Noj

Speech! Speech! Speech!

Bell's Injury Dampens Celebration "Suns guard Raja Bell is 'very doubtful' for Friday's Game 2 after straining his left calf muscle going for a rebound midway through the fourth quarter Wednesday," writes Paul Coro of THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC. "The Suns' medical staff said Bell will have to be analyzed today for swelling and soreness to think about whether he can even play in Sunday's Game 3. 'I thought a fan had thrown something at me and felt a pain,' he said. 'I tried to get up and it wouldn't let me get up.' The sudden burning pain became stiffness and soreness after the game as Bell became uncomfortable just standing in front of his locker." Let's hope he and Josh Howard will return sooner rather than later.

Happy Birthday!

Shawn, Sangrey posted a link to full length clips from one of her albums below. I'm listening now, pretty cool. Her instrumentals are good quality.

They used to call me "Obewan."

One thing I've learned about free throws is that there is a smoothness required in the mechanics. One must smoothly go through the shooting motion, without any hitches and at a consistent speed through the release. Recognizing the speed with which one wants the motion to be completed with is key. Keeping the elbow at the most effective angle is also key. I notice that both Shaq and Ben think they can get away with flicking the ball in with a very stiff, short motion which doesn't involve the knees. This is a mistake because failing to involve the entire body on a shot hinders the ability to control the speed of the motion, to control the smoothness of the mechanics, and to control the angle of the elbow on the release. Those are the necessary components for developing "soft touch."

I wouldn't stick a fork in these Pistons if they were down 0-3. Seriously.

Looks like they missed the top two: Kermit Washington's attempted murder of Rudy T and Ron Artest's looney assault on several innocent bystanders in the crowd.

I will be interested to see if the Mavs or the Pistons/Heat have the ability to slow the Suns down. The Lakers and Clippers' sad excuse for defense sure couldn't do it--at least not when it counted. Those mf Suns can shoot the ball! Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw killed my squads--they look like some of the best international players this year. But they're not Dirk Nowitzki, easily the best international player. Well, Nash is an import too, but he's from Canada and that doesn't really count.

The Spurs' bench combined for two, count 'em, two points in the entire game plus overtime. There's your ball game. Go Clips!

How 'bout them Mavericks?

I treat all my cds like precious jewels, and they never spend a moment out of their jewel cases except to be played. No originals go in the car, only cdrs.

Kurt Thomas is back for the Suns, which doesn't bode well for the Clips.

That does work all the time Aggs--Except when the guy had "Hornacek" across the back of his jersey. Then the only question was whether the ball would make the net move as it passed through.

Belated Birthday Salutations!

Happy Birthday!

Yeah, I'm not sure why youtube "flagged" this one--it's just a highlight of an Earl Campbell run.

A good friend of mine worked special effects on this movie. He got to meet some of the firefighters--and said the set was so realistic that the firefighters were emotionally affected and didn't want to see it again after being shown it. Ol' hamfists smokes the good herb, I'm told.

The ol' reverse jinx, Al? I give the Clips zero chance of winning tonight.

Earl Campbell Not music, but if there's any doubting who the most powerful running back of all time was...

Too hot in the hot tub! Burn my flesh!

DJ Premier has, in the past, been one of the best producers in hip hop. He produced tracks for KRS-One, Mos Def, Jeru, Bahamadia, many others. However, I'm not sure how well Premier will perform in this setting. I'm not a fan of Aguilera and her grotesque over-singing either.

I'm a fan. Vs. is my favorite album.

No VIP status for Noj? What did y'all think of Kobe's PR campaign last night?

Don't underestimate the NBA's desire to have LeBron in the Conference Finals. The Pistons will have to beat the Cavs and the refs to take this series. They need to stay on top in the first and third periods and build insurmountable leads in the second and fourth periods to win. They need to play tough all game long!