June 24th – Last Run – Post Season Awards

The stage was set LAST run of the session 8 players, 4 on 4 showdown!!! To make things even better Cuso makes his triumphant return setting up a battle with the man that took over as the most dangerous offensive weapon since he left Schweid.

Also, Usdin shows up for the SECOND week in a row which if I was a betting man I would give better odds on me dunking in one of our games then that happening.

Teams were as follows:

The all hair team of Cuso, Usdin, Barile, and Braunstein
VS.
Crimson and Red of Schweid, Dorf, Smitty, and Dave Lewis.

Game 1 was a blur with Crimson and Red at home playing hustle D, Schweid launching shots like he was mad at the net and Smitty playing with a chip on his shoulder feeling that he was slighted in the rankings…This wasn’t much of a game, 8-4 C&R.

Game 2 was much closer but was still controlled by C&R…Once again Schweid was simply lovely hitting shots, Smitty/Dorf/Dave doing a nice job of backing him up basically passing the ball and moving out of the way. BOY that kid likes to shoot. 8-6 C&R

Game 3 had The all Hair Team down 0-2 returns home to try and stop the bloodshed and they did. Cuso was hitting shots, Usdin finally settled in and Barile was hitting the lefty hook. Schweid was off this game going 3 for 59 as they switched Braunstein the Battier of the night onto him flustering Schweid to no end. Game was controlled by The All Hair Team who won in a nail biter 8-7.

Game 4…Smitty declares that the last 6 games were one with the Home team going the “doorway”…Well that would all change, a hard fought battle with both teams exchanging leads back and forth back and forth…Finally C&R would prevail once again 8-7, going up 3-1 in the best of 7 series.

Game 5…Hair won’t go down without a fight, Cuso not himself at this point hobbling around, Usdin “I’m not in game shape”, Barile and Jay even looking a bit fatigued..HOWEVER , they just won’t go down…Again a hard fought battle, with the eventually again coming down to the buzzer this time (I can’t remember the exact score) I’m guessing it was 8-6 however.

GAME 6…This will forever go down as, well nothing, it was just the last game…Hair just ran out of “moose” this game and had nothing left in the tank. Prior to the game Schweid pulled me over and said “we have to win now, I have nothing left”…And we did…Schweid hit a layout going to his right to close this one out…

All in all guys GREAT last night, solid way to end a season. With a heavy heart we bid farewell to Cuso who will not be coming back next season due to moving and having a kid (congrats Cuse)…The rest of you we start back up in September, I will be contacting everyone in the next month or so to see who is in. Lastly, the Post Season Awards, Brought to you by Vagisil.

MVP…For the first time ever this is going to 2 people because both missed too many weeks individually to merit the award, but they both were clearly dominant when there…Congrats to DOUGY CRANE & 2ND time MVP SCHWEID.
Honorable mention...Josh Deutsch (few more games and he may have had this solo)

MOST IMPROVED…From start of the season (airballs consistently) to the finish (lefty hooks) Plainview bread Joey Barile deserves this award…Now only if he can write a blog.

UNSUNG HERO…When he is not turning the ball over a few times to start a game, there is no more solid teammate then my choice for UNSUNG HERO Chris ‘Smitty’ Smith with his tough D, foul line jumpers, and overall attitude!!!
Honorable Mention: Jay Braunstein

DOORMAN THAT WON'T LET YOU IN WITHOUT A BALL (formerly Battier award), DEFENSIVE STOPPER AWARD...Too easy, yet this man just plain deserves it. He'll guard anyone on the court, grab a board, even block shots, Goff this ones for you!!

ACE WE TRY HARDER…congrats Neallllllllllllllllllll there is no one that appreciates being in the game more and he shows it with pure sweat and determination out there!!!

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE AWARD...Always dominated by USDIN this year with his last two weeks in a row, this award goes to DJ shiftee himself Sam "I am going to be in Botswana and can't make it" Zornow.

MADE UP AWARD FOR DAVE LEWIS AND JON DORFMAN...Simply don't know where to put either of us, we both had some real solid weeks then some not so solid weeks, so lets just say we aspire to be MVP's, we try hard, play hard D, and just love the game.

See you all soon!!!

6/10 Run Recap - Rusty sucks

BG here ... I was on the victorious squad last week, but have been thrust into writing this blog because the responsibility was put on Rusty - but he declined... Apparently he started a new job on Monday (but notice he wasn't doing anything Wed night through Sunday), and is incapable of paying off his "debts" after work like the rest of us normal working folk do ....

Anyway - I digress ....

The week started at an all-time late 6:41 last week. We were expecting 9, however, Braunstein was confirmed as a late-show ... After calling out Margo in run-wide email - I later learned that I'm an asshole - and Margo had a legitimate excuse - and again - let's just say I'm an asshole.

With limited time and 8 true playas .... We decided a Best-out-of-Five showdown...

Good Guys:
Goff, Crane, Salis, Barille

Bad Guys:
Rusty, Braunstein, Lewis, Smitty

First games was a bit of a blur. Barille, Salis, Crane took care of business pretty efficiently. I forget the score - but it was a well played game on both ends. Salis made 4 of 5 of his open jumpers (or arond there) Rusty made his usual "wows" of those that never saw his style of play. When he's hitting that outside shot - he's almost impossible for any 30 something Jew to guard... It was for naught, though, as Good guys took the game fairly handily.

Second game was a D. Crane highlight reel. He seriously missed maybe 2 times... I'm on Doug's teams often and here is the skinny... The guy only knows one speed - which is "non-stop" ... but because of this (and let's just say his stamina isn't what it used to be), he's at his best in the first two games - and I'll say in this specific game - he was the best I've ever seen him. Hitting absolutely everything, mostly all net. While I made a C. Sale-like joke to Rusty (that Crane wasn't hitting all those shots last game when Rusty was guarding someone else), I think the right move woulda been to double team Doug and leave me wide open.... Seriously...
Good guys won a close game 2 - with D. Crane scoring I think 9 of the 8 points. ;)

Down 0-2, Bad Guys got back home floor and the team seemed inspired by D. Cranes game. They won really easily as the Good guys seemed on cruise control. D. Lewis started being a bit more aggresive and starting jiving with Rusty style of play. Braunstein hit a few 5 footers, Smitty hit a couple standard 9 foot "jump" (if that's what you call 3 inches off the ground) shots -- and I think the score was an ugly 8-3.

Game 4 was Rusty's matching D. Cranes game 2. There was nothing anyone could do - he just straight-up balled. Throughout the whole night, bad guys were pretty solid on the glass, but I remember Good guys usually only got one shot on offense... It was a bit closer - but bad guy won game 4 - forcing the decisive Game 5 - up to 11....

Bad Guys having all the momentum ... Starting to gel with the new sub .... BUT ... That's when the Good Guys got back down to basics. With Rusty guarding Doug, and Lewis focusing on shutting down the offensive prowess that is B 2 the G.... Braunstein was gaurding Big Bad Barille. We decided to get Barille on the block and have him go to work.... Braunstein always plays decively bigger and stronger than one may seem, (as does Smitty btw), but we had to make the size advantage count ... and so we forced it down on the block for the first 3 posessions - and Barille made em count. Bad Guys kept it close - but throw in a put-back rebound from B 2 The G, consistant shooting from Salis, and D. Crane hitting some timely J's .... Good guys were in command most of the game. (I do want to point out - the single sportscenter highlight of the evening was cut by the editing staff - after Salis missed the wide open lay-up given to him by a no-look, over-the-head-pass by yours truly) ... Bad guys made it close towards the end scoring 3 straight points... tying the game at 10-10. With a few on-lookers, was decided win by two up to 15. But the next 2 points went pretty quickly ... D. Crane got a good bounce on a 10 footer... Good guys made a stop ... and Barille came down shot a 12 footer and ended the game....

Definitely a great run.... however ... the lack of respect for the blog writing is starting to increase. Dorf and I wrote the last two week in place of other folks .... Last time I "fill in" - so I fear the tradition will be short-lived..... Here's hoping it's not ....

Looking forward to the run tomorrow....

Comeback heard around the World!!!

It started with “See you there Jon”, the infamous last words of Christopher ‘Smitty’ Smith. It ended with the greatest comebacks in Allen Stephensen Wednesday Night 6-8pm time slot Jewish pickup basketball history…

G2 Smitty, Josh Deutsche, Jay Braunstein, and Joey Barile

vs.

Original Gatorade Dorf, Goffin, Dougy Crane, and Nealllllllll

Game 1 was won in a hard fought battle by G2 8-7, this was the start of the series that rivals the Federer / Nadal Wimbledon battle!!!

Game 2 was once again won by G2 8-6 as they continued to play GREAT team defense by not allowing any easy hoops…They looked like the Pistons of the late 80’s, even when Smitty was called out for yelling “foul him” he offered no apologies, instead saying “what, should we let him score”???? Fair question SMit.

Game 3 Original Gatorade vowed to win after returning to their home court, even guaranteeing it, well like MO Williams they were wrong and G2 pulled ahead 3-0…Again the words “see you there Jon” were murmured by Mr. Smith…Well, what happens next went kinda like this…

Game 4 Original Gatorade came out gunning, with Neal hitting an opening layup the FIRST easy hoop of the night…it continued with Dorf & Crane hitting Jumpers and Goff controlling the boards…Outcome 8-2 Originals….

Game 5 well it was much of the same as a stunned G2 team couldn’t get over the embarrassment of game 4 and Original blasting them 8-4…You could start to see the belief in these young mens faces…And the sold out crowd chanting BEAT G2 BEAT G2, was the send off they needed as they had to go back to the unfriendly confines of Low Calorie Stadium.

Game 6 back at home, G2 had their confidence restored with Josh Deutsch absolutely lighting up a tired Jon Dorfman…HOWEVER, this wouldn’t be enough as finally the Originals won the close one 8-7…Can they do it, will they do it????

Game 7 started at 7:51, with the 8pm crew breathing down our necks this was a fast paced no rest game…1/1, 2/2…Are you guys almost finished…3/3…4/4…Seriously you guys almost done…Next hoops wins no lets play to 6…The rest as they say is History… Final score 6 – 4 in a time shortened finally!!!!

Wednesday May 13 - Authored by Dougy C

I'm learning more and more each week about a young baller named Deutsche. Another solid week, and I have been most surprisingly impressed with his mid range game. In addition, his toughness and intelligence has been excellent on the court of late. Jon D has been draining his jump shots to go along with his always steady penetration through the lane and leadership at the point. Lets not forget the tear drops ala Tony Parker he has brought to his repertoire. Goff always brings his A game, by A game I mean crashing the boards and getting those always important dirty buckets. If Goff can find his touch from 8-12 feet he will be a top 5 player every night. I have been inspired by Jay Braunstein's desire on the hardwood after his almost career threatening achilles injury. He is a critical piece to any club on the floor, playing a role players game, scoring, defense, all the intangibles. Joe "new kid on the block" Barile is learning the run on the job. Each run that passes I see vast improvements to his game. He needs to be more consistent in the post and he will be a dominant big with this run each week. Mr. Crane has stepped up his game on the defensive side of the ball. Swatting down would be dumps in the post and taking the turnovers down the other side of the court. He has 0Aworked extremely hard to get his conditioning to game level. I don't think we have seen the optimum level of play from smitty yet this season. he is due for a breakout week. This was a subpar week for him, shot is flat, D is lax, I need to see more before I can give him a passing grade. I give salis an incomplete this week due to his early departure, hopefully he can come back with next week with a clear mind and focus on his always dynamic team play and shot making ability. Dave Lewis has been as hot and cold as they come. Last Wednesday was another example of that. He needs to spread his consistency throughout the entire game. Sometimes shooting lights out 10-10 from the field early on and than 2-11 from the field down the stretch. Jamie "bling bling" Schweid had a below average week from the powerhouse star out of Indiana. The Bobby Knight diamond in the rough was letting the shots fly but was unsatisfied with his play. After the game, Schweid was seen outside the arena drinking an unknown bottle from a brown bag and talking to two hookers. The details of the conversation were undisclosed.

Good run last week boys.

May 6th Recap - Josh Deutsche

It was an auspicious start for team Dorfman, Lewis, Braunstein and Barile. Dorfman was swishin and dishin, Lewis was percolating from the top of the key, and Barile was a resounding rebounder under the basket (big ups Clyde!). After three consecutive victories, they enjoyed a reputation of invincibility and some opposing players had enough. During their early exits, Salis was heard commenting on the winning team's youthful exuberance, and Goffin mentioned something about monopolizing court time and injustice.

So who was going to stand up to these guys? That formidable task was left to the team of Deutsch, Smitty, Crane and Margo. Game 1 of this three-game set was intense and competitive, featuring some extraordinarily accurate shooting by Dave Lewis. Like John Starks used to do against Michael Jordan, I valiantly attempted to match each of Dave's baskets with one of my own on the other end of the court. But with the game tied 7-7, Dave very coolly drained the winning shot from the top of the key.

In game 2 of the series, team Dorfman, Lewis, Braunstein and Barile finally showed a chink in the armor. After his Kobe-esque shooting from the previous game, Lewis went ice cold, and the opposing team capitalized on the opportunity. Smitty played Dorfman very tough in the paint, Margo hit a couple long shots that would have been three-pointers in any other gym, and Barile could not keep up with Crane's constant motion on offense. After evening the series at 1 a piece, we were headed to a decisive game 3.

In game 3, fatigue set in for team Deutsch, Crane, Smitty and Margo. Multiple layups were missed and jump shots repeatedly hit the front of the rim. After the game, an exhausted Crane could be heard asking Barile for fitness tips. Dorfman, however, did not slow down, and he was able to get some easy fast-break points and uncontested jumpers. Barile added a couple baby-hook shots and then Braunstein used his patented reverse layup to put the game out of reach.

Week 3 Recap - Neal Cohen

Once i start writing i can't stop...so if its a bit long let me know.

Wednesday's run set a few marks that have not been matched yet this season, as far as I'm aware:
1) We had the longest game of the year, lasting close to 25 minutes as Neal, Dorf, Joe and Josh (game winning shot) defeated Dave, Sam, Goff and Jay in what those playing called an defensive battle while Crane and Smitty felt it was a painful display of offense to sit and watch for almost a half hour.
2) Biggest age difference between two players guarding each other as smitty attempted to guard the shifty 22 year old Sam for a game, but he did a better job than Jason Kidd would do on Derrick Rose.
3) The sign of a good night of Wednesday hoops is when we had another record... most players who have the court after us watching the Gatorade blog game, as there had to be at least 5 guys waiting for us to finish.

Some fashion awards from Wednesday include Josh converting from the suit, which he hangs from a side hoop in a garment bag into the Charlotte Hornets #2 LJ jersey he got for a birthday gift in high school. Goff losing the high socks for the week, and then randomly throwing on the head band for the 2nd to last game only which he won, to then take it off for the Gatorade game, which he lost. Crane going with the funeral outfit sporting black from top to bottom.
.
Dorfs high school buddy Joe made his season debut. Joe suffered some early jitters, with a few turnovers, air balls, which I can sympathize with, as he struggled to find his rhythm, but he picked the right game to find his game, as he could be considered the MVP of the Gatorade game.

As i can't remember each game and the details the way smitty somehow can, one note was that a team with two of the offensively inept players, Neal and Goff, along with Josh and Sam defeated crane, Dave, smitty and jay in the nights 2nd to last game (maybe it was the head band), but I credit the coaching move by Sam to switch a few defensive matchups in this game to the victory.

Gatorade game match up- Neal, Goff, Josh, and Sam vs. Dorf, Joe, Smitty & Jay. Sam came out firing from the outside, but the shot wasn't falling the way it was for most of the evening, so he started taking the ball to the hoop but had trouble finishing with all traffic in the paint. Josh started taking his game outside away from the Post where he struggled to the top of the key where he found his stroke carrying his team in this game getting help from the role players Goff and Neal who were active on the offensive boards, as their team was up early and feeling comfortable, with the score 5-2(give or take a point or two). At that point Joey B woke up and began knocking down shots that he was struggling to hit all night, Jay started hitting jumpers, Dorf making acrobatic lay-ups and smitty hitting his signature right side, short range bank shot, helping lead their team back to a 7-7 tie. The game was closed out by the staple reverse lay-up by Jay who, while I never saw his game pre-injury, has been more and more of a force on both ends of the court each week this season.

Individual reviews:
Dorf- he won the Gatorade game and that's all that matters to him. Although his FGs made on pull-ups at the top of the key was down considerably from recent weeks. While he had plenty of highlights his 20 foot jumper on 'point game' is one Jon knows was out of the schweid school of shot selection.

DL- a late night out Monday, a late hoops game Tuesday = Dave's performance Wed night. Will he be back in game shape before baby Lewis arrives?

Smitty- Solid performance, only complained once during the "marathon game", and depending on his age guarded a kid who may not have been born when smitty had his bar mitzvah (assuming he's Jewish)

Crane- that "crane" game where he carries his team never happened, but did have a great block on Josh in the post

Jay- continued improvement, getting more aggressive at both ends of the court, only yelling "oh JAY!" twice, well below his avg

Joe - slow start in his debut but a strong finish and a good win/ loss record. Potential to be a physical presence in this game among guys who don't lift weights

Josh- the baseline jumper attempts weren't as frequent, nor were the baskets in the paint yet was still among the top performers on court knocking down a few game winner and countless mid range jumpers. He must make the LJ 'L' arm signal going forward on every hoop if he wears that jersey again

Sam- came out on fire, couldn't miss from the outside, actually shooting a better fg % from outside the paint than in the paint. a few incredible dribble moves though some didn't result in a hoop. When he starts dishing off his dribble penetration more, it'll be tough to get his team off the court

Goff- you really have to box him out, if not he'll make you pay, grabbing countless offensive rebounds. a few flashes in the paint on offense as well, still not looking for the mid-range jump shot. a see lots of Joakim Noah in his game.

Neal- played every game, as his FTs made to keep playing was close to his baskets made in actual game play. Good bounce back after last week's disaster of a performance, after only 1 made hoop and struggling to guard anyone.

a week where no team was ever able to establish any sort of dominance.

see you after memorial day

4-22 Run - Authored by Smitty

The evening started off with some major question marks on a night when our fearless leader (Dorfman) was in Canada entertaining clients, and one of our players just returned from Canada after partying all night with clients (name omitted for legal reasons). Schweid pulled out without officially pulling out (thanks for the non-commit commit) and Joe Barile texted a last minute cancellation to Dorfman. At approximately 6:10pm there were six (Braunstein, Goffin, Deutsch, Ron, Neil Cohen, Zornow) people looking at me wondering who the final player was. There were a few nervous moments as people checked blackberries trying to remember whom (and more importantly if) the eighth and final player was. Then through the door walked in Doug Crane and all was right at Allen Stephenson Middle School. The questions soon turned into one of the better runs of the year in a best of 5 series.

Good Guys – Deutsch, Ron, Smitty, Braunstein

Bad Guys – Zornow, Goffin, Crane, Cohen

The series went the distance with the final game going to 11. I think it’s safe to say that the offensive/defensive match-up of Deutsch and Zornow was possibly the best in the history of the game. Both players are relentless on the defensive end and Zornow’s ability to hit the 15-footer consistently throughout the night changed the complexion of the game. I don’t remember a full breakdown of every game so I will provide some clear thoughts and snippets.

Game 1 was the Doug Crane show as he lit up Smitty for five points, despite solid defense (F-you Dorf and Schweid – ask Doug, I played good defense), and Deutsch got used to Zornow’s first step.

Game 2 Crane went cold, Ron hit three jumpers from the corner and Braunstein and Smitty hit the short jumpers off terrific ball movement to provide the only blowout of the evening.

Games 3 and 4 went to 7-7 and were probably the most solid all around games of the night. Everyone seemed to have their wind (other then Neil who was clearly feeling the effects of his travels as he threw up three air balls and scored zero pts.) and the defensive intensity picked up dramatically. Zornow and Deutsch were battling every trip down the court, Smitty and Crane were exchanging baskets after running through multiple picks, Braunstein had the baseline reverse working (quick tangent – game 4 Braunstein driving in almost the same exact spot as his Achilles injury stumbled and almost fell as Doug and I watched in horror waiting for the scream – thankfully it was a stumble and all was well), Goffin was all over the offensive boards and was having trouble with his put backs, and Ron was starting to hit his shots from deep.

It was agreed that the final game of the night would be to 11 and for more then a few possessions we all regretted it. Missed shots, errant passes and a few “my bads” had us all looking at each other and questioning our decision. However, the game quickly picked up in intensity as the Bad Guys jumped out to the lead and Neil hit his first and most important shot of the evening. With the score 9-6 the Good Guys scored two quick baskets and had a stop on the defensive end leaving them with the ball and a chance at a tie. The next sequence of plays is the reason for my writing the blog. A backdoor cut left me with a wide open lay-up that would have tied the game and shifted the momentum fully to the Good Guys - of course it rolled out and led to an easy basket for the Bad Guys. Good Guys scored on the next possession, but were left staring at me as I let Crane get around a pick and score the final bucket of the evening.

All and all a great run that had great match-ups and intensity – great job everyone