Jim R

As I recall, Joe Williams was a favorite of Johnny's, and was probably on more than any other jazz artist.

That's an important question, to which I suspect nobody really knows the answer (yet). Everybody who really knows (players and ex-players) generally agree that getting that 4th win to close a team out is the toughest win of all, and I think for a relatively young team to do that on their opponent's court was a bit too tall an order for Nellie's bunch of "schmoes". I think the W's will still be confident tomorrow night, but whether they can execute the way they did in producing last night's 30-point turnaround is something that remains to be seen. I think the Mavs have to feel pretty good about their chances now. The whole Jason Terry thing is a little puzzling and a bit disturbing. The punishments don't seem to be lining up real clearly with the crimes. In this day and age, the whole discipline of refereeing a basketball game (and this applies to the NCAA as well) has gone haywire. Compare the contact Baron made on his sixth foul with the contact Dirk and Diop made with Barnes and Harrington (or Biedrins) after every Mav free throw down the stretch. I thought the refs blew a couple of those calls where the ball was given to Dallas after they missed a FT and the ball ended up going out of bounds in the chaos that ensued. So, I watched it on tape after the game, and couldn't help noticing that Dirk nearly took Matt Barnes' head off when he was going for those rebounds. It was all Barnes could do to remain standing, let alone trying to rebound the ball. I know that assault and battery in the paint is relatively routine now, but it's complete bullshit that that's not a foul, and Baron's contact was. The spirit of the rules could use some close analysis, imo.

Lee Maye Martha Raye Joe Saye

It didn't bother me at all that Jackson got ejected (mainly because the game was over). I don't feel sorry for the fool, even if he didn't completely deserve it. Bonehead move to even put himself at risk- again. At least he didn't endanger our chances to win this game. Nellie said he's going to fine his a$$. What pissed me off were the last two foul calls against Baron. On #5, where he defended Harris on the way to a layup, Harris initiated all the contact with his left arm. Baron did reach with his left hand as he was falling backward (there was no body contact from Baron- he was pushed by Harris), but I looked at the tape and couldn't see a foul on Baron. #6 was total ticky-tack bullshit (innocuous contact with no reach in or anything). You don't disqualify a team's star player at that point in a crucial game for a harmless bit of contact like that. I still can't believe that was called. The W's should have closed it out- or at least made a better effort to close it out- after they went up 9 and had all cylinders firing. But... you gotta take your hat off to Dirk. He finally stepped up BIG. Good to see (from a Warrior fan's p.o.v., that is ) Harrington finally contributing, but... Monta, Monta, Monta! Where the &^%$ ARE you? I still think the W's are confident they can win, but game 6 is going to be a hell of a lot tougher to win than game 4 was, Oracle or no Oracle. That said, after tonight I'd even give us a slight chance of a miracle win in a game 7, but I hope it doesn't come down to that. No matter who wins this series, it's been one for the ages.

Mary Martin Richard Rodgers Mary Richards

What a strange game. The Warriors were walking the ball upcourt far too much; Ellis and Harrington still couldn't get it going; Pietrus makes a series of big plays; and the Mavs... kept putting up long bombs- some of them off balance or with hands in their face, especially late and with the game on the line. The Warriors showed a lot of heart and made some big shots, but Dallas just fell apart down the stretch. Why we didn't push the tempo more I have no idea, but I still knew we'd have a chance at the end. Because we have Baron Davis. 3-1 feels nice, but that 4th win is still not going to be easy to come by.

Lay, Sam Kay, Connie Jay, Stan

That's it. You win.

Wow!

Man, I really felt sorry for Quinn there for awhile. I thought it was very classy for them to allow him to move out of the camera spotlight (I thought they were going to keep milking it for the pathetic drama, which was getting to be a bit much). Anyway, he handled it very well.

Yeah, I used that phrase above, with the same thought in mind. In the early 70's, my older brother belonged to a fraternity at the Univ. of Oregon. While I was up there visiting one time, I got to meet one of his fellow frat members, the great tight end Russ Francis (who went on to a fine career in the NFL). I have pretty big hands (I can palm a basketball), but Francis' hands seemed twice the size of mine. He held the national high school record for the javelin throw, iirc. Speaking of handshakes, I got to shake hands and talk briefly with Albert Collins after a show in SF back in the early 80's. What a humble and gracious cat he was.

Wow, I forgot one of my best ones... When my wife and I were students at San Jose State in 1975, we were in a "career planning" class. Kevin Pollack was in the class, and when we broke into small groups to work on some project, we got in the same group with him. I remember him doing his incredible Peter Falk/Columbo impression, but it wasn't until a few years later that I realized how versatile he really was.

Al, I know how you must feel right now. It would be painful to go out in the first round after having the 6th best season in league history. Obviously, the outcome is still very much in doubt, but like I said in the other thread, this is a bad matchup for Dallas. The Warriors have now beaten them (somebody correct me if I get the current numbers wrong) 8 of the last 10 times they've faced each other. The Warriors are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, especially at home. Charles "the Warriors will not win another game" Barkley and most of the other "experts" out there simply don't know what's going on, or understand how the Warriors' confidence and chemistry has soared since we got healthy and added the players from Indy. Bill Walton seemed to get it, but it's probably because somebody fed the info to him. For those of us who have been watching (almost) every game this year, there's absolutely no fear for Dallas right now (respect, yes, but not fear). As good as the Warriors looked tonight, they still didn't really get their attack into high gear (Al Harrington can really shoot the 3, believe it or not). I think Dallas can still win it, but if we beat them again Sunday, it will be tough. It's funny, but the national media guys on TNT and ESPN don't talk about the fact that the Warriors DO play some defense- they were near the top of the league in blocked shots; Baron Davis led the league in steals... I mean, just look at the way they swarmed the Mavs tonight. And the points allowed per game stat that everybody always brings up is very misleading. We're an uptempo team- we're going to allow more points than a lot of teams.

We were selling at the Art Deco show in San Francisco some years ago, and Anson Funderburgh sat down at a table across from our booth and had a sandwich. A memorable event in my life.

Now THAT is a brush with greatness. Now, if Gene Siskel had walked up to the urinal on your opposite side, and they had started arguing about... oh, never mind. My wife's best friend's aunt is Elsie McLean, the 102-year-old woman who made news recently by becoming the oldest person ever to make a hole-in-one. http://www.wcsh6.com/news/watercooler/arti...x?storyid=57059 Okay, that was weak, so here are a couple of experiences I had with famous guitar players... In the mid-80's, I answered a newspaper ad for a guitar for sale in San Jose. I got into a discussion with the seller, and told him I was interested in finding a vintage Gibson Super 400. He says "Oh, do you know Robben Ford? He's thinking about selling his". After I'd finished wetting myself (I had been a fan of the Ford brothers for years, and had seen them in blues clubs many times), I got Robben's phone number from the guy. I called him and went to his place on Balboa street in SF, and he was extremely gracious. Too bad I was so nervous and intimidated, or I might have enjoyed the whole experience more. Anyway, I remember him mentioning the call he had just gotten from Miles to join his group, to which I probably said something like... "wow". Anyway, I bought his Super 400 (traded it away a few years later). In 1995, I was corresponding with the english author/guitarist/educator Adrian Ingram. I told Adrian that I was a big fan of Louis Stewart, and he provided me with Louis' mailing address. I wrote Louis a nice letter, not really expecting to hear back from him (Adrian had told me that Louis wasn't that good with correspondence). A few months later, I was staying at my Mom's house here in town while our our newly-purchased home was being prepared. One evening the phone rings... my Mom answers, and then hands the phone to me saying "It's Louis Stewart!" (she's not into jazz, but I had told her about him). He was in SF with the Shearing quintet (Steve Nelson, Neil Swainson, Terry Clarke), and was calling to invite me to be his guest at their show the next night. Not only was it a fantastic experience to hear that group, but I got to meet Louis afterward. While I was waiting for Louis to come out of the dressing room, Shearing walked by with a couple of bodyguards. Mean-lookin' bodyguards. I wasn't even tempted. Oh, btw, I had never given Louis my phone number, let alone my mother's. He had to have made quite an effort to find me.

Frank Gifford Gifford Pinchot Joel Forrester

I was more disappointed than shocked. This was one of my fears going into this series, actually. Not only that, but as soon as Baron got tossed, I knew Jackson would get tossed too. He's like a child who wants the most attention, and he couldn't let Baron upstage him. Too bad Baron lost his head. I've seen it before, but there's usually a fairly good "reason". Tonight, like everybody else, I was just scratchin' my head. D-U-M-B. Matt Barnes has a little of that in him too (he deserved to foul out, yet he had that incredulous look on his face after every obvious foul). Bottom line, the Mavs played a much better game tonight, with far more agressiveness and focus at both ends of the court. Oh, and too many bonehead turnovers by the W's.

John Davidson Peter Marshall Tom Bergeron

Maybe you meant to say "I believe there are two different Chester Thompsons"...?

The whole team looked lost most of the time. What an alley-oopfest. I haven't seen much of Miami recently, but after catching part of today's game, I can't believe that there are still some experts out there that think they can win it all. Tomorrow's the big day for the Mavs to put up. I expect a better game from both teams, and this time I'll be closer to "shock" if the Warriors win again. I just hope this ridiculously long space between games doesn't allow the W's to lose their groove.

Have you heard his earlier work with Tower Of Power?

the artful dodger Sandy Koufax Juan Marichal

Fernando Lamas Billy Crystal Marvelous Marv Throneberry

Robert Shaw, playing the role of Doyle Lonegan (sp?), from the 1973 oscar-winning film "The Sting". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Shaw_(actor)