Posted September 27, 2007
Last Simpsons episode my wife was forced to watch: Simpson and Delilah. Homer buys a “miracle cure” for baldness, Dimoxinil, using the nuclear power plant’s health insurance, and Mr. Burns gives him a promotion because he thinks Homer is a young go-getter. I love this episode for so many reasons. Homer only getting a promotion because he has hair. I loved Harvey Fierstein guest starring as Homer’s assistant Karl. But there are two things that make me laugh more than anything: One is that Homer has a different hairstyle every day. Two is that the Dimoxinil cured Homer’s baldness after one night of use, and he was completely bald again after one night of not using it.
The new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, was in the news recently when a stunt technician was killed during a chase scene. It’s too bad there will be controversy surrounding the movie because I expect it to be great. For those of you that haven’t seen the teaser, here it is, and it looks like it will be phenomenal: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UWw0ov-cAUg
It isn’t often that a studio gets almost everything right when producing any movie let alone something as iconic as Batman. Christopher Nolan was the perfect director to bring on board for Batman Begins and now the sequel. Casting Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Lieutenant Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox were all genius moves. Katie Holmes deciding to not come back for the sequel was a stroke of luck. She won’t be stepping on the toes of all those great actors anymore. The only mistake that was made with any of the casting was Heath Ledger as The Joker. Why would they cast him when they had someone who was born to play the part? Cameron Diaz. I’m scared just thinking about that freakish smile of hers.
I can only imagine how much my wife would hate this movie if Katie Holmes stayed on board, and they got the casting right with Cameron “Fabulous Joker Products” Diaz. It turns out that Jennifer Love Hewitt has been knocked out of the top spot of people my wife loathes by none other than Katie Holmes. I love it because she has talked up her hatred for Love Hewitt for years, and now she can’t hate Katie Holmes enough. I really can’t explain it. She watches one Dawson’s Creek rerun and realizes that she hates Katie Holmes’ guts. I do love that fact that she is being like every other woman and hating Jennifer Love Hewitt and Katie Holmes for no good reason.
I feel happy that Steve Kerr is the GM for the Suns, and I’m sure he will do a fantastic job. But I’m going to be a little selfish here. Would it be so wrong if he still announced games with Marv Albert for TNT? He worked so well with Marv. They complimented each other so well, and it was a delight to watch games that they announced. Here’s to bringing Mark Jackson on to call the games with Marv and creating the worlds most perfect announcing team. I think Bill Walton’s head would explode out of the sheer perfection.
Kerr’s first task is to deal with Shawn Marion demanding he be traded. I love Marion’s game. He blocks shots, gets steals, rebounds like a madman, shoots a high percentage, and has been healthy his whole career. Not to mention he has the most hideous and frustrating jump shots in the league. I can honestly say I laughed so hard it hurt the first time I saw his exact shot on NBA 2K7. But he is more fragile than a 14 year old ice skater. Marion needs to realize that he may not get as much recognition as Steve Nash or Amare Stoudemire, but he still gets paid like he’s the number one guy. He also has benefited from playing with the two most elite and fun point guards in the league, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, for his entire career. I can’t wait until The Matrix gets traded to a team with a terrible point guard, his stats plummet and he doesn’t enjoy playing basketball nearly as much.
Speaking of elite point guards, Talkhoops creator Zach Harper continues to argue with me that Steve Nash is a better point guard than Jason Kidd. Dr. Harper apparently forgot the last thirteen years ever happened. I’m sure our readers would love to hear a compelling argument from two basketball lovers regarding Nash versus Kidd. So I’m officially requesting the first ever Talkhoops.net Point/Counter-Point as long as the good doctor is game. We’ll see what happens.
Am I the only person that misses the old NBA on NBC theme? I can’t be all alone on this one, right? I love the fact that basketball fans my age identified so much with a song written by John Tesh. I’m sure Tesh could strike gold again like he did with “Roundball Rock.” It was just lame and entertaining enough to work. I’m going to have the song cued up on my iPod before every NBA game this season. Tell me THIS didn’t pump you up for basketball.
Everyone involved in sports media and media in general has talked about THIS , but I really think this is one of the funniest coaching meltdowns ever. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy went absolutely nuts berating and lecturing a columnist for the Daily Oklahoman during a post-game press conference over an article written about OSU quarterback Bobby Reid. I have to say I love every second of it because of the fire, passion and undying support, and it was a world-class freak out. Isn’t this the type of support that every athlete wants from his or her coach? I can’t be convinced that Reid isn’t Gundy’s own son with the way he reacted to this article.
Just to let everyone know I’M A MAN! I’M 25 YEARS OLD! There’s more to life than basketball, but not much. Just letting you know a little good knowledge can go a long way.
You can email Brandon at bgallawa@talkhoops.net
Posted September 20, 2007
Last Simpsons episode my wife was forced to watch: Krusty Gets Busted. After watching this episode for about the fiftieth time, I’ve started to wonder about the yearly Sideshow Bob episodes. Lisa always solves the crimes, and yet Bart gets all the accolades and all the death threats from Sideshow Bob. Wouldn’t you think Lisa would want a little bit more of the attention for always being the brains behind solving these mysteries? It also got me thinking of the best Sideshow Bob episode. It has to be “Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming” if only for the fantastic television and military references, Chief Wiggum’s quotes especially the “Chief Piggum” quote, and the “Way to guard the parking lot, Top Gun” line.
There are few things cooler than playing in a softball league with your dad and brother. We play in a softball league every Wednesday, and I don’t know that it will ever get old. It really brings ball busting and family relationships to a whole new level when you actually play a sport together. For instance, my dad was coaching a guy from the opposing team this week. The guy didn’t take second base on a missed cut off throw. We were down four runs at the time, and we wouldn’t let my dad hear the end of it. Even if he is helping the other team, he had to coach the proper way to play ball. This is why we call him Coach Lopez. Day by day my brother gets closer and closer to becoming The Dude. I’m convinced that next week he’ll come out wearing Jelly sandals and drinking a White Russian.
I’m distraught about the Talkhoops.net fantasy football league. In back to back weeks I’ve lost because Plaxico Burress and Chad Johnson have had unreal games. And what makes it worse is that I passed up on Ocho Cinco, and he toasted me last week. I know that Tom Brady and Willis McGahee will both end up having better years, but it still stings a little. Of course I’d be even more pissed if I had drafted LaDanian Tomlinson. It sucks when you think you can’t screw up the draft because you had the number one pick (a.k.a. friend-of-the-site Andrew Deller), and you still get screwed. What really gets me is the graphic that shows average draft positions; Tomlinson was drafted 1.2 on average. Which guy in which league didn’t draft Tomlinson number one, and how badly did his buddies rip him at the time? Better yet, is the guy that didn’t take LDT even attempting to justify his pick right now?
As a side note: There must not be a more confusing experience for a computer than spell checking an article containing NFL, NBA or NHL player’s names. I just ran it, and my computer started smoking when it came across ‘Plaxico Burress’. I’m going to type in Martynas Andriuskevicius just to see if my computer will blow up.
I can’t wait until the Talkhoops fantasy basketball league, so I can waste my first round pick. Just like Geoff Petrie did. I’m really thinking of taking Greg Oden just because the Kings couldn’t and really praying that it’s a keeper league.
I want this site to make me a rich and successful writer, but my biggest motivation isn’t the fame and fortune. More than anything I don’t want to feel obliged anymore to contribute money for a person’s birthday or baby shower present just because he/she is a coworker. Especially when it’s a person I don’t like. There is nothing more presumptuous than the guy/girl going around telling everyone that they expect five dollars from each person in the office, so we can all buy Susie that stroller she’s had her eye on.
What is the more uncomfortable experience: not giving any money to the person that is asking for it or being shown pictures of the children of the coworker you hate? Of course every coworker that shows me pictures of their kids is a coworker I hate. Why is it that the people that have the brattiest, most poorly behaved, ugly kids are always the most proud parents?
It’s so sad when an NBA player like Rafer Alston is accused of pulling a knife on someone in a club, and fans are grateful that at least it wasn’t a gun. I’m sure his parents are showing his mug shot to their coworkers.
It’s pathetic that I’m upset with the Milwaukee Bucks matching the Miami Heat’s offer sheet to keep Charlie Bell. Not because I hate the contract, but I still have a backup for Michael Redd. This basically means I can’t test the theory that if I played Redd for 48 minutes straight and shot nothing but three-pointers in NBA 2K8 that he would actually die in the game. I do guarantee that at some point I will drop 120 with Redd in 2K8 because 40 made three’s by one player would be the most ridiculous occurrence in the history of the game.
I’m going to Santa Cruz tomorrow. Home of the fighting Banana Slugs. Remember there is more to life than basketball, but not much. Just letting you know a little Good Knowledge can go a long way.
You can email Brandon at bgallawa@talkhoops.net
Posted September 13, 2007
Hello loyal Talkhoops readers and welcome to the first of my weekly Good Knowledge blogs. Just so you don’t start reading these blogs and wonder “What the hell are these articles doing on the premiere basketball website?” Well I must say basketball is a passion of mine, but it’s far from my only passion. I let it be known that I wanted to have my own place to just riff on whatever topics that came to my mind. Whether it was something that was irking me, or I just wanted to delve into a topic that I love (including hoops). Either way I wanted the readers to have an opportunity to get into my sad little head and find out what makes me tick. So without further ado, I’m about to drop some Good Knowledge.
The Sacramento Kings recently signed Kevin Martin to a contract extension to the tune of 5 years $55 million. A contract extension that Zach Harper predicted damn near to the dollar (well played Dr. Harper). I really like the Kings locking up Martin. The only problem is the Kings organization threw a rally to celebrate the extension. Really? A pep rally? Nothing looks more small-town than celebrating a contract extension. Do you really think the New York Knicks would have celebrated signing David Lee to a contract extension? Actually scratch that. The Knicks would probably throw a parade through Times Square if Stephon Marbury went a week without saying something utterly ridiculous. They really haven’t had anything to celebrate for about ten years.
Speaking of ridiculous point guards, how refreshing was it to see Jason Kidd take control of Team U.S.A. and force them to actually play like a team? I think that people have forgotten how amazing Kidd is. He is one of the last of a dying breed, a pure point guard with a showman’s spirit. He’s been a master of no-look passes and alley-oops, and he makes everyone around him better. The saddest part is he has always been under appreciated. No offense to Steve Nash, but hasn’t Jason Kidd been pulling the exact same routine for thirteen seasons now? Plus he grabs rebounds and he plays defense. How does Steve Nash have two MVP awards and Kidd have none? Kidd should be known as the greatest point guard of all time if only for some of the contracts he has landed his teammates (Kenyon Martin anyone?); the fact that he can control the egos of Kobe, Bron Bron and Melo, and he also has gotten Vince Carter to play hard on occasions even with Vince’s Grinch-sized heart. He is a true floor general, and I can’t imagine watching a season of basketball without him. When he retires I may cry.
In case you forgot about Jason Kidd’s greatness… http://youtube.com/watch?v=6tgqKy43vmw
We all joked about Greg Oden being older than he actually is, but who would’ve thought that he actually has fifty-year-old knees? I not only feel bad for the Blazers fans but all NBA fans. We’re all going to be deprived of a year of Oden-mania. Now The Sports Guy is cheering this injury just because it makes Kevin Durant look like a better pick? I’ve never witnessed anyone so utterly convinced of his own opinion. Check Bill Simmons’ house for Greg Oden voodoo dolls. I still can’t wait to use the Blazers in Franchise mode on 2K8.
If you read the first annual Talkhoops.net draft diary, you’ll notice that I pointed out that Oden looked like he had a bad knee on draft night. It’s kind of eerie. Check out the 4:38 mark… http://talkhoops.net/Draft07diary.html
I recently told my wife that she had to watch every episode of The Simpsons in sequential order to really know the man that she married. Really I just wanted to watch them all again, but it seemed like a good enough reason to get a show besides (insert terrible show from Bravo or MTV that my wife can’t get enough of) on the television for a change. Watching old episodes of The Simpsons is like going back to a neighborhood restaurant that you used to eat at every day ten years earlier. They both never let you down.
I love Corey Feldman and Corey Haim, but even I couldn’t sit through more than three episodes of The Two Coreys. Can we put an end to the obviously scripted “reality” shows? I just wanted to see the Coreys in their element. Unfortunately we’re about 20 years too late for that.
Speaking of obviously scripted. Just watch this and tell me that you don’t think it’s fake. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc I didn’t even cry and whine this much when the Kings and the San Francisco Giants both blew it in 2002. That is what it must feel like to be a Knicks fan. LEAVE ISIAH ALONE!
I’m going to go watch The Simpsons with my wife because there is more to life than basketball. Not much more. Just letting you know some good knowledge can go a long way.
You can email Brandon at bgallawa@talkhoops.net