The Detroit Pistons end their 28 game losing streak, snagging a win by two points over the Toronto Raptors
From the NBA game recap:
The Detroit Pistons ended their NBA record-tying losing streak at 28 games with a 129-127 victory over the short-handed Toronto Raptors on Saturday night, as Cade Cunningham had 30 points and 12 assists.
The Pistons, who hadn't won since Oct. 28, matched the Philadelphia 76ers’ record of 28, split over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. They finished one shy of the record for the four major American and Canadian leagues, set by the Chicago Cardinals during World War II.
As a note, I did not know the Arizona Cardinals were anywhere other than St. Louis in their history. TIL about the Chicago Cardinals.
Even if this win is an aberration, it has to be a relief to get out of that losing streak.
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NBA players talk about Larry Bird
I was only nine years old when Larry Bird retired, so I don't have any real big memories of him playing. But he was omnipresent in the NBA conversations and years to follow as I grew up. Sure, Michael Jordan took over the scene and his marketing was out of this world, but Bird also continued to coach, etc.
So, I started to write about my thoughts on Bird's coaching career being relatively mediocre given how cerebral he was about the game. But then I went to up his stats. He coached the Pacers for seven years and during that time he wracked up the FOURTH all-time win-rate. Behind Joe Mazzulla (Celtics from 2011 to present), some guy named Phil Jackson, and Billy Cunningham (who coached the 76ers '77-'85.)
If Bird had been given an all-star roster, it seems to me he'd be possibly in the conversation for greatest coach of all time. He then went on to be a team executive, etc.
Needless to say, Bird loves Basketball and lived it and thought (and probably still thinks) about it every hour of every day.
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Bird was the greatest of all time
Sue or Larry? Yes.
To be clear, I'm not actually looking for a debate on this. I don't feel strongly about it other than appreciating the name confusion which should be common in the future.
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The Email That Sent Me Back in Time
Yesterday morning I received an email which took me back in time. It was an invite to a reunion of people who had previously been part of the Orlando Magic hype squads. The current iteration is "321 Hype", but back when I did it in the mid 2000s it was the "Blue Crew."
I got the job because, at the time, I was working at an improv comedy theater and we had gotten notice of an audition for new high energy people to be part of the crew. And, as someone who had been a lifelong Orlando Magic fan, I thought it sounded pretty cool. Unfortunately, I couldn't go to the audition because I had a date scheduled during the audition.
But, day of, she called and canceled our date. And, at first, I was feeling pretty dejected. I had really liked her and she gave me a total puff piece of an excuse for canceling. I read the tea leaves and knew we were done. I was laying in my bed at home feeling sorry for myself when I was able to snap myself out of it and I decided to go to the audition - what would the harm be? Being rejected from an audition would hurt less than the date rejection. At the worst, I figured maybe it would be a fun story one day. Either way, it beat sitting at home feeling sorry for myself.
As you might have guessed, I ended up getting hired. I ended up working for the Magic for three seasons. I would wear a straw cowboy hat that had the Orlando Magic patch on it, and then run around the arena. Shoot t-shirt canons into the crowd, etc. It was a good time. Sure, there was running around, but as the big guy I usually ended up with the more stationary roles - like wearing a backpack with an extending hoop and backboard so people in the crowd could throw a plush basketball and try to make baskets, etc. Or, holding one end of the giant slingshots, etc. And when you boil it all down, I got paid to watch basketball - hard to beat that.
My time working with them came the season after I sprained my ankle while I ran the court. As I like to tell it, "I tripped on a painted line." Thankfully the team took good care of me and I recovered fine. They revamped their in-stadium entertainment and I ended up falling off. At the time, it worked out, because I was about to move from a life of gig income to my first programming job.
Fun memories. I'm glad this email popped up and brought it all back to me.
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