, it could be a good league. It is, as a matter of fact, infected with the sports league strain of chlamydia. Until it fixes the underlying problems, it will always have these unfortunate side effects. Those underlying problems are indeed a post for another day.

I digress. The point to be made is not that the NBA is crap, which it is. The point to be made is that European basketball is more fun to watch. Maybe not everyone on the court is a former dunk contest champion, and they don't run the 40 in 2.9874 seconds, but they can.......play basketball. Holy shit. Why would any pay millions of dollars to people that already have skill, when they could pay millions of dollars to unproven projects who repeatedly underachieve and end up playing in Europe anyway.

midmajority.com

2007-10-06T00:25:00.000-05:00

I am in love with midmajority.com. I think it is possibly the best website I've ever been to. When I invision everything I would want to be able to accomplish in a website, its all there. Alas, I have no programming ability, and the first year of law school (and the last 24 years of my life) is not the most convenient to learn. I love the whole concept of that website, and I think Kyle Whelliston is a very entertaining and knowledgeable writer. If I could steal or copy more things from his website, I would most definitely do that. There is more information, both expansive statistics and analysis, a map of every game to be played, a blog, an online store (an idea which I did steal), polls, humor, you name if. If you care at all about basketball in America, its there for your enjoyment.

I would like to say that I will someday live up to that standard set by midmajority.com, but it would indeed be a lie. In that light, I think everyone who happens to come across my almost completely ignored blog, should go there instead. Its just better. Really, it is.

Taking Saturday Off

2007-09-23T19:03:00.000-05:00

This past week I bought a copy of The Paper Chase for $9.98 from Amazon.com. The movie is similar to Scott Turow's book 1L in that it tells the story of student struggling through his 1L year at Harvard Law School. Hours and hours of studying, Professors that humiliate their unwitting students, and hordes of super intelligent students.

That is not my experience. I read 1L before law school and it scared the crap out of me. After a month, I'm not scared. I kept waiting for things to get crazy. I kept waiting for our professors to make someone cry. I kept waiting to struggle for hours and hours with abstract legal concepts. I also expected my fellow students to be a little more astute. None of the above has occurred. This is not to say that law school is easy. It certainly is not. It is also not to say that I'm any smarter than my classmates. Its more that I was hoping they'd be smarter than me.

I have been taking Saturday's off. I don't go to the library on Saturday. I didn't crack a book on Saturday. The only difference between this saturady and all my undergraduate Saturday's is that I feel guilty. As time passes on Saturday I feel legal studying opportunities fading past me. Should I study? Are my classmates ahead of me. What did I miss, am I falling behind? Ahhh.

Maybe I'll study next Saturday.

Rival Country Store

2007-09-23T18:59:00.000-05:00

All the fans I don't have can now purchase Rival Country gear.

Rival Country Online Store

Forget Law School, check this out

2007-09-21T19:24:00.001-05:00

Suns v. Spurs-Game 6

2007-05-19T18:38:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty desolate after the game last night. The Suns are literally the ONLY reason I watch the NBA. Since about 1999 college hoops has been my true interest. The only thing that kept me into the NBA that long was the Stockton/Malone era in Utah. Say what you will about those guys, but they played basketball like its supposed to be played.

Since they retired (and even before), I can usually find one team to go with to keep myself entertained into the summer. Its often been the Phoenix Suns with Rex Chapman/Kevin Johnson (To be fair I was a Suns fan from the time they got Barkley, and only took a break during the Stephon Marbury debacle) or the Indiana Pacers with Reggie Miller, or even the Dallas Mavericks when they had Steve Nash.

Since Steve got traded, I've been a Suns-only kind of guy. I drink the kool-aid when it comes to the Phoenix Suns. I think they've got it right, and once they tweak it the right way, and gain the necessary experience, everyone's eyes will be opened.

For some reason, playing high quality, fast paced basketball seems to be shunned by all of our basketball 'experts.' I don't understand this, at all. Nothing inherently wins or loses. When two teams in the league (PHX and GSW) play this up-tempo game, and EVERY OTHER TEAM plays a clutching, grabbing, slow the game as much as possible, type game, the odds are in favor of the majority style. Bottom line. The Suns will hopefully break through before Steve breaks down or Shawn Marion is traded, or whatever other doomsday scenario might exist.

The point of this is that the Suns had this series stolen. Period. You can't read the future, but after a series changing game 4 win, PHX has ALL the momentum, and then D. Stern lowers the boom on the series. Not fair, and not right. Rules aren't intended to ruin your most high profile yearly event for the sake of their own existence. The SA style is not inherently better, just more easily copied. Building a team like the Suns actually takes talent evaluation, foresight, and the ability to choose system specific players (L. Barbosa v. Marcus Banks being a perfect example of good vs. bad). The Suns drafted a franchise player after tanking a season, surrounded him with a few thugs, a few career foreigners, a cagey vet or two. But with the exception of Duncan, they're all interchangeable. Not the case with Phoenix. They build a team with a solid nucleus, shrewd basketball decisions, and an amazingly intelligent free agent signing, and viola. They get rewarded by having some low budget chump beat the shit out of said free agent for 6 games. Said free agent is also a 2 time NBA MVP, but for some reason he can't get a damn call.

I'm sick of the NBA. I'm just going to stop this blog now because it makes me mad. If I watch any more games it will only be because I accidentally forget to change the channel. I can't think of anything more boring than a potential San Antonio vs. Detroit finals. I want to vomit just picturing it.

What a pathetic joke.

Talk About Mixed Messages

2007-05-16T15:06:00.000-05:00

I'm with Steve Nash in response to the NBA's decisions in regarding the aftermath of the Suns/Spurs game 4.

"Disgusted" That's Steve's word, and now mine.

I just think that reality and common sense should have the final call. David Stern is way off base here. I heard him on the Dan Patrick show, and he was basically ignorning the issues at hand, and instead attacking Dan Patrick for having the audacity to insult his decision.

Mike D'Antoni on the other hand did a great job of being upset, without having a melt down. D'Antoni is my kind of coach. He's pissed, but still expects victory. I think its possible. Stranger things have happened. I wouldn't write off the Suns for any given game. Maybe a 7 game serious without Amare is out of the question, but on any given night, any team can win.

Here's hoping that Robert Horry's cheap shot doesn't screw the Suns.

Shhh...If you don't admit it, you're not wrong

2007-05-10T10:28:00.000-05:00

Game 1- San Antonio 111, Suns 105.

We have an insider blog by Marc Stein titled Same ol' Spurs Whip Suns. He's kidding right? A six point win, some only scored with suprisingly good free throw shooting by the Spurs at the end of the game, and Steve Nash on the bench bleeding profusely. I admittedly only got to watch the first half and the end of the fourth quarter because I had to go to practice. But, I must have missed something. Articles here, here and here seem to imply that no only was this game a loss, but also proof that Phoenix has no chance at all.

Game 2- San Antonio 81, Suns 101.

Twenty point blowout followed by nothing. The AP did a typical write up. That's all I could find. Silence among the analysts. No more doomsaying. No more chicken little.

Honestly. Isn't this to the point of ridiculous. If you're in the sports media you can yell and scream loud enough to make everyone hear you, but if you're wrong, you don't have to say anything.

Just be quiet. If you don't say anything out loud, no one will remember what an idiot you sounded like.

Alex Gutor

2007-05-01T00:09:00.000-05:00

Alex Gutor is an Outside Hitter on the Penn State Men's Volleyball team. In the upcoming 4-team NCAA Championship tournament his Penn State squad will match up with UC-Irvine in the semifinal round.

I played high school volleyball against Alex Gutor. I remember that during my senior year, he was the mysterious Eastern European player that the Greenhill School (Dallas, TX) had somehow procured. We were sure that he was some sort of volleyball machine. It turns out that he actually is.

During my junior and senior years in high school (and possibly beyond) Greenhill was on some ridiculous winning streak that I beleive got into the 50's. Alex was a big part of that, and the years of success that Greenhill had.

I wish him luck in the upcoming tournament.

Rising Sun

2007-04-25T18:56:00.000-05:00

So, the Phoenix Suns are amazing. I watched the first quarter of their game last night before I fell asleep. (I hate how work gets in the way of watching sporting events, I also hate how the East Coast is so far away from the West Coast)

Who would have ever thought a team that passed the ball, shot the ball well, and made crisp cuts to the basketbal would be successful?

I HATE typical NBA basketball. I hate isolation plays. The NBA is basically a bastardized version of basketball where they stand around waiting to see if someone is going to dunk it, or if the offense is going to be so disgustingly stagnant that someone who has been dribbling meaninglessly for the last 14 seconds jacks up a shot to beat the 24 second clock. Now, because its the NBA, they end up dunking it a lot, and often making those shots. But that's beside the point. Why not play the game the way its meant to be played?

VT Massacre and Aftermath

2007-04-20T08:16:00.000-05:00

If I haven't said it before, I'm saying it now. I hate the media. I hate their self serving, scandalizing, over the top, 'anything for drama' attitudes. What kind of organization(s) capitalizes on this kind of situation. They're creating the story. They somehow only talk to the people who want to blame the school. They don't talk to other school administrators, they don't talk to experts, they just talk to anyone that will throw the University under the bus. Its a sad sad situation.

This kind of event cannot push us to a 'lockdown' society. Every shooting can't stop life, every event cannot cancel school or evacuate 8 buildings. I'm sure that in the near future we'll be in a period of overkill, where anyone will be evacuated for anything. Then they cycle will go back around, and people will stop taking threats seriously, because they're so often empty. The media won't be there for that part. They won't pay much attention to the natural progression. I read a stat this morning in a TIME article (which I disagreed with on other grounds) that cites a Department of Justice Study:

"...in 2004 less than .1% of all homicides involved five or more victims."

This is not a crime that can be easily prepared for. This is not a fire drill, or a tornado drill. Every single instance is different, every single event could involve an entirely different approach. In some circumstance, mandating a 'lockdown' could work in favor of a sociopathic murderer. In other situations, mandating an evecuation could do the same. In all reality, even regulating such, can be of benefit to a sociopath, because they're going to do what they want to do, and if a uniform plan has been made, they know whats coming.

On another note, I am somewhat appalled at this idea that everyone who shows a little mental instability should be locked up. That seems to be what the newspapers are saying. Is there no where left for civil liberties? You can't judge individuals on their writings, their personal decisions in the way they act or dress, or socialize. There are thousands of Americans who are strange, anti-social, unfriendly, and indeed mentally disturbed. You can't lock them all up, you can't watch them all, all the time. This is not the Soviet Union.

Freedom is worth every cost. Even those people who died at Virginia Tech. Freedom, in the end, is all we really have. Once we let terrorists, lone gunmen, and the media scare us all into barricading ourselves inside, then they win. We might as well stop voting, stop working, stop going to school.

This shooter violated the social contract. But that doesn't mean its no longer valid. I would hope that through time and patience, we could look beyond the devestating events that took place at Virginia Tech, and that the Nation will heal. Because we can't walk with fear, afraid of what might happen.

March Madness

2007-03-28T13:41:00.000-05:00

I've recently discovered that I'm not interested in high powered basketball. I find no joy in a power conference team with blue chip recruits, and traditional, boring basketball. I want to be clear that its not any one of those things in itself that I find boring, but the combination. Georgetown for example is both a power conference school, with blue chip recruits, but it plays a very innovative Princeton-styled offense. Syracuse is a great example of a combination that doesn't interest me. I realize its a great program, I realize they're good at basketball. I just wouldn't watch them play if you paid me.

West Virginia. Air Force. Butler. Gonzaga. Marist. VMI. Winthrop. Princeton.

Those teams interest me. Princeton is included more for its historical relevance than for its current success. The others, at least in the past few years have been successful with somewhat unorthodox styles of play (in the case of Marist, success is relative. Honestly I just like the way they play, regardless of the outcome).

I love the Three point field goal. I feel like it is the greatest of equalizers. A team that can do it consistently and successfully can use that ability to overcome height or athleticism disadvantages. As much as I'd like to say that you could win on the three alone, I feel that the three point shot only opens up the game for said 'unathletic' team to be able to operate. Much like a dominant big man can open up space for his team mates, a great three point shooting team can create similar opportunities, from the opposite perspective (inside/out vs. outside/in).

The problems with this particular style of basketball is the necessity to have every player on your team be a perimeter scoring threat. Recruiting a college team like that is probably just as difficult as finding a top-20 recruiting class, just from a different perspective.

Unorthodox defenses also rank high on my list. Just last night I watched West Virginia and Air Force play (unfortunately not against each other) and saw WVU's 1-3-1 defense, interspersed with constantly changing man and zone schemes. The ability to change defenses on the fly is an underrated team skill. Air Force was running some sort of hybrid man-zone matchup. It confused the players from Clemson all night. The Air Force loss had more to do with ineffective offense, than defense.

I need these things to be interested. As a coach, I can appreciate the need to pound the ball inside to the big man, or to run your typical flex/motion/4-low/double post sets. They just bore the hell out of me. I guess if I coached teams that had more traditional players, then I could play more traditionally. The truth of the matter is that I'd rather coach a team that shot more three's and trapped the half court in a 1-3-1.

I Hate Losing

2006-12-13T10:50:00.000-06:00

Would you rather have a team that liked to win, or hated to lose? I think a team that likes to win is alright, but without superior talent and size, they aren't really going anywhere. A team that HATES to lose, they are driven. I want to clarify that I don't mean 'scared' to lose, I mean hates. You can't hate something that scares you.

The varsity basketball team at the Hebrew Academy is currently on a 3 game slide. To be fair, the three teams we played were all solid, though none were truly outstanding. Almost every team we play is physically and athletically superior. If that's all that mattered, we would have a track meet instead of a basketball game.
We have good basketball players that limit themselves mentally and emotionally. They say they're 'ready' for the big game and prepared to do what it takes to win, and then they piss themselves when the game starts. They freak themselves out so much that they're basically worthless on the court.

We played our arch-rival The Jewish Day School last week. Their team was no superior to ours in anyway. Yet, for some reason, in the heads of our players, JDS is on some pedestal. How ridiculous. They get so excited about this one game, but not in a good way. I feel like any team that takes itself seriously, stands up the challenge and goes after it. Instead our guys duck their heads and run. From a coaching standpoint its frustrating to see a superior team give away a game.

Basketball really is a mental game. If you're not mentally strong, you will not be successful. Mental strength is the basis for every aspect from the game. You have to have the discipline to apply yourself to learn the fundamentals, you have to have the mental strength to work through the pain of conditioning. It is necessary when you have to focus on the more suble points of advanced offensive and defensive strategy. Most importantly you have to have the mental strength to ready yourself for competition, to know when and how to apply your strengths and expose the weaknesses of the other team. You have to have the mental ability to refuse to lose. I thought our team had that mental strength. We spent all summer working on it, with a focus on conditioning. We spent the pre-season preparing this team for success. Through our first five games, it was going well. Then boom. One game, and we can't recover.

There are still plenty of games left, and every day is a chance to turn it back around, but for this season to matter, it has to be turned quickly. People need to step up, and play to their abilities, otherwise, we're just another middle of the road team, which might be ok for some, but not for me.

2006-05-19T14:26:00.000-05:00

Men's Volleyball

2006-05-19T11:37:00.000-05:00

As a blog that is read by no one, I can write things about topics that no one cares about, and no one will complain. Who ever said that total obscurity was a bad thing?

I recently finished a season coaching boy's vollyeball at the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy. We finished the season 2-14. Our two wins came against teams that had beat us in the first round of league play, and lost players to academic ineligibility before the second round. To be fair, our team got exponentially better. Mostly young kids, with a few seniors. Only one of our seniors was a legitimate volleyball player. The other guys worked hard (sometimes) and often suprised me with what they pulled off. They didn't listen well, and asked too many questions. But, nonetheless, they improved.

The quality of our league was pretty low. There were two teams who had any sort of sophisticated offense. Most teams actually resorted to playing on a rotation, filling in whatever spot you rotate to. This makes it hard to raise the quality of the league, becuase no one can specialize and people only spend one rotation at the position for which they are most suited. Difficult to excel that way.

Boy's/Men's volleyball seems to be on a down cycle. When I was in high school, a whole 5 years ago, it seemed like it was growing, at least in my particular volleyball world view. Lots of Division III programs were adding Men's Volleyball, the state of Texas had 2 different leagues with boy's volleyball championships (SPC and Tapps). Now there is one league, with only 8 teams, some of which have trouble fielding a squad every year.

Division I Men's Volleyball seems to be at the same place its always been, at least as long as I've been paying attention. NAIA also appears to be solidified as a volleyball league, especially since they are a little more lax when it comes to allowing foreign players with some questionable past experience.

I'm not sure where volleyball is going, but something needs to be done to stabilize its future in American athletics.

Hebrew Academy Basketball, a Coronary waiting to happen

2006-01-31T22:22:00.000-06:00

Well, I've been really bad about keeping up with timely posts about our games. After my last post, where things seemed pretty hopeless. Then we lost to St. Anselm's and The Field School. But in the 4th quarter of the Field game, something changed. I walked to our point guard and said, "Andrew, you have to score, or we're hopeless." At the time, I didn't realize that I was referring to our entire season, but I was. Once he started attacking the basket and hitting threes, our entire season turned around. We started out with a 10 point victory of Queen Anne, 57-47, a mediocre team. A good win for us nonetheless.

Next up was a somewhat more significant. We played the Washington International School. We were up at the half, but down by 13 going into the fourth quarter. Our head coach called a full court man press and we fought and clawed our way back into the game. With time running out, our center Daniel hit a tough put-back to send the game into overtime. In OT we basically just outplayed WIS to a 56-51 victory. Big win against a solid team. Andrew played his second brilliant game, knocking down 7 of 9 free throws in the 4th and OT, while making a number of excellent decisions.

Our next game was against Sandy Spring Friends School. They are a subpar team with one really good player, and they always give us trouble. Our head coach arrived late to the game, so the other assistant and I had to run the show for the first half. We went to the half down 9. When Coach showed up, he threw out the idea of a triangle and 2 defense, and we effectively stopped the other team. Holding their main scorer to 6 points, and pulling out a big win. Andrew was 4/4 from the 3pt line. Ehud missed most of the game after spraining his ankle.

The biggest win of our season came on January 26. We played the Barrie School, which was at this point 11-0 in conference. We systematically cut them down. We played better than we have played the entire year and beat them by 9 points.

Then we played a tough Waldorf team that gives us way too much trouble. We beat them by 8. The worst thing that happened is that Andrew broke his nose. He's now out for two huge game.

Tonight we laid an egg against Covenant Life, the second time they beat us this year. They're not that good. They only scored 21 points last night. We gave up 50. No Andrew today, and no Andrew Thursday against Jewish Day School. We'll see what happens.

Grace Brethren

2006-01-09T23:31:00.000-06:00

Tonight we played Grace Brethren, a bible school in southern Maryland.
Grace had a VERY athletic team, lots of fast breaking and pressure defense. Coming into the game they were 5-2. One of their losses to Sandy Spring, a very deliberate slow down team, a team we beat by 10. They were our only mutual opponent.

Grace is the kind of team that can hurt us, all their strengths are our weaknesses. Our defense isn't quick enough to cause the turnovers that normally help supplement our sketchy half court offense and their non-stop pressure takes advantage of our suspect ball handling. We hung around for the first ten minutes, mostly because we hit a few threes. That quickly ended because we aren't great three point shooters either. They hit a DEEEEP three at the buzzer, and we went into the locker room down 9.

In the second half we played like crap. The one bright spot was our point guard, a typically turnover prone young man who played out of his mind. When his entire team was playing scared, he stepped up and attacked the basket. Six assists to three turnovers, 14 points, and a couple steals.

The only bright spot of the game was the last 4 minutes. We cut the lead from 20 to 12, and got steals on consecutive possessions. We kept it respectable.

A very odd thing happened at the end of the third quarter. The Grace coach decided to run 4 corners against our 2-3 zone. Which effectively wasted the last 3 minutes of the half standing around. Oddly enough it totally threw off their offensive rythmn to begin the 4th quarter.

Current record: 6-4

2006-01-08T12:20:00.000-06:00

So, I haven't really posted anything since I moved to DC. I have a plethora of excuses, but because no one reads this, I will refrain from mentioning any of them.

When I started this "blog" (I really do hate that term) it was meant to focus mostly on the world of sports, with the occasional stretch to politics, or social commentary. I have done my best to leave my personal life on the periphery because this isn't a diary, and if it was I wouldn't post it online.

Since I moved to the DC Metro area (Rockville, MD to be specific) I have gotten myself involved in local sports to an extent. In early November I was hired as an assitant basketball coach for the M.J. Berman Hebrew Academy, a small orthodox Hebrew school. We compete in the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference against a mixture of other religion-based private schools. We cannot compete in weekend tournaments because the shabot begins Friday at sundown and goes to sundown on Saturday. All our players are required to wear a keepa (headcovering) at all times, though few want to.

We are currently 6-3. Many of our games are much closer than we should be. We have one player with previous varsity experience, and a few players who had never played organized basketball before in their lives. Our tallest player is 6'1". Our point guard has had 3 games with 8+ turnovers. Our best shooter was out for a month with a sprained ankle.

The kids on the team are totally different from any one I have ever played with. For the most part, I like all the kids. They were generally well intentioned, though they'll pick on you if they can. They don't practice very hard, there are at least 50 possible explainations for this, none of which I'm sure about. They also don't always play hard. For the most part they just don't "get it."

My intention is to "chronicle" the rest of our season to some detail here. The challenge will be remembering. Time will tell how I do.

NBA Dress Code

2005-10-19T15:57:00.001-05:00

I am a huge fan of the new NBA dress code. The code requires the players to wear business casual clothing while on the job. Welcome to reality. It is about time that a professional sports league begins to hold its players accountable as professionals. No one can show up at work wearing the crap that NBA players wear and expect to be taken seriously. They look like punks off the street. Or in Steve Nash's case, off the beach or maybe skatepark, whatever.

There have been claims of racism against the NBA for attacing the style of young black men. Stephen Jackson of the Indiana Pacers, in particular, doesn't have a problem with the dress, but he does not want to let go of his bling, and feels that it is a racist policy to say he cannot wear a large chain around his neck. His form of protest is to look completely ridiculous while wearing four large diamond encrusted chains around his neck. Once again, no one will take him seriously.

Raja Bell of the Phoenix Suns made a statment that goes a long way to prove that NBA players are generally clueless. He said, “We don’t really sell to big business, we sell to kids and people who are into the NBA hip-hop world. They may be marketing to the wrong people with this.” Hip-hop people around the world might associate with NBA players the most, but the NBA itself is a perfect example of a huge corporation filled with old rich men that are totally disinterested and generally offended by "hip hop" culture. How many do-rag, bling, baggy jeans wearing CEO's are pouring millions of dollars into the NBA? On the other hand how many NBA luxury boxes are filled with old rich people? When you get the answer to that, you have your answer to whether or not this is racially motivated.
It's pure economics.
Don't alienate the people who pay your bills.

Oh The Facebook

2005-10-17T01:03:00.000-05:00

I waited a long time to finally have the priviledge of wasting my quality time on The Facebook. I spent all four years of college wasting time on tv, sleeping, tv, and sleeping. Not until I graduated did my wonderful alma mater gain access to The Facebook. That didn't really slow me down though, I was signed up and ready to go before most of the actual enrolled students. It was so bad that during one trip to campus, I'd see people I had never met, and they felt like celebrities. Facebook celebrities.
It leads to conversations like this-

+"Oh dang, thats the girl from Houston, wow, she's just as pretty in person"
"What are you taking about, do you know her?"
+"Of course not, but I've seen her on facebook"

-The girl I had a crush on in 4th grade, her name is Celeste, she is now my facebook friend. If she has any clue who I am, I don't know. Maybe she is really nice and adds everyone. It doesn't matter, we're facebook friends now.
-A girl who was a freshman during my senior year of high school, we barely talk, but she's my facebook friend, we're cool. She's hot too.
-My ex-girlfriend that I am still very much interested in and who is also very hot, we're facebook friends, she hasn't blocked me yet, a good sign if there ever was one.
-All my friends from middle school, that I don't know anything about anymore, yeah we're facebook friends now

Another great thing about facebook is that it lets you know where you stand on the totem poll of success, especially someone like me who just graduated. My info reads something like this:
"Just moved to DC, now someone find me a job and a place to stay"
It clearly lets you know that I'm jobless and homeless.
Now I see my friends from High School, the ones at Harvard, Yale, MIT, other typically private northeastern school that everyone in America respects, and their information is more like:
"Just moved into my new place in NYC, I have a great job with a publishing house, I'm learning so much. I miss all my sorority sisters (or fraternity brothers)...blah blah blah.
Once they said they had a job, I quit paying attention.
I say that I graduated from Schreiner University, the first question is always asked with an odd look
"Do you mean the old guys with the little red hats?"
Then I have to explain that no, its spelled differently, its a small school in a little town in Texas that you won't have ever heard of,
"No, ma'am, Kerrville is not a suburb of Austin, yes Austin is very nice."

Facebook also allows you to keep in touch with people without really trying, Forget email, I don't even have to remember any ones address. Just click the message link, or if I want to show everyone that I too have friends, I can post on their wall. Letting everyone know that we share some memory, or inside joke, or that we like each enough to admit it in public.

Unfortunately, now that I'm out of school, I'm afraid my facebook friends list is going to be stuck in the mid-30's. Eventually people will stop checking it, after they're married and have kids. So my number will probably go down some. I'm definately not meeting any new people. I don't like people in general.
Unless they want to be my facebook friend.

Onward...

2005-09-22T23:13:00.000-05:00

In the near future I will be relocating to the great state of...oh wait, it's just a District... anyway, to Washington D.C. I am very excited about this move. Though the typical fear of the unknown and the sense that I'm leaving behind all the important people in my life have had some effect on me. Regardless, I'm ready for the move. Being the slacker that everyone already knows I am, I am going to do another Top 5 list, instead of an in depth piece on why I'm excited to be moving to the D.C. Metro Area. Top 5 lists are just so freakin easy.

5. More than one legal institution- They make the laws there, so the law firms follow. Hopefully someone there will be so desperate for decent labor that I can get hired. Either that or every over qualified politico-wannabe in the nation will have moved there before me, and will have taken every job...

4. Traffic- Oh wait, I hate traffic, I really really hate traffic. But they have a subway, so I don't even have to care yet.

3. Professional Sports- Oh yes, I can go see the Nationals, Wizards, Capitals, and the Redskins. If I get really desperate I can drive to Baltimore to see the Orioles, but I won't. In reality the only team I like is the Nats, but I can adapt, right?

2. College Sports- Georgetown Basketball, American University Basketball, University of Maryland basketball and football. Another great thing is that all the Big East schools come to play Georgetown, and the ACC schools come to play Maryland. George Washington also has an up and coming basketball team. All these schools have volleyball as well, and we all know that's my favorite.

1. General Excitement- I just want to do something. I need to get the hell out of my house.

Hurricane Katrina

2005-08-30T17:05:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to leave my condolences for the residents of New Orleans and coastal Mississippi and Alabama. The extent of the devestation is both shocking and suprising. It appears that Hurricane Katrina will have historical ramifications on the Gulf Coast region. I can only hope that the area recovers culturally and economically and that it develops a strategy to deal with future Hurricanes, as they are inevitable. Prayers should be said for anyone involved and I encourage anyone who reads this blog to donate time or money to the rebuilding effort.

T.O. is just wrong

2005-08-16T19:33:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to devote too much time to Terrell Owens. He doesn't deserve any more attention than he's already getting. My basic feelings are that he is a spoiled crybaby who isn't getting his way. He's making things worse and worse every time he opens his trap. He's alienated his team mates, especially his QB, his coach, the national media, and most sports fans. I listen to a lot of sports radio, and maybe once a day I hear a guy call in and try to defend T.O., only to be ripped by any given host of any given show. He is indefensible. The only positive thing I can see in all of this is that he has dug a hole so deep that he can't get out, and I think that he's starting to feel it cave in on him and it entertains me to watch him panic. He is a wide receiver that wants QB money. Its not going to happen. Ever.

Haters

2005-07-31T23:47:00.000-05:00

Everyone is a hater. It's true. Sports media is designed around hating. The only people who don't hate are the guys who write for SLAM, and those ass kissers hardly count as journalists. Look at Jim Rome, the guy his a professional hater. Sean Salisbury is also a professional hater, while being a pro idiot as well.

I am definately a hater. Not a total hater. I have 'my guys' that I support unconditionally, but anyone else does anything wrong and I jump all over them. I was listening to the radio today, and they were discussion Manny Ramirez. I think Manny is a spoiled crybaby who lives in a hotel and has the emotional maturity of a pre-pubescent girl. That is a perfect example of me being a hater. The man can do what he wants, but I feel like I can hate on him just cause he's a crybaby.

Is any body unbiased these days? If you listen to Fox Sports Radio in the afternoons you hear Brian Cox telling everyone about how football is more difficult than any sport. I have a hard time beleiving that Brian knows anything about soccer, lacrosse, water polo, or anything not in the big 4. Just because they aren't as popular as football doesn't mean they aren't harder. If anything they are less popular because they are so difficult.

Anyway, since I'm a hater myself I can't be too hard on these media guys for playing favorites and hating on everyone else. Even though they are all professionals and should be able to separate themselves from their personal feelings for the sake of journalism. Oh well, no biggie.

My Favorite Obscure Sports

2005-07-11T18:13:00.000-05:00

As Americans we're very familiar with the Big Three of the sporting word; football, basketball, and baseball. They're huge in terms of participation, exposure, and also in the world of economics. But they're not the end all and be all of sports, contrary to what the majority of the media think. People who know me know that I've always been one to appreciate the lesser sports and today I have decided to make a list of my top five favorite obscure sports.

Some rules for my list are as follows:
-The sport only has to be obscure in the United States
-It can appear in the Olympics and still be considered totally obscure
-The fewer people who have actually seen it played, the better

5. Rugby- A sport I have stayed up many nights to watch at 3am on Fox Sports World. I even figured out most of the rules after I rented an EA Sports Rugby game for the Playstation2. This sport is big in Europe, South Africa, and some of the Oceanic nations (paricularly New Zealand and Australia). Here in America a number of colleges and a few high schools have rugby club teams and some states have larger leagues or federations. For the most part though we are way behind the rest of the world in this great game. While our national team has won a few international games this year (most importantly a 20-19 squeaker over our Canadian brethren) against a higher opponent, The Welsh national team, we were cut down 3-77.

4. Cricket- Now this is a sport that I've only seen clips of on TV. I have littler or no understanding of how the game is actually played beyond the bowler throwing a ball at a hitter who is defending a wicket, or something like that. I tried playing once with some British folks, really didn't do very well. I'm not even sure if the U.S. has a team...ok, yes we do, but I can't even decipher what the scores mean. But I did find out that we beat Canada by 6 wickets, which unfortunately don't really understand, but we still won and therefore the U.S. Cricket team meets the only standard of success by which obscure American sports can be defined, beating Canada.

3. Water Polo- This is a great sport, somewhat more common in American schools, but it still can't get on TV. Water Polo is possibly the toughest sport ever. Imagine having to swim for an entire match while trying to execute offensive and defensive strategy as your defender tries to drown you. I had a little trouble finding actual international results, but once again the United States finished higher than the Canadians in 2003; USA in 6th, the Canucks 13th, that makes 3 for 3 so far. I also happen to know the name of one of the better players in USA Water Polo, Tom Acevedo, so that increases its prestige as an obscure sport.

2. Rowing- Another Sport that I totally wish I could participate in. I went as far as contacing the Dallas Rowing Club when I thought I was going to move there and for the record they were very open to new participants and even had classes for beginners. Crew is a very popular sport in American colleges, especially now that women's teams are being added for the sake of Title IX. That being said its just not that popular in America and most high schools don't have it. Its very expensive to get into (some shells costing more than $20000, and even the least expensive are a few thousand), and that limits anyone who would want to start on their own. Some places, such as San Antonio, TX don't even have a body of water that can support a club team. Nonetheless, this is an awesome team sport. It is so team focused that no one knows who the best rowers are, because they better they are, the less they stand out. In the 2004 Olympics the United States beat the Canadians in the Men's Final 8's competition, making the U.S. 4 for 4 against the hockey lovers.

1. Team Handball- A largely European sport that has aspects of soccer, hockey, basketball, rugby, and football. This game is not only unpopular in America, but almost nonexistent. A few large cities and schools have club teams and Atlanta has a club league. But many of these teams are filled with foriegn players. Some Americans do play, and for anyone that is interested the Houston Team Handball Club is a wonderful resource to learn more about the game, where you can play and links to other organizations. I was, for a short time, a representative member of the Houston Club, and I will admit that it is a top class organization. The sport can seem daunting at first but it is easy to pick up with hard work. I think some of the things that hold the sport back are the odd dimensions of an official handball court and goal which make it difficult to find somewhere to play, difficulty gaining proper instruction and equipment, and most importantly the lack of marketable success by our National Team, though hopefully that will change with the efforts made by American clubs like the one in Houston. Unfortunately at the 2004 NORCECA the U.S. National Team finished 2nd to the hated Canadians, and in the Pan Am Games we finished 6th to their 3rd, losing the head to head game 18-26. Ending our unbeaten streak against the Canadians. So we hope the National Team picks it up and beats the Canadians next year, after that its all gravy.

There you have it, that is my list. Anyone who reads this should go out and try one of these sports, they need the participants and they're all very enjoyable, though cricket might not be I really have no idea.

Thoughts on the NBA Draft

2005-06-29T00:22:00.000-05:00

I missed the first few picks (I blame The Target Corporation and their lack of efficiency and organization), So I can't really comment on what happened, I am happy that Mr. Andrew Bogut (left) was the first pick. Otherwise, I have a few other thoughts about tonights happenings.

-I'm SOOOOO happy that the Jazz did not draft Chris Paul. I could have no longer associated with them and it would have been tough to let go of the last 13 years.

-After listening to the Gerald Green/Martell Webster interview on the Draft preview on Monday night, I wouldn't have drafted Green too early either. The young man cannot complete a sentence or use proper grammar. How can he master a complex NBA offense?

-Too much UNC

-All the Seniors were great. Some of my favorites are: Channing Frye, Danny Granger, Julius Hodge, David Lee, Salim Stoudamire, Ronny Turiaf, and Travis Diener. I realize that this is almost all the Seniors, but that's ok. I can't imagine a greater asset than a successful college senior on your team.

-On that note, I don't understand why "upside" prospects that might possibly turn out SOMEDAY are drafted so high that they get guaranteed contracts while sure thing college seniors are taken in the second round even though they can help immediately. That seems backwards to me. For once I think the Spurs have it right. When they had a lottery pick, they took a sure thing. When they have a late first round pick they take projects that they can develop and as much as I hate to say it, it works for them.

For the most part I thought this was a good draft. Too many high schoolers got bad advice and are stuck trying to earn their way in from the 2nd round. I think this validates the new age limit. If these kids aren't good enough to go in the first round, they should go to college. That's it. Too many high schoolers aren't coming through for as many teams to take a shot. The Era of the high school phenom has mercifully ended. Next up...The Era of the prep school phenom. It's not quite a sequel, but the plot will be similar.

Title IX

2005-06-25T23:38:00.000-05:00

Taking a break from my recent NBA Draft theme I have decided to take a shot at Title IX. For a general overview of what Title IX is, I'm probably the wrong person to ask. But I'll give it a shot. Title IX legislature, as it applies to amateur athletics, saysthat women can not be discrimated against. Academic institutions have to show that the numbers of participation are proportionate with the gender breakdown of that school. The only way around this is to show that their is lack of interest in the under represented sex, and therefore no need to provide opportunities.

My main question when it comes to Title IX is, Does it really provide more opportunities for women's sports, or does it take them away from men? I repeatedly see schools dropping men's sports in favor of women's sports. Some of the more popularly eradicated men's programs are volleyball, wrestling, and gymnastics. Some of the more popularly added women's programs are soccer and crew, sports that provide large rosters, to help even out the male to female ratio. I recently read an article about the Northwestern University Women's Lacrosse team and their national championship win after only four seasons of existence. I later learned that two of their players, a set of twins named Ashley and Courtney Koester, had never picked up a lacrosse stick until the day they began playing for the NU varsity program. How is it truly fair to arbitrarily add women's sports that recruit girls on campus who have no experience, when their are a number of men who are turned away from schools after their lifelong dream of playing collegiate sports is denied when their sport is cut from the programs so the school can meet federal regulations.

Is the point of college sports to randomly decide that women deserve to play for no other reason than that they are women? I was under the assumption that the point of college sports was to award those who had worked hard with the opportunity to continue their careers while attending college.

I understand that my view isn't politically correct. But anyone who knows me, knows that I have an appreciation for some of the less popular sports in America and I don't understand why the men who play these sports are left out in the cold, while the women who never played their sports before are given scholarship opportunities in their place. Title IX is not a pro-women's measure, even though its taken on that quality over time. It's supposed to be an equality measure. That should mean that people are treated fairly, not that women get all the opportunities.

The new NBA Draft Age Limit

2005-06-23T17:18:00.000-05:00

Today I was reading a Salt Lake Tribune article by Gordon Monson that was condemning the age restriction placed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement which prevents anyone younger than 19 years of age on the day of the NBA Draft from being drafted. Mr. Monson claims that it is unfair to prevent young men from being drafted in the NBA when they can join the military. I'm tired of this comparison. For anyone out there who is confused, people in the NBA play basketball. People in the military have a number of jobs that could fall under the umbrella of national defense. No one is pretending that the NBA is more difficult or more important than the military. On that same note, you can't assume that a rule that works for the United States Military is in any way relavent to the rules that apply to the NBA. Not only does the United States military take people at age 18, they also take women. Should the NBA also take women?

You know what else the military does? It takes these very young people and it sends them to school to learn what they need to know. The military, unlike the people who think high school kids are ready for the NBA, knows that you can't teach someone how to do something in the line of fire without a good number of them failing. Fortunately in the NBA failure does not mean death, as it could in the military. You know who else has realized that a great majority of high school kids aren't ready for professional sports? Every other major sport. Major League Baseball, The National Football League, and the National Hockey League. Every once in a while, they get a phenom (just like the NBA has Lebron), but 99% of their young players go into the minor leagues, or in football's case, they aren't drafted until they're not that young anymore.

The NBA is a business. Every single franchise is an independant entity that has the right and ability to make an ass of themselves by drafting on raw potential. But are also linked to each other, and for one franchise to do well, the others have to do well also. Realizing this the NBA has hired a commissioner, David Stern. It is David Stern's job to keep teams from ruining the league. Monson claims that the new age limit is just to protect teams from themselves. Maybe it is, but SO WHAT? Does everyone not realize that if scores and player ability keep going down, that the NBA isn't permanent. It is a product that has to be continually sold. If the level of play goes down for any significant period of time, as it has been for the past few years, then that hurts the league. David Stern is here to protect the league, and he has. The only thing more that I wish he had done was make the age limit higher.

Vigilante Steve's 2005 Mock Draft

2005-06-18T16:12:00.000-05:00

My buddy Steve has taken it upon himself to become an NBA draft expert. He knows what Chad Ford is going to say before he says it. Since I only pay attention to people who the Utah Jazz might pick up, I figured I'd turn over our 2005 Mock Draft to Steve. I took the liberty of highlighting some picks I particularly liked and one player that I publicly hate.

2005 NBA Mock Draft
Updated: Jun. 18

1. Milwaukee Bucks: Marvin Williams
2. Atlanta Hawks: Andrew Bogut
3. Portland Trailblazers: Gerald Green
4. New Orleans Hornets: Danny Granger
5. Charlotte Bobcats: Chris Paul
6. Utah Jazz: Deron Williams
7. Toronto Raptors: Raymond Felton
8. New York Knicks: Channing Frye
9. Golden State Warriors: Ike Diogu
10. Los Angeles Lakers: Fran Vazquez
11. Orlando Magic: Antoine Wright
12. Los Angeles Clippers: Yaroslav Korolev
13. Charlotte Bobcats: Joey Graham
14. Minnesota Timberwolves: Rashad McCants
15. New Jersey Nets: Hakim Warrick
16. Toronto Raptors: Charlie Villanuena
17. Indiana Pacers: Martell Webster
18. Boston Celtics: Sean May
19. Memphis Grizzlies: Jarrett Jack
20. Denver Nuggets: Erasn Ilyasova
21. Phoenix Suns: Francisco Garcia
22. Denver Nuggets: Wayne Simien
23. Sacramento Kings: Chris Taft
24. Houston Rockets: Johan Petro
25. Seattle Supersonics: Roko Ukic
26. Detroit Pistons: Ryan Gomes
27. Utah Jazz: Ronny Turiaf
28. San Antonio Spurs: Mickael Gelabale
29. Miami Heat: Matt Walsh
30. New York Knicks: Andray Blatche

Others that may slip into the first round: David Lee, Andrew Bynum, Luther Head, Mile Ilic, Randolph Morris

Texas 7

2005-06-06T15:18:00.000-05:00

When it comes to colleges, people in the Northeast generally identify with Harvard and the Ivy League schools, Seven Sisters Schools, Patriot League Schools, or any other number of small private colleges (Middlebury, Skidmore, Swarthmore, and a number of other schools.

If you come from Texas, the only thing that matters is Texas, Texas A&M, and maybe Texas Tech. Private schools like Baylor, Rice, TCU, and SMU are taken seriously, but in all honesty they function much like state schools with large enrollment, facilities and large athletic departments. Smaller private schools in our fine state are more often actively associated with a Christian cause (see Howard Payne, East Texas Baptist, Letourneau, Lubbock Christian, Hardin-Simmons, Abilene Christian, Paul Quinn College, Dallas Christian College, and Dallas Baptist University, and those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head) .

On the otherside is a smaller number of schools that, while generally church affiliated, are more typically in line with the liberal arts school ideal (Schreiner, Trinity University, Austin College, Southwestern University, Texas Lutheran University, University of Dallas, and maybe a few more that I've missed).

For the most part these schools are combined in the American Southwest Conference (excluding Trinity, Southwestern, Paul Quinn, DCC, DBU, ACU, and LCU). This is a bulky conference with 16 members spread across four states. As if Texas isn't large enough in itself. The excessive travel involved makes little or no sense in terms of competition or financial consideration. I have a much better idea. Lets establish two new leagues. The first can be the Texas Collegiate Conference name, and can include all the current schools excluding Louisiana College, Mississippi College, and University of the Ozarks.

The membership would include:
1. Concordia University-Austin
2. East Texas Baptist University
3. Hardin-Simmons University
4. Howard Payne University
5. Letourneau University
6. University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
7. McMurry University
8. Sul Ross State University

This League would still be widespread, but a much smaller and more manageable schedule allowing similar teams to compete and allowing for non-conference scheduling that might help positively influence national tournament selection.

Our new league could be called the Texas 7 (even though one is in Arkansas)
1. Southwestern University
2. Trinity University
3. Schreiner University
4. Texas Lutheran University
5. Austin College
6. University of Dallas
7. University of the Ozarks

For these schools, associating themselves with each other will further their status as academic institutions, though athletically and academically Trinity and Southwestern are already somewhat superior. But they are all similar in goals and missions. Other considerations necessary to making this league work would be that Schreiner add a football program, and that Trinity and Southwestern leave their current conference. The league has 3 northern schools, and 4 southern schools, a more defined singular goal could be developed and cross conference play would provide a change in scenery and an increase in competition desperately needed in the region.

*After posting this I discovered that Austin College is leaving the ASC and joining Trinity and Southwestern in the SCAC. In all honesty I think its a better fit for them, and has little bearing on my hypothetical conference.

Shaq is not the devil

2005-06-03T17:57:00.000-05:00

I have never ever been a fan of Shaquille O'Neal. I have always respected his game, but think that he is a little outspoken when he should keep his mouth shut. All in all I guess he's earned his right to speak as much as anyone (Though I have always been bothered by uneducated athletes who speak out on public issues, much like movie stars, just being famous doesn't mean you know anything, even if people listen to you). But in the past few days I have changed my mind a bit about Mr. O'Neal. It was reported a few days ago that George Mikan, one of the greatest NBA players ever and the first ever superstar, died at the age of 80. George's family is apparently not as well off as it once was, for one reason or another and Shaquille O'Neal offered to pay for George's funeral. This is an amazing show of respect and kindness. At least for this week much love for Shaq-Fu.

Reggie is my hero

2005-05-21T01:10:00.000-05:00

This is all about Reggie Miller. I waited until his Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs to give my perspective on his career because I didn't want to jinx anything. I was honestly hoping that they'd force a game 7, or maybe pull the upset. I wasn't ready to see him go. But in the end the Pistons were a little too much for even Reggie to take. First, I'll just give the basics on Reggie for general perspective. His career stats: 1389 Games (7th all time), 47,619 minutes, 88% FT, 39.5% 3pt, 25,279 points (13th all time), 18.2 ppg, 8 seasons over 90% from the FT line, 10 seasons over 40% from the 3pt line, career high of 57 points. Those are just some of the highlights. They only encompass the regular season. We all know that Reggie did his real damage in the playoffs. Reggie is one of the greatest clutch shooters of all time, and definately the greatest clutch shooter of his era. No single player put fear in the hearts of his opponents like Reggie, even to his final series. Enough that the Pistons participated in the extended standing ovation given to Reggie at Conseco Fieldhouse (the only positive to going out when he did was that he got to end his career at home). He always gave his team a chance to win. He was also loyal in an era where loyalty has generally been abandoned, Reggie stayed true to Indiana for his entire career, passing up a chance to win a championship elsewhere. Reggie was public enemy #1 to every other team in the league, especially Spike Lee's Knicks. He single handedly made John Starks cry. He could run through a number of moving screens, get the ball just in time for his man to rush out as he busted another game winning fadeaway three ball at the buzzer. The only player that compares to Reggie from the clutch shooter standpoint is Rex Chapman, and Rex deserves an article all to himself. But Rex couldn't hold a candle to Reggie. Over time, Reggie has seen his role with the team change from superstar to role player. He is a consumate professional, tutoring younger players, yet repeatedly coming through for the team, much the way he did after the suspensions handed down to Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson. Reggie donates to a number of charities and spends his time visiting schools and hospitals. He was an amazing asset the National Basketball Association. I'm distressed about Reggie's retirement. As long as I've been paying attention, Reggie's been there to make it dramatic. But now he's gone. We're all better to have seen him play, except maybe the Knicks. He is a superstar, and future Hall of Famer, despite what the haters might say. Reggie Miller is my hero. Long live Reggie.

Local Sports Radio is both sad and pathetic

2005-05-20T23:09:00.000-05:00

The letter I am posting below is a letter that Steve and I put together in response to some ridiculousness by local radio hosts on Sports Talk San Antonio. I beleive the particular hosts today were Jeff Vexler and Nate Lundy, but I won't let Walter Pasacrita escape persecution. They are all horrible. They have limited basketball knowledge. They disclaim every statement they make with, "I've watched these guys play all year, and..." and then they make up some random crap that's totally bogus. So apparently they aren't watching. So, here's the letter, the radio guys didn't put it on air, maybe they'll see it here.

"First things first, I'm not a Spurs fan, but I have lots of respect for the team, except for Tony Parker. Second, I have a problem with your radio show. I don't understand how you can condemn the Seattle Sonics fans for cheering when Tim Duncan got hurt, and calling them unsportsmanlike. You spent the last week, at least (that's as long as I've been listening) talking about how the Spurs should "beat down" Ray Allen. So, I'm having a hard time understanding this, beating down Ray Allen is ok, but beating down Tim Duncan is not? I'm not even defending the Sonics fans, I'm just attacking you. You guys are ridiculous. Another complaint I have is that you claimed to have watched "a bunch" of Sonics games throughout the the year, yet you were somehow suprised that Luke Ridnour is a decent midrange shooter. Not even bring up the fact that he was one of the best 3pt shooters in the NCAA 3 years ago, he was a starting PG for an NBA team, and he shoots over 88% of the free throw line. How is it a suprise that he's a good shooter? It would be a suprise if Bruce Bowen made a shot, he is horrible. Another thing, the Spurs got taken to 6 games by a team without two of its best players (Rashard Lewis and Vlad Radmanovic), maybe you should calm down the callers who are already putting the Spurs in the Finals. The Suns might not be the "fundamental" team that the Spurs are, but they're alright, they only lead the league in wins and they continue to play extremely well with a short bench and an injured starter. Suns are playing a better caliber team than the Spurs just did, and they seem to be just fine. You guys change your minds by the minute, the callers are rarely informed. I've never heard a more biased radio show in my entire life. You are a disgrace to broadcast journalism.
Kenneth"

Dentists

2005-05-12T01:37:00.000-05:00

Dentists are evil. The root of all that is wrong with the world. I think that trips to the dentist have caused more pain in my life than any cavity has. I also think that they go to such great lengths to try and save teeth, but at they same time they're charging you up the ass for each and every service. I understand that they're trying to make money and I support their right to do so. But there's some sort of conflict of interest involved when a dentist advises you to take a particular course of action. How often do you get a second opinion from a dentist? Most of us has a family dentist, and just want to get things over with. This allows the dentistry to take your right arm and leg, without you even asking any questions. Just give them all your money now and pull out your teeth. DOWN WITH DENTISTS!!!

NBA MVP

2005-05-09T16:45:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Steve Nash for winning the NBA MVP award. I'm a big fan of this. I love Nash's game all the way around. I love his game so much that I can ignore his Canadianess. Which is saying a lot. Steve is one of the best ball handlers, passers, shooters, and decision makers in the league. His ability to see the floor is possibly matched by Jason Kidd, but Kidd isn't half the shooter that Nash is. I keep hearing this whole defensive liability nonsense about Nash. Is it because he's slow and white? Yes, yes it is. I won't even try to pretend he's a good defender, though I don't think he's as bad as his reputation claims. My point is that it doesn't matter. I'd rather have a great floor leader who hits big shots and makes great plays than an "athlete" who can D someone up. I'm totally against the whole "athlete" (aka Cincinatti Bearkat basketball) concept, but that's a topic for a different article. I also think that winning this award over Shaq is meaningful. Shaq is a dominant player who would be the first pick by any GM in the league, and an article by Skip Bayless (for the record, I think Bayless is a loudmouth idiot) at ESPN.com says all that needs to be said in favor of Shaq as MVP. My argument against Shaq and for Steve Nash is that the MVP of the league should be able to dribble, pass, AND shoot. There is no way that someone as disgraceful from the free throw line as Shaq should win. Fifth grade girls can hit 70% of their free throws, what's Shaq's damn problem? Good job Canadian Steve, way to win one for the guys who have actually mastered basketball skills instead of relying on their natural, undeveloped ability.

Graduation

2005-05-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

I finished my last final today. My undergraduate career has been completed. I'm not really sure what to do next. On one hand I'm amazingly releived to be done. I am one of the few members of my family that will have aquired a bachelor degree, and I'm pretty proud of that. I am happy that law school is in my near future, though I'm still not sure which one, or how its going to be paid for. On the other hand, I'm going to miss college. I've never spent more time screwing around in my entire life. I wish I hadn't transferred so many times, but I appreciate the different opportunites that came with my long trip. Miraculously I am still graduating in 4 years. All the other students out there graduating, I'm sure thy are often in the same boat I'm in. No clue what to do. I don't know much about insurance, much about paying real taxes, all the other things my mom has handled over the years, or which never applied to me because I didn't have enough money for it to matter. In some sense the people who didn't go to college have a leg up on me, having supported themselves for the last four years, they know all those things I don't. Statistically, in 10 years I'm going to be very glad I went to college but right now I pretty much have no clue. Regardless, I'm very damn excited to be graduating. I'm ready for what's coming my way. I think.

Gambling

2005-04-30T18:48:00.000-05:00

As a self-proclaimed novice in the world of gambling, I will say that it is lots of fun. Not the part where you lose all your money, but the action, and possibility of profit makes it pretty damn exciting. My only "official" gambling expedition came during a trip to Reno, Nevada with my buddy Vigilante Steve. More accurately we were staying in Fernley, NV, a "suburb" of Reno (even though its a 30 mile trip through an empty desert). My gambling experience was pretty limited, mostly due to my limited funding. I played some video poker in Fernley, and lost. I played some blackjack at the El Dorado in Reno, and lost. I bet on some college bowl games, and lost. I didn't get into table poker, craps, or roulette. In all honesty my inexperience with these games had as much to do with my non-participation, as my empty wallet did. Even blackjack has a set of unwritten rules that I definately didn't know. On top of that, every games moves quick. Which is a definite plus for the casinos, because many of us who have no experience throw our money away by not keeping up. My biggest complaints are that my damn blackjack dealer didn't speak English very well, and the blue cloud of cigarette smoke made it hard to navigate the casino floor. All in all my favorite gambling experience was the sports book. We made a parlay bet on 6 Bowl games. We lost, early. I can't remember which particular game. The bet taker was very helpful, and pretty laid back. He explained all the different bets, and odds to us, he showed us the different meanings of things up on the board. Some of the info I already knew, but it was good to get the whole picture all at once. I'd love to go back to Nevada (or another legal gambling state) and lose some more money. Hopefully this time it'll take more than 7 minutes.

I hate Chris Paul

2005-04-25T20:38:00.000-05:00

I have been outspoken about my biased dislike for Chris Paul. I think he is a loudmouth jerk, who repeatedly screws up in crunch time. Somehow he has blinded all of the world. A recent ESPN Insider column described him with "...tough, technically sound, doesn't make a lot of mistakes and is one of the smartest players in the draft." I disagree with every single statement made there. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Chris Paul is a chump. A very talented, quick, agile, chump with a good jump shot. But he is not smart, and he makes very big mistakes when they matter. He is immature, and I greatly dislike the way he wears his socks. Look at his play in the NCAA tournament. In the game against West Virginia alone he tried to give it away twice. Once with a turnover at the end of regulation, and once by fouling out shortly into overtime. Taron Downey almost saved him, but it wasn't enough. I think Chris Paul will be a moderately successful professional, like Brent Barry or maybe even Andre Miller but any talk of him being worthy of the #1 draft pick is misguided. He will not win the big game, he's a choke artist at heart and he'll be fools gold for any team that picks him.

The Game of Their Lives

2005-04-24T12:19:00.000-05:00

A new movie, The Game of Their Lives from the makers of Hoosiers (my favorite all time movie) and Rudy (a movie I still haven't seen) is going to chronicle the improbable success 1950 American World Cup team. The reason this team stands out in history is that they upset World Cup favorite England, 1-0, and then returned home to little or no fanfare. Apparently some newspapers chose to not even report the score because they assumed it was a typo. The movie is only being released in select cities at this point, because it was somewhat low budget, and I'm not sure if they plan to go nationwide. This is one of the more amazing stories in U.S. sports history. Every 4 years it gets a little play when the World Cup is on TV, but its ignored the rest of the time. This victory is possibly more amazing than the defeat of the Russians during the 1980 Olympic Hockey tournament, but in 1950 soccer didn't make the news too often. It was basically a group of semi-pro soccer players that were put together 10 days before the tournament, and had trouble getting uniforms and equipment. Everyone should go see this movie, to get a little soccer history in you, and because it should be pretty good. Anytime England loses in soccer, I laugh a little on the inside. They've given up basic dental hygiene in exchange for soccer excellence and to see them lose in soccer (something they spend much more time and money on), its just funny.

I have a dream...

2005-04-23T22:51:00.000-05:00

I have a dream. Here it is, a professional indoor men's volleyball league, call it the MPVA (Men's Professional Volleyball Association). Now, when I say professional, don't think NBA, or NFL. Think USBL, CBA, or Arena League football. At best this would be a lower level league, with maybe 8-12 teams, probably all regionally located in either California or the Northeast. Salaries would be limited, no one would be playing volleyball as their full time job. Lots of coaches at colleges and high schools and beach players could supplement their incomes this way, so it would have to be a Winter League, with a short season after the end of football season, say January to April. If you have 12 teams, two divisions of 6 teams each, play same division twice, other division once, that comes to a 16 game season, which could be increased to 22 by playing every team twice. Top 4 teams make the playoffs, maybe top 6 if you give the two division leaders a bye. Another competition option would be to play in for-profit tournaments outside the season. MPVA teams could play exhibition tournaments at major events, like Super Bowl, World Series, Holiday Season, or something of the nature. The tournaments would be sponsored and the top 2-4 teams could take home some extra money in the offseason, while advertising the league. Player salaries could be season or by game, and national team players would command more money than rookies. Some structure would have to be established as far as contracts and salaries, that allowed for flexibility, but also continuity. One major factor would be publicity. It would be essential to have a major sponsor, Sony, Adidas, Nike, Kodak, Mizuno. Anyone that wants to shell out the cash, Major League Soccer has private donors that are personally invested in the success of the league, beyond profit, and that would be helpful with the Men's Volleyball League. Television would be the next key. ESPN, Fox Sports Regional Coverage, or something in the way of regional coverage would be very important. Plus the major market teams would have to be willing to distribute the wealth throughout the league. So for the sake of argument, here we go.

MPVA South Division
1. Los Angeles
2. Malibu
3. San Diego
4. Phoenix
5. Las Vegas
6. El Paso (or Albequerque)
MPVA NorthDivision
1. San Fransisco
2. Oakland
3. Sacramento
4. Salt Lake City
5. Reno
6. Fresno

All these teams are within driving distance, and many could be played during single trips. The North Division would be a little more difficult, but still doable. All the teams would be in large cities, and the Nevada teams could be supported by casinos. Many also have historic links to men's collegiate volleyball, and have venues already established for volleyball. Not to mention they have a fan base of people familiar with men's volleyball, who don't consider it a women's only sport. This could happen, I think its merely a functon of putting the money together with the people. Providing a league of this nature would increase public interest in men's volleyball, it would provide a place for our National Team members to improve their games without having to play in foreign leagues, and it would provide a low cost family entertainment option.

NBA Playoffs

2005-04-22T00:14:00.000-05:00

I'm so ready for the NBA Playoffs to start. It's been a long and frustrating season. I'm glad to see that Kobe and LeBron won't be participating, because Kobe is getting what he deserves after running Shaq out of town and LeBron is showing that being the next great thing doesn't equal tangible success. I like LeBron, but I honestly don't beleive he is as mature as he comes across. Even the most mature 20 year old has some severe limits. I look back on his choices during his senior year of high school that got him suspended more than once, and I ask what kind of team mate he really is, regardless of all the ass-kissers out there all over his jock. I do think he'll turn out to be one of the best players ever. I just also think it wouldn't have hurt for him to spend a year or two in college. Getting back to my original subject, I'm hoping the Pacers can pull something off in the playoffs. I want Reggie to go out battling, somewhere past the first round. After Ron Artest screwed his final season, its great to see Reggie step it up and lead the way he has. He's a beast. My predictions are pretty straight forward, I think San Antonio will take it in the West (and even though I'm from SA, I'm not a Spurs fan, so this isn't a homer pick). Duncan is too solid, unless he breaks a hip, Spurs win the West. The East is much less clear, Miami is the favorite, and Detroit is the defending champ, but I think that Philly will make a suprise run. Not too far though, I see Boston getting them in the Conference finals and going to the championship round. From there I see San Antonio taking it in 5 games. Take into consideration that I don't follow the NBA with the zeal that I devote to college basketball, but I think I have some clue. Time will tell.

The New Pope

2005-04-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

First things first, welcome to Pope Benedict XVI, the newly elected Pope (formerly Cardinal Ratzinger from Germany), I hope your rule in the Church is enlightened and inspired. That being said, this is my first Papal election, being that I'm only 22 and I'm very excited, and a little nervous, about our new Pope and his supposedly "hardline" ideals. John Paul II is going to be a hard act to follow because he was so legendary. Pope Benedict XVI is going to be what they call a "transitional Pope", due to his age, and I'm hoping that he can find a way to lead the Church in a direction that will allow us to continue the re-emergence that was begun under John Paul II. I'm worried about the current state of the Church. It seems that the hierarchy is somewhat out of touch with what the people need, though I'm not sure if thats the only problem and I'm not sure how having a "hardliner" will affect that. There is also the possibility that this Pope will have great foresight and be able to rise above his personal feelings, and only act in the best interest of the Church, which would be great but not some we can predict at this point. I know that the atrocities done by the small amount of Catholic priests in America have to be stopped, and that something needs to be done about the attrition of Catholics to more charismatic faiths. Hopefully our new Pope can lead us to great things, while maintaining the traditional integrity of the faithful.

I love baseball

2005-04-18T15:09:00.000-05:00

I really do love baseball. Even more than I hate Scoop Jackson. Not necessarily Major League Baseball, because I honestly prefer the NCAA kind. Whenever baseball season comes around, I get an itch. I want to be somewhere playing baseball right now. Every summer I try to find enough people to put together a decent team to play in an amateur tournament or two, but its tough because of money or time. I still spend at least 10 hours over the course of every spring trying to develop of depth chart, and find a few teams to play us. It hasn't happened yet, but theirs still time. I do love opening day, except for the Boston vs. New York nonsense that is all over TV. I love to see the first day of baseball after months of empty stadiums. Baseball games are the most fun to see in person, I even prefer to keep my own scorebook on most days. Minor League games are great fun, even if you only know who 2 guys on the team are. I recommend that anyone who gets a chance goes to see an NCAA tournament/College World Series game. They are the greatest. The best thing about spring is baseball, so turn on the damn tv, get a glove and go outside, or make it to the nearest ballpark, and be glad you're not a hockey fan.

About me and why I hate Scoop Jackson

2005-04-18T13:38:00.000-05:00

First things first, my name is Kenneth. I'm a senior history major at Schreiner University is in Kerrville, TX. I will be graduating very soon, and I'm hoping to attend law school, but I'll keep you posted on that. I'm a huge sports fan. College Basketball is my favorite. I also am a huge fan of Men's Volleyball, and I'll definately try and promote that as much as possible. My favorite basketball teams are Gonzaga, the Utah Jazz, and as of last month, John Beilein's West Virginia team. As far as politics I am generally conservative, I identify myself as a Republican. Spiritually speaking I am a practicing Roman Catholic and I defend my faith with a knife. My blog will probably not have much of a theme once it gets going, but sports get me worked up daily, everything else just fills in the space around it. I hope anyone who comes across this "blog" (I hate that word) finds something interesting. Now on to my initial inspiration....

I really really hate Scoop Jackson. Scoop is a former editor/contributor to SLAM! Magazine. Slam is also known the biggest ass kissing magazine in America and Scoop fit in perfectly there. Now Scoop has himself a job on ESPN.com, my former favorite website/sports news source. My theory is that Scoop has been hired to replace the LEGENDARY Ralph Wiley, a great writer who died this past year. Both are African American, and outspoken, and unfortunately thats where the similarities end. The difference is that Scoop is a brown nosing, pro-player, pro-hip hop joke. I have yet to see him make one legitimately unbiased argument in any piece of his writing. He recently defended Jermaine O'Neal's idiot claims of racism being behind the NBA's possible 20 year old age limit. I won't get into the details at this point, but it was a ridiculous, uneducated argument by O'Neal and the defense of that argument by Scoop was equally ridiculous, blatantly favoritist towards young members of the hip hop community, and a joke in terms of journalistic integrity. FIRE SCOOP!!! He's definately not Ralph Wiley.