bullets forever

i am writing this last minute as the wizards are planning on unveiling their new color scheme (i believe bullets rwb, but we'll see). Either way, this is a good first step towards returning to the name back to the bullets away from the awful wizards.

i have been so engrossed with nba playoffs this season as it seems like just about anything can happen. it's great and i am soaking it in. lakers got swept! again, i am maintaining my main focus on routing against the heat, though they are looking incredibly strong and it is so annoying.

chris was hyping up the grizzlies before their series with the thunder. i thought that they just took advantage of a good matchup against the old spurs, but they look real legit. i am also routing for dirk nowitzki and crazy mavs owner mark cuban. dirk looks like louis which makes me happy. whatever happens, somebody just please beat the stupid heat.

i have also picked up my nba 2k11 game after a long layoff and have been enjoying that. i am playing as the wiz. john wall is blowin up. i got rid of rashard lewis in a shrewd trade involving the final season in michael redd's contract and just generally cleaned house. that game is so much fun, though much more challenging than previous versions. it looks great on my tv. now i just need to figure out who to draft and cut john wall's turnovers to under 10 a game.

playoffs and lots of videos (make sure to watch the shaq one)

another season of the nba has concluded. playoffs start in a few days. overall this season had a lot going for it. lebron and the heat became super villains and a really fun team to root against. the wizards had a legitimate superstar rookie, only to be outshone by a superhuman rookie. derrick rose emerged as a top 5 player. carmelo got traded to the knicks and his old team improved. celtics started off great but look pretty old right now. they also made a very questionable trade. the kings are probably going to move. doug collins did a geat coaching job and have the 76ers in the playoffs. the blazers have done well even with an ailing brandon roy. my fantasy team went undefeated through the regular season, only to lose to the #5 seed in the semifinals. also, the first american born asian player made an nba team. i'm sad that it could be shaq's last season.

i know that nobody who reads this cares, but i have had a great time watching the season go by. i went to a wizards game this season with josie and her dad to see the 2 aforementioned rookies show their stuff. it was a great time and i'm glad i got to go to a game this season. the wizards were no good, but it was to be expected. john wall looks as good as advertised and for the first time i really have a sens of hope and optimism for the future direction of the team. they were able to get rid of a lot of bad contract money through trades and buyouts. they drafted well last year and got a #1 pick from last years draft. jordan crawford looks like he could have a chance to be special. mcgee and blatche appear to be heading in the right direction. mcgee won 2nd place in the dunk contest. we have 2 first round picks in the upcoming draft. we still have the stupid contract of rashard lewis. we badly need a small forward and backups in pg and c. not sure what to do about nick young.



this year, the wizards will have the 4th most lottery balls in the draft lottery. this year is looking real slim, especially it harrison barnes and jared sullenger decide to stay in school. if we can't get derrick williams, then i don't think it really matters. hopefully they can just find another piece to the puzzle. hopefully ernie will keep making smart moves and there will actually be a season next year.

anyways, since the zards are clearly not in the playoffs, it's time for me to figure out who to root for. not to toot my own horn, but i was big on derrick rose prior to the season. i predicted a breakout year for him and made him my second round pick in my fantasy draft. he is definitely one of my favorite players due to his leadership, temperament and explosiveness. with that said, the bulls ended up with the best record in the league so it's kind of whack for me to be rooting for them. nobody else in the east intrigues me. i guess i just hope for some spectacular failing from the heat.

in the west there are a few teams that could contend for my affection. dirk nowitzki looks like louis, so the mavs are in the running. i am also a fan of owner mark cuban and i had rodrigue beaubois on my fantasy team. i like how portland came together and did well even when the superstar faltered due to injury. the emergence of lamarcus aldridge was a great story. they are underdogs, so i could root for the blazers. the thunder are sneaking up on people, even though they shouldn't. back when i was playing a loot of nba 2k10, i would always play as the thunder and use westbrook and durant to straight abuse chris. they also beefed up their inside by trading for kendrick perkins. out of these 3 teams, the thunder have the best chance of emerging. so i think we have out answer. i will go with them and hope for the best.

a new era has begun

so normally around this time i am going football crazy...both fantasy and reality. this year, my not caring that started halfway through last season has carried over. the only football i care about now is on friday nights on nbc.

basketball was looking like it might follow suit in my odd loss of interest in sports. but then things started happening. first off, the wizards won the lottery! yeah, yeah, i know. last time we were in this position we kinda pulled a homer.
well this year, they finally got a no-brainer pick in future superstar john wall. he:

• is lightning-quick
• is an excellent passer
• is seemingly mature
• is fun to watch
• has his own dance

add to this, the drafting of some more rookies, trading for a some new players and basically pressing reset on the roster and you'll have something very close to what i like to do when i play nba2k on my 360. i know this will be a rebuilding year, but i enjoy the idea of potential and promise and look forward to seeing this team learn to play together and improve.

the nba also has a new villain and team to rout against in lebron james and the miami heat. i never liked lebron, but how he dealt with free agency as well as the ridiculous decision show just really cemented my hate for him. i won't elaborate too much more, but will sum up my dislike for lebron and how i will enjoy rooting against the heat for years to come with the following:

hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate

one final story in the nba that is luring me in this season is the arrival of an asian american player who had a great summer league and is not actually a giant. jeremy lin is a point guard from harvard who just signed with golden state. he is fun to watch and who knows...he could get some burn this season. i will follow him and try to reach for him in my fantasy basketball draft, assuming i do that this year.

these teams better not suck

my interest in football, both real and fantasy never really took off much this year and has since become quite the afterthought for me...at least compared to previous years. now the the nba season has begun, it has really squashed my football spirits, well, that combined with my fantasy teams sucking and no longer being a redskins fan. so the wizards are looking real promising, as long as everyone stays healthy. even though i no longer have comcast so i can't watch wiz games, i have been enjoying random games this first week on espn and tnt. i would even consider ordering the nba package, but i already watch too much tv. one of my favorite podcasts, the basketball jones is back.

Ep. 457: King and Captain? from The Basketball Jones on Vimeo.

chris and i joined a random keeper league that looks like it could be fun. it is another crazy 16 teamer that made for us unprepared owners to have to scramble quite a bit in the later rounds. i ended up with what i think is a solid and promising team with holes, but i can work with it. some of players include deron williams, jason kidd, nene, trevor ariza, aaron brooks, marc gasol, and blake griffin (who is out for 6 weeks, ugh). i definitely have some regrets, but that's just the way it's gotta be sometimes. i enjoy fantasy basketball so much more than football, which i know makes me weird. i enjoy that there are games everyday so there's always a little something to follow or read about the next day. as opposed to the sunday overload that is football.

although i planned to just do one league, like i did last year, i couldn't pass up the chance to play with eskay's crew. this is gonna be totally different as it is an 8 team league, which really levels the playing field, and negates my experience as i think most of these guys have never played. it should be fun to be in a league with people i know since all of my friends decided they didn't like it.






i know you're gawking at my weird-ass eyes...it doesn't matter, cause i'm on kevin's fantasy squad!