Have you ever watched Ronny Turiaf? Not only when he is in the game, but when he is seated at the end of the bench?
This guy, a great story on his own, is an amazing source of energy as he cheers, dances, and hollers from his space on the end. I like to think he’s only that far away because he won’t sit still.
He is always up. It’s nuts to watch. I find his youthful energy and jovial attitude a lot of fun. He supports his teammates in a way that I have never seen a player participate.
BTW, congrats to the Lakers winning the Western Conference and also winning some rest. Come down to the South Bay and the first round will be on me, after you win the NBA Finals. You know how to get in touch.
Thank goodness a few someones in the NBA league office have figured out that flopping needs to stop. It was announced today at the NBA pre-draft camp that players would be fined for clear cases of flopping.
Sure there are plenty of players that have mastered the art of the flop, but there needs to be a line between playing and acting. If these men want to act, they can get a role on Under One Roof like T.O.
I remember being at Purdue Men’s Basketball games and watching Brian Cardinal, who wore kneepads, end up on his rear moreso than on his feet chasing his teammates as they set the offense. All I could do was ask the Gods to stop BC from flopping so much because he would get behind in the game as our offense would be playing 4 on 5 waiting for him to get back up and hustle down court.
Do some players think that if they stay on the ground longer after the fake flop that the ref will eventually call it? I can say that this is one fine I can get behind.
Over here at SportsSocialite.com, I am trying to promote the good… I really am!
The problem is that it is so much easier to find the bad than the good. My friend Kristy let me know that Matt Leinart was on KLAC this afternoon with the guys on Loose Cannons.
I was at my acupuncturist in a very zen like state (a girl needs her rest), so I had to go and listen to the interview once it was loaded to the website.
Matt & the guys talked about the Lakers & Suns, a bit about the Cardinals & USC and touched on UCLA & Norm Chow… then things started to get interesting, Matt and his foundation are involved in a few football camps bearing the Leinart name, but…
The Matt Leinart Foundation (www.mattleinartfoundation.org) would like to invite you to join us in the creation of the LA Urban Youth Football League (UYFL). UYFL will be a full contact football league targeting 7th and 8th grade students who were either too large to participate in the traditional youth leagues such as Pop Warner, and/or lacked the financial means/resources to participate.
Needless to say, I am impressed & proud that a local guy who has had some success is helpin’ out in such an important way. I am inclined to seek out others who are doing the same…
Well, according to Laura Lane’s blog, Vanessa Bryant knows the “f” word, reeeallly well. I went to go read Laura’s blog for myself, but it is mysteriously gone.
So as I’m walking out of the Lakers locker room after some post-game interviews with the players, I pass Vanessa, who is sitting outside the locker room as usual with her two girls.
“Laura!” she screams (yes, she apparently knows my name). “Fuck you! You fucking bitch!”
“Excuse me?” I say, completely baffled as I look around me to see if there is someone else named Laura. No, there’s not.
Her daughters – ages 5 and 2 – are sitting next to her on the bench looking at their mom as she screams.
[More f-words ensue. Many more.]
I just stare at her. I’ve heard many stories about her from reporters, but this was unbelievable. Two of my friends from the LA Times told me how she cussed out one of them last season, because he said hi to her daughter. “Join the club, this means you’ve arrived,” said one reporter when word spread of my run-in with Vanessa. “She’s insane,” said another. “Everyone knows it.”
I can’t blame her for it coming down… she may have lost a ton of access over it. Laura writes for ESPN.com… one cannot burn certain bridges. But that outfit was seriously fugly! Perez has proof.
In a strage reverse stat, there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of ever being hit by lightning. Geremi Gonzalez, former MLB pitcher, was killed by a lightning strike in Venezuela on Sunday.
Geremi won 11 games for the Chicago Cubs as a rookie back in 1997. He had a 30-35 record for his career over 10 years in the majors.
FYI – 1/3 of lightning strikes are fatal; there is a 1 in 800,00 chance of being struck per year.
Hi there! I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day from where ever you are… whether you are at the beach, taking in a baseball game, or just BBQin’ at home.
The weather here in Manhattan Beach is awesome today!
I do hope you take a moment to think about all those who have fought for our sovereignty since before our nation’s birth.
I woke up in time to turn on the tv and and see Jim Nabors sing Back Home in Indiana accompanied by the Purdue All-American Marching Band.
It brought back some great memories of the three Indy 500′s I participated in on Purdue’s Golduster pom squad.
I don’t miss the humidity, though.
There was even a red carpet this year. ”Plenty of Celebrity Star Power”, according to the Indy 500 website, scheduled to appear include Baron Davis, Slash, Frankie Muniz (still listed as an actor btw, and not a racecar driver which he has given acting up for), and ABC capitalizing (whoring out) Dancing With the Stars winner Kristi Yamaguchi & Julianne Hough… you can check the rest of the “celebs” out for yourself.
Jon Lester could seem as if he should still be on cloud nine after tossing a no hitter, but instead he reveals that his father, John, was diagnosed with lymphoma last month.
It seems that this young man has triumphed from so much and has had great success after beating lymphoma. Best wishes to Jon’s family.
You can check out Sunday Conversation where will talk about it on ESPN.
