Guy Berger

But Miami isn't as bored as the Lakers were, and isn't totally dysfunctional because of personal issues. Also, shouldn't a federal judge issue an injunction banning 1st round series in the Eastern Conference until they can field more than 4 good teams? I think the Hornets-Heat series went to about 35 games last year before one of the coaches died and they had to forfeit. Guy

Alright, my predictions: [For what it's worth, Tradesports currently gives the following prices for contracts on winning it all: Spurs (26.5-26.7), Heat (23.6-24.1), Pistons (18.0-18.4), Suns (16.0-16.5), Mavs (6.0-6.3), Rockets (2.5-2.8), Nuggets (2.6-2.8).] 1st Round Miami (1) vs. Nets (8): Yeah, Miami's looked somewhat shaky down the stretch, Vince Carter has been playing great and Richard Jefferson is coming back. But there's only one Shaq and he's only for one team. Miami in 6. Detroit (2) vs. 76ers (7): I pooh-poohed the Piston's chances of winning it all a few weeks ago and it looks like they're intent on making me look stupid. Pistons in 5. Celtics (3) vs. Pacers (6): If Artest could play, this series wouldn't even be close. The Celtics are an unremarkable team in a terrible division. Indiana plays good, solid ball and is determined to prove the critics wrong. Pacers in 6. Bulls (4) vs. Wizards (5): The Wizards seem like one of those teams destined to melt down in the playoffs. The Bulls have had some unfortunate injuries down the stretch, but from the few times I've watched them they seem pretty driven. A few months ago I thought this would be the only viewable 1st round series in the east, but I'm not so sure anymore. Bulls in 6. Suns (1) vs. Grizz (8): Everybody talks about how the Suns don't match up that well against Memphis. I still see the Suns winning this one pretty handily. Suns in 5. Spurs (2) vs. Nuggets (7): The Nuggets have been playing tremendous basketball over the past few months, but they're playing the best team in the league. They've got to hope that Duncan isn't at full strength for any chance. Spurs in 6. Sonics (3) vs. Kings (6): Sonics are the most popular upset pick besides the Celtics, who don't count. I'm not so sure about that. If the Kings manage to field Bobby Jackson (who played last night), Brad Miller and Peja then I have to favor them in 6 or 7. Otherwise, and especially if the Sonics manage to stay healthy through this round (Radmanovic should be coming back at some point) then they'll win. In expectation, Sonics in 7. Dallas (4) vs. Houston (5): The best matchup of the first round, without a doubt -- it's the only series that features two great teams. Houston's really strong with McGrady and Yao. But when you consider Dallas's monster lineup, it's hard to imagine anyway the Rockets can actually pull this out. Houston's still at least 1 season from making serious noise in the playoffs. Dallas in 7. 2nd round Miami (1) vs. Bulls (4): I just don't see the Bulls doing very well in this series. Maybe they can win a few if they play hard. Miami in 5. Pistons (2) vs. Pacers (6): With Artest this would be a SERIES. Without him, I see the Pistons having a pretty easy time. Pistons in 5. Phoenix (1) vs. Dallas (4): This will be one of the most exciting series of the playoffs. It's almost a shame they couldn't wait until the conference finals. Phoenix is the better team, but Dallas is much deeper. I have to think that this one will go to the full 7, and that if Phoenix suffers any serious injuries they will lose. Nevertheless, Suns in 7. San Antonio (2) vs. Sonics (3): The Sonics did very well in the regular season against the Spurs. I don't expect that to continue. Spurs in 4. Conference Finals Miami (1) vs. Pistons (2): I downplayed the Piston's chances a few weeks ago and they seem intent on making me look dumb. At this point I'm even tempted to pick them. But if I cave in and change my prediction at this point, then the terrorists will have won. Heat in 7. Suns (1) vs. Spurs (2): Potential to be an exciting series. Lightning speed vs. methodical grinding-away. As much as I hope Phoenix pulls it out and wins the whole shebang, I gotta go with the best team. Spurs in 6. NBA Finals Miami vs. Spurs: Duncan vs. Shaq in the finals! The Spurs are better, Miami needs more pieces to pull it off. Spurs in 6.

Last night I saw a very cool guitar-sax-drums trio at Rudy's. The cover was 1 or 2 bucks but it was a lot better than some NYC gigs I've paid money to go to! They were pretty eclectic. One of the tunes was a very familiar standard over which the saxophonist played in a very warm, old-school way. They did a blues that at points reminded me a little of Miles's 70s band, and a weird tune that sounded almost King Crimsony at times. They also did Mal Waldron's "Fire Waltz" and a very trippy version of "Stolen Moments". Good stuff! Guy

I heard them last year at the Fez (NYC). They're grrrrrrrrreat! Guy

cool... ok help... if i were to grab 3 or 4 essential blue notes (outside of, say, coltrane and miles), what should they be? This isn't that great of a deal, given Tower's regular prices for BNs. You might want to go to alldirect or yourmusic instead. edit: Whoops, I guess you did the deed. If $30 includes shipping and taxes, a pretty good deal! Guy

look at what i said at the start of the season But Detroit doesn't have a real big man anymore than Phoenix does. I think the Suns' problem is that they're so dependent on their starters. You need redundant pieces in the off-season. I hope they or Dallas take the whole thing, though. Guy

OH MAAAAAAAAAAN... I'm totally going to this thing if I have the time and money. Guy

Amen. He isn't kissing anybody's ass, but he's also not making gratuitously nasty comments like Miles did in his blindfold tests. (I wonder if he was relieved when he found out that Gil Evans didn't arrange that version of "Chelsea Bridge".) I think the comments about Ornette are probably the most interesting thing in what Dan posted -- I've read them before. In the liner notes to Let Freedom Ring, Jackie McLean writes that Mingus told him "Jackie, you have your own sound, why don't you get your own ideas?" I think his statements about Ornette are coming from the same place. Guy

Now how did I forget them! Marvellous albums. They were my backwards way into Ornette Coleman. What do people think of O&ND's version of "Lonely Woman"? It's interesting that given such a distinct composition, these guys were able to get such a different feeling or mood from it. I feel that the problem with some performances of Ornette's music is that people can't capture the "Ornetteness" of the music and smooth out the rough edges too much (I feel the same about Monk) -- for example Bobby Hutcherson's version of "Una Muy Bonita", which I like a lot but is a little soulless. For some reason I feel like O&ND's LW avoids this problem despite being a lot "smoother" than the original. Guy

Or Santa Cruz. SC is a beautiful place, and a great one to visit, but it's a little too isolated for my tastes. I think I'd be itching to go somewhere else pretty quickly. Guy

This is for the people who complained about no-one taking pictures at the Organissimo meetup in Manhattan. Guy

Whatever you do, don't go to San Diego. You might not be able to leave. Guy

I like how you think. Get this man a job at the State Department. Guy

I think it would spell the end of eBay. The whole appeal of eBay is that you know when the auction is going to end, so you don't have to 'be there' in order to participate. People just need to deal with the fact that a live 'going, going, gone' auction and an 'end at a set time' auction are two different animals. I don't think it would spell the end of eBay at all. First off, sellers could opt to use the current scheme so if people really prefer that, then at worst my suggestion is redundant. Second, I think since my option would make sniping obsolete, people would be inclined to put their valuation as the max-bid in the first place. Initially people would probably put bids in little increments to simulate sniping. But the realization that such behavior is less valuable when auctions are extended after a "snipe" would encourage people to do it less often. Eventually, in equilibrium (distrust any economist that uses this term ) I think auctions would end around the initial stop time. Why, because both of them involve ripping off unwitting people?

I read somewhere that the Highlands have been booming recently. Guy

Paul's pushed me into economist mode here. I guess it's rational to snipe when other people are (irrationally) max-bidding below their actual valuations -- that way you might pay a lower price for an item than you would if you simply set your valuation of the item as your max-bid. That said, it doesn't really make sense to get angry when someone snipes you out of an auction -- either you should have set your max-bid higher, or you're better off not having the item. Can sellers put in an option in their auctions to automatically extend bidding by 15-30 minutes when there is a bid within the last 1-2 minutes of an auction? I think that would make a lot of sense. Guy

As long as we get to keep Salma Hayek! Guy

The Denver Nuggets have gone 31-6 since George Karl became the coach; they've won 24 out of their last 26. (Making the coach of the year choice shockingly easy.) The Phoenix Suns opened their season 31-6; they won only 23 out of their first 26. Guy

link

Hey man, I was raised in the wild by false killer whales and we're very sensitive about this kind of thing. Guy

I found this really interesting Paul Motian interview. He discusses his drumming on three Keith Jarrett recordings (including "Rotation" and "Shades of Jazz"), one Bill Evans recording, and two recordings of his own as a leader. (ED: For some reason I put the markers for Italics instead of putting the link in there. For a second I couldn't understand why Steve was so puzzled! Corrected now.) Excerpt: Guy

I wanted to punch someone but was afraid of causing a disturbance. Guy

I really like The Dark Tree -- I think everybody brought their A-game to that engagement. (Though I'm not familiar with Carter's work elsewhere.) The quintet record on Arabesque (Aiie the Phantom) is very good but not on the same level. Guy

Both killer whales and false killer whales aren't really whales anyway -- they're both dolphins. Guy

I haven't heard any of these -- how do they compare to the originals? Any I'm missing? "Rose Petals" (Branford Marsalis, Crazy People Music) "Survivor's Suite" (which segment?) (Billy Pierce, Rio: Ballads and Bossa Novas) "Vapallia" (Billy Pierce, Rio: Ballads and Bossa Novas) "Backhand" (Bruce Hornsby, As Long as You're Living Yours: The Music of Keith Jarrett) "Everything That Lives Laments" (Marc Sabatella, Second Course; D.D. Jackson, As Long as You're Living Yours: The Music of Keith Jarrett) "Shades of Jazz" (Joe Lovano & Tom Harrell, As Long as You're Living Yours: The Music of Keith Jarrett; Vic Juris, Second Look) "(If the) Misfits (Wear It)" (Available Jelly, Available Jelly) "Common Mama" (Steve Khan, Got My Mental)