Nuggets Beat Golden State. Was It Best Win This Season?

When you replace the coach of the year and lose the best general manager in Nuggets history, there is a lot of trepidation as to what the future holds.  Brian Shaw has championship pedigree as a player, but he is a rookie coach. George Karl represented the kind of stability that insured Pepsi Center would always remain a crowd of die hard believers surrounded by the well to do socialites who only come out when the team is winning, and the haters who always come out to watch Denver team's lose.  In the end, the haters kept winning.

Last night they may have finally lost for good.

Over the years we had grown to love and hate George Karl at the same time.  We loved him because he clearly made the Nuggets relevant (in the regular season).  We hated him because the Nugget haters  made us hate him in the end.  There are so few natives in this town that you do not have to go far to find someone who simply doesn't like Denver sports teams.  Of course, I think to myself the same thing you other Mile High sports fans are thinking right now.  If you don't support our teams, you can't enjoy our mountains or sunsets.

The Nuggets turned a corner last night that made the haters take notice.  Haters have spent their hating careers getting to know our teams better than an atheist knows the bible.  Most of what the haters say hurts so much because they are usually speaking to the painful truth that fans often deny.  Haters called out George Karl long before we fans did, and they were right.  We were only going to go so far if we couldn't analyze the defense, and execute a play in the half court at the end of games.

Last night the Nuggets fought off an early attack from the Warriors and took the lead, and control of the game in the first half.  Four players would score over 20 points for the Nuggets in this game and a couple of others scored in the teens.  Scoring has been a problem at times this season, but not as of late.  The Nuggets have not only scored, they have blown teams out. Somehow, winning by blowout is not quite like winning by late game execution.

The Nuggets beat one of the best teams in the league last night with a 123-116 victory over Golden State. Thanks to the old switch-a-roo, the Nuggets nearly let this game slip through their hands.

Twice, the Warriors ran a pick and roll because they caught the Nuggets switching on the pick.  Coach Shaw stayed with his mighty mites, Ty Lawson and Nate Robinson, late in the game and it paid dividends on the offensive end.  On defense, the Warriors forced Lawson and then Robinson into the switch they desired and took advantage of them with buckets from the bigger David Lee that gave Golden State a 1 point lead.

A few minutes prior, the Nuggets ran a pick and roll from the top with Lawson and J.J. Hickson.  Hickson finished the play with a monster slam when Harrison Barnes of the Warriors failed to rotate. Down by 1 point with 1:13 to play, the Nuggets ran the same play.  This time Barnes rotated, but J.J. pushed a floater at the rim that fell.  The Warriors never scored or rebounded the ball again.

Was the Hickson bucket lucky?  Hell yeah, but luck is what you make it.  Hickson would finish the game with an average day of shooting for a big man (6-12, for 13 points), but a career high 24 rebounds. Hickson's game winner fell because the hoop God's take care of guys who pull down 24 boards.

Denver had a big win against the Oklahoma City Thunder even without Russell Westbrook.  The Golden State Warrior victory was better, and it was the culmination of a lot of games that Denver did not close out in the past.  It was a 'welcome to the club' victory that confirms to a young team that they can beat tough teams by blowout, and they can win a close game if necessary.

Wins like Denver pulled off against the Warriors can put a little hair on the face of a young team in search of an identity.  There is nothing better for your confidence than growing that first beard or finally getting out of the first round of the playoffs. This team looks like it can finally grow a beard and maybe even get out of the first round too.

Related Posts:

          Nugget's All Hip-Hop, No Jazz. Looking to Regain Rhythm
       Against Warriors

          Ty Lawson Taking Hold Of The Nuggets Fortunes.
          Fournier Close Behind

          Andre Miller's Suspension Explains Nuggets Dysfunction

          Denver Nuggets My Second Love, Could Learn 
       From My First

Why Did Christie Shut Down The Bridge? Find Out Now!

The reason may never come to light because the powers that hide these things are working harder than those working to uncover them.  Criminals usually do stay ahead of the good guys, and this is no different. Christie did his due diligence way back when and chose the best route that his lawyer mind could conspire. Deniability.

If redacted information in emails does not gain the release that executive privilege demands, then the story probably remains too blurry to prosecute Christie. If the heat rises, he will always be able to resign and hide from the worst of this mess, so we may never get to the root of why.

So I will tell you why in advance.

Chris Christie is not only a presumed  presidential candidate,  Christie is running and began the process somewhere during his last campaign for governor.  In that campaign, Christie had to overcome some sizable hurdles.  First he had to prove that he was not too fat to be trusted from a health perspective.   He had to prove that he has the gravitas that is demanded from any prospective presidential candidate.

The last and greatest challenge for Chris Christie in preparation for a run at the presidency was the challenge of proving that he could deal with the most toxic and polarized congress that we have seen in America in a long time.  To achieve this goal, Christie needed to be more than a bully.  In order to create the illusion of bi-partisan influence, Christie needed coercion.

When Christie took to national airwaves during the past election season and declared that he is the bi-partisan champion of the century, he did so realizing that he had already put in motion the engine of forced collaboration.  Christie probably never got involved with the planning of the Fort Lee retaliation plan. He didn't have to.  Anyone who worked for Christie the great collaborator already understood his nature and his agenda.

New Jersey opponents of Christie are finally coming to the light to say that they all felt that there was a risk involved with opposing Christie and everyone understood it.  Even Christie himself admits to playing political hardball, but he denies being a bully at the same time.

Christie might be right.  Bullying is bad, but it is also something we typically use to refer to that stupid kid on the school playground.  In reality, we all understand bullying because we all take to the role as it suits us.  Wives bully husbands, fathers bully children, rude people bully timid retail workers.  If we are honest, we can all remember that time when we decided to be the bully we dislike.

What Christie did has crossed the line of bullying and has risen to the status of coercion.  Federal prosecutors have tried for years to stick mafia bosses with the crime of coercion with limited success.  I expect a similar result in this case.

Related Posts:

•     Christie's 111 Minutes Of Contrition Has Holes That 

                Investigators Will Discover

•     Christie Claims No Contact With David Wildstein. 

          Photo's Say Otherwise

•     Buono Says: "I Told You So" Regarding Chris                      Christie Scandal 

• Christie Falls Upon The Stupid Blade Instead of 

        Claiming Prior Knowledge

Nuggets All Hip Hop, No Jazz! Hoping To Regain Rhythm Against Warriors

Evan Fournier called his team out because he felt like they did not seem focused before the Jazz game.

Utah unleashed the law office of Burke and Burks on the Nugget back court, and Derrick Favors on the front court, and the Nuggets did not respond to the onslaught.  They especially let their hair down when the word got out that Gordon Heyward would not play.  By the end of the game, the thing I feared the most became the calling card for the Jazz.

Second chance points.

Along the course of every Nuggets winning streak it has come down to the defensive identity that they capture.  Some games they have played around with rebounding but eventually find their man and put a body on him to capture games late.  During the most recent streak, the Nuggets owned the boards, but Utah reversed that trend quickly, especially early in the game. By the time the Nuggets got serious about the boards, they couldn't stop Burke and Burks.

Golden State can beat you on the boards if you let them.  David Lee can do it all by himself.  They can shoot you out of the gym as well, but what Golden State does not do well is shoot you out of the gym without getting a hefty amount of second chance points.  No team does that very well except on rare occasions.

This game is on national television and the Nuggets should be ready to prove that  they are the team who won 5 straight and not the team that can't dance to Jazz, stepping all over themselves in route to a painful loss in Utah.

A long win streak is possible with a long streak of mental focus.  Golden State should inspire a greater focus than Denver brought to the last game, but will it be enough to strangle the life out of the opponents shot attempts like the Nuggets seem to be able to do at times?  This Nugget fan says yes.

On a side note:  We get to see the Jazz .vs. Spurs before our game.
I am hoping the law offfice of Burke and Burks give San Antonio the same hell they gave our guys.


Related Posts:

• Nuggets Beat Golden State.  Was it the best win of the season?
• Ty Lawson Taking Hold Of The Nuggets Fortunes.
• Oklahoma City Started This Mess.  Nuggets Need Retribution

Atheist' May Be Mad At God. Agnostics Don't Care Either Way

Which scares you the most?  Atheism or Agnosticism?

Atheism is spreading rapidly across the world, especially in America.  In my heart I have a certain level of respect for the modern atheist because of their commitment to something.  Often times these days you will find that an atheist is more knowledgeable about the bible than some Christian's.

 I understand that their goal is to only discount the bible, but the truth is a powerful message.  Even the spirit that attempts to discredit truth has to bath in its presence and be held accountable for distorting its meaning.  To the believer, an atheist is doing the same thing that Jim Jones did; or Saul who was also Paul.

But do they study the bible for ammunition or are atheist' simply a growing number of former (learned) Christian's?  My hunch is that you will uncover a fair amount of both, which declares to me that they have spent, and are spending, some time bathing in the spirit of truth.

The discipline to study our bible is the greatest challenge of Christianity. The difficulty in understanding its content forces many of us to disregard its value, especially as a road map towards prayer and towards the simple message of righteousness through Christ.  If you would like to use the modern canonized bible to confuse people, that is hardly a difficult task.

However, the truth is like a double edged sword and the bible is a document that you would be safer to never have read at all.  Revelation doctrine declares that civilization hangs on the balance from those who have yet to learn about the gospel of grace contained within the Christian bible.  Atheist have organized their own religion around the notion that none of this even exists.  The problem with their effort is that they offer no incentive to those who conclude that atheism is right.  What is the consequence if there is no God and no Jesus Christ our savior?  There is no consequence, so why bother?

The religious fervor of modern atheism has forced the really smart fence straddlers (called agnostics) into a virtual pool of collective freedom from this tug-o-war of righteousness.  Smart people who listen to the skeptical view of God can easily be convinced that there simply is no proof one way or another.  All of those Moses stories and Jesus miracles could simply be like Greek mythology after all, and no one is alive to verify the truth.

The agnostic remains straddled on the fence because the flower and the humming bird, the sunrise and the sunset make it hard to discount God altogether.  Yet, even these miracles are hardly proof.   The agnostic considers both sides of this religious tug-o-war to be a strain on their enjoyment of life and freedom from religious oppression.  They are right because religion, and its oppression, is the very thing that Christ came to save us all from.  Religion is entirely of the devil. When worshiping God, or denying his existence becomes a burden, you have probably been overrun by religious indignation.

Agnostics and Atheist' are, by design, educated objectors. They are not the ignorant of God or of the gospel. Never fear the danger to those truly ignorant of Christ, for every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, and every man on earth will be given the opportunity to know the Son of man. At the risk of minimizing the atheist religion, they are nothing more than people who are mad at God and gather together to deny his existence in response.  God can use the angry one's in the end just like he used Paul.

Agnostics on the other hand have the idea that we have no way of knowing (or caring to know) either way.  Agnostics are among the lukewarm fence straddlers that lack passion either way.  There is a thin line between love and hate because they come from the same emotional passion. To organize people together in atheism takes a passion for your cause.  Indifference is the highest expression of not having love, and agnostics may be the modern idealist' in the greatest realm of spiritual danger.

Christie Claims No Contact With David Wildstein. Photo's Say Otherwise

The man who had the power to shut down the roads was named Wildstein.  David Wildstein.

During the 111 minutes of contrition, Chris Christie took some time out to remind everyone about people that he did not really know at all.  He made it clear that he did not even know or recognize the mayor of Fort Lee who his office was exacting revenge upon.  According to Christie, before the crisis broke loose, he would not have been able to recognize the Fort Lee mayor in a photo line-up.

Whether or not he was telling the truth in this odd statement is largely immaterial.  Whether or not he knew Wildstein matter's a little bit more because Wildstein was the man who received the go ahead email from Bridget Anne Kelly saying "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee", and was a Christie appointee to the Port Authority.  When asked about his relationship to Wildstein, Christie became nearly indignant and spoke for some time to explain that, "David and I were not friends in high school........I met him (David) on the Tom Cain for governor campaign in 1977.........I have had no contact with David Wildstein in a long time".

From MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show
Wildstein(in shades) and Christie

Pictures of Christie and Wildstein together on 9-11 last year are sure to force a new round of questions from those investigating this matter, and from the citizens of New Jersey.

But is this another death nail in the coffin of Christie's hope for the 2016 presidential election?  The man who has displayed himself as the supreme manager has a huge mess to manage now.  The longer he remains in office, the more he will be subjected to the scrutiny that will eventually force his hand one way or another.  When Richard Nixon left office in shame, he did so in part to avoid further shame from a deeper investigation.  Is this the last card that Christie has to play or does he have an ace up his sleeve?

Manning .vs. Brady Episode 15. Which Quarterbacks Needs This More?

The angles of analysis have been virtually exhausted on the Peyton Manning, Tom Brady rivalry.  These are two of the greatest to have ever laced them up.  Maybe the greatest two, to ever lace them up.  This argument used to go differently, but over time we've all become prisoners of the moment, and at this moment, these guys appear to be as good as we've seen.  They've littered the record books and still they continue to pile on.  Manning is coming to the end and must go out with a bang.

When Shannon Sharpe sat in studio next to one of the greatest we've ever seen, and proceeded to rant that the greatest quarterbacks have all won Superbowl's, I knew that the enslavement had spread among we prisoners of the moment. Charles Barkley. Karl Malone.  John Stockton.  Some really great players have simply missed out on drinking from the cup.

However, Shannon forgot the last guy that used to keep this argument alive.  Seated two chairs away from Shannon Sharpe in studio every week (for years) is Dan Marino.  Even the great John Elway did not begin to surpass Dan Marino in mystique until long after both had finished playing and prisoners of the moment (like Sharpe) began to declare the necessity of championships.  The Terrell Davis argument did, and still does, keep some from respecting the greatness of Elway, yet Marino was a singular example of the non-championship quarterback that used to always maintain a firm spot in the top 5 of all time quarterbacks.  Not only have Manning and Brady forced Marino deeper on the list, they have forced Shannon Sharpe to forget his friend and legend on the same television show. (After the rant, when stupid Shannon's eyes met Marino's, he tried his best to clean it up)

The great Joe Montana is seldom placed second to anyone, so it is likely that Elway could fall behind Brady and Manning, especially if Manning secure's his place in the argument.  In other words, his current championship ring won't quite do it, but two or even three could put Manning firmly into the 'best ever' debate for years to come.  Brady probably has already done enough, but finishing his career with a cherry or two will sweeten the narrative.

Being alive in the day that Dan Marino is now just another dude is a telling statement of more than just my advanced years.  The generation that the old guys inspired is currently inspiring the next wave of legends,  because records are made to be broken and legends are made to become foot pegs in the ladder of legends.  Several impressive young quarterbacks will certainly chase the record book despite the fingerprint that defenses keep placing on the league because quarterbacks these days are putting up numbers in their first year. Manning, Elway and Brady grew into greatness.

Win or lose the AFC Championship or the Superbowl, Brady and Manning are
still two incredible legends of the NFL.  Their mystique is great and will only grow greater as they fade into the sunset and become a part of lore.

And then one day they will become pegs in the ladder just like Marino.

Related Posts:

• Two Legendary Passers Bring Running Attacks To Game
• Home Field Is A Crutch For Team That Need It
• Is The New Peyton Manning The Old Lebron James?

West Virginia Water Is Safe To Drink......We Think

The water in West Virginia is contaminated.  A federal emergency has been declared.

I hesitate to disregard the pain of real life tragedies to focus on the politics that creates them, but there is an importance to understanding why this happened and what can be done to make sure that West Virginian's have clean water to drink and bathe in.

When Exxon spills oil in arctic waters we need government forces to rectify corporate messes.  When BP does the same in the Gulf Coast we need similar government intervention.  When many people talk about smaller government, they often insist on less corporate regulations like the one's that allowed for the West Virginia disaster. Now of course government will be held to account for this and to explain what regulations will be in place to insure it doesn't happen again. Both parties will move towards photo op's to claim credit for these needed regulations, but the small government people will continue to demand smaller government without realizing the cost of less regulators and regulations.

To the defense of the mining industry, it appears that bad mining waste control has destroyed underground wells all over West Virginia for years destroying ground water and forcing most people to have to use public water access in order to have clean water.  When the public system got contaminated recently in West Virginia, citizens were left without one of the greatest necessities that we all take for granted each day.  Clean running water.

More and more our world is confronted with disasters that only the collective wisdom of government can handle.  When the water is running safely through our faucets it is easy to blog hatred for the government and conspiracy theories of corruption.  The moment we experience a crisis, we'll demand the arms of government before we rest in those of God.  Every American loses their political party line and will allow government to be as big as possible when they personally experience the kind of tragedy that only government can repair. You know, like the one in West Virginia.

Somehow in most of these industry created disasters, corporations always seem to find the money to repair the damage that they've caused.  The cost of increased wages  is often a fraction of what corporations will pay to repair the aftermath of  their unregulated capitalism.  Last I heard, it is hard to find a good paying job in West Virginia.  Corporations may gain more profit through less regulations, but absent certain regulations the public health concern is a risk that makes freedom less valuable.
.

What is freedom without fresh water to bathe in?