While The Battered Fan has been a little more basketball-centric than I anticipated, I feel it has been in line with what is taking place in the actual sports world. Football coverage is on the back burner just waiting to explode, Hockey is still being hidden from America on NBC Sports Network, Soccer is taking a quick breather so every other site can cover the racism of the Euro 2012, the Olympics are still 7 weeks away, and regular season baseball is still regular season baseball. So basketball it is…
- Last evening’s Western Conference Finals game between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder was ridiculous. What looked to be a blow out midway through the first half, quickly turned into the best game of NBA basketball I have watched in at last ten years. Congrats to the Thunder!
- There are few people I dislike more in the world (without ever meeting them) than Kris Kardashian, but NBA referee Joey Crawford may be on that short list. Is there anything more annoying than Crawford officiating a game, convinced that at least half the viewing audience is there to watch him? News Flash: we are not here for you, Joey. Never have been. Never will be. The technical he called on Stephen Jackson was gross… 15,000 fans talking relentless shit all game, and Jackson yells back after hitting a big 3-pointer and gets punished? ‘Come on!‘ How does the NBA let Crawford, the same referee who once kicked Tim Duncan out of the game for laughing as well as the proud owner of the single most baffling call in NBA Playoffs history, officiate some of the season’s most meaningful games? Is the current state of officiating that bad, or does David Stern just love messing with fans? ‘Cripes’!!!
- Twitter is the single greatest thing to accompany sports viewership since Bill Walton. To be able to bring an entire nation of sports fans together in real time to discuss, debate, and critique, is a platform in which Twitter is unmatched. Oh, and this reminds me… Twitter is capable of anything. Last night, just seconds after Russell Westbrook took a hard fall and seemed to have injured his hand, TNT did an inexplicably long five-second close-up of Westbrook grabbing his man parts. Stunned to see an excessive close-up of such self-groping, I naturally asked the Twitter universe to make a quick GIF to verify what had just blinded my eyes. Within minutes, Kevin C (@lot13Photo) did one better. He quickly spliced a video of the clip and sent it my way. Just like the NBA, technology is AMAAAAAAAZING.
- Speaking of Westbrook, why does he insist on shooting awful shots down the stretch of every close Thunder game? Does he somehow forget that 6’11” Kevin Durant, the NBA scoring champion for three consecutive seasons, is wearing the same uniform? Every time Westbrook takes one of his patented, head-scratching shots with 16+ seconds left on the shot clock, it makes me think about the Saturday Night Live Chippendale skit with Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley – only in this case, Durant is Swayze and Westbrook is Farley. Despite the fact Westbrook is clearly not at the same level of Durant, he will do everything in his power to make sure he gets noticed…
- Poor Seattle. Next time any of you have a Starbucks, be sure to pour a little out for our dead homey. One can only imagine the torn emotions former-Supersonics fans must have felt while watching the Thunder and their ridiculously rowdy fan base win the Western Conference Finals. Hey Seattle, it’s your own fault. If you really loved them so much, you would have provided new owner Clay Bennett a reason to stay… you didn’t. And guess what? Having to watch the Thunder in the NBA Finals isn’t going to be a ‘one-time’ occurrence – this young, talented Thunder team is only going to get better and better, and win more and more. Enjoy the Sounders…
(AP via KomoNews)
- Can’t wait for this evening’s Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics game. There are just so many storylines to follow, regardless how it plays out, there will be plenty to talk about. Quick thought: Everybody seems to be really surprised over how easily Boston is scoring against Miami. Should it really that shocking? Miami has been playing huge minutes with the 6’7” Udonis Haslem against the 7’0” Kevin Garnett. While Chris Bosh has never been an all-world defender, his absence is notable given that his larger frame would be much more effective against Garnett’s superior length. If nothing else, Bosh’s presence would likely alter more shots, limit the offensive rebounds, and prevent the amount of tap-backs Boston has gotten this series.
- Lastly, not sure if you saw this quote from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, but it was pretty classic. When asked about the Celtics, he responded, “There’s a lot of heart in this team, let me just tell you. KJ is great, but Hondo is really the inspiration. Hondo drives that team.” You sure told us, Mayor… I feel like Mayor Menino would do well interviewing in a tuxedo – is it Pan or Pamm?
- That’s that.
