Title Chaste is the diary of Matt Snyder in his season a virgin fantasy basketball player.
Well, that didn't take long. Thanks to Mo Williams, Danny Granger, Amare Stoudemire, Brook Lopez, Jason Terry, Andrea Bargnani and Shawn Marion, I won my first career fantasy basketball game. I should also point out I owe the scheduling for the victory as well, because my team checked in as the sixth-highest scorer out of 12. Really, it could have gone either way. This victory was a sign that being lucky is just as worthwhile as being smart in fantasy basketball, just as I already knew in fantasy baseball and fantasy football. On the other hand, skill is still paramount -- as the top scorer for the week was, not surprisingly, Tom Lorenzo.
Rome was not built in a day. But in two days, the NBA's version of Camelot sure has looked like the barbarians are at the gate.
OK, I'll try not to lob anymore historical metaphors at you. But you might want to get ready for a whole lot of consternation from the great state of Ohio, because the team with the best record in the league last year has started out 0-2. The Cavaliers fell to the Raptors in Toronto 101-91 to remain winless, and the same problems that surfaced Tuesday night in their loss to the Celtics reared their head again.
Saturday is Halloween, but don't expect many NBA owners and general managers in this shaky economy to dress up as Bill Gates and throw money around.
Oct. 31 is the annual deadline for one-time first-round picks entering their fourth seasons to be eligible to sign extensions that would kick in for their fifth seasons. For stars, it's a chance to land their first really big contract.
But much is silent as the deadline approaches, meaning the overwhelming number of eligible players from the 2006 first round will become restricted free agents next summer. Three players from that draft -- Andrea Bargnani of Toronto and LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy of Portland -- have inked extensions, but not a lot more activity is expected.
The Raptors made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason by signing free agent Hedo Turkoglu. That move alone upgrades the Raptors' talent level and should make them better.
But perhaps as important are the lesser, more-under-the-radar acquisitions Toronto made since the end of its 33-49 season. On their own, these moves didn't register very high on the impact meter. But when taken collectively, they should dramatically improve the team's depth, which was a problem area a year ago.
Perenially disappointing France dropped some jaws today by destroying Italy in last-gasp Eurobasket qualifying, ratcheting up a 81-61 win on the cape of healed Tony Parker (23 points, 5 assists). The French have assured themselves a place in the Eurobasket play-in game, which will be decided late next week. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the likely foe, though Belgium (where Parker was born) can bully in.
The Italians had been the favorite to move on from the qualifier, but they're bruschetta toast. Not only will Italy miss Eurobasket for the first time since 1961, but the Azzurri will also likely miss the 2010 World Championships. It could be argued that the break-up of Yugoslavia and the U.S.S.R. has hurt Italy's performance, as a host of Slavic states and former Soviet republics have leaped the Italians in international competition.
A few years ago, when I began to get interested in European basketball, it was difficult to grok just how important a tournament Eurobasket is. In the United States, the only international competition we tend to care about is the Olympics, with the World Championships an event that usually registers as a blip instead a marquee. But it's really different in Europe.
The championship of Europe -- Eurobasket, a biannual tournament -- is as big as the Olympics or the Worlds for ballers in the Old World. Legends are made in the tournament, and reputations earned. This year's European Championship kicks off in September. But beginning today, six teams will battle to grab the last spot in the tournament.
Italy begins its quest to qualify for September's Eurobasket tournament on Wednesday against France. Canada is preparing for the late-August start of the 2009 Tournament of the Americas, in which four spots in the 2010 World Championships are up for grabs. So the teams got together for a "friendly" warm-up match. Then this happened.
Before we get started, it should be noted that NBA bloggers are kind of hard to please when it comes to teams spending money. On the one hand, we sneer in disgust when teams refuse to spend money, patting their fans on the head as we chastise ownership for being "cheap" and turning a profit without ever seriously pushing for a title.
On the other, we tend to flip out when someone spends irresponsibly. There is a salary cap and a luxury tax, after all, and handing off a bazillion dollars to that small guard who has difficulty with creating his own shot and thinks he can tell you what his nickname should be when it should clearly be Iggy can draw our ire as well. Not that I'm naming names.
So it's kind of a sticky situation to begin with. Of course, the Raptors have just poured maple syrup over their particular situation in regards to Andrea Bargnani.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Dang, Dwyane Wade. Isn't a little late in the season to be dropping off 55-point games? The (soon-to-be) scoring champion can't hit the three ... except when he drops six of 12 from distance on his way to a marvelous 55-point effort in the waning days of the regular season.
Of course, something was in fact at stake: Miami clinched the No. 5 seed in the East with the victory. That means Atlanta instead of Orlando in the first round. But Wade also made his final plea for MVP consideration with the effort. After a Brett Pollakoff-led assault on LeBron's predestined status, Kobe Bryant has likely supplanted Wade as the No. 2 choice. That won't do, men. That won't do.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Toronto is still alive in the Eastern Conference. Fifteen games under .500, hanging on a thread for the past week, 14th place in the conference ... and alive. And so long as the Raptors keep beating the opponents in their way, they will remain alive.
Andrea Bargnani did some heavy lifting Saturday against the Knicks, racking up 23 points and seven rebounds. Chris Bosh helped with 17/13, Shawn Marion handled business with 12/13 and Quincy Douby had a True Shooting percentage of 100%!
Title Chaste is the diary of Matt Snyder in his season a virgin fantasy basketball player. 
Rome was not built in a day. But in two days, the NBA's version of Camelot sure has looked like the barbarians are at the gate. 
Saturday is Halloween, but don't expect many 
FanHouse 
Perenially disappointing France dropped some jaws today by destroying Italy in last-gasp Eurobasket qualifying, ratcheting up 
A few years ago, when I began to get interested in European basketball, it was difficult to grok just how important a tournament Eurobasket is. In the United States, the only international competition we tend to care about is the Olympics, with the World Championships an event that usually registers as a blip instead a marquee. But it's really different in Europe. 
Before we get started, it should be noted that NBA bloggers are kind of hard to please when it comes to teams spending money. On the one hand, we sneer in disgust when teams refuse to spend money, patting their fans on the head as we chastise ownership for being "cheap" and turning a profit without ever seriously pushing for a title. 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." 
