Dwayne Wade is a dirty player

He really should get suspended for throwing this Macho Man Randy Savage-esque flying elbow at Lance Stephenson.

Notes

Things of note in the world today:


Hezbollah admits it is aiding Asad massacre his citizens, in the name of anti-Semitism, err, anti-Zionism.  Says Nasrallah, "if Syria falls, Palestine will be lost."  I guess the best way to defend "Palestine" (I am using quotes on the basis of the argument, not disputing the legitimacy of a Palestinian state) is to slaughter every Syrian civilian you see, Mr. Nasrallah.  The Sunnis of Syria and Lebanon will not soon forget that Hezbollah has sided with Asad, and is actively shelling Syrian Sunnis.


As I correctly predicted, Indy bounced back in game 2 of the ECF, and there was no more emphatic moment than the ridiculous dunk in the GIF below.  Paul George BLEW BY Lebron, and threw down the Hammer of Thor on game 1 here Chris Anderson.  What a moment.  I picked Miami in 6, but already regret my cowardice; I think this is going 7 games, and at this point, the series is entirely a toss-up at best for Miami.

At the UFC 160 weigh-in yesterday, a scuffle broke out between Khabib (sounds Chechen--don't let him bring a backpack to the fight) Nurmagomedov and Abel Trujillo as Mike Tyson and Dana White looked on

Excellent article in Haaretz on the overly-powerful role that the Ultra-Orthodox, settlers, and rich people play in shaping Israel's policies.

Can Indy recover?

After the Game 1 debacle (you know, the one in which Frank Vogel left the best shot-blocker in the league on the bench at the end of overtime), where do the Pacers go from here?

Paul George played better defense on Lebron than anyone I can remember, except on this one solitary play when he took a bad angle.

After a switch, George Hill was left trying to guard Lebron.  Not a fair fight.  

As Charles Barkley so eloquently says of Hibbert, West, and Tyler, "them boys ain't gon get any smaller".  He is correct, as per usual on basketball matters.  The Pacers did well on the offensive glass, using the 3 aforementioned strong men to get second chance points.  West killed Battier in the first half, but mostly disappeared down the stretch, including missing a pair of free throws and an open 8 foot jumper in overtime, either of which would have changed the outcome of the game.

There is no reason to think the Pacers won't be able to win the interior scoring battle again.  However, the Pacers did not do a great job on the defensive backboards; Hibbert and West COMBINED for 3 defensive rebounds in 81 minutes of action, the same number that Psycho T got in 12 minutes.  I have no idea how that is even possible.  Given the Pacers' proclivity for turning the ball over (not a problem they can fix, as there is no starting-caliber point guard on the roster--George Hill is an undersized 2 guard who can guard either position, but a point guard he is not), the defensive rebounding becomes that much more important because Miami is going to get so many more chances with the ball.  For Indiana to win, Vogel is going to need to play Hansbrough more; he should be getting some of Mahinmi's minutes.  There is no reason the Pacers can't play Hansbrough and West together for stretches, or Hansbrough and Hibbert.  Mahinmi brings nothing to the table offensively, and he isn't anything near Hibbert on the defensive end. Thus, Hansbrough's lack of shot blocking isn't much of a drop off, especially given how much more adept on the offensive end Hansbrough is compared with Mahinmi.

One of the other mistakes the Pacers made (besides taking out Roy) was allowing Sam Young to guard Lebron.  LBJ looked like a kid on Christmas morning; it was like he was playing NBA 2k13 and had taken the difficulty down from hall of fame to rookie.  When Paul George gets a rest, why not shift Stephenson over to Lebron?  He is a better defender than Sam Young and has enough size and speed to make it challenging for LBJ.  Every time Lebron was guarded by someone besides George, I kept thinking to myself that if Granger were healthy, the Pacers would win this series.  Granger is above average on both ends of the court, and can guard 2s/3s/4s.  Instead, the drop off from George to anyone else guarding Lebron is Niagara Falls-esque.  


As for Indy's turnover problem, as I said, it is not a problem that can be remedied, per se.  However, Indy can ease some of the pressure on its backcourt ball handlers by giving it to West more in the high post, where he has shown to be a capable passer.  It is hard to double in that area of the floor, and West has an advantage on any Miami defender 1 on 1 (except Lebron, but the Heat are clearly not interested in having him get banged on by West/Hansbrough).  Hibbert sets some solid screens; why not let West work in the high post and have Hibbert set off-ball screens to free up George and Hill (not to mention lay hits on LeBron and Wade)?

Lance Stephenson is also going to have to show up; the guy who dominated game 6 against the Knicks was not present in game 1 against Miami.  He showed his great rebounding prowess once again, but was ghastly from the field, and seemed disinclined to really take it to the rim, too often settling for jumpers (2-10 overall, 0-5 on 3s).  Stephenson is a decent passer with a solid handle, so I would suggest getting him some chances in the pick and roll game--again, why not get some hits on Wade and give Miami some looks it isn't used to seeing, while also getting Stephenson going?

On the Miami side, Spoelstra's decision to cut Mike Miller out of the rotation and play Ray Allen is looking worse and worse.  Ray Allen is a shell of himself; his jumper is no longer consistent, and he is a defensive liability.  Miller is an above average defender, and has point forward ability, meaning that if defenses close out too hard on him at the 3 point line, he can pump fake, drive, and find someone.

As I predicted, Chris Anderson was a difference maker. Birdman had 16 points, 3 blocks, and did not miss a single shot.

Truthfully, there is nothing to make me think he can't duplicate that performance or something similar in every game.  It wasn't like he went Nate Robinson and started hitting step back 3s; he just cut to the hoop, finished, ran the floor, and got offensive rebounds.  The Heat's best lineup is with Birdman at the 4, not Battier playing ineffectual, dirty minutes.

If you look closely in the above GIF, Lebron actually traveled on the game winner.  He took a step with his pivot foot, then a step with his other foot, and only then started dribbling.

What will happen in game 2?  I expect Indy to bounce back; they aren't afraid of Miami, and if they can cut their turnovers by 3-4 a game, they should win.  Their defense will always keep them close, and Paul George is emerging as a real superstar.
 

Pacers v Heat

Pacers v Heat

People writing off the Pacers are not being unreasonable; LeBron can shut down everyone on the Indiana roster 1 on 1 except Roy Hibbert (although LeBron may be heavier and stronger than Hibbert, which is insane).  There is no real weak link on the Miami roster; the closest thing to a weakness exists at the center position, and only against a real center who can score consistently in the post, someone in the Shaq/Duncan/Hakeem/Robinson/Ewing mold.  Hibbert is a skilled behemoth, although he is not quite good enough to push the Pacers past Miami.  The addition of the Birdman, Chris Anderson, has turned what was a weakness into a mere irritant that can only be exploited occasionally.  Birdman is a major reason that Miami is 44-4 in their last 48 games; his 15-20 minutes a game of defensive energy, offensive rebounding, finishes around the rim, and blocked shots have been a welcome addition to a team that was already probably the best in the NBA, but demonstrated poor rebounding against real big men (see Nikola Vucevic's 2 separate 20-20 games against the Heat).

How can the Pacers win?

Paul George, who out-dueled Carmelo Anthony last round, is going to have to find yet another gear in his matchup against Lebron.  He has the length, skills, foot speed, defensive acumen, and chutzpah to go mano-a-mano against Lebron, but he does not have the bulk to shut him down defensively.  Often, Miami's best play is simply to give it to Lebron and let him bull his way towards the basket, which inevitably leads to refs either bailing him out or James converting a layup or finding an open shooter.  Miami has 3 point shooting in spades; between James, Ray Allen, Chalmers, Battier, Norris Cole, Mike Miller, and even Chris Bosh, the Heat stretch the floor like no other team except the Spurs.  The caveat there is that Miami's bench shooters, despite their big names, are rather inconsistent, and Miami can fall in love with the 3 too much.  If Miami misses their 3s and the Pacers don't have to double on Lebron, Indiana can win several games in this series, at least.

Because of James' propensity to simply run at the basket and expect a foul call (his trademark yell of anger/entitlement at not receiving a foul call can be heard any time he misses a shot--he is one of the most underrated floppers in NBA history), the referees will have an enormous impact on this series; given the way Roy Hibbert ferociously defends the rim (he goes straight up and puts the onus on the officials--against the Knicks, the refs did not call a foul on Hibbert generally, except when Carmelo ran at him, which is not surprising given the league's propensity to call fouls differently when superstars are involved)

For the refs, when Lebron goes down like in these GIFs, they will be unlikely to keep their whistles silent; after all, he is the best player alive, he is the most famous current player, and he is 280 fucking pounds, meaning that if he goes down, he must have really been fouled, right?  

A key for Indiana will obviously be rebounding.  In the 3 matchups between the teams this season (of which Indiana won 2), the Pacers outrebounded the heat by 19, 9, and 5 boards respectively (winning the first two).  For Indiana to have a shot, they have have to hyper-aggressively rebound (Lance Stephenson, I am looking at you and your meth), especially on the offensive end.  Further, the Pacers have to punish the Heat for trying to play Shane Battier at the 4; David West has to massacre him to force the Heat to play Haslem or Birdman with Bosh, which hurts Miami's spacing.  

The aforementioned Lance Stephenson is going to have to play like he did against the Knicks--slightly out of control, a threat to go coast to coast at any time, a vicious rebounder and defender who can drive and finish at the rim.  Basically, he will have to do this:  

Lance is going to have to outplay Wade; a tall order, but given Dwayne's balky knee and terrible shooting, not entirely out of the range of possibilities.  

His backcourt mate, George Hill, will similarly have to win his positional battle, which he should do against the inconsistent Mario Chalmers (although Chalmers has shown that he has a knack for big games).  Hill has a decent handle and is a good jump shooter, although he doesn't have the floor vision that one would want out of a point guard.  His backup, DJ Augustin, will have to be a spark plug off the bench, because otherwise, when Indy's starters rest, there isn't going to be much offense.

Judging from the Chicago series, a great defensive team can hang in with the Heat.  Obviously, the Pacers are a much better offensive team than Chicago, and they are a superior defensive team as well.  Their big problem is that Lebron is just phenomenal.  I am picking Heat in 6.  

Quick Update

In the midst of the NBA playoffs, it is hard to pay attention to current events.  The Spurs are currently bashing the Grizzlies (UPDATE: lead down to 8, somehow), who look like a YMCA rec squad.  The Grizzlies' big problem is a dearth of outside shooting.  When Tony Allen is being "guarded" by Ginobili, Manu literally stands 15 feet away from him and double teams whoever has the ball.  Tayshaun Prince's range extends roughly to the foul line extended, so Leonard or whoever else is guarding him double teams, and Zach can't shoot either.  

The only problems for the Spurs are 1) that Tiago Splitter is absolutely horrid offensively, 2) when Duncan is on the bench, the Spurs can't box out Gasol and Zach, and 3) Bayless and and Poindexter totally change San Antonio's defense because they require actual defenders, thus opening up Zach's bullrush post game.  

For your amusement, I present fun GIFs, and some links for those of you who care about non-NBA related news. 

FUN GIFs

Ginobs finds the Red Mamba for 3

The impetus for Vitor's TRT use

Hibbert tells Carmelo "never won anything" Anthony to GTFO.  

Links

The battle for the Syrian city of Qusayr heats up as the slaves of Iran (Bashar, Hezbollah) fight against al-Qaeda-esque Islamists and a hodgepodge assortment of other militant groups.

Discouraging news about how USAID and other US government funds are potentially dispersed.  I want to see more details about this.

The situation in the Sinai becomes tenser.  Egypt is not looking like a good vacation spot right about now.

I think I may need to go get a tax LLM

A Tale of Two Vitors

A TALE OF TWO VITORS

Vitor Belfort is one of the most important, enigmatic, and now, controversial, fighters in mma history.

Vitor jacked out of his mind as a 19 year old fighting in the UFC in 1997.

Perhaps the single best athlete in the sport's short existence, Vitor has been blessed with otherworldly speed, excellent hand-eye coordination, and explosive strength.  His boxing technique, honed over decades of training, is legendary by mma standards.  He is an underrated wrestler (Vitor took Chuck Liddell down multiple times in their respective primes, during a time period in which nobody could put Chuck on his back), and has a black belt in jiu jitsu.

Despite having been a former UFC champion (He won the 205 lb belt via a freak cut stoppage seconds into his second fight with Randy Couture),

Vitor looking rather large celebrating his destruction of Marvin Eastman  in 2003.  

Vitor is widely considered a waste of talent, plagued by mental weakness and stamina issues (to say nothing of his propensity to take a dive, as he is widely rumored to have done against Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba).  More than his fast hands, scintillating knockouts, uneven performances, and this, Vitor will be remembered most as being the man who brought TRT usage in mma to the forefront.

Currently, athletic commissions allow TRT usage if the fighter has a doctor's note saying that the fighter has low T and needs synthetic testosterone to get into the normal range.  Of course, this is problematic.
First of all, one of the main reasons for low testosterone is previous steroid use.  Thus, by allowing guys to use TRT, athletic commissions are basically rewarding previous steroid use (further, the benefits of steroids stay in the system and give athletes gains long after stopping drug use).  Secondly, just as with fighters who use real steroids instead of TRT (testosterone is the base chemical of steroids), fighters who use TRT can taper their drug use so that when they are finally tested after the fight, their levels are actually in the normal range.  The Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) has offered to do a year-round testing program for the UFC for free (for the first year of the program), but the UFC did not respond.

The lack of response by the UFC to such an offer should come as a surprise to no one.  Zuffa (parent company of the UFC), has no incentive to further test its stable of fighters, many of whom would be caught red-handed in a more thorough testing program.  Why would Zuffa want to lose more of its big name fighters to suspension, which would damage the UFC's cash flow (via lower pay per view buy rates), and ruin its reputation?  From a business standpoint, further testing has no place in the UFC's business model.

Given the UFC's aversion to serious testing, Vitor's re-emergence has become a particularly interesting phenomenon.  Vitor was originally busted for steroids in 2006 while he was fighting for Pride (Japan's now-defunct version of the UFC), but his physical appearance in the Wild West days of mma (before it became an officially sanctioned sport) leaves little mystery as to whether or not he was using.  So how would Vitor, in an environment in which he could not outright cheat, return to the top?  Simple: he would use TRT, the same drug that Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Rampage Jackson, and countless others have used to beat the system.

Vitor's physical appearance since he came back to the UFC in 2009 has changed dramatically.

In Vitor's first fight back, against former champion Rich Franklin, Vitor looked (by his standards)

Vitor, au naturale, sans steroids, looking merely mortal against Rich Franklin in  2009.

pudgy, but still iced Franklin in the first round with his blazing handspeed.  A new contender at 185 pounds emerged, injecting (clever pun intended) some much needed life into the 185 pound division.

Vitor, in his last pre-TRT fight, looking soft against Anderson Silva in 2011.

In Vitor's next fight, against Anderson Silva (a fight in which Vitor was KO'd brutally with a front kick to the face after an exceedingly tense first few minutes of action), Belfort again looked like a human being, rather than a cartoon character.  Something had to change for Vitor to get his mojo back.  That change was TRT.

Vitor's next two fights after the Silva loss were against undersized middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama (Vitor won by KO in round 1), and Anthony Johnson (who missed weight by an unbelievable 12 pounds).  Vitor, always fragile of mind, took no chances, and managed to entirely change his body.  Hmm, I wonder how he did it?  Of course we can assume that he used TRT legally, which is what makes the issue so confounding: how can state athletic commissions give a hall pass for use of a product that is steroids in all but name, but suspend and fine people for using marijuana?

Vitor in 2012 against Anthony Johnson.  TRT to the rescue!

Vitor has not tried to hide his TRT usage, which has created an embarrassing situation for the UFC.  Dana White, perhaps the man most prone to lying ever born, said that the UFC would "test the living shit out" of TRT users.  Of course, members of the mma media (mostly morons) were too scared to write anything negative about Mr. White's propensity for lying, and the mainstream media members were too uninformed to offer an intelligent rebuttal or to doubt Dana's (worthless) word.  The scam continued.

Things started to come to a head earlier this year, when Vitor, looking like a serial killer crossed with a bodybuilder crossed with a drug addict, absolutely massacred Mike Bisping.  This fight

Vitor looking like a movie bad guy on meth, TRT'd out of his mind against Bisping in 2013.

raised the ire of fans, who scoffed at Vitor's TRT-tainted victory and his incredibly cocky and casual attitude about cheating.  Vitor looked a weight class heavier than Bisping, and was shredded to ridiculous levels for anyone, let alone a 36 year old man who was sporting love handles 3 years earlier.  Of course, Vitor denies any and all wrongdoing: "For me, it's no problem. I'm not doing anything illegal, so I'm not ashamed of anything."

Even Dana White (who would claim the sun rises in the north and sets in the south if it would help him sell pay per view buys) had to change his tune when faced with the obvious evidence (that being Vitor's body) that TRT makes a huge difference in fights.  Instead of parroting the official line that the athletic commissions do a great job and that UFC fighters are the most tested fighters on Earth, Dana came out and said that there should be no TRT exemptions. 

Again, last night, Vitor, sporting his TRT physique, demolished Luke Rockhold, flooring the

Vitor last night, looking like a character from Mortal Kombat

former Strikeforce champ with a spinning head kick.  Again, fans scoff.  Why is someone who has previously tested positive for steroids allowed to use TRT?  It is wild.  Keith Kizer, the head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, is on record as saying that Belfort will likely not be able to get a TRT therapeutic use exemption (TUE) in that state due to his previous documented roiding.  This puts the UFC in a bit of a pickle:  Vitor is clearly the 2nd or 3rd best 185 pounder on the planet, and his next fight should be the winner of the upcoming Anderson Silva vs Chris Weidman title fight.  However, if Vitor can't get licensed by state athletic commissions (last night's fight was in Brazil, as was his demolition of Bisping), then what will happen?  Only time will tell.  The only certainty is that the current rules governing TRT use are a joke and a black eye on the sport.  I would say the odds of the UFC cleaning up TRT use are almost nill, as are the odds of the state athletic commissions halting their hand-outs of TUEs (for the same reason--big fights are big dollars).

Through Syrian Eyes (Part I)

Through Syrian Eyes (Part I)

Syria is a fascinating country, and I do not say that just because I am Syrian (although I am admittedly biased). As a tiny country of roughly 23 million in a perhaps unenviable location of geostrategic importance, it is amazingly diverse. Cities that are a few dozen miles apart will have entirely distinct accents and different cuisines. An hour drive will take you from the lush mountains of the Mediterranean coast, through the infinitely rolling hills of olive trees of Idlib, and into the unforgiving, unyielding stones of the semi-desert. 

It has welcomed wave upon wave of immigrants regardless of religion or ethnicity, from Muslim Circassians escaping Russian massacres to Christian Armenians fleeing a Turkish genocide. When the French occupation ended in 1946, there were furious calls warning of the ensuing onslaught that would be unleashed upon the Syrian Christians who were unjustly favored by the French. Instead the Syrian people responded by electing the Christian Faris al-Khoury into the highest offices of Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister (none of our neighbors were as fortunate). Syria is not Lebanon, it is not Iraq, and it surely is neither Somalia nor Afghanistan. I’m not saying Syria is “better” (the concept in itself is naïve), but it is definitely different. Unfortunately many prefer overly simplistic comparisons, and choose to draw the wrong lessons from the various conflicts. When policy makers at the highest levels hold such amateurish views, the results are disastrous.

I watched the fire of the Arab Spring spread throughout the region with insurmountable excitement. The core problem of the region, I always felt, did not lie within the tangible signs of overwhelming poverty, but the intangible sense of crushing despair. The Arab Spring was that spark of hope. More important than any economic factor was one word, dignity. But I never thought it would reach my home country. The level of brutality of the Syrian regime was all too known, especially after the massacres of Hama in 1982 where an uprising was put down by leveling entire portions of the city and butchering the population into obedience. After 11 years in power, Bashar Assad was somehow still viewed as a young reformer trying to change the country, and the only Arab leader standing up to Israel and what was seen as US imperialist interests in Iraq and region at large. Between these two factors I did not think people would dare to rise, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect the Syrian regime to be as brutal and murderous as it turned out to be. It is this exact incomprehensible viciousness that turned events from small, localized demonstrations calling for reform, to a full-blown revolution in every part of the country, to an armed rebellion. From day one the regime has been its own worst enemy.

I personally was vehemently opposed to the arming of the revolution, until the regime left me no excuses. The revolution was peaceful for six months and thousands of martyrs, but people are bound to pick up arms when faced with such levels of force and brutality. 

Demonstrations were gunned down and even shelled. Peaceful activists were rounded up and disappeared into the labyrinth of torture chambers throughout the country, while criminals and Islamist extremists in custody were released onto the streets to wreak havoc. I fully realize that the current scenario of violence and chaos is exactly what the regime was pushing towards to ensure its survival in a form of brute political calculation that would put Machiavelli to shame, yet I also realize that the violent reaction was unavoidable. The regime is incapable of compromise or negotiation; they call it “Assad’s Syria” and genuinely believe and act like it is, and has been for the past 40 years. Their slogan from the first days was “Assad or we will burn the country” (it rhymes in Arabic: “al Assad aw nuhrik al balad”). We are where we are now, an unorganized diverse armed uprising against a vicious sectarian dictator that has repressed his people and destabilized the region. The Islamist extremist factions that were virtually nonexistent only a year ago have a prominent role now due to the vacuum that was left; although nothing close to what the media is exaggerating it up to be (they are estimated to number in the few thousands in an uprising of a hundred thousand). But the powerful secular voices calling from a democratic Syria have for the most part been murdered, arrested, or forced into exile. The humanitarian situation is beyond tragic; over 80,000 innocent people murdered, more than a quarter of the population displaced, entire cities leveled, infrastructure devastated, and ancient artifacts that have survived millennia of conflict reduced to rubble. But I don’t expect the international community to interfere for such “trivial” matters; I do expect countries like the US to take an active role for realist, pressing reasons.

Which brings us to the enigma called American foreign policy and decision making… (Part II coming later this week)

Links

Assad says this is no time for self-criticism and calls for terrorists to lay down their arms (killing 80k civilians is not a terrorist act, apparently)

UFC's attempts to get approval to hold events in NY

Syrian army and Hezbollah work in unison to take control of border city

Vitor Belfort vs Luke Rockhold fight video

Playoff Musings

Quick playoff thoughts:

1.  The Memphis Grizzlies are legit.  They beat the Spurs in the playoffs several years ago because Zach Randolph caught fire, and because the Spurs were unable to keep Zach and Gasol off the glass.  There are key differences from 2011 for both teams heading into their Western Conference Finals meeting (sorry Warriors' fans, it ain't gonna happen).

On the San Antonio side, Ginobili and Duncan are 2 years older and more beat up (the former can barely run because of his hamstring), and Parker is nursing a bad ankle.  On the plus side, they added a legit starting two-way SF in Kawhi Leonard, who is a huge upgrade over the always disappointing Richard Jefferson.  Danny Green's growth has made him a solid NBA player in his own right, and he has basically taken George Hill's role.  Hill was a better ball-handler and creator, but Green is a better 3 point shooter and a few inches taller.

The Spurs underutilized Tiago Splitter during the series (because Popovich is an inflexible overrated coach), and when the large, untalented Brazilian did get to play, he proved far better than McDyess, Bonner, or Blair at keeping Gasol and Z-Bo off the glass and at bay.  The Spurs still have Bonner and Blair on the roster, but it seems the team's second choice for PF is now Boris Diaw, a perennial underachiever and a bit of a softie defensively, but someone who can create all kinds of problems on the other side of the floor.  Diaw has some handle, he can pass, he can post (although he will probably not do so against Z-Bo or Gasol), and most importantly in the upcoming series, he can shoot.  Getting either Zach or Gasol away from the rim will open up driving lanes for Manu and Tony, both of whom will have their hands full trying to score against excellent individual defenders and the Grizzlies' superb team defense.

On the Grizzlies' side, the team that beat SA in the playoffs did not have Rudy Gay (who was injured). That team did however have Battier, OJ Mayo, and Grievis Vasquez.  Clearly, the Grizz bench is much weaker now than it was given those losses (to say nothing of the salary dump that sent Speights and Ellington to the Cavs), but their starting 5 is better now than ever.  Tayshaun Prince has proven to be a far better fit than Rudy Gay offensively, and a clearly superior defender.  Conley has blossomed into an All-Star caliber player, and Tony Allen has shown the ability to slash to the rim, as well as to offensive rebound.  Most importantly, the touches Rudy was stealing are now going to Z-Bo and Gasol, a far better use of the basketball.

2.  Pacers-Heat will be a barnburner.  Indiana isn't exactly shooting the lights out, but their defense is suffocating; I think given Wade's knee injury and general decline due to aging/all the hits he has taken (he is like a more athletic, thicker Ginobili without the shooting or passing skills), LeBron is really going to have to carry the load.  Luckily for Miami, they can bring guys like Battier, Miller, and Ray Allen off the bench to pick up the slack for Wade (and those guys can all stretch the floor, unlike Wade), but on nights when the 3 ball isn't falling for them, LeBron will have to do it all.  That will not be an easy task; Paul George is as good of a physical matchup for LBJ as there is in the league; Hibbert is 7'2 and knows how to use his height/reach, and the whole Pacers team rebounds with ferocity.

When Miami goes small-ball, they will be in trouble, as LeBron or the insufferable Shane Battier will have to guard West down low and Bosh or Birdman will have to guard Hibbert.  I smell a long series coming.

Links

This is the kind of absurdity I love.  Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism, a country with rigged elections, no freedom of speech, and a nuclear program that is in violation of their signature on the NPT, is the chair of the UN Conference on Disarmament.  That would be like having Jerry Sandusky run an organization that was aimed at stopping child molestation, or like having Saudi Arabia, China, Libya, and Cuba on the UN Human Rights Council.  Oh wait, that happened.

This is a touching story.  A 4 year old Syrian with a heart defect had life-saving surgery in Israel. I wonder if the Arab media will cover the event.  Just kidding.

For MMA fans: a look at the scummy contracts the UFC forces fighters to sign.

Book review on the linguistic traditions of Jews who fled Spain during the Spanish Inquisition and ended up in Turkey.

Poor Silvio.  My hero, Silvio Berlusconi, is facing up to 6 years in prison and blames a judicial conspiracy.

Live Blog Bulls v Heat

LIVE BLOG

The only way the Bulls can win is if Lebron tears his ACL.  Even then, the Heat would still have the 3 best offensive playaz in the series (Birdman, Birdman, Birdman).

The Bulls going to Rip Hamilton in game 4 is only 3 games too late.

Why doesn't Derrick Rose play?  What kind of nonsense is that?   Why don't the Bulls just say he isn't playing?

Rip just hit a 3; who would have guessed that the most accomplished offensive player on the team would be an upgrade over a perennial 2 guard in Marco Bellinelli?

7:47 pm update

Ray Allen vs Rip Hamilton in a battle to determine 2004's 4th best 2 guard (behind Kobe, Manu, and Wade).

Joakim Noah used to be considered a bitch; now he is the best or 2nd best center in the NBA.

Shane Battier is the least likable player in the NBA.

Instead of fireworks, this game has been a snoozefest.

I am going to need to try a Taco Bell Cool Ranch taco soon.

7:56pm  update

RIP HAMILTON!!! MVP!

Nate Robinson, when not in superhero mode, hurts his team.  Jeff Teague is actually better at defense and a better natural point guard.

Lebron just scored an and-1 on a play in which he took 4 steps, 1 of which came after the whistle, yet the refs called it an and-1 and not a travel.  The NBA, where amazing happens.


8:15PM update

Worst commercials on TV:  anything involving Coors Light.  How can the selling point of your product be that it is cold beer?  Isn't that based more on the temperature of a refrigerator than anything else?  Coors Light also touts their can that tells you it is cold, and the ventilation and smooth pour of the can.

Also a terrible commercial is the one featuring the guy from the Sopranos touting tequila that pours its own shots.  Isn't that what shot glasses are for?

TNT's studio show is like a car crash: you just can't look away.  Charles and Shaq possess a solid 5th grade command of the English language.

This game blows.  I think a rerun of Game of Thrones would be a better use of my time.

I don't think Chicago will get to 80 points tonight.

8:45PM

MERCY RULE!!  END THIS SHIT.

Confession: I am a bad fan

Faithful hoopheads and other readers,

The above image represents how I feel after letting down the Spurs by not coaching them to victory in the waning moments of game 4 against the Warriors.



I have a shocking confession to make; this confession lies somewhere on the confession scale between finding out Michael Jackson was originally black (fairly shocking), and finding out Jason Collins is gay (quite shocking).  What is this confession, you query?  Well, due to circumstances outside of my control (namely a wedding last night and Mother's Day dinner tonight), J4G missed both his beliked (a word I have invented to represent slightly less than beloved) Grizzlies game, and, more embarrassingly, the end of the Spurs-Warriors game today.  When I left today to go to dinner, Manu, Tony, Duncan, Leonard, and the 8 D-Leaguers who make up the Spurs' roster were in control.  However, without my guidance, they fell apart and eventually lost in OT. 

I have nobody but myself to blame; surely I could have convinced my mom to move dinner back half an hour; maybe if I had kept yelling at the screen, Popovich's overrated ass would have played Boris Diaw more and used Tracy McGrady in place of Gary Neal.  Instead, Tony Parker was abused like a Penn State summer camper, as the Warriors exploited his French tendency to yield over and over. 

Popovich's penchant for not making changes until too late is well documented; several years ago in the series the Spurs lost to the Grizzlies, Pop refused to play Splitter for most of the series, leaving Blair and Bonner to battle Z-Bo and Gasol; predictably, it didn't end well for the Spurs.  I still remember late in the series, when Pop finally gave Splitter extended run and he played well, the announcers said "Popovich seems to have really found something here with Splitter".  FAIL.  

I still think the Spurs will win the series; Ginobili seems to finally have found some semblance of his stroke, which opens up his drives (in days of yore, Manu had such an awesome first step that it didn't really matter if his shot was falling--his combo of speed, clever finishing ability and INSANE handle were enough to get him past everyone).  Further, the Spurs' role players played horribly today, clanking wide open shot after wide open shot, which is not likely to re-occur at home.  Boris Diaw is an absolute nightmare for the Warriors, and I am hoping against hope that Popovich will finally watch some tape and see that having a big body out there who can handle, shoot, pass, post up, and rebound is ALWAYS A GOOD THING!!  Tiago Splitter has about 1/30th of Diaw's talent; why he plays more than the rotund Frenchman is a question I cannot answer. 

In re: Grizzlies, I picked them to win the series in 6, but I think 5 is more likely at this point.  Whether they play the Spurs or the Warriors in the conference finals, the Grizzlies will be favored; San Antonio has shown a porous defensive backboard, which Gasol, Z-Bo, and Tony Allen (an underrated offensive rebounder) will exploit.  If the Grizz hadn't traded 2 of their best bench players (Marrese Speights and Wayne Ellington, in a disgraceful trade to clear cap space with the Cavs), the Grizz wouldn't be a big underdog to the winner of Pacers/Heat, err, the winner of the Eastern Conference (let's pretend the Bulls and Knicks are still alive). 

Asad thanks Nasrallah for help in murdering 80,000+ Syrian civilians

Axis of douche bags

Asad apparently said today that Syria will "follow Hezbollah's example" and become a "nation of resistance", and "will give everything to Hezbollah" in gratitude for the help that the Shiite terrorist group in south Lebanon has given Asad in murdering 80,000 of his own citizens.

Often, the axis of Arabs/Muslims, naive leftist idiots, and Stormfront style racists come together in their hatred of Jews.  They like to say they are against Zionists, which is a euphemism for Jews.

The Syrian civil war has put non-Shiite Arabs who are in favor of "resistance" to Israel in a weird position: in effect, they have had to choose between supporting those who mass murder Arabs (Asad/Nasrallah/Iran), and those who feel like Israel is not the main problem in the Arab world, and that instead, dictators and lack of freedom are the big problem (Syrian rebels).

Those non-Shiites who have stayed with the Asad/Nasrallah/Khomeini axis have in effect said to the world, "we want all the Jews to die more than we want Syrians to live".

If, dear readers, someone says that Nasrallah is not against Jews, he is against Zionism, here are some quotes from the leader of the "Party of God" (hezbAllah), or as should be called, "Abd Iran" (Slave of Iran):

If they (Jews) all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide. (Daily Star, Oct. 23, 2002)

Shiite scholar Amal Saad-Ghorayeb analyzed the anti-Jewish roots of Hezbollah ideology in her book Hezbollah: Politics & Religion. In it, she quotes Hassan Nasrallah describing his antipathy toward Jews:

If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do not say the Israeli. (New Yorker, Oct. 14, 2002)

Nasrallah also incoroporates anti-Semitic rhetoric in speeches. For example, he has characterized Jews as the "grandsons of apes and pigs" and "Allah's most cowardly and greedy creatures." (MEMRI: Al- Manar, Feb. 3, 2006)

Obama's drone war and the killing of a 16 year old American citizen.

I recently heard about this on the Bill Maher show.  It is an amazing piece of news.  Awlaki's son, a 16 year old US citizen, was killed by a US drone strike 2 weeks after his father had already been killed.  I usually lean left, but if if this had occurred at the behest of a Republican President, the outcry would have been enormous.  Instead, all the douche bag musicians and actors who feign having brains and caring about the world are mum.  Further, the simple college leftist morons aren't saying anything either.  Why?  Because Obama is a Democrat, he is not white, he is "cool", and it goes against their narrative and worldview.

The murder of an American citizen without any charges against him is bad enough (Awlaki the father), but the murder of an American citizen who is a minor, not alleged to be involved in terrorism in any way, and seemingly entirely devoid of guilt is a more serious matter.  The father was involved in spreading jihadist propaganda; there is potentially a national security threat argument to be made (and I have been out of law school for too long to try to make that argument here), but there is no such case to be made for the son.  This was murder.  Just being in Yemen does not make an American citizen guilty of a crime.  If an Islamist group in Yemen murdered an American citizen, there would have been a demand for the perpetrators to pay, either in prison or with their lives.  Why is it ok if an American citizen is intentionally killed by the American government in Yemen?  Surely, the right to due process of the law is not something to be trampled on, and summary executions of American citizens are not to be taken lightly.  The US government owes its people answers.

Some drone information:

Obama's drone program had killed 4,700 people as of February of this year, according to Senator Lindsey Graham.

Robert Gibbs, the former White House Press Secretary, said that Awlaki's son's murder was caused by bad parenting.

In Pakistan alone, American drones have killed more than 3,000 people.

Here is a video of the courageous Jeremy Scahill, whose research has been the catalyst for the emergence of the topic of Obama's drone war.

Ruh Roh, Syrian opposition forces (read: al-Qa'ida) used chemical weapons, and war criminal Bashshar al-Asad did not (using fighter jets against one's own people is ok, but use of chemical weapons is not).

BEIRUT — A leading member of a United Nations investigatory commission says there are “strong concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof” that Syrian rebels have used the nerve agent sarin.

Carla del Ponte, a former prosecutor for U.N. tribunals investigating war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, made the comment in an interview Sunday with a Swiss television channel, the BBC reported.

The U.N. panel, known as the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, emphasized in a statement Monday that it had reached no conclusions about the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war. 

“I was a little bit stupefied by the first indications we got ... about the use of nerve gas by the opposition,” Del Ponte told Swiss Italian broadcaster RSI.

She said the evidence emerged from interviews conducted by investigators with victims, physicians and others in neighboring countries.  

Del Ponte did not rule out the possibility that President Bashar Assad's government may also have used chemical agents on the battlefield.

Nonetheless, the comments were a blow to opposition activists who have alleged that the government has deployed chemical weapons on various occasions against rebel forces in Syria......

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, who I already considered to be a buffoon, was left trying to explain how the Obama administration did not believe the results of the UN investigation.  Needless to say, Jay Carney knows nothing about chemical weapons, and if the UN investigation had shown strong evidence (or even a scintilla of evidence) that Asad used such weapons, the US would have likely already sent a squadron of F-18s to Syria to put the country in the hands of our allies, al-Qa'ida.  

The most obvious comparison with which to make between our current situation in Syria, is with our Afghanistan policy in the 190s.  You remember, when we funded Islamic jihadists to overthrow the Russians.  How did that turn out for us?