UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

Quick-hitters:

- One of the fun things about installing a SlingBox-like device on my mom’s cable box is the occasional phone call I get from her, hysterically screaming “Why is my cable box changing channels on its own???”

(That pretty much spoils part 3 of my covert ops mission, I realize.)

I’ve explained to her several times now that the Sony LF-B10 I installed on her cable box, and yet she still insists that her cable box is haunted :P.

As I’ve whined about before, she really needs to upgrade to an HD STB. What a waste of a $1,000 TV!

- Thank you yet again, Time Warner. A SlickDealer posted a deal for free HBO (and potentially Showtime) with just a simple phone call. Then again, based on my experiences with Time Warner, I don’t think there is such a thing as a simple phone call with them.

I called CS, and got an English speaking woman. Yes!, I thought to myself. Once I gave her my phone number, she immediately transferred me to the sales department. Booooooo!

When I got reconnected, I got a woman with a VERY heavy accent. I asked her about the promotion, and she put me on hold…for about 15 minutes. When she came back on the line, she advised me to contact another phone number to inquire about this promotion.

The number sent me to Time Warner’s Business Development Operations Group, said the recording on the other end of the line. I’m going to take a wild guess and assume that they sent me to the wrong place.

Thank you, Time Warner.

- It’s time for the latest rebate processor rant, and it deals with Logitech Rebates/rebatestatus.com. Logitech must be bleeding money, because I’ve seen several excellent deals on computer peripherals in the past months—mice, webcams, keyboards, etc.—all with rebates attached to them. According to my records, I’ve purchased six Logitech items in the last few months, and submitted all six rebates well before the postmark deadline.

Of the six rebates, ONE was processed without issue. Two are now in processing, and only after I emailed copies of my rebate submission, and the other three were mailed out recently (though one is approaching 30 days since the date of mailing without a notification from rebatestatus.com).

Grrrrrr…

- Raise your hand if you saw Game Five of the WCF go like that: the Spurs rolled out to a big lead, the Lakers’ bench rallied the team close, and then the Spurs’ age showed big time in the second half.

Honestly, I did not expect the Spurs to fold like they did in the fourth quarter, even while watching Ginobili limp and stumble around in the fourth quarter. Parker was a factor early, but he wasn’t really heard from again until it was too late. Duncan was a beast again, but (I can’t believe I’m going to say this) he needs more help around him! When the Spurs had the big lead early in the game, they were a few missed treys from stretching the lead to 20+. Once the first half ended, you kinda sensed that the Spurs were in huge trouble, if not finished altogether.

Three parting thoughts:

1) Throughout the series, I kept wondering how Luis Scola (remember, he was traded to Houston before the season started) would have looked in a Spurs uniform, especially in this series. Could he have checked Odom on defense? Probably not. Could he have helped, offensively, against the Lakers? I think so. At the very least, he could have taken some pressure off Duncan on the offensive side of things, right?

2) What is the legacy of this series? Is it the end of the Spurs’ every-other-year dynasty? Is it a start of a new reign of dominance for the Lakers in the West? Or is the series forever stained by the non-call at the end of Game Four? And how different does this series look if the call was made, and the Spurs ended up winning the game in OT? Or what would have happened if the Spurs didn’t choke leads of 20 and 17 in Games One and Four, respectively?

What if…right?

3) Sasha Vujacic…what were you doing launching that triple at the end of the game?  It would not have surprised me to see Cheap Shot Rob Horry offer a forearm to Vujacic during the end-of-game handshakes.

Until next time!

Tags: free hbo, logitech rebates, los angeles lakers, luis scola, promotion, rebatestatus.com, san antonio spurs, showtime, time warner, western conference finals by Peter
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Sorry for not blogging for a while.

Quick-hitters:

- Argh.  My back has been killing me all day!

I think it’s time to go see somebody

- Current rebate-o-meter:  $1,290.  I can’t believe I didn’t buy anything over the weekend!

- What a dogfight that game was. The Lakers got off to a fantastic start (shades of LAL-UTA, Game Six, Western Semis), but you knew that the Spurs were going to get back into the game. I just didn’t expect the Spurs to get back into it THAT quickly. The fourth quarter was filled with great drama—Kobe proved that he deserved the MVP, eh?—but too bad it ended with that terrible missed call.

(Phil Jackson had the quote of the year. When asked what changed in the last few minutes of the quarter, when the Spurs made a push to get back in the game, Jackson said, “You want me to be honest with you? The guys with the whistles.” Unfortunately for the NBA, he was right on the money.)

Even if you argue that fouls that occur during the course of the game aren’t going to be called down the stretch, Fisher clearly bumped Barry. Why Barry didn’t jump directly into Fisher, though, is anyone’s guess. If he does that, then we’re probably looking at a 2-2 series going back to LA. Then again, If the refs had called that foul, Barry should have been awarded two shots and not three. As Reggie Miller said, he shied away from the contact, and only after Fisher hit him did Barry go into a shooting motion.

(EDIT: When the Lakers took their final shot, I wondered why the shot clock didn’t reset. I could’ve sworn that Fisher’s shot hit the rim. TNT just showed a replay, and it sure looked like the ball glanced off the rim. That’s TWO terrible calls down the stretch. For the next few hours, we’re going to hear about how the Fisher non-call was a “make up” call. Ugh.)

(EDIT #2: What a class act that Brent Barry is. He could easily have been screaming, “YES that was a foul!” Instead, he took the high road, admitting that that call probably wasn’t going to be made.)

(EDIT #3: Wow. Even Pop insisted that that was not a foul.)

Back to the fourth quarter: the Spurs were colder than the polar ice caps down the stretch (they reminded me of the Kings in the fourth quarter, Game Seven, 2002 WCF), and it sure looked like the Lakers were going to win the game going away.

And then the last minute happened. And then the missed calls happened.

Are the Spurs dead? Not a chance. Can they recover? They’re champs, are they not? Will they come back to win this series? Sorry, I just don’t see the Lakers losing three straight, with two games at home. Maybe if Joey Crawford referees all three of the remaining games…

Next time:  my Memorial Day weekend recap, and eventually, I’ll finish up my covert ops mission story

Tags: brent barry, derek fisher, kobe bryant, los angeles lakers, missed call, referees, san antonio spurs by Peter
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Quick thoughts regarding Spurs-Lakers Game Two:

- There isn’t much I could say about tonight’s game.  With the game tied at 37, Doug Collins made the point that the Spurs, despite their shooting woes, were “close.”  That’s when the Lakers rattled off a 9-0 run that was the start of the Spurs’ second-half collapse.

(I’m watching the replay of the game on TNT right now, and I’m still in shock by that rejection by Farmar.  No, it was not Tayshaun Prince-esque, but it was pretty sweet nonetheless.)

Fisher rebounded nicely.  Odom was very good, though he did commit two bad offensive fouls.  Gasol still worries me, especially with the way Duncan has dominated him in the first two games (I thought Gasol’s two early fouls were going to crush the Lakers’ chances).  Most importantly, the Lakers backcourt reserves—Farmer and Vujacic—played excellent ball.  And was that a Trevor Ariza sighting?

(Tangent:  Please, TNT announcers…enough with the jokes about The Bill Engvall Show and House of Payne.  Very funny.)

If I’m a Spurs fan, I’m worried sick about Manu Ginobili.  I’m starting to think that the ankle is MUCH worse than he’s letting on.  Without a 100% Manu, I don’t see any way the Spurs beat the Lakers four times in five games.

Laker fans, on the other hand, should worry about the following:

1) Duncan’s continued dominance of Gasol.  I expect Duncan to carry his team to victory in at least one of the next two games in San Antonio.

2) The Spurs’ outside shooting.  Finley, Bowen, Barry, and Horry are going to drain outside shots sooner or later, no?

3) Tony Parker’s gonna play a complete game sooner or later, right?  And if Manu Ginobili suddenly gets healthy…

I’m probably going to skip blogging about the NBA for the next couple of days (quick-hitters only, if anything), just to get some non-sports thoughts out of the way.

Tags: doug collins, los angeles lakers, manu ginobili, san antonio spurs, trevor ariza, wii fit, wnba by Peter
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Quick-hitters:

- Awesome. Time Warner just aired a commercial touting their awesome picture quality.

The commercial (and the channel it aired on) was snowy…when there was actually a picture. In fact, my entire High Definition lineup is now out.

You rule, Time Warner!

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,350. I got some spending cash in the mail today :D.

(I also have $500 in rebates or so that need to be filed by next week. :P)

- During the Dodgers-Reds game earlier tonight, Vin Scully mentioned that STL Cardinals’ 1B Albert Pujols “took out the whole Padres’ battery” tonight.

I thought he meant it figuratively!

- Tim Duncan was nearly unstoppable. Tony Parker played great for three quarters (there’s an APB out on him now; where did he go in the fourth?).

Manu Ginobili? Next question.

As soon as the Spurs got out to their twenty point lead, I couldn’t help but start wondering if the Spurs were just going to sweep the Lakers right out of the playoffs. Duncan was ridiculously efficient (if one can be “ridiculously efficient”), and Tony Parker carved the Lakers up. Most importantly, as TNT analyst Doug Collins pointed out, the Spurs did not have a dry spell in the first half. Really, the Spurs could easily have been up by double figures at the half.

Predictably, thanks to the announcer hex, the Spurs cooled off and the Lakers made their push. Not surprisingly, the push was led by the MVP. Even at the end of the third, when the Spurs still had a seven point lead, I thought the Spurs were in control of the game. Little did I expect the Spurs’ drought to extend into the fourth. Did you see that stat late in the fourth? The Spurs went 5-for-25 with 7 TOs??? The San Antonio Spurs?

As far as the officiating is concerned…next question :P. To say Kobe got away with a few things would be a slight understatement. And didn’t Manu get absolutely mauled on the second to last Spurs’ possession, or are playground scrums perfectly legal now? Speaking of Manu, I’ve never seen so many “What, me?” looks in a single game! Even Michael Finley had that look on one play! Maybe I’m just not watching Spurs’ games closely enough.

Excellent point by Kenny Smith in the postgame show: (paraphrasing) You don’t know how many times you’ll get an exceptional performance by Kobe, but you know the Spurs will bring their game consistently. If we replayed this exact game 100 times, the Spurs probably win 75% of the time.

Tags: kobe bryant, los angeles lakers, manu ginobili, san antonio spurs, tim duncan, time warner, tony parker by Peter
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