Marvel at Ironmen

Does anyone remember A.C Green? Dubbed as 'Ironman', Green still holds the NBA record for most conesecutive games played at 1192. That is a very impressive feat, because the 1192 games meant that he played nearly 15 consecutive NBA seasons without missing a game. But for most basketbball fans, that's old and mundane news. Nothing exciting about it.

So why am I writing about it? I'm not. I recently learnt about the other 'Ironman' in the sports world. I had heard about the Ironman Triathalon on various sporting articles, but only recently learnt the details from my German supplier. Now for those of you who might stumble upon this blog, without any knowledge about this event, here's some nerve wrecking details.

The Ironman Triathalon that takes place in Hawaii annually. It involves a 3-part race where the participants go through (argueably) the most gruesome endurance tests ever designed for man. Well, maybe Leonidas and his army of 300 Spartans might beg to differ. It begins with a 3.5 km swim (1 km of swim roughly equates to 5 km of running - in terms of the stamina required), followed by a 180 km (yes - one hundred eighty - not a typo) bicycle race for the second peg, which is topped off by a just-over 42 km marathon. Read it again to grasp the magnitude of the figures.

With all due respect to Green, the participants of this triathalon really have balls of steel. The participants get little to no rest in between and can actually finish off the course in slightly upwards of 8 hours to 9 hours (for most of them). The current record holder is Luc Van Lierde from Belgium who completed the Ironman in 8:04:08.

On a sidenote, there are a fair number of triathalons that take place in various countries around the world. My said supplier who enlightened me with this breathtaking event, takes part in a 'mini-triathalon' in Germany whenever he gets a chance. This little triathalon still is a 1-1.5 km swim, 40 km bicycle and a 12 km marathon. He does all this at the age of 40+ (sorry - don't know his exact age!).

Marvellous stuff isn't it? :)

More Miller Time?

Thank god. Argueably, the dryest offseason in NBA that I've seen in the last decade is inching every-so-slowly to an end. The only primetime news was Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics and even that was nearly 4 weeks ago. The massive 7-for-1 swap with the T-Wolves gave Danny Ainge one last chance to salvage his position.

With a trio of KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce the Celtics are (theoratically) in position to make a championship run. Shaq is past his prime and Wade cannot carry the team on his own. No other noteworthy contenders in the East except Le Bron and Co. down in Cleveland. The Suns, Mavericks and Spurs probably have more talent than the entire Eastern Conference combined - so it is not hard to imagine the Celts at least re-living their glory days during the season. What happens in the post-season is too early to predict at least methodically.

One last move that I hope Celtics do is to convince Reggie Miller to come out of retirement and guide most of these selfish players to win a championship. Yes, it is no secret that Miller remains my all-time favorite player. The fearless attitude and his ability to cause mental wrecks for his opponents was a joy to watch. His leaning into opponents while taking his threes, or endlessly running around screens to lift that jumper while his defender would helplessly chase him was simply fun. In a recent interview during Dirk Nowitzki's charity Bowling game Miller said he was undecided as to whether he wants to return for one more season to chase the NBA championship that eluded him for his 18 seasons in the NBA.

If you don't know much about Reggie Miller, here's a small list of his accomplishments (with quite a few of them against the Knicks):

• Ranks 13th in the NBA for All-Time Points Scored



• Ranks 1st in the NBA for All-Time 3-Pointers Made



• Scored 25 points in the 4th Quarter against Knicks in 1994. At the Garden.



• Scored 8 points in 8.9 seconds in 1995. At the Garden. Including the game-winner.



• Game-turning - and eventually series-turning 3-Pointer against the Knicks (again!) in 1998.



• Finishing off Knicks with 17 in the 4th yet again to advance to the NBA Finals.



• Reggie Miller is one of only five members of the 50-40-90 club along with Larry Bird, Mark Price, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. This club is for players who during the course of a season shot 50% or better from the field, 40% or better from three-point range, and 90% or better from the free throw line. [Thank you Wikipidea for this one!]

What more can I say about Reggie? If your game is on the line, I can guarantee that over 90% of coaches in the league would go to either Reggie Miller, Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson. Now that's a fair comany to be in.

Come back Reggie - one more time - show us how Basketball is meant to be played in these showbiz days of dunks, alley-oops, and crossovers. Show these little punks running around making millions what it was like to play to win.

The Departure of Griffin

Often troubled and ex-Minnesota star Eddie Griffin, 25, departed when he ran his car into a moving train. The NBA 'star' never really developed his true potential - instead he never ceased to find ways to get himself suspended or put on the inactive list on endless occasions.

Trouble always followed Griffin like a shadow - right from his days in high school in Philadelphia all the way to a roller-coaster NBA career. Drugs, alcohol and discipline issues haunted him throughout his days in the NBA.

However, having him on various of my fantasy rosters over the past 3 years - one could safely say that the talent was always present in Eddie. He showed flashes of brilliance in certain games when shooting well over 50% from the field and having 2-3 blocks quite frequently. Yet, his personal issues never allowed the NBA to climb on his priority list, ultimately dooming the star.

I don't understand why people find it so difficult to let go of their own past and move ahead in life. The kid had plenty of opportunities and a god-given talent. If only he could channel his rage into constructive play on the court, he would've finished his days a lot more peacefully.

It's all about Balls

I was never good at writing. So, most of you will definitely find this Blog mundane, but I've made it a point to express my opinions and thoughts on the world of Basketball. Those who know me well are well aware that I am a basketball fanatic, and follow it religiously. Some of you who might read this post sometime in the next century might find it informative to know what's going on in the world of basketball - namely USA-related (NBA, NCAA, IU - my college) - as on 21st June, 2007. So, without further garbage, here are my thoughts on:

2007 Playoffs
I wrote this at the time of the Suns-Spurs series (on FantasyKings boards): As a hoops fan - I'm saddened. Not with the outcome of the Spurs-Suns series, but rather the idiocracy of David Stern. I think I'll be the first die-hard Spurs fan to say this in writing, but with the suspensions in place for Game 5, I really wanted the Suns to take this to game 7. I had not had this much fun watching a series for many years. This one had it all - passion from every player on both teams, relentlessness to play through pain and blood, a toughness around each player that made it clear that this series was going to decide who truly is the best team instead of the title 'NBA Champions'. I really hope David stern gets shot or something - and gets hurt just enough so that he quits his job. He took away game 5 from the Suns and all us fans for no reason. Today, no matter how much love I had for my Spurs, my eyes nearly watered watching Steve Nash walk off the floor.

I know people say Bruce Bowen is a dirty player - yes, he is. That Spurs manhandled the Suns - literally - and got away with it - yes, that's true as well. The officiating was horrendously in favor of the Spurs - and in many occasions, even that was true. Yet, what I still loved about this series was that Phoenix kept coming back, kept charging up and continued to play the great game. This series showed the true meaning of competitiveness - and it was punished for mere instinct. I don't care how Stern decides to justify his actions, this was not right. Just not right.Ah well - I guess I'll stop ranting on this topic since it makes no difference.

In the end, Spurs prevailed and swept Cavs for their 4th title, and as soon as that happened, all the talk of a dynasty started. I guess they had nothing else to talk about. My take on Spurs' dynasty? Yes, they are. Not in the fashion of Jordan's 6 rings or Magic's showtime lakers, but in the true sense of competitiveness and resilience to give their best day-in, day-out for the love of the game. No other team in ANY sports has shown the kind of professionalism and perseverence that the Spurs have in the last 10 years. They only have 4 rings to show for it, but rings alone don't make a Dynasty. In the true sense of the game - their plays are beautiful to watch for 10 years - that's a Dynasty in my eyes.

NBA - Draft on 28th June, 2007
As the draft draws closer, there will be at least some excitement in the league. Greg Oden will be #1, Durant #2. What remains unseen is who will go next up - a good choice of 4 possible shufflers from #3 - #7. Only thing that's interesting to me at this stage for the draft is if Portland can snatch #3 from Atlanta to put Mike Conley and Oden (who have played together since they were in their diapers) on the same team in Pro-ball as well.

If you follow NBA draft closely, there are more busts than sleepers in the Draft - every year. So, with much speculation for most part, here's my list of busters and sleepers for this year:

Busters

1. Yi Jianlian - Another 'Yao Ming' from China. No fundamentals, all trash. Will be a highly average pick if that. A lot of people disagree here - but I'll hold my ground. I held my ground when Detroit drafted Darko. I quote myself here from 2 years ago on FantasyRef.com 'Darko will go down in history with not much more than a bench-warmer'. I still hold my sentiment.
2. Joakim Noah - Will not be a stat filler/floor leader like he was in College (Florida). Will be picked high because of back-2-back NCAA championships but will be a Shane Battier-esque numbers without the defense that Battier brings to the table. Count on him to make some impact to his team 2 years from now.
3. Spencer Hawes - A 'old-school' center that you hear a lot about. Great college career, but eventually - he's too soft to make a big impact. Don't get me wrong - he has the potential to do very well coupled with a solid point guard. Not only that, if he can cross the 260 lb threshold, he does stand some chance to go up against the worthless centers we have in the league now. Well - most of them anyway.

Sleepers

1. Marc Gasol - If you haven't heard of Pau Gasol and call yourself a hoops fan, I have no words for you. The younger brother of Pau, though not as good, remains a very talented center. Barring the few capable centers we have around the NBA these days, I really think that Marc will make a name for himself soon enough.
2. Sadly to say, I don't have another person here @ my sleepers list. Problem here is lack of time. I wished I had the full time to research on all the players, but from the list of top 30 or so players available, I don't see too many being sleepers. Yet.

Kobe Bryant
Haha. This guy is a headcase. First he asks for a trade back in May, then backs out less than 24 hours later. Now he visits Lakers' owner in Spain (mind you - Buss - the owner - was on vacation) to demand trade again. Apparently, there's a video of Kobe blasting Buss, Kupchack and others in the Lakers' front office - which should be available soon on the Net.

My take is that he will not get traded. Kobe being the only player in the NBA with a no-trade clause in his contract. Means if Lakers try to move him to a team he doesn't like, he can veto it. I guess I can only echo has been stated on numerous sites on the Net - Chi-town remains the most-likely option for Kobe - IF at all he's dealt. Seriously though, I doubt Kupchak will trade him since is not only Kobe, but the case of Phil Jackson as well. I reckon the entire Lakers franchise will come crumbling down if Kobe and Phil both leave. Mitch has been known to bring the who's-who of showmanship in basketball to LA to sell tickets.

From what I've gathered, Kobe's 2nd 'change-of-mind' came when he saw LeBron reach the NBA finals with average teammates around him - hence also the sudden desire to move East. Overall I find it unlikely that Kobe will be traded this season. Knicks don't have the cap room to make this work, Chi-town lacks a 'ticket seller' to the likes of Mitch. However a 3-team trade involving Washington (Arenas to Lakers), Bulls (Ben Wallace to Lakers / Gordon or Deng to Wash + Filler), and Kobe to Chicago could happen to make ends meet.

Enough NBA! Onwards to College ball in my next post!