Where Amazing Happens Sometimes: Lose Like A Winner

By virtue of the fact that as a child, I was obsessed with the Chicago Bulls, I have long been an admirer of Lakers coach Phil Jackson and the calm demeanour with which he encounters issues from men who often behave like children.

Last night's game 4 blow-out at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks was difficult to watch as a Kobe guy, Phil fan and otherwise neutral observer.

Something has to be said about a franchise of perennial winners that loses with such immaturity and lack of class as the Lakers did last night. In what was Phil Jackson's final game as a coach, the Lakers disgusted fans and rivals alike with a display of antics that epitomize the concept of being a 'sore loser'.

First there was Lamar Odom's unnecessary foul against Dirk that rightly merited an ejection;



Then there was this absolutely unacceptable display from centre Andrew Bynum that was rightly called 'Bush League' by ESPN analyst Mike Tirico. Both J.J. Barea, and Bynum for that matter, are fortunate that he wasn't seriously injured on the play;



And to pout an exclamation point on the whole fiasco, Barea scored on the play. If there has ever been a moment to scream-out "AND 1" in a player's grill, that was it.

Kudos to the Mavs for their non-reaction and for the players who did not leave the bench causing an automatic 1 games suspension a la Amare Stoudemire following Robert Horry's tackling of Steve Nash a few years past.

In the end, I'm pleases the Mavs won and that this year's installment of the NBA playoffs features a few clubs that typically have not made it to this stage. I'm wholeheartedly behind Dirk in hopes he can win a ring before his time is done, as well as the likes of Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry and my cousin Tyson Chandler.

It's just sad that a coach and star player like Phil and Kobe will forever have a blotch on their legacies as some of the game's greats because of the actions of two teammates.

Disgusting.

Here's hoping Kobe ripped into those two in the dressing room and that dog Odom married has him on the couch for a few nights.

Bye Phil - you were the best.

Lunar Eclipse: Live Blog

It's Lunar Eclipse time boys and girls.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the earth so that the earth blocks the sun's rays from striking the moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle.

Initially I had trouble understanding this (obviously I'm joking), until I drew a diagram where the earth is my junk, and the sun and the moon are my two balls, where if everything is in proper order, a lunar eclipse will occur in my pants.

Because of this, there is always a full moon the night of a lunar eclipse. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes. Orbital nodes could not be metaphorically translated into the aforementioned analogy, though I'm told from a friend of a friend that I may have contracted orbital nodes once in university.

Let's take this opportunity to use the world wide web to its fullest and have ourselves a little live chat.

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1:48AM - Fuck it's bright out. Between the snow and the light emitted from the moon (yes, I'm aware the moon doesn't produce light), you'd think we're enjoying a midnight sun in southwest Ontario. Yippee.

1:54AM - Well, this is going rather swimmingly - there is nobody participating in this live chat, however, despite the lack of reaction, nay support, I continue to stare at the moon.

1:59AM - Just made popcorn. Still no participants, eclipse continues to cover the left-side of the moon, approximately a third of the way.

2:04AM - Wowzers. Briefly stopped by the loo to make water and pause for a quick, yet necessary exfoliation, only to find upon returning to the kitchen window that the moon is now half-covered. Live chat members total 1. Yours Truly.

2:20AM - Holy fuck the eclipse is really moving now - which is the complete inverse of this live blogging experiment.

2:21AM - On another subject, Mavs beat the Heat, halting their win streak at 12. Take that Lebron. Somewhere, Jamario Moon is finally smiling, as astronomers worldwide mistakenly check his twitter feed.

2:29AM - Now but a sliver of the vibrant moon remains visible. Much like my confidence, with each passing signal, the light begins to vanish like the bulb at the end of the dock in F. Scott's marquee work, slipping away through the sands of time.

2:35AM - Goodnight Moon. See you tomorrow night, hopefully as I serenade your beauty as I stumble home drunkenly with confidence momentarily regained and temporally intact.

Thanks for participating in this maiden voyage of the badnewsblog live blogging.

(italics used to imply sarcasm.)