I’ve been very neglectful of the blog recently so I’m going to do my best to pick up my posts once again.
I want to first do some catching up on my trip to New York a couple weeks back.
We arrived in New York on Friday afternoon, May 9. We had tickets to the Conan O’Brien Taping at NBC Studios so after a quick lunch at one of Manhattan’s countless diners we trudged through the pouring rain to Rockefeller Center.
This was my second Conan taping so the process was not new to me. You have to arrive by 4:15 PM where you are then given a wristband and told to hang around until 5:00 PM or so when you are let in.
Once in the studios, there is a ten minute highlight reel of Conan’s greatest hits followed by a warm up comedian who while repetitive on a second visit has to be given credit for affectively working the crowd. The highlight of his warm-up act is always when he is given the sign that Conan is ready, generally one of the producers pointing to his nose, the comedian replies “okay Conan has finished his coke lets get the show going.”
Conan then comes out and spends two or three minutes chatting with the crowd. What you immediately notice from O’Brien is his non-stop energy. Whether he is chatting with the crowd, chatting with guests, or watching his skits on the big screen, O’Brien is non-stop enthusiasm. Maybe the “coke” joke doesn’t fall too far from the truth.
But in all seriousness, O’Brien in both of my taping experiences has shown himself to be nothing less than a professional. Once the tape starts to roll there are no stops and starts. Conan’s years of experience have seemed to given him an ease on camera that few will ever achieve.
The guests on this particular episode were Saturday Night Live funnyman, Seth Myers, actress Becky Newton from TV’s “Ugly Betty,” and teen-rock-sensation “Tokyo Hotel.” The band ironically hail from Germany.
No matter what guests appear on the particular taping you are in attendance for, the price can’t be beat—tickets are free. And to add to this all audience members were given free tee-shirts too! If you are interested in tickets to a Conan O’Brien taping call 212.664-3056 for more information. Shows tape Monday through Friday and are generally booked four to six weeks ahead of time and I’d call daily to get the up-to-date info that can and will change at a moment’s notice.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A Forgettable Game Four
In an attempt to bolster the amount of posts on the blog here are some thoughts on the Celtics game last night:
-Paul Pierce needs to step up his play on the offensive end. Pierce’s defense on Lebron James has been tremendous but when everything else hits the fan offensively a captain must step up and keep his ship afloat. Obviously Pierce and Ray Allen can’t get their shots going against Cleveland but Pierce has the ability to take it to the hoop and at least draw some free throws. If the Celtics are to win this series Pierce must do more to stimulate the C’s offense.
-James Posey is a certified playoff performer. He won’t score twenty or dish off ten assists but Posey has made frequent and crucial contributions each time he’s taken the court. From his clutch 3-pointer in game one to his stingy defense on James throughout the series, Posey is proving his worth and then some; and to add to this he is doing it all in his hometown.
- Kendrick Perkins has miraculously turned himself into Mark Price at the free throw line. If anyone going into the playoffs said Perk would shoot around 90% from the line they would have been hauled off in a padded suit. But although his contributions from the charity stripe have been monumental Perkin’s ability to assert himself in the post hasn’t been as apparent to me as it was in the regular season.
- To me the Celtics consistent rotation or lack there of has been their greatest Achilles' heel in the post season. If I were Doc Rivers I would ensure that all players touch the hardwood in the opening quarter to gage what game they are sporting. Sam Cassell has shown the ability to at times take over games and at other times run, or maybe a better word would be walk, the offense into the ground. A quick insertion of Cassell, Leon Poe, P.J. Brown, and Glen Davis would let Rivers sense what player he can expect in a given game and adapt his rotation accordingly. Because if anything has proven consistent in the C’s post season it has been inconsistency amongst River’s bench support.
- If Ray Allen and Paul Pierce can’t hit a shot and if Sam Cassell has morphed into a John Starks-like hot-and-cold shooter—would it kill the C’s to start a quarter with Eddie House just to see what his outside shot could do to jump-start the C’s at times fledgling offense? Rivers opted to start game four’s final frame with the rebounding duo of Davis and Brown but imagine what an impact a couple of quick shots from House would have made on the team?
- Did anyone read about or see Lebron Jame’s yell at his Mother after Pierce fouled him going into the crowd last night? Apparently Lebron was upset his Mother tried to insert herself into the game by making such a visible display of emotion. I’m no marketing genius but I smell a Campbell’s Soup commercial with Lebron and his over-charged Mother trying to fend off those bullies from hurting her baby.
-Paul Pierce needs to step up his play on the offensive end. Pierce’s defense on Lebron James has been tremendous but when everything else hits the fan offensively a captain must step up and keep his ship afloat. Obviously Pierce and Ray Allen can’t get their shots going against Cleveland but Pierce has the ability to take it to the hoop and at least draw some free throws. If the Celtics are to win this series Pierce must do more to stimulate the C’s offense.
-James Posey is a certified playoff performer. He won’t score twenty or dish off ten assists but Posey has made frequent and crucial contributions each time he’s taken the court. From his clutch 3-pointer in game one to his stingy defense on James throughout the series, Posey is proving his worth and then some; and to add to this he is doing it all in his hometown.
- Kendrick Perkins has miraculously turned himself into Mark Price at the free throw line. If anyone going into the playoffs said Perk would shoot around 90% from the line they would have been hauled off in a padded suit. But although his contributions from the charity stripe have been monumental Perkin’s ability to assert himself in the post hasn’t been as apparent to me as it was in the regular season.
- To me the Celtics consistent rotation or lack there of has been their greatest Achilles' heel in the post season. If I were Doc Rivers I would ensure that all players touch the hardwood in the opening quarter to gage what game they are sporting. Sam Cassell has shown the ability to at times take over games and at other times run, or maybe a better word would be walk, the offense into the ground. A quick insertion of Cassell, Leon Poe, P.J. Brown, and Glen Davis would let Rivers sense what player he can expect in a given game and adapt his rotation accordingly. Because if anything has proven consistent in the C’s post season it has been inconsistency amongst River’s bench support.
- If Ray Allen and Paul Pierce can’t hit a shot and if Sam Cassell has morphed into a John Starks-like hot-and-cold shooter—would it kill the C’s to start a quarter with Eddie House just to see what his outside shot could do to jump-start the C’s at times fledgling offense? Rivers opted to start game four’s final frame with the rebounding duo of Davis and Brown but imagine what an impact a couple of quick shots from House would have made on the team?
- Did anyone read about or see Lebron Jame’s yell at his Mother after Pierce fouled him going into the crowd last night? Apparently Lebron was upset his Mother tried to insert herself into the game by making such a visible display of emotion. I’m no marketing genius but I smell a Campbell’s Soup commercial with Lebron and his over-charged Mother trying to fend off those bullies from hurting her baby.
Monday, May 5, 2008
C's Wait Until the Last Minute to Ace the Hawks
It was like going to a friend’s birthday party on December 24—you were required to go but your mind was firmly placed in the future. It was those emotions that summed up the feelings surrounding Boston Celtics fans after yesterday’s resounding game 7 victory by their team over the ever-feisty Atlanta Hawks.
Game 7s are usually occasions that are granted immediate and eternal resting places in our sports memory banks. But this will not be the case with the 2008 NBA First Round game 7 between a top ranked Celtics team striving to regain their perch as the most storied franchise in pro basketball history and an Atlanta Hawks squad who submitted a “present” when class began on Sunday but registered little more than a peep for the remainder of the afternoon. There is no room for celebrating what should have been inevitable —a series victory by a number one seed over an eight seed in an opening round playoff series.
This leaves us with the question of how to evaluate the Celtics victory Sunday. And it is my opinion that it was a case of a top-of-their-class student pulling an all-nighter before submitting an A plus power-point presentation in freshman history class. To be sure the passage of the course was necessary but the goal—that of a degree for the student and a championship for the Celtics—are still ahead and will require much work and increasing levels of performance as time goes on.
Sunday was a day of accomplishing a goal most believed would have been completed much earlier. It is now completed and even with a good deal of momentum moving forward. But looming in the immediate future lie tests that will demand greater and greater quality. And if the Celtics hope to ace the tests posed to them by the likes of those taught by Prof. James, Prof. Billups, or Dean Bryant it is clear that their performance must not only improve but become timelier.
Game 7s are usually occasions that are granted immediate and eternal resting places in our sports memory banks. But this will not be the case with the 2008 NBA First Round game 7 between a top ranked Celtics team striving to regain their perch as the most storied franchise in pro basketball history and an Atlanta Hawks squad who submitted a “present” when class began on Sunday but registered little more than a peep for the remainder of the afternoon. There is no room for celebrating what should have been inevitable —a series victory by a number one seed over an eight seed in an opening round playoff series.
This leaves us with the question of how to evaluate the Celtics victory Sunday. And it is my opinion that it was a case of a top-of-their-class student pulling an all-nighter before submitting an A plus power-point presentation in freshman history class. To be sure the passage of the course was necessary but the goal—that of a degree for the student and a championship for the Celtics—are still ahead and will require much work and increasing levels of performance as time goes on.
Sunday was a day of accomplishing a goal most believed would have been completed much earlier. It is now completed and even with a good deal of momentum moving forward. But looming in the immediate future lie tests that will demand greater and greater quality. And if the Celtics hope to ace the tests posed to them by the likes of those taught by Prof. James, Prof. Billups, or Dean Bryant it is clear that their performance must not only improve but become timelier.
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