Here is a picture of me trying to take a picture when my odometer said 33,333. Obviously, it didn't turn out as well as I wanted to. My brother found this really amusing.

Does anyone get into the trade rumors, regardless of sport? This year before the baseball season we were immersed in media speculation of where was A-Rod going. In football, free agency has become it's own season. Now we are once again listening to the big superstars in basketball saying they want a trade. They no longer like playing for the team they currently on, maybe because this team keeps losing, or maybe because they have issues with the coach or management staff or maybe they just want to move closer to their family. Well, I'm getting annoyed that superstars are getting to pick and choose at their will which teams they "want" to play for. If they are going to insist which team they want to play for they should covey these feelings to their agent and not to the general public. Their agent is responsible for looking out for their player and getting them the best deal to play for the team they choose.

Maybe because my teams are not anywhere close to getting these superstars is why I have no interest in where Shaq & Kobe go. I think my interest will pique when all the player shuffling is done and I can see what kind of impact will be made. I think my greatest annoyance is speculation so that is why I don't get interested in trade rumors.

Excerpt below from Dan Shanoff (writes the Daily Quickie on espn.com & sometimes on Around the Horn)

Everyone wants to see the Lakers in the Finals, but no one wants to see them actually win the title. (Same with the Yankees.) Dynasties are great for sports, but only for producing a team that everyone tunes in to root against.

Proof? See the NBA Finals Game 5, which got its highest TV ratings since '98 (and, given the trends in TV viewing, is almost as big an upset as the Pistons winning in 5).

Stars kindle our interest: But what these Finals revealed is that fans really tune in to see the best team topple them.
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I agree with him for the most part. We do love seeing the best teams (or what we believe is the best team) lose. He proves his statement by using tv ratings and as mentioned before here, I think tv ratings suck. I had more interest in the NBA in the last two weeks than I have had in the last 4 years. Partly because I love to watch the underdog. So, maybe ma.com is right, dynasties are good. Would we have been more interested in the playoffs if the Sacramento Kings were playing, probably not. In the end, I'm glad we had a spirited debate about the Lakers and then NBA. Even more happier that the Lakers lost!

Here's another article from the great T. Rut. Listen to him on WFAN in NYC!

I think the argument has been settled. I think, looking back at games 2, 3, and 4 of the Finals, the conversation should be over. Sports radio hosts, sports TV guys, sports fans in general can now finally shut up: Kobe Bryant is no Michael Jordan. The way Kobe has played, one can make the argument that he isn’t even in the same league as MJ. Kobe is a great player, there is no question about that. But he lacks the one thing that MJ had, that others in that league of MJ had (Bird, Magic, et al), and that is the knowledge of how to win.

Superstars do not have to score to win. True superstars understand that there are many different ways they can help their team. This idea set MJ apart from many other super stars, because MJ understood the game; he understood that scoring, although important, is not the be all end all of how to win a game. He understood that if his shot wasn’t falling, he would get his teammates involved until his shot eventually came back. He understood how to go about getting his shot to come back. Kobe, especially in games 3 and 4, has not been able to really light up the scoreboard, and instead of trying to help the team by doing the small things, he has decided that the best thing for him to do is to keep shooting, no matter from where, no matter when, until he gets back on track. Couple problems with this theory: 1) his shot has yet to show, so no one on his team got a chance to score; b) his shot still has yet to show, and Detroit out-rebounded the Lakers 45-38. (And if that sounds close to you, know this: the Lakers only got 18 rebounds from everyone not named Shaq.)

Kobe shot 8-25 field goals, and 2-6 three pointers. He forgot, or he has never known, that one of the easiest ways to reset your shot is to get to the free throw line. He only had 2 free throws, and although he made them both, two is not a good number. Through his playoff career, Kobe has averaged 6.7 free throw attempts per game. Michael Jordan averaged 10 free throw attempts per game. What does this tell us? It tells us that Jordan understood the importance of the free throw. Jordan understood that after you hit a couple free throws, you start to feel better about your shot. Kobe may like to hit the three pointers – he is only behind Jordan by 27 made three pointers in their respective playoff careers – but he forgets that three pointers are not high percentage shots. There is a reason free throws are called “free.” You think it’s a coincidence that Detroit has a 3-1 lead in the series and a commanding lead in free throws attempted?

The playoffs, and more importantly the Finals, are where the super starts should really shine. For his playoff career, Jordan averaged 33.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.7 assists. Sounds impressive, eh? What’s even more impressive is that all of these stats are higher than his regular season stats: 30.1 points, 6.2 boards, and 5.3 assists. Jordan raised his game come playoff time. How did Kobe do? Regular season: 21.8 points, 5 rebounds, 4.3 assists. Post season: 22.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists. What does this tell us? One, that Kobe doesn’t significantly raise his game come playoff time; B) That even though Jordan was shouldering most of the scoring for his team, he still found the time to dish out more than one assist per game. Until Kobe stops looking for his shot, until he uses his teammates, until he realizes that the Lakers best option is one 7’1, 300 pound behemoth named Shaquille, he will be just another great player – another Jordan wannabe.

I remind you of a game a few years ago, Jordan’s Bulls vs Ewing’s Knicks. This was Jordan’s first year back from his unfortunate decision to play baseball, and in this game against the Knicks he reminded us why he was one of the best players ever. Time waning, game tied, Jordan already had given Spike Lee’s Knicks a “double nickel.” If my memory serves correctly, Jordan takes the ball to the top of the key, posts up John Starks, then shakes and bakes and goes to shoot his customary fade away jumper. Patrick Ewing, who was guarding Bill Wennington in the post, comes out to double Jordan. Jordan fades away, sees Starks and Ewing both in his face, immediately realizes that someone his open, and dishes it to Wennington who dunks it through. Bulls win by two. As Wennington put it, “Michael Jordan is probably the only player in the world who can score 55 points, and his biggest play of the game is a pass. You can never predict what he's going to do.” I am very confident in saying that if Kobe were in that same situation, he would have shot the ball. Maybe he would have made it, maybe not; but I think he would have passed on the high percentage shot to be the hero.

You could argue that because Kobe plays with Shaq, he gets fewer looks and fewer chances to score. I won’t argue with that. Jordan never played with a guy the caliber of a Shaquille O’neal – Jordan understood that he was the main scorer for the team. But Jordan also understood the pieces he had at his disposal, the Kerrs, the Paxsons, the Pippens, et al. Kobe plays with Shaq – the most dominant player in the NBA today – and Kobe doesn’t treat him as such! Kobe seems to so want to be the number 1 guy on the Lakers that he completely ignores the fact that if you give the ball to Shaq, six times out of ten he will score. Conversely, Jordan would score five times out of ten, and Kobe only four times out of ten. Take game 4 for example. Shaq had 36 points and 20 rebounds. He was dominant. He only missed five shots – FIVE SHOTS – hitting 16-21. Conversely, Kobe shot twenty five times and missed seventeen. He only had two assists. Why wouldn’t he throw the ball into Shaq? Because Kobe is not a team player. There is no “I” in “team,” but there is “me.”

You could also argue that Kobe is younger, he’s only 26 after all. Watch out for that argument though – Kobe maybe young in age, but he is an eight year veteran of the NBA. After eight seasons, Jordan was two-thirds of the way through his first three peat, he had won NBA Finals MVP both championships (he actually won Finals MVP each of the six championships his team won), and he was already a three times NBA MVP. Kobe has no MVP trophies, for either regular season or the Finals. His teammate, Shaquille O’Neal, won MVP for all three of the Championships they won together, and has one NBA MVP under his belt. Kobe: you are not even the MVP of your own team. You need to give the ball to Shaq, and after you are done giving the ball to Shaq, give the ball to Shaq. Rinse, Wash, Repeat.

I don’t doubt that Kobe wants to win – just look at the tears he shed last year when the Lakers were eliminated by the Spurs. But he just doesn’t get what it takes to win – he sees Jordan hitting a game winning shot, he sees Jordan scoring 55 points, he thinks he has to do that for his team to win. For one thing, of the 6 championships MJ has, two of those came with the help of game winners by Steve Kerr and John Paxson, off assists by Jordan. Assisting the game winning shot doesn’t take away from being the team MVP – in fact, it only re-inforces the idea.

So Kobe – as your friend I feel it is my duty to tell you this: you are playing with the most dominant player probably since Wilt. GIVE HIM THE DAMN BALL!!! After game 4, Rick Fox summed it up best: “Shaq should have had 50," said Fox. "And that would have been the difference.”

I have no doubt that tonight the Lakers will play hard. I have no doubt that Phil Jackson has explicit instructions to get the ball to Shaq as much as is humanely possible. Shaq can win you ball games. No one on the Pistons can even come close to stopping Shaq. No one on the Pistons can even come close to slowing Shaq. Prince, Hamilton, et al can slow down Kobe. If the Lakers win tonight, it will be because of two things: one, Kobe gets to the free throw line, gets the Lakers more free throws, and gets his shot going; and 2) because he will dish the ball to his teammates and let them do what they are paid to do: help win the game. That will make him an MVP in my book.

Have the mighty fallen? The Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Yankees of basketball, were supposed to sweep the lowly Eastern Conference Finals champ, no matter what team represented from the Eastern Conference. Did anyone think (outside of Detroit) that the Pistons could topple Goliath? I certainly didn't, I had the Lakers winning in 5.

This is my predicament: I love to support the underdog because 9 times out 10 they aren't going to win, but the 1 time they do win is practically nirvana. So, you would think that I would be enjoying the fact that the Pistons are destroying the Lakers. I am but I think it would be really amazing for the Lakers to come back and win it all or even force a game 7. And haven't the Lakers become the underdogs in this series, no one expects them to win again. The Championship t-shirts are already being made in Detroit. How awesome would it be if the Lakers showed up and played to their potential. How different would the series be if the Lakers ever learned how to play defense? If if were different I wouldn't have this feeling of wanting to root for the Lakers. I suddenly feel for Karl Malone and Gary Payton, I want them to win a championship. I would love for Shaq & Kobe to come out and prove everyone wrong, that they really are great players. And last but not least, to re-claim the championship trophy...wouldn't this championship be the sweetest one out of all of them. This one would mean so much more to the players. It would show how they were able to overcome all the obstacles and distractions to win the championship.

What the heck am I thinking? I've got no love for the Lakers. It would be a hell of a lot more sweeter for the Pistons if they won. It would be akin to the Florida Marlins, Anaheim Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks winning the World Series. No one figured those teams could win. No one figured anyone can beat this Lakers team. We have been hearing since last off-season that the Lakers are going to be even more determined to win this year. Where is that determination? Honestly, no one player of the Lakers deserves all the blame and quite honestly I don't think it's Phil's fault either. I think it's the media's, they have hyped up this Laker team to such an extent that we all thought that they are unbeatable. The reason they were beaten during the regular season was because a particular player was hurt or had a court case to attend. Maybe it was because they really aren't that great to begin with.

Go Detroit!

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and comments. I'm glad I included the comments code. Feel free to send me any of your thoughts via e-mail (blog@anjalivora.com) and I will post it up here.

I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday, from Trevor. Enjoy.

We’ve been over this. And over this. And over this. Larry Brown blew it. He cost the Pistons, for all intents and purposes, the NBA championship. No team has ever lost the first two games of the finals at home and won the championship. Detroit was 30 seconds away from going home with a 2-0 lead to play three games in Detroit. Perhaps Larry was distracted by Eminem doing his best Axel Rose impersonation at the MTV Music Awards, but no excuses – he blew it.

Let’s review: thirty-seven seconds to play, Pistons up 6, Kobe Bryant misses a jumper. Shaq grabs the rebound, goes up for a lay-up, and for some obscure reason unbeknownst to the majority of the world, the Pistons try to play defense on Shaq’s layup. Basketball 101: if you are up by 5 or more points with under a minute to play, YOU LET THEM SCORE THE TWO POINTS. The last thing you want to do – the LAST THING – is to give the other team a chance to score 3 points. What do the Pistons do? They give the Lakers a chance to score 3 points. Ben Wallace fouls Shaq, Shaq goes to the free throw line with a chance to cut the lead to 3.

What would have happened it the Pistons had just let him score? Detroit would have been up by 4, Hamilton misses his shot, Kobe hits the three – but the Pistons are still up 1 with a few seconds to play. They get fouled, hit some free throws, Lakers miss final tying shot, Detroit goes back home with a 2-0 lead. But such is not to be, as Detroit stupidly played defense. Shaq’s three point play was even bigger than Kobe’s three, because if Shaq doesn’t get fouled/hit the free throw, Kobe is never in the position to tie the game.

And let me say, that I love a good defensive team. I find it much more fun to watch really solid defense being played then really solid offense. But there does come a time when you have to call off the dogs, and Larry Brown never did. He let them play defense the way they always play defense, and it cost them.

Mistake #2: HOW DO YOU NOT FOUL SHAQUILLE O’NEAL WHEN YOU ARE UP BY FOUR WITH TEN SECONDS TO PLAY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! The Pistons were handed a gift – an absolute GIFT – when the ball went into Shaquille O’Neal, before he gave it to Luke Walton, before he gave it to Kobe Bryant, before he hit the game-tying three pointer. Perhaps Larry didn’t think that Phil would be dumb enough to put the ball in Shaq’s hands with 10 seconds to play, but as a player, you have to recognize the situation, you have to realize that the worst free throw shooter on the floor – probably in the arena, shooting around 43% for the playoffs, although he was 9-14 in the game – is holding the ball. You foul him, even if he hits 2 (which isn’t a safe bet by any stretch of the imagination), you’re still up 1 and you have two of the best free throw shooters in the NBA with Hamilton and Billups.

So Brown had two chances to ice the game, two chances to show what a great coach he is, and he dropped the ball. And FYI, Brown is only 82-79 in the playoffs. He is 933-713 in the regular season, but only 3 games above .500 in the playoffs. So he isn’t quite the “great amazing” coach people have hyped him up to be. He is a very good coach – but on the other side, Phil Jackson is 175-66 in the playoffs. Brown can get ‘em there, but he can’t push ‘em through.

All that said, I think the Pistons have a very good chance in this series. I do think they are going to win game 3, I think Brown will make the adjustments necessary to keep the offense flowing, and I think game 2 will motivate them enough to play smarter. The Pistons are a tough defensive matchup for the Lakers, Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton play very good defense on Kobe, slowing him down as much as anyone can slow him down, and they have a lot of bodies to throw at Shaq. I don’t think that the game 2 loss is going to demoralize them, in fact I think it might pump them up a little bit more for game 3. They know they can beat the Lakers, they are not scared of the Lakers, and I think they are going to take this series to 7 games. Before the series started I said Lakers in 6, but after game 1…this Detroit team is not going to roll over and say die. They are going to take this series to a seventh game, and at that point, it’s anyone’s game.

Response from today's blog from ma.com (friend's away message that said "go lakers")

Ahhh my dearest sports friend av.com...I applaud your testament to the way sports 'should' be; but I couldn't disagree more with basically everything you've said. It's time for the great av.com to enter the real world and leave the sports melodramatics of yesteryear for the 12 and under leagues because the reality of sports today is nothing, nor will it ever resemble what you have blogged today.

Certainly your piece brought my casual sports fan to a boil right away, by somehow assuming that NBA players, namely the Laker players, 'only play when they feel it necessary.' I've heard sport purists and dynasty haters dish out this line like it's going out of style. But what the heck does this mean? Are you saying that on some trip down the court the ENTIRE team just stands around and does nothing? Are you saying that the ENTIRE Laker franchise doesn't start really trying until they are 30 points down? I recognize this as your opinion, but alas I can't find a great deal of fact to support your view. I'm sure you will agree that you don't win 4 of the last 5 (or whatever) NBA titles by taking plays off and only playing part time. That kind of dynasty and dominance is pretty freaking impressive and I'm sure requires a great deal of hard work, both on and off the court. Does that mean a player never gets caught flatfooted on defense or out rebounded? Of course not; that's part of the game. When you play close to 100 games in a season, there are going to be times when the opponent out hussles a Laker, or Shaq makes a bone head play (you can't tell me that this doesn't ever happen in College Hoops or Football). But I can't see how such a successful team can get where they are by only playing part time NBA basketball.

Why do the Lakers deserve a championship?? I would say because they are the best team in the NBA (if they beat the Pistons that is). Are there any players in the NBA that deserve a championship?? Are you kidding? Are there ANY players in ANY sport that deserve a championship? Of course, because they are the best at the highest level. NBA is no different.

Another statement made me shake my head: 'I lost interest in the NBA when I noticed the players stoped caring. The game detioriated and it's obvious by how the NBA keeps pushing high school players ad the "next" Jordan. The NBA knows its product is crap but stull insists that it is the best basketball in the world!' Very very interesting statement there. So what you are saying is the NBA is the ONLY sport of the big 4 that promotes its young players? So you are saying that Peyton Manning was never billed as the next John Elway? You're saying that the NHL never compared Scott Gomez as the next Eric Lindros? And because the NBA is trying to promote its young players, it's in the wrong? It's pushing hike school players--as well as college players-- because they are the young, new blood that people can get excited over, just like every other sport. Without it, your ex-college boys Boozer and Anthony would not be poised as the next super stars in the league. And I'm sorry but please do point out any other league better than the NBA in the world. You can say that for the other sports in the big 4 as well. I think not playing in the Olympics are for health and money reasons only; having nothing to do with skill level (which I agree is greedy but that's their choice).

And this brings us right around to the reason why I like the Lakers when I'm not from LA. Let me give you a hint, I'm not from New York either and I like the Yankees. Why? Because I loooooove the dynasty. The dynasty is one of the best aspects in sports; when a team is so dominant and so much better than everyone else that they are perennial winners. Leagues need winners, winners that win on a consistent basis. Sure everyone likes the underdog and likes the mystery guest, but a league and a sport are better off when a dynasty exists. If for no other reason that the one you wrote the blog about: it gives people who would usually be casual fans a reason to get passionate and involved in the sport--it gives them a team to HATE. You hate the Lakers? You hate the Yanks? That's good! That's good for the sports! Because now you are into every game the Lakers play, rooting for the other team. I myself like the Lakers and Yanks and Tiger Woods because I like to see the best in the sport do well. I like the fact that Tiger blows away the competition, because when the day is done, he is the best player in the world and he SHOULD win. The Lakers SHOULD win because they have the best players and they are the best team. I like to see the best team win.

So ya I hope we are still friends.
Can tomorrow's blog be about how you can watch the last 5 minutes of a college basketball game and see the entire game. Perhaps a guest blog by Hizzle man on that topic. woop woop!!!
ma.com

av.com here - ya, we're still friends...i love disagreements, makes things more interesting.

I read a friend's away message and it said "go lakers". My immediate reaction was, this particular friend has gone crazy. This friend is not from California, so has very little if any connection to the lakers. Why would anyone want to root for the lakers? They are the most arrogant team in all of professional sports, only playing when they feel it is necessary. I can't imagine if the rest of the world worked with the same mentality the lakers do. Imagine going into a restaurant and the chef telling you, "Well, I know I can make the food a hell of a lot better, but i'm just not in the mood tonight. I really went all out a few nights ago, so it would be too much to expect of me to give it my best effor tonight." We would stop patronizing that restaurant, so why this great love for the lakers? Do they actually deserve a championship just because they have hall of famers without rings on their team? Are there any nba players that deserve a championship?

I lost interest in the nba when I noticed the players stoped caring. The game detiorated and it's obvious by how the nba keeps pushing high school players as the "next" jordan. The nba knows its product is crap but still insists that it is the best basketball in the world! Which brings me to the Olympics and the embarassment that will prevail because supposedly our best and most gifted basketball players do not want to play in the Olympics. I understand the fear of terrorism, but if I remember correctly, the President of the US, told the American public, do not fear the terrorists, we will not succumb to the evil people in the world. And the best way to fight the terrorists is to go about your life as your normally would. Are the nba players above the american public, do they feel they are the next targets? I'm the younger players want to play for USA Basketball. Maybe they can get rid of the arrogant, money-grubbing image that the nba players are so quickly to embrace. As much as I hated Lebron James entering the nba, he seems to be a little mature. He plays hard every game and doesn't seem to attract any trouble. Let him, Carmelo, Carlos Boozer be the new face of USA Basketball. They are by far the better role-models than the veteran nba players.

I've added the option of leaving comments after each post, feel free to click on comments and leave some! I'd love to know what people are thinking.

finally achieved one of my goals...

story time:

before i started my current job, i had lots of time on my hands. so, i started playing lots of internet games. stumbled onto candystand.com and immediately got addicted to mahjongg. and one of my goals was to make their leaderboard. with a score of 326 i now occupy position #79 out a 100! YAY! ironically, 326 is not my best score.

don't worry, i still have plenty of goals left to achieve.

So, who's going to enter this contest?

I think I know a few people who would definetely be great candidates.

Here is why baseball is relevant in the spring. Read this article. Now no one can say there is nothing good about professional sports!