finishingmycoffee.com » journalist http://finishingmycoffee.com Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:57:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 True Hoop + Bread City + Simmons + SLAM = Basketball http://finishingmycoffee.com/2008/12/31/true-hoop-bread-city-simmons-slam-basketball/ http://finishingmycoffee.com/2008/12/31/true-hoop-bread-city-simmons-slam-basketball/#comments Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:09:19 +0000 misgatos http://misgatos.wordpress.com/?p=529
Danny Granger, all heart.

Danny Granger, all heart.

One of my least favorite aspects of the NBA is that it's nearly impossible to follow if you don't get cable.* Before Christmas, when the NBA on ABC kicks off, the only way to see a game is to tune in to Telemundo for the Saturday game. Even the local games are on Fox Sports, so it's the radio or nothing. Here in San Francisco, we have a great pair of commentators for the Warriors, but I'm sure that fans of other teams aren't so lucky. Thank goodness (or Al Gore?) for the Internet.

(1) SLAM Online. I've been reading SLAM for over a decade. Back when most writing on sports was in print, SLAM was a breath of fresh air and hoops reason amid noxious clouds of reporting aimed at the corporate, luxury box patrons filling the coffers of the NBA. Lang Whittaker kept up the great work with The Links, where he continues to publish daily articles on the NBA.

(2) True Hoop. Henry Abbot's True Hoop is the definitive source for insightful writing about the NBA. The stories you can find here will be better than anything you can find anywhere else.

(3) The Sports Guy. Bill Simmons is one of the last, great, true NBA fans left. Sure, he's heavily biased towards his home town Celtics, but he loves the game more than even his team. A gutsy owner would hire Simmons to be his GM, or at least to be involved in personnel decisions. He knows the game and would work cheap. I know his fans would be irate if he stopped writing, but I'm still going to say it: hire the man!

(4) Bread City. I only started reading this blog today (thank you Waxin' & Milkin'), but I already love what I've seen. For example, check this post: about the above photo:

It was a hell of a hustle play. He pressured Pierce, got a deflection and dove face first to get the ball. I went to congratulate him and he smiled at me and I saw what happened. It’s ironic that’s a play made by a guy who just signed a long term deal and wants to help us get back in the playoffs.

- Coach Jim O’Brien on Danny Granger shattering his two front teeth against the Celtics, 11/1/08.

[Update]
(5) NBA Off-Season 2009: Chronicling The Waiting Period Before The Next Season Begins. Another great recommendation from Waxin' & Milkin', this blog has the news you need plus the gossip and humor you want. Dominant.
[/Update]

All excellent. For more, see the following:

*Yes, I know. I'm in the bottom 15% and live in the stone ages.

]]> http://finishingmycoffee.com/2008/12/31/true-hoop-bread-city-simmons-slam-basketball/feed/ 1 If The Shoe-Thrower Were A SF Giant Pitcher http://finishingmycoffee.com/2008/12/15/if-the-shoe-thrower-were-a-sf-giant-pitcher/ http://finishingmycoffee.com/2008/12/15/if-the-shoe-thrower-were-a-sf-giant-pitcher/#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:08:54 +0000 misgatos http://misgatos.wordpress.com/?p=452
  • Had Barry Zito thrown the shoe, it would have floated lightly toward W. Our President could finally have declared victory over something, as he'd have swung and crushed the shoe, launching it over the entire press corps. Still, most Iraqis would have said that Zito was such a nice guy that they appreciated the effort, even if he wasn't worth the big contract. Besides, Zito's still a lefty whose columns take up a vast swath of column-inches.
  • Noah Lowry would have hurt himself.
  • NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum wouldn't have been allowed in. Security would have thought he was one of the reporters' kids.*
  • Jonathan Sanchez would have missed badly, high and outside.
  • Matt Cain would have been dead-on with the first shoe, but another journalist would have stood up and gotten in the way. Unlucky. If he had time to throw his second shoe, though, it would have hit W square in the smacker.

    • * Had Lincecum somehow been let in, the first shoe thrown would have bored a hole in W's chest. That shoe, thrown with such extreme velocity, would have instantly cauterized the fatal wound. The Phenom would have used the second shoe to disarm and disable all of the Secret Service agents in the room, allowing him to escape.

    Still, the rest of the Press Corps would be unable to follow through after Lincecum's super-human performance. They'd fail to score and would give up the game winning homer to Cheney with a fat pitch down the pipe in the top of the 8th.

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