alfdogg

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=cryi...v=tsn&type=lgns I picked up a magazine at the grocery store that included the above article, and also the "All-Call" teams, as voted on by 25 players, coaches, assisants and personnel executives. Here is what they voted. The below is typed directly from Sporting News Magazine "All-Call" First Team PG: Allen Iverson, 76ers. Fearless dashes to the basket, combined with his 165-pound frame, make every hit he takes seem like a flagrant foul. SG: Kobe Bryant, Lakers. Though his image has taken some hits, defenders feel he still gets whistles with the best of them. SF: Tracy McGrady, Rockets. Opponents say McGrady has gotten better at working referees - initiating contact to force a whistle and conducting gamelong chats with the officials. PF: Tim Duncan, Spurs. One player says officials think Duncan is "a saint" because of his nice-guy image and that gets him to the foul line. C: Shaquille O'Neal, Heat. Most acknowledge that officiating games with O'Neal is almost as tough as defending him because of the amount of contact he absorbs. "All-Call" Second Team PG: Stephon Marbury, Knicks. Marbury has a strong build and good balance, which allow him to create contact, get a call and still finish a play. SG: Ray Allen, Sonics. Allen is primarily a jump shooter, but he is crafty off the dribble and able to take advantage of players who try to crowd his jumper. SF: Paul Pierce, Celtics. Another guy who's smooth to the rim when he's driving, Pierce has a knack for flipping his head backward to exaggerate the effects of contact. PF: Kevin Garnett, Timberwolves. Being the MVP has its privileges, and most defenders think that means K.G. gets away with a lot. C: Yao Ming, Rockets. Sometimes, there's no way to handle a 7-6 center other than to foul him. But Wait... The problem with the players' All-Call choices is that their picks are not supported by statistical evidence. There may be a sense that Kevin Garnett gets favorable treatment from referees, but there is no proof. In fact, Garnett gets fewer calls than Brian Cardinal and Mike Sweetney. As for the notion young players get no calls, the three power forwards who draw the most fouls per offensive touch - Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, and Chris Bosh - have an average age of just over 20. Star players go to the free throw line more often because they touch the ball more than lesser players. That gives stars more opportunity to be fouled. A good way to measure which players are getting the calls is to look at how often each player touches the ball on offense in relation to the number of free throws he shoots. There is no stat for touches, but we can get a rough idea by adding shot attempts, assists, offensive rebounds and turnovers. It's not perfect, but it gives us a sense of how frequently a player touches the ball. Divide touches by total free throw attempts, and you get the number of touches a player gets for each trip to the line. A low number means the player is getting a lot of whistles. Garnett, according to this formula, goes to the line once for every 4.4 times he touches the ball. Cardinal (3.4) and Sweetney (2.8) get whistles much more frequently. So, who's really getting to the line most? Shaq, you might guess - incorrectly. He gets a free throw every 2.2 touches. Sonics center Danny Fortson is the league leader, with a foul shot every 1.9 touches. The real "All-Call" team First Team (touches per FTA) Gets more calls than... PG: Dwayne Wade, Heat (3.0). Allen Iverson, who is a second-team All-Call guy, according to the numbers. SG: Kobe Bryant, Lakers (2.9). LeBron James, who gets 4.3 touches per free throw. SF: Corey Magette, Clippers (2.3). Any other perimeter player. PF: Amare Stoudemire, Suns (2.4). Tim Duncan, who checks in at 3.4. C: Danny Fortson, Sonics (1.9). Shaq. Believe it. Second Team (touches per FTA) Gets more calls than... PG: Allen Iverson, 76ers (3.5). Fellow All-Star point guard Steve Nash, who gets just one free throw every 8.5 touches. SG: Jerry Stackhouse, Mavericks (3.2). Michael Finley (7.8), the guy Stackhouse backs up. SF: Paul Pierce, Celtics (2.8). Tracy McGrady (4.2), Vince Carter (4.6), and Ray Allen (5.4). PF: Dwight Howard, Magic (2.7). Dirk Nowitzki (3.9) and Kevin Garnett (4.4). C: Shaquille O'Neal, Heat (2.2). Anyone except Fortson. Very interesting stuff, indeed. Thoughts?

And hey, Shawn Michaels gets to be the one to give Hasaan his first loss. Yay.

EDIT

I beg to differ.

This is his second season with the Rockets

And Jerry Sloan, don't forget him.

Could it be because Boozer fucked the Cavaliers over?? He didn't fuck Cleveland over. Cleveland fucked themselves over GUND SCREWED GUND

I'm inclined to say yes, simply because I don't understand why they would blow off a feud as hot as Savage/Roberts on a late-night TV show.

Um, the Cavs are "fighting for a playoff spot"? They're still fifth in the East and have a fairly easy schedule after the first week of April. Barring a major injury to LeBron James, they're in, easily. "Tom Withers" is a moron, and so is the Cavs' front office.

The Pacers play San Antonio Wednesday, then play all Eastern Conference teams the rest of the way.

I have to admit I giggled when the candy bars that said "GAY" on them appeared.

Savage/Steamboat was from 3, dude.

1) What is your favorite WM, top to bottom, of all time? X-7 2) What is your least favorite WM of all time? XI 3) What is your favorite WM match? Austin/Hart, XIII 4) What is your least favorite WM match? HHH/Jericho, X-8 5) Name some honorable mentions for favorite match: Savage/Steamboat, Savage/Warrior, Savage/Flair, Bret/Owen, HBK/Razor, TLC II, Austin/Rock(X-7), Benoit/HHH/HBK 6) What is your favorite WM venue? Hoosier Dome (I'm biased though, of course.) 7) What is your least favorite WM venue? 8) Going in, which WM card do you think looked the best on paper? X-7, XIX 9) Going in, which WM card do you think looked worst on paper? IX 10) What do you think is the most underrated WM of all time? VII 11) What do you think is the most overrated WM of all time? XIV 12) What is your favorite WM moment? Savage and Elizabeth reuniting at WMVII. 13) What is your least favorite WM moment? Savage pulling up Heenan's toga, HHH/Jericho, HHH/Booker 14) Who would you pick as the top three Wrestlemania performers of all time? Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Steve Austin 15) How many of the previous 20 Wrestlemanias have you seen? All of them. 16) What was the most surprising WM moment to you? Owen beating Bret clean, HHH tapping to Benoit 17) Who was your favorite "special guest" at a WM? Butterbean. 18) Which WM have you seen the most times? Probably VII. 19) Which WM commentary team was your favorite? Gorilla and Jesse/Heenan. 20) Above all, what do you want to see at WM this year? I want to see Shawn do a clean tapout job for Angle and then never interact with him again. I also don't want Orton to end UT's streak.

I still have six Elite Eight teams (lost Wake and UConn), but only half of my Sweet 16 is still intact.

Tue, TNT Detroit @ Cleveland, 7 PM ET Miami @ Houston, 9:30 PM ET Wed, ESPN Detroit @ Philadelphia, 8 PM ET Dallas @ Golden State, 10:30 PM ET Fri, ESPN Phoenix @ Miami, 8 PM ET New York @ Seattle, 10:30 PM ET

Yeah, your being a dick to him all over these folders for no apparent reason makes him the ass. Gotcha. Lost in all of this is that a totally harmless poster who rarely even posts outside of the OAOAST was banned because you guys refuse to drop a grudge against a poster who was banned over a year ago. Nice to see some things never change.

Jerry Sloan will never quit. He's like the Ric Flair of basketball coaches. Except for the 16 World titles, of course.

^^^^^

Fuck Wake. Looks like I'll be losing my first FF team.

I've never hated him.

Scott Steiner. "Those eight cheerleaders that beat you up in Syracuse, NY, you're gonna think that was Breakfast at Tiffany's, because tomorrow for 60 minutes, you're in for the absolute worst beating of your entire life."

I beat it before this topic was even posted.

What the fuck. The picture cuts out right after he throws them.

Ha. Dean was pimpin'.

blah blah conspiracy