I got together with the NOYO crew to hoop some before the game today, so this live/retro blog picks up from the 2:00 point in the second quarter. Hooping was fun - even if the Sun was MVP and LVP - I think sunlight in my eye for five games was a better defender than any/all of us out there. To the game:


2nd quarter, 1:38 - Magic cut the lead to 8; Phil Jackson immediately calls a timeout. Good coaching. Kill that short-term burst of momentum, especially on the road. I called it as soon as the shot went up.

1:17 - Ariza BANKS in a 3. He wants that extension.

1:08 - D-12 ragtosses Fisher to the ground. He mad! Fish sold that some, but still.

56.7 - Odom draws his third foul. He's gonna give Ariza that extension.

28.7 - Kobe takes the worst 2-for-1 shot I've ever seen. Orlando follows that with three variably bad shots... that'll lower their shooting percentage a couple of points. It's halftime now, I'm going to grab grub.

Halftime highlights:

- A Pau Gasol feature, seriously? Doesn't he have like 3 points right now?
- Eric & Jon discuss the benefits of spinning a bottle of wine in ice to get it cold faster.
- Magic Johnson's suit jacket is blinging. And his shirt. And the crown of his head.
- Discussion about the 2000 draft: WORST DRAFT EVER (but Hedo Turkoglu was picked 16th, so that's a plus I guess)


Game on. Halftime was fun...

11:49 - Hedo catches a pass and takes three steps in front of the ref. What?

9:30 - Rafer MUGS Fisher. No call til jumpball. Huh? Can three people split possession of a basketball?

6:50 - Odom hit his second corner 3 in a row following a Gasol foul sell. He must've popped peppermints at halftime instead of regular candy. Ice is in his veins.

(commercial note: I think that Sprite commercial with the peoplpe chestbumping into water bursts just made my brain bleed. Lamar Odom, after those bigtime 3s, gets his name in lights before the game returns. Timing is everything.)

5:52 - Kobe hits an IMPOSSIZBLE hanging falling fading... something. I wish I could do that. This is easily going to be run 150x on ESPN. By the 9am broadcast.

5:20 - Gasol should never try a reverse layup again.

4:30 - Orlando is 2-for-13 on 3s. Lamar Odom is 3-for-3. Gasol has only taken 4 shots this game. Really?

3:55 - 2-for-14... and D-12 now has 5 fouls. This game is over. I'm just enjoying my friends now.

3:17 - Turkoglu doesn't wanna lose. Discussion just turned to players needing new deals: Rondo, Davis, Turkoglu, Redick, Marion, Ariza,

2:55 - out of a break, Gasol works Gortat on the block. Doesn't he need a deal too? I'm going to look up his stats from the regular season and post-season.

2:39 - JJ REDICK SIGHTING!!! Can the Lakers activate Adam Morrison? Please, right now? I need to see this and I'm sure I'm not alone.

Food break at 1:30 - be back shortly.

Back in time for the 4th quarter. Luke Walton is in. Not good enough. I need #6 in that purple to make an appearance.

11:24 - Redick hits a 3! Could it be?

11:01 - Kobe for 3 over Redick to answer. He's got 23 at this point, but he might as well have 53. Orlando is deflated. I wonder what Kobe said to him.

8:18 - Kobe nails a 3 over Turkoglu. I'm going to play on mobile Twitter. KingLaserface just updated again. Hilarious!

Post-game notes:

- Does Kobe's wife have on his other three rings?
- Fisher actually got the first sideline interview. FISH! I see you!
- Is that... is that green-and-white confetti? Huh? Nice touch, Orlando. Maybe if the tables were turned, they would have dropped...

...

...

oh yeah, your franchise is younger than me. What rival?
- I'm going to go out on a limb and assume I know more non-Kobe fans than Kobe fans. However, I never knew the hatred for Kobe could be so irrational. I'd laugh if he deserved it, but this is just a bad time for that.
- and you know, I'm just going to leave it at that, because my beer is getting warm. Off to enjoy with the crew. Thanks Jon & Eric for the company, and Jim & Kristin for the house to watch. How many days until training camp starts for the NFL?

Weekly on Thursdays, I will post a Youtube video that captured my interest for some reason.



Now, I'd been planning a flashmob for a while now, but I'm not sure this can be outdone.

What you can expect to find here:

- New Orleans-related stories of interest
- random sports rants
- music previews/reviews/rants
- snapshots into my life
- snapshots of things happening in my life
- various video clips of interest
- glimpses into something historical (i.e., "on this date in year xxxx...")

What you can expect to find somewhere else:

- right-wing extremism
- left-wing extremism
- work-related rants (these are better stated off the record)