alfdogg

And a Bo Outlaw sighting! In the same week!

I can still see the Spurs making a big road trip out of this, though. Even as tired as the Spurs were after the Utah game, the Suns still only reached 100 after a few garbage buckets. The rest of the trip is against teams from the East, so I could see them running the table the rest of the way through it.

Monster game for Amare tonight, 24/23. Very impressive second half for the Suns, and a big win.

And then probably just earned himself a suspension for that foul on Wade. At least, it probably should be after Kobe's suspension.

1:06 left and LeBron clangs both free throws with the game tied, and Wade goes right down and converts a three-point play. EDIT: Then misses 1 of 2 with a chance to tie it the next play down.

Anglepalooza 200? We're kickin' it old school.

[i]Tom Sawyer[/i] hits, and the crowd boos as Felix Strutter comes to the ring. COLE And Felix Strutter on his way down for a first-round match! Let's go to Michael Buffer! BUFFER [i]The following contest is a first-round match in the X-division tournament, scheduled for one fall! Introducing first...from Thunder Bay, Ontario, weighing in at 218 pounds..."AFTER HOURS" FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFELIXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX SSSSSSSSSSTRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUTTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRR!!!!![/i] COLE Felix Strutter, coming off a tremendous performance in the Lethal Rumble match, has his work cut out for him in the first round! [i]Quiet[/i] by Smashing Pumpkins hits and Dan Black makes his way down the aisle, getting a nice pop. BUFFER [i]His opponent, hailing from London, England, weighing in at 243 pounds..."THE ICE HEART" DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN BLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLACK!!!!![/i] Black slides in and poses on the buckles, then jumps down and the bell rings. *DING DING DING* Black and Strutter circle the ring, then tie up. Both men jockey, then Strutter executes an armdrag! Strutter acts proud of himself, as the crowd boos, and Black looks up at him, before getting up and circling the ring again. COACH Great armdrag by Strutter! They tie up again, and this time it's Black who executes the armdrag! COLE But the Ice Heart responds with one of his own! The crowd cheers, as Strutter slowly gets to his feet, and they tie up again. Strutter executes a drop toehold, then goes behind and grabs Black in a rear waistlock. COLE Felix Strutter so quick! Strutter rides him around for a bit, but Black is able to get to his feet. Black walks around, then charges the ropes and ducks down, causing Strutter to fly through the ropes to the floor! COLE But a nice escape by Dan Black! Strutter gets up and looks at Black, then slaps his hands on the apron before sliding in. He walks up and shoves Black, who responds with a slap across the face! COLE Oh my, what a slap! Strutter holds his face, with an angry look. COACH Felix ain't gonna go for that very long. Black offers a test of strength, and Strutter briefly thinks it over, then slowly moves in. He reaches on hand up and locks it, then slowly reaches the other up. He locks it, then they slowly bring the hands down to chest level. Strutter kicks the right hand of Black, then wrings his arm. Black rolls on the mat, then handsprings up, and wrings the arm of Strutter! COLE Back and forth so far, the action very quick in this one! Black wrings the arm again, then delivers right hands to it. Strutter delivers overhand chops to the chest, and tries to escape, but Black takes him down to the mat. He bars it, but Strutter gets to his feet. He backs Black into the ropes, and whips him across. Black ducks a clothesline, and delivers a flying forearm! COLE Nice forearm by Black, and the first pin attempt of the match... 1... 2... Kickout! Black backs into the ropes, and attempts a flying bodypress, but the momentum carries both men over and to the floor! COACH Whoa! COLE And both men go crashing to the floor! I couldn't tell who got the worst of it! COACH Well, it looked like Strutter fell back into the guardrail, but he's getting back first! Black climbs onto the apron, and Strutter grabs him and sets up a suplex. He lifts him over the ropes, but Black slides behind the back. Strutter quickly switches, and delivers a TIGER SUPLEX~! Black rolls backwards onto his stomach. COLE WOW, Dan Black folded up like an accordion on that one! Strutter slowly gets to his feet and begins to stomp away at Black, then picks him up and whips him hard into a corner. Black staggers out, and Strutter delivers a foot to the gut, and delivers a DDT~! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! Strutter picks up Black and backs him into a corner, and lays in kicks. Black drops to his knees, and Strutter slaps him around a bit. COLE Oh, come on! COACH Hey, he's just having a little fun with him! Strutter backs into the ropes, and delivers a swinging neckbreaker! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! Strutter sets up a suplex, but Black reverses to a small package! COLE Small package by Black! 1... 2... Kickout! COLE So close! Strutter quickly stomps away, then delivers a Northern Lights suplex! 1... 2... NO! Kickout! COLE But Dan Black still with a lot of fight left! COACH Well, they don't call him the Ice Heart for nothing! Strutter picks Black up, and whips him into the ropes. He drops down, then Black ducks a clothesline, then both men clothesline each other! COACH Oh! COLE And a double clothesline! The referee begins his count... ONE!!! TWO!!! THREE!!! FOUR!!! FIVE!!! SIX!!! SEVEN!!! EIGHT!!! Black sits up, and begins to stand, as Strutter drags himself to his feet. Black measures Strutter, and goes for a SUPERKICK~!...but Strutter ducks, and floors Black with a HIGH ROUNDHOUSE KICK~! Strutter then goes to the top rope... COACH And Strutter going to the top here! Strutter leaps off with a SWANTON BOMB~!, but Black rolls out of the way! COLE And nobody home! The crowd cheers as Black gets to his feet, and catches Strutter with a savate kick, followed by a snap suplex! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! Black follows up with an EXPLODER SUPLEX~! Cover... 1... 2... NO! Shoulder up! Black picks up Strutter and backs him into a corner, delivering European uppercuts, then bringing him out of the corner with a BULLDOG~!!! Cover... 1... 2... NO!!! Shoulder up! COACH But how about Felix Strutter? Black complains to the referee briefly, then grabs Strutter and attempts an Irish whip. Strutter reverses, then drops down...and Black hops over, right into the referee, who was in the way! COLE And the referee takes a collision! He's out of it! Black bends down to check on him, and takes a LOW BLOW from Strutter, followed by the THUNDER BAY THROTTLE~!!!111 COACH He got him! This one's in the bag! COLE But there's no referee! Strutter counts a fall himself, then gets up and pats the referee on the back, before going over to untie the turnbuckle pad! COLE And now Strutter resorting to desperate tactics! Strutter removes the buckle, then picks up Black and tries to ram him into the buckle! However, Black blocks by putting his hand on the top rope, and Strutter does the same as Black tries to force his head down! COLE And both men trying to send the other's head in! As the referee comes to, Strutter delivers a shot to the gut of Black, then drags him out to mid-ring. He sets up for the THUNDER BAY THROTTLE~!!!111 once again, but this time, Black slips out, trips up Strutter, and slingshots him INTO THE EXPOSED BUCKLE! COACH Oh no! COLE And Felix tastes the steel! As Strutter staggers out, Black trips him up, and hooks him in the HEART OF ICE~!!!!!11111 COLE And Black with the Heart of Ice! Strutter struggles for a few seconds, but eventually has to tap out! The crowd goes wild! COLE He got him! *DING DING DING* COLE Dan Black advances in the tournament! BUFFER [i]The winner of the match..."THE ICE HEART" DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN BLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLACK!!!!![/i] The referee gets to his feet, and raises the hand of Black, who snatches it away and walks back down the aisle, his hands in the air. COLE So Dan Black will advance to the second round of the tournament, and will meet the winner of the match later tonight, as Tha Puerto Rican takes on the Japanese star, Kenji Kawada! Let's go to...

Within the hour of the announcements, I've already found three articles containing "Anthony snubbed" in the headline.

I was surprised that Tony Parker got in. There's really no one player that I can say really got snubbed, though, aside from Howard, who will still get in with the injury replacements, in all likelihood. Good players are going to be left off every year, but it's hard to say that the guys who did make it didn't deserve it.

West reserves Steve Nash Dirk Nowitzki Allen Iverson Carlos Boozer Amare Stoudemire Tony Parker Shawn Marion

East reserves Vince Carter Jason Kidd Jermaine O'Neal Chauncey Billups Richard Hamilton Dwight Howard Caron Butler

some west coast nuggaz be ghost ridin them whips, norcal fo LYFE

btw, you're still wrong up there, Roy.

I was going to wait until next week to start this, but the suspense is killing me. Here's some questions for you guys, if you don't mind. 1) Who will win the MVP? 2) Who will win the ROTY? 3) Which team will be most improved in 2005-06? 4) What player(s) is most likely have a breakout season? 5) What team had the best offseason? 6) What team had the worst offseason? 7) What one move will make the biggest impact? 8) What was the most surprising move of the offseason? 9) What was the most underrated move of the offseason? 10) What was the single worst move of the offseason? 11) What team(s) will move into the playoff picture? 12) What team(s) will fall out of the playoff picture? 13) Who is the best player in the league at each position? 14) Will Isiah Thomas still be with the Knicks after this season? 15) Will Kevin Garnett still be with the Wolves after this season? 16) Will Allen Iverson still be with the Sixers after this season? 17) Division winners: 18) Eastern Conference Finals: 19) Western Conference Finals: 20) NBA Finals: 21) Make one bold prediction. Note that when I say "best/worst moves", I'm referring to players.

1) Dirk could definitely still get it, but my choice right now is Kobe. However, it's looking a lot like Nash may well get the three-peat from the league. 2) Unlikely to happen at this point, unless Roy goes down again. 3) Was looking pretty good on this one until this weekend. 4) He's doing all right, but I expected him to have a much bigger role offensively, something like 17-19 ppg. 5) Pretty far off on this one. Elson's been good in short spurts, I guess, but Butler's pretty much gotten no burn. 6) I'll give myself this point, can't really think of any other examples that stand out. 7) Same as 6. He hasn't really made that big of a difference, but I can't really think of anyone who's done more. ... 11) Looks good, although Orlando may end up on the outside again when it's all done, assuming Miami comes back. 12) Yeah, yeah. 13) Dirk in Garnett's spot. Can't believe I didn't have him there in the first place now. 14-16) Wow. I fucked up pretty royally on these. 17) I think I'll end up right on the Atlantic, Northwest and Pacific. We'll probably get Detroit, Dallas, and Washington in the other ones. Probably too late for Miami in terms of the division title. 18) Detroit over Washington 19) TBD (San Antonio, Dallas, or Phoenix) 20) One of the three teams above over Detroit 21) Halfway there.

[i]Money Talks[/i] hits, and boos fill the arena, as Theodore Moneymaker, laughing maniacally, walks through the curtains, followed by Christian Wright. COLE Time for another Anderson Cup match! Let's go to Michael Buffer! BUFFER [i]The following is a second-round matchup in the Anderson Cup Tournament, scheduled for one fall! Making their way down the aisle, at a combined weight of 462 pounds! They are the #3 seed in the Los Infernales bracket...introducing first, hailing from Washington, DC...CHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRISSSSSSSSTIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIGHT!!!!! His tag team partner, hailing from Vero Beach, Florida, he is the CEO of the Enterprise...THHHHHHHEODOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEE EEEEE MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMONEYYYYYYYYYYYYMMMMMMMMAKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRR!!!!![/i] COLE And this team got here with a victory over the Love Doctors, the former HI-YAH tag team champions! *shot of Teddy laughing* COLE And there you see Theodore Moneymaker, one of the hot newcomers in the OAOAST! [i]Stars and Stripes Forever[/i] hits, and Charlie Moss and Quentin Benjamin make their way down the aisle. BUFFER [i]Their opponents...at a combined weight of 485 pounds...they are the #2 seed in the Los Infernales Bracket, the team of CHARLIE MOSS and QUENTIN BENJAMIN, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMERICAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAA'S TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM!!!!![/i] Moss and Benjamin slide into the ring and pose on the corner, then jump back down. The referee checks them, and calls for the bell. *DING DING DING* COLE And this match underway! The crowd gets on the case of Wright and Teddy, as Moss and Benjamin egg them on. Benjamin steps out, and eventually Wright does, as well. COLE And Theodore Moneymaker going to start it off against Charlie Moss! Teddy and Moss circle the ring, and tie up. After a brief struggle, Moss executes an armdrag on Teddy! Teddy slaps the mat in frustration. COLE Nice armdrag by Charlie Moss, trying to gain an advantage early! Teddy gets up, and the two tie up again, this time with Teddy taking Moss down with a hiptoss! Teddy gets a big smile on his face, as he makes the "come on" gesture to Moss. Moss gets to his feet, and the two circle the ring once again. COACH It's all even so far! Moss grabs a side headlock. Teddy backs him into the ropes, then whips him across. Moss comes back with a shoulderblock, sending Teddy to the mat! Teddy rolls all the way over, and lands on his stomach. He then gets up, and complains to the referee about a closed fist! COACH Yeah, that was a closed fist, I saw it too! COLE I didn't see that! Teddy yells at the fans to shut up, getting boos in response. He circles the ring with Moss once again, and they tie up. He pushes Moss off again, and goes down on a shoulderblock again! Moss backs into the ropes again, and Teddy flips to his stomach, with Moss jumping over. Teddy then gets to his feet and leapfrogs Moss, then drops down for a leapfrog...but takes a fistdrop instead! COACH How about that one? COLE Yeah, I saw that one! Teddy gets to his feet holding his face, and Moss hits him with a dropkick, sending him out to the floor! COLE And it's Charlie Moss with the advantage early on! Teddy confers with Wright on the floor, as Benjamin awaits him in the ring. COLE Tag made in the ring, and Quentin Benjamin in to meet Theodore Moneymaker as he comes back in. Teddy climbs back into the ring, and ties up with Benjamin, who wrings an arm. He wrings it a second time, then Teddy backs him into the ropes and whips him across. Teddy drops down, allowing Benjamin to jump over him, and Wright nails Benjamin from behind! COLE And a cheap shot from the outside from Wright! Benjamin turns around and pulls Wright in over the top rope, then executes a DOUBLE NOGGIN-KNOCKER~! COLE And a little meeting of the minds right there! COACH :throwup: Moss comes into the ring and backs Wright into a corner, as Benjamin takes Teddy across. America's Team sends Teddy and Wright into one another at mid-ring! Wright rolls out, as Teddy takes a swing at Benjamin, who ducks and picks up Teddy for an atomic drop, the impact of which sends Teddy right over the top and to the floor! COLE And America's Team on a roll! Right now, these guys look well-headed to the finals of the Los Infernales bracket! COACH Well, it looks good right now, Cole, but don't count the Enterprise out yet! This one's far from over! Teddy slides right back in, and gets caught in an armdrag! Benjamin bars the arm, then picks Teddy up. Teddy goes to the eyes, and tags in Wright. COLE And now Christian Wright in for the first time! However, Benjamin catches him with an armdrag! Then a second! He bars him on the second one, then tags Moss back in. Moss comes off the second rope with a chop, then picks him up and executes a double underhook suplex! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! Moss tags Benjamin again, and Benjamin hammers away on Wright. Benjamin then delivers a dropkick to Wright, sending him to the floor! Benjamin follows up with a PLANCHA~!, but Wright evades it, and Benjamin hits the floor with a thud! COLE Oh my goodness, and that may be the break the Enterprise needed right there! Wright rolls in, then as Benjamin tries to climb back in, Wright pulls him underneath the bottom rope and picks him up, delivering a backbreaker! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! Wright chokes Benjamin briefly, then tags Teddy back in. Teddy hooks Benjamin, then delivers a vertical suplex! Teddy laughs maniacally, as the crowd boos. COACH And Teddy's happy, as he knows he has the advantage! He picks up Benjamin, then whips him across and delivers a powerslam! 1... 2... Kickout! He tosses Benjamin to the outside, then goes over to the corner to distract Moss and the referee, as Wright rams his back into the apron on the floor! COACH And Benjamin's really being worked over here! I'll still give you a chance to change your prediction, Cole. Wright rolls him into the ring, then Teddy covers... 1... 2... Kickout! Teddy drops a Fistful of Dollars on Benjamin! Then a second! Cover... 1... 2... Kickout! Teddy goes for a slam, but Benjamin goes behind and tries a reverse sunset! However, Teddy is able to tag Wright on the way by, who comes right in and catches Benjamin with the WRIGHT-OFF~! 1... 2... NO! Shoulder up! COLE And that was almost it right there! Wright stomps away on Benjamin, then tags Teddy right back in. Teddy slams Benjamin to the mat, then goes up to the second rope. He taunts the crowd, receiving boos, then falls back with an elbow...which misses! COLE And no one home on that elbow, and Benjamin needs to tag! Benjamin scoots over to his corner, and makes the tag! COLE TAG MADE, and Charlie Moss in there! Moss delivers clotheslines to both Wright and Teddy, then delivers bodyslams to both! He whips Wright across the ropes, and catches him with a belly-to-belly! Cover... 1... 2... Save by Teddy! Teddy hammers Moss, and he and Wright both set him up. They whip Moss across, and Moss ducks a double clothesline and floors both men with one of his own! He then grabs Wright from behind, dropping him with the STO BACKBREAKER, before locking him in the MOSSY KNOLL~!!! COLE And the Mossy Knoll applied! Will this be it? However, Teddy breaks up the hold with a clothesline from behind! Moss tags Benjamin back in, and Benjamin hammers away on Teddy! He goes for an Irish whip, but Teddy reverses and tries a clothesline, which Benjamin ducks. Teddy turns around, and Benjamin goes for a kick. DiBiase catches the foot and spins him around, but Benjamin catches him with a spinning wheel kick! Benjamin then gets up to all fours, as Moss backs into the ropes, and they hit him with the DOUBLE GOOZLE~! COLE There's the Double Goozle! This could be it! Moss lifts Teddy up on his shoulders as the crowd gets to their feet! Benjamin goes to the top rope, as Wright attacks Moss from behind, causing Moss to drop Teddy to the mat. Moss and Wright get tangled up, as Benjamin hits Teddy with a flying bodypress! ...but Teddy rolls through, and grabs the tights! COLE Reversal by Teddy! 1... 2... 3!!! COLE He had the tights, damn it! The Enterprise steals it! BUFFER [i]The winners of the match... the team of CHRISTIAN WRIGHT AND THEODORE MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMONEYMAKERRRRRR!!!!![/i] Teddy pulls Wright out, and pulls him down the aisle as he raises his hand in the air. COLE The Enterprise gets a win, and advance, but not without a fight, and not without controversy, as you saw as well as I did the handful of tights by Theodore Moneymaker! COACH I saw no such thing, Cole! All I see is the team headed to the finals of the Los Infernales bracket, representing the Enterprise! Teddy turns back around to look at America's Team in the ring, and laughs maniacally. COLE Let's go back to...

I still think had Bell's three not gone down in game 5, the Clippers might well have gone to the Finals.

I'm going to change my mind, on a few counts. Despite the loss tonight, this circus trip for the Spurs is normally the time of year when they really start to get good, and remind everyone that they're still around. The real test comes tommorrow night, at Phoenix on the tail end of a back-to-back. But my #2 is not set in stone as of yet. Back to the All-Star teams, I think Michael Redd deserves to make it, despite his injury setback. This guy was playing as good as anyone in the league before he got hurt. So put him in for Carter, since you really shouldn't have two All-Stars if you're not in the playoffs. In the wake of Boozer's injury, I think the Jazz have got to have someone in the game, whether it's Deron Williams or Mehmet Okur. Hopefully one of those guys is the injury replacement.

Hoosiers lead Wisco by 5 with 2:15 to go.

For anyone who has Insider, there's a column up where Hollinger ranks the 30 best players to never win a championship. Go check it out and steal it for us.

Here's one from out of left field: The Clippers sign Doug Christie to a 10-day contract.

Rookie challenge rosters: Rookies Andrea Bargnani, TOR Jordan Farmar, LAL Randy Foye, MIN Jorge Garbajosa, TOR Rudy Gay, MEM Paul Millsap, UTA Adam Morrison, CHA Brandon Roy, POR Marcus Williams, NJ Sophmores Andrew Bogut, MIL Andrew Bynum, LAL Monta Ellis, GS Raymond Felton, CHA Danny Granger, IND Luther Head, HOU David Lee, NY Chris Paul, NO/OK Deron Williams, UTA Sucks about Boozer. This will likely pave the way for Carmelo Anthony to make the team, though I'd say Elton Brand has made a solid case for himself amidst the Clippers' resurgence.

1) Over 1m44s 2) Let's Go Crazy (1/3) 3) Colts 4) Colts 5a) Bears 5b) Play stands 6) Bears 7) 2nd Half + OT 8) No 9a) Over 7 9b) Under 6 1/2 10a) Under 2 1/2 10b) Under 2 11) 50-56

OMG. A Michael Olowokandi sighting.