Along with wondering if Larry Brown will visit MSG when his Sixers are in town Wednesday night (after all, plenty of good seats are available), the New York Daily News’ Frank Isola pulls the following gem out of his treasure trove of hoops memories :
In Seattle, I stayed at a hotel that I hadn™t been to since the early 90™s when I covered the Nets. During one road trip, Jayson Williams invited me out for dinner “ yes the Jayson Williams who went to St. John™s “ and after we returned to the hotel he called me at 11 p.m. and asked me if I wanted to go swimming. Williams had quit drinking and was in the process of re-dedicating himself to basketball. He basically wanted me to serve as his life guard since no one else was around. Jayson swam laps for 30 minutes which was quite impressive. But it looked funny seeing a 6-foot-9 guy with a bathing cap in the pool. When I told his teammates what Jayson was wearing, some of them “ Rick Mahorn and Derrick Coleman “ teased him for weeks.
And then he threatened to shoot them. No, sorry, that was Dwayne Schintzius.
Sports On My Mind’s Dwill declares the Lakers’ defeat of the Nuggest Saturday evening “the best team NBA Game in the last ten years,” saying of no. 8 no. 24’s display,
Kobe™s performance was reminiscent of what old heads talk about when they mention Red Holtzman™s New York Knicks™ teams of the late 60s and early 70s. How one night Walt Frazier could have a line like 9 points 12 assists and 8 boards, while Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, and Earl Monroe were the stars and the next night Frazier™s line might be 33, 5, and 4, because that™s what his team needed. Kobe™s line against Sacto was 42, 10, and 9; not bad for a night™s work. Friday night against Denver his line was 8, 5, and 10; not bad when your team wins by 19.
Sports Media Watch warns that ESPNU has drafted the Sports Putz to work as a college hoops commentator. “Simmons may generate laughs with his columns, but his mousy, high-pitched voice is one that most sports fans will loathe hearing during a game,” insists Paul Sen, who clearly is unfamiliar with Auto-Tune.
David Roth describes this nearly converted dish from Andreas Bargnani to Chris Bosh as “the nicest thing I’ve seen on a basketball court this season.” Huh. Someone else who doesn’t rate those halftime talent contests at MSG, apparently.
The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg reports that Gilbert Arenas might be hooking up with the Brian Davis / Christian Death ownership group taking over D.C. United. I guess that means if cries of “hibachi” are heard coming from Marion Barry’s office, we shouldn’t assume the worst. And please, no comments about the former Mayor knowing all about quality shots. That stuff happened a long, long time ago.
Luke Jackson, the 10th overall pick in the 2004 draft has signed a 10 day contract with the Clippers. Previously, Jackson had been averaging 12.5 PPG for the D-League’s Idaho Stampede.
Pat Burke : one tough Irishman.