Raise The Game. Personal rants about everything.

Are you ready for some football?

2005-09-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I wrote that San Antonio should stop dreaming about having a NFL-Franchise move here any time soon. But "thanks" to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina the New Orleans Saints are unable to play their home games in the Superdome. So they will play three games here and the other four in Baton Rogue. This was my chance to see some live NFL action in town so I went ahead and bought a ticket for the game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday - my first NFL game ever!!

I've been to the Alamodome a couple of times to see the Spurs play, but I always wondered what this huge place would be like with a sellout crowd in it. Now I will have the opportunity to experience it. I never thought I would be able to see a NFL game in San Antonio, but now the time has come. The other two games are going to be against Atlanta and Detroit.

I have no problem cheering for New Orleans, since it is one of my favourite cities in the U.S. I remember having a damn good time in the French Quarter, it's probably the best place in America to have a party!

On The Run

2005-07-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

Not much going on here lately, huh? Well, I'm still totally not coming up with any bloggable thoughts whatsoever. I am going to be putting an massive effort of time into different projects soon, so this will remain as status quo for a while.

A special shoutout goes to Sheena, who keeps checking this blawg in regular periods even though I'm such an active blogger as Keanu Reeves is an "actor". Sorry I've gone mute here girl, but I can't help it. I'll let you know when I'm back to active blogging again, or just drop me a line if you feel so.

Hm, I haven't been to Venezuela in four weeks... It's about time for a return visit, isn't it?

Triple Crowned.

2005-06-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

DO OR DIE

2005-06-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

That's what tonight is all about. Winner takes it all. Tonight the arguably most important/exciting/nerve wrecking game of my life is going to take place in the SBC Center. Game 7 of the NBA Finals. One Team - One Goal. Where Legends Are Born. Now cut the crap and let's play a game ...

Big Shot Bobby

2005-06-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Fucking Amazing! But let me start from the beginning: Prior to the game I knew it was time to bring out the lucky charms and talismans, which I hadn't done the last games. I chose to put on the Spurs hat I wore during Game 1 and I knew that this wasn't going to be enough, due to the importance of this game. So I had to bring out the big guns! There was only one object powerfull enough in my closet: My good old DAVID ROBINSON NO. 50 jersey, which was my first ever Spurs jersey I had gotten back in the days when I was a young kid growing up. Good thing it still fit me, I always stay in good shape! ;-)

What do I have to tell you about the game, ya'll saw it yourself. THANK YOU ROBERT HORRY! Man, what a shot! That one is going to be right up there in the Phantheon of Clutch Shots in the Finals with Michael Jordan, Dr. J, Magic and Larry Bird. He took off so much pressure after hitting this incredible shot with 5.8 seconds left, everything just fell off me! THANK YOU AGAIN!

Double Deuce

2005-06-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

Basically the Finals are going as everyone expected and even I made my pick according to a 4-2 Spurs' series win, which is exactly the way this series is headed to. Only because the Spurs kicked Detroits ass bigtime the first two games, everyone expected them to sweep them or win it 4-1. And now everyone is "surprised" how well Detroit has rebounded (supported by a sub-par Spurs team the past two games. There sloppy play in Game 4 just made real angry!). But in the end Detroit is proving that they are indeed the fierce opponent everyone (including me) expected going into these Finals. So we should see the Spurs steal Game 5 in Motown tomorrow and then get handed over the Championship Trophy in front of their own fans on Tuesday. Hooray!

Somehow I've grown tired of blogging lately. Partly because I'm still riding high on my amazing experiences in Venezuela, and also because I'm just not feeling it. But someday I'll be back at full speed again, just don't know when it's going to happen. I heard that every blogger takes a break at one point during his "career" and it's not like I don't have a real life going on out there...

Fantasy Season

2005-06-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

It's this time of the year again! Just getting started in various leagues, looking at Draft Boards and pre-evaluating your possible draft choices... Fantasy Football! I started my own lil' league and am offering up to four spots on it for my faithfull readers! Just let me know in the comment section where to send you the invitation...

It's a head-to-head league, autopick draft, 9 offensive positions and one defensive squad. All you need to participate is a YahooID since were playing at fantasysports.yahoo.com. Registration takes only two minutes. Enjoy!

It get's easier every game

2005-06-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

The Spurs are so good, I can't even find words for it. Let me just say one quick thing: If the win their 3rd Championship in seven years, you can't call this time span a dynasty. BUT the Championship winning teams of 2003 & 2005 will be known as the Dynasty of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. The three titles (and counting) since 1999 will define the Legacy of Tim Duncan as the best Power Forward on earth to ever set his foot on a basketball court. And who knows, maybe Manu and Tony will join Timmy on his way to the Hall of Fame with a handfull of Championship Rings...

Eulogy

2005-06-09T04:57:00.000-07:00

"Last week, the MLS League Office received from the City Council a set of draft agreements for the final lease on the Alamodome, which were to reflect the business terms of the Memorandum of Understanding. However, these agreements instead contained many new terms that are in direct contradiction to the Memorandum of Understanding that was approved by the City Council on April 14 - - terms under which it would be impossible for any sports team to succeed in the city.
After review of these drafts, and given the fact that the terms of the previously negotiated agreement are no longer being honored, MLS and its owners will no longer consider San Antonio as a candidate for an MLS team in 2006."

Not much too add. The media campaign successfully killed S.A.'s bid for a 2nd pro-sports franchise. Better luck next time...

(Sheena) Hell yeah! :-)

NBA Finals 2005

2005-06-07T02:50:00.000-07:00

Spurs in six, it's that simple!

Good Times.

2005-06-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks for everything girls. I will be back. I love you.

Where Legends Are Born

2005-06-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

Off to Venezuela

2005-05-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

I'll be gone for a week or so of wild vacation, sipping cocktails on the beach. I know I will be missing the Spurs advancing to the Finals, but it looks like they will sweep the Suns anyway. Maybe I can find ESPN Desportes over there... See ya!

A night for the ages

2005-05-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

I still can't believe what I witnessed last night. In the Champions League Final, the European equivalent to the Super Bowl, only with the difference that this time really the entire world is watching, we might have seen the most exciting final ever! After being up 3-0 at halftime against Liverpool FC, Italian side AC Milan looked like sure winners and Liverpool was dead. Then came the most incredible six minutes of football of all time. First captain Steven Gerrard put a header in the back of the net in the 54th minute. Two minutes later, Vladimir Smicer torched the net with a shot from 20 yards. Milan was stunned. Four minutes later, the 60th minute, Gattuso fouled Gerrard on a break away, the ref immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Xabi Alonso's kick was saved by Goalie Dida, but he snatched the rebound and hammered it under the crossbar. Tied ballgame! This was an more epic choke than the of the Yankees against the Redsox last fall. After the tie both teams failed to score again, with Andriy Shevchenko having a DEAD ON chance two minutes before overtime expired. Adding insult to injury, he was the one who missed the crucial penalty in the shootout afterwards.

This night still will be talked about in 40 years.

State of the Blog Q2/05

2005-05-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

After committing to Transparency International I'll be publishing the actual numbers of my lil' blog:

Today marks the quarterly anniversary of Raise The Game. After a slow start things started really to kick in after I concentrated more on sports-related blogging. But don't worry, I'll be covering the other aspects of life from time to time.
The best weekend was from 04/15 - 04/16 when we had a total of 73 visitors, with Saturday setting the record of 47 (That was right after I posted those cheerleader pictures. Go figure!). The total of visitors is 637 with 800 page views. Top country are the United States with 37.8% of all visitors (my main target audience) closely followed by Germany at 34.9%. The U.K. finishes third at 11.5% (Thanks Sheena!). A distant fourth is Canada at 3.1% and then Brunei and Singapore follow. I'm so huge in Asia, I heard they'll be naming a large market square after me... The other nations don't qualify because of insignificant numbers, you all have work a little more harder!!

Closing out, my thanks go out to you, my faithful readership! Thank You! The next quarterly report will follow in September...

Playoff Picks, Conference Finals

2005-05-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

Yep, now it's down to the Final Four almost everyone has expected! Let me quickly recap my picks of the Semifinals: (as usual, the actual result in brackets)

DAL PHO 2-4 (2-4)
SEA SAS 1-4 (2-4)
WAS MIA 1-4 (0-4)
IND DET 2-4 (2-4)

Once again I predicted the winner of every series correctly and nailed two series! That improves my record to 12-0, including 7 Slam Dunks. In the First Round I missed three series by only one game, in the second one two. That gives me a margin of error of only five!

Sorry for Mark from Sports etc. and of course the entire Mavericks organization and fans, but I knew you would fall short against Phoenix. I think they missed Van Horn more than some may realize. And I hate to admit it, but Dirk was just awful during the entire playoffs. He displayed leadership by calling out Eric Dampier (Did you notice how even Shaq made fun on his expense?), but who was there to call him out? Well, let's see what Marc Cuban will do during this offseason. and oh, by the way: What the hell was Jason Terry doing on that last play that led to Nash's tying Three? It sure wasn't playing defense....

Alright, it's time for the picks.

San Antonio Spurs VS Phoenix Suns (4-2)
I expected this Conference Final the entire season! Now it's there and I have a real good feeling about the Spurs' chances! After the impressive displays against Denver and Seattle they can be very confident heading into this series. And Manu is just playing out of his mind! I have to acquire his jersey as a tribute to his outstanding play asap! The Spurs had no problem handling the Suns during the regular season (When Timmy was playing), the proved that they can stop their frantic play. And remember how Tony Parker owned Steve Nash in the Conference Finals two years ago? Steve's D hasn't improved and that MVP won't help him chase Tony, Beno and Manu, so expect huge outings by them!

Detroit Pistons VS Miami Heat (3-4)
In my cocky way I once said, that I don't care who we (the Spurs) win our 3rd title against. I still don't but wouldn't it be fun to show Shaq how we do? I don't know, but I still don't like him. Probably because in my mind I still regard him as a Laker. And this is Wade's team, he carries it. That whole "Shaq was snubbed of the MVP-debate" is moot imho.
But on the other hand, I would like to see the Spurs win the title against the defending Champion because that would show the doubters who was the true champ last year (But thanks to Derek Fisher we had freakin' Chauncey "Journeyman" Billups win the Finals MVP). Did you know he's the only Finals MVP not to make the Allstar Game the following season? Because of Flash I'm picking Miami in seven but if Shaq doesn't gets healthy, Detroit will take it in six.

Cream of the Crop

2005-05-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Dirk Nowitzki, who became the first European player in league annals to earn a spot on the All-NBA first team. He's also the first player to be voted among the top five players in the league without attending an American university or high school. Quite some accomplishment...

The All-NBA Teams for this year:

1st:

2nd:

3rd:

What's your number?

2005-05-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

Note: You can NEVER get enough of Eva.

Join the force!

2005-05-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, I'm not asking you to join the military. I hear many young people are not so excited about the prospect of getting killed in Iraq. Nevertheless I support our troops and pray fo the Boys (and some Girls) to come home ASAP! Today I am informing you about joining the Grass Roots Supports Groups in San Antonio for MLS Soccer. The Support Group has it's own website. You can also join the discussion at the Big Soccer Forums to learn more about the possibillites of support.

Too bad the Spurs blew the fourth game against Seattle. Tim Duncan put up a helluva performance but his teammates didn't support him tonight. So we gotta do this in six games now. Whatever... I'm hoping the Mavericks will be able to give the Suns another seven-game series, so they will be tired once they face the Spurs in the Conference Finals.

I have noticed a stream of visitors from Germany lately. Wondering where they are coming from... ;-) Once again: LOST RULES.

Check Yo'Self

2005-05-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

"It's amusing from him. Sometimes you get caught up in the atmosphere of playoffs and you start mouthing off. It shows that some guys are satisfied with a temporary victory and want to speak as if it's been going on the whole series.''

Bruce Bowen about Jermome James.

Award Season

2005-05-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

In this entry I will give my take on the various annual Awards given out by the NBA. All of the votes are done by selected members of the media.

Steve Nash - Most Valuable Player

He would have gotten my vote too. Shaquille O'Neal finished second and there were many voices that he should have won MVP. But you should ask yourself this question: Before the season, after the Shaq-Trade you knew Miami would become better, plus they got Dwyane Wade, who in my opinion carries the team. But would you have expected for Phoenix to go from 17 wins to over 60 with the Nash-acquisition? So Nash deservedly won. BUT if the Suns lose this series against Dallas, expect the media to demand him to give the award back. ;-) Here are the top-three vote getters of the official results:

1. Steve Nash 1066
2. Shaqille O'Neal 1032
3. Dirk Nowitzki 349

Ben Wallace - Defensive Player of the Year

I wasn't happy about this one. I absolutely respect Ben Wallace and admire his game, but I felt Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs deserved this one! Last year they gave the award to another perimeter defender - Ron Artest - so I knew Bruce's chances were low. Have in mind that Bowen has made the last four All-Defensive teams! Wallace has won three ot of the last four times and he has been the dominating inside defender in this league.

1. Ben Wallace 339
2. Bruce Bowen 247
3. Marcus Camby 168

Emeka Okafor - Rookie of the Year

You could see this one coming, especially after the results of the Sixth Man Award. It was impressive that Okafor put up double-double numbers in the new Charlotte franchise and they got more wins than anyone ever expected! After seeing Okafor at the Olympic tournament, I wasn't really sure if he was ready for the NBA, but he did really well! Ben Gordon has had an sensational year with all those crazy fourth-quarter performances and game-winning shots, but the voters tend to favor the big men. And he won this other award, which I will cover soon...

1. Emeka Okafor 514
2. Ben Gordon 443
3. Dwight Howard 161

Ben Gordon - Sixth Man of the Year

Talking about a closer! He's had so many 20 point fourth-quarter performances, I think he even set a new record! This vote was no doubt! Ricky Davis and Jerry Stackhouse contributed nicely from the bench, but nothing tops Gordons impact. Too bad he disappeared in the playoffs! I would like to see Lil' Earl Boykins win this award one day. You just have to love the little guy (5"10) repeatedly punishing the big dogs out there! I couldn't root for him during the Spurs-Nuggets series, but now I'm back into the Boykins-Supporters club!

1. Ben Gordon 513
2. Ricky Davis 257
3. Earl Boykins 155

Bobby Simmons - Most Improved Player

I can't say too much about this one because I honestly don't know a lot about the Clippers. They are never on TV, nobody talks about them and they never make the playoffs. In fact, I don't think anybody would be disappointed if they just got dismantled. From what I hear, he deserved the award. Of course Dwayne Wades, LeBron James and Amaré Stoudemires stats improved a lot, but don't you expect this from high-drafted rookies & sophomores every year?

1. Bobby Simmons 383
2. Dwyane Wade 129
3. Tayshaun Prince 107

Mike D'Antoni - Coach of the Year

Good choice. He engineered the third largest turnaround in NBA history this season, guiding the Suns to a club record-tying 62 wins, a remarkable 33-game improvement over last season's disappointing 29-53 record. I kinda tended to Rick Carlisle, who's achievements have been just amazing, after losing key players for long stretches.

1. Mike D'Antoni 326
2. Rick Carlisle 241
3. Nate McMillan 234

Alright, I'm getting tired already. Let's bring this to an end...

Eric Snow - J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award

*yawn* The NBA didn't even bother to release an official picture of this historic event.

Shut up crybaby!

2005-05-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

So we got Ray Allen whining about Bruce Bowens defense again: "We've all seen what he does out there on the basketball floor. It's the way he rides me the whole way down the floor. It's possible that's the reason (for the injury). That was the second time I went to the hole and both times he was grabbing me ... The second time, I twisted my ankle.''

If you are too stupid to stand on your own two feet, switch to wheelchair basketball!!

Playoffs Picks, Conference Semis

2005-05-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

Finally I am able to make this entry! I have been wanting to post my picks all week but had to push this column back every time certain series advanced to another game. First I will recap my First Round picks: (the actual result in brackets)

MEM PHO 1-4 (0-4)
DEN SAS 2-4 (1-4)
SAC SEA 2-4 (1-4)
HOU DAL 3-4 (3-4)
NJN MIA 0-4 (0-4)
PHI DET 0-4 (0-4)
IND BOS 4-3 (4-3)
WAS CHI 4-2 (4-2)

My entire pick of the Eastern Conference was a slam dunk! Damn, shoulda put in some money in Vegas... And of course my insticts were right about the Houston - Dallas series. I just knew it would happen, with the history of Mavs 7-Gamers. In three other series I was only one game shy of the perfect score. So my overall record for the First Round is: 8-0, including 5 series nailed.

On to the picks for the Conference Semifinals:

Dallas Mavericks VS Phoenix Suns (2-4)
Sorry Dallas, but you just can't hang with Phonix for more than six games. The fun thing to watch will be, that Mark Cuban will get blasted in the media for every single field goal, assist, rebound and clutch play MVP Steve Nash will do. And it's not even Cubans fault, because I think Nash wouldn't have had the same terrific season had he stayed in Dallas. Sometimes a change of scenery can work wonders. I also expect Dirk Nowitzki to have a fairly better series than against the Rockets. It just hurt to watch him struggle in every single game, missing shots he hit blindfolded in the Regular Season. But he was huge on the defensive end in the crucial Game 7. But the true MVP of that series was Jason Terry, his 3-Point shooting was just out of this world! If the Mavs are able to win their first two home games we might have an interesting series but I think Phoenix will steal Game 6 on the road.

Seattle Supersonics VS San Antonio Spurs (1-4)
Actually I was more set on a 2-4, but after the impressive maner the Spurs kind of swept the Nuggets I don't expect them to give up more than one game to Seattle. Right now I'm really confident and see good things happening to them when they advance deeper into the postseason. I didn't say much about the Spurs on this blog after their wins because there wasn't much to be said about their fabolous play. Man was Manu Ginobili huge!

Washington Wizards VS Miami Heat (1-4)
There was one funny moment after the Wizs won Game 6 against Chicago: They unveiled t-shirts celebrating their advancement to the 2nd Round and they read something like Round 2: Beat the Heat. I have never seen a team celebrate the 2nd Round that much! But I understand their enthusiam, this is a franchise that hasn't won shit in the last 20 years. Still I'm not really sure if they can steal one game from the Heat, but maybe Shaq und Flash will have an off day once. I don't know why everyone in Miami is so pissed about Shaq not winning MVP. I am convinced the true MVP of this team is Dwyane Wade! He really carries the team in crunch time and plays with the heart of a warrior.

Indiana Pacers VS Detroit Pistons (2-4)
This is the post-brawl matchup everyone has been waiting for. Somehow it was gift-night at Raise The Game so I'm giving the Pacers two games, I just don't know right now how they will win them. Detroit manhandled them last year in the playoffs (Remember that Tayshaun block?). The way Indiana fought against Boston impressed me, especially that blowout in Game 7. Still Detroit has the better end of this.

In summary you will see, that my picks are setting up the Conference Finals everyone has been waiting for the entire year: Phoenix vs. San Antonio and Detroit vs. Miami. Really sort of a Final Four Tournament, the four best teams of the year battling out the championship.

Desperate Spur

2005-05-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

Offside

2005-05-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

Why do I have a bad feeling about this? "KENS 5 has learned the hype in City Hall surrounding a Major League Soccer team coming to town is not getting the same response at the ticket office. (...) Sources say that so far, only 42 have been snatched up. (...) "I will say that doubled in one day, so that's a good reply, because as of Monday, it was 24," Mayor Ed Garza said." Talking about a promising start to a campagin, that has to sell 5,000 tix in 100 days....

Poor Malik Rose: The SAPD reports that thieves have stolen jewelry worth more than $200,000 from the former Spurs players home last week, including his two Championship rings from the years '99 and '03. Don't expect the burglars to be so stupid and try to pawn them!

There has been some talk that Bill Parcells might extend his coaching stint in Dallas after his contract expires. Sounds good to me...

I am waiting for the first round of the playoffs to finally end! I'm eager to post my picks for the conference semis, but want to wait until all matchups are completed. I expect the Spurs to finish off the Nuggets tonight. I think the Mavericks will have to wait until Game 7, just as I predicted back in April. Their 3-0 run has been very impressive, after they were almost dead after losing both of the first two games at home. And Dirk Nowitzki hasn't even had one stellar performance yet! So stay tuned for the upcoming picks-column and a review of the Award Season, after the MVP has been announced.

MLS Soccer gettin' started

2005-05-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

Alright, so the campaign for San Antonio to get it’s MLS team has begun. They have until Aug. 17th to get 5,000 season tickets. Word about a potential owner has been circulating in the media, the strongest candidate is a business man from New York. Ticket prices range from $240 over $600 to $800 and if you wanna go big, get yourself a luxury suite in the Alamodome for $8,400. It’s not ideal that season tickets for the club and lover level will be only sold in pairs, so if you are a antisocial loner or have a family with an uneven number of kids, you might have some trouble. Maybe you should invite a friend to join in. What’s really bothering me is the way the Major League Soccer project has been greeted in the towns media! The anti-soccer front has been lead by the San Antonio Express News and WOAI, including other networks/newspapers/radio stations. I don’t think I have read ONE article handling this in a positive way, welcoming soccer to town. What’s up with all this negativity? Okay, one point they are criticizing is the lopsided deal MLS got for the Alamodome. They will get it rent-free for 20 years and also a huge percentage of all revenues generated by other events in the venue. I know a thing or two about business deals, so I do know MLS is getting the better end of this deal and if I were an MLS laywer, I’d be feeling that I happily screwed over the other party. But still they should be happy to get another major sport franchise into town.

Some still feel that S. A. could land a NFL franchise, as former Spurs’ and Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs has promised several years ago. That’s why they even built the Alamodome but the city lost out to other markets during the NFL expansion. And these people should realise that the NFL will never come to town! Neither the MLB or the NHL (And Hockey's got their own issues to deal with). So why not embrace soccer? There’s certainly an audience for it in town, just think about the Hispanic community and the Indoor and Youth Soccer community, which make for a large number. Any soccer fans living in the greater SA area, up to San Marcos or Austin, even down to “The Valley” should get tickets!

But well, the nay-sayers have their platform and will make themselves heard. I haven’t seen anything like a support group working their spin, but maybe the Mayor will get something done. We’ll see how this works out. I wouldn’t be surprised if San Antonians pass the required minimum with flying colors…

If you want to order your season tickets, go to www.mls-sanantonio.com

Dick Laurent is dead.

2005-05-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

FC Bayern Munich, Star of the South!

2005-04-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

19th Championship. FC Bayern, forever Number One!

Guess who's back

2005-04-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Just look at the score by quarter:

Nuggets 18 / 14 / 30 / 14 = 76
Spurs 29 / 34 / 23 / 18 = 104

Other remarkable stats: With 0:24 secs left in the 3rd quarter, Carmelo Anthony was the first Denver player to reach 10 points. By then Duncan, Parker, Barry and Ginobili had been in double figures already. But Anthony, Martin, Camby and Miller were just brutal tonight. This is not the first time for Carmelo and K-Mart to vanish in big playoff games.... I think we can carry the momentum into Game 3 and regain HCA....

Timmy took care of business, he wouldn't let the Spurs lose tonight. Raised The Game.

Good call

2005-04-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

U.S. Basketball has given former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Coangelo total control of the U.S. men's Olympic basketball program (Read the story), after the team had two disappointing finishes in the 2002 World Cup in Indiana and last years Olympics in Athens. I personally witnessed Team USA getting humiliated against Italy last year in Cologne, and saw them barely escaping with a win on a Iverson Trey at the buzzer, against Germany the next day. Man, did Nowitzki put up a show that night! The place went nuts after Dirk buried back to back treys to give Germany the lead, and the last one was even after being double-teamed. A performance for the ages!

After this first impression two weeks before the Olympics in Greece, you where able to predict the horrific outcome of the upcoming tournament. The team got ripped in the U.S. media and they deserved it. Changes had to be made, a new approach was necessary. I fully support any measures Colangelo will introduce.

Dream Job

2005-04-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

ESPN Journalist Kieran Darcy, now know as lucky SOB of the week, was called upon to be a celebrity judge on the annual Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader audition. You can easily call this his sweetest assignment ever...

As a Cowboys fan I'm naturally opposed to the Eagles, but you really have to hand it to their cheerleaders! Have you ever seen their calender? The other day I was in LA and I saw some Raiders cheerleaders signing autographs with photo-ops at Universal Studios. They looked pretty good from up close! But the line was like all around the block, so I gave it a pass...

Why do I never get called for this?

Damn!

2005-04-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

93-87! No wonder when you shoot 4-21 in the 4th quarter, including Timmy going 0-7. But let's move on, Game 2 is on Wednesday....

Playoff Picks

2005-04-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

In case you like to bet on sports with your friends, colleagues or even at a bookie, I'll be providing you with my picks for the upcoming First Playoff Round for some inspiration. I'm really into polls and that sort of thing. The good people at ESPN's Sports Nation have a wonderful site with tons of polls for every single playoff series coming up, it's voters heaven! I'm so addicted to polls, surveys and everything related to demoscopy, I'll voice my opinion on everything! ;-) Last October I was standing at Victoria Station in London, as suddenly this poll-taker lady approaches me! She was doing a survey about „Housing problems in London“. I gladly agreed to answer her questions! I have never lived in London and am not too informed about domestic issues in England but still I just answered all of her questions and kept making up stuff for ten minutes with a straight face. Bold. But she wasn't the brightest one... Hello, I have an American accent...!?

But I am drifting off... back to the NBA Playoffs! (My pick for the outcome of the series in brackets)

Memphis Grizzlies VS Phoenix Suns (1:4)
Many say Memphis matches up well against Phoenix, but it's still the Suns. I just don't see Memphis winning more than one game. Last year they were swept by the Spurs in the first round, they'll have to fight hard if they don't want to suffer the same fate this year.

Denver Nuggets VS San Antonio Spurs (2:4)
It's no secret I see the world through Spurs goggles. But I'm still giving the Nuggets two wins at home. Now way they are beating S.A. on the road. The Nuggets might be the toughest 7th seed of all time, I really didn't wanted them as first rounder for my Spurs, but they should be able to hold them off.

Sacramento Kings VS Seattle Supersonics (2:4)
I don't see the Kings going anywhere in the playoffs without Chris Webber. They also have some injury problems and Mike Bibby won't be enough against Seattle. The Sonics are a good road team, nevertheless this should be over in six games because I give Sacto two wins at Arco.

Houston Rockets VS Dallas Mavericks (3:4)
This is a tough one. Many experts see the Mavericks at 4-2, but I put the Mavericks history of Seven-Game-Series into thought. Houston is also a very tough defensive team and Tracy McGrady will give the Mavs a hard time. By the way, I think YAO is overrated. Did you see how he was eaten alive by Shaq last year? And there is no way for Houston to stop THE MAN, Dirk Nowitzki. Expect him to average 30.0 ppg. I heard the Rockets are planning to have McGrady guard Dirk at times... that's just not a very good perspective for them.

New Jersey Nets VS Miami Heat (0:4)
Some say New Jersey will give Miami a harder time than Cleveland, who just screwed up their playoff hopes big-time. But I still don't see anything happen for the Nets, sorry! They might win one game if Vince Carter puts up one of these crazy scoring nights but right now I'm set for a sweep. And I'm so excited to see Dwyane Wade light them up, this kid is not from this world!

Philadelphia 76ers VS Detroit Pistons (0:4)
I'm picking another sweep here. Sorry for Iverson who's a great player and made a huge case for MVP this season. The Pistons will simply take care of business in four games.

Indiana Pacers VS Boston Celtics (4:3)
With all the crazy things happening to Indiana this season it's a miracle they made the playoffs. So I see an upset coming against the higher seeded Celtics. They have a good combo with Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce but I don't think Reggie Millers last playoffs will end in the first round yet...

Washington Wizards VS Chicago Bulls (4:2)
I've got another upset here. The Baby Bulls had a terrific season but the loss of Luol Deng and Eddy Curry will just hurt them too much. Ben Gordon will be fun to watch in close games! The Wizards have a very talented trio of Jamison, Arena and Hughes who will lead Washington to it's first won series in two decades or so.

Good luck!

I Lost.

2005-04-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Six months of hard work and success cumulate in one big feeling of emptiness.

All set.

2005-04-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Alright, I was able to gather valuable information: Butler is not expected to play and the Wizards' coach migth rest his key players. So I benched Jamison too. I'm going with Alston, Jacobsen, Fisher, Robinson, Nowitzki, Okafor, Dampier, Nelson and Cardinal. Now I'm gonna watch the Sopranos and tune in for the games later....

Bring it on MSU Ballers! I'm ready for the challenge!

Decisions, decisions

2005-04-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'm a dead end here: Tomorrow's the final night of the NBA Fantasy Playoffs Championship Week and I'm trailing after 8 days of competition. Don't know if I can turn things around tonight, but everyone in my league agrees that it will come down to the final buzzer. Right now I'm breaking my head about what lineup to use on the last night! I can't afford to make any mistakes and bench a player that could provide me with the essential production to give me the edge! That would be just brutal and I would never forgive myself! I was sort of hoping that injuries would help me select the final 9 roster spots but suddenly Emeka Okafor is playing again and Caron Butler seems to be fine too.

Right now I benched Glenn Robinson and Brian Cardinal and am starting Okafor, Nowitzki, Butler and Jamison at the forward/utility positions. The guards are all set with Alston, Nelson, Fisher and Jacobsen and Dampier at Center. But who knows, maybe Avery Johnson will decide to give Nowitzki a days rest cuz he just played this night! Same thing applies to Okafor und Jamison! Or Butler will remain at his ill daughters side. Cardinal is pretty much bench-bound since his numbers have been subpar the past weeks. I don't like to see Glen Robinson on the bench for the last game since he produced bigtime last night and I expect him to play more minutes in the last regular season game. But who should I bench instead? If I just knew what's gonna happen! I need every possible piece of information available! This is gonna cost me the entire night, I don't think I'll be able to sleep! I just can't lose the final.....

Deadline: Wed. 20th April, 6 PM Eastern Time.

Under the Influence

2005-04-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

Mark D. from Dallas just made an interesting comment on my entry Reaching for the Sky, about him being drinking while he posted this brilliant analysis of the Cowboys' 2005 schedule. This made me think and I realized that I sure as hell wrote the funniest e-mails and postings while drunk! LOL I very well remember my graduation night in 2000. After coming home very boozed up (that trip home from the party is a story by itself) I logged on to my then favorite forum and just unloaded in funny rants! That was some classic stuff. Funny what a drunk mind can produce when you don't care at all. I'm usually a very skilled type-writer (about 180 hits/minute) but when I'm drunk I produce so many errors, I absolutely lose control of my fingers on the keyboard, it's comedy on a high level!!

Now I'm getting this idea for a project: I should get drunk, like on the weekend, and then write an entry for my blog! Wouldn't that be fun? The results would be somewhat comparable to this CIA project, were they let artists paint anything that came to their mind after giving them LSD. Those paintings were mind-boggling. But I think then nobody would want to read my blog anymore, after being turned off by a incoherent rambling... We'll see how this developes, it's not like I get drunk very often....

Best. Series. Ever.

2005-04-18T12:45:00.001-07:00

This is a tribute to the best damn series ever made for television: LOST

I've been hooked on it since Day 1 and it only keeps getting better and better every episode! I'm already at Episode 19 or so and I can say that you get blown away every time you watch it.
You really know that you are watching a damn good series when you catch yourself looking at your clock while watching it and saying to yourself: "Damn, already 30 minutes over - only 15 minutes left!!" And this is the case with Lost. You can't say this about most other series, even if you really like them. I can say that when the DVD is released I'll be the first one to buy it! My final verdict: Best. Series. Ever.

Reaching for the sky

2005-04-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

Wanna know how I fare against professional basketball players?

I'm pretty happy with my height. But obviously I would be considered "undersized" in the NBA.

See that wingspan? Yeah, call me "Eagle"!!

All these pics were taken before a Spurs game in the Alamo Dome, when they still used to play there. Here's a beautifull shot I took of it looking from the Tower of America:

MLS in San Antonio?

2005-04-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

AP is reporting that MLS and the city of San Antonio reached an agreement to bring a professional soccer team to the city as early as in 2006!

"The MLS has agreed to grant San Antonio a team if an ownership group is secured, 5,000 season tickets are sold by Aug. 17 and plans are completed for construction of a training complex that includes youth soccer fields.
"As one of the country's fastest-growing and most diverse cities, MLS is convinced that San Antonio is an ideal home for a Major League Soccer club,'' MLS commissioner Don Garber said.
Garber said the 12-team league is in discussions with several possible ownership groups. As part of the agreement, the city has agreed to provide a stadium. The deal grants the team rights to all ticket sales and certain sponsorship and stadium signage sales."

That would be so cool! I won't commit to a season ticket right now but I'll definitely be down for some games! I could imagine that derbys against intrastate rival FC Dallas would be very interesting! I've been wondering where they would play since I've never seen a soccer stadium in town, until I read in the Houston Chronicle that the idle Alamo Dome (capacity: 65,000) is the planned venue. Good thing they won't convert a Baseball-Stadium like they did the other way around in Washington. The citys mayor Ed Garca had a key role in bringing Major Leauge Soccer to town. He's a very active soccer player on a local team. I'm wondering where... I'll keep you updated on MLS in SA....

Law and Order

2005-04-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here, reading the Liberty Tree. And it says, in nearby Carcer City a good day for law and order, as police chief Gary Shafer was cleared of corruption charges in a controversial decision by the court! Let's hope those missing witnesses turn up safe and sound.....

Ron Mexico

2005-04-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

First I didn't know if I should post this but hey, don't we all love some dirt? Superstar Quarterback Michael Vick reportedly has been charged with a lawsuit that alleges Vick of infecting a woman with genital herpes. Oouch..! Now here comes the funny part: During his sexual encounter with the unidentified woman, Vick called himself Ron Mexico which is a pretty darn funny porn name! The lawsuit is also filed against Mr. Ron Mexico. As the story leaked of course many guys started ordering Vick-jerseys at nfl.com with MEXICO on it. But the league put an end to this and banned this writing on their jerseys. C'mon you flatliners! Anyway, this whole story is too funny! Can't wait to see Vick being mocked in NFL-stadiums next season....

NFL Schedule 2005

2005-04-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

The NFL just released their new schedule for the coming season. I'm a Cowboys fan and don't like that they will play three of their first four games on the road in California! San Diego, San Francisco and Oakland, only interrupted by one homegame against Washington in Week 2. They will also only have two Monday Night Football appearances (Weeks 2: Washington and Week 10: @Philadelphia) and the obligatory Thanksgiving Game (Denver) but who's surprised after last seasons "success". But hey, things can only go better and I really like their defensive additions. They should be able to finish 2nd in the NFC East and hopefully make the playoffs. But they close out the season on three roadies in five weeks (@NYG, @WAS, @CAR) and the final game against the St. Louis Rams. Definitely not an easy schedule!

Let's move on to the NBA: The San Antonio Spurs have revealed their motto for the playoffs: One Team. One Goal. Pretty neat. Of course I don't have to tell you what the goal is. "3 outta 6", that's all I'm saying. We'll be using this as sub-motto too during the playoffs here at Raise The Game. Go Spurs Go!

Let me say a quick word about Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson. He sure was greeted with a lot of suspicision and doubt when he arrived in San Antonio by the analysts of Rotowire, Fanball, Stats Inc. and so on. Heck, even by me! We are talking about a guy who hasn't played a NBA-game in more than one year and was reportedly in bad shape. Also his last stint in Philly didn't go too well as expected. But hey, take a look: He has been averaging 15.2 minutes and 7.5 points in his first six games with the Spurs and has really contributed well, due to his standards. He might be the key to San Antonios playoff-run, because they can always use a shooter. His field goal-percentage has been a bit shaky but he scores most of his points at the foul line. And that's not a bad thing in the playoffs if you are able to get yourself to the line. So, keep a close eye on Big Dog during the following weeks....

Timmy is back!

2005-04-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

After missing 12 straight games with an badly sprained ankle (as reported on this site), he was activated from the Injured List today. Yeah, that's definitely good news! The Spurs went 8-4 without him and really fared well in back-to-back Double-OT games last weekend. Imagine how good they will be with him back. I don't know if he will play in Utah tonight but we will know soon. I expect him to play around 20 minutes a game to find his rhythm until the playoffs. I cant wait for the playoffs to begin....

In other news the Spurs clinched the Southwest Division title yesterday. It's their fourth division title in the past five years. It used to be the Midwest Division before the realignment prior to this season. Personally I think the system with three divisions holding five teams, ergo 15 teams a conference, sucks. First, some teams will only play three times against each other, instead of the usual four games. And then the winner of a weaker division will be automatically seeded 3rd, meaning that in some cases a really bad team could be higher seeded than another better team, that finished 2nd or 3rd in their division. Just look at the Atlantic Division! They ought to fix this. And another thing: A seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs is too long! Last year the first round lasted like two weeks (in the East) because two series went the distance. You don't want lenghty series in the first round! They should change it back to the "Best of Five" format. I hope commissioner Stern is reading this.....

136-134

2005-04-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm still speechless about last nights Doulbe-Overtime thriller between my beloved San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors. What made this matchup even more interesting, is that the Warriors are the favourite team of my good homie, let's call him MP, so this added a little more spice to the night...

After trailing by 10 points in the 4th quarter the Spurs cut the Warriors lead in a 12-2 burst and this turned out virtually into a shootout between Tony Parker and Baron Davis. At 115-115 Tony Parker hit a 19-footer with 5.19 seconds to play! The Warriors took their final timeout and somehow Davis layed one up at the buzzer. Over time! Now keep in mind that the Spurs just came off a exhausting Double-OT win against the Clippers last night!
Overtime was a duell between Parker and Davis, they exchanged basket after basket. Tony proved that he's a big-time crunchtime player! This was arguably the best game of his career. After leading by four the Warriors somehow tied the game again with 20 seconds left and then Parker and Dunleavy exchanged misses. 130-130 after 53 minutes.

Now came the second OT. I attended a Double-OT thriller between the Spurs and Lakers last year in San Antonio. The Spurs were without Timmy and Tony and the Lakers lined up Kobe, Shaq, Malone and Payton. But the Spurs battled them with a lot of heart, sparked by Manu Ginobili. This was definitely the best Spurs' game I have attended so far. Anyway, the Warriors really lost it in the 2nd OT, scoring only 4 points. But it was tied at 134-134 with 42 secs to go. Then Bruce Bowen missed a jumper but Dunleavy stepped out of bounds as he landed with the rebound. Spurs Ball! 17 seconds to go... Parker dribbles down the clock and then makes a beautifull layup with two ticks left... Time Out Warriors... Jason Richardson heaves up a desperate shot which was way too short.... Spurs win!

Tony on his way to the game-winning shot: (He finished with 35 points and 12 assists)

AP Photo/Marcio Sanchez

Oh baby! Bulls in playoffs!

2005-04-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Now look at these Bulls! Yesterday they clinched their first playoff-berth since 97/98, the end of the Jordan-era. Of course you shouldn't expect too much from them in the playoffs, since they will most likely face the Pacers in the first round but what counts is that you got there, right? Other teams making a surprise playoff appearance are the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers. And Iversons 76ers seem to be back too!

Teams that made the playoffs last year and will miss this year: New York Knicks Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Hornets and maybe New Jersey. In the West it's only the Los Angeles Lakers, other than that every team will be back!

Fun fact: Everyone of Stephon Marburys previous teams made the playoffs and had at least 50 wins the following season they traded him away! Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets and the Phoenix Suns. Sucks to be him....

Ramblings, Part I

2005-04-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

What's up! You may have noticed that I've been experiencing some problems with the pictures on my site lately. A buddy of mine has been so kind to let me use his webspace hosted by Fortunecity to save them there. Somehow these cats don't allow deeplinks any more and my pics won't show. Thanks for nothing, dudes. Fortunecity used to be a really cool place but since they seem to be almost bankrupt they've been adopting senseless policies every day. They used to let you have 100 Megs of storage space, now new arrivals will only get 25 MB at their mercy. So I have been looking around for another image host and created a picture gallery at Yahoo. But of course no linking at all seems to work and you can't upload .gifs. Waste of time. Then I noticed that Sheena (gotta love those goggles!) from a blog I linked to on this site, uses Tinypic so I tried it out. I Don't buy their concept yet. By the way, you should definitely check out her blog. Apparently she's this really smart girl from Brunei (That's on the island of Borneo, which mostly belongs to Malaysia, in case you were wondering) who studies in England. I think even Oxford, but I haven't figured it out completely yet. I recommend to read all of her postings, very entertaining. She really doesn't fall for the simple perception and has her eyes wide open! Hehe....

More ramblings: So Glen "Big Dog" Robinson has played some minutes in the past few Spurs games and did kinda well, at least for his standards. But who would expect anything big from a guy who's last NBA game was more than a year ago? Anyway, he even played quality minutes in the Spurs' ugly loss to Dallas last night, which I won't even go into detail about. I'm just gonna forget about it and pretend it never happened. Gotta focus on the playoffs and Timmy coming back next week!

It seems that along with my pictures my readership has also vanished. Thanks for your support. At least Raise The Game has made it to Google and Ice Rocket, as proven here, here and here. Nice to see that I'm on the #1 page for Marc Cuban. UPDATE: If you click these links they won't show me on the results page any more. But it used to work last week. Another letdown on this rainy night.....

So, that's it for today. I'll hit you with more output soon, promised!

Oh no! Big Dog signs on!

2005-04-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

"The Spurs signed former All-Star Glenn Robinson to a minimum-salary contract on Monday in the hopes that the small forward will be able to provide added depth and experience during the playoff push and postseason, the San Antonio Express-News reports. Robinson is reportedly in mediocre shape. "
I'll believe this when I see it.

Contradictory Music Preferences

2005-04-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

Very often you can tell the personality of a person by the music he listens to. In todays youth you have the HipHoppers, Skaters, Punk-Fans, Metal-Fans, Ravers and so on. And usually you will find their CD collection dominated by one genre. But what if a person goes all crossover? Here's a sample of what you will find in my CD-shelf:

Fatboy Slim: You've Come A Long Way, Baby; Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars; Palookaville. Prodigy: Fat Of The Land; Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. Massive Attack: Mezzanine; 100th Window. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory; Reanimation; Meteora. Limp Bizkit: Significant Other; Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Boiled Water; Results May Vary. Staind: Break The Cycle. Rage Against The Machine: Renegades; Battle Of Los Angeles. As for Rap there goes Wu-Tang Clan, Red & Meth, RZA, Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ludacris Funkdoobiest, House of Pain, Soul Assassins and a lot of Cypress Hill.

And most of these albums are on constant rotation on my stereo! There will be times when I'll dig Electronic music and then I'll be bumping the oldschool Hip Hop joints! Yeah, nowadays Cypress Hill, HoP, Wu-Tang, Dr. Dre and so qualify as oldschool. It's all Nelly, 50 Cent & G-Unit, Ludacris, Nitty and whoever you will see on MTV. I kinda like the songs but not that much, that it will make me buy their album. I also think Snoop Dogg hasn't made a decent album in years! Yes, he puts out good singles by times but have you listened to his recent albums? Pretty flat and after a while it just sounds like a 50 Cent album. But Snoop kicks ass on collabos. No disrespect to the Neptunes who make awesome beats (also own one of their albums) but today nobody makes the good ol' raw cuts we had back in the 90's.... Back in the day you could listen to an entire album and dig every song. Now you will like the first video/single a rap artist puts out and the rest of the album is dispensable.

I also like to attend concerts of the bands I like. Here's what I can come up with from my memory: Many Cypress Hill concerts, also the Black Eyed Peas, who are one of the most amazing live bands ever. Gotta check out their show if you have the chance. Believe me, you will not regret it. Underworld (was a crazy concert, especially this girl from Liverpool who danced with me during the entire show. Afterwards she introduced me to her husband. Talking about akwardness....). Delinquent Habits (one of the best concerts EVER, it was a 18 age limit show and later I found out why: They were passing around booze to the audience and drank with us! The show lasted 2,5 hours and they rocked the house. Just a classic moment!). "Anger Management 2003" with Xzibit, Cypress Hill, 50 Cent and then Eminem. The biggest concert I've attended so far (25,000). Blink 182 in Texas (was pretty lame though). Cody Chessnut (pretty good), 3 Doors Down (Was a private concert during the "Final Four Tournament" last year. It was pretty good but I didn't know too many of their songs) and Limp Bizkit, which was amazing! It was the night before my last day on my old job I quit, and it was the perfect occasion to let out all of my anger. Hehe... Thanks Fred for rocking the house! This one definitely makes my Top 3 list. Oh, I ought to mention some dude called "50 Pesos" who hit the stage last year in Cancuns "Senor Frogs" club. They announced him as the "mexican 50 Cent". hehe. Don't know if this qualifies as a concert but I had to throw this one in, because Cancun is the greatest place on the world.
I'm sure there are still some other concerts I have attended but I can't remember them right now. Anyway, I think this gives you an idea of how versatile and open minded I am in musical preferences....

NBA-Fantasy Playoffs Update

2005-04-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

Here we're back with this feature, which could become a running column. Needless to say that I was able to win my first-round matchup and advanced to the semi-final game. Only one game away from the big final! Ah, it would be so sweet to conquer the Fantasy Crown in my first season ever! I wonder how you, my faithful readership, did in your playoffs?

You just gotta like this format, bringing some excitement during the final weeks of the regular season. You catch yourself praying that your major players don't get hurt because a injury in these weeks could bury all of your hopes and trash the hard work of an entire season. I think I should mention my core roster: Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Redd, Emeka Okafor, Erick Dampier, Caron Butler, Rafer "Skip 2 my Lou" Alston and Fred Hoiberg. Just a classy group of players! Especially Dirk who was a real steal with the 7th overall draft-pick. Nobody expected from him to have this MVP-worthy season! Don't you also experience the weird phenomenon that you get attached to your players and stick to them, even if you know there are statistically better players out there? You just have the feeling that they do the special things and provide you with a spark when needed. Like you will get a very special boxscore line from a player you don't expect it from, that will just put you over the hump to win a matchup! Just the experience that makes fantasy basketball so lovable....

On a personal note: Thanks for visiting my blog so often in the past few weeks. I don't blog on a regular basis, sometimes I will spit out several postings a day and then maybe go silent for a few days - depending on what's on my mind. I recommend you to check in every few days for a update. And don't forget: Raise The Game!

NBA Salaries

2005-03-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

USA Today has released it's annual database of all salaries. It's unbelievable if you take a close look! The Spurs total payroll is $ 47 million, the Pistons $ 49 million, the Phoenix Suns' $ 35 million. The New York Knicks' $ 96 million, Mavericks $ 87 million, TrailBlazers $ 80 million, Timberwolves $ 70 millions. Now compare their success (= championships, wins) to that of the aforementioned! BANG FOR BUCK, that's all I'm saying. The Warriors' is $ 50 million and they haven't made the playoffs in a decade. Orlando Magic $ 68 millions and so on. You wonder if you can run a NBA franchise nowadays without any business degree.

But it even get's better with individual salaries: Amare Stoudemire (PHO) makes 2 millions a year. Steve Nash 6 millions, Manu Ginobili too. Tony Parker (SAS) 1.5 millions. Rasheed Wallace is the best paid player on the reigning World Champions Detroit Pistons with 9 millions. On the other side: Allan Henderson (DAL) makes 8.7 millions (who in the fucking world gave him that contract?) Van Horn 14 millions. Brian Grant (LAL) 13 millions. Penny Hardaway (NYK) 14 millions. Antonio Davis (CHI) 12 millions. Eddie Jones (MIA) 13 millions. Somethings seriously wrong in this league.

I could play with this forever:

USA Today's NBA Salary Database

Steroids in the NFL

2005-03-31T03:40:00.000-08:00

Oh oh! Seems like the NFL will get their own little Steroids scandal. The first rumors about alleged drug-use by three players of the Caroline Panthers came up a week ago, now prosecuters seem to have more evidence:

Carolina Panthers Todd Sauerbrun and Jeff Mitchell and former player Todd
Steussie had steroid prescriptions filled by a West Columbia, S.C., doctor now under investigation by federal authorities, according to "60 Minutes Wednesday'' report.

This is of course bad timing for these three cats, since the public and lawmakers are very concious concerning illegal use of steroids in the wake of the massive MLB scandal. I expect the NFL to react very stern on this issue, they have already announced to tighten their anti-drug policy towards the Olympic standard.

Interesting is the reaction of Punter Todd Sauberbrunn who got contacted by CBS:

The network said that when it contacted Sauerbrun by phone, and asked him about Shortt, the punter said, "I like the guy very much.'' Ten minutes later, CBS said, Sauerbrun called back to say he had been confused and that he did not know Shortt.

Yeah right!

MLS season kicks off April 2nd

2005-03-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

"There's a funky new look to the Major League Soccer standings this year, at least to the sport's uninitiated. FC Dallas? Chivas USA? Real Salt Lake? What's that all about? Is there a Fake Salt Lake somewhere? But, to soccer fans, it's a warm familiar look -- another sign the adolescent league has stopped trying to Americanize the beautiful game and is more determined than ever to march in step with the rest of the world as it begins its 10th season Saturday.
"It's part of the strategy,'' MLS commissioner Don Garber said. "These are soccer teams. And if they're trying to look like the type of club the soccer fan is used to seeing, then more than likely those teams aren't called 'the Clash.' That could be the name of a lacrosse team. That could be the name of a rock band -- and was.''

I recommend reading the entire article at Yahoo Sports.

Hm, okay let's break it down: FC Dallas, which stands for Football Club makes perfectly sense to me. Chivas is apparently the nickname of a Mexican team and the clubs new full name is Club Deportivo Chivas USA and is located in Los Angeles. There are some clubs called Deportivo in Spain and Mexico. If the owner wants to attract Mexican American audiences with this name that's fine. I still don't get why they have to include "USA" in the name and fail to mention the location of the team, but whatever suits you is fine. Real Salt Lake? "Real" is used in the Spanish league and is assigned to the "Royal" clubs only, like famous Real Madrid. I really think it's a far stretch for a franchise that just started in Salt Lake City and has achieved nothing so far. Oh by the way, how many Latinos live in Utah?

In other news:

"A split screen of game action and commercials will be part of Major League Soccer's television coverage this season by ABC Sports and ESPN2. The split screens will be used during the telecasts twice during each half and in 30-second intervals."

Okay, didn't the commissioner just talk about stopping to Americanise soccer and make it more attractive towards the purist fans? This is corporate America at it's best! If they would run ads during a game in Europe the fans would start a riot and politicans would intervene and stop this mess.
But hey, at least ABC and ESPN will broadcast the games.....

Quitter of the Year

2005-03-29T07:50:00.000-08:00

So, one of the U.S. greatest hopes for an international soccer star, Landon Donovan has quit again and decided to leave German side Bayer Leverkusen to return to the MLS' L.A. Galaxy.

Picture courtesy of John Walton/Empics

He quit after a brief three month stint in which he barely played. He arrived there with high-flying expectations but found himself on the bench for most of the time and got homesick. Now he's returning to the U.S. league where he has won three consecutive MVP-awards. Great for him, but those U.S. MVP's are worthless in Europe. If you want to make your mark in international soccer, you have to play in Europe, where the competition is on the highest level worldwide. It won't help the U.S. national team either if their best players don't get to measure their skills on a day-to-day basis with the worlds best players. You have to face the reality that the competition level in the MLS is comparable to 2nd European divisions at best. What a loser....

Jen Chang of ESPN's soccernet.com nails it perfectly in a must-read.

Mark Cuban vs. Music Industry

2005-03-29T04:08:00.000-08:00

Billionaire Marc Cuban, most known for his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, has come out and announced that he is financing the EFF legal battle at Grokster vs. MGM:

So , the real reason of this blog. To let everyone know that the EFF and others came to me and asked if I would finance the legal effort against MGM. I said yes. I would provide them the money they need. So now the truth has been told. This isnt the big content companies against the technology companies. This is the big content companies, against me. Mark Cuban and my little content company. Its about our ability to use future innovations to compete vs their ability to use the courts to shut down our ability to compete. its that simple.

Trouble in Laker-Land?

2005-03-28T14:48:00.000-08:00

As reported, Lakers guard Chucky Atkins is frustrated with guard Kobe Bryant and his inability to share the ball. "I ain't the GM of this team," Atkins told the LA Times. "Kobe's the GM of this team. Ask Kobe. You've been watching this shit all year. You've been watching it and I've been playing it."

Oh oh! Someone's losing his nerve. It has also been reported that Lamar Odom is annoyed by ballhogging Kobe. But you can tell that something is seriously wrong within the team. I am looking forward to the various postseason-changes for the Lakers. With them you can expect everything ranging from a major shake-up to another coaching change. I'm sure Princess Kobe is going to get his will. But he better make some better decisions as inoffical Lakers-GM that will help them reach the playoffs next year! We'll see how long owner Jerry Buss is willing to play along as Kobe's bitch....

Playoffs!!

2005-03-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

"Wait a minute, NBA-Playoffs? Don't we have to wait for them until the last week of April?" Yes, you're right but I am talking about the Fantasy Basketball Playoffs which in most leagues start today! Oh yes, Fantasy Hoops, the addiction of offices, schoolkids and sportsfans across the nation. Wheter you're playing at SportingNews, ESPN.com, Yahoo or somewhere else, this is the time where it comes down to the best regular teams facing each other in elimination rounds. Now will be decided who owns the bragging rights for the rest of a year and who will hide under a rock until leagues will form again this coming fall...
You just have to love fantasy basketball!

I am active in a head-to-head league at Yahoo which I think offers the best free fantasy games of all kind of sports. We are 20 teams at CCE Surveyors and fortunately the league-owners have been very active throughout the season. Sparked by an MVP-worthy season of my first-round pick Dirk Nowitzki, I was able to clinch the 3rd spot (missed the 2nd spot resulting in a BYE by three games). I will keep you posted about the progress of our playoffs. Guess you are fighting in your own playoffs right now too! Busy weeks with the NCAA's Final Four Tournament just around the corner....

Stupid Ebayers

2005-03-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

I've been a Ebay-customer since more than four years now. I have watched it grow to a multi-million dollar business since then. It's safe to say that the vast majority of internet-users uses Ebay or have at least heard of it. Until now they should know how it works and how you can use the system to your advantage by buying items for a good price. But somehow many haven't gotten the memo! It has happened to me so often that stupid people keep bidding on a object many days before the scheduled end of auctioning! Don't they realise that they are only hurting themselves by thriving the price up? And all for the sake of seeing your name as the high-bidder five days before the auction ends? C'mon! Shouldn't we all make a pact "NO BIDDING UNTIL THE FINAL MINUTE"? otherwise you will just throw you money at the seller if you could do otherwise! Please! Someone's gotta spread the word...

Anyway, people have to refrain from the illusion that Ebay is a place where "you can get stuff cheap." That may have been the case in it's infant years but those times are long over. Now professional retailers, known as power-sellers, have taken over and they give you the impression that you will get their merchandise cheaper then at a real store. But compare the prices. Usually they are even with what you have to pay at Best Buy or Radio Shack. Or some will offer their item for a couple of dollars below the market-value but screw you into a enormous shipping fee. I boycott auctions where the shipping is unreasonable! You have to wonder if they will ship it in a golden box with customised rivets. So, just use some common sense and you will have a good shopping time at Ebay!

Temporary friends

2005-03-25T05:44:00.000-08:00

In the beginning of the all-time great movie "Fight Club" Ed Nortons character "Jack" speaks about his temporary friendships he acquaints during his many travels by plane. Now this is a movie which really inspired me alot, especially his whole Fuck-You-attitude towards certain people. He takes shit from no one. I believe Fight Club is one of the defining movies of our generation.

Now, I am here to talk about these temporary friends you meet on airplanes in 10.000 feet altitute. I am someone who likes to travel quite alot and usually I am by myself, thereby get seated next to all types of people. Usually you try to ignore them the best way you can and concentrate on getting the most space for your legs in those tight-rowed economy class seats. If someone tries to have a conversation with you, you usually feel invaded and bothered, since those are people you wouldn't talk to on the ground either. On a flight NYC - LA I came across a male model from Sweden with a funny accent. Or this young pretty girl on a flight to Paris. Too bad her Mom was sitting next to her. There's one particular acquaintance I remember: I was on my way from the U.S. to Europe and was seated next to 80-year old lady, Carolyn from Georgia, the typical southern woman. She started to annoy me from the beginning because she kept making request like: "Could you please help me with my bags" or "Have you seen my pillow under the seat?" and so on. I of course had the window seat and when I needed to use the lavatory it took her like 10 minutes to get out of her seat. She was even talking to me when I was trying to watch the onboard-movie (don't remember which one it was) "Great", I thought, "now I'm a attendant in a retirement comunity". So I tried to make myself as invisible as possible during the 8-hour flight by pretending to sleep or listening to the onboard-radio. She wouldn't mind and kept disturbing me with attempts of small-talk. After a while I just gave up and engaged in a conversation with her.

Turns out Carolyn's visiting her daughter in France who's a portrait-painter. She pointed to the special edition of TIME-Magazine of the 60th anniversary of D-Day in Normandie which I was reading. Her first husband died on Omaha-Beach. She said that another friend of her who was a veteran told her, that Spielbergs' "Saving Private Ryan" was pretty damn realistic and gave him back all the memories. She also didn't bother telling me her whole lifestory and inquiring about mine, so we had a nice chat. Shortly before the landing she offered to give me Grishams "A Painted House" which she just finished reading and she signed it. She also included her eMail-address and told me to contact her and that I should visit her in France and stay at the 8-bedroom house her daughter lives in. But I never contacted her, that's my policy with temporary friends...

Scare of Spurs-Nation

2005-03-24T14:41:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Timmy went down after landing akwardly on Rasheed Wallace's foot in the game against the Detroit Pistons. What a scare! I was sitting in front of the TV holding my hands in front of my face in awe for several minutes. Could hardly breathe! Then ABC's old slime-bag Jim Gray broke the news that he had a Grade II Ankle sprain:

Then word came out that he will miss 2-4 weeks, which is practically the rest of the regular season. Well, the Spurs have already clinched their playoff-spot so it's not that bad, but naturally they will have a hard time fighting for the overall-best record (which will most likely go to Miami) or the best record on the Western Conference (Phoenix Suns). But who cares, he will be back for the playoffs and that's when it matters! The hopes of a entire city lie upon him and everyone's praying for him to recover (in time). But Timmy has proven to have good healing flesh so I am very optimistic.

I'm just freelancing here but in case he's not back my immediate favourite for the NBA World Championship are the Miami Heat with Shaq O'Neal and Dwyane Flash Wade. This kid is just so ill! They'll probably face the Phoenix Suns in the finals, but I would also wish the Dallas Mavericks with my man Dirk Nowitzki the title. But all of this is only hypothetical because Timmy will be back and lead us to our third title in five years. Raise The Game.

Prelude to a come up....

2005-03-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

So, I am doing this blog-thing.... some might say: "Well, everybody has a blog nowadays, so innovative of you". So what? I'll probably be talking to myself in here for a while so who would care anyway?

What can you expect from Raise The Game? Everything ranging from ramblings and rants about various topics, interesting links, sports, commentaries on everything that I like to comment about and so on. Just don't expect me to go all mainstrain for the sake of a big readership. You can have that elsewhere. Anyway, by reading my blog you will get to know me and my personal interests, hobbies and views and opinions and might gain some knowledge on various topics. Curios why this is called Raise The Game? Well, this is the standard that I life up to.

Anyway, if you happen to have stumbled accross my blog just leave me a note. Doesn't matter if it's positive or not. And don't forget to check in every week or so.Thanks!