Grades v. Pacers 03/06

[Bricklayer]

Well...been accumulating requests and whatnot for themes, from Mascots, to Monty Python lines etc., so decided it was time to knock one of those obligations off...so everybody celebrate this week's theme: Guys Who Make Bricklayer Hot!! er.....no....wait a sec.... How about: Guys Who Bricklayer Has To Acknowledge Women Might Find Hot. Yes....sounds better. MUCH better.

So theme = "Hot Guys", with the proviso that I am a heterosexual male and don't actually spend that much time obsessing over guys who might be goodlooking. And the further proviso that women often have...er...let's just say rather "diverse" and unpredictable tastes about who is hot or not. Guys...we're fairly predictable. But I do not see anyway to be able to cover the whole spectrum from "bad boys" to long-haired rockers to tall dark and handsome to blond beach bum to GQ to...etc. etc. So I'm not even bothering. This will just be a collection of guys that I, as a male, would feel obligated to either just tip my hat to in solemn acknowledgement, or to beat the crap out of on general principle and rearrange some of those pretty boy features. In any case, I do not expect this to cover all bases for all women, and ask me if I care. ; ) So...I said I would do it, so here it is:

Salmons ( C+ ) -- good start being fed by Brad, but offensively went completely silent therafter. Did use his penetratring ability to set people up, but may well have missed his last 8 shots on the way to a 2-10, and was removed for the stretch run because Cisco was doing more with his hustle, and Kevin, while fading was still more of a threat. Grade seems a bit harsh, but for long long stretches out there he had no apparaent impact on the game.

Hugh Jackman -- whadya gonna say? I mean gotta give this man his props, he's nearly as good looking as me!

Thomas ( B- ) -- blew several early layups, but was big on the glass in the early going and had some moments of effectiveness defensively disrupting things with quickness. Was mostly quiet in the third, and the big run by the Pacers at the end of the quarter spelled the end of his minutes for the game. Corliss took over the spot for the stretch.

BRAD PITT -- obviously this one took little or no imagination, and yes even guys know he's damn pretty. Note: did the ladies a favor by posting a pic showing far more skin than any of the ladies did in Hot Women themed grades.

Miller ( C ) -- helped grease the early offense, but had a couple of mysteriously bad turnovers. Continued on in highly mediocre fashion, missing fairly easy shots and getting maybe one of those backdoor passes through for every two he attempted. Inability to stop Jermaine late in the game sealed up the lower grade.

GEORGE CLOONEY -- again a real toughie. And getting a bit older now. In any case, one of the guys on this list where I "got it" as far as the swaggering masculine charm angle. As far back as E.R. it was perfectly obvious. Also a bit more to him than a pretty face. So tip of the hat and all that.

 

[Bricklayer]

Martin ( B+ ) -- had a big first half, and began to pour it on as the first quarter wore on, and obviously knew from last game the Pacers didn't have anyone to guard him. And as it ws in the second half of the Pacers game was at times very aggressive racing right around either the slowfooted Dunleavy, tiny little PGs, and NBDL level backups. Had 18 by the end of the first half. But then things suddenly changed. Bibby came out firing in the third, but kewvin largely disappeared, and 18 at half, and only 20 by the end of the third. And really it seemed the intensity just faded as his cuts were not as sharp, he fumbled balls off his hands, and of course the Pacers made it a point to try to keep him out of rhythm. After a long stretch of invisibility finally did something again when he hit an important basket and continuation at the 2:00 mark, but followed it up with a missed forced 3 the next possesion. Did hit the icing FTs with 3 seconds left off the intentional foul. Dunno. This one started great, but the late fade was distinct, and Kevin was nowhere to be found as the Pacers blew us off the court to make a tight game of it. Felt close to a B than an A-, and I threw in the + onyl after seeig him hit both of those final FTs. If he missed oen and opend the door, probably just B.

MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY -- and this one is almost a protest inclusion. As I am well aware that many many women find this man attractive, and he almost viscerally bothers me. He talks like his mouth is full of rocks, and there is something sleasily self assured about him that I am almost positive would cause my hackles to raise up if I should ever meet him. Definitely a candidate for the beatdown treatment rather than the acknowledgement nod.

Bibby ( B ) -- not much of a first half as Tinsley was attacking Mike early and got him into foul trouble. But Mike came alive in a big way in the third with back to back threes and went into one of those Bibby zones where eveything was going to fall. Ran off 12 points in maybe 3 minutes and almost singlehandedly pushed the Pacers to the brink of a blowout. Lead was 20 by the time his streak ended. But hing was, after it ended, the Pacers immediately started there own charge, and neitehr Mike nor anybody else in a Kings uni put up any resistance as nearly the entire lead was annihilated in 4 minutes. Mike came back alive in fits and spurts down the stretch as just about the only scorer for our slumbering offense, but it was a mix of good shots, bad ones, layups, and blown ones (especially as he annoyingly kept on trying to flop into Jermaine to draw that last foul on him rather than just hit the damn layup). His points all came at memorable points of the game, and another one of these recent games where you could point to one guy -- in this case Mike -- as why we didn't finish off the choke. But as an overall effort not at all sure how wonderful this was. Good enough I suppose, but I had to check the numbers before goign B instead of B-.

CLIVE OWEN -- ah, Captain Wooden -- cannot act his way out of a shoebox, but he's pretty so it does not matter. Suppose its only fair given that guys once elevated Denise Richards to "A list" status on the same principle.

Price ( B+ ) -- in the first half made a couple of nice drive and dishes. Unusual for him, and looked actually PGish. And in the early 4th was about the only King offering resistance as we tried to collapse. Hit a three, actually fouled Dunleavy on the break to prevent a dunk rather than let the Pacers have their 1000th layup of the second half. Numbers weren't exciting, but did some nice things out there, and this still is Ronnie Price.

DENZEL WASHINGTON -- another guy on this list who's time may be about up, but one whom in the past I've had to acknowledge "damn he looks sharp".

Cisco ( B+ ) -- not much statistically in the first half, but made some good plays including a nice steal of an inbounds pass leading to an assist on the break. Also of course threw in an obligatory mistake or two. Hit a big key shot late in the third to break a 16-0 Pacers run that had them right back in it within 4. Also ventured inside to grab the defensive rebound the next time down the floor for the Pacers, and while it didn't exactly give us momentum, it did snap the Pacers'. Hustled hard trying to stave off the collapse in the 4th, and was rewarded with all of the late minutes. A roleplaying effort, complete with several of Cisco's normal not-so-brightisms, but exactly the sort of scrappy timely roleplaying effort that can turn the tide in a game like this when the glamour boys are slipping.

SEAN CONNERY -- now obviously this would be a man who's time mostly has passed, but I dipped into the past for the Hot Women thread, so do so again here. Suffice it to say that he was another one, like Clooney, where I understood and could respect the charismatic appeal. Besides, any man so sexy he could continue on until he was 70 getting to share love scenes with the likes of Catherine Zeta Jones just about has to get that nod of guy respect/acknowledgement.

 

[Bricklayer]

Corliss ( B ) -- so so first half when he got a few fairly easy hoops, but was not much of an impact guy. Statistically the second half wasn't much different, but his timing sure was. Corliss made a key play in the early 4th charging inside and drawing the 5th foul on Jermaine. Made some mistakes as the quarter wore on (he played the whole stretch run), but also hit some easy hoops, and had a big steal mid quarter out of a timeout. Finsihed it by maybe finally hitting the sealer off a little drop pass with just under a minute to go. 6-7 and extremely efficient. On the other hand another night of 2 rebounds in 20min type work. Enough good plays to help us pull out the lin however.

CHRISTIAN BALE -- and this spot was going to go to either the gloomy guy or the artsy guy, but I had to ask myself do I really think Johnny Depp is hot?! So the gloomy gus it is.

Reef ( B- ) -- truly embraced his inner SF with an offensivecentric 10pt 0reb first half, and just for kicks threw in a nifty behind the back one on one move to thoroughly embarass the already embarrassingly bad Pacers D. Grade plummetted however as he struggled in the 4th, couldn't finish his shots, and went out of the game after committing an offensive foul going against Jermaine. And so finished with 10pts 2 rebs in 20min to go with Corliss's 13 and 2 in 21min. And if you wonder why we continue to get outrebounded every night, there is Exhibit A. One or both of these guys simply has to be replaced next year as "bigs" off the bench.

VIGGO MORTENSON -- and out of fairness I originally was aiming this spot toward some sort of younger, maybe musical type. But I had to ask muself, do I really think Nick Lachey is sexy? Or is he just a sleazebag? Is Justin Timberlake sexy, or just a preening little twit? You see the difficulty. So I bailed out and went with Viggo. Not just Viggo -- because I'm not really sure if Viggo overall is that sexy. But Viggo in these movies I got -- masculine romantic hero type. Always looked badly in need of a bath, but that's probably in the heroic handbook too.

Muss ( ) -- this is one of those games that exhibits why grading a coach can sometimes be a waste of time. We didn't start off the game all that great -- just matching points with the Pacers, neither good, nor bad. But then Kevin gets hot, and the lead opens up. Then we go to the bench, and the lead opens up some more. But its just the normal rotation pattern. Then we come out of half and again are just so so -- not bad, but not great. Just holding or own. Then Mike gets hot, and we almost blow the other team out. Then the Pacers call timeout, and they come roaring back. Now unless Muss passed something out in the huddle of that timeout,l I'm not sure that ANYTHING I've said so far could really be a basis for a grade. Its all just fine, its all just basketball. So they come roaring back at us, and Muss does the right thing after they score 8 in a row and calls a timeout...after which they proceed to score 8 more in a row. So much for calling timeouts at the right time. Then he inserts some backups, and Cisco hits a big three for us to break the Pacers charge. But of course again those backups came in almost exactly when they would have regardless of how the game was going (end of the third). Meanwhile Kevin is zoning out. Coach's fault? Dunno. In any case, we take a near blowout over a team that EVERYBODY has been blowing out the last couple of weeks, and turn it into a near collapse with a late save. I'm sure the Spurs are trembling. The late third collapse was at least memorable as its not so often you see a team down 20 run off a 16-0 run with fastbreak layup after fastbreak layup against nonexistent transition defense. But damn.

CHRIS WEBBER -- obviously just catering to the locals, but let's say I got this one too on the million dollar smile oh and btw ripped up world class athlete scale

Carlisle ( ) -- hey, should be available after this season should we want him -- that team has entirely quit on him. Cautionary tale though -- he's proven he can win big, but teams WILL grow weary of his control-freakish ways. Just maybe not as quick as they weary of Muss.

BRICKLAYER -- and whew, I almost hesitated to add this one because I know the swoon factor involved, and man if anybody faints at their desk and falls face first into thier coffeee I do truly TRULY apologize. In any case, obviously the ultimate sexy male, as I am sure anybody of EITHER sex can tell. Handsome, sophisticated, charming as all hell. Its not my fault I am perfect.

 

[chelle]

so far so good!!!!

 

[GoGoGadget]

Hugh Jackman -- whadya gonna say? I mean gotta give this man his props, he's nearly as good looking as me!

Still don't get this one. At all.

Brad and Cloooooooooney are both excellent choices, but... Jackman?

Okay... now to actually read the grades.

 

[Sluggah]

Still don't get this one. At all.

Brad and Cloooooooooney are both excellent choices, but... Jackman?

Okay... now to actually read the grades.

he's wolverine! doesn't that make him automatically hot? or am i out of touch with the ladies.

claws!!

 

[GoGoGadget]

he's wolverine! doesn't that make him automatically hot? or am i out of touch with the ladies.

claws!!

Since I'm the only of my female friends who doesn't find him attractive, I think this may be one of those occasions in which I am also out of touch with the ladies.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

nice work brick. keep it up the new themes kkeep me coming back 4 more

 

[GoGoGadget]

Six of the nine are solid choices. Bravo, Brick.

EDIT: Eight of eleven.



Though, in the interest of your reputation, I might have put this theme off one game so that you didn't end up with hot guys right on the heels of needlepoint stitches.

 

[chelle]

Come on now, you can't be hating on Matthew. Not so sure about Clive. For a guy, you did a "pretty" good job. You may be more in touch with your feminine side than you realize!!!

 

[tyrant]

i have to give props to our power forwards. we didnt have 1 great performance out of corliss, rahim or kenny, ((individually)) but the 3 of them combined for 28 points and 11 rebounds. thats a garnett type game. might not be as pretty. but still a garnett type game. lol. and our bench was pretty decent. i think our bench chipped in around 33 points.

 

[Prophetess]

7 out of 11.

I still don't see what the fascination w/Pitt is.

But, then again I know my taste in men is a little different then anyone elses.

Gotta agree w/Chelle though, clive???


oh, and the grades look pretty. good.

 

[nbrans]

This is the first game I've seen in a couple of weeks (thanks, job), and wow, they look like a different team. The new quicker pace at least keeps things interesting, and I didn't know it was possible for them to be even worse defensively than ever before.

But really, Kevin Martin has taken things to another level. People have been saying all season that he's not, nor ever going to be, a guy you can just give the ball and watch him create. Well, guess what -- that's what he's doing now. I really hate the off-balance threes he's been launching, and he still disappears for stretches, but other than that his game is looking pretty spectacular.

Superstardom is not there yet, but it's in reach.

 

[Daniela]

I am a girl and I think Hugh Jackman is one the most beautiful men alive today. Absolutely perfect.
Clive is the only one who doesn't do it for me on the list.
But not bad for a guy. I have to say I am quite impressed.

 

[Warhawk]

But not bad for a guy. I have to say I am quite impressed.

C'mon, is it really all that difficult to put this list together? I mean, just walk through a grocery store line and write down who is on all the women's magazine covers (and flip through People once for good measure). Piece-o-cake.

Except for Brick of course. Including him at the end was, well, inspired!

 

[bdouble013]

Since I'm the only of my female friends who doesn't find him attractive, I think this may be one of those occasions in which I am also out of touch with the ladies.

You are out of touch G3. I kept telling my wife that if Hugh Jackman came knocking for me, well.......

 

[tyrant]

tyrant is pretty hot himself

 

[ZanesvilleFan]

I think that Kevin only "dissapears" when he realizes that someone else has the hot hand. Or when he has to get back into the flow of the game when coming back off the bench. He's not your give me the ball and watch what i do with it type of player. It makes his game a lot easier when you have 1 or 2 other guys thats having a good game. So i dont really see it as dissapearing, I look at it as lets see if i can make my job easier by getting someone else going while still getting the "W". But the kings looked pretty good last night even though they gave up a 20 point lead. But one thing that they prooved is that they can come out on top of close games...Something that they are going to need to do here in trying to get that last playoff spot. And for Ronnie Price, he hit a much needed 3 in the middle of the 4th, plus his hustle play for not giving up an easy two...That is what bench players are all about...So i would have to give him at least an A-

 

[BigSong]

i've got nothing against Jackman, although when i heard that Danzig was actually up for the role but bailed because of tour commitments, I always watch x -men with a sense of what could have been.

 

[nbrans]

I think that Kevin only "dissapears" when he realizes that someone else has the hot hand. Or when he has to get back into the flow of the game when coming back off the bench. He's not your give me the ball and watch what i do with it type of player. It makes his game a lot easier when you have 1 or 2 other guys thats having a good game. So i dont really see it as dissapearing, I look at it as lets see if i can make my job easier by getting someone else going while still getting the "W". -

That's a part of it, but there are also times when he stops going to the basket. When he's driving into the lane he's pretty much unstoppable, but there are times when he settles for launching off balance jumpers from the outside, and they rarely go in. His aggressiveness isn't consistent within games. If someone else has the hot hand it's fine for him to move the ball, but the offense bogs down when he's not getting into the lane.

 

[GoGoGadget]

You are out of touch G3.

I must be, because.... mmmmmmmmmmm, Clive.

I cannot believe he's not getting more love in this thread.

 

[Daniela]

C'mon, is it really all that difficult to put this list together? I mean, just walk through a grocery store line and write down who is on all the women's magazine covers (and flip through People once for good measure). Piece-o-cake.

Except for Brick of course. Including him at the end was, well, inspired!

True True, but still. Most men wouldn't even attempt something like this.


Danzig was up for Wolverine?? Can he act or did they just like his chops???

 

[BigSong]

True True, but still. Most men wouldn't even attempt something like this.


Danzig was up for Wolverine?? Can he act or did they just like his chops???

i have no idea, hes a rock star though. he would of been the ultimate logan.

 

[Prophetess]

i have no idea, hes a rock star though. he would of been the ultimate logan.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0200752/

he had the body type for the role. I think that was his main appeal.