Slate's Idea of a "Sports Nut"

Apparently Slate, the respected online magazine, thinks a "sports nut," is someone who encourages you not to follow sports. This is Nathaniel Friedman. And this is what he thinks about the NBA playoffs. (Hat tip to GasFace for bringing this to my attention)
I'm shocked frankly, because I think he's also one of the guys behind FreeDarko which is a sweet blog.
He opens it up with a jaw dropper:

Even the most die-hard basketball fans think that the NBA playoffs are too long.

I'm a die-hard fan. I hang out with a few die-hard fans, and I read a bunch of other die-hard fans. And I'm being 100% honest when I tell you, I've never heard even a single one of them lament the length of the NBA Playoffs. Friedman raises a good point about the length and arduous nature of the playoffs, or "second season." But true "die-hard fans" get revved up by that. This is my favorite time of year. Now a good argument can be made to shorten the regular season. By shortening the grueling 82 game regular season, the players would be fresher, and therefore the post season would be more exciting, with a higher level of play.
Loving basketball as much as I do, I wish they'd just make the damn thing year round and add more games, but I see the wisdom in a proposed shortening of the regular season. But the playoffs are where the best games happen! The best players get to show their best stuff and we get to watch all of it! Proposing to cut that short is heresy.
Friedman continues with a comparison to football and baseball that attempts to illustrate why you should just watch part of the game (maybe the most asinine concept I've ever heard of...). All it does is illustrate why basketball is the greatest sport on earth. The game doesn't stop every 2 seconds, there are no long periods of guys just standing around. That's not a bad thing, that's one of the reasons basketball is both an action game, and a thinking man's game.
But if you're in a hurry, and looking for summaries, here's one: skip Friedman's article, close your laptop, watch every minute of playoffs basketball you can, celebrate the Cavs' victories with alcohol.
(And the congregation says) Amen.

Gilbert Arenas: Douchebag?

In the pantheon of satisfying Cleveland sports moments (and believe me, it's a wee tiny pantheon), LeBron's psych out of Agent Zero at the end of game 6 of the 2006 playoffs ranks very high. For two reasons: LeBron wrote himself into playoff lore by whispering in Arenas' ear, and the Cavs won their first playoff series in 200 years. But I just found a third; I frickin' hate Arenas.
What kind of self obsessed, obnoxious little prick is this guy? Apparently the kind who'll call a press conference to announce he's on the cover of a video game. Even Samus Aron, famous for being a diva, didn't call a press conference when she made the cover of Metroid.

Adrian Wojnarowski does an excellent job of taking Arenas to task in his latest blog entry. Read that here. Well played Woj.

What a douchebag. But even more annoying is the fact that Arenas is not traveling with the Wizards, he's not rooting for them, helping their ailing confidence, trying to get in the Cavs' heads, nothing. Caron Butler is doing everything he can, short of cracking open his cast and jumping on the court in his suit. Caron Butler is a young beast, full of heart, good spirits and team camaraderie.
Arenas is a prick, and there's only one thing he's full of: himself.
And shit. Okay, 2 things...

I'd Love to See This Dude in a Dunk Contest

No really, I'd love to see this dude in a dunk contest.
The NFL draft happened this past weekend. Much reason to celebrate in Oakland, San Fran and Cleveland. So I'm happy. But the Bills have locked up my new favorite player, John Wendling. Peep this nugget of gold (purloined from With Leather):



Yeah, that's 66 inches. Note to opposing quarter backs: throw high.
Real high.

Kanye isn't the Only Attraction in Chi-town

That's for damn sure.
The Bulls are the toast of the town once again. They absolutely embarrassed the Heat on Saturday, completing an improbable 4 game sweep of the defending champs. So much for the "Baby Bulls." These are men.
And these men may be the best team in the East. Detroit no longer looks like the clear favorite. They can turn it on and off at will, but they don't look nearly as hungry as they did 2 years ago. The Cavs have had the Bulls' number over the last couple years, but as much as I love the Wine and Gold, I think the Bulls just look like a more complete team.
They're fun as hell to watch, playing an 80's style of fundamentals-first basketball. But just to cover their bases they do have Ben Gordon, a Vinnie Johnson-style chucker who will either catch fire and torch you, or be cold as ice. I'm just hoping the Bulls'll be too tuckered after going 7 with the Pistons to go 7 with the Cavs...
Here's hoping.

Bulls, Pistons, Cavs, Nets, Suns... Warriors?

San Antone and Denver is an interesting series. The Spurs are clearly superior, but Denver is an excellent team and they're playing their asses off. Houston and Utah is damn sure turning into a 7 game duke-fest for supremacy. So none of them can be lumped into the group of teams whooping serious ass in the first round.
The Bulls and Pistons successfully completed sweeps, humiliating their respective opponents. The Cavs should join that club by finishing their sweep of the Wizards tonight. Despite all the shit being talked all over the league about how great the Raptors are, they will likely be shown the door tomorrow night on their own home court. The Nets have pretty much wrapped up a very convincing argument that they are not only better than the Raps, but so much better it's not really even a contest. The Suns gave me a scare losing that one game to the Lakers, but as I expected, Kobe's heroics are really only good for 1, maybe 2 games in a series. Unless a miracle occurs, Suns should take it in 5.
Which leaves only one series. I certainly expected that I'd group that series in with the other slaughterhouses. But I expected to be talking about a Mavs sweep. I never thought in a million years I'd be writing about the Warriors with a 3-1 lead. I was at Oracle arena in Oakland last night to watch Baron Davis wash away years of bad memories of shoddy work ethic, poor conditioning, injury, disappointment, lack of leadership, bad breath and dandruff, with a legendary performance in a blemish-free Game 4 take down of the Mavericks.
It was a glory to behold.
The Warriors played defense. For real, no-shit, man-up, lock down defense. Dirk had a good game, but he looked tamed out there. Mikael Pietrus is a defensive whirlwind who can drain 3s. Matt Barnes may be the most energetic, level headed, fundamentally sound 6th man in the business. Biedrins is a spry 7 ft rebound machine, and he's faster than the dickens. Monta Ellis is a breath of fresh air in a sea of disappointing prep-to-pro air heads. Jason Richardson? How about one of the most versatile, athletic, high energy guards in the league. Al Harrington has been cold on the offensive end, but never out of energy. Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson are writing their names into playoff legend. They're hitting shots, creating shots, playing D, and hyping up the home crowd like you can't imagine.
When Baron hit a nearly half-court 3 pointer at the buzzer before half time there was a palpable feeling in Oakland. A foreign emotion for Bay Area basketball fans that's as tangible as the 20,000 "We Believe," towels being twirled by the Warriors faithful:

We can win this.

And not just one game, or one series. The Warriors are a threat. A scrappy, energetic threat to the NBA's Southwest power elite. Dallas is soiling their pants wondering what to do next. That's for sure. But you have to start wondering if Houston, San Antonio or Phoenix can have much more luck against this rowdy bunch from Oakland. Buckle up Bay Area fans. The Warriors mean business.

Dave D'Alessandro: Pinko?

READ THIS

Now tell me you're not thinking the same thing as me: This D'Alessandro guy is a pinko, socialist, turncoat, french fries & gravy eating mofo if ever I've seen one.

It is a truly glorious place, this vast white suburb of Detroit, inhabited by 32 million people of generous spirit. The best part is they really want nothing in return, which is convenient because those of us on this side of the border don't really give back much.
They send us these magnificent gusts of fresh air in the spring and fall; we send back acid rain and other forms of environmental pollution. They give us Joni Mitchell and Bruce Cockburn; we send them Bill O'Reilly and MTV. They send us some really good adult beverages; we reward them by taxing their timber.

Ummm... Bruce Cockburn? Who the hell thanks Canada for this guy:

And let's not forget Brian Adams, Celine Dion and Mike Myers. Here's how I'd thank them for those 3; a punch in the stomach. I guess Bill O'Reilly sucks, but we also sent them The Ramones, Jenna Jameson and crack-cocaine. Not to mention a whole generation of hippie draft dodgers, who have no doubt become successful pillars of society. At least by Canadian standards. Granted MTV sucks hard, but without it, where would Bruce Cockburn have gotten the idea for those hard rocking earrings in his right ear. Let me sum up Canada's contributions to the world this way: Barenaked Ladies, Sandra Bullock, Robert Goulet, enough said. Actually I'm shocked he didn't mention Steve Nash, maybe Canada's only truly valuable contribution to society.

But really I'm more disturbed by the veracity with which people in general (and D'Alessandro specifically) are jumping on the Raptor band wagon. I get it, they're good. Great, grand, wonderful. They're still a punk ass 47 win team that will be losing in the first round very soon to the Nets, who are themselves not that good. They roped in the majority of those 47 wins playing against the worst collection of teams in pro sports, the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division.

They do have, as D'Alessandro says, a guy finishing in the top 5 in MVP voting (Bosh), one of the better PGs in the game (TJ Ford), One of the best rookies in the game (Bargnani), and a bench full of solid role fillers, like Mo Pete, Calderon and Garbajosa. So my question isn't why are they so good, but why aren't they better? Essentially the heat on the Raptors sounds a lot to me like the heat on the Magic at the end of last season. And as we have now discovered in round 1 against Detroit; they still suck.

Have You Seen Her?

If you're asking do I watch WNBA? The answer is no. Given a choice between watching WNBA and watching warbly 1987 VHS copies of "This Old House," I would choose the latter. WNBA is barely more interesting than baseball.

Until this!

Woah! Punching out an opponent. That's very Ron Artest of Miss Jackson. Of course when when she was detained by the multiple Israeli soldiers armed with M16 grenade launching assault rifles, I'm sure she toned down her fiery rhetoric. Still, a punch out is good for me tuning into one WNBA game this season. In fact, new rule: every time a WNBA player punches someone out, I'll watch a game. Two games if they do it on the court, rather than in the parking lot.
This could be WNBA's golden opportunity to boost ratings, and avoid folding for one more season.

Mario Kart Counts as Sports, Right?

This would be way cooler if there was an actual race course and the karts shot stuff at each other. But it is kind of a cool concept. This might be the next step for those pocket RCs.

Jews Love Colangelo?

Maybe... Check this nauseating little bit from the Toronto Star about how Bryan Colangelo got Anthony Parker from Maccabi Tel Aviv:

Colangelo offered $1 million and then $1.5 million to try to get Parker out. He thought that would be enough: Under the terms of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, the most a team can pay to buy out a player is $500,000.
The rest of the money comes from the departing player.
In the end, as both a symbolic and significant buyout the Raptors offered $1.8 million to free Parker to sign in Toronto.
The 1.8 number comes from the Hebrew number 18, the number Parker now wears on his Toronto uniform: The Jewish symbol signifying life.
"I think they appreciated the figure," Colangelo said. "I've had others tell me that." Toronto Star

As a Jew who loves Israel, let me just say, this was the kind of gesture that Maccabi Tel Aviv smiled and shook hands over, then rolled their eyes as they turned away.

Yes it's true that 18 is the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew letters "chet" (pronounced like coughing up a hairball) and "yood". The two letters together spell "chai" (also pronounced like coughing up a hairball). As anyone who's ever seen Fiddler on the Roof can tell you, "chai" means "life."

And since the executives at Maccabi Tel Aviv are essentially Ewoks, this clever little play mystified the Israeli suits into letting Anthony "Peak After 30" Parker go for under market value. Colangelo pulled a C3PO on them, and convinced them he was a deity, come to reclaim Parker.

That's apparently the way Colangelo sees it. And, coincidentally, in a recent interview when asked about the future of the Raptors, he cryptically only answered, "If I were a rich man, yi da di da di da di..."

Look, the execs for Maccabi Tel Aviv, former EuroLeague champs, aren't bushmen, and they're not gonna trade the franchise for beads. They knew they were pretty much gonna lose Parker either way, so they wanted as much money as possible to court replacements. It's really that simple. I'd be willing to bet that they didn't even make the connection between the 1.8 and "life."

Colangelo didn't bottle the wind for them, or reconnect them with their ancestral spirits. He paid them. Believe it or not, in foreign lands basketball is still a business.

Which is not to say that Bryan Colangelo isn't welcome in the Swag HQ for Passover, we'd love to have him. Just save the cultural communing and clever trickery for the Euro League team from Endor.

We ain't buying.

LeBron's Sprite Disaster

LeBron's Sprite commercial that's been playing every 35 seconds on TNT playoff coverage, and just came on as I'm writing this (let's see if I can finish the post before the commercial ends... awww crap), is just awful. It's painfully not funny. Like a dentist dressed as a clown, but who isn't being jolly and is scaling your gums without anesthesia.
You've seen it; it has Bronny shooting up a giant tongue with lemon and lime paint balls. The whole thing is supposed to be like subliminal messaging, only they club you in the face with all the images, so it doesn't really activate your subconscious... although I do feel like playing paintball. It feels like they were hedging their bets, thinking "either they'll think it's avant garde and cool, or they'll think it's ridiculous and funny."
I also take issue with their "lymon," ad campaign for two reasons. First, that's not ground breaking. Citrus sodas were founded on the concept of lemon and lime. They've always featured the mix. From 7Up through Mello Yellow, none of them were strictly lemon, or strictly lime. The fact that Sprite is unveiling the lemon and lime together in a drink like it's an SUV that runs on Tang is just insulting. Secondly, and this may be the most important factor, "lymon," purports to be a mix between lemon and lime, which is all well and good. But neither the word lemon, nor the word lime, feature the letter "Y."
And as I wrap this up, it comes on again... I'm buying stock in 7Up.

More Game 2s

The Bulls racked the Heat last night, and it's official: I love the freakin' Bulls. Luol Deng and Adres Nocioni are both in my top 10 list of players the Cavs need before they can take the next step, and Hinrich is the prototype of what a point guard should be. Ben Gordon doesn't always take the smartest shots, but he can hit from anywhere, and more & more I find myself impressed with his driving ability. The front court combo of Wallace, Brown and Thomas can clearly tangle with any front court in the league. Duhon is as competent a backup point as there is in the league, and could probably start on most teams. And as if that all weren't enough, Thabo Sefolosha is rapidly becoming one of my favorite rookies. Not to mention they're the best defensive team in the playoffs outside of San Antonio. Watching the game last night, all I could think was how old the Bulls make the Heat look. Anybody still clinging to the illusion that the Heat can repeat needs to wake up. Maybe if Wade were 100%... maybe. But he's clearly not all the way back yet. This one's as good as over.
I like the Suns almost as much as I like the Bulls. And now I have another reason to love them; they make Kobe look like a WNBA player. Last night they beat the Lakers to the tune of 30 points, and for the majority of the 2nd and 3rd quarters made the Lakers look like a high school team. A shitty high school team.
The most annoying thing is how much the announcers were slobbering all over him even while he played like crap, his team played like crap, and he didn't even have the decency to go to the sideline and commit harikiri. Kobe misses an ugly turn around jumper in triple coverage? "He's just so hard to cover." Kobe makes an ugly and ill advised pass to a guy who hasn't hit a shot all night (Walton) when he could have easily gone to the bucket? "Kobe sees the court so well." Kobe's team is down 30+ points and he doesn't even look like he cares? "Kobe is such a good leader!" When are we gonna stop calling this guy the greatest? He's got the talent, to be sure, but at this point it should be clear that his ability to win games is, at best, on par with guys like McGrady, Carter and Pierce. They kept talking about the Suns being wary of Kobe miracles, but I can't remember the last "Kobe miracle" I saw. Other than when he turned those stadium nachos into loaves of bread and my 32 oz. Pepsi into wine...

Telfair Upddate (with an extra "d" for a double dose of this pimpin'...)

Gazaaah! Telfair's done. But the controversy might be just beginning... Check this from the Boston Globe.

"I wanted to let you know that we have removed Sebastian's nameplate from his locker in Waltham," wrote Grousbeck. "The facts and circumstances of his case have not been determined but he does not have a Celtics locker and we do not anticipate that he will." Boston Globe

Well that was a weird way to say you're done with the guy. Focus in on the important stuff... his locker. I bet his lawyer will be so utterly owned, he'll have no choice but to sheepishly skulk away...

"I just think that what [the Celtics] did was with the season over they saw a chance to take a public relations shot and they did," said Hayes. "He doesn't do drugs. He doesn't smoke. He takes good care of his family. He's never been involved in any of those deals with beating girlfriends or causing trouble in nightclubs. He is not a guy who embarrasses you. He's a nice young guy. He's had a tough year.
"Why do that [make a public statement about removing the nameplate]? Why not say, 'Give it a little time. We'll see what happened.' They should show more restraint after they told him not to cooperate with police against a group of hoodlums [in the Fabolous case] who have been terrorizing athletes and celebrities across the country." Boston Globe



Woah, did we just veer off into the tangential world of cross country gangsta-chic terroristas? Or is Hayes just referring to the paparazzi, who must incessantly hound Telfair on the red carpet with his A-List friends like Laura Dern and Sam Elliot?

What the hell is going on? Telfair isn't what you might describe as "good" at basketball, but he's also not horrible. He could be a contributor for a team. Frankly, I can't imagine how a dude gets cut for being arrested with a gun, cooperating fully with police in a completely non-violent incident. Meanwhile Stephen Jackson literally fires his gun in public, and doesn't even get suspended.
Am I reading the article correctly? Does it say Telfair could get a minimum of 3 years in jail? Yikes. With his small muscular build and soft angelic features, he'll be the Belle of the ball, if you know what I mean. It also doesn't bode well for him that he's "beefing" with Fabolous, who may or may not have "peeps" who are "on lock" for being "straight up thugs, son." I'm quoting from my standard issue David Stern's Guide to Understanding Hip Hop Culture (the DSGUHHC).

Sebastian Telfair: Through the Fire?

Or just opening fire? Interesting factoid: Sebastian Telfair has had more double-doubles in his career than run ins with the law over gun beefs. That's right, in 3 seasons the documentary film star has had 3 double doubles and 2 gun snafus. When you do the math on that, the Celtics finally realize what the rest of the league has known for a while; Sebastian Telfair sucks, and is not worth the trouble.
And now comes news the Celtics are doing the smart thing; pissing away the millions they spent on him, and "cutting ties." Even if Telfair hadn't gotten arrested, signing him last off season was a stupid gamble aimed at netting Iverson, which would have been a stupid trade. Ainge essentially mortgaged respectability at a chance to get the Answer. He may come out of all this smelling like roses if they land Oden or Durant, but that should be cold comfort to the Celts who remain years away from contending for the playoffs.
I'll admit that even I was wooed by Telfair's upside, but I realized even sooner than the Boston front office that signing Telfair was like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

Game 2s

I feel like George W at an Enron investor's party... everything's coming up Houston. For the second time in 3 days, TMac and Yao dominated Utah in the second half, and snatched victory from their conservative, sometimes polygamist, clutches. Actually, Mehmet looked pretty impressive and gave Yao some problems in the first half. But with his shooting stroke gone cold, the lusty Turk couldn't get it done on the offensive end. TMac was pretty cold in the first half, but he sank 'em when they counted and Houston took a commanding 2-0 lead going back to Salt Lake City.
The Pistons blah-ed their way to another vic against the sorely outclassed Magic. There's really not much to say here other than that the Pistons could win this series in 4 with Rip Hamilton literally playing with his eyes closed. Dwight Howard's shortcomings are being exposed like a roll of film.

Holy Hell!

With Leather has this up, and now I do too. Why? Because it's just the fucking coolest thing I've ever seen.


Watching this makes me want to go to a rave, find the nearest person spinning the idiot-lights on the end of the strings and punch them out.
God I hate ravers, and I love Japanese kids who make the whole scene look worthless and stupid. This dude obviously watched the Smothers Brothers YoYo Man How to Yo-Yo video. I know, because I watched it too... and instantly became Japanese.

Game 1 MVP

Call him Baron, call him B-Diddy. Call him what you want, just call him domination.

Baron Davis in Game 1 against the Mavs:
33 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 4 three pointers, 55% FG, 88% FT, 3 TOs

If we see a better game than that all playoffs long, I'd be surprised.

Good to Be a Cavs/Warriors Fan

For Cleveland transplants to the Bay Area, such as myself, there hasn't been a playoff this exciting in a looooooong time. In fact, the Cavs and Warriors haven't won playoff games in the same year since the 1991-92 season. So for 415/216 hybrids like myself, yesterday was a foreign emotion. I couldn't believe my eyes; both the Cavs and Warriors won, and pretty handily at that. Neither team looks like a title contender, but they both look interesting, and they both have a good time in store.
The Warriors barely squeaked into the post season, and being their first time in 12 seasons, they could've gone out 4-0 in thirty point poundings, and you still couldn't wipe the grin off Bay Area faces. We don't care how bad they lose, and neither do they. The result is that they're playing loose, comfortable, scrappy and chaotic. In short; they're playing Nellie Ball. As Dallas fans can attest, it'll never get you to the big show, but it makes for enjoyable and exciting games, lots of three pointers, and just maybe a prayer. With an impressive game 1 steal, the Warriors, once again control their own destiny. All they need to do, however unlikely a feat, is defend Oracle Arena. As long as they can run the board in Oakland, there's a growing possibility we'll get to see Mark Cuban have an aneurysm on national TV.
The Cavs certainly didn't look as punishing and controlling as I may have hoped. And the announcers/pundits/bloggers/assholes have been making them pay. Despite winning by the largest margin of any of the opening games, the Cavs have been roundly panned as the least persuasive winner so far. But I honestly don't mind. Charles Barkley insists the Wizards should be heartened that they can win games, possibly the series. I don't know what game he was watching. The Cavs should still sweep the Wizards, and I don't care if they they win the rest of the games by 1 point each. Getting to the next round in as few games as possible is the priority. The Cavs'll do fine. Pacing themselves in the first round against a sorely over matched opponent is no different from pacing themselves in the regular season. When the Cavs see the Pistons/Bulls/Heat in the conference finals, I want them to be as rested and hard to read as possible. Wish granted.

Game 1s

I am not on fire so far. I picked home court to hold across the board, and for my troubles I got screwed by the team I picked to win it all, and the team everyone else picked. San Antonio and Dallas both lost, at home, in their game 1 match ups with clearly inferior teams. Could it be that they've both drawn their Achilles' heels in the first round? If San Antone were playing Golden State and Dallas playing Denver would it have gone down differently? Dallas can't seem to answer Golden State's free-for-all, jump shooting death squad. And San Antonio clearly has no idea what to do with Nene, who is re branding himself as the power forward of the future. All I could think when I watched Nene yesterday, was how much I'd like to see him on the Suns. He's like a 6'11" Leandro Barbosa, substituting defensive aggression for jump shooting ability. He romped all over San Antonio yesterday. And as a Golden State fan, a former off-and-on Pacers fan, with a long time closet crush on the Spurs, I can't tell you how weird it is to like Stephen Jackson. But Jacko is backo in a big way. SteJax made Dirk look like less of a MVP and more of a DQP (double quarter pounder... with cheese). Things are getting interesting all over.
Toronto focused all their energy on Vinsanity, which worked, and got pecker-slapped by JKidd and RJeff. I still like Toronto to win this thing, but you have to wonder how good New Jersey would be with Nenad. Next year, with Nenad, Miki Moore developing into a solid backup and Josh Boone and Bostjan Nachbar coming on strong, the Nets could be intriguing again next year. If they dodge the injury bug, lookout; a .500 season could be in the offing. Phoenix handled their business like the pros they are, illustrating why Kobe is a punk who will never elevate the Lakers without a Shaq-type backing him up. Detroit looked chiseled against Orlando, but I would have liked to see a nastier, more self assured victory. Ditto for the Cavs. Game 2s should be hot. Cap'n, out.

New Features at the Swag

The regular season is over, so I removed the scoreboard. It may make a resurgence as we start to blog about Football and (ugh...) Baseball. But for now let's make room for our new Tag Board, brought to you by CBox. It's pretty tight; kind of like an even quicker more visible, less relevant and completely unnecessary version of the comments section (which, by the way, is still there). AND I might add we haven't seen nearly as much commenting as we'd like to, so why don't we all make an effort? So in review: comment ya jerks, but in lieu of that, at least drop some soul on our tag board.

Cavs New Point Guard?

LUKE RIDNOUR
2006-07: He was supposed to have a breakout season, especially after a contract extension. After a series of inconsistencies and bouts with insecurity, however, Ridnour did not give the organization any security about his future as a starting point guard. He averaged fewer points, assists and steals than last season and his numbers declined badly after the All-Star break, resulting in a disappointing season for the one-time cornerstone. Ridnour is unhappy with his role and it seems like something has to change.
Staying or leaving? The club will try to trade him and the remaining three years on his deal and acquire a frontline point guard with size and experience. Seattle Post-Intelligencer

This is intriguing as hell to me. I like Ridnour. He's young, energetic and he's a true point guard. Exactly what we need. Maybe a Damon Jones for Ridnour deal could be in our future?