2008 WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS!!!

The game started off ugly.  Very Ugly.

Ridiculously ugly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the Lakers matured in this series right in front of our eyes.  The development of poise is a beautiful thing to watch.  The evolution of leadership was something to behold. 

In a first quarter  dominated by the hot shooting Spurs, adjustments had to be made.  The double teaming of Tim Duncan was leading to wide open jumpers for Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen, and the rest of Spurs' perimeter squatters.  Our rotations had to get better, we needed to force cross court passes that would allow our defense to rotate and recover.  And on the offensive side of the ball, we needed to stop settling for jumpers. 

Somewhere in the second quarter, we got it.  Thanks to Jordan Farmar's spark of three straight buckets, the offense started getting aggressive going to the hope and getting paint points.  Along with getting out of our scoring quagmire, our defensive intensity picked up. 

By mid third quarter, that feeling of being a team of destiny for this series started to settle in.  Loose balls were rolling to the purple and gold.  Amazingly, we managed to get the Spurs in the penalty with more than a minute left in the quarter.  You just felt it.

Now we need four more victories.  We get a week off.  Rest and prepare.....

Technorati tags: Western Conference Finals, Lakers, Spurs

GTAIV = A Clockwork Orange?

In this article from The Record, a newspaper (used loosely in this case) in Stockton, CA, aggression is being attributed to the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. 

Stockton's Mark Wellis, 19, said he was involved in an altercation a week after he purchased "Grand Theft Auto IV." At the time he noticed that he had become less sensitive to violence.

Wellis doesn't completely blame the game for his violence, but it did affect him.

 

So after 19 years of life, one week with GTAIV and the kid is no longer sensitive to violence?  Wait there's more....

"My son Peter was never really aggressive, but once he got into video games, 'GTA' being one of them, he started to push, hit, talk back, and just become a different person," said Stockton parent Greg Within, 46.

Does Peter sound like he is 17 or older?  I ask because GTAIV is rated Mature meaning you have to be 17 or older to purchase the game.  Seems to me like Greg Within may need to look 'within' for the root of the kid's new personality (pun intended).

Critics seem to want to paint this video game and others like it as the source of the debauchery of the world.  They seem to think that if we can reduce or remove this 'influence' entirely, the world would be a better place.  But maybe, just maybe, the world would be a better place with fewer critics and politicians...just maybe.

Technorati tags: GTAIV, Grand Theft Auto, Violent Games

A different look on illegal immigrants

Here's an interesting take on the 'jobs Americans won't do' stance of those supporting illegal immigrants from CNN's Glenn Beck:

The Journal article offered an example of a couple that sells food at fairs around California each summer. They say that because of the H-2B visa shortage most of their seasonal employees aren't able to enter the country.

So why don't they just hire Americans instead? Good question. Her answer? "This is a hard job."

I find it pretty hard to believe that there aren't a few college students who wouldn't want to drive around California and work outdoors all summer, but let's assume that's true. Let's even assume that none of the other 1.1 million Californians who were unemployed as of April are interested in the job either. Isn't anyone wondering why?

Well I'm not a labor consultant, but I am a thinker. Maybe the problem isn't that the job they're offering is "too hard," maybe it's that the wages they're offering are "too low."

No one paints the undersides of bridges for fun, they do it for the money. That's how capitalism works.

How capitalism does NOT work is when we collectively look the other way as companies exploit illegal labor for their own benefit.

The unspoken truth is that these businesses don't hire illegal aliens because they can't find American workers, they hire illegal aliens because they don't want American workers. And it has nothing to do with wages.

 

Technorati tags: immigration, low wages, unemployment, visas

Conference Finals

After a tough series against a very physical and game Utah Jazz squad, the Lake Show is preparing to square off against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.  It's only right that if the Lakers go on to win a championship this season, they should have to go through the Spurs to do so. 

The key factors going into game one:

1. Kobe's health:  He says he's 100%, that's good enough for me.
2. Manu Ginobili:  Starter?  Bench?  Does it matter?  Containing him will be one of the keys to our defensive effort.  I'm not as worried about Tony Parker as we are coming off a long series against Deron Williams who I would place ahead of Tony Parker in terms of causing defensive problems.  And D-fish held his own against D-Will so the focus in my mind will be Manu.
3. Pau vs Tim:  After facing a Utah team without a true center, I wonder how Pau will matchup with Tim Duncan.  On one hand, I don't think Tim is nearly as physical as Carlos 'Bruiser'.  On the other hand, Tim is better.  However, this year's playoffs have seen Tim disappear for stretches. 
4. Role Players:  Starter for starter, the Lakers look good in this series.  Even going down the rotation, I give the Lakers the edge.  The wild card?  Experience.  This Spurs team knows how to win regardless of circumstances.  Keeping the Bowens and Finleys under control will go a long way to reaching the Finals. 

Sorry

I have been rather scarce here lately.  No particular reason.  Just haven't had that urge to get my type on.  But for nearly six years I have made at least one post to Xpinionated so I gotta keep the tradition going.  So how about a simple update....

Had a great time with Devin, Mrs. Xpinionated, and some friends of ours at the Georgia Force game a couple of weekends ago. 

Was in the emergency room this past Monday morning with the worse asthma attack I've had since I was five or six years old.  But the Prednisone that I'm on now has me feeling ridiculously good breathing wise...

sorry Devin won't sleep (and hasn't been for the past week) so the writing stops now....

Post Game Four Thoughts

Technorati tags: Lakers, NBA Playoffs

The Utah Jazz have tied the series at 2-2 with a an overtime victory today.  Here are some abstract thoughts:

• If the refs hand out the same home team calls in L.A. as they did in today's game, I will be satisfied.
• There were several calls that either were displayed differently on my TV or that the announcers felt obliged to agree with the refs:

• The block on Luke Walton from behind was a great hustle play. . . however. . . since when is legal to go through someone's body to get the ball -- head and all?
• The foul called on Sasha when he blocked Deron Williams shot from behind was ludicrous.  Even more ludicrous was the play by play of Hubie Brown....'got him on the forearm'?  He said this during the replay showing nothing of the sort.
• Why exactly is Matt Harpring getting all star treatment in terms of foul calls?

Two games in Utah, two losses.  The upside?  Each game was lost as opposed to us being beaten.  Game three: turnovers.  Game Four: foul shots and foul calls -- could have made the foul shots.  And though the refs had a horrendous outing, we need to stop swiping without intent because the refs are making prejudicial calls.

Kobe's back spasms could be telling.  Needed him to facilitate the last two minutes of the game instead of forcing shots.  I would have preferred the focus shifting to Odom and Fish with Gasol and Bryant looking to play decoy and man the boards.

Game 5 Wednesday at Staples Center. 

Wins are good but .. . .. .

Quite frankly, I'm not altogether sure how we pulled yesterday's game out.  Out-rebounded embarrassingly, particularly on the offensive boards is usually a recipe for disaster. 

Also, the adjustments the Jazz made to slow down our offense bothered me a little although to be quite honest I couldn't pick out what those adjustments were.  The only real difference seemed to be that the Lake Show wasn't getting out on the break for most of the second half and the offense kind of stalled. 

Sasha, I mean the Machine came through like the emerging star he is.  That's right I said it!  Emerging star.  Look at the young kid.  The ingredients are there.  Young kid, big stage, hair that flows in the wind, and a deadly bomb from deep....emerging star!

In all seriousness, if we get at the boards and maintain our defensive intensity Wednesday night, we should be able to head back to Utah with home-court in tow.

Technorati tags: Lakers, NBA Playoffs, THe machine!