Some singing, some dancing and a lost career

Hmm.

I had to do some searching on our website to find this fine piece of scribbling, so I presume you did, too.

But it’s worth reading because this is a pretty good team, a bunch of women that I’ve been writing about for years and I know you can’t be a fan when you do this gig but I hope they do well. That’s kind of cheering for your story and that’s allowed.

Besides, they did this little video thingy and I’d suggest all you Vancouver-area Irregulars go out next week and see them, you should come away impressed.

With their basketball, that is; I’m unsure of their futures as musical performers.

Oh, and while you’re there, they’ve got their regular blog thing going on and it’s a pretty good read.

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Hey, how about them TFCs!

Two goals!

In one game!

And a win!

Red letter day, indeed, as our Man Dangerous Dan chronicles here.

(I mocked when things were going well; may as well heap praise when it’s necessary)

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Now, we all know that the website Grantland does some outstanding work on a regular basis and I could probably put a link to some story every day.

But this one is really good.

It’s on Greg Oden, perhaps you remember him, and is one of few times the star-crossed former No. 1 pick has been interviewed since his latest problems with his chronically bad knees.

I don’t know Oden very well, hardly at all actually, but I do remember him as a thoughtful young man who simply put his head down and tried to work through the various physical problems that have now robbed him of any significant basketball career.

The first year he didn’t play, he travelled with the Blazers to get a taste of the NBA life and in almost every city, he’d dutifully stand there and answer questions about his injury, his rehab, his future.

Guess he didn’t particularly like it – as the story seems to hint he’s a far more private person than we ever really knew – but he did it.

I have no idea what the future will hold for him; I doubt seriously that we’ll ever see him on a basketball court again.

Guess he’ll just go on being Greg.

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Mail?

Not very much over there, kids. Help a fella out, will you?

Do it here, thank you very much.

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Again, we have to thank the Memphis Grizzlies and L.A. Clippers for putting some juice into the first round of the NBA playoffs and if there’s a supreme being out there, he/she/it will make sure that series goes seven.

It is turning into one excellent series, isn’t it? Comebacks, stirring play, some shoddy play that leads to exciting finishes and it’s one of those early-round playoff series where you really can’t tell which is the better team.

You can’t say that about too many of the others – I guess Boston-Atlanta but that’s extraordinarily boring and the Lakers-Nuggets has had its moments – but a couple of weeks in and it’s been an entirely ho-hum post-season so far.

Except Clips-Griz.

Not sure if it’s Chris Paul, or The Regend or the collapses we seen from both teams in so many games – the Grizzlies gave one away and almost blew another, the Clippers almost coughed up a certain win at home – but it’s been rather compelling.

And proves, once again, that it doesn’t matter if the play is scintillating or pedestrian, if it’s competitive and compelling, it’s fun.

It even makes up for the fact it’s been late nights and I’m not quite the late night guy; it’s taking all of my power to keep the eyelids open to see the end of the games but we’re getting it done.

The rest of the first round?

Boring, for the most part, torn asunder by the various injuries that have crippled teams. I think everyone was looking forward to a Chicago-Miami Eastern Final; I think there might have been some juice to a Boston-Miami series but with Pierce hobbled, I’m not entirely sure that has much excitement to it.

We can only hope that the second round – and don’t for a minute think Lakers-Thunder won’t be hugely entertaining and chock full of stories – bails out what’s been a very, very average opening to the playoffs.

Now, they can be resurrected this weekend, of course, because there’s nothing like a Game 7 and I can see some on the horizon.

How’d you like to have a deciding game in Lakers-Nuggets, Grizzlies-Clips and Celtics-Hawks? I can see them all going the distance and the one performance I want to see more than anything would be Kobe at home in a deciding game. I still think there are some trust issues with him and Bynum and, to a lesser degree, Pau Gasol and that’s just the kind of game he’d try to take over.

And whether he goes 24-for-26 from the field or 8-for-27, it’d be something to see.

We can only wish.

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Fred Astaire was born this day, I saw somewhere, and, sure, Ginger did everything he did moving backward and in heels but still …

The dude was a hoofer of the first order, no? Best ever?

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Okay, seems I have some carnage to clean up around here, time to get into the day before Super Wife returns and all heck breaks loose.

Think if I leave some scraps of vegetables on the counter she’ll think we ate salads all week? Nah, me neither.

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Comments

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Morning, Doug,
Totally agree. I'd like to see the Clips and The Regend advance because that would be way fun, but my "Go Griz" the other day was because I'd just like to see this series go seven. Wasn't expecting much from Round One aside from this series. Round Two is where the real fun should commence.
Happy birthday, Fred, wherever you are. Best ever? Hmmm, he certainly was the best ever with a prop – as much magician as master hoofer in that department. Who's his competition? My top five among the gents would likely be Fred, Gene Kelly, Greg Hines, Michael Jackson and Baryshnikov (with a strong nod to the Nicholson brothers). Pretty tough to compare Fred with Mikhail – kind of like comparing Michael Jordan's game with Bill Russells', no? But I think I'd give the edge to Mr. Jackson for pure fluid hoofing.
Cheers. Go Clips.

[ADG]

Please, print more articles about Grizz vs Clippers. I'm tired of reading articles about Heat vs Knicks (the most boring series in the playoffs).

[c_bcm]

Reading that article on Oden really breaks your heart. Not the actual words themselves, he seems at peace with his career. But reading between the lines, with an understanding of what could have been. Just a shame. I think I feel more sorry for myself, not being able to watch him play and develop, then I do for him. After all he is a millionaire, and will never have the school debt that I have. He's just getting a head start on his post basketball career.

[Lorie]

Hi Doug!
Great stuff today! So, if they are my Dream Team, does this mean I have to buy their (sure to be forthcoming!) CD? Seriously, how can we all not support these girls? Hopefully BC-based Irregulars who can make it to their games will go and cheer their asses off. And speaking of which, must be the Mom in me but I kept wanting to tell Pearl (or was it Muffiins) to hike up her sweatpants. Hmmm. Best Male Dancer? Fred HAS to be. No matter who or what(!) he partnered with he always made them a better dancer. But, for very cool partnering, the film White Knights gave us this memorable tour de force by Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov. (And, Doug, I know you're a big fan of Law & Order, but I still maintain Carrie should've chosen Misha over Chris Noth.)
http://youtu.be/haBZCrBHMm4
Cheers! And Go TOD and Regend!

[511]

Re the playoffs, once I admitted to myself - and said out loud, here - that I was pulling for the Celtics, the built-up dislike that I’d fostered for them over the years melted away somewhat ... and freed me up to appreciate just what is going on there. Watching (and being amazed by) Rondo during this series, as well as knowing the age factor that’s in play with KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, I’m enjoying the heck out of that series. And I hope to see more of the Celtics before it’s all over. Just an indulgence I’m allowing myself while the Raps work on getting there.

[Jim Rootham]

All you guys who think Astaire is the best, go look at the Nicholas brothers in "Stormy Weather" and get back to me.

Those were the guys Hines wanted to be.

[GM]

Wow, I wonder if they regret making that video. Embarrassing! But I'll go cheer them on in Richmond. If you know the area, you'll know that they be the visitors in that game. Hopefully more people will cheer for Canada, though.

[doug]

it was a excellent article on Oden, I like articles like that that personalize these guys and as Oden himself states quite succinctly "I am just a person" says it all ....I think the earlier commenter missed the point on the article, yes the money Oden has is nice but it's a separate issue entirely for him, he loves the game and it's what he wants to do, it's his career and passion no different then anyone else's...if I were a GM reading that article I'd sign him in the summer of 2013, why not you can't lose either way....also in the last while I have lost respect for the Trailblazers organization first Paul Allen's actions during the strike left no doubt about his views on players, and also the recent allegations about organizational and medical incompetence in dealing with their injured players doesn't surprise me as their seems to be a clear directive from the top on down.....good article, nice to see the human side of these guys and the money is but a bit piece of it all....ok cheers

[doug]

it perplexes me in baseball how it has gone to this computerized system of managing, binders/stats all over the place, stating tendencies, match-ups, outcomes etc....but the closer role hasn't evolved at all, how can managers for 8 innings stretch their brains to get the proper match-ups, then in the 9th hand the ball to one man and say there it's all yours now....it makes no sense, and Farrell is weak at handling a pen to start with, no role definitions for the guys, guys up and down ....closers that failed on this team have gone on to success elsewhere...Farrell has to wear some of this, as in the 8th ,9th innings to be honest no one has a clue who will be used, if it's perplexing to us imagine what it's like to the players...their aren't many Rivera's out there, teams to me need to refine the closer role to their personnel and systems, not a one guy one inning mentality....ok cheers..

[D-Mac Ottawa]

@doug the poster, I have always wondered the same about closers. It's like the "must win" thing – if you don't win this one, does that mean the next one is a "must must win"? If your closer is you "last guy standing", and he doesn't close, does that mean you should just forget about it and forfeit? Even closers are gonna have off days. There have to be contingencies for everything – including closing out baseball games (and fourth quarters; remember that in round two, Indy). Cheers.

[james]

@GM: where is the game in Richmond?

[Jamie]

This year will be rembered as the year of the injury I think. The compressed schedule was too hard on the players bodies, and everyone in the league is paying for it.

I see an ESPN 30 for 30 in Oden's future.