Tag: basketball

Curry Favor

Basketball shot.

Black Mamba hung up his his kicks night before last. After having been recruited right out of  high-school to the NBA, a bunch of rings, wins, points and sneers delivered over his career, he’s done.

In typical Kobe fashion, he took all the shots on the way to a sixty-point night. The crowd at the Staples Center went, as they say, wild. Kobe went out with a bang–everyone clearly feeding him the ball to rack up his final feat–especially after he smiled and mostly walked through this final season.

At least one reporter lamented against his unnatural friendliness during this season. “Go out as who you are!” he admonished. “Be your asshole self. ”

Okay, then.

I will stipulate that Kobe may have reasons for playing like he has a chip on his shoulder. I’m clueless as to why. But there are many who will not miss his growls and slights.

That same evening, a few hundred miles up the coast in Oakland, another basketball moment was happening. The Warriors broke a 20 year old season win record led by their inimitable, huggable superstar, Steph Curry. The worst I’ve heard about Steph was when some sportswriters were peeved that his totally adorbs two-year-old daughter sat on his lap and pwned a post-game presser. Seriously. That’s it. In addition to being a future hall of famer, he’s a chill guy. “Huggable.”

I don’t pay much attention to basketball, but the contrast struck me. Clearly both players are superstars. One is team Nike and the other Under Armour. One is finishing and the other is early career. One is abhorred and one is adored.

Is it better to be feared or loved?  Time will tell.

#swish

Posted on by docthink 0

How I Select My Brackets

Technical foul against Kentucky, NCAA.

First thing, I open up the app. I need to be able to see what’s happening and make frequent changes. A pencil and eraser would simply not work when you approach bracket making like Rothko.

I pick a quadrant and zoom in. I work in one quadrant at a time. Some years I think I’m done only to realize there’s a block that I missed. So, this year, I’m thinking quadrants. That’s four. I can likely realize if I don’t do four. Likely.

Here’s my next challenge. When I zoom in on a quadrant, I can’t see what I’m doing. So there’s a bit of blindness that I use to my advantage, like Zatoichi. At least that’s what I tell myself.

Next up, selection time. First things first, I’m looking to bump out my rival schools. Even if they’re a #1 seed. There’s always an upset early on. Why not those stupid schools that beat my team?

I click through a quadrant or two, only now I have to do something else. This bracket stuff takes a real time commitment. I can’t save my work. I have to leave it and redo it again later. I always think my second set of picks are likely better. Or, at least, no worse.

The quadrants don’t make any sense. Who can find Yale in the West? West of what? Providence? How does Buffalo get put in the South? Who placed University of SoCal in the East? Also, where is the North? Are there no North schools? Does the NCAA spell North as M-i-d-w-e-s-t? If there is a reason, I don’t feel like figuring it out. I have random teams to feed into my Final Four. If I’m googling anything, it’s where the hell is Weber State?

I select by schools I like, schools I like the name of, and schools playing against schools I hate–all with a splash of seeding. By the time I get to the 3rd and 4th brackets the second or third time, I’m more like working a divining rod. I let the cursor move itself toward a decision. It’s as good as anything else I do.

See Doc. Doc doesn’t know shit about college basketball and still plays March Madness. At least there’s no money on the line. Doc plays for pride. Don’t be like Doc.

Posted on by docthink 0