Fandom Free Agency - #25 Utah Jazz

This is what my fandom free agency is all about. Teams battling it out and not letting me down on expectations. The New Jersey Nets have let a lot of people down this season, but as of today, I'm not one of them.

The Nets fail to meet just about every guideline I picked out for selecting a team. They aren't good, they don't have many players I like and let's face it, they also have a dumb team name. But before I wrote them off I had to test their NBA 2k10 playability.

This set up the first ever double fandom elimination game between the video game Nets and Jazz. Simple rules really, 12 minute quarters to decide who gets eliminated. The Nets lose and I deem them unplayable. The Jazz lose and I eliminate them because they're unable to beat the woeful Nets.

From the title of this post you can already see how the game went. A 132-127 Nets victory that left the Jazz fans in stunned and upset that I would not be joining them in the crowd at EnergySolutions Arena.

Now, without further adieu, I will attempt to break a record for the most in-depth coverage of a NBA video game.

LAWRENCE, KS| Times have been tough for Sean Williams. The troubled third-year power forward has battled injuries, and various personal problems since arriving at Boston College and then to the NBA's New Jersey Nets.

Williams, however, has always had talent and superb athleticism and there was no better time for Williams to show off that talent than in what was quite possibly the most meaningful game the Nets will play this year.

Williams and the Nets walked into EnergySolutions Arena knowing they're fandom free agency spot was on the line if they couldn't overcome a the Utah Jazz and a raucous home crowd. Everyone in the building knew it was a big game, it always is when Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg are in the building. The stars were out in force with Devin Harris scoring 31 with 18 assists and Deron Williams (no relation to Sean) having 19 and 21. But nobody shined brighter than Sean Williams who finished with 28-9-8 and had a beautiful foray of dunks that sucked the air right out of Utah.

Williams did his best work in the 2nd quarter, scoring 14 points on 6 dunks including an alley-oop from Devin Harris that may give Mehmet Okur nightmares for years to come.

The barrage of dunks had the Nets up by 11 at halftime, but the Jazz came storming back in the 3rd to take a 1 point lead going into the 4th thanks the Deron Williams and fellow Utah guard Ronnie Brewer who finished with 36.

Then came one of the most tightly contested 4th quarters the NBA has ever seen. Both teams exchanging buckets and neither team having a bigger lead than 5 until Terrence Williams (again, no relation to Sean) took the game over in the final 3 minutes.

The rookie scored 9 points in the final 3 minutes including two dunks and a dagger of a 3-pointer in the final minute to lock up the game for the Nets.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock the Nets celebrated as if they'd won a NBA title (and really, this may be as close as they get to one) as the Jazz hung their heads knowing they had lost a potential fan because of their loss to the woeful Nets.

But really Utah, you should have seen this coming like the Knicks. You can't build a roster of players from Duke, Illinois, Arkansas and a russian who occasionally cries during press conferences. The loss to the Nets was merely the straw that broke the camel's back.

Sorry Deron, but #1 you are not.

Fandom Free Agency - #26 New York Knicks

We have our second elimination via an elimination game.

Tonight, I gave the Knicks a chance to knock off the Lakers and a save themselves from fandom elimination. A tall task, no doubt, but it's no secret I don't like the Knicks and they needed a big time showing to stay alive.

The Knicks put up a fight holding Kobe to 14 points through the first 3 quarters and actually taking a 1 point lead into the 4th. But eventually fell to the Lake Show 114-104.

It would have taken a lot for me to pick the Knicks as my team. I view the Knicks as the Yankees of the NBA, the only difference is, the Knicks have a salary cap to deal with. Imagine how cash strapped the Yankees would be if they had to keep their high-paid, terrible players like Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano the way the Knicks had to keep Stephon Marbury and Eddy Curry.

The Knicks are far from the young team I want to grow with, and they don't even have a #1 pick this season. In fact, the Knicks are a perfect example of why it's odd for my to be doing this selecting during this season. Come next season the Knicks, like many teams, will look completely different from the team they have this year.

I like guys like Nate Robinson, Danilo Gallinari and David Lee, but really there's no guarantee that any of those guys will be on the team next season.

Sure, the Knicks may end up with LeBron or D Wade after this season, but that's what I'm picking on right now. I'm forced to look at their roster and see guys Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries and Toney Douglas. Little hope for the future as far as I can see.

The Knicks have a ton of history, I'm not eliminating them because of their weak team name like the Raptors and Grizzlies. There's a lot to respect about the Knicks. I truly believe Donnie Walsh will turn them around one day, but I will not be rooting for them when that happens.

And the Knicks, like the Raptors, have the Isiah Thomas Era to thank for that.

Fandom Free Agency - #27 Memphis Grizzlies

This one was actually a little tough. I debated quite a few teams to be the next eliminated. The Jazz, Nets, Knicks and my eventual choice the Grizzlies were all up for consideration. All of those teams are officially on notice.

Then, I almost made tonight's Suns v. Hawks game on ESPN an elimination game for the Suns. I wanted a team that would do my bidding and if the Suns couldn't come through tonight and knock off the Hawks I was going to eliminate them. I decided not to do it.

The Suns would have been the first team I eliminated that had a member of my fantasy team on it, and my newfound love for Channing Frye helped move them off the chopping block. But the biggest reason the Suns were sparred from the guillotine was this video found on YouTube. How could I eliminate a team after watching that? That's a team to root for.

So, my string of not eliminating fantasy players continued but this elimination does come with a first. The Grizzlies are the first team I'm axing that have a former KU player on their team, Darrell Arthur.

DA is a tough guy to sacrifice too. A quick trip to Darrell's facebook Fan Page will surprise you when you look at who created the group. Yep, that's me.

This year though, Darrell hasn't even played a game for a surprisingly good Grizzlies team. Overall, I think it's fair to say Darrell has done more harm than good for the city of Memphis.

The elimination isn't Darrell's fault. It's his teammate's fault. I don't see one player on their active roster I'd like to root for except Rudy Gay, who won't even be around after this season. As for DeMarre Carroll, don't even go there.

Most of all though, I can't root for their GM Chris Wallace. I'll give some credit for putting together an OK team this season but this is the guy who screwed up the Iverson signing this offseason, drafted Hasheem Thabeet #2 overall and literally gave Pau Gasol to the Lakers a few years back.

Also, I said in the original post that I want a team I can root for in the playoffs and while the Grizz are doing OK this year, I don't think they'll make it. Even if they did, they would assuredly be swept in the first round. Little known fact is that the Grizzlies franchise has never won a playoff game, 3 appearances and they're 0-12.

Lastly though, I'd be a hypocrite for rooting for the Grizzlies after eliminating the Raptors. Obviously the Grizz aren't in Canada anymore, but their team nickname is just silly and has a lot of similarities to the Raptors silly team name. Like Toronto, Vancouver gave the Grizz a team color of Naismith Blue which, like Naismith Silver has an equal amount of dumb.

Also, when the original naming was being done one of the options was the Vancouver Mounties which obviously would have been incredible. Instead the team was named the Grizzlies and it stuck through their move to Memphis.

Obviously, there are no grizzly bears in Memphis barring an exhibit at what is apparently America's #1 Zoo. I just can't understand what prevents teams from changing their team name when they move to a new city. Apparently when the team was moving to Memphis, FedEx made a strong push to name the team the Memphis Express after their company but the NBA overruled the decision and they decided to stick with Grizzlies. Weak.

But don't be too down Memphis, you've still got that Zoo.

An even rarer sighting in Memphis than an actual bear.

Good, Better, Best, Bestest - 1/12/10

Bringing to you the best of the Internet in a very particular order:

Good - Mike Tyson still has it. The man who once said he would "eat your children" gave some more great threats to Hornswoggle from the WWE.

Better - Always been a fan of Baron Davis. Here's a very well put together video of Boom Dizzle dribbling around the streets of New York City.

Best - Very underrated moment from the weekend in sports was Steve Breaston oozing machismo and imitating Razor Ramon in this TD celebration. I sent a text to a few friends as soon as I saw it, but I have to add this to the many reasons I don't like Joe Buck. As soon as I saw the celebration I knew there was no chance Buck would recognize it's greatness during the game.

Bestest - I really don't know how to describe the electric glide from LT. But I love every second of it.

Fandom Free Agency - #28 Atlanta Hawks

I don't like Joe Johnson.

And as the wise ATL prophet Ludacris once said, "You disagree, take the Tyson approach and bite me!"

Joe and I started off on the wrong foot. I liked the Spurs teams that he insisted on torturing while with the Suns and nowadays the lasting image of Joe in my mind is his video game self hitting contested 3 after contested 3 over me in a playoff series against my buddy CJ. 

Because of this I had a biased opinion of Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks, but in fairness to my free agency fandom I needed to give the Hawks a shot (a contested, over multiple defenders, long Joe Johnson shot.)

CJ is a recently baptized Hawks fan who found the Hawks after he was wowed by a half-filled Phillips Arena a few nights ago. I'm a little weary of his sudden fandom because it's the 4th different team CJ has said he's a fan of this season following the Knicks, Wizards and Pacers. So, needless to say, I'm a little weary to accept his opinions.

But when CJ extended the Joe Johnson olive branch a few nights ago, I had to give him a chance. I made the stipulation the JoJohn had to go for 30 tonight against the Celtics or the Hawks were gone for good. CJ agreed that this was fair.

So, that made tonight the first of what will hopefully be many elimination style games. Hawks vs. Celtics on ESPN with my fandom resting firmly in Joe Johnson's hands.

My thinking behind this? I need a star player I can count on. The Celtics were a big game for the Hawks and if I couldn't count on Joe getting 30 for me tonight, then I could never count on him.

What did Joe do tonight?

He choked. Straight up choked with the fate of one potential fan in the balance. 5-16 for 12 points in a Hawks victory.

But let's be honest, I don't just hate the Hawks because of their star player. There were many other things keeping me away. 

Mike Bibby, maybe the biggest reason that the greatest KU team of all time didn't make it past the Sweet 16. Joe Smith. Cost my T-Wolves multiple 1st round picks. Marvin Williams. Don't go there.

I liked the old Hawks, the Dominique Wilkins Era, the Dikembe Mutumbo Era, heck they even traded for Danny Manning from the Clippers one time. But then the Hawks made one big mistake.

Yep, they got rid of the Pacman logo. I'm a huge fan of Pacman. As far as I know, I still own the all-time high score at The Wheel. I've been called the Emmitt Smith of Pacman, nothing flashy, just slowly matriculating points until I own the record.

Growing up I always thought the Hawks were using Pacman as their logo. I swear to you, today was the first time in my life that I actually saw the Hawk silhouette in that logo. It was like this picture where you either see an old lady or a young lady depending how you look at it. I refused to see the Hawk in that picture. I only saw Pacman.

Well then the Hawks decided to change their logo to an actual picture of a Hawk. That started their downfall and ultimately started sealing their fandom fate. Until Joe Johnson officially sealed it tonight.

Fandom Free Agency - #29 Toronto Raptors

Who am I kidding? I wasn't going to root for a team from Canada, simple as that.

I'm the type of person who loves hearing and singing along to the national anthem before games. Not only would I miss this as a Raptors fan but I only know 2 words to the Canadian national anthem.

I respect Raptors basketball. I once went to a game in Phoenix and saw Vince Carter drop 50 points back when he was still known as Air Canada.

But I couldn't pull myself to root for them. They're too far away, never on TV and I don't know any Raptor fans. I'm sure they're out there though, they have an entire country to themselves for God's sake.

As far as the players go, there are some good ones: I like Jose Calderon, he's fun to watch. Chris Bosh is one of the most fan friendly guys in the league, but he'll likely be gone after this season. DeMar DeRozan is a player I wanted the T-Wolves to take in the draft last year. However, none of these players could overcome the single biggest reason I won't root for the team.

The biggest reason I won't root for the Raptors is that "The Raptors" is just a dumb excuse for a team name. Los Angeles Lakers is also dumb but there could potentially be a lake in LA. I think it goes without saying that their are no actual Raptors in Toronto.

Also, the Lakers were once in Minnesota so they just moved to LA with that name. The Raptors have no excuse for their name, but here's the excuses they tried to come up with.

First, something I already knew... The Raptors chose their name partially because of the popularity of Jurassic Park at the time. Apparently in 1994, dinosaurs were to Canadians what vampires are to teenage girls nowadays. They saw them in movies and just couldn't take their minds off of them.

Teenage girls cope with vampire obsession by putting up posters in their rooms. Canadians coped with dinosaur obsession by naming their basketball team after them.

Some other things I learned during research... Sports teams have a funny way of making up colors. The Oregon Ducks like to refer to their colors as "Lightning Yellow and Thunder Green." When the Toronto unveiled the teams official colors they named them red, purple, black, and "Naismith silver."

Yep, Naismith silver, after the inventor of the game James Naismith, who apparently is a native Canadian. As a Kansas fan, this almost swayed me into not eliminating them. Then I realized that silver actually has no connection to James Naismith and it was just another step in a lot of bad decisions made while branding the Raptors.

Oddly enough, the original team name Toronto wanted was the Toronto Huskies. The name of the last pro basketball team in Toronto that folded in 1947. However, the name was scrapped because they decided the logo would make them look too much like the Timberwolves. Ironic, because not wanting to associate myself with the T-wolves is what brought me to this little tidbit.

Next, Toronto opened the naming up to public entries. Lots of names were submitted and considered, including the Raptors (which I'm guessing was written in Crayon on the back of a coloring book page) and the Hogs. Yes, that's right, the Raptors could have potentially been named the Toronto Hogs.

Not only would I have loved to root for the Toronto Hogs, but it would have made for hours upon hours of fun. The arena could be called The Sty. The fans could have squealed like pigs after every basket. Miss Piggy could have been used as a team mascot. Instead of "Air Canada" Vince Carter could have simply had the name "Ball Hog."

But instead Toronto chose the Raptors, and now they've lost a potential fan because of it.


This picture is full of mistakes.

Fandom Free Agency - #30 Washington Wizards

And so it begins. After crunching a few numbers today I have deemed the Washington Wizards as the hardest team for me to root for in the NBA. I'll even say that the recent allegations against Gilbert Arenas have very little to do with this decision, because the more things that come out the less of a big deal it seems.

I won't do this for every team but let's run through the criteria I laid out and use it to break down the Wizards.

1. Winning team - Nope, not at all.

2. Players I like - None. Jamison and Haywood - Two old UNC players, Butler - Once claimed he was the next Paul Pierce, Stevenson - Failed his SAT or he would have followed Paul Pierce at KU, Foye and Miller - Just remind me of the horrendous trade for the #5 pick last season, Arenas and Crittenton - Could be convicted felons by weeks end.

3. Youth - Not really, Nick Young is an OK player, but other than that nobody.

4. NBA 2k10 playability - Not the worst team here but nobody I'd love to play with.

5. TV time - None

6. Proximity - Nope, and even if I did go to Washington I'd probably prefer to go to a Capitals game.

7. Fantasy team - Nobody, thank god.

8. Financial situation - Could get better if Arenas is convicted, but currently the worst contract in the league.

9. Olive branches - I don't know any Wizards fans.

This wasn't really even all that hard, and like I said before, the recent gun allegations have little to do with it.

However, I will say this about it. I don't think the original altercation was a big deal, seems like Agent 0 was just joking around and the whole thing got blown out of proportion. I buy that it was a joke.

But, since the story came out Arenas behavior has been unexplainable. I already thought the guy was a lunatic, but now he's under investigation by the police and he's joking around about it?

His twitter rant made it seem like Stephon Marbury had hacked his account. (I'd link it, but he smartly took it down.)

His press conference arguments were childish.

And his stupid gun shooting pregame dance was like he was just asking David Stern to suspend him.

Truthfully though, I wouldn't have blamed Arenas if he did want to get suspended. That's why I'm writing this. I don't want to be associated with the Wizards either.

Fandom Free Agency - The Breakdown

It's officially underway. I've spent the last few days constantly looking for clues and reasons to root for one team or another. The Cavs are on TV all the time. My fantasy team is filled with Nuggets and Hornets. The first NBA 2k10 game I played was with the Warriors (don't ask.)

There's a hundred different reasons that I will or won't root for a team. In this post I'm going to lay out my basic criteria for choosing my new NBA team. This list is in no particular order...

1. Winning team - I'm not saying I want the Lakers but I would love to have a playoff team. The NBA playoffs are 2 months of non-stop action and I would love to have a dog in the fight. So, the team's record will certainly be a factor.

2. Players I like - KU players are a bonus. Guys like Ray Allen are fun to root for. MU players are a negative (although they're limited in appearances.) Guys like Stephen Jackson aren't as fun to root for.

3. Youth - I don't want a team that's old and going to change. I want a team that will be around for a while.

4. NBA 2k10 playability - I made the word up I think, but if I pick a team, I'm going to want to play with them on a video game. Trust me, it's important.

5. TV time - I haven't seen the T-Wolves play on TV since 2 years ago on KG's homecoming to Minnesota. I want a team that I can watch and evaluate for myself.

6. Proximity to home - This will have some factor. I'd like to root for a team close to KC so it's easier to watch a home game.

7. Fantasy team - Earlier this season I picked up Ryan Gomes just so I could have a Wolves player on my team. I'd like to be able to have a player on my team that I don't have to stretch for.

8. Financial situation - Money is very important in today's NBA. Especially with the upcoming free agency extravaganza. I want a team that will improve themselves. Not sell off players.

9. Olive branches - I've gotten a few already. Friends of mine want me to come over to their team. You want to bribe me, then go ahead. I'll accept it.

10. To be determined - I also feel free to add another distinction at any time. It's my fandom for heaven's sake.

So, tomorrow the elimination process will begin. We'll start to narrow down the field in hopes of finding the team for me.

Does anybody know if there's an e-harmony site for this sort of thing?

Fandom Free Agency - The Intro

It's time for me to do something for myself. 

To stop and look around a little bit.

I'm not talking so much about a life changing overhaul and searching for the greater meaning of life. I'm talking about taking a hard look at one aspect of my life and giving it a little more thought. 

In this case, my current NBA fandom for the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Doing something for myself should come as nothing strange for anyone associated with the T-wolves. The front office in Minnesota hasn't thought of anyone but themselves for 3 seasons now and hasn't thought of their fans, like me, in even longer. (The KG trade could be seen as some sort of a selfless act because they allowed KG to go somewhere else to win a title. But that did nothing for fans.)

KG was the reason I was a Minnesota fan. The guy went hard year-after-year and game-after-game, often time for a team that really had no shot at winning anything. You had to admire the intensity the guy played with, even if that intensity brought about a foul mouth that made you hide the women and children. 



I liked the KG trade when it happened 3 seasons ago. I was happy for KG for moving on, and I was happy with the T-Wolves getting players like Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Bassy Telfair in return. Those three players were guys I wouldn't mind rooting for. I already had a bunch of T-Wolves gear and continuing to root for them would just be much easier than moving on to the Celtics with KG.

But in reality, he KG trade should have been the last straw for me. It was the easy thing to do, but it signified where the team was going. The title shots - gone, the playoffs - an afterthought, the lottery - insulting.

But being in the lottery can be a good thing, it gives the team the best chance to rebuild and with the young players from the KG trade I didn't mind rebuilding for a year or two. However, I should have given a closer look at what the Wolves would do with those lottery picks:

2005 lottery pick - Rashad McCants (a player I never liked in college who would go on to date Khloe Kardashian.)

2006 lottery pick - Brandon Roy (loved Brandon Roy in the draft... traded to Portland for Randy Foye within minutes of the pick)

2007 lottery pick - Corey Brewer (more on Mr. Brewer later on)

2008 lottery pick - Kevin Love (a good player, but he's playing on a team that already has a player exactly like him)

2009 lottery pick - Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn (the debacle off all debacles)

Sure, Minnesota was getting lottery picks, but they pretty obviously had no idea what to do with them. And this doesn't even mention the 2008 2nd round selection and immediate trading of my hero Mario Chalmers. If Mario was on this team there is no chance I would be looking elsewhere. Even if they went winless.

So now, with those drafts in the book I'll take a quick look at the Timberwolves roster.

Players I like:

Al Jefferson

Kevin Love

Ryan Gomes

Alando Tucker (He's one clean Mother Tucker)

I dislike everyone else. Some of them because their irrelevant and will never play, but among the regulars here are the reasons...

Jonny Flynn - Part of the great 2009 point guard draft debacle. I see him as the main reason Rubio isn't currently on the team and I was in attendance at the Sprint Center last year when he tried to punch Tyrel Reed.

Ramon Sessions - An obvious back up plan for Rubio not coming to Minnesota and he's overpaid.

Wayne Ellington - MOP of the Final Four last year for a team I don't like.

And of course...

Corey Brewer - .416/.204/.660 Those are Corey Brewer's shooting percentages of FG/3PT/FT. All of them are pitiful. Yet Brewer continues to keep shooting, he's not shy about it. If Corey would cool it and just play defense, something he's at least average at, I wouldn't mind. But as is the guy can't play and he's on the list of failed lottery picks above.

So, with that, I would like to announce that my NBA fandom is now up for free agency. I'll be looking around at all options and narrowing the process down. Similar to what Bill Simmons did with his Premier League fandom back in 2006.

I'm going all out and I'm going to break down all options. I hope to have a team picked out by the start of this season's playoffs and ideally it will be a team in those playoffs.

I'm not saying I'm done with the T-Wolves. I could very well end up back in their arms when all is said and done. But I'm putting them on notice and if I leave the blood will be left on Corey Brewer hands.