When Dirk Nowitzki took his first fadeaway of the 2011 playoffs, it looked a lot like the thousands of others he’d taken in his 12-year career. He stood for probably the millionth time in his life in the high post, free-throw extended, back to the basket, pacing his dribble like my grandpa paces his Toyota Camry. Read More »

A night after Sir Dirk Nowitzki went all epic in OKC (yes, you read that right, I’ve officially knighted him), there was no way I was letting another pivotal Game 4 pass me by without a live journal (not that kind of LiveJournal). Chicago needed this one: a 3-1 hole is insurmountable – like the hole left in my heart after the Macho Man’s untimely passing (RIP). Bulls’ backs to the wall, LeBron & Co. raring to go…Let’s. Get. It. On. Read More »

I lost a good friend this weekend. And I may never recover. I’ve lost a compatriot, an acquaintance, a piece of my life. I probably shouldn’t be taking it this seriously, but I work a 9-to-5 and have few things left in this world. Don’t judge me.

You shouldn’t feel bad, though, I knew it was coming. That this one with so much potential, with so much perceived left in the tank would eventually find a thankless demise was a foregone conclusion. The disappointing and tragic way it all went down? That was less good. This past Sunday, when the Celtics laid to rest the 2010-11 New York Knicks (before the Knicks could lay to rest their 10+ year playoff-win drought), we said farewell to our first playoff team. Read More »

I’m not sure if anyone is currently aware, but the Miami Heat play basketball. They’re an NBA franchise – a pretty good one – that is still playing regular-season games. Those games are played against other NBA basketball teams. Many times, they win those games. I just wanted to double-check that we all still knew that this was going on. It’s happening, I swear. Read More »

It’s the end of March. And though I send my humblest apologies to folks in Minnesota, Utah, Cleveland, Washington, Toronto, New Jersey, and Detroit – it’s just about time for us upper-crust NBA fans to leave your humble franchises behind and get ready for the big show. And while I absolutely empathize with any and all struggling franchises (I have watched the Knicks play for the last decade), I hereby render your 2011 season over. Enjoy your summer. We’ll see you in late June. Read More »

I’m not sure if you heard, but about a month ago, Carmelo Anthony got traded. It was kind of a minor deal and mostly flew under the radar, so it’s absolutely understandable if you scrolled past it on your Twitter feed, or missed your opportunity to Digg it. To be honest, I don’t think that many guys got moved, and I don’t completely remember where he ended up…

Okay, none of that is true. So why are we talking about this again? As far as ‘Melo is concerned, last night marked roughly 28 days since “sources” reported he would spend his workdays at Madison Square Garden. And with both the Knicks and Nuggets playing last night, it’s time to check in on their post-trade progress. Let’s go to work: Read More »

I was headed to New Jersey. I’m never happy when headed to New Jersey. But this was different.

This wasn’t because I had squeezed my way into a job interview with a small telecommunications company, or because I had got caught doing 90 on the New Jersey Turnpike. Too cheap to buy tickets to see his appearance at the Garden, I was making a mission trip to Jersey (The Promised Land, in this case) to find Blake Griffin salvation. It would be the first and only time I’d get to catch his live show this year. Nets-Clippers in Newark: quite possibly the least sought-after NBA ticket at the beginning of the season, by game time, had completely sold out. It was going to be a spiritual experience. Read More »