Monday, February 25, 2013

Last Place Update - February 25

Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. Let's get started.

   The 13-43 Charlotte Bobcats are this week's Kings of the Cellar, but the 15-41 Orlando Magic closed Charlotte's lead to two games. The surging 17-37 Washington Wizards trail the Bobcats by five games. Since the last update, Charlotte went 1-3, losing three straight. Orlando had an 0-fer, going 0-4. However, Washington did some winning and went 2-1.

   This week's honorable mention goes to the 19-38 Sacramento Kings. Sacramento is 2-8 in their last ten games, losers of five straight. The Kings are also 4-14 since January 18. This week, Sacramento is on the road for most of the week. They go to Miami on Tuesday to face the Heat. Then they go to Orlando on Wednesday to play the Magic. The Kings head back west and visit the San Antonio Spurs on Friday and end the week by hosting the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday. They should win no more than two games this week.

Next Losses...

   Charlotte takes a road trip out west this week. They go to Los Angeles on Tuesday to play CP3 and the Clippers. Then they go to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz on Friday and finish the week in Sacramento to the previously mentioned game against the Kings. The Bobcats may win possibly one game, but will probably have an 0-fer.

   Orlando goes to Philadelphia on Tuesday to play the 76ers and then will spend the rest of the week at home. They host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, Houston Rockets on Friday, and the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. Unless they start playing well, they Magic will have their second consecutive 0-fer week.

   What's up with Washington? They're 6-2 since February 4. Way to go! They have a busy week. The Wizards go to Toronto tonight to play the Raptors. Then they spend the rest of the week at home, hosting the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, the New York Knicks on Friday, and the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. If they continue to play well, Washington could go 2-2 or if they falter, they could lose all four games. The Wizards should win at least one game.

Other Stuff...

   Weber State (0-25) is the lone winless women's college basketball team. Jacksonville State got their first win of the season against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 60-57. Way to go, Gamecock Nation!

   My beloved University of New Orleans Lady Privateers lost last week, falling to 3-21 for the season.

   On the men''s side, Grambling State continues their trek toward a winless season and are now 0-24. The closest the Tigers came to a win was a 10 point loss to Prairie View on February 9, 63-53.

  The last draft to my first novel, The Curse, is finally done! Now to get the blurb done and to make sure the cover works. If things work right, the book should be published on Amazon and B&N sometime next month.

  Who will get win #1 first, Weber State or Grambling State? Who will have an 0-fer season?

Stay tuned. Have a great day!!!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Last Place Update - February 19

Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. We had a light week last week, but a fun All-Star and Michael Jordan Week. Let's get started with the second half of the season.

  Michael Jordan's 12-40 Charlotte Bobcats are once again this week's Kings of the Cellar. They lead the 15-37 Orlando Magic by three games. The 15-36 Washington Wizards trail the Magic by half a game. Each of the three teams is on a one game losing streak.

   Since the last update, Charlotte and Washington went 1-1. Orlando lost their only scheduled game last week.

  Once again, as tempting as it is to give it once again to the 19-31 Minnesota Timberwolves, this week's honorable mention goes to the 25-28 Portland Trailblazers. The Trailblazers are 3-7 in their last ten games, losing their last five straight. Portland is also 5-13 since January 11. This week, the Trailblazers host the Phoenix Suns tonight. Then they go on to the weekend by going to the Staples Center to play the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday and host the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Portland should win at least one game, but based on their losing streak, they could pull an 0-fer.

Next Losses...

   Charlotte has a busy week. They go to Orlando tonight to take on the Magic. Then the Bobcats spend the rest of the week at home by hosting the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Chicago Bulls on Friday, and the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. The Bobcats have a chance to get a victory or two, but if they fall to Orlando, they will probably have an 0-fer.

  As you already know, Orlando hosts the off and on Charlotte Bobcats tonight. Then they go on the road to visit the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. The Magic finish their week at home by taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Believe it or not, Orlando could go 2-2 if they play well. However, they could also have an 0-fer, which is more likely.

   The once season leading Kings of the Cellar, Washington Wizards, have a homestand this week. They host the Toronto Raptors tonight, the Denver Nuggets on Friday, and the Houston Rockets on Saturday. This is the toughest schedule of the three contenders. Everything says Washington should have an 0-fer, but they could pull off a win or two if they continue to play well.

Other Stuff...

   Condolences go out to the Los Angeles Lakers organization, coaches, players, and alumni on the passing of owner Jerry Buss. In addition to the ten NBA championships and 16 appearances in the NBA Finals, Buss's Lakers earned a 1,786-926 regular season record on his watch. Not counting this season, the Lakers finished the season with a losing record only three times (1993, 1994, 2005) since Buss bought the team in 1979. It is a gross understatement to say that Jerry Buss was a credit to the game of basketball. 'Nuff said.

   What a great game in women's college basketball between UConn and Baylor. Baylor couldn't stop UConn in the first half and UConn couldn't stop Brittney Griner in the second half. Congrats to Baylor on a great win!

   Speaking of women's college basketball, Weber State (0-24) and Jacksonville State (0-26) are the remaining 0-fer teams. North Carolina Central got their first win of the season against Savannah State on Saturday, beating them 43-38. My beloved Lady Privateers of the University of New Orleans got their third win of the season against  the Utah Valley Wolverines, 55-51. UNO is now 3-19.

   On the men's side, Grambling State is still on its season long 0-fer at 0-23. The Tigers lost their last five games by double-digit scores. Jackson State rolled all over Grambling State on Saturday, dominating them by a score of 77-38.

   Which of the remaining winless teams will get their first win? Will we have a men's and women's team run the winless table?

Stay tuned.  Have a great day!!!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Happy Birthday, Michael Jordan

Today is NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan's 50th birthday. Happy birthday, MJ! You're past the halfway point to 100. As competitive as you are, you'll probably make it there.

   So at the end of Michael Jordan Week (yes, they really had a Michael Jordan Week), if you paid attention, you heard just about everything there is to know about Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

   Instead of giving you a novel's worth of trivia, let's just cover events on his landmark birthdays.

  Today in 1983, MJ didn't have a game on his 20th birthday, but his North Carolina Tarheels stung from losing the second of three games in a row the night before. Maryland took the Tarheels down 106-94. Jordan's Tarheels played the eventual national champion, North Carolina State, on February 19 and lost 70-63. North Carolina went on to the NCAA Tournament, losing to Georgia in the Sweet 16 round 82-77.

   Today in 1993, His Airness celebrated his 30th birthday with his Chicago Bulls by trouncing the Utah Jazz 114-96. Jordan led all scorers with 27. Chicago won their second game of a 7 game winning streak. The Bulls went to 35-17, on their way to winning their second NBA Championship over Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns 4-2.

   Today in 2003, as with his 20th birthday, MJ had a day off for his 40th birthday. However, as with his 20th birthday, his team, now the Washington Wizards, were coming off a loss to the Utah Jazz on Valentine's Day. The Wizards would lose their next game on February 19 to the New Orleans Hornets, 87-75. The Wizards would go on to a 37-45 record, obviously missing the playoffs and coming in 5th in the Atlantic Division.

   And now Michael Jordan is 50 and is majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, a regular in this blog's Last Place Update and defending Kings of the Cellar Champion. His Bobcats are off today, because of the NBA All-Star game, which is also today. Can the Bobcats change their fortunes with MJ as majority owner? The answer is yes. They should easily double their win total from last season and if they play well enough, maybe even triple it. However, they could also repeat as Kings of the Cellar. It depends on which Bobcats team shows up.

   Speaking of the All-Star game, Jordan was named to 14 NBA All-Star teams and played in 13 All-Star games. There has been only one All-Star game on Air Jordan's birthday, but alas, it happened after he retired. The East beat the West 134-128 MJ's 45th birthday in 2008.

   Jordan is undefeated on his landmark birthdays at 1-0, with no games on two of them, including college. Ages ending in 5 don't count as landmark. Is Michael Jordan the greatest NBA player ever? Probably. And to put my two cents in the First Take debate, could Jordan in his prime beat LeBron James playing one-on-one against each other ten out of ten times? My answer is yes, but LeBron would make a game out of it each time.

Happy birthday, your Airness!! Hope it's a great one!!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

The Blurb: A Work In Frustration

This is one of those Other Musings entries. Today's topic is writing a blurb for your book. This isn't a "How To" kind of entry, but an observation of the process and the frustrations I've encountered.

   I started writing the first draft of my soon to be published first novel The Curse in 2010. Since then, it's undergone several rewrites and even an overhaul. I even wrote all but one of the stories in The Acts of 1 while working on the first draft of The Curse. Today, the final draft the novel is in my ideal reader's hands. If it passes muster, I can finally publish it. In the meantime, I've been working on the blurb.

  The blurb. This is the teaser on the back of the book or on the webpage you hope will entice readers to buy your books. So far, I've had an easier time with the overhaul. It's a work in frustration. What do you include? You don't want to tell the story, but you also don't want to mislead the reader with too few details. What should you put and how long should it be?

   I began my journey by reading blurbs from the books at home to get an idea of what to do. Then I went online and read a bunch of blurbs from books available on Amazon. They varied in size and detail. Some were enticing stories unto themselves and others were a few sentences that proved less was more.

   I went to multiple websites that featured entries about how to write blurbs. In some cases, I've had more informational sales meetings featuring ice chests. Make it eye-popping, they say. Use it to sell your product, they say (well, duh!). There are other useless generalizations, but we won't go into them.

  I finally found a couple of blog entries that do a good job with how to write blurbs. One is 5 Tips for Writing a Compelling Book Blurb by Amy Wilkins. Another good one is by Joanna Penn. She gives examples in her blog entry on blurbs called  How To Write Back Blurb For Your Book. In both cases, their examples come from actual blurbs.

   So I begin writing my blurb...then made a second attempt...and then a third. It's now several pages of attempts and none of them work. They all leave out some enticing part of the story. So why not write a combination of the best entries? Been there, done that. Same result. None of them work.

   Okay, hire a professional. It's a good point. Authors can be their own worst blurb writers, at last that's what they say. However, if I could afford to hire a professional, that would have been one of the first things I'd have done. Once the sales numbers enable me to afford professionals, that's exactly what will happen. But until then...

   My plan for this blurb is to do a "less is more" type of entry. An advantage I have is that the fictional university where the story takes place is also featured in the short story The Immortals in The Acts of 1. There is a lot to the novel, but the blurb shouldn't give everything away. Hence, my quandary.

   So what should I do? The novel will be ready soon. At least the cover is further along than the blurb. As easy as it is to get frustrated about writing the blurb and stay there, the answer is to relax and keep trying. Sooner or later, I'll write that magical entry that will be the blurb for The Curse. The last two attempts, though not acceptable, are the best so far. If you're having the same problems, outside of hiring a professional, there is no magic pill or bullet. Just keep trying and sooner or later, hopefully you'll write that terrific blurb for your book.

Good luck and have a great day!!!

Monday, February 11, 2013

NBA Last Place Update - February 11

Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. Let's get started.

   The 11-39 Charlotte Bobcats, tired of sharing the beer in the cellar, put a move and is alone as this week's Kings of the Cellar. The 14-35 Washington Wizards did some winning and is now 3.5 games behind the Bobcats. The 15-36 Orlando Magic finally got a win, but only managed to get the 16-35 Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off the radar for this week. The Magic are also 3.5 games behind the Bobcats.

   Since the last update, the Bobcats had an 0-fer, going 0-4. The Wizards went undefeated this week, going 3-0. Way to go, Washington!! Orlando went 1-3 to round out the week, breaking their 12 game losing streak yesterday against the Portland Trailblazers.

   As tempting as it is to give it once again to the Minnesota Timberwolves, this week's honorable mention goes to the Los Angeles Clippers. Why? Some would say the Timberwolves are more deserving by going 2-15 since January 9. To be honest, they are, but think of this, and this is a familiar story. The Clippers, who had the NBA's best record at one point this season, are 4-8 since Chris Paul's injury. The same thing happened to the New Orleans Pelicans, uh Hornets, from his days there. The Bees would win with him and lose without him. That's why the Clippers have this week's honorable mention. As CP3 heals, the Clippers travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers tonight. They return home to host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. On Thursday the Clippers travel (okay, so it's an away game at home) to the Staples Center to face their crosstown rivals the vaunted Los Angeles Lakers, who are going through their own drama with Dwight Howard. The Clippers should win out this week, but could fall to Houston.

Next Losses...

   Charlotte hosts the Boston Celtics tonight and then travel to face the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. This should be an easy 0-fer for the Bobcats.

   Washington has a mini Midwestern road trip by going to Milwaukee to play the Bucks tonight and then east to Detroit on Wednesday to take on the Pistons. How the Wizards will do depends on which team shows up. If the Kings of the Cellar show, then it's an 0-fer. However, if last week's team shows, then the Wizards could have their first five game win streak of the season. They should win one of the two games.

   Orlando only has one game this week. The Magic host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. Sadly, there's not much to say, except that this will be an easy loss.

Other Stuff...

   After marching in the Krewe of Isis parade Saturday night, I caught the end of the first overtime between Louisville and Notre Dame. What an exciting five overtime game! Louisville had multiple chances to put Notre Dame away, but the Fighting Irish hung tough. The Cardinals had at least two chances to call a time out when they crossed the mid-court stripe with about two seconds left before the overtime periods ended, but didn't. That probably cost them the game, but as they say, hindsight is 20-20. Congrats to both teams for a great game!!

   Weber State (0-22), North Carolina Central (0-22), and Jacksonville State (0-24) are still the only winless teams in women's NCAA basketball. My beloved Lady Privateers of the University of New Orleans won their second game of the season by beating the Houston Baptist Huskies 65-58.

   On the men's side, Grambling State had another 0-fer and is now 0-21.

  Which of these teams will get their first win? Who will run the table and have a winless season? Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Monday, February 4, 2013

NBA Last Place Update - February 4

Welcome to this week's NBA Last Place Update. First of all, congrats to the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens for winning their second Super Bowl and bringing the city of Baltimore its third Super Bowl championship. The Baltimore Colts won Super Bowl V in the 1970 season. Now let's get started.

   We have a tie! There's plenty of beer in the cellar, so the 11-35 Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats are this week's Kings of the Cellar. And since there is a tie, one more team will be added for this week. The 14-34 Cleveland Cavaliers trail by two games and the 14-33 Orlando Magic trail by 2.5 games.

   Since the last update, both the Wizards and Bobcats pulled an 0-fer. Then again, so did the Magic and my beloved Pelicans, uh, I mean Hornets. Washington went 0-4 and Charlotte went 0-3. At least Cleveland won a game, going 1-2. Orlando lost nine straight, going 2-20 since December 20.

   This week's honorable mention goes to the 15-33 New Orleans Hornets. Even though last week's mention, the 18-26 Minnesota Timberwolves are 1-9 in their last ten games, that lone victory came at the expense of the Hornets. After going 9-5 from December 26 to January 21, the Bees went 1-6, losing four straight. New Orleans starts its Super Bowl hangover by hosting the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. Then they go on the road to play the Dirty Birds of basketball, the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. The Hornets go north of the border on Sunday by going to Toronto to play the Raptors. Depending on which Hornets team shows up, they could go 3-0 or have an 0-fer. They should win at least one game this week.

Next Losses...

   Washington has a homestand this week. They host the struggling Los Angeles Clippers tonight, the New York Knicks on Wednesday, and the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. The Wizards have a shot at a win this week and if they play well, maybe even two. It's more likely they'll have an 0-fer.

    Charlotte will spend most of their busy week on the road. They go to Miami to face the Heat tonight and then go to Cleveland to play the Cavaliers on Wednesday. On Friday, the Bobcats host the Los Angeles Lakers and finish the week on the road, traveling to Philadelphia on Saturday to take on the 76ers. Charlotte should get a win this week, but then again, this is the Bobcats. As with the Wizards, Charlotte will probably have an 0-fer.

   Cleveland also has a homestand this week. As previously stated, they will host the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday. Then the Cavs will host the Orlando Magic on Friday and the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. Cleveland has the best chance of NOT having an 0-fer this week. They should go 2-1 unless the Bobcats or Magic show up.

   Orlando has a busy week coming up. They travel to Philadelphia to play the 76ers tonight and host the Los Angeles Clippers on their tour of cellar dwellers on Wednesday. Then the Magic go to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers on Friday and finish the week on Sunday hosting the Portland Trailblazers. Although Orlando has a chance to get a win, like the Wizards and Bobcats, the Magic will probably have an 0-fer.

Other Stuff...

   There's a lot of talk and controversy about the blackout in the Super Bowl. Although it did affect the outcome of the game, the better team still won. The local jokes focus around the city not paying its power bill.

  You know we have to have a little Super Bowl trivia. The San Francisco 49ers are only the second team in Super Bowl history to score 31 points and lose. The first? The Dallas Cowboys scored 31 in Super Bowl XIII and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-31.

  Which Super Bowl team has had the longest drought since its last appearance? The New York Jets. They won Super Bowl III and haven't been there since.

   The ranks of the undefeated in women's college basketball are no more. The Duke Lady Blue Devils actually lost their first time this season on January 21 to the UConn Lady Huskies. I stated Duke was still undefeated on last week's Last Place Update on January 28. I stand corrected and regret the error.

   On the flip side, Weber State (0-21), Jacksonville State (0-23), and North Carolina Central (0-21...how did I miss that?) are still among the winless. My beloved University of New Orleans Lady Privateers had an 0-fer last week and are 1-17.

   On the men's side, Grambling State is still the lone winless NCAA basketball team at 0-19.

   Who will get their first win? Will one of these teams run the table and have a season 0-fer? Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!