Happy Hour 02/07: Detroit Pistons Shots!

[Hey, it's Happy Hour in Hawaii right now, okay? So I spent the day avoiding all this National Signing Day ruckus...]

♦ I know the Celtics have been historically terrible this season, but I finally got to witness the brutality myself last night against the Pistons. And throughout the entire game, all I could think about was how much I used to hate the Boston Celtics. My loathing of Bird, McHale, Parish, and most definitely Danny Ainge was a key formative influence for me as a sports fan.

I don't even know who these guys are right now. But I do know they pissed me off last night for not being the team worthy of my formerly white-hot hatred. Aingie, you're doing a heckuva job.

♦ Best post-game quote? "Yeah," said Richard Hamilton, when asked if he could relate to the Celtics' losing streak. "My rookie year in Washington we only won (19) games. That ain't cool." No, sir!

♦ Surely you have read this already (especially since I'm doing this so late), and perhaps multiple times, but if you haven't, Detroit Bad Boys posted a tremendous interview yesterday with Detroit Free Press Pistons beat writer Krista Jahnke. If you want to know what it's like to cover a team on a daily basis (plus, being the new kid on that particular block), she provides some insight for you.

In my limited amount of sportswriting experience, I've seen several beat reporters in action, and I'm confident I could not do that job. That is tough work on deadline, man. I can only imagine the stress they feel some nights.

♦ On a more personal note, I also root for Krista Jahnke because on the couple of occasions I've interacted with her, she's been pretty damn cool with me. Back when I wrote about sports on my personal blog, (and before we had blogs like Detroit Bad Boys and Need4Sheed to show us the way), she interviewed me for a Freep piece on Pistons bloggers before Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your view), I was cut from the final article.

And back in October, when I wrote a Pistons season preview for Motor City Sports Magazine, Krista was one of several writers and analysts who took the time to give me some good stuff for my article. I remember underlining her comment about the Pistons "being so arrogantly man-to-man" on defense several times. (She rightly predicted how the Flip Murray signing would work out, too.)

♦ Over at ESPN.com, Ben Wallace is among John Hollinger's 15 most disappointing NBA players (subscription required). Yeah, that's a shame. Somewhere in Auburn Hills, Joe Dumars might be kicking back with a "Man, I look smarter every day on that one!" cigar.