Playstation Numbers

"Playstation Numbers"

I had never seen this phrase until BP (that's Baseball Prospectus for those of you aren't huge baseball dorks) writer Kevin Goldstein used it to describe a Padres prospect in his column today.

Anyway I instantly took a liking to the phrase, because I get tired of using the same few adjectives to describe an athlete putting up great stats: my go-to is usually ridiculous, though I'll occasionally throw in an amazing, outstanding, mind-boggling, or outrageous if I'm feeling it. So, whether or not Goldstein came up with it originally, its nice to have a new phrase to describe someone putting up outrageous/amazing/mind-bogglingly good stats. A few athletes who I think fit the bill: Barry Bonds 2001-2004 (steroid aided or not), Alex Rodriguez last year, Lebron James this year, and Wayne Gretzsky throughout the 1980s. This might turn into a full column with definitions later, but for now I'll stick to the obvious ones.

I also like the video game tie-in because it reminded me of my initial reaction upon seeing Baron Davis hit yet another game winning shot for the W's against the Celtics last night: he's on fire when it comes to last second shots. Not sportscaster talking about someone going 6-8 from downtown on fire, not John Kruk talking about the Yankees winning 10 of 11 on fire, legit, old-school, NBA Jam you literally are not going to miss a shot on fire. Is there anyone else in the NBA you would rather have taking a shot with the game on the line right now? Kobe and Lebron are good, Agent Zero had some success over the last couple of years, but right now Baron Davis is the most clutch player in the NBA, no questions asked. Baron isn't on fire with making last-second shots, he's OOOOONNNNN FIIIRRRREEE (in the NBA Jam crazy announcer voice) when it comes to game-winners.

Note: after watching this clip from youtube I decided that the announcer's voice was nowhere near as loud or awesome as I remembered it. Amazing how our perception of video games changes so quickly, I remember being amazed at the original Playstation's graphics, which look atrociously bad compared with the stuff on the newest systems. But the point still stands...Robert Horry doesn't have shit on Boom-Dizzle, the most clutch player in the NBA right now.

Also one more thing I noticed about the NBA Standings this morning. At 33-22 the Warriors would have the 3rd best record in the Eastern conference. Right now they have the ninth best record in the west and would not make the playoffs if the season ended today. Exactly two teams in the eastern conference have a winning record against the west: the Celtics (who the Warriors beat last night) and the Pistons. I legitimately believe the Warriors would be a 55-60 win team if they played in the Eastern conference right now.

Youtube clip of the day: something I found while searching "nba jam on fire" on youtube. And further proof that my generation is absolutely retarded when it comes to coming up with drinking games.