Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Seriously Chapter 22: A Not-So-Eerie Calm

Laker Land is in total lock down, save for Phil, who was the picture of relaxation and competence at today's presser. This on the eve of tomorrow's first game of the NBA Championship series pitting the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Orlando Magic. After reiterating what they were looking to accomplish in the first game and reflecting on the return of the 2 - 3 - 2 format, Phil mused that he's "open to suggestions" when a reporter asked if he pays heed to tips that come in from every day fans, what with the all-encompassing internet and what not. It was a display of wit and guile from a man who literally has only just begun to shave his moustache recently.

Lakers in six or quicker if Lamar just do what Lamar do.

***Tom Glavine Released By The Braves***

Today's release wasn't a case akin to Jim Palmer, who got bombed into retirement, Tommy simply became less active until the Braves finally just stopped using him anymore. Yes, there's some inherent sadness in that but there's also an element of divine grace. And by god, that's Tom Glavine for you - divine grace. Seriously just now got off the phone with Tommy and while most of the conversation was private in nature, (having known and covered Tommy since the glory days of Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Avery,) Tommy told me, ever the pitcher, that he's "letting go of that low outside corner so some other guys can hit it." Then we both cried.

Tom Glavine - a first ballot Hall of Famer, a helluva golfer, a mensch and a man amongst men.

10 comments:

  1. Glavine released. Hall of Fame, you will finally have someone to induct.

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  2. I love the Hispanic reporter that asked him who is going to win the first game. Phil gave him a blank stare then said the Lakers. Then the reporter said who is going to win game dos? Phil paused because he can’t believe the guy was going to play this game. He once affirmed that it was going to be the Lakers. Then this guy had the nerve to ask him a third time. If I was Phil I would have told this guy to go back to Mexico and watch it on Telemundo.

    But that’s just me.

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  3. Hey, Seriously, can we talk a bit about the Stanley Cup. What asshole network exec scheduled the Stanley Cup at the same time as the NBA Finals? The NFL has a lot to do with it I’m sure. They had to extend the football season for what else… money. Now this screws up the NBA and NHL all star game and the NBA and NHL Finals. All because football wants to play more games. This fucked things up.

    And what a great Stanley Cup it is only to be ruined by this. I love the way the Red Wings play. Kind of remind me of basketball on ice. What a great team.

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  4. Wow, the Penguins came out and showed that the Red Wings are human. This will be a good series.

    Oh, yeah... nice win for the Lakers.

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  5. Cole Hamels absolutely annhilated the Dodgers tonight. The most dominating performance against them all year. There were numerous concerns tonight. First off, the Phils looked so much more confident than the Dodgers. They know they can beat them at any given time. In addition, the Dodgers are now in an official offensive slump as a team. They are 4 and 4 over their last 8 games and the Phils caught them at a very good time. All in all, I fear a sweep.
    Horrible night tonight.

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  6. Cole Hamels looked great. I thought he was going to hit one out of the park he was so dominating over all. The Dodgers couldn't do anything against him and they were getting him off of the hook by getting out with only a few pitches. I don't think he was ever in real trouble all night.

    Talk about a real fan, I watched the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup, and the Dodgers get beat by Phily. Not a good night. Thank God that donut in the middle was the Lakers because they did what they were suppose to do and win game one. The first and last game I watched was tense. Now, I am not going to say the Dodgers sucked. They didn't played bad, they just didn't play great. They didn't make bad plays or anything, they were just beaten by a better team.

    I hope as this long season progresses, the Dodgers become even more dominating. I also remember in the early '80s the Phils beat the Dodgers all year, but couldn't beat them in the playoffs. Let see what happens.

    But, for now I hope they can salvage at least one game.

    The Red Wings need to regroup. The Pens are better than people expected. The Red Wings couldn't score for two periods. They had some offensive surges, but just couldn't put that ole' puck in the net.

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  7. Watching Australian Rules Tiddly Winks of ESPN 8.

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  8. Funny shit. We need more Forkush humor. Do they play tiddly winks in their tiddy whities?

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  9. Alright, for those who was not keeping track, here are the rules for Tiddlywinks.

    Tiddlywinks is in essence a game for four players playing in partnerships, though it is often played between two opponents, each playing the role of two partners. Each player controls the winks of one colour, the colours being blue, green, red and yellow. Red and blue are always partners against green and yellow. There are six winks of each colour, which begin the game in the corners of a felt mat measuring 6 feet by 3 feet. This mat is usually placed on a table, and a pot is placed at its centre.

    The players take turns, and there are two basic aims: to cover (or squop) opponent winks, and to get one's own winks into the pot. As in pool or snooker, if a player pots a wink of his own colour, then he is entitled to an extra shot, and this enables a skilled player to pot all of his winks in one turn. The point of squopping, which is the key element distinguishing the adult game from the child's game (though recognized in even the earliest rules from 1890), is that a wink that is covered (even partially) may not be played by its owner. The wink on top may be played, though, and top-level play involves sophisticated shots manipulating large piles of winks.

    The game ends in one of two ways; either all the winks of one colour are potted (a pot-out), or play continues up to a specified time limit (usually 25 minutes), after which each colour has a further five turns. Then a scoring system is used to rank the players, based on the numbers of potted and unsquopped winks of each colour.

    Any questions.

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  10. Any other non sports we could discuss the rules of? I personally love euchre.

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