December 26, 2007 at 4:57 pm · Filed under NBA, Videos
Today’s video showcases Frank Caliendo’s impersonation of Bill Walton (as well as Charles Barkley). Caliendo appeared on a NBA broadcast on TNT, and delivered some memorable lines.
If you haven’t seen much of Frank Caliendo, check his John Madden impression as well.
Some classic quotes from the real Bill Walton, courtesy of Wikipedia and a Bill Walton fan site (yes, you read that right):
“That’s a terrible call! Terrible,“
“What is a foul?”
“Throw it down, big man! Throw it down!”
“Basketball is a game played by men competing for the ultimate prize”
“Tony Parker just made the worst pass in the history of Western civilization!”
“I am the hero, I am #1, I can go in there and shake and bake all those youngins and teach them some real basketball so they can stop their complaining”
“Flip Saunders throws up his hands in exasperated dismay!”
“All Don Nelson can do is shake his head and ask what has happened to our once beautiful team?”
“Sabonis is the epitome of competitive greatness.”
“He even flew in his hairdresser, Celeste, so not only does Jermaine O’Neal look pretty, hes looking to play pretty tonight.”
“He’s been working out in the off-season, on that incredible computer generated body he has.”
“You look at Vladimir Radmanovic, this guy is cut from stone. As if Michelangelo was reading and a lightening bolt flashed before him.”
“You talk about Shaq as a ballerina, what a pirouette from Yao!”
Side note from a friend: Once teens as well as tweens were more interesting in playing baseball and occasionally throwing a basketball. Now however, the tweens are acquiring a taste for golf.
If you haven’t read Daily Basketball’s preview of the Utah Jazz, scroll down to the next post or click the link below. Here are the Northwest Division Previews:
Players added: Jason Hart, Ronnie Price, Morris Almond, Kyrylo Fesenko
Players dropped from roster: Derek Fisher, Rafael Araujo, Dee Brown
1. What significant moves were made during the off-season?
Aside from the loss of starting shooting guard Derek Fisher, the biggest offseason news was the lack of any big shake-ups on the roster. Fisher didn’t have a great season with the Jazz last year, but his leadership brought the team together in the playoffs. Voiding his contract was a short-term loss, but an long-term gain. Considering Utah has a respectable hospital and Fisher almost immediately signed with the Lakers, it’s hard to believe the situation was all a result of his daughter’s surgery, but there’s no need for Jazz fans to worry about it.
Rafael Araujo and Dee Brown were both project players, and while both were fan favorites for their hard work and respective ties to the team (BYU, and Deron Williams), neither of the two players showed potential to be anything more than a serviceable reserve.
The two glaring needs this offseason were to get a quality starting shooting guard and a shotblocking center. The Jazz seem to be going with their chances that one of their guards (Hart, Price, C.J. Miles, Morris Almond, Ronnie Brewer or Gordan Giricek) can step in at shooting guard and produce for the team. Right now, that player is Ronnie Brewer. Most fans expected the Jazz to trade for a veteran addition to play a large chunk of minutes at shooting guard, but the team has focused on versatility and may play either a second point guard or a small forward instead of the typical three-pointer jacker.
Ronnie Price and Jason Hart look to compete more for minutes at the backup point guard positions, as both are undersized. Both have struggled to pick the Jazz offense, an obvious problem. Hart seems to have the initial edge over Price, yet somehow he has dished zero assists in four of six preseason games so far.
Andrei Kirilenko earned himself a lot of attention this offseason, first in a positive light. His play in the EuroBasket competition impressed everybody, and raised his trade value, before promptly demanding a trade. While a large share of Jazz fans would have loved to acquire Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko has played unselfishly in preseason play, keeping his lips sealed and filling up the stat sheet — although it still makes me cringe to see him shoot a jump shot.
October 9, 2007 at 6:22 pm · Filed under NBA, Videos
In case you somehow missed the highlights last spring, a Division II team grabbed lots of attention for its amazing comeback victory over Winona State in the DII Championship Game.
Barton came back from a seven point deficit with less than a minute left to end Winona State’s huge 57-game winning streak coming in to the game. Winona State doesn’t even begin to look worried until 25 seconds are left in the game.
In an article for USA Today, Barton’s athletic director recognized how amazing their feat was. “It’s almost a bad Disney movie. You couldn’t write a script where one guy scores 10 points in 38 seconds to win a national championship. The thought was that if you write that, people wouldn’t believe it. But we saw it.”
