Check out Redskin’s rookie Keith Eloi showing off his hops.

Y’know, I could do that.  I just…don’t have a truck.  Yeah, that’s the ticket.

[via fanhouse]

Do we have a series?

Shaq certainly thinks so, and I’m not going to argue with the big man.

The Orlando came out strong in this one and looked like an entirely different team than in the first two games.  Want proof?  One stat really stands out, and highlights their improvement.  Just look at the two records they’ve set-

First, they set a record for the worst shooting percentage of any Finals Game One since the shot clock era- 29.9%.

Last night?  They set a record for the best shooting percentage of any Finals game ever- 62.5%.

This is the same team, playing the same LA Lakers, within a week of each other.  Home court can’t account for all of this, can it?  Let’s look at some of the reasons:

• First, there was the perfect storm of terrible, terrible Lakers defense, plus the Magic putting things together.
• Dwight Howard had only one turnover to go with 24 points and 16 boards.  solid.
• Rafer Alston, Mr Skip To My Lou himself, finally started hitting shots and rang up 20 points himself.
• Kobe, after going for 21 in the first half and looking as determined as ever to close this thang out, did something he rarely does: disappeared in the clutch.  He would go on to miss basket after basket (including five FTs) and score only 10 in the second half.

While I’m sure they’re not interested in moral victories, the Lakers can take one thing away from this- Even on a night where the Magic shot the damn lights out and Kobe faded away in the second half, they only lost by 4 in Orlando. It’s not anywhere near panic time yet for Lakers fans.  For everyone else though, this could be a good sign.  We  might at least see a competitive series.

Tiger Woods, he’s good

Tiger Woods, in the tie-breaker chip shot for the whole skins tourney (he tied things up on 18 with that putt at the beginning of the video), stays doing what he’s been doing for years: being good at golf.

[via fanhouse]

NBA Combine Stats!

Draft Express has put up all the numbers from the NBA Draft Combine and that is exactly where you can find some delicious, delicious statistical goodness.  Do these numbers really mean anything?  Hard to say!  But come on, like you’ve got something better to do?  Yeah, that’s what I thought.  Let’s take a look at these numbers:

• No surprise on the tallest man in the draft: Consensus #2 pick Hasheem Thabeet at 7′ 2.5″ in shoes.  That’s a big boi right there.  There’s a tie at the bottom of the list, with Patrick Mills and Ty Lawson both coming in at 6′ .5″ in their kicks.  Lawson has the shortest wingspan at 6′ .75″, more than an inch shorter than Mills.
• The heaviest man in the draft is no surprise either: it’s Pitt big man DeJuan Blair at 277 lbs, who claims to have lost 40 lbs since the end of the season.  That means he was playing at roughly twice the size of the lightest guy at the combine, little Eric Maynor at 164 lbs.
• I suppose losing that extra 40 lbs did Blair some good, as he didn’t have the highest Body Fat percentage.  That honor went to AJ Price, who is 6′ .5″ and 193 lbs.  I’d say that’s not so bad, I’m about 6′ 1″ 185, but then again I’m blogging about the NBA Draft Combine and he was in it.  And he’s totally gonna get drafted and make more this year than I’ll see in my life.  AJ Price: 1 Jackson: 0.
• Johnny Flynn was the only player at the combine to hit the 40″ vertical, which is totally badass.  Being able to jump high is awesome, you can dunk, you can touch tall awnings to win bets with your friends…and you can make millions of dollars in the NBA.  See, told you it was awesome.  Austin Daye and Greivis Vasquez, meanwhile, could both only muster up 28″ verticals.  I’d make fun of them again, but please see the above bullet point, re: them getting drafted and making dollars no matter what I say.
• Luke Harangody, PF from Notre Dame, muscled out 23 reps of 185, more than anyone else.  Unfortunately, Draft Express doesn’t project him to get drafted- but he’s an underclassmen most likely testing the waters anyway.  At the bottom of the heap, we again find our friend Greivis Vasquez, who was only able to manage 1 rep :(.
• There may be some consolation for our man Greivis though, as below him, yet above all the guys who didn’t lift and got an NA, there’s a Mr Austin Daye with a blank for his score.  Does this mean he wasn’t able to muster up even one rep?  Owing to the fact that he’s got the measurables of a sturdy stick, he’s in the top five in height (6′ 10″) but the bottom ten in weight (190 lbs), I would be surprised to find out this guy isn’t exactly a bench pressing machine.  Then again, Kevin Durant couldn’t manage even one rep of 185 at the combine and I hear that guy is doing okay for himself.
• In the sprint, it was all TDT (Toney Douglas Time!) as the point guard covered 3/4 of the court in only 3.03 seconds.  Zoom.  Our new friend Austin Daye posted the slowest time at 3.55 seconds.

Whew.  That’s good stuff.  What?  More you say?  Okay, well let’s take a look at a few players of interest who might not have gotten top or bottom marks:

• First off, your favorite 12 year old assassin: Stephen Curry, who had what’s gotta be considered a pretty good work out.  The kid had a 35.5″ vertical and put up 10 reps of 185, which means I gotta deal with someone who looks that little being way stronger than I am.  Draft Express has got him going 8 overall, pretty good for the kid from Davidson.
• Second, we have James Harden, former leader of Arizona State’s Harden’d criminals.  One of the knocks on him coming into the combine was his athleticism and he obviously came in ready to answer some of those questions: he put up 17 reps, his 37″ vertical gave him the same max reach as #1 pick Blake Griffin, and he ran his sprint in 3.13, only a hundredth of a second behind noted speedster Ty Lawson.  Draft Express now has him as the #3 pick overall.  See, Ricky Rubio, that’s what happens when don’t work out.  People start to wonder why.

Whew, okay, I’m done here.  Sorry if I got carried away, but I do love me some stats.  Don’t you feel like you know all these players a lot better in ways that probably don’t have much practical application to how they’ll actually ball on the court?  I know I do.

Serena Williams (No 2 in the world) lost this morning to Svetlana Kuznetsova (No 7) at the French Open, ending her bid for a Grand Slam this year.  With a 3-1 lead in the final set Williams looked ready to move on, but Kuznetsove came roaring back, finally finishing off her opponent.

Williams’ mother and trainer, Oracene Price, called the loss “a tough one.”  Judging by the pictures above, she might be understating things a bit.  That’s a lot of intensity right there.

[via LA Times]

Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy taking new jobs at NBC

Word is that former Colts Coach Tony Dungy and the recently retired Patriots asshole safety Rodney Harrison will be joining the crew on Football Night in America on sunday night on NBC.  I have nothing else to add except I hate Rodney Harrison but I would let him analyze and call every game, every weekend if it meant football came back right now.  God, I miss it.

Down Goes Nadal

Rafael Nadal lost at the French Open this weekend for the first time ever.  Ever.  Up until now, he was the King of Clay, a whopping 31-0 at the French Open.  That’s obscene.  Yet here we are, and Nadal has lost at Roland Garros to Robin Soderling, the 25th ranked player in the world.  A player who Nadal had crushed a month before 6-0, 6-1.  This is pretty amazing.  Once the surprise wears off, there are some serious historical implications.

First, Nadal’s streak at Roland Garros is over.  He now sits tied with Bjorn Borg with four consequitive titles there and it’s hard to imagine he’ll be able to restart and maintain that streak long enough to break it.  The most important development though has nothing to do with Rafael nadal.  Soderling’s victory has removed the largest obstacle in Roger Federer’s way to winning The French Open.  That title would put him even with Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand-Slam titles and allow him to do what Sampras never did: win all four Grand Slam titles.  All thanks to Robing Soderling.  Who woulda thought?

That’s it for Lebron (and Cleveland)

Well, that’s it.  Lebron is gone from the playoffs and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t diminish my interest a little bit.  Will I be watching the Finals?  Of course I will, we’ve still got Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, all the other absurd players the Lakers have and the traveling 3-point party that is the Orlando Magic.  I’m still in there like swimwear [(c) Rod Benson], but it’s just not quite the same without Lebron James.  Sure, sure we can have the LOLs that are all over the internet about Nike, Vitamin Water and David Stern crying hot tears over The Chosen One’s early exit, but what is this really going to mean?

I think this causes pain far deeper than just a playoff exit for the city of Cleveland.  This year looked like the year they were finally able to surround Lebron with the team he needed to succeed- they won 66 games and then ran a train on all comers during the first two round of the playoffs.  Then came the Magic and the collapse.  For what it’s worth, I don’t think they’re as bad as all that, the Magic are just a matchup nightmare for them.  Then again, a championship squad helmed by perhaps the most dynamic player in the game doesn’t have a team in their own conference that can beat up on them this bad.  They still need one or two more pieces and how good does that trade for Shaq look now, halfway through the season? 

That’s right, they had the opportunity to go Shaq for Wally Szczerbiak- can you imagine what a difference that would have made?  Trade middling defense and some really weak shot attempts for Shaquille Fkkn O’Neal.  He’s not the same player that he was, yes, but he’s still a top five big man in this league and you know he’d be bringing every little bit he has left for the playoffs.  That’s one big body that Howard can’t push around which would have allowed the Cavs to actually play defense and contest that torrential downpour coming from behind the arc.

But none of that happened and now Lebron is out of the playoffs, knocked out in the Conference Championships after winning 66 games.  That’s bad news for Cleveland and good news for Knicks/Nets fans- the hometown discount only applies if it’s not hurting his chances to get those rings.  Because Lebron needs those rings.

More Amazing

First off, I’d like to apologize to King James for my post last night.  The actual stat line is the even-more-regal 37-14-12.  My bad.

37-14-12.  That’s a solid stat line for the playoffs.  If only someone could put that in perspective for us…Oh, hey SI columnist Joe Posnanski, what have you got for us?

LeBron’s final numbers: 37 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists — not just a Triple Double, but a Triple Dozen … here is the list of players in the last 20 years who have managed 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists in a playoff game:

1. LeBron James, May 28, 2009.
2. Nobody else.

So, okay, we’re clear.  That statline=good.  Veddy, veddy good.

Can Lebron James keep that up for two more games?  Whew, I don’t know about that.  I mean, watching him play is wearing me out.  He’s been playing out of his mind the whole way, so yeah, I think he can maintain.  But can his team back him up?  Can they hit those open shots he’s giving them by bashing his way towards the basket over and over again?  They’d better.

Back to Orlando on Saturday night, it’s a must watch.

U Can’t Touch This