Not Exactly Finland...

...then again Spain isn't exactly the USSR either. Zapatero isn't exactly Brezhnev either. In fact, I'd say the win in the finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup would be bigger (not in the global power struggle kind of sense, but you know the niche soccer fan sense) than the follow up to Miracle on Ice.

The US Hockey victory over Finland is one of the greatest footnotes in the history of sports. When "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" hasn't been beaten to death by ABC and Regis was still there, a question worth either $250,000 asked the contestant to name who the US beat in that Gold Medal game. Ask who the US beat in the Miracle on Ice? Lucky to be worth more than $1000, even on the dumbed down version of the show that competed with "Once Life to Live" and "The View" for an audience.

How the 2009 Confederations Cup goes down in US Soccer lore remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain. The good guys lost....unless your from Brazil, then get the hell off my blog and go celebrate in Rio. Actually, you can stay, it's not like anyone else will be reading.

This game I made sure I did not miss a single second of the game. If the USA was going to beat the nation that is one of the greatest footballing nations of all-time, I would be watching. I mean it would be by myself from a quite comfortable position on my couch, but it would have taken a natural disaster somewhere within a 100 feet of me to interrupt my private viewing party. I was taking no chances.

What me, myself and I witnessed was something out of a fairytale for the first 45 minutes. After Brazil held the ball up in the USA third of the field, the Red, White and Blue broke out the patented counter-attacking that brought them through past Spain. Right-Back Jonathan Spector curled a ball in, Clint Dempsey was on the end of it and millions of soccer fans across the globe just pinched themselves just 10 minutes into the final.

The US looked the better side for a spot after their goal, but there was no one denying Brazil's brilliance. Well, actually there wasn't no one, there were five of them. The back line and the undeniably awesome Tim Howard did not give anything up. Any ball that wasn't cleared out was parried or held by the Everton keeper.

Suddenly, with Brazil looking content to hold the ball up and slowly work their way in, got sloppy. Landon Donovan stole the ball in the US third and embarked on the greatest US journey since Lewis & Clark, BC guy Charlie Davies being his expedition partner. After the two's give-and-go, the ball was on Landycakes left foot and he calmly slotted home past Cesar.

At this point I could have been considered for a one-way ticket to a white-padded room I was so giddy. Did I mention I was watching the game solo?

As I mentioned, as did this guy, the back line was unstoppable in the first 45, and Spector was showing the world what Sir Alex Ferguson saw in the young American in what was his first game in defense.

But alas, all good things must come to an end, and a Luis Fabiano strike came barely a minute into the second half. The Americans continued to push but it just wasn't happening again.

The Brazilians finally tied the game in the 61st, but remarkably the score remained 2-1 USA as Howard saved the ball from within his own goal but neither the linesman nor the referee was able to see it. Ahh the beauty of the pace of a game versus slow motion.

Despite the stroke of luck, the Miracle on Grass round 2 was not to be as Fabiano made it a brace for him and tied the score in the 74th. Any other day and I am ecstatic of the Sevilla man's scoring knack but come on man! Your just torturing me now! And a golden boot to, well, boot!

At this point it was always to be seen the result. The US hold on for the next 16 minutes and then Brazil have 30 more in extra-time. Maybe it goes to the US if they can force penalties, but when you go from 2-0 up to playing for penalties in less than an hour, it is not looking very good. Of course Lucio obliged, heading home the winner in the 85th as Howard was left powerless.

Sure the result didn't go the way the cliche that is American Soccer fans wanted and the USA was denied their first FIFA championship....ever, but for the first time I will advocate the moral victory. The Stars and Stripes prevailed over the reigning European Champions and dominated the number one team in the world for 45 minutes.

If the US can keep the nucleus together, this kind of experience and unity could just maybe be just what they need for international success. The next trip to South Africa will be the true test.

Draft Diary 0.1 and Draft Thoughts

So I managed to get in just under a half hour of live draft diary before all hell broke loose in my house and I was forced to abandon my endeavour. Have no fear, there will be more Live blogging to come in the future! Anyway here is the exactly 1/6 of the draft that I did blog on, and unlike Bill Simmons I spent no time lamenting Michael Jackson (this will have to do).

9:00 - Sorry about the delay with the diary. I was too busy crying and plotting trying to pull out Jordan Hill’s dreadlocks. Austin Daye went with the first non-lottery pick to the Pistons. He is the absolute opposite to the forwards taken by the Pistons recently (think Jason Maxiell). He’s only 190 pounds and tries to hide it with some baggy sleeves but hey, Jay Bilas likes his length, so he’s got that going for him.

9:03 - Who knew the sweater vest was making a comeback in Spokane? Thank you Mr. Daye. Maybe Adam Morrison could rock that on the sideline. It would really compliment his budding barely pubescent facial hair.

9:07 - Jeff Van Gundy brings up an interesting point. Tayschaun Prince and Austin Daye together? The Detroit Pistons, helping even the gender disparity in eating disorders since 2009.

9:08 - YES! First pick I nailed outside the lottery with James Johnson to the Bulls. If only someone beside Jay Bilas knew he was a martial artist from Wyoming he would have been top 10. The Bulls automatically gain an advantage in the next bench-clearing brawl.

9:11 - Steve Kerr plays coy on the Amare trade rumours. Does this surprise anyone? If a GM was not vague in a live draft interview he’d be out the door before the next team was off the clock.

9:13 - Somehow Jrue Holliday was the last guy in the green room before the 76ers got him. Austin Daye was by far the favorite coming into this thing while Holliday was a possible top 10 guy.

9:15 - Even the first thing that Holliday mentioned was defense. Holliday may never be the offensive player he looked to become but he should be able to shut down the rest of this bumper crop of point guards.

9:18 - Ty Lawson to Minnesota. Well apparently three point guards are needed to get the ball to Al Jefferson. And I thought they got rid of Kevin McHale? All this talk of so many trades. This better be the signal of one to come or poor Al’s gonna be quadruple teamed.

9:20 - There it is. Apparently Lawson headed to Nuggets. Lawson behind Billups? I like the sound of that, Lawson will probably be so much better learning from Billups tan having to go somewhere and handle the ball more

9:23 - Calling Jeff Teague? I guess I just know those Wake Guys. With Claxton and Law gone this is a good spot for Teague. Bibby is also a shoot first guard so Teague can refine his ability to overlook teammates and fire threes.

9:27 - Come on Utah don’t let me down with goofy white guys. Here it is…BOOO. Eric
Maynor, so no Mullens, how sad. Him and Kosta Koufos could have been the greatest 7
foot white former Ohio State center combo ever. That is not a title to be taken lightly.

At that point, just 27 minutes in I was unable to continue with my diary, but I was able to jot down a few notes:


Welcome to the NHL
You just have to love how all the international guys show up out of the crowd. Its reminiscent of the one hockey draft I watched where random eastern Europeans just appeared out of the crowd to receive congratulations from the teams that would eventually employ them. Nando de Colo, Jonas Jerebko, Henk Norel, Rodrique Beaubois, and Christian Eyenga (Division two in Spain? Officially the most random first round pick in history) were all in the house to great either David Stern or Adam Silver. Stern seemed actualy surprised to see 6'8" guys strolling out of the crowd while Silver actually seemed to enjoy that the guys wanted to come greet him.

ESPN Must Improve...Graphics
In both the NFL and NBA drafts the analysts try and highlight the weakness' 0f the top prospects taken by teams. They both present some doosies that would make the needs to improve seem like if anyone could improve such a trait, they too would be spoken of during the NBA draft. For example, Nick Calethes must improve his lateral quickness and Danny Green must improve his athleticism. I'm pretty sure one is born with those traits. If Green could improve his athleticism, he would, but its not so easy as a few hundred shots in the gym or a couple of wind sprints.

I Have a Trade to Announce
Adam Silver has the best job in the NBA. The deputy commish gets to announce the second round, and as usual said second round in ripe with trades, and who doesn't love a good swap of draft picks, rights to European players and guys who will total less than one hundred minutes on the season. Silver obviously appreciates his worth as he seems to get a chuckle out of every cheer that greets every trade, even when it means the gold standard for busts, Darco Milicik, is bound to come to the Knicks in said trade. The pick following the trade could be John Krasinksi, but the fans don't care, at least it was a trade.

Here is what came to mind during various moments in the first 14 picks that just had to be mentioned:

Winning the Lottery
Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti proves to be smarter than I thought. I do think he is building a good team but I felt that Rubio’s hype would prevail. Harden is just a basketball player, pure an simple. He doesn't need to be a star on this team to have a good impact.

“I’m Ricky Rubio, I’m not like anybody else.”
When asked who he compared to by Mike Tirico, that was Rubio's response. O, he's got an NBA ready personality. Though some people like the confidence I call it cockiness, and think he's a bust waiting to happen. He says quotes like that and his highlight tape is full of needless around the back dribbles that have no bearing on if he actually got to the cup or not. Fogarty swears by his skills and think he'll be great, I disagree. He's not Pistol Pete reincarnate, he's Jason Williams (the white one) 2.0. He's less known for his skills, more known for being White Chocolate and lucking into a possessed Dwayne Wade championship. Have fun in Minny Ricky, them Midwesterners just LOVE foreigners too.

Wait, where is Golden State?
I thought if Curry got by T-Wolves he’d be a Knick and my dream would come true. Not to be but at least I know both Stephen and his dad wanted New York. His dad Dell had the look on his face of “Why is my son going to Oakland? He's too classy for that.” Oaktown is about as far from Davidson College, a very white, very small, very rural school, as you can get.

Welcome to New York Jordan
A little kid held up a thumbs down as the camera panned over him for a crowd shot on the Jordan Hill. His dad turned it back up as if to say, "Don't boo him son." The kid couldn't have been more than 9 but he knew what was up. Gotta love New York draft fans, no matter what the sport. While most franchises use the draft as a time of hope, New Yorkers see it for what it is, a meat market where they get stuck with nothing more than last weeks bologna.

He Ain't Short
After last year when Jay Bilas spent all but 2.3 seconds of his airtime talking about just how long the arms of every draftee was, it took till Gerald Henderson, the 12th pick for Mr. Bilas to salivate over the length of another man.

Are You Mocking Me?

Yes Tarvaris, I am, but we'll get to that.

Now I like mock drafts. Alot. For the 2007 NFL draft I made a three round mock with a solid 300 words or so on every pick. I mean every pick from One down to some random center I slotted in at the end of the third round. With the NBA draft tonight and my mock draft chops itching go all Brett Favre and re-un-retire (the double hyphen makes me feel like I'm in Ho-Ho-Kus), I will let them warm up in rural Mississippi and then head up to the land of Minnesota, who actually matter with two top 6 picks in this draft. In other news, my NBA Mock Draft is also a better QB than Tarvaris Jackson.

Without further ado:

1. Los Angeles Clippers - Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma
Ummmm yeah....they already announced this one so if I went differently you would not be reading any further. Blake concussed himself last season, though his appearance did not change that too much, and will most likely do so again when he finally realizes, hey, I play for the Clippers. My thoughts on Griffin are this. He was a man among boys in college. In the NBA there just so happens to be, other men. He can fly and dunk the ball and has a slightly more diverse offensive skill set than Dwight Howard, but not too much. That athleticism is great but he's at least 2 full inches shorter and has nowhere near the defensive prowess of Howard. All in all, it's a pick that must be made, but I am nowhere near sold.

2. Vancouver Grizzlies - Hasheem Thabeet, C, Connecticut
When was the last time a grizzly bear was seen in Memphis? They're from Vancouver. Hey Bible Belt, STOP STEALING TEAMS FROM THE NORTHWEST! The good news though, Thabeet won't pull a Stevie Franchise and request out. With Darko likely headed to the Knicks (Why Donnie? WHY? The last great "Serb" in "New York" was in GTA4, and that involved many people dying. Watch out Donnie), playing time in the middle is in need of filling. Which ends speculation as to who goes here.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder - Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain
I personally think the Thunder (Really? That was the best team name available?) should take James Harden or Stephen Curry or even Tyreke Evans, but I just have that inkling that it will end up being Rikcy Nikoloz Tskitishvili Slava Medvedenko Rubio. As you can tell I think he is vastly overrated. Like Ronald Reagan's presidency level overated. Am I a pessimist because I don't like three of the consensus top players? Maybe, and have no fear, there is plenty more where that came from.

4. Sacramento Kings - Tyreke Evans, G, Memphis
They love Johnny Flynn, but Evans is just a better prospect. I was very down on him as a college player and still am not too high on him but there is no question his skill set works in the NBA game. He needs to either add a plus jump shot or really refine those point guard skills. The young front court should play well with Evans though but this team is still building. They really need a better shooter than Beno Udrih to have on the perimeter with Kevin Martin for Ty's kick outs off penetration.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves - James Harden, SG, Arizona State
6. Minnesota Timberwolves - Jordan Hill, PF, Arizona
Showing the Pac-10 some love. Honestly, the T-Wolves, along with everyone else, probably think Stephen Curry is 100% signed, sealed, and delivered. I disagree. When Curry was no lock for the lottery, Harden was a Top 4 lock. Since then a grand total of ZERO games have been played. Welcome to the draft hype machine. I honestly do not like Harden. He plays like a point forward and fell off hard at the end of the year. He disappeared in every game I saw. Hill also screams bust to me for absolutely no good reason. Ironically they both are on the top of my NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKERS (Sorry, Stephan A Smith has nothing else to do but posses my blog after "leaving" ESPN. I really do apologize.

7. Golden State Warriors - Johnny Flynn , PG, Syracuse
The Warriors, assuming the Crawford trade goes through, will not necessarily be looking for another point guard and appear committed to Monta Ellis. That being said they covet Jordan Hill and hey look, he just went off the board. Flynn is a solid bulldog of a point who I actually like (It had to happen eventually) and could compliment Ellis well. That being said, with Hill gone I feel they trade back to someone who is looking for a point or, as in this mock, Stepehn Curry.

8. New York Knicks - Stephen Curry, G, Davidson
D' Antoni gets his wish. Curry gets his wish. The media get their wish. And I proceed to jizz in my pants. Aside from the overblown Curry and Lebron connection his game fits so well with the Knicks. I could see him struggling ala JJ Redick (my favorite!) in the NBA but his point guard skills and just overall court vision should help him out. Plus having Nate Robinson (for now) and Chris Duhon takes some pressure off him running the point immediately. This would be my dream pick.

9. Toronto Raptors - Demar Derozan, G/F, Southern California
10. Milwaukee Bucks - Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina
11. New Jersey Nets - Terrence Williams, G/F, Louisville
12. Charlotte Bobcats - Tyler Hansbrough, PF, North Carolina
I was going to put Gerald Henderson, but come on, its MJ. A. Would he take a Duke guy? B. Would he pass up a UNC legend? I say no on both fronts

13. Indiana Pacers - Jrue Holliday, PG, UCLA
14. Phoenix Suns - Gerald Henderson, G/F, Duke
15. Detroit Pistons - DeJuan Blair, F, Pittsburgh
16. Chicago Bulls - James Johnson, SF, Wake Forrest
17. Philadelphia 76ers - Brandon Jennings, PG, Italy
18. Minnesota Timberwolves - Eric Maynor, PG, Virginia Commonwealth
19. Atlanta Hawks - Jeff Teague, G, Wake Forrest
20. Utah Jazz - BJ Mullens, C, Ohio State
Yeah he is the best real center prospect in this class but he is also an undoubtedly goofy white guy. Utah pretty much has to take him or the ghost of Greg Ostertag may strike.

21. New Orleans Hornets - Earl Clark, F, Louisville
22. Portland Trailblazers - Sam Young, SF, Pittsburgh
23. Sacramento Kings - Chase Budinger, SF, Arizona
24. Dallas Mavericks - Nick Clathes, PG, Florida
25. Oklahoma City Thunder - Jeff Teague, G, Wake Forrest
26. Chicago Bulls - Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina
27. Memphis Grizzlies - Omri Casspi, SF, Israel
28. Minnesota Timberwolves - Victor Claver, SF, Spain
29. New York - Austin Daye, F, Gonzaga
The speculation since the Knicks bought this pick has been Jack McClinton. I however think this is predecated on getting Jordan Hill at 8, which I hope doesn't happen. I think Daye is a "potential" guy but he is just as slight as Durant was. Now Daye is nowhere near where Durant was. For one, Nate Robinson will be a better rebounder next year if Daye goes to NYC. But, if Daye can be consistant with his offensive game he'd be a great fit in the 7 seconds or less offense. Speaking of 7 seconds or less, I'm pretty sure they make a pill for that.

30. Cleveland Cavaliers - DaJuan Summers, G/F, Georgetown

I'll have more updates and draft diary from the middle of the first on as well as a few preview thoughts on the draft as a whole.

Oops, I Did It Again

If you've read this blog you would assume that I am technologically ignorant. I mean, the fact that I am indeed blogging seems to shoot this down, but you know, whatever.

Well, in another attempt to watch a game hours after it was actually completed ended in utter disaster, though this time it was barely my fault.

After USA Soccer's improbable trip to the semi-finals of the Confederations' Cup with their win over Egypt, I knew there was no way I was going to miss the game against Spain. Plans were formed in the days before to record it and watch it later in the day since me and two of my friends who really wanted to watch it both had work till 3:30. This triggered an interesting series of events:

3:05 ET - My friend Paul comes into my room at work to alert me that, as usual, the person in charge of recording the game has messed up but has been alerted and will record from this point forward. As its 25 minutes bast kickoff we check the score since we will miss these minutes anyway and to make us make better plans or decide to drink copious amount of alcohol before watching if Spain already lead 4-0 or something. Alas we see a 1-0 scoreline in favor of the US and our interest is peeked. We hearby assume radio silence.

3:35 ET - Sitting in the doctors office waiting for an appointment that amounted to 5 minutes of small talk before stripping down, turning my head and coughing (you needed to know that, I swear), some older guy walks in and attempts to put the game on the waiting room. Granted I had my fill of News 12 Long Island to that point, but wished to keep in the dark on the game. The fact that I am not an asshole prevented my from stopping the channel changing. Sadly, for him anyway, any channel that was not 12 was not working, sad for the receptionists if nobody else. After a brief internal celebration this conversation ensued:

Guy: "US soccer's playing Spain right now, ya know?"

Me: " Yeah, I'm actually recording it at home so I can watch it later, so don't tell me anything about the game."

Guy: "Yeah, US is up 1-0, its amazing. Spain's supposed to be pretty good, right?"

Me: "...sigh..Yeah. They're pretty good."

This man was now the most despised person in my vicinity as well as the poster child for human stupidity and the inability to listen to anyone besides the voices in their own heads. Keep in mind that group of people included another man who would be roughly tugging on my man region in a few minutes. I was not happy at all. Now I knew the US had held the lead at least through halftime, but was still at the very least intrigued by the second half.

4:50 ET - I had survived the rest of the time in the waiting room with nothing more than forced conversation about US soccer with people who knew no more than that Brazil and Spain were "pretty good," so if I could avoid the radio I would be set. That's when I got this text from my friend Mills:

"Im assuming ull be writing a post on 2days win..."

Poor grammar from a journalism major aside, I was crushed....well only a little, we had apparently just beat Span, which is nice. I immediately responded with some harsh words after which Mills valiantly attempted to convince me he was lying about the score the whole time.

5:05 ET - After these few texts in which he attempted to convince me the US had indeed lost 4-1 (Ignore the obvious fact of why would he be lying in the first place. Why would I think on such an obvious level?) I started to had a little bit of doubt. This shows my pessimism gained from being a Mets, Jets and Rangers fan more than anything else. We beat Spain? Somebody must be lying to me.

5:25 ET - Mills ruins the day again apologizing for ruining the game all over again just minutes after I was able to convince myself that the result was in doubt. So back to that mixed bag of emotions of victory and disappointment over being unable to see it. I really should never have checked my phone in the first place, but hindsight is 20/20 and hell, WE JUST BEAT SPAIN!!

As for the actual game, me and a half dozen friends (including Mills, who had long given up pretending the US hadn't won 2-0) watched the ESPN2 replay at 11 PM, so I could finally witness the fantastic result. Which leads me to my thoughts on the game.

Jozy Altidore = Brandi Chastain?
Not so much. Still his shirt removal following the opening goal really is a similar kind of symbol for US Soccer. While it isn't exactly the World Cup final, this men's team was never the respect team that Chastain played on. Altidore showed absolute raw emotion, one of the great things that make sports as important as they are and leads to people like me blogging about such things. That moment could end up being just as iconic for a nation of young boys as Chastain's shirt removal, I'm assuming in a much different way though. Also Altidore stripping down to his long sleeve under armour (though its probably Nike, you know what I mean, sorry corporate dudes scrolling the internet) earned him a yellow card. Somehow Chastain's sports bra failed to allicite a yellow (not that I'm complaining), though it did lead to a great NIKE commercial.

The Spanish Invitation
What the US did better than Spain, better than anyone expected them too, was capitalize on Spanish mistakes. The first goal (depite Altidore showing great strength in holding off the defender) was a combination of a poor play by Carlos Puyol (EDIT: Upon rewatching, don't blame Puyol all you Spanish fans who read my blog, that was merely a fantastic play my Altidore, who's hype I usually don't see, to turn and put the man on his back) and Iker Casillas, generally one of the best in the world, guessing when he didn't really have to and being caught off balance so that the shot, struck nearly right at him bounced off his hand and into the back of the net. The second goal was Clint Dempsey, who has played fantastic this tournament, taking the ball off the foot of former Sevilla youth and current Real Madrid fullback, Sergio Ramos. Ramos thought he had time to clear instead of just sending it out on the first touch. Dempsey was right behind him and put it in, even sending the Spanish announcer into pandemonium.

Thank God for Tim Howard
Howard was a huge difference maker in the game. He made six saves and stoned every chance the Spainards had while Casillas was unable to stop either of the United States' chances. Howard's play allowed the US counter attack to get out and cause problems and give them the chance to win, a chance they took. Howard has most likely certified his position as one of the best in the world. US keepers are the one position where America holds their own on a broader scale with the rest of the world. Now its Howard. It used to be Brad Friedel who has now over 250 appearances in the Premier League. Brad Guzan, who shut out Egypt in this Confederations Cup, is signed for Aston Villa where he backs up Friedel. Kasey Keller, Marcus Hahnemann and many others all have secured lucrative European contracts and have held their own across the pond. Some people say the focus on more sports predicated on eye-hand coordination leads to better keepers in the US and I have to say, I don't care, as long as we can keep competing with Spain and doing this to other keepers.

For fear of being found out for the property theif that I am i need to thank the LA Times for all these photos of the match, that and I really do think all the shots really are pretty damn awesome

Why So Serious?

Lucas Glover has eliminated emotion from the game of golf. He also pissed off alot of New Yorkers, which is often frowned upon.

Glover makes Tiger's general golf course demeanor look almost sunny. Most commentators familiar with Glover seemed all but shocked by his smile when he received the US Open trophy. Glover's two stroke margin of victory really hides what was a great and dramatic round of golf culminating in a three hole stretch that could rival the greatest in recent major history. If I had the power of DVR or a working VCR (What's a VCR?) I would do one of those retrodiaries but instead I'll do anapproximate tale of my trip down the back nine of Bethpage Black on Championship Monday.

The front nine was a story of following the leaders (Note: Ricky Barnes either has a hot girlfriend, or hot stalker who followed him around) and rooting for them to choke. They were kind enough to oblige and despite very players posting any type of red numbers (I think at the turn of the Barnes and Glover it was Tiger Woods, Ross Fisher and Hunter Mahan), they came back to the field and built some drama. The best moment of the front nine had to be watching Glover and Barnes have fits with the long seventh and hearing the roar around the bend when David Duval rolled in a putt estimated at around 60-80 feet for birdie. Epic roar. Oh, it should be noted that for this round we acquired XM/Sirius Radio earpieces the had play-by-play in realtime of what we were watching. It did add something and help us make hole decisions later. I did however have a small bout with traditionalism when watching the overall reaction of the changing numbers on the leaderboards, however I got over it.

As we watched the leaders tee off at 10, an interesting fulcrum of the course that puts the 10th tee, 11th green and 12th tee within 30 yards we could hear on the radio and in the clamor of tha galleries that Phil Mickelson had put his 2nd at the 13th within 5 feet for eagle and a chance to get within a shot of the lead. We immediatly sprinted up the fairway and were at the green to see Mickelson hole out for the double circle on the scorecard. Well be see I mean lean awkwardly around a camera stand and see mostly grandstand, half of a caddy and what appeared to be Hunter Mahan's left leg, but hey, we were there. I'd like to say I've never been a big fan of Phil for whatever reason, maybe it was the tryout with the Toledo Mudhens, but the atmosphere surrounding him was electric and just fun to be a part of. I really couldn't help but root for him.

We then traveled with the throng and wedged our way into a crowd on the par-3 14th and saw some quite unspectactular pars before joining what could only be described as a powerful mass of humanity heading back across the road to what may be the four greatest finishing holes in golf, none more intimidating than the uphill, dogleg-left, 460-yard par-4 15th.

After standing in the middle of all the action and constantly being moved by "security" so the golfers could get to the 17th tee we were able to see tee shots off of 15, approach shots into 16, and 17 in its entirety, though the massive gallery would be responsible for telling exactly when and if the putt hit the bottom of the cup. That was when the greatest, and yet most depressing 4 holes of golf unfolded.

We heard the groan as Phil bogeyed 15, but hey he was still at 3-under and definitely in it. Then Hunter Mahan (who looks like the rock and roll/delivery guy from Accepted with his grimy beard and shade. If you know that movie, you know who I mean. Too bad I can't find a picture) hit a nearly perfect shot thatwas going right at the cup, and instead of either dropping or coming within 5 feet for birdie, kicked off the pin and off the green where Mahan would take three shots to get down from. A two or three shot swing that probably hurt just as much mentally. That comes close, he has a legitmate chance to win the US Open.

As we leave to head up 17 and 18 for Phil (I fought to see Duval's birdie putt on 16 as I may be one of the few people who actually like him) Duval drained his third birdie in as many holes to climb back to 3-under and tie for the lead of the US Open with two to play. He started his day making a triple on the third hole which I had once parred from similar distances and now had a T1 next to his name on the leaderboard. Would you ever have believed that a week ago? Doubtful if you actaully said yes. Then as Phil just missed his par and dropped to just 2-under we heard Lucas Glover drop in his birdie on 16. At that point, with Duval off the green at 17, I knew, Glover had just clinched the US Open, still I hoped it wasn't true.

The golfers with interesting storylines tried their best. Duval went around the entire hole before missing his par on 17 to put pressure on Glover. Phil had an uncharactoristicly pedestrian wedge into the green on 18 after a phenomenal drive then nearly holed out his bird from over 30 feet to get within one of Glover. But it wasn't meant to be. Ricky Barnes did what he was supposed to and choked away 9 strokes off his lowest score of the week (he did fall one short of a prediction of -1 fielded by one of my friends when he hit -11) and Phil and David took their T2 which both have seen plenty of in the past and were forced to watch Glover do what I guess has to be considered a celebration.

After three mud-covered days, the result may not have been ideal and Glover may be destined to join the the Rich Beems of the world, but the way we got their was fun. And without the 2009 US Open, who would still care about a fat, minimally skilled David Duval? Oh that's right, I guess I still would.

Third TIme's the Charm

Up at 6 am ready to head out for what is supposed the final round of the US Open, my third straight day trolling through the pig slop that is the galleries of Bethpage Black...not that I'm complaining. I get to enjoy one of the greatest sporting events in America and its not even from the couch in my basement. With how the galleries have been the last few afternoons I expect absolute insanity today.

If the excitement does not reach Gus Johnson level, its just not good enough. Note: Any time a segue is made between discussion of topographical maps of a putting green and a 30 foot spot up three from TJ Sorrentine, its just something I might be interested in.

They Did WHAT!!

With all due respect to Al Michaels and Antonio Freeman on MNF....WHATTT!!

So what are the odds that the United States wins by 3 goals when they need to after two a game and a half where they looked downright abysmal? Against a team that just beat the reigning world champs? Not very likely. OK, so it happened. Crazy no doubt, but the Americans still stood at 1-2 having allowed 2 more goals than they themselves scored, no chance of advancing.

As the great (Is there a better word? Old? Annoying? Penis?) Lee Corso would say, "NOT so fast my friend!"

Now lets take a look at what else had to happen. Italy, the aforementioned world champs, would have to also lose by at least three goals and score none. Cue my boy from Sevilla, Luis Fabiano. After not scoring against the US Fabiano wanted to make good on his one goal a game promise and struck twice before an own goal gave the game its final 3-0 margin.

Wow.

I'd like to use this opportunity to praise Charlie Davies, a US striker and former Boston College Eagle. Getting the start against Egypt Davies scored the first goal with a workman like effort and used his speed to stretch the defense. His presence is usually not till the second half, if used at all by Bob Bradley, but him and Jozy Altidore up front allowed golden boy Landon Donovan as well as Clint Dempsey to control the game a little further back and be more creative.

I didn't get a chance to see any of this game as I was at the US Open, so I'll let the video do the talking.



Sorry for the Spanish. The other option was German, but I didn't want to make anyone angry.

Two Green Swallows

Back to the Black for a second day of floundering professionals making all the hackers and executive course players feel like they have a chance. I was not disappointed.

The rowdy New Yorkers were back, as was the poor putting performance. After an aggregate of over four hours spent camping out at the greens of 15 and 17, the latter home of Saturday's best crowds, there was a total of two birdies. The first by George McNeill as I mentioned earlier, and the second by Ricky Barnes. As me and my two friends stood on the hill overlooking the 17th in the early afternoon we wanted nothing more than somebody to sink a terrific putt or hole one from the front bunkers, but we were to be disappointed. Only Barnes, whom we rooted against wholeheartedly for no other reason than he was killing the buzz of a keeping anyone close to him was up to the task.

After the disappointment of the green and the further anger presented by a $8 soggy panini, we headed back to the space where Saturday's magic happened, the space between the second green and third tee for the start of the fourth round.

The atmosphere was electric. Reminescent of a College Football game as the second green screamed at every spectator who returned with beer and chanted "Three Tee SUCKS!" in unison. The third tee, who I pledged my allegiance to, being all of 4 feet from the tee marker, was not to be outdone responded with a just as boisterous "Two Green Swallows!" (How vulgar! In a game of gentleman!) Every player coming off the second green was further greeted by the wave from the third tee grandstand all the way down to the hill alongside the second fairway. Fans who had either never heard of Nottinghamshire or were too drunk to pronounce the included syllables now counted one of its residents among their favorite golfers.

Lee Westwood (Todd Hamilton did too, so he doesn't feel left out when he googles his name and stumbles upon this blog) was all about the crowd, throwing his ball into the grandstand and encouraging a louder wave, even joining in when the grandstand jeered and booed the hill section for failing to keep up with their section of the wave. Even as the USGA was upset at the crowd of the day before, closing the alcohol stands a whole 15 minutes earlier (THE GAUL!!), and generally being a Buzz Killington, Westwood was all the crowd wanted, someone who embraced the antics and had with it, not the robot that generally populates the PGA tour (see: Lucas Glover).

When the horn sounded with Phil Mickelson ready to tee off "within spitting distance" of me as one friend of mine noted, and play was stopped for darkness that would have meant about 3-4 more holes for me, the disappointment was noticeable. The crowd was ready to erupt. But hey, at least we get to go back for another day of golf.

Bogies and Brewskis

If you told me that in a day at the US Open where I saw Tiger on 3 separate holes, watched Bubba Watson hit a drive estimated by a friend of mine at "about 900 yards," and didn't have to wait 3 hours to deal with parking that the best part of my day would be watching Drew Weaver and Jon Mallinger par back to back holes, I would have told you you were crazy.

The course was saturated and so were the galleries, in more ways than one. After a day of on-and-off rain the second round was finally complete, the field was cut and the third round could begin.

So what happens when you combine a New York Public Golf Course, copious amounts of rain and a delay of about an hour between golf shots for some fans? That is right, thousands of drunk asshole New Yorkers with serious deindividuation (think mob mentality) issues. They are cheering/jeering for men who would possibly stop mid back swing for a loudly chirping cricket. Needless to say, the the two groups eHarmony scores do not equal a match.

That being said, while the crowds drew the ire of critics everywhere, even prompting some to say that the rowdy crowds could prevent Bethpage from hosting another Open in the future (if I could find the link I would post it, but I forgot where I read it). I say the hell with it, this isn't exactly polo that we're watching.

While the crowds were pretty good during the 2nd round continuation on Saturday morning -- 17 seemed particularly raucous from my perch on the 15th green -- but they paled in comparison to the 3rd round crowds that evening. The rain weeded out the fair weather (literally) fans. The delay took with it most of the families out together. That left the perfect golf crowd in my opinion: middle-aged golf fans with just enough money in the bank to buy their fair share of $6 beers.

By the time of the restart for the third, my three friends and I headed out to the third green, a 200+ yard par 3. From their we could hear the grandstands for the tee and the second green -- the two nearly facing each other -- engaging in chanting matches, getting ready for the golf to start. When the first group teed off on two, every mediocre golf shot was greeted with a cheer worthy of a goal line stand in the Gainseville or Ann Arbor.

The aforementioned Drew Weaver, in that first group with Mallinger, hit a ball that looked decent from our location about 240 yards away and was somewhere on the putting surface. The crowd reacted like USA Hockey had just beat the Russians. Weaver, unable to see the ball on the raised surface began jumping up and down, assuming he holed out for an eagle, though after seeing his antics earlier in the week, you never know. Weaver ended up two putting from a reasonable distance for par, but the tone was set...it was going to be fun.

After the groups began playing onto the third green where we stood the crew around us became more and more motley. One particularly lonely and inebriated looking fellow was leaning over my friend Paul's shoulder, breathing basically on his neck, in an attempt to read his text messages. Everywhere we looked both the mud and the Bud had people falling all over themselves.

As we moved to the tenth tee to see Tiger tee off the drunk fans go drunker. As we fought our way to about 15-20 feet from the tees and two back from the ropes the guy in front of my same unlucky friend Paul -- notably the one who got these tickets in the first place -- turned to congratulate him on something followed by multiple repetitions of the pound and explode. Exactly what deserved congratulations remains to be seen as the man appeared to speak some dialect of Old Gaelic mixed liberally with Pig Latin and skewed noticeably by alcohol. All-in-all, he was quite well spoken.

The heckling and cheering on the 10th was twice that of 2 and 3, as was the BAC of the gallery. When Tiger came in and the rain began to fall, even he could not resist a smile and chuckle at the insanity of the crowd at a golf tournament. As the rain began to fall again, not even Tiger was immune, hearing taunts for breaking out the umbrella ("This ain't Arizona, this is Long Island baby!" was met by a grand ovation from the rest of the gallery around the tee box. Even so as golfers in an earlier pair prepared to drive off of the 12th hole, Tiger put his finger to his mouth and their was instant silence. His power over the people and apparently nature was later reinforced when one man who had been at the forefront of the jeering yelled, "Will the rain to stop Tiger, you can do it!" (Note: The picture of Tiger is from the '02 Open at Bethpage, though the fans behind him would appear to be looking for the 1972 version. Needless to say those were NOT the fans present on Saturday)

As one man directly in front of us said, "Long Island. Where the men are men and the sheep are scared."

Here are some more notes from the day at Bethpage

Heavy Stuffs Not Coming Down For a While
Within minutes of Tiger teeing off at 10 the rain started coming down and Tiger was, contrary to what some believed, unable to stop it. The rain was bad but after seeing what the played through on Thursday, it was still playable. The course was just so waterlogged from the last week that within 30 seconds of real steady rain puddles were already starting to form on the greens and they simply could not be squeegeed fast enough.

Which Way to the Senior Open?
When both Fred Funk and Tom Lehman rolled onto the 10th tee box it brought about many questions. Is Fred Funk someones caddy? Wait, Tom Lehman still plays golf? Not one of my friends or I could believe both of them had made the cut at the longest course in US Open history. It really proves that this course does have places to be had without bombing it every time. You just know Funk isn't putting it on many par 5's in 2. He didn't even do that 10 years ago.

Ricky Barnes?
That's right, Ricky Barnes is your leader, and he did it with a 36-hole record breaking score of 8-under par! Before this all I knew about Ricky Barnes is his character in Tiger Woods 06 was really good at spinning the ball, that's really it. Before today he wasn't even the most famous Rick Barnes as someone else in the gallery pointed out today. Even if he wins he'll only be the most famous in 49 states, Texas will stick with this Rick Barnes.

When Did I Start Playing in the US Open?
Three putts and bad two putts ruled the world today. No matter where we went, nobody could make a putt. 15 was especially bad as after sitting through group after group of players like the immortal Simon Dyson, we saw but one birdie. One! And that was by George McNeill. He didn't exactly stick around to play the weekend, well more of the weekend anyway.

Best Thing Since King Tut

As has become common for me lately, I tend to miss the games I really want to watch. This time though I had a plan to rewatch it later. After abstaining from the internet for a whole day, I was ready to take in the mighty US Soccer team against Brazil. There had been DVR, plans to get together to watch the game, and then....technology hell broke loose.

The DVR who supposedly had held the game in its memory did not indeed actually have the game. Luckily, ESPN2 would replay the game at the hour of 12:30 am, or so my TV said. After admitting defeat toward my work day the following morning I decided I would show support for my country and watch the full 90, no matter what. After fighting fatigue for a solid two hours through the support of flipping back and forth between American Pie 2 and Grandma's Boy -- the usual dose of 11 PM Sportscenter was out of the question with the bottom line and such -- I set up an elaborate contraption consisting of small end table and a large floor mat that covered the bottom part of of my television so the score did not flash up on the bottom line while the game was only in the 6th minute or so. I was ready.

12:30 came, the channel was flipped, and what the hell is this? The 46th minute of Italy v. Egypt? This is not what I ordered. As my fatigue confined me to my couch I watched what turned out to be the greatest games in Egyptian history.

(As for the USA game, it will stay confined to parenthetical commenting. A 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Brazil described by Alexi Lalas as the US playing like they "didn't belong on the same field as Brazil." Brazil scored 6 minutes in, the 3rd time in the last 4 US games a goal was conceded in the first 6 minutes, really a solid month of June for American soccer. I think we might need to work on defense just a little before the next potential trip to South Africa)

The game that actually was on more than deserved the billing as the post-midnight headliner. Egypt was already up 1-0 after a first half on a Mohamed Homos (laugh at the name, uncivilized Americans, you know you want to do it) header off a corner from Egyptian legend Mohamed Aboutrika.

Still, the US also led Italy 1-0 at break before a 3-0 second half for the Azzurri started a 0-6 135 minutes of soccer for the Americans. The Pharohs (that is not a joke at the Egyptians cultural tradition, that's their REAL nickname. That alone is reason to root for them) played with a fire the US didn't have in them and turned away every attack and chance the Italians had. Italy dominate the last 45 minutes of play -- Egypt with only 1 or 2 real chances and a handful of half chances -- but were turned away at every turn. Giuseppe Rossi, Luca Toni and Simone Pepe were stonewalled less by a stout back line -- the Egyptian defense had a fair number of lapses -- and more by inspired play the veteran keeper, Essam El-Hadary.

El-Hadary had 6 saves including multiple wide-open shots from well within the 18. He deflected one shot with his leg as he slid out on a point-blank effort. Only a few minutes later El-Hadary was tested again as he just got a glove to a laser at his right post that he covered despite protests that it went over the line from the Italians (sounds almost like Hockey, huh?). He played with reckless abandon and after his first save of the second half just seemed like it would take something crazy to beat him.

The entire Egyptian team broke down after whistle made their victory official, the first ever by an African team against Italy. The Egyptian team really impressed me. For a team ranked so well by FIFA (as high as 15 in 2009, currently 40) they fielded a team for the Confederations Cup that only included included 4 players who don't currently play in Egypt. Even El-Hadry regreted his move to Basel after 12 years and 510 games at Al-Ahly.

Aboutrika is the pinnacle of that loyalty. Despite having offers from clubs all over Europe he has remained in Egypt and at his Cairo-based club Al-Ahly to the tune of 367 appearances. "He is arguably the best footballer on Earth not plying his trade in Europe or South America," wrote one Italian journalist covering the Confederations cup; and that was before his native sons fell victim to him. He was such a great figure in the Egyptian sports culture that when one of my friends went to Egypt he knew he had to go see an Al-Ahly game. Forget the Pyramids, I'm going to see Aboutrika.

Egypt currently sits fourth in their group for World Cup qualifying for their possible return to South Africa and will likely need a win Sunday to advance in the Confederations Cup, but right now I don't think anyone in Egypt cares. All I know is now I can wear my Al-Ahly jersey with pride. And you never know, somebody just might know what it is.

Dave from the Dead

David Duval is currently not ranked among the top 850 golfers in the world. In fact Duval is 569 spots beyond the Lam Chih Bing, the pride of Singapore. If the PDF release by number one google hit for World Golf Rankings were to be tripled in size, Duval would appear ahead of just 18 golfers. Yet, somehow, at 882nd in the rankings David Duval -- sporting a fresh beer gut and grimy beard -- is one under par and in 12th after just over a round and a half at the US Open.

The man has not won a tournament since the 2001 British Open brought the consensus top 10 golfer in the world his long awaited major. That win is the only reason David Duval is being heard from these days thanks to the glory of major winner exemptions. Imagine that in other sports? Julio Franco would still be in the majors living off his 1991 batting crown.

It remains to be seen what Duval can do the rest of the weekend. He won the British and even had success there last year and was on the leaderboard on the weekend before a third round score that sounds more like I shot it than a former number one in the world knocked him to a T39 finish. The question will be weather that will be the Duval that shows up will be the one who disappeared off the face of the golfing world and shot an 83 under the pressure of the Duval who mastered Royal Lytham & St Annes in '01. The monsoon engulfing Long Island may just scream British Open enough to keep Duval in that mindset and keep him somewhere on the leaderboard.

Whatever happens -- incredible victory or total Ankiel-esque breakdown and defeat -- it should sure as hell be fun to watch.

Play It as It Floats

So those of you who surf the blogosphere for quick easily digestible tidbits have probably wondered why o why I must churn out at least 600 words on every sports topic I pick up. Well alas! I found something that it may be difficult for me to do for (don't challenge me though, because then it will happen and nobody wants that), Thursday at the US Open. I'll spare you my thoughts on Bethpage Black, a course I've had the pleasure to pay a few different times -- I still consider the 47 I shot on the front my first time out in near monsoon conditions to be possibly a better round than whoever holds the course record -- but will save those ponderings for the next 3 or more likely 4 days of golf to come, especially as I head out there for Saturday's round(s).

I was unable to take in the monsoon golf as I was stuck in the horrific thing known as job training. I instead was forced to take in what I could from Jason Sobel's blog on ESPN. Sobel actually was able to keep blogging through the rain delay and well surpass those 600 words but he also kept me sane through hours of staring at data sheets through his receiving of texts from second level players and perusal of twitter for the always entertaining "Tweets." Well without seeing a single shot from the Black course, here are my thoughts from the 3 hours and 16 minutes of golf a followed live and in color from my palm pilot (yes they still make those).

Ian Poulter is the Shaq of Golf
Well, on Twitter at least. Sobel's updates on Poulter's tweets were some of the best parts of his blogging for the day. The best was when the course was logged with about an inch of standing water Poulter broke the news to the tweeting world (myself vehemently NOT included) that the USGA claimed they could clean up the course in an hour. One hour for a seven square mile or so golf course to be completely drained? Doubtful. Is every sports governing body both that stupid and self-confident. Don't answer that. Also you gotta love a guy who rocks the union jack as one of his more tame fashion statements.

The Leaders in the Clubhouse
Congrats to Jeff Brehaut, Johan Edfors, Andrew Parr and Ryan Spears. You will hold an overnight lead at the US Open. Overlooked awesome thing: how great a golf name is Parr. Screw the extra r, Parr is under par right now and must be loving it. Its a name so suited for the profession, like a linebacker named Slaughter, it just don't get better than that. Is it sad the the best part of a blog is a tweet about cleaning a golf course and the best part of the leaderboard is a random Canadians name? Yes. Welcome to day one of the 2009 US Open!

The Serious Stuff, like Parity
So half the field will have had to trudge through horrendous conditions for nine holes while the other half will have assumed much better conditions tomorrow. One can only hope that the rain expected over the weekend will hit the groups supposed to go out Thursday afternoon in their catchup rounds and even things out. It just doesn't seem fair for one player to have to get up and down from Lake Ronkonkoma Thursday morning while another plays a moist and forgiving course Friday. In the end it is 72 holes of golf, the elements always play a factor. You just have to play it as it lies.

Hey Look! It's a Jerse-Bro!

The United States soccer team outscored the reigning world champions. I mean Italy still won the game, but the United States scored more goals.

Wait, wait...what?

I know some Americans, including a few reading this blog are clueless when it comes to soccer. I mean Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure level clueless. So when I say the US scored more goals in a game, and lost! You might as well be attempting to explain complex astrophysics and relativity to someone like, well, me.

The flaw in this, the beautiful game, lies in the even more complex rules that govern international eligibility. These are the rules that allow Kenyans and Ethiopians to run marathons under the flags of every nation in the world or allow a Brazilian named Alex to feature for the Japanese soccer team.

The Macedonian National Basketball team recently gained a new player when Darius Washington Jr. gained a passport in the country. You might remember Washington playing for Memphis in the early Calipari years and airballing two free throws with nobody on the line that would have sent the Tigers to the NCAA tournament and then breaking down into a emotional heap on the floor. Washington now gets to play international basketball and throw some alleys to the likes of Predrag "Peja" Samardžiski. What a duo? Aside from Peja there, can you name one Macedonian since Philip? The thing that would confuse people is what connection does a young black kid from outside Orlando have to a Baltic country less than 20 years old? I haven't the faintest idea. It wasn't even like he played professional basketball there. It makes zero sense! But such is the world of international sports.

On Monday it is true that the guys in the Blue with the Italian crest scored three goals while the US only had one on a 39th minute penalty slotted home by Landon Donovan (Sidenote: how underrated is a term like slotted home? You just don't hear it outside of soccer. Couldn't Dwight Howard "slot home" one of his ugly hook shots? Lawrence Tynes could "slot home" a game winning field goal right? I'd even say K-Rod could slot home his game ending slider! Just think of the possibilities!). But who scored two of those goals for Italy? Teaneck, New Jersey's own, Giuseppe Rossi.

So wait, a Bergen County boy is scoring goals in a game AGAINST his own United States. Where are the calls for Treason! Benadict Arnold lives, and he plays striker for Villarreal!

I don't agree with the practice but the use of ancestors and naturalization to get players for various national teams will not stop. In fact the ability to change country affiliation just became easier for those in the world of "football," now playing in a friendly (game not part of an organized tournament for those scoring at home) no longer prevents you from playing for another country later on down the road. In fact the United States -- fresh off wrangling Texas--born winger José Francisco Torres from the clutches of the Mexican national team -- landed midfielder Jermaine Jones, who had three caps for the German national team. Now perhaps Jones (born in Frankfurt, Germany) would have found a home as a regular in the German team had his country not preferred the services of various players born in Poland and Turkey.

Now its one thing for Macedonia or nearly every other country in Europe to pick up a player from the basketball rich nation of the United States. Its another entirely for a team like Italy, who is a top five team in the world with just players born within their borders, to poach a player from the suburbs of New York when the US often struggles to compete on an international level. But I guess you can't blame Rossi.

I mean who wouldn't trade the Meadowlands in for Milan?

"Sometimes You're Open for a Reason"

"Sometimes your open for a reason." - Jeff Van Gundy

Van Gundy's comic wit comes at the expense of Laker's big man Andrew Bynum. Now Jeff has reasons galore to shade his commentary in the direction of the Magic. His brother Stan is their coach. The Magic's big man coach is Patrick Ewing, the star of Van Gundy's Knicks teams in the 90's. Even his unhealthy man crush on JJ Redick clouds his judgement.

Now as many of you know (seeing as this post is further behind schedule than the United States' discovery of WMD's in Iraq), the Lakers won the NBA Title. This is a certainty. It is also a certainty that said title had very little to do with Andrew Bynum.

Bynum came out firing like Plaxico Burress, taking the semi-contested elbow jumper like it was his job. Just over 4 minutes into the first quarter of Game 5 Bynum had taken -- and missed -- six shots and though I can't find the stat to back me up, I doubt more than one or two would be approved by the zen master.

In the new world of basketball sabermetrics and the Hockey-esque +/- rating Bynum had the lowest on the Lakers. In his 17 minutes on the court the Lakers were outscored by 6 points while Bynum himself had as many fouls as rebounds (5 each). The next closest Laker in the starting five was Trevor Ariza who was still +12 while on the court.

On the other hand JJ Redick was the lone bright spot for the Magic, and by far the most in the positive of the +/- stat with a +6. The only other players in the postive numbers were Jameer Nelson (+2), Marcin Gortat (+1) and the irreplacable Tony Battie (also +1). The much criticized (by me) shooting guard came on late and made all three shots he took including two threes to give the Magic a punchers chance in the fourth. Redick did cost his team the game late, but through no fault of his own as Stan Van Gundy decided the always defensively challenged Redick would draw the assignment of Finals MVP, Kobe Bryant. Really Stan Van? Didn't wanna give Adonal Foyle some run instead?

As the Lakers celebrated their 15th NBA title one thing was perfectly clear; Andrew Bynum was not the difference last year. In 2008 Bynum's injury took the heat for the Lakers' inability to hold serve inside, while really it was the fact that Luke Walton and Ronny Turiaf had to see major minutes on Kevin Garnett. Dwight Howard is a hell of a talent and he'll alter more shots than the ones he blocks/goaltends on the defensive end but his offense and and on the ball defensive leaves alot to be desired when compared to KG. Garnett can step away from the basket on either end and do damage. His savvy and developed game allows him to hit 20 footers and defend in the post and on the perimeter without picking up stupid fouls. Last year KG and the Truth had intensity off the charts and they took it to the title. This year Kobe was there with that same intensity. He had the underbite to prove it.

Lakers 3, Redick 0

So 24 hours (48 by the time I got to posting this) after the conclusion of the Magic's (read Stan Van Gundy and Jameer Nelson's) epic collapse against the Lakers' i finally finished watching Game 4 of the finals. I vaguely remember watching the Lakers take a 3rd quarter lead before waking up feeling like I had been a cast member ABC's newest overly confusing show Flash Forward. Much like my feeling toward the show I had no expectations and was quite disappointed with the scenario. I tried to hold out till I could rewatch the end of the game as if it was live. About 6 minutes later in the ride to work I pulled up the score on my phone to find out Derek Fischer was resurrected to clinch another OT victory for the Lakers.

Later that day I did rewatch the 3rd and 4th quarters on youtube, a technique usually reserved for watching bootleg TV shows for those who have somehow not heard of any of the 12 million sites reserved for such federally offensive activity.

Once I finished the 7 part epic of the end of the game I thought about how to write about it. I thought about the newly minted idea of the retro diary before realizing that not only did Bill Simmons write one on the game, but he stole all my ideas! Jameer Nelson (seen here in what he should have been wearing all finals) getting inappropriate amounts of playing time! Rashard Lewis being a walking corpse! Trevor Ariza being the best player on the floor! The dumb blond chick falling down behind the broadcast crew! He even name dropped Jason Whitlock -- I met him once at a dessert buffet table, where else would he be, good guy though -- and made reference to other channels counter-programming! That's MY gig Bill! Let me and my small number of readers have their glory!

Then I realized something. Lost in the horrendous inability of Jameer Nelson to guard Derek Fischer was the all important forgotten text reminding me of one player who had almost gone unnoticed in all the drama. Upon waking up in the morning I checked my inbox to find said text from my friend Fogarty:

"Dude u need another blog to tear JJ Redick apart more"

How can I resist that? A man so deserved of being torn apart could not possibly go another game avoiding criticism, right? That's right, he can't.

The stat is unavoidable. In the 4 games of this series, JJ Redick has played in 3. The Magic have won exactly 1 game. For those who failed connect the dots in preschool, that one game would be the illusive 4th for Mr. Redick. Still, when he comes in the game, ready to unleash his 35% playoff shooting, Jeff Van Gundy can hardly speak for fear of revealing his erection. Redick shot 2-for-6 yet displayed a "great offensive potency." Please, his most difficult move was a pump fake and step back that every NBA player in the new millennium NOT named Bruno Sundov has possessed. I'm 85% certain Jerome James even broke it out on his way to grabbing his lavish Knicks contract.

Redick hustled. Redick played with heart. Redick gave it his all on every play. Basically all those things that a good white player with inferior athleticism should do. Please, he's an NBA player and he even dunked once in college. Athleticism isn't the problem when you just aren't the player everyone wants you to be. You might just suck. Derek Fischer played balls to the wall in Game 4. His shots will be remembered and someone might throw out the "gutsy performance" but his heart was fantastic. Ariza gave the game his all in playing 44 of 53 minutes, but he's athletic, so who cares. Lamar Odom sure as hell hustled, but that might be the sugar high from all the candy, so lets just leave him be.

Redick's offensive game is whats to blame. His best skill used to be running off screens and driving his man crazy trying to stick with him. Now, guys at the 3 and 4 can switch of the screens and still stay with him, neutralizing him even further. At one point when Redick was on the court the Lakers featured the lineup of Kobe with the supporting cast of Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, Josh Powell, and DJ Mbenga. Not only was Redick ineffective against Kobe and four guys who aren't even important enough to make it on I'm a Celebrity...Get me Out of Here, but he wasn't even the best white American guy on the court! Luke Walton, in similar minutes during the season put up a combined points, rebounds, assists number of 10.5. Redick's was a mere 8.8.

From this finals, Redick can only hope to take three things from it; Jeff Van Gundy's undying affection, more than his share of complimentary hair gel, and hey, lets not forget that at least he's not Adam Morrison.