The Week it Was...

The world of sports really is the best reality drama going and has been for sometime.
Between the NBA Playoffs, the day to day happenings in the MLB and the off season of the NFL things never slow down. And no, I did not forget about a certain coach of a certain team that just got an extension.

First lets start with Derek Fisher. This guy is a flat out winner and has been for sometime, as intelligent basketball fans we all know that. We remember the three championships with the Lakers where he was the perfect role player to play with Kobe and Shaq. We remember the miracle shot with .4 seconds on the clock in San Antonio that propelled the Lakers past the Spurs into the NBA Finals in 2004. Unselfish, willing to guard anyone on court as well as take a charge from guys a foot taller and a bill heavier Fisher is a symbol of everything that is right about pro sports. Following his time with the Lakers he signed with Golden State where he thought his experience and leadership would guide the young and talented Warriors back to the post season. Plain and simple the Warriors just were not ready to get to that level yet.

Thankfully for Fisher he was able to move on to Utah where the Jazz were in that position under the leadership of Coach Jerry Sloan and emerging young stars Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. So there the Jazz sat fresh off of a first round game 7 victory in Houston over the favored Rockets. Then as all parents fear something was wrong with their child. Fisher's 10 month old daughter Tatum was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer that required a combination of surgery and chemotherapy, which was performed by retinoblastoma specialist Dr. David Abramson at New York's Presbyterian Hospital. Fisher, of course was with his daughter and family in New York. Family and religion have always been more than important to Fisher but when it was clear the surgery was successful and his daughter would be okay he, his wife and his daughter Tatum boarded a flight back to Salt Lake, having no idea what amazing chapter lay ahead.

The Jazz were about to get under way for Game 2 when Fisher was still in mid flight and rookie guard Dee Brown was set to get the minutes vacated by Fisher's absence. Brown, lightening quick from end to end on the court, was playing his heart out in front of the hometown crowd when he collided with teammate Mehmet Okur and injured his neck. Fisher, of course had no way of knowing this. He simply asked his wife if it was okay if he could play after the plane landed and she said yes. He went right to the arena, threw on the uniform, hit the stationary bike for a few minutes to get his legs warm and went right to the scorers table like this was planned. It wasn't. But it was needed. The Jazz needed what he could bring physically to the court, but what he brought psychologically and emotionally could not have been predicted.



After leading most of the game the Jazz found themselves down five and in danger of going to Oakland tied at one game apiece. Then the veteran, the leader, the guy that has three rings and a ton of big game experience checked into the ball game and threw a wrench in the Warriors plans. Did Fisher do it alone? Not a chance. Did the Warriors blow their chance by missing key free throws when they had their foot on Utah's throat? Absolutely. But it was Fisher that forced a huge Baron Davis turnover towards the end of regulation to keep the Jazz alive and force overtime. It was Fisher whose three pointer in overtime buried the Warriors and it was the emotional lift that Fisher supplied that pushed the team and arena over the top on their way to a 2-0 lead over Golden State. Simply put Derek Fisher has serious onions and his performance under those circumstances will never be forgotten. Tatum Fisher has a heck of a role model for a father.

Clemens return to New York not in typical Yankee fashion...

Click below to hear the hurrendous sound of Suzyn Waldman describing the scene at Yankee Stadium when Roger Clemens announced he will be returning to the Bronx.
http://www.wcbs880.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=695991

The Yankees just signed a 44 year old pitcher to almost $1 million per start, fine if you have the money, which they do but between the display at the stadium, Suzyn Waldman's embarrassing call as a representative of the Yankee's on the airwaves and that Clemens will have his own set of rules is rediculous. He is also going to be the teams 4th starter, but regardless of where he falls in the rotation he is only going to be playing once every 5 games!!! Not everyday! The Yankee dynasty of the 90's in case you have all forgotten was based on class, team and tradition, this does not represent any of those things. People are saying "welcome home." Welcome home? Come on! Home would be Boston where he pitched 13 seasons not with the Yankees where he pitched 5 and then left for Houston.

His numbers in Houston ERA wise were very impressive but he worked into the 7th inning only 5 times out of 19 starts last season. I understand Houston did not help him at all with run production, on the other hand the National League lineups are far weaker than the American orders. Think about it, as a National league pitcher you face a weak 8 hitter (lets say that is true 75% of the time) and then the pitcher. That is almost 25% of the order, a big factor in any pitchers success in the National League, especially a pitcher climbing in age.

Am I saying the Yankees are crazy for brining back Clemens? No way. But in the way it was handled, the dollars that he is getting paid and the attitude that the "savior" is here to me is ludacris. I never thought anything tradition wise would be sacrificed with in the Bronx with the Yankees, just like I never thought so in Boston with the Celtics, but they left the Garden and most recently got dancers, f*ck#n dancers!!! What is next for the Yankees? Maybe Bernie will come back (that would be worthy of a welcome home) and make his pinch hitting debut by para-shooting onto the field from a plane and having Mattingly waiting in the on deck circle for him holding his bat and some Kleenex (I always thought Bernie was a softy with his whining, most overrated defensive outfielder of our era but a big time clutch hitter)
Maybe David Wells will arrive on a party bus with strippers and a keg fully sponsored by Coors Light and Rick's Caberet for the stretch run, that would be sick!!!

BBQ, BEERS, and BARON

THE WILL OF BARON: Taking it to the tin!

There are certain evenings that are just plain special, especially when
you are living in New York City surrounded by amazing friends who you laugh your ass off with and have similar interests. Well last night was one of them as I had some of my crew over to "The Palace" for Game 6 of the Warriors Mavs first round series. We were all expecting drama, emotion and great basketball, what we got will go down as one of the biggest ass kickings an underdog has ever given a top seed in an elimination game and a performance from Baron Davis that will define his career.

During the earlier Rockets Jazz game 6 in Utah which the Jazz won to force a game 7 back in Houston, they went live to Golden State before the players even took the floor and it was a mad house. The place was covered in yellow and jumpin. The fans in Oakland could taste the blood of the Mavs, Mark Cuban and Charles Barkley (If you have not seen the studio shows TNT has been doing during these playoff games you have been missing pure entertainment at the most awkward level, it has been priceless)

Though Dallas got off to a decent start, they made 7 three balls in the first quarter to keep pace with the Warriors, the Mavs, the rest of the building and fans watching world wide had no idea what was coming next. Early in the second quarter Baron Davis went to change direction and head back down the court and came up lame reaching for his right hamstring. The mood in my crib went from jacked up as all hell to us asking "Are the warriors finished?" "Shit, I need another beer, do you think Monta Ellis can spark them while they check out Baron?" "The mood in the Palace was one of concern that our night based around game 6 would be ruined as surely the Warriors could not close out the Mavs without The Baron", stated a gitty BD, a palace veteran star in the post game.

Monta Ellis did help the Warriors stay afloat in the next few minutes but it was the much maligned Stephen Jackson that stepped up huge all night. Jack, whose history we all know about has had an outstanding series and knowledgable fans who once dismissed him as a typical thug in pro sports are changing their tune because of how hard and how well he has been playing. This season's Palace appearance leader El Presidente has done a full 180 on Jack, "I am growing to love this guy, kind of like the Mexican I messed with the other night, she just kind of went from chill to a crazed spicy empanada back at my crib, who knew?" Who knew Jackson could drop 33 points and blanket MVP candidate Dirk Nowitski in such a huge ball game.

While Jackson had the best game of his rollercoaster career the real story began when Davis quickly returned to the court from the lockerroom. The fans took notice, his teammates took notice and for those of us watching at home Marv Albert definitely took notice. Marv has been the voice during two of the greatest performances ever put on by injuried players in the post season, Willis Reed in game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals and Larry Bird in game 5 of the first round of the 1991 NBA playoffs.

As this was all developing we all looked at each with this look of "Is Baron about to do what this stage is calling for?" But after the first few minutes it did not appear to be possible. Davis was dragging his right leg up and down the court and simply could not guard the ball. BD was giving great animation in the room as Davis was struggling with his loud "Ahh's" as Davis could not move.

On offense his first two attempts were well short, obviously because of the hammy. But then it happened, he hit that baseline jumper as an inadvertant whistle went off, then he knocked down back to back 3's, and all of a sudden the pain in Baron Davis' leg started to go away, and the strength of his iron will began to take over the game, the building and the destiny of the Golden State Warriors. We said it all week around the palace that the WILL of Baron Davis was the difference, as he was able to do what some of the all-time greats have done in playoff history, raise the level of their teammates. All in all Baron knocked home 13 points between the time he re-entered the game and the half. At the half I was able to get out to the balcony and throw some quality snacks on the grill while the rest of my crew made the second half beer run. Great teamwork all around last night by the boys. Everyone stepped up in a big spot, especially BD who aborted a date to make it over for some sliced steak right before tip off.

As we chowed down on some quality chicken sausage covered in the spicy brown and drank our pale ale talk shifted to whether Dirk and the Mavs would be able to handle the emotional lift the Warriors had just gotten from THE WILL OF BARON. "You thought the Mavs would come out and compete, but that is exactly what did not happen", stated a shell shocked Rusty, former palace inmate and frequent appearance leader who is responsible for the current chicken sausage rage.

The scoreboard read 50-48 Warriors at the half but that lead was well on its way to growing as the WILL OF BARON drove Stephen Jackson and co to put a 36-15 third quarter on the Mavericks and boot their asses out of Oakland and the playoffs.
The final exclaimation point came in the 4th quarter with back to back plays by Jason Richardson. First he took a bounce pass on the baseline and whipped home a nasty dunk as the Mavs who had gutlessly rolled over and died at that point just stood and watched. On the following possession Richardson found himself open in the left corner and buried a 3 ball, the final stake threw the Mavericks heart. The same Mavericks that seemed to be on a mission this season as they won 67 games after losing to the Miami Heat in last years Finals.

So here is the question that must be asked today. Where does Baron Davis performance go down in the history of the NBA playoffs when talking about guys that stepped it up to another level while playing injuried or ill?



The four best of all time are below, does Baron's hold enough to be on the same list?


1997 NBA FINALS: Michael Jordan while playing with the flew drops 35 on the Jazz in Utah as he can barely make it up and down the floor brings the Bulls within one victory of their 5th NBA Championship. Pure guts by MJ.


1970 NBA FINALS: A hobbled Willis Reed comes for warmups at the Garden before game 7 against Wilt, West and the Lakers and the building errupts. The Captain makes his first two shots and the Lakers never have a chance as the Knicks lead by Reed and Walt Frazier who played the best game of his hall of fame career capture the first of their two NBA Championships.


1991 NBA Playoffs, First Round: In the decisive Game 5 at the Boston Garden against Chuck Person and the Pacers an aging Larry Bird hampered most of the season with a bad back slams his face on the floor in the 2nd quarter diving for a loose ball. He walks to the lockerroom and the Pacers begin to take over the game. The way the story goes, is that Bird waited for the trainer to turn his back after giving Larry ice for his dreary head back in the lockerroom and he runs out to the court early in the 3rd quarter. The Garden greets him with a standing ovation and Marv greets him with "Here comes Larry Bird." The killer look in his eye gives me chills to this day and his outlet pass to Reggie Lewis' dunk, with Marv adding "And Bird back...in the ball game', along with fist pump and level of anger he played with are what blows the top off of the Garden and pushes the Celtics past the Pacers. Bird finished with 34 points and gave the fans one more tale to tell for decades. Priceless.


1988 NBA FINALS: In their first finals appearance Isiah Thomas and the Pistons lead the defending champion Lakers three games to two heading back to LA for game 6. Early in the 3rd quarter Isiah Thomas rolls his ankle, bad, real bad. He looks to be done but his will and tough Chicago upbringing push him back onto the forum floor and he scores an unreal 25 points in the 3rd quarter on an amazing oray of shots and then hobbles back on defense. If you have ever seen NBA's Great Games hosted by Dan Patrick, he has Isiah live right next to him in tears as he described what he was feeling during that game. The Lakers ultimately won the game and the series in seven games delaying Detroit's first championship until the next season.

Fun Stuff to Carry You to Lunch

Just as we thought the Spurs and Suns closed out their first round series last night with Game 5 victories at home. While the Nuggets played the Spurs pretty tough in their series the Lakers did not have a chance against the Suns who are blazing right now. Performance of the night has to go to Michael Finley who buried 8 from long range on his way to 26 points. The Spurs Suns second round matchup has classic written all over it, I can't wait to preview it! We all know what is going down in Oakland tonight, more on that later.
(Running Down a Dream just came on in the office, that guitar is lethal!)
First here are a few videos to keep your day moving:

ESPN Sportscenter Top Ten Commericals. They never ever get old.
http://www.sportable.com/2007/04/30/top-ten-espn-commercials/


This is one of the funniest and oddest things I have ever seen.
The theme song is classic...



I love this manager, don't cut him off to early, it keeps getting better as it goes.