Xpinionated

Thursday, January 31, 2008

New Interracial Marriage Site!!

There's a new social network for those in interracial relationships! The site's creator is known to have a short attention span but if folks start showing up and the discussion is lively, I know for a fact that the site's creator will try to maintain a lively community. SO GO CHECK IT OUT ---> http://www.intermarriage.ning.com

Technorati tags: Interracial, Marriage, intermarriage.ning.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Audacity at an extreme

In Haro, Spain, 2004, a 17 year old teenager is killed by a Spanish businessman. The teen was hit from behind on his bicycle as the businessman sped through some campgrounds. The teen was dragged for some distance.

A judge ruled that the man had technically committed no crime and as such no criminal charges were filed. Fast forward to 2006, the businessman decides to sue the parents of the teenage boy. He claims that they are responsible for the damage done to his Audi A8 and the ensuing car rental fees. Yes, this man wanted the parents of the child he killed to repay him for his inconvenience! Never mind that their son is dead. Never mind that he did not spend a single day in jail though separate experts estimate he was doing 70 to 107 miles per hour...in a 55 mile per hour zone. No his precious fucking car (excuse the language) needs Maaco and he shouldn't have to pay! The audacity, cold-heartedness, stupidity, assholedness of this guy!

He has dropped the charges. However, he did not show up to court fearing the publicity would amount to a public lynching. Perhaps, a public lynching is what this bunghole truly needs!

Technorati tags: Audi A8, Haro Spain

Monday, January 28, 2008

Update to my Thirties

On the 22nd, I posted about my worrries concerning my athletic prowess on the hardwood. Just want to let yall know that I was killin' 'em the rest of the week. Banking three's (that I called) to win games, steals, blocks, the whole shabang. My cardio still isn't where I'd like it and I'll be taking some time off due to catching lil man's cold but the John's Creek LA Fitness lunchtime basketball crew has a new found respect for this kid!

Devin's Man Night

Last night, lil Man spent some time with the dudes. Mrs Xpinionated had to help a friend in need which left Devin alone with me and a couple of friends playing video games. You know he had to be having a good time because he was sitting in his high chair eating lasagne with his hands in his diaper. Every man's dream to eat some good pasta in your drawuhs with your hands while watching your friends play video games!!

Later in the night, one of my friends J was shooting Devin's little basketballs (or trying to) into the little goal. The balls landed over near Devin in the corner and J said 'Devin, get those balls for me.' Devin looked at him like I know you see me ridin' my zebra! Then J mimed shooting a basketball and being the smart kid my son is, he got up off the zebra, walked over to the balls, picked both of them up and proceeded to take them to J. Attaboy!

Oh yeah...check out Devin's new pics with his new haircut! And first haircut for that matter

Devin's Fresh Cut

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Aging

I have been back in the gym for the past week playing basketball Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday last week as well as yesterday. After yesterday's performance, there are some things that are becoming ridiculously clear to me

The game may have passed me by
My body isn't doing what I tell it to do anymore
My mind doesn't seem to care about number two as much
In my youth, I may have relied heavily on my natural athleticism instead of actual skills.
Number 4 means the game has definitely passed me by
I am taking Aleve before playing basketball hoping to make me knees numb

If I'm not as skilled as I once thought I was and athleticism made me the hardwood threat that I know I once was, what does this mean going forward as my knees and lungs ache every time I play? I'm hoping the lungs thing is just a matter of getting into shape. But I fear the knee thing is just from years of hard work. I don't expect to dunk anymore by any means. However, now the pains in my knees are in my head. I don't make the effort to jump unless someone has pissed me off -- after which I revert to my twenties for approximately twenty seconds.

I'm gonna give it another week of strictly ball playing, then I'll alternate day to day between balling and lifting. Maybe I can get these legs into something they once were.

Technorati tags: Pick uP Basketball, thirties

Friday, January 18, 2008

The Black Notebooks - Inspiration

I haven't used this forum to address race often. And I honestly don't know if that is intentional or if it has been done unconsciously. In any case, I am currently reading The Black Notebooks by Toi Derricotte. It is a book that I've owned for years and have started several times. For whatever reason, I couldn't get past the introduction.

So I restarted this novel a couple of days ago mainly because I was out of books to read at home. FINALLY, I got past the introduction and found the book nearly impossible to put down. It is a collection of written recollections from Derricotte -- who is a black woman of white skin tone able to 'pass' as white. Oddly enough, she has touched on so many experiences that I have had at one time or another. Some which make me smile thinking 'I didn't know anyone else felt that way' and others that don't make me smile.

It has encouraged to maybe confront my feelings on race more directly. I tend to put my feelings about race out in a joking manner. Almost censoring myself when the topic is brought up outside of the comedic forum. The thing is that I'm not sure how I feel about race relations as a whole. If you give me a specific event or situation where race plays a part, I could probably argue until the cows come home. But generally speaking, it's a bit harder.

Mrs. Xpinionated often hears me say something about how I don't like people. Sometimes I'm more specific and say I don't like black people, the joke being that I'm black. Other times, I'll throw other races in there. It's not that I don't like any particular race, I truly believe everybody gets on my nerves at one point or another. Again, tying it to race is my defense mechanism of making a joke to either conceal my true feelings or protect the feelings of others -- and I'm not sure which it is. Mrs. Xpinionated finds it even funnier because strangers seem to talk to me quite often which is unexpected for a person that claims they don't like people. I guess the truth is I don't like people in general but within that large population of 'general', I am willing to make exceptions for specific individuals....does that make sense?

I digress. Race has been left out of this blog partly because I sometimes get tired of hearing about it. Sometimes it's left out because though I feel I want to talk about it, I don't know how to approach. I don't want to be the victim playing the race card nor do I want to talk as if I'm the voice of black folk everywhere. Sometimes I don't write because I fear what I write may signal alarms to my white friends and family that I don't want to deal with. But race is always there with me whether I acknowledge it or not. And if I start to write about it on this blog, I don't want to censor myself, cleanse myself, or otherwise change my writing so as to not offend.

Derricotte speaks of 'bearing and baring anger' in her writings with regards to race relations among friends of different races. In brief, in order for any lasting communication to be worthwhile between friends of different races, both parties must be allowed to bare anger as well as both parties must bear anger. The anger cannot be thought of as a personal insult; rather an accumulation of emotion and experiences that have reached a boiling point.

So I guess that if I plan to get a bit more serious on this blog, especially with the touchy subject of race, I ask that you bare anger when you need to and be willing to bear anger when it comes to that.

Technorati tags: Toi Derricotte, The Black Notebooks, race relations

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Turn of events

In foxsports.com's latest NBA Power Rankings, the Miami Heat are ranked 30th out of 30 teams. The Los Angeles Lakers are ranked 1st out of 30 teams. How's that for a 'flip the script' kinda moment?

Technorati tags: Lakers, Heat, NBA Opener

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Pretty Picture

I wanted to simply past a look at the standings here but oh well. In a nutshell, the Lakers are tied for numero uno in the West with Phoenix, who we've beaten twice already guaranteeing at least a series split.

Enough Oprah!!!

Announced recently, the Discovery Health television network will soon become OWN -- Oprah Winfrey Network.

In my mind, I can't imagine that I am the only person in this entire world that is sick and tired of the constant ego trip that Oprah Winfrey lives. A magazine featuring her face on every issue. A school for kids in Africa -- despite the need for such a school in any impoverished area of any metropolis in America -- that bears her name but abuses the kids. A television talk show that has become predictable in every facet. And now a television network?!?!

Gimme a break. Her ego has taken over. If a sports celebrity, say Michael Jordan, decided to start a book club, open the Jordan Boys and Girls club of Chicago, create Air Magazine with his likeness plastered on the cover every single issue, and buy half of NBA TV so we could watch all Jordan, all the time, I guarantee the critics would be plentiful. But if Oprah does it, she's just giving back! Look, the last thing Oprah has ever done was give back. Oh, it may seem like she's giving back when she gives everyone in the audience a new car (even though technically, I'm sure not a single dime came from her pocket), but the money she made after that news hit the airwaves easily dwarves any 'efforts' on her part.

Well what about the Legends Ball she through not too long ago? She threw a party for a bunch of famous people! I threw a party for a bunch of unfamous people and ABC did not want to film it. Hell, I'm not sure Oprah even deserved to be in that select group of folks.

Oprah is a fraud. She may be loved by millions but in my mind (and this doesn't make me a hater -- and if it does who cares), she's a fraud. An ego driven, narcissistic attention-whore.

Deja Vu

Can it possibly happen two years in a row? At around this time last year, the Lakers were rolling along nicely. Surprising the NBA by getting off to a pretty quick start. And then the injury bug. Fast forward to 2008, Lakers are in everyone's top 5 power rankings. Things are looking on the up and up. And then last night, the magnificent season for Andrew Bynum comes to a halt....at least for eight weeks.....as he suffers a knee injury landing on Lamar Odom's foot.

Andrew Bynum's impact on this Lakers team has been huge. He transformed seemingly over the summer into a bonafide threat -- defensively and offensively. When the season began, many thought it was just a matter of time before Chris Mihm or Kwame Brown reassumed their role as the starting center. NOT SO Fast said the young Mr. Bynum. And now this??

Sunday, January 13, 2008

New look for Xpinionated

Xpinionated has a new look as you can probably tell. Thanks goes out to www.ensellitis.com for the theme. Very creative.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Stupid Lyrics - Hate 'em

Not sure who sings the songs but the chorus is as follows -- roughly

We can go to the tropics, sippin' on coladas, shorty I can take you there

Or we can go the slums, where killers get hung, shorty I can take you there

We can go the slums? Where killers get hung? Really? This is your pick up line, your git r done? This is why I find myself listening to the blues channel more and more. I love(d) hip hop. I have defended it for years against critics and naysayers. I've spent chunks of money on it. But when something as idiotically stupid as this (though trivial in the scheme of things) makes a regular playlist, no wonder hip hop receives some many backlashes.

When going to the slums is a way to pick up a female companion, then the (and lord knows I hate to use the following term) 'thug' mentality has gone too far. It's one thing to glorify ballin', not that I agree with it but I can understand the origins. But to use the slums as a place of luxury instead of as a motivation to succeed, then there's a complete lack of common sense there.

What's happening to our culture?

Friday, January 04, 2008

Jerry Springer's New All Time Low

The title above says a lot. If you've ever seen Jerry Springer, you know there are tons of lows that can be considered for this dubious title. But I am now watching a jilted woman fighting the lover of her baby's daddy. Nothing special right? Yeah, well, the lover has one arm. The prosthetic arm has now fallen off as the one armed lover is on top of the two armed jilt. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, the title of the show? 'Hands Down, Our Best Show'.

UPDATE: The one armed woman is now swinging the prosthetic at her man. No one is stepping in to stop her.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

San Fran Zoo Riot

So I just saw a local news report regarding the lion attack at the San Francisco zoo. Sad indeed. Of course, Xpinionated's spin is slightly different. Listening to the police spokesman, she said that the lion had killed one person was standing over another injured person, and yet another injured zoo visitor lay nearby. The police. . . .yelled... at the lion as an attempt to get it to leave the injured person it was cowering over alone. Now, if I'm standing over a body and don't freeze when the police expect me to freeze, I could easily catch three warning shots in the back. Yet an animal is yelled at. A wild animal with a history of human attacks is yelled at. Further proof that this country is more lenient with animals than with humans.....

Technorati tags: Lion Attack, San Francisco Zoo

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

The State of Kobe Hating

Ya wanna know how bad the Kobe hating has gotten? Scott Skiles was recently relieved of his duties as the coach of the Chicago Bulls. A poll by foxsports.com poses the question 'Who is to blame for the Bulls poor season start? 38% say GM Jim Paxson, 27% say Kobe Bryant. What kind of freaking sense does that make?

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Hip Hop Blasphemy

I am about to commit what can probably be considered hip hop blasphemy. I intend to hurt no one's feelings, nor disrespect the deceased. If I had any loyal readers, I imagine saying this could spark off a comment fusillade. Eh, don't have to worry about that though...so here goes.

The Notorious BIG aka Biggie Smalls aka Christopher Wallace was not that great of a rapper. There I said it. Let's think about it, he had two albums, both pretty good but both only had one or two songs that can be considered classics. Further, when you truly listen to his lyrics, he isn't saying much. Outside of great storytelling, there is no message, no fire, nothing that makes you think 'What did he mean by that?'

Don't get me wrong, I like BIG. Enjoy his music still. But I was thinking when I heard Lil Kim or Foxy --one of those hookers -- rap 'Big comes first then the cream comes after.' And I thought, I don't think Biggie Smalls would make my top 5 Hip Hop hall of fame.

2Pac would be number 1 due to his ability to have a message in his lyrics from 2Paclypse Now all the way to Machiavelli. Eminem would be number 2 due to raw ability. I have yet to see Em lose a freestyle battle -- which in my opinion shows much more in terms of lyrical skills. In the same vein that BIG isn't really saying anything, Em doesn't either. However, Em says nothing so cleverly ferociously that I can look past the lack of PSA. Not to mention both 2Pac and EM put out more than two albums. Slick Rick would represent some of the old school at number 3. Great storytelling without the use of egregious language or unnecessary sexual references, along with a sense of humor puts MC Ricky D at the three spot. At number 4, Gangstarr. Just a personal favorite of mine. Lyrically capable, independent sound. Lastly, at number 5, Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everybody....KRS-One. The man tells stories, is socially conscious, and has covered years of hip hop without 'getting caught up'.

I think a big factor in BIG's perceived greatness is due to New York's influence on hip-hop. Though much of hip-hop's origins lie in New York, it's not necessarily the capital of hip-hop anymore. Nor can any other part of the country claim that title. Hip Hop has transcended geographical locations. With that said, the perception of New York as the birth land of rap gives undue credence to anything or anyone coming out of the area. As such, if Biggie put out the same exact albums and led the same exact life but was from Milwaukee instead of New York, I don't think he'd be thrown in the greatest of all time debate.

Oh well, I added some Technorati tags to see if we can't get some readership and comments going. Maybe I'll even throw this out on Helium.com

Technorati tags: Biggie Smalls, 2Pac, KRS-One, Gangstarr, Eminem, Slick Rick, Hip Hop, Biggie ain't the Best

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Kobe Happy?

After the turmoil of the Kobe-capades this summer, is Kobe Bryant happy? It would appear so as the Lakers sit at 15 - 9, fourth in the talented Western conference.

"This [Lakers'] team is the closest I've ever been on," Bryant said. "I feel we have a bond as a group. There are no cliques. We all hang out together. I'm happy with it."

"With trades, you never know what's going to happen," said Bryant, whom Lakers insiders say hasn't mentioned being traded since the Bulls talks ended. "I'm happy to be playing and not caught up in the business. It becomes too difficult for me to be involved. I don't have that great education, so I can't handle that type of stuff. My high school education just can't get it done."

As you may remember, a certain Lakers fan stated that should the Lakers get off to a good start, perhaps Mamba would change his tune. I don't want to jinx anything and Kobe may not have changed his tune entirely, but he has muted it for the time being!

In other observations, I haven't been able to see as many games this year due to circumstances but looking at the box scores I can't but be happy about Sasha's progress this season. In fact, big kudos to our entire bench and all the youngsters showing up in ways bigger than expected. Baby boy Bynum is doing his part to prove that Lakers management got it right by keeping him. Turiaf continues to bring the necessary energy to bring life to the game at any given moment. Farmar continues to improve, D. Fish leads by example, and V.Rad is playing like we expected when he was acquired.

Getting excited.....

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Best Thing About the Denver Game

Allen Iverson scorched us for 51 points in a loss last night and he reminded me of how he was back when we were in high school at Bethel. Unstoppable. But this ain't the high school game, one man doesn't often win a game in the NBA and such was the case last night. The Lakers won 111-107. Bigger than the team victory is the fact that we have already won the season series with Denver should that come into play for playoff seeding.

Monday, December 03, 2007

BCS Respect Waning, Waning, Woeful

LSU will be taking on Ohio State in the National Championship game this year. This is what the BCS system has come up. These teams are considered the best that this country has to offer.

Of course, if any of you reading this have perused before, you know that I'm partial to Virginia Tech, being an alum and all. I spent a good part of yesterday watching my Redskins give up a heartbreaker (17-16) to the Bills; but in the back of my mind, I was slowly trying to build a case for why the Hokies have earned (a key word here) a chance to play for the big pretty sparkly football. By the time, the BCS Selection had started, I had actually convinced myself, or maybe just got my hopes up really really high, that the 'experts' would see that Va Tech is as deserving of a National Championship if not more so.

Needless to say, I was disappointed. At first, it was just disappointment born of my own blown-out-of-proportion hopes. Then the internet trolling began....what's that you say? The computers have ranked Virginia Tech first in 4 out of 6 computer tallies? But the humans showed no love, no respect? Disappointment has slowly marinated into anger at this point.

So let's go through some things in regards to Va Tech's argument to be in the National Championship game -- and what better place to start with than our two losses.

@ #2 LSU - Week 2 - LSU soundly beat the Hokies 48-7. There is no denying that. The Hokies came in with an inexperienced and injury riddled offensive line, a qb with growing confidence but easily rattled, and an atmosphere rarely replicated anywhere else. The perfect storm for just such a blowout. Given that, the Tigers may have played their best game this year that night. That, for all the talk of SEC superiority, has been their statement game this season. They have simply looked like a good to very good team since that game. Virginia Tech has improved week in and week out. An early season loss is rarely used as the validation for keeping a team out of the national title hunt...but this year, as I will soon prove, is all the human voters have.

@ #2 BC - Week 8 - The Boston College Eagles strode into Lane Stadium as one of the hottest teams in the country. For 53 minutes and 59 seconds, the Virginia Tech Hokies put them in their place. A breakdown physically, mentally, and strategically led to a 14 - 10 loss to BC at Lane Stadium. Though an interesting game, what is more interesting is the number of stories last week -- before the ACC Championship game, a rematch of BC-VT -- that made note of the implications of that game. Essentially, had VT won that rainy Thursday night, the ACC Championship game would have been VT playing to get in the National Championship game. With that being said, the Hokies showed that they were indeed better than Boston College with a win in the ACC Championship game.

So that begs the question: If Va Tech would have been in the Championship game if they had won in October and they avenged that loss in the Conference title game, why exactly are they not going to the National Championship game? Ah, the answer lies in hypocrisy my dear fellow. Apparently, simple logic is not at play. If you say a win at BC in mid-season is enough to make you forgot a week 2 loss, then it would be fair to say that a win against BC in a title game should make the pollsters forget about a week 2 loss, correct? Chew on that, I'ma move on.

OSU vs LSU - I firmly believe neither of these teams deserve this shot. LSU has been ranked number one twice this season and managed to lose that standing twice -- including once to an unranked team. Do you think pollsters would be as sympathetic to a team they hadn't picked as their preseason favorite? LSU is a remarkably talented team. But let's face it, they haven't gotten any better since that week in September. And quite frankly, they've been pretty lucky a few times as well. OSU, well, I hate to join the cacophony of Buckeyes haters, but their strength of schedule is ridiculously unimpressive. I know I know, they should be penalized because other members of their conference can't keep up. But what about their non-conference slate: Youngstown St, Akron, Wash, and Kent State. I hear you Bucks fans with the 'they schedule years in advance'. But be real with yourselves, years ago your athletic director knew that Youngstown (Div I AA), Akron, and Kent State were not going to be powerhouses! And quite frankly, with a loss to an unranked Illini team, I'm not sure you earned a trip to the big one. Who is your keynote win? Where was your statement game?

And LSU fans, for all the talk of SEC superiority, LSU's opponents' win - loss record (91 wins to 67 losses) is exactly one game better than VT's (90 wins to 68 losses). And the Ohio State university can't even be included in this analysis as their opponents win-loss tally is 73 - 71 -- and that includes Div I AA Youngstown State's 7-4 mark which means your DIV I win-loss ratio would 66 wins to 67 losses.

So with all that said, who do I think should be in the National Championship game? I believe it should be Virginia Tech vs Oklahoma. I am a fan of winning your conference championship in order to play for a National championship. It's as simple as that. There's the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and some smaller conferences with the courage to have their conference champion be declared on a neutral field. LSU reppin' the SEC is out for reasons stated above. That leaves Va Tech and the Sooners to battle it out.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Outside looking in?

Congratulations to the 2007 ACC Champion Virginia Tech Hokies. The Hokies, playing for the ACC crown for the third time in their four year membership of the ACC, defeated the Boston College Eagles 30 - 16 in what many of us in the Hokie family considered a revenge game. Earlier in the season, BC completed in improbable Thursday night comeback to beat Tech in the 'burg 14 - 10. As the Tech mantra was for the entire week -- 'A minor setback for a major comeback' -- the Hokies showed heart and determination after being manhandled for much of the first half.

From a broader perspective, VT had a slim, very very slim, chance at possibly playing in the National Championship. All they needed was for #1 Missouri to lose to favorite #9 Oklahoma, #2 West Virginia to lose to unranked and lowly Pitt, and, to a smaller extent, Tennessee to upset #7 LSU......we got two out of three. Missouri was no match for Oklahoma for the second time this season. West Virginia scored it's lowest total of the season in an embarrasing 13 - 9 loss to the 4 or 5 win Panthers in the Backyard Brawl. LSU did beat Tennessee, but not nearly as convincingly as some would have thought.

So now we have a conundrum in the BCS. Most do not dispute Ohio State getting in. They are #3 with a fairly weak schedule and one loss as the only real chink in their armor. After that, the picture gets pretty muddy. Georgia as the number 4 team is hoping the BCS operates as it has promoting in a direct line which would make them number 2. I oppose that not only because I'm not a Georgia fan, but also because they didn't win their division much less their conference. Of course, the more bullheaded Dawgs fans claim they were 'co-champions' of their division, a joke to all but UGA fans. So after number 4, you have Kansas. Kansas was a surprise one loss team this year, although once they played a reputable team they were not nearly as successful. Also, no conference or even division championship for Kansas. Though there is no specific rule that says a team must win it's conference in order to play for a National Championship, I personally feel that a National champion that doesn't win their conference cheapens the whole process. Many folks argue that there have been Super bowl champions that didn't win their conference -- but they have a playoff! After Kansas, we have the Hokies. Conference champions. Two losses both to teams ranked number two in the country at the time the game was played. The real chink in our armor is the 48-7 loss to LSU early in the second week of the season. It was a horrible loss, but we are nothing like that team in September. In fact, I would love the chance to play LSU again, especially in a neutral site. Speaking of LSU, their are the layman's pick to jump to number two. Given that they won their conference, and have only lost games in multi-OT games many believe they should catapult to the number two spot.

I believe it should be either LSU or VT. Trying to be objective, I understand that LSU has had the tougher schedule and they did beat Va Tech -- in Death Valley on a Saturday Night; one of the toughest venues in the country. However, LSU also lost to unranked Arkansas (last week!) and a Kentucky team that didn't pan out as being as good as originally thought. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, has lost to BC in a nail biter that they easily should have won. In fact, if not for a complete meltdown in the last 6 minutes of that game, Virginia Tech could likely be looking at a number one or two ranking...no controversy. If shoulda coulda woulda......In any case, Kansas and Georgia with no conference championship to their names, should not be playing in the National Championship.

NBA Power Rankings Week Of 01/15/2008
Rk	Team	Last Wk	Rise/Fall	High/Low	Comment
1	Lakers	7	(+6)	1/15	(26-11) Will Kwame Brown pick up the slack during Andrew Bynum’s absence? Don’t count on it. Count on Kobe to start scoring 35 per night – or more, like the 48 he dropped Monday on Seattle. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
2	Hornets	5	(+3)	2/19	(25-11) They’ve won seven straight on the road. Imagine how good they'd be if they enjoyed an actual home-court advantage. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
3	Celtics	1	(-2)	1/4	(30-6) Their defense has remained excellent, but offense is becoming a serious problem. They averaged 82.5 points in going 1-3 last week Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
4	Suns	3	(-1)	1/9	(26-11) Grant Hill's appendectomy means Boris Diaw needs to play a much larger role. Can he handle it? Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
5	Pistons	2	(-3)	1/9	(28-10) They must have been wasted by the end of that five-day, four-game road trip. Nothing else explains scoring 65 vs. the defenseless Knicks. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
6	Mavericks	4	(-2)	1/8	(23-12) They might be No. 1 if they’d knocked off the Kings on Monday. But if you can’t beat the Kings, you can’t be the king. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
7	Trail Blazers	8	(+1)	7/22	(23-14) Of all the improbable success stories on this team, the most improbable may be James Jones, a career sub-40% shooter who can’t seem to miss this season. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
8	Spurs	6	(-2)	1/8	(25-11) The Tony-Timmy-Manu triumvirate is finally intact. So why do the Spurs still look so average? Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
9	Warriors	10	(+1)	9/28	(22-16) Monta Ellis is a perfect fit for Nellie’s offense. He just needs to become more consistent and improve his shooting range, but he’s only 22. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
10	Jazz	14	(+4)	5/16	(22-17) Utah protected its home court with four straight wins. The Jazz are now 16-3 at home, 6-14 away. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
11	Nuggets	11	-	7/11	(21-14) Other than Marcus Camby, no one on this team seems particularly interested in playing defense. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
12	Wizards	15	(+3)	11/27	(17-15) The consecutive wins over the Celtics were especially surprising when you consider that Washington hadn’t beaten a team with a winning record since Dec. 1. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
13	Cavaliers	13	-	10/20	(19-18) It’s a good thing LeBron is putting up the numbers of two normal players. Because Sasha Pavlovic has provided next to nothing. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
14	Rockets	16	(+2)	5/19	(20-18) Houston's offense has gone through Yao during Tracy McGrady’s absence. It should do the same when T-Mac returns. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
15	Raptors	17	(+2)	10/17	(20-17) Chris Bosh’s commercial is cute, but his play will determine whether he makes the All-Star team. Totaling 78 points and 25 boards in back-to-back wins helps his cause. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
16	Magic	9	(-7)	2/16	(23-16) They’ve now gone 7-12 since their 16-4 start. The main culprit? Arguably the NBA’s worst backcourt. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
17	Nets	12	(-5)	12/20	(18-19) For a while, it looked like New Jersey was going to make a move in the Eastern Conference. But it’s looking more and more like this is a .500 team – nothing more, nothing less. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
18	Hawks	18	-	8/21	(16-17) No wonder the Hawks are so good at home. Their stat crew uses fuzzy math in counting opponents’ fouls. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
19	Bobcats	26	(+7)	13/27	(11-21) In a span of seven days, they beat the Nets, Celtics and Nuggets – and nearly beat the Cavaliers and Pistons. That would be a good week for an elite team, much less a mediocre one. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
20	Kings	23	(+3)	15/30	(15-21) Aft er sitting more than a month w ith a groin injury, Kevin Martin picked up where he left off. The man is a scoring machine. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
21	Bulls	20	(-1)	8/30	(14-21) Andres Nocioni is starting to get untracked for Chicago. Will Kirk Hinrich join him? Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
22	Pacers	19	(-3)	11/28	(16-19) That Western swing was predictably brutal. Indy allowed at least 105 points in all five games and lost four of them. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
23	76ers	21	(-2)	21/27	(14-24) Consecutive 20-rebound efforts by Samuel Dalembert haven’t kept the Sixers from freefalling. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
24	Bucks	22	(-2)	9/25	(15-23) That road trip against the Lakers, Suns and Jazz went about the way you’d expect – three L’s. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
25	Grizzlies	24	(-1)	23/27	(10-27) Pau Gasol’s role in the Memphis offense is increasing. So is his trade value. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
26	SuperSonics	25	(-1)	23/29	(9-28) Nick Collison is playing like a legit NBA power forward. As this franchise looks toward the future, that’s a positive sign. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
27	Clippers	27	-	13/27	(10-23) Sam Cassell's not making shots and the Clippers backcourt has no keepers, unless you count Shaun Livingston. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
28	Knicks	29	(+1)	18/29	(10-26) Rumor has it Stephon Marbury will opt for ankle surgery to hasten the end of his season. Other Knicks might be wise to follow suit. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
29	Timberwolves	30	(+1)	28/30	(4-29) Beating the Heat gives Minny a reprieve from the cellar, at least for one week. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
30	Heat	28	(-2)	17/30	(8-28) Miami had a loss stricken from its record (temporarily) based on an error by the Hawks stats crew. Pat Riley is now protesting the other 28 losses on the basis of human error by his players. Team: Home \| Stats \| Fantasy
	advertisement