Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Planning, Plotting and Communicating
Sunday
May 12, 2002
Congratulations to my friends down at Mississippi State who graduated this weekend. Wish I could've been there for the festivities, but I'm sure you all managed to do just fine on that end.
Some random thoughts from watching NBA playoff basketball this weekend:
-The Kings/Mavericks series is living up to its billing, and then some. This might be my favorite series since the Bulls/Suns finals of 1993. Up-and-down gameplay, high octane offense, good shooting, smart plays, tough defense, back-and-forth action... This is exactly what the NBA needed. I was pulling for Dallas on Saturday, if for no other reason than to ensure that we would be treated to at least six games in the series. The style of play makes me think back to the glory days of the 1980's, with the Showtime-offense of the Lakers and the sharp-shooting Celtics.
-Shaquille O'Neal is a one-of-a-kind. This is no new or particularly revolutionary revelation, but Diesel is such a unique player with the height, the muscle, and the speed in such a dominating form. Unfortunately my Spurs are facing the challenge of trying to stop him right now as I type this... but it makes for some interesting matchups when Tim Duncan squares off with O'Neal. And regarding Duncan, he's amazing at helping perimeter shooters get open. I don't know of anyone else in the league who can do it quite like him.
-The Charlotte Hornets lost to New Jersey today, falling 3-1 in their series. It's too bad -- I really want the Hornets to win it all. The NBA Champion Charlotte Hornets... then moving to New Orleans to defend their title. That would be unprecidented. You'll recall that in 1994, the NHL's New Jersey Devils nearly moved to Nashville... but then they went on a tear in the postseason and won the Stanley Cup. So no move to Nashville for them. But with the Hornets, their move to New Orleans was approved just this week, so it will happen, championship run or not. Granted, without Jamal Mashburn I don't see them being able to handle the Nets in three straight to make it to the conference finals, but it would've been wild to see it happen.
-Capitol One's advertising campaign is very very grating after awhile. I commented last month about the stupid "there's not another human for miles" line in the commercial where the guy loses his credit card in the jungle. But they've started re-running the ads where the guy in the mountain-climbing crew goes back to "mail his credit card bill". Where the hell is he going to find a mailbox on a deserted, snowy mountain? For some reason, that just annoys the hell out of me, particularly after seeing it 10 times in a weekend.
The weekend is just about over for me, though it was rather non-spectacular. Probably the most uneventful weekend of 2002 so far. Next weekend will hopefully have more going on, particularly with the big luau party here at the apartment complex on Saturday. Should be fun. Might make it up to Orlando the next weekend. It's been awhile since I've been up there.
Meanwhile, California awaits in the not-too-distant future. You don't know how excited I am for that. From sunny San Diego (and getting to see my crew there), to Los Angeles, to Oakland/San Fran... it will be a busy, but fun, trip. Somehow though I think the little side trips along the way will be cool too, driving up the coast and running into random people and finding adventures along the way. I've been tempted to draw up some type of travel plan, but it is nice to think -- start in San Diego, find your way to Oakland in 10 days, and have as much fun as you can in-between. I can deal with that.
I'll leave you with a few songs I recommend you check out:
Something Corporate "If You C Jordan"
Econoline Crush "Make It Right"
Sugarcult "Bouncing Off The Walls"
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