After what was widely considered the best offseason in Los Angeles Clippers history, all eyes were on the Clippers to live up to their new found expectations. The NBA lockout and its impact on the season forced the team to start playing regular season games right out of the gate and it showed.

The Clippers had poor spacing and lacked cohesion and familiarity on the court, leading to plenty of missed defensive assignments and a pair of blowout losses to the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls.

Their record stood at one win and two losses and the other side of the media spotlight showed itself; the negative backlash.

Sure it was only three games, but it was a crucial moment for the Clippers. They had all seen and heard the talk of a new culture in Clipper Nation, of veterans and all-stars now around to make sure the team was ready for adversity. It was time to back up all the talk with some action.

Luckily for the team and its fans, we had Chris Paul on our side.

He took charge and put his fingerprints all over a big win over an undefeated Portland TrailBlazers team, all the way down to making a huge defensive play and hitting the eventual game-winner in the final minutes.

The Clippers and Paul carried that momentum into tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets, with Paul opening the game aggressively – to the tune of 11 points and 6 assists in the first quarter.

That great start created a 15-point lead the Clippers would never relinquish in a blowout win and gave Paul and his fellow starters plenty of time to relax and get some rest. Blake Griffin was his usual spectacular self, putting up 22 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in only 32 minutes of action. Paul finished with 20 points and 10 assists in 29 minutes and Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups each put up double digit scoring as well.

DeAndre Jordan finished with 7 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes, but was a major factor in the deciding first quarter, where he pulled down almost all of his rebounds. The big scoring cushion gave the backups more than enough time to make an impression, with Mo Williams continuing his early season push for Sixth Man of the year with 7 points and 7 assists in 22 minutes and Randy Foye chipping in 16 points in only 19 minutes.

The Clippers are still a big work in progress, but the recent signing of backup big man Solomon Jones and extra practice time should be great for them, along with the debut of Reggie Evans. They’re now on a two-game winning streak and have an excellent chance to extend it to three with the Milwaukee Bucks coming into town on Saturday.

The win against the Rockets was their third sellout of the season (in 3 total home games) and the fans surely went home excited about the team and its future.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. He’s a longtime Clippers fan and his “Diary of a Clippers Fan” is regularly published during the NBA season. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

December 15, 2011 was one of the greatest days in Los Angeles Clippers history.

Before people jump down my throat for making that statement or show their petty bitterness with insecure jokes (I’m talking to you Lakers fans), there’s really no other way to describe it.

I know they didn’t win a championship, a conference title or heck, even one single game as currently constructed, but the acquisition of Chris Paul represents a monumental step forward for the franchise.

In Paul they now have a superstar in his prime who chose to come to the Clippers. Sure he was ready to join the Lakers less than 10 days ago, but who cares about that now, he’s a member of Clipper Nation.

Willingly.

Let that sink in for a moment. The Clippers are widely known as one of the worst franchises in major sports history. They’ve always been labeled losers, something that happens when you only make the postseason four times in 30 plus years, and have seemingly suffered at the hands of a cruel fate and an infamous owner.

The only stars they ever had either came through the draft (where the player has little say in the matter) or they were short term rentals who had no desire to be here. It was like the NBA’s version of detention, aka you’re banished to the Clippers.

That’s over and done with.

Thanks to the emergence of Blake Griffin, great draft choices by Neil Olshey and his staff and quality free agency moves, the Clippers are now on the fast track to changing their image.

There’s no bigger example of that reality than trading for Chris Paul. Sure the team had to give up some of its most coveted assets in Eric Gordon and their unprotected 2012 first round draft pick, as well as longtime Clipper center Chris Kaman. Those guys will be most definitely be missed, but it was a price that had to be paid if they ever really wanted to change their destiny.

The franchise has had great moments before, including getting Elton Brand to play his best years as a pro in red, white and blue. His teams made the playoffs and played deep into the postseason, coming just one bad defensive play short of the Western Conference Finals. But we all know how that ended, and the window was ultimately smaller than Kobe’s sense of humility.

With Paul and Griffin on the court together, alongside the youth of DeAndre Jordan and the veteran savvy of guys like Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler, these Clippers are primed to make immediate moves.

But even focusing on that sells the move short. A big chunk of what makes December 15, 2011 so special for the citizens of Clipper Nation is the symbolism involved.

A superstar in his prime finally chose to come to the Clippers, to not only fight to overcome the team’s cursed image, but to chase championships and build a brand new legacy. That’s not me putting words in Paul’s mouth either, take a look.

Fortunately for the Clippers, Paul doesn’t care about their sordid history. He sees only a bright future filled with lob passes to Blake Griffin, a renewed rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers, playoff appearances and – if they’re fortunate enough – a championship.

“That’s what’s going to make this even more fun,” Paul said. “Anybody remember what the Hornets’ record was before I got there? It was 18-64. I’m used to being an underdog. It’s what competition is all about.”

That mentality has to permeate across nearly an entire franchise for it to really work, and Paul’s introductory press conference said it all.

You had Paul, the engaging young star ready to shine in Hollywood’s light and Olshey, the fresh-faced young executive oozing confidence and a genuine belief that the organization was finally moving in the right direction.

He had every reason to; they had pulled off what was seemingly impossible.

Sure it was just one day and there are a ton of uncontrollable variables that will ultimately decide the trade’s true value, but none of that mattered. Because on that one day, the memories of previous failures, freak injuries, heartbreaking losses and every other Clipper negative were gone.

At long last, the Clippers looked like a well-run organization capable of not only dreaming big, but believing in themselves enough to make those dreams a reality.

Need proof?

Just ask Chris Paul.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. He’s a longtime Clippers fan and his “Diary of a Clippers Fan” is regularly published during the NBA season. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

YouBeenBlinded.com was on hand for two days of the 2011 ESPN The Magazine ESPYs Style Studio event at the W Hotel in Hollywood. Spread over three full days, the event drew a large variety of professional athletes, superstar singers, actors and much more including Dirk Nowitzki, Justin Bieber, Amare Stoudemire, Jimmie Johnson, Jason Kidd, Aaron Rodgers, Shawn Marion, Erin Andrews, Michelle Beadle and countless others.

Each invited celebrity guest was taken through a special tour of several gift suites at the W Hotel, each filled with lots of great prizes, food and drinks. Throughout each of the days, we had the opportunity to talk with many of the stars, including two members of the NBA world champion Dallas Mavericks; Shawn Marion and Brian Cardinal.

Both are league veterans who finally added the ever important title of champion to their career resumes and they spoke with us about how that felt, as well as the Mavs nomination for “Best Team” (they won) and more. Cardinal also explained how preparation and teamwork is a key to success, his “The Custodian” nickname and a few other topics. Check the interview out below.

We also shot several photos of famous athletes and sports figures for you, courtesy of Alex C. You can check them out below.

Row 1: Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Jason Kidd.
Row 2: John Wall, Ray Allen, Jalen Rose, JJ Barea & Biz Markie.
Row 3: Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kemp, Michael Irvin, Michael Wilbon.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

We had the great opportunity to talk with ESPN‘s Pardon The Interruption host Michael Wilbon while at the 2011 ESPN The Magazine Style Studio event. Held in Hollywood at The W Hotel for the 2011 ESPY Awards, the event included countless sports heavyweights from both on and off the field.

Wilbon gave us here at YBB “3 Good Minutes” and shared his thoughts on feel-good stories at the ESPY Awards, the constantly-evolving world of sports media and journalism, as well as his thoughts on the NBA lockout and the Chicago Bulls title hopes.

In addition to this interview, we were also able to capture much more, so stay tuned to YouBeenBlinded for future updates.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

We here at YouBeenBlinded had the pleasure of covering two days of a special “Style Studio” for the 2011 ESPY Awards organized by ESPN The Magazine. The three-day event was held at The W Hotel in Hollywood and included an impressive array of gifts for a long list of celebrity athletes and entertainers, including Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, Aaron Rodgers, Jimmie Johnson and many more.

We caught up with Dallas Mavericks guard and NBA champion JJ Barea for a few questions. The Puerto Rican star discussed winning the NBA title, the NBA lockout, his free agent plans and basketball in Puerto Rico. He also responds to some playful requests from Hip-Hop star Biz Markie to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Check it out below.

We captured much more at the event, so stay posted to YouBeenBlinded for further updates.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

The last few weeks of my sports life have been tough without the fun and excitement of the NBA. I’ve been doing my best to keep my addiction at bay with small doses of stuff I usually ignore, like the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals, golf without Tiger Woods, Women’s tennis (I’m looking at you Maria Sharapova) and most recently soccer.

For the most part it’s worked out. The seven-game battle between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks were full of all the good stuff, from a do or die final game to trash talking and the patriotic element of pitting two neighboring countries against each other. It felt good to root for Boston and watch them bring a title back to an American sports town with a rich championship history (since 2000 alone, they’ve won 3 NFL Super Bowls, 2 MLB World Series, an NBA championship and the Stanley Cup.)

The golf and tennis left me yawning, but thankfully soccer of all sports injected some life into my sports watching universe. Watching the U.S. team and Mexico advance on a crash course to a title match was exciting, especially for someone like me who frequents plenty of taco trucks and Mexican restaurants. If you haven’t noticed by now, Latinos (like most of the rest of the world) take soccer very seriously, so I’ve seen plenty of Mexico jerseys and passionate fans everywhere from the houses next door to the lady making me my delicious burrito.

It was the perfect mix of impending excitement and rivalry for a crazed sports fan like me. I couldn’t wait for them to meet up. It also brought up a funny and obvious theme I’ve been telling people about since the match was set. I was watching Pardon The Interruption on ESPN a day or so before the championship game and Michael Wilbon said something about how he figured the U.S. team would do well with home court advantage since the game was in Los Angeles.

I remember doing a double-take and saying “wait, what?!”

I’m still not sure if he was joking or not, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Either way, to think a soccer game involving the Mexican national team in LA was a home game for anyone other than the Mexican team is well worth some laughs. Anyone who lives out here knew it was going to be a very pro-Mexico crowd and sure enough it turned out that way, with estimates putting somewhere between 70 to 80 percent of the 93,000 plus in attendance on Mexico’s side.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, since soccer has never been high on the average American’s top sports and since there is such a big Latino population in California. It also shouldn’t be a big deal, since at the end of the day all that matters is the game itself, right?

Well, that’s where things got a little tricky after the match, during which the U.S. team blew a golden opportunity to win the Gold Cup (see what I did there?) and lost by a 4-2 score.

When it came down to the game, it was easy to see why the U.S. lost; they played terrible defense, were regularly beat down the field by their Mexican counterparts and they failed to adjust their strategy. Each of those things can be worked on, which is why some analysts are saying the loss could end up being a good thing.

The more troubling stuff for me occurred after the game was over and the championship ceremony was done. U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, obviously angry at the loss, took the opportunity to blast the CONCACAF organizers for conducting the post game ceremony entirely in Spanish.

“CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves,” Howard said. “I think it was a [expletive] disgrace that the entire postmatch ceremony was in Spanish. You can bet your ass that if we were in Mexico City, it wouldn’t be all in English.

Howard was complimentary about the largely pro-Mexico crowd.

“It was a good crowd today,” Howard said. “They were up for it, doing the wave, it was what we expected. We know it’s going to be like this.”

Nonetheless, Howard seemed visibly upset when officials tried to line the U.S. up for a team photo after the ceremony was conducted in Spanish. Asked about it afterward, he said: “It never ceases to amaze me all that stuff.”

I didn’t see the big deal in what the organizers did, since the Mexican team’s native language is obviously Spanish and since a lot of the people in the crowd and watching on TV were bilingual. Plus you’d figure that any angry U.S. fans would probably skip the celebration anyway.

Regardless of his intentions it ends up looking like bitter complaining and brings up the issue of the ethnic/racial dynamic in a negative light, which was completely unnecessary.

The bottom line should only be that it was a great soccer game in a match between an established power (Mexico) and a group of rising talent on the American side. The language chosen to reward the winner shouldn’t end up being a major talking point, and that’s clear no matter which way you say it.

- Will.

The Sports Snob will be published once a week here on YouBeenBlinded.com. Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

It was only right that one of the most exhilarating NBA playoffs of recent memory finished with a major upset. As the final seconds ticked off the clock and it became clear that the Dallas Mavericks were finally going to win their first championship, several players were able to add the ever-important final touches to their resumes.

From Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd to Shawn Marion and several other Mavericks players, a dream that had eluded them their entire professional careers was about to come at the expense of a super team full of young superstars.

It hadn’t been something most saw coming, even though the Mavericks had disposed of the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers along the way. The trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh looked too fast, too imposing on their path through the Eastern Conference brackets.

They had joined forces in Miami to – in their own words – win not one or two, but several championships and with them reaching the NBA Finals in their first year together it looked like destiny.

The problem with that was that destiny had a different plan.

The Mavs were made up of several veterans whose careers were full of accomplishments, most notably on the Hall of Fame level with Nowitkzi and Kidd, but who had never actually won a ring. The absence of the Larry O’Brien trophy and shiny jewelry left a glaring hole in what were otherwise great feats.

Each of the playoff series on the road to the Mavs’ championship featured big deficits and plenty of doubt from people who just couldn’t see the Dallas team as true contenders. People spoke of Dirk as a soft player prone to choking, of Kidd as an all-time great who was too old to get it done these days. Similar things were said about Marion and guys like Peja Stojakovic and Jason Terry.

The Mavs blew a 20-point lead in the first round against the Portland Trailblazers and their fans feared the worst; another first round exit. But Dallas rebounded strong and closed the Blazers out in six games. They then faced the Lakers, a clear-cut favorite who jumped out to a double-digit lead at home in L.A. and it seemed like Dallas might shrink under the pressure.

Instead they made a big comeback in that first game and went on to shock the world by sweeping the world champions. In the Western Finals against the high-scoring Oklahoma City Thunder they lost their homecourt advantage and fell behind by 15 in the fourth of a pivotal game, only to obliterate any of their demons with a roaring comeback that would propel them to the Finals.

Each rally made it seem more and more like destiny was making herself comfortable in Dallas.
When they lost game one of the Finals to the Heat and fell behind by 15 in the fourth quarter of game 2 though, whatever had happened before that looked completely unimportant.

The Heat weren’t the injury-prone Blazers or the tired old Lakers. They had several veterans with championship experience and wouldn’t crumble under the intensity like the Thunder had done. As Dwyane Wade kept his shooting hand in the air after making what appeared to be the 3-pointer to bury Dallas for good, destiny finally made her choice.

Led by Nowitzki, the Mavericks put their past horrors behind them on the way to one of the most historic comebacks in Finals history. By the time the final buzzer sounded the Heat were stunned, losers of a game that had been firmly in their grasp. What could have been a two game lead was instead a tied series.

Everything since then was just destiny letting her choice play itself out. The Heat never recovered, even with all their talent. Dallas just kept doing all the right things, and with every 3-pointer that improbably fell through the rim, it became obvious that now was their time.

Dirk, Dallas and destiny, together at last.

- Will.

The Sports Snob will be published once a week here on YouBeenBlinded.com. Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

win their first championship

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It’s only fitting that one of the most exciting NBA playoffs in recent memory would culminate with an extremely entertaining and closely contested NBA Finals series. So far this year’s rematch of the 2006 Finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks has come through with just about everything a basketball fan could want and a few things we definitely could do without.

First up is the bitter rivalry between the two teams, which has been well documented across the league. Dwyane Wade and the Heat ripped the hearts out of Dallas fans five years ago with the help of some blatantly horrible officiating and Wade’s relentless attacking of the basket. It produced genuine hatred of the Heat for Mavs fans and that was only magnified when they joined in on the new national “Let’s all hate LeBron James” bandwagon.

Beneath the hate though, stood two teams full of guys who had never felt the glory of hoisting up a championship trophy, with the most notable being LeBron, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd. Each has a long history of chasing rings with no success and this year’s Finals have them closer than ever to their goals. Unfortunately only one team can win, which has resulted in a dog fight of a series and some wonderful finishes in the last two games, which were evenly split between the teams by a difference of only four total points.

Miami’s 88-86 win yesterday gave them a 2-1 advantage in the series and shifted the series back in their favor after a painful game 2 collapse that saw them blow a 15-point fourth quarter lead threatened their entire season.

Their detractors came out in full force after they blew that big lead and the criticism was a serious threat for a team like the Heat, who have had mental lapses and seen their confidence break down before. For that reason alone it was pivotal that they come out strong in game 3 and retake control. It wasn’t easy, with Nowitzki doing everything he could for the Mavs to win, including becoming the first player in this year’s playoffs to score at least 30 points against the stingy Heat defense.

The Heat also had to overcome several bad foul calls, including an array of ticky-tack loose ball fouls called against them in the fourth quarter. By the time the game was finished they had been whistled for nearly twice as many fouls as the Mavs, getting 27 fouls called on them to only 14 for Dallas.

It didn’t matter though, with Wade making reservations on the Finals MVP trophy with another stellar performance and James embracing his passing ability to dish 4 of his 9 assists in the final period, including the pass to set up Chris Bosh’s game winner.

America’s most hated basketball team now stands just two wins away from their first championship together, although they more than anyone should know how fragile a lead can be on this stage.

Despite all the critics, the questionable whistles and their own missteps, when it was all said and done they pulled it through in the fourth quarter, another affirmation of their growth.

- Will.

The Sports Snob will be published once a week here on YouBeenBlinded.com. Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

Baseball has long been known as America’s pastime because of its popularity across the country, a fact supported by the large amounts of people who love to play fantasy baseball. So much so that it’s taken on a life of its own and become a staple of the sport and pop culture as well.

If you’re looking for the best way to play it though, you’re in luck. That’s because we’ve teamed up with DraftStreet.com to offer an exclusive free contest to YouBeenBlinded.com readers. The freeroll will have $100 in cash prizes, the top 4 get paid and it is totally free to sign up. How can you not get in on this? Plus it’s not for a full-season or any of that six-month crap. We’re talking about one-night showdowns that won’t only give you bragging rights, but some nice cash for your pockets too.

Here’s how you play: Fill your roster (C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, 2 U, 2 SP, RP, P) while staying within the budget of $100k. Player salaries are set by DraftStreet based on fantasy production. So, if you want to put Roy Halladay on the mound it might cost you $16k, which means you’ll have to find some bargains to fill out the rest of your squad.

Sign up now for free. Build a team (you can adjust your roster up until the games start). Then check out the scoreboard when the games start and watch your team win you cash.

It’s a can’t miss opportunity and one that you should definitely take advantage of right now. So get your managing skills on and sign up today.

The NBA is a league full of amazing talent, superb athleticism and offers its fans some of the most exciting and fast-paced action in all the major American sports. There are several factors that play into that, with the first being the players themselves, but for I’m sure NBA commissioner David Stern also sees his meticulous planning and iron-fisted rule about the league’s image as high among them.

Whether via the “NBA Cares” programs, its work with charities or educational endeavors, the league is seemingly always working to protect its brand and public perception. Unfortunately as with most things in life, there are always surprises and things that don’t go as planned, like the issue with NBA players and gay slurs.

The most infamous instance involved Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, who caused a controversy earlier in the season when TNT cameras caught him angrily calling a referee a “f*cking fagg*t” on a national television broadcast. Stern handed down a swift and heavy punishment, fining Kobe $100,000 and made it clear he didn’t want any repeat offenses from anyone else.

“While I’m fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated,” he said. “Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society.”

The league then went into damage control mode and unveiled a new campaign speaking out against the use of derogatory references toward gay people, culminating in this commercial that’s been airing during this year’s playoff and stars Grant Hill.

The entire issue is obviously a hot button one and has brought out a variety of interesting viewpoints, including examination of other controversial words that the league could seemingly also publicly denounce. The conversation became even more prominent after the president of the Phoenix Suns announced he is gay, eliciting a response from Charles Barkley and many others.

I’m sure Stern felt good about how the league responded and in a perfect world that might have been the end of that, until yesterday, when Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah made sure the can of worms wouldn’t close by saying pretty much the same exact thing Kobe did, except to a fan.

It would have been a major misstep under normal circumstances, but considering the league’s strong statements denouncing the use of gay slurs and the massive fine against Kobe just a few months ago, it’s an even bigger screw up on Noah’s part. To allow his emotions to get the best of him at such a critical point in the season and with the entire basketball world watching is puzzling and inexcusable.

Sure his competitive fire and intensity are a key factor in his success on the court, but that combination always teeters on the brink of possibly crossing the line and yesterday he did. Whether or not you agree with how important an issue it should be, the precedent was set by Stern and Co. and Noah will likely be hard-pressed to find any sympathy or support, especially if he ends up getting suspended.

While I highly doubt that’ll happen, the intense microscope of the playoffs and the 24-hour news cycles and online media will make this a giant distraction that his team doesn’t need.

He apologized after the game but he’s a lock to get fined and the fallout will probably end up hurting more than just his pockets. With the Bulls now down 2-1 in the eastern conference finals and on the brink of seeing their season go down the drain, Noah could be set to lose a lot.

In the end, this might end up being an even better lesson to viewers on the repercussions of words and insults than the commercials; it’s just too bad it had to happen this way.

- Will.

The Sports Snob will be published once a week here on YouBeenBlinded.com. Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com