Previously on Lost...

Before i get to the ridiculous highway robbery that was the Johan Santana Trade (no one offered the Twins anything better than that? Really???) I need to put in a word about the only tv show I've ever watched religiously: Lost.

I know its a show that really divides people, most viewers either cant get enough of it or think the ridiculous plot twists are retarded and that investing anytime at all in the show is worthless because you're inevitably going to have more questions coming out of season than you did going in at the beginning. I fall firmly in the former of these two categories: at times (especially during Season 2 and the first half of last season) it does move way too slowly and the writers get a little too cute but the intricate interweaving story lines and various plot twists are what make the show great and separate it from all the other standard crap on TV. Plus to me a show like 24 was always just as ridiculous as Lost, just in a different way. Whereas 24 always has the same things happening to the same character (Jack Bauer is the fucking man and saves the country from one ridiculous situatiuon after another), Lost throws in way more variety, better character development, and more complex and interesting storylines. And since Elisha Cuthbert left the show, way more hot girls.

Anyway after seeing the extended trailer for the new season I was already beyond excited for it to get started, and then I read SF Chronicle TV critic Tim Goodman's enthusiastic review of the new season. For those of you who don't know Goodman he is definitely one of the best, if not the best, tv critic currently writing, and I don't just say that because I'm ridiculously prejudiced towards all things coming from the Bay Area (my love of a number of East Bay rappers is not an argument in my favor here, but that's another post). Anyway the article is linked too above, but I just have to throw in a couple excerpts to get the juices flowing:

"At first, ABC said it wasn't going to send out screeners of the Season 4 premiere of "Lost." Too many spoilers, the network said. Can't trust the critics.
Then, over the weekend, ABC sent an e-mail to critics saying, yes, they could watch the first two episodes online. A DVD appeared on Monday.
Three words for Thursday's first episode: Oh. My. God.
ABC kindly sent the second episode as well. Three more words: Oh. My. God."

To that I can only respond with three words: Oh. My. God.
The world could end on Thursday night between 8-10 PM eastern time and i probably won't realize it.

I'll be back with a post on the Johan trade later today.

Looks like its official...

Looks like Warriors fans are going a chance to see Webber back in the bay by the end of the week: possibly for Friday's home game in Oakland against the Charlotte Bobcats (already an interesting matchup because J-Rich returns to Oakland for the first time).

From ESPN: "I'll be there tomorrow," Webber said via email. "It's a done deal."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3219421

As mentioned yesterday, I don't think this helps the Warriors in the long run, and might be a risky move...but lets sit back and see what happens. At the very least the the '07-'08 version of the Warriors (Stephen Jackson's adventures with firearms outside nightclubs aside) has legit team leadership and hopefully will be handle any problems better than Latrell "I'm probably the only professional athlete whose famous for being a choker in the literal sense of the word" Spreewell and the rest of the '93-'94 Warriors could.

Finally, courtesy of my little bro, the youtube clip of the day: if you're a dude you'll might feel a little queasy after this one (lets just say pole vaulter serves the shit out of himself and leave at that for now).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F3-Q7VB_C4

Webber to the W's

Various sources are reporting that the Warriors (or at least Don Nelson) are pushing hard to try and sign Chris Webber for the remainder of the season. Reaction to this possibility from local sports columnists seems to range from cautiously enthusiastic (hey, the Warriors need front-court depth and who wouldn't want to join one of the feel-good stories of the NBA right now) to the overwhelmingly negative (that clubhouse cancer? On the W's? with Don Nelson? Are you fucking kidding me?).

For an example of the cautious optimist see Warrior fan Adam Laurisden's blog on the SJ Mercury News website, for the generally negative view see SJ Mercury News Warriors beat writer Tim Kawakami's take here.

My first instinct was to go with the cautiously optimistic pundits on this one, because the W's do legitimately need some front-court depth and it really does seem like Nellie has the team completely behind him and will be able to overcome any C-Dubb grumblings that might (probably will?) come up. But Kawakami is a don (the don) when it comes to covering the Warriors; there's a reason I'm linking to his column when the Chronicle usually provides by far the best local sports coverage for the bay. And after reading his take I have to agree with him: the Warriors do need to add front court depth, but it needs to be with someone who fits in with the overall system and who definitely won't screw up the team's chemistry. Webber might provide a badly needed inside offensive presence for Golden State's half-court sets, but is that worth the risk of messing up the team unity that has carried the Warriors since last April?

The way the Warriors are currently built they are only going to make the playoffs (and advance in the playoffs) if they play active defense and get hot shooting the ball. The argument for Webber relies on the idea that he will help the W's if they get into a slowdown half court game by giving them a legit inside threat offensively, but the truth is Webber is going to get DESTROYED against any legit competition like Boozer, Amare, a healthy Bynum, Duncan, Dwight Howard, etc. Adding Webber might give them some decent offensive firepower inside against the dregs of the NBA (e.g. every eastern conference team besides the Celtics, Pistons, Cavs, and Wizards), but the Warriors are going to need to compete against the best if they're going to remain in the playoff picture, and Webber is not going to help them do that. The Warriors inside defense is actually better than most people give them credit for (especially when Biedrins does his best Dennis Rodman impression and picks up 26!!! boards), and Webber has never been a great defender anyway. Barring a ridiculous trade that lands them someone like Rasheed Wallace they're never going to be able to match-up offensively down low: whether or not they sign Webber the W's are only going to win if they make other teams play their game.

All that having been said, the way the W's magic has been going over the last 8-9 months it wouldn't surprise me if Webber signs, starts averaging 17-8 and powers the W's to a 50 win season. I still think their front-court problems would be better addressed by signing Rod Benson (not really, but this needs to happen if only because his already awesome blog will instantly become legendary if he signs in Oakland) but for now we'll just have to sit back and see what happens.

Your youtube video of the day: Webber during his original stint on the W's with a pretty ridiculous dunk on Charles Barkley.

Welcome and an explanation.

For those of you who knew me in college, this blog is sort of a continuation of the sports column I was writing for the Echo, except it gives me more space and a greater ability to write about whatever the fuck I feel like (see, already busting out from the oppressive bonds of college journalism). If you don't know me and somehow stumbled onto this blog, then awesome, I'm probably doing something right (or terribly wrong), hopefully you'll enjoy some of what I write and spread the word.

Most of my posts will focus on some aspect of American sports, with some sidetracks into the world of European soccer and the occasional rant about politics or life in general. Since this blog is primarily a way for me to let off some creative steam I'm not really focusing on a coherent overall theme for now, so expect me to jump around depending on my mood and what I feel like writing about. But hopefully things will come together over time.

Also I'm going to try to include some sort of ridiculously hilarious/inappropriate link with every post so to kick things off here's one of the better newscaster screw-up videos I've seen in awhile. I especially enjoyed the look on the co-anchors face, be sure to watch it twice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Y6PchDYfw


Anyway enjoy the blog, feel free to send any and all feedback, especially if its constructive or at least creatively delivered.


-AJ