Kappy's Blog

Sweet Lou's In The House!

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:31:00 GMT

I'm beginning a nice vacation tomorrow and will be in experiencing Europe for the first time ever! Denmark and Sweden to be exact. The only thing I'm not looking forward to are the long flights. In the meantime, enjoy KDBC's Lou Romano, who will be filling in for me during the next 7 shows (No show on July 4th). I'll be back on Tuesday, July 15th, and by then we'll know who will be the new host of Crunchtime. We have three strong candidates, so we can't make a bad choice.

Soccer anyone?

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:29:00 GMT

Before I get out of here and hawk beer at the Streetfest for two nights, I need to get in a sports preview for the weekend. There's plenty of interleague baseball on the schedule, including the battle for the Big Apple. Besides watching the Mets-Yanks series, I am actually looking forward to the Euro 2008 Finals on Sunday. I'll admit, I don't know much about soccer, but Germany and Spain interests me. Maybe it's because these teams don't usually play for the Euro Cup Title. Maybe I like watching good soccer in HDTV. Maybe I just don't have a life anymore. Regardless of the reasons why, I will be checking out the match on KVIA this weekend. Also looking forward to Brandon's Crunchtime hosting debut. Brandon promises a lot of shtick and is pumped to host the show, and I can honestly say I don't what the heck he's going to do when he gets on the air. That certain amount of mystery intrigues me and I'll be listening. Good luck B!

Stick a fork in the Lakers!

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:52:00 GMT

People will look back at Game 4 of the NBA Finals and wonder how the Lakers blew a 24-point lead to the Celtics. The answer is easy. Boston was able to get their usual production out of their "Big 3", but had a huge game from their bench. Ray Allen kept the Celtics from getting blown out in the first half, and the Paul Pierce helped fuel the 2nd half comeback. Led by James Posey and Eddie House, Boston's bench easily outplayed the Lakers bench and provided the spark they needed to win the game. lamar Odom and Pau Gasol had nice statistical games, but where was LA's defense in the last 18 minutes? Nowehere to be found, which is why Boston is on the verge of winning their first title in more than 20 years.

NBA Finals Game 1

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:51:00 GMT

Paul Pierce isn't Willis Reed, but you can compare the inspirational performances both had in the NBA Finals. Reed's appearance at MSG in 1970 helped the Knicks topple the Lakers to win their first NBA Title. We're not sure what effect Pierce's 3rd quarter reappearance from his sprained knee will have on the entire series, but it provided a huge lift to the Celtics. Pierce finished with 22 points and 4 rebounds and gave Boston the lift they needed. Kobe Bryant and his teammates really struggled over the last 15 minutes of the game. No Laker came up big with that key outside shot they desperately needed. Los Angeles will need to make some key adjustments in time for Sunday night.

One Laker fan's trash talking

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:46:00 GMT

One of my regular listeners, Adrian Duran has been writing a blog during the Lakers-Spurs series and is not afraid to talk a little trash. Here's his comments after Game 4 last night:

EXTRA...EXTRA...READ ALL ABOUT IT...BREAKING NEW...BREAKING NEWS

I will start off this segment of the breaking news with a little bit of history for all of you...What do Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, John Kundla (Minneapolis Lakers) and Greg Popovich have in common? Answer: They are the only coaches in NBA history with 4 or more titles on their resume. Now every one here remembers the old Sesame Street song, "One of These Things is Not Like the Others" right? The answer to that is much more relevant to today's news. Look a little bit deeper at the history of those 5 coaches, and you will see that all but one of them was able to lead their teams to REPEAT TITLES!!!! Do I really have to tell you who has not! I realize that the series is not yet (officially) over, but is anyone willing to put money on the fact that Crater Face Popovich will remain as the lone ranger of the bunch who has failed to defend a Title?

Popovich must have a crystal ball at his disposal though. After all, when he was asked in the pregame interviews how many points he thought his team would need in order to pull out a win, he said "96-102." If his coaching was half as good as his prognosticating, we might actually have a series here. As I mentioned to you before signing off after my game 3 analysis, I found it highly unlikely that the spurs would hit 56% of their three point attempts (Game 4 result - 7of 24 for 29.2%). I also did not think the big three for the spurs would connect on 55% of their shots for 70% of their team's offense (Game 4 result - 20 of 51 for 39.2% and 64.8% of the offense). On the LAKERS side, I predicted that FISHER, GASOL and ODOM would shoot better than 30% from the field and 40% from the line (Game 4 results - 12 for 23 for 52.2% from the field, and 10 for 13 for 77% from the line). With the tables turning as I predicted, the LAKERS were able to deal the spurs their first loss at home during the playoffs. Unfortunately for the spurs fans, it could very well be their last game at home period.

If not for Brent Barry, who knows how this game might have turned out. Manu must have given him directions to the Lady of Lourdes Grotto, but he should have driven him there so he could have done some more praying himself. Apparently he prayed only long enough for one games worth of help. Not even making 24 out of 26 free throws could save the spurs tonight. Yes, I can already hear all of you saying that a three at the buzzer would have changed everything in this series. Yes it would have, and if my aunt had hair on her chest she'd be my uncle! The fact of the matter remains that the LAKERS have now taken a commanding 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals!

If there is any consolation to all of you spurs fans out there tonight, it would have to be that you may only have to put up with this column one more time after tonight. Until next time...

San Antonio Express News Guest Columnist

Adrian Duran

Lazcano holds his own

Wed, 28 May 2008 04:28:00 GMT

Despite losing by unanimous decision to Ricky Hatton in Manchester last Saturday night, Juan Lazcano did nothing to embarrass himself in the ring. In fact, co-promoter Oscar De La Hoya said after the fight that Lazcano proved he is a world-class fighter. Maybe The Golden Boy will try to give Lazcano world-class opponents for his next few fights. After losing the unanimous decision last Saturday night, Lazcano told reporters, “Ricky Hatton's a true champion, and I just want to thank him for the opportunity for this fight.”

I hope Lazcano gets another chance to fight for a title before he retires from boxing. He’s 33 years old and has mentioned retirement within the last few years. Lazcano does have a few fights left on his contract with Golden Boy Promotions, and maybe he impressed De La Hoya enough to get another title shot within the next year. If not, his career 37-5-1 record should make him one of the best professional boxers to come out of El Paso. With future prospects like Antonio Escalante and David Rodriguez waiting for their big title shot, the future looks bright for El Paso boxers.

Spurs blow opportunity

Thu, 22 May 2008 19:41:00 GMT

The NBA is a funny game. A 20-point first half lead is meaningless, especially since most teams can erase a large deficit in a relatively short amount of time. Usually it's a little tougher to come back from a 20-point lead with 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Not if you're Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers. Last night's 89-85 win was huge because the Spurs were in control for much of the game. I wonder if San Antonio will get another opportunity to take home court advantage in this series.

Back from vacation

Mon, 19 May 2008 18:29:00 GMT

It's good to be back at work and vacation is kind of weird. Instead of watching a ton of sports, I spent time with my family and even went to see "Iron Man" at Cinemark. Loved the movie and think everybody who enjoys a good comic book will like it. As for the rest of the sports world, here's a few observations:

As a Knicks fan, it pains me to say this but I'm rooting for a Lakers vs. Celtics NBA Finals. Maybe it's just nestolgia, but I remember the battles with Bird and Magic and think Kobe and Garnett could put on a great show. Of course, getting by Detroit and New Orleans will be no easy task.

DJ having his charges dropped was a no-brainer. Now, Jackson will attend a few NBA Pre Draft camps and receive his pro evaluation. Stefon will be told he has good athleticism, but needs to get stronger and develop a better outside shot. It doesn't take an NBA scout to notice the obvious.

The Yankees are doomed this season. In past years, if the Bombers struggled a little bit in April or May, you knew they would be back. Not this season. Inconsistent pitching and an aging offense makes Joe Girardi's team a Big Apple mess. And don't be surprised if the Mets fire Willie Randolph soon. He's lost contol of his team, especially in the clubhouse.

War with the Media

Mon, 05 May 2008 16:59:00 GMT

UTEP Men's basketball coach Tony Barbee has developed a rocky relationship with many members of the media. He has not spoken to me since last October, when I broke a story that Stefan Jackson was seeking a transfer to Temple University. The story was confirmed by more than one source, but Barbee was upset that I leaked it out and threatened to have me fired. Nice threat, Tony. Now, Barbee's unleashed his wrath on members of the TV media because of the way they treated DJ after his arrest last month. The Miners coach told TV media members that he would not cooperate with them as to whether or not Jackson would turn pro and declare for the NBA Draft. Instead, they would need to get that information from the NBA.

I can't figure out why Bob Stull doesn't sit down with Barbee and explain to his coach the importance of working with the media. Forget friendships; that will not happen with this guy. Instead, cooperation is something that UTEP Athletics officials should try and work on with Barbee. Get Tony out in the community more and make him attend various events as an embassador from the UTEP basketball program. All he needs to do is spend a day with Mike Price and take a couple of pointers from the master. That's not Tony Barbee.

What a joke!

Mon, 05 May 2008 16:47:00 GMT

After hearing the news that former champion Johnny Tapia pulled out of his comeback fight Friday night, I wasn't too surprised. Over the years, many great past, current, and future champions have fought here, helping to make El Paso a great fight town. I was never excited about Tapia's return to the ring, primarily because I know he is an over-the-hill fighter who's best days in the ring are long gone. As usual, the disagreement was all about money, even though Tapia told the media earlier in the week that his comeback was not about money. It's a shame that Tapia's last minute no-show screwed the fans, many of whom paid good money to see the one-time legend. I'm sure few fans who attended Friday's fight card at the Coliseum took the refund, because many of them are diehard boxing fans.