The New Social Web: #IranElection

The power of change has always been via dissemination of information. Those that seek to prevent change make moves to prevent information being shared. Recently, in Iran, we've seen amazing courage and a call to minds/actions. All done via "social media" like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc. Is this the new "social web"?

Here are some thoughts that stand out from the Twitterverse:

RT from Iran: "140 chars is a novel when you're being shot at." #IranElection

RT from an Iranian: "I realize now i do not fear death. I fear my daughter will not be free when i die." #IranElection

RT from Iran Change your Twitter Location to Tehran & Time Zone to GMT +3.5. Help shield #IranElection & confuse Iranian censors!

RT U.S. Government Asks Twitter to Stay Up for #IranElection Crisis http://viigo.im/V6v

RT all my posts as much as possble to help confuse censors - #Iranelection

RT People have green pics to support the protesters in Iran #iranelection.

RT Open Letter to the World - English Version http://bit.ly/u7TZJ #iranelection

RT Going green for Iran. . . wish I could do more. . . #iranelection

And, tons of video at YouTube, LiveLeak, etc. Each designed to enable counter attacks in the cyber-war for the hearts/minds of Iranian civilians. Is the US now infringing the sovereignty of a UN Member State by enabling the Twitter universe to engage in anti-government activities? We say yes. We also say it must.

Does this constitute another wave of information? We used to get our Current Events much more slowly (if at all). First it was letters, then newspapers, then telegraph, then movies, then television, then cell phone (audio only). Now, we're getting real events streamed (nearly) live via cell phone cameras and text messaging. Seems impossible for any change averse polity to hold back this tidal wave of information.

In the end, what does all this mean? Are we getting truly unadulterated versions of events? Or, are we getting less and less "re-packaging" of events? Either way, this is a trend that shows no sign of stopping or slowing down. The move to "real-time reality" is truly a tidal wave. It will be interesting to see how governments ("open" or "closed") respond to this new wave.

NBA Finals - Game 5

ITS OVER! Lakers have secured 15th NBA Championship. And, how sweet this one is. I'm sure hoops fans would have loved another nail-biter. But, after that simply amazing second quarter run (16 to Oh!), it was all over. The only remaining drama was 1) would Kobe get a triple-double and 2) would anyone hurt themselves in the post-game celebration. Great great win by the greatest franchise in the NBA.

Lots of chatter about "best ever" with respect to KB24. This is kind of unfair to Kobe. Obviously, he has been compared to (and models himself after) MJ, but Kobe is still playing. Kenny Smith ranked him 10th ALL-TIME. And, he's still playing! He is the only guy around who can improve his standing. Nuts.

Here's a nice factoid for comparison on the NBA Finals stage:

Kobe Bryant averaged 32.4 points and 7.4 assists per game against Orlando during the Finals. The only player to match or surpass Bryant's averages in each of those categories in an NBA Finals series was Jerry West, who averaged 37.9 points and 7.4 assists per game for the Lakers in their 1969 Finals loss to the Celtics.

That, to me, is a measure of his greatness. The widely acknowledged best SG B.M. (Before Michael) and Kobe is right there. By the way, Jordan never got that close to the Logo. Just saying.

Some more on the impossible. Instead of saying "single best ever", I'll identify the best ever (no limit) at each position, ranked how I see them...

PG - Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson
SG - Michael Jordan (for now), Kobe Bryant, Jerry West
SF - Larry Bird (for now), Pending 1*, Julius Erving
PF - Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Reserved 1*, Reserved 2*
C - Wilt Chamberlin, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal

Pending 1 - this spot is waiting on Lebron James to get a title. No one gets on my list without winning a title.

Reserved 1 - this spot is reserved for Elgin Baylor. Simply the best player ever to not win a title - a true shame.

Reserved 2 - this spot is reserved for Karl Malone. The second best player ever to not win a title - ironic that both played for Lakers. :-|

That's the Top 16 players of all-time. I'd take that squad anytime. :-) Let's just run a few 8 vs 8 player team challenges - Wilt and Bill picking squads.

Some tweets from the sweet series clinching Game 5:

# @sportsguy33 We need the Revenge Series first - 2010 and Celts are going down! In 2011 we can have the Rubber Match , when Lakes get 17th
about 13 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to sportsguy33

# The L.A. Lakers win their 15th NBA championship, beating the Orlando Magic 99-86. (via @cnnbrk) Wooo Hooo
about 14 hours ago from Twitterrific in reply to cnnbrk

# 10 minutes and I can already get the official "on the court" hat shirt DVD and towel...for 79.95.
about 14 hours ago from Twitterrific

# We Are The Champions!!
about 14 hours ago from Twitterrific

# "Dad. Can we watch the trophy presentation?" "You bet, son." 3:00 left in the game
about 14 hours ago from Twitterrific

# LOTS of Forum Blue and Gold in the stands. "Lucky." - Napolean Dynamite
about 15 hours ago from Twitterrific

# KB24 refused treatment on his hand at halftime-Finals MVP is wrapped up
about 15 hours ago from Twitterrific

# Screening (antonym): Dwight Howard
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

# Screening: ...His opponent can see him and, therefore, is expected to detour around the screen.
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

# Screening: ...he may be as close as he desires providing he does not make contact...
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

# Screening: When a player screens in front of or at the side of a stationary opponent...
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

# Traveling: a. A player shall not run with the ball without dribbling it. b. Hedo Turkoglu
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

Series fade out, with "We Are The Champions" in the background...

NBA Finals - Game 4

Truly a Game of Two Halves. I'm not sure if bad offense or good defense is the cause. But, Lakers played a horrible first half and Orlando (as they tend to do) played a horrible second half.

A quick note about officiating. Its widely assumed that the Lakers got shafted in this Game. They did. But, not in the first half. 10/16 for Orlando and 8/11 for LA - not too horrible. Its the second half that is so shocking. In the 3rd, 1/2 for Magic and 6/7 for Lakers - again not too one-sided and really just evening out the 1st half (11/18 and 14/18 through 3 quarters). But, then the 4th quarter - 10/17 for Orlando and 0/0 (yup - ZERO of ZERO) for LA. In today's NBA it is IMPOSSIBLE to go a full quarter without committing a single shooting foul. I know there isn't any NBA conspiracy. But, this stat alone confirms that NBA referees are atrocious.

Now, to the important stuff. The 3rd quarter was legendary. Kobe kept them in the game but Trevor put them over the top. 30-14 in the quarter - now THAT is championship ball. The 4th quarter is legendary as well but in a much different way. Orlando had this game WRAPPED UP. As Chick would say its in the refrigerator. BUT, the Magic forgot to shut the door. Epic collapse by both the players and coaches. I'll give SVG the "no foul" play but why not press everywhere? No need for dbl-team. And, no need to cover the 2 pt field goals. Full-court pressure and park EVERYone at LEAST free-throw line extended. This is the culmination of the season. Play it to the fullest. I think Magic true colours showed up. They had trouble in every series holding leads. By this point in the season, "you are what you are". No different here.

A selection of tweets from the Game:

# DFish "...if I'm on the floor, I have to make a difference" cool!
9:56 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Enjoying this post game a LOT
9:30 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Now THAT is a flagrant foul
9:15 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Nelson must still be groggy. Just got out hustled by a 7 footer
9:13 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# "Fish gets a puppet" - Goose
9:11 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Jameer welcome to Pau's world
9:10 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Fish is AWESOME
8:53 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Two ha-yuge misses
8:50 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Hedo is on All Ugly Team. Done and done
8:46 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Noooooooo
8:45 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Ooooooooooooh
8:44 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# ABC enough with the R rated ADs. Kids are watching
8:43 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Hedo Turkolu = OC and traveling EVERY time
8:41 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Seems like Howard has 50 rebounds sheesh
8:32 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Superman better keep those chicken wings down
8:22 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Now THAT is championship basketball
8:11 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Offensive foul by Howard missed AGAIN
8:09 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Lakers D is En Fuego ahora
8:05 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Knock knock. Who's there? Los Lakers
7:57 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Big Sale in Orlando 50% off all foul calls
7:55 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Can someone please send Scott Foster the definition of Illegal Screen?
7:50 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# Wishing Lakers would pressure Howard on defense
7:48 PM Jun 11th from mobile web
# The fix is in . The Magic are being allowed to play a different game than LA
7:18 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Total bunk call against Powell
7:14 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Howard uses his hands more illegally than anyone since Rodman
7:10 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Mike Breen needs to get a dictionary - Murphy's Law??
7:07 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Bennett, if the defender is on the ground, it's a charge.
6:59 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Lakers can't buy a shot
6:59 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# When will they start calling the Howard Moving Pick?
6:51 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Tough quarter. Magic played great. Still Lakes down only 4.
6:50 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# I wonder if Hedo can ever drive without taking three steps every time?
6:40 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Apparently the Magic have never committed a foul ever
6:38 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Loving that Howard is in the VitaminWater ads now
6:36 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# The Bennett Salvatore Effort is alive and well.
6:31 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific
# Wonder if Superman can keep up this pace - he's pushing off on every rebound
6:25 PM Jun 11th from Twitterrific

The first half was so pathetic, I ended up locking out my API access. Good times.

I must admit the overtime period (no WAY the Lakers lose now) and the post-game were quite pleasant times for us. And, of course, the 4.6 shot was HUGE. I gotta believe the whole street heard us. :-)

I'm sticking with my original guess - Lakers in 6 (at home). I expect a very tight game 5 swinging to the Magic on some bogus calls down the stretch. Poetic justice for LA would be closing out @Staples with a HUGE blow-out win. We'll see. Can't wait.

NBA Finals - Game 3

Where to start? Let's see. We have an underdog at home playing for its first ever win in the Finals - not a SERIES win but a GAME win. Quickest whistle in the league (Crawford) - check. Worst whistle in the league (Wunderlich) - check. Unconscionably bad free throw shooting by the road team - check. Absolutely torrid 1st half shooting by the home team (75%) - check. And STILL the Lakes were in it to the end.

Orlando fans take whatever you want from this game. But, I'm disagreeing with Mark Jackson (said in my JVG voice). The Lakers lost this game. If I'm Orlando and my win is hanging on Kobe missing 4 freebies and making two horrific turns at the end, I'm in serious trouble.

I said before that Orlando stretches it to 6. But, after that shooting pace and only be up 5 at half and 4 at the end? Wow. They should have won by 20. The Lakers can rest easy knowing they let a VERY winnable game slip through their fingers.

NBA Finals - Game 1/2

I guess I was on Cloud 9 after the Game 1. That was just a sweet win. The post defense the Lakes threw at Superman has defined the early part of the Series. Game 2 just confirmed it. If that defense continues, the Series will be short indeed.

Some in-game thoughts on Game 1:

"If Mickney Leetrus is the leading scorer, Magic won't win a game."
"One Dave..Never put the Cart in front of the Horse.....Magic looked really poor tonight!!!!"

"Did you see the box score? Not saying it will happen. But, if Superman, The Michael Jordan of Turkey or Shard Lewis are NOT the leading scorers, Magic have no chance - cuz the Lakers are EN FUEGO!!"

"13 down, 3 to go"

The Magic looked REALLY tight. Worse than I expected. Their entire offensive game is predicated on tossing it into Superman, then having him kick-out for a shot or a swing. None of that happened. Lakes contended the entry and then closed out on the shooters ALL over the court. I especially liked that Kobe went back in late "...we may be up big but this game is NOT getting close".

Some in-game thoughts on Game 2:

"The Myth of Michael: go to 1:28 2:30 of this and then :54 of this. Magic's play was 6yrs BEFORE MJs."

"14 down, 2 to go"

The Magic were still tight. But, Shard got "lost" a couple of times and made the Lakes pay. PJ needs to point that out to Kobe and Lamar. I did NOT like the last LA shot. Kobe had plenty of time to dish to 3 wide-open guys. They dodged that bullet. And, the OT turned out very good - Kobe not dominating and Lamar not turtling.

Lots of chatter about a sweep. But, I doubt it. I expect Orlando to be VERY fired up and win Game 3. Then, I expect a tight Game 4 (a la G2) that Magic win at the wire. Then, Lakes win Game 5 and come home to close it out in Game 6. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Lakers steal G3 and close out the sweep. The Magic are playing that bad right now.

Is it bad that I'm bummed that Lakes are NOT doing this to the Celtics? Really, we got it bad when we can't enjoy a Finals victory. Sheesh.

Also, unfortunately I'll be watching G3 on "tape delay". So, no Twitterverse for me until I get back and run through the game. I'll be live for Game 4, tho. Can't wait.

NBA Finals - Preview

Not sure if its the 2 cups of coffee, but I'm buzzing right now. Oh, wait. Its the NBA FINALS BABY! Its going to be a great Series and I'll be blogging one Lakers fan's viewpoint throughout.

For now, my thoughts (like you care THAT much) on the matchups...

PG - DFish vs Skip to my Lou - Advantage: even. Fish is slowing down but has the wiles and gumption to get even on this matchup. Skip has the wheels but I'm not sure how he handles the pressure and with Jameer Nelson in the wings, it can't be good. Backup note: Farmer/Brown kill anything that Johnson brings. I'm really hoping Shannon Brown can take it to the next level - he has a GREAT toolset for the triple post.

SG - Mamba vs Some Rookie - Advantage: no contest. Just to make it a little less lopsided, let's combine Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus and call him Mickney Leetrus. There is no reasonable scenario where Mickney hangs with Kobe. The stats are not THAT off (except pts) - 17.8|5.6|2.4|1.56 vs 26.8|5.2|4.9|1.46. But, Kobe commands dbl/tpl teams the entire time and Leetrus will be ignored a LOT. If you get wide open corner 3s the ENTIRE game, you better be able to notch 15+ a game. Guarding LBJ is tough. But if you think about it, LBJ's actually a bit predictable. Either he runs headlong to the rim or dishes to a teammate at first sign of trouble. Mamba don't run that way. He doesn't let you off the hook after the first move. Poor Mickney Leetrus is in for a LONG series.

SF - Ariza vs MJofT - Advantage: (slim) to Orlando. Hedo has the ball a TON but takes a LOT of late shots. Ariza has covered a couple bigger heavier guys. This will seem like a vacation for him. And if Ariza continues his torrid shooting, this matchup easily swings the other way.

PF - Pau vs Shard - Advantage: (big) to Los Angeles. Lewis will get lots of open looks from deep. But, he will get absolutely killed on defense. I can easily see Lewis averaging 18-20 ppg and Gasol getting 26-28 ppg and tons of assists on the drop pass to Bynum after Howard comes to help.

C - Bynum vs Superman - Advantage: (not as big as it seems) to Orlando. Bynum has the length and size to play Superman one-on-one. This will (hopefully) limit the touches/shots Howard gets. If Bynum commits himself to D and R (help us out here @kaj33), then this Series is over quick. If he doesn't, then Dwight goes nuts and Lakers have to roll a dbl to him - not good. We'll see how well the new D handles a serious post threat.

X - LO vs Nelson (I guess) - Advantage: Lakers. The Lake Show gets BIGGER and LONGER when they sub. I could easily see Odom subbing for Ariza first to get 3 bigs against the Magic top group. But, either way, Lamar should be able to abuse Lewis even more than Pau will. I had to use Pietrus to get the SG position in the ballpark. What else does Orlando bring? The Nelson question will be big and distracting - will he/wont he play... - this can't be good for a young team on the big stage for the first time.

Coaches - Zen vs Panic - Advantage: no contest. Granted SVG is a good Xs/Os guy. But, at this point of the season, it's about execution and energy. That's why Zen has 10 rings (and counting). Any good college or HS coach could have figured out the Cavs over a best of 7. This is Bright Lights time and I expect SVG is not so good this figuring out a (real) offense.

Intangibles - M(otivation) HUGE advantage for Lakers; E(xperience) HUGE advantage for Lakers; (lack of) R(espect) advantage for Magic; H(ome) C(ourt) advantage for Lakers.

Orlando...
Championships: 0
Last Championship: Never won title
Last Season: Lost in Eastern Conference semifinals

Los Angeles...
Championships: 14 (5 as Minneapolis Lakers)
Last Championship: 2002
Last Season: Lost in NBA Finals

I'm still expecting a long series. But, ultimately Lakers prevail. Unlike any other sport, the NBA requires getting close and failing before a team can win it all. This Lakers team had that hurdle last year. The motivation to atone for last year will trump the "we have nothing to lose" freeness the Magic will bring. Lakers close it at home in 6 games.

Ciao