If you're looking for good reading about basketball, try Nothing But Net, by Alexander Wolff. Check out the Wall Street Journal review first to get a preview.
Shades of Johnny Football: Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma QB bragging he's the numero uno NFL draft pick. The Cleveland Browns have first pick. Is there a syllogism to be made of this?
March Madness is fast approaching. Is there any clear choices for the Final Four? Top picks have been upset, and played lots of close games against unranked opponents. Michigan State might be peaking at the right time. But this is an up for grabs years. Bookies are going to make a lot of bucks.
JR Smith throws a bowl of soup at assistant Cavs coach. Can't wait to hear the story. How hot was the soap? Could be a law suit here.
Warriors are beginning to show last years championship defensive form. Finally. I was beginning to think their defense hadn't returned from its off season vacation, you know, like hanging out on the beach at Cabo or playing baccarat at Monte Carlo. I say this, then watch aghast as they let the Hawks have their way with them in the last night's fourth quarter.
I love my adopted city team, the young Sacramento Kings. But here's the problem, fellows: Before you can play strong team D, you need to have your individual defensive fundamentals in place. Footwork, Attack, Anticipate, Toughness. Some areas to consider working on in the off season.
Joel Embid is the real deal as in the great centers of the past: Russell, Wilt, Jabbar, Malone, Walton, Hakeem the Dream. Notice I don't mention Shaq, a center who, were the refs ever to have called smashing the defender backwards with his gigantic butt, could not have scored half his points.
I'm worried in the West about the Houston Rockets this season. The addition of Chris Paul has made a difference. However, I still feel they are not solid on defense, and the Big Games are always, and I mean always, won by the best defensive team.
If Love come back and can play the way he was before his injuries, the Cavs will win the East and be a dangerous foe in the Finals. Without Love, they don't have that je n'est ce quoi, that little extra something that seals the deal.
Good luck to Olympian Aly Raisman as she sues the US Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics. Take all their friggin money. The perp-doctor goes to jail and rightfully so to rot and suffer at the hands of some cons who'll make sure of it. But some administrators need to be locked up as well.
Instead of a poem, here's a quote from the great Pat Conway book about his varsity basketball experience at Citadel called My Losing Season. Fabulous read.
"What strange joy is felt as you leave the flatness of your daily life,
the fatigue of routine, and the killing sameness of jobs to move
among thousands toward a brightly lit fieldhouse at night."
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Boarders and Aerial Skiers, What a Show!
If you missed Shaun White's last Olympic Show for a Gold, get the video. Ditto if you missed David Wise in his stunning aerial half pipe performance for a Gold to match his Gold from Sochi. And double ditto if you missed the Gold winning sky high performance of Cloe Kim. Forget the baggy pants and the nose rings, these young men and women are downtown athletes. Sports Illustrated got it right putting Cloe on their recent cover.
Great big kudos to Lindsey Vonn, the best female skier of all time. Her Bronze this year might be as important as any of of her other awards and achievements as an example of courage to future athletes who will suffer significant injuries and strive to comeback from them. All that glitters is not Gold.
I don't see how any female skaters have a chance against the two front-running Russians: Loved the magic of the three males individual skaters on the podium. I would have given a Gold to all three.
U.S.A. women's hockey wins the Gold over our neighbors to the north. Hell of a game. Congratulation. Now if only I could have seen the puck.
I could go on and on about this years' Winter Olympics, but certainly a Gold medal was earned by the country of South Korea for staging one of the best Winter shows ever.
To another subject:
I'm not buying Mark Cuban's statement that he is embarrassed by allegations of sexual misconduct by execs in his Dallas Mavericks organization. Really? How long have you owned the team, Mark? Have you no eyes to see, no ears to hear? No mouth to speak? Very weak, Mark, very weak.
It seems like every morning I wake up and read about another sexual harassment accusation in the newspaper. Do these sexual predators (99% males) have any idea what turds they are? We're not talking about some kind of low brow trailer trash people, but men in positions of power, politicians, fire chiefs, company presidents, college coaches, doctors. lawyers, etc. It is 2018 and this crap is still going on. I am embarrassed for my gender. I hope the women sue the crap out of these guys and put them all in the poor house.
Why I Never Played Hockey by Tom Meschery
It's too fast. I can't follow the puck.
I'm cold even in this padded uniform.
I feel like I'm in the North Korean army
and we're invading the South,
then the South is invading us,
then we're back at it. We will go on
like this forever, invading each other
on a field of ice. I feel as if I have a cage
over my head. I am ten and the ice
on the pond is cracking under my skates.
I'm twenty in the NHL and I have no teeth.
Great big kudos to Lindsey Vonn, the best female skier of all time. Her Bronze this year might be as important as any of of her other awards and achievements as an example of courage to future athletes who will suffer significant injuries and strive to comeback from them. All that glitters is not Gold.
I don't see how any female skaters have a chance against the two front-running Russians: Loved the magic of the three males individual skaters on the podium. I would have given a Gold to all three.
U.S.A. women's hockey wins the Gold over our neighbors to the north. Hell of a game. Congratulation. Now if only I could have seen the puck.
I could go on and on about this years' Winter Olympics, but certainly a Gold medal was earned by the country of South Korea for staging one of the best Winter shows ever.
To another subject:
I'm not buying Mark Cuban's statement that he is embarrassed by allegations of sexual misconduct by execs in his Dallas Mavericks organization. Really? How long have you owned the team, Mark? Have you no eyes to see, no ears to hear? No mouth to speak? Very weak, Mark, very weak.
It seems like every morning I wake up and read about another sexual harassment accusation in the newspaper. Do these sexual predators (99% males) have any idea what turds they are? We're not talking about some kind of low brow trailer trash people, but men in positions of power, politicians, fire chiefs, company presidents, college coaches, doctors. lawyers, etc. It is 2018 and this crap is still going on. I am embarrassed for my gender. I hope the women sue the crap out of these guys and put them all in the poor house.
Why I Never Played Hockey by Tom Meschery
It's too fast. I can't follow the puck.
I'm cold even in this padded uniform.
I feel like I'm in the North Korean army
and we're invading the South,
then the South is invading us,
then we're back at it. We will go on
like this forever, invading each other
on a field of ice. I feel as if I have a cage
over my head. I am ten and the ice
on the pond is cracking under my skates.
I'm twenty in the NHL and I have no teeth.
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Thank You, Television Executives and Advertiser.
I want to thank the TV and Ad execs for allowing some space between commercials for Olympic events coverage. I also want to congratulate them for adding the split screen to allow even more time for selling their products. However, don't you think devoting the larger of the screens to product sales is a little excessive, that maybe, just maybe, some of us out in TV land might accuse you of being greedy. Say it isn't so.
Hurrah for Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors for stating the truth about our non-existent gun laws. Congress, listen up, drop Trump's Great Wall of Foolishness, that will keep nobody out and mire us even further in irreversible national debt. Do what's right, and pass laws that outlaw automatic weapons of any kind. Stand up to the NRA for once in your cowardly lives.
Now to sports, unless defeating Republican senators and congressmen in November can be called a sport. I kinda like that idea.
Now back to sports, really: Got to give a lot of love to the aerial skiers. Unbelievable athletic moves and courage. Just a reminder, remember when we thought such antics on skis and on skate boards were just hippie passing fads? Men and women boarders and skiers in baggy trousers, making weird signs with their hands, hip hop invading the sanctity of winter sports. Well they invaded, evolved, and proved they're not a passing fad. Good on them!
NBA Saturday Night: Lot's of fine messages about brother and sisterhood, inclusiveness, free speech, fairness. NBA is no doubt the most progressive of our professional sports leagues. Commissioners Stern and Silver had it right from the start. Bravo to you two men. And bravo to the players who stand tall in the face of White House fascism.
Booker and Thompson in finals of 3 point shooting contest seemed inevitable. Congrats to Booker.
I thought that Larry Nance Jr honoring his All Star dad by imitating the dunks he used to win the dunk contest back in his day was, well, honorable.I also thought Donavan Mitchell, going retro with uniforms and 360 degree Vince Carter dunk was also an honorable way of honoring past players.
Congrats to Nance for winning, but, it my mind, it was a photo-finish.
Wish I had space or inclination to comment on more of the Olympic sports, but I have other things to do and miles and miles to go before I sleep. However, before I nod off, I suggest people should watch Merit Bjoergan in the Biathlon. She has a chance of surpassing the 13 medal record of fellow Norwegian, Ole Elnar Bjoerndalen and become the King of Biathlon, or should I say, the Queen? If you don't know what Biatholon is, look it up, it's a grueling test of physical stamina and mental control.
Oh, and lest I forget, the ski jumpers were magnificent. If they spread out any lower, they'll be below their skis.
Oh, and lest I forget, lots of luck to Erin Jackson, the first African-American woman to compete in speed skating. Take that Fox News!
Oh, and lest I forget, is there any doubt that Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham is a racist?
In honor of speed skating, I offer this poem I wrote that is in my collection: Sweat: New and Selected Poems About Sports
Short Track Speed Skating
Like second hands,
the skaters spin around the ice
in a crouch, arms swinging
back and forth, like pendulums
until two break away:
One silver, one gold
So close to each other.
No truer alchemy exists than this:
with one frozen circle left,
metal to metal, they kiss,
setting off sparks, and fall,
as all lovers must who dare
to be so intimate, so fast.
Hurrah for Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors for stating the truth about our non-existent gun laws. Congress, listen up, drop Trump's Great Wall of Foolishness, that will keep nobody out and mire us even further in irreversible national debt. Do what's right, and pass laws that outlaw automatic weapons of any kind. Stand up to the NRA for once in your cowardly lives.
Now to sports, unless defeating Republican senators and congressmen in November can be called a sport. I kinda like that idea.
Now back to sports, really: Got to give a lot of love to the aerial skiers. Unbelievable athletic moves and courage. Just a reminder, remember when we thought such antics on skis and on skate boards were just hippie passing fads? Men and women boarders and skiers in baggy trousers, making weird signs with their hands, hip hop invading the sanctity of winter sports. Well they invaded, evolved, and proved they're not a passing fad. Good on them!
NBA Saturday Night: Lot's of fine messages about brother and sisterhood, inclusiveness, free speech, fairness. NBA is no doubt the most progressive of our professional sports leagues. Commissioners Stern and Silver had it right from the start. Bravo to you two men. And bravo to the players who stand tall in the face of White House fascism.
Booker and Thompson in finals of 3 point shooting contest seemed inevitable. Congrats to Booker.
I thought that Larry Nance Jr honoring his All Star dad by imitating the dunks he used to win the dunk contest back in his day was, well, honorable.I also thought Donavan Mitchell, going retro with uniforms and 360 degree Vince Carter dunk was also an honorable way of honoring past players.
Congrats to Nance for winning, but, it my mind, it was a photo-finish.
Wish I had space or inclination to comment on more of the Olympic sports, but I have other things to do and miles and miles to go before I sleep. However, before I nod off, I suggest people should watch Merit Bjoergan in the Biathlon. She has a chance of surpassing the 13 medal record of fellow Norwegian, Ole Elnar Bjoerndalen and become the King of Biathlon, or should I say, the Queen? If you don't know what Biatholon is, look it up, it's a grueling test of physical stamina and mental control.
Oh, and lest I forget, the ski jumpers were magnificent. If they spread out any lower, they'll be below their skis.
Oh, and lest I forget, lots of luck to Erin Jackson, the first African-American woman to compete in speed skating. Take that Fox News!
Oh, and lest I forget, is there any doubt that Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham is a racist?
In honor of speed skating, I offer this poem I wrote that is in my collection: Sweat: New and Selected Poems About Sports
Short Track Speed Skating
Like second hands,
the skaters spin around the ice
in a crouch, arms swinging
back and forth, like pendulums
until two break away:
One silver, one gold
So close to each other.
No truer alchemy exists than this:
with one frozen circle left,
metal to metal, they kiss,
setting off sparks, and fall,
as all lovers must who dare
to be so intimate, so fast.
Olympics and etc
I guarantee you our highly mentally disturbed president is not enchanted with the Olympics, you know, like, ah, man, how do I deal with these different colored athletes competing together, sharing lives together, embracing, honoring each other? I can hear his little weeny brain asking: You mean they actually respect each other? How can Trump possibly understand, coming from a lily-white, closeted environment of the super rich, and how absolutely color blind the world of sports is today? Probably, he wasn't watching the Olympics anyway, having embraced the recent statement of Fox News' Exec VP, John Moody, that there are just too many gays, coloreds, etc in the Olympics. By the way, how come Fox News hasn't fired that bigot and racist? Oh, yeah, I forgot, it's Fox "Klan" News.
Speaking of non-whites, did anyone see the performance of Japan's Yazuru Hanyu's flawless and exquisite short program and his Gold winning performance on the ice last night? What an athlete! Both nights Winnie the Poohs by the hundreds sailed down from the stands onto the ice as he took his bows. And this young man's performance took nothing away from the three skaters who followed him onto the rink, his fellow Japanese teammate, Shona Ono (Silver) and the marvelously elegant Spaniard, Javier Fernandez (Bronze). All of them were Baryshnikovs on ice.
Sorry to see Mikela not make it to the podium in the slalom, but she won a courageous Gold the day before in the giant slalom. Let's hear it for the redhead Shawn White. What an athlete. As a team sports guy, I've always been impressed by the focus of individual sports athletes. On a team you always have your teammates to motivate you during the game. The skiers, the luge riders, the snowboarders, the cross country skiers, the jumpers, once the event starts, they're on their own. Individual sports are lonely sports that require amazing will power and the kind of physical and mental meditation of a Zen master.
Lindsey Vonn gave it her best shot in the Super G but no medal. But in my mind she gets a medal for heroic comeback. Heroic comeback award also to Nathan Chin, who's short program mistakes were painful to watch, but his long program performance showed he'd be back in four years for another attempt at the podium.
Got to love the courage of our Warrior coach, Steve Kerr to stand up to the NRA. When will our politicians ever have the courage of Lindsey Vonn, and legislate into law a truthful and effective gun law? Perhaps we should all pray for one. Praying and grieving seems to be all they are capable of doing for these poor slaughtered children.
I love how the poet connects the grace of swooping swallows to ice skaters in the following poem:
The Skaters by John Gould Fletcher
Black Swallows swooping or gliding
In a flurry of entangled loops and curves;
The skaters skim over the frozen river,
And he grinding click of their skates
as they impinge upon the surface
Is like the brushing together of thin
Wing-tips of silver upon the surface
Speaking of non-whites, did anyone see the performance of Japan's Yazuru Hanyu's flawless and exquisite short program and his Gold winning performance on the ice last night? What an athlete! Both nights Winnie the Poohs by the hundreds sailed down from the stands onto the ice as he took his bows. And this young man's performance took nothing away from the three skaters who followed him onto the rink, his fellow Japanese teammate, Shona Ono (Silver) and the marvelously elegant Spaniard, Javier Fernandez (Bronze). All of them were Baryshnikovs on ice.
Sorry to see Mikela not make it to the podium in the slalom, but she won a courageous Gold the day before in the giant slalom. Let's hear it for the redhead Shawn White. What an athlete. As a team sports guy, I've always been impressed by the focus of individual sports athletes. On a team you always have your teammates to motivate you during the game. The skiers, the luge riders, the snowboarders, the cross country skiers, the jumpers, once the event starts, they're on their own. Individual sports are lonely sports that require amazing will power and the kind of physical and mental meditation of a Zen master.
Lindsey Vonn gave it her best shot in the Super G but no medal. But in my mind she gets a medal for heroic comeback. Heroic comeback award also to Nathan Chin, who's short program mistakes were painful to watch, but his long program performance showed he'd be back in four years for another attempt at the podium.
Got to love the courage of our Warrior coach, Steve Kerr to stand up to the NRA. When will our politicians ever have the courage of Lindsey Vonn, and legislate into law a truthful and effective gun law? Perhaps we should all pray for one. Praying and grieving seems to be all they are capable of doing for these poor slaughtered children.
I love how the poet connects the grace of swooping swallows to ice skaters in the following poem:
The Skaters by John Gould Fletcher
Black Swallows swooping or gliding
In a flurry of entangled loops and curves;
The skaters skim over the frozen river,
And he grinding click of their skates
as they impinge upon the surface
Is like the brushing together of thin
Wing-tips of silver upon the surface
Saturday, February 10, 2018
2018 Trade Deadline and Etc
Isaiah Thomas may be 5'10" but he has a 6 '10" ego. Can't fit in with LeBron, whines about Coach Lue and has made it clear that he is not going to come off the bench as a Laker. Isaish, that cute little face is not going to help you get any love from your coaches and GM's if you become a pain in the ass.
Cav's got better. George Hill is a professional with a capital P, steady in all areas. LeBron will love him, and we know it's all about the King in Cleveland. The Lakers will regret giving up Nance. He may not be a shooter, but he is a scorer. He can also defend three positions and rebound. Hood is also a young addition, and I've always thought lefties have an edge.
Boston helped themselves by acquiring Greg Monroe. Monroe is a solid 5 who can score, and defends reasonably well. I can see Monroe at the 5 and Horford at the 4. .
My Warriors abstained, going with the guys they have. Jordon Bell needs to get back pronto.
Lakers are drooling over Paul George. I'm guessing their interest in LeBron is a smokescreen.
The Kings cleared cap space and got rid of Papagianis, who had the foot speed of a tortoise. Iman Schmpart is not that old and if he could stay healthy (certainly not a given), he could be part of the young King's guns.
Happy to see D Wade back with the Heat. I don't think it is just ceremonial. Wade is 38 and has still got game.
ETC: Football news that the 49ers signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a five year contract for $137,5 million, which is 7.5 million more that Tom Brady whose understudy Jimmy G was for a number of years. Learning from the Master??? Given Garoppolo's performance in the last four games with the 49ers at the end of the season, it appears that the young QB learned well. However, with a capital H,
this does not add up to any track record. The amount seems absurd given we have no idea how Jimmy will perform over a season. I get it, that the 49ers, evaluating, came to the conclusion that this would not be a gamble. I hope they are right. I'm a 49ers fan. But, something, about this amount of money bothers me. It reminds me of the NBA some years back allowing teams to sign high school players to any amount of money team wished. In a number of case, these contracts were larger than proven vets, such as Michael Jordan. It is not exactly the same, I grant you, but what if the young QB
stumbles? Then what? Cross our fingers this doesn't happen. Amen.
Musings about Life: I am deeply offended by General Kelly, the White House Chief of Staff defending White House staff secretary, Rob Porter, a wife beater. (The evidence is overwhelming.) This coming off a number of deeply offensive statements Kelly previously made such as saying the Dreamers were "too lazy to get off their asses." Lazy? Lazy? Give me a break! The vast majority of these kids are studying hard in high school or college or working and paying taxes and struggling to succeed. You know where these Dreamers get their work ethic, General? They get their work ethic from their parents, illegal immigrants who pick our fruits and vegetable in the blazing sun, who mow lawns and haul trash and nail shingles, and wash the dishes in restaurants for peanuts, jobs unemployed whites don't want or won't do. Take a survey of whites if you don't believe it. And, out of their hard earned money, these immigrants, parents of the Dreamers, send a portion of their meager pay back home to their families in Mexico and other central American countries. Who the *uck are the lazy ones?
This is a NFL poem, but it is about much more
Joe Kapp By Tom Meschery
For years I've enjoyed telling the story
about Joe Kapp refusing to run out of bounds
in a crucial game after gaining enough yards,
as all quarterback are taught to do to save
themselves from injury. Kapp, a Mexican-American,
said to reporters after the win: Only gringos
run out of bounds. I'm thinking of this moment
in sports while driving home having just
hired a Mexican worker to help me finish
my patio. He is a strong looking man
from Vera Cruz with a wife and four children.
He doesn't speak English very well.
He doesn't look at all like Kapp and the years
between Kapp's game and my unfinished patio
are many, so I'm trying to decide why Kapp
came to mind. Something to do with toughness
I decide. Since growing old, I've hired
Mexican workers and always been amazed
at how hard they work at the most unpleasant jobs,
and I think of the Conservatives complaining
about our borders not being strong enough,
and I'm willing to bet those same Republicans
in a crucial game, with angry linebackers
bearing down on them, would run
out of bounds to save their asses, which
I'd love to explain to the worker who tells me
his name is Jaime - Jimmy in Ingles,
but I don't speak his language well enough.
Cav's got better. George Hill is a professional with a capital P, steady in all areas. LeBron will love him, and we know it's all about the King in Cleveland. The Lakers will regret giving up Nance. He may not be a shooter, but he is a scorer. He can also defend three positions and rebound. Hood is also a young addition, and I've always thought lefties have an edge.
Boston helped themselves by acquiring Greg Monroe. Monroe is a solid 5 who can score, and defends reasonably well. I can see Monroe at the 5 and Horford at the 4. .
My Warriors abstained, going with the guys they have. Jordon Bell needs to get back pronto.
Lakers are drooling over Paul George. I'm guessing their interest in LeBron is a smokescreen.
The Kings cleared cap space and got rid of Papagianis, who had the foot speed of a tortoise. Iman Schmpart is not that old and if he could stay healthy (certainly not a given), he could be part of the young King's guns.
Happy to see D Wade back with the Heat. I don't think it is just ceremonial. Wade is 38 and has still got game.
ETC: Football news that the 49ers signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a five year contract for $137,5 million, which is 7.5 million more that Tom Brady whose understudy Jimmy G was for a number of years. Learning from the Master??? Given Garoppolo's performance in the last four games with the 49ers at the end of the season, it appears that the young QB learned well. However, with a capital H,
this does not add up to any track record. The amount seems absurd given we have no idea how Jimmy will perform over a season. I get it, that the 49ers, evaluating, came to the conclusion that this would not be a gamble. I hope they are right. I'm a 49ers fan. But, something, about this amount of money bothers me. It reminds me of the NBA some years back allowing teams to sign high school players to any amount of money team wished. In a number of case, these contracts were larger than proven vets, such as Michael Jordan. It is not exactly the same, I grant you, but what if the young QB
stumbles? Then what? Cross our fingers this doesn't happen. Amen.
Musings about Life: I am deeply offended by General Kelly, the White House Chief of Staff defending White House staff secretary, Rob Porter, a wife beater. (The evidence is overwhelming.) This coming off a number of deeply offensive statements Kelly previously made such as saying the Dreamers were "too lazy to get off their asses." Lazy? Lazy? Give me a break! The vast majority of these kids are studying hard in high school or college or working and paying taxes and struggling to succeed. You know where these Dreamers get their work ethic, General? They get their work ethic from their parents, illegal immigrants who pick our fruits and vegetable in the blazing sun, who mow lawns and haul trash and nail shingles, and wash the dishes in restaurants for peanuts, jobs unemployed whites don't want or won't do. Take a survey of whites if you don't believe it. And, out of their hard earned money, these immigrants, parents of the Dreamers, send a portion of their meager pay back home to their families in Mexico and other central American countries. Who the *uck are the lazy ones?
This is a NFL poem, but it is about much more
Joe Kapp By Tom Meschery
For years I've enjoyed telling the story
about Joe Kapp refusing to run out of bounds
in a crucial game after gaining enough yards,
as all quarterback are taught to do to save
themselves from injury. Kapp, a Mexican-American,
said to reporters after the win: Only gringos
run out of bounds. I'm thinking of this moment
in sports while driving home having just
hired a Mexican worker to help me finish
my patio. He is a strong looking man
from Vera Cruz with a wife and four children.
He doesn't speak English very well.
He doesn't look at all like Kapp and the years
between Kapp's game and my unfinished patio
are many, so I'm trying to decide why Kapp
came to mind. Something to do with toughness
I decide. Since growing old, I've hired
Mexican workers and always been amazed
at how hard they work at the most unpleasant jobs,
and I think of the Conservatives complaining
about our borders not being strong enough,
and I'm willing to bet those same Republicans
in a crucial game, with angry linebackers
bearing down on them, would run
out of bounds to save their asses, which
I'd love to explain to the worker who tells me
his name is Jaime - Jimmy in Ingles,
but I don't speak his language well enough.
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