As if you didn't know...Peter Vecsey is a Douche

So I'm reading about NBA trade rumors yesterday and I came across this nugget about the Hawks in an article by Peter Vecsey:

"The Sonics are not discussing a trade with the Hawks involving Luke Ridnour, though they certainly can't be happy with the way he tanked it psychologically when demoted a couple weeks ago in favor of Earl Watson. The info that claimed Atlanta was trying to pawn off Speedy Claxton and its No. 1 pick on the Sonics, is bogus, especially since the Suns already possess that pick."

Which I found confusing so I sent him an email:

"The info that claimed Atlanta was trying to pawn off Speedy Claxton and its No. 1 pick on the Sonics, is bogus, especially since the Suns already possess that pick."

Don't the Hawks have another 1st rounder that they got during the Harrington/Pacers trade this summer?

- nixforsix@gmail.com

So I go to the Hawks game and don't really think anything about it. I come home and I've got a reply in my inbox. I'm always shocked when writers reply to emails, and especially by national writers. I once got in an exchange with a guy from collegefootballnews and we took different sides about comparing the quality of Auburn and Georgia's defense early in the 2004 season. He stated early in the season that Auburn didn't have a single guy that could start for UGA, and that if anybody would have a chance it was Junior Rosegreen and not Carlos Rogers as I suggested. Well of course Auburn went 13-0, beat UGA and Carlos Rogers would go on to win the Thorpe Award. But the greatest triumph was me emailing the guy back six months later with a "i told you so". Even so, the whole discourse was rather civil and both sides made valid points. Well, not so much with the Vecsey. Here was his reply:

"Peter.Vecsey" to me

"Yes, INdy's pick. What do you think at No. 18-22 pick is worth? Luke? Plus Speedy's bad contract? Get serious! Who makes this stuff up? And then you guys actually people it! Unrea!! No coversation between the two teams. No chance of it happening. Quote me "


I'm mean..how do I respond to that? I have no choice but to be condescending right? I ask an honest question and the guy goes off on a rant.

nixforsix to Vecsey

"Easy there chief, just wanted to double check that the Indy pick was for this year and not a future year."

Seriously...what a douche.

Quick thoughts from Hawks/Spurs

- Matt Bonner must have the ugliest shot of any white guy in the NBA. I can't even think of a close second.

- I saw the absolute zenith of Manu tonight. He's like a 6"5 Vlade Divac. Nothing but off handed weak ass layups and flops, but he dominated the game. My dad brought up the question on the way out on whether it was the biggest scoring performance I've seen. And between college and the NBA I'm pretty sure I've never seen someone get 40 before.

- I'm almost convinced that Joe Johnson is a small forward. He's much better suited for it on defense, he couldn't hang with Manu at all. Joe is without a doubt my favorite player in the league right now. But he has some faults. He's not exactly what I'd call explosive or quick, but he can usually make up for it with excellent body control. Offensively the one thing he really needs to develop right now is the ability to back down smaller players. He should have repeatedly posted up Hinrich last night.

- Same goes for Marvin. The Spurs were able to get away with putting Bowen on Joe and Manu on Marvin because he wouldn't use his height and back that cat down. Though Marvin did drive to the lane with authority several times tonight.

- During pre game warmups there were about 30 Argentinians around me screaming to get Manu's attention. Which brings up 2 points a) I didn't know that there were that many Argentinians in Atlanta and b) how does it that make Oberto feel that he can't even get a sympathy shout from his fellow Argentines when Manu ignores them?

- Wilmer Valderama was at the game b/c he is supposedly filming a new season of Yo Mama in Atlanta. Unfortunately he was on the other side of the court and I was unable to throw a beer bottle at him.

- I truly believe I"m not being biased when I say that the Hawks never get the benefit of the doubt from the refs. Between Woodson not being an established coach, the losing record, and Joe being the only "star" even though he doesn't get calls, the Hawks never seem to catch a break. Meanwhile Duncan bitches and moans his way into manhandling everybody. I guess that come with earning some wins. But there was a one minute stretch that featured 3 horrendous calls and an absurd technical with about 6 minutes left that put the Hawks in a deep well. The technical came with Woody talking to a ref while Duncan was shooting a free throw and the ref on the other side of the court stopping play and calling a technical.

- Stay tuned.. tomorrow I will post an interesting e-mail conversation I had with Peter Vescey today. Seriously, how did that guy get famous?

so yeah

I went to the Gillian Welch and David Rawlings show at the Variety Playhouse last Friday. This was the fourth time I've seen them and hands down the best perfomance I've seen. A couple times in the past Gillian has dealt with bad audience members in a less than flawless manner. Well it was a very rowdy Friday night crowd. However the audience was great during slow quiet songs and kept their voices down, and then when a song ended everyone erupted. As a result, I guess Gillian and David really bought into the vibe and played a pretty rocking set. I also think they've been playing more covers because they've gotten used to doing it when they perform as the David Rawlings Machine. Anyways they played covers of at least To Be Young (Ryan Adams), White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane), Jackson (Johnny Cash), and some others. To get a feel, some chick on Youtube has about 6 clips from a live show. The song "Key to the Kingdom" is just a great gospel song.

I'll be checking out the Hawks tonight vs. the Spurs from the pimp seats, Friday against the Rockets for Asian Heritage Night since Yao is town (from right behind the basket) and on Sunday vs. Suns from TBD location. Of course after last night's performance against Chicago, it looks like they could all be one sided performances.

Also, I bought Game Theory by The Roots. It's not necessarily solid all the way through it, but it's worth buying almost for Game Theory, Don't Feel Right, and Bread and Butter which I think is an iTunes exclusive.

2nd Half Disaster

- So my computer decided to go to sleep and not wake up at halftime. Part of the 4th quarter turned into a duel between Joe and Kobe. Since the crowd was divided about 50/50 between Hawks and Lakers fans, there was a weird phenomenon going on. It had the feeling of a NCAA tournament game. Kobe hit a 3 and half the building went crazy, then seconds later Joe Johnson nails a three and the other half of the crowd explodes.

- I absolutely hate hate hate Kobe Bryant. Everything about him. But good god did he go into the zone for about 5 minutes when it really mattered. He hit 3 straight fadeaway jumpers against double teams down the stretch. They were all shots that most people would only throw up at the buzzer, Kobe instead swishes all three. But the big difference in the game, was that right after that stretch Kobe dished it to Smush who nailed a clutch 3. Joe had no such outlet to turn to. It was him vs. the Lakers in the 4th quarter. When the game slows down and we're half court sets and out of bounds plays, the Hawks just can't keep up with other teams. We don't have a solid PG, we don't have anyone other Joe Johnson that can consistantly hit outside jumpers. We just don't have what it takes right now.

- Josh Smith showed tons of flashes tonight, but until Speedy steps up and starts penetrating to the basket, Josh has to fill that void. He needs to attack the rim with reckless abandon. He should try and dunk everything. I'd be happy if he called with one charge a game. At least then I would know he's being aggressive on offense.

- We were able to attend the post game press conference. Which takes place at the end of the practice court with Woodson behind a small podium and a small group of reporters piled around him because he barely spoke above a whisper. I was standing 10 feet away and having trouble making out his statements. I was standing there among Hawks beat writer Sekou Smith, ESPN's John Hollinger, and other reporters. I felt very special to be apart of this experience. And then I looked over and Jon Koncak saundered in still holding his Jack & Coke from the game. Turns out they'll just let anybody into the press conference. I mean, shouldn't he be shunned around the Hawks headquarters.

All in all it was an interesting night. It was a completely different experience than I used to at games. From the bird's eye view to trying to watch and pay attention to the game while trying to type at the same time. I applaud the Hawks organization for their bold move to try drum up interest in their team. What this franchise needs as much as anything right now is people in the stands. Getting used to seeing stars, catching the Hawks on a winning night, and wanting to come back.

Halftime Entertainment

All I wanted was dogs with frisbees and I got the Rubber Band Man, and not T.I. who's is in fact crazy like the Taliban

2nd Quarter

- JSmoov has 3 ally oops already. Why don't we play and up down the floor game again? Nobody is going to confuse Speedy with an All Star, but he does add a different element to the team. He runs the point at a frenetic pace. If they can figure out a way to a) keep him healthy, and b) play Solomon Jones instead of ZaZa, Shelden, or Wright... they could make the game a lot easier by running in non-stop. Childress, Marvin, Jsmoov, are all athletic guys who can rebound in a fast paced game. Also, Joe Johnson would get a lot more open looks instead of the constant double teams.

- So apparently, the reason to get a suite is for the bathrooms. I might get a taco at halftime just so I can take a dump in the second half. I'll post pictures later. Of the bathrooms, not the dump. And I apologize to my legion of female readers.

- It may be because of the bird's eye view, but the Hawks appear to be playing better team defense than usual. Double teams are coming on Kobe, people are stepping in to the lane.

- I'm ready to trade ZaZa. He was a value last year, but he's just not getting it done anymore. My hope would be to get someone more athletic. Of course, he's the only big guy we have that can consistantly hit a 15 footer, so we probably can't afford to give him up.

- Half time. Apparently we're about to meet Hawks beat writer for the AJC, Sekou Smith.

1st Quarter

Quick note about Phillips Arena, if you've never been here (Josh Smith allly oop. Sweet. Bynum gets the first of what will probably be 24 pts) all of the Suites are on one side of the arena, as to not effect the upper deck views on the others three sides of the court. I haven't made up my mind on this. I think it's probably great for views and sucks for energy/noise.

Way too many Laker fans in attendence. How can these people respect themselves.

- Vlad Rad looks like a gypsy. I think I can smell him from 200 ft away

- Lue despite his scoring abilities, cannot run a fast break. He just butchered a 2-1 with him and Joe vs. Kobe that ended up with Kobe getting a steal.

- Joe is guarding Kobe. I think Kobe is a little too quick for him, Chills is a better matchup. Meanwhile, Jsmoov seems ideal for guarding Odom.

-It has just occured to me that I'm watching Phil Jackson coach a game. Somehow I need to focus and pay attention to his rotation. I''m assuming he's going to abuse Woodson tonight.

-They don't call Atlanta, Black Hollywood, for nothing. Martin! is in the house. And um... Tim the Toolman Taylor.

- In case you were wondering, Ginger is my pick for hottest A-Town dancer.

And I'm taking a break for awhile to actually watch the game.

Pregame

Some quick photos below. Highlights were shaking hands with Billy Knight while biting my tongue. Also my claim before walking into the media room "If Peter Vescey is in here and I'm going to punch him in the face".

Liveblogging

I'll be liveblogging from the Hawks and Lakers game tonight. The Hawks are having Blog Night and invited myself, The Crafty Vet and Kevin, among others. We're taking a tour of Phillps before the game, then apparently we'll be sitting in a suite to watch the game. There's even a possibility we get to attend the post game press conference.

The tentative game plan is for me to post at the end of every quarter. Hopefully I'll have something worth saying plus possibly some photos. The Crafty Vet is excited about seeing Kobe in person for the first time. Me? I could barely sleep last night because of the once in a lifetime prospect of seeing the outstanding Vlad Rad.

Joe Johnson not an All Star?

The reserves for the Eastern All Star team were announced last night. And there was one notable ommission. Joe Johnson. The Reserves consisted of 2 guards, 3 forwards, and 2 wildcard picks. So I can't argue the Caron Butler, Dwight Howard, and Jermaine O'Neal selections. What I will argue is that Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Vince Carter are all more deserving than Joe Johnson. Jason Kidd may actually be more deserving than Joe, the others however, got by on reputation. Here are there numbers as of 2/2/07.


Scoring:
Joe Johnson 25.3
Vince Carter 25.0
Richard Hamilton 22.7
Chauncey Billups 18.1
Jason Kidd 14.9

Rebounds:
Jason Kidd 8.2
Vince Carter 5.6
Joe Johnson 4.1
Richard Hamilton 4.1
Chauncey Billups 3.5

Assists:
Jason Kidd 8.8
Chauncey Billups 7.6
Vince Carter 4.4
Joe Johnson 4.1
Richard Hamilton 3.6

So how do you justify Richard Hamilton? As a shooting guard he just doesn't compare this year. You could make a case for Chauncey since he's a PG. Really you could have either one of them and I'd be fine. But having both is stupid. I really hate that Joe hasn't been rewarded for his tremendous play this year. He has no #2 option like these other guys. Hell he's played half the year without a point guard. I'm not going to sit here and claim I can state without doubt who the best defensive player is...but it's probably not Vince Carter. I'm pissed. I hope Joe is too. I don't know how he could even take it to another level, but I hope he does. If he were to somehow get this team to the playoffs he should be mentioned as an MVP candidate.

Unfortunately, I knew this was a possibility. I saw several "experts" picks for the reserves and almost none of them included Joe. What was shocking, was the reaction of the TNT panelists. After the announcements Ernie Johnson brings up the subject of who was snubbed. Ernie names Joe Johnson, Ben Gordon, Michael Redd and Eddy Curry. Barkley doesn't think anyone is snubbed, but would have gone with Curry. Kenny Smith goes with Gordon. Neither of them mention Joe. Magic discussed Barkley's pick of Curry or something, I don't really remember, I can't listen to Magic. I just zone him out. You think a group of guys like Charles, Magic, and Kenny would love Joe Johnson. He plays hard on both ends of the court, he distributes the ball, doesn't showboat, doesn't make a fool of himself in the media. He's class. This just doesn't add up. My only hope is that his performance this year will make him a lock for next year.