I was reading around some Laker Blogs and found and interview with Jordan Farmar. They asked him what was the strangest motivational tactic Phil Jackson used on him.
It was Jordans rookie year and they were up in Seattle. He had not seen the court in seven games and it was half time. Jordan was starving so he ate a hamburger at halftime not expecting to get back into the game. Phil Jackson saw him and fined him. He was heated. In the second half it was a very close game and Phil put him in. When he left the bench Phil looked up at him and said I hope you blow it.
That is Jordan Farmar for you. From a players perspective I think it was all planned. Jordan ended up getting valuable playing time. I guess the moral of the story is eat a burger at half to get the coaches attention.
Last night was a very hard night for me in regards to sports. The St. Mary’s Gaels got hosed by the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Lakers got taken to town by the Portland Trailblazers. I think that the Pacific Northwest had it in for my teams. Both games were a blow out and they lost by a collective 42 points.
In the Laker game Trevor Ariza was given a flagrant two foul when he attempted to block a shot on Rudy Fernandez. Immediately he got ejected and there was a small scuffle at the end of the floor while Fernandez layed in pain under his own hoop. Lamar Odom was the only player who left the bench and recieved a one game suspension. Trevor Ariza was not punished any further by the NBA which I felt was the correct call.
Looking on ESPN today there is all this contrevosary saying Ariza is a dirty player and out of control. Now I know that 99 percent of these acquisitions are coming from Portland fans who are probably still bitter about Robert Horry hitting a game winner back in the early 2000’s. The say that in the replays, Ariza was not looking at the ball but just swining for the sky.
I have watched every single Laker game this season and know that Ariza is not a dirty player. He is one of the most athlectic players in the league who leaves it all on the line every night. Last night was no exception. The Lakers were getting smoked and Ariza was brought in the game to do what he does. Make plays on the defensive end and bring some energy to the floor.
Fernandez had a fast break and Ariza went after him like I have seen so many times this season. He got the ball first and yes he did get part of his head with the arm in his process. A quick side note (the Blazer fans were comparing this to when Rambis got fouled by the Celtics back in the day.) I don’t know how you could compare the two. When Rambus went up the other guy close lined him. Ariza went after the ball and Fernanded became off balance. He landed akward and that is that.
What I am getting at is the fact that people are saying he is out of control. Do you not want guys to then go after the ball and make those highflying plays that will end up on sports center top ten? Do we want to make the NBA the WNBA now? Please Portland stop being so bitter that you live in the rain all winter while down in Kaliphorya we have sun and a good basketball team every year. I hope we play you in the playoffs and shut you guys up like we have so many times…….
Kaliphornya 
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