The Fishbowl

NBA Geeks

2006-02-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

Picking up from where GuacamOLI left off, a job as an NBA team analyst is the Mt. Everest for this jock poser who's a true geek at heart. It's nothing new, it's being done by experts and amateurs alike. I remember reading an article on ESPN The Mag of how Gregg Popovich and the Spurs use game analysis software and statistics to help them scout their opponents and even study their own players' strengths and weaknesses. They watch and re-watch stacks of game tape (with 30 teams and 82 regular season games each, that makes 1,230 games) in order to break down every offensive and defensive play.

Imagine a defender facing up, one-on-one, against Kobe or Dwyane Wade in the dying seconds of a tied game. He is trying his best to avoid becoming the fodder for this superstar's cannon, for all to see, repeatedly, in an ESPN highlight reel. Through a strange brew of math, a keen sense of observation, and innate basketball instinct, this hapless defender could figure out, up to a certain level of confidence, the offensive player's next move---where he'd likely take his next shot---and whether the best ploy is to force him to go to his left or his right where a secondary defender would be waiting. The defender would make his decision, he'd take his chances based on a number, a probability, and let the chips fall as they may. He would gamble, yes, but he would do so with a loaded die. Instead of putting up Xs and Os, and telling his players, "Ok, Chito, this is you, Joey, this is you", while holding a magnetic clipboard, a coach could mouth off numbers like, "61% going to the left, 45% to the right, 36% at the 3-pt line, 28% fade-away jump shot, 16% chance he'll pass up the final shot and give it to an open teammate etc., etc., ".

In the pros where games are played at blinding speed, it's a tug-of-war between instinct and reason, while instinct wins 3 out of 5 times, the numbers, at least, help put some method in the madness. Coaches like Don Nelson, formerly of Dallas Mavericks, relied on numbers to decide whether or not his team would double-team a player of Tim Duncan's caliber on the low post. Even NBA.com puts up players' efficiency ratings*, both in aid of fantasy leagues and sports analysts, so they can say, with some amount of conviction, why they think so and so is better than this or that player.

Notes:

* EFI : [(points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks) - ((FGA - FGM) + (FTA - FTM) + TO)] / Games

No Thanks

2006-02-03T23:49:00.000-08:00

The big, sad, news today is the stampede at the Ultra.

Wowowee host Revillame earlier apologized for the tragic accident. He said, "We only wanted to make these people happy and help the poor". How does giving a million pesos, or a thousand here and there, to a handful of people help the poor?

Sermon

2006-02-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

I believe that a good pulpit sermon does not preach or moralize, but compels one to think hard on the state of one's life. Last Sunday's exhortation could not even spark a flicker of thought in my head. I'm not sure which hit me first, the listener's block or the overwhelming desire to leave and bum around at the children's Sunday School area. As it was, I stood up and spent the rest of the morning outside with the rest of the stray flock. I don't blame the preacher, it's us. We couldn't sit back, in relative discomfort, for a good hour or so and set aside the grim nuisances of our real lives to listen to God's message.

The first few minutes are critical. The preacher virtually walks the fine line between an eye-opening or a sleep-inducing sermon. And I have seen people, as I often sit at the back rows, bobbing their heads like chickens pecking corn, lost in slumbers. It makes me snicker, and alternately, saddened at the thought of what they could be missing. "For each minute we close our eyes, we lose sixty seconds of light"*...

...and gain a minute of rest and respite from the troubles of the world? It depends on where one's mind wanders off while he is asleep.

* * *

I swear, I may have seen every single sports-themed movie featured in the last decade or so. That includes Whoopi Goldberg's stint as head coach of the New York Knicks in "Eddie", and other similarly pitiful outings. There's something in them that draws me in no matter how horrid the trailer looks (think "6th Man"). So when I came upon the trailer of this new football movie, "Goal!", I immediately made a mental note to see it. I was sold on the movie's simple by-line, "one life to live". It lit a spark, so to speak. I find stories of triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity irresistable, even inspirational. One finds inspiration from the strangest things, and similary, I happen to find myself crying at the strangest of provocations. Like when I'm watching a highlight reel of John Stockton sinking a three at the buzzer to send the Utah Jazz to their first ever finals series, but that story is fit for a different day. Anyway, I'm sure to find myself crying at the heart-rending, triumphant moments of this movie and no amount of potential embarassment and teasing could stop me from doing so.

* Words of Gabriel Garcia-Marquez (according to the widely-circulated farewell letter).

Unfinished

2006-01-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

Here's a list of things I've left unfinished over the years. Half-read books, half-finished video games, movies, etc., half-learned sports and skills---half-hearted efforts that are not even worthy to mention, save for today.

Half-Read Books

1. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (J.R.R Tolkien)
2. The Island of the Day Before (Umberto Eco)
3. The Contender (Robert Lipsyte)
4. Foucalt's Pendulum (Eco)
5. The Taming of The Shrew (William Shakespeare)
6. Heaven and Hell (Aldous Huxley)
7. Walden (Henry David Thoreau)
8. Leaves of Grass (Walt Whitman)
9. The Sorrows of Young Werther (Goethe)
10. How To Be Good (Nick Hornby)
11. The Alchemist (Paolo Coehlo)
12. The Bible (though I vow to read it from Genesis to Revelation)
13. Automechanics For Dummies
14. Harry Potter, 1st book (J.K Rowling)
15. Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)

Half-Finished Video Games & Movies

1. Fable...stopped playing it right before the final battle; I dread the moment when I would have to kill my "sister" to get the Sword of Aeons :)
2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City...couldn't get past the part where I had to chase the goons on motorbike
3. Grand Theft Auto 3...dropped it when GTA: Vice City came out
4. War Craft...cheated my way through the first few chapters and consequently grew tired of the game
5. Sims: Bustin' Out...bust
6. The Sopranos Season 1 DVD...foul language, violence
7. Capitalism 2
8. Constantine...got weary of the game's theme
9. Project Gotham Racing 2 ...AI opponents were relentless so I gave up
10. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004...could never beat Tiger's record
11. 24, Season 1 DVD

Half-Learned Sports and Skills

1. Golf...I knew I'd never be good at it unless I devoted time and money---all or nothing---I chose nothing.
2. Tennis...would give it another shot if given the chance
3. Piano...never had the patience to learn to read notes
4. Bass Guitar...same as above
5. Guitar...since I never learned to read notes, I rely mostly on chords so I consider myself to be a novice
6. Watercolor painting...lacked patience and basic skill set required

...Of course this is just half of the real story.

One-track Mind

2006-01-02T18:03:00.000-08:00

The Orlando Magic take to the road and will be playing the Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills tomorrow. The game will be on telecast (Solar sports) at 8:30 am. It will be Grant Hill's first, much-anticipated (by me), appearance on local cable tv since coming back from hernia surgery. I belong to the ambiguously-dated (as there were a gazillion MJ comebacks to speak of), pre-post-jordan generation of NBA fans and Hill is one player I ardently admire.

It occurred to me that I haven't played basketball for over a month now. Our Sunday night hoops club is on hiatus. It explaines how i've been lethargic and uninspired lately. Something is missing. The curious thing is, unconsciously, I may have been avoiding the game on purpose for entirely superificial reasons. I've been told, many times, that I would find it difficult to attract a prospective husband because basketball is all I do and think about. These people of "well-intentions" are relatives, neighbors, the ones who often see me as a regular on the local court, and my former boss. Am I starting to let it get to me? Egad!. Could I be that foolish? May the heavens intervene!

Who would you give up to get Ron Artest---a premiere NBA defender, adequate perimeter shooter, and ideal sidekick to the superstars (as long as he keeps his sanity in-check)? Wally Szczerbiak? Grant Hill? Corey Maggette? Quentin Richardson? Peja Stojakovic? Either one of these mentioned surely will turn the Pacers into a serious contender. As it is, Artest's absence has improved the Pacers' chemistry on the court but not the team's chances in the Eastern Conference.

What...where...?

2005-12-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

What...

...presently, enjoying a couple of days leave from work

...playing "The Bad Boys" in the NBA Finals on Xbox (my Clippers won Game 1)

...on odd hours, ventures on a trip to the mall to scour, still, for holiday gifts for my relatives, in time for the annual New Year's day reunion

...reading "Heart of A Champion" (non-fiction). After just finishing "Pride and Prejudice", I got hit by a massive separation anxiety as I've grown attached to the Ms. Bennets and Mr. Darcy (this is exactly why I prefer non-fiction).

...listening to "Rooney", but the real song playing in my head is an "Orange and Lemons" song.

Where...

...at home, or stuck in traffic along the hellish Alabang-Zapote Road

...hospital. Yesterday we visited my aunt who's in the ICU where she spent her Christmas. Lately she's doing better, and her vital signs are stable.

Go Fish!

2005-10-18T01:35:00.000-07:00

There's a flowerhorn show over at Glorietta 2 starting October 18 and will run until the 21st. If you're a flowerhorn fish enthusiast or someone who's simply fascinated by all things that swim, better check it out before it's gone. So far, some of the aquariums are still empty and will probably be in place by tomorrow. There's this gigantic, adorable flowerhorn the size of a super-bowl and for a moment I regretted not having a camera at hand. I suppose I'd come back for it. I heard they'll feature goldfishes, arrowanas (spellcheck?), and other fresh-water types as well. Would you believe there's a competition going on for the best flowerhorn and such? How would you judge a contest like that? Would criterias such as best fish-face matter? Or would there be a free-style, or back-stroke category? A best swimwear event, perhaps?

S. N. H. C

2005-10-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday night I play pick-up basketball over at the village court with my friends. Well, it's not really pick-up basketball because we pretty much play with the same set of people. It's more like a Sunday Night Hoops Club, and not surprisingly, I'm the only girl out there on the court.

Tonight, a friend invited 5 of his young friends so what used to be a laid-back game turned into an intense contest. Usually, and even when there are new faces around, I play the point so I wouldn't have to mix it up inside with the big boys. But when instincts kick in I find myself in the paint, hustling, doing what I used to do back in my college days. I don't even recall the number of times I get scratched, bruised and hit. I don't mind it at all. It's all part of the game. What I do mind are the overly eager ones who, once they realize that I'm no pushover out there, start sticking to me like a glove. From the word go, they harass and press from the back court. They're in your face the minute you touch the ball. They poke at the ball in this awkward, ineffective manner---when you're dribbling with your left hand, they use their left to attempt to steal it. This isn't "NBA Live" and they're not Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest. I'm tempted to tell them, as kindly as I can, "relax ka lang, you're not going to steal the ball that way, rookie, so quit it". But no, we'd have to bump heads a couple of times before the reality hits them. I'm not being such a "girl" about it. That move is obviously not going to work, even on me. I know these kids are learning the game as they go but how about toning it down a bit with the Gary Payton impersonations?

Anyway, we won 2 out of 3. I'm tempted to make the club exclusive to the 12 regulars I play with but I could use the change of pace, along with some ice. Maybe I'm just getting, err, I'm not going to say old, experienced? World-weary? Did I mention that Sunday nights are my favorite of the week? Who's got next?

Escape

2005-09-29T18:49:00.000-07:00

I bought the RPG game "Fable" yesterday and played with it for six straight hours last night. Now I can barely keep my eyes open. My eyelids feel heavy and strained. Anyway, it was worth it, to a certain degree. Like a good book, RPGs have a certain, can't-put-it-down appeal to them. I had to force myself to let go of the controller and shut the whole thing off before it fried up all my brain cells and rendered me a walking zombie for the next 24 hours. It nearly did. I can barely function normally. I can't think of a single thing to do in the office when there's a million things left undone. I say, "kudos, well done". The game accomplished what i set it out to do in the first place, splendidly. Now if only I can find my way out of this feeble state of mind.

No Excuses

2005-09-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

That's what I always tell myself when things go wrong on my end. Instead of putting the blame on someone or something, I cut to the chase and admit, to myself, that it's my fault. Of course, I'm not always to blame. I mean, if a 10-ton truck spilled over on the superhighway, causing a massive traffic jam, resulting in my missing an "important" meeting, then I didn't have a hand on that. But because it happened on "my" superhighway, the one that I traverse to work every single day, the mishap is on me. I cut all the crap about being a victim of fate or circumstance. It's never, "why me?", and always, "why not me?".

That's why when I made the slight, hopefully forgettable, mistake of addressing a vice president of this company in what some might regard as a disrespectful manner, I make no excuses for not knowing who she was. She was commenting on a presentation that our group just made and I had to defend and explain certain points. If I came on a bit strong, man, so did she, so I see no reason why it should be deemed a big deal if I responded with the same "intensity". She was out of line and making comments for the sake of it. I did what I had to do. I don't see it as disrespectful at all. But if I get reprimanded for it, so be it.

Work Whores

2005-09-16T17:20:00.000-07:00

When your superiors refer to you as a real workhorse what they really mean is that you're a work whore, available to them 24 hours a day, at their beck and call.

I didn't know how or when I'd become such a work whore. This past week (and the coming days) are so frantic that I haven't had time to check my e-mails or complain in my blog about how the work is driving me mad. I've taken my work at home, in my sanctuary. What used to be time better spent jogging or playing with my Xbox has been diverted to work. What travesty! My precious lunch hour has also been turned into lunch meetings. I'm used to using that time leisurely, sometimes even to take a stroll, but now I don't even have time to brush my teeth after meals. I would think, "that's the last straw", but no I seem to have accumulated a bunch of new straws to draw upon.

I better go. I have some whore-ing to do.

Free Lance!

2005-09-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

"Lance Armstrong drugs". Go ahead, google it. 227,000 hits and counting, all of them contains the "D" word. He's so used to the allegations that the man eats it for breakfast. Weeks after the French paper, L'equipe, published that a "B-sample" of his urine, taken in 1999, is positive for EPO, I found these...

...It's not surprising to know that USA Cycling has his back.

...or that some guy thinks it's offensive for Lance to claim that he "willed" himself to beat the disease while other, weak-willed individuals cannot escape their fate.

...and of course, the French denies targetting him.

I read his book, "It's Not About The Bike", half-believing both the miracle and the myth that is his life, knowing that the truth lies somewhere in between. He won the Tour de France 7 times, all convincingly except once, in 2003. In 7 years, we had all the time in the world to prove the doping genius that he is. Now he's retired, that window has closed. I'd gladly take the miracle now. Let it rest.

Friday

2005-09-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

I remember writing this piece 11 months ago, on a Friday...

fridays are when i try to get a grip on my sanity and hang on, long enough to spend a meaningful weekend ahead. i don't care if i lose the handle (again) come mondays for as long as i had the "weekend". but this friday, today, is going to be different. this friday i'm going to get my life back. i've spent a big part of the past months living inside my head. i'm in the real world but i'm not really here. i'm in an alternate universe. sure, i wake up. i face this computer and work or i appear to be working. i have lunch at 11:30 with friends at work. we exchange stories and share laughs. i shop for things when i have the time and money. and then i go home and stay up late to watch my favorite shows. sometimes i go out for a run or play hoops. and then i go to bed for 6-8 hours and cycle begins again. the only time the cycle stops, and the wheels take a break from their mechanical turning is on fridays.

this friday it's going to take more than oiling the machine, and tuning up the engine. today is the day for major overhaul. no more obsessing about things i can't control.

for one, my favorite team, the seattle storm, is on a championship hunt. tomorrow is the first game of the finals but i'm not gonna be sitting on the edge waiting for the livescore to update on the internet. the website says, "page automatically refreshes every 2 minutes". clicking "refresh" button in rhythm with the beat my heart is not going to change anything out there in the worldwideweb---the page will still show fresh information only every 2 minutes.

so what do i do, in case you're wondering, during the two-minute lulls while i'm clicking "refresh" button frantically? i go to this little place in my head where i'm picturing what's going on in the game. i'm worrying if the point guard, whose nose was recently broken in a collision with an opposing player but is still able to play even after the surgery, is working the ball around or turning it over in lieu of the bothersome protective mask on face. is the star player getting her shots in? is player in foul trouble? is there a discernible panic in the eyes of the players that signals impending doom? after page "refreshes" and i see my team leading i would shout, in my head, "protect that lead or die!". oh, madness! i'm not even in front of the tv watching at those times. i'm at work, or in some internet cafe during my lunch hour (i had made up an excuse to my regular lunch mates just so i could skip over to the nearest netopia). the madness doesn't stop there. i have spent a total of 5 VLs this year to watch live games on TV, something that i might do again soon for the final game. and when i'm not watching games on tv or keeping track of live scores, i'm surfing the web for articles and news on the team. i have tracked down this forum that caters exclusively to loyal, crazy, obsessive fans like me. admitting is the first step to the cure so, hard as it to say, i admit that i have been stalking the seattle storm.

the long and short of it? heh, the "long" of it is behind you, the "short" of it is that i need to backpedal. start taking interest in the lives of other people, real people not just the ones i see on tv. old friends, new friends, crazy relatives, whack-job neighbors, the commuters i regularly sit with at the shuttle every morning who sleep during the whole trip, the people who work here, the people who are here but do not work when they're here (oh, but that's me), and etc., etc., some of them i find to be not as interesting to me as broken noses, zone defenses, blind referees, and pivotal do-or-die games, but i have to try to find that little spark in them that would hold my attention so i can keep in-step with what's real.

It seems nothing has changed. I'm still in the same state of mind.

P.S

Seattle's going for back-to-back championships

Supergroups

2005-08-31T19:35:00.000-07:00

I'm reading Michael Finley's impending move to join the Spurs, a.k.a., Duncan and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and can't help but ponder the revival of the supergroup. The act of pooling together singularly famous/infamous, incredibly talented individuals for a collective goal has seen its heyday with the Superfriends, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Dream Team, USA For Africa and most recently, the 2004 Lakers.

Results of such endeavours are often mixed, much like the temperaments of its members. Amongst them you find a loose a cannon (The Flash, Barkley, Kobe), a de-facto leader (Batman, Mr. Fantastic), a wise, elderly, sage (Larry Bird, Stevie Wonder)and the truly indispensable freak/prodigy (Superman, Shaq, Michael Jackson). Of course group dynamics---and as to who gets first billing---is debatable, even negotiable. What it all comes down to is whether they win it all in the end---Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom be damned.

In the NBA, the Age of Dynamic Duos appear to be over. No longer does the Shaq-Kobes, Jordan-Pippens, reign in the postseason. Not even the Powerpuff Trio of Carter-Kidd-Jefferson went far in last year's playoffs. That's why Miami, after falling one-win short of the Finals, enlisted the services of a ball-handling wiz (Jason Williams) and a do-it-all forward (Antoine Walker). As to why the Heat is stacking up on loose cannons is beyond me, what's evident is that they believe this is their best chance of winning it all.

With the rebirth of the Superfriends into the Justice League---now selling more shirts and mugs than ever---other franchises with big dreams could follow suit. Locally, Alaska Aces acquired Tony Dela Cruz and Rich Alvarez, making them the team to beat this season. Success comes to those who dream big. But as it is with fairly recent curious collaborations such as The Fab Five of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Real Madrid, it remains to be seen if these supergroups come to realize their super dreams.

Why?

2005-08-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

Oh, why couldn't I just keep it all to myself like I always do? No, I had to start this weblog and keep tabs on, yes, all the inane and inconsequential thoughts that swim around in my head.

A friend floated around the idea of starting a blog, after starting one for himself, and I took the bait, hook, line and sinker. Why he needed to enlist another "blogger" to join the multitude of useless blogs---unlike his "ou libere", go see it for yourself---is beyond me. But still, here I come. Armed with a handful of fishing metaphors, all used up by the way, I swim with the tides, freely.