lethalweapon3

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/08/espn-personality-jay-mariotti-released-from-jail-on-50000-bail.html Curious, any comments from him regarding Lance Stephenson on the Horn last week? ~lw3

No bowling parties in Virginia for you, Mr. Krstic! :-) ~lw3

Small Wonder will be a Buck now, signed with Milwaukee for $1.3 mill. ~lw3

Just checked it out this afternoon. Felt like a first-person-shooter-slasher-neck-snapper game. Good action that could have been much better. So many assaults/attacks/explosions that were less about satisfying plausibility than the audience's visceral amusement. And what was the plot/angle again? Mercenaries bludgeon hundreds of soldiers and blow a corrupt regime to smithereens to salvage... a foreign general's daughter? Was that it? Throughout the flick, they did spread out a few extended go-for-the-Oscar moments (including Mickey Rourke, in the challenging role of Mickey Rourke). Each was more like a cue to the audience that it's an awfully good time for a pee break. The fight scenes were okay but could've been far more creative. They were good enough for mauler types like Cauliflower Ear Couture, Sly, and Stone Cold, but way below Jet Li's pay grade. Statham is the man when it's action time, but when he tries to get dramatic you can see why he may never get a Bond role. Everytime Crews appeared I couldn't help but hope he remembered to put some Old Spice deodorant on. I saw JCVD and Seagal wimped out of their scripted roles because they didn't want to lose (to Jet Li - Dolph Lundgren filled in and did just fine) or die or something. They missed out, that was some easy money for the taking. If everyone's still alive in a couple years, there will probably be a sequel. ~lw3

Hope it works out with Derrek. Do we have to go with Glaus at 3rd once he returns from the DL? I'd rather go with the little man (Brooks Conrad) from here on out. ~lw3

http://www.hawksquawk.net/community/index.php/topic/351217-can-you-find-the-hawk-in-this-rap-video/ I'm guessing a minor fine for each at the worst. B-Roy already apologized and J-Craw will probably issue a simple statement as well. Fortunately it's a crappy song and video which will only get airplay if the national sportswriters get their panties in a bunch over it. ~lw3

Southern Dude at Party: "So, what school do you go to?" Eli Gal: "Yale." Southern Dude: "I SAID, WHAT SCHOOL DO YOU GO TO?" Sorry, couldn't resist. Agreed, though. I like my rookies to talk like Marvin and play like Not Marvin. So long as he does the latter I could care less about the former. ~lw3

^ Probably not the best choice for him and B-Roy to appear in these things when blunts and money abound, doesn't really do anything for them. But they grown, and they really didn't "do" anything in the video, so no harm, no foul, and a meager fine at worst. B-Roy is apologizing to anyone within earshot right now. ~lw3

At Philips, they should leave little bags with Hawk logos under opponents' chairs that read: USE IN CASE OF MOTION SICKNESS. ~lw3

~lw3

Like Pecherov, Varnado's heading to Italy. He'll play with a team in Pistoia. http://thehoopsmarket.blogspot.com/2010/08/pistoia-basket-signs-nba-second-round.html Italy's becoming a hotter spot. Travis Diener is on his way as well. http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20100817/FON02/8170524/Travis-Diener-to-play-in-Italy ~lw3

ATL gets: Carmelo Anthony Renaldo Balkman Anthony Carter* Nene DEN gets: Jason Collins* Jamal Crawford Josh Smith Marvin Williams (*Trade Restricted through 15Dec10) Hawx: PG - Teague/Bibby/Carter SG - Joe/Jordan/PopSecret? SF - Melo/Balkman/Mo PF - Horf/Powell C - Nene/Zaza Nuggs: PG - Chauncey/Lawson/Carter SG - JR/Jamal/Afflalo SF - Harrington/Marvin PF - Smoove/K-Mart C - Birdman/Roster Filler/JaCo ~lw3

Thanks for the correction, coach! ~lw3

I know Jordan Crawford plans to wear #53 this season, but I'm wondering aloud whether we can expect the Hawks to retire that jersey number for Dikembe in the next several years. Do you think it will happen? And should it? We don't have a retired jersey among the post-Nique-era players of the late 1990's (I trust Smitty's will go up as well). On the downside, he was not around for many seasons (three full seasons, plus one strike-shortened and one half-season), so he's not a career-leader in any Hawks categories. Also, as with the current crew, not much playoff success during his tenure (just a single second-round victory, actually the last one we've had, in Chicago). On the upside, Deke was, I believe, the last Hawk to get NBA individual season-end awards (a couple DPOYs and the IBM Award) before Jamal this year. His signature finger wag preceded the Hawks years, but seemed to come into its own as a symbol of the Hawks' defensive reputation during that NBA period. And his lauded humanitarian work came into focus here, working with CARE and starting up his own foundation here (I believe it's still based here). ~lw3

Slow news day... http://theybf.com/2010/07/11/kenyon-martin-kisses-trinas-lips-goodbye ~lw3

http://www.basketnet.net/news/132275/pistoia__il_primo_americano___jarvis_varnado http://olimpiamilano.com/news/4617 ~lw3

http://www.justnews.com/sports/22809651/detail.html http://www.justnews.com/news/22685894/detail.html http://wbztv.com/sports/celtics/antoine.walker.arrested.2.900369.html Jan 5, 2009 2:49 pm US/Eastern http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2830539 http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/2007-07-10-2964747446_x.htm http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C1EpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=M9gEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2814,1033682 ~lw3

Heat players have been at odds with the fuzz in metro Miami for the past couple years. The Big 3 in particular had better watch their P's and Q's. And no NBA players need to be caught driving "420," much less 78... http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/15/1777439/miami-heat-player-udonis-haslem.html ~lw3

Curious, would BK be more of a commodity in the GM-level job market if he didn't have such a piss-poor relationship with the media? I admit I'll always miss the BK attytood during his rare interviews. "I'll have thoughts to share about (doing X), only if and when I decide to (do X)... and even if I did, do you think I would tell you?" I get the feel that, on top of his draft decisions, the anti-PR generated by his icy relationships with the print and radio media has made it harder for him to find similar work elsewhere. I do think he was very good as a hatchet man (when was the last time anyone thought of Big Dog around here?) who could clean house without turning the ownership-hampered franchise into Clippers East. While we didn't do enough with the cap space and draft picks we had in front of us, he should be appreciated for setting the table for the increased successes we enjoyed up to 2008-09. At the very least, he should always be able to find work as a consultant for stuck-in-the-mud sub-.500 teams. ~lw3

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17062 (Aside: must every other supportive Hawks article be written by somebody named Lang?) excerpts: ~lw3

Horford would love to have his old friend in the fold... and I wouldn't either. Hope vet min dollars are available and are enough. ~lw3

Jamal has no probable interest in holding out... although his agent might. However, his agent, Aaron Goodwin, did a crafty job in extending Kevin Durant's contract over the summer in a way that, amidst the critical heat of Decision-gate, garnered a lot of positive press for his client. No way is CrawDaddy's contract situation equivalent, but I imagine he'll want his agent to make the best possible case for an extension over the next couple of months in a way that keeps him from coming across as a dirtbag. ~lw3

With a few ice picks, some paper cones, and some cherry flavoring, it could be good news. ~lw3

Gilbert Arenas disagrees with this thread title. :-) Regardless, we open up a can. ~lw3

Here's to not getting carved up in the second half this Thanxgvg. ~lw3