The Rake Magazine

Category: Blog Post

  • Happy Earth Day!

    MUSIC
    Ben Glaros

    Ben Glaros’s music is that of the familiar: songs about falling in and out of love; shoutouts to familiar
    local uptown hotspots like Spyhouse Coffee and the Mayday Cafe; a folk rock blend that includes harmonicas, cellos, and
    mandolins; and a stint in the local indie pop rock
    scene since the mid 1980s. In his debut full-length album, Lovesong Roulette, Glaros proves the preeminence of the familiar as he teams up with other local
    greats, including Michael Ferrier and Greg Schutte. Enjoy his music this evening as he warms the stage for Phil Solem, one half of the sensational Rembrandt’s, and Fran King and Duncan Maitland (on tour from Ireland). —KM

    8 p.m., 400 Bar, 400 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-332-2903; $8.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Read Me the Riot Act

    Join hosts Paul Dickinson and Laura Brandenburg this evening for their monthly Riot Act Reading Series. I have no idea what author(s) they have in store for us tonight, but whoever it is will likely have their touch of punk rock history.

    9 p.m., 331 Club, 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; 612-331-1746; free.

    WINE & DINE
    Capital Grille

    Enjoy a five-course Wine Dinner with Chefs Jeff Ansorge and Christian Ticarro at The Capital Grille tonight.

    The Capital Grille, 801 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-692-9000; $85.

  • A Dry Spell and Then a Premier Cru

    It is true that I drink wine nearly every day. But recently, I went three days without. . . .very purposefully. It was less a personal decision than a public parenting demonstration. Alcohol is not a necessity. I only hope it worked.

    I was in Madison, Wisconsin, with my middle child, Max — 18 years old this week — who has been accepted to the university for fall. This was my birthday gift to him: a weekend in a hotel in the town where he will soon be living, a tour of the local restaurants, a shopping spree for Badger gear.

    We shared a hotel room to minimize costs. And he was courtly and careful, changing in the bathroom and muting the volume on the televised basketball game he was watching when I wanted to go to sleep. I, in turn, tried to tone down my female-isms and Mom impulses. I dealt with being sweaty after the two-hour campus tour and wore no makeup and ate tabbouleh for breakfast when that’s what he craved.

    And I decided not to buy wine at night.

    When I travel with my husband, it’s a sacred ritual: that bottle from a local wine shop that we open with our travel corkscrew and drink out of Lucite "glasses" in our room. But traveling alone with my underage son — in a town that I’m growing to love, but where I saw people drinking beer, A LOT OF PEOPLE DRINKING BEER, for breakfast — it just didn’t seem right.

    One of my greatest concerns about Max’s leaving for a Big 10 school is the alcohol element. I know, as a college professor, that drinking begins on Thursday night and continues, pretty much unabated, through every weekend. Home games are an excuse for alumni to come into town and "tailgate," which means sitting in a parking lot and cracking open a Budweiser at 8 a.m.

    So it just didn’t feel right to me to comb the streets of Madison for a liquor store and buy cheap wine and schlep it back to the hotel room. Mom with the monkey on her back. Instead, I got us a six-pack of mineral water to keep in our mini-fridge and share.

    It was a wonderful weekend. Max got comfortable in the place that will be his home for the next four years. He caught a wave of school spirit (the Badger scrubs clinched the deal, I think). And he seemed even to be excited about school itself: the massive biology building, the lakeside Union, the main library where he logged in with his student ID and discovered he already has an account.

    It was only after we arrived home that the reality hit me. This kid is leaving.

    Technically, Max is my younger son. But because his older brother has autism and his father left when he was nine, Max has aways straddled a strange role. He’s been protector and consultant and cook. At 10, he made a Thanksgiving turkey. At 17, he stood by his catatonic brother’s hospital bed at Mayo and debated the risks and benefits of electroshock. He has been my mainstay, my rock, my comic relief. And now, I have to let him leave.

    It’s a little like tearing off a foot-long strip of my own skin. Which is why I insisted he go to an out-of-state school– because I wanted too badly for him to stay close to home.

    Sunday night, around the time I was realizing all this, my husband opened a bottle of Domaine Bouchard Pere & Fils Beaune de Chateau Premier Cru 2005 that we’d been saving for a time of need. Pure pinot noir from Burgundy, this wine is silky and deceptive. It feels light in the mouth, nearly sweet and purely fruity at first. But then there is a streak of oaky dryness that runs straight down the tongue and lasts for a long, long time. This makes it incredibly easy to drink but satisfying. Perfect alone. Even better with food.

    Me? I wasn’t in the mood to eat. Only to drink my wine and mull the four months I have left with this large, serious, clever boy. The dry spell was over. But it was worth every abstinent minute. And more.

  • Fallen Temple, Rising Prices

    Even body sushi couldn’t save Temple. I can’t say I was
    really surprised by today’s news, reported by WCCO,
    that Temple Restaurant and Bar has closed – it’s a tough market these days. I
    only made it to Tom Pham’s Asian Fusion restaurant a couple of times in the
    one-and-a-half years that it was open, but I found it gastronomically
    underwhelming, and overpriced. Visually, the restaurant was stunning, but the cuisine
    wasn’t really the cutting edge fusion that it claimed to be – more gimmicky than
    inventive. My favorites for Asian fusion are Cafe BonXai, and Ngon Vietnamese Bistro, both of which offer imaginative Asian fusion
    cuisine at very reasonable prices.

    Speaking of over-priced, I have been stunned lately by some
    of the prices I have run into for wines by the glass. Recently, at B.A.N.K.,
    in the Westin Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, when I requested the wine list, my waitress tried to steer me towards the Duck
    Pond Pinot Noir – for $18 a glass. I scoured the list for something more
    affordable, and settled on one of the cheapest glasses – a Woop Woop Australian
    Shiraz for $14. It’s a very drinkable Australian wine of no great distinction that usually sells for about $8-$10
    retail, and I’ve seen it on local restaurant lists for about $6-$7 a glass. B.A.N.K. does offer a big pour, but still…

    Also recently at Bellanotte. Carol asked for a glass of Cabernet without
    checking the price, and got a bit of sticker shock when the bill arrived –
    around $14.50 including tax. She didn’t note the label, (I think it must have been Dynamite Vineyards, a bottle that sells for around $15 retail, and Bellanotte marks up to $50). She recalls it as a nice wine, but, still felt a little sticker shock. Maybe a price like that ought to
    come with a warning.

    Gotta run, but check back tomorrow – I’ll have some tips on
    more affordable dining.

     

  • Pandas in Prose Poems

    Employing a tactic I’m pretty sure I’ve picked up from the current presidential administration, I’ve decided to take a new approach to truth. Namely, I’m going to make it up. And make it up in such a way that justifies every decision I decide(r), and in such a way that makes me feel better about my life, and the enveloping society thereof.

    So here goes: Everyone is reading.
    And because everyone is reading, there is a high demand for poetry.
    And because there is a high demand for poetry, once a week, possibly on Mondays, but certainly not limited to Mondays, I’m going to try really hard to post a Poem Worth Reading on this blog.

    I know I know I know, this is supposed to be a blog about books, and probably shouldn’t contain any actual literature, unless it’s hyperlinked. Nevertheless, poems are great. They’re (often) short, and powerful, and sometimes they even rhyme, which makes you feel happy for reasons you probably can’t define very well. And people should read more of them. More, even, than they already are. Which is lots. Because everybody is reading. Obviously.

    Oh yeah, I’m probably not allowed to print some of these unless it’s part of a review, and the excerpted text is part of the criticism. So, this week’s Poem Worth Reading is by James Tate, from his collection The Ghost Soldiers, which came out earlier this month. The collection is really, really good. (Like, really good.) He does things with words. The pages are immaculate. The typeface is crisp. Buy it, and so on.

    And then read it. Everyone else is. There are panda bears involved. Promise. (And yes, despite the prose form, it is a poem. I’m pretty sure.)

    “Terminix”

    I sat in my study working on some problems. They are far beyond my comprehension, so I just move figures around, making columns look real neat, clipping off loose ends. I have almost hypnotized myself; in fact, I’m downright drowsy. Why I haven’t been fired I’ll never know. Everything about this job baffles and annoys me. Mr. Haggerty thinks I’m a genius, that I’m somehow beyond the everyday mundane workings of the business. I let him think that. Why not? It provides cover for my incomprehension. Kerry is Mr. Haggerty’s private secretary. She’s not supposed to talk to us. But one day I was alone with her in the office and I said, “Kerry, I don’t even know what we’re doing here. Surely you know something. Can you give me a hint?” “We’re not supposed to know, Mr. Seymour. It’s all set up so you can do your job without knowing. You’re supposed to enjoy the mystery of it. I know I do. It’s very satisfying to me at the end of the day to know I’ve helped out without knowing anything. You have so much less baggage to carry home with you,” she said. “Does it have anything to do with panda bears?” I said. “She laughed. “Not that I know of. Why do you ask?” she said. “I thought I was a very large order for bamboo plants one day and it just entered my mind that some pandas might be involved. Just grasping for straws I guess,” I said. “Frankly, I always assumed it was something more in the line of missiles,” she said. “I guess it’s best not to know. Missiles would just depress me,” I said. “I shouldn’t be talking to you, you know. I could get into an awful lot of trouble,” she said. “You’re very nice, Kerry. I promise I won’t say a word,” I said. After Mr. Haggerty came back, he came to my office. “What did you and Kerry talk about while I was gone?” he demanded. “We didn’t talk, sir,” I said. “Yes, you did. I could see it on her face. She’s no good at lying. What did you talk about?” he said. “We talked about panda bears, sir,” I said. “Panda bears? Why in the world would you talk about panda bears?” he said. “Well, I’m very fond of them and I asked her if she was, too. That’s all, sir. Very innocent, as you can see,” I said. “I’m not so sure about that. I suspect you’ve broken a code and it could cost us millions of dollars, not that you’re not worth it, but I advise you to stop snooping around if you know what’s good for yourself,” he said, and left my office. I didn’t know anything about codes or breaking codes. I took a briefcaseful of files home that night. I moved figures around, straightened out columns until slowly it was beginning to dawn on my that we were in charge of the whole world, who would die and who would live, who would move here and who would move there, who would starve and who would have plenty to eat, and which wars would be fought and who would win. I felt sick, nauseous, and I threw up. I was cold, shivering, so I crawled in bed and pulled the covers up. I fell asleep and dreamed I was a nematode eating the roots of a beautiful flower. When I woke I was late. I dressed and rushed to work without shaving or bathing. Mr. Haggerty came into my office shortly after I arrived. “Looks like you had a rough night. Out with the boys, no doubt. Well, I just wanted to straighten you out on one thing: the panda isn’t a bear at all. It’s a member of the raccoon family. Isn’t that a kicker? Oh, and I realized you didn’t crack any codes, so you’re not going to cost us any money. Our operation will go on as before, completely in the dark, run by helpless innocents, doing our good deeds for the public weal,” he said. “But I know everything,” I said. “Impossible! There is nothing to know,” he said.

  • Twin Cities Live Goes on the Air Today

    There’s a new show in town. Twin Cities Live starts airing today, from 3 to 4 p.m. (5 Eyewitness News), highlighting great places to visit, eat, and play. Sure, the press release makes it sound like something that’s never been done before; but let’s face it, this is nothing terribly new. Nonetheless, let’s give it a try. It might yet be a good source of information about life in the Twin Cities, and hell, if they’re starting out with the RollerGirls, how bad can it be?

    Here’s some info from the press release:

    TWIN CITIES LIVE is a show about Minnesotans created by Minnesotans. The effort to get the show on the air began last July with a public casting call at Mall of America. Standing in long lines for the opportunity to audition, over 500 people turned out for the chance to become one of the co-hosts of TWIN CITIES LIVE. We met many people with big personalities and unique backgrounds, but one person in particular stood out.

    John Hanson, a Burnsville native, had been living and working in
    Las Vegas, but was looking to return to the Twin Cities. His mother, a longtime viewer of 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, heard about our casting call and encouraged her son to attend. She even drove him to the auditions herself! From the beginning, we loved his quick wit and down to earth personality. It took a few more months of searching to find a co-host for John. But, as soon as we met Rebekah Wood, a small town gal with a gift for gab, we knew she was the perfect fit. Rebekah left the anchor desk in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to join the TWIN CITIES LIVE staff. Both John and Rebekah are thrilled to be home and are looking forward to bringing viewers a show that highlights the best of what our state has to offer.

    During the first few weeks of the show, you’ll quickly learn what TWIN CITIES LIVE is all about. The Minnesota RollerGirls stop by to show us why they are one of the most popular roller derby leagues in the country. We’ll put the spotlight on the latest theater offerings from the Guthrie and the Fitzgerald. Rebekah and John fly high at a local circus school. Our local experts demonstrate the perfect spring grilling techniques, how to get started with yoga and other unique exercise programs, quick and effective self-defense moves, and tips for gardening on a budget. Throw in details for a perfect Minnesota getaway, the return of the Super Bargain, and musical performances from The Hopefuls and the Summit Dance Shoppe and you’ve got the perfect recipe for of TWIN CITIES LIVE. And that’s just the beginning!

    TWIN CITIES LIVE will be the only locally built weekday afternoon show, highlighting unique happenings in your backyard. Every Friday, the show will host a LIVE studio audience. So whether you sit back and relax from the comfort of your couch or grab a group of friends and join the live audience – either way you won’t want to miss everything that
    TWIN CITIES LIVE has to offer!

  • It's All Survival

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Pen Pals Author Yann Martel

    If any an author has been influenced by his travels, I’d say it’s Yann Martel. If any an author can weave stories of gold from scraps of tattered garments, I’d say, too, it’s Yann Martel. The Spanish-born Canadian has traveled the world over, collecting fodder for his tales: Costa Rica, Mexico, France, Iran, Turkey, India — the world in an ink well. But Martel’s world is etched from a philosopher’s stone. He studied philosophy at Trent University, in Ontario, and his earlier stories reek of existential angst. While his interest in the philosophical, as well as the spiritual has waned little, however, his writing has matured significantly as he has pushed the storytelling to the forefront and left the storyteller behind (in other words, a little less navel-gazing). Martel is best known for his second novel, Life of Pi — an epic survival story about a son of Indian zookeepers shipwrecked with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. See what I’m saying? This is story-telling at its finest. I hear his upcoming novel, about the Holocaust, features two talking animals on a man’s dress shirt. Sounds like a Tom Robbins novel to me. Did you hear the one about the sock and the spoon on a hejira to Jerusalem?

    7:30 p.m. (tomorrow at 11 a.m.), Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins; 651-209-6799; $35, $45.

    BENEFIT
    The Kidney Kabaret

    Janet Paone has been entertaining Twin Cities audiences since she graduated from Ausburg in 1983. She was one of the original cast members
    of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, a comedy at the Hey City Theater in
    Minneapolis that set records as the city’s longest-running theatrical
    production. She spent two years in Nunsense. She played Mrs. Vivian Snustad in Church Basement Ladies. And for 24 years she served as Irondale High School’s Director of Theater. On November 27, 2007 Northwest Airlines pilot and fellow actor John Vaughn gifted Paone with a life-saving kidney. Tonight, the Twin Cities community honors her with a Kidney Kabaret
    benefit to help cover the costs. Join Dale Conelly and Frank Vascellaro as they host a gathering of Twin Cities talent lending their support. Scheduled performers include: The Church Basement Ladies, Those Lutheran Ladies, Christine Karki & David B. Young, Dennis Curley & Katy Hays, Martini & Olive, Andrew Wilkowske, Drew Jansen & Jimmy Martins, Irondale High School Drama Department, Tod Petersen, Jim Cunningham, Tim Sparks, Lori Dokken, Judy Donaghy, Patty Peterson, and Erin Schwab.

    Silent Auction at 6:30 p.m.; show at 7:30 p.m., Augsburg College Foss Center, 2211 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis; suggested donation of $25.

    WINE & DINE BENEFIT
    Minnesota’s Night of 1000 Dinners

    Also tonight, help raise funds to remove landmines in Afghanistan. Da Afghan will be hosting a fundraising dinner featuring stuffed grape leaves, hummus, kabli palow with sautéed chicken, chicken tandoori, kofta kabob, chalow, and other delights.

    6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Da Afghan Restaurant, 929 West 80th St., Bloomington; 952-888-5824; $30.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)

    "What’s so funny about a handkerchief?" asks the plays promo, making clear the shift from tragedy to comedy in Ann-Marie MacDonald’s play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). If we paid attention in our high school English classes, then we know by now the importance of the Fool in Shakespeare’s plays. But where was the Fool in Romeo and Juliet? Where was he in Othello? MacDonald’s play centers on Constance Ledbelly an academic basing her thesis on the premise that both of these Shakespeare plays were written as comedies until the author removed the Wise Fool from the list of characters. Enjoy this Theater Unbound production, directed by Genevieve Bennett and starring Delta Rae Giordano, Anna Sundberg, Rick Logan, Nicole Devereaux, and Nicholas Crandall. It’s sure to be be full of wild surprises.

    7:30 p.m., The Neighborhood House at the Paul & Sheila Wellstone Center, 179 Robie Street East, St. Paul; 612-721-1186; $18, but tonight is a Pay-What-You-Can performance.

    FILM
    The Whole Town’s Talking

    Best known for his Westerns and war stories, John Ford brought us one great crime comedy in 1935. Watch as the life of an ordinary man, played by Edward G. Robinson, is turned on its head after a simple act of oversleeping. (Yes, it appears I’m in grave danger then.) Ever upholding the classics, The Parkway brings us The Whole Town’s Talking tonight. And believe you me, the town shall be a’talkin’ with the likes of Jean Arthur on screen.

    7 p.m., Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis;
    612-822-3030; $5.

    LECTURE
    The Case for Impartial Courts in Minnesota

    Join Former Governor Al Quie and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson tonight as they outline an amendment to the state constitution that would deflect
    threats to the fairness and impartiality of Minnesota’s judicial
    appointment system. The two distinguished statesmen will discuss the issues on the proposed constitutional amendment, suggest solutions, and answer questions. Key components of the proposed constitutional amendment would focus the selection, appointment, evaluation, and election process on a judge’s qualifications and performance, rather than political factors. It would also ensure that voters have the final say on retaining or removing judges.

    7-9 p.m., Opus Hall, Room 201, University of St. Thomas Minneapolis Campus; free.

  • Saturday Playoff Thread and Sunday Playoff Series Picks

    AP Photo/The Plain Dealer, Joshua Gunter

    The obvious pundit’s take on yesterday’s playoff games was that the big guys stepped up, especially LeBron, Duncan, and CP3. Here are some of the dominant impressions I came away with after plastering myself to the rocking chair and catching all of two games and the majority of two others.

    Cleveland 93, Washington 86

    Two things the Wizards should have feared–that Deshawn Stevenson’s asinine comment about LeBron being "overrated" would give him a dollop more motivation, and that Gilbert Arenas would abandon his teammates and try and match LeBron bucket for bucket in crunchtime– came to pass. That stupendous first half dunk where LeBron not only climbed the ladder but got out a special, heretofore unknown stepstool and put it on top of the ladder to reach Boobie Gibson’s too-high feed will be shown in any five-minute recap of his career. but it was the two hoops he made with the score knotted at 84 with 2:38 to play–blowing past Stevenson for a layup and then a little runner just inside the foul line–that truly demonstrates his championship-bound DNA. Arenas, meanwhile, shot 0-4 in that final 2:38 and had no desire to dish it off to one of his two very capable teammates, Antawn Jamison and, even better, Caron Butler, the guy who average 20.3 ppg for the season yet managed to squeeze off only 10 FGA yesterday, making half of them. The fact that Arenas fouled out in 27:47 doesn’t speak well for his mobility either–all the more reason to be realistic about what he can bring to the table in this series. BTW, Stevenson was 1-9 FG–isn’t that always the way with guys who talk louder than they walk in hopes of elevating themselves through pressure. Or perhaps it just doomed egotism.

    Two more quick thoughts: The Cavs, supposedly the one-man team, had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 24/8, while the Wiz, who should be distributing the rock among their plethora of scorers, went 16/13 and shot 40.2%. The matchup that really killed Washington was Z Ilgauskas (22-11-4 and a game-best plus +22 in 37:15) over Brendan Haywood (15-10-0 and five fouls in a game-worst minus -19 in 29:59).

    San Antonio 117, Phoenix 115 (2OT)

    How can anyone not regard NBA hoops as the greatest sportswatching pasttime after this classic? The Fundamental for 3 to bump it into a second overtime?!

    Okay, that’s the only blatantly obvious highlight in a bouquet of big, big plays that I’ll rhapsodize about. If you saw it, you know, and if you didn’t, there are buzz-oriented recaps available elsewhere. Odds are you can find these following pearls of wisdom repeated elsewhere too, but these are the things that stuck in my head from the latest chapter in this amazing Spurs-Suns saga.

    The Shaq trade was as much addition by subtraction as through the presence of Baby Huey Aristotle himself. I don’t know how much Amare Stoudamire actively disliked Shawn Marion as a human being, but ever since the Matrix went to Miami, Stoudamire has been unstoppable on the pick and roll, deadly pulling up for jumpers at the charity stripe, and, here’s the real dividend, invested in team play enough to become an average defender. Now I’ll grant you that Tim Duncan clearly dislikes having Shaq on his back in the low block, but let’s also be clear how little Shaq had to do with Phoenix being up 43-27 in the first 17 minutes–he had zero points, one rebound and three fouls in about 5 minutes of play. No, it was Nash-to-Amare (5 dimes and 10 pts, respectively) and the space that threat opened up for Barbosa (9 pts) and Diaw (8 pts) that built that lead, abetted by a bunch of Spur turnovers and horrible performances at both ends of the court by Finley and Parker.

    I don’t care how often Shaq can get inside Duncan’s head (he scored 40 points anyway); he nonexistant pick-and-roll shows and abject inability to otherwise deter penetration by Ginobili and Parker cost the Suns a game they should have won. I say this as a longtime defender and admirer of Shaq. Compounding the misery for Suns fans was the presence of Kurt Thomas, doing for San Antonio exactly what Phoenix craved: Low post defense and rugged box-outs on the boards. Put Kurt Thomas on the Suns and leave both Shaq and the Matrix in Miami so Amare could run free and Phoenix might just have won this game (I qualify it only because I’m not sure the Spurs ever lose a game they *need* to have).

    I love the way the Spurs play basketball. But–and I know I am late to the party on this–I have come to detest the way they blatantly whine about every single call. Yesterday’s snit-fit was their worst display yet–no mean feat about these cry-babies. Duncan literally jumped up and down and stamped his feet on one call. Yeah, I know there was a play where he was whistled for a foul on a jumper where he obviously didn’t touch the shooter. But when he went ballistic, Bennett Salvatore literally give it a second thought, because, like the boy who cried wolf, Duncan is going to bitch whether it was a phantom foul or there’s blood on the floor. And now, increasingly, Tony Parker and the flopping Ginobili are escalating their aggravated martrydom stances. The Spurs franchise should be apprised of how much this constant bullshit detracts from the classy performance their team displays when the clock is ticking.

    Which brings me to the commentators. Mark Jackson’s pro-Shaq bias was flagrantly on display on the two quick whistles his man received. The first found Shaq swinging one of his formidable forearms aside the noggin of Oberto–Jackson claimed it should have been a non-call. TOn the second, an obvious foul where Shaq tried to draw a charge but was clearly standing inside the circle, Jackson literally said "that ain’t right" because he doesn’t agree with the circle rule! Then there was the time Shaq was whistled for a foul on Kurt Thomas and Jackson derisively called Thomas a notorious flopper–flash to the replay, showing Shaq with his forearm on Thomas’s neck, pushing Thomas’s head below Shaq’s waist.

    Now sometimes Jeff Van Gundy enabled his partner’s idiocy–demerits there. But I don’t remember JVG being so pleasantly loosey-goosey before, the opposite of his anal coaching style. When Jackson tried to give him shit about using the word "acquiesce" (that’s right, don’t get too uppity Mark), Van Gundy disbelievingly replied that he wasn’t going to dumb himself down during the broadcast. Then there was Van Gundy’s caustic rip on the 6th Man Award and his statement that he’d "rip Michael Finley’s head off" for not sliding over in rotation earlier on a three-point play in the paint. More to the point, Van Gundy was loaded with compelling insights. He identified San Antonio’s hack-a-Skinner strategy in fouling Brian Skinner, in order to squeeze another possession or two out of the end of the first half, a manuver that indeed paid off handsomely for the Spurs. And he pointed out the deeper level of defensive strategy–how San Antonio would be successful if Grant Hill was shooting a two-pointer, even if Hill hit the shot; the point being to have Finley play D in a manner that forces Hill, and not Amare, Nash or Shaq, to beat you.

    Final quick thoughts:

    One negative of the Shaq deal and the Amare emergence is less emphasis on Steve Nash distributing off the dribble. Nearly every single shot Nash hit yesterday was a crucial bucket–the guy was just brilliant–and it would behoove the Suns to let him freelance with the ball a little more frequently to throw another option into the mix–because Bruce Bowen ain’t what he used to be on defense.

    Raja Bell, on the other hand, had a superb defensive game for the first three quarters and then, like the rest of the Suns, couldn’t stop San Antonio’s penetration.

    Another tremendous coaching performance from Pops. He was dead-on when he noted that the Spurs "seemed in
    a hurry" on offense in the first half, and that Duncan trey was clearly a designed play–that takes some stones. [*Update: There are now some reports that the play wasn’t designed. The Spurs freelanced the Duncan trey!] Phoenix was 21-1 when leading heading into the final period. Thanks to Pops and the usual crunchtime crew–we didn’t even bother noting Ginobili’s game-winner until now–the Suns are 21-2 and feeling that snake bite.

    New Orleans 104, Dallas 92

    Dallas was doomed the day Mark Cuban decided Jason Kidd was worth Dasagna Diop *and* Devin Harris, never mind the two #1 picks. Without those two guys, it is much harder for the Mavs to post up and much harder to penetrate. The most revealing stat in yesterday’s game was that Dallas shot 19-56, just 34%, from *inside* the three-point arc. The extent to which the Mavs have entrusted their offense to Kidd can be seen in the fact that the other four starters *combined* for just four assists, and three of those were from Jerry Stackhouse.

    That Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard had one dime between them, while Erick Dampier put up just five shots, indicates imbalances all over the place. On the other side, David West had four blocks, Chris Paul four steals, Tyson Chandler as many offensive boards, 7, as any Dallas player had on the defensive board. As I said in my preview, New Orleans is longer, quicker, and the patently better team. Now Jason Terry and Stackhouse aren’t going to combine for 5-16 FG every game, and Nowitzki and Kidd are proud veterans who have seen much better days and know their window is closing with this franchise, which should make for some ferocious contests the rest of the way. But the future is in New Orleans’ court.

     

    Utah 93, Houston 82

    The outcome of this one was predictable, even if I pig-headedly predicted it the other way. Without their center (Yao) and point guard (Alston), Houston’s bench is perilously thin and green, and the Jazz took advantage. None of the Jazz starters were better than plus +5 nor Houston’s worse than minus -6, but Chuck Hayes was minus -17 in 15:36 and Carl Landry (a particular favorite of mine) was minus -12 in 11:09. By contrast, Matt Harpring was plus +19 and Kyle Korver plus +17 off the bench for Utah.

    This was a gritty game, full of sweat and elbows. Luis Scola made me feel really smart about my ROY pick by battling Carlos Boozer to a draw, and Shane Battier worked the seams and Utah’s fixation on Tracy McGrady to get a game-high 22 points with an ultra efficient 7-7 FG. But Bobby Jackson was out of his league thrust in against Deron Williams, shooting 3-15 FG and doling out just 3 assists. T-Mac was the de facto point guard for the Rockets and he concentrated on the task a tad too diligently, passing up makeable shots to "get everyone involved," especially in the first three periods. If McGrady can only muster 20 points on 21 attempts (he sank 7), the Rockets are toast unless Landry and Hayes grow up in a hurry or Alston makes a miraculous recovery that has him at full strength by Game Two.

    Houston actually led briefly in the third quarter, but I thought the game turned on a pair of treys Korver buried to turn a 2-point Jazz lead into eight during the last three minutes of the third. After that, Utah just wore the Rockets out. Few teams are better at that the one coached by Jerry Sloan. If the Rockets don’t get off the mat in the next contest, there won’t be any more basketball in Houston this postseason.

     

    Here are today’s playoff picks:

     

    Toronto (6) vs. Orlando (3)

    Pivotal points: Both teams like the long ball and the Raps are actually a little better at it, making this a potentially volatile series. Can Toronto exploit its distinct advantage at point guard (Calderon/Ford over Nelson/Arroyo) to compensate for its lack of an answer for Dwight Howard down low? How does Toronto, a team that looks so good on paper (balanced scoring, better than 2/1 assist/turnover ratio teamwide) finish only .500—a dozen games below the Magic?

    My guesses: The Magic play classic inside-outside basketball with Howard in the paint and Turkoglu and Lewis using their length to get off treys outside. Toronto can make this a series if Chris Bosh hits enough midrange J’s to bring Howard outside his defensive comfort zone, if Howard is frequently fouled and clanks at the line, and if Toronto’s bevy of long-range chuckers get reasonably warm. That will be worth a couple of games.


    My pick:     Orlando in 6.

    Philadelphia (7) vs. Detroit (2)

    Pivotal points: Is Philly just happy to be here or capable of overachieving on the momentum of its remarkable second-half push to the postseason? Conversely, will the Pistons be subconsciously taking a team who finished 19 games behind them for granted while they look ahead to Orlando and Boston? Does Flip Saunders continue to play 10 guys or shorten his bench?

    My guesses: Tayshaun Prince is Andre Iguodala’s bad dream, Chauncey Billups is one of the few point guards Andre Miller can’t post up, and Samuel Dalembert’s shot-blocking is wasted on a ballclub that excels at Saunders’ midrange, low-turnover offense. So how did Philly split four games with the Pistons this year? Dunno. But the playoffs are a different animal.

    My pick: Detroit in 4.

    Denver (8)
    vs. Los Angeles Lakers (1)

    Pivotal points: Will a team sporting Marcus Camby and Anthony Carter among its starting five ever decide to play team defense? Who matches up with Kobe Bryant? Will the Lakers play their controlled, triangle-offense game, or get suckered into a shootout?

    My guesses: Melo and AI put up gaudy individual numbers next to their team L’s as they have done much of the season. By default, the main Kobe-checkers are the chuckleheaded JR Smith and the offensively challenged Yakhouba Diawara (with a little bit of AC and maybe even Linus Kleiza also thrown into the breach), all to no avail. The Nugs will win once when the score is over a combined 240, but this colossal waste of talent won’t see the second round.

    My pick: Lakers in 5 or 6.

    Atlanta (8) vs. Boston (1)

    Pivotal points: Will Josh Smith, a poor man’s Kevin Garnett, make the most of his time in the spotlight opposite KG? Has Ray Allen been napping as third wheel to conserve energy for the postseason, or will Joe Johnson abuse him on defense? Will the Hawks be able to break 100 in this series?

    My guesses: There will be at least one monster blowout and at least one improbable Atlanta victory, maybe even in the first two games at the Garden. Expect a great series from Rajon Rondo who will outplay the more heralded Mike Bibby at both ends of the court. Johnson will go off, but so will Paul Pierce, who will make life worse for Marvin Williams, increasingly known as the guy taken ahead of Chris Paul and Deron Williams.

    My pick: Boston in 5.

     

  • 2008 NBA Honors and Saturday Series Playoff Picks

    Okay, we’ve waited until the last minute and now it’s time to roll. I still reserve the right to change my mind about Coach of the Year and MVP.

     Defensive Player of the Year

    Winner: Kevin Garnett

    Runner-Up: Rasheed Wallace

    Honorable Mention: Tyson Chandler, Kobe Bryant, Raja Bell

    Comment: The Celts phenomenal improvement with untested and proven-mediocre defenders surrounding him makes this the easiest pick of the postseason. Wallace and Chandler were both stalwarts in the paint for very good defensive units, Kobe wanted to play D a little bit more this season, and Bell has lost less than Bruce Bowen.

    Sixth Man of the Year

    Winner: Manu Ginobili

    Runner Up: Jason Terry

    Honorable Mention: Leandro Barbosa

    Comment: Ginobili was the most clutch player in the league this year and arguably the real leader of the Spurs this season. Terry and Barbosa were heads above the rest but well behind Manu.

    Most Improved Player

    Winner: Hedo Turkoglu

    Runner Up: LaMarcus Aldridge, Mike Dunleavy, Al Jefferson

    Comment: Second-year guys are *supposed* to improve, which penalizes Aldridge a bit here and gives more credit to Turkoglu, who held firm to second on the Magic’s pecking order despite the signing of Rashard Lewis. I’m not the only person who has been sneering at Dunleavy ever since he went too high in the draft–kudos to him for the perseverence. The Jefferson shout-out is not a homer call; "Big Al" assumed team leadership, played out of position all season and still finished tied for second in double-doubles.

    Rookie of the Year

    Winner: Luis Scola

    Runner Up: Al Horford

    Honorable Mention: Thaddeus Young, Kevin Durant, Al Thornton

    Comment: That Durant is favored to win this award makes as much sense as Vince Carter leading the all star voting all those years. The easiest thing in the world to do is chuck up shots for a losing team, which Durant did at an inaccurate rate (43%, 29% from 3pt). Yeah, I know Scola is 45 (actually he’ll be 28 at the end of the month), but he’s still a rookie and was incredibly vital to the Rockets’ continued surge after Yao went down. Horford make the Hawks look smart and got them into the playoffs, two things very few people expect anymore. Young was better than Durant and Thornton at being of value to his ballclub.

    Coach of the Year

    Winner: Rick Adelman

    Runner Up: Eddie Jordan

    Honorable Mention: Phil Jackson, Byron Scott, Mo Cheeks, Stan Van Gundy, Doc Rivers

    Comment: The second-toughest category behind MVP. Both Adelman and Jordan lost their top two players for extended stretches of the season–and the person considered their best player for at least 25 games–and still finished better than expected at the beginning of the year. Adelman gets the nod because it was his first season in Houston and players had to adjust to a totally different offensive scheme. The five honorable mentions are all worthy winners in another year. Dishonorable mention goes to Isiah Thomas and George Karl.

    Most Valuable Player

    Winner: Kevin Garnett

    Runner Up: Kobe Bryant

    Honorable Mention: Chris Paul, Deron Williams

    Comment: Ask me tomorrow and I’ll probably say Kobe. In fact, if it wasn’t such a cop-out, I’d give co-MVPs to Kobe and KG. I won’t feel badly if either one wins it. My bias is with Garnett, a player I covered on the beat for a dozen years, seeing the selflessness and the infectious effort everyone’s raving about now on the East Coast, up close over and over again. By contrast, I’d long disdained Kobe’s selfish mood swings and begrudged him the three rings he never truly appreciated as he vied for alpha status with Shaq.

    But Garnett has more than history to recommend him. The unprecedented improvement–and for those who justifiably cite Ray Allen, remember the squad also lost a burgeoning Al Jefferson–the establishment of a defensive identity when there wasn’t one there previously. And as for the pure numbers, KG slight decline in points and rebounds is almost totally a function of him wisely being rested back from 40 to 35 mpg to be ready for the postseason. The guy hasn’t lost anything, and has rediscovered his passion for defense, the one element of his game that had begun to leave his lifeforce the past two years in Minnesota.

    The case for Kobe? The second-best player on his team, Pau Gasol, played only 27 games with him. The third best, Andrew Bynum, played only 35. More often than not, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, Vlad Rad and Luke Walton provided the bulk of his supporting cast. Could KG have taken that crew to the best record in the West? This was the year Kobe grew up on the court. It was his best season in a spectacular career, and, unlike Garnett, he’s never won MVP. There is no wrong choice here.

    I don’t think New Orleans and Utah would even be in the playoffs without Paul and Williams, and Paul’s gaudy numbers plus his team’s leap forward would get him the nod in most years. But this is a special year. And with that, we’ll move on to the playoff picks…

     

    Washington (5) vs. Cleveland (4)

    Pivotal points: Can Gilbert Arenas be content with being a sporadic microwave and defer alpha status to Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison? Will Jamison’s outside shooting take Ben Wallace out of the low block (or out of the game)? Is LeBron’s back ailment enough to prevent him from being LeBron?

    My guesses: Arenas can’t control himself, and both wins and loses at least one game for the Wiz. Aside from LeBron’s penetration, the Cavs will have difficulty scoring inside, making Brendan Haywood and Jamison’s contribution on the defensive boards critical to the series (and Joe Smith an intriguing X factor). Goaded by DeShawn Stevenson calling him overrated (how stupid is that?) and his own sense of pride, LeBron rises to the occasion as best he can. It’s probably foolhardy to bet against the league’s best player in a first-round playoff series, but with all the Wizards’ injury woes, they still finished a mere two games behind the Cavs this season, and have the additional motivation of losing out twice in this budding rivalry.

    My pick: If it goes seven games, I don’t think I’d align myself against LeBron at home. But I don’t think it is going seven.  Washington in 6. 

    Phoenix (6) vs. San Antonio (3)

    Pivotal points: As always in big games involving Shaq, how will the refs call plays in the paint? If Duncan or Stoudamire get in early foul trouble, the other team benefits greatly. A first-round series vs. physical San Antonio favors Nash, who has previously played them further into the postseason after he’s suffered some wear and tear. The narrow gap between sixth men Ginobili and Barbosa widened considerably this year. Finally, Kurt Thomas has changed teams.

    My guesses: There hasn’t been a more unstoppable player in the NBA the past two months (more than Kobe or LeBron) than Amare Stoudamire. The Spurs consistently have beaten the Suns because of their nonpareil perimeter D, but with Shaq as a force and Amare freed up to roam, their inside-outside game is formidable. There has never been a more competitive first-round series, as these are two superb teams who both know their window is closing fast. Bottom line, I’ve watched Pops and Fundamental and more recently Manu and Parker come up big when it matters for so long, that I’ll have to see the stake go through their heart before I assume they’re dead.

    My pick: San Antonio in 7.

    Dallas (7) vs. New Orleans (2)

    Pivotal points: The Hornets seem to be th
    e longer and quicker team, Dallas obviously the more experienced in the postseason. Can the Mavs’ outside shooters–especially Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse, but also Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd–score often enough to test the young New Orleans players under playoff pressure? Will Peja continue to choke in big games? And will the Mavs’ first-round loss a year ago be a plus or minus in their mental makeup?

    My guesses: I don’t understand the infatuation with the Mavs on the part of some pundits. Dallas has no answer for Tyson Chandler at either end of the court. Chris Paul is a nightmarish matchup for an aging Kidd. Meanwhile, David West is a pretty good matchup for the Mavs’ go-to guy, Nowitzki. Yeah, Dallas has a lot more playoff experience–chokes to Miami in the finals and Golden State. If Terry and Stack are "on fire"  from the perimeter they might be able to filch a game or two. But there’s no question who is the better team here.

    My pick: New Orleans in 5.

    Utah (4) vs. Houston (5)

    Pivotal points: With Rafer Alston on the shelf for the first two games, can Bobby Jackson deter Deron Williams and run the offense without looking for his own shot too much? Can Houston wear down Carlos Boozer? Which decline is more costly and less likely to be righted, Kirilenko’s overall game or McGrady’s shot selection and accuracy? Who wins the battle or two very good benches?

    My guesses: As much as Jackson can body up D-Ron, he has never been a competent floor general and could find himself in foul trouble to boot, making rook Aaron Brooks a key participant in the first few games. Losing Yao doesn’t hurt the Rockets in this series: Scola, Landry, Hayes and even Battier in certain instances are better options on Okur and Boozer than the Yao, and Mutombo can be rotated in as a change of pace in the low block. The math is pretty simple: Utah doesn’t lose at home and the injury to Alston gives the Jazz a great chance to steal at least one of the first two games on the road. All that said, I love what Rick Adelman has done with this team and consider them the most underrated ballclub in the playoffs.

    My pick: It could be Utah in 5 or 6 if they get the early jump. But my gut tells me Houston in 7.

  • Dining Out for Life, and Other Worthy Causes (Updated)

    Whether your cause is landmine removal in Afghanistan, or supporting people living with HIV/AIDS, there are lots of opportunities in the next week or so to dine well and do good, all at the same time.

     
    Tony
    Kaczor, the fish fry guy, passed along his latest church supper dining tips,
    including a couple of upcoming Lebanese dinners. This Sunday, April 20th from
    noon to 6 p.m., Saint Maron Catholic Church, 602 University Ave., Minneapolis is hosting a Taste of
    Lebanon dinner, with a menu that includes raw and baked kibbee, cabbage rolls,
    beeef and green bean stew, salad and baklava for dessert, all for $15 for
    adults and $8 for kids. Reservations are a must; call 612-379-2758. And a week
    from Sunday, Holy Family Maronite Church, 203 E. Robie, St. Paul will host its
    Lebanese dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

    On Monday, April 21, Da Afghan restaurant in Bloomington is hosting a benefit dinner to support landmine removal in Afghanistan. Half the $30 ticket price is tax-deductable, and they are going to put our quite a spread: stuffed grape leaves, chicken pilaw, kofta kabobs, tandoori chicken and lots more. For reservations, call the restaurant at 952-888-5824, or visit the restaurant’s website at www.daafghan.com. You can also sendcontributions directly to: the Adopt-A-Minefield
    program, the United Nations Association, Minnesota Division,
    2104 Stevens Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2533,

    Jen Kinney, who lives in Minneapolis, is a single mother of
    a 5-year-old daughter, who caught a tough break – a rare brain disease called
    moyamoya, and then a stroke. Her friends are throwing fundraiser for her on
    Sunday, April 27th from 4:00-9:00 p.m. at the Shout House in
    downtown Minneapolis. Tickets are $10
    at the door, and include a buffet and raffle ticket. There will be drink
    specials throughout the evening, plus a silent auction and Shout House’s famous
    dueling pianos.

    I’m aiming to eat all three meals out next Thursday, when
    134 local restaurants will be participating in Dining Out for Life. Proceeds
    support the Aliveness Project, a local non-profit that provides delivered
    meals, a food shelf, and other support for people with HIV/AIDS and their
    families.

    Lots of my favorite places are on the list, but I’ll
    probably stick to some of the Platinum level (35 percent or more) participants.
    For breakfast, I might start with one of Bess Giannakakis’ terrific flapper
    pancakes filled with fruit and cream at at the Colossal Café; or else a
    chocolate croissant from Rustica. For lunch, the two leading contenders are the beef brisket sandwich at Blackbird and
    the corned beef at Pastrami Jack’s in Eden Prairie, but for dinner, it’s the Vietnamese fusion cuisine at Ngon Vietnamese Bistro in Saint Paul.

     

  • Taking His Time

    Be it his folk-blues amiability or his pervasive wide-brimmed hats, Eric Bibb favors Taj Mahal. His voice is less basso and gravelly (more reminiscent of Spearhead’s Michael Franti), and his musical palette less diverse and worldly than Mahal’s ’round the globe hybrids, but Bibb is the superior songwriter. The latest evidence of this can be found on Get Onboard, his 17th disc since 1997 (!), which uses his typical template of social consciousness writ intimately personal with a dollop of religiosity (and not in the pejorative sense) and, most importantly, a guileless generosity of spirit.

    My favorite track is "River Blues," which comes equipped with strings (a cellist and another on violin and viola) and a rhythm section yet feels remarkably simple and unadorned. Bibb’s gone down to the flowing waterfront to clear his head. He’ll stay all day, watching the leaves turn gold, patiently biding the hours until the emotional fallout from the spat with his lady ebbs.

    I don’t feel like talkin’/Got nothin’ to say–please don’t preach/Sometimes we can agree to disagree/My mind’s actin’ like a screen/Don’t wanna say something unkind/I don’t mean…

    The delivery neatly conflates the temporary exasperation of the situation with the permanence of his love for her–this is a distinctively minor drama, dangerous mostly in its capacity to lose perspective, and Bibb’s water walk ensures that won’t happen. He lets it drop that the spat is over him not spending enough time with her, a theme that is picked up two songs later, in "Conversation," a vocal duet with Ruthie Foster. A delightful mixture of plaintive blues and canoodling love song, it has her stating she misses his company, him replying that he knows but they both know they need the dough he earns, her saying she doesn’t need palm trees or exotic locales, just him around. He draws up the conclusion:

    We could pack a picnic every evenin//Spread a blanket in the park/Have a picnic by the river/On a blanket in the park/Watch the sun set over Hoboken/Be back in bed before it’s dark.

    The relationship between "River Blues" and "Conversation" is artfully designed, subtle yet unmistakeable, with a message of compassion through patience and restraint that’s usually very difficult to relate without perverting the message itself. Another delicate grace note is the fact that the songs are intersected by "Deep In My Soul" and tagged by "God’s Kingdom,’ both with the theme of strength through devotion in a higher power. Now I’m not an overtly religious guy, and I certainly don’t like to be bludgeoned by how other people perceive the value of faith. And this particular gambit still won me over.

    The undercurrent running through Get Onboard contains a similar wisdom about when to double-down on your emotional (and spiritual) investment and when to be pliable. The lead track announces the refrain, "I live for the spirit I am" ("Spirit I Am" is its title) and the finale, "Stayed On Freedom,’ cribs a Civil Rights anthem which itself was adapted from a spiritual.

    With so much material to draw upon, who knows what Bibb will include in his sets this evening at the Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant? But if you’re looking to mellow out with sustenance that’s at once spiritual, intelligent, and romantic, this is your ticket.