Bryant's Late Game Non-Heroics

Yesterday’s triple overtime win against the Phoenix Suns showed exactly why the greatest player in the world has earned the title as the greatest closer in the game despite being mediocre at it. The final moments displayed heroic efforts by Channing Frye, Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Pau Gasol, and Ron Artest and some awful decision making by Kobe Bryant. The Lakers came away with the win because he has awesome teammates that can bail him out and the Suns simply are not good. This is why the Lakers were up by 21 in the 3rd and ultimately went on to win the game. It would be quite fun to talk about how good this team is and how with Bynum's recent surge, they will likely crush whoever they see in the finals, but we are here to talk about something completely different today, so we'll fast forward towards the end of the game and Bryant's first of five bad crunch time moves.

Let’s begin with 1:10 left in regulation with The Lakers up by 3(112-109). Bryant drives in, gets stuck just outside the block, and passes it back to Fisher with 6 seconds on the shot clock. He calls for the ball back but Fisher is forced to throw up a tough shot and the Lakers are called for a shot clock violation.

Bad move #1- Putting a teammate in a tough position with the opportunity to close out a game. Bryant did not have a lot of options but even a tough shot by Bryant in this situation does not sound so bad.

Grant Hill goes on to tie up the game and Bryant subsequently misses the go ahead bucket as the Lakers were yet again unable to get a good shot after using the full 24 second shot clock.

Bad move #2- Not being able to get a good shot in two straight possessions despite having the all the ability in the World. I would think the best closer in the game would be able to get his team at least one decent shot in two important possessions with the game on the line. That said, Bryant has not really looked bad in all of this, maybe the Lakers just had a couple bad offensive sets at an inopportune time? Let’s continue on to find out.

Phoenix gets one more shot but when one of your key players is lazier than Charlie Sheen’s publicist, it is hard to get anyone open and Vince Carter throws up a three that misses. While fast forwarding to 36 seconds left in the first overtime, we see the Lakers commit 2 more shot clock violations and a 0-3 Bryant. Despite this, the Lakers manage to have a 1 point lead and the ball, a perfect situation for their superstar to put the nail in the coffin for these pesky Suns. In typical Kobe fashion, he throws up a 28 foot three point shot while double teamed.

Bad move #3- Awful shot selection. Now understand that 30% of the time, Kobe nails this shot, and it shows up all over sports center the next day, and he gets loads of praise, the rest of time, no one remembers this happening at all. If he did not have such great teammates, he just put his team in a very tough position.

Luckily, his teammates bail him out as Odom grabs an offensive rebound that could have saved the game. Derek fisher knocks down a couple clutch free throws, Channing Frye on the other end drains three HUGE free throws after a shooting foul and off we go to overtime number 2. In second overtime Kobe takes over a little bit more but loses the ball once and nearly loses it a second time. The move here is his wonderfully aggressive drive to the basket with 35 seconds left and down by 2(128-130). The two time finals MVP gets stuffed.

Bad move #4- Getting stuffed when your team absolutely needs a bucket. 'nuf said.

But, after Nash misses a contested layup and Pau Gasol sinks two crunch time free throws, we continue the story in triple overtime. Here Kobe does make a great three point shot and is forced into a tough shot later. He also draws the most clutch two fouls of the game when he forces Hill to get fouled out. This allows Artest to turn a great steal into a ferocious dunk and sink as easy two point jumper after putting the moves on Vince Carter who entered the game for Grant Hill(Yes, you read this right, Ron “The cautious dribbler” Artest got an open 1 on 1 shot against another National Basketball Association Player). The suns miss a shot which puts the Lakers up by 2, with the ball, and 24 seconds on the clock. Make sure you understand the situation here, the shot clock is essentially off, as a Laker you get the ball to Kobe or Fish, drain a couple free throws, and go home to watch reruns of Odom eating a bunch of candy with Khloe and the fam. Instead Bryant, with his infinite knowledge of the game, throws up a floater from outside the block with 14 seconds left and makes it.

Bad move #5- Not taking the free throws!! Refer to Bad move #3, where if he makes the ill-advised shot, he is hailed a hero and a closer. This play is still as boneheaded as they come. If he somehow gets bumped without a call, gets blocked again, or the ball just rims out, the Suns come back with a chance to tie or even win the game.

There you have it, 5 objectively bad moves during crunch time in a single game. He gets bailed out cause of his wonderful teammates, coaching, and occasional made shot. I understand that this is just one game and he did perform well at the end of the biggest NBA of the decade last year, but check the related article listed below that gives statistics confirming that this is not just a one-time issue. The successes are in fact the minority.

I will not argue against the fact that Kobe had a great game and is the best player in the NBA right now. He nearly had a triple double, and is poised to lead his team to a 3^rd straight NBA title, and 6 overall. The man is a legend. Let’s just please stop with the whole greatest closer in the game talk. The questions “Well who else would you rather have in the last few minutes to get a victory?” or “Who would you like to have to take the last shot with the game on the line?” would only be relevant if the last minutes of every NBA game was played 1 on 1. The truth is that smart team-oriented players, defense, and good shots has and will always be the best strategy whether it is at the beginning or end of the game. Give me the Lakers team with a team-oriented forth quarter strategy, and I'll promise you even better results. As for now, Bryant’s teammates will continue to help him get results at the end of games whether it is clutch rebounds and defense like Artest and Gasol this game, or unnoticed performances like the finals game 7 when Gasol topped off his 18 rebounds with 9 fourth quarter points on 100% shooting. The Lakers will continue winning, and Bryant will continue to reap the late game glory despite his mediocre late game decision making.

Related article with statistical backing: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/24200/the-truth-about-kobe-bryant-in-crunch-time

Saint Louis Street Market Applying for Pepsi Grant! Vote to Help it Win!

The primary objective of the street market is to stimulate economic opportunity for the working poor. Although economic inequality keeps poor families from ever achieving social stability or upward mobility, a street market can effectively narrow the gap in economic opportunity between the poor and rich. During the first year of operation, the street market will occur monthly on Saturdays.

Social and Economic Benefits

For users of the market, a street market:

• Directly gives vendors an opportunity to earn extra income;
• Minimizes financial risk and encourages persistence in entrepreneurial efforts by providing a venue for start-ups that incubates businesses;
• Reduces vendor susceptibility to and involvement in crime by providing an alternate, meaningful activity and source of income;
• Instills a sense of community spirit by encouraging social networking and mutual exchange of information between diverse groups of people; and
• Entertains consumers who find bargains and treasures while enjoying themselves in an atmosphere bustling with activity.

For non-users of the market, a street market:

• Addresses the need for vibrant and lively locations which can have spillover benefits on the surrounding area;
• Spurs the local economy because of vendors who will spend money on suppliers and at fixed-location stores outside the market;
• Creates jobs and generates income from newly formed businesses;
• Addresses problems associated with street peddling; and
• Reduces crime and criminal justice system expenditures.

http://stlstreetmarket.org/index.html for more information

The Sad State of NBA Refereeing

Bad Joey Crawford calls:
1. Camby on Nash, #1 WORST CALL EVER
2. Slow to develop, but probably the most angering technical ever, as boring as Duncan is, he is not the kind of guy that gets kicked out of a game for arguing
3. Just hilarious, makes a mistake, then calls the phantom foul on Billups as if we would think that Billups knocked over Damon Jones instead of Mr Crawford
4. Commentators follow my thoughts exactly
5. K. mart’s reaction isn’t off

Other:
Tim Donaghy game, reffing is at such a bad place right now, we actually thought this was just another badly called game, turns out, the Suns never had a chance, the Bill Simmons quote at the beginning says only part of it, he leaves out that there was already public outcry about the NBA being fixed BEFORE the Donaghy story even came out.

Q: who loses to fatass Charles Barkeley in a race?
A: the people who are required to run or jog for 150 minutes and make split-second decisions on hundreds of plays

Article about how bad the situation is

Why the Colts lost the Super Bowl

There were arguably a lot of things that the Colts could have done better and definitely a ton of things that the Saints did really well in this year's Super Bowl. However, the Colts losing really comes down to two key moments:

1) After stuffing the Saints on the goal line with a little under 2 minutes left in the half, instead of trying to do something with the ball the Colts settled for running straight into the line 3 times and then punting. First off, you're playing against the best offensive team in the league without two of your best defensive players - when you have the ball, you NEED to be trying to score (not even considering that by doing this, they gave the ball back to said best offensive team with 1:40 remaining in the half and 3 timeouts). Secondly, this basically set the tone for the rest of the game for the Colts. While the Saints were trying to win the game in whatever way possible (as evidenced by the 4th down attempt and the later onside kick), the Colts were trying not to lose.

2) On 4th and 11 at the New Orleans' 33, they elected to kick a field goal. When you have a) the oldest player ever to play in the Super Bowl as your kicker and b) a guy you're not 100% sure is going to make a 50+ yard field goal, this was absolutely the wrong decision. At the very least, they should have punted and pinned the Saints inside the 20. Momentum was clearly on the Saints' side at this point in the game and they needed a strong statement to mentally stay in the game. Going for it would have let Caldwell show his offense that he believed that they could win the game. Punting would have at least pinned the (again) best offense in the league deep in their own territory instead of surrendering the ball on the 33.

These two key mistakes set the tone for the Colts after the first quarter of the game and basically doomed them to lose. Fortune favors the bold!

"24" Begins Another Interminable Season

I'm going to part from the general wisdom of my fellow bloggers to talk down a show which is perennially among their favorites: "24." The show, which began a new season this week with a 2-hour special, is based around the incredibly cool premise that everything happens in real time. It originally began by demonstrating the lengths to which a man would go in order to save his family: in the first season, Jack Bauer's wife and daughter are kidnapped by bad guys with a hidden agenda. The extreme measures Jack uses in order to rescue them are ones with which we are familiar, having seen them before in film and television. We too would do anything to save our loved ones. In the course of his family-saving heroics, Jack alienates his friends, his employer and--in an interesting twist--his country. Plot twists abound, including one in which we learn the identity of a mole in the Counter Terrorist Unit where Jack works.

However, the show inevitably moved past Jack's immediate family in the second and third seasons and this, combined with their emphasis on illogical ruthlessness on Bauer's part, was the show's undoing. This was the precise point at which you could see the suspense-laden drama of the first season turn into Jack Bauer torture porn for TV. The show still follows the same, formulaic pattern in which Jack stretches the law and truth in order to find the preordained "bad guys," while alienating his friends and co-workers, but without the familial urgency, all of his actions makes little to no sense. There are actually so many flaws with Jack's logic that list form is the best representation for them all:

1) Jack trusts whomever he trusts with all of his soul...until he doesn't trust them anymore. Once you are on Jack Bauer's good side, you could tell him that aliens with octopus heads have landed on the White House and he will scream into telephones and torture anyone in order to prevent the deadly alien invasion. However, if the show's writers see fit, Jack's child-like trust will suddenly transform into fits of rage where he points guns and sharp objects at the character and threatens their life and the lives of all of their family members. In later seasons, these turns happen with such frequency and such speed that one begins to suspect Mr. Bauer of bipolar disorder. One season, I kid you not, he fights through terrorists in order to bring a suspect into custody alive after...wait for it...shooting to death a friend and member of CTU for reasons I still can't understand.

2) Jack will fight to the death in order to save...the USA? The deepest mystery the show has managed to maintain throughout the later seasons is the real motivation for any of Jack's actions. They may reveal this at some future point as some incredible plot twist (Jack is actually a robot from the future!) but I won't hold my breath. Ostensibly, Jack is trying to save the USA from attack or collapse. But since his bipolar disorder prevents him from using logic and reason, he has trouble calibrating his responses to actions throughout the series. He tortures US citizens as easily as foreign ones, so he clearly doesn't believe that the US is defined by its citizenry. He's deposed at least 2 presidents and other major leaders of the country, so he clearly doesn't believe that the US is defined by its leadership. And since he ignores literally every law enforcement agency as superfluous, he clearly doesn't define the US by its institutions. So what the hell is he fighting so hard to protect? Write to me if you can figure this one out.

3) Torture is the panacea for all intelligence problems. Of all of the show's ridiculous memes, this could be the most ridiculous of all. In the later seasons, there isn't an ounce of counter-intelligence procured by Jack that doesn't have, at its source someone on whom actual force or the threat of force was not exercised. Let's leave aside the fact that many respected members of the intelligence community both past and present say that torture is far more likely to produce poor intelligence than any other form of intelligence gathering. Let's ignore the fact that, as mentioned above, Jack tortures friends as easily as he does terrorists. Even without all of that, the fact remains that this methodology makes Jack Bauer both boring and predictable. (Oh, Jack's got a suspect in his hands, I wonder if he's going to...yep there goes with the electrodes to the nuts...wow, he got another impossible lead which will provide just enough information to lead us to...sigh, the next suspect in his custody).

With all of that being said for the general failures in the show, this season is probably the most boring yet. With a repeat showing for most of last season's cast, we are placed in a familiarly gritty urban setting (New York, this time) with familiarly foreign terrorists and familiarly growling Jack Bauer. If you're into Kiefer Sutherland snarling at the camera for an hour while waltzing through a plot an 8-year-old could probably write, then you'll love this season of "24."

Much Ado About Nothing

In case you've been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, Lane Kiffin has bolted his head coaching job at Tennessee for a much cushier position at USC. This has generated much consternation in the sports-writing world, with commentators heated up about Kiffin's consistent violations of NCAA rules while at Tennessee. Stewart Mandel writes about how untrustworthy a coach Lane is, while Jay Marriotti worries about future NCAA violations at USC. At first glance, this is all very troubling and could spell a short and rocky college coaching career for the arrogant Kiffin.

However, college sports (and much of life) is not about the rules. The last time a top program was hammered by the NCAA with real sanctions was the early '90s, when my own Maize and Blue were punished for the Chris Webb violations. However, even at that time, Michigan could hardly be called a basketball dynasty school. And nothing on the order of USC in football. The idea that the NCAA would actually bring harsh penalties to big name coaches and big name programs is naive at best. With the ousting of Jim Leavitt and Mike Leach, we have found out that successful coaches are not immune from the consequences of their actions. But those were firings based on specific, verifiable evidence of harm to the students. When a school essentially sends escorts to recruit high school players, or pays them thousands of dollars in benefits there is little evidence of harm to the student. There is plenty of harm to the college game and the damage that this does to high school players in general, in terms of recruiting, is regrettable but nothing that the NCAA would have the guts to really act on.

So do I think that the Kiffin-USC marriage is going to end in failure? Probably not, but because of reasons that have nothing to do with Kiffin. A) USC is a recruiting goldmine. It's situated on the coast, with beautiful weather, pretty girls, and famous alumns. It also has a national audience the probably eclipses that of most top programs (note that this is my guess). And B) One of the stories that's falling under the radar is the return of Norm Chow to the USC staff from UCLA. Add to that the fact that Monte Kiffin is coming in to coach the defense and you have the coaching formulation for an excellent USC team on both offense and defense.

I wish that poor coaching style and open cheating wasn't rewarded but, until the NCAA actually does something about the latter, Kiffin looks set to lead USC to a pretty impressive season next year. I would say next few years but with his resume, who know where he'll be then?

Entering the Fray

Hey Guys. This is my first foray into this blog so I thought I'd keep it light-hearted and start out with some simple observations on the political front /sarcasm. One up front admission: I'm as liberal as can be. I don't believe in the motivating power of punishment, which sums up the essential difference between conservatism and liberalism. I believe we lose little and gain much by helping our fellow man. And, as has been observed countless times before, governments are the best--and sometimes only--security that small minorities have against the cruel majority.

With that out of the way. Let's talk about what's on everyone's mind: the political upheaval in Congress. As The Daily Show observed on Thursday, the Democratic retirements announced last week are few in number compared to the Republican ones. Yet, as other political pundits have observed, this is to be expected when comparing the majority and minority parties in an election year. One clear message that comes through the noise is that these retirements are demoralizing for the Democratic constituency, but politically uninformative. The Democrats have, at the moment, neither gained nor lost any votes in the senate relative to the scenario in which these retirements did not occur.

The momentum that is causing this negative coverage of Democratic resignations actually began with the Tea Party protests, the genesis and popularity of which are simple to explain. Since the Reagan Administration, where America first swallowed wholesale the fairytale that "government is the problem," polling has consistently showed higher favorables for personality candidates than political incumbents. That is, when a voter believes they know a person's character without knowing their politics, they are happy with them. Once that same politician begins to vote, however, these favorable views tend to diminish. The reason for this is obvious. People appreciate ideological purity more than they do practical solutions. Once someone latches on to the idea of tax cuts, they can purely cling to this slogan without pondering the consequences. "Cut government spending!" Okay, but which programs would you like to eliminate? Thus, since this Tea Party has yet to test itself politically, it is polling well with the Americans that fancy themselves politically involved without taking the effort to actually become politically involved.

The only way that we liberals can make true political progress in the face of this lazy opposition is if we stop typing our angry messages into the ether of internet comment forums and start making phone calls and donations in favor of legislation and causes in which we believe (causes that make more goddamn sense than "cut taxes and government spending," like ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and Universal Healthcare). An ironic message on an internet blog, I know, but (IMHO) a true one nonetheless.