Showtime

Recently finished the book Showtime by Jeff Pearlman. Bought and read the book because of all the hype around the HBO show Winning Time which I will not watch because of the way they portray and treat Jerry West.

A short synopsis of the book would go something like this; Magic Johnson is drafted, is very good at basketball but then he "attains" the AIDS virus. In between Pat Riley is a coach who was good at first but then just went too far (and yes the dictator joke was intentional).

I was a huge NBA fan during the 1980's, so it was fun to relive those series and that period of time. There was one thing that I read that made me slightly change my perception of the NBA though.

I used to firmly believe that Red Auerbach's trade of basically Joe Barry Carrol for Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale was perhaps the best in NBA history but the Lakers' trade of aging Gail Goodrich to the New Orleans Jazz (they hadn't moved to Utah yet) for the Jazz's first round picks in 1977 and 1979 now seems a close second. The 1979 pick was used to draft Magic Johnson.

Still say Red's trade was better because the draft picks were a matter of luck. The Lakers didn't know they were getting Magic. They easily could have been getting another Kenny Carr (who they drafted with the 1977 pick from the Jazz). 

Top 5 - Last Five Movies I've watched

Here's an odd Top 5 list - the last 5 movies I've watched (because with self-quarantining I'm watching more TV). Please note - these are in order of latest watched not a ranking.

1. Thor: Ragnarok - what a fun movie. I've re-watched most of the Marvel movies since this started and Ragnarok remains one of my favorites.

2. Molly's Game - watched this two nights ago. Thoroughly enjoyed it so much that I'm adding the book it's based off onto my book Wish List. Was surprised that the movie was directed by and the screenplay was written by Aaron Sorkin but I shouldn't have been surprised because the dialog was that good (going to have to re-watch to see if there's a walk and talk scene). BTW pretty sure that the douchebag actor Play X was Tobey Maguire in real life.

3. Magic & Bird - an HBO documentary that I've sen before but not for a couple of years. Big Larry Bird fan and watching this brings back so many great memories of those Celtics and Lakers teams of the 1980's. Really enjoyable documentary.

4. Team America: World Police - this sadly does not hold up for me. Maybe the third or fourth time seeing this and the jokes have lost their shock or maybe I've matured? 

5. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum - had seen the first two movies in the theater but as big a fan I am of the franchise  the more it becomes a cartoon the less interest the franchise holds for me. Still was an enjoyable movie.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

So it seems that Nancy Pelosi's idea of making laws equates to you have to pass it to find out what's in it and you have to send it to the Supreme Court to see if what's in it is Constitutional... Interesting look at life as a pro poker player. I agree 100% with the sentiments. Impossible to completely eliminate your "life leaks" but the best idea is to minimize them... For Game of Thrones fans - in the book Eddard Stark was 35 but Sean Bean is less than a month from being 53... I can't stand either person but I admit that I might watch a reality show where Jose Canseco and Rosie O'Donnell were forced to live together... Irish drinking toast - It is better to spend money like there is no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money!... Did I laugh at this because I'm disturbed or because I'm not a good person?... I hope the Dodgers put a big statue of Magic Johnson outside of Dodger Stadium just to further piss off Kareem Abdul Jabbar...

Linky Links

Stuff I thought was interesting enough to share.

- Seven Muslims arrested in Ireland for plotting to murder Swedish cartoonist

- 2011 MLB Vesting Options

- Actress playing Helen Keller falls off the stage - you know you want to see that (I'll save you a seat on the bus ride to hell)

- Heywood Jablome could not be reached for comment

- Polyamory is Wrong! - in so many ways

- Mighty Obama at the bat - this is just plain great.

- 5 Mistakes HBO made in the Larry-Magic Special

NCAA Championship Game

The Michigan State Spartans have attained the NCAA Championship Game.