FIRST 5: While I was away

while i was away due to the module on spiritual direction and retreat giving at sacred heart novitiate, here are five things (used to be three, but three won't be enough) that i missed in the basketball world: 

1. battle of two kevins

the name kevin has come and gone in the nba. among the well known kevins were kevin mchale of the boston celtics, kevin johnson of the phoenix suns, kevin garnett of the minnesota timberwolves/boston celtics, kevin martin of sacramento kings/houston rockets, and more. in this time and age, we have kevin durant of the oklahoma city thunder and kevin love of the minnesota timberwolves. and who would have thought that these two kevins would engage in a battle of statistics and game winners to claim the victory for their respective teams. love, reigning three point shootout winner and nightly double-double machine, scored a whopping 51 points, 21 of them from beyond the arc, and 14 rebounds. but durant, reigning nba scoring champion, all-star game mvp, and a favorite to win the most valuable player award for this season, finished with 40 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, and the win for the thunder over the t-wolves. games like these are always fun to watch, unfortunately i missed a shootout between two namesakes of mine.

2. four overtimes!

for the first time in 15 years, an nba game needed four overtime periods to determine the winner as the atlanta hawks edged out utah jazz, 139-133. the game lasted for 3 hours and 17 minutes (tied for third longest game in nba history), had 4 potential game winning shots missed by the jazz (two each from paul milsap and devin harris), and 14 players from both teams scoring in double figures (five of them had double-doubles). it's always a treat watching marathon games like these, with the game on the line at the dying seconds of the game. too bad i missed it. 

3. andrew bynum for three... and rides the bench

as a rule, big men should play in the paint. well, the nba is changing as big men learned to make outside shots. dirk nowitzki is a classic case for a power forward shooting a three. the pba has mick pennisi, but that's another story. but when you see a 7 foot 285 pound guy who jacks up a three pointer with 15 seconds left in the shot clock, you must be shaking your head so hard that you can feel it's about to fall off. andrew bynum did and got benched for it. what more can we say? let our head shaking do the talking.

4. linsanity over?

jeremy lin, the taiwanese-american phenomenon that swept the nba by storm with his unbelievable play with the new york knicks, will sit out for six weeks after electing to have injury for a small, chronic miniscus tear in his knee. he was averaging 14.1 points and 6.1 assists before the injury, where he sparked new york's resurgence this season. it's not much of a problem in the knicks roster as they are stacked with point guards in baron davis, mike bibby, and toney douglas in the line-up. but with amare stoudamire out indefinitely with a bulging disk in his back, new york might have a hard time to push for a better seeding or even a playoff spot when the season ends this month. 

5. the boat is sinking!

i was having quite a comfortable lead in the xavier teachers fantasy basketball league. i've been on top for most of the season, and in a few days time i lost a seemingly insurmountable lead and am currently trailing by 5 points. it was coincidence perhaps that my return to sacred heart novitiate paved way to losing those points. but it seems to me that the time for the injury bug to bite me has come. with a few more playing days left, i have to save up on my games and try to get the lead back. the boat might be sinking yet my title defense is surely far from over.