AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > February > 02
Friday, February 2, 2007
Too much complaining and moaning
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, it’s official. We’re barely over a month into this New Year and I’m sick of the sounds of my own voice (written and otherwise).
And before you start all the ‘U2?’ jokes, hear me out.
I’ve already worn myself out with my own complaining and moaning on a daily basis. I can’t believe anyone can complain about anything as much as I have the past few weeks.
Reading back over some these recent blogs forced me to realize just how easy it is to fall into my own myopic world of moaning and groaning without much of a care for anyone else.
But I can only relay what I see and hear, what I read and interpret. And while I’m far from a miserable person (life is good man, good friends, family and a job no one should ever complain about … well, sometimes). But in a world full of absurd things, what kind of host would I be if I didn’t share my true feelings about certain things?
Blog rules prohibit me from expressing full blown opinions on certain things (mostly all the things Hawks related, a rule that we all know I’ve tight-roped on occasion.) So in an effort to be a straighter arrow than normal, I’m going to steer clear of telling you what I think about delicate subjects today and share a few things that I know you’ll have strong opinions about (as always) and ask you to share your thoughts with the rest of the class.
But before I do that, I have to share one quick story to show you just how competitive Joe Johnson is (and how much he wanted that All-Star nod that never happened Thursday night). I shared this with my man Lang Whitaker last week in hopes of retelling it in the paper had Joe won a spot as an Eastern Conference reserve (me and my stupid plans).
About 90 minutes before the opening tip of the Orlando game last Friday, JJ was sitting on the Hawks’ bench. I walked over and sat next to him and we spoke candidly about his chances. He was far more optimistic than I was (I understood then and even more today that reputations mean more than almost anything else in the NBA, and that goes for teams, players and coaches).
I told him that the Hawks’ 3-13 December had probably put the kibosh on his chances. But he said he wasn’t going to count himself or his team out just yet.
Hedo Turkoglu happened to jog past us just then and I did my best Knute Lombardi impersonation and explained to both guys that Hedo was on my fantasy team and that I needed a big effort out of him that night because my squad, like the real life Hawks, had been decimated by injuries the previous month and had ground to make up.
Everyone laughed and went on about our business, though Joe stopped in mid giggle and said, “wait a minute, you need him to have a big night and I’m guarding him.” So, of course, after JJ torches the Magic and Hedo for a season-high 39 points, I walk into the Hawks’ locker room and the first thing JJ says to me is, “Did you get what you needed from your boy Hedo tonight?”
Ouch! He might be quiet but he’s got some of that cut-throat quality the great ones have to have.
Now, let’s share:
• The good folks at SI.com give us this preposterous premise - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jack_mccallum/01/30/suns.vs .showtime/index.html - for a comparison between the Showtime Lakers and the current, and rolling, Phoenix Suns. Lunacy. Complete lunacy. It’s not even fair (to the Suns) to make that kind of comparison.
• Magic Johnson suggested Thursday night on TNT that Eddy Curry’s omission from the Eastern Conference All-Star team is a result of some lingering harsh feelings towards Knicks coach Isiah Thomas because of the way Larry Brown was run out of his native New York. Uh, probably not. I’d bet it has more to do with the fact that my man is 7-feet and 290 pounds and doesn’t rank among the league’s top 40 in either rebounds or blocks. An All-Star? Get serious.
• I finally watched Monday’s episode of 24 (I’ve got to talk to someone at the NBA office about the Hawks not playing games on Mondays). I know it’s TV but how in the world is Jack Bauer’s pops 7-1 and Jack and his slimy brother barely cracking 5-8? There’s plenty of ridiculous stuff on my favorite show. But this is beyond ridiculous, unless Moms Bauer was a hobbit.
• Evil forces (my former barber in Indianapolis and my Colts-loving son among others) have been conspiring to try and force me to switch temporary Super Bowl allegiance from the Bears to the Fighting Peyton Mannings. Not going to happen. The more I hear people talk about this being Manning’s coronation ceremony, the more I’m convinced that the Bears are going to win this game.
• Finally, and totally off topic, I’m in need of a ya or nay recommendation on a movie. I’ve read reviews that savaged Smoking Aces. But I love my man Ari Gold from Entourage and Alicia Keys and Common are two of my favs. But I don’t want to waste my time if it’s nonsense. So if you’ve seen it, give me an honest assessment.
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