Jeff took time out from the C's win streak and Iverson watch this week to trade email messages for this Q&A:
How long have you been a Celtics fan? In other words, in which championship era did you grow up?
Since as early as I can remember, and the earliest years I remember are the 85 and 86 seasons when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I grew up tall (6’5" eventually) so basketball was always my favorite sport (that’s like a law or something). The Celtics had such a winning swagger about them that I was just hooked for life. I loved Bird’s dominance, I loved the Chief’s glare, I loved McHale’s wit, and later I got to learn about Red and Russell and all the greats from years past. Of course, I had no idea I was in for another 20 years (and counting) of trying to recapture that greatness.
Parish was intense. From what I understand, he was quiet as a church mouse on offense and barking out orders like a field general on defense. I like that he didn’t back down from anyone (see Laimbeer, Bill — oh man, someone needs to put that fight on YouTube). You need that kind of intensity to win championships. It somehow balanced McHale’s easygoing attitude (not to mention all the whining he did to the refs). Throw in Bird’s personality and I have no idea how it all worked, but thankfully it did. That was the thing with all of Red’s moves. They always just seemed to work out. Until Bias of course, but we are all still recovering from that.
Which retired Celtic would you most like to have playing in his prime for this season’s team?
No question it would be Russell. Bird and Cousy and several others would each do wonders with this team, but Russell is the ultimate game changer and team maker. He would dominate today’s "centers" without needing to score. Think Ben Wallace with a PHD.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever heard Tommy Heinsohn say?
Plus, Tommy is crazy like a fox. If he were younger, the team would be lucky to have a guy like him coaching the team again. They would run and they would play with swagger because of the way he believes in them. Basketball is so much about confidence. Once these young players start to believe in themselves, look out.
Are there any past or present Celtics that you don’t like? How about Greg Kite? Or Rick Fox?
Rick Fox went to the Lakers, but I never really disliked him. I was always a fan of Antoine Walker, but few players have polarized their fanbase more than that man. More than anything I’m just relieved he’s (probably) played his last game as a Celtic.
Bill Simmons: friend or foe?
Friend, no question. He has even been kind enough to give me some pointers along the way. And not just "good job, keep it up" type encouragement. More tough-love, constructive criticism advice like "don’t settle for being decent, do your research and keep working on your writing." I respect that and I appreciate it greatly. He’s still one of my favorite writers because he captures the feelings of being a (Boston) fan so distinctly.
You’ve been running CelticsBlog.com for nearly 3 years, correct? How did it all get started? At the beginning, did you have any idea that it would grow into what it is today?
Yeah, working on 3 years. I actually had another general sports site that I ran with my friends years earlier, but I think our readership could be counted on our fingers and toes. Still, it was a good experience and taught me the value of focusing in on one subject that I’m passionate about and finding that niche audience that shares my passion.
I had no idea it would get this big. Actually, the big break I got was when the Boston Globe site closed down the Chat Room that they had. A whole lot of fans liked going there every day and were left with no place to call home. I quickly found some chat software, stuck it on my site, and invited them over. Turned out to be a win-win.
Clearly the best part of my blog isn’t my writing. It’s the community of passionate fans.
Yes, you seem to have quite a following.
They actually are sometimes very hard to please. If I make a spelling mistake or don’t fact-check my statements, I have hundreds of editors that make sure I know about it right away. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. They make me a better blogger.
Which of the Cavalier’s polls are you planning to spoil this year?
Does the blog ever interfere with your personal life or professional life? Or is it the other way around?
It is a fine line between hobby and obsession, so sometimes I can be accused of spending too much time on it. Still, I try to be very diligent about not letting my faith, my wife, or my day job take a backseat to my hobby (in that order). I have, however, found that I’ve become much less of a fan of the Red Sox and Patriots because I just don’t have the time to spend thinking about them anymore. So of course my non-Boston fan friends make fun of me for picking the wrong team/sport. I’ll have the last laugh though. Really, I will. Stop laughing.
Which other Celtics blogs do you consistently read? What about other NBA blogs?
I really like the guys at CelticsStuff Live because they have some excellent podcasts. I download them onto my iPod and listen to them while I work out or drive to work. (Yes, this is an all-day obsession). Celtics17 is another good one. In particular they do a good job with game recaps. Red’s Army is a photoshopping nut, and I dig that about him. I try to check in with the rest of them occasionally, but who has the time to keep up with all of them? Especially when the Cheap Seats section of my site is pumping out quality fans-perspective content too.
As for other team’s blogs, I have to visit TrueHoop at least once a day. I have dozens of other blogs in my RSS feeder, so when a topic hits that I’m interested in, I can click there. Between that and lowpost.net, I barely need any bookmarks anymore.
I’ve discovered that sports blogs in general (and NBA blogs in particular) tend to link to each other more frequently than any other types of blog. Any ideas on why that might be the case?
Good question. I can’t speak for other types of blogs (who has time to read other types of blogs?), but perhaps it has to do with the sense of community that draws fans together. The same reason fans seek out other fans of their team is why bloggers seek out other bloggers around the NBA. We feel a kinship for each other, admire each other’s work, and feed off each other’s positive energy.
Also, blogs are still new and fresh and a bit of an unchartered territory. Nobody is really sure what they are doing. So we like to look around and see how others do it. The thing is, there is just no cookie-cutter way of blogging. You’ve got Free Darko writing like he’s got a PHD and Suns Gossip who has artwork that could have been done by a 5 year old. Wiznutzz is like a mash-up of Shakespeare and Dave Chappelle. YAYSports is a multimedia empire (in his own mind). JE Skeets is hilarious. See, there I go dropping names again. I just love my blogging brothers and sisters. I can’t help it. (Cheers also to Sactown Royalty, Pounding the Rock, and Hornets 24/7 - I’m sure I’m forgetting someone really good too)
Technorati claimed to be tracking 57 million total blogs at the end of the last quarter. Why are so many of them devoted to the Celtics?
It seems like the perfect storm of fan-bases. For one thing, I really do think we have some of the most intelligent fans. For another, our fans are cocky enough to think other people NEED to hear our opinions. That "confidence" is underrated. Bloggers by our very nature are obnoxiously confident in ourselves to the point where we need everyone to love us (or at the very least pay attention to us). Finally, the success of the 80’s (and before) definitely spread the fan-base all around the globe. So those that don’t live local need to get their fix somewhere, and the Internet is the perfect place to do so.
Besides, I showed them how to do it right, and they all copied me. (See? There’s that cockiness.)
Simmons would have liked that last bit. So, if Boston has the most intelligent fans, which other NBA city has the most cretins?
Trying to get me in trouble huh? I haven’t a clue. Many fan bases haven’t had teams for long (Memphis) or haven’t had winners in a long time (Clippers) or have a reputation for being rowdy (Philly) but I haven’t experienced enough games in other team’s stadiums to tell you one way or the other. I wish I could hate on the LA fans, but when Kurt from Forum Blue & Gold turns out to be such a good blogger and all around good guy, it makes it tough.
Yeah, people seemed to have a lot of fun with those previews, and the blog spent a lot of time on WordPress.com’s list of top blogs during October. How did you come up with the idea, and are you planning anything similar in the future?
Well, in stark contrast to my ego, is my humble side that tells me I know next to nothing about the other 29 teams out there. I could bust my butt and watch video and research scouting reports and read news stories all offseason and still not understand the other teams anywhere near the level that their fans do. So why try? I just wanted to hear what Matt from Blog-a-Bull thought about Big Ben or even what Natalie from Need4Sheed thought about Big Ben for that matter.
I could go on for days about this, but the bottom line is that I respect bloggers’ opinions and I enjoyed the whole process.
I did do a fly-by "how’s your team doing one month in?" review, but I admit I didn’t put a ton of effort into it. I might do another one for either the All Star break or perhaps the trading deadline. At the very least, I’ll try to spearhead something big for the playoffs and draft.
OK, last question ... Celtics Pride: great movie, or the greatest movie?
Meh. I thought it was cute in its own way, but it had very little to do with the Celtics and less to do with pride, so I find it hard to endorse it in any way.
Note: lowpost.net featured blog and interviews will be on a brief holiday hiatus after this week.
Howie and I traded email messages during the week to generate this Q&A:
First of all, thanks for taking the time to answer these questions during your exams week. Your parents aren’t going complain to me if you flunk out, though, are they?
No no no, thank you Jason, for your genius mind’s creation of Lowpost.net in the first place. It’s a big dose of my daily hoops-vitamin intake that I’m obliged to be a part of this cool project (that, and I needed something to do with my 4am study break!)
As for flunking out, don’t worry man, I’m already quite capable of accomplishing that all on my own, Q&A or no.
How did you first become interested in hoops?
OK, you’re making me feel old. MJ is understandable, but Costas?
Yeah seriously, dude was mesmerizing to me for some reason. For sure the greatest is Marv Albert, but Costas has his own style that I thought was just as good as Marv. And Costas did those cheesy, slightly-poetic summaries at the end of games that I really liked. Maybe the only thing against him, in my books, is that he had a role in BASEketball.
Are there a lot of NBA fans in Montreal?
Overall, no, not too many NBA fans around here even though I’d like to believe otherwise... this little fad called "hockey" and "Les Canadiens" is all everyone wants to talk about. But there are a ton of talent for basketball if you know where to look and lots of open gyms that I’m thankful for. That’s really where I congregate whenever I need to shootaround, have some actual NBA chat and runaway from the library.
What are some of your favorite blogs to read (NBA and otherwise)?
I’m interested all of them, but then I remember I don’t have that many hours in a day, so I stick with teams I like to follow. I love to check out Ms. SunsGossip’s classic creations, who is on the rise and everywhere these days. The Rising Suns is another very good PHX team blog, Lucas puts tons of good work into it. I like BulletsFever Bullets Forever, not only because of those nutty Wiz, but Mike is also a student/blogsmith, so I’m happy I’m not the only "kid" stressing out around here (and I’m sure he’ll probably graduate much much sooner than I will...) Seth’s Your New York Knicks has funny observations. Need4Sheed is simply an awesome site, it’s better than the Pistons’ official site. Let’s see, what else, I’m an avid reader of SLAMonline since its html days, and now they’re employing Ottawa-ians (Ottawa-ers?), probably wanting to take over the world. And I guess all the hot spots like HoopsAddict, TBJ, YAY! TrueHoop I like to hit up, though I must admit I’m really behind in reading a lot of their constantly updated stuff!
Non-NBA, I like to browse BoingBoing and be amazed by the smartness of people, The Sound of Young America has interesting links and cool guests on their podcast and I don’t know if you’re familiar with Ze Frank’s The Show (video blog), but that’s a fav of mine. But really, hoop blogs are so good lately that I don’t want to divide my attention elsewhere.
On your about page, you suggest that your blog is keeping you from focusing more on school. Be honest ... if it wasn’t for Unrelatedness, you'd just be partying more, right?
Ha! Without a doubt. That, and sleeping, can’t get enough of those great things. Actually, now that you mention it, I vaguely recollect that’s how The Unrelatedness started in the first place... needing to find a calming activity during the drunken haze of the morning after...
Is there any special significance to the Space Invaders on your header? Were you even alive when that game was out?
Ah, I’m just being a goof. Yeah, no way I was born back then. I don’t know if you noticed, before it was Pac-Man, slowly eating balls to get to Mr. Jerry West’s (that didn’t come out dirty did it?). I guess I just have an affinity for retro game icons. It’s also a way of letting readers know this is that type of NBA blog, y’know, the silly/random kind.
You probably had them at "Unrelatedness." Any chance we’ll see Missile Command or Spy Hunter up there in the future?
The title is pretty weird isn’t it? And trust me, I’m aware it’s super long and doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as easily as everyone else’s, I’d change it, but I can’t think of anything else.
Choosing headers is a very rigorous procedure: there are lab tests, charts and most importantly, voodoo. But yes, Missile Command and Spy Hunter made the cut (they’ll get rotation with others soon).
Which of the drawings that you’ve posted to the blog do you like the most? (My favorite is probably the DJ Mbenga sketch.)
Awesome! Yeah, that one is probably the best "direct joke" I could think of and I’m happy you liked it (I was starting to think I was only amusing myself with all those toons). I actually like the Stormtrooper tomahawk from a while ago, because Stormtroopers rule.
And I’m sure you and others probably figured out that I’m not really an actual artist, I’m just practicing with each one. My hope is that I can get good/consistent enough to develop a weekly strip with characters (about the NBA), but that’ll take a while, so don’t hold your breath!
You’ve posted links to mash-ups of old school jazz vs. the Wu Tang Clan, plus Queen vs. 50 Cent. What other mix-ups would you like to see someone produce?
Something weird like Snoop Dogg vs. Air Supply. Don’t ask me how that can work, but if some savant DJ can make it happen, I’m so downloading buying it.
For fun, I’d love to see: Tony Parker’s rap mashed-up with Celine Dion’s greatest hits. You have the French connection there and for the music video, picture this: Cirque du Soleil with none other than Eva Longoria headlining.
Jason, dude, you made my day. Because of this question, I must buy you a case of Molson 24s and we must chug. Your research is impeccable sir, I can’t believe you thought of this!
As for the answer: it’s got to be Shohoku hands down. Sorry Huskers, but you still depend on Jimmy Chitwood too much down the stretch, and Shohoku’s hustle will lock him down. Besides, the whole starting five from Shohoku can light it up on the offensive end: Takenori Akagi will just dominate inside. Double him? Pass it to Hisashi Mitsui to rain 3s all day. I haven’t even talked about Kaede Rukawa, the Joe Johnson of Japan high school athletics. Oh, and not even Coach Dale will want to pick a fight with Hanamichi Sakuragi. Hickory’s "four pass" offense won’t be able overcome that blowout.
Can you tell I’ve thought about fantasy matchups like these a million times? Man, I could go on forever...
I interviewed Matt Watson on Saturday. Here's the transcript:
First of all, congratulations on being selected to join the NBA FanHouse.
Thank you—I'm definitely excited about it.
How did it all come about?
Actually, Jamie Mottram contacted me out of the blue about it. I'd known about the FanHouse obviously when they launched the NFL and college football one, and it's funny because I actually had contacted Brian Cook, who has a popular Michigan blog, congratulating him when he became part of it. I asked him at the time if they had any plans to do an NBA blog, and he said, "I think they might do one later in the year, and I wouldn't be surprised if they contact you." I had forgotten about it after then, and a couple of months go by, and then one day, I have an email from Jamie Mottram in my inbox, and I was pretty happy to see that.
Do you have much interaction with the other NBA FanHouse bloggers?
Yeah, since we're trying to get off the ground running, there have been a lot of emails between everybody going back and forth. There are ten of us, so the emails pile up pretty quickly. There's friendly banter on top of the organizational and logistical emails you might expect. It's been pretty fun.
And do you have a regular beat?
There are six of us that are covering five teams, and three general bloggers, so to speak—who cover league-wide stories and fill in the blanks where need be. I have five teams that I'm covering—the Pistons, the Magic, the Jazz, the Grizzlies, and the Raptors. It's kind of an odd collection of teams, but we had a draft, and I ended up having to pick last, which is how I ended up with the Grizzlies.
I assume the Raptors were your second-to-last pick?
Yeah, they weren't my top choice. But they're a young and interesting team, and there were some other teams available when I chose them. I think there are a lot of storylines that are going to be interesting to follow this year. Certainly the Sam Mitchell watch is one.
Do you feel like the Pistons are on the right track now?
Yes, I am. I was definitely worried early on, but they've extended the winning streak to eight games, and I really like the way that things are coming together so far.
If you could forget the past six years, who would you most like to have coaching the Pistons right now: Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown, or Flip Saunders?
Forgetting the last six years would be tough. I honestly would have to say Flip Saunders. Carlisle had his quirks, which I think is why the team was never able to get past the Eastern Conference Finals with him. One thing that kind of bugged me with him, was that he pretty much wasted all of Tayshaun Prince's rookie year by not letting him play until basically the first round of the playoffs, when Orlando had Detroit on the ropes, and he had to play Prince because they needed somebody to step up to Tracy McGrady. And that was kind of Prince's coming-out party.
And then Larry Brown—I just don't think he really trusts his young players. We saw that with him kind of responsible for destroying Darko's confidence. The team as it's constructed right now, there are several young players that need to step up this year; otherwise, the long term future of this team is in jeopardy as a contender.
I would actually say that Saunders is the least proven out of everybody, but if Flip Saunders can continue to guide this team as well as he did in the regular season last year, hopefully keep a little more harmony as they head into the playoffs, and also give guys like Carlos Delfino and Jason Maxiell a lot more consistent playing time, and let them develop into regular rotation players, then I probably have to stick with Flip Saunders.
If you could do the 2003 draft over again, would you take Carmelo, Wade, or Bosh instead of Darko?
I would probably take Carmelo. It's Carmelo or Bosh, really. A much as Wade is everybody's poster boy right now, I think that the backcourt as we have it right now is still the best in the NBA with Chauncey and Rip. I don't think Wade could have possibly developed at the same rate as Chauncey developing into an MVP candidate and Rip becoming an All-Star for the first time in his career.
But Carmelo, my big concern with him coming out of the draft, was he just looked like he had too much baby fat on him, and I though that he had the frame, that you think he might carry a few pounds. He really this year impressed me with his conditioning. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if he wins the scoring title this year. Plus, aside from some of his antics during his rookie season, his clutch shooting, he's become known for that, more so than any of the other players.
My big problem with Bosh, and it's not really a big problem, is that if we had drafted him, which at the time was not even a thought that anyone would take him in the top three, if we had, then we would have been that much less inclined to acquire Rasheed Wallace, and he put us over the edge for the 2004 title.
How about some quick word associations? What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Chauncey?
Winner.
Big Ben?
Rock.
Scott Skiles?
Dictator.
Dumars?
Smooth.
Flip?
Twitch. That's kind of cruel, but if you've seen any games, he has a lot of ticks.
Let's compare a few of the original Bad Boys from the late 80's and early 90's. Who was your favorite out of John Salley and Dennis Rodman?
At the time, probably Salley. We never actually won a title with Rodman in the starting lineup. He came into his own as the rebounding leader after the Bad Boys peaked. Growing up, when they were winning titles, honestly, I kind of liked Salley. It's hard to believe now, but he was the personality back then. Rodman was still very introverted. Salley was known as the team comedian, and he was a very fun guy to like.
How about Buddha vs. Rick Mahorn?
Oh, that's tough. I would say Mahorn. Mahorn I really identified with the team, and he was the one who was in at the end of the games; he was the muscle. Buddha he was kind of a fan favorite, but he would pretty much play the first quarter, but then you wouldn't see him for the rest of the game.
Dumars or The Microwave?
I've got to go with Dumars. I have very fond memories of The Microwave, but I've got to go with Dumars.
These guys didn't play together, but what about Mark Aguirre vs. Adrian Dantley?
I've got to go with Aguirre. He was there when we won it, so I've got to stick with him.
Honestly, I do. Isiah interviewed him back in the day (I think it was before he hired Larry Brown). This is kind of a conspiracy theory here, but someone—I think it was one of my readers—mentioned offhand their speculation that Laimbeer begged off the TV coverage this year (in addition to coaching the WNBA, during the NBA season, he would work TV next to George Blaha). They suggested that Laimbeer is backing off from that because he doesn't want to be commenting on a guy that he's probably going to end up replacing at some point, being Flip Saunders. They compared it to Ron Rothstein, who after getting fired from the Miami Heat, was a TV commentator for the Pistons, and ended up as the first coach after Chuck Daly. I wouldn't be surprised—if not in Detroit, somewhere. But, given his reputation still left over from his playing career, I won't be surprised if the only place he's really welcome is Detroit.
How's married life treating you?
It's going all right, smoothly, I'd say. We've been together for about five years. There hasn't been too much that I've learned about my wife Julie since we got married, so it's not like I didn't know what to expect, but yeah—it's been very nice.
The secrets start coming out in year two.
Yeah—I don't want to say anything I'm going to regret.
So, with the FanHouse gig and The Roto Times, are you writing for three different sites now?
That's right. If you want, it can actually be four, because I actually write for two different sites under the Roto Times label: The Roto Times and The Hot Sheet, which is their subscription site.
How do you fit in all that work?
There's a little bit of a rhythm that goes to it. The work that I do for Roto Times is basically twice a week: previewing the football games and then recapping them at the start of the week. That takes up most of my time on Tuesdays and Fridays. In the middle, I do what I can, depending if there's a game that day or anything going on with the Pistons. And now, I just started the FanHouse, so I expect it'll be something I spend an hour or couple hours a day working on. It takes a lot of discipline, because I do work from home. So it does take discipline to keep working. I also have various other freelance gigs here or there, and I also do web design on the side, so I have a couple other projects that keep me busy. All in all, I have a couple different things going for me.
Motor City Blogs is one side project ... how did you get into that?
Yeah, basically I wanted something to teach me PHP, the programming language. I had the idea for a while, and looked around at various pieces of software, and I figured it would be a fun thing to do. That's how geeky people waste their time.
I understand Scoop Jackson's quote-unquote apology. I can understand where he's coming from in terms of maybe an editor took it out, and maybe he meant to give attribution to it. I think it's larger than that, I think it's larger than whether there was a link there. He basically took the idea and spent 4,000 words acting as if it was his. Whether or not he mentioned briefly in the middle that it was from another site I think is irrelevant. If he just wanted to personify the ball—fine, he's not crossing any boundaries. Once he takes the name Orange Roundie, he's blatantly ripping off somebody else's work. I will admit if this was another author who did it, I think the uproar would have been a little bit less intense. But Scoop Jackson I don't think has many fans. I honestly haven't really met anyone who really likes his work. Maybe he has an interesting column here or there, but I think everyone is kind of sick or bored with his work.