Saucyman: Asparagus Week: Time Out

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Asparagus Week: Time Out

As tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, today is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. A fact completely overlooked when planning upcoming posts. Since I don't have anything fresh, there are leftovers today. A recipe for gumbo: Lenten Style. And if okra isn't your thing; the cultural legacy of Red Beans is examined here. Or before you slip into unconsciousness, and are wondering what is the best hot sauce, the crystal ship is being filled here.

I had even saved a question a Friend of Saucyman asked about using file and okra together in gumbo. As Robert Burns pointed out the best laid plans for posting often go awry...

The answer was using both, together is much like wearing a belt and suspenders - it is just never quite right. Then I was going to explain where file comes from and how to use it.

Maybe next year.

Saucyman will return to the topic of asparagus within a few dozen hours, but until then enjoy the charming, late Danny Barker leading eh la bas

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Basketball

Since the lockout ended, I have been largely silent about the great sport of basketball. Despite Brandon Roy retiring, despite my beloved Blazer’s sprint out of the blocks to a really good start, despite my home team playing a style of basketball than can no longer be described as Van Gundying (Jeff) up the sport’s fluidity.

I don’t know, some interesting developments transpired: During the lockout, analysts and beat writers, the very people who possibly think about professional basketball more than I do, had a light bulb go on over their collective heads and across the league they discovered what everyone else pretty much already knew, NBA Commissioner David Stern is a dick. Over the last decade Stern forced bankrupt municipalities to build new stadiums for billionaires’ new play thing, this heavy handed behavior garnered nothing but praise. The writers sighed and thought eh, “we live in the suburbs, we write for suburban middle managers, our values are if anything anti-urban” - with all the weight that word carries. But needlessly locking out players jeopardizing their tenuous employment in publishing, well that is something that we might complain about except they hate the players more - Oh the conflict.

But mostly I can’t get excited about any team helmed by Nate McMillan. We’ll make the playoffs with a pretty good but not best record, maybe get home court advantage in the first round and then fail to advance. This is true until McMillan proves otherwise, 11 years a coach out of the first round once - this record while coaching some pretty good but not great teams. Along the way Nate will overplay star forwards LaMarcus Aldridge and Gerald Wallace so there is nothing in the tank come playoff time and risk their health. And yo-yo Nicholas Batum’s minutes so the young player becomes a head case instead of developing into a consistent contributor.

So a predictable finish is part of the my own jejune response to the return of the sport of kings (not really, that's horse racing) maybe it's the sweet science (damnit google says that's boxing). My attitude goes deeper than a finish more predictable than one of McMillan's earth toned, triple pleated suits, if the lockout exposed a fault line in NBA coverage it's that broadcasters and writers are now PR agents for the teams - so who is left to advocate for the fan - thank goodness for blogs and the posting cyborg that is named Henry Abbott.

2nd round or bust