The Drubbing

The Basketball Jesus Rankings: Week 24

Nate Tharp, Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 2:10 AM Comments (0)

After a month filled with NCAA basketball, this first week of April has been leading up to the NCAA Championship tonight. But once that’s over, the focus will quickly shift to the NBA Playoffs, Where Amazing Happens.

Ironically enough, we actually have two players in the rankings this week that played for one of the teams competing for the NCAA title. Vince Carter in the number 14 spot and Antawn Jamison in the number 7 spots both suited up in Carolina blue for the UNC Tar Heels. Will that bode well for their alma mater, only time will tell. Now on to the rest of the players in this weeks Basketball Jesus Rankings.
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Changing of the [point] guard

Nate Tharp, Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 8:00 AM Comments (0)

29 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists. 36 points, 11 assists, 12 for 12 from the stripe. 27 points, 7 assists, 10 for 17 from the field and 5 for 8 from behind the arc.

These aren’t the stat lines of Jason Terry, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd. These are the stats of Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose and Aaron Brooks. Two of which won their first game of their playoff series, the exception being Rondo.

There’s a new cast of point guards wreaking havoc throughout the NBA, many of them made it to the playoffs this year, and now they’re leaving their mark.

Speaking of leaving their mark, Dorris Burke continues to be a blemish on the NBA landscape with an abysmal performance during the Portland/Rockets game tonight. So I guess it’s more of a skid mark. The next time ESPN or ABC is thinking about having Dorris Burke do color commentating for a game, don’t. Please call me. I’ll fly myself to the game and I’ll do it for free. Even if I don’t say a thing the entire game, it won’t be quite as bad as having to listen to Doris. They learned their lesson quickly with Kara Lawson. She did one game before getting the ax.

Best line of the night

This has been a great day of basketball, as we break the seal of the NBA playoffs.
- Mike Terrico

Worst line of the night

Ron Artest goes into the stands [to save the ball]!
- Dave Pasch

I love this game.

Andrew Thomas Gallo isn’t a monster, just an irresponsible coward and a killer

Nate Tharp, Friday, April 17, 2009 at 10:00 PM Comments (2)

The media has come down hard on Andrew Thomas Gallo, the young man that allegedly killed Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher Nick Adenhart, Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson as well as injuring Jon Wilhite. The circumstances of the Major League Baseball player’s death have thrust this incident into the national spotlight and Andrew Gallo and his family have been beaten down with the negative press. It’s been so bad that Gallo’s family has temporarily relocated because of death threats, presumably from idiot Angels fans.

But Gallo’s family isn’t doing him any favors, sticking with the same game plan that got him here in the first place. In the family’s first public interview, Andrew’s father, Thomas Gallo told the press, ”People think my son is a monster. He’s not.” Gallo’s mother added that ”It was an accident. He never meant to hurt anybody, ever.” What a relief. Let’s just forget it all happened.
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Enough is enough, Isiah Thomas needs to go away

Nate Tharp, Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 10:00 AM Comments (2)

Where do you find ties this long?

Just when we thought we’d heard the last out of Isiah Thomas. He’s back. Now as the head coach of the Florida International men’s basketball team. In charge of teaching young men how to be better basketball players, and better citizens of the world. Perfect.

As a gesture of goodwill, he’s voiced his intent to donate his first year salary back to the athletic department at Florida International. The terms of his contract have not been released, but I’m sure he’ll really miss whatever they’re paying him.
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Baseball scholarships of a different kind

Nate Tharp, Friday, April 10, 2009 at 1:00 PM Comments (0)

With all the tragedy and turmoil in this crazy world, it warms the heart when you hear a story about something good every once in a while.

Rick Reilly has uncovered some of the good that the Arizona Diamondbacks are doing in their community. The D-Backs have recognized their place of prominence in the community and when they saw their community struggling, they have stepped up and taken action to ease the pain of some of their biggest fans.
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By now, can we all agree that the WWE is fake?

Nate Tharp, Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at 8:15 AM Comments (0)

The other night I stumbled across the WWE’s 2009 Hall of Fame Induction show on the USA Network, and I wished they’d been showing reruns of Wings or even Becker. As expected, it was being filmed in some stadium in middle-America in front of a packed house. And I wondered, there’s a WWE (formerly WWF, formerly Worldwide Wrestling Federation) hall of fame? For what? What are the criteria. Best undetected whisper to an opponent during a match? Best celebration after the victory of a match with a pre-determined outcome?

So like any passerby of a massive car accident or train wreck, I stuck around longer than necessary and assumed that someone else had already called 9-1-1. And I noticed, that every single “wrestler” used the terms industry, company, business and organization to describe the WWE. But they never once uttered the term sport.
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Clark Kellogg must go

Nate Tharp, Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 1:34 PM Comments (0)

I’m tired of Clark Kellogg ruining NCAA tournament games. There is such a great pool of announcers, there is no excuse to continue to let him make a fool of himself and a mockery of the NCAA and the game of basketball. And I love Jim Nance, but Jimmy’s best place is up in the tower at Amen corner broadcasting The Masters live from Augusta National. Let’s leave this game to the professionals (that doesn’t mean you Doris Burke).

Don’t get me wrong, removing Billy Packer was a welcome change, and long overdue. But replacing one bad announcer with another isn’t really a change. It was really just an ACC shift. I’ve never heard any announcer openly root for any team than Billy Packer for Duke. Until maybe I heard Clark Kellogg root for UNC while doing the championship game.

In case there is anyone out there besides Clark “Kelly” Kellogg and Jim “Nancy” Nance, that don’t think they should be replaced, I decided to collect a few of Kelly’s rambling buffoonery during this year’s contest. Cause we all know, the game wasn’t that entertaining to begin with.
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The Basketball Jesus Rankings: Week 21

Nate Tharp, Monday, April 6, 2009 at 11:35 PM Comments (0)

1. LeBron James [2633]
2. Dwyane Wade [2610]
3. Vince Carter [1891]

Note: Point, rebound and assist total listed next to the player.

The Basketball Jesus Rankings: Week 23

Nate Tharp, Monday, April 6, 2009 at 8:00 PM Comments (0)

After a month filled with NCAA basketball, this first week of April has been leading up to the NCAA Championship tonight. But once that’s over, the focus will quickly shift to the NBA Playoffs, Where Amazing Happens.

Ironically enough, we actually have two players in the rankings this week that played for one of the teams competing for the NCAA title. Vince Carter in the number 14 spot and Antawn Jamison in the number 7 spots both suited up in Carolina blue for the UNC Tar Heels. Will that bode well for their alma mater, only time will tell. Now on to the rest of the players in this weeks Basketball Jesus Rankings.
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A forgettable NCAA tournament

Nate Tharp, Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 9:32 PM Comments (2)

I remember looking at the bracket the day after it was announced (my cable wasn’t hooked up yet on selection Sunday) and thinking, this is either a really weak field, or a really strong field. I just wasn’t sure which.

I couldn’t believe that Louisville and UConn were number one seeds. And I was shocked that Memphis and Duke were number two seeds. But then the question remained, if not those teams, then who? And I had no answer.
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