The SI Vault

So Sports Illustrated has created their "Vault". They have posted every single article in their entire history, which is pretty friggin neat. Right now it's free, and hopefully it will stay that way. If you are looking to kill some time you should definitely check it out.



http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

A few articles I found quite intersting are as follows.

This is a great one about Wilt Chamberlain from 1965
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1076837/index.htm

Apparently, the Rockets in 86 had absolutely no chance of beating the Lakers in the conference final. I don't know if a writer today would be so blunt. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1064836/index.htm

This one is a feature on Dennis Rodman from 1988. Pretty amazing stuff http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1067269/index.htm

Rockets and the streak that was.

So the streak has come to an end, and now I feel comfortable commenting on it. I was fearful that I might jinx them if I said anything. So here are my quick hits....

• From my point of view, I'm not surprised that they lost to the Celtics. I hope Boston kills Dallas tomorrow, and maybe Jake will stop hating.
• At the start of the game last night, I became very greatful for the acquisition of Bobby Jackson. Because Rafer is not who we need starting during the playoffs. At the end of the LA game you saw him almost get into a fight when he forget that he wasn't on the And-1 tour, and he clearly hadn't remembered by the start of the Celtics game. I think he honestly thought that he was one of the best players on the court.
• Hopefully everybody will calm down around here in Houston. I mean, I love the Rockets and all, but I was listening to one guy saying that the rockets could win all the individual awards. MVP(Tmac) COY(Adelman) MostImproved(Rafer) defensivePOY(Battier). let's have a little more sanity folks.

Rockets and Playoff matchups

So...the Rockets are on fire? They just tied for the best record in the West. That is crazy. I remember when they were 24-20 and were still OUT of the playoffs. Twenty-one games later they are 45-20 and in first place.

That's right. 24-20.............45-20. That doesn't even compute!

On another note, if the playoffs started today here would be the matchups in the West:

Lakers-Warriors
Rockets-Mavs
Hornets-Suns
Jazz-Spurs

Man is that awesome. I would watch every game of all those series.

Rockets? really?

i'm sure you all have been eagerly awaiting my next rockets-loving post, so without further ado, here is my explanation for why the rockets are really that good (or rather, why they are underrated):
they just won 20 in a row: GSW, IND, MIL, MIN, CLE, ATL, POR, SAC, CLE, MIA, NOH, CHI, WAS, MEM, DEN, IND, DAL, NOH, NJN, ATL (and to Houston's credit, most of these were pretty harsh beatings) . but,
right before this winning streak, they won 9 out of 14.

so basically all i'm trying to say is... Rockets? really?

Celtics? really?

i'm sure tom has been eagerly awaiting my next east-hating post, so without further ado, here is my explanation for why the celtics aren't really that good (or rather, why they are over rated):
they just won 10 in a row: POR, LAC, CLE, CHA, ATL, DET, CHI, MEM, PHI, SEA. (and to Boston's credit, most of these were pretty harsh beatings) . but,
right before this winning streak, they dropped 3 in a row: DEN, GSW, PHX
GSW-clearly not the best team, but they match up ok
DEN-they've had some quality wins lately, but nobody is putting them in the finals this year.
PHX-this game was directly after the shaq trade, before they even looked like a team again.

so basically all i'm trying to say is... Celtics? really?

Playoff Seeding

Of course everyone hates it. The comish says that its cyclical so we should ignore it. How much bull is that? Just because it swings to the east sometimes doesn't make it any better. I mean, how does that argument make any sense?

There are some valid arguments. Like making some teams travel all the way across the country. And of couse the game times being two hours different for the two team's fans. But saying its cyclical is just retarded.

I do have a question though. It looks like Utah is going to get the 4th seed even though the 5th seed will have a better record. Another ugly aspect rears its head. So, who has home court advantage in that series? And if you tell me its Utah, I'm gonna have to burn something.

-Haircut

My thoughts on the Nuggets, PHX, and Hubie Brown

First of all, I just want to say how much I would love to be related to Hubie Brown. I can only imagine what it would be like to have him as a grandfather or uncle.

I'm watching the Denver Nuggets versus the Suns. I've always appreciated Hubie, but I'm finally beginning to worry about his mortality. MF'er is old. So, every time I catch him making comments about anything, I feel this need to pay close attention. Anyways, he has done a fantastic job tonight analyzing and explaining the beauty of Iverson. definitely some quality broadcasting and amazing telestrating.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second topic for me is the slow start for PHX since Shaq was acquired. I still believe that it was a good move. Mainly because I think Marion would have sabotaged their season. Yet, I thought it was doubly good for PHX because of Shaq's tendency to inject some camradare. Yes, I hate his game, but you have to respect his ability to be endearing, and he is pretty fucking big as well.

So why does PHX all the sudden seem to be average? I'm chalking it up to an adjustment. I'm expecting 3-1st-names to figure it out.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3rd thing, I'm feeling compelled to comment on is how much I hate Carmelo....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................

I just wrote this long diatribe about how I hate Carmelo. Then I thought that it wasn't healthy to despise someone so much without ever seeing them in person. So never mind. it's deleted. I wish the best for the nuggets and all their wonderful fans.

Love Dick.