The One With the MVP

What can I say -- I love basketball. Once college is over, I start watching NBA. I haven't watched much of it this year because of my dog training keeping me so busy, but this was a great Finals series. I think Larry Brown, the last coach to win a championship at Kansas, said it best when he said these two teams epitomize what is great about this league.

These were two true teams. They play defense, they run solid offenses, they have great ball movement and they practice all the fundamentals. It was the battle of the two best coaches in the NBA. Tim Duncan, probably the best player in the NBA, vs. Ben Wallace, the best defensive player in the NBA. Duncan has endured a lot of criticism this series for not being as dominant as he has been in the past. Critics were saying that he couldn't take over a game, that he didn't have the swagger. It's such a shame that because a player doesn't talk loudly to the media and doesn't make a show under the basket after a monster dunk he doesn't have swagger. He doesn't have it. Yet, in his quiet and patient way, Duncan again took over the game. Throughout the series, despite an ankle injury and plagued by self-doubt, Duncan did more than just put up big numbers in the typical categories. He made big plays. He knew when to take it to the basket and when to kick it back out to the open guard. He played defense and set screens. I enjoy watching a big man get close to the basket and spot an open Manu Ginobli, getting the assist instead of the bucket. I enjoyed watching Duncan set screens for Parker and Ginobli to drive to the basket. He does so many things that people don't recognize, just because he isn't screaming at the referees and throwing flamboyant gestures at his opponents.

Tim Duncan is a great player and an even better person. I think he really stepped up in game 7, even making his free throws, and he deserved that MVP trophy. Call me sentimental, but I love it when the good guy wins.

I did miss part of the game because I was graduating my Torrance class tonight. They were a great class, an older couple with a poodle and a middle-aged woman with a rambunctious Lab. They were both really proud of how far their dogs came, and it always makes me happy when my class is happy. I think this was a successful group.

And onto my own MVP...



Muggsy's Training Diary, Day 36
June 23, 2005

Muggsy continues to excel. Since he was taking his food from me for his evening meal, I got up early and started hand-feeding him breakfast, too. It worked. A guy's gotta eat, right? He's doing brilliant deciphering between stand, sit and down. I'm very proud. I think if he sits now at the vet, I'll be able to get him into a stand.

These entries are getting pretty short because my dog is a rock star. Tonight, I again put the muzzle on in the car, perfect on the first try. I brought him in, no car ride tonight after how stressed he was last night, and went straight to practicing Door! Even with the muzzle on, he was perfect. He went straight to the crack and watched me as Robby closed the door and handled his leg. He didn't look happy, but he handled it. I think he'll do great at the vet.

I guess after this is over, I'm going to have to come up with some more complicated behaviors for Muggsy. Let's see: no biting strangers, no attacking kids, no barking at other dogs... I think there's some room for growth. But he'll always be who he is, and no matter who that is, he can rest assured that he'll have a loving and supporting home.