Life In The Weeds

Jimmer Is No Pistol

Certainly, Jimmer Fredette has carried BYU further than anyone imagined this year...especially with the suspension of BYU's leading rebounder, Brandon Davies, late this season.

I was disappointed to see Jimmer and BYU lose last night.  BYU winning was a great story.

I've seen Jimmer play a few times this year and he was definitely off his game against Florida last night...it seemed to me he was forcing some long shots and even seemed a bit sluggish.  He is deceptively quick and gets by defenders.  He is known for his 28' bombs, but I like his game when he slashes to the hole.  His off game last night still produced 32 points...and his season average was almost 28 per game.

With those types of numbers, Jimmer has drawn comparison to Pistol Pete Maravich.  Pistol Pete is college basketball’s all-time leading scorer. The LSU guard, who averaged 44.2 points a game over three seasons from 1967-70 without the benefit of the 3-point line, had unconscious range.

Former LSU Coach, Dale Brown, went back and looked at film of all 83 games Maravich played and figured out he would have been credited with an average of 13 3-pointers per game. That would have raised Maravich’s scoring average to an untouchable 57 points a game.  And that is not including attempts that Pistol may have "stepped back" on had he seen he was close to the line, as many shooters do today.

Pistol Pete CREATED a style of play that is still seen in today's game.  While Jimmer is an prolific scorer, he is NO Pistol Pete.

mj

Crying is Part of Sports

This week, crying in sports was a hot topic.

It made headlines because of a comment made by the Miami Heat head coach, Eric Spoelstra during his post-game news conference last Sunday that "there are a couple guys crying in the locker room right now" because of the disappointment from faltering yet again at the finish and extending the Heat's losing streak to four games.  As a reminder, the Miami Heat are led by three superstars - LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chis Bosh.

Spoelstra's comments seemingly shocked the sports media world...crying in the locker room?  Who When? Give us details!  Even some fellow NBA players jumped on the bandwagon and made comments poking fun and scoffing at the idea of players crying in the locker room.

Let's be clear...crying is part of sports!  Period.

Since the introduction of sports, athletes have been crying there eyes out.  Take a look at Jordan when he won his 5th championship ring...sobbing like a baby.  Just watch any athlete be inducted into the Hall of Fame...or, announce their retirement, cue the waterworks. Lou Gehrig was not afraid to cry in front of 60,000 Yankee fans. I dare anyone to watch Brian's Song, Miracle or Rudy without a box of tissues handy.

Crying in sports starts young...just this week my 6th grade daughter lost in the basketball playoffs...most of her team burst into tears when the final whistle blew.  She sobbed the entire ride home.  I can tell you that the last time a cried...really cried...alligator tear style...was when we lost in the National Championship game in college.

Clearly, the players in the Miami Heat locker room really care about winning...so Lebron, Wade and Bosh, keep on crying...give each other a hug and get out there and play ball.

mj

The Code

Last week, Brandon Davies was suspended form the BYU basketball program.  BYU has been a regular Top 10 program this season and was predicted to have some good success this March in the NCAA tournament. Davies was BYU's leading reboounder and provided a much needed inside presence to the team.

This is a huge blow to the BYU program and will, probably, result in an early tournament exit.

Davies did not break any laws.  He was guilty of breaking the University's Honor Code. Davies turned himself in...admitting to his coach that he had had pre-marital sex with his girlfriend.

There has been lots of discussion about this suspension and whether or not it was justified or warranted...many folks are saying that Davies is no different than any other college kid and that BYU is over reacting.  

I disagree.

Let's take a look at the BYU Honor Code at BYU, a private school affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This code requires students to "live a chaste and virtuous life." Students are also required to be honest; abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee and substance abuse; and attend church regularly.

I'm not standing on a soapbox and saying that what he did was wrong...hell no. I am all for a non-chaste, non-virtuous lifestyle.  However, if Davies wanted a different lifestyle then he should not have attended BYU...it's that simple.

Lot's of people live by a code - in the Marines it's a Code-Red, Dexter lives by Harry's Code, my son signs an Athletic Code in High School...when you live by the code, you die by the code!

mj

The Brady Dance

Tom Brady, perhaps, is the greatest NFL quarterback ever to play the game.  He certainly must be considered one of the Top 5...this is indisputable.

He is tall, athletic...very good looking and is married to one of the most beautiful woman ever created. Prior to settling down, he needed bodygaurds to help keep the world of gorgeous suitors at bay.

Seemingly, Tom has it all...

Behold...Tom Brady has NO RHYTHM...I mean NONE...zip...nada!  Not only does he look like a complete tool in this video...he looks like he should be married to Gerry Bundchen.

 

mj

iPad II - does it really need to be better?

Is it? Of course!  Bbut with sales of 15 million units, the original iPad has already been a runaway best seller...and, a new version just means another instant Apple home run!  Quick math tells me 9B in original iPad sales.

The iPad II seems to deliver everything the consumer was looking for, with the exception of a USB port.

A few highlights:

• the new iPad adds front and rear cameras that permit the kind of FaceTime video chat that is so appealing on the latest iPhones and on Mac computers
• the VGA camera on the front of the second-generation iPad can capture video (and audio) at up to 30 frames per second, a standard measure of smoothness; the rear camera can shoot in high-definition, up to what techies refer to as 720p.
• the presence of cameras also permits the Photo Booth feature popular on Macs that lets you snap pictures with a bunch of wacky special effects, one of which can morph your head into two.
• The hardware itself is a head-turner. New tablets come in black or white — Apple says both will be available on day one — and are noticeably slimmer. In fact, they're 33% thinner than the first iPad and, at 1.3 pounds for the Wi-Fi-only model, a tad lighter.
• Apple will also be selling a new $39 accessory that will let you plug the iPad into an HDTV with an HDMI port so you will be able to "mirror" the apps and whatever else is on the iPad screen on a bigger display...this is pretty dam cool.

I admitted a long time ago, when the iPad was first introduced, that I did not see the value in having one...then I got one and have become a convert.  With more and more Apps being introduced...and with everything moving to the cloud, the iPad can allow you to eliminate your laptop all together.

mj