10 Questions for Rafael Nadal

10 Questions for Rafael Nadal. I saw this while perusing the Mr Bean Q & A.

Australian Open 2007

Whoa! This slam crept up on me. I had no idea it was starting this soon. I guess starting a new semester took my mind off of tennis. But, otherwise, I'm psyched for it. I've been watching a lot of Mavs basketball, so tennis so it'll be a nice compliment when the Mavs aren't playing.

David Beckham to play for L.A. Galaxy

Whoa!

Mavs @ Spurs

I CANNOT wait for this game. Less than half an hour to go.

1st Half:
- Mavs letting Oberto kill them. Dirk is the only one playing bball. Great defense by SA to limit Jho and Jet, but the Mavs need them to come out and play.

2n Half:
- Mavs started chipping away at the Spurs lead. The 4th quarter is theirs.

Pacers @ Mavs

Nice to see Quis back.

1st Q:
- Awful start.
- awesome homecoming for the players
- AJ2. Maybe this game will spark his playing.

2nd Q:
- Nice! Mavs driving and getting the layups. Within 3.

--........

Sonics @ Mavs

Mavs should pull this one out.

1st Q:
- Damp starting strong.
- Dirk hits; glad to see him in the lineup
- Terry hits the three; 15-5 Mavs
- Damp w/ reverse layup from Terry assit
- oh no, earl watson enters the game, I remember him being effective against the mavs last game when the mavs mounted the comeback
- George hits a three!
-
2nd Q:
- missed the frist two mins cause I was checking out ESPN NBA Coast to Coast
- Dirk needs to get back in. Mavs declining
- Soncis are within 2, 33-35.
- get Dirk back. seattle is leading 40-38.
- josh is trying, he tied it 40-40
- need more defense.
- hey, dirk is back!
-damp make s blcok, with 4:42, that's the defense we need to spark our offense
-harris has 3 fouls
-avery gets a T. josh got one earlier as well<--I missed that.
- dirk misses.
- terry hits the three
- double techs. crazy game.
- tied 55-55. dirk got the last basket for the mavs

3rd Q:
- avert with tha quick timeout--love seeing him intense like and screaming at damp. wants him to motivate damp. FEED THE BEAST
- harris makes a great save.
- mavs are more motivated
- oh, watch out, earl watson is back in.
- watson just scored for 59-66 Mavs.
- watson 3 pointer. the guy is a mavs killer. for 62-68 sonics
- wow. dirks hits s 3 to beat the shot clock
- dirk hits again!
- george!
- damp really wanted that rebound
- end of 3rd. Mavs 78-72. Mavs playing better, but they need to close it out. Crush them in the fourth.

4th Q:
- Harris hits a jumper!
- Mavs finishing strong. Buck hits a three!
- damp ges a bucket after a miss. and 1.
- buck with the steal and layup. 93-75 Mavs
- i feel bad for the sonics. they always seem like they're in this game, then the mavs step it up a notch and end up winning.
- damp lost his headband. ha!
- terry three! 99-77 Mavs
- devin harris makes it 105-82.
- Dj is in?? yes it's him. it's the spares for the last 3 mins.

Final: 112-88

Mavs @ Nuggets

Hey, Dirk's not in the lineup!!!

1st Q:
- 1st basket--way to go, Devin
-

2nd Q:
-Mavs are having a terrible time finding their rythmm halfway through the second quarter. I bet they are missing Dirk.
-Last 2 mins, JJ subs in. Supposed it's because AJ2 hasn't played well.
-Mavs down 44-50. Mark and Bob are right: It could be worse.

3rd Q:

Suns @ Mavs

-So should be one hella game.
-Watching both games on local broadcast and TNT, of course.
-Mavs are going to get killed by those rebounds
-crowds claps whten geroge t gets a rebound!!!
-can't get a breather watching the suns play
-rebounds, rebounds, rebounds
-terry for 2, ties the game
-job steals the ball!!!
-josh needs a good game
-dirk hits a three!!!
-george coming in has gotten a few rebounds etc--he does the little things really well
-mavs rebounding better
- jet fouled!!! free throws are helping since Mavs/josh has missed a few
-dallas has one point lead, 19-18
- jet needs to hit the free throws
-nash out, let's get it to go mavs
- jet fouled.
-suns in early foul trouble. yippee
- buck steal!!! ooh lost it though.
- suns turnover!
- suns another foul on thomas; jet to three throw line.
- amare back in
- damp back in
- dirk's been quiet; is he in the game? guess not w/ geroge in
- block!!!!
- josh scores!
- buck got a lose ball
--jet hits a three!!!!
- rowds in in now!!
-george rebounds
-30-20 for 1st quarter

2nd Q:
-damps back in; it would be great if he has a monster game
-urg, bell just hit an open jumper
-missed by johs?
- suns utrnover
- harris basket
- mavs lost momentun; geroge hot the foul?
- come on mavs!
-geroge for 3!!!!
- rebounding better for mavs
- buck for 3!
- mavs lost ball, but it's ok. let's got mavs
- mvas come away with ball, but harris loses it!
- almost another steal by harris, but it's a foul instead.
- nash backs in; jet back in
- dallas in early foul trouble; damp out; diop in
- buck looses ball; out on the sun
-"dirk cowboys needs you"; dirk where have you been? haven't seen him in a while
-dirk's back in
-aj2 in
-jet scores
-josh rebounds
-dirk scores! need more of those
-nash hits. boo
-diop need to work on his offense game. could help. could have double digits in this game
-diop is pissed
-come on dirk
- 2pt game
-josh scores
-jet for three
-de-fense
-rebound mavs
-diop with an 0-foul
-george back in! yay
-dirk's been quiet
-damp back in
-josh turnover
-dirk's sitting out alot
-george hot a steal
-teid 47-47
-get steals
-dirk scores on the back to back; crowd comes alive until nash scores
-we need defense from george and buck, who i'm glad is back in
-dirk finally gets fouled
-a steal late!
-52-49 Mavs

-Why does the TNT folks keep talking about Denver when the Mavs and Suns are playing first? All this talk about Denver is boring me.

3rd Q:
-come on mavs
-damp fouled already. damn. perhaps we will see an appearance of dj mbenga?
-josh airballs another three
-dirk drives! fouled! that what i like to see!
-jet hits! he's the saving grace of the mavs right now
-steal by dirk! harris dunk!
-block by dirk
-jet hits a three! from a dirk assist.
-this is the momentum mavs need. just like the 1st quarter. don't let this get away, mavs.
-suns turnover after ths time out.
- harris and one! jet is picking up the slack.
-marion blocked by howard!
-jet hits!
-defense=ofense
-jet is clutch
-jet hits the 3!
-buck's back in for devin
-jet hits again!!!!
-dirk is cold. needs to drive more
-dirk just used his leg to kick barbosa.
-dirk needs to score.
-dallas cold.

4th Q:
-i'm a little disgusted right now. no energy left for me to type or for the mavs to play ball
-what happened to defense?
-dirk followed home!
-terry stripped; harris scored, fouled and one! diaw fouled out!!!! the mavs are coming alive again--and it's because of defense!
-STOPS!!! please mavs.
-harris ties the game; and one!!!!!
-dirk scores!!!!
-terry hits a three!!!!
-avery is going crazy on the sidelines.
-0-rebound for dirk. got those three throws too. 97-94 mavs
-wow. josh howard! and one!
-DIRK!!! OMG!!! HITS A 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 101-99 MAVS. HE'S BEEN QUIET ALL NIGHT, BUT HE SURE SHOWED UP.

Awesome, awesome game. It's hard to breath watching a game like this.

Bobcats @ Mavs

Mavs should pull off a win.

1st Q: Charlotte leds by 2 with 26-24.

Clippers @ Mavs

Dirk's in the starting lineup! And he's addressing the crowd. Wow, it's hard to believe after seeing him go down like that in the Sonic's game.

1st Q: 26-22 Mavs. Not a bad start by the Mavs. It wasn't the blowout in the first period that they so often inflict, but they are still leading.

2nd Q: 63-45 Mavs. Mavs are looking good. Actually, they are having a great 2nd quarter, and Dirk's been impressive. He's almost had a double-double. So has Devean George who has hit 3/4 three-pointers.

3rd Q: Dirk's finally got his double-double -- 17 pts and 10 rebounds early in the third.

4th Q: It's pretty boring now that the starters have gone out of the game. Maybe slow is the better word.

All in all, one word sums up this game best: Blowout!

Nuggets and Knicks erupt in wild brawl

Oh boy. I can't wait for the fallout.

I missed it as I was watching the Mavs vs Hornets game instead.

Here's my earlier post about David Stern's reaction to the last major brawl in the NBA, the Pacers-Pistons incident.

Link

Lakers @ Mavs

In the first half, Mavs played well. This is the start they need. Now they need to keept going and FINISH.

Luckily they did. Final score: 110-101. The Mavs played awesome during the fourth quarter. They put together a string of shots that got the crowd going.

It's always great to beat the Lakers.

Mavs @ Jazz

The Jazz has the best record in the NBA right now. The Mavs need this win to boost confidence and prove to themselves and others that they are legitimate. Too many times they have been too inconsistent. This will be a great test for them.

Since Sloan will try to go for his 1000th win, I bet his players are psych for this game. They want to win this one for him, and they have home court advantage too.

1st Quarter: Crazy game. Topsy-turvy. Technicals, Fouls, Double Fouls, Double Technicals. A lot of free throws early on. Mavs not playing well. Slow start. Not a good sign. No energy.

2nd Half: Way to go Devin Harris & Greg Buckner. Defense does really win ball games. <-- That was early in the 2nd. At the end, the Mavs trail 39-51.

Final: The Jazz win it 101-79. Wow. The score says it all, really. Mavs never recovered.

Nuggets @ Mavs

The Mavs are smoking tonight. They've stepped it up after trading buckets with the Nuggets.

Lead of 16 after 1st quarter. 41-25. Highest points total for the first half.

After the 1st, Mavs have a lead of 62-41. I must say that are playing fantastic basketball. Highest points total of 62 after 1st half. Impressive.

Final: Mavs win 105-90. The Nuggets got to close for comfort there in the fourth. They did keep it competitive in the 3rd though, but the Mavs pulled it out in the end although the Mavs inconsistency is worrying. That bugs the heck out of me. They start off phenomenal (see the 1st half), but they drop to sleep the rest of the quarters with flashes of brilliance, and then drop off again. Somehow, though, they put together enough runs and defensive stops to win the game. Arghhh!

P.S. I loved seeing Eduardo Najera!!! even if it was in a Nuggets uniform.

Mavs, C's eye A.I.

According to sources, 76ers general manager Billy King has targeted Mavericks guard Devin Harris – a favorite of the executive's going back to Harris' college days at Wisconsin – as a primary piece to a potential package with Dallas.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wouldn't deny that he's engaged in trying to make a deal for Iverson but wrote in an email to Yahoo! Sports on Friday night, "We wouldn't trade Devin." [Link]

Wow! Mavs might be interested in Allen Iverson? I wonder whom the Mavs are willing to give up for him? In the article, Mark Cuban ruled out Devin Harris, but he did continue to say that he's trying to work something out.

I'm starting to really like the roster. I've gotten to know the players all a little bit. They are starting to gel. How will A.I. fit into Avery's system, I wonder? I don't know enough about this stuff to say much if anything beyond an initial reaction, so that's all I have to say about that. But it does throw up a bit of excitement around the league.

Edit 12-9-06: I just read on Mavs blog that A.I won't be coming to Mavs after all. Kinda relieved. Hate to see any of the current guys go.

It's the Mavs' Shoes!

For $100 you can own a pair of these:



Now for the side view:

I'm full of giddiness at seeing them.

Check out the other 29 pairs at NBA Superstar Footwear.

Pistons @ Mavs

Final score: Pistons win 92-82.

The Mavs have never led this game. At the end of the 3rd quarter, they were down by 16 points. Not good. They have been as close as 8 points, but that's as close as they hsve gotten.

Mavs @ Nets

Mavs off to a pretty good start. 10-4 at 6:00.

21-14 Mavs after the first half.

Up 15 with 2:26 left in the 2nd.

Mavs are up by halftime with a 49-35 advantage.

Err...I kinda lost touch with blogging. So I'll just do final thoughts: First off, I'm glad they won! Never trailed although the Nets came within 5 points in the third (I think). Um, yeah, that's pretty much it. A little up and down in the third and beginning of the fourth, but the Mavs held on.

SI's Sportsman of the Year: Dwyane Wade???

(WTF moment coming.) Wade had a great NBA finals performance, but that doesn't mean he deserves Sportsman of the Year.

To me, the top choice goes to Roger Federer. Federer has been knocking at that door for several years now. Read Jon Wertheim's article on why Federer is his choice for Sportsman of the Year. I can get why SI wouldn't put Federer on their cover because I keep hearing the same reasons for it (All bogus): he's not American, he plays tennis, who cares about tennis, tennis is a fringe sport etc... Even so, there are a number of Americans who made a bigger impact than Wade in 2006. Some honorable mentions include Buck O'Neil, the Saints, Oklahoma City, Team Barbaro, and Joey Cheek.

There are people who have said it better than I over at SI's Your Thoughts section. I love reading all the hilarious comments, especially those alluding to the phantom foul calls during the NBA finals like this one from anon: "SI just got called for a foul on D Wade." Hee. Hee.

I need to start a campaign: What does Roger Federer have to do? (WDRFHTO?)

Mavs @ Wizards

Mavs played sucky the first two quarters. Not much to write here except maybe this is what is like to be a fan of the other teams the Mavs have crushed.

Their play picked up the last half of the third quarter. Now they are trailing by 22 after the third. Deaven George played well. Wow. Seems like all the other Mavs picked a bad time to have an off night simultaneously. If there was ever a time for amazing comebacks, the fourth is the time to show it.

18-point game at 8:40. Not so bad considering they were at one point down by 30.

17 with 5:46. It's doable, right? Play has picked up. Pace has picked up. If the Mavs played like these for 3 quarters before this, the deficit might not have been so insurmountable.

It's a 9-point game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @ 2:30 with JET's first three and points of the game.

I just saw Avery Johnson go crazy after Jamison scored. Crazy.

47 secs left. Can they come back?

Final: 106-97 Wizards.

I'm disappointed they lost, but at least it wasn't a 30-point blow out. It seems like every shot the Wizards attempted, they made. Ridiculous play. Applause to them.