June 2006 Archives
June 30, 2006
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Nate Robertson - ace pitcher for the Detroit Tigers - has a blog. And he has a Big League Chew-centered fad. I love it.
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Cringely tears apart the anti-Net Neutrality stance of Comcast and Verizon. "Nothing is aimed at helping us, while everything is aimed at creating a billable event."
June 28, 2006
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libsyn = simply and easy podcasting hosting. Eventually, I'm going to do a podcast, so this might be useful.
June 27, 2006
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It's good to know that Republicans are doing their damndest to protect us from flag burning, the single most important issue facing America today. (That was sarcasm, folks.)
"Flooding from a weekend of heavy rain shut down the Justice Department building, Internal Revenue Service headquarters and the National Archives on Monday, and created a nightmare for commuters with washed-out roads, mud blocking the Capital Beltway and delays on the area's rail lines."
No domestic wiretapping, today!
via
June 26, 2006
Two absolutely terrific goals from this weekend's World Cup. I still think soccer isn't as great as the rest of the world seems to think it is - too much of it is running down the field and falling down - but these two goals sure are compelling.
First, Argentina's Maxi Rodriguez scored what will almost certainly go down as the goal of the tournament in overtime agianst Mexico. Off his chest. Off his foot. Over the goalie. Under the crossbar. In. I mean wow.
Argentina's Maxi Rodriguez wins it in the 97th minute.
Second, David Beckham - Tracy's favorite soccer player - proved that he still has a little magic in his right foot with a beautiful goal on a set piece in the 60th minute against Ecuador.
Beckham bends it like - well - Beckham.
Both of these were game winners. And both are pretty amazing testaments to why we watch. Brazil-Ghana and Spain-France are on tap for tomorrow. I don't think you want to miss it.
June 20, 2006
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The latest theories on Lost. Organized and dissected for your viewing pleasure.
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First daughter at the Radiohead concert. Navel gazing ensues.
June 19, 2006
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Cringely on Net Neutrality: It's all about VOIP. (Scroll past the Microsoft stuff.)
There is absolutely nothing better than an NHL game 7. The effort and determination that are so appealing in playoff hockey are amped up way past 11.
Tonight, they'll play a Game 7 for all the marbles. For my money, sports simply do not get better than this.
If you haven't been watching hockey because you weren't born in Michigan or because you hated the lockout, then please watch this game. I dare you not to find it the most compelling thing you'll see all week.
Way better than the NBA finals. That's for damn sure.
June 16, 2006
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An itty bitty jar of shaving oil. Perfect for travelling.
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How to pack super light.
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2500 American servicemen and -women have died in Iraq.
June 15, 2006
Too Much Rock For One Hand!
June 14, 2006
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The complete plays of Shakespeare. Now at your fingertips. From Google Book Search.
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Google announced their competitor to Flickr. Tight integration to their Picasa software.
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Flock - the browser built on Firefox, but souped up with Flickr and Delicious integration - releases a public beta.
June 9, 2006
And then there were two. Its been a long time since not one, but two relative surprises made it to the NBA Finals. The Spurs and Pistons were the obvious picks, but both franchises were beaten in fairly decisive fashion by the teams getting ready to face off for the title.
This only proves the current health of NBA basketball. There’s a rare combination of parity and superstars, where individuals still excel and drive the game but are evenly matched with other franchise players around the league. Dirk, Shaq, Nash, LeBron, Kobe - any of these players could have conceivably taken their team to the finals. That’s a recipe for a lot of instant classics.
As for the series, the Mavs are a shoo-in. Five games, maybe six tops, but at nearly every level the Mavs have the advantage:
1. Fresh Legs
Both teams have played more than fifteen games to get here, on top of the eighty-two they logged to earn the right to join the fight. The Heat are hoping experience beats youth in the series, but experience won’t help you get to the rim when your tendonitis or bad back flares up.
The Heat are older and more injury prone: Mourning’s lucky to be alive, Payton’s first step is now so slow that I could guard it, and Shaq’s body could still collapse at any time under the weight of his enormous rear end. Seriously, the only thing that’s grown more in the past decade is Barry Bonds’ cranium. Stern should check to see if Shaq’s ass is on the cream and/or the clear.
[Ed. Number of Shaq insults: 3. Super-unpopular things Shaq has been compared to: Barry Bonds.]
2. Disposable Fouls
The Mavs have 18 reasons to not worry about Shaq. Between Diop, Dampier, and Van Horn, the Mavs will be able to foul their way to small ball. Don Nelson invented the Hack-a-Shaq, but Avery Johnson will win a championship with it.
Riley will likely try to pound the ball to Shaq early when he’s fresh. Avery will counter with hard fouls and no easy layups. Even if Riley keeps Shaq in for the first three quarters, he’s too big of a liability in the fourth. That’s assuming, of course, that Shaq still has the strength to carry his wide load up the court 36 minutes into the battle.
The Mavs have enough warm bodies to force a change in the Heat’s game plan. Once the game goes small, you might as well stake out a seat on the Grassy Knoll for the Mav’s victory parade.
[Ed. Number of Shaq insults: 4.]
3. Dampier
No one rips on Erick Dampier more than me (with the possible exception of Shaq). The former-Warrior averages the highest dollar-per-ounce-of-sweat ratio in the NBA, looks like he’s going to cry at least once a game, and overall just doesn’t seem to get it. Everyone who picks the Heat to win thinks Shaq is going to destroy Dampier.
These so-called experts are wrong.
Dampier’s few flashes of life during his career have come against Shaq. Damp’s body is big enough to play Shaq one-on-one. He has the lateral motion to slow Shaq down on the spin, if not stop him outright. Finally, given that they’re within the same weight class, the refs actually call Shaq when he pushes off against Damp, a call that gets dismissed with smaller players as flopping.
The entire Shaq spite-and-malice offensive against Damp is just further evidence that the guy gets under his skin. You don’t hear Shaq ripping on Adonal Foyle or Chris Kaman, because neither guy ever had a prayer of slowing him down.
[Ed. Number of Shaq insults: 5.]
4. Coaching
I don’t care what Pat Riley has won. Players don’t respect you simply because you have a ring. Go ask the entire Knicks franchise how they respect Larry Brown’s championship-winning style.
Respect for coaches now largely comes from the coach’s passion and ability to communicate with players. Avery is in the 99.9th percentile for both. Every NBA-hater that claims modern players lack respect for the game, are unintelligent thugs, or incapable of playing “the right way” should be forced to sit through a few hours of Avery ball, a halftime talk or two, and the inevitable post-championship press conference.
We’re witnessing the birth of a new generation’s first great coach. Enjoy it.
5. The Dirk Factor
Dwayne Wade is a fantastic player. Anyone who denies that hasn’t watched the NBA for the last two years. However, being fantastic doesn’t get you a ring. There are plenty of fantastic players who are watching the finals, comfortably planted on their couches.
Championships are won by players with enough raw desire to change the course of the game. In every series this year, Dirk has been that type of player. The three against Memphis, the drive against San Antonio, and the half-century against the Suns changed the course of the playoffs. No one is hotter or wants it more right now. Shaq was once that type of player and Wade may still grow into the role, but the moment now belongs to the German.
[Ed. Number of Shaq insults: 6.]
6. Attacking the basket
Larry Brown won an NBA championship running the pick-and-roll 98 straight times against Shaq. Tex Winters nearly threatened to kill himself on the sideline to get Shaq to cover it. Tex lived, but the Lakers lost, largely because Shaq either refused to or could not adapt.
Given mismatches, Dirk and Josh Howard should be able to get to the basket this series anytime they want. The deciding factor will be the desire. If they settle, along with Terry, Harris, and Stackhouse, for jumpshots, the series will be closer than necessary. More drives and pick-and-rolls means more defensive effort for Wade, more fouls for Shaq, and more court spacing for the wide-open threes the Mavs love so much. In the end, the best basketball is simple.
Root for: Mavs.
Bet on: Mavs.
[Ed. Number of Shaq insults: 7. Super-unpopular things Shaq has been compared to: Barry Bonds, Larry Brown.]
I’ve been dismayed over the last two years to find myself tolerating, almost appreciating, Shaquille O’Neal as a basketball player. I’ve talked to others who have shared a similar surprise at how their stance on the Big Skillless has softened. To debunk this creeping acceptance, its important to break down its causes.
[Ed. Number of Shaq insults: 8.]
1. Shaq throws Kobe under the bus
Shaq’s departure from LA following the failed championship run and implosion of the (bad) dream team triggered a summer of Kobe-bashing. It was hard not to lap it up. The cheap shots at Kobe’s wife, the accusations that he was insane, Shaq’s refusal next season to acknowledge him at games all brought great joy to my life.
I committed the error, however, of letting my hatred of Kobe diminish my hatred of Shaq. We should have all learned the dangers of this type of move when we snuggled up to Stalin to bump off Hitler. In this Republican world of compassionate conservatism, there’s always more room for hate.
[Ed. Number of Shaq insults: 10. Super-unpopular things Shaq has been compared to: Barry Bonds, Larry Brown, Stalin, Republicans. Now we're getting somewhere.]
2. Shaq starts to lose
The entire “I’m the greatest player ever” routine became much easier to take when it became clear that Shaq wasn’t the best ever, or even the best current, NBA player.
On the surface, the gap between statement and reality would seem to make the whole schtick even more offensive. In practice, though, its much more frightening to imagine someone of Shaq’s limited skills, desire for improvement, and enunciation as the best player ever than as a Hall of Famer but nothing more.
The legacy of the game is safe from his lazy loping and incomprehensible mumblings. Once we edged away from the NBA being “Shaq’s league,” all the buffoonery became much easier to take.
[Ed. Number of Shaq insults: 15.]
3. The NBA loses its centers
Shaq is now a relic.
In the days of Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, and all-original-organs Mourning, the game was dominated by seven footers pounding the ball inside. The result was technically-interesting but aesthetically-appalling basketball.
In part, Jordan became so well-loved because his grace had its perfect foil in Ewing attempting an up-and-under move. Shaq arrived at the end of the great age of centers and is now the last man standing.
Much like North Korea tending the flame of global communism, Shaq as a classic center is intriguing, laughable, and only threatening in theory.
However, like Strom Thurmond, a few crazy people will long for the day he dominated the scene and blindly ignore his repugnant core, but almost no one will really care when he’s gone.
[Ed. Number of Shaq insults: 23. Super-unpopular things Shaq has been compared to: Barry Bonds, Larry Brown, Stalin, Republicans, Michael Jordan (Remember, I'm from Detroit), North Korea, and Stalin. Wow. That's got to break some sort of record or something.]
June 8, 2006
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On the effectivenes of "welcome messages" to online email lists.
June 7, 2006
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What happens when you combine 200 liters of Diet Coke and over 500 Mentos mints? It's amazing and completely insane.
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Building HTML emails for fun and profit. This is what I do all day. I should pay attention.
June 6, 2006
Thanks, George.
June 2, 2006
Yeah, they lost tonight. It's a bummer.
But two conference finals, two NBA finals, and a title in the last 4 years? How can I feel anything but love for this team? Did I mention that they're a super lovable cast of characters?
I'm proud of my team. Dee-Troit Basket-Ball!
Enjoy it tonight Shaq. 'Cause no one beats the Fro twice.
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My new all-time favorite Washington Post article ever. Here's to wingmen everywhere.
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The city of Boston is afraid. Very afraid of the Tigers!
June 1, 2006
One.
Two.
Three.
Tonight Dee-Troit Basket-ball said "No way. Not now. Not in our house." We're going to be playing some ball on Friday. And after that, it's back to Detroit for Game 7 where we all know anything can happen.
It's fitting that the Pistons came back from the dead on the 4th anniversary of Dead Roy Day. Fitting.
