meta name=”robots” content=”index, follow” Meschery's Musings of Sports, Literature, and Life Meschery's Musings on Sports, Literature and Life: 2014-12-28

What my musings are all about...

Blogging might well be the 21st century's form of journaling. As a writing teacher, I have always advised my students to keep a daily journal as a way of organizing their thoughts for future writing projects, a discipline I have unfortunately never consistently practiced myself. By blogging, I might finally be able to follow my own good advice.

The difference between journaling and blogging is that the blogger opens his or her writing to the public, something journal- writers are usually reluctant to do. I am not so reticent.

The trick for me will be to avoid cluttering the internet with more blather, something none of us need more of. If I stick to subjects I know: sports and literature, I believe I can avoid that pitfall. I can't promise that I'll not stray from time to time to comment on ancillary subjects, but I will make every attempt to be interesting and perhaps even insightful.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

A Few Year's End Comments Not in Any Order of Importance

Let's call it the way it is: Forty-Niners FIRE Jim Harbaugh. Now, where are they going to find a better coach? Dell Rio? Really???How about Rex Ryan??? Just kidding!!

There are some brilliant owners and GM's in professional sports, and there are some owners who need to enroll in developmentally disabled classes.

To which of the two categories will Pete D'Allesandro and Vivek Ranadive of the Sacramento Kings be consigned at the end of the day? Baring a miracle, firing Malone guaranteed the Kings will have a losing season. It's already started for those of you who didn't watch the Kings stink it up in Boston, Cousin's throwing a fit, in the midst of a general lack of defense, offense, assists, and rebounds.

Will the King's new coach be George Karl? If it's run and gun, management wants, he's their man. It sure ain't going to be Tyrone Corbin. Poor fellow. He's been set up to lose. In his heart, he's a defense first kind of coach, having come out of  Jerry Sloan's half-court, pick and roll system, now being asked to coach against his best instincts.It's a little like people who vote against their best self interest, just because they don't like the candidate.

Great to see Patty Mills back and playing like he was never out. Two Saint Mary's players in the NBA, doing well. Is Randy Bennett a fabulous coach, or what??? By the way, how many people out there believe Pop has a strategy in mind to get him to the playoffs with all his players rested and healthy?

Speaking of Saint Mary's. Brad Waldo, the Gaels' terrific low post center needs to develop some jump shooting skills. If he does, he might have a chance of joining his ex teammates in the NBA as a power forward.

I find the NFL video ads against domestic violence amazingly hypocritical given their complete lack of interest in the past. But let's be honest, how much effort is our national, state, and local law enforcement agencies putting forth to combat domestic violence?

Something to consider in 2015. Will the Cleavland Cavalier experiment work? Miami started their experiment with Dwayne Wade, a super star adult vet, totally involved and leading the charge. Kyrie may have some super star creds like Wade, but he's hardly an adult. And Love still can't play D. Coach Blatt might want to start looking for a job in Europe.

Can't feel sorry for Rex Ryan after how he _  _ _ _ ed up Mark Sanchez' career.

Can Jason Kidd actually be a good coach?

Does Stephen Curry have the quickest release in NBA history? 

I predict the Rocket's acquisition of Josh Smith will hurt rather than help the team.

Up the road from Houston, the Mavricks' trading for Rondo places them squarely in the mix for Western Division champs. Welcome back Tyson Chandler.

The two opponents in the NBA Finals will be, ta da! ta da! The Golden State Warriors vs the Chicago Bulls.

NBA Champions: ________________________

When do you think pro athletes will stop pounding their chests and screaming after they make good plays, like every single time? Come on, man. Next thing you know they'll be pounding their chests during warm-ups.  I"m ;sick of this kind of churlish, "Look at me, look at me" behavior. When did basketball players and football players stop being classy? One might ask, were they ever? Yes, I believe they were.

Sorry, I'm not talking about all of you, it's just that there seem to be so many dimwits.

The two most overused excuses for loses in the NBA are: 1) We didn't bring any energy 2) We couldn't get our rhythm. What does rhythm have to do with it. You play your butt off, or you don't.

Trash talk needs to go in the trash. All coaches: it's on you.

Jack Ramsey passed this year. His Portland Trailblazers were the most efficient NBA Champs I ever saw. Bill Walton was the best NBA center ever with an asterisk: for one and a half years. 

James Hardin should be called for walking 50% of the time he drives to the basket. No problem in the Euro-League where two steps are allowed.

Will Joe Johnson ever play defense? Will Jason Thompson ever stop pushing defenders in the back, then acting like he didn't? Will Carmelo ever adjust to the triangle? Will Deron Williams ever get his mojo back. He was at his best with Jerry Sloan, the coach he helped fire. Don't you love it when the universe works a little pay-back.Will Demarcus Cousins ever grow up? Will Brook Lopez ever have an injury free season?
Will Eric Gordon ever have an injury free season? Will Seattle ever get its Sonics back? Will LA ever have an NFL team again? Will NBA refs ever get moving screen calls consistently right? In a Pick and Roll, the center rolling to the basket is NOT a moving screen. Will Chris Webber ever stop looking like a used car salesman? Will the NBA ever take Stan Van Gundy's ideas seriously? Will the NFL ever give its TV viewers a little advertising relief? Will professional sports ever lower their tickets prices?

If a family of four wants to go to an NBA game and sit in a decent viewing seat, it will cost said family approx. $100.00 per ticket; $20 to 25 bucks for parking; Five bucks for bad popcorn times at least two members of said family; tasteless hotdogs, soft drinks or beers. Total? You figure it out. No one ever thought the housing market bubble would ever burst. Owners better pay attention.

Let's hear it for owners, like Jerry Jones, who built their arena on their own dime, and not use city tax dollars, like Joe Lacob of the Warriors is planning to do in San Francisco. As an old San Francisco Warrior I can't wait to get to our roots. The question is will the Warriors reclaim their old name? Nothing wrong with Golden State, but the city of Saint Francis is where it's at.  

Question: Now that New Orleans has renamed their team the Pelicans, why doesn't the Utah team drop the Jazz (Salt Lake = jazz, Come on man!) and rename their team more appropriately The Locusts?

I have never been a Tony Romo fan, probably because I've never been a Cowboys fan, not since the days they began calling themselves, America's Team. Gag me! And it sure has seemed over the years that Romo was cursed. Well, this year, hat's off to Tony, one tough hombre. The "Boys" have a chance to win it all.

The Raiders have three solid rookies: Kahil Mack, Latavius Murray and Derek Carr. Now all they need is John Madden.

My wife's a Duck so, I'm pulling for the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl and the NCAA Championship. The NFL team that drafts Mariotta will be getting an adult, unlike the childish Manziel. Has Johnny Football got a pea brain, or what?

Speaking of pea brains, how about Jameis Winston?  How classy was it to jump up on a table in the university commons and yell what he yelled? Got a lot of respect for women? Wonder what his mom thought of her son?

Everyone is talking about duos of point guards in the NBA, but let's be clear, centers win championships: Chicago with Noah and Washington with Gortat in the East; Gasul, Chandler, Bogut, DeAndre Jordan, and Duncan in the West. I'd love to put Robin Lopez with the Blazers in the mix, but the Blazers have no bench, so why bother?

Commenting on college sports becoming more and more like the pros, the Big 12 commish, Bob Bowlsby, stated, "I don't think this is a profession, I think it's a function of higher education." Bob, baby, did you really say that? Football is a form of higher education? Like quantum mechanics?

Light bulb goes on. Okay, if football is a form of higher education, why not create a degree based on football. Lots of great football literature around for the players who are literate. How about classes in Football statistics and NCAA business strategies. The psychology of football would be an interesting class.
I can think of a bunch more. Use your imagination, Bob.

It is time for the 49ers to stop showing scenes of San Francisco (cable cars, Golden Gate Bridge, ocean beach, Fisherman's Wharf, etc.) during broadcasts of their games and begin showing scenes of San Jose and Santa Clara. That is the honest thing to do. The San Jose metropolitan area sprung with their tax money to build you a fabulous state of the art arena, you owe it to them to advertise the beauty of their city and environs.

Watching recent shots of an angry Steve Kerr getting a technical (he leads the league for coaches) and I'm thinking, my God, he does the same thing with his face as Coach K, you know, that sort of wolverine look. That can't be a bad thing, if Coach K does it.Right?

If the NCAA is serious about promoting education, it should set aside a significant amount of its TV money at the end of every year to distribute to Division I universities and colleges whose male football and basketball players earn a degree.

Happy New Year.

Not a sport really, but got to love this poem about the game of Chinese Checkers

Chinese Checkers  buy Arleen Cohen

The dragons
tell me how to move,
like a grasshopper across
the multi-colored field
springing from hole to hole
outmaneuvering the beetles.

I see the sacred star
and one by one
I deposit my eggs
until it is
filled and full.