My Mind Wondering Again

Today is a sad day for me. The account/program that I work on is closing. I am sad because I will no longer will be working with the guys. We get on each other nerves but it was fun while it last. I am going to miss them....sniff. Tracy, my manager, I have worked with her for 3 years and 5 months and we have been through so much and I hate the fact that we will part. She have though me so much. I guess we all have to go through something like this once in a while. Now I am faced with waiting to see what will become of my services with the company. With the current situation the economy is in I can't afford to be out of a job. Well I have to just sit and await my verdict. I have to just trust all will work out for the best. The best to way to wait is to occupy my mind with something else.

Let's see what's on this wondering mind of mine. Antoine is getting bigger and he is more active than ever. Last week while I was on vacation he was in the yard playing. I heard him say "mark, go, run, run, run" and was running like crazy. I told him to stop the running, but that just fell on deaf ears and off he went. The outcome, he fell and hit his head and cut the top of his left eye. I don't know if he thinks he is Usain Bolt or Asafa Powell, cause that little boy refuse to walk. I also showed him how to turn on and take pictures with the digital camera....big mistake. Now he is take pictures of everything....which is a all a blurr. I got a laptop and showed him how to turn it on and you can only guess how that's going. He even knows how to turn on the DVD player and put in the DVD. He is a fast learner. I always teach him how to turn them on and then tell him not to touch them.....poor me.

Last night Carmelo Anthony and his Denver Nuggets took Game 2, now the light at the tunnel gets brighter. The question still remains can they make it to the Finals? They are proving to be a force to be reckon with. Carmelo have waited so long for this and I just know he won't disappoint. Cleveland took a 1-0 lead over Atlanta behind the raining MVP King James 34 points and 10 rebound. I have been saying I want a Lakers/Cavs finals but I wouldn't be too disappointed if it turns into Cavs/Nuggets finals. I don't think Melo gets as much props, but he is showing his stuff and it looks good. Can the Lakers even the series? Kobe won't roll over so easily I know that much. Can Orlando surprise Boston by taking game 2? I wonder in which direction the tables will turn.

The Celtics Struggling and the Magic on the Rise

Going into Sunday's game the Orlando Magic was the only team in the league to have not won a season series against the San Antonio Spurs. They have now won both meeting which is a sure sign of their growth and maturity. They are playing great basketball and is in second place in the Eastern Conference and 3 overall ahead of the defending champions Boston Celtics. They putted up 14 3-pointers as they were knocking them down and made Tony Parker 31 points looked like he was not in the game. It was a Playoff atmosphere in the AT&T Center as both teams was trading points. There was 29 lead changes and 18 ties but in the end the Magic overcome and beat the Spurs 105-98.

The Lakers beat the Heat by 3 points. In their last meeting a buzzer beater by Dwyane Wade gave the Heat the win over the Western leaders. But on Sunday it was a close game as it was a Bynum tip in off a Kobe miss with 18 seconds to go that sealed the Lakers win.

The Celtics 6 points win over the Toronto Raptors end a 4 games skid for the defending champs. The Celtics kicked off the season with a 19-0 runs which came to an end versus the Lakers on Christmas day, since then they have loss 7 of their last 9 games.

Lakers Showing UP

Just six months ago the Celtics taught the Lakers a lesson by coming back from a 20 points deficit to win Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals. All talks about Kobe being like Mike came to a halt, people were beginning to doubt his ability. I mean how can you doubt the skill of 10 times All-Star, All-star MVP, 3 times NBA Champion, League's MVP, All-NBA First Team and All Defensive First Team, I mean he got skills on top skills. But then again people have a mine of the own and they choose who they want to support and who they don't want to support. Anyways, the Christmas rivalry was always a big hit and the Lakers and Celtics are no strangers to this big day's event. As a matter of fact the match was well over anticipated after the Celtics won the Championship. I held my breath throughout the game even though the Lakers had a lead throughout the game it was not a big enough a lead to keep the Celtics out of it. Remember they had let them back in the game in the Finals but this time they stood their course and grind it out. The Celtics on the other hand....well from my stand point....did not bring their A game, maybe they though it would be as easy as it was in the Finals. Well if that was the case they thought wrong cause Kobe and his troops came to play. Kobe got it going from the get go the jumpers were right on target. Everyone stepped up and play, defensively they could have done a better job, but they got the job done in the end. They put an end the fourth longest winning streak in the NBA.

The Hornets were not so lucky as they were railroad by Dwight Howard and the Magic 68-88. Maybe they were blind sighted by that all those Superman t-shirt as the Magic theme for the game was Superman in honor of D12(Dwight Howard) or maybe CP3(Chris Paul) was stage fright playing on Christmas because he was held to just 12 points and 4 assist and marked he did not get a steal ending his 108 consecutive games with a steal. Lebron James and the Cavs rallied back to take the win over the Wizards 93-89. San Antonio Spurs are right back in the mix of things after getting off to a slow start they are now second best in the West. They took on the Suns and with 4 seconds to go in the 4th quarter Roger Mason hit a 3 pointer off a Tony Parker assist to give the Spur a 1 point victory over the Suns. Dallas on the shoulders of Dirk Nowitzki and a strong backcourt led the Mavs 102-94 win over the Portland Trailblazers after Josh Howard was ejected from the games with a Flagrant foul with a little under 5 minutes in the 3rd quarter.

Ron Artest

The Houston Rockets acquired rookies Sean Singletary and Patrick Ewing Jr. and sent veteran Bobby Jackson, promising rookie Donte Greene and a future first-round pick to Sacramento Kings in return for 9 years veteran forward Ron Artest. Artest is a very elite defender and will be effective to any team.

Artest have played for teams such as the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers. He is averaging 2.33 steals and 4 blocks per game. He gained his reputations as one of the premier defenders in the game today, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2004. However, he is one of the most controversial players and known for being one of the central figures in the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons brawl.

If you don't know about the biggest brawl in professional basketball history, you don't know about basketball. Okay you don't know, let me give you a breakdown.

Dubbed The Malice at the Palace and the Basketbrawl was an altercation between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons on November 19, 2004. It all started when Ben Wallace was fouled hard by Ron Artest with 45.9 seconds remaining in the game. Wallace hit Artest in the throat followed by physical confrontation with several players of either teams. Artest mocked Wallace by going to the scorer's table and pretend to be doing a radio interview and Wallace threw a hand band at him. A spectator threw a cup of beer at Artest and he responded by running into the stand and mistakenly hitting the wrong person who he thought threw the cup at him. Other spectators got involved as well as players Stephen Jackson who also ran into the stands. Another melee developed after Artest was confronted by fans Alvin "A.J." Shackleford and Charlie Haddad, after which Jermaine Oneal intervene by punching Hadden in the jaw. In a result 9 players where suspended and 5 fans charged and John Green, who threw the cup at Artest, received a lifetime ban from attending Pistons games. Among the players who were suspended were Ron Artest (the rest of the season plus 13 playoffs games), Stephen Jackson (30 games), Jermaine Oneal (25 games, which was reduce to 15 after it was appealed), Chanucey Billups (1 game), Reggie Miller (1 game), Ben Wallace (6 games), Anthony Johnson (5 games), Elden Campbell (1 game) and Derrick Coleman (1 game).

You had to see it to believe it. It was the biggest face off in professional sports history in my book. Here I was enjoying a game on a Friday night when Pacers who I was cheering for was leading with less than a minute to go when the foul was committed which was normal in any basketball game which led to the biggest showdown in NBA history. Indiana won 97-82 but I was no longer a fan of the Pistons. Cause I thought Ben Wallace started it all. I mean he has been fouled hard before but this time he made the losing got to him and it ended in catastrophe. In my opinion Reggie Miller did not deserved to be suspended cause all he did was try to control Ron Artest and Rasheed Wallace who was beyond Pacers time line chattering and cussing should have gotten a suspension and he too went into the stands.

76ers Stacking up

First it was Elton Brand, now Philadelphia 76ers is adding 17 years veteran Donyell Marshall to their rooster. Marshall played for 7 different teams in the NBA now with the 76ers being the 8th. He was drafted by the Timberwolves in 1994 out of the University of Connecticut, when he was traded mid-season to the Warriors where he did 5 seasons, from there he just bounced around the League. He did 2 seasons with the Jazz, Bulls and Raptors, then 3 seasons with Cleveland and last season with the SuperSonics. Now he will be in Philly where he will again prove his value in the League. His outside shooting has always been phenomenal. His ability to stretch the defense has proven effective. Marshall who is a native of Reading Pennyslvania will have no worries settling in Philly.

The 76ers will prove effective with Marshall occupying the perimeter, Elton Brand ability to post up, Andre Miller with his passing skills, Samuel Dalembert presence to clean up around the basket and Andre Iguodala doing what he does best they will be Playoffs contenders.

Reggae Boyz

1998 we made it to the World Cup for the first time in history, wow. I never knew much about football(soccer) at the time, I didn't even knew we had a football team....how sick is that. With fresh talent and the help of Reno Simoes we made it. The Boyz did not go all the way but I was so proud of them, you know they took us to a place we have never been and all Jamaica was with them. But the JFF did not see it that way they fired Simoes. Well, disaster shook in 2002, the Boyz were playing for international clubs and making money and the chemistry and eagerness to win was not there and we didn't even come close. Same saga in 2006.

Rene Simoes is back for 2010 and he did what he did for 1998 get some fresh meat. I hope they can fine the chemistry and bring us back to the World Cup.

Jermaine O'neal - Traded

Toronto Raptors get some fire power with Jermaine O'neal. He was the back bone for Indiana Pacers after Reggie Miller, he lead them in most blocked shots in a game 10 vs the Raptors, most blocked shots in a season 228 (2000 -01), most rebounds a game, playoffs 22, Highest rebounding average, playoff series 17.5 and most free throws attempted, game 25. He is 6 times All-star and Most Improved Player in 2002. He is also the only player to score a triple-double including block shot, he had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots vs the Raptors (he was the second Pacers player to do so and the first in the NBA). He is a very talented and under-rated player. Sure he is no Shaquille O'neal or Tim Duncan, but very valuable to any team. He can score at will, beat off the dribble, pass, and he is an excellent post up player. Combine his agility to that of Chris Bosh Toronto will be a force to reckon with in the low post area. If he and Chris Bosh stay healthy then Toronto stand a chance in the playoffs. Now, I am not talking about winning the Championship (anything is possible), but they will have Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, etc to reckon with. And i have a feeling that Miami will be back next season with D. Wade healthy and all. I guess we will have to wait and see. I should have him in my hot boyz list, but oh well he is hot.

Hot Boyz

I was asking where he was, but if I was keeping up to date I would know he had a album out Hate It or Love it, which I think is pretty good. I listened to a few of the songs and they are not bad. Damn this boy is hot........I am not crazy I am just saying as it is.......he is hoooooooooot.
Oh here's another cutie........wow. I can't wait to see Tyrese in Transformer 2.......I know that's not until next year but I can't wait.

From Left to Right:Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and LeBron James.
Here are some other Hot Boyz. I couldn't mention Hot Boyz and not mention some of the NBA's finest and not only in looks I might add. You know the definition of a perfect male is 'tall, dark and handsome' and these boyz got it like that.