"(Stephen) Block, a longtime New York-based gambling treatment counselor who interviewed Donaghy in January, traced his problem to 1994, when he started betting up to $500 a hole and playing card games at various golf clubs in his home state of Pennsylvania."
I have some buddies that would bet on anything from who hits the most trees in a round to which portion of the cart girl's shirt will be stained and even they don't toss $500 around the links.
"His gambling history demonstrates the need to gamble to fulfill the underlying need for 'action,"' Block said. "He continued to gamble despite the consequences and the fear of disclosure of his activities."
With Donaghy just being sentenced to 15 months in prison, I guarantee the need for "action" will indefinitely be fulfilled. "Hey Timmy, wanna bet on which guard I paid off to conveniently disappear for the next eight minutes?"
He better hope they send him to a jail near San Antonio, it might be the only place he's safe.
"(Stephen) Block, a longtime New York-based gambling treatment counselor who interviewed Donaghy in January, traced his problem to 1994, when he started betting up to $500 a hole and playing card games at various golf clubs in his home state of Pennsylvania."
I have some buddies that would bet on anything from who hits the most trees in a round to which portion of the cart girl's shirt will be stained and even they don't toss $500 around the links.
"His gambling history demonstrates the need to gamble to fulfill the underlying need for 'action,"' Block said. "He continued to gamble despite the consequences and the fear of disclosure of his activities."
With Donaghy just being sentenced to 15 months in prison, I guarantee the need for "action" will indefinitely be fulfilled. "Hey Timmy, wanna bet on which guard I paid off to conveniently disappear for the next eight minutes?"
He better hope they send him to a jail near San Antonio, it might be the only place he's safe.
Unless something changes drastically -- like Steve Nash being kidnapped or Tim Duncan suddenly retiring before Greg Oden takes his title as the most expressionless basketball player alive -- Phoenix and San Antonio are going to meet in the secound round of the playoffs. This game tonight matters. Consider it a prologue ... Game 0.5 of their impending playoff battle.
For starters, home court advantage in the series could hinge on this game (though it likely won't). San Antonio's three games back of Phoenix, and they can cut it two and earn the tiebreaker tonight. Making up two more games on the Suns in the 7 games remaining isn't impossible, but it's not likely ... especially if Phoenix knows that they actually need the Ws.
But it's about more than that. It's a measuring stick, and in a lot of ways, Phoenix still needs to prove that they can put on the big boy pants. For all their success and their much-deserved accolades, they still haven't proven that their gun-threes-and-ask-questions-later strategy can win a championship. Tim Duncan and the Spurs, however, have proven everything that they possibly can prove, and despite their #3-spot in the standings, a lot of people, John Hollinger and his PER-ty numbers among them, still feel like they're the biggest mountain to climb.
Said Tim Duncan:
"It's good to have them coming into our house here and be able to measure up a little bit."
They get out the rulers tonight at 9:30 on TNT, and we'll see who's packing what.
Tonight's Suns/Spurs game is a big deal, no doubt. But don't let the massive playoff implications distract you from the real prize: this year's race for Six Man of the Year. With most of the season over, it looks to be between the Suns' Leandro Barbosa and the Spurs' Manu Ginobili. Stackhouse is a distant third, in part because his 11.9 per game can't mess with Barbosa's 17.9 or Manu's 16.6.
The real question, though, is whether either of these two is actually a sixth man. Both play tons of minutes, and both have made their share of starts. Good thing for Manu that Pop's got his back. From the East Valley Tribune:
Ginobili will be ineligible for the Sixth Man Award if he starts one more game (36 so far) than he comes off the bench (33). So with starter Brent Barry out with a back problem Tuesday, Popovich gave Michael Finley the start, and would likely do so again if Barry is still out.
Umm, okay. That doesn't exactly strike me as the epitome of basketball honor and dignity, but like I can question anything Greg Popovich does. My haircut has nothing on his.
Each week I'll look at the players who would have the best shot at the league MVP award if the season ended today. Why? Because we're bound to disagree and fight each other with chain whips ...
1. Steve Nash, PG, Suns: The Suns beat the Mavs, again. Steve Nash did exactly what makes him a viable MVP candidate, Dirk didn't. Somehow, though, this makes Nash seem less convincing, too. He didn't really prove himself, he just didn't hurt himself--unlike last time these two met, when Mr. Two-Time went above and beyond our expectations. Shouldn't that be part of what makes an MVP: the ability to surprise even his biggest supporters?
2. Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Mavericks: I wish I could demote him, I really do. Nash at least has an excuse for not taking over on Sunday, since anything dominant that team does counts as him taking over. Unfortunately, no one else is pushing hard enough to unseat that "best player on best team" logic. I also will only ever say this once: point guards and traditional post players can hide behind the team, freak scorers like Dirk can't.
3. LeBron James, SF, Cavaliers: Ladies and gentlemen, your Eastern Conference Player of the Month. This humble horse from out of Cleve-town averaged 30.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 7 assists, leading the Cavs to an 11-5 record. He stepped up immensely in getting a win against the Pistons. And unlike the front runners, whose teams are stacked, or Kobe, whose team is lousy with him, he's a unquestioned alpha dawg whose squad responds to his magnificent example. I wonder if a whole season of this would be enough to leapfrog Nash or Dirk. Oh well. He'll get his three MVP's before it's all over.
A couple weeks ago, we hit you with a post on just how annoying Tony Parker is on the court. It included the off-hand insinuation that his nationality might bug opposing players. And lo, the comments section was flooded with accusations of insensitivity and xenophobia.
It looks like, as usual, the FanHouse was in fact on the side of truth and justice. Today in the San Antonio Express-News, Coach Pop suggests that some of Parker's flaws might have something to do with his background:
"Tony's never been diligent in the weight room," Popovich said. "I think with Tony I have to pay attention more to him than the other starters because he's a little bit of a laissez-faire guy. Whether that's being French or not, I'm not sure.
"I don't know if it's his background basketball-wise, but he needs a little bit more attention from me than most other people do as far as preparation for games and seasons and that kind of thing."
I hope you were paying attention for all that, because Coach used a French phrase ("laissez-faire") to describe Parker's problem, mentioned France, and then referred to "his background basketball-wise." I know the guy is supposed to have a sharp sense of humor, and it is 4/1 and all, but it's about time we acknowledge cultural difference in basketball. It can be a good thing, but it can also sometimes cause friction and destruction.
Back around the time of the Dunk Contest, the entire FanHouse was going nuts over Spurs rookie James "Flight" White. Well, dude's finally getting some run and--gasp--actually got a chance to do the thing he's best known for. Big ups to Pounding the Rock, for pointing us in the direction of this pivotal moment in league history. Also, be sure to read their "totally unbiased" version of White's first NBA action.
The next crop of fines are in, and they're a little less entertaining. According to the San Antonio Express-News, both the Spurs' Greg Popovich and the Hornets' Byron Scott have cost their team $15,000 with recent comments about Oden/Durant. First, Pop talking to the Boston Herald:
"That would be the fair thing, wouldn't it?" Popovich said. "That would be the fairest thing. If they could get him, that would be great. It would mean there is some fairness in an unfair world."
"If they'd lost, I thought, is this going to make that kid want to stay in one more year?" Popovich said. "I don't know, maybe he's just collegiately oriented, and it's a big disappointment, and he wants to come back and get it done.
Now, Scott's sin:
"It's going to be interesting to see," Scott told the Oklahoman. "But without a doubt, they're going to be No. 1 and No. 2. You've got two young men right now that are probably head and shoulders above everybody else as far as being the two best players in college basketball."
I get why they can't say anything, but really. The race to the bottom is arguably the biggeststoryin the leaguerightnow, and Popovich and Scott were only talking about Oden/Durant in that context. Plus neither of their teams will be within striking distance of the top two picks, which makes this totally different from Jordan or Ainge. At least the league is harsh with everyone, I guess.
50 is nothing. You've probably heard already, but Kobe hit the half-century mark in points for the fourth straight game. His Elbowness had an even 50 as the Lakers dispensed with NOOCH, 111-105. The funny thing is, Bryant scored only 11 in the last quarter and a half, making me think dude quit on his team. Chris Paul had 28 and 12 assists and was somehow still totally overshadowed.
Meanwhile, back at the top of the standings... The Pistons and Spurs were also apparently playing last night, in a all-too-possible preview of the '07 Finals. San Antonio emerged the 90-89 victor, lead by TP's 22. Sheed paced the Pistons with 21, with Billups still hampered by injury. With the Spurs now the fashionable pick to emerge from the West, this game could be worth remembering. I mean, watching on TiVo.
Take that, Western. No one's seriously afraid of the Nuggets anymore. Still, the Raptors thumping them 121-94 counts for a lot, seeing as most people still think of Toronto as an accidental playoff team. With that tall Italian guy out, the sort of tall Spanish guy put up a career-high 22, while some American guard had 14 assists. The evening's punchline: Melo held to 10, AI finishing with 12.
Is Utah coasting? With the Jazz thinking ahead to the postseason, and the Clippers desperately grasping at it, an okay team dismantled a very good one, 104-72. Nearly everyone on Utah had an off-night, but the Clippers didn't need a miracle. Just that standard production from Brand, Mobley, and Maggette that always exceeds expectations without ever raising them.
I don't think I'm the only fan out there who finds Tony Parker irritating. It's not Eva, or his rap "career," or even the fact that he's French. For some reason, he just rubs me the wrong way.
Apparently, his opponents on the court find him just as annoying. Last night, the Pacers' Jamaal Tinsley got tossed from Pacers/Spurs in the second quarter. The San Antonio Express-News smelled a trend, crunched some numbers, and came to an amazing realization. This marked the third time in five Spurs games that the opposing team's starting point guard had been ejected:
This begs the question: What is Spurs All-Star point guard Tony Parker doing to get under the skin of his opponents?
"I don't talk trash," Parker said. "I don't say nothing. I just do my best and try to be a pain in the butt, but I don't say nothing, I swear."
Seeing as Parker plays no defense and doesn't talk, I'm not quite sure what he's doing to be "a pain in the butt." Maybe the French are just that obnoxious.
Never has a guy playing a "friendly" Nassau got himself in so much trouble.
Never has a guy playing a "friendly" Nassau got himself in so much trouble.
Unless something changes drastically -- like Steve Nash being kidnapped or Tim Duncan suddenly retiring before Greg Oden takes his title as the most expressionless basketball player alive -- Phoenix and San Antonio are going to meet in the secound round of the playoffs. This game tonight matters. Consider it a prologue ... Game 0.5 of their impending playoff battle.
Tonight's Suns/Spurs game is a big deal, no doubt. But don't let the massive playoff implications distract you from the real prize: this year's race for Six Man of the Year. With most of the season over, it looks to be between the Suns' Leandro Barbosa and the Spurs' Manu Ginobili. Stackhouse is a distant third, in part because his 11.9 per game can't mess with Barbosa's 17.9 or Manu's 16.6. 
Each week I'll look at the players who would have the best shot at the league MVP award if the season ended today. Why? Because we're bound to disagree and fight each other with chain whips ... 
A couple weeks ago, we hit you with 
I don't think I'm the only fan out there who finds Tony Parker irritating. It's not 
