team by team stats are really interesting

click and fool around

detroit's perimeter might be THE best in the game; while detroit is easily tops in the game, followed by san antonio, and we know both teams are atrocious on the defensive end, it's interesting to see how they stack up.

look at fg% of the opponents. san antonio has the lowest, but detroit falls somewhere in the middle. this is partially due to the fact that marc stein has noticed that the 2 wallaces haven't been as strong as in 2004 when they 1st got rasheed; you'll notice in a lotta games, power forwards have been having their way with the pistons. that of course, doesn't mean they win em, but it's a major sight of concern.

does that mean the pistons suck on d? no... look at their 3 pt % of their opponents; it seems almost like a role reversal; detroit is probably the best perimeter defending team! although san antonio is still top 10 here. what surprised me was the lakers placing 1st, but then again, they had that time where they had a huge streak, and kobe IS one of the best perimeter defenders. quite honestly, i think detroit has the best perimeter defense; you got tay, but i started to see the light how good billups was last year, and rip is SLOWLY improving in that area as well.

granted detroit is still one of the leaders in points allowed per game, but realize that if you constantly bring the ball up court slowly and play half court, then those numbers can seem a bit inflated. however, detroit leads in point differentials per game; +8.86. so they in that aspect, are the best team as of now.

like i said, there's more interesting observations you can make, but i'll let you do it yourself; it's more fun that way.

here's some non-pistons, non-spurs observations:

phoenix is a much better defensive team that people make them out to be.

gsw actually plays WORSE defense compared to sacramento; sad, but true. gsw's perimeter defense is SLIGHTLY better, but not by much.

miami might actually be a lot better at defense than what i originally thought; they're right behind detroit in 3pt%. and their fg% is 6th. quite honestly, that makes no sense, b/c we all know miami to not be very good in defending, especially on the perimeter. but then, they seem to on average, only win by 3.82 pts; that means there's cases where they play exceptionally well, and other cases where they don't.

of course, numbers don't tell all the story. b/c it's a common fact that houston isn't REALLY a defensive team, but more like a half-court offense team.

the day after mlk day...

some of the christian ppl who preach w/their signs on campus were at it again...

their signs read something like:

no racism, no sodomy, honor mlk

or something like that...

opponents stood next to them holding a sign saying

"mlk does not equal indifference"

(i presume they were opponents, b/c one of them was smoking)

and i was just shaking my head saying to myself

"man, these opponents of these christians just don't get it"

there are two sides to christianity; a side of grace, and a side of justice; the 1st says i'm going to love you regardless of who you are, ie equal love, and demonstrate agape love. the 2nd says i'm not going to accept your moral wrongs and compromise my standings on what is right and wrong(ie i want you to become something you're not). both are complete opposites, and yet completely true of jesus.

mlk demonstrated jesus' teachings perfectly by living out BOTH. he loved all people, not just his own brethren, but the white marchers who supported him, even those who opposed him, which was why he did not strike back. but he recognized the evils of discrimination, and refused to back down from what he believed in, even laying down his life to do it. he was just a preacher, but God turned him into one of the most iconic people of the 19th century.

unfortunately, all the world sees is only a fragment of the side of grace that he lived. they forget his incompromising will towards what is right. maybe mlk, if he was alive today, might not be as outspoken against sodomy(God gives us all different battles to fight in), but i know he certainly would not support it.

funny how you don't need to be black to appreciate mlk, but the ones that still appreciate him fully and aren't black are christian, IF they sit down and think about how he epitomizes a christian.

how many of you guys are hedging bets that kobe and shaq only hugged and shook hands b/c they were televised on mlk day?

i'm glad joey porter said what he thought

yes, he's going to be fined...

but someone had to say it...

i really felt the exact same.

there was NO WAY that was an incomplete. no way.

in fact, they should fire that ref for making such a bad call.

but chances are, they won't, b/c in conspiracies, the upper office will always protect the pawns.

this is interesing

Romans 21:25-29(italicized words are in brackets)

25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28As concerning the gospel, [they are] enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, [they are] beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
29For the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance.

concentrate on verse 29; if what this says is true, then that means once God has saved someone, they CAN'T fall away. which means... those who are saved, but later deny their faith and die without taking back their renouncing... were not saved to begin with. why else would jesus say in the gospels,
"i never knew you"? did he say, "i once knew you, but you fell away?"

also think about verse 26; do you think that refers to a spiritual Israel, or the fleshly Israel? wouldn't it be lying if it referred to the Jews? hence, are we supposed to expect that there will be a massive revival of Jews?

steelers at colts was a game decided by mistakes

that's what i felt.

however, there was something i remembered while watching espn last night, to the extent of this about indy's defense:

their defense relies more upon the talent of each player, not actually them being a team that blitzes.

this was true, as jerome bettis just ripped the colts and ate time up on the clock by doing so.

that supposed int by troy polamalu but was ruled an incomplete by the challenge smells of conspiracy; there was no way that was counted an incomplete; it's quite possible that they did that to hopefully give the colts the win.

and as for vanderjagt, he has simply no excuse; they were playing in the rca dome, at home, in an indoor field; funny to watch though all his team's efforts go to waste.

like i said, the game was decided by mistakes, not by what each team did right, first the supposed conspiracy. then when steelers supposedly have the game, instead of taking a knee to seal the win, bettis loses the football in an attempted-run-in, causing a runback to midfield. then vanderjagt loses on the punt.

edit: kudos to big ben not only for his strong performance during the 1st half of the game, but for stopping the potential int to td at the end of the game. i guess defense really does win championships, even if you're not supposed to play it.