This is my story and I'm sticking to it

You know what the good news is about the Donte Stallworth situation? Now Michael Vick will have someone to throw to in jail.

Gus Johnson announcing the UConn/Chatanooga game yesterday: (Cue Gus Johnson music by Fort Minor (the remix)

"Khalil Hartwell...HE'S BEEN AWESOME TODAY!!!!...drives...TO THE BUCKET!!!!... AND SCORES...CHAT-A-NOO-GA CUTS THE LEAD TO 52!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(Note): Not sure if he did that game, but that's what it would have sounded like.

My upset special of Thursday: No. 12 Western Kentucky over No. 5 Illinois

My not so upset special: Cal over Memphis in the 2nd round...oops.

My upset special of Friday: No. 13 Portland State over No. 4 Xavier (in Idaho)
The Vikings already beat Gonzaga this year and lost to Washington by 1.

And finally, you can never have enough of The Machine.

Breaking down the Cats with Duff

DoofyUofA (3:50:27 AM): still bloggin?

romoballa (3:50:58 AM): no, haven't kept up with it, between work, partying, and laziness, kind of stopped, but i'll pick it back up eventually

DoofyUofA (3:51:42 AM): if we play like we played against zag and kansas and when we were on the streak

DoofyUofA (3:51:50 AM): i think we can go to the final four....

romoballa (3:51:55 AM): big if, if chase stops being a pussy

romoballa (3:51:57 AM): wow

DoofyUofA (3:51:58 AM): ya

romoballa (3:52:04 AM): i was just talkin bout beating utah

romoballa (3:52:09 AM): i have wake in the final four

DoofyUofA (3:52:10 AM): i think we have an easy road

DoofyUofA (3:52:17 AM): we beat louisville last year

DoofyUofA (3:52:22 AM): i think wake will be the tought game

DoofyUofA (3:52:33 AM): we have two lottery picks on our team...(if chase isnt a pussy)

romoballa (3:52:45 AM): did u see chase against asu in the pac 10 tourney

romoballa (3:52:52 AM): that was the worst game i've ever seen anyone play

DoofyUofA (3:52:59 AM): and arguable three of the top 5 or 10 players at their positions in the tourney

romoballa (3:53:01 AM): that includes big softie's aau team

DoofyUofA (3:53:07 AM): id say jordan is a top 5 big man in the tourney

DoofyUofA (3:53:28 AM): chase is at least top 10 sf/sg

romoballa (3:53:29 AM): i agree, but we only have 3 guys and one of those guys looks like a big vagina

DoofyUofA (3:53:37 AM): lol

DoofyUofA (3:53:44 AM): cinderella coach

DoofyUofA (3:53:51 AM): underseeded

romoballa (3:53:56 AM): join the other 15 cinderalla coachs

DoofyUofA (3:53:56 AM): chip on the shoulder

DoofyUofA (3:54:00 AM): barely got in

DoofyUofA (3:54:04 AM): its got the makings

romoballa (3:54:39 AM): u know what the biggest thing about our team...watch us in huddles, no one is encouraging each other, no one has cool handshakes

DoofyUofA (3:54:46 AM): that is true

romoballa (3:54:48 AM): the camaraderie isn't there

romoballa (3:55:00 AM): there's a lack of leadership

romoballa (3:55:19 AM): and chase is a pussy, he played himself out of the 1st round

romoballa (3:55:27 AM): here's a kid who was top 5 coming out of high school

romoballa (3:55:33 AM): now might drop to the 2nd round

DoofyUofA (3:55:35 AM): he looked fucking awful in that asu game didnt he

romoballa (3:55:45 AM): ya, don't show ur kids

DoofyUofA (3:55:49 AM): woody and wesley said it best...white men cant jump

romoballa (3:55:59 AM): except that he can, he just refuses to

DoofyUofA (3:56:02 AM): lol

DoofyUofA (3:56:13 AM): you think we have any chance of making it 26 next year?

romoballa (3:56:17 AM): 0

romoballa (3:56:25 AM): unless, our big 3 come back

DoofyUofA (3:56:30 AM): how about a nucleus of zane johnson kyle fogg and jamelle horn leading ur u a wildcats

romoballa (3:56:31 AM): which would be a miracle

romoballa (3:56:35 AM): lol

DoofyUofA (3:56:46 AM): i actually like fogg though

romoballa (3:56:46 AM): ladies and gentleman, ur 2009-10 arizona basketball team

romoballa (3:56:49 AM): me too

DoofyUofA (3:56:55 AM): even though he plays defense like a jack ass some times

romoballa (3:56:56 AM): he's my favorite wildcat

romoballa (3:57:03 AM): ya, but he plays hard

romoballa (3:57:24 AM): i actually like zane johnson too, he's not afraid to fire

DoofyUofA (3:57:27 AM): pennell better have the coaching run of his life

DoofyUofA (3:57:34 AM): cause hes been out coached quite a bit this year

romoballa (3:57:46 AM): pennell has done a great job, but he's clueless sometimes

romoballa (3:57:58 AM): he made 0 adjustments against ASU, and we fell apart in the 2nd half

DoofyUofA (3:58:09 AM): and then theres lute on the sid lines...touching his face all the time and shit

romoballa (3:58:25 AM): lute has completely lost it

romoballa (3:58:55 AM): he feels like an anvil just dropped on his had

romoballa (3:58:56 AM): head

romoballa (3:59:04 AM): and he's seeing stars

DoofyUofA (3:59:15 AM): i was waiting for some joe dimaggio type speech at that game where he was honored

DoofyUofA (3:59:18 AM): and it was like

DoofyUofA (3:59:20 AM): thanks

DoofyUofA (3:59:21 AM): im out

DoofyUofA (3:59:40 AM): id like to thank god my momma and biggie smalls

DoofyUofA (3:59:42 AM): peace

22 reasons why Buller is an Idiot

In honor of Buller's birthday, here is the annual "Reasons why Buller is a dumbass list."


1. Buller doesn't know who Joe Paterno is.
2. On the same day Buller wore Oregon shorts and a Notre Dame sweatshirt; two different people came up to him to talk about those teams and he knew nothing about them.
3. Buller now owns an Eastern Michigan sweatshirt with the initials EMU on the front.
4. Buller says "No homo" to his basketball club team at practice.
5. Buller won 19 straight regular season games in fantasy basketball and then didn't win a fucking dime in the playoffs.
6. Buller's football team was the Falcons, then the Chargers, at some point the Patriots and the Raiders, and now the Falcons again...since you know they made the playoffs and everything.
7. Buller's favorite football team is subject to change in the next 3 weeks.
8. The idea for this blog came from Buller.
9. After I told Buller I was already at No. 8 after about 3 minutes, he asked, Baller 11 15 21 (4:04:55 PM): is it really that easy?
10. I told Buller I made a tuna sandwich with Mayo, and he asked if it was O.J. Mayo.
11. One of the major factors of Buller becoming an idiot was in high school when everyone was learning Buller had the following thoughts going on his head...
A. How can I take off Larry's shirt
B. How can I take off Nick Kindel's pants
C. Hey Frank, you're fat as fuck, let me get a large popcorn with extra butter, hold the popcorn.
D. I can't see the TV because of your box ass head
12. One of Buller's favorite activities is jumping over shopping carts
13. Buller sent out an email to all the parents of his team asking them to please "reseda the email."
14. Buller is 22 years old but still wears braces.
15. To save 12 dollars from the store price, Buller bought an X Box on Amazon.com and it was broken.
16. Buller pays for a gym membership but never goes
17. When Buller does go to the gym, he lifts kids weights.
18. Buller has over 25 jerseys that he never wears. The one jersey he does wear is a game worn Ira Newble jersey.
19. Buller goes to bars with nba logo socks on.
20. Buller calls Skyler "sky" and calls the show entourage "auntie"
21. (from Skyler) "He backed ur car up into a wall, dumbass."
22 This is the kind of shit Buller does on his Birthday:

Baller 11 15 21 (3:57:06 PM): you might have to put amanda peet, mary j blige, damien wilkins, kevin boss, and tony allen in there too cause its their birthdays as well

Baller 11 15 21 (3:57:14 PM): happy birthday to them as well man

A second to think

I just wanted to post this link because too often we take our way of life for granted. This blog was posted by a friend of a friend I had met last year who is doing a documentary in Israel.

When Vegas freezes over

After almost 24 hours in airports and on airplanes, I guess it's time to post a blog. It's about the only thing I haven't done on the internet thus far. Well, no porn either. I'm pretty sure that's illegal at the airport and I'm not Larry Craig.

My parents were supposed to leave for Latvia three hours after me and they will get to the other side of the earth faster than I can get to Hartford. This all thanks to a snowstorm in Las Vegas. That's right...Vegas. What snows in Vegas stays in Vegas. That's how the slogan goes, right?

I can't complain though. The operator on the 1-800 number said I wouldn't be able to leave LA until Friday morning, but after waiting in a 3-hour line, I was able to finagle a flight to Chicago where I was the lone person in the airport for about 2 hours, before my connecting flight to Hartford. (Word of advice: be nice to the people at the counter).That got me to thinking about that movie The Terminal with Tom Hanks and led to the following conversation:


romoballa (4:33:12 AM): wat did tom hanks character in the movie do

romoballa (4:33:23 AM): haha, aight, im gonna pass the time by looking that up

greenmachineAZ (4:33:23 AM): he was from another country

greenmachineAZ (4:33:27 AM): which ended up being in a war

greenmachineAZ (4:33:33 AM): so he couldn't go back there because it would have been dangerous

greenmachineAZ (4:33:40 AM): but he couldn't get a visa or something to be in America

greenmachineAZ (4:33:47 AM): so he ended up working around the airport

greenmachineAZ (4:33:50 AM): built a nice bathroom

greenmachineAZ (4:33:58 AM): and almost hooked up with catherine zeta jones

greenmachineAZ (4:33:59 AM): almost

romoballa (4:34:19 AM): wow

romoballa (4:34:31 AM): i'd be down to almost hook up with czj

greenmachineAZ (4:34:38 AM): haha

greenmachineAZ (4:34:39 AM): sure

greenmachineAZ (4:34:40 AM): well

greenmachineAZ (4:34:44 AM): go build a nice bathroom

greenmachineAZ (4:34:45 AM): with a fountain

greenmachineAZ (4:34:48 AM): and I'm sure you could

Now onto the sports section of the Empire.

Speaking of Vegas, big day for Arizona in the City of Sin on Saturday. Basketball/Football doubleheader with Arizona taking UNLV on the hardwood followed by Arizona/BYU in the Las Vegas bowl.

The hoops squad continues taking on Arizona coaching candidates facing Lon Kruger after toppling Mark Few and Gonzaga in a shocking upset. I'll quote a facebook status I saw after that game. "If you can't beat us, join us, Mark."

One Arizona football player got the partying started a little early. Linebacker Sterling Lewis was charged with DUI in Tucson and was suspended for the game.

Speaking of gambling, Jamelle Horne had this to say after Arizona's win over San Diego State when asked if the victory had any special meaning for him.

"Of course," Horne replied. "More than half of those guys were AAU traveling teammates or guys I know from San Diego. So we were chirping for the entire game. We even had a little wager on the game. We'll be going out to dinner and my dinner will be paid for."

Then Horne said that no wager actually took place and he wanted to apologize for suggesting it did, through a statement of course.

"I understand that sports and gambling do not mix," Horne said. "In an effort to be funny after a tough game, I made a poor choice of words and now realize that I should choose my words more carefully."

And more gambling news:

The Suns traded Boris Diaw and Raja Bell to the Bobcats for Jason Richardson as Suns fans quickly soured on Diaw and Bell while Steve Nash sobbed quietly in the corner. Diaw, left with some parting shots.

“It definitely wasn’t as fun,” Diaw told The Arizona Republic. “… It wasn’t as exciting for the fans. It’s not as fun for everybody (on the team). I’ll always remember Phoenix with Mike (D’Antoni). We went from a winning team that was the most exciting team in the league to a half-winning team that wasn’t exciting at all.”

Kudos to Suns fans for cheering D'Antoni in his return to the Valley of the Sun.

And finally:

I'm a little shocked at myself but I actually agree with Joey Porter's comments regarding Plaxico Burress. And I don't blame Burress for his Cheddar Bob impression. No, I'm not being sarcastic.

"Plaxico is like a brother to me. I take it real personal how he's being treated," Porter said. "Everybody has their mistakes, but that's exactly what they are ... Until you've been in that situation, when you've been robbed at gunpoint or you've had a gun waved in your face or had your house broken into before or been carjacked, you really don't know what it's like."

"For a person to carry a gun, I mean, you're not carrying a gun to show that 'I'm tough.' It's safety, it's nothing but safety," Porter said.

"When you get out of a situation like that and you've been in harm's way, the first thing that goes through your mind, I'd rather get caught and take the little penalty from the media, whatever the situation may be, than not have a chance to save my life," Porter said.

"It's tough out there so I'm not gonna say I condone what happened. It was a mistake by [Plax]. I know he wish he never did it. But I don't think it's as bad as everybody made it seem, either."

I understand why the gun laws are in place, but after knowing that your teammate was robbed at gunpoint and having an NFL player killed in his own house I don't have a huge problem with Burress carrying a gun. Yes, he should have known the New York law. As an adult that's his responsibility. But the possibility of serving five years in prison for shooting yourself in the leg on accident is astounding.

Like Porter said, Burress wasn't there to shoot anyone. He was carrying the gun as protection. Every American has the right to bear arms and NFL players are no different. Intent must matter in a case like this, though it's obviously hard to prove.

Unfortunately, Burress has a long rap sheet of transgressions so the media and the publc won't give him the benefit of the doubt. Usually I think that's fair, but in this case the proposed punishment doesn't fit the crime.

Every person deserves the right to protect himself.

Roll up Corie Blount

When people get in trouble with the law, it's either shocking or you just knew it was going to happen all along. When Corie Blount entered the NBA, I knew this day would come.

Granted Blount is no Nate Newton, but 11 pounds of weed is a nice chunk. With a last name like Blount and that expression on his face, this was inevitable. I had the following conversation with Buller after it happened.

Baller 11 15 21 (4:31:54 PM): you see corie blunt just got caught for large amounts of marijuana lol

romoballa (4:32:17 PM): ya...lol i could see it coming when he was drafted

Baller 11 15 21 (4:32:31 PM): heard that

Baller 11 15 21 (4:32:40 PM): and he just finished majoring in criminal justice lol

Baller 11 15 21 (4:32:43 PM): the irony just never ends

romoballa (4:33:06 PM): so he can now defend himself

Michael Vick needs a leash:

This blog about Michael Mick brings up a good point. Vick has shown little remorse for his actions, and continues to blow large amounts of money while trying to protect himself from his creditors. According to a story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, he spent $3.6 million dollars in the three months before he went to jail, including the purchase of a $99,000 Mercedes. Some people never learn. Of course this story got me thinking about Vick's future and motivated me to write this response to the blog.

I'm a life long Cowboys fan and I know the Cowboys are one of the most likely teams to sign Vick when he comes back, but if they do, I'm done. Let's not forget that Vick's crimes weren't solely for dog fighting but also the vicious way he killed defenseless and innocent animals. This blog is right in that Vick has shown no real remorse for his crimes, and some of Vick's NFL peers (like Clinton Portis) have gone on record saying Vick's actions weren't that serious. I'd love to see Vick come back and redeem himself by changing his attitude toward this subject and toward life in general, but I highly doubt that will happen.

How does this make any sense?

Matt Jones was suspended three games for possession of cocaine, but six NFL players including Pat and Kevin Williams of the Vikings are being suspended four games for using a weight loss supplement.

Suns stuck in a Valley

I won't rub salt in the wound of Phoenix Suns fans. The fans at U.S. Airways Center already did that with the loud "Let's go Lakers chant" which forced a comment from the TNT broadcast team.

I'm here for a different reason. I've been an unabashed Suns hater for almost five years now, but as a basketball fan, I always stepped away and thought to myself, I love the way the Suns play. As smug as Mike D'Antoni was and the battles the Suns and the Lakers have had in recent years, I still respected how good the Suns were.

That's why I was shocked and appalled at the Suns don't let the door hit you on your way out approch with Mike D'Antoni.

The early polls are in and as I expected D'Antoni is doing a great job with a horrible Knicks team which is off to a 6-5 start.

On the other hand, the Suns are going nowhere fast, starting out 8-5, but mired in the middle of the Western Conference. I've asserted all along that the blame falls on Robert Sarver who continuously traded away draft picks for cash, and after letting D'Antoni go, settled on a cheap coach who wouldn't rock the boat.

And that's what you got Suns fans. Perhaps you wouldn't have won the title with D'Antoni but you would have been a better team than you are with Terry Porter.

Here are some excerpts of the conversation I had with my buddy and big Suns fan Adam Green. He makes some valid points, but for the record he was not one of the fans pushing D'Antoni out.

greenmachineAZ (3:35:26 AM): Suns fans got tired of the no bench, no defense way

greenmachineAZ (3:35:47 AM): people who weren't Suns fans saw a team that won 55 games a year and was fun to watch...with no emotional investment, why wouldn't you like that?

greenmachineAZ (3:36:01 AM): but Suns fans got tired of the same result every year, with no sign of getting better

greenmachineAZ (3:36:16 AM): it's like Shawn Marion...Suns fans knew how bad his shortcomings were/are

greenmachineAZ (3:36:24 AM): and had less issue with him being traded

greenmachineAZ (3:36:37 AM): whereas people who didn't really watch the Suns think he is some great player who you couldn't trade away

romoballa (3:36:50 AM): i just wouldn't give up on a coach who 1. got you to be a good team 2. played a fun style for the fans (isn't that what it's about ultimately entertainment) 3. was liked by the players

greenmachineAZ (3:36:59 AM): right

greenmachineAZ (3:37:09 AM): but if the goal is to win a title, his way has not done it so far

romoballa (3:37:09 AM): and 4. almost won the title has some things gone his way

romoballa (3:38:36 AM): one of the top 5 coaches in the league

And that got me thinking. So here's my order.

romoballa (3:48:54 AM): 1. phil jackson

romoballa (3:48:57 AM): 2. larry brown

romoballa (3:49:04 AM): 3. greg popovich

romoballa (3:49:13 AM): 4. mike dantoni

romoballa (3:49:16 AM): 5. byron scott

And my revised 6-8...Jerry Sloan, Donn Nelson, Rick Adelman

1. When you have 9 NBA championships, it's hard not to be No. 1

2. Larry Brown has turned more bad teams into good teams than anyone other coach in history. The man led the Clippers to the playoffs, coached the Kansas Miracles to an improbable title and led the worst team in history to make the Finals, the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers with guys like Eric Snow and Aaron McKie playing prominent roles.

3. Greg Popovich minus the Ted Kuzinksi beard has the titles, the players respect' and the consistency to be one of the greatest coaches of this era.

4. Mike D'Antoni is fairly new to the NBA compared to the first 3 guys on this list but the early returns show a .610 winning percentage. Also please remember in his first season when he took over the team about a quarter of the way, he went 21-40. The next year, he led the Suns to 62-20 record and a trip to the Conference Finals. And thus far, he's exceeded expectations with the Knicks.

5. Byron Scott is a rising superstar in the coaching profession. He's taken two bad Nets teams to the Finals and has rebuilt a Hornets team into a perennial contender. He runs an offense that has a lot of Princeton principles and also has a tough defensive mentality. In addition, he's one of the most respected guys in the league. I wouldn't be surprised if he returns to coach the Lakers in the future.

Wow!

Aside from "Wow!" what more can you really say. Here it is if if you haven't seen it.

gatosalvajech (2:42:22 AM): theres no words for that

gatosalvajech (2:42:40 AM): i ve never even seen that ...

gatosalvajech (2:42:48 AM): after someone made a crucial mistake

gatosalvajech (2:42:51 AM): you repeat it

gatosalvajech (2:42:56 AM): with less the a second left

gatosalvajech (2:43:01 AM): and momentum into OT

romoballa (2:43:29 AM): if u want to see the dumbest loss in the history of sports
just tune into today's arizona game

gatosalvajech (2:43:35 AM): thats like Jalen Rose calling time out after webber already made that one famous mistake

And that's what it comes down to. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me -- you can't get fooled again.

That's a little George W. Bush for you. It fits with the stupidity of Arizona basketball.

I understand Kyle Fogg's mistake. He's a freshman who just scored his first two points of the game and was too excited to remember that his bucket tied the game. It was in the heat of the moment as the cliche goes.

But Jamelle Horne, the same guy I blasted in my last post about Arizona basketball for gloating in an exhibition game, fouling to lose the game after a timeout?

Wow. Wow. Wow.

The phrase I've never seen that before is overused but it applies in this case. It would be like Jose Canseco having the ball go off his head and over the wall on two consecutive fly balls.

I just want to know what Horne was thinking. What was said in the timeout. How could you not discuss what you do if the shot is missed? Or was Horne really just spacing out?

“I saw the guy with the ball going 94 feet and the last thing I wanted to do was give him an uncontested shot,” Horne said. “And I saw him in front of me so I tried to foul him and the ref called what. … I don’t know what he called it.”

Now that's a very Bush like quote.

What did the referee call? He called an intentional foul. It's what happens when you grab a guy's jersey from behind and hold on to it to stop him from shooting. In the sport of basketball, that's an illegal move. Who has Horne been talking to lately, Donovan McNabb?

On the bright side, if there actually is one since I've had to watch the Sportscenter anchors incredulously describe the sequence of events while shaking their heads in disbelief, maybe this will teach Horne about some humility. I'm starting to sound like a fan of a bad team. I'm somehow trying to grasp onto a positive side of this tragedy.

I'd just like to say that the actions of November 18, 2008 by two of Arizona's basketball players in no way, shape, or form represent the University of Arizona and it's alumni.

The other phrase I've heard a lot recently is "it's gonna be a long season."

1. In terms of how frustrating it will be to watch Arizona play, I agree.

2. In relation to how Arizona is going to fare this season, I disagree. The Pac-10 is really bad aside from UCLA. Oregon already lost to Oakland, Cal State Northridge hung in with Stanford for the majority of the game, and Oregon State had the court rushed on them against Howard.
Plus, after this game, it can't get any worse, right? Right?

See, I'm trying to stay positive.


Of course it had to happen when I moved to the East coast.

There will be no Laker games on tape delay this year. KCAL will now show games played in the Eastern time zone live.

That could have been my biggest television pet peeve. But since I no longer live in LA, I don't even get to enjoy the change.

And finally, even USA today has an article on how ugly the last year or so has been for Arizona basketball.