Sports Archives

Wow. It's a lot more labor intensive than us armchair GM's might think.

Related: Celtics On Brink of Turnaround Record.

Utterly ridiculous. You'd think Duke could get a call at home on Senior Night, but it was not to be. Funny how the pundits failed to notice that DeMarcus Nelson didn't shoot any free throws either.

That said, this loss is squarely on the offense. In the last five minutes they reverted to that 1-on-1 crap they started the game off with and, as a result, the offense bogged down and they couldn't get a bucket. Off course, usually when that happens you get to the line every once in a while. But I digress...

Last Friday I was talking with a co-worker about my weekend plans. I told her I was traveling back to the Cackalack for my Mom's XXth birthday (I am not allowed to reveal her true age on the interwbs, obvs.) and that my Dad was going to surprise her with a trip to the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. "How very....Southern," she replied.

And she is right, but ask any of my friends from college and they'll undoubtedly tell you I was the least Southern Southerner there ever was. Which is not to say I don't have a few redneck tendencies (I do), but I hate NASCAR. Actually, that may be a little harsh, but I really don't care for it at all. But after riding along for three laps around the speedway on Saturday, I have a better understanding and appreciation for it.

First of all, the three laps on the 1.5 mile long quad-oval track go by very, very quickly at 160 mph. The g-forces on the banked curves are pretty incredible, more powerful than any roller coaster you've been on. We took the first turn high and easy, but on the second lap, the driver gunned it and we stayed low. Wow. Coming out of that turn and hugging the wall was pretty intense. We were only a few inches from the wall in the straightaway and I'd be lying if I didn't think about what would happen with one wrong turn of the steering wheel.

I can only imagine what it must be like coming off that turn in a group of cars, three wide. We didn't "race" and of the other cars out on the track, they all kept in order, one after the other. But it was still one of the wildest things I've ever done. Good idea, Dad! The track itself was immense. It holds 167,000 people on race days. It's like a small city. I just might have to go to a race one of these days and see what that is like. But I'll have to brush up on my Talladega Nights quotes first.

[mp3] Radiohead | Killer Cars

Full photo set after the jump.

Ouch.

"The proposed Rockets-Hornets deal would give New Orleans two veteran scorers, and a little more size with Bells, off the bench."

By "Bells" I assume they mean Bonzi Wells.

Anyways, great deal for the Hornets. Yes, they're taking on salary here, but I've never been a big Bobby Jackson fan (sorry Coolfer). He's too injury-prone to be reliable. James and Wells are both battle tested and playoff-ready.

Also loving the Spurs / Sonics trade for Kurt Thomas. Can you believe the Sonics got three # 1 picks for KT? Phoenix gave them two just to take Thomas over the summer and now they get another for getting rid of him. And lets not overlook how this hurts the Suns. They traded Thomas away in a salary dump and now he goes to one of their chief rivals. Ouch. And the Spurs come up with another typically savvy move. By trading for Thomas, they also get his Bird rights, meaning they don't have to spend any of their MLE money over the summer if they decide to resign Thomas.

BTW, The C's lost their second straight last night and Duke lost to Miami for the first time in 45 years. Seems like only yesterday that the one and only Danny Ferry was dropping 58 points on their sorry asses. Yes, you just read a Danny Ferry reset. Deal with it.

**UPDATE** They fixed it now.

**UPDATE 2** - Like Woah. Two possible trades by the Cavs after the jump