Not much of a preview for this one. The Grizz have looked great at times and horrendous in others lately -- expect a write-up on last week coming sometime tomorrow.

Just one night after the Grizzlies second huge win of the season, this time against the defending L.A. Lakers, Memphis has to travel to Atlanta for a battle of the south.

Zach Randolph went down in the season opener against ATL, so its hard to take much from that game, but it's worth mentioning that the Grizz match up terribly against the Hawks. Atlanta has won 9 of the last 10.

That being said Atlanta hasn't looked great in Larry Drew's new motion offense, and Jamal Crawford is having a major down year. Jeff Teague isn't playing great (or hardly at all either), which means the Grizz's backcourt is looking much deeper with the 5 man rotation of Mike Conley, Xavier Henry, O.J. Mayo, Greivis Vasquez, and Tony Allen.

One key, however, is getting Darrell Arthur back, because Josh Smith is a matchup nightmare for Zach Randolph, who's simply not got the footspeed to keep up with J-Smoove.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been on a little bit of a slide recently, losing to the Utah Jazz then the suddenly solid Indiana Pacers. The culprit, surprisingly, has been their offense, which has averaged under 100 points in the losses. That might not sound like a problem, but for the Lake Show it's almost unheard of.

You could probably argue that the primary culprit is former Grizz star Pau Gasol, who's scored just 12, 21, and 13 points in his last three games. Pau has a reason to be tired -- he's a big averaging over 39 minutes per game -- but going 5-15 with 5 turnovers against Roy Hibbert and Josh McRoberts is nearly unforgivable.

Tonight might be the night to turn it around, since Pau brings it against the Memphis Grizzlies. I don't know if he still resents the franchise (he shouldn't, since we gift-wrapped him two rings) or just wants to beat up on little brother Marc, but normally Pau upstages even Kobe Bryant in Memphis.

Speaking of under performing, Marc Gasol has been far from impressive this year, and will need to bring his A-game to stop his far more agile and skilled brother. If the Grizz want to have a chance, they'll need he and Zach Randolph to hit the boards just like they did against the Heat.

The last word, though, will probably end up coming down to Rudy Gay, as it has much of the season. If Rudy can smoke Ron Artest, the Grizz stand a good chance. If he's shut down then there's no longer a guarantee that O.J. Mayo can bail him out from the bench.

This one's in Cleveland while I'm home for the holidays about an hour south. Wish I could have made it up...

The Grizz should match up awfully well against the Cavs, who really lack a go-to scorer or direction for their franchise. That being said, Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions, and Antawn Jamison are all dangerous, and J.J. Hickson and Andersen Varajeo have the bodies to defend our frontcourt.

When the Grizzlies beat the Miami Heat, rookie Xavier Henry was in the starting lineup because O.J. Mayo showed up late to shoot-around. Turns out that a win against the Superteam is enough to change even a notoriously stubborn coach's lineup.

The next night, without much fanfare, Xavier Henry was still starting, while O.J. Mayo was the first man off the bench.

Coach Lionel Hollins had this to say:

Hollins said his decision Wednesday to take guard O.J. Mayo out of the starting lineup is designed to give the team's struggling bench scoring punch. Rookie Xavier Henry will start at shooting guard for the foreseeable future, although Hollins insisted the change isn't permanent.

"It's difficult when you make these kinds of decisions because everybody reads more into it than they should," Hollins said. "I had a long talk with O.J. He's fine and he'll do well."

Obviously O.J. wasn't thrilled, but he came off as diplomatic:

"I just want it to be a winning decision," Mayo said. "I don't think anybody would be happy. I'm uncomfortable. But I'm a basketball player. I'm a professional. If it's what's best for the team, honestly, I'm definitely all for it. The team and winning are the priorities. I can put my feelings aside for what's best for the team."

Readers of the site know that, especially during pre-draft coverage this summer, I've often commented that O.J. Mayo might be best served as a bench player, in the mold of perennial Sixth Man of the Year contenders like Ben Gordon and Jason Terry.

With two wins under our belt with O.J. coming off the bench, I'm ready to fully back Coach Lionel Hollins's move now. Get over the jump for why.

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Happy Thanksgiving Eve everybody; the Grizz get to stay at home tonight and get a pretty easy night (compared to the last few) against the Detroit Pistons.

Both teams are 5-9, but the Pistons are in one of the least enviable positions in the league, with tons of overpaid bit players and aging veterans. Still, with so many talented shooters that can get hot on any given night, Detroit has snuck up on a few teams this year.

I like the Grizz's chances, though, especially since the D's frontcourt is awfully weak, with old man Ben Wallace the only stopper capable of handling either Marc Gasol or Zach Randolph.

Sorry guys, I'm sick as a dog so no real preview again today.

The Grizz are struggling big time on offense lately, and the Heat's elite-level D isn't going to do us any favors. This might be yet another tough home loss.

One question: Is John Wall going to play tonight?

The Blazers were once the up-and-coming team in the West. But now the story of their season sounds a lot more like the Celtics or Spurs than the OKC Thunder.

Franchise stud Brandon Roy is dealing with knee problems that may permanently risk his explosiveness. The team is still missing two of their more productive bigs in Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden. 

Still the Blazers have held it together with a little extra from LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Miller, as well as a breakout year from Nicholas Batum, who's playing a remarkably well-rounded game for a young wing and is looking a lot like the legitimate third scoring option Portland needs to replace Travis Outlaw.

Roy may or may not play, and whether he does or not will make a big difference in how the game plays out. When Roy is in, Rudy Gay typically mans him, while O.J. Mayo takes the other wing. Without Roy the Grizz will be able to play in traditional positions, which is probably a good thing now that Batum looks legit.

Last year the Grizzlies played Boston tough all the way down to the wire at home, but eventually lost. Still many, many fans noted the energy in the building and on the team.

That was the turning point. From that game until Marc Gasol's injury, the Grizzlies were close to a top ten team in the NBA, getting several wins against championship contenders.

Can the same thing happen this year? Maybe.

The Celtics look better than ever, especially against the Miami Heat, who they've beat twice. Rajon Rondo is an absolute force, definitely a top tier player in the world; Kevin Garnett looks healthy, but still a little slower than before; Paul Pierce is still producing every night; Ray Allen is shooting lights out.

Now don't get me wrong, the Grizzlies have played well and should stand a chance. That being said, this team still hasn't shown a strong identity, which makes it difficult to beat a savvy veteran team like the Celtics. If we're not pushing the tempo from tip-off, Boston will take us out of our game and outlast us again.

Really, the only hope is that Garnett doesn't show up and Shaq doesn't play enough minutes to handle Marc Gasol. The Celtics aren't great rebounders, so if Zach Randolph puts up a Kevin Love-like performance, we could pull out an unexpected win.

The Grizzlies beat the Mavs in a tight one last time, and get them at home tonight. Dallas is fresh off a win against Boston on Monday, and could be rolling now.

Then again tonight the Grizzlies will have Zach Randolph operating at full strength, with makes this team much deeper and more dangerous. Rather than starting Darrell Arthur and being forced to log Thabeet over 10+ minutes, the Grizz can use Arthur as their primary talent off the bench and go small with Z-Bo playing center.

That lineup could be especially dangerous against the Mavs, since Arthur has the athleticism Zach Randolph lacks and should be able to handle Dirk Nowitzki, while Z-Bo's shooting will pull either Tyson Chandler or Brendan Haywood out of the paint.

Ultimately it's on Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo to expose their mismatches against the Mavs' three guard rotation of Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, and J.J. Barea, though. Neither Kidd nor Terry should be able to really guard an aggressive O.J. or even Xavier Henry, who looked much better last night.

Finally, Rudy Gay -- just keep doin' what you're doin' and I think we'll grab another W.

Well we lost the last bad end of a back-to-back to a weak team against Golden State, and the Kings are probably every bit as tough.

Zach Randolph should be a little better rested than everybody else, and hopefully him and Darrell Arthur can play well against Carl Landy, who's not an astounding defender. Rudy Gay should have another big game unless he's worn out, but O.J. Mayo is going to be blanketed by Tyreke Evans.

Fact of the matter is, on the road in the Grizz's 4th game in 5 days, the Kings aren't going to be pushovers.

The Grizz got a night of rest before this game, but this West Coast roadtrip isn't going to let up. While the Phoenix Suns are just 1-3 with their new-look, Amare Stoudemire-less lineup, this team will  be dangerous as long as Steve Nash is pushing the tempo.

It's not clear yet if Zach Randolph will play or not, which means Rudy Gay is going to be expected to put up huge points again. That shouldn't be a huge problem if Hedo Turkoglu is on him, but Grant Hill is still a cagey defender.

Fans will get to see Hakim Warrick in action again. He's playing a role similar to his later year with the Grizzlies, averaging about 25 minutes and 12.5 points per game off Phoenix's bench.

Speaking of benches, Memphis's is yet to step up this year. Tony Allen has put in some decent minutes, but hardly looks like a revelation. Xavier Henry is still playing poorly, and Sam Young is due for a big game but is still dribbling with his head down and shooting every time he touches the ball.

Overall it'd be great to get a win, but I think this will be a dogfight. Since both teams are contenders for the 8th seed, a big win might tell us a lot about the rest of the season.

Make sure you've got your Grizzlies in your fantasy lineups tonight -- we've got Golden State.

GSW have looked decent this year, but their bad defense and fast pace still mean this is going to be a track meet.

Typically opposing centers have huge games against the Dubs, but Andris Beidrins is relatively healthy and David Lee is there now too.

Rudy Gay should keep rolling, although Dorell Wright is playing great this year. O.J. Mayo and Monta Ellis are going to be gunslinging, and Darrell Arthur's probably going to take over 20 shots (even though he should be around 5).

I'm calling this one a big win.

When the news of Mike Conley's extension broke, I was loathe to do much more than report the news and comment a bit on how it effects future cap flexibility. After some time to meditate, I think I'm willing to weigh in:

• Let's first note that this deal is pretty close to the smallest the Grizz could possibly tender. Mike's qualifying offer next season was set to be about $6.5 million. In other words, if the Grizz wanted to restrict him, that would have been the minimum deal any team could offer. Assuming the standard 10% raises are built it, the extension will start at right around $6.7 million next season. Again, barely over the QO.
• I need to correct myself. Marc Gasol will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. But to everyone asking why the Grizz didn't lock up Marc first, the answer is still that they couldn't. To receive a contract extension off their rookie deal, a player needs to be signed for over 3 years. Marc was on a 3 year contract, and therefore is not eligible to get extended.
• To everyone who is worried that Conley's success so far is an aberration. You're probably right, with Z-Bo out, Conley's taking more shots.
• To the same individuals, even if Conley puts up stats closer to his career average, if he does that more efficiently, which seems to be the case given his improvement, then that's fine. In a starting lineup with 4 scorers, arguably Marc should be a 5th, efficiency is always more important than volume.
• Does this extension make Mike Conley overpaid? Yes. But so is just about every small-market player. If Conley had gotten away, who could the Grizz have easily replaced him with this offseason? Jamal Crawford and T.J. Ford are the only starting caliber options hitting free agency this year. Trading looks bleak too, the Grizz's only real excess talent with trade value is Xavier Henry.

In other words, we're in the Rudy Gay dilemma yet again. The Grizzlies sort of had to overpay to keep him, since they couldn't give him any less in RFA next summer, and if they didn't tender him a QO it's almost impossible to think Mike would resign as a UFA.

Replacement was an option, but it's not a good one. What teams have excess starting caliber point guards? Maybe the Cavaliers, but Mo Williams contract is even bigger. Maybe the Trailblazers, but Andre Miller's lack of shooting is just as awkward of a fit in Memphis. Minnesota will probably make Johnny Flynn available, but he's been far from impressive. 

Everyone knows there's no love lost between Conley and myself, I think he's been trash and should have been replaced by Tyreke Evans, but the kid has looked better this year. Is he 5 years, $40 million better? Doesn't matter, because he's better than our other options.

Big win against the Mavericks without Z-Bo, but I'm nervous about the Lakers at home without him.

Realistically this one is probably a lost cause either way. Yes, the Grizzlies matched up well against the Lakers last season, but the Lake Show have blown out their last two opponents (Phoenix and Golden State). Add that to the fact that neither team has played in a few nights and I like the championship pedigree.

Obviously Kobe Bryant is the name here, but Lamar Odom has arguably been the reason L.A. has been so dominant early. He's averaging 16-14 right now, shooting over 60%, and seems to constantly make the big plays that spark a Lakers run. Pau Gasol is in line for a big game against the Grizz's soft interior, too, especially since he'll want to show up little bro at home.

Still it will be a great sign if the Grizzlies play them tight with their frontcourt injured, Marc Gasol isn't 100 percent and Zach Randolph certainly won't be if he plays at all. Like the past couple, Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo are going to be called on early and often to get it done.

The X factor will be Mike Conley. If he has a giant game on the heels of his extension, then we have a shot. If he gets shut down by Steve Blake and Derek Fisher, well, there'll be a lot of complaining in Memphis tonight.

Not many people saw this one coming -- I certainly never thought it would happen.

Because of his solid play in the preseason and early in the year, the Memphis Grizzlies have signed point guard Mike Conley to a large, multi-year extension. The contract is believed to be over 5 years and worth around $40 million.

Over the years Conley has often been a pariah for the Grizz's lack of success. He failed to ever establish himself over the solid, but ultimately limited, Kyle Lowry, and last year often looked worse than his backup Marcus Williams, who is now out of the league.

But this year Conley Jr. has shown the talent that led him to be the Grizzlies 4th overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft. He's currently averaging 15 points and over 8 assists.

With signing Conley and Rudy Gay to long-term deals, as well as the need to bring back Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies payroll is getting fairly large. While that should quiet the pundits of Michael Heisley's thrifty spending over the past couple years, it also will be challenge going forward since O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol will also need extensions to keep this team competitive.

Big win last night and the best news is that Marc Gasol appears to be back for good. No word yet on whether or not Zach Randolph will be back tonight. He traveled to Dallas but obviously didn't play -- the CA doesn't have an update for tonight.

Even with Z-Bo out the T-Wolves should still be a win for the Grizz. The Wolves are a young team, so they don't play particularly well on the road, and Memphis simply has more talent. Kevin Love and Michael Beasely are developing into great players, but the Wolves are still week on the wings and at center.

Yes, Minnesota did beat Milwaukee, but they also shot under 40% on the game. That tells me we're not exactly talking about a well-oiled machine.

If Randolph doesn't play again look for Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo to take lots of shots, and for a decent chunk of the offense to run through Marc again.

So the first loss was a disappointing one, and things are hardly looking up right away. Both Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph will be out for tonight.

That means the Grizz will be strutting out a Darrell Arthur and Hasheem Thabeet frontcourt. Given how bad Thabeet played two nights ago, that hardly inspires confidence. 

Rudy Gay might fill in at power forward a little bit, giving Xavier Henry and Tony Allen a little extra time on the court, but that has it's own challenges since Dirk Nowitzki will shoot right over Rudy.

The good news is that neither Tyson Chandler nor Brendan Haywood are scoring threats in the post, and Jason Kidd should provide another sieve for Mike Conley to put up stats against. That being said, with Conley defending them Kidd and J.J. Barea are in line for big games.

The fact of the matter is that the Mavs are an elite team, and the Grizzlies aren't without their top-tier frontcourt. Maybe magic will happen, but don't expect the first win to come tonight. 

Well, now that the season is started it means that the preview season is all wrapped up. Here's every single one of the previews, as compiled by the always excellent CelticsBlog.

Lots of SBNation stuff on here, as well as plenty of off-site blogs. I definitely encourage everybody to poke around these sites and check it out. There's a bunch of great bloggers collected over the jump.

Continue reading this post »

It's the moment we've all been waiting over the long summer. Xavier Henry finally showed up, Rudy Gay's still here, and hopefully Hasheem Thabeet is vastly improved with Marc Gasol nursing an ankle injury.

The Hawks will show up to play tonight, since they'll be trying to hold onto that 3rd seed in the East. Normally the Grizz match up alright against ATL, but without Marc Gasol this game might be a tough one.

Look for Zach Randolph to press against Josh Smith, who's a great defender but also has a tendency to get beat by clever post players. Rudy Gay should also have a shot at going off big, since the Hawks barely have a small forward and could very well go with Joe Johnson at the position.

And if Mike Bibby sees lots of time on the court, this is Mike Conley's game to prove he still belongs with a Grizz team that's looking to start a playoff year.

Team Name: Memphis Grizzlies

Last Year's Record: 40-42

Predicted Record: 48-34

Key Losses: Ronnie Brewer, Marcus Williams

Key Additions: Tony Allen, Xavier Henry, Acie Law, Greivis Vasquez

1. What significant moves were made during the offseason?

The good news for Memphis Grizzlies fans is that the starting five, who posted fantastic +/- splits last year, remains intact this year. Many, however, question if that's also the bad news. The Grizzlies handed flashy small forward Rudy Gay a near-max contract extension on the first day of his restricted free agency this summer.

To avoid falling right back into rebuilding mode, the Grizz had to keep Rudy on the roster, but it was costly. Rudy Gay will be paid like a superstar and franchise player when, in reality, he's more of an inconsistent enigma who's a little risky since his game is predicated on freakish athleticism.

Owner Michael Heisley and GM Chris Wallace also gave a decent sized contract to Boston Celtics swingman and defensive specialist Tony Allen. Allen will hopefully shore up the Grizz defense, especially when O.J. Mayo is matched up against bigger scoring guards. Still it's not clear how the minutes will play out, since another offseason development was Mayo's failure at the point guard position in Summer League.

In the draft the Grizzlies picked up Xavier Henry and Greivis Vasquez, but also sold the pick that turned into Dominique Jones, who looks like a promising spark-plug off the bench. Xavier Henry is just now getting his season started, as he sat out Vegas Summer League over a contract dispute. Heisley attempted to make his rookies' salary contingent on performance bonuses, but caved in the day before training camp.

Greivis Vasquez was injured, though, so the Grizzlies found some backup point guard help in Acie Law. Law has looked great this preseason and, if he lives up to his status as a highly touted prospect, he could press Mike Conley for playing time.

2. What are the team's biggest strengths?

Undoubtedly the youth. Adding Tony Allen, Acie Law, and some new rookies was great, but if the Grizz want to make the playoffs, it's going to be through internal improvement. Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, and Marc Gasol all have plenty of room to grow as players and will hopefully make big strides, especially on the defensive end.

These young guys all are fantastic individual talents as well. The Grizzlies will have plenty of weapons in almost every lineup imaginable this season, and just about everybody can create their own shot. Defenses can't really stack against any single player because everyone is a threat to score. Also the Grizz love to use their individual skills out in the open court and are often bailed out off broken plays.

Continue reading this post »

Every year the always great CelticsBlog posts an enormous amount of team-centric previews from sites all over the internet, and they're keeping up with that trend this year too.

You can catch up on the first 4 divisions at these links:

Atlantic - Celtics, Knicks, Nets, Raptors, 76ers

Pacific - Clippers, Kings, Lakers, Suns, Warriors

Central - Bucks, Bulls, Cavaliers, Pacers, Pistons

Northwest - Jazz, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Blazers

My Grizzlies preview, as well as Chip's at 3 Shades of Blue, comes out on the 18th, so be watching for that as well.

Also look for some preseason player profiles by the end of the day.

This is it Grizz fans. The season starts tonight.

Well, sort of.

Tonight's the first preseason game, which doesn't mean much besides getting to see what Xavier Henry and Tony Allen can bring to Memphis.

Expect a high-scoring affair here: Indiana and Memphis are two of the faster paced teams in the league, and the Pacers have nobody to match up with Zach Randolph inside after trading away Troy Murphy.

Darren Collison will be equally threatening to the Grizz, since it's not likely that Mike Conley has reinvented himself as a lockdown defender this offseason. In fact, with their stacked wings, the Pacers might terrorize the Grizz's weak perimeter defense.

Still I suspect with the Grizzlies superior frontcourt depth and focus at home, albeit in front of just a preseason crowd, this one should get us off to a 1-0 start.

Honestly, without access it's really difficult to know how the Memphis Grizzlies training camp went. Last year, for example, there was no bad news about Allen Iverson acting out until after the fiasco ended. Last year DeMarre Carroll and Hasheem Thabeet supposedly looked solid. Unless you can get a microphone on Coach Lionel Hollins, chances are you're listening through a feeder.

Still, it's worth looking over what the Commercial Appeal had to say about this year's camps.

Continue reading this post »

In anticipation for today's training camp, GM Chris Wallace announced yesterday that there'd be some new bodies on the floor. None of them are particularly good, which is obvious at this point in the free agent game, but at least it'll be a little easier to run drills.

The new guys are: Luke Jackson, Tre Kelley, Kenny Thomas, and Damien Wilkins.

Jackson was a standout at the University of Oregon and first round pick for the Cavalier's the year after LeBron James was drafted, but has been generally ineffective in the NBA. Last year he played in Italy, and the year before that he was an all-star for the D-League's Idaho Stampede.

Tre Kelley is a point guard from the University of South Carolina. He has bounced around Europe since going undrafted in 2007.

Kenny Thomas is the old man of the group. He's a 33 year old, undersized power forward. At times in his career Thomas was very tough and useful, but today he's largely limited to fundamental defense and a mid-range jumper.

Damien Wilkins is another recognizable name; he even started about a third of the season for the T-Wolves last year. Still, he's a 30 year old swingman who's lost much of his explosiveness and athleticism. Like Thomas, Wilkins could make the team, but isn't likely to see much time on the floor.

Grizzlies fans can finally relax, all is now well just in time for the beginning of training camp on Tuesday. The Grizz's two missing pieces, rookie first-rounders Xavier Henry and Greivis Vasquez, are finally signed.

In case you're wondering what the price was, well, turns out there was much ado over nothing:

Heisley originally insisted that Henry and Vasquez accept 100 percent of the rookie salary scale with an added 20 percent tied to performance bonuses. Both players, via their agents, rejected those terms. Their argument was based on history that showed first-round draft picks generally received 120 percent of the league's rookie salary scale without performance incentives.

Heisley eventually relented, saying that he was on the wrong side of the issue.

Via the same Commercial Appeal article we also hear Xavier Henry comment that he was fully prepared to sit out the entirety of the season until he received his full 120%. That's a bargaining chip that's almost impossible to beat, which is probably why Heisley capitulated.

With this embarrassing impasse out of the way, and Heisley on the losing side, lets just hope that the front office acts a little more reasonably in the future. After a year of good behavior who knows, maybe this year players will even show up for their workouts?

Injuries are just a part of sports. Kids, and old guys too, blow their knees out playing half speed at the Y. The physical stress of playing ball at the highest level probably multiplies the dangers of breaking down exponentially. Certain players might be injury prone, but, in reality, every single professional basketball player and team is injury prone.

Every team except, seemingly, the Memphis Grizzlies.

Over the past 2 seasons the Grizzlies top 8 players, their everyday rotation, have played in an exceptionally high number of games even with starters logging some of the most minutes in the league:

2008-2009: 593 out of 626 (total is low because of the Kyle Lowry trade), or 74 games per player. Without Darko, who was roughly the 8th man, that number jumps to 532 out of 544.

2009-2010: 632 out of 656, or 79 games per player. Now arguably that number should be a decent bit lower because of Ronnie Brewer's season ending injury, but its hard to count him since he only played in 1 game pre-injury.

So, over the past two years, the Grizzlies are basically the anti-Clippers. Sounds like a good thing, right? Color me a little worried that its not; are our expectations too high and the team's depth too low?

Continue reading this post »

I'll be honest, I prefer the spelling moustache. It just looks more dignified.

I'm far from an expert, though, since the most mustache I've ever carried is probably two days worth. Mike Conley Jr. is the king of this court, with one of the most finely groomed, but also totally goofy, 'staches in the Association. I really don't get why he's got it -- probably because he'd look like he's 17 without one, even though he looks like he's 18 with it.

If Little Mikey's ready to take the next step towards manhood, Chris and I have some serious suggestions:

Chris Wilson:

Mike Conley's current mustache is ridiculous. It only adds to my theory that he is a reincarnated Lamont from Sanford and Son. 

Anyway, he should absolutely grow a new mustache, if not for any other reason to distinguish himself from Lamont. While some people hate Mike Conley to the point they would probably suggest 'the Hitler,' I won't go that far. Mine is a lesser know but still incredible mustache -- fierce, strong, and inspiring hatred.  Yes, I'll take John Vukovich's from Major League. Vukovich was a member of the hated Yankees, who were the contstant antagonist of the lovable Cleveland Indians. Check out his monster:

If this doesn't strike fear into our enemies, I don't know what will.

Allen "djturtleface" Law:

First off, this is probably the hardest question I've faced in weeks, which is alright because I'm gearing back up for the academic life right now. I mean, there are just so many great, great moustaches out there. At first I thought Fu Man Chu, but it's like, Mike doesn't have time to grow that; he's going to be out of the league in three years.

So I'll take the next step down, The Stranger, from The Big Lebowski. Like Mike one day hopes to be, The Stranger is a sage in a peasant's clothes. Also, he closes out one of the greatest films in cinematic history. Mike Conley hopes to be allowed to close a pre-season game by next year.

The dude abides.