Results tagged ‘ Nene ’
Smitty’s a hero with a big four zero
3/21/09
It’s been a while since I’ve been to a Nuggets game and before the game started the Nuggets were on a four game win streak. The Nuggets are H-O-T (29-8) this season and I was hoping the wife and I’s presence wouldn’t interfere with that momentum.
Unfortunately we didn’t get there early enough to see the Nuggets warm-up. We arrived about five minutes into the game.
The star of the show tonight was my favorite Nugget J.R. Smith. Smitty scored an insane 40 points tonight. J.R. was allowed to start the game and seriously took advantage of that opportunity.
I’m glad that Krista, I and 18, 231 others in attendance were able to witness ”Smitty’s Basketball School”. It was downright pleasurable watching the Wizzards being subject to ”Professor Smith’s” night classes and failing miserably.
At one point towards the beginning of the game the Wizzards were up by seven points but once the Nuggets snatched the lead back it was never returned leading at one point by as much as 17 points.
Here’s a picture show for you. As always let me know what you think. You don’t have to love basketball to enjoy a good picture.
Here’s Renaldo Balkman about to earn his money.
Linas Kleiza and the Birdman
Here is Kleiza trying to “Be Like Mike” He skies pretty good for a white boy.
The Birdman showing off his no-look block. Birdman scored 18 points in this game.
One of J.R.’s many shots tonight.
Chauncey Billups scored 5 points and had six assists in his 32 minutes of play.
The score at half-time.
The Nuggets half-time show was wild. The outfits were so bright I thought somebody had possibly slipped something in my drink. The colors were intense.
The ladies strutting their bling.
I’m not quite sure exactly what I’m witnessing here but this dude had some rhythm.
Then it got really intense, it was starting to make me dizzy.
So by now the room is spinning so I had to look away to regain my balance. I looked up and what did I see?
A big old Coors can. Beware of the useless coupons that this and similar blimps like to drop on your head. You could really get hurt and the coupons are worthless. Tell you what, float a big “Fat Tire” beer bottle up there and maybe I’ll risk injury, but for a Coors (aka Rocky Mountain pisswater), I wouldn’t walk to the fridge.
Save you knees, a free paper isn’t worth an injury either. I tell you what, if those stupid blimps dropped baseballs it would be game on…
A Ranter basketball blog entry wouldn’t be complete without a obligatory cheerleader shot 
Check out the guys face on the far right holding up the cheerleader, he’s hurting.
I’ll zoom in on his expression for you, priceless
Sorry dude, I didn’t mean to expose you nationally but you really need to work on your game face.
JR and Melo
Love this expression.
By far the “Best Hat of the Game”. I guess if you can afford a snazzy hat like that, court side seats are chump change.
Kleiza going for the block with Birdman ready for the rebound.
The Birdman with the slamajama.
Birdman had 18 points, 11 rebounds and get this…6 blocked shots. All that in only 22 minutes. This dude is awesome to watch and the fans love him.
Welcome to Denver brotha, where you been?
Marcus who?
I’m not sure who this guy was, but he may actually be attending Referee School.
He kept standing up and moving his arms and saying, “safe”. It’s cool, you meet all kinds of people at at Nuggets game and I like baseball.
Group picture
JR Smith and Chris Anderson, making a name for themselves this season.
The Nuggets wave their magic wands and spell out the Wizzards 116-105.
(Go back and read that last sentence, nice huh?
Melo had 20 points and looked like he may have hurt his ankle?? Hope he’s ok.
Nene had 11 points and 2 blocked shots.
Thanks for stopping by, if your interested in of being one of the first people to participate in the new sport called Hagg’n let me know. If not we could always use cheerleaders..:)
Robert Van Winkle almost made me tinkle
1/4/09 Nuggets vs Hornets
The whole theme for the basketball game tonight was “The 80′s”. So the first 5000 fans received what they call “80′s sunglasses”. You know, the ones you used to wear with your OP Shorts (Ocean Pacific) back in the day. If your too young google it.
Above is a shot of Hunter and I modeling them for you. Hunter is holding the T-Shirt I caught as they were tossing them out.
It’s a T-Shirt to plug Chauncey Billups for the All-Star Team.
See, I have finally found another use for my baseball snagging skills. I can adapt them for use in other sports. I love getting free crap at a game. I religiously save everything that I get from any sporting event.
There was a pretty good size line to get inside, I’m not sure if it was the 80′s sunglasses or Vanilla Ice that was bringing in lines of this size in the snow…Probably the cheap sunglasses.
Ok, to give you some reference/history.
Below is Robbie Van Winkle’s original video of “Ice, Ice, Baby”.
Don’t cheat now, you have to watch this one first. Come on,…just play along.
It’s a blast from the past
Now that you’ve seen the real one, you’ve got to see Jim Carey’s rendition of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”. Be careful you might need a diaper for this one.
Finally, here’s a much older and mature Vanilla Ice rockin the halftime show at the Nuggets/Hornets game last night.
He started out with his version of “Play that funky music white boy” which was a flop for him back in the day, then he somewhat smoothly transitioned into his claim to fame “Ice, Ice, Baby.
I could tear this guy apart. So many things about him are just wrong. But, it’s a new year and I going to look at it like the dude is just trying to support his wife and two kids.
I’m sure to hear him tell it he’s just touring now as some sort of “healing process” that wanna be famous rappers go through,..whatever. I understand, everybody gotta make a living.
Here’s some video I shot of the Nuggets practicing before the game.
This game had a few ups and downs. The Nuggets led by as much as 26 points but they got lazy and let the Hornets make up all of that distance by the 4th period.
At one point in the 4th, the Hornets surpassed the Nuggets and were ahead by 3 points.
Had the Nuggets lost this game, they would have set a record for being the most points up on a team and then losing the game. Not a record I wanted to witness.
The previous record was 23 points. Thankfully that didnt happen.
Below is my picture show from the basketball game,…Enjoy
First is Hunter’s autographed picture of the Denver Nuggets Cheerleaders. I do believe he enjoyed meeting all of them.
A shot of FSN Analyst and play-by-play guy Scott Hastings (aka Sup), and Chris Marlowe.
Hastings is an 11 year NBA veteran and was a member of the 1989 League Champion Detroit Pistons. Hastings finished his career as a Denver Nugget (1991-93). This guy is great, he signed an old skool picture that I found of him for me backstage last season after a game.
I printed two of the pictures just in case he wanted one. When I offered, he said ”sure, thanks”. Here’s the picture he autographed for me last year.
Here’s a shot of Sup nailing a three-pointer. The dude still got some game.
I’m going to email him this picture and see if he remembers me from last season. I’ll enclose a link to this entry and maybe he and Big Alfred Williams (former Denver Bronco, Superbowl years and his co-host on their talk radio program “Scott and Al, its off the hook”) would be willing to check out the Rockpile Rant.
Even better, it would be cool if they could possibly give us some radio love as we head out in the Mobile Blogging Unit for Rockies spring training?
I’ll let you know if they respond back to me.
Cool Note: Scott Hastings is believed to be the only person in existance to possess two Super Bowl rings and an NBA Championship ring.
Thanks Mr. Hastings..Hope you liked the picture. Tell Al I said hey.
Here is Chauncey Billups. He has my vote for the All-Star team.
Renaldo Balkman
K-Mart, Melo and Chucky Atkins
Nene and Melo
Kleiza holding his balls
Some dunking skills
more
and more
Kleiza and Chauncey with Miss America in the Background..No really it is.
She sang our National Anthem. She did pretty good, she only F’ed up in one spot.
Here she is with her own Police Officer and George Karl
A shot of coach Karl as she’s walking away.
The game was about to start so we headed back to our “real seats” and this was our view.
The score at the beginning of the 4th.
As I mentioned earlier the Nuggets had a huge lead for most of the night, but Hornet’s Chris Paul scored 30 points and had 11 assist. David West also helped out with his 21 points. Both these dudes came up huge for the Hornets and by the last few minutes of the 4th things were getting way too interesting for a game we had in the bag.
In the end Carmello Anthony nailed the deciding shot. He did the same thing on Friday night with a three-pointer against Oklahoma City. The Nuggets zap the Hornets and win this one 105-100 bringing an end to the Hornets four-game winning streak.
Thanks for all of your input in the comments section of this blog.
I’m glad that you guys/gals feel comfortable enough with me to share your thoughts and feelings here at the Rant. I reall dig being able to discuss with people what I’ve written.
To quote the late great Mitch Hedberg,
“Alcoholism is a disease but it’s the only the disease you can get yelled at for having. Damnit Otto you’re an alcoholic. Damnit Otto you have lupus. One of these doesn’t sound right”.
Here’s a video clip of the late Mitch Hedberg’s stand up Comedy. He reminds me of my late High School friend Brian (RIP buddy) ….D
Nuggets are winning, is this the beginning?
11/17/08
I made an appearance at ”The Can” last night to watch the Nuggets/Timberwolves game, along with 16721 other Macnuggets.
FACT: There are actually no Timberwolves fans in Colorado.
It’s much too warm here. 
As always, the obligatory cheerleader shot. It’s cool, they look like they are floating.
Do you think the guys who catch these ladies show up to work early?
I’m sure 7-11 pays better, but a good job is all about the fringe benefits.
I ran into my buddy Jack and his friend from Summit County at the game. Jack is planning to head down to Tucson with me for Rockies Spring Training in February.
Chauncey Billups aka “Mr. Big Shot” scored 26 points. Those are the kind of numbers Allen Iverson and Melo used to put up.
Chauncey has been looking good lately. Keep it up ! Watch it Melo.
Nailed it.
K-Mart was 3 of 8 at from field-goal range and had a total of 10 points.
Kenyon was also 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.
Melo was 4 of 17 for 14 points. Seems like Melo’s been slacking lately. His numbers are significantly lower than last season.
Maybe now that Billups is in this lineup the points are getting spread around a little more?? It’s too early in the season to hit a slump Melo. You are the face of this team, unless you want Chauncey to be.
Nene driving..
Big man Nene played 33 minutes and produced 12 points. JR Smith scored 14 points in 24 minutes. It was cool to see JR stepping-up a liittle, he’s been looking for his groove in all the wrong places so far this season.
I didn’t run into Jazz the Clown this game.
I’m not sure if he’s a season ticket holder or what.
Jazz, if you read this, send me an email.
This dude has got to have a story.
Here is a shot of the Elvis Cop in his usual stance. Rocky likes to torment this guy.
George Karl telling it like it is.
A shot of the fellas hard at work.
Clint Hurdle’s face on the big screen last night.
His mug popped up in the forth quarter to get the fans pumped up.
It worked.
Damn Clint, not so close.
The Timberwolves were up by as much as nine points.
JR Smith didn’t care, in the forth quarter he turned up the juice and scored 8 of his 14 points to edge the Nuggets past the Timberwolves 90-84.
That’s how you end a game. Props to you JR !
I think the JR stands for “Just Right”…D
It’s not that hard with a real point guard
11/8/08 This Blog entry can also be viewed at: RPR Bleacher Report , check it out.
![Michael Jordan_Baseball[1].JPG](http://mlblogsbaseballsnatcher.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/michael20jordan_baseball5b15d.jpg)
Except for Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson is my favorite NBA player. I’ve followed him since he was a 76er, and I was elated when he became a Denver Nugget.
He single-handedly renewed my interest in Nuggets basketball. I respect Allen Iverson for a lot of reasons, the main two being his heart and his height.
Iverson is the same size as me. There have been a lot of great players under six foot tall, but every time I see Iverson on the court I’m reminded that anyone can get off to a bad start in their life
and turn it around. I’m also reminded that a players height is not near as much a factor as heart is.
At the time Iverson arrived in Denver he was “The Answer” to Denvers questions.
The Nuggets needed him, Denver needed him and believe it or not, Mello needed him.
Now he’s gone, off to Detroit. I was able to see his last game as a
Denver Nugget live. I snagged a picture of AI’s last foul shot as a Denver Nugget right as the ball entered the basket.
At the time, I didn’t know it would be his last foul shot. I guess I just got lucky.
I love this picture below. Good Luck Allen Iverson. Thanks for the solid play…D
Welcome back to Denver Chauncey Billups. Finally, a real point guard.
Chauncey is a Colorado native. He attended George Washington High School in Denver Colorado, and played College ball at the University of Colorado.
His number 4 was retired in a Ceremony at the U of C in 2004.
That same year Billups won the 2004 NBA Finals MVP award averaging 21 points and 5.2 assists per game.
He was a Nugget from 1999-2000 averaging 13.9 PPG in 98-99 with 45 games played and 8.6 PPG
in 99-00 with only 13 games played due to an injury.
Ok the history lesson is done. Originally I was a little unsettled with this trade. But, the more I think about it, the more I like the change up. My main complaint after watching the first game live was that nothing seemed different.
That’s not the case anymore. I kept thinking to myself, if Chauncey can pull his 12 points a game (or more), and JR Smith, Nene, Anthony Carter can step it up a few notches . This really could work.
Friday night was the test.
Dallas Mavericks vs the Denver Nuggets Pepsi Arena, Denver
Aluminum cans don’t really burn, and that’s a good thing because the crowd inside “The Can” last night were lit up. They were excited about seeing former Nugget,Chauncey Billups return to Denver and showed it by giving him a rousing ovation.
The game ball was hand delivered by Champ Baily wearing
Chauncey’s #7 Jersey. The number Billups chose in honor of John Elway.
Good move Chauncey. Can’t go wrong with Elway in Denver.
There was also a video tribute to him with fans and Alumni welcoming him back at the end of the first quarter. That was a nice touch.
The Nuggets got off to a slow start, Billups missed his first three-point attempt, but made his first two pointer. Carmello Anthony seemed frazzled missing one jump shot after another.
(I’ve been there, I’ve got the T-Shirt. I didn’t do the minnow shot, that’s nasty)—–>
By halftime, the the Nuggets were down by one with a score of 49-48.
Chauncey was 1 of 7 with five points. The Nuggets had given up 14 offensive rebounds.
Nene provided 13 points and I can’t tell you how cool it was to see this big guy finally penetrating, doing his thing, and putting up some numbers.
Linus Kleiza “”the L train” (that’s a dumb nickname, he could do a lot better), was impressive with his 10 points off the bench. I sure wish the “train” was a little more predictable. Too bad nothing rhymes with Kleiza.
Carmello Anthony had 8 points, JR Smith with 6 and Anthony Carter had 2.
It seemed the Nuggets had no focus, there were a LOT of missed opportunities.
I was thinking to myself, it’s ok, the Nuggets are just learning how to adjust to their new teammate, and he to them. I was anxious and needed to see that pure point guard magic from Billlups that the Nuggets so desperately need.
Nuggets started to groove in the second half, Anthony came alive scoring 20 points, and hitting four free throws in the final seconds.
Here’s a Comment from Chauncey Billups after the game about Carmello, “Mello, of course, is pretty much unstoppable, We’ve got a lot of weapons. I think if we can lock in and get everyone on the same page we can be dangerous.’
I call it gelling. But he’s right.
Billups finished the game with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Carmello scores 28, Nene finishes with an impressive 19 points and JR Smith hits 15. Impressive numbers for all of them.
Final Score Nuggets 108, Mavericks 105.
Props to Jason Kidd (seen here chillin in the bath).
You got to love this dude’s play. He finished the game with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. He even made it interesting near the end.
Had he made his last free throw it would have tied the game and possibly went into overtime.
Sorry, better luck next time Kidd. Make sure you wash behind your ears !
Nuggets don’t want the world, they just want to be happy,(legalizing pot in Denver wasn’t enough).
The Pepsi Arena was sold out last night and I know what I saw. I was witnessing the beginnings of a new Denver Nuggets.
A team very much in its infancy, yet so packed full of talent, the big bang inevitable.
George Karl, you’ve got the pieces, now lets get this weapon assembled and aimed in the right direction as quickly as possible. You could use the career boost (it’s not like your second in command is a slouch) and Carmello could use the job security. Nobody remembers a loser.
Thank you Chauncey, all it took was some grits and determination from a good old fashioned point guard. Something Denver’s needed for a while now.
The Nuggets new season has now officially begun….D
Nuggets look like fools in Kobe Bryant School
WARNING: If you don’t like basketball, read no further.
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I realize this is a baseball blog format. But I’m bored and I need to blog about something, and this place is my home.
If you read this blog on a regular basis you 
know that I am a pretty big Denver Nuggets fan.
I had big plans to blog full time about the Nuggets this season.
It looks like that’s not going to happen. I can’t really disclose why at this time, but lets just say that it’s not a bad thing.
When I can officially say more I will. So I will do random Nugget blog entries here.
I had a chance to be at the home opener of the Denver Nuggets last night. It was against the LA Lakers and this was their forth game of the season. At this point in the season the Nuggets are 1-2.
I always
show up early for Rockies batting practice. If you choose, you can show up early for basketball practice too. Here’s some video and a few shots of my other favorite BP.
Here is Carmello Anthony (who cut off his corn rows recently) , K-Mart, Linus Kleiza warming up. Each seat in the arena had a T-shirt on it. The shirts were gifts as this game was the Nuggets home opener. They were nice shirts too.
The singing of the National Anthem.
Here is Laker Luke Walton #4, son of Bill Walton.
Next is a shot of the Cheerleaders during the first time out. Rockies should consider this addition. It would give us something to do instead of watch the pitcher scratches himself five times.
An Allen Iverson free throw attempt, he misses.
Later as AI redeems himself.
The Lakers having a little discussion.
All eyes on the basketball
Seconds after the final buzzer went off.
JR Smith seen here looking up at the final score. He played his butt off and scored 18 points, but it wasn’t enough.
Kobe scores 33 points tonight and the Lakers hold Carmello Anthony to single digits up until the last few minutes of the game.
Damn, that’s just what I wanted to see on my first Nuggets game of the year.
Another edition of Kobe schools Mello.
Mello can ball when he “wants” to, but Kobe makes Mello look like a chump on a regular basis.
Mello produced a disappointing 13 points. Allen Iverson was held to 13 points. Both of these dudes average 25 points a game normally.
K-Mart had 18 points and can be menacing when healthy. I like K-Mart but I need more from him. He needs to be a leader not a follower.
This is your time Kenyon, show us why we kept you around all these years. Give Denver something back.
Nene, who scored eight points seemed invisible for as big as this dude is.
Nene is big enough to crush dudes, but it seems like he prefers to ask them politely to move out of his way.
Nene..PLAY DUDE, PLAY LIKE THIS IS YOUR LAST GAME EVER. I really need him to pump out a twenty-point game. I don’t think he has it in him. Too bad, I like Nene.
As I was leaving after the game I had the worst feeling of deja vu.
The Nuggets have a acquired a few new faces this season, but I didn’t see anything new on the court. It felt like a continuation of last season.
The next home games are Friday and Sunday. I’ll be there Sunday with the kids.
It’s Hunters birthday on Friday and hopefully we can get him backstage after the game. I’ll let you know how that goes…D
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