The Detroit Pistons win the NBA title!
I couldn’t agree more that the Pistons deserve the title. Great to see that Kobe “I Never Met a Shot I Didn’t Like” Bryant could be shut up about being compared to Jordan. Or Shaq could shut up about being “The Most Dominant Ever.” Bunch of overblown windbags.
As to Karl Malone, he is just unfortunate to be playing for another Finals losers. Might as well retire. He should take a cue from his buddy John Stockton, who apparently has no ego problem about not winning a title so his legacy is safe and secure. What a bad end for a guy who has redefined the power forward position and probably would be its benchmark for years to come (of course Tim Duncan would have something to say about that, but then again, I’ve always thought of Duncan as a center masquerading as a forward). As to Gary Payton, the guy shouldn’t have shown up in a Laker uniform with that kind of ego and without the game he has played until about two years ago.
Even during Showtime, I was never a Laker fan, excepting for the year the 76ers made it to the finals in 2001. Shame that Boston imploded and has not come up with a competitive team in the past few years. Go Pistons! Consider:
- Though the third pick in the 1997 draft (tops was Tim Duncan), Billups got bounced around through four teams (Boston, Toronto, Orlando, and Denver) before signing with Minnesota for two years, and then moving two years ago to the Pistons.
- Hamilton was traded by Michael Jordan for Jerry Stackhouse (?!) With the kind of game Stackhouse has and his recent injuries, and of course his lack of desire to part with the ball, that was such a DUMB decision.
- Ben Wallace was undrafted, and was part of the Grant Hill trade to Orlando (The others I think were Bo Outlaw- a well-traveled dude who's played for Phoenix and Memphis and should see another team on his resume anytime soon, Chucky Atkins – now with Boston because of the Rasheed trade, and another player named Derek Strong, who is now off the NBA map). This guy was cut by Boston because they were trying to make him a swingman (?!). He also got traded by Washington. Considering what a monster he is in the paint … no further comment.
- Joe Dumars passed up on drafting Carmelo Anthony and put his faith in Tayshaun Prince. Seems he is a genius for doing so, but only time will tell if Darko Milicic pans out.
- Rasheed Wallace was traded by Washington to Portland for Rod Strickland (it seems dumb now, but Strickland was one of the best point guards at the time), and of course was the NBA record-setter for technicals and DQs, and received the harshest penalty for a non-fight incident ever given by the NBA. Looks like Larry Brown is a genius in coaching ‘Sheed, though I am not a fan of Larry Brown.
Hmmm… three guys formerly from the Wizards. Should make them wonder. Oh, by the way, the Wizards let go of Chris Webber too. A bit of trivia: I only found out today that Grant Hill and I share a birthday. Some guys have all the luck (he got a whole of it, I should say).
There is a buzz about Dan Brown and his books being considered for a run at Hollywood adaptation (Best of luck, Dan…) Have heard good things about Da Vinci Code and it's refreshing to read him since I haven't picked up fiction in ages since I read a lot of HR books these days and am catching up on labor regulations and all that stuff.
Hope things are not too tense back home in the Philippines. The peso saw another slump and more investors are on “wait-and-see.” Both sides are spooking up their own conspiracy theories. Problem is, will the military side with either one or take the reins themselves?
Dan Brown is a slam-dunk in “Angels and Demons,” the first Robert Langdon book (it was published three years before Da Vinci Code). I picked up both books and passed on “The 48 Laws of Power” and “Dark Tower V: Wolves of Calla.” I also got a vampire story collection that was on sale but I have a feeling I've been shortchanged on this volume.
Dang... guess I could still go on forever reading from 6:30pm last night to almost 4 a.m. in the morning. The girl in the book was such a FOX. Who wouldn’t want to be Robert Langdon? I guess I have to spend a few hours in the swimming pool and get hormone shots, while of course fry my brain on reading and learning so I can be an art geek and an athlete at the same time while being able to pay my bills.
I suspect though, you would find the “Angels and Demons” verrry similar in treatment if you have read “The Da Vinci Code” but the stage is just as expansive. I won’t say more because it might be a spoiler to everyone still wanting to read the books.
For me, the key points that I think Brown is making in the books are:
- There is no time in history than right now where our spirituality and faith will save the planet from implosion (internal decay) and explosion (wars and environmental destruction).
- Everyone has a need to believe, even in the religion of science and the humanist philosophy. Otherwise there is no order on which we can base our conduct.
- History is always written by the winners. But… it doesn’t always pay to win if you have a skeleton in your closet.
- Keeping things in perspective is sometimes more important than finding out the hard truth. And as Frank Herbert said in Dune (I paraphrase him loosely): the way we see, understand, and accept the “truth” can very easily change if we acknowledge that “truth” can be very fluid.
O.K - Time now to remove the “book critic” hat and put on my “good office worker” hat – I used to love Saturdays but since we have a different schedule here, I have certainly learned to hate it.
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