It's Baseball Season!

Well, as anyone who reads my blog knows by now, the Hornets' "magical" season came to an end about 13 hours ago. I'm not quite sure if it's totally hit me yet, as several scotches has a way of numbing your mind and body to everything occurring around you. I'm not gonna dwell on what "could have been." No, I'm not gonna sit here and write about Bonzi Wells' missed layup and all-around horrendous play during the series. Or the fact that David West (who I still love and respect) missed SO MANY makeable shots in the 2nd half last night. Or CP3's missed Free Throws. Or Jannero Pargo's playing 1-on-5 over the last several minutes of the game, refusing to even look for his two All-Star teammates, instead jacking up whatever shot he saw. No, I'm not gonna sit here and write about all that.

Throughout the regular season, which was a surprisingly strong one for my Hornets, I repeatedly told several friends that I'd be "happy" with a playoff berth and winning 1 series. Such is the nature of the NBA. Teams sort of have to pay their dues, building experience and camaraderie before being able to make the jump to "championship caliber." So, from that perspective, I should be happy, like I said I would be. But then I see the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks - two teams who slowly climbed the ladder to be in the position of "championship contenders", only to never have done it. Now, their windows appear to be closed. While the Hornets' best players - CP3, David West and Tyson Chandler are all relatively young, healthy and under contract for the immediate future, the hard fact remains that there is absolutely no guarantee of future success. Only time will tell.

All in all, I'm holding up relatively well. In the waning minutes of the game last night, when the verdict was sealed, a picture of my nephew Dilen popped up on my screensaver, which helped put things in perspective. Overall, life is pretty good. I live in LA, have great friends/family, a beautiful niece and nephew who I get to spend a lot of time with, and an amazing girlfriend who came over after the game to buy me dinner and generally distract me from what had just happened. In less than a month, I (knock on wood) will have a Master's Degree (Business or not - a Master's is a Master's) and, eventually, I hope, a high-paying job. Or some sort of job, anyways.

Also, I've realized over the last couple weeks that one of the major reasons I've become increasingly obsessed with the success (or lack thereof) of my favorite sports teams is the fact that I spend so much more time following them, mainly because of the Internet. So for the last week or so, I've tried to cut back a little bit, staying away from the Hornets' blogs and not obsessively watching all the SportsCenter analysis. Today, I'm giving myself the true test. No ESPN, no espn.com, no ESPN Radio. Nothing. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I went 24+ hours without any access to sports information, as even when I travel I usually surf the web for at least 15 minutes a day to check scores. I'll admittedly probably cheat and ask someone about the Mets (they play a pretty big doubleheader against the Braves today), but other than that, this will truly test whether I am master of my domain.

Moving on, it's now officially time to come on out and greet the Mets!

UPDATE #1: I've made it to 5pm. No ESPN, no ESPN Radio, no espn.com. Nada. But I'm struggling. Not sure I'll make it.

UPDATE #2: I pretty much made it. 630am on Wednesday. I got some auto text/email alerts from sportsline.com, some people in class talking about the Bulls winning the draft lottery and some unintentional/unwanted ESPN coverage of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. But other than that, nothing. There was a little vomiting and a lot of sweating, but I made it. Now, I've got some catching up to do.

I lasted 10 days

I tried to hold out for a while longer. A big Game 1 win over the Spurs, and I resisted temptations to write about my excitement. A 2-0 lead? I refrained. But then I saw this old SportsCenter Flashback and I couldn't help but post. I'm, as anyone who knows me already knows, a relatively emotionless guy who most of you assume is made of skin, bones, and vodka, with no heart whatsoever. But I've watched this clip twice now, and both times found myself tearing up a little with about a minute left in the video. Whether or not you appreciate CP3 for his ridiculous game (how can you not? seriously), you gotta love this story. Go Hornets!

I interrupt this CP3 lovefest...

for this, which I found pretty funny. For lazy people who don't like clicking links or, you know, reading, the gist is that, due to rapidly increasing metal prices, it now costs around 1.26 cents to make a penny, and 7.7 cents to make a nickel. Hmmm. Given my (continued) unemployment, I'm wondering if there's a way to take all the nickels and pennies I have lying around my apartment and profiting from this somehow.

The Season Continues

No, no, no. This isn't turning into a Hornets' blog. If you want one of those, which I'm sure none of you do, go here for a really good one. But I figure I gotta blog about something. I haven't traveled anywhere in a while (Hawaii doesn't count since all I did was watch basketball, eat heavily and drink even more heavily - three things I could have done just as easily and less expensively from the comfort of my own home). I'm frankly pretty sick of the Democratic primary process. And, at 28 and still looking for a job, I probably shouldn't be putting in public media my drunken party tales. So, for now, it's all about the Hornets.


What a day for my Bugs. This morning, Byron Scott was presented with the NBA Coach of the Year award. I've been hard on (ha-ha) Byron all season, including yelling loudly at him at a Hornets-Clippers game in January for inexplicably playing ex-Hornet Marcus Vinicius, but he's starting to grow on me, and I think he legitimately deserved the award. Just like I think CP3 deserves the MVP. Which he ain't gonna get, but whatevers.


Several hours later, above was the scene in NOLA. David West and Tyson Chandler hugging it out (bitch) after the Hornets quickly and pretty easily disposed of the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games (I called 6 - very happy to have been wrong on that). Next up are either the Spurs or the Suns, preferably, but unlikely, the Suns.

Below: LOSER!!!

Only The Beginning...

The NBA Playoffs start tomorrow, and I can't even describe how excited I am. So excited that I'm gonna sit and watch American Gangster at home on a beautiful Friday afternoon because I know my next 2 months or so are completely occupied with basketball (and, to a much, much smaller extent, trying to find a job).

The above image, if the words on the t-shirts aren't clear, is of MY New Orleans Hornets celebrating their first ever Southwest Division title, after completing a franchise-best 56-26 season (unfortunately they only went 1-1 in the games I actually went to...damn Lakers and their quick starts). We get Dallas in the first round, and tomorrow begins the "CP3 dominates in the postseason" era. I'm so pumped for the game that I'm actually voluntarily spending several extra hours with Atur, just to ensure I get to San Diego in time for the 4pm tipoff. That's dedication.

Frankly, I'm glad all the "experts" are picking the Mavericks. All the pressure is off. CP3, David West, Tyson, Peja, JuJu and the rest of the Bugs can just go out and do their thing. Hornets in 6.

Is it wrong that I found this kinda funny?

I'm sorry. But I couldn't help but laugh a little when I read this.

Self-Defense for All Guys (Except Me)

I encourage you all to print a copy of this and carry it with you at all times.