Shaq has Superman bling.

After all, you can’t be a superhero forever. Whether Shaq wants to admit it or not, Howard brings out the best in him. They bring out the best in each other. When the Orlando Magic played the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, both Shaq and Howard put on an amazing display of what it takes to be a “big man” in the NBA. The Magic won 101-95, and Howard netted 22 points. But Shaq also worked hard in the middle, scoring 20 points himself.

Dwight Howard has the Superman cape and the sneakers.

It was a hard fought battle between two NBA superheros, one whose career is just beginning and the other whose career is coming to a close.

“I really consider him a big man: myself, him and Yao,” Shaq said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “I’m sure he doesn’t mind the physicality. I [darn] sure don’t mind it.”

I don’t think either of them mind it all. The physicality gives them the opportunity to show off their inhuman strength and superpowers. In the minds of NBA fans, both Howard and Shaq are superhuman. End of discussion.

(According to ESPN’s latest commercial, Dwight Howard is the real Superman):

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

Rookie Courtney Lee will likely get his shot at the Black Mamba in the beginning, provided Lee is in the starting lineup. Otherwise, when Mickael Pietrus is in the game, he will no doubt be regarded as the ‘Kobe Stopper’. How well he can stop Kobe is debatable, but my guess is Pietrus will do a better job than Ruben Patterson ever did.

Wouldn’t surprise me to see Hedo Turkoglu or J.J. Redick get some cracks at Kobe here and there, but it probably won’t end well for them.

Can Andrew Bynum step up his game against Superman?

If Bynum can, it could very well be a short series. An aggressive and interested Bynum could spell foul trouble for Dwight, and we all know while backup center Marcin Gortat can be decent in spurts, the Magic don’t have a prayer in the series unless Dwight is playing darn near 40-42 minutes a game.

LA’s offensive game plan?

Drive the ball to the hoop as much as possible. Instead of settling for jumpshots, post Pau and Andrew. Make Rashard and Dwight work on the defensive end. Get them out of the game and the Laker’s chances drastically improve.

Dwight wants some payback (Image: readmoretalkless.wordpress)

Orlando’s offensive game plan?

Besides shooting the three unconsciously? Force feed Dwight, keep him involved. If he gets doubled, that all the better because Turk, Lewis, Alston, Pietrus, Lee, and maybe Redick will be open to knock down their shots. The Magic must be cognizant of the abilities of Pietrus and Lewis to create on their own. Settling down the offense and running some isolations or post up sets for these two could prove to be a more dynamic and wiser attact than just the perimeter shot.  But this is the Orlando Magic I’m talking about, so the three ball might be just fine.

Oh, I almost forgot: get outta the way of Hedo in the fourth.

Who has the best closer?

Might not be as simple of an answer as you think.

Especially if Turk gets his proper pizza fix before the game.

Wildcards

1. Lamar Odom

2. His sugar highs/ lows

3. Shannon Brown/ SashaVujacic/ Jordan Farmar

4. Jameer Nelson (Is a rusty Jameer Nelson better than a healthy Anthony Johnson?)

5. J.J. Redick, will he play, and if he does, can he find his stroke?

Post from: EveryJoe

Superstar bigman Howard was the best player on both ends for Orlando. He finished the game with 23 points, 22 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Rashard Lewis chipped in with 20 points and six rebounds, while Hedo Turkoglu hit a big three-pointer late in the game to put the Magic up for good.

The Celtics seemed tired as they faded down the stretch. Rajon Rondo had 19 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and four steals but he had a three-pointer blocked that ended Boston’s hopes. The only other players in double figures were Paul Pierce with 17 and Kendrick Perkins with 15. Ray Allen had just five points in 42 minutes while connecting on 2-of-11 shots from the field.

Game 7 will be played in Boston. In their history, the Celtics are 17-3 in Game 7 contests played in Boston. The game will begin at 8 PM EST on Sunday.

Superman will try to rescue a win in Game for Orlando (Image: Newscom)

Post from: EveryJoe

Image: sxc.hu

I’m going to tie these two together in Exercise and Muscle Group:

• Legs have always been my weak point. From the waist up I do pretty well for myself. At my peak physical condition I used to be able to bench press 230 lbs and curl a little over 100 lbs. This was at a body weight of about 165. My weakness though was squats. I don’t hate squats, I love doing them and I like how they make me feel when I’m doing them, especially when I can go deep and follow through with good form. Unfortunately squats make me feel sore for days afterward and it drains my energy for a few days as well.
• Running. I hate running, I really do. I especially hate running on a track or any repetitive course. I try to rely on other forms of cardio to get my heart rate up. I want to run and I wish I could bring myself to do it at least 4 days a week because it would do me a world of good, but ambition or lack-there-of always gets the best of me.

Foods:

• First and foremost, my biggest kryptonite is beer. I like beer but I don’t care for the supoer low calorie beers because they taste way too watered down. I like Heineken to be exact and I try to drink Heineken light because it’s a lot lower in calories, but it’s not available everywhere,
• I used to be really good about not eating anything even remotely heavy or at all after dinner but I still get cravings just as much as anyone. Cookies, specifically chocolate chip and Oreos are a huge weakness of mine. I can’t just eat a couple, I have to grab at the minimum 6.
• My wife’s cooking. That’s probably my second biggest food weakness. My wife is a great cook and is always trying new things. It hard to not go for seconds when your wife cooks like mine.

So what is your fitness kryptonite?

Post from: EveryJoe

Superman will be Grounded for Game 6 (Image: Newscom)

According to the NBA, Howard’s elbow required a one-game suspension by rule. Additionally, the referees had the option of ejecting him from Game 5.

Thankfully for the Magic, Howard was allowed to continue to play in Game 5. In the contest, Howard had 24 points and 24 rebounds as the Magic won by a final score of 91-78.

Howard’s elbow was busy on the night. Not only did it get him suspended, he also elbowed teammate Courtney Lee in the face and fractured his sinus. Lee will miss at least Game 6 and could miss more action in these playoffs.

The Magic have a 3-2 lead in the series and will travel to Philadelphia for Game 6. If they aren’t able to eliminate the Sixers in that game, the two teams will travel back to Orlando for Game 7.

Post from: EveryJoe

Oh, and one more thing – mascots. Lots of mascots. Big ones. Small ones. Clever ones. Ridiculous ones.

So, in honor of those mascots that are either ridiculous, stupid, boring, or absurd, I present to you my Top 10 list of the Dumbest college sports mascots.

#1 – Sammy the Banana Slug: University of California at Santa Cruz Banana Slugs – not only do the fine folks at UCSC have one of the dumbest team names around (Banana Slug), their mascot, Sammy, looks like a cross between Jabba the Hut and Steve Urkel from Family Matters. That is one fierce looking slug, folks…

#2 – YoUDee : University of Delaware Blue Hens – First off, yes, YoUDee is a clever way to name your character after the school’s name, the University of Delaware. It is also a stupid way. Second, YoUDee’s costume is horrible – he has a tan jersey that goes over his blue torso and arms, which makes sense. But then he has a blue skirt that goes over his tan legs. So, is he blue or tan? Let’s show a little consistency here, shall we? And please, please, please don’t even get me started on the fact that UD chose a hen as their mascot. That’s the best mascot they could come up with? A small, scrawy little bird? And a blue one at that? What, was another school already using Cornish Game Hen as their mascot? Was Grouse already taken? (photo courtesy of www.udel.edu)

#3 – The Tree: Stanford University Cardinal – Stanford has no official mascot…perhaps because they are so embarrassed by their unofficial one, The Tree. This is a googly-eyed, bow-tie wearing, top-hat sporting, cheesy-grinning tree. With horribly fake leaves. Their nickname, the Cardinal, refers to the color and not the bird or the clergyman. Fair enough. So why didn’t they choose a mascot that actually related to their nickname? You know, like a swatch of cardinal-colored fabric or something. Let me repeat myself so that everybody is clear – Stanford’s mascot mascot is a TREE.

#4 – The Fantom of the Dome: University of California at Santa Barbara Gauchos – the Gauchos had a pretty cool looking mascot for a while, until it was retired. To take the Gaucho’s place, in came The Fantom of the Dome (cute play on words, once again) with his ridiculous Zorro mask, black gloves and black cape. Somewhere on the UCSB campus, there is a guy (most likely a Computer Science or Finance major) who really needs to get a life. Either that, or some serious psychiatric help. Or perhaps a little bit of both.

#5 – Jonathan the Husky: University of Connecticut Huskies – Jonathan XII, the real-life Husky, is pretty cool. I have a problem with the costumed version of Jonathan. He looks more like a teddy bear than a husky. He isn’t fierce or ferocious. He’s timid and cuddly. He doesn’t inspire me to scream and shout for my team, he makes me want to curl up in front of a fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa. (Photo courtesy of Megan Reynolds – The Daily Campus)

#6 -Scrappy, the Mockingbird – University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs – OK, let’s get this straight…the team’s nickname is the Mocs (it was Moccasins until 1996), and yet its mascot isn’t a moccasin – it is a mockingbird named Scrappy. There’s no point in using a moccasin as your mascot if your team name is moccasin, is there? And, to top it all off, UTC’s main logo has Scrappy riding a train (in reference to the Chattanooga Choo Choo). I’m getting a headache…

#7 – Otto the Orangeman: Syracuse University Orange – I guess you only have so many ways you can go in choosing a school mascot when your nickname is the “Orange”. I personally like my oranges firm – Otto is just too squishy for me.

Plus, the name – Otto – sounds very nerdy to me. With so many better “O” names out (Octavio, Obi Wan, and Odysseus, just to name a few), you’ve got to do better than Otto. and then, of course, there is the skirt that he’s wearing in the picture…(not that there’s anything wrong with that). (photo courtesy of www.suathletics.com)

#8 – Testudo the Terrapin: University of Maryland Terrapins – aren’t Diamondback turtles slow, plodding and unexciting? That’s what I thought. You can dress up your mascot name all you want, you can call yourselves Terrapins all you want. The fact remains, your mascot is a turtle.

A slow, boring, dull turtle.

A turtle.

And what kind of name is Testudo? It sounds like a villain from Marvel Comics that is going to battle Superman. (photo courtesy of umterps.cstv.com)

#9 – Herbie Husker: University of Nebraska Cornhuskers – one of the dominant college football programs in the country…the famed Black Shirts defense…Tom Osborne…multiple national championships…and you have a mascot named Herbie? He looks like Woody from Toy Story on HGH. In the photo, he’s the one on the right. His sidekick, Lil’ Red, would have been in the Top 10 as well, but he isn’t the primary mascot. (Photo courtesy of www.huskers.com)

#10 – Pounce the Panther: University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Panthers – thankfully, UWM retired their old mascot, Victor E. Panther, and replaced it with Pounce. Unfortunately, Pounce isn’t much better. The yellow and black pinstripes have got to go, and Pounce’s bright yellow eyebrows are hideous. Back to the drawing board, boys. (photo courtesy of uwmpanthers.cstv.com)

Post from: EveryJoe