The Bench Jockeys » NBA

The King James Curse….Just Like We Told Ya

Ian Paregol — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:29:27 +0000

Well, we have earned another ‘Pat (Riley) on the back.’ Over a month ago – on April 9th to be exact – with a handful of games left in the regular season, The Bench Jockeys guaranteed a Celtics-Heat post-season match-up and we told you it would not end well for the Celts. We surmised that the newly-inked Unholy Alliance between the Fenway Sports Group and LeBron James was an affront to everything Boston and would result in chaos in the streets of the North End and on Landsdowne. We even suggested that ol’ 33 would have been a more appropriate partner for the FSG venture and questioned the wisdom of such a union, ripe with such frightful potentialities for the Boston faithful. http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/04/09/a-cursedly-simple-answer-for-red-sox-slow-start/ We even told you how it would end… a dagger trey by King James to knock the Celts out of the playoffs. And by golly, it unfolded exactly like we called it.

No one heeded the warnings we issued the following day (April 10th) when the power of the King James Curse first manifested itself during a 100-77 dismantling of the Celtics by the Heat where Miami secured the #2 seed for the playoffs. http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/04/10/the-king-james-curse-is-unleashed/ However, we didn’t go so far as to offer the icing on the cake: LeBron posted an iconic ’33’ in Game 5 or as we like to call it, a ‘Larry.’ That’s just a horrific insult to injury in Boston. In Beantown, there is #9 (Ted Williams), #4 (Bobby Orr) and #33. Although D Wade put up 34 points in game 5, it will be LeBron’s 33 that will become part of New England’s lore as the King James Curse becomes Boston’s newest karmic albatross.

Production Note: For the next 85 years, John Henry will be playing the role of Harry Frazee. Thank you, and enjoy the show.

The King James Curse is Unleashed

Ian Paregol — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:01:57 +0000

April 10 – In the first Boston-Miami hoops game in the post-Fenway Sports Group/LeBron James period of the unholy alliance, the Heat destroyed the Celts 100-77. Don’t say we didn’t warn you, Boston.

A Cursedly Simple Answer for Red Sox Slow Start

Spounder — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 01:30:29 +0000

The Developer of The Bench Jockeys always talks about sports Karma. Streaky-hitting, baseball players and Major League franchises rise and fall with the karmic tides. After all, the Boston Red Sox endured 86 years of bad juju associated with a curse. So what better time to talk about Karma than eight games into the 2011 season; a season where the folks at Fenway Park printed Red Sox World Series Champs – 2011 T-shirts on March 30th. And why wouldn’t they? Virtually every sportswriter deemed the Sox a lock to win the AL East and 75% of the ESPN pundits were certain they will be in the Series. The only problem is that the “Greatest Team Ever Assembled” has opened the season 1-7 and Fenway Faithful are looking up stats about the 1988 Orioles rather than counting Carl Crawford’s steals.

While the Red Sox staggered out of the gate, the Fenway Sports Group (parent company of the Red Sox) gave LeBron James a minority interest in the FSG-owned Liverpool FC of the Premier League on April 6^th. In the minds of Boston fans, John Henry might as well be donning a black LeBron #6 jersey, singing showtunes from No, No Nanette while holding a Baby Ruth bar as a microphone. Has the Sox ownership brain trust forgotten what karmic forces indwell 4 Yawkey Way? If FSG needed a basketball player with some international appeal, why select Eastern Conference villain King James in a city with the Celtics’ storied history? Hey, UK, ever hear of Larry Bird (old school) or Kevin Garnett (nu skool)?

Something tells me that the Heat will be facing the Celtics in the playoffs. Look for LeBron to drain a trey from the corner to knock the Celts out over the next three years, before a series of “close-but-no Red-Auerbach-cigar” finishes for the ensuing 83 seasons.

Opening Day for The Bench Jockeys

Ian Paregol — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:49:27 +0000

It just seemed appropriate that The Bench Jockeys initiated their Blog to coincide with the start of the 2011 MLB Season. Although there is nothing like debating AL and NL Pennant chances for the upcoming baseball season and analyzing the strengths, but more likely, the weaknesses of current and former ML players, starting this Blog at this time offers The Bench Jockeys the opportunity to assess the potential play-off scenarios in the National Hockey League, as well as the contenders and the pretenders for the Green Jacket, which is just around the corner on April 7th. The NBA is just absolute garbage, so you won’t see much from us about that steaming pile, but you will be able to read about the Final Four and VCU’s improbable run. (We don’t hate basketball, we just hate the NBA.) Conflicts, oddities and head-shaking actions within NASCAR, soccer, tennis, even the much-maligned PBA, will be served up with cheeky commentary and exploration.

But it’s not just about sports here at The Bench Jockeys, oh no. We have opinions about any number of subjects. And along with the sports banter, we intend to mix in a fair share of analysis about the national political scene, potential domestic and global crises, and of course, we fully intend to heckle leaders deserving of derision. We hope that you will come along for the ride and participate in the discourse.

Oh, and in case you didn’t notice it in the pic above, Barack Obama is a lefty. Now, there’s a big surprise.