How Many We're Left?

How many gears are left? When do we switch gears? For Kobe Bryant it was around game # 32. Ironically enough, it is not only my old number, or baby girls current number, it also happens to be Earvin "Magic" Johnson's old number. What's ironic about that? Well the Lakers are a sub .500 team, which for you math buffs and non-sports fans means they have not won as many games as they have lost. They have, however, improved. They are only 3 games below .500 (24-27) now and on a tough East Coast road trip. They've battled injury and managed to get closer to .500 in part, due to Kobe Bryant changing the way he plays. Now the heavy non-sports critic might ask, "Seriously, one guy really made that much of a difference?" The answer is, somewhat, yes he did. It's a collective (team) effort, but it has to start somewhere right? So goes life.

Kobe stepped away from the "me first, me only," scoring mentality and dared to be more like a previous Laker great Magic Johnson, and has began to get his teammates involved. The Lakers are more productive as a team, and gradually getting back to the Laker norm, and winning games. Also bettering their chances at another title. So how many losses does it take to realize it's time to switch gears?

With that said, how many are left? Meaning how many are left that would want to play with a ball hogging, shoot first, washed up scoring champion, that couldn't help "them" win an NBA Championship? Not many. But how many would desire playing with a past NBA Champion, that was also the NBA Scoring Champion, and made them a part of that championship legacy? Most!

What's better, telling your kids or grand kids that you played a solid defensive game, while Kobe did not, but that he scored 45 points that night as you lost by 12, or... telling them that he set you up for 3 wide open 3's that you drained like lay-ups, and he led you with a sweet pass that turned into a dunk? Let's say also, WHILE he scored 4 or 44 (who cares because you won by double digits), and took the NBA crown all in the same breath! Yeah the latter sounds much more appealing right?

So how about friendship? What about family? Do you have a me first and me only mentality? Yes, I'm speaking to self most of all. What are you going to do when there are none left that want to play in YOUR game, or on YOUR team? Will you switch gears keep family together, to keep old friends around, gain new ones along the way, or will you be all about self and retire lonely? YOUR worth, good times, and attractiveness are fading, what do you have left... money? If so I can assure you not near enough to buy love, just enough to fake it and get lost in it. Wait though, you don't need money or anything else, after all they're family and friends, right? They're family and friends, they have to love you, right? Isn't that a given, won't they get over my abusing them? Physical abuse might leave a memorable fleshy scar, but what if the physical or even verbal abuse cuts deeper? You can put a band-aid on a surface wound, or a cast on a broken limb. You can see those things. Smoking around your children and exposing them to second hand smoke or teaching them that smoking is cool and creating an illness like asthma, emphysema, or bronchial diseases you can't see. It's the me first mentality talking.

Yelling at your partner in front of your children, or parents for that matter, you don't physically see the trauma until they express it. Cancer works that way. The way you're acting in a situation like that is the same difference as cancer, you can't see it.

So was your action a scratch, cut, or broken bone or was it a cancer? Choose your words wisely, and your actions even more wisely, and make sure that they are not cancerous. You may kill off the love of those closest to you with no hope of remission. Who knows? Let's hope that's not true, but let's not test it either. You can only ignore the wrong so many times, and only say I'm sorry (if you even really mean it) so many times. So how many are left today? How many will be left, providing you, or they see another tomorrow? Just a little something to think about this week as you leave home, career, and any other activity I may have missed.

Thank you Andrew Gall and class for the Einstein quote:

Insanity is doing the same old, same old and expecting a different out come.

SWITCH GEARS before there are none! Peace...

Observe & Learn

Over time you can develop a great deal of discernment for life matters. You can learn through observation, & see trends take place, and in some cases make likely predictions. Albeit, nothing is ever guaranteed, with the exception of God being Almighty God all by Himself, you can still see the end result through observation and developing trends.

Some individuals, teams, or groups just have the oppositions number. No matter how hard a person or group tries, there is that one team or individual that they just cannot get past, no matter what! In those times you can see a defeated team, or individual. You can see it in there eyes, or in their mannerisms, and on the other side of the spectrum, you can see the winner claiming what's theirs before the competition ever gets started.

Alexis Arguello was a tough, tough fighter. He fought hard, and stopped some great fighters in his day, then along came Aaron Pryor. Pryor beaming with confidence had Arguello's number. I remember watching them fight when I was a kid, and thinking even then, "Pryor has Arguello on lockdown!" Watching the ref give the pre fight instructions, you could see that the fight was over before it got started. Rocky Balboa (a fictional character) wouldn't always stare down his opponent, and in one of the Rocky movies, even admitted to being nervous before the fight. However, in most cases the Rock came out ready to do battle. Ready that is with the exception of the James "Clubber" Lang (Lang being the main antagonistic in Rocky III) fight. Rock just wasn't ready for that fight, and couldn't get ready for it. The rematch was a different story. For Arguello, unfortunately it was not. The shorter, more confident, and aggressive Pryor stopped Arguello early in both fights.

Tonight I watched Kobe Bryant take on the roll of Alexis Arguello. He had 'an' attitude, and 'a' want, just not the desire. Bryant was caught in a pick while guarding Kevin Durant, and Kobe gave up on the play.  On that play Kobe didn't even try to box out Russell Westbrook (I believe it was, a smaller point guard) who crashed the board hard, only to botch the put back attempt on the missed layup by Durant. The sad thing is, although Westbrook missed the put back, his teammate Kendrick Perkins was there to retrieve his miss, and score. Kobe not only failed to box out his man on the pick, but allowed his big men to be placed at a disadvantage and allow the opposition to out number his front court bigs, and score on his team. He is relentless on getting free on offense so he can get a touch and a shot, but didn't even try on defense. He failed because he did not even try! Arguello at least put on the gloves. Kobe wants to be mentioned with the names Johnson, and Jordan, but doesn't put forth the effort to be deserving of that mention. When did you ever see Magic, or Air Jordan give up? You didn't! They played til the end. Kobe sees his squad down by three with 13 seconds left, and he immediately starts to pout. His attitude doesn't change either. He has to be given the opportunity to be the hero, and hit the game tying three, or be able to cast the blame on someone else. Well he had several opportunities tonight to be the hero, and he blew it. He missed a long forced 3, and wouldn't have needed it, if he had played a little team defense. I love the Lakers, but this is one era that I will be glad to see come to an end. Kobe needs to go. How about Iguodala and two first round picks Mr. Stern? Will the league approve that? Kobe goes back to his old stomping ground in Philly, and the Lakers get to remain competitive, and hopefully pick up a first round player that puts them back on top in a few years.

Onto bigger observations... The Preakness saw the same results as the Derby, today. I'll Have Another, had Bodemeister's number. I'll Have Another ran down Bodemeister, and beat him again, only this time by a nose! On June 9th could he be the first horse in 34 years (and 1 of 12 in the 138 year history) to win the coveted triple crown? I'm going to say yes. I say yes for two reasons. Even though he's a horse, you can still see his swagger, and also because I feel that Bodemeister, and his jockey are going to be thinking, "I have run my heart out, and that joker always shows up in the last 110, and runs past me!" That does something even to a horses morale. I feel that if I'll Have Another stays close enough that he will take a late charge again, and win the Belmont. The only way to beat him in my opinion is if Bodemeister can discourage him with a larger than life mid race lead, one that is seemingly unsurpassable. If not, then I see big brown running them down for the triple crown.

And in life, let this be a lesson. Just because you are midpack during the race, doesn't mean that you need to give up, or throw in the towel. It simply means that it's time to make your stand, by making a charge, and know that every true champion makes a run! If the other guy(s) can take lead, then know that you can make a run, to not only challenge, but go ahead! Be inspired, be successful... Observe and learn.

Marshall's X-Ray Misread, Not Broken!?

OK let's get the ugly out of the way first. Creighton was a very physical team, and were allowed a few too many cheap shots. One could say that's all on the players because at that level they know better, or one could say it's mostly on the refs for missing the calls (especially to double thrust up near the neck and throat area of Carolina's Tyler Zeller delivered by Creighton's big man who with that play characterized his thought processing and age to match his number: double zero), or one could say it's on the coach for encouraging dirty pool, which went above and beyond playing physical, and tough. You can be physical, and even mentally tough, without being dirty. It was a dirty played game at times! OK that's the ugly.

Now onto the bad... the bad is that an injury is an injury. There is no pretty side to that. Not being able to play at 100% is horrible for a competitor, period! Bad is having a crack so tiny, that you can't see it with the naked eye, but it shows up on an enlarged x-ray.

The good... Kendall Marshall doesn't have to score like Kobe Bryant, he only has to be as tough as Kobe! Kobe broke his shooting wrist earlier this season and is still playing, He missed a little time after surgery, but still played. They have Marshall's wrist in a cast, but no ligament damage, so Kendall could still be cleared to play! Football players play in cast all the time. Kendall's presence would be enough to bother a lot of opponents. Plus Kendall only needs to distribute the ball and avoid turnovers, so the wrist may not completely keep him out.

Also on a good note, some hater was just rushed to the hospital psych ward after reading the title to this blog. That same hater that rushed to read the title, then rushed to share with all of his/her hater pals on Google+, and Facebook, and a few more went with him/her. I am not totally morbid! The good in that is that the haters missed their self-diagnosis thinking they were having a coronary, and it was just a panic attack, so they will be fine by the time someone with sense reads the blog through it's entirety, and tells them that the title was a hoax.

To conclude:
The good, Kendall could still play in a few weeks, this is a long tournament. The bad, we have to survive without him, and for even a few minutes without Kendall could prove fatal to the title shot we had hoped for this season. The ugly, got put out in the first round by a school from Bethlehem, PA. Gone now is Lehigh, but thank you for your first round devil removing services, and congrats on a brilliant first tourney win. Go Heels!

Ride of the Century (Prepping 4 Trek 100)

This is how a pro dresses in the cold...

This is how a non-professional, (poor man) dresses in the cold...

Okay my attire wasn't that hideous, and I didn't fight the wind and the cold in coveralls. Today was actually a great ride, with the exception of my being scatter brained. I forgot my riding shoes in the kitchen, at home, had to wear my running shoes to ride in, then drove into snow to get started. It snowed pretty hard for about the first three miles, and fell at an angle as the SW winds blew hard across my body, forcing me into a slight lean to the right. Amazing the difference in just three to five miles! Almost five degrees warmer in one township, than the other! After I had cleared the snow it was just a bit breezy and the sun shone perfectly in a Carolina Blue sky. I made it back to my mountain top home just before the second wave hit, and in time to watch the Lakers beat the Heat. Kobe scored thirty-three points, D Wade fouled out, and the Lakers held on and won by ten. Plus my Heels won the ACC Regular Season Championship last night by beating the bad guys (Duke) by eighteen. Therefore, it was a great basketball and cycling weekend for me. Now I am trying to get back on track for the count down to the Trek 100! Time to figure out how to set up my Paypal account, get some funds in there for the MACC Foundation, and raise money to help those fine folks find a cure for pediatric cancer.

Oh but before I close this particular blog, let me say this in a picture...

You know you've ridden well when your much younger partner looks like the guy above. Now time for the old guy to go find some hot water and relax!

What's Sweeter?

I once played in a late afternoon black top classic. It was about 102 degrees in the shade at 3:30pm. It was a day when you could almost dehydrate from watching the heat lift from the pavement! We didn't care then, we were young, resilient, and having too much fun to care. Play for twenty, break for five, then run them back! My group had been playing game after game that evening. We ran about ten straight, then the sun started to drop, and along came another group. My group was feeling good, and ready to run with whomever. We had size, and a ton of talent, we felt invincible. We had (thought we had) a huge advantage. We had some leapers, we had height and most of us had been playing since we were able to hold a ball. We played against other guys just like us all day, and walked the dog with them! Then at the dropping of the sun round about 90 degrees, minus the heat index on the black top, the tide turned and the dog walked us! We played against a very cohesive unit, and they murdered us! Five guys (not one of them over 5'4"), lightning quick, and verbal! They were Vietnamese kids that did everything together. They ate together, did chores together, studied together, everything! They played unselfish, they played with a passion, and they took advantage of every mistake we made.

On this particular day we made plenty of mistakes. Our biggest mistakes were being over confident and casting blame on everyone but self. We didn't work at all, one pass (if that) and shoot. Then when you are lazy in transition that equals a slaughter! We may have looked to cast blame individually, but as with all team sports, we went down in flames as a "team!"

Word in Cleveland was that Bron blamed poor coaching for Cleveland's not winning a title! So, will that be the case in Miami as well? Well my boss, said something (as a Laker hatin' Celts fan) that shocked me. What he said shocked me, but gave me even more reason to be excited for the 2011-2012 season. He said something to the affect of how cool would it be for Coach Brown to go to LA and win a title with Kobe, and leave LeBron once again shaking his head in -or in near- tears thinking inside his head like Nancy Kerrigan said out loud... "Why, why, why!" Well greed, and self righteousness could be LeBron's Tanya Harding, and until he sheds them, he will be saying, why, why, why... for a long time! I don't know how long Kobe and Coach Brown will stay friendly, but I like Browns way of thinking. He said he would abandon the triangle offense, and run something similar to what they ran while he was an assistant under Pop (Greg Popovich) in San Antonio when Duncan and Robinson were their and they won titles. Well it would be sweet for Lakers fans everywhere and for Cleveland fans as well, not to mention all the LeBron haters if the Lakers or Cavs could win the coveted NBA Championship in the 2011-2012 season.

Photo via Cleveland.com

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What Just Happened!?

 

 

What happens when you take a group of guys that can bang in the paint, but do not play the transition game as well? You go to the low block right? Well what happens when the opposition collapses into the paint and forces the tough shots inside? You kick it outside right? What happens if the back court doesn't knock down the open J? Then you put in the slashers, and let them penetrate right? What if none of that works either? Wait, let's also throw in the biggest, "What Happens... What happens if you play poor perimeter defense, and the other team shoots lights out! Then you go home defeated! Phil thanks for the excitement in Tinseltown. It was a great run. Kobe, I hope you retire a Laker and your attitude changes for the better, as you look for positive ways to motivate your teammates, but just know that I am not holding my breath, for that, or for Koach K, to coach my beloved Lakers. I have heard that Byron Scott was content with where he is, but would consider being back in LA again, this time as head coach, and that would be a beautiful thing! So Mitch, what say you? You got another, "What Just Happened" in you for the NBA community? I hope so! Mitch "I Make It Happen" Kupchak, do it to it Mr. GM!

It would not bother me a bit to see the next generation in a tough, high flying, up and down, shoot two hundred and twenty shots between the two teams, at a very high percentage, fire fest! Bring on the Bulls and Grizzlies! Then let all the front runners ask, "What just happened!" I am not a fan J. Noah, but I would take them in 7 against the Grizzlies, although, I would be pulling for the Grizzlies, if I had to choose a team. Jerry West has them where they are today, like it, or believe it or not... Happy Mother's Day Hoop fans of the motherhood sorority!