Wake Up Call: Dirk is better with age

From Business Insider:

Dirk Nowitzki is having the best postseason of his career, averaging 28.4  points per game, while leading the Mavericks back to the NBA Finals. Nowitzki’s  newfound dominance can be traced back to a plan hatched by his coach before the  regular season even started.

This year, Nowitzki averaged just 34.3 minutes per game. That was down over  three minutes from 2008-09 (37.7 min/g) and 2009-10 (37.5 min/g), and was his  lowest amount of playing time since his rookie year (20.4 min/g).

The fewer minutes led to Nowitzki’s lowest scoring output (23.0 ppg) in seven  years. But the benefit appears to be a Dirk with fresher legs in the NBA’s  second-season. So far, Nowitzki’s playing time in the playoffs is up to 38.9  minutes per game, which is in line with previous postseasons. Last year he  averaged 38.8 minutes and in 2008-09 he average 39.4 minutes. And despite nearly  identical playing time, his scoring is up 2.0 points per game over the last  three years, when he averaged 26.7-26.8 points.

In his older age, the fresher legs have made Nowitzki a better shooter. His  effective field goal percentage (eFG%; which weighs shots based on their point  value, a 3-pt shot is worth more than 2-pt shot) was at a career-high this  season (.545) and has continued at nearly the same rate into the postseason.

All data via Basketball-Reference.com

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ABOUT LAST NIGHT:

What you missed while wondering how to make a memorable marriage proposal.

Excuse me, but aren’t we brothers?

When butter is the new weapon of choice.

Which part of this story is the weirdest?

It’s just impossible.

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TODAY IN REX MORGAN

You can’t buy friends

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Have a great weekend, thanks for reading the blog. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Money for Nothing

A new Obama version

Thanks to Donna Hammond Harris

Just general thinking..oh yeah, it’s called scattershooting

If you Google the word “scattershooting” you will find lots of Texas results or results that are Texas related. I wonder why that is?

It’s Sunday evening and I have tons of things in my head, but nothing specific. Just thinking about a lot of things at once. Attention Deficit Disorder? I dunno. Here’s what I do know though, in order for a blog post to be interesting, it has to be interesting. Well duh, what does that mean? It means I shouldn’t write about myself but write about what’s interesting for the readers. Hello? No one really cares what I think, and I really don’t blame them for that.

The Rangers are in first place and the last game of the series with the Astros is tonight. Looks like the Rangers win the Silver Boot …again. Will Roy Oswalt become a Ranger? Will the Rangers ever get sold to Nolan Ryan et al? It’s somewhere in the future at this point.

Well boys and girls, it’s almost the national party that is the 4th of July! Hard to imagine time goes so fast that it’s almost the middle of summer already. I’m always amazed at how fast time goes from July 4th, until school starts. Seems like only minutes.

This week begins my last week at school. Yay. I had some good classes this semester.

I’ve also been watching lots of baseball this summer. The Grand Prairie AirHogs rock!

So I’ve been working, going to school, and blogging the AirHogs and I’ve been having a blast. I’ve been going to church, and trying to also do some volunteer work at work. I’ve been very blessed. I’m thankful for many things.

Oh, and here is a great picture of my team from work. We had an outing at the bowling alley. I had fun in spite of my 97.

Don’t look now, but it’s almost time for Cowboys training camp…the cycle continues.

Well I guess that’s about it. In honor of the Eagles who were in town this weekend, I’ll leave you with this…

Thanks for reading my blog!

Yes, at this moment, things are well

A Day at LaGrave

I made the trip to Fort Worth’s LaGrave Field today to watch the Grand Prairie Airhogs play the Fort Worth Cats. I was interested in going because not only did I want to see some good baseball, but I wanted to see the grand old field that has been such a big part of history, not only for Fort Worth, but for Major League Baseball.

As usual, I get to the game a couple of hours ahead of time so I can get a feel for the place and see what stories I can comment on. I got into the gates ok, but wasn’t allowed to go on to the field which was sort of a bummer since I pretty much have free reign at the QT Park in Grand Prairie, but hey, I got in ok so that was ok.

As I was standing by the Airhog’s dugout, Mr. Dick Smith the General Manager of the Cats came down to have a chat with me. It was really nice of him to do that.

I know the Cat’s have had some financial issues and I didn’t really want to bring that up at this point, but I am hopeful everything is ok with this team financially since it’s been such a big part of the local history.

Today was more about baseball, apple pie, and the American way rather than discussion negative aspects of a poor economy. It was about time to play baseball, and I was soaking it all in. After all, it’s Memorial Day weekend. It’s time for a break to pause and reflect how great this country is. It was great to hear Mr. Smith say he enjoys life, he gets to “come to the ballpark everyday.”

It was so hot, so summer already. That’s just part of baseball. The wind dies down to nothing, the sun beats down unmercifully, and there is no rain for miles. The dust jumps up from any slight disturbance and you know it’s just the beginning of summer. Shade is a premium now, and there isn’t that much shade at 1:00 at LaGrave Field.

The game is about to start, and I am thankful for so many things. The chance to spend some off time at a ball field during a long weekend celebrating. I shot this video and it pretty much sums up how I was feeling, and I’m so thankful for this great country and baseball.

To honor the Fallen

 

Well kids, I’m about to take off and go watch some baseball and get out of the house for a while. This weekend is going to be filled with cookouts, and swimming, and the celebration that is the beginning of summer. But before I go, I just wanted to wish everyone a good Memorial Day, and please take a moment to remember our troops that paid the ultimate sacrifice. We honor you.

Wow, is American Idol Casey James related to Tiny Tim?

 

So I was watching American Idol the other night and it occurred to me Casey James reminded me of an act I had seen before. Watch these videos and see if you get the same feeling.

And then this:

I could be wrong, but I see the resemblance.

Sioux City rocks!

Another example of civic pride which really is hilarious. I hope they got permission from Starship.

One of life’s little (huge) pleasures

I know this going to sound somewhat backwards to the youngsters in the house, but to this old baby boomer, the Apple iPod Nano 5th generation is one of the neatest, coolest, awsomest piece of technology I have ever seen. Is awesomest a word?

I just became the proud owner of this product and it’s like gaining a new pet, without having to worry about house breaking the iPod. I mean, I love this thing. I can’t imagine not going anywhere without it! Check out these features of this amazing piece of technology.

1) Obviously, you know you can purchase music from Apple and load it on the Nano for .99 per song.

2) It also has a cool video camera where I can take videos now!

3) Surprisingly, it also contains an FM radio (earphones must be in for this feature to work.) And by the way, you can digitally tune it to your favorite channel.

4) You can record notes to yourself, it has an alarm, it has lots and lots of things to help you through your day. This little piece of dynamite can do sooooo much for so little. And all for a little more than $100.00. Where have I been?? I just bought a case for it so I can wear it on my belt, or put it on a deal to put on my arm which will be neat when I start working out.

And don’t ask me how it does it, but I have been listening to some classic rock on the radio, and I can go back and play some songs I heard 30 minutes ago. It SAVES them! Wow. You all probably know all of this. You all probably have one of these, so I’m probably not shedding any light on your world but if in case you don’t have one of these jewels, you have got to get one!

P.S. did I mention it downloads podcasts? Yeah, I’m able to hear my pastor’s sermon on the podcasts!

Tango in paradise

Have you ever wished you could do the Tango?

What a cool and passionate dance.

And then this one:

Such a masterpiece!

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