After 68 games, it's all about how the Spurs & Warriors

Spurs improved their 2015/2016 home win record to 33-0 last night and the city of San Antonio is a buzz about the Golden State Warriors game on Saturday night.

I'm reserving my excitement until I actually see starting lineups on the court.   I wouldn't be surprised if Steve Kerr elected to sit his starting line up to spite Coach Pop...  in turn I too wouldn't be surprised if the Spurs elected to sit key players on Saturday night.

Home winning streak records mean nothing in the playoffs.  The Spurs have a firm grasp on 2nd place in the West and if they were to start today - they would match up nicely against the Houston Rockets.

If both teams agree to play full tilt tomorrow night, the game may provide better insights on how close the two teams will play in June.  I don't expect the Spurs to win on Saturday night... but I don't expect them to lose by 32 either.

I believe the key to the game is getting the Warriors into foul trouble and controlling the tempo of the game.  The Spurs will have trouble with fast paced transitions and they will also have a hard time exchanging efficient 2 point plays against high percentage 3's from Golden State.

Waxahatchee @ Paper Tiger, San Antonio TX, 3/15/16

Took in a very intimate performance at the Paper Tiger last night....  Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee) armed with only a guitar and microphone - played about 10 or so songs to a small room of in-the-know-Alamonians.

I took a little time at the end of last year to praise her latest album IVY TRIPP on this blog...   it was nice to hear a number of the songs from this record stripped down to Katie and a Guitar.

It was as if we got a chance to peek in on what those songs sounded like when she first crafted them.

In Appreciation of: POST - A Look at the Influence of Post Hardcore 1985-2007

Spent the past couple of weeks diving into a book by Eric Grubbs, titled POST (A Look at the Influence of Post Hardcore 1985-2007)…  A book that for better or worse chronicles a sweet spot of “emo” music I happened to experience first hand while attending college @ U of D.   If you’ve read or happen to be a fan of Michael Azerrad’s “Our Band Could Be Your Life”, you’ll be happy to hear that its put together in a similar fashion.

The collection of artists featured within POST are threaded together rather cleverly…  if you happen to be familiar with these musical artists you’ll know that they overlap rather strangely.  You will also wonder why a band like Jawbreaker is featured but Jets to Brazil maybe isn’t…   It all kinda makes sense as you get into the book.

The biggest take away from the book is that music captures a period in time where the line between musical artist and audience was blurred.  This pretty much capsulated the reason why I loved this period of life/music so much in my early 20’s.   That and in my head and heart, I have always looked back at these artists as being successful on all fronts.  I was a little saddened to hear about how hard it was for the to live and operate during their time together.

I kinda wondered why Phil Ek/Modest Mouse/Built to Spill were kinda out of this loop when I heard about the book, but then saw what Eric did with J. Robbins and how it all ties in nicely together.   

Last but not least, I really loved digging out a number of albums I hadn't heard during my reading.  I've put together a small playlist featuring favorite songs from artists on the cover of the book.


So You're Diabetic Now

Posted a short blurb a few weeks about some ongoing sciatic pains in my back...  sought out the opinion of my primary care physician (Dr. Pico) and was assigned physical therapy for a few weeks.

That's been going ok I guess.  The pain has subsided... but I will occasionally have some evenings where it hurts like shit and I just get through the night.  Anyhoo, while there I also had some dreaded blood work done and feared that I would get dealt the diabetic card.

Surprise/Surprise = I got the beetees.  

My dad has it and if I remember correctly, he had an older sister (Lupe, RIP) who also had a case of the beetees too - so this is a family affair.  I also happen to know that I haven't exactly made some of the best dietary decisions in life either - so I wasn't really all that surprised by the diagnosis.

What I was however surprised to find out was that after being diagnosed - you're kinda handed a pamphlet and prescribed Metformin to sort out your blood sugar.  My doctor naturally forgot to update me on my x-rays for my back...   my visit (3 weeks after blood tests) was to review my lab work.

This is where shit gets sideways for me.

  1. I don't really go about my day feeling any "diabetic" effects.
  2. I saw my blood results online the day after I took them and googled some of the numbers I found to be suspicious...  It took me all but 5 minutes to know I had the beetees.
  3. How is it ok for me to be walking around with the beetees for nearly a month and not be called in sooner?

Side Affects:  the Shits

So I'm in the process of getting a meeting scheduled with a person (maybe a nurse/maybe a dr.) who is going to give me the 101 on Beetees.  I think we're going to talk about diet and confirm that my want for honeybuns is a thing of the past.  This isn't all that big of a deal tho',  We've made a lot of dietary changes in recent months - so this is no big woop.  I just don't really know when I'm supposed to start with the blood sugar tests and stuff.  I wasn't prescribed any insulin, so my fear of sticking needles into my leg and belly have gone away for now.  I believe I will need however to prick my fingers tho and do the blood strip thing.

2016 is off to an amazing start. 

Game 45: Spurs 90 - Golden State 120

Spent a good part of the morning avoiding immediate reactions from last nights ass whopping...   The few fans I've run across appear be a little stunned by the disparity of play between both teams last night and most have told me that the Spurs simply didn't "have it" last night.

In short...  they didn't.   I just happen to be of the opinion that this Spurs team - is not constructed to ever "have it" against Golden State.  

I can't shake the feeling that the Spurs won't make any changes to their roster going into the 2nd half of the season... 


The Year Twenty Sixteen - Year of the Sciatica

As we ease into the last week of January, 2016...  I've been thinking a lot about what direction to take with the blog this year.  I had a number of unexpected things occur to me last year and that kinda curbed my desire to sit down and write personal stuff in a public forum.

I'm filled with an incredible urge to just share thoughts on all kinds of silly shit so I think things are about to get a little weird on this blog.

The biggest thing going with me these days is some trouble I'm having with Sciatica.  A nerve disruption that is sending pain down my right leg into my right foot - causing discomfort and the sensation of it being numb. 

I haven't been able to pin point the cause of this... outside of just being a fat ass - but I made it a point to go see a doctor.  He got me in touch with a Physical Therapist whom I'm paying $50 per visit to stretch me and rub me down for about a month.

The treatments are working and I have a number of fatty yoga exercises I affectionally call ROGA - that I perform daily.  

In addition to that, I've been eating better in preparation of receiving word that I'm probably diabetic.   Also not a shocker, given that I kinda have some family history with it and I'm a fatty.  Lab results came back and they got posted to my "personal portal" page... but I haven't heard back from my doctor.   I'm not sure what to make of this tho'.  Part of me thinks, that if I was diabetic - they would have called and been like - HEY you need to come in and learn how to inject yourself with insulin and shit.

Another part of me thinks - that one blood test - does not make one a diabetic.  Maybe they're coach me up and ask me to do another blood test or two before we go down that path...  

In the event I do get word I have diabetes - 3 or so weeks after doing lab tests, I suspect I may yell at my doctor and embarrass my lovely fiance who has been so incredibly supportive of all this crap.

So yeah... more soon.


Game 31 - 44 = Spurs 13 Wins and 1 Loss

So its Monday morning, January 25th and I haven't really posted anything on this website for about a month.  Despite having a lot of time to myself over the Holidays, I didn't really want to take away from my personal time to reflect on Spurs games.   I kinda wanted to hop on and shit on the Spurs for losing a Christmas game against the Rockets...  but I opted to let it go and looked forward to seeing the Spurs go into the second half of the season.

Section 114

The Spurs are on the verge of playing the best team in the NBA tonight and they have a lot of things going for them.  They're on a 13 game win streak that featured a number of quality games and near losses.  I actually attended two of those near loss games in person - the game against the Knicks was crazy and the game against the Cavs was in danger until they pulled a rabbit out of their ass to win that game in the 3rd and 4th quarter.

The Suite Life

I just read that Tim Duncan will sit out of the game tonight.  A move that really doesn't make that much of a difference.  Tim was not going to dump 15 points and pull 15 boards... but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  

I can't shake the feeling that the Warriors are going to blast the Spurs tonight.  It would be nice to see the Spurs play their usual starters and see how these teams measure up with one another from the tip.  They're 2 games apart and home court advantage is going to play a big part in winning the West.  I'm sorry... but I can't shake the feeling that this team is not bullet proof and we're about to witness a loss.


#1 Album of 2015, TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY, by Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly is a high-end-artistic endeavor deserving of being called the undisputed/Best Album of 2015.  It's so artistically dense... that I'm not sure how anyone could digest the record in a day, week or month to review the album confidently.  In an era where hip-hop culture/music has become pop culture/music - Kendrick opted to take an introspective look at why “Black is Beautiful” in 2015.  

yaaaas!