(ThatKidInTheCorner :: LeBron, Andre Waters, and Howard Eskin Looks Like The (Burger) King)

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January 20, 2007

LeBron, Andre Waters, and Howard Eskin Looks Like The (Burger) King

The BronBron show comes to C@L; also, Andy Reid talks to WIP for 40 minutes so that 5 doesn't have to

After a completely disastrous couple of weeks for the Sonics, the team has managed to cobble together two wins in a row -- against teams that weren't even cupcakes (Utah and Eastern-Conference-leading Cleveland). Though after seeing Cleveland, I'm at a loss to explain the Eastern Conference. Obviously they have a LeBron, and those appear to be all the rage, but past that, I'm not completely sold. I guess Larry Hughes is something of a player, but he didn't look good against the Sonics. Ilgauskas is actually one of the few centers worthy of the name in the league, and I will take back everything I said about him being useful for fantasy purposes only.

LeBron was, as advertised, pretty impressive in person, especially in a bigger-faster-stronger way. He seemed to be playing at half-speed for most of the game, but when he turned it on, it was purdy durn cool. Also, I liked that he was guarding Ray Allen down the stretch, and that it obviously challenged/ irked Ray Allen (he even dove to the floor to save an errant pass late in the fourth quarter). Good theater all around.

As for the Sonics, it looks like Gelabele/ Jelly Belly is taking a lot of the minutes that used to belong to Damien Wilkins, and he's doing pretty well with those minutes. Andre Brown, the kid who's on a ten-day contract out of the NBDL, is certainly making a case for a more permanent role on this team. He's big and fast, actually plays defense, and is running all over the court as if, well, his whole livelihood was on the line. More like that one, please!

In other Sonics-related news, the Clay Bennett ownership group sent their ransom demands/ public arena budget: $300 million. Yup. They're doing everything in their power to stay in western Washington. Uh huh.

Also, I might add that I am now 6-2 in my attendance at Supes games this year. I'm just sayin. Is all. I think I need to go to more games.

More sports:

Andre Waters Update: really creepy update on the Andre Waters suicide story this week. There are theories that it was brain damage caused by repeated concussions that led him to kill himself. Whoa. That's pretty horrible, if true -- especially the parts where his brain was described as comparable to an 85-year-old man. We knew that these guys typically struggled with their hearts and joints after playing in the NFL, but seriously degenerative brain damage wasn't necessarily on the list. Really scary. This definitely makes it even weirder to wear my Andre Waters jersey.

Andy Reid and Burger King: if you're into this sort of thing, I highly recommend listening to the Andy Reid interview from the Howard Eskin show on Thursday (download here), and not just because he accuses Eskin of looking like the Burger King. He also offered incontrovertible proof that (a) managing PR and football-related marketing communications is a significant part of his job, and (b) as such, he considers the Philly media to be a dangerous and meddlesome lot, (c) so much so that he's willing to acknowledge that they make his franchise quarterback loco, since he's not allowing Dunnavin to talk to the press this week. Wow. Has it really come to this? Is 5 so fragile in re: the press that Andy Reid has to protect him this week? This does not bode well in the longer term.

He Can Tell Us About Clock Management in Grand Final: the Birds signed some goofy Aussie Rules dude to come in for a punting tryout in a couple months. Umm, good on ya! Video below: