Calm Your Ass Down

What to make of these first 2 games? Yes, the Lakers haven't looked good. No fucking shit. I warned everyone on Twitter before the year this won't be an easy task. Not after overhauling half the roster, and half the starters. If you're not a Laker fan, these may sound like excuses. Sorry, can't deny that reality. Fact of the matter is, while I didn't think they'd start 0-2, in no way did I think they'd just breeze out of the gate.

Other thoughts

- Princeton Offense:

I know it takes time, but I'm not too happy with it. I like the idea of more pick and rolls, since that is Steve Nash's specialty. If the staff wants to use the Princeton that badly, they should just put Pau in with the bench and let him and Jamison do it, since Pau seems to be comfortable with it, and Jamison has played in it before.

- Mike Brown: Let me make this very clear. I do not want Mike Brown fired yet. I will say this, though. I question the hell out of his decisions so far this season.

- Transition D: This was a problem of the Lakers last year. Do I think they'll be much better at it this year? Not really, but I think as the season goes on, with Dwight playing back into shape, they could at least improve a bit.

- Bench: Shitload of new guys, it's only been 2 games.

- Dwight: Looking OK so far, he's working his way back to 100%.

- Kobe: If there has been one upside to the Princeton, it's that it's allowed him to shoot a higher percentage, which is something people have given him shit about for years. Not that I cared.

- Games: I've heard a lot of people talk about lack of effort, when I merely see something I've seen from the Lakers for a while: Playing down to teams they should beat, and losing.

Overall, there's 80 games to go. I'm not worried. Do I think they'll have a shaky start? Based on what I've seen, yeah. But you don't play for titles in November. If you are a self-proclaimed fan, and are questioning them already, don't come crawling back when they reel off a long winning streak.

Movie Review: Benji

I haven't done a sports movie review on this blog yet, but after what I saw last night, I feel the need to. ESPN's 30 For 30 series, which is maybe the only thing I can't criticize about them, showed a documentary last night that brought tears to my eyes. A couple other ones I've seen there have done the same, but I won't get into that right now.

20-20

I haven't been here on a minute, since I've been so damn busy with school. Today, I celebrate 20 years on this Earth. In my lifetime, I've seen a lot and done a lot. Here, I'd like to make a list of something that I've thought about in my life.

What If?

I usually don't like thinking about the "what if" or "only if" situations in sports over the years, but there are some occasions when I cannot help it. This is one of those times. I've come up with a list of them, but this is different in that this will be driven by you, the readers, and you can come up with your own conclusions that you can either leave in the comment section or tweet them to me (@WestCoastAR).

WARNING: These may bring back bad memories.

NBA Rank...Whatever.

This week, the ESPN NBA Rank top 10 was released, and as usual, it sparked the firestorm. The main one being from my fellow Laker fans after Kobe was ranked #6, just missing the Top 5. I really like Derrick Rose, but I gotta respectfully disagree with him at #5. Why? I'll give you a big reason why. People like to bitch about Kobe's FG% and use it against him, but only .005 separated him and D-Rose last year, with D-Rose having the slight edge (.435-.430). Since that is always a key argument against Kobe, I feel the need to bring that up. The main argument for D-Rose was his value became apparent after his injury against Philly. I definitely do not disagree on that, but I still disagree with the ranking, and would probably switch the two. Overall, I never put much meaning into these rankings, as they have the same value to me as the cardboard box I throw away when I'm done at In-N-Out. Why am I talking about them, you ask? I use these rankings merely as a way to express my views about the NBA and to get my point across. This is my way of telling you everything I have on my mind.

Why do I not give a rat's ass about ESPN's rankings? Honestly, I feel that they put too much emphasis on Player Efficiency Ratings, a ridiculous stat of which I have been a vocal critic in the past. I cannot take seriously a rating system that ranks Manu Ginobili (32nd), Paul Pierce (52nd), and Chris Bosh (48th) higher than Isiah Thomas (131st), Scottie Pippen (113th), and Bill Russell (102nd). Also, it's subjective and subject to each individual voters' biases. Also, anyone with a blog *points to self*, a computer, and time to burn can make his or her own. Hell, I'll do my own right now:

1. LeBron James- On top of the world right now. Don't like the dude, but how can I not?
2. Kevin Durant- His skinny ass may be the deadliest shot in the NBA right now.
3. Dwight Howard- Best inside presence in the game right now, has his best ever shot at a ring.
4. Kobe Bryant- 17 seasons in, still a killer.
5. Chris Paul- He may be the best pure point in the NBA, but he's also a dirty ass Clipper.

See how easy that was? You, and anyone else reading it, can probably make his or her own. Granted, you'd probably do only a top 5-10 instead of a top 500. There are so many ways to do it, yet there is no definite answer to any of this. Was it meant to spark debate and discussion? I think so. Did it accomplish its mission? Hell yeah. My point is, it's a flawed system. I know nothing's perfect, but this is not something to rely on and look at like it has any impact on the NBA or the world.

Alex's Rules For Sports

In my nearly 20 years on Earth as a fan, I've come to realize certain things about sports that I want to just make rules about. You may love some of these rules, you may hate some of them, but I make these up purely because I want to speak my peace on certain things, so here are 20 rules I have about sports.

Week 1-2 Thoughts

With 2 weeks of the NFL season through, here is a sampling of some of my thoughts of the first 2 weeks, some of which may bear a resemblance to some of my game observations I've tweeted:

- Holy shit, these refs suck donkey ass.

- The bounty suspensions have fucked the Saints hard.

- The Raiders are fucking HORRIBLE!!!

- Got damn, the Eagles are 2-0 despite the turnovers.

- Imagine how much better the Eagles would be if they actually hung on to the ball.

- I was way off on my Chiefs pick to win the AFC West.

- Despite the loss, the Broncos look real good.

- Russell Wilson can handle pressure situations, and would be 2-0 if not for Butterfinger Edwards.

- LMFAO @ the Cowbitches.

- RGIII is gonna be a lot of shootouts this year with this D.

- KILLA CAM!!!

- Tennessee Titans, you disappoint me.

- RGIII is balling.

- FUCK YOU PHILIP RIVERS. FUCK YOU.

- The Niner D's front 7 is the rougher, tougher NFL version of Alabama's.

- Billy Cundiff = Ray Finkle

- How does the Skins D continue to leave Danny Amendola, Chimichanga, whatever the fuck his name is, open?

- Big Ben is having his way with the Jets D like they're a blacked out 19 year old.

- Chris Johnson should wear a ski mask the way he's stealing the Titans' money.

- Can't spell elite without Eli.

- Observations so far: Mmmmmmm.......DROP! #BeastieBoys #Pharcyde #OldSchool (Bears-Packers)

- Observations so far: Lovie Smith looks like Cleo McDowell in Coming to America. "Boy, you wanna keep working here, stay off the drugs."

- Observations so far: There's more scoring at a virgins' convention than there has been so far tonight. (Bears-Packers)

- Observations so far: The real refs are all laughing right now, watching this game, having dinner, drinking, and rolling a fat blunt.

- Observations so far: Definitely hide the women and children. There's a bunch of pissed off Raider fans tonight. #RaiderNation

- Observations so far: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, fuck with SeaBass.

- Observations so far: The Bengals are getting the No Vaseline treatment.

- Observations so far: The Ravens are like the church. They're gonna do everything in their power to keep you from scoring.

- Observations so far: Even if this TD doesn't stand, Bengals corners are getting burned like a dude with gonorrhea.

- Observations so far: If Ray Lewis tells you to do something, DAMMIT, YOU BETTER DO IT.

- Observations so far: The Broncos' D is getting fucked like a $20 hooker.