Twilight Halloween -- Edward and Bella

On Halloween night, my wife and I dressed up as the lead characters from Twilight (You can probably guess whose idea this was). We bought some clothes/stuff to help us look the part. How do you think it turned out?

And here are our model photos.

We did okay, huh?

We even made a little Twilight video...

...with the requisite outtakes for the DVD...

Ginobili Swats Bat; Spurs Defeat Kings

Are the two things mentioned in the title above related to each other? I say "Why not?"

A bat flew around the AT&T Center on Halloween during a game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Sacramento Kings. You may even see that if flew above the Kings' Kevin Martin as he attempted a shot in the video below.

Later on, Manu Ginobili decided enough was enough. He wacked the bat and potentially rescued thousands of people in the stadium from a bat attack.



Here is another video, this time with a hometown-announcer slant.


Here are some quotes from the Spurs after the game regarding Manu's bat "heroics."

From teammate Tony Parker said: "That was amazing. The legend continues with Manu. Unbelievable. ... He's always doing crazy stuff."
Coach Gregg Popovich said, "The drummer that he marches to sometimes is a little bit different. He never ceases to amaze me and he just did it again. The legend grows. It's incredible on Halloween night. You would call someone a liar if they told you that story."
Manu was less impressed with himself. "When you can't dunk anymore, you have to find a way to make it into the news," he said. "So that's what I did. I grabbed a bat. I didn't think it was a big deal."

The fallout from the incident, however, was not all good. Gino had to get a battery of rabies shots, just in case the bat was rabid. Some organization that squawks loudly to get attention vehemently defends animals' rights said that Manu was a small man-u, even though he is 6'6".

And this is Manu's comment from his Facebook page:

Just wanted to give you guys an update on the bat situation. As many of you already know, it wasn't a great idea. Not only for the fact that bats are great part of the ecosystem, but also, because some carry rabies, which is an incurable disease. That's why I had to get vaccinated today (and it wasn't just one shot!).
Only 0.5% to 3% of the bat populations carry the disease, but if you can't find the animal, it's not recommended to take any risks, it can kill you! Since after the incident, the usher took it outside and the bat flew away (not lying!), there was no way of knowing if he was infected or not, so I had to do the safe thing.
Finally, please, don't do it at home or anywhere, avoid contact with bats, skunks, raccoons, rats and animals like that.

The High Ate Us

So a good number of months have passed since I've posted on this here blog. As the cool people say, it's been a minute. I have a number of things I've been planning to post -- and I've been holding on to some of them for several minutes, if you know what I mean -- but for various reasons I haven't gotten around to writing.

Here is a summary of some of the reasons, in no particular order:

1) Motivation - How many blogs have regular posts when they start out, then they fall off the face of the earth?
2) Money - I don't get paid for this blog. Some folks put ads on their blogs and make money for it, but in most cases it's a pretty meager sum. Like it or not, sometimes you have to focus on doing things that make money. That includes working for pay and/or looking for work that pays.
3) Time - It's said that time is of the essence. The essence of what? Probably just about everything, really. So time may make it difficult to put up a post. Some of my posts have only taken me a few minutes. However, some have taken a few hours, believe it or not.
4) What was reason #4 again?
5) Priority - This relates to #s 2 and 3. If you need to make money, and you are doing several different things with your time, then you must prioritize. Assigning different levels of importance to things you do sometimes means leaving some things out. You can do good things, better things, and maybe even "best" things. Hopefully, when we omit some good things, we are doing better or best things. Or even bestest things.

I will continue to post on the blog. Sometimes it will be basketball related, sometimes it will be personal stuff, etc. I can't guarantee how often I will write, but I will write.

Just for making it this far down the page, I will give you a visual/audio cookie. It's a reminder not to take everything too literally. On second thought, maybe you do want to take things literally. Oh, and if you figured out what this post's title means, give yourself a pat on the back. As always, comments are appreciated.

Mid-season NBA review of my NBA preview

So how are my preseason individual award and team predictions panning out so far? Let's take a look:

Individual awards
MVP
Preseason pick: LeBron James, Cavaliers.
Current Front-runner: James. MVP buzz early in the season can snowball and carry throughout the season. Thanks to his suberb stats and the Cavs' standing as one of the best teams in the league, it's hard to see someone unseating the King from his pole position in the MVP race.
The Best of the Rest: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade

Rookie of the Year
Preseason pick: Michael Beasley, Heat
Current Front-runner: Derrick Rose, Bulls
The Best of the Rest: O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook

Defensive Player of the Year
Preseason pick: Ron Artest, Rockets

Current Front-runner: Dwight Howard, Magic
The Best of the Rest: I've seen a few names thrown out by espn.com's awards man, such as Kevin Garnett, Wade, Bryant, James, Paul and Marcus Camby.

6th Man of the Year
Preseason pick: Lamar Odom, Lakers
Current Front-runner: Jason Terry, Mavericks. Manu Ginobili may have a better all-around game, but his limited minutes and early-season injury -- combined with Terry's scoring average at around 20 per game -- will help Terry's cause.
The Best of the Rest: Ginobili, Andrei Kirilenko

Most Improved Player
Preseason pick: Rodney Stuckey, Pistons
Current Front-runner: Beats me. How about Danny Granger, Pacers. It's interesting to note that many of the top candidates are All-Stars or All-Star candidates this year.
The Best of the Rest: Jameer Nelson, Devin Harris, Jeff Green, Paul Millsap, Kevin Durant, Stuckey

Coach of the Year
Preseason pick: Rick Adelman, Rockets
Current Front-runner: Stan Van Gundy, Magic. Or Mike Brown, Cavaliers. It's almost a toss-up. The Best of the Rest: Nate McMillan, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, George Karl, Doc Rivers, Erik Spoelstra

Team Performances
So far, things have shaken out similarly to what I expected. Some examples:

• A Celtics-Lakers Finals rematch certainly doesn't appear to be out of the question.


• Ditto for my prediction of a Cavs-Celtics ECF, and maybe a Lakers-Hornets WCF.


• 13 of my 16 playoff picks are in position to make the postseason; the three I didn't choose were among my most difficult playoff omissions.

On the other hand...
I had the Washington Wizards returning for a fifth-consecutive playoff appearance. That obviously will not happen; the only things the Wiz are contending for may be a high draft pick and potentially the worst record in the league this season. I guess the injury to Gilbert Arenas (and Brendan Haywood) had a bigger impact than I expected.

NBA All-Star '09: Who will be there?

The fans have spoken and, for the most part, they've done a good job selecting the All-Star starters. Here they are:
West:
Guard - Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul
Forward - Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudemire
Center - Yao Ming

East:
Guard - Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson
Forward - LeBron James, Kevin Garnett
Center - Dwight Howard
Not bad. The sketchiest pick is probably Iverson, who may not have made the team without his popularity with the fans. Now the coaches' picks for the All-Star reserves will be announced later tonight. There is sure to be plenty of complaining about who should have made it once these selections are released.

Here is my list of predictions for the All-Star reserves, based on a combination of what I think will happen and what should happen. Remember only seven guys from each conference can make it.

West:
These guys are very likely to make the team: Brandon Roy, Dirk Nowitzki, Chauncey Billups
My other picks: Shaquille O'Neal, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol, Al Jefferson
Other possibilities: Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Steve Nash
Darkhorses: Jason Terry, David West, Paul Millsap, Deron Williams, Manu Ginobili

Jefferson and Durant are in the same situation: they're good young players putting up good stats on bad teams. However, their fortunes have turned around lately with the Timberwolves 10-3 in January with one game (vs. the Lakers) left in the month, and the Thunder winning six of their last nine games. Carmelo's situation could be compromised by an injury, though he is now cleared to play again.

East
Very likely: Danny Granger, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson
Likely: Paul Pierce, Devin Harris
My other picks: Jameer Nelson, Ray Allen
Other possibilities: Vince Carter, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis
Darkhorses: Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mo Williams, Tayshaun Prince, David Lee

Team record could be the deciding factor in some of these choices. The Boston Three Party might all make the team, and Ray Allen is shooting the lights out, which, along with team record, could propel him ahead of one of the Nets' two candidates. A second Orlando player (Nelson, Lewis, Turkoglu) would appear likely to be chosen. We'll see if LeBron gets a Cavs teammate in Phoenix.

The Eastern Conference predictions come with one caveat: selecting a backup center is mandatory, and I didn't choose a true center. However, coaches can list a player under their secondary position if they get substantial playing time at that spot. In this case, I make the assumption that Bosh gets picked as a center. Otherwise, it could be Ilgauskas, or another hybrid forward/center who plays center more often than Bosh (David Lee?).

UPDATE: The coaches votes are in, and I got them right, except David West got Al Jefferson's spot in the West, and Rashard Lewis is there in the East instead of Ray Allen.
Re-UPDATE: The NBA's commish has chosen Ray Allen as the injury replacement for Jameer Nelson. Mo Williams was later selected as an injury replacement for Chris Bosh.

For a student, there's nothing better than straight A's

It's time again to give credit where credit is due. If you remember (or even if you don't remember), last year I chronicled my wife's impressive GPA for winter semester. With her fall semester grades now posted, I can say she's done it again -- she followed up all those A's (and a single A-) with A-minuses and an A. That means she scored in the "A" range for every class she took in 2008. Mad props, yo!

Happy 2009!

I didn't get around to writing a Christmas post, and New Year's Eve is now upon us, so I'll take the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May this year be a good one for you and your loved ones!

Quote of the Day: Jacob Riis

"When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."

Blood is not funny

Washington Sports ... Lets just hope 2009 is better

It wasn't too long ago when the Mariners and Seahawks were good. It's honestly only been three years since the Squawks were in the Super Bowl getting hosed by the officials.
The baseball team tied an American League record for wins in 2001, and they have had some successful seasons since then as well. In fact, I think ESPN Radio's Mike Greenberg predicted prior to the 2008 season that the M's would win the World Series this year. Hmmm...

Ichiro: a rare athletic bright spot in Washington

If you're a twentysomething sports fan in the Northwest, you've been around long enough to see the Sonics in the Finals, WSU in the Rose Bowl and UW sharing a national championship with Miami.

Nice knowin' ya, Ty. No one surves a completely imperfect season

Those days seem oh-so-long ago.

A recap of 2008: Even with Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, the NBA's Supersonics went 20-62, good enough for the 29th-best record in a 30-team league - and that was their highlight. The lowlight came later when the new ownership moved the team to their home in Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. The Mariners were 61-101, which was worst in the American League, and, like the Sonics, second-worst overall. The Seahawks are 2-10 and mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with four games left to play.

How high will Durant fly in the NBA? Seattle fans will no longer be able to see it firsthand

That brings us to the Grand Daddy of them all - the college football seasons of U-Duh (misspelling intended) and Wazzu. With a loss on Saturday at Cal-Berkeley, the Dawgs will finish the season 0-12. The Cougars, unfortunately, had to play an extra game - 13 in all - and finished 2-11. Nevermind that the first victory came against FCS opponent Portland State, and the final one was against the arch rival Huskies. That Apple Cup game sure was a barnburner - it went into overtime with the Cougs winning, 16-13, but the quality of play wasn't the greatest in the rivalry's history (although both teams would surely relish a win versus their hated rival under any circumstances).

The Apple Cup: A rare moment of jubilation in Martin Stadium

About the only thing we can hope for now is some good college basketball from the aforementioned universities, among others.

Go 'Zags.