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OTSS

I wrote the following at the same time as the last entry, in a marathon-frenzy of pseudo sports blogging and shameful self involvement. But to continue the theme of not caring and making myself feel important, I'm putting the bball section into it's own entry in order to "maximize readership", here we go.....

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Lost in the insanity of the gridiron was the start of the '06-'07 NBA Season! New synthetic balls that cut players' fingers get the axe for the ole Leather standby, the Knicks get booed at home, then instigate some fisticuffs that get the league's leading scorer suspended for 15 games. And the Sixers saddle themselves with so much bad basketball karma they might as well mail it in for the next 50 years. All in less than two months, Good times!

The Mavs' chance at redemption after letting a championship slip through their fingers got off to a bumpy start, but things are looking okay. We're still right up there with the Spurs and the Suns (now with Amare) and this years' playoffs should be just as riveting as last years' was........................................................................................
uuuuuuuuuuuuuntil the Sixers shipped off one of the 10 best guards to ever play the game to the Denver Nuggets. Now the Mavs' road to redemption just got a giant tattooed and corn-rowed obstacle thrown in its path. Not only that, but my rooting for my all time favorite non-Dallas athlete and my bleeding Maverick blue (or green or whatever) are now thrown into direct conflict. Sports used to be so easy...

Of course the whole trade drama allowed the media to pick sides and rehash everything that's right or wrong with AI again. And I must say I'm pretty disappointed in the doubters. These people remind me of Richard Dreyfuss's character in The American President . To paraphrase Annette Bening, they claim to love basketball, but clearly hate basketball players. Have they learned nothing in the past 5 years? I can't say anything that I haven't already said , or that the Sports Guy (and his readers ) hasn't already written 100x more eloquently, but I must say it is truly sad how poorly the Sixers, and other AI haters, treated one of the greatest athletes and one of the most resonant icons of our time.

I must also admit I'm ecstatic for AI. He finally gets to play with a real supporting cast in an up-tempo attack. He said he felt like "a newborn" after his first game as a Nugget, and he really did look happy. He was playing with an extra abandon, and all bets are off for his ceiling this year. So in tribute to the rebirth of The Answer here are a couple super sweet YouTube compilations of his best plays.

This one is the most bang for the buck. A simple top ten featuring a great look at the infamous Ty Lue step-over.

This one is a little long, but I think it has the most production value with the perfect Tupac soundtrack and the "Jordan crossover" intro. (Although skilled with the matching of video to audio, our guy doesn't have complete command of the English language. Only the Strong Survive....no 's').

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Note: since his first game, AI has been just as good as expected. He hit 40 the other night and has kept up an increased pace in assists (although the Nuggets did falter a bit the next night on the road, I think the new offense and high altitude will suit him just fine, good for me the AI fan, bad for me the Mav fan).

Posted by sheelpi at December 24, 2006 01:28 AM