Souvenir Game Program: Hoops League 2010-2011

By Spezzal Teams Playa


Welcome, everybody. Please take your name tag and sign the guest book. The punch table is over there, and the buffet is along the back wall. I hope you all have fun and get to know your neighbours.

I have listed everyone in order of their seniority within the Sports Talk Pool. You'll note that while some faces are new, there are actually 18 STP veterans among us.

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Stittsville Two-Phors

manager: Spezzal Teams Playa

email: spezzalteamsplaya@gmail.com

aliases: Tito "TD" O'Dell, Nepean Hotspurs

location: Ottawa, Ontario

2009-2010 Basketball – 10th-place
2008-2009 Basketball – Champion

2010 Football – 6th-place
2010 Football (midseason) – 1st-place
2009 Football – 14th-place
2008 Football – 10th-place

2010 Baseball - 11th-place
2010 Baseball (midseason) - 9th-place
2009 Baseball – 11th-place

2009-2010 Hockey – 10th-place
2008-2009 Hockey – 4th-place
2007-2008 Hockey – 9th-place


MN Sham Flunkers

manager: Minnesota Chris

email: cjk863@yahoo.com

aliases: Minnesota Frostbite, Minnesota Snot Bombs, MN Limelighters, Hell Lions, MN Sidewinders, By-Tor and the Snowdogs

location: St.Paul, Minnesota

2009-2010 Basketball – 2nd-place

2010 Football – 9th-place
2010 Football (midseason) – 11th-place
2009 Football – 17th-place

2010 Baseball - 3rd-place
2010 Baseball (midseason) - 5th-place
2009 Baseball – 12th-place

2009-2010 Hockey – 4th-place
2008-2009 Hockey – 3rd-place
2007-2008 Hockey – 10th-place


Sunnyvale Shithawks

manager: Will-He-M

email: habs_rock_100@hotmail.com

alias: Toronto Euros, London Pigskin Picks

location: London, Ontario

2009-2010 Basketball – 6th-place

2010 Football – 19th-place
2010 Football (midseason) – 14th-place
2009 Football – 6th-place

2010 Baseball - 10th-place
2010 Baseball (midseason) - 11th-place
2009 Baseball – 8th-place

2009-2010 Hockey – 8th-place
2008-2009 Hockey – 8th-place
2007-2008 Hockey – 6th-place


Michael Jordan

manager: Mex Francisco

email: uncmex@yahoo.com

alias: UNC

location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

2010 Football – 14th-place
2009 Football – Defending League Champion
2008 Football – 9th-place


DMD

manager: San Frandavid

email: dmdcaf@att.net

location: San Francisco, California

2009-2010 Basketball – 4th-place
2008-2009 Basketball – 5th-place

2010 Baseball (midseason) – Defending League Champion


Cleveland Bronsucks

manager: Trader Dick

email: krb1keeper@yahoo.com

aliases: Cleveland Keepers, Great Lakes Loons

location: Cleveland, Ohio

2009-2010 Basketball - 18th-place
2008-2009 Basketball - 3rd-place

2010 Football – 13th-place
2009 Football - 18th-place

2010 Baseball (midseason) - 14th-place
2009 Baseball – Champion


Red Claws

manager: Moonlighter Mark

email: pmoonlighter24@yahoo.com

aliases: CT Blue Devils, CT Defenders, CT Oak Leafs, CT Darkstar Dragons

location: Norwich, Connecticut

2009-2010 Basketball – 12th-place

2009 Football – 8th-place

2009 Baseball – 9th-place

2009-2010 Hockey – 7th-place


STL Spirits

manager: Scott We Go

email: intothesun8@yahoo.com

aliases: STL Birdmen, STL Rams, STL Try-Agains

location: St.Louis, Missouri

2009-2010 Basketball – 20th-place

2010 Football – 8th-place
2010 Football (midseason) – 17th-place
2009 Football – 2nd-place

2010 Baseball - 16th-place
2010 Baseball (midseason) - 17th-place
2010 Baseball - 17th-place
2009 Baseball – 5th-place

2009-2010 Hockey – 14th-place


Young Guns

manager: Lil' Kuzzin Matt

email: lilkuz232@yahoo.com

location: Young, Texas

2009-2010 Basketball – Defending League Champion


Golden Carp

manager: Mister McG

email: jerroldmcgrath@yahoo.com

location: Banff, Alberta

2009-2010 Basketball – 3rd-place

2010 Baseball - 15th-place


Colt 45 Malt Liquor

manager: Buzz74

email: aaronverklan@yahoo.com

location: Buffalo, New York

2009-2010 Basketball – 7th-place

2010 Football – 3rd-place
2010 Football (midseason) – 8th-place

2010 Baseball - 6th-place
2010 Baseball (midseason) - 4th-place


Fat Monkey Butz

manager: Pistol Pete

email: rosario_r_81@yahoo.com

location: Stockton, California

2009-2010 Basketball – 9th-place

2010 Football – 7th-place

2010 Baseball - 8th-place


Assassins

manager: Infernal Dante

email: dante.brown01@gmail.com

location: Florence, Italy

2009-2010 Basketball – 13th-place



Tulsa

manager: Y3K

email: rw3k2003@yahoo.com

location: Tulsa, Oklahoma

2009-2010 Basketball – 17th-place


Worst Episode Ever

manager: The Sports Dragon

email: ekportier@yahoo.com

alias: Good News Everyone

location: Portland, Oregon

2010 Baseball (midseason) - 7th-place


San Diego Ballers

manager: The Cleveland Viking

email: vikings2167@yahoo.com

location: Cleveland, Ohio

alias: King of the Hillis

2010 Football (midseason) – 2nd-place


Rosterbation

manager: ERA Erik

email: erakian34@aol.com

alias: Silky Johnson

location: Kansas City, Kansas

2010 Football (midseason) – 3rd-place


Uzbekistan Cotton Balls

manager: Honest Ron

email: sandlotboyz@yahoo.com

location: Portland, Oregon


Sphinx

manager: Half Alex

email: alexhalvo@yahoo.com

location: Giza, Egypt


Placeholder

manager: Sens Say

email: hidden@ddress.com

location: Ottawa, Ontario

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The Top Ten List: Films About Basketball Games

By Chris Barrymore


As I have admittedly been distracted by the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I have been remiss in not posting The Top Ten List for films about basketball. So in an effort to be timely with the Lakers finishing off the Celtics this week, and before people start talking about football again (the kind on the gridiron, not that other kind), I am going to sneak this list in.

This is a rushed list, so there's no time to forecast which of these films will be replaced on the List by the inevitable Hollywood debut of LeBron James. Thanks go out to friend of the blog, Roger Ebert, for his contributions and for those of his colleagues.

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That Championship Season (1982) Starring Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach, Robert Mitchum, Martin Sheen, Paul Sorvino

"A brittle but emotional saga of how significant moments in life can have considerable impact later. Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, this film showcases Jason Miller's brilliant screenplay about friendship, but it's the incredible performances that make these characters real." - Diana Saenger, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Teen Wolf (1985) Starring Michael J. Fox

"This film is an unexpectedly charming little movie about learning how to get through high school with your self-esteem intact. Fox's teen character is, you know, going through changes, he says, his voice cracking. Hair is growing in places it wasn't before. When his dad reveals that the men in the family tend to get a lot more hair growing in a lot more places than other men, Scott is devastated .... and then elated, when his new feralness makes him the star b-ball player and the hit of the school." - MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

Hoosiers (1986) Starring Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper

"I was a sportswriter once for a couple of years in downstate Illinois. I covered mostly high school sports, and if I were a sportswriter again, I'd want to cover them again. There is a passion to high school sports that transcends anything that comes afterward; nothing in pro sports equals the intensity of a really important high school basketball game. This film knows that." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

White Men Can't Jump (1992) Starring Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez

"This film supplies the predictable sports formulas leading up to the big game. But even here it has surprises - and the payoff isn't exactly what we suspected. Here is a comedy of great high spirits, with an undercurrent of sadness and sweetness that makes it a lot better than the plot itself could possibly suggest." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Blue Chips (1994) Starring Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J.T. Walsh, Ed O'Neill, Alfre Woodard, Bob Cousy, Anfernee Hardaway, Shaquille O'Neal

"The movie contains a certain amount of basketball, but for once here's a sports movie where everything doesn't depend on who wins the big game. It's how they win it. This film is a morality play, that projects a certain cynicism even in the midst of its bedrock morality. The message seems to be that although one man can take a stand, the system has been too corrupt for too long to change. The underlying theme, I think, is that since top-level intercollegiate athletic programs are profit centers for their universities and feeding programs for the pro leagues, maybe the players should be paid, and the pretense of amateurism dropped. Look at the once-amateur Olympics." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Hoop Dreams (1994) Starring William Gates, Arthur Agee

"The sports stories develop headlong suspense, but the real heart of this film involves the scenes filmed in homes, playgrounds and churches in the inner city. There are parallel dramas involving fathers: Arthur's leaves the family after 20 years, gets involved with drugs, spends time in jail, returns, testifies in song at a Sunday service, but does not quite regain his son's trust. William's father has been out of the picture for years; he runs an auto garage, is friendly when he sees his son occasionally. The mothers are the key players in both families--and we also glimpse an extended family network that lends encouragement and support." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

He Got Game (1998) Starring Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson, Ned Beatty, Jim Brown

"This is not so much a movie about sports as about capitalism. It doesn't end, as the formula requires, with a big game. In fact, it never creates artificial drama with game sequences. This film is about the real stakes, which involve money more than final scores, and showmanship as much as athletics." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Michael Jordan to the Max (2000) Starring Michael Jordan

"This film documents how Chicago Bulls No. 23 gave his all and then some, whether for the good of the team or for first-time visitors that had never seen him play in person. In Jordan's professional career, he missed 13,156 baskets and, by example, he showed how not to let past failures hinder his future performances. He was the first one to practice and the last one to leave as he struggled to make his weaknesses his strengths. This exploration of Jordan's superhuman focus gives a keen insight into his psyche as he uses discipline, determination, dedication, teamwork, fear, disappointment and failure to make himself and those around him both physically and mentally strong." - Dwayne E. Leslie, Box Office Magazine

Coach Carter (2005) Starring Samuel L. Jackson

"This film gives full weight to public opinion in the communities where they're set - places where the public's interest in secondary education seems entirely focused on sports, where coaches are more important than teachers, where scores are more important than grades. Coach Carter wants to change all that. He walks into a gymnasium ruled by loud, arrogant, disrespectful student jocks, and commands attention with the fierceness of his attitude. He makes rules. He requires the students to sign a contract, promising to maintain a decent grade-point average as the price of being on the team. His most dramatic decision was to lock the gymnasium, forfeit games and endanger the team's title chances after some of his players refused to live up to the terms of the contract. The community of course was outraged that a coach would put grades above winning games; for them, the future for the student athletes lies in the NBA, not education. Given the odds against making it in the NBA (dramatically demonstrated in the great documentary Hoop Dreams), this reasoning is like considering the lottery a better bet than working for a living." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Glory Road (2006) Starring Josh Lucas, Jon Voight

"This film is about racism in American sports, and how coach Don Haskins and his players on the 1965-66 basketball team from Texas Western University made a breakthrough comparable to when Jackie Robinson was hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers. In Texas at that time, we learn, college basketball teams had been integrated, but there was an informal rule that you never played more than one black player at home, two on the road or three if you were behind. After Texas Western won the 1966 NCAA championship with an all-black team on the court, defeating an all-white Kentucky team, the rules were rewritten, and modern college and professional basketball began." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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The Sports Talk Playoff Pool: NBA 2009 Rosters

I probably should have spent an hour or two and just slapped this up on the site before now. Anyway, the playoffs have begun, so I'll put 'em up, finally. Here are your teams for the 2009 NBA Playoffs:

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

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Toronto Maple East (1)

PG – Rondo, Bos
PG – Williams, Cle
G – R. Allen, Bos
SG – Gordon, Chi
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Lewis, Orl
PF – Smith, Atl
Big – Dalembert, Pha
C – Howard, Orl
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Alston, Orl
SG - West, Cle
SF - Turkoglu, Orl
PF - Prince, Det
C - Ilgauskas, Cle

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Nepeastern Hotspurs (6)


PG – Miller, Pha
PG – Rondo, Bos
G – R. Allen, Bos
SG – Gordon, Chi
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Horford, Atl
PF – Lewis, Orl
Big – Thomas, Chi
C – McDyess, Det
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Williams, Cle
SG - West, Cle
SF - Iguodala, Phi
PF - Williams, Atl
C - Howard, Orl

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Les Royales de Montréal-Est (2)

PG – Bibby, Orl
PG – Johnson, Atl
G – Miller, Pha
SG – R. Allen, Bos
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Lewis, Orl
PF – Thomas, Chi
Big – Williams, Atl
C – Howard, Orl
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Williams, Cle
SG - Gordon, Chi
SF - Salmons, Chi
PF - Horford, Atl
C - McDyess, Det

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trader dick's EAST (5)


PG – Johnson, Atl
PG – Rose, Chi
G – Williams, Cle
SG – Iguodala, Pha
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Horford, Atl
PF – Lewis, Orl
Big – Howard, Orl
C – Ilgauskas, Cle
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Rondo, Bos
SG - T. Allen, Bos
SF - Turkoglu, Orl
PF - Garnett, Bos
C - O'Neal, Mia

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Eastern Appalachia Christians (3)


PG – Johnson, Atl
PG – Miller, Pha
G – Williams, Cle
SG – Gordon, Chi
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Beasley, Mia
PF – Horford, Atl
Big – Smith, Atl
C – Howard, Orl
C – McDyess, Det

PG - Rondo, Bos
SG - R. Allen, Bos
SF - Salmons, Chi
PF - Garnett, Bos
C - Perkins, Bos

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Connecticut Eastfenders (4)

PG – Johnson, Atl
PG – Rondo, Bos
G – Rose, Chi
SG – R. Allen, Bos
SG – Iguodala, Pha
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Beasley, Mia
PF – Lewis, Orl
Big – Howard, Orl
C – Perkins, Bos
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Williams, Cle
SG - Wade, Mia
SF - Turkolgu, Orl
PF - Garnett, Bos
C - Ilgauskas, Cle

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

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west trader dick's (1)

PG – Billups, Den
PG – Paul, NO
G – Williams, Uta
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Artest, Hou
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Nowitzki, Dal
Big – West, NO
C – Gasol, LA
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Parker, SA
SG - Smith, Den
SF - Odom, LA
PF - Aldridge, Por
C - Nene, Den

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Montreal Royal West Academy (6)


PG – Billups, Den
PG – Paul, NO
G – Williams, Uta
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Milsap, Uta
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Nowitzki, Dal
Big – West, NO
C – Nene, Den
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Kidd, Dal
SG - Terry, Dal
SF - Howard, Dal
PF - Gasol, LA
C - Okur, Uta

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West Virginia Appalachians (2)

PG – Parker, SA
PG – Paul, NO
G – Williams, Uta
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Howard, Dal
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Gasol, LA
Big – Nowitzki, Dal
C – Bynum, LA
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Billups, Den
SG - Terry, Dal
SF - Stojakovic, NO
PF - Aldridge, Por
C - Nene, Den

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West Tottenham Hotspur (5)


PG – Billups, Den
PG – Kidd, Dal
G – Paul, NO
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Artest, Hou
SF – Milsap, Uta
PF – Andersen, Den
PF – Duncan, SA
Big – Nowitzki, Dal
C – Nene, Den
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Parker, SA
SG - Terry, Dal
SF - Howard, Dal
PF - Gasol, LA
C - Bynum, LA

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Toronto Westleaf Edition (3)


PG – Billups, Den
PG – Paul, NO
G – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SG – Smith, Den
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Odom, LA
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Nowitzki, Dal
Big – West, NO
C – Okur, Uta
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Parker, SA
SG - Artest, Hou
SF - Outlaw, Por
PF - Gasol, LA
C - Bynum, LA

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Connecticut Defenders of the West(4)

PG – Billups, Den
PG – Paul, NO
G – Williams, Uta
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Artest, Hou
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Nowitzki, Dal
Big – West, NO
C – Gasol, LA
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Parker, SA
SG - Terry, Dal
SF - Stojakovic, NO
PF - Odom, LA
C - Bynum, LA

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The STP Constitution: The NBA 2009 Playoff Pool

After seeing the issues that arose the other day, when only eight people registered for the hockey pool, I decided to alter the Rules for this basketball pool. I think the result is an improvement, even if we only managed to get 6 people to sign up.

Here are the basic rules, as have been previously laid out in two posts on the baseball league message board (msgs # 262, 273).


1. There will be two Conferences of 6 teams each, whereby each team is restricted from using players from the opposite Conference.

2. Scoring will be counted under a H2H Roto format (meaning the same scoring type as the baseball league, hockey leagues, and regular season basketball league).

3. Managers will be required to dress at least one player from each of the Conferences' 8 NBA clubs, with room for an additional 4 players from that Conference.

4. Managers are required to enter TWO rosters (an East and a West).

5. Each roster shall consist of 12 active players and 5 players on the Inactive List (to be activated after Round One).

6. The Yahoo position-eligibility will apply to lineups consisting of: PG, PG, G, SG, SG, SF, SF, PF, PF, Big, C, C, with an IL consisting of: PG, SG, SF, PF, C.

7. As for the scoring categories, basketball is a high-scoring game, so I don't want any 4-4 or 3-3 scores. Managers will be challenged to either choose well-rounded players or else to choose a balance of specialists, to compete in the 25 disciplines: GP, GS, Mins, MPG, FGM, FGA, FG%, 3PM, 3PA, 3P%, FTM, FTA, FT%, +/-, OREB, DREB, REB, RPG, AST, APG, STL, STL/TO, BLK, PTS, PPG.

8. Scoring will accumulate throughout the playoffs (meaning a player can score all his points in Round 1, but they will still be used to count a manager’s Round 4 score).

9. Each manager will have picked two independent teams, so our tourney will consist of 4 Rounds of eliminations.

10. Six Eastern teams, seeded 1-6, will face off in the usual 1 vs 6, 2 vs 5, 3 vs 4 Round One. At the same time, the Western Conference will feature three series.

11. The winners of these six series will advance to Round 2, along with the highest scoring of the three losing teams (so if you're gonna lose, make it a 13-12 loss and you'll still advance).

12. As a tie breaker for the Wild Card, when two teams lose by the same score, those two teams will be compared h2h to determine the winner. In a rare case where this is also tied, the winner will be the team with the best PPG (then Pts, if necessary).

13. A tie breaker in the case of a regular h2h tie game (i.e. 12-12), shall be used the same way as in the hockey pool. Compare the teams h2h for only the final day of Round 1, as the final period of the OT game. If necessary, he double overtime would be the second last day of Round 1, and so on.


That should just about cover everything. I’ll be posting the Official Rosters soon, so look for that in the next day or so.

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Dive into the Sports Talk Pool, the Water's Nice

By Spezzal Teams Playa


Using the Playoff Hockey Pool as an excuse, I decided to put up this little blog as a sister site to the league page.

While it’s nice to see over 200 messages on the board already, this forum will allow for expanded coverage of the various topics raised there. The sheer volume of posts required to do justice to our hockey pool would add needless clutter to our baseball boards, though I eventually plan to use this space for all sports. In a few days, we should add a basketball pool to our stable of pastimes, hopefully involving more than just you seven readers.

I figured I’d start this site off with some recycled content from our baseball boards, then get into tonight’s new pool. I’ll put up the Conference Previews, as well as each of Will’s Top Ten Lists. I’ll search the archives for other good stuff to encapsulate here, too. After that, I’ll put up the Official Rules for each of the leagues, and finally, our hockey league rosters. Anything else I’m leaving out?

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