Paige Bueckers..and some other Hoops notes

 

Some thoughts and observations:

PAIGE BUECKERS…and CAITLIN CLARK

Paige Bueckers basically said sorry Oklahoma, not gonna happen. Scoring a career high 40 points tonight in the Sweet 16 in a game that was basically over midway through the 3rd quarter.

It sucks she will not be able to play against USC with Juju Watkins again, who beat Connecticut earlier this season. I feel for Juju and USC, but I still want to see UConn beat them, even though if they do, it will sort of feel like it would need an asterisk.

But let’s say Paige and UConn win on Monday against USC. Looking at the bracket, I think they would end up playing the winner of UCLA vs LSU in the Semifinal on Friday.

And if UCONN were to win that, they could face South Carolina potentially.

If they win the National Championship, all the Caitlin Clark loudmouths are gonna have to back off.

Yeah, first off, that still needs to happen, but 2nd, the argument of Bueckers and Clark will be decided in the WNBA. And Bueckers will likely end up with Dallas who have the 1st pick in the draft.

That kind of sucks, but I get it. Fair is fair. And while I came to not care for the Mavericks and Dallas sports in general (Cowboys..who I once actually liked as a kid per I was a Tony Dorsett fan, but then the Herschel Walker trade happened and the Cowboys won 3 Super Bowls while the Vikings, well remained the Vikings, even with Moss; also to include the Dallas Stars who probably still should be in Minnesota), I can’t hold their WNBA franchise responsible so much for being annoyed by the Mavericks team and their fans from the aftermath of the playoff series with the Wolves last season.

And most of that was not caring for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and seeing the Wolves being a superior team, which I still do (I will likely always contend, the Wolves were out of gas, but had they played Dallas in the 1st round, the Wolves would have beaten them, maybe handily), but that’s also very different now with the trade, and where they are at now.

But if Paige goes to Dallas, I will actually hope her team does well, and see how to she does against the rest of the league, including the Lynx. But the Indiana Fever game(s) could be a must-see.

The Dallas Wings play in the same conference as the Lynx, but the Indiana Fever are in the East, so Bueckers and Clark would only play twice during the season. And if they met in the playoffs, it would have to be in the WNBA Finals. Same would hold true if Bueckers were on the Lynx.

Which I think like Lindsay Whalen, depending how things go, I think eventually, there will be effort to try and get Bueckers to the Lynx. It may be many years (like Whalen), but it will be brought up often. Like Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and several others. McHale sadly never did get to play for the Wolves, but I imagine there may have been interest. He was too loved/and loved it too much in Boston I suppose.

But we will hopefully see, and my belief and contention, Bueckers has the chance and could easily be a better WNBA player than Clark. If she stays healthy of course (which is a big part of course given her injuries in college). But she’s a more skilled player overall, and as I’ve said many times, she’s a better athlete. She’s a better defensive player, and honestly, regardless of how many assists Clark gets, Bueckers is better at making her teammates better.

She has that whole cliche of a high basketball IQ. Clark? to me, she is basically a great shooter and she is good at drawing the defense. But it’s not like she could play all 5 positions, but Bueckers? it seems she could. In the WNBA she will be a guard, but she can play in the post and she can rebound. And even though they are about the same height, Paige is LONG, which makes her even more a threat potentially on defense.

I just think all these naive people who kissed Clark’s butt the last couple of years, failed to do any research and realize coming up in the different levels, Bueckers WAS BETTER. They knew and played each other regularly. They played with each other on some of the National Teams. And actually Clark wanted to go to UCONN, but Auriemma already had promised a spot for Bueckers and couldn't have foreseen the 2 of them together. Which, might have happened anyway, but didn’t.

However, given Clark’s being from Iowa, like Bueckers (whose from Hopkins, MN), likely grew up a Lynx fan. I mean she may have also been a fan of Chicago or Indiana, but the Lynx and Minneapolis were naturally the closest team geographically for her.

So, I suppose Clark also wanting to play close-to-home could end up with the Lynx. Or even both at some point? I kind of doubt it, but it wouldn’t be impossible. Paige likely will be able to play multiple positions, so they actually could both start.

What sort of sucks in retrospect about Bueckers and Clark in some ways is they both could have also ended up in college at Minnesota. But, that’s a broken record and most of the best players in Minnesota or surrounding areas don’t come to Minnesota still. I thought I read, Minnesota did recruit Clark (and Bueckers), but that is a revisionist fantasy pipe dream from a Minneota sports fan now.

But we’ll see over the coming weeks and then months. Seeing the idiots on Social Media though is still going to happen. But if UCONN were to win, no matter, Bueckers would have that. And that believed respect from those WNBA people that took shots at Clark last year for not winning title. I dunno, many of them went to UCONN, so maybe publicly they would give Bueckers a pass if she didn’t win given she’s from the same school. That would be a bit of a double standard.

My feeling though is even if UCONN don’t win the NCAA championship, the WNBA is what will really be indicative of how they compare. Again, health permitting.

COOPER FLAGG

Cooper Flagg while appearing to be probably the best player in the country, I have seen several other guys much like him. Lauded and considered 1 of if not the best players in college, that were a bust or merely a mediocre or role player in the NBA. Including from DUKE.

Adam Morrison? ..even Keith Van Horn

I honestly would hardly be surprised if the same happened to Flagg. He could easily get pushed around or just not be quick enough to warrant the hype he probably will get.

"Pretentious" misuse...use "Ostentatious" instead

Much like the ignorant misuse of the word "cringe" as an adjective, the word "pretentious" is egregiously misused as well. It has for much longer pathetically been MISUSED.

The word "pretentious" is derived from the word "pretend" or "pretending." 

It actually is more or less an *adjective* describing someone or something that is pretending. Or not serious, insincere or fake.

"Pretentious" DOES NOT mean full of oneself or EGO-DRIVEN. But it has been used as a condescending adjective to describe those (often artists) who are too serious or ego-headed. Believing they are smarter or better than others because they can create someting that only they can make or even understand.

"Oh, I can't understand that song because the band are so pretentious"

"On this album, the band are so obsessed and self-absorbed that they come across as incredibly pretentious"

That is incoherent NONSENSE grammatically. That basically means the music is just them being fake, or not really having any integrity in the meaning behind it. Its fake and not sincere in its intent.

No No No NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is the music trying to push boundaries and being AMBITIOUS? sure..but there's nothing FAKE or INSINCERE about it or the artists intent.

And these blowhards on Social Media and even other outlets (tv, radio..even movies and books), have adopted this pathetically INCORRECT use of the word, that like many of these verbal/vernacular trends ("not to mention"..even though when "not to mention" is used, it was just FUCKING MENTIONED!..lol).

I believe "pretentious" is used to try and sound cool and tough. It's used to sound more highly educated and smart, but in fact, it actually comes across as feeble and insecure.

Regardless, until its use fades out of the verbal zeitgeist of pop-culture, it will continue to be misused and influence countless others over the years to be misused.

PRETENSION?

a claim or assertion of a claim to something.

the use of affectation to impress; ostentatiousness.

that is what google brings up, although that 2nd defintion I would contend is

a) newer than the 1st
b) not necessarily given a negative, insulting tone.

But the loudmouths who word-drop "pretentious" so often always intend it to be used that way.

Regardless, the wording is still derived from the latin base which comes from the word "pretend," which goes back to how misused "pretentious" is and it really needs to change. Will it?..doubtful. The best bet is for it to fade and not be cool anymore to say.

edit:

After all these fucking years..at least a decade or more, basically all these trillions or more incorrect uses of the word "pretentious"..the word that actually should be used is OSTENTATIOUS.

"Ostentatious" describes a showy or extravagant display meant to impress, while "pretending" or "fake" implies a deliberate deception or insincerity, often about one's identity or abilities. 

being a show-off, bragging, attention-whoring, etc is not the same thing as not being serious
(or too serious), pretending or PRETENTIOUS.

But, the short response to all these uses of "pretentious" should be,
you mean "ostentatious."

or just quote it, and modify the quote by

pretentious ostentatious.

fixed.


pretentious ostentatious.

pretentious ostentatious.

pretentious ostentatious.

pretentious ostentatious.

pretentious ostentatious.

pretentious ostentatious.

pretentious ostentatious.

pretentious ostentatious.
pretentious ostentatious.
pretentious ostentatious.
pretentious ostentatious.

Election Audits

 

If they succeed, unless there is blatant evidence of Trump or Musk's work being done to those machines, I mostly see the benefit of this for the next election.

Between this, the Greg Palast stuff of Voter Suppression and the potential rigged elections in Poland that the Palmer Report comments mention, that could have easily occurred in the 2024 Presidential Election as well, I think History will show the 2024 Presidental Election was in fact NOT FREE and FAIR.

How did Dumpy win all 7 Swing States? the odds were miniscule.

Reverse Psychology?..

 I wonder as I've seen multiple sources suggest the best move for the Democrats those who oppose 100% of everything Dumpy and his brainwashed community does, if instead of just always criticizing them, play a better, more cunning game of Reverse Psychology.

Basically appease them, even act like you support them, Say, you've turned a new leaf and decided it's not worth it.

If you can't beat them, join them?

Because it could diffuse the tension and division, at least for a time.

Then of course, eventually when they either relax or just want to oppose you still, they indirectly could support your agenda?

It's kind of a risky move, but desparate times may call for desparate measures.

I dunno..food for thought at least.

Davanni's : A favorite restaurant of mine...

 

This may be much to do about nothing, and the Davanni's manager and/or staff may have declined to be interviewed, but if the group was approached about this, it seems there is a good chance they were promoting their politics there. Which if that happened, the manager seems to have had good reason to approach them. I've been do that Davanni's many times over the last 20+ years. My friend John doesn't live too far from there and him and I would often go there before movies at the Edina Theater or other events.

Not that it is my favorite Davanni's as there are several I go to, and the majority of the time I pickup/takeout.

But, I question if they were just *eating* and not spewing their Dumpy Rhetoric so much so, other customers may have complained.

As I posted on FB (and while it got 9 likes, it also received some trolling trash replies from some Dumpy supporters, which I will add ARE IN THE MINORITY in Minnesota), if I was eating at a Davanni's or likely any restaurant, and a Dumpy party was being held, I'd get out of dodge as soon as possible. Of course the trolls are drawn to these things in droves..Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. A lot of them are BOTS also. No thank you. I don't need to hear or or be exposed to their brainwashed trash. Would it be more effective to turn my phone's camera on and play Jordan Klepper-Fingering-the-pulse-of-Maga? maybe, but it would not be what I would expect to deal with when going to eat some comfort food.

Having Davanni's while being exposed to political discourse is hardly COMFORTING.

So, depending on what we may learn, it may be much to do about nothing and some local political minorities reaching for something that had no reason to be. But if there is evidence that the manager had good reason and customers complained, MORE POWER TO THE MANAGER.

I mean sure, it could just be a LEARNING EXPERIENCE and to understand WHAT THE POLICY IS. I kind of wonder if the manager had had a written document that detailed it, and read it to the group, then what happened may be totally justified.

I suspect much of what Davanni's posted on Social Media is just to try to cover themselves from a PR standpoint.

Zelenskyy to Dumpy/Vance