New NBA Adidas Commercials
I’m more of a Nike guy when it comes to basketball shoes, but the latest ad campaign from Adidas is pretty cool. In fact, it was pretty awesome when they featured UCLA’s SAC gym for their 2008 commercials (I blogged about it before).
This first “group” video is pretty sick… the multi-layered player effect is so cool. Derrick Rose’s between-the-legs dunk? Ridiculous.
Nice T-Mac cameo w/ his new jersey #3. Haha.
I also found the Josh Smith vs Dwight Howard manikin to be pretty funny… sort of lame, but pretty funny.
Check out other versions w/ Rose, Chauncey Billups, Tim Duncan, Michael Beasley, etc…
Coach Wooden – 99 Years Young
He has got to be the sharpest 99-year old on earth.
Happy Birthday Coach Wooden!
Some of my favorite famous Coach Wooden quotes:
Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Don’t give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.
And also a pair of my favorite not-quite-as-famous quotes from coach:
Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.
You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
DOYERSSSSS
NLDS Game 2, Dodgers vs Cardinals @ Chavez Ravine:
Pretty much sums up how I felt watching yesterday’s game. GO DODGERS!!
Gratitude
Nothing in this world should be a source of our complaint or blame. Quite the opposite, everything should be a source of our gratitude and joy. Imagine awaking each morning with gratitude for the warmth that permeates throughout your body, for the food you had yesterday and which is now nurturing you today, and for the air that the lungs take in, contributing to the energy that sustains life. Gratitude should overwhelm you.
Jiro Morishita, (2/16/1961 – 8/30/2009)
Back In Business
WTF?/Awesome
Media Day! Training Camp! At last, the NBA is back in action this week! Hurrah!
SO MANY interesting story lines for the 2009-2010 season… My random thoughts, in no particular order:
- #1 pick Blake Griffin and the finally (and hopefully stays) healthy Clippers – how much will they improve?
- Shaquille O’neal in Cleveland with LeBron James – most anticipated pre-game antics ever
- Can Vince Carter replace Hedo Turkoglu effectively in Orlando?
- Suns back to their running game with Steve Nash
- NY building their running game with Mike D’Antoni
- Can the Spurs & their aging stars (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili) stay healthy? Is the addition of Richard Jefferson enough to win the West? (Probably not.)
- Can the Celtics & their aging stars (all of them) stay healthy? Is Rasheed Wallace past his prime? (Definitely yes.)
- Will Delonte West shoot somebody?
- Is the weed out of Michael Beasley’s system yet? Will he ever Tweet again?
- Will the insanely loyal Warriors fans finally turn against their dysfunctional team? (Probably not.) Will their star players betray the fans? (Already have.)
- Is Greg Oden a bust?
- Will Kevin Durant rise above “All-Star” caliber to reach “Superstar” status in 2010?
- Speaking of All-Stars, LeBron in the Slam Dunk Contest!! Will he be any good? Who joins him in the contest? Aren’t you tired of seeing Nate Robinson?
- Who gets in trouble first in Memphis: Zach Randolph or Allen Iverson? Who takes the shots between those two, Rudy Gay, and OJ Mayo?
- Where in the world is Carlos Boozer?
- What kind of shoe will Nike make for Dwyane Wade? UPDATE: “Bred” AJ XI on Wade’s feet @ media day
- Are Joe Smith and Josh Smith the most generic names ever to play on the same team? How will ESPN gametrack differentiate between the two? (Won’t work: Smith, J. Smith, Jo. Smith.)
- Will the Maloof brothers sell the Kings? Or move them to Las Vegas??
- Gilbert Arenas, Tracy McGrady, Elton Brand, Kevin Garnett… how well have they recovered?
- Is DeShawn Stevenson even more ridiculous than I thought? (Yes).
- Rip Hamilton and Ben Gordon in Detroit—who shoots?
- Did Dwight Howard’s shoulders grow even more during the off season? Is that even possible?
- When will the referee lockout end? Will the replacement refs be any good? Will any of them resemble Dick Bavetta or Joey Crawford?
- Will Arron Afflalo start in Denver? Will Darren Collison blossom practicing against Chris Paul every day in New Orleans? (Personal UCLA bias.)
And of course, the Laker story lines:
- How well will Ron Artest fit in with the triangle offense?
- Does Kobe Bryant’s aging process begin this year? How much mileage does he have left?
- Will Pau Gasol dominate like he did in Eurobasket this summer?
- Will Jordan Farmar return with a vengeance? Can he prove himself to be the long term replacement for Derek Fisher?
- Will Andrew Bynum play a full season? If he does, can he return to least year’s mid-season monster form?
- Does Phil Jackson really experiment with the ultra-big lineup of Kobe, Lamar, Artest, Pau, and Bynum?
- How much will we miss Trevor Ariza? (By the way, who’s his supposedly Japanese baby mama?)
- How long will Lamar’s Odom’s marriage with Khloe Kardashian last? Who cares?
- Did Sasha Vujacic REALLY cut his hair???
- is 11/22 really Chick Hearn night at Staples? Are they really giving away Chick’s microphone jersey replicas? If so, can you get me tickets?
Hoping the season caps off with the Back 2 Back, Championship #16 in June 2010!
Misread headline of the day
It’s actually a byline, but here goes:
LA Times: “Kevin Craft fills in effectively at quarterback, and defense shuts down the Wildcats”
I definitely read it as “Kevin Craft fills ineffectively at quarterback…”
Oops, my bad. Preconceptions… they just won’t go away. Sigh.
My endearing image of poor Kevin Craft:
"What the %&$# was THAT, Kevin?!?"
Here’s hoping the Prince/Craft/Brehaut QB committee can hold it down this year so that the superb Bruin defense can get enough rest between drives this year. O-Line deserves major credit, too. So far, so good @ 3-0!
Quest for G – The Series
Check out my friend Advent Monyatsiwa on Gatorade’s Quest for G series. He’s a super-athletic, super-talented Judoka from Botswana who was selected as one of the Top 16 athletes for a chance to be sponsored by Gatorade in his quest to make the 2012 London Olympics.
Not only is he a gifted athlete, but he’s also a great guy. One of the nicest, sincere, and most positive thinking guys I’ve ever met. If you know him, you just can’t help but root for him. Good luck Advent!
Check out the vid:
More videos at MissionG.com!
Offseason
No basketball = sucks.
I like summer, but I hate it for one thing—lack of basketball on TV.
Last year, the Beijing Olympics was the lone saving grace. Not only didI get basketball on TV in August, but it came with the best players in the world assembled in one Godzilla-like team known as the US National Team, a.k.a. the Dream Team (or Redeem Team… whatever). And of course, you get a healthy helping of world-class athletes competing in 65489 different sports (although a gold-medal in “shooting” doesn’t sound as impressive as, say, decathlons).
But this year—absolutely nothing. The NBA off-season has been somewhat interesting with some semi-big names changing teams (VC, Artest, RJ, Shaq, ‘Sheed, etc.), along with some yet to decide where to go (David Lee, Iverson, Boozer), but nothing earth-shattering involving superstar movement like what is being anticipated for the “Summer of 2010″ extravaganza (LBJ, Wade, Bosh). Overall, the only daily news I’ve been hearing about the NBA is the “Ricky Rubio Saga” and “Michael Beasley’s Depression” and “Who Will Shaq Face Off Against Next In The Horribly-commentated-but-mildly-entertaining ‘SHAQ VS’ TV Show.” Really, it’s been a boring summer hoops-wise. At least I can watch Eurobasket on ESPN360 so I can watch Anderson Varejao and Francisco Garcia tear it up in international competition… wait, what?
Thankfully, Basketbawful was there to fill up my summer days with fine entertainment in the Livin’ Large series epic. Descriptive/nostalgic/entertainment literature at its absolute best. Definitely check it out if you ever have 4 hours to kill.
