There's gold in them thar hills!
Team USA's mission was to bring a gilded medallion from China home to the States. Said mission was accomplished last night (this morning, if you're watching on American TV) with a 118-107 victory over Spain. It was considered a foregone destiny by many heading into tourney that the Redeem Team (meh, but everyone else seems to find the name catchy) would bring closure to the Americans' 2004 disappointment. Fate indeed went fulfilled, but not without a fight and some enemy scare tactics. Credit Spain--playing without starting point guard Jose Calderon (of Raptors fame)--for hanging tough with the U.S. They were ultimately outmatched, but not by such a margin that they couldn't make things uncomfortably interesting down the stretch.
I was at a party last night and got home with about two minutes left in the first half and haven't had a chance to watch the DVR recording this morning (fantasy football draft!!!). But even without having seeing the footage, I'm willing to report as iron clad fact that Dwyane Wade's 21 first half points seriously helped the U.S. box score, especially with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in foul trouble (on a side note, I'm glad to see a great player healthy again, which only makes the NBA that much better). As for the second half I did see, lots of exciting, fun stuff. Up and down action a-plenty, with either squad putting up shots incredible and ill-advised, coming up with key steals and playing a little more O than D. Back and forth pushes where alternately sloppy and frenetic play was offset by non-stop energy and determination.
It was also a particularly fun day for patriotic Lakers fans, who saw
the gold secured in large part due to a fourth quarter absolutely owned by
Kobe. His 13 points/2 dime final frame highlights included a skying block of
Juan Carlos Navarro's layup, being directly involved in six American points via setup or shot during a 69 second stretch
(helping bump a four point lead back to nine), and a pair of triples,
the latter a four point play after some contact by Rudy Fernandez, whose strong play and dunk on Dwight Howard likely had Blazers fans all giddy. That sequence also allowed Kobe a moment of
entertaining showmanship; a finger pressed to his lips, reminding the
rowdy Spaniard crowd that a duller roar might be in order. It was also cool to see the excitement plastered all over Kobe's face, having accomplished a goal that clearly meant tons to him and his mates. As a bonus, Pau Gasol enjoyed a commendable 20/6/1 performance in an ultimately losing effort.
With basketball's natural order now restored (until 2012, at the very least), we can go back to worrying about other pressing issues. Like whether the Lakers can take that next step from "Finals runner up" to "Finals champions" in 2009. Or whether Jamal Lewis can serve as a low-end #1 running back option, providing a third punch for an already explosive Randy Moss-Terrell Owens receiving tandem.
Did I mention my fantasy football draft was this morning?
AK
Nice start to a counter draft, AK. I have found that the key to that strategy is to stay ahead of the position runs at TE, DEF and QB. Be the guy that reaches a little for Gates or Witten and for Minny's D.
I can live without elite RBs as long as I know I have potentially the best player at all other positions.
That said, I'm not sold on Big Ben (even though I too picked him in my big draft yesterday and he saved my ass last year).
Also, not a big fan of Fragile Freddy. Who are your backup RBs?
Just post the whole team and the top FAs already so we can all give our unasked-for input. Let's make this a blog-run unit!
Unless it's for money in which case I don't want the responsibility. Haha
Good luck, man.
Posted by: Jesterguru | August 25, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Edwin Gueco ,
Edwin Gueco ,
Rubio will be a top 10 pick when he declares himself for the NBA draft. Which make me wondering how the age rule applies to foreign players? No doubt Rubio is very talented, but we need a solid back up, not a developing project. He may be a top tier point in the league, but we need a min. eater and Sun Yue is not that either. Phil Does not give rookies any PT at all, and he will be useless this year. Mitch better have some sort of contingency plan. I am not sure who is still available but someone like Mike James or Ty Lue would be ideal. We need to wait and see. Farmar is still not ready to take over the job, and Fish is one year older. We need someone who can come in and manage the game through the point guard position/possibly add a scoring punch and defensive mentality. Or at the very least add much needed depth in the back court. I figure that Sasha is our back up 2, and is the shooter on the squad. We still need the tough guy, and another guy (alla PJ brown) in the front court for depth. As was shown, toughness and Defense are still the keys in the formula of winning rings. From the Celtics to team USA you don’t win unless you play both ends of the floor. Although the future is bright/ promising, I still think we have glaring holes that are being ignored and have not been addressed.
Posted by: nik kannan | August 25, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Hey Butler,
Go back to the C's page and praise Pierce "classless". That guy could not win a game without KG and Ray Allen. And now he is supposed to be "the best player" out there? Please, give me a break! Don't you see the irony?
Posted by: Kelvin | August 25, 2008 at 10:46 AM
One comment on Jimmy Page, who led the Zeppelin band, what a symbol for the next Olympics venue? In China, we saw children being imprisoned in a desolate place, away from their parents in order to put a perfect show. In England, a medieval place previews a baby boomer as the future show! Why not show Ringo Starr & Mick Jagger too? LOL
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | August 25, 2008 at 10:48 AM
"Pierce was the best playa in the NBA in the postseason... Finals MVP, just like DWade, SHACK, Tony Parker, Steve GNASH"
Steve Nash has not been to the NBA Finals, much less won a Finals MVP. Dreams do not equal reality.
Posted by: puddle | August 25, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Would be interesting to get the reaction of Luke Walton to Kobe leveling Pau Gasol in the first game. I'm sure Luke would say, oh, that's just Kobe being Kobe but it would be interesting to see teammates reaction and if they are going to rib Gasol about it.
and yes, was watching Planet of the Apes over the weekend and Charleton Heston was indeed sitting in the cockpit, smoking a cigar, yes... in OUTER SPACE!!! That... that right there, my friends... is classic stuff...
For all you naysayers on Sun Yue, did you see what Kobe said?
"I think he's very talented, actually," said Bryant. "I was very impressed by him. I think he has great size, great length, good shooting touch, good ball handler, good vision, good pace."
"I was surprised at his size right off the top. He was able to handle the ball. I tried to test him a little bit, see if he could go left, go right, that sort of thing. So I like him."
Posted by: Charlton Heston, sitting in the cockpit, smoking a cigar - IN SPACE | August 25, 2008 at 10:54 AM
"That guy could not win a game without KG and Ray Allen."
That's as ridiculous as saying Rick Fox couldn't win a game without SHACK and kobee. Duh!
PIerce clearly outdid kobee in the Finals, and LeBrawn (who took Boston to 7 games compared to kobee's 6). What else does the man have to do to prove himself? He won Finals MVP, something kobee could not do and has not done.
I don't like PIerce, I think he's a prima donna just like kobee, but give the man his due. He was the best playa in the postseason not in a SUNS uniform.
Posted by: BUTLER | August 25, 2008 at 10:55 AM
Jimmy Page is over-rated. If you listen to the live album "The Song Remains The Same" nearly every guitar solo sounds like a cat being tortured by a heroin addict.
The guy is a surgeon in the studio, but put him in front of a crowd and he's a screeching mess.
However if you want to hear unlistenable studio noise, go out and buy yourself the soundtrack to "Death Wish II" written, performed and produced by the genius that is Jimmy Page.
Just awful.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 25, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Nik Kannan,
Before I get into trouble, I will say this, Ricky Rubio will go to NBA maybe in two years time. Well, by that time we have Byron as the Coach and Jerry Buss will be approaching 90 years old. lol! Well, Jason Williams of the Clippers was like Ricky Rubio when he played with the Kings. What happened to Jason now? Hard to predict the future of player in NBA.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | August 25, 2008 at 10:58 AM
>Jimmy looked good but I'm not a fan of canned music. I woulda liked to hear a raw live performance..and RObert PLant must have been a little miffed at the black chick taking his role.
alright, Butler, I promised to scroll through your posts, but you surprised me a bit with your knowledge of guitars, so I'll continue to pay attention (tho I still think your basketball opinions are generally shite). As for Robert Plant- there's no way he's in the least put out by this. He's having way too much fun on the Raising Sand tour, making real music.
Posted by: | August 25, 2008 at 10:58 AM
"Pig" Miller,
I have no idea why people even acknowledge the guy. If he said ANYTHING sensible, maybe, but he doesn't. So trying to reason with a guy who is too much an idiot to understand reason is nothing more than an exercise in futility.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 25, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Nik Jannan,
To supplement further, your observation was also the observations of many fans here who have seen too many playoffs in their lifetime. From time to time, we get those sound comments of adding defensive force in the PG or PF out there that will form a wall to protect Kobe-LO-Gasol slashing, by dealing with NBA thugs. I guess we are minority in making those comments. They don't like Mbenga, Newble who were taken in by Mitch not us to play hard ball. Ahhh, we have Mihm, Farmar, Luke, Vlad to create that wall of defense. Don't ever criticize them as softies, it is interpreted as less faith, less confidence and less fandom and possibly identified as a half-hearted Laker fan by the blog police! Have you not been reading the blog lately that Bynum is the center of everything, he will provide the defense from 1-5? if it is not Bynum, then it is Kwame. There is nothing in between. lol!
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | August 25, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Ohhh! Dude, "Jimmy Page is over-rated"??? Oh... don't go there, don't even go there... next you're going to tell me Robin Trower was/is? a hack... did you know he put out an album this year with Jack Bruce? Just wanted to use this opportunity to get a plug in for Robin...
Some of those old Led Zeppelin concerts though... good times, good times...
Posted by: Charlton Heston, sitting in the cockpit, smoking a cigar - IN SPACE | August 25, 2008 at 11:15 AM
So... ummm... guys? What are we going to talk about until October?
Anyone want to give me a prediction of how the UCLA Bruins football season is going to go?
GO BRUINS!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 25, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Hi everybody I´ll answer to your post when I fullfill reading them all. I´ts hard to read 40 post or so in english with bb terms sometimes I don´t understand so I´m usually slower than i´d like answering.
Forgive me AK if I posted something disgusting. I´ll try to be more classy. But I ask you to give me a little space since sometimes I found hard to explain my thoughts´in english. Did I used a bad word of was it the general idea of my post? Thanks a lot.
See you later, now I´m goona do some personal bussines.
Posted by: HugoSpain | August 25, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Jon,
Here is my favorite quote about Jimmy Page. Eddie Van Halen said he plays guitar "like a two-year-old with wet fingers."
Ouch. I don't really agree but still a hilarious quote. I mean, a little slop is permissable if you play with soul, no?
AK,
Still waiting to hear about your RB depth. ;-)
Posted by: Jesterguru | August 25, 2008 at 11:17 AM
"Jimmy Page is over-rated. If you listen to the live album "The Song Remains The Same" nearly every guitar solo sounds like a cat being tortured by a heroin addict."
Actually, he was brilliant as a live performer - a showman and musician. Not saying he didn't make mistakes, but he always went for it. Check out the "No Quarter" on that album and it's fantastic what he comes up with.
"alright, Butler, I promised to scroll through your posts, but you surprised me a bit with your knowledge of guitars, so I'll continue to pay attention (tho I still think your basketball opinions are generally shite). As for Robert Plant- there's no way he's in the least put out by this. He's having way too much fun on the Raising Sand tour, making real music."
Glad I could pass muster, a bit anyway. we can have differing opinions and still call each other fellow fans of bball.
As for Krauss and Plant, I haven't heard enough to form an opinion, but they mine the blues and old timey music, so that's great.
If you want to hear some excellent guitar, some of which influenced Jimmy Page expecially on LZ3, listen to John Fahey. He lived in LA for years and made many pioneering acoustic albums. I don't know if he was a laker fan.
Posted by: BUTLER | August 25, 2008 at 11:20 AM
BUTLER is a regular at azcentral.com. Any story about the FUNS, he'll be there. Only they took away his name, it's something like rik####. But it's him. I propose we all go there and flood their boards with FUNS hatred and nonsense. ALL of US. Mamba24 is already there, and I try to hit it up on occasion. Give 'em a look. Spew nothing but hatred and dissonance. They will probably not respond at first, but keep poking, and you'll get them angry. I've never been one to promote such flame wars, but heck, if other people are gonna trash talk the Lakers (especially whining baby never-lost-because-it's-never-been-found glory FUNS fans) why not return the favor with an onslaught. I'm sure we outnumber them.
If not, whatever. BUTLER is a dummy anyway. Go LAkers!
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | August 25, 2008 at 11:22 AM
Fearless,
Spain actually won the 2006 World Championships. Pau didn't play in the championship game because of a broken foot, though.
Taliq,
Shot selection has always been my pet peeve with Kobe. If he took the type of shots Jordan (and Wade) took, he'd be hovering around 50% FG% too, instead of hovering around 46%.
Posted by: Xodus | August 25, 2008 at 11:32 AM
"Pig" Miller,
We sure would have a lot of ammunition considering the recent Shaq stalker trainwreck.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 25, 2008 at 11:34 AM
CHINA'S SUN NEXT RISING NBA STAR
By Zhao Rui for China Daily
http://tinyurl.com/5z444b
Outstanding article on Sun Yue including the following excerpt about comments by Kobe and Chris Paul:
>>>>>
"I met Kobe and told him I'd like to play with him next season, he said 'OK', and 'see you in training camp'," Sun told China Daily after China's opening loss to the US.
The NBA's Most Valuable Player was impressed with Sun in the first meeting.
"I think he's very talented, actually," said Bryant. "I was very impressed by him. I think he has great size, great length, good shooting touch, good ball handler, good vision, good pace.
"I was surprised at his size right off the top. He was able to handle the ball. I tried to test him a little bit, see if he could go left, go right, that sort of thing. So I like him."
Chris Paul, the NBA's leading point guard and runner-up to Bryant in MVP voting last season, agrees.
"No 9 (Sun) is the best player in China's backcourt," he said during a press conference. "He is very quick, very athletic, very talented. He can shoot, and I think he can really play."
>>>>>
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | August 25, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Edwin,
Ricky Rubio cannot apply to go to the NBA for another 4 years. He must be 21 to play and he is ony 17. The rule is rough on overseas players. This kid could play in the NBA right now.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | August 25, 2008 at 11:44 AM
Charlton Heston, sitting in the cockpit, smoking a cigar - IN SPACE,
Jimmy Page's guitar solo on "Stairway to Heaven" (played on a Fender Telecaster, by the way) is arguably the greatest guitar solo in Rock history.
Led Zepellin is an amazing Rock band, BUT the guy is often a trainwreck in concert.
If you listen to "Live at Leeds" by The Who (best played at volume 11 on a 10 point scale), Pete Townsend blows up the speakers. He plays with a power and intensity not at all explored on his solo albums.
Jimmy Page is the opposite. Powerful in the studio, but distracted, sloppy, and with an AWFUL tone live. I'm a tone guy when it comes to guitar, give me a David Gilmore solo any day of the week over a Yngwie Malmsteen solo.
However, people like Eddie Van Halen and Dave Navarro who can combine acrobatics with tone are very impressive to me.
Anyhow, I'm rambling...
But few things are worse than hearing Robert Plant screech out of tune live while Jimmy Page hits dead notes while his EQ is all out of whack.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 25, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Butler,
Jimmy Page is an old fart -- and speaking of old farts, any Shaq stalking stories lately -- and speaking of old farts, any Nash back issues lately --
Dude, you will be lucky if the Suns finish in 7th this year -- the dream is over -- Nash will remain the only MVP NEVER to get to the finals.
Fat Shaq + Turnover Machine Nash + Dumbass Amare + Defense = Suns Meltdown.
"It's over Johnny"
Posted by: HmrHed | August 25, 2008 at 11:47 AM
>If you want to hear some excellent guitar, some of which influenced Jimmy Page expecially on LZ3, listen to John Fahey. He lived in LA for years and made many pioneering acoustic albums. I don't know if he was a laker fan.
hah! i've got just about every album fahey put out- at least everything on Takoma (that's all original vinyl, mind you). sadly, only saw him play once- in about '75 or '76 at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. He was three sheets to the wind but still played a great set.
As far as current guitarists mining a roots vein, I really love Val McCallum's work with Jack Sh*t... deadpan, ironically humorous country, but he's got an encyclopedic knowledge of cool licks AND great tone (he plays vintage Firebirds through an eclectic pedalboard, for the most part). check out:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/5kjykd
that's R&R hall of famer Pete Thomas on drums and David Faragher (Cracker) on bass (long standing members of Elvis Costello & the Attractions), oh, and Don Was behind the board...
pick up a copy of Raising Sand- you'll be glad you did...
Posted by: watching from home | August 25, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Butler,
Make sure to only post links in Tiny URL form. Go to tinyurl.com if you have any questions. BK and I are requesting that all readers use that program for links.
Thanks,
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | August 25, 2008 at 12:06 PM
Butler,
"That guy could not win a game without KG and Ray Allen."
"That's as ridiculous as saying Rick Fox couldn't win a game without SHACK and kobee. Duh!"
Actually, Not Duh. You can't compare Rick Fox to Paul Pierce except for both of them are actors. PP is the franchise player; Foxy was Vanessa William's "Georgie Porgy."
"I don't like PIerce, I think he's a prima donna just like kobee, but give the man his due. He was the best playa in the postseason not in a SUNS uniform."
Yes PP kicked the Lakers butt. He walked through our defense like it was nothing. But he was not the best player for the entire playoffs; just the Finals...
Posted by: Charles | August 25, 2008 at 12:08 PM
>>>>Can anybody explain why American NBA players have an >>>>exclussive agreement to compete on the Olympics but
>>>>only if they don't take a doping test?
>>>>This kind of stories is a huge demostration how in the name of >>>>patriotism everything is allowed. Nobody in the medias talk about >>>>that.
Not true, Jerry Collangelo was asked about it last week by ESPN.
NBA players are subject to international anti doping tests.
Matter fact, after the Argentina vs. USA game the T.V. showed Deron Williams being taken as the randomly selected American player to provide a urine sample to perform a drug/dope test.
Posted by: Outsidergua | August 25, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Jesterguru (and others who've asked),
I'll make this brief, because I don't want the thread to meander into a discussion about my fantasy football team (or fantasy football in general).
The two WR approach was more by necessity than design. When I drafted my first round pick (10th out of 12), Moss was the best player on the board. I totally expected the guy before me to take T.O. when the second round swung back (and I would take M. Lynch), But he grabbed Lynch and I decided to get two guys with game changer potential and worry about the RB later, as opposed to getting a RB because you're "supposed to" get at least one RB (if not two) in the first two rounds. We'll see how it works out.
My team
QB: Big Ben (1), Jason Campell (2)
RB: Jamal Lewis (1), Fred Taylor (2), Chester Taylor/Rudi Johnson (3/4)
WR: Moss (1), T.O. (2), Chris Chambers (3, and I'm happy with him if I often go 1 RB/3 WR)
TE: Owen Daniels
K: Josh Scobee
D: Seahawks.
There you have it.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | August 25, 2008 at 12:14 PM
"If you listen to "Live at Leeds" by The Who (best played at volume 11 on a 10 point scale), Pete Townsend blows up the speakers. He plays with a power and intensity not at all explored on his solo albums."
I concur - I love Young Man Blues!
But give Jimmy Page his due - he plays the blues, and did it in a very recognizable style. Halen and navarro's influences only go as far back as page or clapton, making them inherently less interesting - at least to me, a big country blues fan.
"hah! i've got just about every album fahey put out- at least everything on Takoma (that's all original vinyl, mind you). sadly, only saw him play once- in about '75 or '76 at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. He was three sheets to the wind but still played a great set."
You have my respect! I got to meet Fahey in 1997 in Oregon, he was perusing the vinyl in a Goodwill, and me and my buddy knew all about him. We talked him into coming over to my buddy's house for an impromptu jam - he was very interesting with stories about Hendrix and Muddy Waters...he also gave us a chapter from his book, which hadn't been published yet. If you haven't read "How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life" you need to get it now - it should be required reading for any fan of american blues or old time country.
Posted by: BUTLER | August 25, 2008 at 12:16 PM
BUTLER mindlessly spewed:
>>>>Pierce was the best playa blah blah blah blah blah...
sixth place.
deal with it.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | August 25, 2008 at 12:25 PM
>>>I propose we all go there and flood their boards with
>>>FUNS hatred and nonsense.
Why bother with that? At this point it'd be like harassing the
Clippers. The Suns are done. Put a fork in them.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | August 25, 2008 at 12:31 PM
"As far as current guitarists mining a roots vein, I really love Val McCallum's work with Jack Sh*t... deadpan, ironically humorous country, but he's got an encyclopedic knowledge of cool licks AND great tone (he plays vintage Firebirds through an eclectic pedalboard, for the most part). check out:"
I checked the vid - thanks! It sounds great, like the twang.
AK - thanks for the tinyurl note.
Posted by: BUTLER | August 25, 2008 at 12:33 PM
Jon K.
You have made several excellent post's about Page. Plant was the hero and as he should be, and Page was in the Sound Wave of the Band. Still integral to the band but you are speaking the truth.
There are several Musician's that are Studio Killers, but come live are not to par. Jusanotha's quote about Eddie Van Halen's wet finger remark is a good one. I would say a good challenge is the Blues method of playing. With in all honesty; my favorite guitar players are John Frusciante, Mick Jones, Dave Navarro when he was with Jane's Addiction, and Dean De Leo STP. Of course I respect everyone from Clapton to Setzer. (Love those Fender Hollow Bodies Clean Sounds) But my awareness of Blues Methodology was impacted by these guys who kept on harping about the Blues. (And of course being a little younger and relatable to my era of music)
I am not mature enough to have witnessed them live,(Led Z) but have seen several archive-footage at the radio station and various Discography's.
Great post's man...
Posted by: Charles | August 25, 2008 at 12:34 PM
#5 on the top 10 Oxymorons:
Blues Genius
Posted by: Vman | August 25, 2008 at 12:37 PM
I've got the highlight reels of Sun Yue cut together. I just
need to re-encode them and upload them, which I'll do tonight.
I threw in some lowlights so you don't get the idea he's some
superstar. He's not. He shows a few flashes of brilliance here
and there and flashes of youthful mistakes in other places.
I'm hoping when I resize down, I can get it down to reasonable
size (it's over a GB right now) without having to scale it
down to 320x240, since that one I uploaded to youtube
was basically unviewable.
I think when you watch the highlights, you'll see that he
is capable of being a 3rd string NBA pg/sg already and has
the potential to get much better.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | August 25, 2008 at 12:38 PM
AK,
One of Kobe's highlights you missed during that dominating
4th quarter was somewhere in the middle of that string of
four plays he was involved in. He broke up an alley-oop to
Pau on the defensive end.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | August 25, 2008 at 12:39 PM
Long Time Lakers Fan,
"Why bother with that? At this point it'd be like harassing the
Clippers. The Suns are done. Put a fork in them."
Hey, if it was my money, I think the Clippers have a better chance of making the playoffs next year than the Suns.
Keeping in mind recent Shaq stalking events, the end is near for the Suns and my gut tells me it is going to be remarkably ugly.
One giant trainwreck filled with pork offals and manure. Hard to watch and terrible to smell.
Go Clippers!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 25, 2008 at 12:43 PM
favorite guitarists... that list is long and wide... actually, the one's who just had fun thrashing were great, Mick Mars - in the early years, not now, Jim Martin during the Faith No More years... by the way... I was looking him up, is this real?
"Jim Martin is the record holder for having grown the 235th largest pumpkin ever, at 1,064 lbs"
Wha?
anyway... I saw Ace Frehley open up for Y&T at the Wiltern... heh, heh... of course, Randy Rhoads... oh... that's the weird thing, there's some great technical guys now but not many have a unique sound... I saw Steve Vai during the David Lee Roth tour and frankly... was bored... but you know who opened? Steve Morse or was that the Rush tour? Anyway... hey, I liked the guy for The Fixx...
I'm sure AK is getting bored with this but then again, nothing else to talk about. What about that Lamar Odom rumor? Supposedly there's a done deal involving an Olympic player and the deal is supposed to go through tomorrow? We'll see...
Posted by: Charlton Heston, sitting in the cockpit, smoking a cigar - IN SPACE | August 25, 2008 at 12:56 PM
On the Guitar debate....Tom Merillo.....is the best going around at the moment.....The past was good the present is Tom Merillo...........Hands down
Posted by: Thirty2 | August 25, 2008 at 01:09 PM
Charlton Heston, sitting in the cockpit, smoking a cigar - IN SPACE,
I'm not much into classic Heavy Metal, but, man, Randy Rhodes sure could play.
I ALSO liked the guy from The Fixx. Great sound.
[By the way, AK isn't bored with this discussion. He's annoyed by it.]
By the way...
"What about that Lamar Odom rumor? Supposedly there's a done deal involving an Olympic player and the deal is supposed to go through tomorrow? "
Don't even start.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 25, 2008 at 01:18 PM
Charlton Heston,
I haven't heard any rumor about LO or the details about it, so I don't have anything to add.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | August 25, 2008 at 01:23 PM
Thirty2,
Tom Morello is the man!
Posted by: Xodus | August 25, 2008 at 01:35 PM
AK,
Good luck! I won't hijack the discussion any further but here's to Rudi bouncing back and Chester filling in nicely when Peterson's upright running style lands him in the ER. (Not that I'm rooting for that, ahem, Mike T.)
Top 10 1/2 rock guitar heroes; no particular order except:
Jimi Hendrix (the discussion must ALWAYS start here)
Eddie Van Halen
C.C. Deville (kidding)
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Dave Gilmour
Eric Clapton
Eric Johnson (arpeggios rule!)
Jimmy Page
Pete Townsend
Slash
Joe Perry
Anyone who played with Steely Dan
Posted by: Jesterguru | August 25, 2008 at 01:52 PM
it sounded bogus from the beginning, it was posted on some other board but supposedly... somebody who was an intern in the Laker front office was setting up pictures or something and was told by the front office to remove the Lamar Odom photos because a trade was going to be made on Tuesday, they were waiting for the Olympics to end to announce it because whoever was involved was also involved in the Olympics...
Like I said... very thin... but then again, didn't the original leak for the Odom/Boozer trade prove to be true before Jack Haley tripped over himself to "break" the story?
Guitarists... so many... Robert Fripp, I'm playing, "Altair" right now... Brian May... I was digging on the guitarist from Snake River Conspiracy but they never hit big... so sad... what an excellent title though, "Sonic Jihad"...
Posted by: Charlton Heston, sitting in the cockpit, smoking a cigar - IN SPACE | August 25, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Jesterguru....
With all due respect your list is good but how can Joe Satriani not be on that list?..Surfing with the alien ..Great album....
Damm even Dave Navaro should be up there.....
Like i said i like your list ....lol
Posted by: Thirty2 | August 25, 2008 at 02:14 PM
thirty2,
I thought about Joe Satriani and Steve Vai but I chose EJ as my G3 representative because I'm a fan of sweet melody.
Which made me feel silly when I saw Heston mention Brian May. Hell yes, Brian May.
Fripp too, and Andy Summers.
And shoutouts to Billy Gibbons and Alex Lifeson.
Dave Navarro: Hmmm, the combination of that bad TV show, Rock Star, and seeing him at porn conventions hitting on talent killed Navarro for me. But seriously, Jane's Addiction was the shiznit.
Posted by: Jesterguru | August 25, 2008 at 02:29 PM
>>>I'm sure AK is getting bored with this but then again,
>>>nothing else to talk about. What about that Lamar Odom
>>>rumor? Supposedly there's a done deal involving an
>>>Olympic player and the deal is supposed to go through
>>>tomorrow? We'll see...
Okay, let's play with those parameters.
Some Olympic player traded for Lamar. Here's the list of
possibilities I can come up with that are at least moderately
realistic:
Tayshaun Prince (probably the only Team USA player)
Andrei Kirilenko
Chris Kaman
Rudy Fernandez + ?
Marc Gasol + ?
Linas Kleiza + ?
Andres Nocioni + ?
Luis Scola + ?
Yi Jianlian + ?
So who is it?
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | August 25, 2008 at 02:33 PM
Top Ten (In no particular order)
Dave Navarro
Pete Townsend
David Gilmour
Sonic Youth (I know, it's not a person, but a force)
The Edge
Mick Taylor
Steve Hackett
Alex Lifeson
Johnny Greenwood
Jimmy Hendrix
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 25, 2008 at 02:39 PM
LTLF,
With the following "rules:"
1) Salary cap is not an issue
2) The trade can not be the first part in a multi-stage swap.
I would make the Prince for Odom trade and possibly a Kirilenko for Odom trade.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | August 25, 2008 at 02:42 PM