In case you missed it

This happened last night.

The Clippers are bad

Don Ryan / Associated Press 

As part of my New Year's Resolution to only watch NBA games if I'm on my new elliptical machine (boy can I stand to lose some weight), I watched the Clippers/Blazers game while working my quads last night.

And boy are the Clippers not great.

This doesn't feel like news, considering the Clippers have been terrible for as long as I can remember (save the 2005-06 season where they made the conference semifinals), but with the talent they have this season, it's weird.

Blake Griffin flying around, blocking shots and dunking on people's heads, DeAndre Jordan doing much of the same, with Caron Butler holding it down with shooting and defense and Chris Paul directing the offense? Add in an older Chauncey Billups and you have a pretty decent starting five, if not great.

But instead, they're bad. I can't tell if Paul is just injured, but he recorded only three assists last night. I have no idea how you can play with The Blake Show and get three assists, but wow.

As my Quote of the Week indicates, Simmons believes the problem is with Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro, who has a stellar 46% winning percentage for his career. From my vantage point, it did seem that the Clippers' offense was stagnant and involved poor ball movement, but my understanding was that Paul was the entire offense in New Orleans, so why can't he just run the show now?

It's a conundrum. Of course, with the season being as jam-packed with games as it is, we may already be seeing the effects of fatigue on some players. Combine a short training camp with weeks where you play five games in seven nights, and problems may arise.

It's be something to watch for sure this season.

Retro post: Star Wars: Episode 1

This trailer was a big stinkin' deal in 1998. It's one of the first trailers I ever remember downloading from the interwebz, and I must have watched it 300 times with my brothers. The trailer represented so much promise, so much awesomeness and a whole lotta lightsabers to the 14-year-old me.

The today me sees this film for the pile of rotten that it is. Terrible acting, simplistic plot, Jar Jar Binks, etc. etc. etc.

The 1999 me saw Episode 1 eight or nine times in theaters.

In theaters!

Anyway, watching the trailer today, it's apparent that there are some really good pieces in there. That the execution was so poor is just a huge testament to Lucas' ineptitude as a director.

Anyone else remember watching this as a kid?

BYU vs. Tulsa bowl highlights

BYU vs Tulsa Armed Forces Bowl 2011 from Furious Monkey on Vimeo.

First half was ugly, but a come from behind win is always fun.

Jimmer in the NBA

It looks like he'll stick around. Jimmer definitely struggles defensively, but when he can consistently hit deep shots, and has a quick trigger to go with it, with good handles and passing, he'll be a commodity for most NBA teams.