So…issue 108 of SLAM is pretty much dunzo, out the door and on the way to the printer. And I’m already on to the next issue, sitting here trying to think of a cover concept to make…whoops, almost gave it away. Anyway, it don’t stop around here.
“The Hills” was amazing again last night. When it works, the show is about friendships, and they got back to dealing with friendship problems again last night. They obviously edit the heck out of the show to make the situations look even worse than they actually are. But that’s what’s great about it.
Omar came by today to bask in the glory of his 300 review and said that I “be lookin’ tired as sh*t.” I was going to explain to O what it means to have a full-time job, but didn’t want to get into it.
I’m so far behind on “24” right now that it’s laughable. I actually have four episodes saved on my DVR, and I’ve just got to find a free evening to catch up. Problem’s been that the last few weeks I’ve worked all day, then had to go home and write something else or edit something or whatever…just haven’t had a chance to completely veg on the couch.
Last night I went to bed early (by my standards) and realized the Mavs/Warriors game was still on, so I watched most of the second half of that. Golden State was playing nearly perfectly, and Dallas couldn’t do jack. By the fourth quarter Avery had given up, and that Barea dude got significant burn. Hey, the streak had to end at some point. I’m guessing the Suns weren’t happy about Dallas finally losing, considering they play the Mavs tomorrow night and surely didn’t want Dallas coming in pissed about turning in a stinker in Oaktown.
Going out of town this weekend to catch a few rounds of NCAA action. Not going with a press pass, just sitting in the stands with a few friends. Should be fun. I have no attachments to any of the teams, either, so I’ll be cheering for the underdogs throughout.
Not a whole lot happening in the NBA right now. Phoenix and Dallas are going to fight it out for the top spot in the West. The Sixers are playing their way out of the Oden/Durant derby. The Hawks are playing their way out of winning a top lottery slot, which means they’ll have to hand their pick over to Phoenix. Depressing.
A few stories worth mentioning today…
• Not much surprise that Michael Jordan announced Bernie Bickerstaff won’t be returning as coach for the BETcats. Bernie’s assembled a nice team down there, but they don’t seem to play very well for Bernie.
• How about Wedgie Evans snitching on former teammate Joe Forte? “(Forte) verbally went at the coach,” said Evans. “He didn’t want to go on the (disabled list). He couldn’t relate. He was a (jerk). When we lost games, he was laughing.” Evans is upset that he’d been logging DNP-CDs, but said he didn’t want to make a big deal about it. Instead he talked about the time one of his teammates made a big deal about it. Nice.
And did anyone else this stat last weekend: When Greg Oden grabbed 19 rebounds against Purdue, he broke the record for rebounds in a Big 10 tournament game that had been set by Reggie Evans, who had 18 in a game (twice) for Iowa.
Oden hasn’t grabbed anyone’s junk yet, though.
At least, not that we know about.
• Orlando doesn’t sound very big on keeping Jameer Nelson around after this season. Magic GM Otis Smith said, “Jameer has to understand that we expect more out of him,” and added, “I don’t think Jameer’s had the best of years.” Nice.
The Magic are going to try and sign Dwight Howard and Darko to extensions this summer, so Jameer might end up being the odd man out.
There’s been a lot of talk about Orlando using their cap room this summer to sign a scorer…what if they throw a ton of cash at Chauncey Billups? Just putting it out there…
• Things are looking cloudy in L.A., where the Lakers are so depleted by injury that assistants Craig Hodges and Brian Shaq had to dress out and practice with the team last week. The Lakers are clinging to the bottom of the Playoff standings, but things should start looking up: According to the LA Times, they play 11 of their last 18 at home, and their next seven opponents are Denver, Portland, Minnesota, Memphis, New Orleans, Golden State and Memphis. I want them to qualify either 7th or 8th so we get a Phoenix/Lakers first round series. I might have to actually travel out West for that one.
• And finally, could the longest-serving Raptor be on the way out? Say it ain’t so, Mo.
