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I'm STILL going with a Cleveland/LA matchup in the Finals.   Orlando's 3-point shooting is insanely good. They will NOT keep up the torid pace. Orlando is gonna give it all in Game 5, and will keep it

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Fucking Spurs. The Suns really got the shaft in this series.

 

As I wrote a while back, it appears that the Suns really got the shaft in the Suns-Spurs Western Conference Final this year. I've argued with many that the Suns were clearly the better team all along and that there were some fairly obvious officiating advantages given to the Spurs throughout that series.

 

So now, along comes the news that crooked ref/asshole Tim Donaghy officiated Game 3 of that series. Check out this extremely interesting

.

 

And read today's Page 2 article from Bill Simmons which more than touches on this.

 

If you're a diehard Suns fan, this now becomes the toughest playoff loss in NBA history. You have a legitimate case that you were screwed.
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si.com can't seem to let the idea of Kobe to the Bulls rest.

 

I haven't read the Oden story yet.

 

Mostly, I dug up this thread because I'd just mentioned in the RTT that my "bit" seems to be starting new sports-related threads. Also, because the season isn't that far away now.

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the season isn't that far away now.

Yeah, we must be gettin' close...a Pacer (Shawne Williams) has already been popped for drugs. :realmad

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I received this article this week, i found it to be an interesting read:

 

The Pacers, 40 Years Ago: A Major League Beginning

A win launched Pacers' ABA franchise

 

By Mark Montieth

 

It was 40 years ago today that the Indiana Pacers first came to play.

They've been going in and out of style, but their debut certainly

raised a smile.

 

 

 

A 117-95 victory over the Kentucky Colonels on Saturday, Oct. 14,

before a standing-room only crowd at the fairgrounds Coliseum

launched the American Basketball Association franchise with stunning

momentum. The Pacers have since weathered the peaks and valleys

typical of professional franchises, but that night sparked unbridled

optimism and ushered in a major league era that lasts to this day.

"We planted a seed," said Dick Denny, who covered the team for The

Indianapolis News. "It showed me that this town had great promise."

A professional basketball team had not called the city home since the

NBA Olympians folded in 1953. Fourteen years later, fans were anxious

to try again, even with an underfunded, unproven league with a funky

red, white and blue ball.

A crowd of 7,000 to 8,000 had been predicted in The Indianapolis Star

and the News the day of the game, but by the time the 8:30 p.m.

tipoff arrived a fire marshal-defying 10,800 fans were let in and

2,000 turned away. The official seating capacity for the building was

9,135.

The atmosphere was festive, more along the lines of a high school or

college game than today's NBA extravaganzas. The newspapers reported

before the game that a band, an organist and "a group of twisters

from Hamilton , Ohio " would entertain. The players ran through a

paper-covered hoop for pregame warm-ups. Mayor John Barton threw up

the first ball, and ABA commissioner George Mikan attended.

Nostalgia has hidden some of the less pleasant details of the

evening, however. The Coliseum always smelled faintly of horse manure

in those early days. The team couldn't work out on the day of the

game because the State Fair Board -- which rented the facility to the

Pacers for $70,000 for the year -- wanted it available for ice

skating. The playing court, hurriedly placed over the ice a few hours

before the game, was slick, and courtside observers watched with cold

feet. The new scoreboard didn't arrive in time, so a portable,

temporary unit was used.

Specific memories of the game have faded for those who participated

or attended, but the overriding memory is of the public's enthusiasm.

"You're so wound up because it's your first pro game," said Bob

Netolicky, who would go on to play seven full seasons with the Pacers

and part of another, and still lives in the city. "It was almost to

the point where things were kind of swirling. It's hard to remember

these things because they're coming at you so fast."

The 6-8 Drake University grad started at center in the debut game. He

was joined by team captain Freddie Lewis at point guard, Jim Dawson

at shooting guard and forwards Roger Brown and Oliver Darden.

Brown, plucked out of a General Motors factory in Dayton, Ohio, led

the team's scoring with 24 points, and would go on to have his jersey

number retired by the franchise.

The bench consisted of guards Jimmy Rayl and Jerry Harkness, forwards

Ron Bonham, Bobby Joe Edmonds, Matthew Aitch and Ron Kozlicki, and

center George Peeples.

The first squad featured three players from state high schools. Rayl,

The Star's Indiana Mr. Basketball in 1959, was from Kokomo . Bonham,

Mr. Basketball in 1960, grew up in Muncie . Edmonds had starred on

Crispus Attucks' state championship team in '59.

Only Brown, Lewis and Netolicky would go on to play significant roles

on any of the three teams that won ABA championships, but they have

achieved a measure of fame that began that evening.

Harkness, cut from the squad in the second season, parlayed his time

with the Pacers into careers with WTHR-13, the United Way and

business opportunities.

He witnessed the roots of recognition after that first game.

"You know what was nice?" he said. "The number of people who were

there after we came out of the locker room, for autographs. Oh, man,

that was nice."

Netolicky, retired from the Pacers for more than 30 years,

experienced that during his lunch break Friday, when he pulled up to

a drive-through window at a Taco Bell.

"You're Neto, aren't you?" the man at the window asked. "Can I get an

autograph?"

"People had always told me how big Indiana basketball was," Netolicky

said. "Then I found out. It was amazing. It's still amazing."

 

 

 

Those were the days

 

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Wow. First game of the season...Pacers up 103-100 with just seconds left. Arenas gets the ball, Tinsley in his shirt and the guy drains his only 3-pointer of the night - OT. :ohwell

 

But we still took it to em in OT 119-110. Without J.O. or Murphy. If these guys can keep ahold of the ball they might be fun to watch for a change. They plan on running and gunning but seeing how J.O. is still the #1 option I'm not sure how they're going to do that yet.

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Shout out to b2 - J.O. v Shaq tonite! :dancing

 

I expect us to lose, since Shaq doesn't play more than 30 minutes in the regular season, and Wade's still out. This first month is gonna be rough, though it was nice to see Ricky Davis step up last night. But we're gonna need more than 3 players in double figures to make any noise. I'd like to see Smush running the point some, I think he's a decent player, and he might be able to bring some energy when Williams sits.

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Well that was your typically ugly early season game, but I do have a little bit of optimism. The Pacers do seem to be well conditioned. They blew out the Wizards in OT the other night and finished with a 15-0 run to close out the game tonight.

 

If Granger decides this is going to be the year he gets consistent this team might be fun to watch again.

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Bulls look to be in another slow start--something they've done every year under Skiles. Ugh. It's gonna cost them in the playoff seeding. Well, assuming they aren't as bad as they've looked and they'll have similar seasons to the past two years.

 

Didn't get to see the game tonight, but I listened to some of it as well as a post-game recap. Sounds like Tyrus Thomas was showing some of what he's capable of. Hitting some outside shots and whatnot. You can compare him to Ben Wallace and Tyson Chandler all you want, but neither of those guys ever had any semblance of a 15-foot J. He led the team in +/- per 48 again.

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starbury1.jpg

 

"Isiah has to start me," Marbury fumed, according to the source. "I've got so much (stuff) on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can (get) me. But I'll (get) him first. You have no idea what I know."

 

Stay classy Starbury.

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