Report: Paul & Howard Talks About Playing Together

According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, there have been talks between Chris Paul and Dwight Howard about playing together next season. They are several possible teams that both players can play for.

Playing for the Atlanta Hawks is one possibility. The Hawks have enough cap space to sign both players.  Also, other teams with cap room that are in the hunt are the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are strongly pushing for Dwight Howard, and bringing in Chris Paul would be a plus.

Rumor has it that both players would like to stay in LA, except on the same team. Either Paul to join Howard with the Lakers, or Howard to join Paul with the Clippers. Both situations are sign-and-trade deals.

Personally, all these situations sound great, and whatever team that they sign with will be contenders in a short notice. With the free agency period starting in July, only time will tell what will happen.

Around The League: June 13th

Kidd named as Nets’ new head coach.

Just days after retiring as a player, Kidd was named as the new head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Although the ideal candidate would be someone with coaching experience, Kidd has the leadership and championship qualities to coach a team, as he did for the New York Knicks as a player before his retirement.

Kidd played for the (New Jersey) Nets from 2001 to 2008, and has reached the NBA Finals in two consecutive seasons, only to come up short in both appearances.

Parker pulls hamstring, but will still play Game 4.

After the San Antonio Spurs’s annihilation of the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, it was announced that Tony Parker pulled a hamstring and will be questionable for Game 4. Today, he has been cleared to play.

Game 4 will be held tonight in San Antonio.

Memphis Grizzlies and Lionel Hollins will not reach agreement on a contract.

The Memphis Grizzlies and head coach Lionel Hollins will not attempt to negotiate his coaching contract, which means he will not return and will find a coaching position elsewhere.

With coaching vacancies in Denver and Los Angeles (Clippers), it makes sense for Hollins to explore his options.

The Grizzlies reached the franchise’s first ever Conference Finals round this season before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in a sweep. The Grizz have knocked off the Clippers and Thunder, two elite teams, to reach the Conference Finals.

 

 

 

Hawks Tampering Free Agency

Atlanta Hawks logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It has been reported that the Atlanta Hawks may have violated the NBA’s tampering policy. In a letter to Hawks fans and ticket buyers, the Hawks mentioned superstars and upcoming free agents Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, which may violate the policy. ESPN News states that Bob Williams, Hawks president, reported that mentioning Paul and Howard in the letter was an “unfortunate” mistake.

Basically, the letter states that the Hawks organization are overjoyed about this offseason, and the possibilities of acquiring Chris Paul and Dwight Howard are increasing.

The Hawks are a team that is currently rebuilding it’s franchise around. With plenty of cap space to sign players, four draft picks, a new coach (Mike Budenholzer), and only three players under contract (Al Horford, John Jenkins, and Lou Williams), the Hawks are looking forward to start from scratch.

Hawks forward Josh Smith is also a free agent this summer, and he plans to test the market for a max contract. With that being said, the Hawks plan to look for a star player to build a team around, and build a core with Al Horford and Lou Williams. With teams like the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, and the favored Miami Heat out East, it is only right for the Hawks to shoot for Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, so the Hawks can stay in the playoff mix.

Acquiring Paul or Howard, or both, will be difficult. Chris Paul is currently with the Los Angeles Clippers, one of the elite teams out West. Howard is currently playing with the Los Angeles Lakers, the other franchise in LA. Paul is (and hopefully will be) the franchise player, while Howard is not the favorite Lakers player (Kobe is #1). With Kobe Bryant sidelined due to injury, and with his career dwindling, Dwight can be the star player that the Lakers need to build a franchise around.

Personally, I think both Paul and Howard should stay in LA. CP3 has a great thing going with the Clippers, despite being bounced out the first round to the Memphis Grizzlies. Plus, with the youthful core of Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Eric Bledsoe, Paul has a team that he can work with.

As for Howard, I believe that playing for the Lakers is more idea than playing for the Hawks. Although D12 is from Atlanta, I think that the pressure of winning for your hometown team is greater than the pressure of playing for a legendary franchise like the Lakers. In addition, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will make the neccessary moves to surround Dwight with the right talent help him win, not to mention Kobe will make a return at some point in this upcoming season.

To conclude, the Hawks may have wrote a check that they couldn’t cash with that letter. Mistake or not, the Hawks are now in a “win or bust” situation for next season.

 

 

 

Minecraft: A new home

Hello there,

Welcome to the new Minecraft section of this blog.

When asked to write this section i wasn’t really sure which direction i wanted to take it. Whether to do a sole news section, a play guide, or a lets play series.

After pondering this question for all of thirty seconds I thought why not combine all three.

In this post I will be concentrating on my world and what I’ve done up to now.

So, about a week ago i started a new world as i got bored of continuously playing on creative, i wanted more of a challenge and to get  back to what i consider the roots of Minecraft.

No skins.

No mods.

And all the risk of being engrossed in a building only to have a creeper sneak up on you and blow you and your last three hours work away!

At this point I only had one rule, I must only play on survival.

On starting this is where i spawned. A jungle biome and headed of exploring until i came across this small waterhole.After having a scout around i discovered a small cave under some foliage on the opposite side that went back into the hillside about ten blocks.

An ideal starting place. A secluded cave, with plenty of wood around for crafting and a fishing lake.

At this point it was starting to get dark, so I quickly gathered supply’s and setup camp in the cave. I made myself  a crafting table and a wooden sword to last the night.

When daylight came I mined myself some stone and upgraded my sword and tools.

After a scout round to find some cows for food I had a thought, I wanted to keep the area looking nice so cutting down all the trees for wood would ruin that image. I needed a tree farm.

I sat and thought how i could do this for a while and figured i could kill two birds with one stone , so crafted some ladders, took some sticks for torches and started digging a two by two hole in the corner or my cave down to just above bedrock. I then started to hollow out a huge space to start building my tree farm completing  my second objective by stockpiling cobblestone, iron ore, redstone, mined with my new iron tools, and, my first diamonds.

I then set about building my tree farm.

I used a five by five pattern for this using half slabs and cobblestone for the base which i made wide enough for eight trees and deep enough for three.

I’m going to leave it there for today but next time i’ll show my passive mob farm and breeding area, automated furnace setup, and my storeroom which i am currently building.

Until next time,

Keep listening for the hiss!

Bear Bottom Update June 6th

Hello Friends,

Thank you for your continued support of our page, Bear Bottom Productions.  We just celebrated our third year of existence and we are hoping for many more years.  The past few months we have been working hard at figuring out how to make your experience better.  Well, we came up with a few ideas.  So let us share them with you.

NBA Finals: Heat vs Spurs

Yesterday, the Miami Heat finally came together as an unit to win the series in a Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers. The Heat have now reached the NBA Finals for the third straight year, and it will either be a second straight victory or a second loss in three years.

Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs, the winners out the Western Conference, have already punched their ticket in for the Finals. As a matter of fact, the Spurs have had almost two weeks of preparation and rest, awaiting on their opponent to come out the Eastern Conference. The Spurs advanced after a 4-0 sweep over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Rest vs Rust

The time off from basketball may have helped the Spurs. With that older core of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, this team needs all the rest they can get. However, these guys haven’t played a game in two weeks, but that shouldn’t be an issue for San Antonio. I believe that Coach Pop has performed the proper protocol to keep the Spurs ready, since Miami is a team that likes to push the tempo and get up and down the floor.

Momentum

After coming off that Game 7 rout of the Pacers, the Heat has something to work with going into Thursday’s match-up vs the Spurs. Therefore, some may argue that the Heat has the upper-hand because they came off that tough series against Indiana.

Backcourt

I don’t think Mario Chalmers has what it takes to take on Tony Parker. Although Chalmers is a great defender, Parker is playing out of his mind right now. Nonetheless, Parker is playing like a MVP, and no one can knock that.

The match-up between Danny Green and Dwayne Wade is an interesting one. If D-Wade shows up like a Superstar, then he will be a tough cover for Green, who is a legit defender. Wade has not played at his best, particularly during the last series between the Pacers, but we will see which Wade shows up in the Finals.

Frontcourt

Referring back to the Conference Finals games, the Spurs have excelled in the frontcourt department, while the Heat struggled in the post, depending on LeBron James’s post play to prosper in the paint.

The Spurs big men are furious and physical up front, making it hard to penetrate and score in the paint against them. Not to mention, they get up and down the court efficiently. I know you all saw how great Duncan was running! At 37, he’s beating guards down the court on fast breaks! Amazing. In addition, Spurs’ SF Kahwi Leonard needs to have a great series, particularly on defense to slow James down

If the Heat want to win, they need big games from Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem. Because the Spurs are tougher, they have to step up. Bosh and Haslem are at their best on offense when they are on the baseline, giving the option of a baseline side jumper that they both love to hit. Plus, Bosh can step out and hit a three if possible. I don’t have to discuss LeBron’s effort because as we all know: James will always be dominant and hard to stop.

Bench

The play of both team’s benches is critical.

The Spurs have Manu to depend on, but he has been more of a playmaker this postseason than a scorer. However, do not negate the fact that he can shot the ball as well. Plus, the Spurs have the big men to compete.

Miami’s bench has the advantage, if, and only if, they come out to play. Norris Cole and Ray Allen both will shoot the lights out, which is a big lift. In addition, Chris Anderson will bring the energy to amplify his teammates with his electrifying play. If Joel Anthony gets playing time, it could benefit the Heat well.

Prediction

Y’all ready?

With the 2-3-2 homecourt set-up, it is in the advantage of the lower seed. From beginning to end, this will be a fight. A battle for the ages.

With that being said…..

Spurs 4, Heat 2. Spurs in 6.

Soldier Field to Host NHL Game!

The Chicago Blackhawks pose for a picture at Soldier Field. They skated with the USA Warriors Ice Hockey Program.

The NHL announced today that the Chicago Blackhawks will be hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field March 1, 2014.

The game is part of the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series.  The Chicago game announcement is part of many to be announced in coming weeks.

In 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley field before 40,818 fans.

The Penguins have played in two outdoor games.  In 2008 they played in the first outdoor game against the Buffalo Sabres in Ralph Wilson Stadium.  Three years later they hosted the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field.  The 2011 NHL Winter Classic was the most-watched NHL regular season game, averaging 4.5 million viewers.

Soldier Field hosted two college hockey games in February.  The Blackhawks skated with the USA Warriors Ice Hockey Program as well.

Will you attend the game?