The Morning Wood - 11/07/2006

Stud(s): Utah Jazz
This ecclectic group of ballers went to 4-0 with a hard-fought victory over the formidable Detroit Pistons last night. This was a fantastic, fantastic game. How do I know? Because the free preview of NBA League Pass has temporarily ruined my life. Very tough not to watch these games. Anyway, this contest was full of great offense vs. even better defense, right down to the final play where Mehmet Okur swatted a streaking Richard Hamilton layup. Really exciting stuff, and Rasheed only picked up one technical, which is nice. The Jazz seem to have a nice, balanced offense with lots of off-the-ball movement that is giving teams a lot of trouble. Watch them the next time they're on national TV, which will probably be never.

Dud(s): The Raiders' Offensive Line/Andrew Walter
I couldn't even bring myself to watch any of this game after midway through the second quarter. I'm not sure whether it was the sieve of an offensive line that the black+sliver were trotting out there, or Andrew Walter doing his best Drew Bledsoe impression, but combine those two and you get a sloppy-ass football game. I'm pretty sure they sacked him three times in a row at one point. This isn't to say that their defense is any less to blame. Who lets the most anemic rushing offense in the league scramble for 200+ yards? Martin Grammatica might be able to lay a pancake block on Warren Sapp these days. I never thought this could be possible, but I feel bad for Randy Moss.

Talk Around the Cooler:
I'm not sure why we're doing this, but because we are, I don't want to hear any of the participants complaining about fatigue next fall. If guys like Mike Myers and Brian Schneider are on the team, everyone clearly volunteered, so they've lost all whining privelages. Also, there's a team in Japan called the Nippon Ham Fighters, which is funny in many ways, but would be funnier if they employed Gabe Kapler.

Quick Hits...
It's election day, so get out there and vote. And make sure you're informed, because we know what sort of tragedy can happen otherwise. This list is seriously a joke, and managers need to be held accoutable. Omar Vizquel hasn't made a play in the hole since 1998. Ben Gordon dropped 37, fueled by my lavish praise of his game. If they're looking for an answer, I'm guessing that this isn't it, although I think I know what is. After all, fathering illegitamite children gets old after a while.