10:19 Dwight Howard blocks Paul Pierce’s layup

9:33 Ray Allen misses driving layup

6:11 Dwight Howard blocks Rajon Rondo’s layup

5:39Rajon Rondo misses driving layup

(The moment Howard left the game, Boston got two layups from Tony Allen and Rondo. Don’t tell me that was a coincidence.)

Orlando won the paint battle for the first time in the series, getting 40 points to Boston’s 28. Hard to attribute that to the foul trouble, since Garnett is more of a finesse jump shooter with his offensive game, Sheed lives at the three point line, and Perkins only goes to the line every now and then. Howard owned the paint. The Celtics eventually ran out of jumpers to answer back with.

On the offensive end, Orlando finally shot over their heads from three point land. I doubt we’ll see a 52% performance from downtown the next two games. But the Magic’s pick and roll game finally triumphed over Boston’s defense, as four Magic players hit multiple threes.

Jameer ran the show (and surprisingly Boston , as he was able to penetrate past Rondo’s renegade defense, forcing either the bigs to sag in (which they rarely did) or drew Allen and Pierce inside which left Barnes, Pietrus and Redick open. Several times the Celtics would leave these guys open, an issue they struggled with at the beginning of the season.

For all the fuss about Perk, he hadn’t played real well up to the point of his ejection; Rasheed Wallace actually was an upgrade for what he brought offensively as well as defensively, stretching the floor and forcing the Magic to guard all sides as Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett struggled to get good looks, Allen especially. Redick continues to play excellent defense on Jesus Shuttleworth, as his Duke tutelage of fighting through screens seems to be paying dividends.

I’d be interested to see if the Celtics go back to the defensive strategy that won them the first three games–playing excellent man-to-man defense and not biting as much on the dribble penetration and continuing to switch the screen and rolls. The rotations have been slower the past few games, and the Magic have set up their offense much much faster.

Although Boston has shown they can win anywhere and everywhere, it’s feeling more like Game 6 will decide who moves onto the NBA Finals. The Celtics have looked lethargic and slow for two games straight, and it’s hard to see them having anything left for another road trip to Orlando.

Perkins should be back for Game 6 as will Rasheed Wallace, so there’s unlikely to be any officiating favor for Orlando. However, if Howard can make his impact felt defensively and keep Boston on the perimeter, it’ll give the Magic a fighting chance to tie the series up.

It was 9:30 PM at Roland Garros in the fifth set when Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini were tied up at 4. With sunset in Paris rapidly approaching, much of the games on the court were suspended until Thursday, and it appeared their game would also end prematurely.

Yet for reasons that will continue to mystify tennis fans everywhere, the official in charge of making the call hemmed and hawed. He inexplicably consulted the two tennis players and got conflicting responses (Monfils wanted to win behind his super-hyped French supporters, Fognini and his coach wanted to stop). Six crucial minutes passed that turned dusk into total darkness, with only the scoreboard and the big screen at the side of the court illuminating the proceedings.

And they kept on playing, like two kids on the neighborhood court with the nightlights burnt out. For fifteen surreal minutes, both of the players traded shots and ragged points. Fognini seethed to three match points but couldn’t convert on any of the opportunities, Monfils cramped up and could barely serve for the final point, and there were a lot of slow shots put up. Highly dramatic, even if it was totally unnecessary.

Thirty minutes after the match should have ended, play was finally postponed. With a limping Monfils and a furious Fognini still tied up, 5-5. Oh, the French bungling a crucial decision. So many historical jokes one could make. At least this one was entertaining for the rest of us.

However, as a lot of NBA folk like to say, a series doesn’t start until one team wins on the other team’s court. That is precisely what Phoenix has to do to get to the NBA Finals, and their past history in Los Angeles doesn’t smile on them at all. Neil Paine of Basketball Reference points out the sobering stats.

Yep, the Suns have been pretty good vs. L.A. this season… as long as they are playing them in Phoenix, that is. At home, they’re efficient on offense (even better than their seasonal average of 115.3 pts/100 possessions), they force turnovers, and they win the free throw battle by a huge margin (witness the Suns’ 37-16 edge in FTM two nights ago). But the second the Suns set foot in Staples Center, the Lakers own them, winning by an average of 18 PPG (and no fewer than 12 in any single game), hanging ridiculous offensive numbers on them, and stifling Phoenix’s own offensive machine.

Several other factors point to the degree of difficulty of the Suns taking one game in Los Angeles.

74 to 33. That’s the free throw disparity Phoenix enjoyed in Games 3 and 4. Now, the officiating wasn’t that bad in Game 3 as LA settled for threes while the Suns attacked the basket, but the Lakers didn’t get some the contact calls they probably earned on Tuesday (even the normally ref-neutral Forum Blue & Gold had to make a passing comment about the frustrating officiating). Safe to say the Suns won’t enjoy that type of free throw advantage in Los Angeles, and that they’ll have to muscle their way a little more to a win on the road. This probably means relying on Amare for a big game. Ruh roh.

Relying on the bench. Now, the Suns bench has had some good performances on the road this playoffs (Goran Dragic’s explosion in San Antonio the most notable), but as a whole the bench usually plays its best at US Airways Center. To expect a repeat performance Thursday night would require.

Moreover, the generally maligned Laker bench (mostly Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom at this point) has already outplayed the Suns twice at home in this series, and you figure as the series wears on, the experience of those players will kick in. You’d have to figure the starters would carry the load, especially Steve Nash, who has never played well at Staples, especially against the physical Derek Fisher.

Of course, we said the same thing about the Spurs in Game 3, and we all remembered what happened there.

Past history. The Lakers have done this before, letting series slip to 2-2 before taking control. Silver Screen & Roll points out how history is repeating itself. Against Houston and Denver last year, against Oklahoma City barely a month ago, LA fell into a 2-2 tie with a dubious Game 4 performance, only to come out and dominate their Game 5s and eventually win the series (actually, the Lakers have not lost a Game 5 since 2007, when they fell to Phoenix in the first round).

Conventional wisdom says the Suns lose Thursday night as the Laker experience and home court advantage takes root. But then again, there is nothing conventional about these Phoenix Suns.

The Bulls are going to get swept, and then Vinnie will get canned. Sorry chowder, but they’re at a disadvantage at every position except maybe center, and even that’s a stretch.

The Magic depend way too much on the three offensively to win a series in five or less—they’ll lose a game or two in every series they should win (that happened against Philly and Boston last year). They nearly blew their first round series last year when the well drew up and Hedo bailed them out. Plus the Bobcats play some of the fiercest perimeter defense in the league with Captain Jack, Wallace and Diaw all scrambling around. Howard will probably wear them down, but Larry Brown always gets the most out of his guys before he packs town and leaves. Magic in six, possibly seven if they can’t light it up from beyond the arc.

The Celtics-Heat series sucks. Boston’s looked terrible for a month. KG looks like David Robinson near the end (effective at times, out of it at others), Pierce looks totally worn out (it’s so depressing to watch him play now), and Allen is starting to wear down. Rondo’s playing great ball, but it’s amazing how abrasive the vets treat him. I kind of hope that Wade carries Miami through just because a Lebron-Wade series would be fun for two or three spectacular individual duels. Celtics in seven though, and then they get swept by Cleveland. This is the Series of the Living Dead—the Celtics look ready for retirement and Wade probably wants out of Miami.

The Hawks-Bucks series would’ve been epic for true hoops fans with Bogut in there—I was so bummed when I heard about that injury. I really wanted to see the evolutionary Luc Longley dominate the boards. Instead Atlanta will win in four or five, setting up a real exciting Orlando-Atlanta seven game series which I can’t wait to watch.

Lakers in 7 without Bynum. Lakers in 5 with Bynum. Thunder have blown a half-dozen double digit leads against all teams of all sorts the past month to blow homecourt in the first round, and I could see the same thing happening here. Fisher will get eaten alive and Kobe probably won’t play that well, but Gasol and Odom should wreack havoc inside. Of course, if the guards decide to hound the ball rather than plastering it inside, the Thunder could sneak up on them, but if LA messes around with these guys. Definitely worth watching for the Durant-Artest battle.

Dallas in 6. I like the Spurs, and if they can pull the upset I can see them in the Finals, but the Mavs are the worst possible matchup for them. They can throw Damp and Haywood at Duncan for forty minutes, and Timmy’s not exactly in dominant form anymore. George Hill is coming in sore. Tony Parker is coming in rusty. The Mavs can throw Barea and Beaubois off the bench to outquick Parker, and Terry is a capable match against Manu. Unless Ginobili has the series of his life, it’s hard to see them beating Dallas’s depth.

I could definitely see the winner of this series in the Finals. Lots of hungry vets on both sides—something I DON’T see on the top half of the West bracket.

Suns in 6. Holy great Jesus. I hadn’t paid much attention to the Suns other than box scores, but I watched them the last two nights and they CRUSHED Denver and Utah on back-to-back nights to earn that three seed. And it wasn’t like the Nugs and Jazz were screwing around and playing cards on the sideline. Phoenix has three great three point shooters in J-Rich, Dudley and Frye, Dragic has finally emerged as their quality backup point (he’s even making some Nash-like moves), Amundson’s doing his deal, Grant Hill is playing great, Amare has been monstrous, and Steve’s still being all cereberal. Favorite team of the postseason (although it’s funny they replaced an injured Robin Lopez with Jarron Collins as their 5), even if they’re probably doomed to lose in the second round.

That being said, Portland won’t go quietly. Camby will make Amare work hard for his points. Nash won’t be able to handle Miller defensively (but the same could be said the other way around). Aldridge could cause Stoudemire some problems, but Amare’s issue has always been post defense. Roy’s meniscus injury is going to really hurt their upset potential. But Portland has the best home court in the league, so they’ll probably squeeze two before succumbing to the Suns.

No way Utah wins a Game 7 in Denver. I really liked the Jazz earlier this season, but they’ve sunk off since then, and I don’t see them having the horses to stay with the Nugs. Afflalo and Lawson will make Deron work hard for his points (if they could knock around Chris Paul last year, the story should be the same here), Melo traditionally has been an awful matchup for them, and JR Smith will throw a few casual 30 point games in there. The Nuggets beat the Jazz three times this year (once without Melo and Billups); and their lone loss came without Melo and Billups. Denver’s biggest weakness has been size, but Okur is a perimeter big and Boozer is an undersized big. Their exit won’t come for another round. Nuggets in 5.

For those who don’t know, I’ve been writing a lot for the California Golden Blogs (a Cal sports community that’s part of SBNation, a grassroots sports network of team/sports blogs), which is probably why you haven’t heard or seen much of me lately. Stupid I know, but I generally work at my best when unencumbered by social or physical burden. I haven’t been this productive in years, and it’s definitely allowed me to reassess the way I approach writing.

For those who care about this stuff, the best way is to follow me at SBNation by clicking on the here (or on the SBNation link on the sidebar) and subscribing to the feed.

Anyway, these are just samples of the best work:

Should the Pac-10 eliminate round-robin scheduling?

“The BCS, for better or for worse, is here to stay for most of the next decade. We don’t really have much of a say in it, so we have to deal with the system as is. So we have to figure out what situations would benefit the Bears assuming USC maintains its conference dominance. One thing to look at it is the vaunted Pac-10 round robin. I got thinking about this after reading a quote from Wizard of Odds:

Wouldn’t it be nice if BCS teams took off the skirt and started playing BCS teams in nonconference? Wouldn’t it be nice if you, the fan, actually got value for all that money you pump toward a university just to get a decent seat? Wouldn’t it be nice if the spirit of competition returned to college football?

This is a nice viewpoint, but it’s a little naive. The Pac-10 already does this, playing the extra game, having every other team in the conference play each other once. How much respect do they get for this system? (Hint: it’s equal to the number of BCS at-large bids they’ve been rewarded with the past six seasons.)

Other stuff, if you want to take a look at it.

Here’s the dirty secret: This extra conference game drives up the probability of an extra loss. And you could argue has crippled BCS dreams several times for our conference’s best.”

This post was pretty crazy. 484 comments, with pretty good discussion arguing for and against. Can’t say it didn’t get a little bit heated, but it was all in good fun! We even started a discussion about Scorsese movies on the side.

Here are some of my other favorite posts.

What Concerns You About Cal Football (2009 ed):  ”Concern. That’s the state of mind a Cal football fan can find his or herself in during the interminable offseason…However, while those positive thoughts run through our minds from time to time, worry and apprehension can supplant them fairly easily. As in, “how will the Bears break our hearts this time…There are several troublespots going into next season, and I’m sure we can identify others if we try hard enough. Behold the power of pessimism!”

Introducing +/- to Cal Hoops (still a work in progress!): You probably know how the plus/minus has become a huge staple of NBA stats (you’ll see it on NBA box score sheets); I tried applying them to Cal Hoops. Still a work in progress.

Should the Pac-10 Get Better Television Deals?: Anyone who’s followed or tried to follow the Pac-10 football circuit outside the West Coast has pretty much found themselves in dire straits…

Finally, I started a Hall of Fame for this Cal community site to reward the greatest Cal athletes for their efforts as Golden Bears and as pros.  It’s a March Madness style tournament where . You can see what the full bracket looks like here, and track what’s going on by following the Hall of Fame section.

It’s really cool stuff; Cal sports fans should check it out if you guys have some time, some really quality stuff has come out of this.

I’m going to take the glass half-full approach for the Magic. First of all, the Lakers get complacent. They are so talented, so efficient, so destructive on offense when they’re running their sets that they look totally unstoppable; when Bryant and Odom on their game, doubly so. And sometimes they sort of ride that train and lose their edge that it takes the other team beating them to get it back. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Orlando storm back to take Game 2, and certainly if the three ball gets stroking it frees up Howard to wreck more inside (Bynum, Pau and Odom flirted with foul trouble, didn’t really matter though).

Kobe was not padding his stats. He was running the offense, driving to the hoop, breaking down Orlando’s D (Howard was a step slow all night, compounding the Magic’s issues), producing open jumpers for open teammates and pretty good looks for him. He wasn’t pulling up for 3 balls or badly contested jumpers; those are good shots for Bryant. It was a great performance and it should be taken as such.

If Gasol isn’t playing well in the low block, Howard can come over and bother Bryant on his drives, something Lebron couldn’t do with Big Z (and only minimally so with Varejao), who is not a good post player. Take a look at how much trouble the Rockets gave LA when Chuck Hayes banged with Pau, or how close Denver played them when Bryant and Fisher were hoisting up jumpers and Pau saw the ball too few times.

Kobe can get his, but when the offense runs through or with Gasol, it takes their team to another level on the offensive end.

I really don’t know how I feel about Black Mamba’s performance (otherworldly as usual). Maybe it’s that awful Laker crowd he plays in front of. Anyone get the sense you were watching a grand Shakespeare play, except it was being performed at your local VFW? Those guys get excited about NOTHING. Nevertheless, art is art.

Let’s keep in mind he can play that great because Gasol is down low and Howard can’t play off the pick and roll as much as he’d like. One of the big problems LeBron had was that there was no one he could go to inside.

However, UNLIKE Chosen One, Kobe didn’t hesitate. No dribbles, just drive, drive, drive. In previous series it looked like he held back a lot more because he wanted to make sure he had something for the end. And it just angers me more why Coach Brown didn’t unleash Lebron on a fast break once in that series. I hate NBA coaches.

Let me give credit to the Laker D, which was much better than Cleveland’s D in adjusting to Howard and forcing the Magic into rushed passes into 3s in uncomfortable spots. Orlando did miss a lot of open shots, but LA did have something to do with the blowout.

Flash-forward 14 years and they face a similar situation. But not quite. Howard might not be quite as polished on the offensive end as Shaq was, but his defensive game is certainly up to par, he kept LeBron James out of the paint for most of the series and forced him to take tough jumpers, and in Game 6 he wrecked his way to the Finals (40 points, 14 rebounds, a performance that will go unheralded unless Orlando wins it all). He probably won’t have his way with Gasol (who battled him to a standstill in the Olympic play) or Bynum (much more athletic on the block, although absent-minded defensively), but he still should be the better center.

For those who haven’t watched the Magic this season, their offense is predicated on more than just 3s. It’s ball movement, penetration, kick, rotate it to the open man. It’s disturbingly Spurs like in its efficiency, although unlike Duncan, Howard isn’t always the focus of the Magic offense; their forwards, Lewis & Turkogulu have their own offensive talents (Hedo, their SF, often has as many assists as the Magic’s point guards; Rashard can post up and shoot 3s). Add in former Warrior swingman Mickael Pietrus, rookie Courtney Lee, Skip To My Lou Rafer Alston, the recently reactivated Jameer Nelson (who killed LA in the regular season), and you have a very scary offensive team if the 3 ball gets going. Every one of Orlando’s guards/forwards can slash, drive and kick. They’re a surprisingly efficient team, quite different from the ‘95 Magic too (that was a team purely built on youthful exuberance).

LA Lakers: This is arguably Kobe Bryant’s last chance to win a title as The Man. He’s wrapping up his thirteenth season in the league. He’s played over 1120 games in the league, more than MJ during his entire career as a Bull. The slippage starts now, and soon the team totally belongs to Gasol or Bynum (this is a big if, the likelier bet is Gasol) the way it belonged to Shaq. Bryant would again become the second option, and he would be doomed to deal with the fact (even if he won more rings) that he could never win a title as

The key to this series is how quickly the Lakers get into their offensive sets and establish themselves with Gasol getting that ball on the block in the Triangle offense, how much Kobe can play off of it, how well Odom and Ariza can finish, and how Fisher, Farmar, Vujacic and Brown can nail down open jumpers. The offense has to run through Pau; if he sees that ball late in the shot clock, if the ball stays hung out on the perimeter, than the Lakers can expect to get torpedoed. Lee & Pietrus are not even close to being Battier and Artest, but they can keep Kobe in front of him and force him to take jumpers (as can Howard if Kobe drives). However, if Pau has it, things become much easier offensively.

Now, if Lamar Odom plays like Odom at his best for four games, the Lakers are getting their rings. But none of us are expecting that–LA should be happy if they get two and hope Kobe and Pau can win them two more. The Lakers do have the size to compete with the Magic’s forwards in Ariza and Odom, but they also can fall asleep on closing out at the three point line (their two losses to the Rockets post-Yao a good example).

If I had to pick, it’s probably the Lakers, because Orlando, despite their monumental success, would not have gotten here if KG got injured. They got here a year early and they might play like it; the urgency isn’t quite there like it is for Los Angeles and Bryant. Dwight Howard is 23 and will be back. Who knows how many more times we’ll be able to say that about Kobe.

Additional notes:

Phil never double teams. He threw Rodman on Shaq, O’Neal got his 40, but the Bulls swept the Magic. He put Horry on C-Webb, who struggled to finish games and the Lakers eeked out the Kings. I expect we’ll see Bynum, then Pau, then (maybe) some Mbenga, but it’s up to those two to stop the onslaught of Howard inside.

Now, Jameer’s return makes the Magic very interesting. He might not play well early on, but if he can slash and drive on Brown and Farmar he will make LA’s lives very miserable, because they will always be reacting to what Orlando is trying to do on offense.

Keep in mind that the Magic love to screen and roll…and Phil Jackson-coached teams always struggle with screen and roll (this one especially because of how much they like to overhelp).

Let me guys know if there’s anything I’ve missed.

Other places to check out: Forum Blue & Gold and Silver Screen and Roll for Lakers fans, Third Quarter Collapse for Magic fans.

Yet who has won the last four Finals MVPs?
2007-Tony Parker
2006-Dwayne Wade
2005-Tim Duncan (although you could make a case for Manu Ginobili)
2004-Chauncey Billups

These are guards moving past big men. They may be taller and stronger. But you are stronger in other areas.

As we see Chris Paul motor his way through the playoffs, forcing the defending champions to give everything they have to stay alive, you realize that you already have what you need. You may be a small man in a big man’s world, in business, in law, in sports. But it means only a little. You were born with your genetics. But you create your own will. You go as far as you choose to go.

With the NBA Playoffs in full gear, roundball fans are always reminded in commercials of the greatness that once graced the NBA every season. Michael Jordan graced the league for fourteen spectacular seasons of dunks, fallaway jumpers, game winning shots, and championships. He exemplified the winning attitude that all human beings hope to adopt.

Yet one reason he was so brilliant was how easy he made it look. We glossed over the physical punishment that a 6′6″ guard took driving to the hole in a tall man’s world and focused on the breakaway slam reels. For over a decade the NBA has suffered from this me-first type of play, with everyone subconsciously believing that by taking the toughest shots possible, they could be like Mike. And of course, they can’t and couldn’t. People forget all the hard work it took for MJ to be MJ.

Arguably there have been more talented individuals out there, before and since. But no one else put the work in as much on the court as he did, for individual and team. And it shows with the six rings.

But it was never just about making the impossible easy. Let’s listen to the words of the man, shall we? (Click on the link to watch the video).

1. It’s Not About the Shoes

Just like in Fight Club, your possessions do not define you. They are rewards for hard work and accomplishment, not a shallow display of your own self-worth. Unmerited rewards lead to emptiness inside. Your actions are what is substantive. Their impact will last far longer than your shoes.

2. Not Meant to Fly

There are those among us who say there are limits to what they can accomplish. These people are a nuisance. Get rid of them, extirpate these undesirable qualities within yourself, and start learning to break limits before the burden of age catches up with you.

3. Challenge

Sweat hard when you’re battling. Make sure you’re dead tired when you walk out of your workplace. Exhaustion shows how far you’ve pushed yourself in pursuit of your passions. Make sure you rest only when your efforts hinder rather than help.

4. Michael vs. Mia

Once you become one of the best, challenge yourself against the best, or those who share your goals and desires. Their attitude towards work and success is infectious. Let it become the only disease that you never want to heal.

5. Nothing but Net

Challenge yourself in every facet of life, even if it means absolutely nothing in the long-run. It makes life more exciting, more thrilling, more exhilarating. Oh, and put a Big Mac on the line for the winner.

6. Overjoyed

Take joy that you’re doing what you love for a living. Everyday you can wake up knowing that you’ve made it. Treasure every moment you get, because what you have right now won’t last forever.

7-10. “Hello Mars.” Spot 1, Spot 2, Spot 3, Spot 4

Okay…these commercials are just awesome, but know this–if there’s a Mars Blackmon in your life, someone who irrationally follows your every movement with rapt attention, who collects your books, your press clippings, follows your every mention, you are well on your way to cementing your legend. As Ari Gold once said, “It’s the blessing and the curse of superstardom.” Just accept it with a bemused smile and don’t let it go to your head. Success for you is knowing these people exist. At least they care about you, even if it’s not in the way you intended.

11. Heart

Sometimes the simplest messages resonate the strongest. MJ’s heart was always on the hardcourt because he was passionate about winning. Where can you put your heart so that it never makes you stray from your chosen path?

12. 100 Foot Rim

Aim high. Aim as high as you can go. Don’t let simple things like gravity or expectations hold you down. Go all the way to get all the way. Just know how to get back down when you’re done.

13. Failure

Everytime you lose a battle, take what you learn and take your life one step further. People never win all the time. The people who are winners lose more often than they win. The people who are losers are the ones who avoid failure. All you have to do is succeed one more time.

14. Storytelling

Not all of us will have as visible a stage as Michael. Make sure to record your work, your accomplishments, your goals, your ideals, and let another storyteller chronicle what your life was really like. The thought of being forgotten is terrifying–at the least, let our grandchildren and great-grandchildren understand the mark we left on the world.

15. Dream

Realize that being passionate about a dream isn’t worth it if it’s too late in life to get good at it. Focus on what’s tangible and the foundation you’ve already created. Recharge and get back to perfecting your legend.

16. Cinderellas

Fairytales are for kids. You’re an adult now. If the odds seem stacked against your success, use all your strengths, mind and body, to shock the world. Believe in yourself and you can become the one the next generations speak of with respect and awe.

17. Heartbreak

Develop the killer instinct. Drive a stake through the hearts of your enemies, your opponents, whoever stands in your way. Don’t relish in their anguish, revel in your triumph. Become a warrior that they fear to face.

18. Frozen Moment

Learn to define yourself by action. Let your actions create the type of person people want to remember you by. Be the center of attention. Make everyone freeze to watch what you do.

19. Look Me In the Eyes

Find a mentor, one who can look you in the eye, one who inspires you, trusts you, guides you, builds you up for the challenges ahead. One who does not try to mold you into their own image, but helps you create your own. One who will help you build the patience you need to fully succeed.

20. Maybe

Don’t make excuses for your shortcomings; account for them and get back to your life. Are you going to be a hater and dwell on what could have been? Or be the person people hate on for achieving their goals?

21. Let Your Game Speak.

If you have something to say, say what’s necessary and move onto the task at hand, be it personal, business, or recreational. Let your actions do all the the talking. Let other people be the ones speaking about you.

22. Tell Me

Make sure you have people who doubt you. Make sure you have people who question everything you do. Make people think that you’re done as you grow older, your time is up. It’ll only make you want to prove them wrong.

23. “Who’s Got Next?”

Reflect on the long road of progress you’ve made, from the beginning of your journey, up to now. Battle your inner demons–namely, the struggle against time. No one wins that battle. But you can look back toward the past to show yourself how far you’ve come, how much you’ve learned, and how much left there is for you to do.

And one final message that doesn’t provide a piece of advice, but provides you a question with which to guide you:

23b. What is Love?
I’m not going to tell you what love should be to you. All I have to say is that if you think you’ve found it, define it for yourself. Discover what love is for you, follow the tenets #23 set out for himself that you can set out for yourself, and you will be the Michael Jordan of whatever you were born to be.

EDIT: Dumb Little Man boiled his points down to 10. A good read.

As much as I enjoy me, and talking about me, I want other people to know about me. Me is great. Me is the best. So let’s get going spreading the legend of me!

I wrote up three live blogs on The Play in CA (New Orleans at Dallas, Phoenix at San Antonio, Washington at Cleveland). I enjoyed the experience, but one thing I did learn is that it’s not fun talking to yourself on a live blog. It’s enjoyable if the games are great (and thankfully all three lived up to the opening), but I want to figure out a way to blog NBA games and have a captive audience. If I can do that, I’ll be pie-in-the-sky happpppy.

As usual, running Bears Necessity with a deft hand. I’m not exactly tiring out (I come up with decent ideas for posts all the time), I just want more free time to focus on other things. Hence my call for guest posters on Cal football. Hopefully more people will answer the call.

Finally, wrote an article on my slowly developing (and by slowly I mean stagnant) sports site, Get Up Eight Times. How the hell did the Phoenix Suns fall into a 3-0 hole against the San Antonio Spurs? I try my best to explain in the NBA roundball way.

I’m not sure what I’ll do about Squidoo and Metafilter. Squidoo seems to relate more to life experience, and I have very little of that at the moment. Metafilter seems pretty interesting, although it seems to be inhabited by librarians who will pay for gated access and people too snobbish for NPR. I hope this isn’t the case, but those are my preliminary thoughts on the matter.

Tune in for my weekly resume. It should be totally bereft of useful details.