The SECOND I Knew About Manu...

"Stay positive and think clean..." -@BuckyGodbolt- (via twitter)

"You can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets..."
-Arnold Schwarzenegger- (via Leanne Calderon/facebook)

"Prediction:  Look for Ginobili to show up tonight..." -@coachatx- (via twitter)



Good afternoon everyone.  We have a lot to get to today, so let's get started...  I want to start by giving a shoutout to Bucky Godbolt.  Coach Godbolt is a former Longhorn football coach and is the host of the 'Buck On Sports' show on 1300 AM from 6am - 9am daily in the ATX.  You can follow Coach Godbolt on Twitter at the address shown above with his tweet, the very tweet that he sent to me when he decided that in addition to following 286 of his closest friends, he would also follow ME on Twitter...  Don't look now, but my little blog is about to BLOW UP..., 200..., 300 years..., tops...  ;)  Seriously, tune into Coach Godbolt's show for your morning commute.  All you need to do is read his welcoming quote to know that he's a solid guy...

Speaking of solid guys, let's segue to my favorite basketball player, Manu Ginobili.  Yesterday my facebook friends and Twitter followers were treated to a rare occurrence, and that was me hitting on the one prediction that I'll get right in my lifetime...  ;)  There had been a lot of talk about Manu's performance in the first four games of the NBA Finals, and then yesterday I heard the pregame analysts talking about how Ginobili had answered an interview question leading up to last night's tipoff.  In response to a question about his play, Manu said that he was getting sick of doing rehab for his injuries, and that this might be his last year, etc, etc...  As the analysts dogged him, they also mentioned that he was going to be in the starting lineup for last night's game.  At that moment, I instantly knew that Ginobili would show up for last night's game (and I shared the good news with my facebook friends and Twitter followers)...  :)  I didn't know that he was going to go for 24 points and 10 boards specifically, but when have you EVER heard Manu crying about his career in that manner, ESPECIALLY during the NBA Finals?  I'm positive that all of that was for Miami's benefit, and as the Spurs relentlessly pushed the pace last night with Manu hustling and scoring and making precision passes, I was all smiles...  :)  I wonder if the Heat really believed that Ginobili was just going to give up and whimper and whine as he walked away from his stellar basketball career...    

Speaking of the Spurs (as I continue to segue), I had an interesting conversation with my friend Steve (and a few others) before he attended Game 5 last night.  Steve has been a Spurs season ticket holder since 2006, and he gave me a collectible 2013 NBA Finals lapel pin before he left for the AT&T Center (a "lucky pin" if we win the title)...  ;)  I was curious if there were many season ticket holders who were selling their seats for the Finals, and when I asked Steve if he was seeing any different people around him than he had during the regular season, "EVERY GAME" was his response...  :)  I was also told yesterday that courtside seats at the AT&T Center have been going in the neighborhood of $5,000.00 - $6,000.00 for games during the Finals, and that the cheapest seats in the building have been selling for $300.00 - $400.00.

Speaking of championship playoff series (here on segue day), Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final will faceoff tonight in Boston at 7:00 p.m. CST.  In case you haven't been following the "ice soccer" (courtesy of my friend Denney), my wishes have been answered as the first two games of the Final have gone to OVERTIME!  :)  The first game went to THREE overtimes as a matter of fact...  The Bruins and the Blackhawks are currently tied at a game apiece, and although you already "know" that the Bruins will take the series in six games (having read it here), watch anyway because they'll appreciate it...  ;)


And now for my fantasy baseball teams (and GET READY, you're not going to believe this...):


League 1 (25 entry fee - 1st place/125, 2nd place/25)

1)  DraftDodgers                                   75.50 (2 weeks in a row at the top)
2)  Neshanic                                        71.00 (still hanging around the top)
3)  Rocky Roto                                     58.00 (moves up to 3rd this week)
8)  The View From Bikini Hill                  43.50 (NOT last, NOT 9th, but 8TH!!!)  :)


League 2 (40 entry fee - 1st place/300, 2nd place/50)

1)  Breaking Bats                                 83.00 (the 80's are impressive...)
2)  4troublemakers                                68.00 (the race for 2nd/3rd is close...)
3)  Loons XXIV                                      65.00 (see, told ya...)
6)  The Bikini Hill Bobcats                     48.00 (focus on League 1 improvement...)


League 3 (40 entry fee - 1st place/300, 2nd place/50)

1)  Mad Men                                        68.50 (still my most competitive league)
2)  Nappy Heads                                  68.00 (see, told ya...)
3)  jonnylove7                                       63.00 (see, still told ya...)
6)  The Bikini Hill Nine                          53.00 (again, focus on League 1 improvement)


In disabled list news, The View From Bikini Hill had 1 new player going to the DL this week, while 3 came off of the list (FUN team to manage, let me tell you)...  The Bikini Hill Nine only has two players on the DL, and my pitching staff is SO DEEP on that team.  I'm happy that they're in my competitive league currently, because they have a shot...  My Bikini Hill Nine pitching staff:  Starters this week - Kershaw, Kimbrel, Colon, Arroyo, Scherzer, Lincecum, Jim Johnson, Corbin, and Strasburg; Bench this week - Lynn, Weaver, Medlen, C.J. Wilson.  The team does have pitching (and maybe that's all)...

Have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!