This Sunday morning marks the return of Sunday Smattering–the column that is my facade for not being able to narrow my ideas down to one post–so I call it a smattering and post everything. Pretty clever huh?
Without further adieu, Sunday Smattering ladies and gentlemen:
- Lakers vs. Celtics: After all the hype, drama and predictions, the two most storied franchises in NBA history will once again meet to decide the NBA title. The story lines here are endless. As much as I loathe both of these teams, I even have to admit that this final brings a certain nostalgic feel that is a rarity in the world of basketball. My prediction? Lakers in 6. Bolder prediction? Brian Scalabrine, in his only playing time of the series, gets so overwhelmed with nostalgia he clotheslines Kobe Bryant going to the bucket to reenact the Kurt Rambis and Kevin McHale incident.
- Taylor Wants Out: Does this really come as a surprise? Forget the fact that Jason Taylor is not a 3-4 defensive end, the preferred scheme of Bill Parcels. Forget the notion that Taylor is 34 years old. Forget all of the logical reasons why Jason Taylor and the Dolphins are about as good a match as Charles Barkley and Las Vegas. Did we really think that a guy that spent his offseason prancing around on national TV would mesh with the stone-faced, tough-as-nails, Bill Parcels? Not a chance.
- Rookie Phenoms Rule the Week: Between the debuts of Clayton Kershaw and Jay Bruce (I’m still pissed about the walk-off last night against my Braves) two heralded rookies showed their chops right from the outset. Both of these kids have bright futures, but let’s not forget they are rookies–struggles will come.
- Will the Braves Ever Win on the Road?: How is that the same team can be 7-20 on the road and 22-7 at home? Seriously folks, I am at a loss here. I understand that there will almost always be a discrepancy, but clearly this is a case of a Braves team that plays Jekyl and Hyde. If they don’t get it straightened out soon, they can forget about the NL East crown.
- Historic HRs: Last night, Manny Ramirez hit number 500 for his career and Griffey hit number 599. These two could not be more different. By all accounts, Griffey is a nice guy that plays the game the right way. Ramirez on the other hand is an immature prima Dona. Why he feels the need to constantly draw attention to himself through antics on and off the field is beyond me. He is one of the greatest right-handed hitters to ever play this game–let that do the talking Manny. I don’t care if that was his 500th HR last night, if he ever posed that long and walked up the baseline like that in a game I was managing, the next fastball would be placed square between his ribs. Can we put out a referendum to the league on this? Throwing at hitters is illegal, unless it is Manny Ramirez after an unnecessarily long pose following a HR (or single for that matter).
- Heard in the Cheap Seats Gets a Makeover: Alright, so I am not a Web designer, nor will I ever be–hence the awkward orange and green colors from our previous design. We’ve gone with a new look, albeit still not perfect. In addition, check out the About section, it now reflects our staff of two instead of our staff of one–a long overdue change.
When I think of the Lakers, I forever go back to 1980. I was living in Los Angeles at the time after finishing school at USC. Back in Philadelphia where my family lived, the city was gearing up for Game 6 of Lakers-Sixers. My folks had season tickets at the Spectrum and as something of a birthday gift, they flew me out. Back then, there really weren’t team charters, as such. So on my United flight: The Lakers, their entire front office and most of the Southern California media. The willingness of many of the Lakers to chat with me was a great surprise but spoke volumes about that team. They were as relaxed as they were great.
The Spectrum rocked that evening unlike anything I had heard this side of the Madhouse on Madison Street, Chicago Stadium. But it made no difference is the 18,000-plus couldn’t account for the brilliance of Magic.
Flying home…again, the Lakers, the front office and the media were on my flight. Go figure. When we arrived back in L.A., the door opened and limping through it was Kareem. The whole adventure to-and-from Philly adventure bordered on surreal.
Wow, talk about a sports fan’s dream. Great story, thanks for sharing it here.