By JOE MAGS Going toe-to-toe with LeBron James on the road in a must-win Game 4, Andre Iguodala did more than wake up the Warriors on Thursday — the veteran thrust himself into the Finals MVP discussion. The Warriors took a 12-point lead into halftime behind their most inspiring shooting effort since the West Finals. After outlasting an onslaught of Cavalier rebounds and … [Read more...] about Iguodala locks up LeBron, Warriors reclaim home court advantage in Game 4 victory
The Price of Success: The Greatness of the Grit-N-Grind Grizzlies
"Your success took a shot at you? What are you going to do now? How are you gonna kill it? You're gonna become unsuccessful? Frank, you can be successful and have enemies, uh? (You could) be unsuccessful too, and even have friends." - Dominic Cattano from American Gangster By JOE MAGS Whenever I fall down the rabbit hole of measuring my success with somebody … [Read more...] about The Price of Success: The Greatness of the Grit-N-Grind Grizzlies
Promise That You Will Sing About Me: Richard Barry’s exuberant Stephen Foster and his musical resuscitation via the Dady Brothers
By JOE MAGS Richard Barry’s Stephen Foster is constantly in motion — bouncing, frolicking, weeping, singing, swaying. There is an unabashed sweetness to his Foster that borders on naivety. But let’s try to understand Foster's plight: Suddenly transported through time, Foster stares out at an audience that recognizes him as the Father of American Music; while rummaging … [Read more...] about Promise That You Will Sing About Me: Richard Barry’s exuberant Stephen Foster and his musical resuscitation via the Dady Brothers
Trail Blazers in search of silver linings
By JOE MAGS If Wednesday was the final time watching LaMarcus Aldridge in a Blazer uniform then we should all be a bit bummed out. Aldridge, a player who just last year was quoted as saying he wanted to be the “best Blazer ever,” was 5-for-18 from the field, harassed by the burly magnetism of Zach Randolph. Aldridge looked exhausted — tired of the matchup, tired of playing … [Read more...] about Trail Blazers in search of silver linings
Road Less Traveled: Sacramento survives West-heavy opening schedule
(This article originally was published at The High Screen on Dec. 12, 2014) By: Joe Mags The NBA is correctly labeled as the major professional sports league with the least amount of parity, as there is little variance, year to year, of true-blue championship contenders. In a league where the majority of its teams make the playoffs each season, and 30 teams play 82 games … [Read more...] about Road Less Traveled: Sacramento survives West-heavy opening schedule