...the Association at the Turn, or What Ever Happened to Terry Porter

This weekend past could very well have been the best of the year, for love was in the air. While we flew solo this Cupid Day, we're cool with that, feeling that being with someone just to be with someone is worse than being alone. Besides, we'd only have ended up pissing off our signifigant other, blowing her off for NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which is only the best non-playoff night of the entire season! (ok, except for the part where they try to cram the WNBA down our throat). So we went out for a drink on Valentine's and soaked up the love around us. It really is nice seeing people in love and happy, even if only for a night. When it comes right down to it, our entire lives are fleeting; it's good to see some happiness in our midst. So, with our spirits revived and our heart warmed, we hunkered down for the festivities on TNT...As we sit at the halfway point in the Association, it's time to look back at our predictions and preseason awards and see where we stand. But first, a few items...Idiot of the Week goes to Colorado state senator Chris Romer (D), who has intorduced legislation to offer in-state tuition to illegal aliens because, "there are an awful lot of people in the country illegally who are really struggling to afford a college education." Really? Ya know, there are even more taxpaying legal citizens who are doing the same thing, Chris. How about throwing them a bone? Under Romer's bill, Skatterkid would not be able to get in-state tuition at Colorado State, because she lives in Texas -- unless she moves to (let's be nice and say) Canada, renounces her US citizenship, sneaks back over the border, moves to Colorado and applies. See, that's just not change we can believe in...Enough of the OctoMom. We try to avoid these annoying, sensationalized infotainment stories, but we have to say a few things here: 1) Yes, she's a dumbass, as is the doctor who put the litter in her; 2) Unless you live in California or are planning to move there, not many of your tax dollars will be supporting her and if they are, the amount pales in comparison to the sum wasted in Washington every day, so chill; 3) There's really nothing that can be done, short of placing a legal limit on how many children one can bear. Good luck passing that legislation; 4) She does NOT look like Angelina Jolie. At all. Wrong hair, wrong eye color, wrong cheek bones, wrong entire body. Let it go, folks.

Now onto the NBA at the Turn:



Not too many shocks here. The Cavs are better than we thought, the Pistons worse. Washington and Houston are both going to use injuries again to excuse the fact that they really suck, and The Usual Suspects are at the top. Our original Finals prediction (ORL/N.O.), based on U'F-er were semi tongue-in-cheek, but they looked good for a bit there. Until Jameer Nelson got hurt and George Shinn remembered he's in New Orleans and started the fire sale. The Hornets, we fear, are on the precipice of a long, painful, fiscally-induced slide into mediocrity, while the Magic still appear to be one player away from the upper echelon. Our biggest question from the first half though -- what the hell is going on in Phoenix? That organization looks damned-near Clipperesque in it's collapse.


Onto the review:


First Coach to be Fired
Our Pick: Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76'ers
Actual: P.J. Carlesimo, Oklahoma City Thunder
Comment: Mo and his '83 Championship teammate, Marc Iavaroni of the Memphis Grizzlies were not far behind.

Breakout Season Coming From
Our Pick: Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
Actual: Harris
Comment: Gone from Dallas less than a season and already an All-Star.

We Give Up On
Our Pick: Josh Howard, Dallas Mavericks
Comment: Still a solid player, he needs a change of scenery badly.

We Still Say He's a Star in the Making
Our Pick: Raymond Felton, Charlotte Bobcats
Comment: Several teams are showing interest in him, but the fact that LB wants to shed him says more.

Best Offseason, Team
Our Pick: Philadelphia 76'ers
Comment: Picking up Elton Brand without having to get rid of any of their core pieces was the coup of the offseason. His failure to mesh very well could have led to a deadline trade, had he not gotten hurt. Either he or Iguodala need to go and the Sixers need to settle on the style of the survivor.

Worst Offseason, Team
Our Pick: Los Angeles Clippers
Comment: They land Baron Davis then lose Elton. Classic Clipperdom. And the season has been worse.


Best Offseason, Fans
Our Pick: Charlotte Bobcats
Comment: Two words -- Larry Brown. The Bobcats are 3 1/2 games out of the 8 seed and have already turned over a good bit of the roster. This franchise is on course for the playoffs next year and some noisemaking the following season.


Worst Offseason, Fans:
Our Pick: Seattle
Comment: Their team sucked, but they were still their team.


Best Offseason Trade
Our Pick: Houston Rockets obtaining Ron Artest for Bobby Jackson and garbage.
Comment: We thought his testicular fortitude would rub off on T-Mac and Yao. We were wrong. The three-way deal that netted the Cleveland Cavaliers Mo Williams was clearly the best offseason deal, in retrospect. (Williams to Cleveland; Damon Jones, Adrian Griffin and Luke Ridnour to Milwaukee; Joe Smith and Desmond Mason to OKC)


Worst Offseason Trade
Our Pick: NYK stealing Cuttino Mobley for Zack Randolph.
Comment: Our favorite Inky/Dougherty guy ended up having a heart condition and retired. So it's still a bad trade, just the other way.


Sam Cassell Award, for he who will bitch the loudest about the contract he voluntarily signed:
Our Pick: Ron Artest, Houston Rockets
Comment: We figured when he figured out hey still sucked, RonRon would go bad. But he hasn't. Yet.


Shawn Bradley Award, for he who signed the most undeserved contract:
Our Pick: Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
Comment: Agent Zero promptly went out and got hurt. When asked about a return this season, Arenas replied, "we're 4-27. What do you think?" Nice.


Penny Hardaway Award, for the most overrated player of his time:
Our Pick: Gilcy McGrenas, Houston Wizards
Comment: Have either T-Mac or Arenas shown you anything to dispute this? Ever?


Rookie of the Year
Our Pick: Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
Comment: Dude can ball.


Playoff Teams:
Our Picks, East: Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, Philadelphia, Atlanta, New Jersey and New York.
Our Picks, West: LALakers, New Orleans, Denver, Utah, Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, Portland.

Comment: Add Miami and lose NYK out east and switch Houston for Phoenix in the West and call it done.


30 Games to go!


Until next time,
Paz


ps: If the Colorado thing pissed you off, don't move to California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New York, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, Oklahoma or Texas -- they already offer in-state tuition to illegals.

...while wondering whatever happened to William "The Refrigerator" Perry

Isn't it nice to have exciting Super Bowls again? After the onslaught of blowouts in the 80's and 90's, it's great to see thrilling games that remain competitive until the end. Even if it breaks our Cleveland Browns fan heart, we congratulate the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Now all we need is A Sixers miracle and a Flyers/Penguins Cup to make Pennsylvania the State of Champions...Blago got screwed, folks. Whether he is guilty or not, the way dude got kicked out of office is just not right. Now, we admit we're longtime fans of Rod Blagojavich, but still -- the trial was a joke. Illinois state prosecutors barred any potential witnesses in the pending criminal case against the governor from testifying in the state senate impeachment trial -- even if their testimony would have been exculpatory. So in essence, not only was Blagojavich not able to mount a proper defense -- the other side was not allowed to even prove he did anything wrong. Any yet he's out on his ass. A dangerous precedent has been set, wherein a governor elected by the people of the state, one who is incredibly popular with the populace, has been removed from office by a legislature that does not like him, primarily because he continually challenged -- and often prevailed against -- them. The barring of defense witnesses causes us to seriously question the state's criminal case. If allowing these people to testify in the senate trial would have been so harmful to the prosecution, then it doesn't sound like they have as much on the guy as they would like us to think. The impeachment should have been delayed until the criminal case was resolved. If Blagojavich ends up being acquitted, he was thrown out of office for no reason. If convicted, the impeachment could just as easily have occurred at that time...Top three lines from this year's Super Bowl Commercials: 3) "It's not the venue." 2) "It's gold." 1) "If your Conan lasts more than four hours, call a doctor"....Score another one for the elephants, because they are absolutely, 100% right on the latest TARP. The stated purpose of the legislation is to be an economic stimulus package. The provisions contained therein need to be limited to only that which will provide jobs and stimulate the economy. STD education may be important. But it has no place in this bill. Nor do digital conversion box coupons -- something that was never supposed to cost the taxpayers anything in the first place. The democrats have an overwhelming majority in both houses of congress and can pass pretty much whatever kind of spending bills they want. If they want to fund social programs and spend on things other than financial stimulus and job creation, then they need to do so in separate appropriation bills -- not this one. They are attempting to take advantage of a dire economy to slip in hundreds of millions of dollars of unrelated spending and should be ashamed of themselves.....Now we have much love for our Jewish friends -- but they need to chill. Recently, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of four bishops who are members of the Society of Pius X, a conservative group that disagrees with the changes instituted in the Church as a result of the Second Vatican Council. The four were excommunicated in 1988 when, in direct defiance to the order of Pope John Paul II, French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated them as bishops. Pope Benedict has lifted the excommunication, in an effort to heal the only real schism in the Church that resulted from Vatican II. This is entirely an internal Church matter, but the far left of the Church, as well as numerous outsiders are outraged that lifting of the excommunication of Richard Williamson, who the press has taken to calling a Holocaust denier, was included in the action. Israel's chief rabbinate severed ties with Rome and cancelled a scheduled March trip to the Vatican, in protest. Williamson, however, is not a Holocaust denier. He is on recorded as stating he believes that millions of Jews were murdered at the hands of Nazi Germany during World War II. What he has also said is that he believes none of those murders happened in gas chambers. While that may make him an idiot, as there is clear, incontrovertible evidence of the existence -- and use -- of the chambers, it does not make him a Holocaust denier. Nor does it make him an anti-Semite. And the Church lifting the excommunication -- the permanent banishment from the Church -- from this man is not a "statement" of any kind. It is an internal Church matter and is not in any way a denial of the Holocaust. Anyone thinking it is, is someone just looking for something to be offended about...Hey Mike Phelps, Just Say No...And finally, what is with renaming schools after the new president? Seriously, what if dude kills Michelle one night in a drunken rage? Or the nation free-falls from recession into depression? Or we find out he's on the take? Naming a school, road, airport or anything else for a living person is always risky. But naming it for a man who is just starting his first term? Idiotic. I mean, who wants their kid going to Guy Who Got Caught Having Sex with a Little Boy Middle School?

Until next time,
Paz