Retweet of the Day - March 6, 2013

Twitter can be awesome and also be a liability at the same time. Over the weekend, a rumor circulated and was retweeted hundreds of times stating that LSU Head Football Coach Les Miles was set to resign after the revelation of an affair between Miles and a student.

By Sunday, it was clear that this was a completely unfounded and untrue Internet hoax, but the gossip had begun. Today's retweet, from Baton Rouge Morning Advocate (newspaper) reporter Les East (@EastAdvocate) philosophically sums up how a little irresponsible tweeting can cause a stir.

"A lie gets halfway around the Twitterverse before the truth even opens an account -- Aristotle. #LSU"

LSU has seen its share of "Big Aristotles" over the years. 

Image from www.thejockosphere.com

Retweet of the Day - February 20, 2013

Story lines and sub plots are what make sports, particularly professional sports, fun and dramatic beyond the action during the game. The NBA holds the crown for most engaging story lines. NBA story lines seldom get much more sensational than those coming from the Los Angeles Lakers.

The lack of chemistry between Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and center Dwight Howard has been well documented this season. Reportedly, it got worse (or better, depending on your point of view) over the weekend at the NBA All-Star game in Houston. Multiple outlets have reported that Howard mocked Bryant by putting on his uniform and imitating him in the locker room in front of the other Western Conference All-Stars before the start of the game. Bryant walked into the locker room and spoke to everyone but Howard.

Future Basketball Hall of Famer and four time NBA champion (three with Bryant and the Lakers) Shaquille O'Neal has been openly critical of Howard's play at the center position for several years. Shaq also had a publicly strained relationship with Bryant when the two were teammates in Los Angeles. Time has a way of healing most wounds. In the case of O'Neal and Bryant, Howard appears to be time's healing accelerant.

Today's retweet, by KicksOnFire.com (@kicksonfire), captures this well.

Isn't it funny that Kobe and Shaq's hate for Dwight Howard has some how brought them even closer over the last few weeks. Lol 

Shaq wrote Kobe's lines for Kobe's guest verses on Shaq's album.
"Check it! Check it! You know how I be. Playing with Dwight will be the end of me! ... Dwight...tell me how my brass tastes!"

Image from http://mbd.scout.com

Retweet of the Day - October 5, 2012

I generally try to avoid any discussion of politics on the Hat Trick. Political discussions have their place and a sports blog isn't it. Politics are divisive. Sports bring people together, even when they disagree.

However, there is very little dispute that the Republican Presidential Nominee, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, cleaned the clock of President Barack Obama in the first Presidential debate this past Wednesday. Even most of the news talk commentators who have consistently supported the President concede that Romney won the debate.

How does this tie into sports? Future Hall of Fame NBA center Shaquille O'Neal recently said that Brooke Lopez of the Brooklyn Nets and Andrew Bynum of the Philadelphia 76ers were the two best true centers in the NBA. The glaring omission in that statement was the name of Dwight Howard, who is the best center in the NBA according to nearly every other informed and rational opinion regarding basketball.

Shaq can be a troll when he feels jilted. Following the 2008 NBA Finals in which Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were outsed by the Boston Celtics, Shaq recorded an impromptu diss freestyle at Kobe's expense with the hook, "Tell me how my ass tastes!" That leads us to today's retweet, by T.J. Patterson ‏(@tjpatterson13).


"Romney thinking right now "tell me how my ass tastes"!! #romneyvictory @shaq"

"Check it! Check it! You know how I be. Last night Barry O. couldn't f__ with me! ... Barack, (expletive), TELL ME HOW MY ASS TASTES!"

Image from www.randirhodes.com
 

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics – Part 3

With a glimmer of hope in the NBA lockout negotiations, I thought that this would be a great time for a basketball edition of Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics. As much basketball as you think you know, there are some facts that you may find a little hard to believe.


Kevin Willis is fifth all-time in NBA history in games played.

A one time All-Star (1992) and a career 12 PPG and 8 RPG player, Devo benefited from good health and consistent play over a 22 season career, which ended only four years ago at age 44. Willis did not play fewer than 65 games in a season until 1996, at age 33! All four players ahead of Willis in career games played are in the Basketball Hall of Fame (in order of most to least: Robert Parish, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Stockton, Karl Malone).

Note: Hall of Famer Moses Malone is fifth all-time if including ABA games.

Kevin Willis A.K.A. "Devo"

Shaquille O’Neal is #17 all-time in NBA history for free throws made.

Free throw percentage...not so much.

Half of a lot is more than 90% of a few. And Shaq's half has been A LOT! 2

LeBron James is fifth all-time in NBA history for minutes played per game (minimum of 15,000 minutes played).

For all of the criticism The King received for “checking out” during the playoffs in the past, there is no bigger active workhorse in the NBA, averaging over 40 minutes per game.

The King wasn't being emotional, he just needed a REST! 3

Tracy McGrady is fourth all-time in NBA history in points per game in the playoffs (minimum 1,000 points scored).

Given the rapid downward spiral T-Mac experienced during the last three years, it can be easy to overlook how valuable he was. The Raptors, Magic, and Rockets made relatively few advances in the playoffs during McGrady’s stays with those franchises. It was not because McGrady failed to pull his weight, averaging 28.5 points per game in the playoffs. Only Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Jerry West have a higher average in the post season.

Playoffs? PLAYOFFS! No I'm not kidding you. PLAYOFFS! 4

Mel Daniels is 6th all-time in ABA/NBA history in rebounds per game (minimum 5,000 total rebounds).

Daniels may be one of the greatest players you have never heard of if you are under the age of 40. That Daniels is not in the Hall of Fame with such a resume is shocking, especially considering that in the nine seasons he played, he averaged 18 points per game in his career to go along with his 15 rebounds per game. All five players ahead of Daniels and the next 11 retired players behind Daniels in this statistical category (Dwight Howard is 12th, all-time) have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Daniels is likely a victim of having played nearly his entire career in the American Basketball Association. The ABA and NBA did not merge until 1976. Except for a token 11 games he played at the very end of his career with the New York Knicks in the 1976-77 season, the seven time ABA All-Star played his entire career in the “other league”.

Basketball cards have come a long way! Kind of a shame, this rookie card goes for $6.00; MJ: $600 5

Marcus Camby is 10th all-time in NBA history in blocked shots per game (minimum 1,000 blocked shots).

When you block 2.5 shots per game for your career, you too can play 26 minutes per game and still earn a lucrative salary to play basketball at age 36.

Camby shmamby! I bet he couldn't stop Derrick Rose! Oh...wait.... 6

Bill Laimbeer is NOT among the top 50 leaders for most fouls committed in a single season.

For a man whose enforcer reputation preceded himself so much to the degree that a video game called “Bill Laimbeer’s Combat Basketball” was released for super Nintendo in the early 1990s, one would think he’d be among the all time leaders in this dubious statistical category. That is not the case.

The most fouls Laimbeer ever committed in a season was 332 in 1981 while playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers (not the “Bad Boys” Pistons). Even more shocking? Former Laimbeer teammates with the Bad Boys, Dennis Rodman, is nowhere to be found on in the top 250!!! Then again, you can’t commit fouls when you’ve been tossed from the game.

I couldn't make this up. 7

Richard “Rip” Hamilton holds the NBA record for playoff minutes played in a season (1079 minutes played in the 2005 playoffs).

Rip has always been a durable player with a high running motor, but I would have expected teammate and point guard Chauncy Billups or other NBA high-energy players like John Stockton or Allen Iverson to hold that record, particularly in the playoffs, before a shooting guard.

Fear the shield! 8

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To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.

Source of statistics: basketball-reference.com
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Fat, Fat, and All That

Earlier this week, Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins wrote a piece critical of the conditioning of Washington Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman. In short, Jenkins says Grossman is too fat.

Grossman is not the first, nor will he be the last, athlete to be criticized for his management of his weight. What we may not see for a while are some of the hum dingers of quotes like what can be found in Jenkins’ article. The line that stood out most to me was, “If Grossman has an inherent limitation, it’s his lack of mobility. He has no business compounding it with a knife and fork if he expects to lead the Redskins to the playoffs.”


FAT!

While one should not throw stones if living in a glass house, as Ms. Jenkins is on this issue (she is not a hippo, but she’s no stringbean, either), it caught my attention and gave me a little chuckle. One of my favorite sports journalists, talk show host Jim Rome, refuses to allow personal appearances to be fodder for his show. It’s a pillar of The Jim Rome Show.

The Daily Hat Trick may have the luxury of raising the bar when we have 2,000,000 readers per day. As it stands, my daily bogey for readership is three figures, not seven. When I get to seven, I’ll raise my standards. Until then, enjoy some samples of pithy comments of the past about players packing on the pounds.

C'mon Sally. You could stand to put the fork down, yourself. 1

TO THE PRESS!

Recently acquired and controversial New England Patriots defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth:

“And so the biggest question for Redskins fans remains this: will the pros of Albert Haynesworth's expulsion…outweigh the cons…?”
--Michael Katz, S.B. Nation D.C., September 9, 2011


Warrick Dunn (on the ground) looks like he is afraid Albert is going to eat him! 2

 Former University of Alabama defensive tackle Terrence Cody:

“He's a big, fat blob,”
--Unidentified NFC personnel man, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, “Will Alabama’s Cody Be a Mountain of Bust?”, April 18, 2010

"BLOB"? Harsh: yes. Unfair? Hmm.... 3

Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley on Turner Sports office having a betting pool on his weight:

"That is starting to hurt my feelings. I don't mind skinny people making fun of me, we all do that, but I don't want fat people making fun of me."
--Source: barkleyquotes.blogspot.com


Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley on Peter Vescey calling him fat on TV:
"…The truth is, I'm going to have to get bigger clothes or start hanging out with fat people to look skinnier."
--Source: barkleyquotes.blogspot.com

The supply of Barkley fat quotes were limitless. 4

Former Major League Baseball player John Kruk:

“John Kruk Is Dead Weight On ESPN...and Lots of It”
--Headline for an article in Bleacher Report by Andrew Brining, August 13, 2009

A LOT of it! 5

New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan, after losing some weight:

“I think everyone in New York is happy about that, except maybe Macy’s losing one of their floats.”
--Former Cleveland Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini, Associated Press article, November 11, 2010


Rex Ryan was a source of girth references, too. 6


Former Cleveland Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia

"My arm feels fine. I just can't command either side of the plate."
--Source: Article by Rob Iracane, “What's Eating C.C. Sabathia? What's C.C. Sabathia Eating?” in the Walkoff Walk blog, April 17, 2008.

If he ate a burger, he wouldn't have to keep it on the plate. 7

NBA player Eddie Curry in an article on overpaid players:

“…Eddy Curry, is Exhibit A…Only A? A guy that size is Exhibit A through Z…”
--John Karalis of Bloguin, September 14, 2011


Because I am so sure Curry was trying to put a Big Mac through the hoop. 8

 Former Cleveland Cavalier Shaquille O’Neal

“Shaq Misses Entire Second Half With Pulled Pork Sandwich”
--The Onion Sports Network, January 22, 2010

I couldn't make this up. You know what? If I were hungry enough, I may have missed a little time for a delicious pulled pork sandwich, too! 9

Bon appetite, Hat Trick readers!

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.


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The Big 401K

This past Wednesday, 19 year NBA veteran and 15 time All-Star Shaquille O’Neal retired from the NBA after a year with the Boston Celtics. Father time, nagging injuries, and possibly an extra 20 pounds finally caught up to The Diesel. It is ironic that, last week, the Hat Trick reflected upon Shaq's best years, comparing the Dallas Mavericks furious fourth quarter comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals to a similar comeback led by Shaq, then with the Los Angeles Lakers, against the Portland Trailblazers in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals. Shaq was dominant. Shaq was unstoppable. Shaq was a lot of fun to watch. Now, his career is over.

Shaq, then a rookie with the Orlando Magic, taking Dikembe Mutumbo to the hole. Where did the time go? 1

THE BIG LEGACY

A slam dunk for the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, Shaq retires after winning 4 NBA championship rings and being a part of two other teams to win the conference championship and reach the Finals. He played for the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers (where he had his best years), the Miami Heat, the Phoenix Suns, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Celtics. Shaq was well traveled in his longevity in the NBA.


Shaq was no ordinary player. He was no ordinary superstar. When he spoke, people listened, usually to see what he would say next. O’Neal brought a very rare combination of being literally and figuratively larger than life in his stature and personality. Past all of the size and showmanship, he was an absolutely unstoppable force in his prime, enabling O’Neal’s teams to win 4 championships in 5 Finals appearances during a seven year span.

Shaq and Dwayne Wade after Shaq's final championship in 2006. 2

THE BIG HEART

In addition to being one of the most well known and significant faces in the history of basketball, Shaq was also a low profile philanthropist with a big heart. Shaq is a fellow alum of my alma-mater, Louisiana State University. O’Neal, over the years, has been a very generous benefactor of the school, usually requesting as little fanfare as possible. Living in Baton Rouge, I have heard countless anecdotes from former LSU Head Basketball Coach Dale Brown, media personalities, and ordinary Joes in the community about Shaq’s community service, philanthropy, and charity to others, often benefiting everyday people, not high profile causes.

It is often said that the measure of a man’s character is what he does when nobody is looking. At 7’1” and being one of the most famous people on the planet, Shaq had few moments to himself in which nobody was looking. Apparently, in spite of his dominance on the basketball court and his infectious personality that scored him countless endorsements and several movie appearances, Shaq went out of his way to be his best while as few people as possible were looking.


The NBA has lost a true asset. Shaq was a transcendent player with a transcendent personality. As the center position has transitioned into a more defensively oriented role, in which a 20 point performance by any center not named “Howard” is attention grabbing, Shaq may possibly be the last of the great, truly dominant big men in the NBA. On top of losing a great player and character, the league is also losing a good person, an good ambassador, and a good role model. He was certainly one of my favorite players to watch and he will be missed.

The Big Santa 3

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1) Image from bleacherreport.com
2) Image from travelogue101.com
3) Image from bgcmp.org 
* The title, "The Big 401K" was inspired by Sahquille O'Neal's Twitter page and is Shaq's brainchild, not mine. 

Kobe…Tell Me How My (bleep) Tastes!



4

Well, the Lakers have done it again. Once again, they have demonstrated that they are the team to beat in the regular season. Once again they have dropped the opening game of a series against an inferior opponent. Once again the king sized egos and personalities of their star players and coaches appear to be clashing. Once again, two games into a series, another Lakers’ opponent smells what might be the tiniest drop of blood in the water.

The Mavericks? 1

This is not the first time that the Kobe-era, post-Shaq, Lakers have fallen behind in a playoff series. I doubt it will be the last. This time around may be a little different, though, and it may be too deep of a hole for the two-time defending champions to dig themselves out of.


DOWN 0-2

Falling behind 0-2 is a series is a big problem, because the team trailing needs to win 4 of its next 5 games, after being unable to win either of the first two, to win the series. This problem is much more manageable, however, if the team trailing is similarly (or more) talented, the games the team lost were competitive, and its two losses came on the road, to be followed by two games on the trailing team’s home court.

What makes this problem different is that the Lakers dropped their first two games AT HOME. Neither of their losses to the Dallas Mavericks were utter blowouts, but there was little doubt of the outcome in the final minutes of either game. The Lakers may be slightly more talented, on paper, than the Mavericks, but the Mavericks are still a very talented team in their own right, with two elite stars in Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd, and the Mavs are executing much better than the Lakers.

Now the Lakers have to travel to Dallas to play Game 3 tonight. This game, if won by Dallas, will all but slam the door on the possibility of a third straight championship for the Lakers. They will do so without starting small forward Ron Artest, who is suspended for tonight’s game after a Flagrant 2 foul against the Mavs’ J.J. Berea in the final minute. The Lake Show is undermanned and behind the 8-ball.

Now, Ron-Ron...suspensions are BAD! M'kay? 2

KOBE, TELL ME HOW MY (BLEEP) TASTES!
To boot, Andrew Bynum suggested that the Lakers were suffering from “trust issues” and then went into detail that should be disturbing to a pick up team, let alone an NBA team. This flap has a similar feel to the sibling rivalry that Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had in the first half of the 2000s decade. Once again the parts of the team are being questioned by the man in the middle.

There is a difference. The first difference is that there was a legitimate debate among basketball fans, and possibly within the Lakers’ locker room, over who the on court leader was. Was it Kobe’s team or Shaq’s team? There is no debate in 2011. It is Kobe’s team. The second difference is that Shaq was approaching the twilight of his career, though he was still an All-Star at the time, with one more championship ahead of him, as a team leader, after his Laker days. Nonetheless, Shaq’s days in L.A. were numbered.

Andrew Bynum’s best days appear to be ahead of him. Whereas the Lakers eventually exercised the option of unloading Shaq, the Lakers have made it abundantly clear that they have zero intention of parting with Bynum. There were multiple rumors that the Lakers passed on an opportunity to acquire Carmelo Anthony, unquestionably one of the top 10 players in the league, from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Bynum. The Lakers’ front office track record with Bynum appears to support those rumors. The Lakers appear to plan on Bynum being a major contributor and more of a focal point of the Lakers’ on-court execution as Kobe slows down in later years.

What the Lakers have on their hands is an emerging star speaking up through the media in alarming detail, a role reserved for the head coach and POSSIBLY an on floor leader such as Kobe (if any player goes to the press at all to air dirty laundry). Granted, Bynum’s concern appears to be centered on winning. He did not, like Shaq, deliver a rap asking Kobe to tell him how his ass tastes, in an effort to promote himself. But Bynum did stir controversy and he has forced the team into a position in which it either irons out any internal differences and rallies around one another or sinks like the Titanic.

"Check it! Check it! You know how I be. Last week Kobe couldn't do without me!"
Yeah, Shaq, but the Celtics didn't do anything with you, either. 3

THE HEART OF A CHAMPION?

True champions rise to the occasion when the chips are down. This is not simply a long-lasting, ubiquitous cliché. The Lakers are “all in” tonight. If they lose, all of their chips are all but gone and they will (likely) NOT be champions in 2011. Only four times in the history of the NBA has a team dropped its first two games at home and come back to win a series: the 1969 Lakers over the San Francisco Warriors, the 1993 Phoenix Suns over the Lakers (best of five series), the 1994 Houston Rockets over the Suns, and the 2005 Mavericks over the Rockets. All but the 2005 Mavs reached the NBA Finals, with the 1994 Rockets winning the first of two consecutive championships.

In other words, the Lakers’ backs are against the wall. However, if they are the team, this year, that they have been over the past three years, they have what it takes to overcome this massive obstacle and still contend for a championship. This recent crop of Lakers teams, as recently as the first round of this season, has fallen behind a lesser opponent, had the series extended to six or seven games, but advanced. This would be the greatest escape act by a Kobe-led team, to date, should the Lakers advance past the Mavericks.

Improbable? Yes. Imopssible? That’s…why they PLAY…the games!

Houston forever became known as "Clutch City" in the NBA world after the Rockets dug deep out of several big holes in their championship years of 1994 and 1995. Do Kobe, Pau, and Lamar and the Lakers have what Olajuwon, Drexler, Big Shot Rob had? 5

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