Last Place Update - April 18

We have a winner! Congrats to the 2013 Kings of the Cellar Champions, the 20-62 Orlando Magic. All of the beer in the cellar is yours. They edged the 21-61 Charlotte Bobcats by a game. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost their sixth game and secured third place at 24-58.

   The Magic overtook the Bobcats, who once led by 4.5 games on March 11, by going 2-16 since March 12. Orlando also ended the season with a three game losing streak.

   So what  happened to the defending champs? Charlotte did some winning and went 8-11 since March 12. Cleveland made a move of their own and went 3-16 during that same stretch.

   The 2013 Honorable Mention goes to the 33-49 Portland Trailblazers, who just ended their season with a 13 game losing streak. The Trailblazers actually had a winning  record on February 4, at 25-23. Then they went downhill, going 8-26 the rest of the way. It was almost as bad as the 6-28 record Orlando posted during that same stretch.

The Last Place Updates are a tongue-in-cheek look, from a fan's perspective, at the worst teams in whatever professional sport is featured. However it's important to remember that only a tiny percent of our population is even good enough to play for a professional sports team. It doesn't matter if that team wins it all or dwells in the cellar, the vast majority of us, myself included, could never make the first cut for a professional sports team, including those in last place. These players on their worst day could easily beat a team of fans on their best day. It's also important to remember and appreciate that it takes a special kind of athlete to earn the privilege to play for a professional sports team, whether it's for only a season or a long, Hall of Fame career.

Other Stuff...

Congrats to the Los Angeles Lakers for winning their last game in overtime against the Houston Rockets, 99-95. That win not only clinched the Lakers a playoff berth, it propelled them into the 7th seed. They will play the San  Antonio Spurs on Sunday. If they continue to play well, the Lakers can do some damage in the playoffs.

   The 8th seeded Houston Rockets will also play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. It will be interesting to see James Harden play his former team.

   Except for the blurb, my ebook, The Curse, is ready. It is also ready for Createspace. Once I write a satisfactory blurb, the novel will be published on Amazon for the Kindle and paperback.

Congrats to all for another successful NBA season. Good  luck to all the teams in the playoffs. May my New Orleans Pelicans contend next year.

Have a great day!!!

NBA Last Place Update - December 23

In this 200th post, I hadn't planned on doing a Last Place Update for the NBA. To be honest, I have not had time to pay close attention and have only watch a couple of Hornets games so far this season, along with parts of other games. However, since there are a few teams, including my beloved Hornets (PLEASE don't change the name to Pelicans) who may be in contention to threaten the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers 9-73 record of futility. Here they are...

   The 3-22 Washington Wizards are this week's Kings of the Cellar, leading the 5-22 New Orleans Hornets by a game, followed by the 6-23 Cleveland Cavaliers. The Charlotte Bobcats are in in fourth with a 7-20 record. The Wizards are 1-9 in their last ten games and have lost seven in a row. However, the Hornets lost 11 straight, but one team topped that.

   Speaking of, this week's honorable mention goes to the defending Kings of the Cellar champion Charlotte Bobcats. They have lost 15 games in a row and 16 of their last 17. Their last win was on November 24 against the Wizards. In all but one of those losses, the Bobcats allowed more than 100 points. They appear to have the same kind of defense New Orleans Saints has early this season...little to none.

   At this point last year, the Bobcats were 3-22. The 1973 76ers were 2-23 after 25 games. The Wizards are on pace toward grand futility at this point.

Next Losses...

   The Wizards host Cleveland on Wednesday and the Orlando Magic on Friday. Then the go to Chicago on Saturday to play the Bulls. Washington has a chance to get a win or two in this stretch, if their offense shows up. If not, look for them going 0-3.

   The Hornets go to Orlando to face the Magic on Wednesday and then host the Toronto Raptors on Friday. On Saturday, New Orleans travel to Charlotte to face the Bobcats. Unlike Charlotte, the Hornets have a defense, allowing 100 points or more in only 5 of their last 23 games. New Orleans should go 1-2 in this stretch and if they play well enough on the road, maybe even pull off an upset over Orlando and go 2-1.

Other Thoughts...

   Hats off to the NBA's perennial losers, the Los Angeles Clippers...that is the 20-6 Los Angeles Clippers, who have the NBA's second best record and won their last 12 games. They are 7.5 games ahead of the more famous Los Angeles team, the 13-14 Lakers. Way to go, Clippers!

   Do Seattle Supersonics fans miss the Oklahoma City Thunder right now? They have the league's best record at 21-5. The answer is probably as much as New Orleans Jazz fans missed the Utah Jazz during their glory days with Stockton and Malone.

   The Atlanta Hawks and Falcons have winning records so far this season. Could one or both of these teams win a championship? Maybe. The last Atlanta team to win a championship was the 1995 Braves over the Cleveland Indians. The Falcons made it to Super Bowl XXXIII, but lost. The last time the Hawks won the NBA Championship, was in 1958 when they were the St. Louis Hawks. The Thrashers...well, never mind.

   It is said that the average life of a blog is six months. As of this month and 200 entries later, Sports Trivia and Other Musings has tripled that statistic and still chugs on. Thank you readers, for taking the time to read my posts. You are deeply appreciated.

Merry Christmas everybody!!