Grizzlies Win Win Win

THROW IT DOWN!

• Grizzlies win over Warriors - 4th winning season in history of the fledgling franchise.
  
• Commercial Appeal

Cheers!

#42 is Smiling Down right now!

Grizz sitting pretty at 42 wins now (Tony Allen also wore #42 for Celtics).

Felt like I was Wrestling with a Grizzly Bear the whole game

“Wrestling with Zach, it felt like I was wrestling with a grizzly bear the whole game,’’ Garnett said.

1. Boston.com - Boston's take
   
2. Tillery Article - Memphis's take
   
3. Video link

“Leon Powe was the baddest man on the planet tonight,’’ Rivers said. “It’s not like they tricked us with Leon’s sets. They gave him the ball and said, ‘Just go drive through somebody and score on them.’ That’s basically what he did.’’

"Sweet child, where do we go now?" That's what the one-man acoustic crooner sang last night as I watched the Grizzlies at the local watering hole in late March. This is definitely the time of year when NBA action cranks up. March Madness is in full effect with the sweet16 getting underway tonight, and the NCAA field reduces to the Final Four by the end of this weekend. Only this time of year folks are hitting it full steam in preparation for the end the school year, the end of a long season, or the beginning of a new season of work in my case. Sweet child of mine, it's game time!

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Many are called, few are chosen. It was never going to be an easy road. The elite teams are usually in the big markets, like Boston. That's why hundreds of girls lined up for cheerleading tryouts yesterday: Now the Grizzlies are full of champs. They have a dog in the fight now. They got a runner-up national champ at point guard (Mike Conley, Ohio State). They got a Silver Medal Olympic Basketball player at center (Marc Gasol, España). At power-forward you have another NCAA Final Four leader who's also tasted the playoffs his rookie year in the NBA (Zach Randolph, Michigan State). The current starting shooting guard is a 2008 NBA Champion (Tony Allen, Boston Celtics). The small-forward was MVP of the BigEast Championship in 2008, as he lead his team to win that contest (Sam Young, Pittsburgh).

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Where do we go? We going to play this game. And yes, it's going to be so sweet!

Grizz Girls Vote

Dance Contest 2011 - Vote today for these beautiful Memphis women!

It is not growing like a tree

It is not growing like a tree
In bulk doth make Man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night—
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see;
And in short measures life may perfect be.

—Ben Jonson

1. Rudy Gay is out - expected to be out 6 months with surgery. I hope they rebuild him. Stronger. Faster. All that jazz.

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Get well mister Rudy! ........ Big shoes to fill, fellas,

Saint Grizzlides

Carmelo Anthony yelled "I do this"

The shot Carmelo Anthony hit against Memphis might only be a sign of things to come as the Knicks head into the postseason. As a Knicks fan, it is a great feeling knowing that you have someone on your team that is as comfortable as Carmelo is with having the ball in his hands with the game on the line. Who would you rather have the ball in his hands with the game on the line, Carmelo or Lebron?

Knicks Fan Reaction

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Yea, but Knicks rally for the postseason stopped there. Since the win against Memphis the Knicks and Anthony Haven't Been Doin' This..

Grizzlies will get it done tonight in New York City, MSG. I feel it. They got a chip on their shoulder and will kick the Knicks while they are down (3 game losin streak). For Vasquez it is his first trip as a pro to the Big Apple. For others they have many reasons. ZBO always wants to show off what they are missing. Tony Allen, Leon Powe, and Jason Williams have scores to settle there. Shane Battier has to show off for the New York hipster women who love him. (bet you didn't know that). Marc Gasol and Haddadi - I can't even comment on their impact here. Let's just say they had to turn down private rooms at Trump Tower.


Wish you a happy day. Warm clear skies here in New England. Go Grizz!

THE BIG Z-BOWSKI

© http://dustinpwatson.wordpress.com/

If you have not ever seen it, and you are a Grizzlies fanatic like me, you have to check out the Grizzlies game notes:

• Grizzlies Team Notes

I believe these are put out for the talking heads and media personnel to read so they don't come across sounding ignorant when calling the games or discussing the Grizzlies in public, etc. Someone puts a lot of work into it! I tend to steal a lot of ideas from here myself so I definitely want to give it up for them! The title of this post is from there - go read it.

One fine excerpt:

TONY ALLEN‟S CRAZY NUMBERS Tony Allen has been a game-changer for Memphis this season, wreaking havoc on defense and subsequently creating more opportunities for the Grizzlies on offense… Long regarded as one of the league’s best defenders, Allen has topped himself this year, posting the 21st-highest steals-per-48-minute average (4.25) in NBA history (min. 1,000 minutes played)… That’s over one steal ahead of second-place Chris Paul this season and the highest number the NBA has seen since Randy Brown in 1994-95… Only one other active NBA player has ever had a single season averaging at least four steals per 48 minutes – Ron Artest (4.12 in 2001-02).

Grizzlies news: We are bad ass!!!!! Ranked #5 on March 7th - this was before the Knicks loss but still bodes well. Look out Miami! Prediction for Saturday night's game in Miami:

W I N N I N G. Ninja style.

Spring has SPRUNG Yall

• Grizzlies are Growing it out - "The Grizzlies are growing out playoff beards. The deal was struck amongst the team prior to the San Antonio game. As I understand it, you were allowed to shave before the Spurs game if you chose to and will not be allowed to shave your beard until the Grizzlies have officially clinched a playoff spot."

ESPN: YOUNG GRIZZ ROAR




The Grizzlies came up short in the "Grizzlies Honor the Return of Shane Battier" game which I attended with my family in my only Grizzlies game of the season. But that was sandwiched between wins against San Antonio, Dallas, and OKC. Ok that's 3 of the best 4 teams in the west… And ZBO isn't an allstar? How many game winners has Kevin Love hit lately? What about Blake Griffin?

The Grizz are right in there! It's probably better that none of the Grizzlies players were in Los Angeles for the allstar game actually. They instead took the time to focus as a team and focus on their training. You can see a remarkable improvement despite the fact that Rudy Gay is out with an injury. The NBA TV guys said it at halftime last night, they thought the young Grizz could be written off when Gay went out. Instead the guys stepped up and the result is 7 wins out of their last 10 games!

March Madness in the NBA

The nation will be focused on NCAA until the tournament is over, and then the real basketball junkies take over as the NBA playoffs start creeping around the corner. Although most moronic sports fans will then be glued to MLB spring training, the rest of us will be engaged in the battle of the Titans between the super-friends and super-fiends. The new-look Celtics, Magic, Heat, Knicks, Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks, and Bulls will be vying for that title. Behind those superstar, megamarket teams lie the "better than average underdogs". These teams have some star power and maybe one superstar, and play pretty good team basketball. In this 2nd tier you have the Blazers, Hawks, Thunder, Hornets, Bucks, and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Here's the buzz on the Grizzlies:

• Shane Battier - NY Times article from 2009.
  
• Playoff Tested - Tony Allen, ZBO, Battier, and JWill have played more than 82 games a few times.



• March 1st 2011 Spurs Grizzlies preview

For the FANS

The Grizzlies have also gone the way of Antonio Burks, Lorenzen Wright, and Eliot Perry by picking up former University of Memphis wingman Rodney Carney. The last time I saw him he was in the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island burying three after three, quickly turning the local crowd against me and my Memphis Tiger gear. I had to quiet down as the Providence Friars were blown out in the 2nd half. He had a long career in Memphis because he wasn't a blue chip recruit but his talents have kept him employed in the NBA at least as an end of the bench guy. It doesn't hurt to roll the dice with someone like that, especially if you really intend to splash into the "second season" of the NBA!! But wait there's more help coming. Leon Powe?

If the Griz add forward Leon Powe, that would give them 28 more games of playoff experience. Powe is expected to clear waivers today after Cleveland released him last week, and Memphis is one of the teams he's seriously considering.

Commercial Appeal

• NY Times Article on the Value of Leon Power
• The making of Leon Power - If you are curious about his sad background check this link.