Another Convert to the Darko Side

As many of you are aware, there exists a rather large, totally inexplicable man-crush on one Darko Milicic by myself, Never Won and the Mullets. It often manifests itself in the form of excessive yelling and cursing at the TV for every Pistons/Magic/Grizzlies game Darko has ever played or in a series of morning emails between the aforementioned trio. We never could understand why most everyone else was so quick to label him a bust, when it was clear the talent was there but the coaches he played for and situations he played in were never condusive to his unique abilities (like cursing in a way that would make a sailor blush).

But now that he's in Memphis and there's a coach who understands him and let's him play his game, which involves posterizing the shit out of Tim Duncan, the man-crush is spreading quicker than a San Diego wildfire. What? Too soon?

Witness Memphis Grizzlies blogger Chris Herrington's post on Above The Rim

As for Darko: Is it too early to proclaim him the best center in Memphis Grizzlies history? The competition certainly isn’t stiff for that honor, but through three regular-season games, Darko is proving to be a wise free-agent acquisition. If his 15-point, 10-rebound, 2-block performance can become a regular occurrence — and clearly it can — then it will go a long way to making the Grizzlies a pretty good team this year.

Free Darko!

Live Blogging Halftime Discussions

Who is going to have more 20-20 games this season, Dwight Howard or Al Jefferson?
Mullets: Dwight Howard, wait, oh gosh, I don't know. But some is going to have a 30-rebound game.

LaMarcus Aldridge is an absolute beast. If he's doing this against Tim Duncan and San Antonio, what's he going to do against division rivals the Clippers, Sonics, Lakers and Warriors?

Doesn't Joel Przybilla look good? A hell of a lot better than Channing Frye. Isn't that right, BurningSensation? After a phone call from the BurningSensation discussing Channing Frye's abysmal first half, we may have our first paid transaction! Whaa-hoooo!

That is of course if the Mullets don't pull the trigger first with Zaza. He spent the first ten minutes of halftime researching him, but couldn't pull the trigger. He had to keep reminding himself of the mantra: "That would be borrowing a play out of Never Won's playbook." Considering the team name, we all know that isn't good for anything.

Live Blogging Opening Night

The Mullets and BTE have set our laptops up Battleship style -- back-to-back -- for some serious live blogging during tonight's opener. We are also considering doing a big old Mr. League IM chat room for all of us to share in the fun. Post a comment telling us of your plans of how you'll be celebrating tonight's festivities. Or email us if you have something you want included in the live blog.

Mikey's Roofies, why is my team so good and your team so bad? [Kirby laugh]

Roll Mr. League VII

Professionally speaking, I manage the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars. Nevertheless, I spent all day today thinking about what product Dirkilicious uses in his hair before road games.

Then, the Foye news hit. It took all of my strength not to drop him. The only thing that is keeping Foye on my team right now is the absolute certainty that if I drop him, I have borrowed a play from Never Won's playbook (a/k/a Loser's Row). If Foye hits the waiver wire, Mikey's Roofies will definitely pick him up. I don't want to get Roofied.

Can this season start already? PLEASE!

Roll Mullets

The Difference Between Fantasy Football and Fantasy Basketball

I use fantasy football as a placeholder before fantasy hoops starts. It's a good way to pass the time, in spite of the fact that it depends entirely too much on luck (one day determines your entire "week.")

One area where fantasy football dominates fantasy basketball though is in timely injury-related news about your players. Football players can't so much as scratch their nuts without someone reporting it; you usually know by Thursday or Friday where you stand. And if not by then, you can wake up Sunday morning and find injury information from about 30 different sources.

Not so in the NBA. I can't tell if it's because there's really not much national media attention paid to the NBA (relative to the NFL). It probably also has to do with the fact that the beat reporters (the people who would most likely report on this information) will file a story for the morning print edition and then not write anything else until after the next game. Some beat reporters have decent blogs (this one comes to mind), which helps, but in general getting injury information about the NBA typically happens when you flip on the TV and see Luther Head starting and T-Mac in street clothes.

What's my point? Well, for an active fantasy basketball player like Never Won, it's frustrating as hell.

One day you're looking at your team and thinking "this is it, this is my season." The next day you're looking at Sebastian Telfair's stats and thinking, "he can't be that bad can he?"*:

The Minnesota Timberwolves have lost starting guard Randy Foye for several weeks due to a lingering left knee injury.

An MRI test and CT scan performed on Foye's knee revealed a stress reaction in his kneecap, and the team announced that he will be out indefinitely. Sebastian Telfair and Marko Jaric will handle the point guard duties for the next month or so, making Telfair worth a serious look on the waiver wire in your fantasy league.

*Mighty Mullets used for demonstration purposes only. Kind of.