The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

I can't believe the Boston Celtics will start the 2013-2014 NBA season with any of  Paul Pierce ,  Kevin Garnett ,  Ray Allen and Doc Rivers . The Boston Three Party is over. It was great while it lasted and relived the Boston Celtics' days as a relevant force on the NBA scene. It reached a peak with the Celtics' 17th championship (still one more than the Lakers) at the end of a magical season that could not be scripted perfectly. After some years of middling around the NBA, the new Big 3 was born via a flurry of trades in the 2007 offseason . Real Boston Celtics fans would know about the original big 3 of Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale and Robert Parish . They carried the 80's Celtics to 3 championships and a renewed salivating rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers . In the 2007 draft, Boston was expectant. Greg Oden  would be entering the NBA. He was being touted as the next big man who would lead a team to multiple rings. After missing out on Tim Duncan 10 years...

The NBA Finals ended a while ago but I haven't been able to comment on them because of the World Cup. Hey, even Kobe Bryant was in South Africa recently taking in the Mzansi Mundial. I was cheering for the Boston Celtics to win their 18th NBA championship banner but they lost out to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7. The Lakers won their 16th championship and more importantly defended their championship won in 2009. This was the first time the NBA champions had successfully defended their title since... yes, the Lakers of 2000-2002. So, I'll call it now, it is very likely that the Lakers will go for the three-peat. Some of these things in the upcoming free agency period may change that, but we'll see. But what does the Lakers win mean for Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Phil Jackson, the Lakers, the Celtics, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Doc Rivers, etc? Here are some thoughts. The Lakers deserved to win the NBA championship more than the Celtics did. It's clear the Boston Celtics p...

I am a  Boston Celtics  fan. I will admit I am a fair weather one too, not as consistent with them as I am with Manchester United. They gave me some great years from 2008 and 2012. With the Big 3 and their coach Doc Rivers shipped out of town, I am back to the cold winter fan days I am afraid. I can't believe the Boston Celtics will start the 2013-2014 season without any of  Paul Pierce ,  Kevin Garnett ,  Ray Allen  and  Doc Rivers . For what it's worth, I know the Jesus shuttle left last year, but to doctrinate that the Big Ticket's absence in Beantown would be Truth could make me cry rivers right now. It's an end of an era. As a Celtics fan, I am sad to see this run end, but hopeful for a quick turnaround to give Boston a team that will be relevant in April, May and June. As a basketball fan and a fan of these 4 aforementioned, I also wish them the best as they see out their careers. I started following the NBA very closely when I arrived in th...

I woke up to news of Kevin Garnett missing the playoffs. Bummer. The Big Ticket to success for Boston Celtics is not going to be available and that pretty much ends their repeat aspirations. The Celtics have played well without KG but without him, even Jesus Shuttlesworth cannot save them, and that's the Truth. They'll give it a fight; the Ubuntu spirit, a defensive mentality, a big-time player like Paul Pierce, an assassin like Ray Allen and a supporting cast that has grown in stature will make the Celtics competitive. However, missing the defensive stalwart in KG, they may give up too many points to stand a chance winning against some of the best teams in the NBA. The NBA regular season ended yesterday and the playoff matchups are set. I've picked the Los Angeles Lakers to win this year, Phil Jackson to get ring #10 and for Kobe to win his first Finals' MVP. I thought the Cleveland Cavaliers would make the NBA Finals and with the Celtics down, we can pretty much penci...

Lebron James came into the basketball spotlight just as I was starting to become an avid fan of the NBA. While Carmelo Anthony was making the word Syracuse more popular around the USA , Lebron was showcasing his arsenal of talent in preparation for the NBA. I had left Syracuse for MIT , and found uninterrupted and ubiquitous internet supply which allowed me to appreciate them both. Because I was a big fan of Melo, I couldn't really be a big fan of Lebron. They were rivals, and fans support accordingly. Lebron was going to go as the first draft pick, beating out Carmelo. It was to be dark o! Because one Darko Milicic (the next Dirk Nowitzki ) went #2, consigning Melo to #3. Carmelo has acquitted himself really well in the NBA. Darko has only seen dark days. Lebron? What a career he's having and a player he's turning out to be. This is where, who and what he's supposed to be. "I'm Lebron James, from Akron, Ohio. I'm not even supposed to be here". ...

The NBA regular season ended on Wednesday and ze MIghTy African is going to chip in on the debate for various season-ending awards. I am also going to hand out a few awards that I have patented (in case, the folks at ESPN) are reading. Yes, Bill Simmons is my hero. Let's get into the awards already. Most Valuable Player (MVP) I think this year's MVP decision is the easiest as far as I can remember. Lebron James was the most dominant player in the league and his team had the best record. They had basically the same team with the addition of Mo Williams but Ben Wallace, Ilgauskas, Delonte West all missed time. The guy led his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. That takes the cake right there. Second on my ballot is Dwyane Wade, third is Dwight Howard, fourth is Kobe and fifth is a tie between Chauncey Billups and Chris Paul. Rookie of the Year This one is tough and though Russell Westbrook and OJ Mayo should get some credit, this one is between Stanford alum Br...

You might know me for many things, but you might know how much of a basketball buff I am (or have become). Growing up in Kumasi, Ghana, I was not so much into basketball like football, tennis - which I played a lot and followed assiduously. I was passionate about trivia too, combining several trips to the KNUST Children’s Library with tennis matches involving my brother Kofi and friends. I knew lots of trivia in football, tennis, athletics, boxing, & bball as we called it, especially my friends on KNUST campus who played it. We didn’t have many basketball nets and hoops to play in my community so I didn’t learn to play the sport. I liked Michael Jordan like many folks, as well as Penny Hardaway - 2 of the top guards of the 90s - playing for Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic respectively. My passion for basketball extends to my cultural neighbourhood, such as blogging about African players in the NBA, emphasizing pride in continental talent like Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, etc and Ime...

I logged on to Facebook earlier and saw that two Tanzanian celebs who I've never met before had been tagged in a Facebook video. It's called THE OFFICAL NBA PLAYOFFS ANTHEM: WINNER REMIX BY WAKAZI . Some random Chicago-based Tanzanian musician had remixed Jamie Foxx's track and had a video montage of Tanzania's current favorite sportsman, Hasheem Thabeet. Yes, the guy who was a defensive force for UCONN in last college year, went high in the NBA draft and then became infamous for being the highest draft pick to be sent to the NBA's D-Developmental league. Hey, Thabeet may be a tough NBA life but the jury's not yet out on whether he'll be a winner, winner, winner. Lebron James on the other hand, is arguably the best basketball player on the planet and faces the biggest game of his life tomorrow. After 7 ringless years in the league, how that game goes on Thursday, May 13, will go a long way to determine how much of a winner Lebron James is. I am a huge NBA fa...

What happened in my diary in February 2009? We have an idea thanks to Twitter archive :-) Mighty African 25 random things about me http://tinyurl.com/crnkf3 — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) February 4, 2009 Ha! I remember this! I started filling it on Facebook and then I felt I had to blog it. You remember the days of Facebook Notes? I mean, when you could feed your blog into Facebook Notes! Damn, Facebook for taking those down.  +Esi Cleland-Yankson   +Maxine Totoe  :-) @retornam and most of the leaders are old too. Let's see how this Africa Union pans out — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) February 5, 2009 I don't know if you ever saw the news story on how Barack +Barack Obama  was like 40 something years old, Sarkozy, and other Western leaders being younger than 50. And then in Africa, there's the graphic of the leaders being over 70 etc. Gaddafi president of the African Union? No problemo. At least, he'll stand up and say something — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco)...

The conclusion of the NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers beating the Boston Celtics for the championship officially set the free agency frenzy into overdrive. For a couple of years, we've been made to wonder where Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would land at the start of the 2010-2011 NBA season. It's a couple of days till July 1st, the first day NBA teams can talk to free agents. There's been a lot of speculation about where players would go, who would join who, etc. As an NBA fan, I have interests in where different players go. Whether these free agency moves change the NBA power play much, we'll wait to see. Here is what I wish would happen. The LA Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Orlando Magic are definitely three of the best NBA teams but they are not really in position to sign any of the top free agents. There's been talk of the Lakers signing Chris Bosh through a sign and trade and the Phoenix Suns can also hold on to Amare Stoudemire. I think many p...