It's snowing in Houston...

Well, its more like enough snow flurries to leave a thin white coat outside, but even that we don't get very often....maybe every 3 or 4 yrs. Last time it really snowed was I believe in '91...that is all......oh yeah and the Suns just traded for JRich in exchange for Bell and Diaw!

BET In The House . . .

*******Here we go, kiddies. While adding BETCATS to the Hibachi 2.0 blog squad is on hold at the moment, BET and I communicated about me posting a piece for him, so here's what I got from BET himself. For those of you who don't know the Cat, he's a young, unedited, serious 'n silly (just like the sweet and sour), Bobcats fan and NC native who is (and I quote) "Ready to write his words for blogs". We're excited to get him on here once it works out. Here's his intro to us. Hopefully the problems will stop soon. Anyways, BETCATS, take it away.*******



Whats good fam?
The Cat popped out the hat is in the building
I am gonna be the newest member of the hottest site about the L on this world wide web.
Please excuse me,
Let me introduce myself.

Born in the woods
Raised by the wolves
The alpha dog of the pack
Turned on the TV
Got stung by a Hornet
Saw Orange Jerseys
Became a BETCAT

Big ups to the Bachi family,
I am gonna represent this place to the fullest.
Because i know this aint no Wu-Tang clan. Not everybody can get in.

Its a honor for me to be here, and the readers eyes will be honored to have me. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but sexy is a given. My shit is sexy. Enjoy it.

Here at the Bachi, i plan on doing me. I understand this group blog is just that, a group blog. We are a team, and i am gonna respect that and work with that. If you got a problem with it, please address me personally. All my haters hit me up at cowcluper@aol.com, this blog aint the place, it deserves better than our flame wars, but just for the record, if you want a flame war with me be prepared to melt.

So what will change about the cat?
Nada Senor, nada
I am still gonna keep it real, trill, or whatever the fuck you fucking kids are sayin these days. As the former Broham in Cheif of the Cats Meow, i think i have established myself as a blogger, this place is just gonna help me get better at blogging (because even the best get better, ask my boy Jordan).

And to all that dont understand why i write in Stanzas and not Paragraphs, their is a reason. I think of myself as a poet. I want to make art, not literature. Paragraphs are for literature, poetry is art. I am a artists, words are my paint, this blog is my canvas.

I will paint it black.
Until next time,



I CAN SEE MY HOUSE FROM HERE, BITCH!

Flash Bangs: Julius Hodge

Julius Hodge doesn't care what you think. Truly. He's just happy to be here. When you almost die, life takes on a whole new meaning.

Hodge was born in Harlem NYC in 1983. He grew up in the slums of one of the meanest cities in the 1st world. He was born tough.

Hodge was one of the guys that, no matter where he went as an amateur player, he always drew attention.

He was a 2001 McDonalds All American at St. Raymonds High School for Boys, New Yorks 'Mr Basketball' and the NY Daily's 'Player of the Year' and he was Sports Illustrated's 'Athlete of the Month'. By the end of his time at St. Raymonds he was rated the no.1 Shooting Guard by ESPN and no. 5 overall in the nation (*1).

In an interesting move, Hodge chose North Carolina State (what up BET!) over other suitors. Why? He could have gone to Uconn (fresh off winning a 'chip 2 years prior with Rip Hamilton) and become a bonafide star straight away.

See, Hodge has always done things his own way. Not swayed by public influence like other NY guards to the same extent that Steph, Kenny Anderson and Telfair were, he chose NCState because he could leave his own legacy. Something untarnished by predecessors. The last time State had been competitive? 1983. Damn.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=bFolL4Is-sU (highlights of the game. 1 minute 30 secs).

Choosing a major program like Georgia Tech (the way Marbury did) was almost like a let off. A slackers choice. Not to disprespect Marbury's choice, but Hodge would leave his own mark. A unique one. Hodge was good enough to go to the NBA from H.S like Telfair. But he never had the same intense hype and hoopla.

Hodge spent four years at State, as a frosh, he was the leading first year scorer in the ACC. He also won the 2002 offensive rebounding award. Named after who? Lorenzo Charles. Who's that? Well, if you'd watched the video you'd know. Charles made the game winning alley-oop dunk to win the NCAA championship.

Next year, he was named all ACC 1st Team and in the process, recorded the 1st Triple Double in Wolfpack history.

Its interesting to note that, prior to Hodge eventually winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year award in 2004, Josh Howard (Wake Forest) did it. And after? J.J. Redick.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=z4KGMohRbf0&feature=related (Hodge gives UCONN the business- sorry Moose).

Hodge went at pick 20 to the Denver Nuggets in the 2005 Draft just as expected. He filled an urgent need at the 2 guard for the Nuggets (*remember they did not have J.R Smith at this stage) placing him alongside Andre Miller and Carmelo Anthony. Unfortunately for Hodge, he only played 3 minutes a game. Earl Boykins played a large portion of minutes at the two for Denver along with starter Voshon Lenard.

For various reasons- mainly coaching and the emergence of JR Smith after the trade with New Orleans the next year- Hodge fell out of the rotation almost completely. He played only 14 games as a rookie. Eventually in 06/7 Hodge would battle for major minutes with JR off the bench and got his first start against the best shooting guard in the League on January 5th 2007- Kobe Bryant. Funny thing is, most people expected Hodge to get pulled almost immediately or rack up the fouls as Kobe destroyed him. Nope. Kobe had 8 points that game and Hodge had 16 and a win.

Remember- Hodge was just happy to be alive.

9 months earlier he had come within minutes of dying from blood loss. He was on Interstate 76 (which is in Denver) at around 2am and was the victim of a drive by shooting. A vehicle pulled up alongside him and fired several shots into his car. The perpetrators were never caught....

The ridiculous thing is, that 6 days after his match-up with Kobe, Hodge and Boykins were traded to the Bucks for Steve Blake. Less than a month later Hodge was waved by the Bucks, ending his time in the NBA-for now.

2 years ago Julius (he was named by his older brother) made his way Down Under to Adelaide-known as the City of Churches. The 36er's (obviously the name was stolen from Philly) were struggling. Badly. They had a losing record when Hodge replaced Mike Chappell (who was officially released on the 12th of December 2007) on the 21st of December- 9 days later.

Hodge immediately went on to dominate the NBL (National Basketball League). Even in his first game (which he only saw 19 minutes) Hodge had a modest line of 6pts, 5 boards, 3 assists and a whole lot of dribble penetration. He worked within the team concept- even though he only knew a couple of plays and brought the team within 1 win of 50%.

In his second game, this time against Perth, Hodge was.... interesting. I got to see this game in its entirety on T.V and Hodge had 10 pts, 5 boards and 4 assists- and 8(!) turnovers. The turnovers weren't from poor ball control or offensive fouls, more from a lack of understanding the offense, making a pass to a guy who he thought was about to dive- but instead flared out to the wing. Minor things, mostly from a team standpoint that are adjustable from time.

Again, against Perth, Hodge took over the game- even though his team lost by 21. He blew up, getting his all night long- with 16, 10 and 7. Hodge would come into his own for the rest of the season, drawing double teams and even (against the Melbourne Tigers-eventual NBL champions) a triple team once- its pretty cool to actually see a guy get triple teamed on the halfway line.

Next, against Money Bill Williams' very own Wollongong Hawks, Hodge destroyed everything in sight, with 34 points, 14 boards and 3 steals. They still lost though. This would become a theme for the 36er's. Hodge would dominate the games and put up LeBron like numbers, but the team would still lose. NOTE: This was not his fault. Captain Brett Maher (former Australian Olympian with 500+ games of NBL experience) was injured almost as soon as Hodge arrived and for some reason, the entire bench was non-existent almost the entire season. The other import Lanard Copeland was suspended for games as well- think Ron Artest 2006ish. The 36'ers bench was one of the weakest in the League- and still is.

Hodge- one of my all time favourite NBL players alongside S-Jax, Corey 'Homicide' Williams and Chris Anstey put his stamp on the NBL season with this statline- easily one of the top 5 of the season- 39 points (on 62.5% shooting), 1o rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and his first NBL 3 pointer. 29th January 2008. A date in NBL history- any of the 5 fans of basketball here in Australia could tell you that.

Hodge would go on to become 3rd Team All League (votes are taken after each week of games)- otherwise Hodge would easily have been 2nd team, probably 1st team. Unfortunately, he was unable to lead Adelaide to the playoffs.

Hodge breathed new life into a dying League. He and Williams almost single-handedly added an integrity and flare to the game that was missing since the Mid 1990's. It's shame to see the degrading of such a beautiful game. It really is.

HOWEVA- The NBL will be a different product after this season. Thank GOD.

Whatever Hodge can contribute to the game this year- after once again replacing a failed import- will automatically be seen as a monumental positive. Dude can flat out ball, and he'll find a home in the NBA in the near future. Bet on it. Remember: He's just happy to be alive.

Peace, Hursty.

PS- No, I don't think that Hodge has forgotten about CP3 giving him the dirty down low. Moose- its ok if you don't understand that right now.

PPS- Hodge was named after Julius Erving (by his brother).

PPPS- Julius gained multiple player of the week honours last year and is expected to contend, not just for the all-star game this year (he'll start) but for MVP honours if the 36'ers can win 60% of their games this year (they suck even more right now than last year).

PPPPS- I dont know why the pictures appear as they do, I can't seem to get them to appear where they should. And videos won't upload. Feel free to educate me on rectifying this.

When Beauty Is Only Thread Deep . . . Or Not

Moose here . . .

We know that it's the players that matter and win ball games and blah, blah, blah, and I agree. But we gotta admit: The jerseys matter. Some are ugly. And some are nice. I'm not a fashion guy, I don't know close to anything on the subject. I just think I know what looks good on an NBA basketball court. Here're my thoughts. Oh yeah, they aren't ranked, those are just the teams' unis by division. Just remember, it's all in my opinion.


1. Boston Celtics -- My team's jerseys are simple. Nothing fancy. Just old-school "Boston" and "Celtics" in plain green and white. You know, when you've been wearing them forever and your team has 17 banners, they aren't gonna change that. The alternate black-and-green ones are pretty good, nice shorts on those. But the St. Patrick's day ones are sick.

2. New Jersey Nets -- I just don't like the Nets colors, so I guess I might be a bit biased on this one. I just don't like the little design thingy on the side, and the away jerseys (blue) are just plain bad. In my opinion. The white ones are OK. Just the red ones and blue ones aren't very good . . . at all.

3. New York Knicks -- Again, another classic team. And these jerseys have been there for a while, really. At least the base of them. And, I have to say, they're pretty good. Nothing special, just simple unis. The little "NYK" above the name is a nice touch.

4. Philadelphia 76ers -- These guys have some nice threads. The black is nice. The white is nice. And, the Sixers also have a cool logo, with the ball heading across the "Sixers" and the star and all. The Sixers have nice jerseys, good colors and all. Also, the Dr. J-era ones with the stars going down on the side are nice as well. Even if they are inactive.

5. Toronto Raptors -- Best jerseys in the league? I think that may be so. The white ones are fresh, the black ones are tight, and the red ones are pretty good. The little design going down the side makes them all good. The black ones just might be the best in the league. The Raps have some nice unis, but they have yet to live up to their threads, really.

6. Chicago Bulls -- First of all, not quite jersey related, but: The Bulls' bull logo is sick. Now on to unis. I don't really like their white ones, but the red ones are all right. The black alternate jerseys are great, though. The full on black and red is nice. But where the Bulls' jerseys really shine are at the shorts. The little diamond with the bull on it is nice.

7. Cleveland Cavaliers -- I like the Cavs' white jerseys. Their red ones are all right. It's just that I don't like the dark blue ones at all. I guess I just don't think it works that much. I just like the white ones, those are pretty good. The retro Cavs jerseys were pretty cool, though.

8. Detroit Pistons -- The Pistons' white jerseys are pretty good, and I can take the blue ones. Just to me, the red ones are a no-no. And I don't really like the font, it gets old pretty quick. Nothing fancy, a bit boring, really.

9. Indiana Pacers -- I'm a fan of the white ones, those are pretty good, with the blue and yellow line and all. I just don't like the blue ones, you know, a little too much of mixing those two colors. But at least they aren't doing the Miller-era pinstripes, that's a plus.

10. Milwaukee Bucks -- I like their colors (Xmas colors! Happy pre-holidays, everyone!), with the green, red and white. Their "Bucks" font is pretty cool as well. I like the green ones, the white ones . . . the Bucks have nice unis. I like the Oscar Robertson and Lew Alcindor-era Bucks jerseys as well.

11. Atlanta Hawks -- The Hawks have a history of some nice jerseys. There were the Nique-era red-and-yellow ones, there were the Steve Smith-era red-and-black fade ones--pretty much all of them have been nice. These are no exception. Nice colors, nice shorts--great unis from the ATLiens.

12. Charlotte Bobcats -- Sorry about this, BET. The Bobcats' unis are pretty fugly. I don't mind the white ones, but when you break out the orange ones, I'm gone. To the blue ones: Meh. Who designed those things? It's not that I think they're THAT bad, they're just . . . hm.

13. Miami Heat -- Nice unis out of Miami. Their black away jerseys are the best stuff from this team, but all-around they're great. The red ones are cool, the white ones are cool--with a fresh "Heat" font to boot. This organization obviously values nice threads (and not nice point guards. Did I just say that?).

14. Orlando Magic -- The Magic have this weird thing of changing their jerseys every five years or so. But every time they do it, they don't change them very much. This time, I think they tried a bit too hard. Sideways pinstripes? Hmmm. And the black sections on the side are a bit unnecessary. But I don't think they're that bad, the white home ones beat the blue one out though.

15. Washington Wizards -- Their white home jerseys are pretty good, they're all right. The blue ones got old after a little while. Come to think of it, so did the white ones, I guess. But the gold, white and black ones? I find them very hard to look at. I strongly dislike those ones. Am I not alone? Lose the alternates!

16. Denver Nuggets -- I don't mind the Nuggets' jerseys. The little ice-pick thing above the name is cool. It's just, their colors . . . they're soft. They make the team look a little . . . like something the dolls in the Hello Kitty Friendly Beginner's Basketball Set would wear (sorry if I offended you there, Presto :) ). The colors don't look very sharp.

17. Minnesota Timberwolves -- The unis before this year were sick. The Garnett-era Wolves jerseys were the best in the business, even when the team was not. Then they came out with these things. Greatly resembling the local Minnesota Lynx's jerseys, these things are not quite as good. Nice shorts though, I guess.

18. Oklahoma City Thunder -- *******DUE TO MOOSE'S BOYCOTT OF THIS PARTICULAR BASKETBALL TEAM, THE AUTHOR HAS REFRAINED FROM COMMENTING ON THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER'S UNIFORMS*******

19. Portland Trailblazers -- Here's the good stuff. The Blazers have had nice jerseys since they came into existence, and these are just great. One of the only teams to uphold the trend of continuing the shirt design to the shorts, the blazed trail (?) looks great. The black ones trump the white and red.

20. Utah Jazz -- Not bad. The Jazz have nice jerseys with the white and the dark blue, but I got the same problem with the light blue ones that I have with the Nuggets' ones. A bit soft. But the others are nice. I personally prefer the Stockton-Malone purple ones. Just an afterthought: They shoulda kept the name "Jazz" in N'Awlins. Who listens to jazz in Utah? My point.

21. Golden State Warriors -- Maybe this is just me. But I've never liked the Warriors' jerseys. I like the current white ones, and I can deal with the blue ones. But the orange ones are . . . interesting. Designers got a little . . . ummm . . . creative, here, I guess.

22. Los Angeles Clippers -- The white ones are tight. The blue ones aren't bad. The red ones aren't that great, but we can deal. The Clips are keeping it real. A long-time team, they sport unis that are simple and aren't flashy, something that crappy teams like them indulge in often.

23. Los Angeles Lakers -- In the same boat as the Celtics on this one. Classic team, classic unis, and the design ain't going nowhere because of it. The purple jerseys are ugly, the white jerseys are all right, I guess. And the yellows aren't that great. Or maybe I'm just saying that because I was born to root against the guys in them. And every time I see one, it's usually Kobe or Odom. Oh yeah, just a footnote: It's getting harder and harder to like Andrew Bynum nowadays. For me, at least.

24. Phoenix Suns -- Oh, man. First of all, the white ones are all right. The purple ones are OK, I guess, but they're just . . . purple. I don't love the purple jerseys. But I think the orange jerseys are fugly. By the way, here's something funny: http://www.amazon.com/adidas-Phoenix-Steve-Replica-Jersey/dp/B001DPILGQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1228694241&sr=1-2. Some conflicting interests there, no?

25. Sacramento Kings -- More purple jerseys. I don't like the purple jerseys. I just don't. But the "Kings" font is pretty good. The white ones are pretty good. But the purple ones are . . . purple. Sigh. I have nothing against the color. It's just not my thing, you know?

26. Dallas Mavericks -- I think this might be just me, but I really don't like the Mavericks' jerseys. Maybe it's just because I don't love the team very much, but I don't like the font that much. I don't see much harm in the white ones, but you know, they aren't that great.

27. Houston Rockets -- They are amazing! Brilliant! Wonderful! Beautiful! (Yes, Hursty and RV have a gun to my head. Save me!) Aside from my interests of keeping my spot as an author on Hibachi, I'm not a huge fan of Houston's unis. Sorry, guys. They just don't really work for me.

28. Memphis Grizzlies -- I like the Grizz's unis. They aren't bad. The white ones are the best of the two, the dark blue is still pretty good, though. The Grizzlies are a young, entertaining team who doesn't win. The Memphis Grizzlies: Why the hell not?

29. New Orleans Hornets -- I think they shouldn't have changed them from last year, those weren't bad at all. But bringing the modern colors to old-school Hornets pinstripes? Hmmm. Interesting. They still aren't bad, but I think they should've stopped tinkering.

30. San Antonio Spurs -- The Spurs jerseys are just like the team. The stick to fundamentals. Not incredibly entertaining, but they get the job done and look as good as the next team. Even if the Spurs usually look better. The white ones are the best (is this a pattern that I'm noticing of myself?)


OK, all in all, the NBA has some nice threads. But, in the end, the best uniforms belong to the . . . . . . . (drum roll) . . . . . . . Seattle SuperSonics! What? They aren't even in the league anymore? Well, they used to. Anyways, back to a real answer. The best unis in the NBA belong to the . . . Toronto Raptors. All three of em. Worst jersey award goes to the Cats. Sorry about that, BET.

OK, time for random musings after my uniform ideas. First of all, all of you who didn't like Kanye's CD: Listen to it again. And again. And again. I did, and I realize that I like it more. Or at least listen to the first half of it. It actually IS good. Presto could tell you that one. End of short random musings. Well, they weren't really random musings . . . more focused advice . . . whatever.

--Moose

LOVE-IFIED

There was a monster jam in the Nets-Timberwolves game last night. Somebody got posterized. He got a facial. He got owned, pwnd, or whatever other reference you want to make that involves somebody embarrassing another. It involved the greatest dunker ever, Vince Carter.

The other man involved was Kevin Love, a 20 year old 6'10" rookie power forward out of UCLA. Not known for his athleticism and known really for his full-court swishes and outlet passes, he's just developing. Isn't great yet. Who do you think got posterized? Sounds like a no-brainer, right? I mean, Carter dunks on a lot of guys.

Last night Kevin Love threw down on Vince like Vince could on him. After receiving a pass on the block from the perimeter, Love made a power move towards the basket, leaped, and posterized. Vince had been in great position to embarrass Love with a thrilling block, leaping up to Love's level, but that went against him. One-handed jam with an arm in his face. Literally.

OK, Minnesota is NO force to be reckoned with. The L-Wolves DO suck. Al Jefferson is a big fish in a small pond in Minny, they certainly got SOMETHING for their best player of all time. They are incredibly young, might be good in a few years (if you guys haven't read my article on hear entitled "The Future", read it now). But maybe they got something good when they traded third overall pick OJ Mayo to the Memphis Grizzlies.

I don't agree with the trade call. They traded a player who had obvious talent who was coveted as a middle-school standout (sigh), for a dude who plays the same position as their best player and a guy who'll be way past his prime when Minny will start to poke it's young head out into the realm of relevancy. They had made a mistake in my opinion, and they were ripped.

But, maybe Love can turn out to be the man in years to come. I'm not just talking about the dunk last night, although that WAS sweet (Video here: http://www.nba.com/video/channels/top_plays/2008/12/05/nba_20081205_dotn.nba/index.html?player=whatsnew). I mean that it looks like Love might be underrated. I'm just saying that he might be. I think that his athleticism is underrated as well, although weight is somewhat an issue.

I am not a Kevin Love fan by any means. I just know that 8.3 points and six boards while playing just 23.6 minutes in only 12 games is pretty good for a rookie. ESPECIALLY a 20 year old rookie. Love will develop, and maybe he'll turn out to be what the Wolves wanted. I don't think it will happen nor do I not think it will happen. I'm just saying, I think he has the potential. If he's given the opportunity. He's been overshadowed a bit by the outstanding play of Derrick Rose and OJ Mayo (coughtheguyhegottradedforcough), but I think that he might be able to be a great player. MIGHT.

Sorry if this post might've been a little contradicting and/or sloppy, but I just wanted to post about the sweet jam last night and about Love as well . . .

--Moose

Dreads and Free Darko

So I'm back at that ass hitting you with another fresh post of what's going on in my world. I mind you that this is my space to shine so I will not always be talking about basketball because there are bigger things happening...tonight that is. But be prepared for my random postings of school, work, and the occasional foreign exchange students that I try to holla at(rosario what up girl!). Anyways, not that many games on tonight, just that suns and mavs and nuggets and spurs. Just got through watching the suns games and let me tell you, they are horrible. H-o-r-r-i-b-l-e. My goodness I thought that Terry Porter was going to teach the boys how to play defense but I guess not seeing that the Mavs put 114 on them. It is really sad to see but we are all witnessing the decline of Steve nash. Yes, these last four years that he has had are probably enough to put him into the elite hall of fame but this year it is just not clicking. STAT is always going to get his and Shaq is playing well but Nash is not the same leader he once was. Assists are down. scoring is down. defense is down. well it was already bad but it just went to worse. It hurts me soul to see Nash trying so hard to keep his team in the game but people like Boris Diaw, Barbosa, and that Drajic dude just fuck things hope. Here's hoping that the suns can get back on track because they have now lost four in a row. mow and meh.

Time for Presto's random musings

• This game between the Nuggets and Spurs bores me. SA is up by 22 late in the third and they are really in coast control right now. Billups has had a bad game and Carmelo seems a little slowed by the elbow injury. Definitely not the mile high team right now. SA just looks like a team that just wins. Bonner? Really now? the red rocket is hooping over cats heads? what is the world coming to!!! Micheal Finley even looked like he was 22 again early in the game. Slowly but surely, the spurs are getting some ground under them. until the next game of course...

• I hate Darren Collison. If you didn't know, he is the starting point guard for the UCLA bruins, who are vastly overrated in my opinion, and every analyst in the country rides his jock. His favorite fan? Jay Bilas' bitch ass. I watched the Texas/UCLA game tonight and let me tell you, the dude played like an NBA first round draft pick. This is why I hate this guy. Some reason, the more I hate on him, the better he wants to play. Tonight he was freakin dudes with the crossover, getting his teammates into the flow of the offense, and he was even hitting jumpers with that ugly ass form that he has. it was a damn good performance. but it didn't matter in the end as the bruins lost that game by 4. He can't do it by himself and I know he is somewhere wishing Kevin Love would have got injured and never entered the draft. Also a word to the freshman Jrue Holiday, who looks EXACTLY like my homeboy Damion, step your game up young fella. You were ranked like 3rd in the nation last year right? play like it.

• Presto's magical performance- Dirk- 39 and 9

Nothing else need be said. He has freaking defenders left and right with the fadeaway post up game tonight and he was looking like vintage Dirk. Every game Jason and him are playing better as a whole. Mavs will be aite when the end of the season hits.

• So I'm trying to grow dreadlocks right now and let me tell you...it's a bitch. My hair is already super nappy and leaving it in this wopsided afro doesn't help my cause. Ladies like a man well groomed and if I don't get this hair dreaded soon, they will soon start leaving me alone. dammit! I'm trying to go for a lil wayne/t-pain look put I don't want the dookie dreads. Just something that I will be able to shake around and flaunt my swag wit. I'll send pictures on hibachi hopefully by the start of the school year next year. be patient.

• Just went to Borders and copped the new Free Darko almanac. I've only read the foreword by Gilbert Arenas so far but from what I've seen, it is going to be a life-altering book. I suggest you go buy it wherever there is a book store or you can order it off of www.freedarko.com. or amazon.com whatever you like. It only cost me 18 and I got the hardback because all the paperbacks where gone so it is probably cheaper than I advertised it to be.

Well, it has been a nice chat but I'm bout to read some more of Free Darko and try to get this foreign chick on my team...Holla!!!

Presto in case you didn't know so.

YOU GOT RONDO'D

Ron.do (RON-do) - Verb
1. To smoothly move between large objects with dexterity and purpose.
2. To remove an object quickly without being detected
3. To create a distraction followed by a quick change of direction

Moose here! I think that it is more than safe to say that the Indiana Pacers got Rondo'd last night. I know that I use a lot of my space on Hibachi 2.0 to preach Rondo's skills, how much he's worth, how underrated he is, blah, blah, blah. But I gotta give a little something to my guy Rajon.

Last night in the Celtics' 114-96 home win? Rondo scored 16 points . . . . . (you start to say, "Oh, well that's not an incredible point total.") he grabbed 13 boards . . . . . (you say, "As a point guard? What the hell? Nice night . . .) he dropped 17 dimes . . . . . . ("OK, who is this guy??). Yes, most every NBA fan knows or should know who Rajon is. You just don't expect him to do that.

A line of 16, 17, and 13. And three steals to boot. Leading the Celtics to their 10th straight win. Rondo is just undervalued a bucketload. Yes, he can't shoot the jumper even if he had a gun to his head. But let's focus on the good things, shall we? He is greatly overshadowed by the future Hall of Famers on the same squad as him, but the dude is an up-and-coming star.

He's a fantastic rebounding point guard. Best in the league at this stat with his respective position? I'd say so. But the guy has a knack for coming up with the ball in a pile and just picking it out of the air with his hands. One of Rondo's assets is that he's got hands the size of Emeka Okafor's forehead (actually, no. Let's not get carried away there). He's quicker than 90 percent of the league. He plays on-ball defense better than 95 percent of the league.

Rondo was the starting point guard for a championship team at 22 years of age. I know that the Big Three were the biggest part in the run and all that, but if you start on a team that wins a Larry O'Brien at that age, you get some props from me. Rondo comes up with a crapload of steals, at the moment he's averaging 2.2 per contest. He's just a skinny little kid at 6'1" and 171, but the dude also has hops. Problem is, every time he throws down, a defender throws him down. He ends up hitting the floor hard more than most players. But he takes it and competes.

Rondo's a nice, fun-loving person as well. Well-known for his roller skating (I don't know why . . .) he also has a blog on Yardbarker.com, and he updates it regularly, last night as well. He had a lot of nice things to say about his first career triple-double, and he was saying all the right things. Here's his succinct entry last night:

Man...tonight was a great night! We got the W, played great team ball, and I got my first triple-double. I'm not the type of player that focuses on my own stats, so I didn't even know what I had until I sat down in the 4th. I was really focused on being aggressive tonight. Ray had a great night tonight, so I just kept feeding him the ball. I really just wanted to make plays and get people the ball-the stats just came. Overall, I felt good out there. My lip got busted up a little, but I'm fine. I'm tired now though, so I'm going to lay it down now. I just wanted to drop yall a few lines. I'll holla!

Obviously an excited kid. And he had a triple-double with eight left in the third. That early! Dude was on fire last night. As he is most nights, actually. He has posted averages of 10.2 points, 7.7 assists, 4.7 boards, and, again, 2.2 steals per game, very steady and all-around great numbers. And if great man-to-man defense had a statistical category, he'd be leading the league. The former Kentucky Wildcat's website opens up with an "A Milli" remix, and the rest of his site features some nice tunes.

Rondo is a winner. He's the immediate and future of my team, at least, unless Ainge pulls out another blockbuster for us in the next six or seven years. Rondo is just a beast. Y'all should realize that by now. And, he deserves a spot in the Fly Society. DP, if you have any objections, tell me. I don't see why you would. Anyways, last night, everyone got Rondo'd. Plain and simple. Get used to it being that way.

--Moose

Sorry Robbie Hummel, I meant to say that Michigan State is way overrated!

How do you describe anal rape? I won't let you answer that question as I tell what it is. It is North Carolina busting the brakes off of Michigan State, 96-61 as I currently watch it. It is 10:20 pm down here in the dirty Mississippi and it's kind of early for one of my posts but I need, want, and yearn for sleep so I'm trying to go on and get this out of the way. Tom Izzo...did you bribe the coaches to vote for your team to get in the top 25 this year? I mean let us see, you started off the year at the number 5 spot! Way too high for you guys as you got beat by...uh, damn I have short term memory now but you lost to a team that you were supposed to beat!! Now you get raped on your on floor by a North Carolina team that doesn't even have a healthy Tyler Hansborough. freakin scary. Looking at Michigan State as a whole, they are garbage. I throw them in the trash. Their best player is Raymar Morgan, who if he is not putting up Big ten player of the year numbers every night, they stand the chance to lose. Kalin Lucas at the point is aite but those two are not cutting it for T to the Izzo and just looking at him on the big screen I can tell that Izzo is just like, "What the hell...". where is Goran Sutton when you need him? I didn't even watch the game as I just had a league pass 11ven-some with that many games on tonight. If I had that many girls with me....


All this college basketball thinking comes from the fact that yesterday I made a false assumption about my man Robbie Hummel. I was on the weed, you have to mind me but I compared Hummel to David Mclure, who is like a 7th year senior that gives duke some hustle every now and again. I was wrong Hummel. I'm not wrong about you being overrated because you are. I was wrong about you being wayyy overrated and not realizing that you are a good player. Looking at your stats and some of the games that I have watched of you, I was tripping. You have a nice J, you get your teammates involved, you hit the boards with aggression every play, and you are a leader of a team and you are just a sophomore. I'm sorry I didn't see that dude and I'm sorry for bashing you into pieces. Now, don't think that I love you or have a man crush on you...you are still freakin overrated. But you can ball and I respect that. Bet is still on that you don't win player of the year though...Cub, want to take me on that offer?

Just some random thoughts before I log off and read the new Slam

• Baron and the clips lost again. again. yes, again. I'm wondering if Baron is still thinking did he sacrifice a good life with the Warriors for all the fame and flashing lights with the underachieving clips. If you get the Kanye reference I just threw in there then you are pimpin.

• How can League pass not show Hornets/Suns and Hawks/Grizz? Now I have to wait in the morning for hopefully some game notes from lang and agrrey.

• Sam Mitchell being fired was just a bitch move by raptors front office. I mean, how can you blame the man for the team sucking ass and not sticking to the game plan. He just won coach of the year two years ago and because he gets an butt whopping of 39 points you want to fire him? Dude was one of the classiest and best dressed coaches in the League. He reminds me of Dr. Lee off of Drumline, just a smooth operator like Sade says. I just know bosh better have a meeting with his team and tell them that this is not a game and they look horrible. Jose, Andrea, AP, and JO...it's time to get wit it or get lost ya dig!

• Deron williams is not exploding like he usually does. I say it's from the injury because he just got back so I hope Deron starts playin back to his old self so this new Slam cover won't look so stupid. Bad loss for the Jazz at home too. Losing to the Heat isn't a good way to start your home stand and haven't they already lost like three games at home? How many did they lose last year? Was it even double digits?

• Dwight howard is officially a member of the Fly Society: 21.8 ppg, 14.4 rebounds, 3.8 blocks. Yeah, he is a problem that can't be solved. Shout out to moose for pointing this out to me early in the day.

• Would you be surprised if I told you Andre Miller should be getting pain more than Iggy?

• Can we all agree that Rodney Stuckey looks better at the point than at the 2 and vice versa for AI? Just something to think about.

My player of the night-Kobe bryant- 32, 4, and 6.

I know what you are thinking, favoritism. Kind of yes and kind of no. Kobe actually showed up for the fourth quarter in this one and nailed some ice cold jumpers on Iggy and company. Lakers bounced back and it is good to see the mamba back in venom rotation. killing these defenders slowly...

aite I'm bout to bounce before my moms comes in trippin about a bedtime.

Presto in case you didnt' know so.

Fly Society and Robbie Hummel

Okay, so I'm back again to hit my fans and friends with another edition of the Fly Society club. As I was watching all the games on League pass and checking out a few college games(more on that later) I was thinking, if I let dudes get into Fly Society just off one performance, what would that be saying about my society. I mean anyone can go off and have one good night like David Lee did and score 37 and 21. But David Lee can also lay an egg time to time so eventually I would have to revoke his membership. get it? Basically what I am trying to say is that I will not inducting new members into the society all willy nilly. There are some requirements that come with the membership and let me lay them down for you.







1. You must show for at least three to four games in a row that you are a fucking beast whether it be by points, assits, rebounds, blocks, steals, hustle, swag...etc.







2. No losers allowed. I will give props to peeps that do their thing, but if they are not helping their team to victory, then I can't have you in the club. More than anything, I hate to be a loser. Sorry Kevin Durant, you might never make it, son. You neither, soulja boy.







3. Score 50 or more and you are in without interview.







4. Dunk on two or more people and you are in.







5. Have a game-winning shot! Yay Troy Murphy!! sike...you beat my lakers. I am highly pissed right now...















But I think y'all get the deal on what it takes to make the Fly Society and what I expect of our members. Tonight was a very hectic night for me because with league pass on I can never find a game that I just want to sit and watch the whole way through before changing the channel. One game that did keep me on was the Bulls-Sixers matchup as Derrick Rose and the guy he left standing on the ground to wipe his shoes, Andre miller went head to head again. Miller got the W but Rose is starting to put up some Fly society type shit. Rose...I got my eye on you man. Pretty soon you will be in but let me see what you got against the bucks tomorrow and we will talk. Enough with the jibber jabber, let's get down to business. The main way I'm going to do these posts is I am going to shout out love to who is ballin and shit on who is digging themselves a hole. You will know when a new member of Fly society is announced by the head title.











Ballin

• Indiana Pacers- they beat my team that was recently 14-1 and the best in the damn business. They have to be ballin considering we were waxing that ass from late third to early fourth quarter. Also shout out to Danny Granger and Troyyyyy Murphyyyy. That hairdo has got to change though, Murph. you look like a freakin tall puffed out gremlin.

Derrick Rose- one game away from fly society status

Duke Blue Devils- I used to love this team. now I am starting to get the hate from everyone else and now I despise this team. But they defeated a A OVERRATED Purdue at their own house so Duke knows how to get the wins even if they will never get past the second round of the tournament for years to come.

Ariza-I didn't show this man love in my last post but his hustle, scrappiness, athleticism, and all around game have him at the brink of fly society status. My favorite laker off the bench by far.

Brandon Roy- 23, 6, 5, and 3. FANTASY!

Digging themselves a hole

• Robbie Hummel- Sorry dude, but Dick Vitale brought this one on you. I hate these college analysts who overrated every single player but never realize the real talent until they are killing in the NBA and the guy's jock they have been riding since they were DIAPER DANDIES is now begging for work in the D-league or just some dude on the bench.(JJ holla!) But this is a dude that Dickie just pissed me off with tonight. I already knew about Hummel from previous games and just let me tell you, I don't see where all the hype is coming from. Pre-season Big ten Player of the Year? Seriously? This dude is nothing more than a slightly better version of Duke's main glue guy, David Mclure. Every time I see Hummel play, his ass is just in the right place at the right time. All of his points come off of broken plays and shit like that. I know I may be wrong but the only guy on Purdue that is worth anything is E'twan Moore. That is why I have just made a bet with my buddy that if Robbie Hummel makes it to the all big ten team and wins player of the year, I will write a full piece on him and how I was wrong and ignorant for doubting the man's awesomeness. I hope you are listening, Hummel. Yeah, you put up 15 and 8 tonight against duke but the player of the year is going to have to put up better numbers than that. Get on your grind. Anybody want to bet against me?

Lil Wayne- never was on you like that but dedication 3 just cemented it...you are through. Drought is over 6 was decent but a comeback is improbable.

Toronto Raptors- Bosh, didn't I just tell you that you can't get into the society even if you put up MVP numbers. Why CB? because your team is still getting raped night in and night out with your stellar production. meh and mow.

Spencer Hawes- conservative bastard.

and I will also find Robbie Hummel's jersey and rock it to school and send pictures on hibachi if he does the following which I pointed out at the top.