That was funny - been gone for a bit now, so reading through Cowboy's posts over the past week... you've been on an emotional rollercoaster
I've been meaning to get on and talk up Derek Fischer some more. I remember at the beginning of the year, I was telling you to keep an eye on him. I always really liked him, mostly for his personality.
Back in Game 5 of the Spurs/Lakers series in 2004, after Duncan hit that disgustingly lucky "game-winning" shot with 0.4 seconds left, I remember telling my brother, "man, I hope Phil draws up something for Fischer." Phil didn't draw it up for Fish, but I'm sure you all recall the end result: "The Fish that saved L.A." Of all the players on the great LA teams of the early 2000s, Fisher is the one I was saddest to see go.
I love seeing a truly good guy do well. Sure hope his family's okay, too.
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So tonight's SA/PHO again. Should be a hard-fought game. I can't believe Bowen didn't get more than a slap on the wrist. For anyone who thinks he isn't dirty... well, that's just naive. There's definitely a difference between scrappy and dirty. Bowen's dirty. I think it's total BS that they called things so much tighter during the season, only to let truly intentional, deliberate, designed-to-harm fouls go unpunished in the playoffs.
I didn't see the replays of B. Davis' shot to Fish, but if it was intentional, then he should sit. Period. None of this crap about, "it's the playoffs - we can't be decided the outcome of the series by making players sit." There has to be repercussions for bad actions. The blame for the suspension, if truly justified, should sit squarely on the player. After all, if a player makes another type of bad play (e.g. throwing the ball to a fan in the third row instead of to a team mate),
that's the player's fault. Same thing should go for a bad play such as throwing an elbow or a knee: player's fault.
So anyhow, now I'm pushing for Utah out of the west. And I guess I don't care too much who comes out of the east. Although I'd like to see Jason Kidd do well. He's an awesome talent that got wasted over the years. Sad to see...