17!

The sites I read have already hashed and rehashed Kevin Garnett's exorcism/bloodletting/"interview" after the C's secured the title last night. FreeDarko as usual seems on track here. I'll admit that it was strange, but I think it really did encapsulate who and what KG is. His extended riff on "beating up the bully" was excellent as well. I spent the evening bellowing "Top of the World, Ma!" - mainly because that was about the only thing that KG said that I understood.

And rather humorously, today people at work were talking about that interview but complaining that they couldn't understand what he was saying - in some ways implying that he was stupid/a lower life form. I decided against chiming in with my explanation of how Garnett is extremely well-spoken and that simply at that time being understood wasn't that important to him. He had a lot of weight on him - expectations of others, expectations of himself - that he felt coming off. And trying to explain that cogently in anything other than guttural screams probably wasn't going to work. I am of the view that whatever it was that he was saying was heartfelt and not about the millions of people watching. It was about what he was feeling, about what the title meant to him, about the road he had traveled to get there. And while the joke today is that he is certifiable rather than certified, it made sense for him to say he was certified. He knew how he would be judged - many people already had done so - and he knew he needed this title. If Michelle Tafoya wanted someone to make sense, she should have interviewed Ray Allen. Garnett is little more than intensity painted on a heart sewn on a sleeve. And when such a creature achieves something this great, the only response is: AAAUUGHHHH!!!!!!!! Top of the world!

Later, while speaking to the interview, Garnett made the simplest and yet most correct summation of this Celtics team: "We said all along, we're a defensive team that can score the ball." That may not sound, for lack of a better word, sexy, but that is how teams win titles. All season, the Celtics defended better than any other team and often they were the best at scoring as well. They definitely deserve the title.

I know I picked the Lakers to win. I was wrong and glad to be so. I blame the Spurs for my failed prediction. I thought the Spurs were good, but they got waxed by the Lakers. Since I believed the Spurs to be good this meant the Lakers had to be very good. Thus, by the transitive property of basketball, the Lakers should beat the Celtics. Apparently, the Spurs were not good, but the Celtics definitely are.

17!

Get this down

I noticed something I think we'll be interesting in the next few days and wanted to highlight it for my extensive readership. By following this link you can see the current bracket of the NIT. My prediction is that Ohio State and Florida will become the first teams to play in the finals of the NCAA Tournament and the National Invitational Tournament in back to back years. (It may have happened before, but I doubt it. This year was the first since 1980 that both finalists from the prior year failed to make the NCAA Tournament the next year. However, that is what happens when entire teams go pro.) In a few days, you will see this story on the front page of espn.com and you would have been amazed. But because you have TB, you know it now - before it happens!
I'm certain this prediction won't pan out because I'm crowing about it, but we'll see.
In other news, the Suns and Celtics are playing as we speak. I cannot watch, but I enjoy a game like this because no matter which team wins I feel good. On my drive home from the daily grind, I listened to the game on the radio. I think the Suns radio team are even more homer-rific than their TV team - which is saying something, trust me. I'm surprised some of Boston's players haven't been arrested for assault.
Anyway, things are real solid here in Tucson. Weather is warming up, classes are ramping up, mental state is becoming precarious. Yes, all is well.

This Is (Mainly) A Basketball Post - See Point #7 For Non-Basketball Information

I just finished watching the NBA.com highlights of the Celtics MLK Day victory over Isaiah and the Pips, and I think I might be ready to talk about this C's season. (To reiterate, I have watched a total of two Celtics games, both losses, but I have seen the extended NBA.com highlight packages for every game - sometimes multiple times in an attempt to see more deeply into what is and isn't working and/or avoid studying. At this point, I am well-versed in Andre Aldridge's somewhat choppy explanation of the highlights, Fred Carter's throaty admonishments and Peter Vecsey's elderly screeds against the Knicks, selfish basketball and the neighborhood kids who won't stay off his lawn).

Point #1: Garnett could not be more important. It cannot be overstated. Check out this link for whatever it is I am talking about. (Maybe the author doesn't really know that the Blazers were scared, but it seems convincing. The friendly Canadians at The Basketball Jones have also previously said that the Raptors are afraid of Garnett and by extension afraid of the Celtics). Not to step on Bill Simmons' toes here, but what Garnett does each game can't really be calculated or fully understood, except by saying it's important. Kat and I went to There Will Be Blood over the weekend, and as we were walking out I said "What did I just see? I mean, what was that about?" I was pretty much enthralled all the way through, but I didn't have a firm grasp about why I liked it, what it was about, what I should take away from it and whether I should be laughing or frowning. Garnett is sort of like that for the Celtics. He seems borderline psychopathic and far too intense to actually play with any sense of composure or effectiveness. He may be scaring his own teammates into playing harder, scaring the other teams or scaring himself into refusing to lose. I don't think it's all that quantifiable - and Garnett's numbers aren't spectacular this year - but he is definitely doing something. I don't think the C's as constructed on Draft Day 2007 (namely Pierce plus Ray Allen with Al Jefferson and other assorted parts) would be near as good as the mix of whoever was left after the big trade plus Garnett. It seems your Y League team plus KG would stand a decent chance against the bottom rungs of the NBA.

Point #2: I need to do some research - but I don't know where I can look - but I believe that 2007 Slam Dunk champion (and 2008 Slam Dunk entrant) Gerald Green and Garnett may be the worst and greatest players to ever wear the same number for the same team in consecutive years. I had totally forgotten both wore #5 until I saw some old GG high(?)lights from last season. I can't think of another comparison except maybe Mark Madsen leaving a team and LeBron James coming to that same team the next year and wearing the same number. This really means nothing but is interesting.

Point #3: Warning: This is borderline unbelievable! But here it is: Zach Randolph's first(!) dunk of the season came in the MLK game against the Celtics. Yes, in his 41st game of the season, Randolph, who is 6-9 finally got his first dunk. And it was off a rebound slam that was right in front of the hoop for him. I'm not saying athleticism is the only way to succeed, but if you are 6-9 and you're only dunking twice a season, I don't like the chances of you helping my team win.

Point #4: Warning: This has been placed next to Point #3 for comic and explanatory effect. Amare Stoudemire is 6-10. He had six dunks in one game Sunday night. The rather amazing highlights of Amare's destruction of the Nets can be found here. (Added note: the Nets haven't won in Phoenix since 1993) On the season, Amare has 93 dunks, according to the Dunk-O-Meter. He absolutely looks like vintage 2004 force-of-nature Amare but with an improved jump shot. I don't think his defense is much better, but I like to watch him for enjoyment purposes, not for San Antonio Spurs-style textbook purposes.

Point #5: Everyone in Phoenix and all of Arizona has been killing Boris Diaw lately for his laissez-faire attitude and court demeanor (see what I did there, he's French!), but I'm still firmly a Diaw fan. I just like how much he can do on the court, so I'm granting him most-favored player status. I like that he might underachieve a little sometimes or lack a killer instinct. Too many fans on message boards don't realize that the players are real people with fears and insecurities. I think if Diaw had Garnett's particular version of insanity he would be totally unstoppable, but Garnett was born with that gift(?!?) and Diaw was born in France. Boris took an entire offseason off without touching a basketball so he could go see lions on a safari in the Serengeti. Lots of regular people would love to do that but would never have the money or time to do so. When Diaw actually had it, those same people who call themselves fans killed him for actually fulfilling a dream. I understand that lots of professional athletes feel entitled and the middle-class fans who pay their enormous salaries feel marginalized, but there are also a handful of professional athletes who are thrilled with their jobs but also understand that what they do is just that, a job. Boris seems to understand that, and to understand that what he plays is a game, where the ball can take funny bounces and you can't dominate every time. Most people like sports because it is a reflection of life but in starker relief - there is always a clear winner and loser. The problem is when they translate that simplistic view over to a person.

Point #6: The Celtics are 10-0 against the Atlantic Division. It is possible that they could sweep their division for the entire season. I've probably jinxed them now, but we'll see. Obviously, their division is not, you know, good by any stretch of the imagination, but it is still impressive to beat those teams every time out. Now, if they could only figure out how to beat the Wizards... For excellent Wizards-related nicknames, look here.

Point #7: Obviously, I didn't have school today. I plan to get back to my usual pattern of not blogging starting Tuesday. I did want to relate a story from my first week back at law school. I was walking down this hallway and I heard a female voice behind me say "Hey" in a way that would convey the idea of "I would like to speak with you because I like you and we're friends." So I turned around and the person said in a clearly disappointed tone, "I thought you were someone else." Sensing that I was feeling a bit hurt by the exchange, the person then said, "But hello anyway." I then said hello and continued down the hallway with Charlie Brown-style dejection. These are the stories of what it is what it is like to be me. "It is an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing siege that I will never fully tell you about, ok?" But despite encounters like that, which are humiliating and make me question whether I will ever succeed at anything, I still keep moving forward. And on that note, I bid you adieu.

A chicken in every pot, an exclamation point in every paragraph

I haven't talked at you in a bit (we haven't missed you! they say), so here is what has been going on.

I have a lot of studying to do, but I'm hopeful that things will work out well. I will be finished with this semester is exactly one month. Then the real worrying can begin!

Here is one (only one?!?) thing I've learned: The law is a seamless web.

Kat redecorated the living room! It looks pretty impressive. I think she is going to update her blog with some pictures, but if she doesn't, I'll add one to this post. Here's what you need to know: zebra print Chinese lanterns, bamboo sticks, and a pretty red curtain. Put it all together and it achieves Kat's goal of making the living room look, in her words, "opium dennish." Note: the living room is not actually an opium den. It's not really a living room either since we live in all the rooms.

I've been listening to the latest New Pornographers album "Challengers." It has been out for awhile, but it only recently was put on eMusic. I think it is worth a listen. Much love for Challengers, Go Places, Myriad Harbour and Unguided!

Kat and I went to the Tucson Museum of Art today. There was an arts and crafts fair, and admission was free - although we are actually museum members because we are so cultured!

It is still quite warm here! There might be something to this.

Kat and I went from sports bar to sports bar in an attempt to find one that had NBA TV, so I could take in the Celtics-Magic tilt. I hadn't seen the Celtics since their reincarnation, so I had to take the last chance I would probably have in awhile. First, I forgot when the game started and then we couldn't find a place that showed it. By the time we found a place that actually had it, it was the middle of the third quarter. The C's had been 8-0 in games I hadn't watched any part of. Now, they are 0-1 in games I have seen part of! So I will take the blame. Although I should enjoy seeing a Boston team lose considering recent events in sports, I wanted to see the C's play well and win. I don't know how good they can be, but to my mind, anything less than an Eastern Conference title would be a failure. I knew when I came to law school that trying not to pay attention to the Suns would be difficult, but I was not counting on a Celtics revival. Oh well, I'm glad to see them win because it has been a long time coming.

That's all! Take care.