lethalweapon3

Is it correct that we're required to add one more player to the roster? And what's left under the luxury tax now that J-Pow and JaCo are signed? ~lw3

We beat 'em once late last season (Thanks for that gift, Orlando! Box out Josh next time!) with Woodyball, on the strength of a .286 3-Point shooting performance from the outside snipers. Orlando still has enough question marks on that roster that we should be able to beat 'em at least once during the regular season, when the iron's unkind. ~lw3

There'd better not be any frontcourt starters getting injured, otherwise we're really looking at a Shallowness Chart. ~lw3

1-3 Miami 1-3 Orlando 3-1 Beantown 5-7 Overall. Not too shabby for the best also-ran squad money (or a lack thereof) can buy. ~lw3

Any room for "Poppy Seed" on the depth chart? ~lw3

Al2 ~lw3

Actually, I do think they can win on the road as an underdog IF the opponent is a Chicago/Milwaukee, and not an Orlando/Miami. Plus, the Hawks have shown a recent propensity for trouncing the Men in Green (with Woody at the helm), at the Factory and at the Garden, much more convincingly than beating LeBron and Dwight. Let those guys wear each other out in the EC semis, while we look to ride Boston into the sunset. That's the kind of good luck I'll take any day. ~lw3

Good luck in Grizzlieville... http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/08/report-memphis-reaches-deal-acie-law.php ~lw3

Maybe not, assuming the Heat get top-billing, that should get the Magic a fourth seed. And sixth may not be so awful if we're not hell-bent on winning a division title. We'd probably get the worst division winner in the bunch, and assuming Rondo and the Geezers continue to snack on Atlantic Division foes to get the 2-spot, that would probably give us Bulls/Bucks in the first round. Although they would "seed" higher, I'd feel pretty comfortable with the Hawks knocking either off in six/seven with the rosters as-is. Plus we let the State of Florida hash it out while we take on the Celts in the second round. Mmmm... six-seed sounds pretty nice... ~lw3

and, perhaps, the Steer! ~lw3

Looks to be official for the Big Chowder (2 yrs, $1.4 mil/yr reported). Alrighty then, what's next on the agenda? ~lw3

On the Magicians' side, I do like Q-Rich as a step up from Barnes, but I'm not a fan of Duhon for major backup minutes. Jameer must remain healthy and return to his '09 form offensively. The team will rely more than ever on Vince and Rashad to produce consistently from long range. They've got two openly sulking players in their frontcourt (Bass and Gortat) to mend fences with or trade, and unless Daniel Orton gets a successful lobotomy, they really haven't addressed their need for an additional reliable banger up front to help Dwight. Even with the free agents they re-signed, as-is, they have real potential to regress. So if the Hawks indeed do better next year versus Orlando, it may be more because of what they have(n't) done than what we have done. Of course, if we do worse than we did last spring, Stern may invoke a mercy rule. ~lw3

I want him to show up at the press conference in that logo outfit, winkin' at the cameras with the clover vest, bowtie and derby, the stovepipe, knickers and buckle shoes, walking stick... Hey, if all this "cancerous" stuff we've been led to presume is true, then it's not all bad for us. Shaq joins the Grumpy Old Men, then: * insists on being the fourth "Amigo," then settles on "Horsemen" when told there can only be three Amigos ("I'm Ole Anderson."), * sulks and pouts when he's asked to start the season behind Jerm Daddy, * misses a week after burning his hand trying to out-cook Paula Deen during a "Shaq Vs." episode, * refuses to relinquish minutes when Aunt Eunice** comes back post-AllStar Break (** I call Perk that 'cause his scowls make him look like one of my relatives), * talks down to Rondo and fumes about him in the media ("Lil Bow Wow won't gimme the damm ball. He don't make no free throws neither."), * deems Jerry Buss, "the greatest owner in the history of American sports," * has fellow Tiger alum Big Baby absolutely weeping after every practice ("I could get a fat Carlton Banks to guard me and nobody'd know the difference"), * argues with reporters that Manhattan has, far and away, the best clam chowder, * nearly gets Paul fresh new stab wounds after hitting sketchy bars in South Boston every other night, * calls out KG for his "faux intensity" ("Give it up, even Zaza Pachulia ain't skerred of ya."), * repeatedly strains his back after mistaking every Ray Allen airball for an alley-oop, * has the whole end of the bench smellin like Icy Hot, * challenges Nate to Soulja Boy dance-offs during 20-second timeouts, * repeatedly refers to Harangody as "Scalabrine" and wonders aloud why he's on the floor, like, ever, * "How many rings I got? How many rings Doc got? And he won't play me?", * opens old wounds by calling Beantown "the most racist city ever," * has Rondo so mad he demands a trade, sending Bibby to Boston (Oak Hill South, baby!) and completing the Jurassic Park debacle, * takes himself out for the postseason after trying in vain to tear down the rim in Miami and falling flat on his *ss, * admits after the season his real goal all along was to make it easier for Kobe's Lakers to catch the Celtics' title tally. Now I really can't wait... has he signed yet? ~lw3

"Cinderella" story??? Joe "I need a J.I.M.M.Y. for my" Johnson: "I found this glass pastie on the floor, and..." http://www.hawksquawk.net/community/index.php/topic/350737-rumor-joe-gets-magic-city-stripperella-pregnant/ ~lw3 ((Careful, y'all!)) ~lw3

Not much we don't already know. Interesting poll results so far, though... http://bleacherreport.com/articles/428587-atlanta-hawks-30-teams-in-30-days ~lw3

Just knew it wouldn't take long to creep over to the main HomeCourt forum... ~lw3

Skita sighting... Gollee, he doesn't even start over there... ~lw3

Hope he signs anywhere soon, as our self-cannibalization over the Diesel has pretty much reached its end. ~lw3

Polish Hammer no match for the Georgian Screwdriver. ~lw3

File under "yawn," but still funny watching this proceeding. Clips argue Dunleavy signed a guaranteed-money contract knowing full well they weren't going to keep him all those years. http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/08/02/29251.htm ~lw3

~lw3

NOW the Falcons can retire his number? http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AlGuNcf2uVvzFJf3B_v5DdQ5nYcB?slug=pfw-20100803_favre_tells_vikings_he_will_not_play ~lw3

eyebrows. ~lw3

Tosh is da man. As funny and annoying as a paper cut, but I absolutely love his shows. His comedy team leaves it right on the edge where it should be. He'd better not go all Chappelle on us; he could do this schtick for many years. ~lw3

Congrats to Teheran and Harris, second M-Braves' no-hitter ever, after Tommy Hanson in '08. Kinda odd that their local paper (Jackson's Clarion-Ledger) didn't cover it at all. ~lw3