Orlando Magic, LA Lakers livin' large. 2010 NBA Playoffs Day 19: Los Politics, San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns
by Poor Man's Commish on May 5, 2010 2:44 PM PDT
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Bringing awareness to the disturbing Arizona anti-immigration law (via i2.cdn.turner.com )
2010 NBA Playoffs Day 18 recaps:
LIVIN' LARGE. Dwight Howard had 5 blocked shots as a varsity team beat up on a JV squad in a scrimmage that somehow made it on TV. FYI, Atlanta Hawks frontline: Al Horford a generous 6'10", Marvin Williams a generous 6'9", Josh Smith a generous 6'9". So So Def Small.
The Orlando Magic take a 1-0 series lead over the Hawks.
Orlando Pin Striped Post: The morning after | Peach Tree Hoops: Annihilation
LIVIN' LARGER: Why hasn't anyone used the term "twin towers" with these Los Angeles Lakers? Is it because, back in the day, the original twin towers (Ralph Sampson and Akeem Olajuwon, later changing his name to "Hakeem") tore the Lakers' hearts out that one year?
Anyways, it's simply unfair: Pau Gasol (7'0") and Andrew Bynum (7'0") vs slow-footed Kyrylo Fesenko or Kosta Koufos (7'0") and Carlos Boozer (6'9"). I do enjoy watching Wes Matthews, C.J. Miles, Ronnie Price, and Paul Millsap overachieve. The series should get better as Andrei Kirilenko is expected to come back for Game 3.
Lakers lead the series over the Utah Jazz, 2-0.
Silver Screen And Roll: A walk in the park | SLC Dunk: The downbeat
2010 NBA Playoffs Day 19 preview (SAS-PHO):
Jason Richardson: legit unstoppable! (via d.yimg.com)
6:00PM PDT on TNT: #7 San Antonio Spurs at #3 Phoenix Suns
The Suns lead the series 1-0.
It's just great to see J-Rich pouring in 24.0 ppg in these playoffs. On any other website, we would say "unstoppable baby!!!"
The buckets are mostly in transition so you can't really blame Manu Ginobili. Speaking of which, I just have to say, this Manu is incredible. Any other era, they'd be talking Top 50 all-time great. I love how he hardly lets the referees ever affect him (i.e., the late charge call in Game 1 that looked a bit questionable in real time, and then they never replayed it so we won't ever know for sure, but Manu just moved onto the next play after that).
And did you see that dribble-drive from the right elbow, going past one man, then behind-the-back to his right hand to avoid the next, then a fake kick out to the corner, at which point he froze the 3rd line of defense and got a layup, righthanded? Wow.
Pounding The Rock: Noteworthy optimism | Bright Side Of The Sun: Throat-stepping time
Finally, a tip of the hat to Robert Sarver, owner of the Suns, as well as David Stern and Gregg Popovich...
"Our players and organization felt that wearing our 'Los Suns' jerseys on Cinco de Mayo was a way for our team and our organization to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the State of Arizona, and our nation," Sarver said in a statement released by the team. "We are proud that 400 players from 36 countries compete in the NBA, and the league and the Suns have always considered that to be a great strength of the NBA.
"The frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law. However intended, the result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question, and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill afford them."
...
"We think it's appropriate what the Suns are doing," NBA commisioner David Stern told NBA.com.
...
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich would have gone with the "Los Spurs" jerseys if possible. The team only has one set of that uniform back in San Antonio, having sent the second back to the NBA. (Teams need two sets of uniforms for a game.) Popovich added that the Spurs had talked about addressing the immigration topic with Phoenix later in the series.
"It's a great idea," Popovich said. "I think that came from Mr. Sarver and it's a wonderful idea because it kind of shows what we all should be about. Sure there needs to be a lot of work done, obviously. A lot of administrations have done nothing about the immigration deal and now everybody is paying the price, especially a lot of people in Arizona.
"That's a bad thing, but the reaction is important, too. And this reaction, I agree with Mr. Sarver, is inappropriate. It's kind of like 9-11 comes and all of a sudden there's a Patriot Act, just a kneejerk sort of thing that changes our country and what we stand for. This law smacks of that to some degree, so I think what he's doing tomorrow night is very wise and very correct."
When was the last time you saw such a political statement made in sports?
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I don’t want to get political, but there’s no chance this game changes the Arizona immigration law in any way. I just don’t see a basketball game tied to politics like that.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on May 5, 2010 2:46 PM PDT reply actions
You would be right. If anything baseball would have a larger impact with players from south of the border not showing up for games (or a game as a protest).
The other question is will there be any backlash to the Suns for making a stand ala “The Dixie Chicks”?
"If God made us in his image then he must be dumb too, and a little ugly on the side."
Frank Zappa
by qin on May 5, 2010 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd guess no
because basketball is a lot different from country music. They aren’t alienating their fanbase by doing this.
by Reverend_Randy on May 5, 2010 4:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Go read comments on articles that explain this. I think you’d be surprised, there is a lot of commotion about this.
Huh
I guess what I really meant was that the backlash will be much smaller than what happened with the Dixie Chicks.
by Reverend_Randy on May 5, 2010 5:37 PM PDT up reply actions
It calls attention to the issue on a national scale . . .
This is may make a minor difference for a few reasons:
1. Companies from other states spend money there, if there is a public perception that Arizona is racist (like when they were the only state that didn’t recognize MLK day), then certain types of companies may shift resources elsewhere.
2. Liberal people with money may be less inclined to vacation there. Spring training?
3. Other border states, like Texas and California, may have politicians wanting to enact similar legislation. This gives a head start to the opposition, especially with young voters who idolize NBA players and don’t pay attention to much of the political debate.
This has nothing to do with my personal opinion on the issue itself, I’m just pointing out that I see “why” they think this is more than masturbatory.
Derrick Coleman is my power animal.
by bloodsweatndonuts on May 5, 2010 4:43 PM PDT up reply actions
re: But maybe (social) conservatives are more inclined to spend vacation there?
I don’t think that would change that though. If anything, it may make social conservatives less likely to buy Suns tickets and merchendise, but the Suns certainly know thier demographics better than I do.
I’d assume that was consideration #1 in this act was, how could this potentially hurt our pocketbook.
Derrick Coleman is my power animal.
by bloodsweatndonuts on May 5, 2010 5:42 PM PDT up reply actions
I’d assume that was consideration #1 in this act was, how could this potentially hurt our pocketbook.
WTF? the whole thing was cause the players were worried that their landscaping costs might go up a couple hundred dollars?
Lights please, lights please, turn off the lights.
by Skeptic con Urquell on May 5, 2010 10:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Re: WTF? the whole thing was cause the players were worried that their landscaping costs might go up a couple hundred dollars?
The team’s pocketbook, not the players’. Who ever does Brooke Lopez’s manscaping should be fired regardless of residency. He needs to put in a call to Maggette, that’s a guy with a well manicured face and skull.
Derrick Coleman is my power animal.
by bloodsweatndonuts on May 6, 2010 8:38 AM PDT up reply actions
+1
@ rated-r superstar: i don’t think the point is to say that this basketball game alone is going to turn the tables on an immigration/educational policy like the one AZ just passed. But with the swell of support from all angles and stripes, as mykelala01 mentions below, (racial profiling is something affects multiple communities), there might be enough to do damage to Arizona’s $$$$. As states and municipalities rely HEAVILY on sales tax to generate funding for city services, if enough people boycott going to Arizona (or even the people that live there) and spending their money at certain places, AZ may have a huge problem on their hands. A colleague of mine and her colleagues boycotted a conference taking place in Phoenix, which means a huge chunk of money loss for that hotel, workers, etc. etc. As bloodsweatdonuts mentions, hurt em where it hurts, which unfortunately ends up being their pockets more than anything. Overtime, maybe this will get the point across to law makers how f’ed up this is.
by dj fuzzylogic on May 5, 2010 8:05 PM PDT up reply actions
case in point
“Businesses and unions have already announced they will boycott travel to Arizona. The University of Arizona says it has already received notices from out-of-state students that they won’t be attending school there in the fall because of the law. There are calls for Major League Baseball to move the 2011 All-Star Game from Arizona, as the NFL once did with the Super Bowl after the state refused to honor the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.”
From an article today on espn.com
by dj fuzzylogic on May 5, 2010 8:12 PM PDT up reply actions
If you think this is still politics then you are wrong
this all about human race and racial profiling. What Arizona is doing is creating tension between race. This is stereotyping and against human rights. Against our brown brother, this is not between black and white like back in the days this all about browns and America. Back in the days most basketball players are whites but not anymore but I don’t want to go into that because even our president now is a man of color. I don’t see whites, blacks are search by police and ask about there legal status. But I most likely see brown color guy with a beat up car stop by a cop and ask for a proper document. Then why they don’t ask Barbosa legality he is brown and lived in Arizona or Robin Lopez for having a latino last name and he is brown. So stop it with political excuse all I can say who ever start this law is a R@c!s*
Win Or Lose Warriors For Life.........
this all about human race and racial profiling.
It’s a political issue.
So stop it with political excuse all I can say who ever start this law is a R@c!s*
I don’t know about a political excuse.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on May 5, 2010 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions
I don’t see why politics is mutually exclusive with race though.
Doesn’t politics cater to race? They never say elect me and I’ll go kill white folks, it’s always those muslims or afghans or other far away folks of color?
Lights please, lights please, turn off the lights.
by Skeptic con Urquell on May 6, 2010 10:51 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't guarantee it
but I think they’ll come back and win tonight
Suns not making anything
but at least they got some offensive rebounds
Spurs playing much tighter defense to start the game
This was nonexistent in Game 1’s start
I wish we played defense like this
The last time we had any form of a fearsome defense was the We Believe swarming defense
Whoa, Tony Parker did NOT get the start in Game 2
doesn’t matter now since he’s now subbed in
I can just hear Jim Barnett now
About Channing Frye on that attempt to draw a charge: You’re a center. Go for the block or change the shot!
Didn't want
to match his 60 mil. plus contract?
"It's like Will Smith, remember the Fresh Prince? Get the ball don't let nobody else shoot? That's kinda what the offense can be sometimes, and they're just standing around waiting for Monta to make a play"
-MT2
by golden_solitude on May 5, 2010 6:52 PM PDT up reply actions
So they could spend that money on Eric Dampier. According to Nelson, this is what started the feud with Cohan.
Derrick Coleman is my power animal.
by bloodsweatndonuts on May 5, 2010 8:48 PM PDT up reply actions
you mean with cuban
that sounds vaguely familiar. I’ll have to look this up one of these days
Cuban. Yes. My bad.
Derrick Coleman is my power animal.
by bloodsweatndonuts on May 5, 2010 9:07 PM PDT up reply actions
I remember now. It was Nelson’s lawyer (John O’Connor) on Gary Radnich after he won his money from Cuban. I can’t locate the interview.
I also heard Nelson on Razor and Mr. T say that too along with “he (Cuban) decided that he knew more about basketball than me”, referring to spending the money on Eric Dampier (!!!) instead of Nash. I think they also got Jason Terry that off-season too.
Thinking more about it, the Nash thing was the “last straw” in the whole deal. The feud started with Nelson refusing to play Dirk in game 6 of a playoff series because he had an injured knee and Cuban wanted him to play. I have no idea what was really going on but I’m sure the media probably said the it was some sort of insane Nelson conspiracy to be the underdog.
Derrick Coleman is my power animal.
by bloodsweatndonuts on May 7, 2010 9:41 AM PDT up reply actions
Barbosa better have a foul to give
otherwise, that was a DUMB DUMB DUMB foul after losing the ball
And now a dumb move by the Spurs, Bogans
Bogans, you’re now in Pop’s doghouse
6 pt swing there
JRich misses his 3, Ginobili makes his
Hey tolliver, you still feeling the guarantee?
Despite the Spurs playing tougher defense, Suns hanging in and are tied
Even though I'm not much of a Spurs guy
I really like Manu Ginobili’s game. It’s really complete. Not tonight so much, but in general.
Spurs really suck at shooting 3s
1/7 as a team
Haha
Yes, if Morrow could defend, he would be deadlier than Bruce Bowen for the Spurs
And with LeBron's elbow MIA
does that mean we’ll have to sit through Kobe holding up another trophy?
Hey wait a sec
tolliver, didn’t you put all your money on the Spurs in this game?
Oh man
Tim Duncan simply can’t catch Channing Frye way out there
Wow, that's a GENEROUS continuation
The foul was called, Amare was standing still, then he dunked it
And on the Spurs
they have Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Reggie Williams
It all depends
on whether he can get his game back after that tendon injury
The difference is that JRich has a stronger personality
and I think JRich is more fearless in taking the clutch shot over Buike
Yeah
Hopefully Buike can take more of a leadrship role next season and be able to come through in the clutch.
ok, tolliver
when the Suns finish Game 3 and Game 4, will they be tied 2-2, or up 3-1?
only watch
if you will enjoy watching a masochistic demise of the atlanta hawks.
Atlanta doesn;t deserve a good sports team anyways.
They do not support any of their teams even when they make the playoffs.
Set a record by getting banned for the 8th time!
After rehab I saw the light and promise to be kinder and gentler!
Probation is a very slippery slope!
by StinkyFingers on May 6, 2010 8:19 PM PDT up reply actions
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