Thoughts on ISU vs Kansas. The White Fro lives!

Wednesday night I had the pleasure to attend the Iowa State University vs. Kansas men's basketball game at Hilton Coliseum. Hilton is a great place to watch a basketball game, I know a lot of ISU alumni say this however I am not an alumnus of ISU and I agree with them. I was amazed that this game was close; Kansas 75 ISU 64. ISU missed a ton of shots and had they made half of them they would have won this game. Darrell Arthur looked like a stud and Brandon Rush who I thought was supposed to be a lottery pick a few years ago had a solid game however during half time my daughter and I witnessed the white fro. We were walking to the concession stand and Angela says to me "look dad it's Jackie Moon"! Of course I was torn between pride and laughter that my thirteen year old has develop a rapier wit beyond her years. I wish I had taken a picture at this proud coif out in the wild to share with you but it was not meant to be. Like my friend Chris said "in Iowa it's always 1987".

The Boys of Summer

Today is the first Spring training game!! The Sox take on the Colorado Rockies who are fresh off a World Series appearance. The Cubs face of tomorrow against the Barry Bondless Giants. I do hope that this will bring about the Spring weather because I am sick of Winter!

NBA trade analysis

I was planning on torching the Dallas Mavericks for giving up too much for Jason Kidd. Diop is their best inside defender and rebounder not to mention Devin Harris is ten years younger than Kidd. In Kidd's first game back he was torched my Chris Paul. When I called my friend GB4 he reminded me that Chris Paul torches everyone so don't read too much into it. For some reason Kidd always kills the Bulls and last night was no exception. However I don't think that this trade will have them hoisting a trophy this summer. So Mark.

However the Lakers are another story. I am almost afraid to see how they look when Andrew Bynum returns from injury. I think the trade for Gasol who seems rejuvenated since hitting LA puts them over the top. I would not be surprised to see Kobe holding a NBA Finals MVP trophy along with another championship trophy. Way to go Mitch

And finally the Bulls; good job getting rid of Big Ben. I think that Larry Hughes may be trade bait this summer or maybe the insurance policy for Ben Gordon's likely departure. I do like Drew Gooden however the 4 teams in 5 years worries me. But nonetheless good job Pax

Good bye Big Ben

I was not high on signing you but I am not the GM. You were sold as the "missing piece" to the championship puzzle, a tough rebounder and reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Instead you were a cancer and took playing time from young players. To your credit you didn't have the supporting cast you had in your beloved Detroit. So good bye and don't be surprised by the reception you will receive on March 6th.

It's up to you Luol Deng

We have been told by John Paxson that you are this teams superstar for a couple of years now. You have the Duke pedigree and raw athleticism and are on the cusp of being an all star well now it is time for you to take the next step. You turned down a multiyear extension before this season and then your game suffered. If you are going to be a superstar you have to have the mental toughness to play through things like that. Look at the statue outside of the United Center! If you slapped him in the face he kicked you in the nuts, he would step on your throat and rip your heart out. His teammate was the same way. Now you may not be as talented as that duo but play to you potential! Be that guy who wants the ball with five seconds left for the last shot to win the game. Kobe wants the ball for that shot, Lebron wants it Paul Pierce too! You have talent please use it! Be our superstar! It is up to you.

It's been a long time

I've been sick the last few days so I've been a little remiss in my blogging. So here are some random thoughts as of lately

Politics:

Obama keeps racking up the victories. However one of the things that troubled me is James Carville saying the delegates from Michigan and Florida must be seated. Their delegates were taken away by the DNC as punishment for moving their primary forward. As you know Carville is a big Clinton supporter and seating these delegates would give her the lead in the race. The other thing is none of the other candidates were on the ballot in those states except Hillary. Also I think the superdelegates are going to end up being the deciding factor in this race.

Sports:

Shaq to Phoenix and J Kidd to Dallas. I think that Phoenix is thinking towards the playoffs. They are a run and gun team however during the playoffs the game slows down to a half court game where Shaq can help them. J Kidd to Dallas I am not so sure about I think they gave up too much for an aging point guard. By giving up Diop takes away some length off the bench which could be useful during the playoffs and Maurice Ager is young and could have developed. I don't understand giving up on Devon Harris and putting all of your eggs in Kidd's basket.


And finally

I have a new puppy. His name is Peyton. My daughter chose the name and she like Peyton Manning.

We live in interesting times

First off Sports:

Pitchers and catcher report to spring training! This is a time where hope reigns all teams have World Series aspirations however the season starts and those dreams of October glory are replaced with April reality. In Chicago you are familiar with the Cubs mantra of this year is our year! 2008 is the one hundred year anniversary of their last World Series victory. We will see they failed to address holes in the rotation following Big Z and Lilly. The White Sox have some question marks in their rotation as well. However with Roger Clemens on Capital Hill this may overshadow those four glorious words.

Second Politics:

Obama sweeps the Potomac primaries. I believe he has cemented his status as the Demovratice frontrunner. However I think the super delegates will determine the fate of the race. I think that the Democratic powers that be have different thoughts than the Democratic electorate. Which would be a shame, I hear people say McCain; who also swept the Potomac states, would be a third Bush\Cheney administration. My question is what would a Hillary administration be?

And finally TV:

The writers strike seems to be over so hopefully we will see new TV soon.

In Iowa it's always 1987

My Friend in Texas; Chris said this in an e-mail to me last week. Over this weekend I found evidence of this. First I was at the mall and I saw someone in parachute pants. I have not seen those in years. This morning one of my co-workers came into the office wearing moon boots like Napoleon Dynamite. And once again while at the mall I saw a mullet revival three different people with mullets. I am speechless

Random Friday thoughts

First off the Bulls:


Last night the Bulls beat the Golden State Warriors. This makes me happy and they did it with their supposed big three of Gordon, Hinrich and Deng on the bench. It makes me wonder if they have quit on this team and that is why they are not winning. This raises the question if they have maybe they're the problem. Also I don't want to see Joe Smith playing forty three minutes we need to develop Noah and Thomas.

Second This week in politics:

The darling of the far right Mitt Romney has abandon his presidential campaign. I am not sure why they found him so appealing. Personally I like him for his talk on the economy because I think that is a huge issue. I didn't mind his middle of the road positions he espoused while governor. What my issue was he was trying to be something he was not and that is Mr. Conservative. I hate to tell the social conservative types but gay marriage is not the defining issue of our time; we have an economy that is on the verge of recession, a war in Iraq that seems to be never ending and a resurgence of Russia as a major power and China emerging as a super power as well.



And finally just because it is Friday and I like Chuck

I am hoping that the writers strike ends soon I am growing tired of reality TV and I want to see new episodes of Chuck.

Roger Clemens

I am not the biggest fan of Roger however I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if he is innocent he is never going to win the war of public opinion. It may even keep him out of the Hall of Fame which would be a shame. In this country we are innocent until proven guilty and I think in our rush to judgement he will never get his day of impartial judgement.

Super Bowl XLII thoughts

Well I was right about the winner, I was right about Eli leading them downfield to win and all the shots of Peyton in the luxury box. I was off on the score which surprised me but I thought the Giants flat out won the game they pressured Brady stopped them when they needed to and Eli stepped up and in my opinion stepped out of the shadow of his brother. I am not saying he is better but he showed some guts. Congratulation to the Giants

It's a tragedy for me to see the dream is over

I never thought I would be quoting Milli Vanilli in my blog but I have. Today the Memphis Grizzlies traded Pau Gasol to the Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and draft picks. I have posted in the past I wanted him for the Bulls but it was not meant to be. I cannot believe that we was traded for so little. Brown is an expiring contract which will give them cap space and you usually trade for that and you players. Memphis is going no where fast however the Lakers have just gotten better. Once Andrew Bynum returns from injury you can move Gasol to the power forward position and not miss a beat. I would have loved to see him on the Bulls however his contract would probably not allow us to resign Deng which I think Paxson wants to do this off season. I hope Pax has something up his sleeve

Super Bowl prediction

This is my first ever Super Bowl prediction and I am predicting, drum roll please! The New York Giants 35-31. I see a tied game late in the fourth and Brady leads the Pats into field goal range and they kick a field goal to go up 31-28. The camera pans to Eli Manning putting on his helmet and trotting onto the field after the kickoff. He proceeds to lead them down the field to score. Or course they will cut to the luxury box where Archie and Peyton will be high fiving and hugging. If I am wrong feel free to give me shit about it.