X Clem X

If...

2012-01-09T13:42:00.005+10:30

If I cried for every day I wasn’t with you, I would never have clear eyes.If I stop caring, I wouldn’t know who would care for you.If I gave up on hope, I would have no chance.I know there are days when I cannot be with you as much as I want to be there with you.There will never be a day when I don’t care, and I will never give up hope.So when I ride that wave, I just say…it’s OK.For in the end it will be OK.

Flames

2012-01-09T13:42:00.002+10:30

While I have taken myself to places that are deep and dark. Places so close to hell I could feel the flames lapping on my toes!I needed to be in those places.If I didn’t go there it would have all been done in vein, there would have been no point to what we did. I am happy to have come back, to move on, to now ride new waves and to never feel the flames again. But that’s me! You have your own journey, your own flames to feel. The pain will come, just in a different way and at a different time.

A path well worn!

2012-01-04T21:46:00.001+10:30

While we all walk the long road...the road starts from somewhere...and while the path will be well worn...it is how you make your imprint that set's you apart from those who have walked the same path!

My Path!

2012-01-03T23:17:00.000+10:30

While we all walk the long road...the road starts from somewhere...and while the path will be well worn...it is how you make your own imprint that set's you apart from those who have walked the same path!

Ohh How I dream!

2012-01-03T22:04:00.001+10:30

I wished for this day, I just had no idea how it would happen...but now it has, I realize i wished for too long..Thanks to those who helped this day get here....for today will be everyday...and tomorrow will be better than today...and today was a great day!

deep in thought

2011-12-22T14:49:00.002+10:30

i wonder who i am...i dig deep...i find some answers, but i find nothing at all..for thats who i am...#deepinthought

Game on!

2011-12-11T23:10:00.001+10:30

My rise will ultimately be the demise of another...#gamefuckingon

Satan's bed

2011-12-07T07:14:00.001+10:30

I lived in hell...Sleep in Satan's bed.Now Heaven can wait.I'm about to start living!

Pain

2011-12-07T07:12:00.001+10:30

If you stole my pain, I want it back.It's that feeling that give's me me the thrill...drives me on, Give's me the will..While I hate the feeling, I know it is what will spur me on when I feel like relenting!

and back

2011-12-07T07:10:00.001+10:30

While you can take me to the depth's of hell...my knee never touched the canvas, it was only bent.I was down, but never out!NOW....Come's the fight back!

Guided

2011-11-20T07:22:00.001+10:30

The sun, the moon & the truth! 3 things that will always come out. #cleanslate

TreeHouse

2011-11-17T22:29:00.001+10:30

i sit up here...alone...but full of conversations...just no one to tell them too..i guess thats what it's like to be a tree?Leaves as friends...no answers...just more of the same..

3rd Parties

2011-11-17T01:30:00.001+10:30

I feel like this Porsche just got traded in on a Volkswagen. Sure plenty more in the T(b)ank, but fuck...UGLY!!!!!

Last days

2011-11-09T11:39:00.002+10:30

As the days go on, the feelings get better...thinking what should have been is still there, but i dont have the time machine so learn and change.. I rue the mistakes, but vow to learn from them also. Nights come and go..and with that..so does some of the pain.. Left...Right...Left...keep walking, keep talking, keep breathing...the world stops for no one...Which is exactly what I am...no one...

#cleanslate

grow and learn...

2011-10-02T20:04:00.001+10:30

I am not what I was 20 years ago.I am not what I was 10 years ago.I am not what I was 5 years ago.I am what I am today, for all the things I have done in the past.While have regrets, some I wish I never had, they are part of what has made me today...continue to grow...

Tunes are so big

2011-06-13T22:04:00.000+09:30

Music...Something that has kept me sane so many times...well feeling down it is so surprising how quickly a song, or a band can lift you up..

Invincible at times...I know where not...but man..when the mind is strong and in the moment...

Pearl Jam!

The can be only one!

2011-06-13T08:19:00.002+09:30

1. Family. Without all of them there would be no point. Make the most of them.

XXXXX

You made it.
Four dot Ohhh!

Too

2011-06-13T08:18:00.000+09:30

1. Great times are often simple to make.
2. The more the merrier is not always true, but when it comes to good times and happiness...I will take plenty more.

Three

2011-06-13T08:16:00.001+09:30

1. Emily
2. Bianca
3. Abby

IV

2011-06-13T08:15:00.000+09:30

1. Basketball has changed and challenged my life.
2. Basketball has been too much of my life.
3. I just love the game that much.
4. Time to find a new game.

Five

2011-06-13T08:13:00.000+09:30

1. Being kind is free.
2. Just being kind doesn't mean being taken for a ride.
3. Listening from afar is often the best way to hear things close to you.
4. Most things can't be done without family.
5. Being alone isn't always being lonely.

Six

2011-06-07T19:56:00.000+09:30

1. Chocolate ...simply the finest taste...
2. Coffee...they go together baby..
3. Never forget where you come from...
4. Don't burn the bridge that will be walked again.
5. Just because advice is given, doesn't mean its always correct..
6. All things happen for a reason. Just need to find the reason to have it make sense.

Count down is on...

2011-06-06T05:33:00.001+09:30

So now it is 7 days to go and the big 4-0 is on me...

1. The sun on my face. Always love the warm that nature brings.
2. Sounds of children laughing. Never will I grow tired of that.
3. The noise that you hear from the silence.
4. The rich aroma of freshly ground coffee. Almost as good as drinking it!
5. Learning patience. (Work in progress)
6. Understanding it's the small things that count.
7. Being easily amused often means the small things really do count.

Clem

They are never forgotten...

2011-05-29T22:21:00.000+09:30

THOUGHT THE DAY: We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them. — Francis Amasa Walker

I personally thank them all. I know how brave they are and love the job you do for our great country, not just today...but over the last hundred years..and beyond..

#ANZAC

The Engine

2011-05-17T20:41:00.000+09:30

Grabbed myself a pushbike...as of yet i haven't hit the road, but i did manage to get onto a mates ergo machine...

Hit the ergo pretty well tho so far...anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes...

I never knew building an engine could be so hard...lung's burn out so easily...

Time to get fitter and get on the bike more...

The Coach!

2011-01-23T20:11:00.000+10:30

The coach

The coach is perhaps the most important variable influencing a player’s participation in Australian Football.

• Nothing is more directly linked to quitting Australian Football than ‘abusive’, ‘angry’, ‘too serious’ coaches.

• Coaches seriously lack social skills for managing 10 to 16-year-olds.

• Coaching plans and preparation is critical.

The Agonizing Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller

2011-01-08T02:40:00.001+10:30

I don't know Bill, and now I never will. Not that I ever intended to, but if you think of all the people in the world who have had to go through similar things and take there own lives.
Saddened by a loss, but saddened also by the childhood that was lost and is lost everyday by those poor victims.

The Agonizing Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller.

Bill Zeller was a talented programmer whose work we've featured on Lifehacker. He took his own life on Sunday and left an explanation that I think it's important you read.

Zeller was a victim of sexual and psychological abuse. It's clear from his writing that the abuse left him unable to interface with the world in any way that didn't leave him feeling he was too sullied to have the same experiences that he thought others had. He had a self-described "darkness", which despite his prostration it's clear he handled more ably than perhaps he ever realized.

Programming was a solace, but only temporarily. Zeller never felt he could escape the things that had happened to him because he carried his torment with him everywhere.

I think a person has the right to live or end their life as they choose. If Zeller really felt that suicide was his only option, so be it. But as someone who has had similar experiences in my own life, I want to say to anyone else who feels the way Zeller felt: You can't escape your past. Not completely. But you can deal with it. You can contextualize it. You can learn how to prepare for the times when you feel like it's not even on your radar and then it totally broadsides you.

And you can talk to people. You really can.

Bill Zeller
I have the urge to declare my sanity and justify my actions, but I assume I'll never be able to convince anyone that this was the right decision. Maybe it's true that anyone who does this is insane by definition, but I can at least explain my reasoning. I considered not writing any of this because of how personal it is, but I like tying up loose ends and don't want people to wonder why I did this. Since I've never spoken to anyone about what happened to me, people would likely draw the wrong conclusions.

My first memories as a child are of being raped, repeatedly. This has affected every aspect of my life. This darkness, which is the only way I can describe it, has followed me like a fog, but at times intensified and overwhelmed me, usually triggered by a distinct situation. In kindergarten I couldn't use the bathroom and would stand petrified whenever I needed to, which started a trend of awkward and unexplained social behavior. The damage that was done to my body still prevents me from using the bathroom normally, but now it's less of a physical impediment than a daily reminder of what was done to me.

This darkness followed me as I grew up. I remember spending hours playing with legos, having my world consist of me and a box of cold, plastic blocks. Just waiting for everything to end. It's the same thing I do now, but instead of legos it's surfing the web or reading or listening to a baseball game. Most of my life has been spent feeling dead inside, waiting for my body to catch up.

At times growing up I would feel inconsolable rage, but I never connected this to what happened until puberty. I was able to keep the darkness at bay for a few hours at a time by doing things that required intense concentration, but it would always come back. Programming appealed to me for this reason. I was never particularly fond of computers or mathematically inclined, but the temporary peace it would provide was like a drug. But the darkness always returned and built up something like a tolerance, because programming has become less and less of a refuge.

The darkness is with me nearly every time I wake up. I feel like a grime is covering me. I feel like I'm trapped in a contimated body that no amount of washing will clean. Whenever I think about what happened I feel manic and itchy and can't concentrate on anything else. It manifests itself in hours of eating or staying up for days at a time or sleeping for sixteen hours straight or week long programming binges or constantly going to the gym. I'm exhausted from feeling like this every hour of every day.

Three to four nights a week I have nightmares about what happened. It makes me avoid sleep and constantly tired, because sleeping with what feels like hours of nightmares is not restful. I wake up sweaty and furious. I'm reminded every morning of what was done to me and the control it has over my life.

I've never been able to stop thinking about what happened to me and this hampered my social interactions. I would be angry and lost in thought and then be interrupted by someone saying "Hi" or making small talk, unable to understand why I seemed cold and distant. I walked around, viewing the outside world from a distant portal behind my eyes, unable to perform normal human niceties. I wondered what it would be like to take to other people without what happened constantly on my mind, and I wondered if other people had similar experiences that they were better able to mask.

Alcohol was also something that let me escape the darkness. It would always find me later, though, and it was always angry that I managed to escape and it made me pay. Many of the irresponsible things I did were the result of the darkness. Obviously I'm responsible for every decision and action, including this one, but there are reasons why things happen the way they do.

Alcohol and other drugs provided a way to ignore the realities of my situation. It was easy to spend the night drinking and forget that I had no future to look forward to. I never liked what alcohol did to me, but it was better than facing my existence honestly. I haven't touched alcohol or any other drug in over seven months (and no drugs or alcohol will be involved when I do this) and this has forced me to evaluate my life in an honest and clear way. There's no future here. The darkness will always be with me.

I used to think if I solved some problem or achieved some goal, maybe he would leave. It was comforting to identify tangible issues as the source of my problems instead of something that I'll never be able to change. I thought that if I got into to a good college, or a good grad school, or lost weight, or went to the gym nearly every day for a year, or created programs that millions of people used, or spent a summer or California or New York or published papers that I was proud of, then maybe I would feel some peace and not be constantly haunted and unhappy. But nothing I did made a dent in how depressed I was on a daily basis and nothing was in any way fulfilling. I'm not sure why I ever thought that would change anything.

I didn't realize how deep a hold he had on me and my life until my first relationship. I stupidly assumed that no matter how the darkness affected me personally, my romantic relationships would somehow be separated and protected. Growing up I viewed my future relationships as a possible escape from this thing that haunts me every day, but I began to realize how entangled it was with every aspect of my life and how it is never going to release me. Instead of being an escape, relationships and romantic contact with other people only intensified everything about him that I couldn't stand. I will never be able to have a relationship in which he is not the focus, affecting every aspect of my romantic interactions.

Relationships always started out fine and I'd be able to ignore him for a few weeks. But as we got closer emotionally the darkness would return and every night it'd be me, her and the darkness in a black and gruesome threesome. He would surround me and penetrate me and the more we did the more intense it became. It made me hate being touched, because as long as we were separated I could view her like an outsider viewing something good and kind and untainted. Once we touched, the darkness would envelope her too and take her over and the evil inside me would surround her. I always felt like I was infecting anyone I was with.

Relationships didn't work. No one I dated was the right match, and I thought that maybe if I found the right person it would overwhelm him. Part of me knew that finding the right person wouldn't help, so I became interested in girls who obviously had no interest in me. For a while I thought I was gay. I convinced myself that it wasn't the darkness at all, but rather my orientation, because this would give me control over why things didn't feel "right". The fact that the darkness affected sexual matters most intensely made this idea make some sense and I convinced myself of this for a number of years, starting in college after my first relationship ended. I told people I was gay (at Trinity, not at Princeton), even though I wasn't attracted to men and kept finding myself interested in girls. Because if being gay wasn't the answer, then what was? People thought I was avoiding my orientation, but I was actually avoiding the truth, which is that while I'm straight, I will never be content with anyone. I know now that the darkness will never leave.

Last spring I met someone who was unlike anyone else I'd ever met. Someone who showed me just how well two people could get along and how much I could care about another human being. Someone I know I could be with and love for the rest of my life, if I weren't so fucked up. Amazingly, she liked me. She liked the shell of the man the darkness had left behind. But it didn't matter because I couldn't be alone with her. It was never just the two of us, it was always the three of us: her, me and the darkness. The closer we got, the more intensely I'd feel the darkness, like some evil mirror of my emotions. All the closeness we had and I loved was complemented by agony that I couldn't stand, from him. I realized that I would never be able to give her, or anyone, all of me or only me. She could never have me without the darkness and evil inside me. I could never have just her, without the darkness being a part of all of our interactions. I will never be able to be at peace or content or in a healthy relationship. I realized the futility of the romantic part of my life. If I had never met her, I would have realized this as soon as I met someone else who I meshed similarly well with. It's likely that things wouldn't have worked out with her and we would have broken up (with our relationship ending, like the majority of relationships do) even if I didn't have this problem, since we only dated for a short time. But I will face exactly the same problems with the darkness with anyone else. Despite my hopes, love and compatability is not enough. Nothing is enough. There's no way I can fix this or even push the darkness down far enough to make a relationship or any type of intimacy feasible.

So I watched as things fell apart between us. I had put an explicit time limit on our relationship, since I knew it couldn't last because of the darkness and didn't want to hold her back, and this caused a variety of problems. She was put in an unnatural situation that she never should have been a part of. It must have been very hard for her, not knowing what was actually going on with me, but this is not something I've ever been able to talk about with anyone. Losing her was very hard for me as well. Not because of her (I got over our relationship relatively quickly), but because of the realization that I would never have another relationship and because it signified the last true, exclusive personal connection I could ever have. This wasn't apparent to other people, because I could never talk about the real reasons for my sadness. I was very sad in the summer and fall, but it was not because of her, it was because I will never escape the darkness with anyone. She was so loving and kind to me and gave me everything I could have asked for under the circumstances. I'll never forget how much happiness she brought me in those briefs moments when I could ignore the darkness. I had originally planned to kill myself last winter but never got around to it. (Parts of this letter were written over a year ago, other parts days before doing this.) It was wrong of me to involve myself in her life if this were a possibility and I should have just left her alone, even though we only dated for a few months and things ended a long time ago. She's just one more person in a long list of people I've hurt.

I could spend pages talking about the other relationships I've had that were ruined because of my problems and my confusion related to the darkness. I've hurt so many great people because of who I am and my inability to experience what needs to be experienced. All I can say is that I tried to be honest with people about what I thought was true.

I've spent my life hurting people. Today will be the last time.

I've told different people a lot of things, but I've never told anyone about what happened to me, ever, for obvious reasons. It took me a while to realize that no matter how close you are to someone or how much they claim to love you, people simply cannot keep secrets. I learned this a few years ago when I thought I was gay and told people. The more harmful the secret, the juicier the gossip and the more likely you are to be betrayed. People don't care about their word or what they've promised, they just do whatever the fuck they want and justify it later. It feels incredibly lonely to realize you can never share something with someone and have it be between just the two of you. I don't blame anyone in particular, I guess it's just how people are. Even if I felt like this is something I could have shared, I have no interest in being part of a friendship or relationship where the other person views me as the damaged and contaminated person that I am. So even if I were able to trust someone, I probably would not have told them about what happened to me. At this point I simply don't care who knows.

I feel an evil inside me. An evil that makes me want to end life. I need to stop this. I need to make sure I don't kill someone, which is not something that can be easily undone. I don't know if this is related to what happened to me or something different. I recognize the irony of killing myself to prevent myself from killing someone else, but this decision should indicate what I'm capable of.

So I've realized I will never escape the darkness or misery associated with it and I have a responsibility to stop myself from physically harming others.

I'm just a broken, miserable shell of a human being. Being molested has defined me as a person and shaped me as a human being and it has made me the monster I am and there's nothing I can do to escape it. I don't know any other existence. I don't know what life feels like where I'm apart from any of this. I actively despise the person I am. I just feel fundamentally broken, almost non-human. I feel like an animal that woke up one day in a human body, trying to make sense of a foreign world, living among creatures it doesn't understand and can't connect with.

I have accepted that the darkness will never allow me to be in a relationship. I will never go to sleep with someone in my arms, feeling the comfort of their hands around me. I will never know what uncontimated intimacy is like. I will never have an exclusive bond with someone, someone who can be the recipient of all the love I have to give. I will never have children, and I wanted to be a father so badly. I think I would have made a good dad. And even if I had fought through the darkness and married and had children all while being unable to feel intimacy, I could have never done that if suicide were a possibility. I did try to minimize pain, although I know that this decision will hurt many of you. If this hurts you, I hope that you can at least forget about me quickly.

There's no point in identifying who molested me, so I'm just going to leave it at that. I doubt the word of a dead guy with no evidence about something that happened over twenty years ago would have much sway.

You may wonder why I didn't just talk to a professional about this. I've seen a number of doctors since I was a teenager to talk about other issues and I'm positive that another doctor would not have helped. I was never given one piece of actionable advice, ever. More than a few spent a large part of the session reading their notes to remember who I was. And I have no interest in talking about being raped as a child, both because I know it wouldn't help and because I have no confidence it would remain secret. I know the legal and practical limits of doctor/patient confidentiality, growing up in a house where we'd hear stories about the various mental illnesses of famous people, stories that were passed down through generations. All it takes is one doctor who thinks my story is interesting enough to share or a doctor who thinks it's her right or responsibility to contact the authorities and have me identify the molestor (justifying her decision by telling herself that someone else might be in danger). All it takes is a single doctor who violates my trust, just like the "friends" who I told I was gay did, and everything would be made public and I'd be forced to live in a world where people would know how fucked up I am. And yes, I realize this indicates that I have severe trust issues, but they're based on a large number of experiences with people who have shown a profound disrepect for their word and the privacy of others.

People say suicide is selfish. I think it's selfish to ask people to continue living painful and miserable lives, just so you possibly won't feel sad for a week or two. Suicide may be a permanent solution to a temporary problem, but it's also a permanent solution to a ~23 year-old problem that grows more intense and overwhelming every day.

Some people are just dealt bad hands in this life. I know many people have it worse than I do, and maybe I'm just not a strong person, but I really did try to deal with this. I've tried to deal with this every day for the last 23 years and I just can't fucking take it anymore.

I often wonder what life must be like for other people. People who can feel the love from others and give it back unadulterated, people who can experience sex as an intimate and joyous experience, people who can experience the colors and happenings of this world without constant misery. I wonder who I'd be if things had been different or if I were a stronger person. It sounds pretty great.

I'm prepared for death. I'm prepared for the pain and I am ready to no longer exist. Thanks to the strictness of New Jersey gun laws this will probably be much more painful than it needs to be, but what can you do. My only fear at this point is messing something up and surviving.

—-

I'd also like to address my family, if you can call them that. I despise everything they stand for and I truly hate them, in a non-emotional, dispassionate and what I believe is a healthy way. The world will be a better place when they're dead—one with less hatred and intolerance.

If you're unfamiliar with the situation, my parents are fundamentalist Christians who kicked me out of their house and cut me off financially when I was 19 because I refused to attend seven hours of church a week.

They live in a black and white reality they've constructed for themselves. They partition the world into good and evil and survive by hating everything they fear or misunderstand and calling it love. They don't understand that good and decent people exist all around us, "saved" or not, and that evil and cruel people occupy a large percentage of their church. They take advantage of people looking for hope by teaching them to practice the same hatred they practice.

A random example:

"I am personally convinced that if a Muslim truly believes and obeys the Koran, he will be a terrorist." - George Zeller, August 24, 2010.

If you choose to follow a religion where, for example, devout Catholics who are trying to be good people are all going to Hell but child molestors go to Heaven (as long as they were "saved" at some point), that's your choice, but it's fucked up. Maybe a God who operates by those rules does exist. If so, fuck Him.

Their church was always more important than the members of their family and they happily sacrificed whatever necessary in order to satisfy their contrived beliefs about who they should be.

I grew up in a house where love was proxied through a God I could never believe in. A house where the love of music with any sort of a beat was literally beaten out of me. A house full of hatred and intolerance, run by two people who were experts at appearing kind and warm when others were around. Parents who tell an eight year old that his grandmother is going to Hell because she's Catholic. Parents who claim not to be racist but then talk about the horrors of miscegenation. I could list hundreds of other examples, but it's tiring.

Since being kicked out, I've interacted with them in relatively normal ways. I talk to them on the phone like nothing happened. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I like pretending I have a family. Maybe I like having people I can talk to about what's been going on in my life. Whatever the reason, it's not real and it feels like a sham. I should have never allowed this reconnection to happen.

I wrote the above a while ago, and I do feel like that much of the time. At other times, though, I feel less hateful. I know my parents honestly believe the crap they believe in. I know that my mom, at least, loved me very much and tried her best. One reason I put this off for so long is because I know how much pain it will cause her. She has been sad since she found out I wasn't "saved", since she believes I'm going to Hell, which is not a sadness for which I am responsible. That was never going to change, and presumably she believes the state of my physical body is much less important than the state of my soul. Still, I cannot intellectually justify this decision, knowing how much it will hurt her. Maybe my ability to take my own life, knowing how much pain it will cause, shows that I am a monster who doesn't deserve to live. All I know is that I can't deal with this pain any longer and I'm am truly sorry I couldn't wait until my family and everyone I knew died so this could be done without hurting anyone. For years I've wished that I'd be hit by a bus or die while saving a baby from drowning so my death might be more acceptable, but I was never so lucky.

—-

To those of you who have shown me love, thank you for putting up with all my shittiness and moodiness and arbitrariness. I was never the person I wanted to be. Maybe without the darkness I would have been a better person, maybe not. I did try to be a good person, but I realize I never got very far.

I'm sorry for the pain this causes. I really do wish I had another option. I hope this letter explains why I needed to do this. If you can't understand this decision, I hope you can at least forgive me.

Bill Zeller

—-

Please save this letter and repost it if gets deleted. I don't want people to wonder why I did this. I disseminated it more widely than I might have otherwise because I'm worried that my family might try to restrict access to it. I don't mind if this letter is made public. In fact, I'd prefer it be made public to people being unable to read it and drawing their own conclusions.

Feel free to republish this letter, but only if it is reproduced in its entirety.

Stolen from here http://gizmodo.com/5726667/

just breathe...it can't hurt...

2010-10-01T11:13:00.000+09:30

Can i live forever?

Only till I take my last breath..

Then we will all know.

2010-09-24T18:03:00.000+09:30

Sometimes winning isn't about coming first. The friendship, the mates, the aggression that fills everyone. Then it comes back to 'will,want,desire,attitude,love,living,life,hope & destiny.

How bad do you really want it, do you want it as bad as the next. Win because winning is forever.
When you win that one, you have to want to win that one.

Dont get in front of yourself.

If you can't win today, plan to get the win today..short sighted is to not think past the game your in..

How Great.

2010-09-21T21:45:00.001+09:30

How great is the beauty if the sights are un-seen?

Where we all lay!

2010-09-21T21:43:00.000+09:30

I whisper in your ear
no reply is what I hear.
I know you look down on me
pale lips exhume no air.

Glass eyes take on a new meaning.
Your last visitors done by screening.
Laid up on a slab,
Pictures draw a blank.

I'm bewildered by death,
last words equalled by no breath.
My mind constant in it's thoughts,
I can't think of leaving yet.

Does death have this effect on you all?
are you normal or an immortal?
money buys no privileges in any land,
the Pharaoh's died all the same.

How do we all die?
Lonely and leaving others to cry?
Up or down is now only by chance,
Roll the dice and wait for the cards.

Adversity

2010-08-18T10:03:00.001+09:30

'you will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You'll get a good sense of their character!'

Not bad advice from a mother to a son! Cheers Mrs James.

Haka

2010-08-09T09:29:00.001+09:30

Here's the haka from the 31st of July...

Wonder if they pull that in the pub?

Are we there??

2010-07-24T20:17:00.000+09:30

Holy shit, what happened to that time?
You go to one basketball championship and the world stops...

What a great time watching, and being part of the S.A. Country Girls team. 9th wasn't the place we had in mind, but cookies crumble...

Gift's are great to have...not the one's you receive, but the ones you have within...we all have them..if we dont get them out, give them away, share them...are they gifts or a hinderince?

It may take me all my life to give...but throughout the journey I will receive more gifts then I will ever be able to give out....

So...Got a gift/skill/ability??? Share it, it's not just for you!

Side note:....the groupies returned....:)

Day II QLD

2010-07-02T09:48:00.000+09:30

Well day II in Logan and all is well. The place is the same spot as were I stayed for Pearl Jam, so I was instantly recognized by the staff at reception...Evidently they still get questions about me staying here and have only just got rid of the groupies camping out the front...

Poor guys, I wonder what it will be like this time as I am here for 10 days!!

Try and get some shopping done today, need supplies, and gifts! Must get gifts.
No idea what the clan want, but I'll give it a go...Everyone loves socks after all right???

Carlton did the right thing and got the win over Brisbane...No Fev, but still, I hear he's unconscious from Browny's headlock!

Big shout out to Clem0 for his b'day yesty..Hope it was a good one..Heard he spend the night watching Twilight!...

Woops. Where the the fark did those go?

2010-07-01T07:45:00.000+09:30

Wow. Lost some time. Getting ready for OLD and finishing off some work.

Time to concentrate on Nationals. 10 days of basketball. :)

355

2010-06-24T15:05:00.000+09:30

Fifa.com for all your live updates and scores...but don't look for the Aussie's. Were done. While we won, Ghana lost 1-0.

The team seemed to gel at the right time, and to be honest I think the selections were right too..and I know nothing about soccer. Kennedy was a focal point, Cahill terrorized and the back line strong, but again, leave your fate in other hands and expect to be hurt!
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The last day with Pim, and the first with Gillian.
A lady leading the country? Bring it on, hope she play's the game with some serious attitude. Take no shit and take no prisoners.
Mining tax in the end was the killer for Rudd. I liked the guy too, but I guess he introduced a election policy too early and got stung by his own caucus.

It's not the face of the party that you have to worry about, but the real politicians out the back who control it all. The one's who don't have white cars and arrive at the front door, the black car's and the rear entrance, service workers with plenty of power.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Find your heart, know what it feel's and control that!

Mind and soul, joint they can do it all, dis-jointed and alone you stand in a confused state.

I'm searching at the moment.

Everyone get's beaten, but how the respond is another thing. Get up, one step at a time,and on the front foot. The best form of defense is offense.

356

2010-06-24T14:22:00.000+09:30

Socceroo's last game...massive and when u play to win with heart, but rely on others to lose...it's not your day..

Never leave your fate in others..Take control of what you can and never worry about what you have no control over. Worry about whats yours to worry about..

357

2010-06-24T14:20:00.000+09:30

Damn, night shift and it throws me out...updating to get in front again...

stayed home with Abby, she wasn't very well, rash continues to get worse at this stage...

Don't panic as a coach!

2010-06-22T08:43:00.000+09:30

Something I have always tried to do. Not always the easiest thing to do tho.

Practice makes perfect...Keep on coaching, keep practicing.

"Know why General George C. Patton was so smooth? He never panicked. My man Patton was a smooth, cigar-smoking, sitting-at-the back-of-the-tent, never-panicking general. That's why he always did well in the war. When your general doesn't panic, the troops don't panic.

"Even in Game 7, when we were down to Portland, and Phil was mad, he didn't panic."

— Shaquille O'Neal in "Shaq Talks Back"

358

2010-06-22T08:25:00.000+09:30

Spending the day with Abby. Little rash seems to be getting worse...

Dr thinks it's viral so we'll have to go with that for know.

Lakers championship teams: 1949-2010

2010-06-22T07:33:00.000+09:30

Lakers championship teams: 1949-2010

A look at the 16 teams that captured NBA titles for the franchise.

1948-49 (44-16)

Championship: Minneapolis Lakers 4, Washington Capitols 2

The Team: George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Herm Schaefer, Don Carlson, Arnie Ferrin, Tony Jaros, Jack Swan, Donnie Forman, Whitney Kachan, Mike Bloom, Johnny Jorgensen, Earl Gardner, Jack Tingle, Don Smith, Ray Ellefson

Coach: John Kundla

The Season: As the National Basketball League and Basketball Association of America merged to become the NBA, the Lakers had the good fortune of landing George Mikan, formerly of the disbanded Chicago American Gears. At 6-10 and 245 pounds, Mikan was dominant, averaging 28.3 points and 3.6 assists per game. The Lakers finished one game behind Rochester in the West, but easily defeated the Royals in the playoffs.

Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Chicago Stags 2-0

Western Division Finals: Defeated Rochester Royals 2-0

Top playoff performances: Mikan, 30.3 ppg; Pollard 13.0 ppg, 3.9 apg; Schaefer 12.4 ppg

1949-50 (51-17)

Championship: Minneapolis Lakers 4, Syracuse Nationals 2

The Team: George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Vern Mikkelsen, Arnie Ferrin, Herm Schaefer, Don Carlson, Bob Harrison, Slater Martin, Tony Jaros, Paul Walther, Gene Stump, Billy Hassett, Bud Grant, Normie Glick

Coach: John Kundla

The Season: In the first official season of the NBA, the Lakers continued to be a force because of Mikan. He averaged 27.4 points per game in the regular season, one of just two players to average above 20. Vern Mikkelsen began to show his value as well, with 14.1 points per game. This team showed that the Lakers were becoming the NBA's first dynasty.

Central Division Semifinals: Defeated Chicago Stags 2-0

Central Division Finals: Defeated Fort Wayne Pistons 2-0

NBA Semifinals: Defeated Anderson Packers 2-0

Top playoff performances: Mikan 31.3 ppg, 3.0 apg; Mikkelsen 13.0 ppg; Pollard 12.0 ppg, 4.7 apg

1951-52 (40-26)

Championship: Minneapolis Lakers 4, New York Knicks 3

The Team: George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Vern Mikkelsen, Slater Martin, Whitey Skoog, Bob Harrison, Howie Schultz, Lew Hitch, Joe Hutton, John Pilch, Pep Saul

Coach: John Kundla

The Season: The NBA widened the foul lane prior this season in hopes of slowing down Mikan, but he still averaged 23.8 points per game. He was also tops in a new statistic, rebounds, with 13.5 per game. Mikkelsen and Pollard excelled there too, with 10.3 and 9.1 rebounds per game, respectively. The Knicks provided a challenge in the Finals, forcing the Lakers' first Game 7.

Western Division Semifinals: Defeated the Indianapolis Olympians 2-0

Western Division Finals: Defeated the Rochester Royals 3-1

Top playoff performances: Mikan 23.6 ppg, 15.9 rpg; Pollard 16.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg; Mikkelsen 13.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg; Martin 4.3 apg

1952-53 (48-22)

Championship: Minneapolis Lakers 4, New York Knicks 1

The Team: George Mikan, Vern Mikkelsen, Jim Pollard, Slater Martin, Pep Saul, Bob Harrison, Jim Holstein, Lew Hitch, Whitey Skoog, Howie Schultz

Coach: John Kundla

The Season: With essentially the same lineup as its championship team the year before, the Lakers finished first in the West. Though Mikan's numbers (20.6 ppg) were lower, Mikkelsen and Pollard picked up the slack. Minneapolis was 7-0 against Fort Wayne in the regular season, but nearly slipped against the Pistons in the division finals. They beat the Knicks with an average margin of victory of just 6.5 points.

Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Indianapolis Olympians 2-0

Western Division Finals: Defeated Fort Wayne Pistons 3-2

Top playoff performances: Mikan 19.8 ppg, 15.4 rpg; Pollard 14.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 4.1 apg; Mikkelsen 12.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg

1953-54 (56-26)

Championship: Minneapolis Lakers 4, Syracuse Nationals 3

The Team: George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Vern Mikkelsen, Slater Martin, Clyde Lovellette, Whitey Skoog, Pep Saul, Dick Schnittker, Jim Holstein, Jim Fritsche, Bob Harrison

Coach: John Kundla

The Season: The fifth championship season in six years for the Lakers was the last for Coach John Kundla and for Mikan. The addition of rookie Clyde Lovellette helped to ease the dependence on Mikan, who struggled with knee problems. The duo helped the team become the first NBA team to win three consecutive titles. Mikan announced his retirement after the season and became the team's general manager.

Western Division Semifinals: In a Round Robin-style playoff between the three best teams in the Western Division, the Lakers defeated the Rochester Royals and won two games against the Fort Wayne Pistons.

Western Division Finals: Defeated the Rochester Royals 2-1

Top playoff performances: Mikan 19.4 ppg, 13.2 rpg; Pollard 12.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg; Lovellette 10.5 ppg, 9.7 rpg; Martin 4.6 apg

1971-72 (69-13)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, New York Knicks 1

The Team: Gail Goodrich, Jerry West, Jim McMillian, Wilt Chamberlain, Happy Hairston, Elgin Baylor, Flynn Robinson, Pat Riley, Keith Erickson, John Trapp, Leroy Ellis, Jim Cleamons

Coach: Bill Sharman

The Season: In the first championship season since their move to Los Angeles 11 years before, the Lakers set a record with 69 regular-season wins, which would not be broken for 24 seasons. On Nov. 5, 1971, the Lakers beat the Baltimore Bullets to begin a 33-game win streak which did not end until Jan. 9, 1972. The mark still stands as the longest winning streak in NBA history.

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Chicago Bulls 4-0

Western Conference Finals: Defeated Milwaukee Bucks 4-2

Top playoff performances: Goodrich, 23.8 ppg; West, 22.9 ppg, 8.9 apg; Chamberlain 14.7 ppg, 21.0 rpg; Hairston 13.5 ppg, 13.1 rpg

1979-80 (60-22)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2

The Team: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon, Jim Chones, Spencer Haywood, Michael Cooper, Mark Landsberger, Ron Boone, Kenny Carr, Don Ford, Brad Holland, Marty Byrnes, Ollie Mack, Butch Lee

Coach: Jack McKinney/Paul Westhead

The Season: " Showtime" began as 20-year old rookie Magic Johnson inspired this talented team to first place in the Pacific Division and the Lakers began to establish themselves as a dynasty once again. After four close games in the Finals, Abdul-Jabbar turned in a 40-point performance in Game 5 despite spraining his ankle. With Abdul-Jabbar out, Johnson stepped up in Game 6, his 42 points and 15 rebounds leading the Lakers.

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Phoenix Suns 4-1

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the Seattle Supersonics 4-1

Top playoff performances: Abdul-Jabbar, 31.9 ppg, 12.1 rpg; Johnson 18.3 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 9.4 apg; Wilkes 20.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg; Nixon 16.9 ppg, 7.8 apg

1981-82 (57-25)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2

The Team: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon, Mitch Kupchak, Michael Cooper, Bob McAdoo, Mike McGee, Kurt Rambis, Mark Landsberger, Eddie Jordan, Clay Johnson, Jim Brewer, Kevin McKenna

Coach: Paul Westhead/Pat Riley

The Season: The Lakers came into the season looking to avenge a surprising loss to Houston in the first round of the 1981 playoffs. With Johnson back from a knee injury and the additions of coach Pat Riley and sixth man Bob McAdoo, the Lakers swept Phoenix and San Antonio with an average margin of victory of 11 points and finished with a playoff record of 12-2.

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Phoenix Suns 4-0

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4-0

Top playoff performances: Johnson 17.4 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 9.3 apg; Abdul-Jabbar 20.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg; Nixon 20.4 ppg, 8.1 apg; Wilkes 20.0 ppg

1984-85 (62-20)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics 2

The Team: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, Michael Cooper, Jamaal Wilkes, Ronnie Lester, Larry Spriggs, Mike McGee, Mitch Kupchak, Bob McAdoo, Chuck Nevitt, Earl Jones

The Coach: Pat Riley

The Season: Johnson's 13.3 assists per game fueled "Showtime" and resulted in the 22.7 and 16.1 ppg averages of Abdul-Jabbar and Worthy. A year removed from yet another loss to Boston in the Finals, the Lakers looked set to avenge. After a brutal 148-114 loss in Game 1, known as the "Memorial Day Massacre," Los Angeles came back to defeat Boston in the Finals for the first time.

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 4-1

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the Denver Nuggets 4-1

Top playoff performances: Johnson, 17.5 ppg, 15.2 apg; Abdul-Jabbar, 21.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg; Worthy, 21.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg

1986-87 (65-17)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics 2

The Team: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, Wes Matthews, Michael Cooper, A.C. Green, Mychal Thompson, Adrian Branch, Billy Thompson, Frank Brickowski, Mike Smrek

The Coach: Pat Riley

The Season: Following one of only two seasons in which they didn't make the NBA Finals in the '80s, the Lakers won 65 games and continued to dominate in the playoffs. The Lakers went 11-1 to reach the championship. Johnson took his place on top of the team, leading in points (23.9), assists (12.2) and steals (1.7) per game. He was named regular season and Finals MVP.

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Golden State Warriors 4-1

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the Seattle Sonics 4-0

Top playoff performances: Worthy, 23.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg; Johnson, 21.8 ppg, 12.2 apg, 7.4 rpg; Abdul-Jabar, 19.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg.

1987-88 (62-20)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, Detroit Pistons 3

The Team: Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, Jeff Lamp, Milt Wagner, Wes Matthews, Michael Cooper, A.C. Green, Billy Thompson, Ray Tolbert, Tony Campbell, Mychal Thompson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mike Smrek

The Coach: Pat Riley

The Season: As Abdul-Jabbar began to age, Worthy and Scott stepped up their scoring. The two combined to average 38 points on the season. Johnson helped to boost that total with an average of 11.9 assists during the regular season. The defeat of the Detroit Pistons gave the Lakers their first back-to-back NBA titles since the Minneapolis team won three straight in the 1950s.

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Utah Jazz 4-3

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4-3

Top playoff performances: Johnson, 19.9 ppg, 12.6 apg; Worthy, 21.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg; Scott, 19.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg

1999-2000 (67-15)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, Indiana Pacers 2

The Team: Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Robert Horry, A.C. Green, Glen Rice, Ron Harper, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher, Travis Knight, Brian Shaw, Devean George, John Sally, Tyronn Lue, John Celestand

The Coach: Phil Jackson

The Season: Three seasons after signing with the Lakers as a free agent, O'Neal delivered the first of his three championships. He averaged 30.7 points and 15.4 rebounds en route to the title. Bryant chipped in 21.8 points, and Jackson took home his seventh NBA coaching title. The Lakers led the Western Conference with a 67-15 regular season record and finished the playoffs with a 15-8 mark.

Western Conference first round: Defeated the Sacramento Kings 3-2

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Phoenix Suns 4-1

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 4-3

Top playoff performances: O'Neal, 30.7 ppg, 15.4 rpg; Bryant, 21.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.4 apg; Rice 12.2 ppg

2000-01 (56-26)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 1

The Team: Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry, Rick Fox, , Ron Harper Devean George, Horace Grant, Tyronn Lue, Brian Shaw, Mark Madsen, Isiah Rider, Greg Foster, Stanislav Medvedenko, Mike Penberthy

The Coach: Phil Jackson

The Season: The veteran Lakers raced through the regular season. O'Neal led the team in scoring at 29.5 ppg, closely followed by Bryant's 28.9. The Lakers swept all three rounds of the playoffs to make it to the Finals, where Allen Iverson and the 76ers handed them a Game 1 loss, the only one the Lakers would allow, as they easily won the next four.

Western Conference first round: Defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 3-0

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Sacramento Kings 4-0

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4-0

Top playoff performances: O'Neal, 30.4 ppg, 15.4 rpg; Bryant, 29.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 6.1 apg; Fisher, 13.4 ppg

2001-02 (58-24)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, New Jersey Nets 0

The Team: Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Lindsey Hunter, Mitch Richmond, Devean George, Mark Madsen, Brain Shaw, Samaki Walker, Jelani McCoy

The Coach: Phil Jackson

The Season: The Lakers finished third in the Western Conference but defeated both teams holding the one and two slots on the way to the 2002 title. Los Angeles went through San Antonio, 4-1, and Sacramento, 4-3, before sweeping the New Jersey Nets for the league championship. O'Neal and Bryant combined to average 53.6 ppg and lead the Lakers to a 58-24 regular season and 15-4 postseason.

Western Conference first round: Defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 3-0

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4-1

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the Sacramento Kings 4-3 .

Top playoff performances: O'Neal, 28.5 ppg, 12.6 rpg; Bryant 26.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.6 apg

2008-09 (65-17)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, Orlando Magic 1

The Team: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Vladimir Radmanovic, Shannon Brown, D.J. Mbenga, Adam Morrison, Josh Powell, Chris Mihm, Sun Yu

The Coach: Phil Jackson

The Season: After a tumultuous rebuilding process, Bryant won his first championship without Shaquille O'Neal. The Lakers were 65-17, finishing atop the Western Conference. Los Angeles went 16-7 in the playoffs to win the 2009 NBA championship. With the help of newly acquired big men Gasol and Odom, Bryant and Jackson won their fourth championship together. Bryant was named Finals MVP for the first time in his career.

Western Conference first round: Defeated the Utah Jazz 4-1

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Houston Rockets 4-3

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the Denver Nuggets 4-2

Top playoff performances: Bryant, 30.2 ppg, 5.5 apg; Gasol, 18.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg; Odom, 12.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg

2009-2010 (57-25)

Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics 3

The Team: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Shannon Brown, D.J. Mbenga, Adam Morrison, Josh Powell

The Coach: Phil Jackson

The Season: The Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference at 57-25, and made it to the finals for the third straight season. Los Angeles acquired Ron Artest to add toughness to a team full of height and talent. Though sometimes confused and often times confusing to teammates and coaches, Artest meshed with a core that still included Bryant, Gasol and Odom.

Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated the Utah Jazz 4-0

Western Conference Finals: Defeated the Phoenix Suns 4-2

Top playoff performances: Bryant, 29.2 ppg 6.0 rpg, 5.5 apg; Gasol, 19.6 ppg, 11.1 rpg; Artest, 11.2 ppg

NBA 2010 stat's.

2010-06-21T08:55:00.000+09:30

2010 NBA Finals stats

Interesting having a look at the averages for the Finals series:

Lakers

Kobe Bryant 28.6ppg, 8rpg, 3.9apg, 2.1spg 3.9to's 40.5% FG, 31.9% 3pts

Pau Gasol 18.6ppg, 11.6rpg, 3.7apg, 2.6bpg 47.8% FG

Ron Artest 10.6ppg, 4.6rpg, 1.4spg 36.1% FG, 34.4% 3pts, 55% FT

Derek Fisher 8.6ppg, 3rpg, 2apg 42% FG, 20% 3pts

Lamar Odom 7.6ppg, 6.6rpg 48.9% FG, 10% 3pts, 54.5% FT

Andrew Bynum 7.4ppg, 5.1rpg, 1.3bpg 45.2% FG

Celtics

Paul Pierce 18ppg, 5.3rpg, 3apg 43.9% FG, 40% 3pts

Kevin Garnett 15.3ppg, 5.6rpg, 3apg, 1.4spg, 1.3bpg 51.1% FG

Ray Allen 14.6ppg, 2.7rpg 36.7% FG, 29.3% 3pts

Rajon Rondo 13.6ppg, 7.6apg, 6.3rpg, 1.6spg 45.4% FG, 33.3% 3pts, 26.3% FT

Glen Davis 6.7ppg, 5.6rpg 46.2% FG

Kendrick Perkins 5.8ppg, 5.8rpg 57.1% FG

Rasheed Wallace 5.3ppg, 4.7rpg 36.6% FG, 23.8% 3pts

Nate Robinson 4.9ppg, 1.9apg 40% FG, 33.3% 3pts

Jordan V Bryant

2010-06-21T08:46:00.001+09:30

Jordan 15 year career

30.1ppg, 6.2rpg, 5.3apg, 2.3spg, 2.7topg
49.7% FG, 32.7% 3pts, 83.5% FT

Playoffs

33.4ppg, 6.4rpg, 5.7apg, 2.1spg, 3.1topg
48.7% FG, 33.2% 3pts, 82.8% FT

Kobe 14 year career

25.3ppg, 5.3rpg, 4.7apg, 1.5spg, 2.9topg
45.5% FG, 34% 3pts, 83.8% FT

Playoffs

25.5ppg, 5.2rpg, 4.8apg, 1.4spg, 2.9topg
44.8% FG, 33.7% 3pts, 81.5% FT

Also:

MVP's: MJ 5, Kobe 1
Finals MVP's: MJ 6, Kobe 2
Championships: MJ 6, Kobe 5
Scoring Titles: MJ 10, Kobe 2
Steals Titles: MJ 3, Kobe 0
Defensive POTY Awards: MJ 1, Kobe 0

359

2010-06-20T20:44:00.000+09:30

Travel day..Had to get home from VH.

Cheers for the lift Fred..

Masterchef on TV, damn good show...whats with the fat poofy judge...then I see he's talking about signing up for Jenny Craig...Are you serious tubby boy?

Get home Abby has a rash. full body at that. Day off school for her, little girl still has a little attitude...

XX

360

2010-06-20T00:10:00.000+09:30

Well spent the day in victor harbor with the 16 girls team for their camp. Good training. All girls have put in hard. Game wasn't that good but showed more things to work on.
The girls seem to be in good spirits and getting along well so that's a big positive.

Emily's A grade team got it's first win for the year and the little champ got 1st best too. Happy Happy.
She is certainly showing she is on the money to becoming a good little netballer.

Bianca had a win too and played shooter. Thumbs up to her.

Abby, well I just hope she got out of her pj's today.

Long drive tomorrow, #Aus playing #Gha and it's 1-1 with Harry Kewell already sent off. Time for bed. Will have to see if they are real Aussies and show the great fighting spirit.

God I hope so. I'm a touch sick of tall poppy syndrome.

Game 7

2010-06-18T21:40:00.000+09:30

Well what a game game 7 was. Mixed emotions really. Boston are so well coached and have some great players it become hard too hate them.
Kobe was off the boil early, but Pau Gasol was an absolute monster and joined by Ron Artest. This guy is a freak. Thanked his psychiatrist for helping him in his post game speech.

I have not screamed at my TV so much as I did in the last 12 minutes of that game.

A part of me was releived it was over, but now what have I got? Sure the AFL season is still going and the National champs are coming up and then we have the tour de France. Hmm maybe it will be ok.

Just the facts: 16 pieces of info about Game 7s

2010-06-18T08:54:00.000+09:30

Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It's the ultimate basketball experience. 48 minutes (or maybe five or 10 more if we're lucky) for everything.
As basketball fans, we couldn't ask for more, especially with the history of these two franchises and the talent of these two rosters. And of course, since we haven't seen many Finals Game 7s in recent memory, we should savor sitting down to watch the Lakers and Celtics put it all on the line Thursday night.
Before we do, here are 16 things you may not have know about the 16 previous editions of Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
1. The Lakers and Celtics are the only franchises to have won more than one Finals Game 7. The Lakers are 3-5 (1-5 since they moved to L.A.), with four of their five losses coming at the hands of Boston, who is 7-0. Other franchises to play in more than one Finals Game 7 are the Knicks (1-3), the Pistons (0-3), the 76ers (1-1 as the Syracuse Nationals) and the Hawks (0-2 when they played in St. Louis).
2. There were five Finals Game 7s in a seven-year stretch between 1951 and 1957. Before this year, there had only been one in the last 15 years. This is just the fourth Game 7 in the 26 years since the Finals switched to the 2-3-2 format. That's a Game 7 every 6.5 years. Before that, there was a Game 7 every 2.9 years.
3. The Western Conference won the first three Finals Game 7s. Then the East won 10 in a row. And now the West has won three straight again. The average score of Finals Game7s (by conference) has been East 98, West 96.

NBA Finals Game 7s

Year	Winner	Pts	Loser	Pts
1951	Rochester Royals	79	New York Knicks	75
1952	Minneapolis Lakers	82	New York Knicks	65
1954	Minneapolis Lakers	87	Syracuse Nationals	80
1955	Syracuse Nationals	92	Fort Wayne Pistons	91
1957	Boston Celtics	125	St. Louis Hawks	123
1960	Boston Celtics	122	St. Louis Hawks	103
1962	Boston Celtics	110	Los Angeles Lakers	107
1966	Boston Celtics	95	Los Angeles Lakers	93
1969	Boston Celtics*	108	Los Angeles Lakers	106
1970	New York Knicks	113	Los Angeles Lakers	99
1974	Boston Celtics*	102	Milwaukee Bucks	87
1978	Washington Bullets*	105	Seattle SuperSonics	99
1984	Boston Celtics	111	Los Angeles Lakers	102
1988	Los Angeles Lakers	108	Detroit Pistons	105
1994	Houston Rockets	90	New York Knicks	84
2005	San Antonio Spurs	81	Detroit Pistons	74

* Road team
1957: Double-overtime
1962: Overtime

4. The home team has won 13 of the 16 Finals Game7s. The only road winners were the 1969 Celtics (over the Lakers), the 1974 Celtics (over the Bucks), and the 1978 Bullets (over the Sonics). All three were East over West. The average score of Finals Game 7s has been Home 99, Road 95.
5. Rasheed Wallace is the only player on the current Lakers or Celtics who has played in a Finals Game 7. In fact, only 11 active players have. Wallace scored 11 points on 5-for-10 shooting and grabbed one rebound in 28 minutes in the Pistons' 81-74 loss to the Spurs in 2005.
6. Both the Spurs and Pistons went with short rotations in Game 7 of the 2005 Finals. Only seven players for each team played more than one minute, and only six scored for the Spurs.
7. Both Celtics coach Doc Rivers and Lakers coach Phil Jackson were members of Knicks teams that played in a Game 7 of the Finals, but both missed that particular postseason with injuries. Jackson missed all of the 1969-70 season and Rivers played only the first 19 games of the 1993-94 season.
8. Twelve of the 16 Finals Game 7s have been determined by 10 points or less, and seven have been determined by four points or less. The average margin of victory is 7.3 points. The biggest blowout was the Celtics' 122-103 win over the St. Louis Hawks in 1960.
9. Two Finals Game 7s have gone to overtime. The Celtics beat the Hawks 125-123 in double-OT in 1957, and they beat the Lakers 110-107 in overtime in 1962.
10. When Ray Allen went 0-for-13 in Game 3 of these Finals, he fell one miss short of the Finals record for most field goal attempts in a game without a make. The record is held by Chick Reiser (Baltimore, 1948) and Dennis Johnson, whose 0-for-14 performance came in Game 7 of the 1978 Finals, as the Sonics lost at home to the Bullets, 105-99.
11. There have been two triple-doubles in Game 7 of the Finals, both by Lakers. Finals MVP James Worthy had one (36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists) in a 108-105 win over the Pistons in 1988, the only triple-double of his career. Jerry West had the other (42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists) in a 108-106 loss to the Celtics in 1969.
12. West's 42 points in 1969 is the record for most points in a Finals Game 7. He was the first winner of the Finals MVP award that year, and thus far has been the only winner of the award from the losing team.
13. Bill Russell holds the record for most rebounds in a Finals Game 7. He had 40 in the Celtics 110-107 overtime win over the Lakers in 1962.
14. Walt "Clyde" Frazier holds the record for most assists in a Finals Game 7. He had 19 in the Knicks' 113-99 win over the Lakers in 1970, a game more known for Willis Reed limping onto the court at Madison Square Garden. Also scoring 36 points, Frazier was responsible for 65 percent of New York's offense.
15. Russell has played in the most Game 7s of the Finals, and he won all five. Having retired in 1968, Russell never won the Finals MVP award, but the award was named after him in 2009.
16. Michael Jordan never played in a Finals Game 7, but he came close a few times. Five of the Bulls' six championships were won in six games, and four of those five Game 6s were determined by four points or less.

361

2010-06-18T03:06:00.000+09:30

New day, new beginning, new ....... , meh' It's always good to see something new.

Today will be seeing a new game of basketball. Should be fun. Game 7, when 82 regular season games and all the play off games ride out, it comes down to this. 1 game to decide.
Champion's are made in the playoff's, but right now the only thing that has come out is Rajon Rondo, and he has struggled to handle the pace all series.
Peirce and Bryant will be the two key factors here, Gasol V Garnett.

Biggest factor of all...The bench. Lakers bench has come to play for 1 game. Boston ahs been good for the series...

More Banksy!

2010-06-17T21:03:00.000+09:30

I cannot get enuff of this guy. Street art and inside art...

362

2010-06-17T20:19:00.000+09:30

Well, finally made the 8 days straight....minus a few buck's, hope I make a few for the long weekend...

Getting ready for the day off, Game 7 of the NBA playoff's also. Think I will stick around the house and watch that...No one beats LA.....(i hope)..

Nationals training this weekend also.. Victor seems warm this time of the year...Short's and tank tops packed...

Get on the blues this week, Freo are going down!

Banksy!

2010-06-16T21:53:00.000+09:30

Street art at it's best.

Banksy is one of the street artist's in the world...

Blues mid season...

2010-06-16T21:42:00.000+09:30

Is Rat's the man for the job?

Can he lead Carlton into the finals and then have the team be a power house?
I'm not sure, but I think the team that he and the club are building is getting closer and closer to what could be a consistent final 4 team.
More to come on this as I really think we may get close at some point, but really cannot see the club getting too many shots at the final weekend in September!

Carlton is determined to rebound from their shock loss to North Melbourne and take some winning momentum into the mid-season break and beyond.

Blues coach Brett Ratten says a victory against Fremantle at Docklands on Saturday night is vital for his players' state of mind, as dwelling on a loss can ruin their week off in the split round.
"Let's take away the four points and let's just look at the win-loss," Ratten said.
"A win going into a break allows players to really enjoy the break and mentally freshen, knowing that they can go into the following week with a bit of confidence.
"That would be good, for the whole club, to leave with a win under their belt.
"To go away with a loss, you think about the game that is coming up and you worry about it a little bit more, so from a rest point of view you don't really take that break.
"I think it will be really important for our group to mentally get away from footy but having that win will allow you to do that - having a loss might not."
Last Friday's disappointing 29-point defeat to the Kangaroos saw the Blues slip to sixth with a win-loss record of 7-5 and 28 points, a victory behind the fourth-placed Dockers.
Ratten says the Blues were jumped early by the Kangaroos, made too many errors and did not penetrate the 50-metre arc often enough.
He also says "undisciplined acts" cost the Blues three goals near the end of the match and a change of attitude is urgently needed.
Ratten forecast up to four changes this week, with defender Paul Bower a certain inclusion against the Dockers and Brock McLean, Chris Yarran and Kane Lucas among a large group also pushing for recalls.
Ratten says the Blues must also overcome its inconsistency, having failed to string together more than two wins in succession in 2010.
"It would be nice to get that three wins and see if we could really get into a real groove of winning and creating that confidence," he said.
"Sometimes when you have that two wins, one loss, it starts to put a little bit of doubt back in your mind and you lose a little bit of confidence on the flip side."

363

2010-06-16T20:16:00.000+09:30

Well...The wallet show's up, no cash, but i have it back..it looks clean, all intact, but it feels dirty...like it's been raped... :)

I'm over it. The wallet issue is over.

Finish up the 8th straight shift then off for a few days. Head to Victor Harbor for Nationals camp. Should be good.

Lakers got a win...by 22, big win in game 6. 1 win to go...with either team now. Rondo has cooled,Kobe, not quite as we expected, but Pau has been huge, and BROWN...Who the fuck woke him up for that dunk???

Holy shit..eye ball the rim man.

Playoff basketball!

364

2010-06-15T18:06:00.000+09:30

Well, what a day yesterday was, work was good, until I go to get my work bag and my wallet has been knocked off!

$400 down and all my cards gone...

I'll assume the year will pick up now.

365

2010-06-14T15:45:00.001+09:30

Well, there is now 365 days to go til I turn 40...

Let the countdown begin. I will try and do a daily write up for the count down....

L.A. Lakers V Boston Celtic's Game IV

2010-06-11T10:20:00.001+09:30

Lakers-Celtics Preview

By JIMMY GOLEN

Posted Jun 10 2010 10:10AM

BOSTON (AP) Four NBA titles, with a chance at a fifth, and two more Western Conference championships that were followed by losses in the finals.

Sounds like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher have had a pretty productive relationship since coming into the NBA together in 1996, winning four championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and forging a friendship that belied the differences in their personalities and their skills.

``We've developed a relationship and a level of trust, I think professionally as well as personally, that we respect each other in a way that nothing else comes between that respect,'' Fisher said Wednesday after practicing for Game 4 of the NBA finals against the Boston Celtics.

``I think we've observed each other's kind of growth from the ground up, so to speak, in terms of being together as rookies and learning about the NBA and learning about how to be successful in this game.''

A rugged and emotional point guard with a history of clutch performances, Fisher made five baskets in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night to lead the Lakers to a 91-84 victory over Boston in Game 3 of the NBA finals. Bryant led all scorers with 29 points, but it was Fisher's 11 fourth-quarter points that clinched the win and gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.

His signature play this time wasn't a long-distance heave - like the one he sank against San Antonio with 0.4 seconds left in 2004 - or a series of jumpers like those that turned things around in Game 4 of the finals against Orlando last year.

Instead, Fisher helped seal the victory over Boston when he followed through on a breakaway layup before being flattened by three Celtics - including 300-pound Glen ``Big Baby'' Davis and 6-foot-11 Kevin Garnett. Fisher, who's 6-1 and 210 pounds, converted the three-point play to turn it into a seven-point game.

``He's very, very, very, very tough - mentally and physically,'' Bryant said. ``He doesn't back down from anything or anyone.''

Fisher also delivered a pep talk in the break before the start of the fourth quarter, imploring his teammates to take advantage of their six-point lead and not fret about Boston's comeback from a 17-point deficit. The motivational speech resonated with Bryant, the Lakers superstar who said that Fisher is ``really the only one I listen to.''

``It's not because our games are similar, it's not because of talent similarities or any of that,'' Fisher acknowledged.

``It's just that we've experienced a lot of good and bad things together. Because we've been through those fires, we're just comfortable relying on each other, and I think he knows and I know that if anything in the world happened, if there was one person that would stand up and say, 'I'm here for you,' you know, it would go both ways.''

Fisher won three titles in eight years during the Lakers' Shaq-and-Kobe era before signing with Golden State as a free agent in 2004.

It was only then that Bryant realized what kind of friend and teammate he had.

``Fish and I, we've always been close, though I think when he left we became even closer - as weird as that seems,'' Bryant said. ``Everything happens for a reason. It's kind of good to see him kind of come full circle and be back here again.''

Fisher was traded to Utah in 2006 and spent a year there, but when his daughter, Tatum, developed eye cancer he asked to be released so he could move to a major city where she could be treated. He said Wednesday that she's doing ``great''; she and her twin brother Drew will turn 4 this summer.

``I'm hoping that I can bring them a big, gold trophy as a gift for their birthday,'' Fisher said.

Fisher was moving back to Los Angeles to be near the doctors - with or without an offer from the Lakers. The fact that the team needed a point guard at the time, had the cap room and realized what it was missing since Fisher left makes him think that there's ``something else higher than me that was in control of all that.''

It didn't hurt that the Lakers added Pau Gasol during the 2007-08 season, making it back to the finals before losing to the Celtics. Last year, Los Angeles repeated as conference champs and beat the Magic for Fisher's fourth title.

Now the Lakers are in the finals for their third straight year since Fisher returned.

``Of course, anytime I'm on a team I expect to win, but it's hard to imagine that it was planned out,'' he said. ``But, you know, I'm a believer in a higher power, and it's quite an interesting plan that He had.''

With two more victories, Fisher and Bryant will earn their fifth title in 11 years as teammates, a tenure that has coach Phil Jackson comparing their partnership - both personal and professional - to a couple of Hall of Famers he coached with the Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

``It's not unusual for players that have played together ... to have a relationship, especially when you have winning,'' Jackson said. ``They have a wonderful relationship, not only in communication but also in knowing how to play with each other in a way that's supportive.''

LEVI GREENWOOD

2010-06-10T20:26:00.000+09:30

Levi Greenwood is an Ex Whyalla lad now playing in the AFL for North Melbourne. From all accounts he is a great lad. He is without doubt an exceptional player.

Last Saturday night Levi Greenwood kicked the goal of his life to deliver North Melbourne a famous victory over the Brisbane Lions.
This Friday night Greenwood would settle for a consistent four-quarter effort against Carlton rather than the match winning heroics of last week.
"We need to come out as hard as we can and do it for four quarters. We only did it for two quarters last week. Win the contested ball and take away what they (Carlton) do best. Hopefully we can be consistent this week and beat them," he told Sportal.
The match marks 25 years since the club pioneered the concept of Friday night footy and is the Kangaroos' only Friday night game for the year.
Greenwood said the team is looking forward to the big event, and implored members to get involved.
"I love playing night games and Carlton has been going all right, so hopefully all the members get along. It should be a big game."
Greenwood said last weekend's result was crucial for the club which now has five wins and is out of the eight by percentage only.
"It was such an important game for us. Hopefully now we can go into the break at 7-6 or 6-7. It would be great to get a win this week and slip into the top eight."
The Roos did it the hard way against Brisbane in a game they had utterly dominated, storming to a 44-point lead early in the third quarter.
But in a classic game of two halves, the Lions finally began to roar and started to overrun Brad Scott's inexperienced team.
However North Melbourne had one final charge, harassing the ball out of the centre to deep in the forward pocket where Greenwood, playing just his 23rd game, marked on a tight angle.
His goal from 30 metres wasn't one for the purists, tumbling sideways in the air, but it went through much to the 21-year-old's relief.
"I took the mark, went back and 'Wellsy' (Daniel Wells) was telling me to kick it, and I was thinking 'I wouldn't mind passing this', but he said to calm down and have a shot," Greenwood said.
"Obviously it was pretty late in the game, and I don't normally kick too many goals. It was the second goal of my career."
"I just tried to block everything out, block the crowd out, as loud as it was. I went through my routine and funnily enough it went through. It didn't look too good, but it felt good off the boot."
While not a noted goal kicker, the result was hardly a surprise for Greenwood who believes he has the ‘stupid sorts of angle' shots covered after winning a goal-kicking competition against teammate Leigh Adams.
"Normally I kick them alright (in training), but I never thought I'd get one in a game."
"I kicked one the other day and it spun perfectly. I don't know why it didn't do that in the game, but it probably wouldn't have gone through if it spun perfectly because it was going left at the start and curved right."
After starting the season on the injury list with a broken toe which he bizarrely sustained when putting on a pair of tracksuit pants, Greenwood believes the match-winning goal could be the platform to launch his season.
"At the end of the day it's just one kick, but hopefully it gives me a bit more confidence in front of goals, and a bit more confidence going forward."
"I've had a few shots before and just missed them completely, maybe because of nerves, but hopefully now I can have a shot at goal and think ‘I should be able to kick this one, I should be confident in my ability'."
Greenwood said that he expects to cement himself in the team over the coming weeks and hopes to string together some improved performances.
"I want to give a lot more than what I've been giving to the team. I've been a little bit inconsistent this year with my performances but hopefully I can have consistent games where I can shut out an opponent."

L.A. Talk: 2W's2GO!

2010-06-09T21:15:00.000+09:30

KOBE Bryant scored 29 points and Derek Fisher finished with 16 as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 91-84 in game three of the NBA finals at TD Garden.

Pau Gasol had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Andrew Bynum chipped in with 10 rebounds for the defending champions, who weathered an early storm from the Celtics before seizing control to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"We had to be poised and we did that," Bryant said. "They pushed but they never got control of the game."
Game 4 is also in Boston on Thursday.

Forward Kevin Garnett finished with 25 points and six rebounds for the fourth seeded Celtics who are trying to become biggest underdog NBA finals winner since the sixth-seeded Houston captured the crown in 1995.

The last time the Lakers were in Boston for a finals game they left with their tails between their legs after a 39-point Celtics rout that the clinched the NBA title two years ago.

"We worked hard," said Fisher. "Sometimes things don't go your way but you just got to keep believing in yourself. I love this team. I love what I do. Nothing means more to me than to have success with my teammates."

This is the second time in three seasons and the 12th time the Lakers and Celtics have met in the NBA finals since their first meeting in 1959 finals.

The Lakers are seeking their 16th NBA title and are second all-time behind Boston's 17 championships.
For the second consecutive game in the series, the teams battled down the stretch but this time the Lakers were able to hold off the Celtics.

The Celtics came out quickly off the opening tip off, jumping out to a 12-5 lead but then it was all Lakers for the first half. Los Angeles' biggest lead was 17 points in the second quarter.

Strong play from the bench helped the Lakers go on a 10-2 scoring run to end the first for a 26-17 lead in front of a crowd of 18,624 at the Boston Garden arena. They carried that over into the second quarter, building a double digit 52-40 lead at the half.

The much-maligned Garnett found his scoring touch early, scoring the first three baskets of the game for the Celtics. Garnett had more points in game three than his total for the first two games combined.

The same can't be said for the Celtics' Paul Pierce and Ray Allen who shot a combined five-of-25 Tuesday. Allen, who was the game-two hero with a league record eight three-pointers, shot zero-of-eight from the arc.
Allen's disappearing act was offset on the other side by the resurgence of Bryant who took charge Tuesday on the floor with his scoring and verbally in the scrums during timeouts.

"That's my job and responsibility," Bryant said. "It is working well so far."

The Celtics were especially dismal from the free throw line making just 16 of 24 attempts.

Fisher's offensive heroics the difference for Lakers

By Couper Moorhead, for NBA.com & XClemX

BOSTON (XClemX.blogspot.com exclusive) -- If it wasn't already apparent, this is not the same series as the 2008 Finals. Mostly because of the Los Angeles Lakers.

In their 91-84 Game 3 victory, the Lakers, both as individuals and collectively, fought through a litany of situations that would have left them reeling and beaten. And they were tested from the very beginning.

Behind what was probably the best crowd at TD Garden in a non-series clinching win, the Celtics stormed out to a 12-5 lead. First there were six-straight points from Kevin Garnett (25 points), including two alley oops, and then six more from Rajon Rondo.

In Game 6 of the '08 Finals, a run like that delivered L.A. a mortal, series-ending wound.
But over the next eight minutes, the Lakers made the painted area their own, earning 10 free throws and three point-blank layups to wrest control.

"We seemed to gather some strength and change the course of the game right there," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

By halftime, the lead was 12 and the Celtics, who have not performed well playing from behind in second halves, were left to do just that.

"We kept our poise after that quick start and didn't get rattled," Kobe Bryant (29 points on 29 shots) said.
"We didn't doubt our ability to win here, even though we hadn't done it in the playoffs," Derek Fisher said. "We understand that in order to be the best, you have to win wherever, whenever."

Then the Celtics, whose toughness has rarely been in question, won the second half, 44-39, and had the Lakers so discombobulated offensively in the fourth quarter it looked like Boston was inevitably going to roll over a team that was rolling over.

Not this time.

Though the Lakers continued to operate through broken plays and shortened shot clocks, and neither team could have played more superb defense -- the Lakers scoring 107 points per 100 possessions, Boston 98.8 -- fortitude won out.

"It's very frustrating, very frustrating when you don't play well offensively," Garnett said. "But defensively, you know, you sort of buckle down and get the stops and things that you want and you get back into the game only to come up short.

"Yeah, that's real disappointing."

There was Lamar Odom (12 points on five shots), who had been largely absent from the series before, at one moment snagging an offensive rebound and kissing the ball off the glass, at another driving baseline for a layup. In both instances, the Lakers lead was two or fewer.

There was Pau Gasol, criticized by many for his style of play in the past, posting up Glen Davis with 2:18 to play and again up by a pair. Gasol lost his dribble and fell backwards, just barely punching the ball back out to his guard. But then Gasol re-posted, called for the ball, and rather than settling for a jumper over Davis' wide body, he drove Davis back to the rim and shot right over the top, creating all the contact.
Not a play Gasol makes in '08.

And then there was Derek Fisher, criticized so often for his age and difficulties guarding younger, faster point guards. With a little leeway from the officials -- it was an ugly, physical, foul-ridden game throughout -- Fisher was able to put his body on Ray Allen's as he chased him through screens, riding his hip and taking out the shooter's legs.

Allen, after setting an NBA record for threes in a Finals game with eight in Game 2, shot 0-for-13.
"Ray Allen's not going to miss all of his shots, Thursday night, that's not going to happen," Fisher made sure to mention.

Fisher's defense was terrific, but his offense saved the day, as he scored 11 of his 16 in the final quarter. With the Lakers' having apparently abandoned all ball movement, Fisher made a number of contested shots, including a coast-to-coast layup for a three-point play in the final minute that gave L.A. a seven-point lead and the game.

"Derek Fisher was the difference in the game," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "He's just a gutty, gritty player. Fisher basically took the game over."

It's 2-1 Lakers now, but it doesn't quite feel like anyone has taken over. Each team has had its fair share of brilliant and boorish stretches, and Boston has been in this position before -- in these very playoffs.
In the second round, Boston split a pair in Cleveland before the Cavaliers handed the Celtics their worst home-playoff loss in franchise history in Game 3. The Celtics proceeded to win the next three games and advance.

"As a team we're just going to come out and play with a lot of energy, have a great focus," Rajon Rondo said. "I think we lost our composure tonight in a couple possessions and that hurt us. You can't really write the story until the next game."

The difference in this series is: it's hard to fathom the 2010 Lakers folding like those Cavaliers did, or like the Lakers themselves did two seasons ago.

Reporting from Boston -- Paul Pierce was wrong. The Boston Celtics weren't going to win the NBA Finals amid a blizzard of green and white confetti … if at all.

The Lakers made sure of it Tuesday with a pointed defensive declaration in Game 3, beating back Boston in a 91-84 victory with unlikely star Derek Fisher, a stunning reversal by Game 2 protagonist Ray Allen and, near the end, a rare smile from Kobe Bryant, as telling a sign as any that the series had tilted in the Lakers' direction.

The noise level at TD Garden was nonexistent, if that's ever possible, after the Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 on Thursday and Game 5 on Sunday are also in Boston, but the Lakers regained home-court advantage despite Pierce's late proclamation in Game 2 that the Celtics "ain't coming back to L.A."
Of course, the Lakers could now finish the series in Boston, but that's another story for a different day.

There's also a stat Lakers followers can tuck in next to them at night: Since the Finals went to the 2-3-2 format 25 years ago, the Game 3 winner has taken the championship 10 out of 10 times when the series was tied at 1-1.

Fisher had 11 fourth-quarter points, including the play of the season for the Lakers, taking a defensive rebound, dribbling past a sleepy Celtics defense and getting fouled after making a layup. He made the free throw, giving the Lakers an 87-80 lead with 48.3 seconds to play on their way to their first playoff victory in Boston since Magic Johnson's "junior skyhook" in 1987.

The series was suddenly in the Lakers' control, the play leading to a quick celebration from Bryant, an all-business type these days. There was also an emotional catch in Fisher's voice in a TV interview immediately after the game.

Said Fisher, a while later: "I love what I do and I love helping my team win."

Said Bryant: "He's been criticized quite a bit for his age. It's a huge thrill for him and for all of us to see him come through in these moments."

Said Celtics Coach Doc Rivers: "[Fisher] won the game for them."

It was the 35-year-old Fisher who brought the Lakers to victory, finishing with 16 points and also holding Allen to two points on 0-for-13 shooting.

Allen didn't come close to the 32-point effort he had in Game 2, where he made eight three-pointers.

"The job that Fish did on Allen was terrific tonight," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.

Pierce didn't exactly back up his words with his play, scoring 15 points, taking only two rebounds and picking up five fouls in 34 minutes.

"It happens," he said when asked about his late comments in Game 2 that were picked up on TV. "I'm confident in my ballclub, so if I say that type of stuff, it's all in good spirits. I want to win just like they want to win. We've got to go back to L.A. We've got to do it the hard way. Not a problem."

Early in the day, the Lakers weren't thrilled with Pierce's proclamation.

Fisher stood in uncomfortable silence, his jaw taut, when asked about it. Jackson said simply, "We're going to have to make him a liar."

The stats already were already stacking up against the Celtics in the first half. Allen was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting, Pierce had five points on one-for-eight shooting and if not for a resurgent Kevin Garnett (15 points in the first half, 25 overall), the Celtics would have been down much more than 52-40 at halftime.

The Lakers' first-half effort was wrapped into one play. Bryant missed a runner, but poked the rebound away from Garnett and found Bynum for a layup while falling out of bounds. Bynum turned it into a three-point play after getting fouled by Garnett, giving the Lakers a 46-35 lead.

The Celtics made their run in the second half, pulling within one on two occasions in the fourth quarter, but they never led.

Rajon Rondo had a triple-double in Game 2 but a quiet night in Game 3, 11 points and eight assists.

Pau Gasol finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, Bynum with nine points and 10 rebounds.

The writing on the dry-erase board in the Lakers' locker room after the game said it all: "2 More W's."

Sometimes the other guys have the intestinal fortitude and the crunch time mojo. Sometimes the other guys come into your home and stab you in the heart.

It’s trendy around these parts to mock the manhood of the Los Angeles Lakers. The fundamental rules apply as time goes by. Graduation season rolls around, the Celtics and Lakers play in the Finals, and the lunchpail Boston bullies prevail because they are tougher when the clock nears midnight.

Not last night. On the second Tuesday of June, in the third game of the 2010 NBA Finals, the Lakers made a statement on the parquet floorboards. The Phil Jackson Five took a punch in the mouth, stood tall, and beat the Celtics, 91-84, to take a two-games-to-one series lead in what is shaping up as a grand and grueling match of modern mastodons.

It’s been nearly a half century since Bill Russell regularly thwarted the Lakers and almost 30 years since the inferior (1984) Celtics somehow willed themselves to victory over the clearly more talented LA Showtimers. When the Celtics came back from a 17-point first-half deficit last night, spoiled Boston fans watched their heroes slowly cut into the lead and waited for the inevitable moment when the locals would overtake the LA Fakers.

Didn’t happen.

Derek Fisher reminded the Celtics and their fans that this is not 2008. These are not the same Soft Shell Angelinos who blew a 24-point lead in Game 4 of the 2008 Finals. They are not the dogs who were routed by 39 points when they last played a championship game on Causeway Street.

“Our thoughts were on how disappointed we were losing that second game on our home court more than on what happened here two years ago,’’ said Fisher. “We didn’t doubt our ability to win here, though we hadn’t done it in the playoffs. We understand when you want to be the best you have to win whenever, where ever.’’

After trailing most of the night, the Celtics pulled to within 2 points three times and faced an 84-80 deficit with just under a minute to play when Ray Allen waded into the left corner for a 3-point shot. This was not the same Ray Allen who rained threes at Staples Center Sunday night. Allen missed every shot he took in Game 3. He went from Tom Brady to Tony Eason in two short days.

Allen was sitting on an 0 for 12 when he hoisted his final, fatal three.

Clang. A burned baker’s dozen.

The redoubtable Fisher (16 points, 11 in the fourth) rebounded the miss, raced down the left side, and hurled himself toward the hoop as a gang of Celtic defenders closed in. Fisher converted the basket and was fouled in the process.

In Laker lore, this was up there with Magic’s baby hook over Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in the waning seconds of Game 4 in the Old Garden in 1987.

“Derek had made a number of plays in the fourth quarter,’’ said Jackson, now two victories shy of his 11th championship. “He saw the opening and went, and made a very bold play. It was one-on-four. It’s imperative that it goes in.’’

“I was just trying to advance the ball,’’ said Fisher. “I saw [Kevin Garnett] coming up and the angle he took. I knew I could get around him. Once I broke through him, I saw they didn’t have anybody at the basket so I just took the direct line.’’

Fisher made the shot as he wasbounced to the floor by Glen “Big Baby’’ Davis.

“Derek Fisher was the difference in the game,’’ said Celtic coach Doc Rivers. “He won the game for them. I thought we lost our composure. We let Derek Fisher go up the court and get a 3-point play. He’s just a gutty, gritty player. Fisher basically took the game over.’’

Rivers was generous and compassionate regarding Allen’s amazing oh-fer. This was the same Ray Allen who scored 32 and made a Finals record eight threes in Game 2. It strains the imagination to come up with a similar two-game disparity.

“It’s a hell of a swing,’’ said Rivers. “It’s basketball. He’ll be back tomorrow and get ready for the next game. I thought all of his shots looked flat tonight. He was short on most of his jumpshots. Of the 13, he got about eight great looks and was short on all of them.’’

LA led for the final 37 minutes.

Free-wheeling off the energy of “Beat LA’’ and “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,’’ the Celtics bolted to a 12-5 lead. Smug Green Folk contemplated the likelihood of a three-game parquet sweep and a banner No. 18 clinch party Sunday night on Causeway Street.

The Lakers interrupted the big fun with a quarter-closing run of 21-5 to take a 26-17 lead at the end of one. The rightfully insulted visitors ran to a 37-20 lead in the second. It was 52-40 at intermission and 67-61 after three. Then came the surge which fell short when Allen’s final heave landed in the hands of Fisher.

“[Tomorrow] night they’re going to come back with a renewed sense of hunger,’’ said Fisher.

Indeed. There is much new work to be done for the men in green. Home court advantage is gone again. If these Celtics are going to win banner No. 18, they’re going to have to do it 3,000 miles away in the face of Jack Nicholson. And it appears that the 2009-2010 Lakers do not intend to choke.

L.A. V Celtic's. Game 3 Preview...

2010-06-08T22:26:00.000+09:30

The AP reports: The NBA’s best rivalry is returning to its East Coast headquarters, site of perhaps the most miserable moment of Bryant’s career last time he and the Los Angeles Lakers were here for the finals. And the Boston Celtics and their green-clad fans can’t wait to welcome him back. “I feel good going back to the jungle,” Celtics forward Kevin Garnett said Sunday. Those familiar “Beat L.A! Beat L.A!” chants that have echoed through the Garden during so many springtimes will be booming again, and the Celtics can lock up an 18th NBA title if they can do just that three times.

The AP reports: The Celtics evened the series at a game apiece with their 103-94 victory in Game 2, with guards Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen taking turns punishing the Lakers, and Bryant often powerless to stop them because of foul trouble. A fuming Bryant had little to say afterward, offering terse responses as he looked back on that game and ahead to the next one... The Celtics turned things around following their 102-89 loss in their opener by toughening up their defense, limiting the Lakers to 41 percent shooting. Rondo tracked down the long rebounds of many missed shots to ignite Boston’s fast break, and Allen capitalized on the open looks that created by making an NBA finals-record eight 3-pointers while scoring 32 points.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports: The only thing hotter than the shower Sunday? Ray Allen. Allen's 32 points and NBA Finals record eight 3-pointers, on 11 attempts, sparking Boston early with 27 first-half points. "You try to take the ball out of his hands as much as possible," said Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who fought foul trouble throughout the game and finished with 21 points, but five turnovers. "He was catching it. You've got to try to deny him and force him off hit sweet spots. He was hot." When Allen cooled off - he made only one of four shots in the fourth quarter after attempting just two shots in the third - Rajon Rondo caught fire. Rondo turned in a brilliant all-around performance, finishing with 19 points, a team-leading 12 rebounds and 10 assists, his second triple-double of the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports: With Rondo taking the lead on the glass, his teammates followed, a scrappier group in Game 2 after the opening-game loss had people criticizing their age and effort. "That's the main thing we focused on, being more scrappy," Robinson said. "Coming in and trying to get as many 50-50 balls as we can get, just trying to limit them to one shot, which we did a better job today. Everybody came in, said we've got to be scrappy today ... . The coaching staff, everybody."

The Boston Herald reports: He’s old. He’s tired. He’s hurt. He’s got more miles on him than Al Gore’s Gulfstream. He’s Willis Reed. He’s Willie Mays, circa 1973. He’s David Ortiz [stats], circa six weeks ago. He’s playing in slow motion, with his brilliant NBA career flashing before his eyes and the Eagles’ “Desperado” playing softly in the background. These days it is nearly as painful to watch Kevin Garnett as it is to be Kevin Garnett. Theories are flying from all directions, none of them good. He appears to have a problem with his right knee and perhaps an issue with his left shoulder, and he’ll probably come away with a mild concussion when he slams his head into the stanchion just before tipoff tonight.

The Boston Herald reports: How did it go in Game 2 for Garnett? Worse than Game 1. Because of foul trouble, Garnett played just 24 minutes. He had six points, six boards, no blocks and no answer for Gasol, who had 24 and 8. The Lakers’ starting frontcourt outscored the Celts’, 52-28, leaving C’s fans to wonder: Can their backcourt win the championship without any help from the big guys up front? The Celtics evened the series because Ray Allen caught fire, broke records, and got Kobe Bryant in foul trouble. Bryant couldn’t cover Rondo, and neither could anyone else. The Celtics once again proved tough and utterly fearless under real playoff pressure. This is one of the great teams ever at defying the odds and flipping conventional wisdom on its head, and that can’t change now because it has a problem: The big guys look awfully small.

The Los Angeles Times reports: The Lakers were dominant down low, the Boston Celtics unable to stop Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, when good fortune smiled on the Celtics as a most unusual event took place, something called the start of the fourth quarter. Gasol had one shot, Bynum had two over the final 12 minutes and the Celtics evened up the NBA Finals with a 103-94 victory in Game 2 on Sunday. Gasol had 25 points in the game, only one in the fourth quarter, and Bynum had 21 in the game, four in the fourth quarter, part of the reason the Lakers headed to Boston in a deadlocked series that resumes Tuesday with Game 3 at certain-to-be-raucous TD Garden.

The Los Angeles Times reports: The Lakers are looking internally, however, at getting more touches for their big men. Gasol made seven of 10 shots and Bynum made six of 10, but should Ron Artest really have taken 10 shots, especially since he made only one? "Our big guys played great, Bynum and Pau," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "We didn't get the ball often enough to them."

The Los Angeles Times reports: Bryant had 21 points, six assists, five turnovers and five fouls Sunday, his worst performance since a quiet 13-point, seven-assist night in Game 5 of the first round against Oklahoma City. . . . Neither team practiced Monday, a designated travel day. . . . The Celtics' victory Sunday ended a five-year streak in which the home team won the first two games of the Finals. The last team to lose one of the first two at home was the Lakers, who lost in five games to Detroit in 2004.

Well, they Beat L.A.!

2010-06-08T11:32:00.000+09:30

Boston come out and did what was needed to keep the series well and truly alive. Ray Allen and Rojon Rono blew the game apart.

ABC.com.au

Ray Allen was unstoppable from the perimeter, hitting eight three-pointers as his electrifying Boston team outran Los Angeles 103-94 in Game Two and stole home-court advantage in the NBA Finals on Monday.

Allen entered the annals of NBA history, surpassing the mark set by Kenny Smith (Houston Rockets) and Scottie Pippen (Chicago Bulls) for three-pointers made in a Finals game (seven).

He had 27 points by half-time, finishing with 32, and even Bryant's aggressive defence could barely slow Allen down as he and Rajon Rondo gave the Celtics the energy they sorely lacked in Game One.

The best-of-seven series, now level at 1-1, returns to Boston on Wednesday for games three, four and five in front of one of the most parochial crowds in the league.

It was Los Angeles' first loss on its Staples Centre home court this postseason.

Rondo, who was kept largely under wraps by the Lakers' front court in the series opener, attacked the basket with renewed fire and while he quickly discovered he was not going to change the game by scoring, he repeatedly found his open man.

He finished with a superb triple-double with 19 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds in 41 minutes of play, the counterpoint to captain Paul Pierce's dismal 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting.

The Lakers finished the first half strongly and then went on a 5-0 run to pull to within a point of the Celtics straight after the break, and stole the lead two minutes into the third quarter.

From there it became an even more gripping contest as the last two NBA champions scrapped it out, the lead changing four times during the period before Pau Gasol tied things up at 72-72 with a quarter to play.
Gasol had 10 points in the third and Andrew Bynum added six as the Lakers kept it tight by dominating under the basket.

But Rondo did what he could not during Game One, coming alive with renewed aggression and asserted himself especially in the fourth quarter as he and Nate Robinson injected new life into the Celtics' offence.
With their young point guard kicking out to the shooters in Allen and Rasheed Wallace, the Celtics looked much more like the team that bundled out Cleveland and Orlando en route to the finals.

Fast break points

Boston's running offence in the first half almost seemed to take the Lakers by surprise and Doc Rivers' troops played well in transition.
In response Bryant, who finished with 21 points, six assists and four steals, took it upon himself to bring Los Angeles back but having spent time on the bench after accumulating three quick fouls, he could not quite find his shooting touch.
His deep three-point bomb in the dying seconds of the half begged to differ though, capping the Lakers' 7-0 run to finish the second quarter.
Equally impressively, Boston managed to build a double-figure lead even without the paint presence of Kevin Garnett, who earned three fouls and played just six first-half minutes.
His absence in the first half - scoring just two points and grabbing two rebounds - quickly put a dampener on talk that he would come out firing after comments from Gasol earlier in the week that the Boston forward had lost his aggressiveness.
Without Garnett in the lane, Gasol (25 points) and Bynum (21) had the run of the low post as the Celtics again fell short in their man-on-man defence.
In contrast, the Lakers bigs blocked 13 shots (six for Gasol, seven for Bynum) but remarkably, Rondo grabbed more rebounds in the first three quarters (11) than Bynum and Gason did combined (10).
The discrepancy in free throws showed just how much more Los Angeles was attacking the basket rather than shooting from outside, the Lakers enjoying 31 points from 41 attempts from the line compared to Boston's 20-of-26 shooting from the stripe.
Glen Davis should earn praise for his hustle; he had a big block on Bynum and scrambled for every loose ball, turning in a eight-point, seven-rebound effort.

RAY Allen buried a record eight three pointers and scored a post-season high 32 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 103-94 to even their NBA finals series at one game each. Allen put on a shooting display reminiscient of Michael Jordan's superb performance in Game 1 of the 1992 finals opener against Portland.
Rajon Rondo scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and made some key free throws in the final minute to help clinch the win for the Celtics. Rondo, the shortest (185cm) of all five Celtic starters, finished with 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the triple double.
The series now shifts to Boston for Wednesday's Game 3. Games 4 and 5 will also be in Boston.
Pau Gasol had 25 points and eight rebounds and Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant each scored 21 points for the Lakers who suffered their first loss at home in the playoffs after nine straight wins.

Bryant, who was in foul trouble late in the game, also had six assists and five rebounds but committed five turnovers.
The Celtics stepped up their play from the opening tipoff in game two after a lethargic game one of the best-of-seven series.
Boston built a 29-22 lead after the first quarter then opened up a 14 point gap in the second before the Lakers cut it to just six at the half, 54-48.
Game 3 will be played in Boston on Wednesday morning.

LATimes.com

Boston's Doc Rivers' faith pushes team forward

The coach says his job is to make his players believe. After a 27-27 finish to the regular season and a difficult road through the playoffs, the Celtics are tied, 1-1, with the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Celtics Coach Doc Rivers lets a referee know he's not too happy with a foul call in Game 2 on Sunday at Staples Center. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

By Baxter Holmes

June 7, 2010 | 8:00 p.m.That would liven up the clip of coaching brilliance Doc Rivers exhibited Sunday late in his Celtics' Game 2 win over the Lakers in the NBA Finals -- and make everyone laugh at Rivers almost as hard as his players did.

It occurred with the Celtics seconds away from an eight-second backcourt violation with 1:26 left, leading 95-90, when Rivers bolted from the sideline, raced near midcourt and saved his team a turnover by calling a timeout.

Which his players spent in chuckles.

"It's just funny. He ran out there, an old man trying to call a timeout, looking like he was about to hurt himself," forward Glen Davis said.

"You know, it was funny, as big as that little moment was," Rivers said. "I actually thought the bigger moment was all the players were laughing at me and it allowed them to breathe a little bit."

The split-second decision proved crucial and adds to Rivers' lengthy list of coaching moves this season, which may be his finest yet -- even ahead of his 2008 championship considering the aged/injured roster he has guided to the Finals this year.

That the Celtics are here after a 27-27 finish to the regular season and a treacherous road through the playoffs, facing Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Dwight Howard, seems remarkable. But Rivers says his job is to make his players believe.

"I'm not in the business of trying to prove to the masses," he said. "I've just got to prove to 15, and that's the guys in the locker room."

During the regular season he kept spirits high with tactics such as collecting $100 from his players and staff and hiding an envelope with $2,600 in the Lakers' visitor locker room with the message that they could get it back if they met the Lakers in the Finals.

Injuries were the most trying issue, though. Rivers told Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen late in the regular season that each had minute restrictions because they needed rest for the playoffs.

Through the struggles, Rivers continually said, "I like our team," even when most others didn't.

"When you look at them, and they're hobbling to the finish line, you're thinking this guy is delusional," said ESPN analyst and former Indiana Pacers guard Mark Jackson. "But he believed in his team and I think that confidence was contagious."

Fellow ESPN analyst and former coach Jack Ramsay said Rivers' belief is perhaps his best trait. Ramsay recalled broadcasting Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals, when the Celtics trailed the Lakers by 24 points, but came back to win.

"We could hear what was going on in their huddles, and he would not let them give up on the game," Ramsay said. "I thought he personally kept his team hanging in the game."

How? Ramsay said Rivers would single out players, even his stars, and look everyone in the eyes.

"He'll never let us relax," center Kendrick Perkins said. "He always keeps us focused."

BostonGlobe.com

The young men in green honored those who came before them.

Rajon Rondo (19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) was every bit as good as Bob Cousy, Ray Allen (32 points) paid homage to Sam Jones, and coach Doc Rivers had the kind of game that would have made Red Auerbach light up a Hoyo de Monterrey.

On a night when they had almost everything working against them, the Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 103-94, last night at Staples Center, squaring the NBA Finals at one game apiece. It’s pretty impressive when you can make Rocky quit early and go home. Sylvester Stallone abandoned his $9,000 courtside seat with 33 seconds remaining.

The Celtics got only four baskets from Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Four Boston players had four fouls after three quarters. The Lakers had home-court advantage, a 3-point lead with 5:21 left, and the NBA’s most potent closing weapon in the person of Kobe Bryant.

Against all those odds, the Celtics prevailed. The Celtics held the Lakers to 41 percent shooting. They held foul-plagued Kobe to a pedestrian 21. Boston got big performances from bench guys Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace, and Nate Robinson. Rivers spanked Zen master Phil Jackson.

If Game 1 was “Ishtar,’’ Game 2 was “The Godfather.’’ There were 11 ties and 22 lead changes. The Celtics led by 14 in the second quarter. The Lakers led by 3 in the fourth.

Rondo was ubiquitous. Every time a big play needed to be made, Boston’s laser-show point guard would reach out, Gumby-like, and grab a rebound or sling the ball with his gigantic hands and fool the defense.

“He was unbelievable,’’ said Rivers. “He just did a lot of things, the blocked shots, the steals. He’s our quarterback and he does a lot of stuff for us. He was special tonight.’’

“Rondo had control of the game,’’ said Lakers forward Pau Gasol (25 points).

The evening started with a beautiful tribute to legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, who died Friday at 99. Bill Walton, a Celtics world champion, father of a 21st century Laker, and one of Wooden’s most decorated players, delivered an elegant and heartfelt tribute. Without notes or prompter, Walton was downright Churchillesque in his remarks about the noble prince of Pauley Pavilion. This was a moment.

For the second straight game, the Garnett-Gasol duel was a mismatch in favor of the Lakers. Two games into the Finals, 34-year-old KG looks like an April David Ortiz. This was supposed to be the key matchup of the series. It’s now off the board — unless Garnett’s deterioration can be reversed in Big Papi fashion.

With virtually no input from Pierce and Garnett, the Celtics built a 14-point lead in the second quarter.

Officials Monty McCutchen, Mike Callahan, and Ken Mauer were letting the fellows play and there was no home-court star treatment for Kobe. With Allen looking as if he were throwing oranges into an oil drum (7 of 8 on threes in the first half), Boston bolted to a 54-48 lead at intermission.

It took the Lakers less than two minutes of the third quarter to vault ahead. When Gasol’s jumper made it 57-56 in favor of the Lakers, Rivers called timeout. From there it was a war of attrition. Four Celtics had four fouls when the third ended with the score tied, 72-72.

It was tied when Kobe came back into the game with 6:16 left. At that moment, Bryant had only 13 points. And he had four fouls.

“I wasn’t happy with those foul calls,’’ Jackson said in defense of Kobe. “It really changed the complexity of this ball game.’’

Cry me a river.

The Celtics took back the night down the stretch. Boston made every big play, got every loose ball, and watched the Lakers implode in their own building. Rivers’s finest moment came when he called a timeout with one second left before the Celtics were penalized for not getting the ball over midcourt in eight seconds.

Making the timeout call, Rivers came off the bench as if he’d been shot out of a cannon.

“I’m glad they saw me,’’ he said with a laugh. “All the players were laughing at me and it allowed them to breathe a little bit and I thought that helped us.’’

It was just one of many moments in which Rivers had the edge over the man with 10 NBA championships.

“It’s a blow to us to lose home court,’’ said Jackson. “We anticipated this might happen and we just have to pick it up.’’

It’s often said that a playoff series doesn’t really start until a road team wins a game. The road-warrior Celtics won last night and come home for the first of three at the Garden tomorrow night.

It’s Game On for the 2010 Finals.

Game 1.....BEAT L.A! BEAT L.A!

2010-06-05T01:49:00.000+09:30

Game 1 of the NBA finals has been played. The chant will come in game 3 when the series heads to Boston, but until then the guys will have to deal with the thoughts of who is going to stop Kobe!
By then the chant of Beat L.A, Beat L.A may be way too late.

Defensive pressure from the roster, Rondo lacked the same show he had been showing throughout the other play off series, Big Ticket Garnett was MIA, and with Pau and Kobe leading the way, Artest showing the faithful exactly what they got him for...Well, this show could be over before we know it!

An interesting acquisition in Ron Artest to the L.A side from last season, where the L.A team let Trevor Ariza head over to Houston. Right now it seems to be the smart thing to do. Ron has the size and strength to play of 3 or 4 of C's team, and the smarts to know when to shoot and know when to give to Kobe.

Interestingly enough, Phil Jackson has never lost a playoff series when his team wins the 1st game.

It was one of those "only in Southern California" scenes.

The clock was ticking down on Game 1 of the NBA Finals with the Lakers serving up an important series-opening win, and the amped up Staples Center crowd broke into a chant of ..."We want tacos! We want tacos!" mimicking a message flashing on the Jumbotron.

The fans got their tacos and the Celtics got a taste of their own medicine.

You see, Lakers fans in attendance get free tacos whenever the Lakers win and hold an opponent to fewer than 100 points. Last night, the Celtics couldn't even crack 90 in a 102-89 defeat to defensive-minded Los Angeles, which did little to resemble the team the Celtics pushed around two years ago and a lot to resemble the Celtics.

Granting Staples denizens gratis Mexican food could be the least of the Celtics' problems if Los Angeles continues to defend the way it did last night. LA beat the Celtics badly, and worse for Doc Rivers and Co., beat them at their own game, playing a more physical, fierce and court-clogging brand of basketball that started on the defensive end.

"The team that plays defense first is going to win," said Celtics center Kendrick Perkins. "We got enough offense. So do they. The team that plays defense first is going to win this series."

In Game 1, that team was the Lakers.

Los Angeles is a land of copycat trends, styles and ideas, and the Celtics could have sued the Lakers for copyright infringement, so frightening was the way they parroted the Celtics' acclaimed defensive prowess and provided a Purple and Gold parry to every Green thrust back into the game.

There was no better example of the Lakers' commitment to defense than their best player, Kobe Bryant, whom Perkins credited with closing the lane with his help defense. With the Celtics trailing by 11 late in the third quarter, Tony Allen went for a seemingly simple dunk in the lane. He was met at the rim and rejected by Bryant. The Lakers then closed the quarter on an 11-2 run to open up a 20-point lead.

Ball game.

Bryant, who dropped his customary 30 points and more importantly stymied Rajon Rondo, was asked about scoring 100 points on the Celtics and referred back to his team's effort on the other end.

"That's not something that we were hanging our hats on, to score 100 points," said Kobe. "We hang our hats on defending and rebounding."

Where have we heard that before? Pretty much after every Celtics game.

Before the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was asked why the Celtics won the last Finals matchup between these two storied franchises and he cited Boston's defensive capabilities, its tenacity and its interior presence on the floor.

Last night those traits belonged to the Lakers. If the Celtics are going to leave LA with a split, they have to reclaim their hoops hallmarks.

While the Celtics' defense was allowing what Rivers called "a parade down the paint" and was getting dominated in the paint by a possessed Pau Gasol (23 points, 14 rebounds), the Lakers limited the Celtics to only 43.3 percent shooting from the floor and 1 of 10 on 3-pointers. The Lakers outrebounded Boston, 42-31, and blocked seven shots.

The Celtics didn't muster a single second-chance point. It was one and done for the boys from Boston, as evidenced by the fact that progeny of the parquet were held to postseason lows in field goals (29) and field goal attempts (67).

LA, meanwhile, shot 48.7 percent from the field and had 16 second-chance points, nearly all as close to the hoop as Lakers uber-fan Jack Nicholson sits to the court.

The Lakers refused to allow Rondo, who had a pedestrian 13-point, 8-assists evening, to get into gear in the open court. They made Kevin Garnett take 16 shots to score 16 points, and they kept Paul Pierce, who tried valiantly, yet in vain, to spark a Celtics comeback in the fourth quarter, from torching them like two years ago when he was Finals MVP. Pierce ended up with 24 points, but 13 of them came in the fourth quarter after LA had already built a 20-point lead.

What the Lakers showed the Celtics last night is that they are the defending NBA champions, emphasis on defending. For all the talk about how well the Celtics' defense has played in reaching the Finals -- and it has been tremendous, just ask LeBron James -- it went unnoticed that Los Angeles was actually holding its opponents to a slightly lesser field goal percentage (43.7 to 43.8 for Boston).

For fans saying nobody plays defense in the wild, wild Western Conference, during the regular season, the Lakers held opponents to 44.6 percent from the field. Celtics foes shot 45.1 percent.

Is there a feeling that the Lakers defense is overlooked and undervalued?

"That's probably accurate," said Ron Artest, who scored 15 points last night and had a huge block on Glen "Big Baby" Davis that led to a Gasol dunk in the fourth quarter, a sequence that was emblematic of the evening.

"I thought at times I heard a lot about Kobe and a lot about the Celtics defense, but I didn't hear a lot about our defense. Hopefully, we can change that."

They already have.

Another interesting fact is Chris Rock is NOT funny! Just ask Kobe!

Boston V Los Angeles. Final score Celtic's 89 V L.A. 102.

Kobe post game press conference.

Bit of a wrap By Bryan Chu, for NBA.com & XClemX

Posted Friday June 4, 2010 1:58AM

LOS ANGELES (XClemX exclusive) -- The talk coming into the game circled around how the Celtics' defense may rival that of the 2008 championship team.

On Thursday, the Lakers showed their rendition of defense.

They took charges. They caused deflections. They altered and rejected shots inside. In short, they frustrated Boston.

That defense coupled with a late third-quarter spurt helped the defending champs deliver an emphatic blow to the Celtics, winning 102-89 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Staples Center.

"I think people forget how good we are defensively," Lakers forward Lamar Odom said.

No one is forgetting how dominating Phil Jackson's teams are after winning Game 1 in a series as his teams are a perfect 47-0. But a reminder of the Lakers' ultimate goal was apparent in the locker room after the game.

Scribbled in black on a white board directly across Kobe Bryant's locker was the phrase "3 Mo."

"We're counting down," said Odom, whose team is now 9-0 at home in the postseason with Game 2 on Sunday.

Leading the way for the Lakers in the series opener was Bryant, who had a game-high 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He has now scored 30-plus in 10 of his last 11 contests. Pau Gasol had a terrific all-around game with 23 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. Ron Artest chipped in 15.

The dominating fashion in which the Lakers, who led by as many as 20 points, took Game 1 was surprising, even to Boston's Paul Pierce.

After the game, Pierce, who a team-high 24 points, was quick to mention how many points the Celtics have given up. That's because they have only given up 100 or more points four times this postseason coming into the series.

"It wasn't typical," said Pierce of the atmosphere in the locker room after the loss. "There were some angry people in there and they showed us.

"The (Lakers) definitely pushed us tonight and had us on our heels."

The Lakers built their lead off their swarming defense, a 16-0 advantage on second chance points and a 48-30 differential on points in the paint.

They also held Boston to 43.3 percent shooting and neutralized their best player.

The Lakers' length was a big factor in slowing down Rajon Rondo in the paint. Rondo, who typically gets a half-dozen easy layups, had a pair of what appeared to be easy lay-ins rejected by Odom and Gasol. It also helped that Bryant guarded Rondo all night.

"They did a great job getting back on the fast break," said Rondo, who had 13 points and eight assists. "They did a good job of collapsing when I did get a chance to get inside the paint ... they did a great job mixing it up."

The third quarter was huge for the Lakers as they outscored the Celtics 34-23.

Bryant had his prints all over the period, scoring 14 points. None was prettier than Fisher's alley-oop to Bryant, who threw it down with two hands to give Los Angeles a 75-62 lead. The Lakers finished the period on a 16-4 run to go up 84-64 heading into the fourth.

"It was horrible," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers of his team's defense.

Boston did show some fight at the start of the fourth quarter. Trailing by 20 points, the Celtics whittled the deficit to 85-74 after a 10-1 run. But the Lakers answered.

The play that seemingly sapped the energy out of the Celtics was a block by Artest on Glen Davis, which led to a Gasol dunk.

"It was a big play for us," Bryant said. "He does a great job for us setting the tone for us defensively."

The "intriguing" matchup -- as Jackson called it -- between Kevin Garnett and Gasol was on display in the third quarter when the two went at each other. Garnett did his best to keep the Celtics close, hitting several tough fallaways with Gasol in his face and had 16 in the quarter.

Gasol didn't back away from the challenge, however.

"He's more aggressive," said Rivers of Gasol this time around versus in the 2008 matchup. "I thought he was the best player on the floor."

Facing the Suns' zone defense helped the Lakers sharpen their ball movement and cuts to the basket. Gasol and Andrew Bynum showed that early on with with Gasol scoring 11 first-half points and Bynum looking as spry as a person with a torn meniscus in his right knee can. Bynum, who had fluid drained from his knee on Monday, had a pair of two-handed dunks in the first half and finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

This game had its fair share of physical play, especially early.

Twenty-seven seconds into the game, Artest and Pierce got tangled up under the basket and took each other down to the floor. They were separated and then given technicals. That physical play led to a free-throw parade in the opening quarter as both teams combined to commit 18 first-quarter fouls.

Foul trouble plagued the Celtics' Ray Allen, who picked up his fourth in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Allen, who finished with 12 points in 27 minutes, returned late in the third quarter and 20 seconds later, picked up his fifth foul.

"We didn't come out with that fire that we've been showing these playoffs," Celtics forward Tony Allen said.

"They outhustled us today. ...I don't think we took that first punch like we should have."

A big line up of celebrities turned out for Game 1.

Think I'm going to get a large shirt this time, last years was a XL and too big. :)

HTC Sprint 4G

2010-05-21T08:51:00.000+09:30

Well it looks like my next phone will be something very similar to this.

HTC Sprint 4G

Android 2.1
4.3" AMOLED display
1GHz Snapdragon processor
1GB internal memory
5MP auto focus camera

Androidguys

Vic Darchinyan

2010-05-19T20:19:00.000+09:30

My favourite boxer right now is Vic Darchinyan. A raging bull to say the least.

He was born in Armenia, but resides in Sydney now. Fighting in the Super Flyweight he is right now the most dangerous person in that division.

If you dont know who he is..Time to find out...

He fight's this weekend. A very interesting thing seeing he could make a lot more fighting in the US right now.

R I P Ronnie James DIO

2010-05-17T12:14:00.000+09:30

One of my favourite artists died today.

Black Sabbath singer Ronnie Dio dead at 67

Ronnie James Dio performing in Switzerland with heavy metal group Heaven and Hell in 2007 / AP

RONNIE James Dio, solo artist and former vocalist for Black Sabbath, died yesterday following a battle with stomach cancer at the age of 67.

In a statement on Dio’s official website, his wife Wendy Dio wrote that her heart was broken.
“Today my heart is broken," she wrote.
"Ronnie passed away at 7:45am [on Sunday] 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away.”

“Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all," the statement continued.

"We so appreciate the love and support that you all have given us.

"Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever."

Dio began his career in rockabilly and doo-wop bands before performing with the hard rock bands Elf and Rainbow.

In 1979, after leaving Rainbow, Dio replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in the pioneering U.K. heavy metal band Black Sabbath.

Dio formed his eponymous solo project in 1982, scoring a big hit and popular MTV video with Rainbow in the Dark.

Dio returned to Black Sabbath temporarily in 1992 to record the album Dehumanizer.
In 2006, Dio and his former Sabbath bandmates recorded an album and toured under the moniker Heaven and Hell, also the title of Black Sabbath’s first album with Dio.
Wendy Dio announced Dio’s stomach cancer diagnosis in November 2009.

Don't Shave your ass hair!!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-16T19:49:00.000+09:30

Stole this from here...Laughed my ass off

Don't Shave That Hair!!!
I have recently made a mistake in my life, and I offer my story to you, that you may learn from my error. It all started, as many things do, with me having trouble shitting.

No, I was not constipated; this was not a regularity problem but a matter of technique. It seems my ass-hair had grown to such a length that tiny grogans were constantly getting tied up in the matted jungle between my asscheeks. It led to much frustration, with me KNOWING that I still had something to drop, but unable to shake the tenacious turd loose from its butthair dwelling. Eventually I would have to do two things: either reach down with some paper and try to pinch off the lingering loaf (which required careful precision to avoid smearing the creature all over my rear, especially since I had no way of seeing what I was doing) or just go for broke, start wiping, and hope that I could remove all the leftover fecal matter before the toilet paper reached its Can't-Be-Flushed threshold.

I was contemplating this problem, when I had what seemed at the time to be a bright idea. "Hey! This is my butt and my butt-hair, right? So why don't I just eliminate all the hair, and then my grogans will flow out like beer from a keg!" I said to myself. It is a statement that will go down in history with a lot of other regretted statements. "How many Indians could there be?" said by General Custer. "Looks like a good day for a drive!" by JFK. "There! America On-Line now has complete Usenet access!" by some idiot system tech. Such was my anal shaving idea.

I performed the operation that night, with a cheap disposable razor and a towel to sit on. Starting from the bottom, and shaving from the crack to the cheeks, I began the arduous process of ridding my ass of hair. Occassionally, I would have to clean the razor of accumulated hair and miscellaneous slime, which I did by wiping it on the towel. Slowly, my twin mounds and the between-ravine began to resemble the hairless cheeks of a newborn baby. Finally, I wiped the razor one last time, and surveyed my work. The towel was covered with a pile of hair. My ass was smooth as ivory. I smiled, satisfied, thinking my troubles were over.

Little did I know.

I now have a great respect for anal-hair. Like everything in this world God created, it has its mighty purpose in existence. It was only after I had removed it that I started to learn how much I had been taking it for granted. For one, it provides friction. I learned this the next day, when I walked out into the sun heading for class. After climbing two flights of stairs and starting to sweat, I started to notice something unpleasant. The sweat was accumulating in my crack, and was causing the unpleasant sensation of my two asscheeks sliding past each other with every step. I thought about going to the bathroom and wiping it off, but had to get to class. Eventually, I thought, it would dry.

Unfortunately, it did dry, but only after mingling with the microscopic shit- molecules lingering around my brown starfish. When I stood up after class, my cheeks were stuck together with a slimy sticky shit/sweat combination. As I made my way back to my dorm, it started to itch. God-DAMN, did it itch! Felt like a swarm of ants was making its way up and down my crack. Fighting to keep from jamming my hand down there and scratching away, I rushed back to the dorm.

Unfortunately again, this exertion caused me to sweat, and when I finally reached my room, my cheeks were sliding back and forth against each other like a pair of horny cane-toads. I quickly dropped my pants, and attempted to dry my ass off by sticking it in front of a fan and spreading my cheeks. As I pulled the two mounds of flesh apart, a horrible stench burst free and filled the room. Every dog within a 4 block radius started to howl. I had it worst of all, as the ripe aroma of festering shit/sweat went into the fan and blew back into my face. I fought to keep from heaving. And as I sat there, fighting vomit, my ass cheeks spread and dripping, with the concentrated aroma of my body odor mixed with the tangy smell of my own shit blowing right into my face, I had only one thought: "It will be like this until the hair grows back. Weeks."

Later on, trying to deal as best I could, wiping my ass at every opportunity, I discovered another wonderful use for ass-hair - ventilation. I attempted to launch a fart, only to have it get stuck between my asscheeks. Apparently, with no hair, the two pink twins can get vacuum sealed together, and the result was a frustrating fart that slid up and down between my cheeks like a lost gerbil.

As if that wasn't enough, I am now enduring further torture. As anyone who has ever shaved anything knows, when hair is first growing in, it comes in as stubble. Imagine your ass having the texture of a brillo pad. Well, that is what I am dealing with now. It is a hellish torture, and there are many times when I just look out the window and contemplate why I shouldn't just jump out and get it all over with in one fleshy splat, rather than endure this constant agony.

Friends, DON'T SHAVE YOUR ASS-HAIR!

Happy Easter 2010

2010-04-05T16:09:00.000+09:30

Had a nice Easter. Hope you guys did too.
Aunty Susso joined in along with uncle Steve.
Had the traditional Easter Egg hunt.

Thunder....Thunder...Thunder...

2010-03-28T21:52:00.000+10:30

Well, it has been a long time since I posted, but I thought what better time to come back than chuck up some AC/DC stuff.

1. Rock N' Roll Train
2. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
3. Back in Black
4. Big Jack
5. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
6. Shot Down in Flames
7. Thunderstruck
8. Black Ice
9. The Jack
10. Hells Bells
11. Shoot to Thrill
12. War Machine
13. High Voltage
14. You Shook Me All Night Long
15. T.N.T.
16. Whole Lotta Rosie
17. Let There Be Rockwith Angus Young Guitar Solo
18. Encore:
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

One of the better shows I have seen. AC/DC don't really seem to be the band to be right into the fire works and all but the show they put on was amazing.

I along with Deb and the Bro, and Bro-inlaw loved the show.

Sound was top notch, Wolfmother were good, but not too loud, which is not there style at all.

Would I go again? Well I doubt I will have to worry about that. They are all old, but fark, they know how to go for an old rock and roll group, and to be honest I now put them in the Beatles, Rolling Stone and U2 class. All class.

Great for an Aussie band, but well and truly a International act.

Sydney's Fireworks..

2010-01-03T00:18:00.000+10:30

Found this video on Overclockers...a site I frequent...

Justin Oh was the photographer and also took the video so all credits to him..

See more of his fantastic work at http://www.justin-oh.com/ or follow his blog..http://www.justin-oh.com/blog

Bloody fantastic work on Justin's behalf.

I didn't realise how much I love the fireworks.

Sydney Fireworks 2010 NYE from Justin Oh on Vimeo.

The Sly on the same forum has mastered this photo animation...It is an excellent peice of work..

Some of the guys on that forum do very professional work..

So, XMas is over again....but ohh what a time..

2009-12-31T20:32:00.000+10:30

Snuck into Tumby Bay for a Christmas day and a few days off with the outlaws.....

All the kids and Granny and Pa made the effort to get together and have one hell of a bash...
First time in a long time all the family has been together..was great and grabbed some excellent shots...

Nice to have an ale or 4 with the nephews who have finally grown up into great young men.

You never really understand the importance of making the effort until one of them is gone...we've all had that and if you don't learn from it...well, i guess your never going to learn...

All the Grandchildren....
Not very often this happens....

Panasonic ZS3

2009-12-22T16:18:00.000+10:30

After the PJ09 come to a closure, and looking at my pictures from the tour, I realised I needed a new camera. The old Canon G2 had run it's race...I had had the ol' girl for 7 years, and it had served me well. The LCD was cracked, it was lacking some attention and I was missing the lack of zoom all the guys around me were getting...

So enter the Panasonic TZ7 (ZS3 if you live in Europe). With 12X optical zoom and 10 Megapixels, this thing will hopefullly solve all my problems in one. To top it off it also does HD Video so that will be handy for those concerts where I want to graba song or 2.

As it arrived...

The lid off....

Whats under there....

Ahh there she is...

I grabbed a 16GB memory stick and a $8 case for the new camera...

All up $400 outlay and I am complete...unless I think I need an extra battery..

Not sure just yet...

Time to get out and see what it goes like...

Abby's End of year Presentation 2009

2009-12-10T06:15:00.000+10:30

Here is Abby's best efforts from last night...09/12/2009...

Great little effort by all the kids...
The skipping team gave up 2 lunch times every week of the school year to practise..

GreenDay

2009-12-08T10:56:00.000+10:30

Popped into town on Sunday night for a little GreenDay Show...

Intro please.....

21st Centruy Breakdown..

Boys did a few covers....our very own Acca Dacca..

How close is this dood????

PJ09 "Thats how we Roll!" Wrap

2009-12-04T10:44:00.000+10:30

Well time to get back into it, but first I thought I would wrap up my PJ09 adventure.

One of the things that is a must when on tour is security and planning. We had our tour manager KC with us, so getting organised was never going to be a problem. But security issues always pop up.

Getting a feed post gig can be a problem, people are pumped up, we seem like ordanary guys...But were on tour...were the Touring Party...

Ben Harper and Eddie Vedder belting out Under Pressure at Adelaide Oval. Wasn't the best rendition for the tour, but very good all the same...Ben seemed more interested in singing with Eddie than he did with his own band....Maybe the name "Relentless 7" has more to it than meets the eye.

Main act was Pearl Jam....Duhh! and while to some of the newer members not the best setlist, to me it was a great setlist sung with passion and a love of our state. No better outdoor arena in Australia than Adelaide Oval... Obviously a better place when it is finished, but still a fantastic place...

These young ladies made the flag....I thought, what a great idea!

Seems this guy thoughts so too....

Great to be alive...

Brain of J!

Eddie and Ben pump out Red Mosquito;

Watched from the window, with a red mosquito

I was not allowed to leave the room

I saw the sun go down,and now it's coming up

Somewhere in the time between

I was bitten, must have been the devil

He was just paying me...

A little visit, reminding me of his presence

Letting me know, he's a-waiting... oh

Red man's your neighbor, call it behavior

While you're climbing up slippery hills

Two steps ahead of him, punctures in your neck

Hovering just above your bed

I was bitten, must have been the devil

He was just paying me...

A little visit, reminding me of his presence

And letting me know, he's a'waiting, he's a'waiting...

Up there... yeah

If i had known then what i know now...

Reasonable review in the local rag seems the journo enjoyed the show too...

Melbourne!

The Touring Party get a fantastic send of to Melbourne...With the great sunrise coming over the Estern Hills. We left Adelaide early to put the fans off a touch, as you can see it worked a treat and soemthing we will keep in mind for future tours.

One of the Touring Party still required a personal minder, just for this leg, Getting out of his home state can be a tough gig at times and this was merely a minor precaution so early in the trip. Still a long road ahead.

First casulty of the tour...The dipshit who was meant to organise the limo! We dont wait!!!

It finally showed..."Thats how we roll!"

They dont look as spacious from the outside, but man, inside, upstairs, downstairs...Massive viewing rooms..Very Nice.

There is a show in Melbourne somewhere, but I was sooo way back I had no choice but to just sing along..along with every other drunken tard at the place...well near me anyway...It was good to get back to the people to be honest..Keeping me real so to speak!

Sometimes ot's just nice to get back woth the people that helped me get to where I am today.

These pictures are from Mattew Eygenraam..He likes to be close to the action. If you can see yourself in the shots above, please give me a shout and I'll try and give you a big cherrio! Especially if your the forehead bottom right..Damn dude, get a tan, I wondered what the reflective lighting was when I was watching the show from the back....Now I know!

Not sure why so many men in Melbourne had Moustaches, but they seemed very catchy. By end of tour I had to grow one just to fit in with the "Normal" people...God it feels good to fit in finally!

Liam Finn and Eddie Vedder..One pumped up mofo to say the least. Liam that is. I think we know who stole Mike's weed???

Eddie playing Air guitar!

Last year I was this tall, now look at me.

Mike McCready has the improbable task of playing lead whilst being asleep. He does it so often that it has now become the norm. If I see a show where he is awake, I know something has gone wrong back stage...Read...the drugs didn't show!

Mike, asleep again! I think The Verve summed it up!

All this talk of getting old
It's getting me down my love
Like a cat in a bag, waiting to drown
This time I'm comin' down

And I hope you're thinking of me

As you lay down on your side

Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse

But I know I'll see your face again
Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

But I know I'm on a losing streak
'Cause I passed down my old street
And if you wanna show, then just let me know
And I'll sing in your ear again

Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again
'Cause baby, ooh, if heaven calls, I'm coming, too

Just like you said, you leave my life, I'm better off dead
All this talk of getting old
It's getting me down my love
Like a cat in a bag, waiting to drown

This time I'm comin' down
Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

'Cause baby, ooh, if heaven calls, I'm coming, too
Just like you said, you leave my life, I'm better off dead
But if you wanna show, just let me know
And I'll sing in your ear again

Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again

I'm never going down, I'm never coming down
No more, no more, no more, no more, no more
I'm never coming down, I'm never going down
No more, no more, no more, no more, no more

It was a quick 24 hours in Melbourne, but when your on the road, you know some stops are going to be a blur!

Big "HELL YEAH" to our local when in Melbourne James Squire for the great hospitality for the 2 hours while we waited for the show to start.

Also to the Asics Netburners that went from one side of Melbourne (Smith St) to the other and had a concert chucked in too. Hope you enjoy them B!

Big shout out to the Chinese restuarant in ChinaTown. Not sure of your name, had some funny symbols going up and down, back to front...Clem0 thought it said "We welcome the Touring Party!" hence why we popped in for the feed. Uncertain why we had to pay for the meal, but we did and we were more than happy with the upsized Lift's you keep pumping out at us.

Sydney hosts the Touring Party.

"The Winna is SYDANEEE" Juan wasn't wrong when he said that! Not the same city as Melbourne, but holy smack my forhead Batman, when we say, it is a great place to go too.

At all the cities we had to do interviews, You can see below we are heading to do the one in Sydney, Nice set up really, with a great back drop of the Opera House. Later were told they used out interview "tent" to host some "Australian Idol" on?? We had never heard of it...Altho our Tour Manager seemed to be up to date with most things and said something about some gay guy called Stan!

Anyway, by the time we left the interview tent it was dark, and all hell broke lose, we needed a diversion and well, I'll let the pictures do the talking there....

You can see the crowd right? Thats me bottom left being chaired out by security! Crazy...But, "Thats how we roll!"

Then we hit the streets running. We do "The Chair" all farkin 15km's of it!

Why is it called "The Chair" if I have to freakin walk everywhere?? I didn't get to sit down once.

Dropped our gear of at the hotel. 3 Bed's so thats good as our tour guide was a touch sick of sleeping on the floor. He said it was a defence mechanism just in case we were stalked. I belveied him and was happy for him to have the floor.
Hey, Tour managers got to do what the tour manager's got to do!

Big Irish G'Day to P.J OBrian's for the Coopers Pale Ale on tap. Three Maori Security guards were also on tap for the Touring Party. So that was a nice surprise. Certainly made the night pleasurable to have a quiet drink with the posse.

Touring Party hits Manly!!

It didn't take long for the Touring Parties cover to be blown in Manly. The HYPE was everywhere. Plain clothes security were everywhere. Random guy as we called this guy, was making arrangements for our lunch at Crystals.

At Crystals, we needed to security to be beefed up somewhat...Local Bikie gangs were more than happy to help out. I mean they knew we were just out fir some prviacy...

Looks quiet, Dont let that fool you...Mini Rundle Mall only with a beach backdrop...

What you cant see in this picture with the Manly beach at our backs, are the beefed up security in the water. Ther guys on the surf boards are with the Touring Party. Then just behind our "Tour Photographer" is NSW's finest.

We really didn't get to enjoy all of Manley's beach due to the large crowds that would mass...Icognito was the word for the day..Hence why the Tour Manager and X went for the quietest shorts they had in the luggage! Clem0 just wore the brightest band he could find, incase he was kidnapped we would be able to find him in the dark..

They were set up in Vantage points, and then on the Ferry ride back....Navy Seals pop out and escort us Home...As I said to one of the young fans, lucky enough to get close to the Touring Party..."Thats how we roll!"

We used the Peace, Love and Ice Cream shop as a front to have ease of movement. It was a great cover for us, as Clem0 just about ate Sydney out of Gelati! They are probably only now restocking the freezers now.

Clem0 post the Peace, Love & Ice Cream front!

NO, not the young lass at the PC, the guy walking to the right...Everyone gets that one messed up....

After the hectic day Manly, the ol' girl was a welcome sight to say the least. Big "Thanks for the protection" to NSW's Police dept, The Finks Motorcycle Club, & the Navy Seals. It was very much appreciated for our little day out. Certainly helped make the day run smooth.

You may be wondering as the Tour Manager did what those 3 guys are doing bottom right in this picture.... Snipers!...Just making sure we get home safe and sound. Thats how we roll.

The Sydney Pearl Jam concert was one hot day. 40 plus if i recall. Stood in line from 11 AM and met some great jammers. BIGWAVE grabbed Clem0's spare TenC tix so we finally got to put face to name. Hell of a guy and would become one of the Touring Party on the Brisbane leg.

Steve McQuarrie and his lovely Fiancee (Is that out there yet?) Kirralee (Nearly didn't make the show after spending the day in the hotel room with a severe bout of Food poisoning) joined the Touring Party for the Sydney sing along, and sing we did.

Crowd control was great, handed out water as needed. Pity they didn't hand out toilets. We lost the Tour Manager when he knicked of for a quick one. He started crying and security brought him back to his Dad. Even got a mention on the overhead...."Anyone lost a 4'2" child wearing a red shirt!" He made it back...

Notice the "Twins?" Seemd like everyday they would dress alike. I struggle to tell them alike at the best of times and now they want to dress the same...please!

Just a random picture I grabbed from the PJ forum, you can see we were being stalked. The Tour Manager is in there...Bottom right...Why are they stalking him is the question I need to ask???

Local Rag access for those who read gossip papers...

Youtube action too...

Steve, a Sydney local with his dedicated Pearl Jam Sleeve...What started out as a Stick Man tattoo has turned into that. We tried to keep this dood's spot in the line, but when the crowd sppoked and Steve was still abck in his hotel taking it easy...He missed the boat..Clem0 seen him at the end of the show tho so he did make his way to the front...

More Gerrycan70

Happy B'Day to Joni-Lee

Then of all things we get some crazy doing a run thru of the Arena...as you can tell by the crowd it is only early in the show so lucky no one was hurt.

Brisbane........

Brisbane welcomes the Touring Party;

Chris aka BIGWAVE had joined the Touring Party by now.

The now infamous Early Morning Arrivals list. Supposedly this list sets up who can get in 1st thru to 100..You would never guess this isn't run in conjunction with Pearl Jam would you? I mean with all the professionalism that has gone into setting it up, it looks like it is part of the tour....NO...It is run by dipshits who think they own Pearl Jam...

I can tell you now, they will never get on the Touring Party EVER!!!

Blood

Setlist found over at the Pearl Jam forum, some lucky Jammer scored well. Good luck to them, Pays to stick around sometimes...Sometimes up there at the top scribbled out...OMG, that would have been sweet to hear...and PILATES!!! Blood was great tho....

Massive Shout out to Gerrycan70 or Gerry 2009 again over at the PJ forum for his excellent photography. Next time we go on tour he may get a gig as Touring Party Official Photographer...Maybe!

Matt Cameron

Pearl Jam after the Brisbane show...

Last day on Tour and were holed up like Rats , the net provided us with a way out...Clem0 required the window bed, something to do with his chainsaw needing more O2...

So after 4 shows in 4 states in 9 days the tour comes to an end. Back to the grind, but thankfully back to the family too. To all the people we met on tour, cheers, to the dipshits...good luck on dipshit island..

Big Cudo's to Pearl Jam's security for making our trip safe when we were in your care, and look after us all.

KC and Clem0, til we rise again..just keep rollin!

Danny Green V Roy Jones JR

2009-12-03T05:45:00.000+10:30

My Man Danny Green doing the deed on Roy Jones Junior...

Who seen that coming?

Not me thats for sure,Sure I love Danny Green, but Roy ...Come on man..

Not sure if it's the end for Roy, if he is like I think he is then he will want to go out a winner....

Just Breath from NZ

2009-11-28T21:08:00.001+10:30

Here's a vid I found...Just Breath from NZ....

Love this song, and the setting...

Posters

2009-11-27T12:16:00.000+10:30

Here's a look at the prints from the concerts I grabbed...

New Zealand prints to be up as I get them...

Big Hello to Chris (BIGWAVE) for his great freindship and efforts....

Under Pressure

2009-11-27T11:10:00.001+10:30

Ben and Ed Under pressure..

sorry about the sound quality!...

Brisbane

2009-11-26T09:05:00.000+10:30

Well the show is over, the tour is down and now it is time to head back to the family...Will be good to the beautiful faces...Not looking forward to the long drive home, but the sight at the end will be well worth it....

Brisbane show was up there to rival Melbourne...Eddie was in great form, and Mike was off the dial again...Jeff Ament was into it, and Stone went off his face a few times...which was great as he can at times be just that...a stone!

Set List: Why Go, Animal, Got Some, Small Town, In Hiding, In My Tree, Save You, Even Flow, Amongst The Waves, Off He Goes, Not For You/Modern Girl, Daughter/Another Brick In the Wall/School's Out, Rats, Unthought Known, Insignificance, If You Want Blood (You've Got It) (AC/DC), Blood

1st Encore: The End, Just Breathe, Red Mosquito (with Ben Harper), Indifference (With Ben Harper), Gonna See My Friend, The Fixer, Rearviewmirror

2nd Encore: Throw Your Arms Around Me (With Liam Finn), Jeremy, Alive, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Set list to die for as far as I am concerned...

The Ten Club members need serious looking at, setting up a "100" club, first people in line are given entry first into the stadium...sounds great, but when it's run just by the group and not an official thing it certainly causes some pissed of crowd members...especially when it's the same people getting the fence all the time...
The carry on in the tenC line was borderline babyish...I guess it's ok to get there early and do the hard yards, but when they simply chuck their seat down and then piss off to the hotal and come back like they have dont the day in the sun...we all get pissed off about that sort of shit...

So pretty much to the touring party of ten members...do the hard yards and share some love, people just want to see the band too..

Your money for membership is exactly the same as mine...Next tour might see some "Calling out" to the fakers!

Sydney...Lives, but without us!!

2009-11-25T00:23:00.000+10:30

Last night in Sydney, slow show and just a couple at PJ"s but with a special guest...Mel B...

She made a massive effort to see us and we appreciate it..Never forget a soldier....ever..

Early night for the touring party and up early tomorrow ready for the Brisbane show....

Last show and closer to home, while it has been one heck of a trip, family first and fore most...keen as to see the ladies in my life!

P,L & PJ!

Day in the City!

2009-11-23T16:06:00.000+10:30

Spent the day with the touring party, viewing the city and it's sites...Captain cook knew a good spot, but fark, did he have to find all the hills???

The place is fantasic for almost everything...well except finding comfortable shoes to walk around in!

Homeless seems to be a massive problem here, people on every corner, one of them had moved in on Wayne's spot...should have seen the bottles fly then!

We got Wayne's spot back!

Post Sydney!!!

2009-11-23T09:25:00.000+10:30

Well Sydney has come and gone, WOW, another good performance, was 4 rows back on Mike’s side. First time I had ventured that side and it was good. Meet some good TenC Members.

Setlist again. Eddie was sick and struggled with a few of the songs, but he had plenty of help with Ben Harper and Liam Finn. They cranked out an INXS number which was nice as.

Rest day today, so it’s time to go shopping and see what little gifts I can grab for the clan.

MAIN SET: Why Go, Hail Hail, Interstellar Overdrive/Corduroy, Severed Hand, Small Town, The Fixer, Given To Fly, Dissident, Even Flow, Untitled, MFC, Unthought Known, Down, Garden, Whipping, Mankind, Got Some, Do The Evolution

ENCORE 1: Happy Birthday Joanie Lee, Red Mosquito with Ben Harper, Indifference with Ben Harper, State Of Love And Trust, Light Years, Last Exit, Porch

ENCORE 2: Throw Your Arms Around Me with Liam Finn, Crazy Mary, Rockin’ In The Free World

No Glen Saville, so he missed out on the catch up..

Big shout out to City Extra on the docks for the post show party...Problem is, when we go we go hard...

KC didn't handle the pace well

Peace, Love and Pearl Jam...

Sydney Day 1...Pre show..

2009-11-21T17:50:00.000+10:30

Hit the town early....whats with all the hills???

Damn went for a small walk and now i'll be struggling for the rest of the tour...

Sydney Harbour Bridge was a nice surprise day 1, get up there and have a look at the town, this place has H2O everywhere....

more to come...

Melbourne Post show

2009-11-21T07:10:00.000+10:30

Well, that was a true highlight, so glad we came to see this one..
Had nose bleed seats for this one, but traded them in for one of the viewing spots on the 3rd level, worked well, no pushing and pulling....

Back to 10C tix now tho so that f#rk!

Luck my mate Matty was in prime real estate!

Set list was treuly off the dial..
Main Set:

Elderly Woman, Corduroy, Animal, Got Some, Brother, Amongst the Waves, Even Flow, Oceans, Lukin, Green Disease, Force of Nature, Present Tense, Gonna See My Friend, Given to Fly, Daughter/Another Brick in The Wall, Glorified G, Da Fixa, Do the Evolution.

Encore 1:

Needle and the Fucking Damage Done(to quote a legend), Just Brethe, Red Mosquito with Ben Harper,Indifference with Ben Harper, Jeremy, Deep, Why Go, Porch

Encore 2: Throw Your Arms Around Me with Liam Finn, Black, Spin The Black Circle, Alive, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Eddie was in a great mood, Mike seemed like he had been locked up in Adelaide and was free to raom in Melbourne...Jeff as always kicked it hard, and Stone was on his knees flat strap awesome...Big Matt at the back banged hard....

Sydney next and if they can top last nights shizzle then I will go hee...

Sitting waiting at Melbourne Airport waiting for Sydney....

Peace, Love and Pearl Jam.....

_________________

Melbourne.

2009-11-20T13:30:00.000+10:30

Arrived in Melbourne at 8. The holiday inn was all ready.

Headed out to smith st to get some of the shopping out he road.
Just sitting at the James Squire on docklands having an golden ale!!
Big Clemo arrives later and then a dash to etihad to catch up with he fella's.
Heard some of the guys in the tenC slept at the stadium last night. Gus was one of them by the looks.

Can beleive the Melbourne shirt is farkin Collingwood!!
Not yet seen the poster, but have heard it's an Ames bro so it should be good. Might flip one of them if they're ok.

Pictures to follow if kc can keep up. You keeping up camera guy??

Peace love and Pearl Jam.

17

2009-11-19T02:06:00.000+10:30

While you sit a million miles away, far from those who are close...no matter how far you roam, they never get any further than a breath from you...

Every breath, every thought, every heart murmur reminds you of just how close they are...

EBA

D

Shout out!

2009-11-19T01:54:00.000+10:30

Wanna give a shout out to Glen Saville....

See you in Sydney....You should know the pubs from your short stint there so it's your shout!

Bring your A game bro...Bring some comfy shoes, and bring your thirst...oh and your jump shot...

Peace, Love and Pearl Jam.....

These days turned out.....

2009-11-19T01:34:00.000+10:30

While the days come and go, its the people you spend time in between that make the days so special...

Not every day has to be that special, but when combined with someone special...even an ordinary day turns out special...

Thanks for the day Mum.
XX

Adelaide has come and gone......

2009-11-18T01:43:00.000+10:30

Well my first one down for this tour......

Nice set list, and apart from the fools in the crowd a great show.

Set list...
Main Set: Release, Why Go, Gonna see my Friend, Brain of J, In My Tree, Severed Hand, Faithfull, Got Some, Even Flow, Johnny Guitar, Amongst the Waves, I Got Shit, Small Town, No Way, Unthought Known, Lukin, Blood,

Encore 1: Just Breathe, Red Mosquito, Indifference, State of Love and Trust, The Real Me, The Fixer, Rearviewmirror,

Encore 2: Smile, Life Wasted, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter...

X, KC & Clem0!!!

Today

2009-11-17T06:36:00.000+10:30

Today we start the 1st phase of the journey with Pearl Jam,
Excited and pumped to say the least, but not just for the band, but for the life experiences and people I will get to see..

Less than 12 hours til we hit the gates!!!

Keep coming coz i'll be updating...

Last time!!!

2009-11-03T19:42:00.000+10:30

Adelaide Entertainment Centre. 2006.

More pictures to come from the 09 tour.

The Fixer!!

2009-10-16T21:29:00.000+10:30

Man, I never in any way thought that Pearl Jam would produce an album that could be this good....

Check out Fixer!!!

Unthought Known
Just Breathe aren't too bad either.....then there is The End!

Sacred!!!

2009-10-16T15:43:00.001+10:30

All thats sacred...

Donnie runs this little blog and man he is working overtime...

Listen to it..

Stand and deliver!

2009-10-08T23:41:00.000+10:30

If you want to do anything, dont let any obstacle stand in your way!

Before you step out on to the playing court, ask yourself;

Always aim to be the best prepared you have ever been...

"Have you done everything you could do this week to be ready for this game?
The day you say no is the day to sit in the stands as this is the time you have let yourslef down".

Perspective

2009-10-06T07:15:00.000+10:30

Andrew Flintoff has been over in Afghanistan when all hell breaks lose, his reaction certainly puts things back in place where sportpeople should understand the role they have in life..

Foxsports Story

“It's been humbling and has put my life into perspective. I play cricket for my country -but then you come here and meet people of 18 fighting for their country.”

Whether you like the war or not, remember the ones who are serving the Country!

What the!!

2009-10-05T17:37:00.000+10:30

Tell me this is for real????

Was he helping out? Sorry buddy, from the one way mirror I was watching you with I can give you tips on how to do it better..
What was he doing with the extra sperm?

Male Breast milk anyone!!!!!

Do us blokes need to get close at an early stage?
Some people.....

2009-09-28T18:03:00.000+09:30

Here's Pearl Jam's The Fixer on youtube, something Pearl Jam have not been doing beofre, really letting the modern age get their music out and about...

If your looking for something to watch every Sunday check out Pearl Jam tour, where each week they upload a youtube video for us jammers to mull over...

The weeks are getting closer....

NBL Time

2009-09-23T23:30:00.000+09:30

Well tomorrow is the throw down of the upcoming 2009/2010 NBL season.

Where will the teams end up at the end? Who knows there but the NZ Breakers are looking strong as...There team is very good. Lemanis did a good job last season and now he will be even better prepared with a stronger line up will be looking to finish this off.

Melbourne Tigers will again do well, unlimited resources altho with Anstey out for the start of the season, I think they will make their charge in the back half..

Perth are going to be right up there also, and to be honest I think these three sides will play it all out, the rest will have to play there asses off to get anywhere close. With Perth signing Big Red they will be very tough...

Anyway, glad to see it on the box tomorrow night...

Season Preview - Adelaide

Season Preview: Cairns

Season Preview - Gold Coast

Season Preview - Melbourne

Season Preview - New Zealand

Season Preview - Perth

Season Preview - Townsville

Season Preview - Wollongong

Few favourite links

2009-09-22T15:08:00.001+09:30

If you're looking to try and keep up to date with the going's on of head to Pearl Jam TV.

I also like to head to Life Waisted to keep up to date with us Aussies who are seriously into the PJ movement.

When the dates get closer I will try and make some contacts to catch up with a few at a local haunt for an ale or 2.

:)

Goal Posts!

2009-09-19T16:33:00.000+09:30

What if we are moving toward what we think is our goal, only to find we passed the goal long ago.
Now we are merely taking up time..

If we are here for a purpose, when do we get to know what it is?
How long can we drive along into the unknown without reaching our destination....

Is that the aim? To move on never knowing the goal so to strive all the time searching for the goal...

X Clem X

If...

Flames

A path well worn!

My Path!

Ohh How I dream!

deep in thought

Game on!

Satan's bed

Pain

and back

Guided

TreeHouse

3rd Parties

Last days

grow and learn...

Tunes are so big

The can be only one!

Too

Three

IV

Five

Six

Count down is on...

They are never forgotten...

The Engine

The Coach!

The Agonizing Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller

just breathe...it can't hurt...

How Great.

Where we all lay!

Adversity

Haka

Are we there??

Day II QLD

Woops. Where the the fark did those go?

355

356

357

Don't panic as a coach!

358

Lakers championship teams: 1949-2010

Lakers championship teams: 1949-2010

A look at the 16 teams that captured NBA titles for the franchise.

NBA 2010 stat's.

2010 NBA Finals stats

Jordan V Bryant

359

360

Game 7

Just the facts: 16 pieces of info about Game 7s

361

More Banksy!

362

Banksy!

Blues mid season...

363

364

365

L.A. Lakers V Boston Celtic's Game IV

LEVI GREENWOOD

L.A. Talk: 2W's2GO!

Fisher's offensive heroics the difference for Lakers

By Couper Moorhead, for NBA.com & XClemX

L.A. V Celtic's. Game 3 Preview...

Well, they Beat L.A.!

Fast break points

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The coach says his job is to make his players believe. After a 27-27 finish to the regular season and a difficult road through the playoffs, the Celtics are tied, 1-1, with the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Game 1.....BEAT L.A! BEAT L.A!

HTC Sprint 4G

Vic Darchinyan

R I P Ronnie James DIO

Black Sabbath singer Ronnie Dio dead at 67

Don't Shave your ass hair!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Easter 2010

Thunder....Thunder...Thunder...

Sydney's Fireworks..

So, XMas is over again....but ohh what a time..