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Lyrics here.

Thanks, Kirk…for finally having a decent game (emphasis added). More please.

FG% - .556
FT% - 1.000
3PM - 3
PTS - 15
REB - 6
AST - 8
STL - 2
BLK - 0
TO - 0

According to David Thorpe Yi’s the best rookie in the league so far.

That’d be nice…except it’s subjective.   (Here’s some further analysis)

You all know I’m not a big Durant fan — or players like him for that matter.  Aaand, I’m a little biased since I’m a Bucks fan.

At least let me be excited that he’s: 1) a rookie, 2) doing well and 3) playing for the Bucks.

Rare combination I know.

For the record: I’m not completely sold on Yi.   If it starts going badly I’m going whip out my Eduardo Najera smirk comparisons.

This makes me giddy. I want the Bucks to have more games like the one last night.

60.3% from the field, 31 dimes

D. Mason 10 for 10, 21 pts
Yi, 12 pts, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks
Redd, nearing a triple double, 17 pts, 7 rebs, 6 dimes

Hey, Coach K… Keep Charlie V. and B. Simmons on the bench.

Commentary: Bucks unleash hell on the Raptors, Bucks deliver easy win

Oh and how about Chris Paul’s 21 assists last night.  A thoroughly dominating performance over the Lakers last night. That’s always good.

(BTW, no doubt Peja is a good shooter.  I hope he plays in more than 13 games this year.  After all, I did have him on the second team of my Charity Stripe All-Star list.)

Why he will win it:

1. The Sonics don’t have any one else who can carry the scoring load. Ray Allen? Gone. Rashard Lewis? Gone. Wally? Uh, no.
2. No one cares about FG% — just points. Barring injury, he’s going to be their leading scorer. I have no doubt.
3. He has the agility to play the 2, which makes him a match-up problem for opposing teams.
4. Greg Oden is out. It’s Durant’s to lose now.
5. The Sonics are going to slap his face up everywhere. He can dunk, shoot the 3 and he has nice teeth for those shoe commercials. (However, he certainly can’t replace the PR sweetness that is Ray Allen)

Why he won’t win it:

1. He’s never seen a shot he doesn’t like. He scores a lot of points even when his team loses. It doesn’t matter if his shot isn’t falling either. He averaged 39.9% from the field at Texas.
2. He’s a wuss. I’m sure this will change now that he’s in the NBA, but I’m still interested to see how he handles the big guys. There’s going to be games where he gets locked down because he’s the only scoring threat.
3. He’s not a good teammate. Players like LeBron make their teammates better. I don’t see KD doing that in Seattle.
4. Defense, defense, defense. One of the knocks on him at Texas was that he loafed on “D.”
5. NBA fans are tiring of players like AI, Melo and Kobe. I know am.

OK, so I’ve been getting back into table tennis. I could certainly use the exercise.

We had a table tennis tourney at church last Sunday and it was a lot of fun. I need some practice. I’m not used to playing singles.

I’ve been playing a little at work, however it’s mostly been NPH Volleypong. We have our own logo and Facebook group if you’re interested.

I’ve also been cruising around Youtube checking out the guys that are really good at table tennis.

Some of the notable players: Jan-Ove Waldner, Vladimir Samsonov, Timo Boll, Ma Lin, Jorgen Persson, Zoran Primorac, etc. (There’s no Americans in the ITTF Top 100, incidentally). I think I like watching Samsonov, Waldner and Boll the most.

So, here’s some of the better videos from Youtube:

2007 World Championships
2006 Best Points
2005 Best Points WTTC Shanghai
Waldner vs Persson
Jan-Ove Waldner domination - Waldner basically embarrasses this guy. Yikes.
Timo Boll age 4 to 1996 - Neat video history of Timo Boll growing up playing table tennis
Samsanov vs Boll

Well it’s about stinkin’ time that the Bucks get the deal with Yi done.

My thoughts:

I hope Yi doesn’t sport that jerk-smirk all the time.  That’s the last thing the NBA needs.
That looks like a Robert “Tractor” Traylor sized jersey.

Is Sen. Kohl a shrimp or what?

It didn’t surprise me to read that there could be other NBA referees caught in the F.B.I. dragnet.  While they may not face criminal charges, they could be slapped down by the N.B.A.

Stern could face some serious credibility issues after his emphatic statements about Donaghy being a “rogue, isloated criminal.”

I hope this all gets resolved by the beginning of the NBA season in October.  I really don’t want any shadows over what’s shaping up to be an interesting year in the league.

I think it’s pretty obvious that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig doesn’t like the whole idea of Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron’s HR record.

What does he do instead of attending the game last night? He meets with George Mitchell, former Senator and chief steroid investigator.

I’m thinking that Selig may have the last laugh.

I’ve been reading the intense flurry of NBA blog-speak surrounding the momentous trade between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Boston Celtics.

Here’s my conclusion:  Boston got the better deal — in the long-term.   Yes, you heard me right.

Although the T’Wolves got (and will get) some really good, young players in the deal, I don’t feel confident Kevin McHale has what it takes to make it work in the long term.   You know — the Joe Smith debacle, the mid-season firing of Dwayne Casey, Michael Olowakandi, Ndu Ebi, Marko Jaric , etc.

Boston, on the other hand, has new hype and good players right now.  Not only is their fan base invigorated, but they will have a steady stream of free agents that will keep it going.  Sure, Danny Ainge has his critics, but this trade ought to work out nicely.  There’s a lot of pride and history in Boston.  More than in MN, that’s for sure.

You all know I’m biased about Ray Allen.  He’s the man.  It’s not going to be like Melo and AI trying to get their touches.  I think Sugar Ray and KG will be good team players.   Should be exciting.