The NBA summer league is something else and a must for all NBA fans .i've been in the entertainment business for two decades in this great city and i'm tellin' ya if your a B-Ball junky plan your trip baby for the 2009 NBA summer league's in Las Vegas.
The speed and the intensity of play is overwhelming and the competition is intense cause these are mostly rookies and guys tryin' to prove their worth.
This was a special night for me the T-Wolves were to debut 19 year old Kevin Love. my home boy GM Kevin McHale engineered a draft-day trade sending O.J. Mayo the #3 pick,for Love, the #5 pick as part ofan 8 player done deal.
Kevin McHale has been drawin' heat for his dealin' KG to the Celtic's and henceforth an NBA title ...this stuff was goin' through my head prior to tip -off with the Dallas Mavs .
The stage was set , we was goin' to find out if the 2 Kevin's was penthouse material or the proverbial #### house.matter.
Lo and behold the pace of the game was swift , and Kevin Love was stinkin' up the joint. i'm talkin' missin' shot after shot, foul after foul. i'm thinkin' my home boy needs a stiff drink about now.
In any event Love' dreadful 1st half comes to a close . he got 4 fouls and shootin' lousy.i'm ready to go home. my associate, a ucla alumni tells me not to worry and you better call home to tell Margaret your goin' to be late..
Tip off 2nd half the speed and intensity seems to accelerate. Kevin Love not only keeps up he is leadin' the pace....he is in a grove,... he's got quick feet ..., he's sealin' the baseline gettin' out on the pick and roll.... this guy is gettin' aggressive. but with a soft touch and lookin' for the right shot ...Love ends up with 18 points and 13 rebounds and literally dominates the entire 2nd half .
i'm talkin' domination ... the pace of the game was speed and quickness this is playground ball this summer league.
Minnesotans take a deep breath then exhale for Kevin Love ain't no bum ,and will as a 19 year old man only get better. he should fit in well with Al Jefferson, Mike Miller and Randy Foye. They will not be NBA champs next year but they will be a competitive force in the West.
Well it seems i'm losin' friends and associates at a rapid pace.George Carlin was special and in my life since the early 90's when i was immersed in the Las Vegas entertainment community. He was a fixture at Bally's and i was a permanent fixture at The Aladdin.
It was a time in Vegas that no longer exists late nite saloons and lounges where the stars mingled, drank ,laughed amongst the promoters ,media and fans .I got to know Carlin and truthfully can say .he had the quickest wit and mind of anyone i had ever met.
.The more he drank the funnier he got . He was from New York and grew up in the fifties and believe me he had a passion for New York sports and could rattle off all the old Brooklyn Dodgers along with the Yanks.Knicks and Rangers.
He called the Knicks the Knickerbockers and the Mets the Metropolitans. He did it in a very funny but sophisticated way.
His seven dirty words skit is not only a classic, but a social commentary on our lives in America . HIS HBO PROJECTS ARE CLASSICS AND HE HAS OVER 20 CD'S OF MONUMENTAL WORK FOR THE AGES.
Since this is a sports blog I would like to get George in your head by quoting his sports routine verbatum.
"There are only three sports:baseball,basketball and football everything else is either a game or activity."
What about soccer?
Anything where you can't use your arms can't be a sport."
Running ?
Running isn't a sport because anybody can do it. my mother can run."
Hockey is three activities taking place at the same time; ice skating,fooling around with a puck and beating the (expletive) out of somebody.If these guys had more brains than teeth,they'd do these things one at a time."
"Another reason why hockey isn't a sport is that it is not played with a ball .Anything not played with a ball can't be a sport.. The only other place you'll find a puck is in the urinal to control the smell in the bathroom."
Swimming.?"
Swimming is a way to keep from drowning"
Boxing?
Boxing is a way to beat the (expletive ) out of someone"
Golf?
"Golf is a game that might possibly be fun if it could be played alone.But its the vacuous, striving .male bonding joiners one has to associate with that makes it such a repulsive pastime."
There are many more sports quotes that he rendered , but my favorite was his hunting shot....
Hunting?
"You think hunting is a sport? Ask the deer."
POINT BEING HE WAS AND WILL ALWAYS BE A SOCIAL COMMENTATOR extraordinaire AGREE OR NOT AGREE HE MADE YOU THINK IF YOU HAD THE BRAINS TO LISTEN..HE WAS NOT AFRAID OF THE SO-CALLED POLITICALLY CORRECT THINKERS . HE KNEW DEEP DOWN ALL THEY DO IS DIVIDE AND MAKE BAD BEHAVIOR AND SULLEN LIFE STYLES ACCEPTABLE AND FAIRY TALES A WAY OF LIFE .
FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS AND IF YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN A JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF CARLIN ... PLEASE DO ...YOU MAY COME OUT A BETTER PERSON
FARE THEE WELL GEORGE CARLIN ...YOR BODY OF WORK WILL BE DEBATED AND ENJOYED UNTIL THE END OF TIME .....THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES....
POSTSCRIPT; HIS LAST PERFORMANCE WAS AT MY LOCAL HANG-OUT THE ORLEANS IN LAS VEGAS .MARGARET AND I GAVE MY TICKETS TO HER NIECE AND HUSBAND ...IN FROM PHOENIX. WE BABY SAT THEIR LITTLE GIRL CECELIA . I FELT GOOD WHEN THEY GOT BACK AND TOLD US THANKS AND THEY WERE NOW FANS. HE WOULD OF LIKED THAT HE WAS REACHING OUT TO A NEW GENERATION.
I was as shocked as most of the the USA when Tim Russert died last week of an apparent heart attack.
Life seems to be cruel at times and for this great country to lose Tim Russert 's voice at a relatively young age is especially disturbing. The entire country mourned his death and the media types ,politicians and power brokers all paid their respects . It was like a who's who of the politico elite.
Enough has been said by the politicos some of whom are breathing easier .they wont have Tim astin' tough questions and demandin' the truth.
His death was a bad beat for me.
BY CHANCE...we met on a trip to Washington DC i was laid over at Indianapols .I up graded to first class Lo and behold my new seat mate was Tim Russert .as always he was readin' and researchin'. he looked up at me from drug strore readin' glasses and before he could say a word . i bellowed "Ain't you Big Russ's kid?" we laughed loud and long his face lit up like a Xmas tree when i told him i was from Hibbing, Mn. ...VIKING fan and a long time Las Vegan.
That's all we needed this guy was amazin' for the next few hours we dissected all 8 super bowl losses .no politics . he went to my website and was kind ....He told me to go for it ...He had a way of opening you up . He ast a thousand questions ...i didn't dare not answerin' honestly ....He loved the BOSS (Bruce Springsteen). but was enamored with (Frank Sinatra ) and when he knew i knew THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD we were bonded .
His love of country, sports and family and his enthusiasm for the truth will be his legacy . but i cant but wonder how many lives he touched in a positive way. BY CHANCE... my life is better for meetin' him......THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
FARE THEE WELL TIM RUSSERT / GO BILLS........
POSTSCRIPT...my heart goes out to his family... To his son ...think of your dad often and listen for advice... there will be signs... his good soul will be ever present and with you always
Yes sports fans you are finally indulged with the crowning of a champion that is not your normal pedigree....
The Big 10 LEFT THE BIULDING ,as DID Dukeless,... North Carolina is HISTO as is the storied and overated UCLA. The only chance that the basketball establishment has is ever present Kansas ....their chance of beatin' the Tigers are slim and none.....Kansas is a very good basketball team a noble team with years of banners and championships under their belt s .The Jayhawk fans in flyover country are avid and crazy ....for some their whole being ...for those people.... i will feel your pain ....
It was historic that Memphis buried UCLA at the Alamo-dome . Davey Crockett must be turnin' in his grave..i witnessed the best guard in the tourney , freshman.Derrick Rose .His quote will be college and pro folklore . Rose said "we were just out their HOOPIN". if your HOOPIN" 'you got nothin' to worry about."
ANY WHO , the Tigers Johnny Cal is an underrated coach who has never been given his due by the conservative basketball world .... he is not an outcast but not an insider ....Memphis is by far the superior team in all categories ....they could actually beat many NBA squads
the line is pick-em which means whoever wins ... in my book it's a steal . I would of put the line ... Memphis -6 ...they should go HOOPIN' and win this National Championship by double digits on Monday Nite.......EASY MONEY......
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY AND PRODUCTIVE NEW YEAR..... SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR TROOPS OF ALL FAITHS DEFENDING THIS GREAT COUNTRY, AND YES GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU....
Yes sports fans the EX-UNLV star wants out of PHOENIX and i don't blame him ...here is a 4 time all-star averaging 18.6 points agame and 10,0 rebounds in his 8 years .. these stats are great but don't mean #### ...it's his ability to play with great intensity in every game that counts this guy can really kick #### he is the thumper ..MARION IS ALSO NO WHINNING OVER PAID PRO ATHELETE HE'S THE REAL DEAL AND HIS THREATS AIN'T IDLE THREATS....put him on any contender and you got a shot at the title .. steve kerr has no power and very little or no NBA basketball vision ... they dissed Shawn Marion ...offered him up as trade bait last summer and their is no contract extention talk ...Marion has unique basketball skills that would make many teams go from the out house to da penthouse ... shame on you steve kerr ...blow town SHAWN Marion ...... YOU DA BIG THUMPER...
The greatest basketball player of all time is lowering himself to compete with Paris Hilton to throw the best birthday party... it has been reported and documented that Michael's entourage is on the look-out to hire 75 models and dancers ( hookers ) for his birthday party friday nite at the Bellagio ...it's NBA all-star weekend... Hilton has been quoted as saying her bash will be hotter at the Hard Rock.. don't get me wrong i've had more than my share of slow horses and fast woman and i have done a swimming pool of Johnny Walker Red so i ain't throwin brick's in a glass house. in fact compared to MJ and Hilton my celebrity is minor... having said all this why does MJ want to have this type of reputation .. anyone can chase HOOKERS, club , gamble and drink all nite .. i am livin proof.. why would an icon stoop to this tabloid behavior .. and don't give me that #### about not being a role model he is .....and why he must be seen with Charles Barkley a well known Vegas gambling de-generate is beyond me....further -more Vegas people are trying to lure an NBA team and we don't need MJ promoting the Sin City image ...you just know he will have current NBA players clubin all nite ...for you squares... PARTY TIME STARTS AT 10 PM SATURDAY AND GOES TILL DAWN BET THE OVER FOR THE ALL- STAR GAME... THEY WON'T BE PLAYIN ANY DEFENSE...you couldn't make this #### up...go to lasvegasreview-journal or norm@reviewjournal.com for more gossip and tid -bits ......I WILL BE OUT AND ABOUT ALL WEEK=END CATCH ME AT THE ORLEANS ALL DAY SATURDAY .. I HAVE A GIG TO REPORT ...FEATURING THE HARLEM GLOBTROTTERS VS. DENNIS RODMAN'S ALL-STARS .. you couldn't make this #### up...go to www.24-7talkradio.net there's a picture of the big cat see ya in Vegas at The Orleans ... post script ..Paris sleeps through the all star game ..like Doc Holliday said to Wyatt Earp on his deathbed ..Wyatt says what's life really about doc ? Doc replies IT'S JUST LIFE WYATT...
