6 Thoughts
1) Sometimes it's not who you play in the NBA, it's when you play. Miami caught Orlando, one of the best four teams in the league, on the second night of a road back-to-back, after a blowout win in Toronto, a long early morning flight, and the prospect of a night on South Beach after the game. Never a game: Miami led by 15 after 1, by 15 at halftime, and by 29 after 3. Dwyane Wade didn't even play the fourth quarter: still ended up with 25 and 7 assists. Easy, unexpected win - thank the schedule maker...
2) Lineup and rotation changes galore over the past few games. Carlos Arroyo, decommissioned on the recent West Coast trip, is now the starting point guard, with Mario "Li'l Redz" Chalmers moving to backup after failing to reach a base level of accountability. Quentin Richardson back in the starting lineup after missing two full games, and most of a third, with a strained hamstring - wouldn't even have guessed he had hamstrings, but there you go, it's right in the injury report. Dorell Wright, who played backup point guard out west, is now the backup small forward. All four guys were good tonight in their new roles. QRich dropped two quick threes to get the Heat off to a good start, and Dorell Wright continued his out-of-nowhere strong play with 11 points and 8 boards. Dorell has tantalized over the years with his potential but has never been consistent, nor healthy. He has now strung together three straight weeks of solid play. If this continues, it's like getting a quality free agent mid-season for nothing - that almost never happens in the NBA.
3) Tonight's game was national tv only, on TNT, which means one between quarter interview for each coach. After getting hammered out of the block and trailing by 15 after one quarter, Magic coach, and former Heat coach, Stan Van Gundy was asked what his team had to do to get back in the game: "Well, we gotta try," fumed Van Gundy, "No effort, no focus, we're gonna get our ass kicked playing like this."
4) Mike Beasley - concerted effort to get to the paint, even with Dwight Howard roaming around in there. 22 points and 8 boards for the kid, thought he was nice, and looked smooth. We have said it many times: no power forward can consistently stay in front of him off the dribble, because he can go either way and finish with both hands - that makes him almost unguardable, unless he reads the defense incorrectly. Tonight was a good decision-making night.
5) Okay, game was easy tonight, let's check in with a Dos Minutos favorite, a kind of "Where Are They Now" segment. Let's call it "Donde Are they Now: John McCain." It's kind of hard to remember, but this guy ran for President just over a year ago - remember, he was the old guy with the creepy face, and the odd, tippy-toe 'Heil Hitler' salute he used to do to cheering crowds after he called Obama a terrorist, or something. You know, Sarah Palin's running mate - yeah, that guy! Well, he's back in the Senate, fighting the good fight, serving his home state of Arizona, and the rest of this great nation of ours. Shaping the future of health care in this country? Umm, not exactly:
John McCain Continues Campaign to Pardon Boxing Great Jack Johnson, Despite the Fact That He's Been Dead Since 1946
Senator John McCain received some bad news from the Justice Department last week: Boxing legend Jack Johnson will not receive a pardon from the Obama administration.
Johnson has been dead for more than 60 years -- it's not like he's sitting on death row -- so who cares, right? The "maverick," that's who.
McCain and New York Congressman Peter King have been campaigning to have Johnson pardoned for a 1913 conviction for violating the Mann Act (transporting women across state lines for "immoral purposes").
Oh my heavens! Can you believe that this man was almost elected president? And by "almost," I mean that he only lost by approximately 10 million votes, and got doubled up in the electoral college. If only people had known about this Jack Johnson thing...
6) An update about the smash hit "Jeff Jeffrey Jeff" from the co-writer of the song, and a member of TMAR, Scott Miller:
Just posted the song to www.myspace.com/tmarrocks, the band's Web site. I'm also attaching it here in case you want to post it to the blog.
If anyone is wondering who the hell TMAR is (note the "A"!), here's a nutshell description:
"This fiery two-headed rock and roll juggernaut blazed briefly but brilliantly in 2008, spewing out molten nuggets of musical mayhem across zip code 33324 and elsewhere. The mighty duo, comprised of a wizened elder and his demon spawn, was formed in March of that year and went on to sonically demolish all of Broward County, putting in performances so intense that Sting ran home crying to Mommy, Billy Joel squealed and hid in his piano, Elton John turned straight and Kenny G crapped his panties. They are now in hibernation but will emerge upon request to rock all your faces' asses."
I highly recommend you visiting the band's Myspace page, and downloading the song about me. Just feel like it will make the world a better place...
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