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At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

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Monday Morning Musings: Mavericks Edition

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Congrats to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks for ending our season long nightmare by defeating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. LeBron James will have to wait at least one more season before claiming his first championship. On the ABC postgame, Jeff Van Gundy tossed out the notion that the Miami front office would possibly entertain the idea of trading LeBron or Dwyane Wade for either Chris Paul or Dwight Howard this offseason because, in his mind, the pieces just might not “fit” as currently constituted. Don’t you have to wait at least one more year before blowing the whole thing up?

For me, the arithmetic just doesn’t add up on this one. LeBron will be back. Dwyane Wade will be back. Even Chris Bosh and Coach Spoelstra will return for another season in South Beach which is what we should all want, another opportunity to root against the Miami Heat.

As the curtain falls on an incredibly entertaining NBA season, and the Stanley Cup Finals stare down a Game 6 tonight in Boston, MLB is about ready to take center stage for the long summer months. And who knows, if the billionaires and millionaires that operate the NFL don’t get their s*#$ together soon, we could be looking at nothing but baseball chatter for the foreseable future.

A Quick Trip Around the Bases

1B – I guess we all spoke too soon about the Cleveland Indians. Losers of 9 of their last 10, the Tribe are starting to play like the team we all thought they were going to be before the 2011 season began. And now here come the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox ready to make a race of the AL Central. Two questions: can the Indians hold on a little longer, say until the all star break or are they in the midst of a total free fall? Second, the Twins have won 8 of 10 and sit only 9 games out of the division lead. With a healthy(?) Joe Mauer returning behind the plate this week, does Minnesota make their traditional run to the top of the standings or are they simply snake bitten this season?

2B – Good for you Atlanta! At least we have one team willing to hang in there in the NL East and not allow the Philadelphia Phillies to sit back and map out their postseason pitching rotation starting in August. Is Brian McCann the best catcher in baseball right now? With Posey and Mauer both injured, and my main man Matt Wieters quietly emerging but not quite yet ready for prime time, McCann is probably the gold standard right now.

3B – The Chicago Cubs are not a good baseball team. Whenever Lou Montanez is batting 3rd in your lineup you know you have issues. Not only are the Cubs struggling on the field but now Peter Gammons, MLB columnist and baseball emissary especial, has called Wrigley Field a “dump” and mentioned how the new ownership group in Chicago, the Ricketts family, is not prepared financially to handle the cost of essential ballpark renovations.  Of course, take anything the Boston based Gammons writes with a grain of salt. If Larry Lucchino or Theo Epstein were to go to the bathroom in the middle of Boston Common Gammons would find a way hail the masterpiece as an important work of impressionist art.

HR – Derek Jeter is now 7 hits away from 3,000 and unfortunately for Yankee fans it doesn’t look like the Captain is going to reach this milestone in Yankee Stadium. I guess it’s possible, 7 hits in 4 games at home this week, but in all likelihood Jeter will reach 3K in Wrigley Field over the weekend in front of 40K over served Chicago Cubs fans. Ahhhh the memories.

view from American Airlines Arena courtesy of @marcus_hammond

3 Reasons a Hockey Fan Should Watch Game 6 of the NBA Finals

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I had an interesting conversation with a friend on Friday night. We were talking about the NBA and Stanley Cup finals and he was arguing that the fans of these two sports are mutually exclusive. In general, his point as a hockey fan was that they don’t really care about the NBA Finals and vice versa. As an NBA fan, I felt that his argument was incorrect and incredibly shortsighted.  If there were ever a time to care about both, now is that time. Even I can acknowledge the incredible cross continent fight taking place between the Bruins and Canucks.  So to all those hockey fans out there who are unwilling to give the NBA Finals a chance, here are 3 simple reasons why you should care about Game 6 tonight between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat.

Reason #1: The superstars play the hardest. It’s true. The best players in the game tonight – Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James, are also the hardest workers.  A lot of non NBA fans are turned off by the perception that all NBA players are self promoting, narcissists who thump their chests after every made layup. And although this may still be the case for some – see Chris Bosh – the majority of NBAers today genuinely care about giving their best effort.

Reason #2: For hockey fans that appreciate a good rivalry, this series has all the essential ingredients . The Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat do not like each other. The James and Wade video mocking Nowitzki’s illness is just the latest in a long line of competitive animosity between these two sides. Wade and Nowitzki have had a rivalry since the Heat beat the Mavs in the ’06 finals and the style of these two teams couldn’t be any more different. The Heat are South Beach glamor personified while the Mavs have come to symbolize veteran savy and work ethic.

Reason #3: LeBron James is the most polarizing figure in professional sports today. Picture the amazing physical skills of Alexander Ovechkin coupled with the disdain for your least favorite politician. This is the complicated formula that besets LeBron as he prepares to take the court in Game 6. Publicly vilified for “The Decision” but universally lauded for his amazing basketball ability, LeBron has been unable to come through in the 4th quarter of this series when it matters the most. All of the pressure rests on his shoulders tonight. Will he help the Heat stave off elimination and send the series to a game 7 or will he head into another offseason in pursuit of his first, elusive NBA Championship?

Stay tuned hockey fans, there is something for everyone in the 2011 NBA Finals.

view from outside the American Airlines Arena courtesy of @aguilaruben

Even Baseball Players Perspire

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We’re having a heat wave. I’m mean it’s hot, dang hot. The kind of heat where it doesn’t cool off even after the sun goes down. Last night, I sat on the couch to watch a few minutes of the Bruins/Canucks and was seated for a total of five minutes before sticking to the fabric. Not pleasant. I had to spend the rest of the evening pacing back and forth in front of the television.

Later, I was able to catch a few innings of the Red Sox/Yankees game from the steamy Bronx and I noticed that Alfredo Aceves was having a difficult time “managing” his perspiration. The YES Network cameras were able to pick up a considerable amount of sweat dripping from his saturated cap. It looked liked he was having a tough time picking up the signs from Jason Varitek. I’m not even sure how he was even able to hold onto the ball. Didn’t seem to affect his performance however as Aceves was able to get Derek Jeter to ground into a crucial double play in the 6th.

Heading West on I-80, Andrew McCutchen’s walkoff propelled the red hot Pirates past the visiting Diamondbacks by a final score of 3-2. Pittsburgh is at .500 in June for the first time since the days of Bonds, Bonilla, and Van Slyke.* I really want to like this Bucs team and could be persuaded to purchase a McCutchen #22 tshirt jersey. He’s seems like an absolute star in the making and I don’t know when his contract is up but can only hope that Pittsburgh is able to lock him up long term.

*I made this last part up but it really does feel like a long time since the Pirates had their heads above water this late in the season.

view from PNC Park courtesy of @MalloryCowell

 

Wednesday Worries

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I’m worried that….

having a 4 month old son and a full time job precludes me from staying up past 9:30. I would have loved to see the Mavs come back on the Heat and close out Game 4 in Dallas but unfortunately, I didn’t make it past the LeBron to DWade alley oop making it 67-64 Miami with only 2 minutes to go in the 3rd. After that, nighty night. How can a global audience on the world wide web take a writer/blogger seriously after they admit to not watching the 2nd half of an NBA Finals game? Sure, I could disguise my fatigue and act like I watched the whole thing but that would be disingenuous. I did last 3 months in the Cub Scouts after all.

this series is going 7 and I will be too tired to remember any of it.

the national sportswriters of America have gone completely schizo regarding LeBron. One morning the headlines read “LeBron is Jordan”, next day it’s “Wade Plays Alpha to James’ Beta”, and now after Tuesday night we are looking at a days worth of “Gone Missing” stories. Let’s wait till the series comes to a conclusion before we etch anything permanent on LeBron’s headstone. I will say however that James scoring less than 10 points last night does shock me. Maybe Dirk’s German shooting coach Holger Geschwindner has been sending Lebron some evil eastern European vibes.

Rick Carlisle is going to panic some more and start Brian Cardinal over Tyson Chandler in Game 5.

this latest heat wave enveloping the Northeast will lead to a brown out right as the puck drops for Game 5 Bruins/Canucks. Of course, with a 4 month old son and full time job, I probably wasn’t going to watch much more than the 1st period anyway.

view from American Airlines Center courtesy of @cbs11news

Plodding through the Previews: Super 8

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Some folks boast a photographic memory while others claim to count cards. Me, I have a strange telekinetic ability to predict the plot of a movie based solely on the coming attraction. I will channel these talents every week in an effort to breakdown the latest summer blockbuster. With a little luck, and patience, I’ll also connect the movie to a current sports story.

Super 8

I played a game of word association with my wife this morning. I asked her what came to mind when she heard the words “Super 8” to which she responded, “a popular hotel chain in Ohio/Pennsylvania where I once spent a night sleeping on top of the comforter for fear that the sheets hadn’t been cleaned”. I proceeded to explain to her that Super 8 is a movie produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by J.J. Abrams, about a mysterious “life form” terrorizing small children in the American Midwest. Shockingly, my wife wasn’t all that interested until I showed her this preview. Now, she is mildly curious which leaves me without a date this weekend. I only wish my 4th month old son was seasoned enough to enjoy a fine piece of summer cinema.

A Second by Second Breakdown

:4 – Young, impressionable boy riding his six speed through a quiet Midwestern mill town while a magical score twinkles in the background. Yeah, I say this one has Spielberg’s fingerprints all over it.

:18 – Coach Taylor! What are you doing so far away from Dillon? Say hello to your beautiful wife Tami for me.

:33 – This thing is starting to play like an homage to the young disenfranchised, misunderstood filmmakers of America. We don’t feel sorry for you Mr. Spielberg. Well, at least not since Indian Jones 4.

:44 – Loud noises!!!!

1:17 – Wait, I thought aliens liked house pets? What could they possible want with poor Lucy?

1:33 – Remain calm, all is well. Remain calm!!!

1:51 – Darth Maul????

1:58 – Ron Eldard, what are you doing here? Haven’t seen you since Mystery, Alaska.

Ok, so here’s the skinny. A young J.J. Abrams and his dad move to a small town in the Midwest after the tragic/sudden loss of  his mom. At first, young J.J. struggles to make friends but eventually finds himself fitting in with a fringe crowd which includes a chubby sidekick akin to Jerry O’Connell’s Vern from Stand By Me and Dakota Fanning’s younger sister.

Next, some secret military cargo train goes off the tracks freeing a demonic alien who is all sorts of angry after being cooped up an underground laboratory in Los Alamos, Nevada since the lunar landing in 1969.

The only proof of what really exists lies in the Super 8 that the government doesn’t want released for fear that it will expose the truth of the situation which is that gov’t has been involved in a massive cover up involving the Russians, Al-Qaeda, and Charlie Sheen. The “monster” will eventually be revealed as an innocent and misunderstood figure, just like young J.J. Abrams. I’m picturing Iron Giant meets Goonies . Thoughts?

As with a connection to a current sports story, you could make of some similarities to the cover up in Columbus, Ohio. It was recently revealed that Jim Tressel knew about improper benefits to Ohio State players, most notably the latest tattoo for memorabilia scandal. College football critics aren’t surprised while some fellow coaches say pay the players. With the amount of money these programs generate, it seems shortsighted to not compensate the players. Although, when you think about it, isn’t that what a 200K athletic scholarship is for?

view from Columbus courtesy of @thehoov143