[BIRD33]

I need the Pistons to beat the Celtics in the conference finals.

[cLaY]

I've give clays left nut to see detroit lose in the first round.

I'm rooting for the Sixers to win so Flip gets fired. He's a joke. I want Joe to step out of the office and take over the team. Call me this years biggest Hornets fan. I love watching Chris Paul play. He's a pimp. Plus its an added bonus when Julian gets in the game and gives us a few Top 10 plays. Guys a freak.

[cLaY]

32 points, 17 dimes? Zeke X 10. I love that fucker.

[BIRD33]

He needs those rings first.

[BIRD33]

Go Flyers?

[cLaY]

He needs those rings first.

Wouldn't Zeke's failures as a team pres and coach basically offset his rings? I'm his biggest fan as far as what he did on the court, but he's been a complete failure since he left Indiana.

[cLaY]

KU question Bird...

Darrell Arthur declared, without an agent. Says if he's slotted in the top 15 he'll go pro.

Brandon Rush's KU days are over since he declared.

Decision still coming for Mario Chalmers.


Where do you see these guys going?

[BIRD33]

Wouldn't Zeke's failures as a team pres and coach basically offset his rings? I'm his biggest fan as far as what he did on the court, but he's been a complete failure since he left Indiana.

You can't bring in any other factors into the best point guard of all time discussion besides basketball.Isiah played in a different era with tougher competition.Paul needs some rings or to average 30 and 15 assists for 10 years to be better than Isiah.

I've always read he's smart but a big baby.He's totally fucked up his corporate reputation but he did lead them to two rings at the height of the Bird\Magic era.

[Anhil8tor]

He needs those rings first.

got to win in the playoffs...


but man that fucker is eating Kidds lunch so far.

[BIRD33]

KU question Bird...

Darrell Arthur declared, without an agent. Says if he's slotted in the top 15 he'll go pro.

Brandon Rush's KU days are over since he declared.

Decision still coming for Mario Chalmers.


Where do you see these guys going?

Rush is the only guy who I see going in the top 15.Chalmers should stay, besides that big shot he's not shown he's ready for the NBA.

[BIRD33]

got to win in the playoffs...


but man that fucker is eating Kidds lunch so far.

Kidd is getting embarrassed.So is Avery Johnson.So is Dirk Nowitzki.

Freaking Bonzi Wells is a big factor in this series.

Dallas is one of the biggest mush teams I've ever seen.

[BIRD33]

Hanesborough is scared of the NBA.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/ba...index.html

[cLaY]

Hanesborough is scared of the NBA.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/ncaa/04/25/c.nba.ap/index.html

I don't think he's drafted in the first round.

If you've got the time, this might sum up my fandom.

A Religious Retrospective
In one of the more controversial statements of the 20th century,
musician John Lennon infamously quipped that the Beatles were, "more
popular than Jesus." Whether this statement was true or not, one thing
remains absolute: they didn't have a thing on Kansas basketball. Anyone who was
raised with it knows I'm not overstating the matter when I compare
Jayhawk basketball to a religion. Indeed, throughout my life, I've
learned more about faith and the existence of God from a basketball
game than I have from any sermon. And if Monday night revealed anything, it's that occasionally, praying
works.
In the coming weeks and months, sports analysts all over the country
will place the 2007-2008 Kansas Jayhawks under a microscope. What made
them champions? Curiosity will pull us to the news stands. We'll all
(myself included) pick up the new Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine. We'll
listen to the commentators on Sportscenter. We'll read every article
they write; and what will they write about? They'll write about the
impenetrable defense and the pesky guard play. They'll write about the
high-low offense and overpowering big men. They'll write about the
senior leadership and incredible balance...
Let me tell you what they won't write about.
They won't write about what KU basketball actually is. They won't write
about it, because they don't know. KU basketball is not one moment.
It's not one player or one coach. It's not one team. It's not Mario
Chalmers or Bill Self. It's not Danny Manning or Larry Brown. It's not
even Phog Allen or James Naismith.
Let me tell you what KU basketball is.
KU basketball is 40,000 people on Massachusetts Street in Lawrence,
Kansas. It's getting out of your car a mile away and hearing the
constant, collective cheer of the crowd. Police lined the sidewalks
during the celebration, but I think even they would tell you they didn't
need to be there; 40,000 people within five blocks, and not one act of
violence or vandalism; just one, big, universal high five. It doesn't
matter if you know anybody or not. Walk down the street and hold out
your hand.
KU basketball is my father, who, even in the worst of health, managed
to come downstairs and watch a few minutes of the game. My father, who
coached our elementary school basketball team to a perfect season
(0-8!); we didn't care, because our team name was the Jayhawks, and my
dad made sure we felt like them every game, win or lose.
KU basketball is 100,000 people on the streets of Lawrence, watching
the parade of National Champions go by; 100,000 people, in a city that
has a population of only 80,000.
KU basketball is North Carolina head coach Roy Williams proudly wearing
a Jayhawk sticker on his sweater during the championship game; Roy
Williams, whose team was outright embarrassed by Kansas just two nights
before, wearing a Jayhawk sticker. I assure you, UCLA head coach Ben
Howland was not wearing a Tigers sticker after losing to Memphis in the
Final Four. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski wasn't wearing a Mountaineers sticker after
losing to West Virginia in the second round. No coach anywhere sports a
sticker of the mascot of the team that just beat them; except, of
course, if that team is Kansas.
KU basketball is the boy who begs for the number 11 jersey on his
little league basketball team. Never mind Michael Jordan, he wanted to
be like Jacque Vaughn; the boy, who cried his eyes out the night KU got
knocked out of the tournament in '97.
KU basketball is Carl Cline, who let me walk across the backyard and
shoot hoops on his basketball goal before I even had enough strength to
throw the ball above the rim. Carl Cline, who helped me make my very
first jump shot by placing his hand under the basketball and giving it
that extra boost it needed to make it off the backboard and through the
net. Carl Cline, who, long after I moved away, still kept basketballs
hidden in a trash can by the garage, just in case I wanted to come over
and practice. I happily obliged. Though only now do I realize, I didn't
oblige nearly enough.
KU basketball is all the Generation Y kids who associate life
experiences with Kansas basketball players. "Remember that time... I
think Raef Lafrentz was a junior, and Joey's dad accidentally shot
himself in the leg on that hunting trip?" "Remember the year Collison
and Hinrich were sophomores, we stayed up really late the night before
we took our ACTs and played video games?"
KU basketball is Grandpa Waller, who put up my first basketball goal.
Never one to be outdone, Grandpa actually buried the base of the goal
in cement so it wouldn't blow around in the wind. Grandpa Waller, who
lives halfway around the world, but still makes sure to check the Kansas
City Star website for Jayhawk updates; Grandpa, who came to every
single game I ever played in; literally, every single one.
KU basketball is the fans inside Allen Fieldhouse at the end of a game;
the fans, who slowly chant, "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk...KU." Nobody ever
storms the court at Allen Fieldhouse. Our star player doesn't hop onto
the scorer's table and wave his jersey around his head. The crowd just
chants, "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk...KU."
KU basketball is Lloyd Peck, who painted my first free-throw line. Not
only that, I came back from school one day to find an entire basketball
court painted on the driveway: a free-throw line, a key, an
out-of-bounds line around the entire driveway. Nobody asked him to do
it. Nobody asked him to come outside and shoot around with me. Nobody
asked him to talk about KU basketball through the chain-linked fence.
Nobody asked him to sprint across two backyards to pull me to the
ground when I got stuck in a tree. If I can ever fully comprehend the
value of these acts, my life will be complete.
KU basketball is the students who love their Jayhawks so much, they
camp outside to get a seat in Allen Fieldhouse; the students, who camp
outside during the winter...in Kansas; the students, who hold onto their
spot in line like it's their own child. The students, who sanction the
entire process themselves. As far as I know, the University has nothing
to do with it.
KU basketball is Grandpa Carter, who, for several years in a row, gave
up his Big 12 Tournament ticket so I could go instead; Grandpa Carter,
who taught me every sarcastic comment one would need during a basketball
game. The opposing team just missed two free throws: "Oh, that's too
bad. I hate to see that happen." The opposing team just sliced through
the lane and scored: "Could he be walking more with that thing? Forget two points, they might as well give him first down." Grandpa Carter, who predicts
we'll be national champions every year; Grandpa Carter, who watches
every game with his grandson, not because he has to, but because he
honestly wants to.
In twenty years, I'll probably need a moment to remember who the
starting five were on the 2008 national championship team. I won't need
a moment to remember who I was with when we won it all. I won't need a
moment to remember who jumped into the air with me when Chalmers sank
his three, or who I hugged as Collins dribbled out the final seconds of
the game. I won't need a moment, because, as I watch the last remnants
of my childhood fade away, I now realize what is important. KU
basketball really has nothing to do with basketball. I'm not a college
athlete. I'll never coach a college basketball team. I'll probably
never be college basketball commentator. I will be a husband. I will be a father. I will be a grandfather. I will love my family. I will believe in God. I learned these things in
Allen Fieldhouse. I learned these things in the upper deck of Kemper
Arena. I learned these things in a living room in Kansas City, Kansas.
So you'll excuse me if I don't make it to church this summer. I used up
all my prayers in March.
Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk...Amen.

Nathan Robert Carter
University of Kansas, Junior
April 14th, 2008.

[BIRD33]

I don't think he's drafted in the first round.

If you've got the time, this might sum up my fandom.

Little to much for me but its a nice sentiment.Small town basketball is a little different than I'm used to.I'd probably be the same way if I lived there.

[BIRD33]

More embarrassing?

The Celts being tied 2-2 to the fucking Hawks.

Or

The Pistons being tied 2-2 to the Sixers?

Has to be the Celts.Nice coaching job, Doc Rivers.

[WoolyGoat]

did Belichick ever sabotage the shot clock?

[BIRD33]

Is wooley absent lately because he can't take another meltdown by a Boston team?Most teams in the NBA know what plays the other team is calling already so the celts are at a disadvantage.

[BIRD33]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLV3a4CgYLE&eurl"]YouTube - Avery Johnson Cup Check[/ame]

[WoolyGoat]

Is wooley absent lately because he can't take another meltdown by a Boston team?Most teams in the NBA know what plays the other team is calling already so the celts are at a disadvantage.

you keeping tabs on me Bird?

[BIRD33]

you keeping tabs on me Bird?

If noticing one of three people is missing is keeping tabs then yes I am.Just be here when the Celts lose to the Pistons.