NBA Political Contributions

There's a fun little thing on Huffington Post that allows you to see who's giving what to whom. It lets you track donations by either name or address. I thought I'd try some NBA names and see who popped up. So far, Barack Obama is leading the race in the NBA. Here are the results:

Execs:
David Stern (Ruler): $4600 to Hillary Clinton
Billy King (Sixers): $4600 to Barack Obama
Jerry Colangelo (Suns): $2300 to John McCain
Robert Sarver (Suns): $2100 to McCain
Wyc Grousbeck (Celtics): $4600 to Barack and $2300 to Mitt Romney
Danny Ainge (Celtics): $2300 to Romney
James Dolan (Knicks): $2300 to Hillary
Magic Johnson: $2300 to Barack

Players:
Stephon Marbury: $2300 to Barack
Baron Davis: $2300 to Barack
Grant Hill: $2300 to Barack

Others:
Ahmad Rashad: $2300 to Barack
Arn Tellem (Agent): $2300 to Barack

A lot of the "superstars" - Kobe, Lebron, Dwyane, KG, AI, Tracy - haven't given anything. I wasn't surprised by that, but I thought I'd at least see Adonal "Democracy Matters" Foyle or Charles Barkley on the list. I was surprised to see Steph on there. Perhaps I've underestimated him.

There were 4 listings for Michael Jordan - 3 that couldn't be him and 1 that might. The one that might is retired from Washington DC and gave $2100 to Barack.

Anyway, try it out. It's kind of stalkerish in that it lists the address of the donor, too. So whether you're interested in politics or stalking, here's the tool for you.

Now Introducing Kevin Garnett, Red Sox Fan

Celtics fans, it's okay to like Kevin Garnett. He's a Red Sox fan. Or rather, a Red Sox hat fan. Now that that's clear, we may actually be able to talk about basketball in Boston.

At the press conference introducing KG, Danny Ainge went out of his way to clearly delineate KG's loyalties. After Kevin was asked why he decided to let the trade happen, Ainge said,

"The real reason he didn't tell you, is that he has a Red Sox baseball hat collection. He has a tough time wearing those except when he comes to Boston so now he can break out his Red Sox hat collection. He is a big time Red Sox baseball fan."

What a relief. Now just so there's no confusion, Kevin Garnett is a Red Sox baseball fan. And he likes Boston. After his Red Sox comments, Ainge continued with his KG-loves-Boston tirade:

"There was a lot of reports out there of KG not wanting to come to Boston...Those are all false reports. There was a team or two that he liked better than our situation...It had nothing to do with the city of Boston in any way, shape, or form...All the reports out there were false."

Translation: Boston media, be nice to KG.

Photo Source: AP

Indy vs. Boston, or Why I Spent the Next 12 Hours Hugging the Toilet

For me and everyone living outside of D.C. and Chicago, the most exciting series hands down is/was Houston-Dallas. I couldn't have been more pumped before yesterday's game. The boys and I went to Costco and picked up a 1.75L bottle of Grey Goose, a 36 pack of MGD, some Red Bull and some tonic. We were ready and waiting for T-Mac and Dirk, Avery and Jeff (By the way, how entertaining have those two been? The two most irascible, defensive-minded coaches this side of Pop and Larry Brown). A pair of Game 7's, baby. Couldn't wait.

So what do we get instead?? Indy vs. Boston, a game so mind-numbingly dull that I thought time had stopped (actually it was just Jamaal Tinsley bringing the ball up). Don't get me wrong, Rick Carlisle was a fucking genius slowing the game down to the point of no return like he did, calling a time out every time Boston scored, but I needed like 5 drinks and half a liter of vodka just to get through the game. And of course all I had eaten that day were french fries so by the time the Dallas game rolled around, so was I...on the floor.


Funny - I had that same expression watching the game.

I got through the first half and then spent the next 12 hours alternately hunched over the toilet (which for me, being the biggest germophobe, is just another reason to throw up) and dry heaving into the trash can by the bed. At 4am, after my Steve Nash epiphany (more on that later), I finally decided I needed to get something in my stomach. I went to get the only thing tolerable when you're hung over - an Egg McMuffin - except that the McDonald's Nazi refused to serve breakfast until 5am. Can you believe that shit?? I explained the situation very patiently to her (starting from Game 1 when Houston beat Dallas up to Indy-Boston and the cause of my predicament) but the bitch wouldn't budge. Either that or she had no idea what I was talking about because I'm 99.9% sure now that she didn't speak a word of English. Anyway, to make a long story not as long, I ended up getting a Happy Meal, eating half the burger, then throwing it up -- all this before brunch with my Grandma and the rest of my family. And how was your Mother's Day?