It's time.
It's no secret how i prefer point guards over lumbering big men or the more athletic wing men in basketball. i always cheered for the Hector Calma, Ronnie Magsanoc, Olsen Racela type of ballers over the likes of Allan Caidic, Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras or Samboy Lim... (Outside liking Ato Agustin, the one year or two i tried to impersonate a scorer...)
Sure, you admire these big-time perimeter players coupled with their aerial acrobats or outside sniping and dominating moves inside the paint... But what lured me to the spitfirish guards are their sense of teamwork and instinct on running a team, being a leader... And no, i won't mention that my height force/d me to play the one-spot. You can't force me to imitate those big guys. Because i just can't.
Over the years, this infatuation with point guards remained. In the early 90's (maybe late 80's) when i was just a greenhorn basketball fan, i was hooked up with the San Miguel franchise and from then on decided that it was going to be my team for life. Through thick and thin, i supported the Beermen (or whatever the team moniker is.) Roughly 2 decades later, and now a certified basketball addict i still have the same admiration for the court generals of any basketball league.
Eventually, everyone ends up following the NBA. Blame Michael Jordan and the Filipinos passion for hoops, i remember the 90's as a coming of age for the Philippines and their basketball. What i remember was that you had to be uberlucky if your free tv offers an NBA game for a single month. Details are kind of hazy, i can NOT remember which channels offered such. Maybe it was ABSCBN or GMA or PTV. i am not sure. What i am sure of is, the basic basketball fan thirst for any NBA-flavored basketball and it was simply bliss being able to watch ANY game, with or with out Air Jordan.
Fast-forward to the turn of the century, the NBA can now be seen on a regular cable channel and eventually Solar Entertainment go the rights to the NBA broadcast and started showing games on Solar USA or Solar Sports... You could say that the addiction started here (though developed way before...) Add up the internet highway and the usual dose of broadsheet news... Wham, you're hooked for life.
So it's coincidence that i ended up working for Solar--- that story another long one and will be told in another day. (Left side of the brain says however that you can control coincidence via desire, passion and love.)
Which brings me to Steve Nash, arguably the best point guard in the NBA the past three years. i feel this is the year that he will bring home the bacon. The year which the gentleman from Canada will say: "Kiss the ring, bitches." Particularly to superstars such as Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and bestfriend Dirk Nowitzki all of whom have denied Nash an NBA championship one way and the other.
The Phoenix Suns are all set to take on rivals and defending titlists San Antonio Spurs in the first round match-up in the first round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs. And as usual, it will be a classic in the making. i see this one going the whole nine yards.Game Seven as the Suns pull off the victory!
Right in the middle of it will be Steve Nash, 15th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft--- former back-up to Jason Kidd before finally making a splash at Dallas to legitimize himself as one of the best passing point guards in the league. Eventually, he ended up in Phoenix where he enjoyed his best years as an NBA player winning the NBA MVP twice in the last three years....
More than the individual awards, Nash is unselfishness personified so much so that it will not be justice if he can't win an NBA championship... But that my friends is not happening this year. It's time. Nash will deliver all the way this season. Book it. After all, Jason Williams, a role player did his part to help the Miami Heat win... Already about time Steveee does... And we will all be one happy point guard family.
Pessimism is my middle name. My negativity reeks so much depression it rubs off on everything i do and did not quite do. It's the first cousin of paranoia and a distant relative of an unreasonable fear though their (edited: they're) close and knows each other like the back of their hands.
So, for tonight i've decided to do just the opposite of that. Negate the pessimist, shred off the negatives, pardon the paranoid mind for a while, and reason with the unreasonable.
The scores above is the latest update in two of the fantasy money leagues. As clearly seen, Team Airball is comfortably ahead in a few categories. No, the word few is such a modest word. Team Airball is comfortably ahead in a LOT of categories. i am actually winning this shit. i can feel the W now. Jordan-pulls-up-he-fakes-he-shoots-it-swish moments.
For the people who are not competition-oriented (Let me rephrase that, competition-whore) this will sound like a trivial moment. Well, it is NOT. You actually work hard for this one the entire year and it's not everyday that you hear that from me--- the working hard part. Laziness does pay but hardwork pays better.
God, i am goooood. (A la Jim Carrey in Liar Liar i think)
Now we are talking about fantasy basketball here, of course. If i had this much confidence when meeting people. People you like. People like You... People you want to get to know better... If only.. If o..If only--- stopping here, right now. The negativity is settling back in.
A few blogs ago, i updated the status of my fantasy leagues this year particularly the money leagues... Sad to announce that i have ended up 4th in the Solar Bragging Rights League which had the biggest entry fee among three money leagues... What hurts is the fact that i virtually spent the entire season inside the top three and considering that the top three finishers gets a prize... Well, now i know how Baron Davis and the rest of the Warriors feel...
Now the good news. In two of the three money leagues, i was able to reach the championship round! As opposed to the first one which uses a roto format, this pair of leagues is of the head to head format!
The CSC League offers the most expensive pot. Entry fee was a thousand pesos with 20 players and the champion taking home everything. You do the math. Then, there's the Finish Line league... Just 300 pesos entry fee but lots of pride on the line..
With two days to go, here's the latest update. For some reason, i fear the jinx. For some reason, i want this to be archived. We will see what happens.
Call me shallow, because at certain points of a day (and certain points of the life) i am. But when the YM messenger lights up and it shows your name, i feel fine and a bit happy--- who cares if it's just your one-worded response. That won't change my life at all, but it does change the day. It's not close to the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel... If it resembles that at all, it's probably a just a flicker from a small candle with the breeze too strong for comfort--- but who cares really...
Starting today everything i write about basketball will fall under the "Hoopology" header. The term was coined late last year when the House of Hoops tipped off over ABC as one of the show's segments, which hoped to cater to the rather non-serious, sometimes funny issues of NBA/basketball. This included TOP TEN LISTS of EVERYTHING NBA... Among other concepts (original or influenced) we were able to come up with rankings of the Top 10 Best and Worst Monikers... Dead-ringers... Best Coaches of All Time... Overpaid and Underpaid Players... and heck, even Top Ten Cheerleaders in the association... Over time, Hoopology also tackled the more serious (and stats-heavy) nature of the business as we were able to feature the league leaders in NBA history, the scoring kings, the rebounding monsters, the dean of dimes among others...
The funny thing is the House of Hoops team has a grand total of two writers! (myself and Mr. Paolo Mariano) This actually is going on since the Sports Desk days. Imagine TWO freaking writers to make a one-hour or 30 minutes daily show for the Desk.. Then this one, albeit it's about basketball, for a 2 and a half hour or 1 hour show. What i am trying to say here is while there are lots and lots of ideas that are going to be conceptualized, it did get tiresome eventually. But since it IS basketball (and sports)... Why are they paying me for this job again?
+++
With two playing dates to go before the regular season, the Eastern Conference first round match-ups have been set; (1) Boston vs. (8)Atlanta; (2) Detroit vs. (7) Philadelphia; (3) Orlando vs. (6) Toronto and (4) Cleveland vs. (5) Washington...
Prediction: All East top seeds advance
That's why we will be talking about the other conference for today... Indeed it has been a wild, wild race for the west top spots... With the Golden State Warriors loss to the Phoenix Suns earlier today, the final eight is decided. However, teams are still jockeying for position as a win or a loss could mean a first round date with a stronger team. Then again, we are talking about the western conference here... Where every team is nearly as good as the other...
If the West playoffs started today this is how the first round will look like: (1) Los Angeles vs. (8) Denver; (2) New Orleans vs. (7) Dallas; (3) San Antonio vs. (6) Phoenix and (4) Utah vs. (5) Houston...
That's four classics in the first round in just one conference! Which really sums up how dominant the western teams have been the entire season...
Predictions of the first round results will be useless as the match-ups could very well change... That said, here's a forecast how the West will shape up after the final day of the regular season (That is, with just a quick look at the team's respective schedules...)
1. Los Angeles
2. San Antonio
3. New Orleans
4. Utah
5. Houston
6. Phoenix
7. Dallas
8. Denver
Spare me the excuses, i AM NOT going away. (insert a suggestive smiley here)
i will settle for the haha's and the ok's, the yez's and all the one-worded answers from you. For now. (insert a real suggestive smiley here)
Pardon the recycled title, i feel it deserves another space. It's a re-do of another (rushed) article circa Friendster blog era but will be apt as a friend (Enteng) challenged me and basically asked why i decided to keep a blog after years of rather introverted writing preference (You know tissue paper poems, essays and random rants, all of which goes straight to the garbage bin five minutes after writing)
And so the question begs; Why write and why show it?
i don't know really. i hope to find the answer before my 7,019th post. That of course is just a random number, as random as expressing rather empty thoughts in form of letters, phrases and sentences.
Head aches like hell as well, and i am starting to lose a bit of sanity again. i am not wishing you're mine. Just a word or two.
Save me, please?... The silence screams as the ears ring to nothingness and invisible monsters in your head... Outside the (non)issues of Your apathy... Outside awkward moments... Inside your head, i wish... No, make that: "i wish i was inside your head." ... For over 30 seconds... What now?... Can apathy be this emotionless?... Can indifference be more indifferent? What now... Can yesterday's disaster be tomorrow's gold?... Control+Z Everything from that 5 PM and up?... But that was me... Not the totality of me... But ME. What now?
Meet the suave and cool me. The one who managed to say: "Ydfgdgsdfgsdfgdggevshtydmdnmdfbmfjbmfl;bmfmbsfmbmsfbmgfbmfsmbfmbg;mbmbbNdfgdsfgl;fsdg;sdl;gjsdfjgdjsfgldflgjdflsgjldsfjglsjdfjAbsbgfsbsdfbsbvsdbvsdfbvsdbsfbgsdfbsbfsfbdfYdgdfsbvsdfvsdvsdfvsdfvNgfsdgsdjfgmjsdfvsdmfvmdvmsdfmmsdvmsAkfklasdklvcnasdlkvnkladndvfdasfasdfasdcasdvergdevsdfvthbdvbsdfbfbsdbvfasdfvadfvadfvadvdvaadvasdvaegrvwergabstmbaeprjpbvapvpnmvpanmervanevnanvanmdfgjiopajrwopgadmvanmdvadfl;mvklajrjawoprvgadnmvaev"And what i was trying to say was it was nice to finally meet You. Even in just under 30 seconds.
The problem is... i really don't know what to do. i mean, nothing, zilch. Suddenly, i am thrown into a rather enormous (but calm) body of water which i thought i am familiar with... Then, panic sets in.
So, i just jump (Don't think, don't feel)... That's the only solution, eh?
Malling a la pobre - Ha! In layman's terms that's called window shopping and that's called the oh-well-and-oh-fuck mall moments... Fret not, it's not like i spend lavishly at all. Outside the magic cards and adidas basketball shoes (plus maybe books @ booksale) of course... But anyway, nice to have the entire family (outside the Kuya who's left behind in Naga) around in what could be (?) biggest mall in Asia. Because you see the biggest mall in Naga is 5 per cent the size of MOA--- that difference alone is worth the visit and probably a big thing for the probinsyanos, which of course i belong to.
Malling Disclaimer: "This is not my son."--- i should be wearing a large tag with those words printed (Tahoma, size 56) in it. Ok, it's not that i am not fond of Jigs (James Gabriel), the son of my younger sister; it's actually quite the opposite, i love the little guy as much as i love a real son (i wouldn't know that of course, 'til i get one.) Point is, how would the other girls in the mall be interested if they took it that way? That, i already have a son? Kidding, of course as it was just paranoia telling me that those girls indeed were looking at me (Make that double-take). Thank you, paranoia and thank you vanity. It pays to be confident these days. Believe me, i fucking NEED it.
See You tomorrow.
If headaches could talk, it'd be shouting your name. If headaches could talk, it'd be whispering sweet nothings to my ear. If headaches could talk, it'd be telling you to meet it sometime this week. If headaches could talk, it won't ease the pain but it will at least explain why it hurts.
My head is about to explode. But it's a-ok, i got you inside my head.
Fast-forward to the turn of the century, the NBA can now be seen on a regular cable channel and eventually Solar Entertainment go the rights to the NBA broadcast and started showing games on Solar USA or Solar Sports... You could say that the addiction started here (though developed way before...) Add up the internet highway and the usual dose of broadsheet news... Wham, you're hooked for life.
The Phoenix Suns are all set to take on rivals and defending titlists San Antonio Spurs in the first round match-up in the first round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs. And as usual, it will be a classic in the making. i see this one going the whole nine yards.Game Seven as the Suns pull off the victory!
