Dallas Stars lose 1st round playoff matchup

What a disappointment! I guess I shouldn't have expected too much.

I know, I know. I am a fan and should be happy that they got to the playoffs. I should be happy that they are a young team and will have a good chance next year to get into the first round again...and lose again.

I'm just bitter. That's what I am and what I do.

To top it off, the Dallas Mavericks blew it in game four of their series. They got lucky to pull out a win in game three because there were to many individuals. If they would keep playing like a team versus individuals trying to make the dumbest shots and the dumbest attempts, they would have won game four and it'd be 3-1 for the Mavs.

This is why I hate liking sports teams. They piss me off.

Hell, everyone and everything pisses me off.

I may need counseling. :-)

Let the Dallas Mavericks' new season begin!

Or at least just let the Mavs' Dancers come out on the court!

∞
That's all I got to say about that!
 

Dallas Mavericks are your 2011 NBA Champions

In case you haven't heard or read about it before, the Dallas Mavericks are the 2011 NBA Champions.

Suck that Dwayne and Lebron.

Dirk Nowitzki is a class act unlike those two punk-ass bitches I mentioned in the previous sentence. The enclosed image from the cover of Sports Illustrated is priceless: showing Nowitzki "towering" over the two arrogant cry babies.

Go Dirk! Go Mavs! Job well done!

∞
That's all I got to say about that!
 

What's wrong with the NHL?

The actual words that piqued my interest were

"Is the NHL Disappearing? What's Wrong with Professional Hockey?"

This from an article here that I saw on Yahoo!. I didn't read the entire article. I really just scanned the first paragraph or two.

It made me remember that there was an NHL All-Star game last weekend. Did any of you know that? Do any of you really care? I don't recall a lot of advertising and marketing done to promote it. In fact, the only reason why I found out about it was because I was flicking through the sport channels looking for a Stars game and saw the ticker at the bottom of the screen on ESPN2 mentioning something about the skills competition for the All-Star game. I was like, "What? We've already reached the NHL All-Star game?" I was shocked not to have seen more marketing at least on the sports channels like ESPN, ESPN2, Versus, Fox Sports Southwest or even on the Dallas Stars website.

So, I caught the rerun of some of the skills competition. I made a mental note to make sure I tuned in for the actual game. I watched the anthems: Canadian then American. The Canadian Tenors sung the Canadian anthem. They sounded pretty good and they sounded official like people in Canada knew and like them as performers. They announced who was going to sing the American anthem and my first thought was, "What in the FUCK has happened to the NHL!?" I shit you not. I was disturbed, disgusted and disappointed in who they got to sing for one of the manliest of sports' all-star game.

It was mother fucking Clay Aiken! That's right. Clay...mother fucking...Aiken!

Gary Bettman, that's what is fucking wrong with professional hockey! Only an ass-wipe, clueless commissioner would book Clay Aiken to sing at the manliest of man sports. As an NHL fan and enthusiast, I am ashamed at your lack of direction and support.

Anyway, I watched the 1st period of the game and was bored. There wasn't a lot of excitement in the game. I mean the NHL All-Star game like the NBA All-Star game is where the skilled players shine with their nifty moves and amazing shots. This is where we should see the spinning-360 backhand score, the pass-pass-pass-shot-while-the-goalie-flops score or the between-the-legs-shot-with-the-puck-in-the-top-corner score. I didn't see any of this in the 1st period so I found it hard to find a reason to return and watch the rest of the game.

So, yes. There was an NHL All-Star game last weekend. It was competing with the NFL Pro Bowl game which was on the same day and I'm sure near the same broadcast time.

I don't watch football and yet I knew when the Pro Bowl game was and when the Super Bowl would be.

I'm a hockey fan, not die-hard or hard-core but very in to it. I didn't know about the NHL All-Star game until the very last moment and then was disappointed when viewing it.

This is what's wrong with professional hockey. There was a time in Dallas of all places that you couldn't walk down the street without people talking about the Dallas Stars just as much if not more than the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas Mavericks or the Texas Rangers. In fact, the Texas Rangers were always in a negative context and the butt of many jokes. Somewhere, they all turned it around especially the Ranges recently.

Hopefully hockey can do the same.

Rangers choke. Another Dallas-area team of "could have beens"

"Keep your heads up, Rangers." "Thanks for a great season, Rangers."

That's just a couple of the quotes I've read on my friends' Facebook pages who are apparent "fans" of the losers of the World Series.

I'm not a baseball fan, never have been. I've been to about twenty games at The Ballpark in Arlington (which I believe has a new name since I've been). I've been in the nose bleed stands as well as about twenty seats behind 3^rd base. I could give a crap what was happening on the field. I'm just not a fan. I like the venue. The Ballpark is nice. It provides nice views from within the stands as well as on the very top "patio" area of Arlington.

Baseball is slow-paced. It's not like ice hockey, football, basketball or even soccer. It provides absolutely no interest at all for me in strategy or skill. I believe the players are way over paid for the amount of actual work and skill the bring to their "job" (the duration of a game). Pitchers probably earn more of their pan any of the other players but I think they are also probably paid less, most anyway.

A lot of people have the same dislike of tennis when I tell them I'm a fan. I don't understand why. Yes, a ball is hit back and forth of a net. How enjoyable can that be? To appreciate the skill, endurance, and training that a professional tennis player commands to control a little yellow ball with the string bed of a tennis racquet is way more than any baseball player has to do or exerts up to or during a game. It does take some skill to hit a baseball thrown at 98+ MPH with a 3in wide piece of wood but how many of the baseball players actually do this on a consistent basis? Granted it is a testament to the skill of the pitcher but who wants to see a pitcher throw a no-hitter compared to wanting to see more hits and home runs?

Even without all this "excitement," baseball outperforms tennis, golf and other sports for TV ratings. Sometimes even more than football. I just don't get it. Is it because baseball's rules are easier to understand and follow? I just don't know. Maybe it's the inbreeding. :-)

Whatever it may be, I say, "Boo on the Rangers." The proverbial carrot was dangle in front of Rangers fans and it was taken away without making a fight out of it. Seriously, 4 games to 1 is like how playoffs are won in the 1^st round of hockey or basketball.

I'm not completely heartless. I do believe the Rangers performed well for a team that never has been to the World Series. They quickly joined the ranks of the rest of the almosts-but-not-quite teams that have lost. There has to be a loser and it seems the Dallas-area teams are perfect for the role.

So, I bag on all the professional teams in the D/FW area not just the Rangers. As a sports fan, selective sports at most times, I am tired of my hopes being dashed because of the unfulfilling prophecy of the "one that could change our team and take us all the way" never is completed. Even though the Cowboys have won Super Bowls and the Stars a Stanley Cup, they still have disappointed local fans year after year with sub-par performances in the regular season and if lucky enough, post-season. The Mavericks consistently are "almosts" and now the Rangers have joined them.

I'm not a die hard fan, I guess. I'm not into giving my all, my attention, to things that end up wasting my time and patience. So, I guess I'm not a true fan either some might say. I say, "Maybe."

But maybe I'm like that person that has been really hurt in a relationship and is afraid to let themselves invest in caring again. Yeah, that's it. Maybe I'm just a sports romantic.

Nah, I'm just a bitter sports fan that wants his team to win or at least listen to me when I yell at the TV on how things should be done. If they still lose after my advice, then at least they did so following the BEST advice possible. I can't help it that they can perform the advice I've given them.

Again, Boo on the Rangers. Boo on the Cowboys. Boo on the losing streak Stars. And fingers-crossed that the Mavericks will bring it home this season! I won't keep the torch burning for them for too long.

NBA All-Star Game Dallas 2010

There was an article in the Dallas News that said something about Dirk. It was titled, "True to All-Star nature, Dirk Nowitzki's quiet with 22 points" (click here for the article while it lasts). Dirk opened the game with two attempts, two made, four points. It was a nice gesture to have the hometown hero start it off right. No pressure. Fast forward to the end of the game with something like 5 seconds left and who should have gotten the last attempt for the West? Yes, Dirk...in my opinion and just about everyone else's. Who took it? That dumb ass Carmelo! Why? Cuz he's a dumb ass! The game is on the line, the All-Star hometown hero has 22 points, hit or miss he should have finished the game just as he started it -- being the one to take the shot! Just my two cents but I think Dirk would have either tied it with a two-pointer or hit the three-point shot. Either way, I'm sure he wouldn't have come up short like that Carmelo guy.

So, onto the critique of the All-Star game.

If you Google the 2010 NBA All-Star game you'll get results that say what I posted as the title. What most people don't actually know (or probably don't care) is that the All-Star game was actually played in Arlington, Texas which is about 20-30 minutes outside of Dallas and Fort Worth but in between the two metroplexes.

Why then do they bill it as "in Dallas" or the logo even says, "Dallas 2010"? Is it because anybody outside say a 50-mile radius of DFW doesn't know where the hell Arlington is? Probably. But if I were the city of Arlington, I'd be feeling kind of gypped because a venue like this could have put them on the map...if only temporarily. The only thing(s) that were held in Dallas, mainly at the Dallas Convention Center, was the Friday-Saturday preliminary stuff like the celebrity game and jam session.

Anyway, semantics aside, I wanted to share my thoughts on the game. In a word, "LAME!"

I believe I've confessed a few times before that I really don't watch that much basketball anymore. I occasionally catch a few Mavs games but I don't make it a point to know what's going on in the NBA realm. That being said, as someone who isn't into basketball all that much, I think they could and should have made the game a little more interesting.

Let's go back one day before the game for the slam dunk contest. In two words, "VERY LAME!"

It was pretty cool how this 5'9" guy named Nate Robinson could dunk like Spud Webb (although I think Spud was much better) but there was no style, no grace, no form...no pizazz! It was actually pretty boring and I think the whole crowd (celebrity and non-celebrity alike) agreed. There were no "Oos," "Ahs," or "Ohs." As a non-fanatic, I should have been awed and wowed but I wasn't. Instead, I was almost yearning to see the Winter Olympics' curling competition as it would provide more excitement.

There's a reason they have basically nobodies in this competition because they don't want the really well-known players to get hurt doing something stupid like showboating and breaking a wrist or hand which meant they'd be out of the regular season games for however long.

I really wanted to see something like the following:

• the Superman - although to me not technically a dunk but as high as he was and just the pure showmanship made it awesome
• the 720 - this was pretty cool and the height he got
• the Vince Carter dunks
• Any dunks from this clip

I think you get the point. I think the difference between the dunks in the past and the 2010 participants is the height the players got allowed them to do just about anything they wanted while in the air. They seemed to be able to palm the ball much better as well.

Now back to the game, short and sweet, hopefully.

The All-Star game is supposed to be the showboating event of the year. It's the one time that whatever you do, hit or miss, win or lose, it doesn't really matter in the overall scheme of the NBA season. Sure you miss an arrogant shot or dunk here and there but who cares, it's supposed to be entertaining. What I saw was not that entertaining. There should have been almost nothing but slam dunks, alley oops, behind-the-back passes, and the like. Out of the first two periods, there was much excitement left to be desired.

The half time show was kind of lame too. I wasn't impressed with Shakira or Alicia Keys at all. Usher was good but I still wasn't given that BAM! feeling that would make me remember them after the night was over. In fact, I had to Google it to find out who did the halftime show because I just barely could remember Shakira.

I didn't get to catch the 3rd period and most of the 4th because I had to play taxi to some out-of-town relatives that drove from Illinois on Friday to attend only the game on Sunday. Their transmission was going out and they didn't want to drive it too much before they attempted to make the drive home on Monday.

Anyway, I did make it back just in time for the last couple of minutes of the 4th period and you already read my opinion on that at the start of this post.

So, the game has been done for a few days. More disappointment has settled in with the Mavericks losing to the Oklahoma Thunder City yesterday. I didn't even know where the hell the Thunder played out of much less that Oklahoma had an NBA team. To me, the Thunder is like the Toronto Raptors or Memphis Grizzlies: teams that "real" teams should never lose to or teams you never hear of making the playoffs. The Thunder was good enough to kick the Mavs' asses...which is utterly ridiculous whether the Mavs had new players or not. There's no excuse.

Days after the All-Star game has been completed, the only thing that stands out in the news is that the East won (which I hear is the norm) and it had a record attendance (which is a no-brainer since the Cowboys Stadium holds like a 100,000 people. It should set a record since no stadium comes close...yet).

Finally I think the city of Arlington did a great job hosting the event. While being taxi boy, I must say that there were a lot of police and security around the venue that people were able to safely walk around the stadium and the surrounding streets seemingly without fear of being threatened. They were very helpful to a few of the driver-bys that I saw as well as the pedestrians needing to get across the street. I was also surprised by the drivers around the area. They didn't do anything stupid like cut people off, speeding unnecessarily, or just being plain stupid. I truly believe that the city of Irving/Dallas would not have done as well as a job.

Okay, that is my take on the 2010 All-Star game as seen from the eyes of a driver-by and TV watcher.

Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets Game 4

It's obvious Dallas is currently one of the sports capital losers of the world right now...the Stars' season sucked, the Cowboys' season sucked, the Ranger's season always sucks, and now the Mavericks' suck season is ending.

Yes, I'm a fucking bitter Dallas sports fan!

My reason for posting is two-fold.

First, the Mavs, the Mavs' fans and anyone else needs to just STFU about the non-foul call at the end of game three. If the Mavs didn't play with their fingers in their bungholes, they wouldn't have had to worry about that one call. If they would learn to maintain a simple 6pt or more lead by at least always making their shots when they are in the offensive zone, they would have not lost any of the games.

Second, why the fuck is game four starting at 9:30pm tonight?!?! I'm IN DALLAS! The Mavs are playing the Nugs...IN DALLAS! Denver time zone difference is not like the California time zone difference. Besides, if the Denver fans want to see the game from Denver, they should take off work early or tell their beloved Nuggets to lose game four so that game five can be played in Denver.

Oh well, I'm baffled. I won't be watching anyway because I know they are just going to disappoint me AND I'm planning on going to bed by at least 9:30pm. In bed isn't going to happen so I'll probably end up watching the game and getting pissed off before I do go to sleep. Aaaaahhh!

Dallas Mavericks' playoff schedule

This is a little late as they have already played two games (1-1) but I couldn't let this go.

I was perusing the NBA.com website and checked out my local team. Needless to say, I think the official website of the NBA needs to have a better content proof reader for their web pages. I'm available for the job anytime!

In case you are a nimrod, look at the names of the Mavs' opponent. As one commenter on another website said, it seems we are playing a few opponents in the first round. There is San Antoino, San Antonio, Spurs, and San Antiono. It's a good thing there is a day or two of rest in the schedule for the Mavs. ;-P

Go Stars!

That's pretty much all I can say on that topic. Having a commanding 3-0 lead in the playoff series is quite a benefit but by no means insurmountable. It does put more pressure on the team with the "0" part of the series count which makes them more dangerous to an extent.

There were some close shots on both ends of the ice that could have easily made it a Sharks win (or Stars win) in regulation.

One gripe...Hagman should have pulled it to his backhand and then back to his forehand for the penalty shot. Why the hell he tried to score on a weaker shot (the backhand lift) is beyond me! I think he realized his mistake once he was looking back at the net to see Nabokov flicking him the finger and saying, "Who's your daddy, bitch!?"

If they'd listen to me yelling at the TV and they'd win it way easier than they are making it!

Game 4 tonight. Why the hell one home game for the Stars is played at 6:30 p.m. and the next (back-to-back, in fact) is 8:00 p.m. Must be giving those hockey fanatics like myself who want to watch all the games time to catch those others on Versus.

Oh well, I'm a statue at 8:00 p.m. tonight!

GO STARS!

Since the Mav's sucked Hornet nads and are what we in Dallas typically call...

LOSERS!

Dallas Mavericks trade talks...finale

Just like many fans of any sport, I don't care how it's done but I want my team to win a championship. I don't care who does it. I don't care who was traded or signed to make it happen. In the words of Captain Picard, just "Make it so!"

So, all this talk about who is being traded (given up) for the Kidd trade really doesn't matter.

In my opinion, the guy that f-ed up the original trade deal (Devean George was it?) better step up his game! There is nothing worse than an "employee" screwing with a big deal that "management" has cooked up! Nothing! The "top brass" on down will be keeping a close eye on his ass!

After watching some of tonight's game in New Orleans, Devean did hit a couple of three-pointers so I guess he's thinking the same thing I was typing.

Dallas Mavericks (Mavs) take Game 1

Final score: 90 - 80

Yippeekiyay!

Two questions:

1. As a professional basketball player, whether you are a "star" player or not, how the hell do you air ball a shot?
2. How the hell does Jason Terry miss an easy, break-a-way lay up or dunk? Maybe it was the indecisiveness which to do but either way, he's a professional so he should not have missed!

I'm out!

Dallas Mavericks versus Miami Heat Game 1

Go MAVS!

Up by two at the start of the 2nd half.

Gotta go study...while watching the game, or course!

By the way, this is what I am studying for a quiz tomorrow...good times!

Mavs, The French Open - a boring post

Sweet, there is a sport god. The Mavs overcome a 15-pt deficit to take win the Western Conference finals. Hell yeah! All that I’ve read when Dallas was supposed to win in five is that the Miami Heat is not a formidable team and no where near the skills and talent as the Spurs, Suns or even the Mavs. So, we look forward to tip off on Thursday night.

I TiVoed the French Open play from yesterday and am watching it now. I was watching “live” play today and it was the match between James Blake and Gael Monfils. I say “live” because Monfils had already beaten Blake and they were supposedly showing a live broadcast. In fact, “real live” matches were being played but not shown. That was pissing me off. So, anyway I’m now watching my TiVoed episodes of Monk since I’m not getting to watch the matches I want to for the French Open.

It’s a boring post I know so I’ll maybe type something better later.

Dallas Mavericks, The French Open and Working

Game six for the Mavs vs the Suns is tonight. I’m a little bummed that I don’t get to watch it. I’ll be working today/tonight from like noon to midnight. A couple of friends of mine have a job their doing and they asked me to help. I really didn’t know it would be like for twelve hours but they told me they’d pay me $250. I figured that was a good trade off for giving up my tennis this morning, my lounging around all day watching the French Open and then watching the Mavs game.

We’ll see.

Go Mavs! Go James Blake!

Dallas Mavericks vs Phoenix Suns Game Three

Mavs pull off the win. It was close and they even were down by 15 at one point but they came through.

I was watching the NHL playoffs as well. Of course, I'm not getting to see all of them because there are no local teams but I catch what I can. I was very disappointed that Anaheim Mighty Ducks didn't do better against the Edmonton Oilers. I was really pulling for Teemu Selanne to get a championship ring.

Buffalo Sabres versus the Carolina Hurricanes were tied last I checked so it seems their teams are more easily matched...maybe.

Oh well, that is about it for the sports update. I need to find out when the French Open matches are going to be televised. The French Open started today, I believe.

Later!

Pics of the Spurs whiners already

It didn't take long for this did it...

Dallas Mavericks vs Phoenix Suns, Game 1

A new series, a new set of nerves.

I can't believe I actually was getting pissed at the shoddy play of the Mavs in game seven with less than five minutes to play. And the feeling of dejection when they were down by three with like 20 secs left to play. I haven't felt like that since I followed the Bulls through their three-peat.

I guess I really want them to win. Then again, I really want to back a winning team and not get left in the rafters when they f-up and lose!

NBA Semifinals, Game 1 tonight, 7:30 p.m. CST, from American Airlines Center.

Dallas Mavericks win game 7

The Dallas Mavericks barely pulled off the upset.

At one point they were up by 20 but then you got Terry, Stackhouse, Howard and maybe a few others that wanted to be just like Mike and started trying fancy, shmancy shots and missing.

Mavs were down by 3 with like 20 seconds left but got very...very lucky when Dirk made a 2-pt shot, got fouled and sunk the free throw for the tie. Spurs still almost won it with 15 left but as mentioned, the Mavs got very, very, very lucky.

It's all good though. There's no money in a quick series. Too bad the hockey teams haven't learned that yet!

Thanks for all your prayers to your particular god. Now, hopefully, it'll take the Mavs to the championship trophy and we'll once again have a reason to give a parade in downtown Dallas. I really don't care about the parade. I just want to be able to cheer a team that can and will win.

I'm easy...like a Sunday morning! Good night, and good luck!

Dallas Mavericks versus San Antonio Spurs Game 6

I'm starting to think the Mavs are just as worthless as the Stars.

How many times can you be "that close" and still blow it!?

There's no money in a short series...especially in basketball. Now short series in hockey doesn't matter because the TV viewership isn't there anyway.

At least the Mavs have made it interesting by going seven games instead of being out in four or five. But what is worse, out in four or up 3-1 and lost 4-3?

I know they are going to let me down! Bastards!

Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs

I'm not much of a basketball fan since the Chicago Bulls three-peat but since the Dallas Stars have left me hanging I don't have much choice but to hope at least ONE team from Dallas wins a championship.

I watched game five last night and must say that I'm disappointed. I've watched a few of the games and I'm wondering if the Stars shared their style of crappy play with the Mavericks.

Game one was winnable if whoever it was didn't go for the win with the three-pointer. All he had to do was shoot a two and they'd go to overtime. There is always someone who wants to be the next Jordan and hit the game winner at the buzzer! Great team play, ass face!

Game two was redemption and an ass-kicking for the Spurs. If I recall, the game was won by like a 10-point deficit. Good times!

Game three I must have missed because I don't remember it.

Game four went to overtime where the Mavs got the lead and held on for the win. Something the guy I can't remember from game one should be thinking about retrospectively. The Mavs potentially could have won it in four straight.

Game five was a good game. Again, the Mavs could have won it but I don't know what the hell the players were thinking with like 27 seconds left in the game. Why Dirk didn't try to pass the ball instead of getting stuffed causing a jump ball is beyond me. Second jump ball should have been between our guy, again forgot his name, and Finley not Ginobli although it really didn't matter because neither did a good job of jumping for the ball. So, there is like 2.6 seconds left in the game and Dallas has the ball in the offensive court for the throw-in. I can't remember who threw the ball in but he should be given a thousand lashes! He bounce-passed the ball to the nearest corner of the court instead of giving someone a better look from the middle of the court. I think he rushed the pass-in...freaking moron. The second mistake was when, um...I forget, had like 1.2 seconds to shoot the ball but instead tried to dribble into a Spur defender. It looked like he just let the ball go when he made contact with the Spur thinking he'd get a foul call. DIP SHIT! Just shoot the ball! He could have been the hero of game four with the game winning shot but instead he looks like a big wussy whining about a foul that never happened.

PUNKS!