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Archive for October 25th, 2008

Hudson Family Deaths

In THE PEOPLE'S NEWS, WORD ON THE STREET on October 25, 2008 at UTC.08.31.

Grammy award winning actress Jennifer Hudson’s mother & brother were murdered Friday according to reports on Friday. A 7 year old boy is missing, and an “Amber Alert” has gone out to find the youngster. Today reports have surfaced that a suspect in the double murder is in custody.

Police sources have confirmed that William Balfour, the suspect in the shooting deaths of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson’s mother and brother, has been taken into police custody. However, Julian King, Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew who was taken from the murder scene, is still missing. Sources say Balfour has refused to provide information on King’s location. No charges have been filed.

In His Words: Charles Barkley, 50 Best

In NBA, PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT, SPORTS on October 25, 2008 at UTC.22.31.

50. “I can be bought. If they paid me enough, I’d work for the Klan.”

49. “You got to believe in yourself. Hell, I believe I’m the best-looking guy in the world and I might be right.”

48. “I don’t hate anyone, at least not for more than 48 minutes, barring overtime.”

47. “We better not be doing the Bulls this year. Man, they suck! Bunch of high school kids with $70 million contracts. Damn! I hate my mother for having me too soon.”

46. “You can talk without saying a thing. I don’t ever want to be that type of person.”

45. After retiring from basketball “I’m just what America needs – another unemployed black man.

44. Ernie: “Did they recognize you in South Dakota?”
Charles: “Yes, they did. It was easy because I was the only black person there. When they see me walking down the street they say ‘There he goes again’. And when I come back the next year they say ‘He’s back yawl!’”

43. Right after Peja won the 3-point contest: “Kenny said it was going to be an all-international night. I want to know which international brother is going to win the slam dunk contest.”

42. On the Enron scandal investigation: “Almost all those politicians took money from Enron, and there they are holding hearings. That’s like O.J. Simpson getting in the Rae Carruth jury pool.”

41. “I had to explain to my daughter why that **** Monica Lewinski has an hour special on HBO this weekend.”

40. Ernie: “Auburn is a pretty good school. To graduate from there I suppose you really need to work hard and put forth maximum effort.”
Charles: “20 pts and 10 rebounds will get you through also!”

39. “Every time I think about changing a diaper, I run a little bit harder and a little bit faster to make sure I can afford a nanny until my daughter’s old enough to take care of that herself.”

38. EJ: “Did you graduate from Auburn?”
Charles: “No, but I have a couple people working for me who did.”

37. “*** Bavetta and Moses parted the Red Sea together.”

36. Ernie Johnson, on Reggie Evans being caught grabbing the rocks of Chris Kaman: “(Reggie Evans) got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.”Charles Barkley: “Ernie, I don’t know where you get your cookies at but the rest of us don’t get ours there.”

35. On his 17-year old daughter not dating yet: “Thank goodness. I just hope she doesn’t start before I go in the Hall of Fame. That way, I won’t have to kill anybody before I get inducted.”

34. Kenny: “There’s guys who go over to Europe and play overseas from America, and they dominate!”
Charles: “Those are called ‘brothers’

33. After Wang has a shot blocked: “He’s got to bring something stronger than that. That’s like bringing milk to a bar, it’s not strong enough”

32. Barkley on Turner Sports office having a betting pool on his weight: “That is starting to hurt my feelings. I don’t mind skinny people making fun of me, we all do that, but I don’t want fat people making fun of me.”

31. “We are in the business of kicking butt and business is very, very good.”

30. When the Dream Team was about to play the Angola national team, during pre-game interviews the other USA players provided diplomatic, face saving comments about how they would play hard and felt strongly they would win. When Chuck was asked about Angola and the game, he replied: “They’re in a lot of trouble.”

29. Charles Barkley on his thoughts about retiring before the season: “I remember sitting down with the Rockets and saying, ‘Yeah. I’m going to retire.’ They said, ‘Well, we’ll give you $9 million.’ And I said, ‘You got a pen on you?’”

28. Man, everything gets blamed on the Clintons, every single thing in this world. I think Bill Clinton shot JFK, too.

27. “I know why his name is DMX. Because his real name is Earl. Imagine if his name was Earl the rapper.”

26. “If you go out with a girl and they say she has a great personality, she’s ugly. If they tell you a guy works hard, he can’t play a lick. Same thing.”

25. After Kevin Garnett threw a ball into the crowd out of frustration and was ejected. They showed footage of the man that got hit by the ball being taken away in a stretcher and his daughter was crying. Charles commented that players take passes to the face all the time. He topped it off by saying: “You know why that little girl’s crying? It’s because she’s thinking ‘my daddy’s a wussy’”.

24. Barkley on Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith eating a box of hot Krispy Kreme donuts in front of him: “Both of y’all are2 going to hell for that. Y’all are going to hell with a first-class ticket. Is that how you treat your partner? Krispy Kreme might be the greatest invention in the history of civilization when they’re hot. Y’all are cruel man.”

23. “It’s kinda great to see the Celtics doin well again cuz that was so much fun in my day to go to the Boston Garden and they spit at you and throw things at you and talk about your mom. It sounds like dinner at Kenny Smith’s house.”

22. “I think that the team that wins game five will win the series. Unless we lose game five.”

21. Charles Barkley after seeing a picture of Sam Cassell on the screen: “Phone home.” And later he remarks to Kenny, “Sam Cassell is a good guy, but he’s not going to wind up on the cover of GQ anytime soon.”

20. While watching someone in Australia put $1 million worth of rubies on a table: “Damn, must not be any black folks in Australia. You can’t just leave $1 million worth of jewelry lying around the ‘hood.”

19. Asked if he had ever been in the governor’s office in Montgomery, Barkley said no. “They don’t let many black people in the governor’s mansion in Alabama,” he said, “unless they’re cleaning.”

18. On the goal of the ‘92 Olympic Dream Team when playing Panama in the Tournament of the Americas: “To get the Canal back.”

17. To Kenny: “Hakeem couldn’t kick your **** cuz you were too close, kissin his!”

16. Barkley on Hanno Mottola, who, as EJ remarked “is the first NBA player from Finland”. Charles replies: “Of course he is the first NBA player from Finland, he’s the only person in Finland.”

15. On supersized Oliver Miller: “You can’t even jump high enough to touch the rim, unless they put a Big Mac on it.”

14. “All I know is, as long as I led the Southeastern Conference in scoring, my grades would be fine.”

13. On North Carolina missing 22 of its last 23 shots in losing to Georgetown in the NCAA tournament last weekend: “Stevie Wonder could make one of 23 shots.”

12. I’d never buy my girl a watch… she’s already got a clock over the stove.

11. “I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques. I’ve got a technique. It’s called just go get the damn ball.”

10. On the Portland Trail Blazers (back when they were known as the Jail Blazers) serving Thanksgiving meals: “In between arrests they do community service.”

9. “Yeah Ernie, its called defense, I mean I wouldn’t know anything about it personally but I’ve heard about it through the grapevine.

8. “Well, when I went off to college, the guys I used to hang with were pumping gas and voting Democrat. Today they’re still pumping gas and voting Democrat. Guess the Democrats didn’t do much for them.”

7. “When I was recruited at Auburn [university], they took me to a strip joint. When I saw those **** on Buffy, I knew that Auburn met my academic requirements.”

6. “Hey Stanley, you could be a great player if you learned just two words: I’m full.”– Barkley yelling to 300-plus-pound Houston Rockets teammate Stanley Roberts

5. “I heard Tonya Harding is calling herself the Charles Barkley of figure skating. I was going to sue her for defamation of character, but then I realized I have no character.”

4. On the All-Star Game: “Hell, there ain’t but 15 black millionaires in the whole country & half of ‘em are right here in this room.”

3. On Jerry Krause still being able to keep his job as GM of the Chicago Bulls: “Jerry Krause must have pictures of his boss’s wife having sex with a monkey.”

2. After throwing a guy through a 1st floor window in a bar Charles was in front of the judge.
Judge: “Your sanctions are community service and a fine, do you have any regrets?”
Charles: “Yeah I regret we weren’t on a higher floor”

1. After an Olympic Dream Team victory over Angola, in which they won 116-48, Charles got into a physical altercation with a member of Angola towards the end of the game, afterwards he says: “Somebody hits me, I’m going to hit him back. Even if it does look like he hasn’t eaten in a couple weeks. I thought he was going to pull a spear on me.”

Breakout Season for Rashard Lewis

In NBA, PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT, SPORTS on October 25, 2008 at UTC.47.31.

Last season, his first with the Orlando Magic, Lewis was regarded as a distant 3rd scorer behind Dwight Howard & Hedo Turkogolu. This season with the Magic’s sights firmly affixed to an NBA Finals bid, Lewis is being asked to be more “selfish” on the offensive end. This may or may not be a role Lewis can excel in. Lewis has always been known as a team player, so can he cahnge his game for the good of the team?

If the Orlando Magic continue to ‘drink the Kool-Aid” and insist this team is Championship caliber this season, then he damn well better. I like what Lewis brings to the table on the offensive side, though he leaves a lot to covet with his defensive lapses with uneven play on the defensive side of the ball. I mean with his athleticism & length he should be more like Sean Marion with explosive offense.

So why doesn’t he excel on defense? Perhaps, he’s never accepted the role.

What are some of his team mates saying about Lewis’s upcoming season? “I think Rashard deferred too much last season because he’s a very unselfish guy,” teammate Jameer Nelson said. “We definitely need him to be more selfish this season.”

To Rashard’s credit he’s been the consummate team-mate in year 1 with the Magic. He’s the exception to the rule of ’selfish All-Stars,’ Lewis is the polar opposite. How many times do here team mates & brass asking a player to be more selfish for the good of the team? hardly ever, but with Lewis’ game barely tapped until the playoffs last season, that’s exactly what the Magic are requiring for him. As a fan of the Magic, I eagerly await the emergence of Lewis’ break-out season!

“(Being more selfish) is something that I need to do, but not necessarily trying to do,” Lewis said. “It’s just my nature to play the right way. When I’m double teamed, I’m going to look for the open man. But at some points in the game I do have to be more selfish to score more points when we need baskets. I’m more comfortable with the system, with the guys and now I’m more ready to be a little more selfish.”

The playoffs saw Lewis hold his own against superstar Chris Bosh. In the Pistons series he went off for a career high 33 points in one game. This is the main reason why GM Otis Smith is asking him not to defer to much to others. Besides, with the type of contract (6 years @ $118 mil) dude signed last season, he should be the first option on offense followed closely by Howard & Turk. Lewis has GAME, and he’s just scratching the surface.

“There was a lot of pressure with the contract and having to learn the guys and the coaching staff, but this year I feel no pressure at all,” Lewis said candidly. “I’m more relaxed, more myself and out there to just play the game. I have that pressure off and I’m just ready to play ball.”

Everyone knows Lewis is mild mannered, so when came to the Magic he had to learn how to co-exist with oft outspoken coach Stan ‘the man’ Van Gundy. Remember, Van Gundy and Howard had a blow-up last season because Howard wouldn’t committ on the defensive side of the ball. Van Gundy, from that Old-school philosophy of Coaching–who believes you motivate by loud vocal beratings may have intimidated his first year superstar last season.

Is Lewis ready this season to step his GAME up, or for more public beratings?

“When we first heard that voice, it was like, ‘This guy screams too much and it’s starting to get on my nerves.’ I didn’t know if I could take it too much and I wanted to scream back at him,” Lewis said. “But that’s just the way he coaches the game. He talks loud, he coaches loud and he’s trying to get his point across.”

Still, Lewis has the respect of his team mates. Floor general Nelson is one of his biggest supporters. Listen to his statements:

“‘Shard came up big time for us in the playoffs,” Nelson said. “He’s the type of guy who never complains when you tell him to do something, but he’s always ready to go. He stepped it up in the playoffs. We were successful because of him.”

Is he ready to be a vocal leader this season? Yes, check this, “I’m not afraid to curse out Jameer, Dwight and Turk if they need it because I’m trying to make them better.”

“Last year was different for me because I was still fitting in with the guys, seeing how they like to play and what their personalities are,” he said. “This year I’m comfortable with the guys, comfortable with the city and I’m settled in my house. I have to step my game up in certain situations. Big games and performing in those situations, that’s what they pay me for.”

HEAT RISING….

In NBA, PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT, SPORTS on October 25, 2008 at UTC.12.31.

Mario “Big Shot” Chalmers started against the Spurs Friday night. He played 31 minutes matched up against Tony parker who played just 27 minutes. Chalmers had 11 points on 3/3 3 pt shooting, and 4-4 overall, including a game winner eerily similar to his shot against Memphis in NCAA Finals. The rook also dished 10 dimes which is the most any Heat PG has produced all pre-season. Parker had 16 pts and 6 dimes!

Daequan Cook finally found his stroke knocking down 4 tre’s and closing with 17 points. If he can stay consistent he should get plenty of burn in the rotation. Possibly, filling the void of James Jones & his 3 pt shooting.

Michael “Beastly” Beasley had a monster game as well, he closed with 19 points & 9  boards. He should have had a 20/10 game. he missed a 4 foot shot and a couple of free throws. This kid is special, and should be a lock for ROY!

In his second appearance of the preseason for the Heat, Shaun Livingston went 4-of-8  scoring eight points in 17 minutes. Livingston had a block and a steal as well, so I guess its safe to say he’s on his way back.

Still, the biggest gamers Friday night had to be UD & Beastly. Haslem, who has made four consecutive starts in the middle had his most impressive game yet. matched up against Tim Duncan on defense UD pulled down 7 boards, and racked up 18 points. Damn near a 20/10.

WOW! Who saw this coming? Haslem played 40 minutes compared to Duncan’s 24 minutes, but still put up respectable numbers against a stingy Spurs defense.

It’s even more impressive when you consider Haslem is an undersized PF at 6′8″ and 235 playing against bigger stronger low post players. He’s already faced arguably the best low post players in the game when you consider their game against the Magic last week.

Haslem has scored 14 or more points in three of the last four games. He had 16 points and 11 rebounds against the Magic and 14 points and 13 rebounds against Memphis.  Very good numbers against quality bigs.

This win is definitely a statement WIN for a team that had none last season. To beat the 2007 World Champs without their best player in D. Wade is remarkable. These are 2 of the last 3 NBA Champions over the last 3 years with the Heat winning the crown back in 2006!

Granted the Spurs were without Ginobli–we’ll call it a wash. Still, this was the best this team looked all preseason and more importantly they finished a tough close game on the road.

Even though its only pre-season this team looks a lot better than it did at the start of pre-season. Perhaps, we finally have an idea who the starting 5 will be– Chalmers, Wade, Marion, Beasley & Haslem. With Cook, Livingston, Banks, Wright, & Anthony off the bench.

Most importantly this squad seemed to develop chemistry in this game. They had more assists as a unit than the Spurs, and the Beasley & Marion had plays where they played off one another. After seeing Haslem catch fire in the middle these past few games, I’d hate to see this guy leave.

His fire & competitive nature can’t be replicated, he’s gonna bring it every night. He ain’t NEVER scared!! He has the heart of AI, and the toughness of Charles Barkley.

The HEAT are RISING at the RIGHT TIME!!

Bring on the regular season…..

Let’s GO HEAT!!