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Let's spend the night together, now I need you more than ever
I see where the Chinese Government is going to try to determine the set list for the upcoming Rolling Stones tour next month. Man, they REALLY don't get it. That's not the way rock and roll works. The scenario that I foresee is the Stones opening up with the banned songs. "Come and get some of this!" If the band foolishly acquiesces to these obscene requests, maybe they can just play the songs backwards, and REALLY freak 'em out. I learned years ago that it's easier to get forgiveness than permission.
I'll satisfy your every need and I know you'll satisfy me
No satisfaction for me as the Arizona Wildcats went down early in the Pac-10 Tournament. People talk about "good losses." Losses are like operations; they're fine when they happen to somebody else. With the new found time, I caught Roman Polanski's film, "The Pianist" -- a story of the Warsaw Jewish ghetto during World War II and man's incredible inhumanity, the absolute worst of the human spirit. It was another life changing experience for me. Some people always say that that's another time and place and doesn't resonate. Hey, what about the Tulsa race riots of 1921, right here in Oklahoma.Yeah, the USA. Ten thousand whites burned, looted, murdered and exterminated the nation's most prosperous African-American community at the time. And they say you should not complain.
Tin soldiers and Nixon comin'
How can you run when you know
|  | | Mark Cuban got to celebrate with his Mavericks at Arco Arena. |
Had dinner in Sacramento Saturday night with the Maloofs and football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly. We were there to raise money for his terminally ill son, Hunter, who is now 6 years old, battling Leukodystrophy, a genetic disease that usually claims its victims in 14 months. Hunter was born on Valentine's Day, sharing his birthday with his dad. The birth occurred just two weeks after Jim retired from the game he loved but could no longer play. Since the disease struck, Jim has given his life to finding a cure, donating over $6 million to science to find a cure. There is NOTHING like the love of a dad for his son ... if only he could take the pain away. The Maloofs gave a very nice contribution to Hunter's Hope, the foundation that can be reached at Hunters Hope.org. The next time you're torn between how many TVs you need in your fourth Hummer, you might want to give a second thought to PEOPLE and CAUSES with REAL problems.
Saw the Mavericks win a BIG GAME. The beaming post-game smile on Mark Cuban's face said it all. Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley can play and Don Nelson can certainly coach.
With so much good news swirling in the air, what with the war and all, it sure was reassuring to see the lovefest in the Azores. Don't you think that it might have been better to get together with some of the people that you're NOT getting along with to try to work things out.
I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, shortsighted, narrow minded hypocrites ... all I want is the truth
My next movie has to be Woody Harrelson's, "Go Further." I can't believe I missed THAT bus ride. I couldn't agree more with Woody. Just say NO, to corn dogs.
Good to see the musicians have not forgotten their role. The Beastie Boys, John Mellancamp and others racing to have their voices heard before it's too late.
Mirrors, smokescreens and lies ... it's not the politicians but their actions I despise
Why can't we have more leaders like the Pacers' Donnie Walsh, who just received a well-deserved contract extension? Walsh, like John Wooden, has dedicated his life to the game, to teaching and to making other people's dreams come true. One of his greatest strengths is his selfless soul. No hype, no self-promotion, no out-of-control ego. Now if his Pacers can just find THEIR way. One guy they might want to think more of is Jonathan Bender, who scored a career-high 22 points in his first career start Friday night against Utah.
|  | | Ben Wallace's boardwork shouldn't be ignored. |
I'm a big believer in sharing the wealth, so I must admit my dismay at the lack of attention given to the job that Ben Wallace is doing on the glass up in Detroit. Twenty-plus rebounds in three straight games, averaging more than 21 in his last four. Ben DOES have a way to go to match the pace set by Wilt, who garnered more than 20 boards in 21 consecutive games. I guess SportsCenter was too busy with Kobe.
I admit it might help Ben's cause if the Pistons WON some big games themselves. They are only a combined 1-7 against five of the top teams in the West -- the Lakers, Kings, Spurs, Mavericks and Blazers.
We can all only hope that reigning MVP Tim Duncan is fine after limping off the court with a bad ankle from Sunday night's win against the mighty Bulls who haven't come close to winning since they trounced the Lakers (including a 29-point shellacking by the Grizzlies). Tim was coming off his first triple-double of the season Friday against the Clippers, a feat accomplished in less than three quarters. In the Clipper locker room after the game, some were heard to query, "What is a triple-double?"
A lot of people are starting to take notice of the Spurs' surge to the top lately. Don't forget the Memphis Grizzlies, who along with the Spurs have the league's longest current winning streak at a franchise record six. The average margin of victory is almost 19 points, as Stromile Swift, with six straight double-doubles, has emerged as a real force since the big trade with Orlando freed up some playing time. Cynics might point out that the streak has come at the hands of Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Cleveland and Denver. I try to look at the bright side but will wait until Tuesday night's game at Minnesota before I purchase playoff tickets.
Tracy McGrady continues his own push for MVP. On the SEASON, he's AVERAGING 32 points, six rebounds and five assists. Only four players in league history have had near those kinds of numbers: Wilt, Oscar, Jerry West and Michael Jordan.
The New Orleans Hornets remain on fire as Jamal Mashburn and P.J. Brown helped sweep their former team, the Miami Heat, over the weekend. That makes it 10 in a row for the Hornets over the Heat since Pat Riley engineered their big trade-away a few years back. Riley said after the game that he prefers veteran players on his roster next season. Apparently Sean Lampley, Mike James and Vladimir Stepania aren't cutting it. The new veterans should arrive just in time next fall to celebrate the eighth anniversary of Pat's invitation to the Heat fans to come participate in the championship parade down Biscayne Blvd.
Under the Alanis Morissette "Isn't it Ironic?" department, the Miami Heat are 4-0 in games refereed by Steve Javie this season, the ref at the heart of some of Pat's rants this year. This list can be endless this time of year. Remember last Sunday when some of the Knick players decried their FANS for cheering MJ is his Garden Farewell. Well, Latrell Sprewell asked for and received a pair of autographed shoes from Jordan himself after the game.
Nice story in Cleveland's home-court blowout win against slumping Utah last night. One rebound shy of a triple-double in the closing seconds, the Cavs' Ricky Davis attempted to miss a shot at Utah's basket and rebound the miss for the milestone.Things have changed. It's a good thing that Jerry Sloan was coaching and not playing. The foul that the Jazz's DeShawn Stevenson laid on Davis is a Valentine's Day kiss compared to what Jerry would, and should, have done.
The lady covered me with roses
She blew my nose and then blew my mind
|  | | Cheryl Ford, right, is making her papa Karl proud. |
What a week for Karl Malone. He passed the 36,000 point mark, vaulted over Nate Thurmond into seventh place on the NBA's all-time rebounding list and on Friday became the first player in league history to record at least 35,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 4,000 assists and 2,000 steals. It doesn't hurt that only one other player in history has scored more than 36,000. I somehow don't think Ricky Davis will get that far. By the way, Karl's daughter, Cheryl, is having a pretty good year herself, having just been named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year for Louisiana Tech.
John Stockton is only six months younger than Orlando head coach Doc Rivers. Doc has been retired for six years now.
The Lakers are 10-1 with Mark Madsen in the starting lineup. Leave it to Phil Jackson to ALWAYS find the RIGHT combinations.
Does Kwame Brown really have more verbal barbs thrown at Doug Collins than rebounds this season?
Milestones keep falling as the players get better and play longer than ever dreamed possible. Mark Jackson is now second on the all-time assist ladder, just passing Magic Johnson. Forty-year-old Kevin Willis this week will surpass Moses on the most games played list (that's Moses MALONE) and Reggie Miller moved into 15th place on the all-time scorers list. Charles Barkley is up next.
The agent for Marcus Camby said that when his client is healthy, he is worth more than the $7.75 million option that the Nuggets hold on his contract. Isn't that a bit like saying that Denver is just a player or two away -- Yeah, Shaq and Kobe!!!
Cleveland coach Keith Smart, so well known for hitting the game-winner in the 1987 NCAA championship game, is living another kind of March Madness THIS year as his team is 4-19 since getting the job.
Happy St Patrick's Day everybody, as we live today the reverse story of Robin Hood: Take from the poor to give to the rich.
And "all we are saying is give peace a chance."
Bill Walton, who is a regular contributor to ESPN.com, is an NBA analyst and shares his thoughts on "NBA Shootaround" at 7:30 p.m. every Friday for ESPN.
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