More random notes

I'm back! It's been a while. Thanks for the encouragement and feedback from various folks from my last post. You know who you are.

Associated thoughts from the last week...

On the Finals...
- The Pistons didn't lose the title, the Spurs won it. Game 7 was hard-fought the whole way through. Duncan took over in the 3rd quarter, almost as if he realized, "Wait a second - I'm the best player out here!" Some argue that he did his work against second-string defenders due to foul trouble, well, true, but it was his hard work fighting for position against Rasheed and McDyess that got those guys into foul trouble in the first place, leaving Big Ben with no one to give help defense on the inside. That hot stretch was crucial because it forced the Pistons to double down in the fourth quarter on post-ups, leading to uncontested three-pointers by Manu and Bowen to seal the game.
- Bowen's block on Billups' three-pointer was probably the play of the game. Totally clean, and with the off hand too, just like coach tells you how to play defense.
- Give Detroit credit for putting up a remarkable fight after going down meekly in games 1 and 2. The last 3 games, neither team ever had a double-digit lead - now that's tension.
- Any number of Spurs could have won MVP, but in the end, the trophy is on its way back to Texas, and they potentially have the best ballplayer in Europe coming over next season (Scola, Ginobili's teammate on the Argentinian national team).
- I watched almost all of Game 7 on DVR, eventually catching up to live action with 5 minutes left. Both Byron and Maria were over. It was quite satisfying to actually see the Spurs come through in the clutch while I was watching. Maybe I can put some of my superstitious viewing demons to rest!
- I recorded a retrospective on the '99 Spurs title team, and it was kind of surprising to see how much thinner and quicker Duncan was back then, as a second-year player on a team of veterans like Robinson, Avery, Elliott, Elie, etc. If anything, he was even more "textbook" than he looks today. He really needs to get his rest this off-season and let those ankles heal.

On the draft...
- Warriors picked up Diogu, Ellis, and Taft. Not a bad haul. As I followed the draft online from work, I was initially disappointed that they didn't spring for Gerald Green at the 9th spot since he was projected to go from 4-6, but big-picture wise, they accomplished most of their goals for the draft - pick up some reliable interior presence and pick up some potential.
- I'm still hoping that they'll be able to swing a trade for a premier big man. My pipe dream is putting together a package to pick up KG, which of course won't happen, but hey, if the Warriors offered, say, JRich/Murphy/Diogu for KG, Minnesota would at least have to think about it, no? He's turning 30 soon!
- With the draft now over, the NBA offseason has officially started, and I feel a little anchorless with regard to being a sports fan. Usually I'd take this opportunity to get caught up in baseball, but there don't seem to be any compelling storylines to get involved in, particularly with the hometown teams stinking it up. Perhaps I'll take a break from actively following a sport this summer and keep up the NBA interest by playing an occasional game of 2K5. Also, JT recently invited me to join his fantasy football league. I've never done fantasy football before. Anyone have any tips?

5824 bbq...
- Went up to 5824 on Saturday to kick off the summer with a bbq with the old college buddies. JLau's marinated tri-tip was excellent, and he also grilled up a sausage that I hadn't tried before, from Costco - consisting of chicken, apple, and Gouda cheese. Very rich, but quite tasty. I was also stunned to see Cal without Pepsi, Safeway Select, or Costco brand soda in the house.
- See Gina's blog to hear an amusing story of why her archives got privatized. It was quite amusing to hear it in person. I'm sure Karen and all her nickname-giving buddies didn't see this particular consequence of their actions coming.
- Some of JLau's friends have two cute, active, somewhat tomboyish daughters - one 5 years old, the other 2 years old. John, Cal, and I took turns dueling with them using the lightsabers Cal has in his room. After the requisite slash-parry-slash-parry, they took to stabbing straight ahead at the body. Unfortunately for each of us, since they're pint-size, stabbing straight ahead results in the lightsaber going into our crotches. I had to quickly learn how to do a circle block.
- After dinner, I had my first experience with the current incarnation of the 5824 poker club. It was a $2 buy-in, tournament style, with 11 players at the table, and first three finishers get paid off. Although I don't play very much at all (which was reflected in several rookie mistakes like flipping my cards over on my last all-in before I actually got called), I did better than I expected, finishing 3rd out of the group of experienced players. I think I generally do relatively well in the early stages of a game, when the blinds are low and there are many players at the table, because I'm fairly patient and disciplined enough to only play decently strong hands. It's when the numbers dwindle and the blinds are high where I do much more poorly since I'm not aggressive enough. I was most unhappy with a loose call I made on a hand midway through, against the eventual winner. I had just taken the chip lead and he had gone all-in, and I called with Q-J unsuited on the off chance I might be able to knock him out. He turned over K-10 and it held up. He won a couple other coin flips on the way to winning the table, but that gave him the momentum to get started.

Random other notes...
- The article about geeks making better relationship material also caught the eye of "FoxTrot" writer Bill Amend, who drew a series of strips where the nerdy Jason attempts to de-geekify himself since he doesn't want to attract the attention of the opposite sex. My favorite dialogue from the week's strips:
Paige (sister): What's with the trucker hat?
Jason: It's my new look. Now that I know that women like nerds, I'm determined to be as ungeeky as possible.
Paige: A leopard can't change its spots, Jason.
Jason: Mac OS X 10.5 will have spots?
Paige (rolling eyes): As I was saying...
Jason: It was a momentary slip! Ask me about Stallone films!
- Quote of the week: from an interview with musician Nichole Nordeman:"I think it was Bono who once said in an interview that you don't really understand the word "vulnerability" until you have a child. Everything becomes scarier-the evening news, health issues. But the opposite is true too. When you see through the eyes of that child, everything is so much more amazing. It changes your whole perspective on life."

Hypothetical questions for the post, both raised and discussed at the 5824 bbq:

1) Would you rather tear your ACL or your rotator cuff?
Cal opted for ACL, since the rotator cuff is used for all arm motions (swinging a golf club/baseball bat, throwing), and the ability to perform athletic feats with arms was more important than ones involving legs.

2) Would you rather be hungry all the time, or lose the ability to eat (i.e. you don't get to, or need to, eat anymore)?
Basically, this came down to, how much do you enjoy eating? If you never needed (or could) eat again, would you be willing to do that? For the most part, the guys were willing ("It frees up so much time for other stuff!") while girls couldn't bear to give up the pleasure of eating.