Christmas Wish List

Here are the top 10 things I'm hoping to get this year:

1. A rematch with the Pistons the year we should have won the championship. Reggie's final days, a lock down defender, the deepest bench in the league. It doesn't get any better than that, only to have some a-hole from the D throw a beer at Artest and then all hell breaks loose.

2. An opposing coach to kick Belicheat in the balls instead of the post-game handshake.

3. The return to prominence of college basketball in the Hoosier state. IU is in the top 15 along with Butler. Now if Matt Painter can just get the 'Boilers back on track. (By the way, I don't count Notre Dame as an Indiana school, Chi-town can have them).

4. Isiah Thomas to be fired by the Knickerbockers of New York and never be heard from again.

5. Stephen A. Smith to shut the hell up.

6. To be able to stream Mark and Slick call the Pacers games.

7. Obviously, the Horse to beat the Patriots by 50 as Peyton Manning sits the entire second half. And then go on to destroy the Cowboys and everyone can shut the hell up about Tony Romo being the next Brett Favre.

8. Bob Sanders to make Tom Brady cry.

9. Larry Legend to suit up just once for the Blue and Gold.

10. For the Zoo and I to replace Quinn and that other cat (who sucks by the way) as broadcast announcers for your Indiana Pacers.

Happy Holidays Ya'll

the Dude

W

Marquis came through with a quite 26 and the pacers beat the 76ers thanks to a strong run to end the 3rd quarter. J.O. had a solid game and so did Mike D. We now sit in the sixth playoff spot and are actually one win from being tied for the fourth spot. Thanks to the typically weak Eastern Conference, if we can stay just above .500 we should be able to contend for that fourth spot, which includes home court advantage in the first round. It looks like Boston, Detroit and Orlando should be consistent enough to pull the top three spots. But you also got to expect the King to lead Cleveland back into contention.
Well, Tinsley sat out with a minor injury and Andre Owens got the start. Who? Andre Owens from Houston. Houston? yes, Houston. And that is why Marquis got so many minutes. And Quis goes off and we get the W. This team seems to be just erratic enough to cover its own ass. For example, J.O. goes out and we win a bunch of games. Mike D. has been strong lately. We have 5 players averaging double digits in scoring and Mike D. is the highest with just over 17 a game. And we still got Diogu in the hopper. It feels like if we could just get our stuff together a bit more we could really get over the .500 bizness and into the danger zone.

new poll question at the bottom. first one was a gimme...

Z

Cheats and the Cheating Cheaters who Cheat

No, I'm not talking about the "hoodie" or his cheating organization, yet. This time I'm referring to all those losers who got popped by the Mitchell Report. Clemens, Pettite (sp?), and the like who, rather than own up to what they did, lie until the very last minute and then somehow blame the media or make up some other lame-ass excuse for their lack of moral judgement. Clemens won't admit that he has juiced, even though at 38 years old was putting up as good if not better numbers than he did in his twenties, and his head is the size of some small nations. Pettite admitted, kind of to his use of HGH. He claims it was just twice and only to recover from an injury quickly to help out his needy team. Well isn't that heroic of him. Apparently, we've forgotten all definitions of the term cheating. If it gives you an unfair advantage, this includes a faster injury recovery time Senor Pettite, than your opponents may have, it's cheating. Cut and dry, black and white. The win at all costs mentality of our society long ago crossed the line of right and wrong, but now we are supposed to feel bad for those who chose to take the easy way out? Tripe!! Not this guy. You work extremely hard to win, and if and when you do, you do it with class and professionalism (take notes Patsies). I suspect that in the coming weeks more baseball players will admit half heartily to their 'roid use, and try and make us feel sorry for them. But don't fall for it. Why? Because, as the saying goes "Cheaters never win and winners never cheat!"

On a side note, if any of you out there have not seen the young Portland Trailblazer team play, do so. I know that this is a Naptown blog, and there ain't no one who can ever accuse me of being a sellout, but that team is fun. They play hard and with an enthusiasm rarely seen in pro sports. We beat them here and will do so again, no doubtingly in the Fieldhouse, but I'll root for them in every one of there other games, and do so passionately and without remorse. By the way, they do have 2 Naptowners on the team in Greg Oden and Josh McRoberts, although the latter is a Carmelite, we'll still claim him. Zup. BRRS

the Dude

Knick 'em in the garden

well we beat the knicks in the garden. in days not so removed from today, that would have been a big deal that probably would have involved some heroics from #31. but times have changed and now we're talkin #7, #11, #33, and tonight it was #17, Mike D. bouncin with 36, and 27 of that in the second half. i think we're a little inconsistent overall, but still, with a little more time together this team could gel quite well. I don't wanna get excited over a W over the knicks, but i feel like soon we might break this flirtation with .500 and become a tough team that might scare some top seeds in the playoffs.....always the optimist i am, and, well, the colts are gonna win the super bowl, so... NAPTOOOOOOOOOOWN!!!

2 IN 1

Well, well, well, we got 2 wins in 1 day by a total of 10 points! horse 21-14 in a close one against a mediocre team in the raiders and pacers 106-103 over the struggling heat. a win is a win is a win is a win. i gotta say jamaal is lookin fresh! i go so back n forth on him but this year has been more forth than back. him and DG seem to be running the most minutes for the team. yeah, DG is danny granger, he showed us his muscles at the pacer-blazer game when we yelled his name right before he did a post game interview with stacy paetz. it was awesome. matt and lauren were there.
well, unfortunately today the O'Neal's collided and surprise! surprise! guess who got the worst of it...Yes, it was JO. who cant wait till Shaq is out of the league? this guy. The rules have changed because of him. and not for the better. Him and MJ have both been spectacular players that the league has fallen in love with, or I should say has fallen in love with the money they bring in, and therefore these players have been catered to. the result being a sport based on capital rather than competition. don't bet on the referees for sound judgement. ha! ha! ha!
GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE AND VOTE.

WE CAN DO IT
Z

Patsies

As usual every time I open a sports page, or get on Yahoo sports, or turn on the television all I hear about is the New England Patriots. I know that they are undefeated and probably won't lose one in the regular season, considering they play in the brutally pitiful AFC East, but I'm sick of it. I hate the Patsies for many different reasons, including the fact that they are our Colts nemesis, but the real reason I dislike them so much is their attitude toward sport and competition. They are winners, yes, but they do so with absolutely no class. They run up the score. Their cheating, smug coach blows off the opposing head coaches. And their pretty boy quarterback acts as if this is some sort of birth right. He smacks of some of the Northeast elitism that many complain about when politicians from that part of the country run for president. Somehow they have become the victims in the "Spygate" scandal. If you don't believe me just watch the Jets game tomorrow, as Belicheat and Co. will try and exact some sort of revenge for Mangini tattling on them in the season opener. They got caught cheating, they should own it. The fact that they have tried, and successfully some may say, to spin it and make themselves out to be the wronged party drives me nuts. They have a great owner, a good coach, and a great team. They should be celebrated by all. But they have chosen to lie, cheat, manipulate, and above all play the game with as little class as I have seen in any sport. If you ask me they are taking away from the game more than they are giving right now. So, we'll see if they can skate through the rest of this season unscathed, and then we will see if they can hang with the Colts in January. Hopefully, Karma will fulfill her obligation and they won't even sniff Phoenix in February. Go Horse!

the Dude

Ha...Laughable, Man

Sorry for the quote steal, Zoo, it's just too good. Laughable is that game against the Ravens. Yeah, the same team that shoulda, woulda, coulda beat the cheaters. "They didn't have their best corner." Well last I checked we haven't had arguably the best reciever of all time for most of the season and we still laid it on them. The game was over in the first five minutes. And I don't think that's exaggerating. Hey everyone in Chowdaville, are you nervous yet. Because, if you aren't you should be. Everyone knows it's hard to beat a team twice, especially if you haven't lost all year. And you can't stop the run. Plus, you have the winless Dolphins two weeks from now. Better not lose that one. We'll see you in January jerk-offs.(Sorry T, couldn't help that one).

Now to my man JT. I'm glad that apparently you didn't instigate this one. But, what the hell are you doing on west 38th at 3 in the a.m. Especially you. You've been down this road before and it only leads to idictments and lack of respect from the community. Which, by the way, you don't need either of. He's been the bright spot on our team this year. We don't need this. Believe me, I live in Portland, home of the "Jailblazers". You've got tons of cake, stay home, go to JO's club, but for the love of golf, stay out of places that attract trouble.

the Dude

PS check out our newest favoritest site whatkatesreading.blogspot.com

bang bang

sooooo...we get a solid win against a good team in the Magic and then we got the Cavs comin up and inbetween Tinsley gets involved in a little bang bang. Great. He might actually be one of the bright spots this season and then this. Well? Well, at least he's not running up the score, going for it on fourth and one, in field goal range with the game wrapped up (again). You know what...Don't Care!! Karma's a Female Canine. Ol' Sweatshirt Bill has it coming. on the other hand, i love the horse being under the radar. who made the pats nervous last week? The same team we smoked this week. Just like rollin' a double corona 'eh Guillermo?
I'm out
Z

Well, that's just, like, you're opinion, man

So we had a few comments on JO's recent 30 pt. explosion, and all I have to say is just wait. I'd be the first one back on the JO bandwagon if he can stay healthy and put up those numbers. On the other hand they did lose again, and Amare Stoudemire put up 42 pts and 30 some odd rebounds on him. All I'm sayin' is sometimes you gotta cut bait. And in my opinion it's time to do that while we can still get something for him. Every team in the NBA needs a superstar. He was ours, now not so much. And we don't necessarily have one waiting in the wings either. That's how you build teams and contend to win titles. I'm just one man, who lives in Oregon, but that's what I truly think would help our somewhat floundering franchise. Don't get me wrong, I love this team, but as fans we gotta expect more than .500 seasons year after year.

Next...Is it just my Oregon bias or did Dennis Dixon get royally screwed by the Heisman Committee this week. He leading a decent team to a national title, then shreds a knee and all of the sudden you don't even invite him to New York. Classy, very classy. He would probably have won the Heisman going away had he stayed healthy and he only missed two and a half games. Plus look what the Ducks did without him. They were averaging 43 pts with him and now they are only averaging 18. That says enough for me. We all know that he can't and shouldn't win the award, but at least recognize the achievements he post throughout the year and invite him. In my book, it's a complete travesty that couldn't have happened to a more classy guy. Way to go, Heismann Committee. You just earned yourselves Brrnt of the Week.

the Dude

Late Thoughts from the Blazers Game

We got the victory. And I'd have to say we looked pretty good in doing it. This being the first time I have seen the new-look Pacers, I liked what I saw. The up-tempo style really lets J.T. do his thing. He looks more comfortable and aggressive. It also allows Grainger and Dunleavey to get open looks early in the clock. This is in no way a championship contending team, but they play hard, and that's something that maybe has been lacking in past seasons. And they are doing all of this without J.O. They won 4 out of 5 without him, until losing to Seattle with him last night. I love him, but I really think it's time to get rid of him, while maybe we can get something for him. He's always hurt and so far this season he hasn't produce at all. He's a great person and from what I gather has been great in the community back in Nap, but it's time to go a different direction. I actually think that we play better without him, and the record reflects that.

So, now I have to give a little shout out to our fellow Pacer fans Matt and Lauren. I believe these to be the only fans that we have seen at every Blazers game and many of the Seattle games. Not to mention the plethera of games at the ole A&L sports pub here in P-town.

Now, to the Horse. Huge game this weekend in the Hoosier Dome. I think that our offense may finally be back on track, just in the nick of time. It looks like Marv is out until the playoffs, or at least the last game of the season. If he can get healthy and we can get some sort of home field advantage, we all of the sudden become extremely dangerous. Losing Freeney really hurts our D, but I have the utmost faith in the rest of the boys. We still have Mathis, Brock, and company, plus our LBs are healthy and our secondary may be the most underrated in the whole league. I'll tell you this, no one hits harder than our boys back there. We'll need them too, because the Jags traditionally run all over us. So, wherever you're watching the game tomorrow, send good thoughts, and be loud and proud. Go Horse. BRRS

Naptown in P-town

It's that time of year again...no not the holidays, filled with a maddening amount of consumerism and traffic. It's the annual visit of our fine Blue and Gold to the City of Roses. A time when the fair weather fans of the Pacific Northwest get to experience what it really means to be a fan. No bags over heads when the team is playing poorly or sitting on your hands until the 4th quarter when your team finally comes back and wins. It means being loud and proud from the introductions to the final buzzer and on to the next purveyor of fine alcohol. And please people of Portland who may stumble onto this site, don't talk trash under your breath until you get off the train and then become vocal. If you do, then were comin' for ya. We root hard for our team, no matter what the score. We hold our banners high dressed in our colors. This is what it means to be called a fan of your Indiana Pacers. Our team may no longer have viable aspirations of winning a title this year, but we'll be in the Rose Garden and then on up to Key Arena Friday to yell, scream and high-five our boys onto victory. And all of you people out there in the Pacer Kingdom should watch the game. I promise if you don't see us, you'll hear us. And if you don't hear us, then you'll hear about us. BRRS

the Dude

Back on Track

There we go. I know the ATL is horrible, but so is KC and we only eeked by them. Starting out 10-0 made me super nervous, especially since my cousin, his wife (both naptowners) and Fro had to watch the game in a sports bar, thanks to the stupid NFL Network. What a ridiculous idea to have one of the Thanksgiving games be on a channel that is basically pay-per-view, thus forcing many fans to bars that shouldn't be open to enjoy the game. I really think the NFL needs to rethink this whole system which is obviously just a money grab. The only redeeming quality of having to watch it in a bar is that I couldn't hear "Gumble 2 Gumble's" annoying voice. So Peyton looked a little more like Peyton and Gonzales looked fantastic and we finally won a game, against an inferior team, handily. What i really wanted to give thanks for yesterday was our defense. These guys are out of control; flying around without regard for their own health or well being. I love it. Having Kieaho back and healthy sure helps. And that hit by Bethea, ouch!! We just need to keep takin' care of business and get healthy along the way. Then the effing Pats and the rest of the NFL should take note and be nervous, because no matter what we are the defending champs no matter what, until someone beats us in January. BRRS.

the Dude

zooin out

So it begins....thanks to Fro, the dude and zoo have an outlet for all that inspires and all that riles us up as we root for our hometown boys. Here i am back in naptown for the first time in 2 years. In the back ground i have the pacer game on from May 7, 1995 when arguably the greatest clutch shooter of all time put up 8 points in 8.9 seconds on the reviled knicks. I also just returned from the greatest basketball arena in the world (conseco fieldhouse)where i saw the Lakers put us out in the second half. We had no answer for kobe defensively. He had 16 in the first quarter. We hung with em in the first half but came out flat in the third quarter and their lead bloomed from there finally finishing with a 20 point victory. And the lakers are a mediocre team. We got a long way to go. J.O. made me wish we would have traded him for Bynum and Odom. The only bright spot seemed to be the shooting of Shawne Williams, but his defense is lacking. Tinsley was up and down as usual. But who do we have to back him up? Travis Diener. And that's why i saw Marquis Daniels playing some point but he just looks awkward at that position. The thing i don't see with this team is a future. Granger yes, Diogu and Williams maybe but what else Larry? Its hard to take after seeing the Celtics off-season. What are you gonna do Larry? If the team hasn't meshed into an above .500 team by midseason, i'm gonna wanna see some moves by Larry Legend. Well we got an L but at least i got to see coop de ville at the game. whyyyya!
Zoo

Here we go

The Pacers season has begun and the Colts season is now over half over. I'll start with the Colts. Losing to the f-ing Patriots and that cheating bastard known as the Hoodie blows, but worse than that was our follow up performance against the Bolts. Six interceptions, are you f-ing kidding me. And could we be anymore conservative in the red zone. Run, run, run. Come on Moore, change it up a bit. And Vinatieri, make a damn field goal. They gave that game to us, but we wouldn't take it. I know injuries are killing us, but that's part of the game. We have arguably the greatest QB ever. He needs to put the team on his shoulders and show us why. He's been better with less talent. Beating the sorry-ass Cheifs on a last minute FG just doesn't cut it. That being said, a W is a W. We just need to get right for the playoffs, then go into New England and kick the piss out of those classless, cheating, crybaby Patriots. Zup.

Now to the Indiana Pacers. We started off 3-0, then went on a 6 game losing streak. It's early but we don't look very impressive. Where the hell is JO? He doesn't need to score 20 every night, but at least show up. And let's hope he plays more than 50 games for once. I know we are supposedly rebuilding, but right now other than Granger, I don't see any dangerous prospects. We'll see how the season goes, but right now I'm not very confident. Go Blue and Gold.

By the way, I'm watching the cheaters right now going for it on 4th down, running up the score with Pretty Boy Brady in the game again, and I can't help but hope that one of these games Brady get's his head taken off. Win with some class, please. We all know that your good. You got caught cheating, so your answer is to run up the score on everyone. This isn't the BCS. Hand the ball off, punt the ball on 4th down and win with some class. I know that's hard for an arrogant bastard like Belicheck, but just remember one cliche: Karma's a bitch.

the Dude

Welcome to my orange juice

So it begins...First and foremost I would like to thank Fro for setting up this forum for the Zoo and I to post our rants and ramblings about everything Naptown (sports that is) from an "ex-pat" point of view. This is an open invitation into the brains of two people whose passion for the Colts and Pacers knows no limits. Of course, we are always right, you should just know this up front. I hope that anyone who has the fortune to stumble upon this site enjoys reading our thoughts and opinions as we do in expressing them. Go Horse!! Go Blue and Gold!!

the Dude

In the beginning

Hear ye, it has finally begun. A place where expatriate Naptown natives can converge and read the written ramblings of two highly esteemed sports fans (who, by the way, hail from that great city in the Midwest know as the Crossroads of America). Sit back and enjoy these writings and feel free to express your opinions because I guarantee a good conversation will be had by all.

Go Horse!

FRO