In the National Basketball Association, the country may not get quite as mad as the NCAA Tournament, but we are down to the final four, and there is plenty to pay attention to. The NBA Playoffs have delivered their fair share of surprises (The Bulls taking game one against the Heat) as well as caveats and disappointments (Russell Westbrook's injury in the series against the Houston Rockets), but they've wound down by this point to the Conference Finals.

On Sunday, the Memphis Grizzlies got smacked around in their first game at San Antonio against the Spurs. The Grizz had a tough path in making their very first Conference Finals, taking down the Los Angeles Clippers in round 1 and the Westbrook-less Oklahoma City Thunder in round 2. Their defense, touted all season, has looked strong and will give the Spurs a serious test. The Spurs, meanwhile, defeated the disappointing Los Angeles Lakers in a round 1 romp and the upset-minded, young star-studded Golden State Warriors in round 2.

In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat have rolled through the Playoffs as most suspected they would. After blanking the Milwaukee Bucks in round 1, they were surprised by the Chicago Bulls for a game, but ended up sweeping the remainder of the series. They'll start the conference finals on Wednesday against a team that is the Eastern Conference mirror of the Grizz, the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers haven't made the Conference Finals since 2004, and many did not figure them to be back here this year, with the absent Danny Granger and his uncertain status during various points of the season. However, the Pacers have clearly found their way forward without their star player, recommitting to defense and grinding games out that may not be beautiful, but give them the win. They defeated the Atlanta Hawks in round 1 in 6 games and then did the same to the New York Knicks. In each series for the Pacers, home-court advantage has seemed to matter. They will not have it against the Heat, and the vast majority of sports pundits are picking LeBron James and company to beat the Pacers.

So the probable match-up is the Spurs vs the Heat. This would be a callback for James, as the first Finals he made, while he still played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was in 2007, against the Spurs. Those Spurs destroyed that Cavs team, sweeping them out of the Finals in an unceremonious manner. James certainly remembers that and may use it as motivation if the two teams do meet. However, a player of his caliber is certainly not over-looking his current series and it's worth thinking about the possibility of the Grizzlies and the Pacers meeting. Memphis and Indiana are first and second in defense respectively and they'll both give their opponents more than a cursory spat in their Conference Finals games. San Antonio, known for its defense for seemingly decades, sits at a mortal 11th place in that category this year, but is balanced by the fourth-ranked offense. Again, the Spurs are the favorite in their Conference Final. But sitting above all other teams, in both esteem and odds, reign the Miami Heat. With both the fifth-best defense and offense they look, at times, unstoppable.

We'll find out about the Heat and the Pacers tomorrow. The Grizzlies and the Spurs, meanwhile, are off to a terrific start. All of the remaining Western Conference games can be seen on ESPN, while the Eastern Conference games will be broadcast on TNT.

Cat Power by Camille Garmendia

Leave it to your trusty copy editor to place blame on the blameless. Cat Power, aka Chan Marshall, released a statement/rant on her Instragram page (with the Statue of Liberty as the backdrop), criticizing the state of America and claiming she’s leaving the country until things change. In the public statement, she claims the illusion of liberty has become a symbolism of entrapment, fostering hope in Americans in an effort to make them prisoners of false ideas. In the all-caps statement—chill out gurl; you don’t gotta yell—she claims that the powers that be have used said symbolism “AS FALSE CURRENCY TO RAPE THIS EARTH WITH IT’S[sic] LIES, PROTECTION OF WEALTH, AND VICIOUS SLAYINGS & INHUMANE PRIVATE CONTRACTED MILITARIES WORLDWIDE FOR DOMINATION ...”

She goes on to demand a tri-partisan government as well as a Native American vote. Preach on, Chan! But like I said, as a copy editor, I can’t help but twitch at the errors, considering it’s my job to make sure that all text entering the public domain is free of grammatical/factual errors so it reads smoothly. Now, I can attest to the fact that when something is written with passion, integrity, and a pressing need to completely reiterate certain feelings without censorship or too much thought, it’s important to throw the rules out the window and say what you gotta say. And I guess Ms. Marshall has ... she even went to the extent of tagging several well-known Twitter users like: Diplo, U2, Dave Chapelle, Madonna, The New York Times and more. Some good words, Chan, but if you need a copy editor, let me know. But then again, I may be making a moot point because a statement like this isn’t just meant to be typed/transcribed, but also meant to be spoken. As Marshall says, “HOW DO YOU FIGHT WITH JUST A WORD IN TEXT, SPEAK IT.”

• Yo! (geoffreyplant) [ Tue May 21 2013 12:40 PM ]
  

 

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We got in line at Satellite at the same time, but I insisted you go first. You have long wavy strawberry blonde hair, and you were shockingly beautiful. I bet you still are. On the way out I held the door, and we were parked right next to one another. Did you feel a spark too?

It was Sunday (the 12th of May). You were wearing some rock-out Hot Topic type clothes. You had some lion tail attached to your pants.

I was wearing a green shirt. I had glasses and a red beard. After asking what with the tail, you allowed me to sit at your table and chat with you. Before you left, we introduced ourselves. You went inside and I left.

I really liked talking to you. You were really smart. I would like to meet you again and chat some more.

Where: Starbucks. When: Saturday, May 4. Me: shaved head, reading a book about nuclear weapons. You: gorgeous female, reading the Bible. You introduced yourself and we spoke for a few minutes. You loitered around waiting for me to ask you out. I was hypnotized by you, unable to move or speak. I will be at the same location, same time, next Saturday, eagerly hoping you will be there.

Saturday, May 11th, at the Radio Shack on North 4th about 4. You are a petite lady with shorter red/brown hair, khakis and a darker top. I'm tall with gray hair and mustache. You walked through the store on your way out, eyes that covered everywhere, a smile that the Mona Lisa could only wish for and a walk that was very subtle and awakened every male molecule I possess. I lost every mental process watching you leave! Shocked wishes to see thee over a cup which would get cold.