Big Al

Hey Big Al, when I did see your post it was the next morning, and I was surprised there was live chat connected with this bulletin. I figured out how to use it but nobody was there. cu next time. Aw man... I thought that was you last night under the guise of "yo_mama." I guess it was Alfredson after all! I agree that Cuban needs to shut the hell up as well, but since that ain't gonna happen anytime soon..... -_-

I was talking to a few people at work today and I heard the usual story about how Shaq is a terrible athlete and uses his great size to dominate smaller men. I've been hearing this throughout Shaq's career. My thoughts are that this 350 lb man runs up and down the court from one season to the next. Imagine the wear and tear on his joints. This is one fine and courageous athlete. He's a fighter and amazingly resilient. Large men rarely get their full due. I can't run 3 miles w/o doing a Fred Sanford shuffle for a couple weeks afterwards. Shaq is amazing. I wonder if he'll be like Earl after he retires...barely able to walk. (Earl Campbell) I sure hope not. A-FRICKIN'-MEN!!!! :tup :tup

Bue Note 10" 5067. Looks like a cool lineup: guitar, vibes, bass, drums. Seems like I remember it being part of that 10" Conn series some years back, but I can't find the link if it was. Thanks!

I believe it!

Damn straight!

The entire Mavericks team went to the line 25 times in that game. Wade went to the line 25 times just by himself. What else can you say? Mr. Sterns says, "EXCELLENT!"

What Paul and bebop said!!!

Then I'll wear the new user name proudly for that week. I may also not log on for a week, but then who would notice?

My avatar or my signature? I like my open arms (hush Skid, I know what you're thinking, so just stop right there!) in my avatar. Or were you referring to my picture of Choke No-gutz-ki?

Been listening to this the whole time I've been at Live Chat bitchin' about the Mavs loss tonight, and I forgot just how mesmerizing this album is. Jim Hall is the definition of class and taste on this album!

Bruce, come join us in the live chat man, all sorts of BS and rants flying around!

That was Howard? I thought it was Dampier. If it was Howard, then you're absolutely right. Kinda agree about the foul call, but it was good strategy by D-Wade. Can't fault him for wanting to go for the easy shots, which everyone knew he would make.

A beautiful record. I like to play this back to back with Bossa Antigua (which, of the two, is my favorite). In fact, I think I'll put it on whlie drifting off to dreamland. Couldn't ask for a better soundtrack.

NO excuse. NO FUCKING EXCUSE!!!! Those assholes can't make three simple free throws and it costs them the game. As far as I'm concerned, this series is over. Give Shaq and the crew the crown now and save us the embarrassment of a game six. Gotta give props to D-Wade who was on fire AGAIN!!! That guy's been breakin' my heart all series. All those comparisons to MJ are spot-on, AFAIC. And Shaq, God bless him. He's also caught fire and makes me wish I didn't have to root against the MF! And I don't care how stupid Josh Howard's "accidental" time-out call was. Fact is, D-Wade was gonna sink that shot, and no way in hell was Miami's D gonna give up the game-winner with 1.9 seconds to go. This was the Mavs game to lose, and by God, that's exactly what they did! If I'm Avery Johnson, I'm scheduling mandatory free-throw practices for Dirk (useless MF should sit the rest of the series, IMHO, now that Stack will be back on Tuesday) and Dampier. Make 'em throw nothing but five hours of free throws in a loud setting with all sorts of distractions. They fucking CHOKED. AGAIN!!!!! Alright, Evan, what's that link again? May as well get the sucker ordered now......

One point lead.... nine seconds left.... :excited: :excited:

Three free throws!!! Those MFs blew THREE F&^%*&^$*ING FREE THROWS!!! If we lose by a point or two here.... :rmad: :rmad: :rmad:

A one-point game now! What'd I tell ya? HELLUVA game goin' on!!!

Oooooh, I love games like this! Yeah, the Mavs have an 8-point lead, but as we've seen in this series, that don't mean SQUAT!!! Jason MF Williams with that beautiful 3-pointer to close out the half only hints at the kind of run the Heat coulda had if there was more time in the half! But Jet & Josh are RED HOT right now!!! Love games like this!!! GO MAVS!!!

Shut yo' mouth!!!

DAMN Shaq is good! That one shot looked like all he did was walk up and drop it in! Once again, it's all about the D!!! Nice tight game goin' right now. Just the way it oughta be!

GAWD, Dirk couldn't hit a bull's ass with a banjo!!!

That's cool. The two songs I was thinking of was "What I Do," where said fadeout would've been more pleasurable to these ears had it been an instrumental fadeout instead of repeating the chorus over and over. Same goes for "Black Nightgown(?)". Wonderful grooves, nonetheless!

Er, Sangry didn't say that; I did. Sangry says a lot of shit, but that one was mine! Sorry 'bout that. Hey Bruce, do you honestly think that if the shoe were on the other foot and Shaq had fouled Stack or any other Mav for that matter, that he'd be getting the suspension handed out to Stack? Because let's be honest: Shaq just about breaks Stack's nose, and does he get suspended? No fucking way! Everyone--the Mavs, the Heat, the refs; hell, even the Heat FANS--realize this was a BS call. And to anyone who doesn't believe Stern isn't behind THIS one: I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'm looking to sell. That said and off my chest: GO MAVS!!!! We still got a lot of basketball to play! I just hope my team shows up tonight! And that was Clarence Cleamons I heard from the other room? Geeeeezus, I thought Kenny G picked up a tenor sax!

From espn.com Stackhouse suspended one game for flagrant foul MIAMI -- Shaquille O'Neal mocked his collision with Jerry Stackhouse as being less vicious than a love tap from his daughters. The NBA declared it worthy of a one-game suspension. The Dallas Mavericks are calling it a joke. Following the league's announcement Friday that Stackhouse must miss Game 5 of the finals for his hard foul on O'Neal in the third quarter of Game 4, the team's top three officials all lambasted the punishment. "It makes no sense at all," owner Mark Cuban wrote in an e-mail. "There have been more 'accidental' elbows to Mavs players' heads this series than is statistically possible. (Wasn't it [Heat coach Pat] Riley who said that there is no such thing as an accidental elbow?) More stiff arms to faces of our double teams, all without response from the league." Stackhouse was called for a flagrant foul when it happened. But after reviewing the play and discussing the details with both players, league vice president Stu Jackson opted to upgrade the punishment. "The contact by Jerry Stackhouse was clearly excessive and warrants a suspension," Jackson said in a release. The series is tied 2-2, with the Heat having won the last two games. Game 5 is Sunday night in Miami. Before the league's decision, Dallas coach Avery Johnson said he didn't think the blow deserved a suspension, noting that O'Neal wasn't penalized for hitting Stackhouse hard enough in Game 1 that he opened a gash across the top of his nose that required three stitches to close. Once the announcement was made, Johnson called it "ridiculous" -- among other terms. "It's just a bunch of baloney," he said on his weekly radio show with Dallas' 103.3 ESPN. "For lack of a better word, it's sickening. Our fans should be upset, our players will be." Donnie Nelson, the team's president of basketball operations, called it "a low blow, especially at this critical time." "We're really surprised and appalled," he said. "The timing of it is the most unfortunate part. This is a bitter pill." Miami was leading 68-51 in the third quarter of Game 4 when Jason Williams stole the ball from Dallas' Josh Howard and drove to the other end of the court. A few steps beyond the foul line, Williams dished to O'Neal for a likely crowd-thrilling dunk but Stackhouse swooped in from the side, taking him down with a head-high shove. "It was a hard foul," Stackhouse said after the game. "When Shaq is going to the basket, we want to try to make him go to the free throw line and earn it." O'Neal did, making both foul shots. Given the ball back, the Heat got two more points to stretch their lead to 20 for the first time. They went on to win 98-74, leaving O'Neal in a playful mood, especially when asked about the foul by Stackhouse. "My daughters tackle me harder when I come home," O'Neal said. "I'm one of the last players of the old school, and you know, you just have to take a hard foul like that and keep on moving. It actually felt pretty good to get hit like that. Thank you, Jerry. Appreciate it." The Heat may really appreciate Stackhouse's absence from Game 5. Stackhouse is Dallas' top reserve. He's averaging 13.8 points this postseason and 13.0 in the finals. He had 16 in Game 2, including 10 straight over the final 79 seconds of the first half that propelled the Mavericks to a victory. This marks the third time this postseason a Dallas player has been suspended. Jason Terry was lost for Game 6 of the second round against San Antonio for punching Spurs guard Michael Finley below the belt and center D.J. Mbenga just completed a five-game suspension for running into the stands to aid Johnson's wife during the conference finals. Mbenga will return for Game 5. "And that's six more fouls," Johnson noted. An irate Johnson also told radio listeners O'Neal was being protected by the league, saying: "It's been around forever -- certain players get royal treatment, certain players don't." Cuban touched on the same topic. "Shaq creates more dangerous contact camping in the lane for 5 seconds trying to set an NBA finals record for charges taken by a center than Stack did trying to prevent a layup," Cuban wrote. Johnson opened his show with a Cuban-like rant against the way the league has handled cases like this, later saying there is "no rebuttal, no trial and jury, just a judge." "I've been holding my tongue all year about the foolishness, just the foolishness that goes on there," said Johnson, who was voted the NBA coach of the year in his first full season. "They're so inconsistent. I'm just embarrassed to have to deal with some of the things I have to deal with. ... We are in a position where we have no authority and we're always reminded of that -- we're just coaches." Asked whether he feared the Mavericks are being targeted because of how vocal Cuban is with barbs toward the league, Johnson said, "I would sure hope not." "If there is some truth to that, I hope certain people can't even look themselves in the mirror because that's a disgrace," he said. Perdue's take First of all, I don't think the suspension is warranted. I had the opportunity to see replay, after replay, after replay, and it appeared to me that Stackhouse was trying to make a play on the ball. Shaq was protecting the ball on his right side and Stackhouse was coming from the left, so Stack had to go through Shaq to get to the ball. Now the Mavs have to figure out how to replace Stackhouse's scoring for Game 5. But Stackhouse cannot be replaced by one player. Several guys have to chip in to get the job done. Jason Terry, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard have to fill the scoring void. Look for Mavs coach Avery Johnson to put Adrian Griffin back in the starting lineup. This will allow him to bring Devin Harris off the bench to provide offensive spark and scoring punch. -- Will Perdue in Miami

Unbelievable indeed!!!! I'm not ready to call this the work (i.e. fix) of Stern, but I'm getting damn close. I mean, come on man: aren't the Mavs shooting themselves in the foot enough by themselves? I think Sangrey's right, though: just like it did for the game without Terry, this oughta unify these guys in a way previously unseen. At least, I hope so.