Original as always

A Moose Track

Yes, the title is an oxymoron. And the above picture lets everyone know what's on my mind. That, and the fact that I'm not getting the opportunity to write the Celtics season preview for SLAMOnline this year. And, I was kind of outraged that BETCATS didn't get the nod this time. Sorry about that one, BET.

The Packers v.s. Vikings game this Monday was great. Felt like the playoffs there. Despite the recent (ok, not so recent) annoyances following Brett Favre, I always have to cheer for the Minnesota teams (damn right I was watching the Tigers-Twins tiebreaker tonight. AMAZING game). I have to admit that I only watched the first half, bedroom was calling my name after wrestling with this book for the better part of the night. It was still a great game.

On to more SLAM talk. None of the regulars are showing up anymore. TADOne comes every now and then, Eboy is nowhere to be found, and all of us at HIBACHI (myself included) are commenting less frequently. But I'm sounding like a broken record here, I'll stop complaining about that. On to my next speculation...

Has SLAMOnline sold out? I mean, I know that the economy is tough on everything, but the advertising is getting a little too much for SLAM. SLAMTV: Powered by: EA Sports? Really? And who else grimaced at the advertisements that ran at the bottom of countless articles in the latest issue? I don't like it, but I know I'm being a crybaby, so don't rip me in the comments...

On to the Top 50, and how I think it should stack up from now on (this was written on the day that Pierce was ranked 17, so don't say that I got anything wrong or anything. Okay, here are my rankings...

16. Pau Gasol
15. Tony Parker

14. Chris Bosh

13. Kevin Garnett

12. Brandon Roy

11. Tim Duncan

10. Carmelo Anthony

9. Kevin Durant

8. Deron Williams

7. Dirk Nowitzki

6. Amare' Stoudemire

5. Dwight Howard

4. Dwyane Wade

3. Kobe Bryant

2. Chris Paul

1. LeBron James

This is just rough, nothing concrete, nothing huge. Yeah, I put Chris Paul over Kobe Bryant. Why? Because I believe that CP3 will have better all-around stats than Kobe, and that he will be a better team leader. I see the Lakers as a definite, definite force, but I think that Kobe's stats will deflate this year with the addition of Artest, and I see Ronny as a possibility for implosion. In my opinion, Chris Paul gets the nod over Kobe for the first time, based on what SLAM has laid out as the criteria for the list.

Until next time, a track...

Hey, Jerry West: AMEN

By Moose

Just saw this come across the ESPN wire. The man is speaking the truth. I don't want to spark another Bron-Kobe debate, but this is big for Kobe haters and LBJ lovers right here. Here is an excerpt, via ESPN. You can read the full post here.

"I look at Cleveland [and] say to myself, 'How many games could they win without LeBron James?'" West told Reuters in an interview. "That's how great he is.

"He has a chance to be arguably the greatest player ever to play the game."

West, the NBA's executive of the year with the Lakers in 1995 and the Memphis Grizzlies in 2004, said playing both ends of the floor was what made Jordan so great.

"Michael Jordan was the best defensive player in the league but he was also the best offensive player," said West. "It wasn't a one-year fluke, he proved it over time.

"LeBron James will do the same type of things because he's getting better. He's a much more effective shooter. When's he's making his shots from the outside, you can't play him.

"He's just too big, too strong, too quick. And he has incredible body control. But more than that, he's a great teammate. You can see his teammates love him."

And that last part is what sets Kobe and LeBron apart. I agree with every single word coming out of West's mouth right here. Keep preaching to the choir, Jerry.

--Moose

Violent Crime: The Helter Skelter Dismantling of a Writer and a Laker Fan

by: Justin Walsh

Kobe. Dear Kobe. Of course it's you, who else would Phil send, who else could be trusted? I... I know it's a long way to the court, and you're ready to go to work... All I'm saying is wait, just wait, just-just-just... Please hear me out, because this is not an episode, relapse, fuck-up, it's... I'm begging you Kobe. I'm begging you. Try and make believe this is not just madness because this is not just madness. Two hours ago, I came out of the press room, okay, I'm running across the gate signs, there's a deadline waiting, I got exactly 24 minutes to get to the damned word-press and I'm dictating.

There's this, this panicked beat writer sprinting along beside me, scribbling in a notepad, eyes scanning the lines separating the text like that New York Times writer looking for excuses to call Battier the god of hoops because of some crackpot equation, and suddenly- she starts screaming & I realize we're standing in the middle of a cluster-fuck of ticket holding Laker fans, the flow of the horde has sped up, there's this wall of people rushing into our pathetic excuses for athletic builds- serious groups of sketch looking people coming toward us in a hastened gait, and I... I... I freeze, I can't move and I'm suddenly consumed with the overwhelming sensation that I'm going to be witnessing a 5-25 outing by you, I feel a shroud of that playoff series I've been attempting to block from my mind, the one where you air-balled 3 straight clutch jumpers...

It's in my eyes, when I blink it's etched on the inside of the lids. It's like a coating of despair and loss and... at first I thought, oh my god, I know what this is, this is some sort of... This is what it must be like to have been a Cavs fan during the Jordan over Ehlo era... This is some sort of guilt stricken panic attack, where I remember how the Cavs could say "Oh well there was a time we won before..." Then they are pummeled by replays on ESPN Classic of Jordan murdering the humanity of Ehlo with a shaky jumper that rattles in. Nobody remembers that, do they Cleveland? They forget the rattle- they remember the fist pumps, nay, the jerks of his fists like Helen Keller back in the day... That's what this is- I'm panicking because you missed a jumper last game. And I realize oh goodness, I'm being ridiculous- this will all be fine. But then my irreverent misplacement of sanity was drowned out by the movement of feet, the chatter, the cheers, the hustle and bustle of the cattle drive to the gate entrance. This is not realization of hope, this is some giddy illusion of reassurance that happens in the final moments before LeBron comes out of nowhere, much like in this rant, and blocks your jump hook against the glass.

And then I realize no... No, no, this is completely wrong because I look back at the building and I had the most stunning moment of clarity. I, I realized Kobe, that I had emerged not from the doors of the Los Angeles Lakers media room, not through the portals of our vast and powerful press area with the horde and the wi-fi... But from the asshole of an organism whose sole function is to excrete the... the poison, the despair, the air-balls, the reminders of bullshit perfunctory let downs, the ammo of dissent. The defoliant necessary for other, larger, more powerful rosters to destroy the miracle of a parade route in Los Angeles. And that I could have been coated in this patina of shit for the best part of my years as a basketball fanatic. The stench of it and the stain of it would in all likelihood take the rest of my life to undo. And you know what I did, Kobe? I took a deep cleansing breath and set that notion aside. I tabled it. I said to myself, as clear as this may be, as potent a feeling this is, as true a thing as I believe I have witnessed last outing, it must wait. It must stand the test of time. It must stand the career of a player with 3 NBA titles, an MVP award, and enough balls to give each testicular cancer patient an even set... It must stand the test of time. And Kobe, the time is now.

Kobe, score. Kobe, fucking humiliate him.
----------

And after the thoughts left my mind, the game began. And sitting in my dark leather love-seat, it took all of 17 seconds for Kobe to score. and he scored again, and again. He scored 11 straight points. He scored 13 of the first 15. In the first half he had 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting. In the second half, he didn't just beat Brewer, he obliterated his dignity. When shooting guarded jumpers over outstretched arms got boring, he crossed Brewer over 4 times in a row, then picked up his dribble... Waited for Brewer to get close enough to tell the world what flavor of gum Kobe enjoyed, and pumped once... Pumped twice. One pivot, fade away jumper. Wet. And in that moment, I called my mom- she has no idea about the nuances of basketball - & I say to her, "Mom... Put Brewer on your prayer list, call your local city councilman in Dallas to fly the flag half staff, get his mother's contact information- you need to tell her to bake her son his favorite meal. I'll call the Jazz to get him a contract extension within the week. Have dad call the suicide hotline to have Brewer put on suicide watch in a hospital. Kobe Bryant just took his heart out and pissed on it during a live broadcast of an NBA game with millions watching."

And you know what my mom said? "Doesn't Kobe do that all the time?" And there it was, realized completely. LeBron may be the MVP. Tim Duncan may be the best player in his position in the history of the league. Chris Paul may very well be one of the best PG's ever. But Kobe Bryant is Shiva, the god of Death.




Note by the Author: While watching Michael Clayton, at the beginning there is a gorgeously insane ramble at the beginning. This entire post is basically my insane 5:00 a.m. rant to try and emulate that madness into a reflection of the emotions I felt just before Game 4 of the LAL/UTAH series, and what I felt during/just after. Obviously, I give credit of the idea to the movie Michael Clayton, but hopefully reading this, you notice my thoughts

SKO Interview: AR/H to the Izzo

*****This is second in our series of interviews with Shawn Kemp's Offspring members, with our very own AR, also known as h to the Izzo, or just plain Izzo nowadays. On to the stuff. Questions by me are marked as HIBACHI, questions by BETCATS with no association to me whatsoever are marked as BETCATS. Enjoy . . .*****

HIBACHI: How did you discover basketball?
AR: Well,my father played at a semi pro level over here and played a few times for Ireland and a bunch of my uncles did the same,so I guess basketball has always been 'in my blood' I guess.My dad used to coach some teams when I was really young,like around 6 or 7 and I'd always go with him to the practices and whatnot but I never really got into basketball through that.I was playing other sports at the time like soccer and rugby,I wasn't much good at them,merely average but I was interested enough in them not to give basketball a second thought.Then a few years passed,my dad had quit coaching and wasn't involved in basketball in any capacity,one day,me and one of my best friends were hanging out doing nothing,went into the local community centre,saw that some club were training and the people were around our age.We decided to give it a go there and then-with no gear,no shoes.Nothing.We went in,it turned out it was a new club so there was no pre-existing cliques or anything like that,so it was easy to fit in.That and the coach was and still is the nicest person I've ever met.Well,that was the first time,I've picked up a basketball,I was around 12 at the time and I didn't suck.I was able to lay the ball up straight away and had pretty good fundamentals inbuilt in me.It was cool,because the guys that were there that first day are the people I've been playing with ever since.I kept practicing and got pretty good,I was playing 17 and under when I was 13.We did pretty well,won some 'chips,almost went unbeaten one season.I'll stop before I induce some nostalgia vomit.

HIBACHI: If you went to college, where did you go and what did you study?
AR: English and New Media-University of Limerick(not sure if that should be in)

HIBACHI: Age?
AR: Anywhere between 17 and 43.

HIBACHI: What is a cool thing about where you live that outsiders don't know about?
AR: I'm not sure how to answer this one,because I don't know what outsiders do know.I would assume that most would think that Ireland is very rural and picture a lot farms and wisecracking livestock that ultimately teach you life lessons ,but where I grew up was very urban and if you were to throw water balloon directly onto the floor,you'd splash at least five rappers.

HIBACHI: Favorite player as a kid growing up?
AR: Ray Allen

HIBACHI: When did you stop playing hoops, if ever? On what levels did you play?
AR: I still play.As has been mentioned before,I once got trial for the under 14 International team.

HIBACHI: Who is your favorite player now?
AR: Joel Przybillia

HIBACHI: Have you ever met an NBA players?
AR: Does Mario Ellie count?It shouldn't

HIBACHI: Which rookie from the class of '08 will have a better career?
AR: Derrick Rose.I don't think there's much more explanation needed here.

HIBACHI: If you could take any non-all-star in the NBA and place them on your team, who would it be?
AR: David Lee but that's because he's white and he tries really hard.Bless him.

HIBACHI: What music do you listen to?
AR: I pretty much only listen to Taylor Swift these days.

HIBACHI: Who wins the Finals this year?
AR: I have no idea why,but I like the Celtics for a repeat.

BETCATS: I say tomato you say.......
AR: I say,I wonder what John Mayer is doing on Twitter right now?Oh he's trying to holla at Demi Lovato?For realz.Yeah I don't know who that is either.I'd totally do Emma Stone,btw.

BETCATS: How would you react if i said you are the one dude on the internet who slightly 'scares' me?
AR: I respect your propensity for cautiousness,your instincts will serve you well,grasshopper.How would you react if I told you that you're one of the guys who makes me laugh pretty regularly and I'm not sure whether to recommend and increase or decrease in your meds?In what way do I scare you.Where am I on your terror colour chart?Red?Orange?Translucent?You know what scares me?The new line of Reggie Miller thesaurus' and dictionaries "Learn to English Good" coming out this fall.That shit keeps me up at night.

BETCATS: Lebron or Kobe? And a followup question: Lebron or Lebron?
AR: Well before I answer this,I want to point out something about these two guys and how they are treated by fans/followers or whatever.Both,in my opinion, are served pretty badly by lunatic fringes.I have no interest in the dichotomous rhetoric surrounding either of these players.In my opinion anyone who says Kobe isn't a good player is a fucking idiot,ditto for anyone who says the same about LeBron is also an idiot.The same goes for the fanboys with unhealthy obsessions with either,this is generally prevalent moreso in the Kobe camp.If you type any innocent comment criticizing Kobe fairly,or even consider Kobe's position in the game objectively,some half wit will inevitably chime in calling you a 'hater' or something stupid similar.These generally tend to be the same people who would consider dunking to be a measurable stat and consider it as criteria for choosing an MVP.I just base my opinion on evidence which will usually lead a sane person to a middling conclusion.From what I can see,LeBron is in the process of taking over the League for a good period of time.This will probably be the last year he even leaves the MVP award up for debate.I can appreciate Kobe is a excellent player and should be remember as so,but IMO LeBron is a one time deal. To answer your follow up question,Don Rickles.

BETCATS: Ihop or The Waffle House?
AR: I have no idea what either of these things are.

BETCATS: Burger King or McDonalds?
AR: This is a tough one,I mean I usually like to eat food that's gathered from animals,but if I were forced,it's Burger King everyday.

BETCATS: Do you accept human sacrifices? If so, what animal/commentor would most please the Izzo gods?
AR: I'd like to have James(Krayzie Bone(what happened to him?))'s brain sent to me on a platter made of the finest ceramic.Other than that I'd like all seasons of both 30 Rock and Gossip Girl on DVD.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Tariq up next! In line is Cheryl and TADOne!

Flash Bang: 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.

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.