About a decade ago, A friend of mine who ran a high-level local league came to our weekly pick-up and ask if any of us wanted to play as a stand-in for a team that had to forfeit during the playoffs. When I heard it was at the practice facility, I jumped at the chance, as did one of the other dads I played with.

The facility is pretty standard, a warehouse-style rectangular building with 2 or 3 regulation full courts, no stands. My son came with me. I saw the team we would be playing against and was very worried…they all looked like ex-D1 players and some were like 6’8″ and burly.

I found the guy who invited us and said “damn, we’re no match for these guys, you trying to get us killed?” He deadpans, “Don’t worry, you got Speedy.” I look at the guy he gestured to, he looked well into his 40’s, maybe 6’0″…kinda had a Derek Fisher vibe when he was warming up. I wasn’t all that impressed until the game started…then he just effortlessly started making shots from everywhere. We wound up winning in a nail-biter, with Speedy just dominating down the stretch. For the record, I did swish two mid-range jumpers but didn’t see the ball all that much.

There were two ex-Knicks hanging around: John Starks and Charles Smith. I didn’t really interact with them. Smith seemed kind of shy, just dribbled a ball a bit in his street clothes.

Didn’t Middleton just have surgery on both ankles? He’s 33 next month 6 years older than OG.

Middleton played 82 games when he was Anunoby’s age. Now at age 33 they’re the same.

OG is a special kind of brittle. You can’t reasonably expect him to play more than a 33 y/o wing who just had two surgeries.

They went 17-19 with Rivers. What constitutes a fluke injury? I go the other way on Lillard.

Totally reasonable. Dame is a head scratcher. His drop was precipitous. Something tells me it can be explained by something other than the end of his time but 🤷🏻‍♂️

If you like rock/country fusion with a touch of the Old Testament…

It’s a pretty narrow genre, and I’d have to go through the entire Old Testament to know what officially qualifies, but off the top of my head Jokerman is probably my personal favorite.

oh my goodness Bob!!!

before i forget – excellent song link yesterday, very much enjoyed the Seatrain…

If you like rock/country fusion with a touch of the Old Testament… try

The Song of Job https://youtu.be/ErKVYIqhJtI

Waiting for Elijah https://youtu.be/hAfBF5oepEw or just plain fiddling…

Orange Blossom Special https://youtu.be/x7F7kF3T32U

I don’t know wtf happened to him last year.

Weeks ago I heard in a podcast (or read in an Athletic’s piece) that Dame was going through a painful divorce and his kids did stay in Portland with their mother.
Maybe this could explain something, he did look mentally off for most of the season.