TIME WARP W/TIM TORRANCE: April 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Grizzlies Go To Second Round!

Upsets are commonplace in college basketball, that much more when it's at the end of the year and there is a championship at stake. That's why they call it March Madness. The NBA's answer to this madness would be the playoffs that start not long after. It's about matchups. How else can you explain the eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies eliminating number one seeded San Antonio Spurs last night.
The Spurs have three all-star caliber players in forward Tim Duncan to go along with guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. I don't think too many people saw Memphis as a team to reach the playoffs let alone beating the Spurs. Memphis has some young, talented players in guards Mike Conley and O. J. Mayo to go along with big man; Marc Gasol. A big part in speeding up their development has been from veterans like guard Tony Allen, waiver wire pickup Shane Battier and Zach Randolph. Though Randolph has a bad reputation with his work ethic and getting into fights with teammates in the past, he has been the Grizzlies main scoring option this year while holding is own on the boards.
Randolph's talent has never been questioned. If he has matured, then that isn't good news for the opposition. Zach has helped his team the Grizzlies, get through the first round...
For a little more about Zach click here...

Friday, April 29, 2011

Is Dallas ready for the Lakers?

The Dallas Mavericks will now face the L.A. Lakers Monday at Staples after winning their series against Portland four games to two. Most critics expected the team to fold in the first round of the playoffs against the underdog Portland Trailblazers who are led by injury plagued Brandon Roy. Dallas must have a Rodney Dangerfield complex. They get no respect. Dirk Nowitzki has heard all the talk of being labeled soft. Of course he consistently puts up big numbers considering you can count on him for a double digits in points and rebounds. It has more to do with how Nowitzki backs down when a teammate takes a hard foul by the opposition.
No matter what has been said you can't doubt there confidence no matter what team they have to play on any given night. It wasn't that long ago that Jason Terry started running at the mouth before a game against the Lakers. Though L. A. denies this was used as an incentive to take it to the Mavs, the Lake Show just happen to go on a winning streak starting with that particular game.
Aside from Jason Terry, Dallas center Tyson Chandler is anxious to play against the Lakers. It might to much of an obstacle for Chandler to go up against the much bigger Andrew Bynum of the Lakers. Are the Mavs up for the challenge?

Read more on what the Mavericks think about their chances here

Thursday, April 28, 2011

McCourt Is a Joke!

Frank McCourt in all his glory, or whatever he has. You don't have to be a Dodgers fan to have ever heard of the man. Since taking over the Dodgers he has pinched pennies on the payroll while raising the prices on season tickets and stadium parking. It almost makes you wish it was possible to buy the team for yourself and a few of your buddies. In sports there are a few big markets i.e. L.A. and New York. In baseball currently there are two teams in New York. The Mets very briefly tasting glory in the 80's with players like Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden while the Yankees are filled with Hall of Famers that have worn the Yankee pinstripes. Among them Babe Ruth, Mantle and DiMaggio just to name a few.
Though the Dodgers who once were in Brooklyn, have won the World Series six times. You want to guess how many the Yankees have. They have won twenty-seven times!

Frank McCourt should step aside and let somebody else take over as the owner. It's time for the Dodgers to change for the better. It doesn't hurt to make the playoffs, but it would be better for baseball for a big market team like the Dodgers to be World Series contenders. I hope the next owner will know what to do...

Frank is a joke and for anybody that believes anything he says... I guess you're the punchline.

Read here...

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Lakers Win!

Hey, the Lakers actually won. I'm sure that Laker Nation must have been sweating bullets after MVP candidate, Kobe Bryant sprained his left ankle in the Lakers Game four loss to the New Orleans Hornets. If the Lakers were barely getting by with Kobe, how would they be able to keep up with those scrappy Hornets? L. A. went as far as replacing reserve center Theo Ratliff's spot on the roster and activating guard Trey Johnson.

The odds were stacked against the Lakers without their leading scorer slated to get any quality minutes if any in Game five.
Let's not forget, Kobe was on crutches. Chances are, most people have no idea who Trey Johnson is. Going into Game five the Lakers were tied with the Hornets at two games apiece in the best of seven Western Conference Series. This was no way to end the season with coach Phil Jackson and girlfriend Jeannie Buss headed to Montana on his Harley Davidson for an early vacation instead of winning another chamionship for the Lakers.
The two most important things to this Lakers team and their title hopes have been Jackson's coaching and Kobe Bryant playing within Jackson's triangle offense. The Lakers have been on the wrong side of a player coming back from injury and willing their team to a win. Do the names Paul Pierce or Wes Unseld sound familiar. It turns out the Lakers were not quite ready to hand the game over to New Orleans...
Take a look at the story here...

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Are you for real?

I'd like to start off by saying that I'm very open about my opinions if something rubs me the wrong way. Let's just call it my disclaimer to anybody that gets offended.These are the times that things on the news really make me sick. It could be something like someone abusing their kids or neglecting them.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard about a parent who left their kids in the car or left a gun out for the child to find, I'd probably be rubbing elbows with The Donald. Maybe they should make it mandatory for people to have a license in order to become parents. I believe whatever effort you put in bringing them up you will get from them in return.

It should be common sense as a parent that if you have a toddler you should keep an eye on them at all times. Unfortunately common sense is all too uncommon. Just today I saw this story from Australia about some real deadbeat parents.

Read the story here...