HOCKEY!

Well actually there is going to be a whole lot more than one word, but that is the word of the day.

Not only does the NHL finally kick off a new season after the debacle of last year, but the Stars host the Kings & its on the local Fox Sports network tonight!

HOCKEY!

First & foremost - big props to the Red Sox. That was absolutely unbelieveable and may go down as the greatest comeback ever in the history of sports.

Second - props to Rick for this link. With the NHL Strike probably rolling well into next season, the TV Show “G4″ on TechTV has taken the “what-if” factor to new geeky heights. They are simulating the NHL season using EA’s NHL 2005. Every episode of the show has a segment featuring gameplay highlights & color commentary by Lucky Luc Robitaille. Check out the site for the archived highlights & standings.

One of my favorite quotes:

“Give a man a fire and he’s warm for a day, but set fire to him and he’s warm for the rest of his life.”

- Terry Pratchett, Jingo

An important announcement. In light of recent events, the Lakers have changed their logo to the following:

Speaking as a basketball fan, the lakers performance in Finals series was an utter joke. The Lakers were an embarassment to themselves & to the league. I am sure all of you will have your reasons and excuses, but by halfway through the third, they gave up. I watched Detroit run circles around 5 listless players who were wondering if they could catch an earlier flight home.

Since I know the first comment from Scott will be something to the lines of “yeah but the Mavericks didnt make it this far” let me say this:

1 - The Mavericks NEVER gave up in any game of any playoff series. Yes they blew it at the end of 3 games in the playoffs, but they blew it in tight games where they lost by 1 or 2 points. The Lakers played 5 games of TERRIBLE basketball and one good OT quarter.”

2 - The Mavericks were not deemed one of the best teams ever assembled in the history of the NBA who were ensured to take the championship. The Lakers were predicted to be THE TEAM to take it all without any problems. They got complacent at the beginning of every series in the playoffs only seeming to want to play when their backs were to the wall. This is a sign of sheer contempt towards the fans in my opinion. These guys are professional basketball players & should give 100% EVERY game…..

3 - The Mavericks were not predicted to break the Bulls record of 72-10. I said at the beginning of the season the Lakers were too old to be able to go the length of the season & were going to face injuries. Malone is case in point for both. From what I understand, practices were scheduled around AARP meetings to accomodate for Malone & Payton.

4 - The Mavericks played AS A TEAM in EVERY GAME. The Lakers were 5 individuals playing 5 games of one on one. They were NOT a team. At the beginning of the season they were playing team basketball, but egos reared their ugly heads. Everyone wanted to be the star. This is exemplory of 90’s basketball when players worried more about their image than about the team winning. It sucked then and it sucked now.

At this point I am hesitant to even call the Lakers one of the greatest could-have-been’s ever. They played nothing short of aweful during the 5 games of the finals. Jackson should be fired before he can step down. Maybe I am being too harsh on him though. It did seem to me that Feng Shui was way out of alignment in the arena in Detroit.

The Mavericks did not win the championship this year…or the year before…or the year before…or the year before…but at least they would have gone down fighting as a team if they had made it that far.

1 - The Lakers lost.

2 - After game 2, I predicted that Detroit was going to wipe the floor with the Lakers. The Lakers fans I spoke to all said “the Lakers are in the groove.” What I saw was that the Lakers got cocky, and when they get cocky they get lazy. Add to this that Detroit was pissed that they should have won & Malone’s knee injury, and you have a formula for a Detroit win.

3 - I finally won a bet against the Lakers. John, you aint seeing my money this post season.

4 - The Lakers lost……BY A FUCK LOAD OF POINTS. (A fuck load = 20)

When your team is up by 3 points with 4 seconds left and you are playing a team who has a roster of clutch players who can shoot 3-pointers, what do you do?

You foul the player with the ball BEFORE they can get a shot off, let them take 2 points with the free throws and maintain control of the ball on the inbounds pass.

I hate the Lakers so very, very much.