”The thing about Duke was, every time they sent me a letter, they wouldn’t spell my name right,” Hairston said. “They would have T.J Harrison or something like that. And I’m like, OK. How can I go here? You can’t even spell my name right. Its only two letters and HAIR and STON. I’m trying to figure out how that’s so hard.”

It would be understandable if they had made the typo once, but how could such a high profile university screw things up with a top prospect based on something as mundane as misspelling his name on some paper work. Well now Mr. Hairston will be wearing baby blue for UNC.  If he turns out to be a difference maker in Chapel Hill, whoever is in charge of typing up the recruitment letters should be punished Bart Simpson style by having to write his name out 100 times on a blackboard.

Yes, they sure are.

The Delta 360 club is one of the most anticipated features in the new building. There will be a glass tunnel that allows 800 fans in an all-inclusive VIP section to have a front row seat to watch players coming in and out of the arena. Wanna see an angry Lundqvist storming off the ice after his team lets him down in front of the net? Well, if your pockets are deep enough, you can!

Private suites that have been located in what some would call the “nose bleed section” are now moving down to ice level. Twenty suites are set to be rink-side by fall 2011. Fifty-eight more suites will be moved just 23 rows away from the glass. In case you’re wondering if you might be able to purchase one of the exclusive boxes…you can’t. All the ice level suites are already sold out. Don’t worry though, the space once occupied by VIP suites on the 9th and 10th floors will now hold communal fans decks and bars for all the common people not coming to the garden with a corporate account.

Anyone who’s ever been to MSG will agree, the place needs a major face lift. From the plans I’ve seen, it looks like it’s going to be incredible. Glass tunnels, sky-walks, more bars, better food vendors, comfortable seating, and a bigger screen for the folks who are stuck in the higher sections. Stadiums in general seem to be heading in a direction that’s based more on creating a fan “experience” rather than just simply watching the game. People want to feel closer to the players than ever before, they want to feel stimulated even during the short TV time outs and they want the option of watching the live game in front of them on a giant TV screen.

What Jerry Jones created in Dallas with a jumbo screen the size of a football field and dancers in cages was just the beginning. With every stadium re-build, renovation and “transformation”, fans should be expecting bigger, better and inevitably higher ticket prices.  Season ticket holders for the Knicks and the Rangers have already seen an increase in cost for next season. Is it worth paying more to see your favorite teams if your experience is going to be better?  Most people will say yes, but for others the new stadium experience may end up being a distraction from the very thing they fell in love with in the first place, the simplicity of the game.

The decision of who gets what pick is to the decision of random ping pong balls. People seriously need to let go of the whole bent envelope fiasco of 1985.  There are reps from each team present to make sure nothing gets “fixed” so a certain team will get the 1st pick.  It’s not David Blaine playing mind games with people, it’s ping pongs and old men in suits.

Why is it so crazy to believe the Cleveland Cavilers would actually get the 1^st pick of the draft?  Haven’t they suffered enough?  Don’t they meet the absolutely terrible quota that would give them the chance to draft a player that’s actually decent? Come on people, put down your maps of Roswell and let it go.

It feels as if anyone who would truly rip into Posada for having an off day just wants a reason to criticize the Yankees, even at the expense at one of their most likeable players. As far as Yankees go, he’s definitely one of the last guys you would want to paint a villain. 

I’m not a Yankees fan by any means, especially since living inNew Yorkhas brought me face to face with the beast that is Yankees fandom. I wish I could fault Posada for his actions, but the human being inside me with a soul won’t allow it.

“We have to end the game with better class than that, that’s too disrespectful in my eyes. That’s not what the Thunder are about. … I think we were too flashy.”

Toady’s NBA culture sends a message that bigger is better. No celebration is ever big enough and sportsmanship this season appeared to be at an all time low. It’s a welcome surprise to see a player encourage his own teammates to be more humble. 

Perkins is right, winning game 5 in a best of 4 series doesn’t mean anything and while the OKC Thunder’s celebrations were mild in comparison to some other NBA antics, it’s still unnecessary and pre-mature.

The Grizzlies have never won an NBA title and the last time the Thunder had a championship parade was in 1979. The stakes are going to be high during game 6, but for the Thunders sake, I hope their post-game celebrations on Wednesday won’t be played on loop during SportsCenter next week during the “not top ten”.

Yahoo

 The next chance for them to lose was against the Boston Celtics, a team that had been the Achilles heel for Lebron James the past 3 years.  This year Boston looked older, worn out and fragile. They didn’t have the fire of years past.  While it seemed improbable from game 1 that the Celtics even stood a chance against Miami, the majority of basketball fans held on to hope.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be and last night we all watched as Lebron James fell to his knees in happiness in front of a stadium full of Heat “fans”.  He didn’t avoid the hand-shake line this time around.

In a post-game press conference, Lebron decided that now, in his state of sheer joy, would be the perfect time to apologize to the people of Cleveland.  It wasn’t them, he said, it was him! He knew he would never win with the meager teammates he was given in Ohio; he needed to be with other players as great as him!  He still loves youCleveland. You understand, right?  I mean even with my distaste for the guy, it’s hard to argue against that logic.  He didn’t have much of a chance with the cast of characters Dan Gilbert provided him.

Although, maybe if the Boston Celtics had been as run down last season as they were this season, or had as many injuries to star players and maybe if Lebron played in Cleveland the way he played in Miami last night, well then maybe he could have beat the Celtics last year too. Maybe.

However, if I was writing the Hollywood script for this years NBA season (and I mean seriously can someone get on that) then I don’t think I would have wanted the Heat to be overthrown by any team other than the Chicago Bulls. Derrick Rose is everything Lebron James never was.  He’s humble, he’s gracious, he went to college.

Sure, he might have cheated on his SATs, but that test is meaningless anyways….

The Chicago Bulls hold the legacy of Michael Jordon.  The man who Lebron James wishes he could be, but never will.  The man who’s number James wore for years before being pressured into switching to number 6. I don’t hate Lebron James.  I think he did what he had to do in terms of his career.  Switching to Miami isn’t the problem, it’s the production behind it.  Celebrating a championship the summer before the season starts, going on television in a gym full of kids to break up with your hometown, these are the things that I find revolting.

A championship should not be won by only 2 players.  Sports are about playing as a team. That’s what makes them fun to watch and fun to play.  If the Heat beat the Bulls in the next round it will prove everything I love about sports wrong.

Please don’t let that happen Chicago, as a team.

Uptown hockey is a sports agency that represents NHL players like Jonathan Bernier, Carlo Colaiacovo and Mike Fisher.  They are also an agency that felt the need to take a stance against Sean Avery’s recent campaign in support of gay marriage.

Um, what?  Misguided? I would venture to guess it’s a little more misguided to take such an intense political stance when your sole purpose is to represent your clients.  Clients that may or may not share in your views, but will forever be judged by their attachment to your organization.

After being bombarded with replies from outraged journalists, fans, and sports personalities, Uptown hockey sent out a follow-up tweet.  One that proved even more “misguided”.

 I suffer from an extreme deprivation of happiness when it comes to the teams I love, so I think as long as say, the Capitals, won a Stanley Cup in 2012, I wouldn’t be so disappointed if they lost in 2013. Again, I’m speaking with absolutely no perspective on the subject matter, so I really have no idea.  Whenever people get in tough situations they often turn to a higher power and make outlandish promises.  We’ve all been there. “Just help me find my cell phone and I promise never to take too many tequila shots ever again.”  I’ve gotten to the point in my draught of witnessing a championship run that at this point I think I’m willing to suffer another 10 year draught if only for one year of glory. 

 Is having your team win the grand prize kind of like getting a raise?  When you see the extra $400 bucks a month at first you feel like you’ve hit the lottery, but then as months go by you realize it wasn’t really enough and you’re craving more.  The Lakers have won 2 straight championships, but during game 2 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals, Los Angeles fans were booing because their team was losing.  This was even before had an utter melt down of extreme proportions during game 4.  I don’t see how you could possibly boo a team that just brought home two championships because they were losing during game 2 of the second round.  

 Now, that’s not to say I think a fan base has the right to become apathetic after a franchise wins more than a few championships.  I was shocked by how insanely happy Yankees fans were when the team won its 27^th title.  The idea of loving a team with 27 titles is unfathomable to me, but if I can judge the feeling on the reaction of Yankees fans alone, I assume it’s just as sweet as the first time. However, when the Yankees lose during the playoffs and fans start throwing players under the bus and/or booing them off the field, that’s where I lose all sense of understanding. 

 Side note on New York fans booing their teams: Landry Fields and Andy Rautins went to a Yankees game a few days after the Knicks lost in the first round of the NBA playoffs to the Boston Celtics. When the Jumbotron zoomed in on the two guys in the stands, the stadium erupted in boo’s. Come on, New York.  You couldn’t have expected the Knicks to make it much further than the first round, especially with all their injuries. Sure, it would have been nice for them to have won at least one game, but let’s all just accept the fact that this is the beginning of something pretty great.  Fans have suffered for a decade with the Knicks and their finally on the cusp of actually being a contender, now is not the time to boo.

 I’m not sure I’ll ever know what it’s like to love a team that creates a dynasty, for now I can only live vicariously through fans of teams like the Yankees, Patriots and until recently the Lakers.  Get back to me after I attend my first victory parade, but for now I can guarantee that as long as I get to witness one championship run within the next year, I’ll never (insert whatever it takes for this to happen) ever again.

I was in a haze as I walked onto the streets, not really paying attention to where I was going, but instead relying on my sense-memory to guide my way through the puked filled LES sidewalks.  It’s not unusual for old, unattractive men to say weird and unflattering things to women while they walk down the streets and usually I can just ignore it, but not today.  Today I was overly sensitive and ready to take my psychosis out on anyone who crossed my path.  That’s why I wish I could apologize to the poor man on the corner of Ludlow and Rivington who I may have caused mental harm to after I responded to his “I bet you have a beautiful smile” comment with “I just watched something I love die!!” I’m ashamed.  And no, I didn’t say it in a way that sounded sad and as though I was going home to listen to my old Bright Eyes album, I said it in a way that probably made this man think I murdered the loved one myself.

I don’t know what’s wrong with the Caps and I don’t know what they should do about it.  That’s why I’m not a GM or a coach or an analyst.  I have no idea.  What I do know is that being a fan of any team from Washington, DC is a terrible idea.