Josh Q. Public. For the public, by The Public. Irreverent sports opinion from a Bostonian in New York. The one blog to read, when you are reading more than one. » Read More
By: josh q. public on: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 @3:46 pm
The stars at night, are big and bright. Deep in the heart of Texas. -June Hershey
Public Service Announcement: OK, here we go! OK, do you believe now? If not now, when?
The Boston Celtics have the best record in basketball. The Boston Celtics just snatched a 22-point deficit out of the jaws of the Heavyweight Champeens of the World. Snatched a 22-point deficit out of the jaws of the Heavyweight Champeens of the World with an inspired performance by Paul Pierce. The Truth. The Truth is, he’s the most underrated player in the world, and nobody can tell me different. Nobody.
Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It’s the Truth. He willed the Celtics to victory. Willed the Celtics to victory sparking a fourth-quarter rally. And you saw the dunk. With authority! Don’t fake the funk on a nasty dunk! That nasty dunk gave the Celtics their first lead of the game. The Spurs kept it interesting. Champeens of the World will do that. Kept it interesting until…
And I will eat them in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. Sam I Am! Release. Rotation. Splash. That’s why he’s here. To take that shot. The shot for three, and it’s G double-O D. Ballgame!
Isn’t that enough? You need more? More proof. The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. The Celtics are on fire. Have been all season. But if you need more. More proof. This stretch right here will give it to you. The Celtics beat the Spurs last night. Beat the Spurs in the first game of a brutal four-game stretch. Stretch Armstrong. Stretch Cunningham. The Celtics play Houston tonight. The Celtics play Dallas Thursday. The Celtics play New Orleans Saturday. When all is said and done, the Celtics will be only the second team in NBA history to play four straight games, all on the road against teams that are at least 20 games over .500. That’s a tough stretch. But while everybody’s yipping about how good the West is. While everybody’s yapping about how much better the West is. While everybody’s yipping and yapping how so far superior the West is, the Celtics will be balling. Basketballing.
It starts again tonight. It starts again tonight against the Houston Rockets. The red hot Rockets. The Celtics are 13-2 in the second half of back-to-back games. The Celtics have won twelve of their last thirteen overall. The Celtics already have more victories than they’ve had in any season since 1990-91. The buck stops here.
Quote of the Night: “The green machine is coming, baby.” -Sam Cassell
Public Acknowledgements: Superman, Marv Albert, Craig Kilborn, Dr. Seuss, Karl Ravech, Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three and All in the Family
By: josh q. public on: Monday, March 17, 2008 @6:47 pm
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. -Galileo
Public Service Announcement: Here it comes! Here comes the Madness. March Madness. And look at me. Look at me without a team. Me, without a horse in this race. Blue Moon. You saw me standing alone. Without a dream in my heart. Without a love of my own. So sad. I need me a bandwagon. Like my main man Dan Rice. Monkey tastes def when you pour it on ice. Come on y’all it’s time to get nice. I gotta get nice. But with who?
Gotta have a shot to win it all. I love Davidson. I love Stephen Curry. But they don’t have a shot at the big enchilada. Neither does Drake. Can’t be too good either. Can’t be that juggernaut Memphis. That sluggernaut, Memphis. That punch you in your muggernaut, Memphis. Not UCLA. Not the Big Bad Bruins. Not them. No, someone a little more subtle. Not too subtle. I like my jelly to jiggle if I’m not being too subtle.
I’m going with Xavier. The Xavier Musketeers. All for one and one for all. Their jelly jiggles. Jiggle it just a little bit. I wanna see you jiggle it just a little bit. As it grooves. Their jelly just jiggled itself en route to its best season in school history. Their jelly just jiggled itself enroute to its third straight 20-win season and third consecutive NCAA tournament bid. I like these guys. I like these guys because they play defense. Defense wins championships. I like their seniors. I like Drew Lavender. I like Josh Duncan. I like Stanley Burrell. I like them to redeem themselves.
To redeem themselves for the Temple loss this year. To redeem themselves for the most heartbreaking loss in school history one year ago. One year ago when the Musketeers couldn’t close out Ohio State in the second round. Like Marvin Hagler couldn’t close out Sugar Ray in the ninth. One year ago when Justin Cage missed the second of his two free throws in the closing seconds of regulation. One year ago when the Buckeyes made a threecola at the buzzer, then went on to win 78-71 in overtime. This team can do that. They can redeem themselves. They can do it in this here tournament. Six of Xavier’s wins came against NCAA Tournament teams. Five of them out of conference. While a nation is rooting for the Georgia Bulldogs, I’ll be rooting for the other guys. I’ll be rooting for Xavier.
Public Acknowledgements: Mel Torme, Beastie Boys, Bringing Down the House and 2 In A Room
By: josh q. public on: Saturday, March 15, 2008 @9:41 pm
Public Service Announcement: Ok, here we go! Hockey Talk. No Puddy, no Devils’ talk. No supporting the team. Although Martin Brodeur may be the best goalie there’s ever been. The best we’ve ever seen. Better than Orson Bean. But no. I watched some highlights today. Some hockey highlights today. Some Big Bad Bruins hockey highlights today. I watched the Big Bad Bruins stick it to the Philadelphia Flyers. Stuck it to ‘em real good like. The Big Bad Bruins stuck it to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime. Good old fashioned hockey. Bobby Clarke hockey. Even wore the throwbacks. Whenever I see those old Bruin uni’s I think of one thing and one thing only. That music. You know the music. New York, London, Paris, Munich. Everybody talk about, pop musik. That Channel 38 music. That Fred Cusick music. It kind of goes a little something like this:
By: josh q. public on: Saturday, March 15, 2008 @12:39 am
Every scout in the NHL is out there tonight, with contracts in their pockets, and they’re looking for talent. For winners. OOOOOOOOOH. All my years of publicity. All the fashion shows and radiothons for nothing… They come here tonight… to scout the Chiefs… the toughest team in the Federal League! Not this! Buncha… pussies:
By: josh q. public on: Thursday, March 13, 2008 @5:58 pm
Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it. -Andre Gide
Public Knowledge:
1. Yankees first baseman’s SandyShelly Duncan, slides into second base with his Takeo Spikes raised. Bench-clearing donnybrook ensues. Two players and two coaches ejected. If this happens in the NBA, it’s a thug league. NBA teams should be referred to as gangs. Blah, blah, blah. It happens in baseball, it’s part of the game. It’s a travesty. It’s a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.
2. On the other hand:
3. Everybody loves the Spurs. Me too. But this stat may be telling in how far they go. With their loss to the Hornets last night, the Spurs record dropped to 9-11 this season in games against the top eight teams in the Western Conference. Not so jingly. Not so jangly. In games between teams from the West that would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today, only Phoenix has a worse record than San Antonio.
4. Chris Paul is good. Real good. How good? Consider this. Consider CP3 made twelve of the Hornets’ forty-four field goals last night. Consider CP3 assisted on seventeen others. Consider CP3 has either made or assisted 48.3 percent of his team’s field goals this season. No NBA player has finished a season having a hand in such a high percentage of his team’s field goals since your boy, John Stockton in 1990-91. Yowza! That’s good. Just so you know. Tiny Archibald has the record. 1973. Kansas City Kings. Tiny led the NBA in scoring and dimes, becoming the first and so far only player ever to win the titles in both categories in the same season. 53.5%. Goodness!
5. He shoots. He scores! My man. Alexander Ovechkin. My man, Alexander Ovechken had two goals last night. Wait, that’s not the good part. This is the good part. Alexander Ovechkin had two goals last night on eleven shots. Eleven shots. What can I say? The guy takes a lot of shots. How many shots? That was the 17th time that Ovechkin had 10-or-more shots on goal in a game in his three seasons in the league. That matches the number of double-digit-shot games over the last three seasons by the next four players on the list combined. That matches Olli Jokinen, Jaromir Jagr, Ilya Kovalchuk and Mats Sundin combined. That’s a lot of shots. Who else is gonna take ‘em? Quintin Lainge?
6. I love Josh Hamilton. First pick in the draft. Four million dollar bonus baby. Drafted ahead of Boom Boom Beckett with the overall top pick. Played some minor league ball. Got hurt. Got hooked on the horse. Lost three years of his life. Lost three years waiting for his man. Lost three years and the twenty-six dollars in his hand. Lost three years up to Lexington, 1-2-5. Lost three years feeling sick and dirty, more dead than alive. Lost three years waiting for his man. But like Jack Torrance, he’s baaack. Back and as good as ever. Back with the Texas Rangers. First in Ribbies this spring with the Texas Rangers. Second in batting this spring with the Texas Rangers. Smashing it with the Texas Rangers. Mashing it with the Texas Rangers. Taking a hammer and bashing it with the Texas Rangers. Old Teammate Ryan Freel: “He’s a great story.” He certainly is Ryan, he certainly is.
7. Uh oh. What’s this? A Greg Oden sighting? Greg Oden went through the drills at about half speed and reportedly looked much like he did before his surgery. Good news for Blazers fans. Real good news. Greg Oden will take Brandon Roy and the rest Trail Blazers straight to the Promised Land. Mister I ain’t a boy, no I’m a man. And I believe in a promised land. I believe in Greg Oden.
8. Phat Albert Winnie the Pujols is confident he can make it through another season. Phat Albert Winnie the Pujols is confident he can make it through the rest of his career. Make it without needing reconstructive surgery. Love is all around, no need to waste it. You can have a town, why don’t you take it. You’re gonna make it after all. I sure hope so. I took him in the first round (9th overall) on my fantasy team.
9. I can’t do this without talking about my Celtics, can I? My streaking Celtics. My peaking Celtics. My freaking Celtics. Ah, freak out! Le freak, c’est chic. Freak out! The Celtics are in the middle of their longest winning streak in nearly 22 years. The Boston Celtics‘ confidence continues to grow. Their confidence continues to grow just in the nick of time. Just in the nick of time as they eye their toughest road trip of the season. It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the cream of the fight. Roll Celtics, roll!
By: josh q. public on: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 @3:01 pm
I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May. -The Temptations
Public Service Announcement: OK, here we go! The Phoenix Suns. Sun-sational. Sun-stoppable. Sun-believable.
I know, I know. Let’s not carried away. Carry on my wayward son. There’ll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don’t you cry no more. Even if it was the lowly Griz, Suns fans can stop their sobbing. At least for a little while. The Grizhave all that ails ya.
The Suns scored 132 points against the Grizzlies. 617 points in their last five games against the Grizzlies. The most points by one team against another over a five-game span since these said same Suns had 618 over five games against the WizardsBullets from 1993 to 1995. Memphis is terrible. Abominable. Deplorable. Despicable. Memphis has lost fifteen consecutive road games. The Suns can’t worry about that. I don’t care what they say about us anyway. I don’t care ’bout that.
They can’t. They got business to take care of. Growed folks business. Post-season business. The Suns remain in sixth place in the West. The Suns have won consecutive games for the first time since February. The Suns are doing it with defense. Knock ‘em down, roll ‘em around, c’mon defense work! Work! The Suns have been working it on defense. Not shirking it on defense.
The biggest knock on the Shaq trade was losing the Matrix‘ on other end of the floor. They discounted his perimeter defense. They discounted his ability to guard the point. They discounted the numbers made by the mismatches he created. It appears they’re finally figuring out life without Marion. The Suns have finally put two games of good defense together. Together, forever, that’s how it will be. The Suns held San Antonio to 34.9 percent shooting Sunday. The Suns limited Memphis to 41.7 percent shooting last night.
Larger than Jim Backus, it’s the Cactus. The Big Cactus took only one shot in 16:36 of playing time last night. It’s the first time in his career that Shaq has played more than two minutes without taking at least two shots. How about that? How about this? Shaq may have only taken one shot last night, that’s fine. He still had fitty cent. He still had three big blocks. Mike D’Antoni: “He controlled the whole game.” He did, he really did.
And his boy, Amare Stoudemire, was just a beast. Twenty-nine points and thirteen boards in thirty minutes. Yowza! Stoudemire: “We’re just scratching the surface of how good we can be.” I second that emotion. Be afraid Lakers fans. Be afraid Spurs fans. Be afraid Jazz fans. Be afraid Hornets fans. Be afraid Rockets fans. Be very, very afraid.
Public Acknowledgements: Kansas, Weezer, Dionne Warwick, Third Bass, The Miracles, Peter Vecsey and AZ Central
By: josh q. public on: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 @4:27 pm
A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. -Mark Twain
Public Knowledge:
1. King James. Long live the King. King James recorded his seventeenth career triple double last night. Triple trouble. LeBron is now tied for twenty-first all time. Tied for twenty-first all time with Scottie Pippen and Bill Russell. Now, if they only counted blocks back then, would the King still be tied with Russell? I don’t think so. Wait, it gets better. LeBron led the Cavs in points, rebounds and assists last night. The 46th time in his career he led the Cavs in points, rebounds and assists. Since 2004, James’ first season in the NBA, only one player has done that more. That’s right, my man, the Big Ticket.
2. Dwyane Wade will miss the remainder of the season. Will miss the remainder of the season so he can further rehabilitate his surgically repaired left knee. Maybe it’s me, but I don’t think the Flash will ever return to his old flashiness. Think Ken Griffey Jr. Think Yao. Think Eric Lindros. Think Grant Hill. Think Terrell Davis. Think those guys there. Oh, what could have been.
3. No gnews is good gnews. Here’s the good gnews. Team doctors have told Boom Boom Beckett his sore back is gnot result of a disc problem. Phew! Here’s the bad gnews. Boom Boom Beckett is still hurting, and gnot planning to throw again until the problem is resolved. Let’s get that problem solved before opening day, shall we? Roll Sox roll!
4. Often imitated, never duplicated. Dikembe Mutombo:
5. Shaun Alexander is not a happy man. He thought he was stabbed in the back before. Paul Pierce style. He thinks he was stabbed in the back again. The Seattle Seahawks have just announced the signing of running back Orange Julius Jones. The second running back Seattle has signed in the last week (TJ Duckett). Shaun Alexander is a running back with talent. Loads of talent. Bucket loads of talent. Truck loads of talent. Talent that has been decimated by injuries. It looks like his days in Seattle are numbered.
6. She said it’s really not my habit to intrude. Furthermore, I hope my meaning won’t be lost or misconstrued. But I’ll repeat myself, at the risk of being crude. There must be fifty ways to leave your lover. Fifty baby, fifty! The Celtics beat the 76ers to become the first team to 50 wins this season. Woooo doggy! It has been 22 seasons since Boston was the first team to 50 wins all by themselves back in 1986. You know what happened then. They won a championship then. They say the next big thing is here, that the revolution’s near. But to me it seems quite clear that it’s all just a little bit of history repeating.
7. Everybody’s yipping about Johann’s start yesterday. Everybody’s yapping about how great he was. What about my boy? Huh? What about Jon Lester? Here are the lines.
Johann: 4IP 2H 0R 0ER 0BB 4K
Lester: 4IP 2H 0R 0ER 1BB 5K
I’m just saying…
8. Just so you know. Not for nothing. Not that it means anything. Jeremy Shockey’s house just hit the market. Hmmmmm. So if have 2 Mil lying around, love NYC views, then call your local real estate agent.
9. Don’t look now, here come the New York Rangers. It took a while but the Rangers are hot. Red hot. My gal is red hot. Your girl ain’t doodely squat. The Rangers have now earned at least one point in each of their last 10 road games. That matches the second-longest streak of its kind in team history and the longest since 1972-73. Since Jean Ratelle. Since Brad Park. Since Rod Gilbert. These new look Rangers are suddenly on a roll. Suddenly Susan. Suddenly on a roll and challenging for top spot in the Prince of Whales Conference.
By: josh q. public on: Monday, March 10, 2008 @3:30 pm
Well I don’t know where they come from, but they sure do come. I hope they comin’ for me. And I don’t know how they do it, but they sure do it good. I hope they doin’ it for free. They give me cat scratch fever. Cat scratch fever. -Ted Nugent
Public Service Announcement: OK, here we go! Here comes the madness. March Madness. Madness, madness, they call it madness. Well if this is madness, then I know I’m filled with gladness. It’s gonna be rougher. It’s gonna be tougher. And I won’t be the one who’s gonna suffer.
No, I won’t suffer, but some other folks might. Some higher seeds might. Some esteemed bracketologists might. Anybody who overlooks these Davidson Wildcats might. Those folks there might because this Davidson basketball team’s got cat class and they got cat style.
The Davidson Wildcats find themselves before the threshold of excellence. By opening up a can on UNC Greensboro in the Southern Conference semis last night, Davidson just extended the nation’s longest winning streak to twenty-one. Look for it to be twenty-two tonight. Twenty-two skidoo tonight. Twenty-two skidoo tonight after the finals.
The Davidson Wildcats are ranked twenty-fifth in the nation. The Davidson Wildcats have won 35 straight conference games. There’s a reason for that. They’re good. Real good. Stephen Curry is good. Real good. Davidson guard Stephen Curry is the Southern Conference’s Player of the Year. He’s a sharpshooter. The rootinest, tootinest sumbitch with a six-shooter you ever did see. The son of another rootin tootin sumbitch. The son of Dell Curry. The son of Dell Curry is a difference maker. Wofford coach Mike Young believes: “It would be rare against anybody, with the exception of a few top-ranked teams, for Davidson not to have the best player on the floor.” Yowza! He’s that good. But Curry doesn’t do it alone.
No, Kimosabe. He has somebody getting him the rock. He has Jason Richards getting him the rock. He has the leading assist man in the entire nation getting him the rock. Jason Richards’ ball handling skills are second to none. Jenna Jameson’s got nothing on him. Richards has an uncanny knack for finding Curry. And Curry can finish from anywhere. Anywhere!
Coach Bob McKillop has the Wildcats playing team basketball. Five players on the floor functioning as one single unit: team, team, team. No one more important that the other. Coach Bob McKillop has them playing them playing defense. Smothering defense. Asphyxiating defense. Suffocating defense.
Last night, the Wildcats effectively squelched Kyle Hines. Kyle Hines, UNC Greensboro’s senior leader. Kyke Hines, the SoCon’s top post player. Squelched Kyle Hines and moved on to the finals. Next up, the madness. Can they be this year’s George Mason? You betcha! They’re the chief, they’re the king, but above everything, they’re the most tip top, Top Cats!
Public Specatacle:
Public Acknowledgements: Madness, Stray Cats, Yosemite Sam, Charlotte Observer, Hoosiers, Tonto and Officer Dibble
By: josh q. public on: Saturday, March 8, 2008 @1:58 am
This video may be the worst ski crash we’ve ever seen. Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger crashes shortly after starting his run at the top of a hill and rolls his way down. His injuries were so extensive on his left leg that the lower half had to be amputated.
Public Service Announcement: Ok, here we go! Hockey Talk. No Puddy, no Devils’ talk. No supporting the team. Although Martin Brodeur may be the best goalie there’s ever been. The best we’ve ever seen. Better than Orson Bean. But no. I watched some highlights today. Some hockey highlights today. Some Big Bad Bruins hockey highlights today. I watched the Big Bad Bruins stick it to the Philadelphia Flyers. Stuck it to ‘em real good like. The Big Bad Bruins stuck it to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime. Good old fashioned hockey. Bobby Clarke hockey. Even wore the throwbacks. Whenever I see those old Bruin uni’s I think of one thing and one thing only. That music. You know the music. New York, London, Paris, Munich. Everybody talk about, pop musik. That Channel 38 music. That Fred Cusick music. It kind of goes a little something like this:
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