Special Quote of the Week- Bill Bradley

While the Republicans like Newt Gingrich are having their brewhaha this weekend in New Orleans, we thought we'd quip the NBA legend and former Democratic New Jersey senator Bill Bradley, who was among the first to endorse Barack Obama in his party nomination bid (I actually backed Hillary Clinton!).

While researching this piece, we learned that Bradley has a new book called "The New American Story" and he hosts a Sirius Satellite Radio show called "American Voices." Bradley is also the corporate director of Starbucks; we wonder if he has dropped into the Starbucks in Front Royal, Va., but he is probably a bit too busy for that.

Though he grew up in Missouri, Bradley came to prominence in New Jersey early in life as a member of the Princeton University Tigers. He won a team gold medal for the United States at the 1964 Olympics, and he was named NCAA player of the year in 1965.

Bradley then went on to play for the New York Knicks where he helped win NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, with teammates such as Walt Frazier and Willis Reed. Bradley's number 24 was also retired by the Knicks.

He was a senator for New Jersey from 1979 to 1997, and he unsuccessfully sought the 2000 Democratic nomination which went to Al Gore. Bradley was endorsed by none other than Michael Jordan, who is featured on our other blog "The Daily Vampire" today.

Here is the quote from Bradley who will turn 68 on July 28th:

"Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in."

Quote of the Week- Clarence Thomas

Today's Quote of the Week actually complements our other Quote of the Week by filmmaker Spike Lee, whose politics is 'slightly' to the left of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who is considered to be the most conservative member of the Supremes. He has admitted that he has libertarian, anti-government leanings, so perhaps he's a subscriber to "Reason" magazine.

This quote from Thomas (yes, it is his quote!) almost made me fall out of my chair, and you might fall out of your's too:

"I've been partial to Malcolm X, particularly his self-help teachings."

Lee made a well-regarded biopic about Malcolm X called......."Malcolm X." I was the only white person in attendance when I saw the film in Roanoke, Va., at a now-closed movie theatre in 1992.

I have to wonder if Lee and Thomas have ever met in person. Perhaps, they've sat beside each other at a New York Knicks or Washington Wizards game. Perhaps, not!

Major NBA Games Friday Night

As many who follow this and my other blog The Daily Vampire regularly (all three of you) might know, I have REALLY gotten into sports a lot within the last three or four months.

I am really following the NBA like a hoops fanatic, even to the point where I stay up late to check the score of a meaningless L.A. Clippers game on the West coast.

On Friday night, there will be 13 games, which means all but four NBA teams will be in action.

ESPN will televise the game between the L.A. Lakers and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden starting at 8 p.m. The late game will be between the visiting Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers should win even they're on the road since they have a better team than the Knicks, even though the New Yorkers have improved this year.

I think the Suns will probably beat the Bulls though they had an awful East coast road trip, and the Bulls are better this year though they have a long way to go before replicating the glory years.

Other games will include a talented young Sacramento Kings squad visiting Florida for a game with the Orlando Magic. The Milwaukee Bucks go to Canada to face the Toronto Raptors, which features Turkish player Hedo Turkoglu, one of my favorite players in the NBA (alas Toronto is not scheduled to be on national tv in the United States this year). The Bucks have a great rookie player named Brandon Jennings, whom I'm told is a delight to watch (the Bucks aren't on tv much either).

The struggling Miami Heat head to DC to play the Washington Wizards, who are also having hard times since star player Gilbert Arenas is indefinitely suspended for a gun-in-the-locker-room fiasco. The Portland Trail Blazers play the Boston Celtics in bean town. Both teams are playing well right now.


A hot Charlotte Bobcats team travels to Georgia to play an exceptional Atlanta Hawks team. And, the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies in Elvis country should be a dandy as the Thunder has a terrific second-year player named Kevin Durant (who you can follow on Twitter) and the Grizzlies have an exceptional young player out of USC named O.J. Mayo.

Here are my picks for Friday night's games. The star denotes an upset pick:

Orlando Magic over Sacramento Kings
Dallas Mavericks over Philly '76ers
Toronto Raptors over Milwaukee Bucks
Miami Heat over Washington Wizards
Charlotte Bobcats over Atlanta Hawks*
Boston Celtics over Portland Trail Blazers
Detroit Pistons over Indy Pacers
Ok City Thunder over Memphis Grizzlies
New Orleans Hornets over Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks over L.A. Lakers*
Houston Rockets over San Antonio Spurs*
Phoenix Suns over Chicago Bulls
Golden State Warriors over New Jersey Nets

UPDATE_ I went 7-6 with these picks, which is pretty bad but not as futile as the New Jersey Nets' record which is like 3-40 (not kidding!).

The Friday night winners were Orlando, Philly, Toronto, Miami, Atlanta, Boston (in OT), Indy, Memphis, New Orleans, LA Lakers, Houston, Chicago and (of course!) Golden State.

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