Monday, December 19, 2005

Hawks OT Win

We made the Hawk game yesterday, and missed the Saturday Thrasher game. Left directly from church with Will and Anna, stopped at Wendy's, eased through the CNN Center, and got our tickets 45 minutes before the gates opened. That gave us time to find Will's brick in Centennial Park (section 23, the bottom left corner of a dark section), and check out the Braves store. Before the game Will took up Lang's old spot in the seat closest to where the Hawks go in and out, and gave the team fives as they returned to the locker room. After the game Will almost caught Josh Smith's headband, but another boy snatched it away. Our seats were in that same section, the next-to-last row of the lower level. Couldn't see the jumbotron, only the TVs they had on the overhang. Anna enjoyed the game as well, and learned to scream when the other team attempted foul shots. Before the game she shot hockey pucks and got her picture taken on Santa/Harry the Hawk's lap...just enter the code 8584 hawk s594 4477 on the Hawks website. Lue didn't start, but did give the Hawks a spark when he came in and hit two quick three-pointers. Then he missed a lay-up. As he hit more threes, I kept thinking how that lay-up miss had hurt his shooting percentage. Josh Smith also played well, and Woodson let him play most of the overtime. He played hard at both ends of the court, not letting up as he did his rookie year. Had five fouls, some alley-oops and other dunks, but also had some nice drives to the basket and outside shots. Salim Stoudamire didn't play much, but came off the bench and made a long three. He forced his second attempt, and missed. I'd like to see him do well, and earn more playing time. Marvin Williams played like a rookie as well. Zaza was getting all the rebounds inside, but his shooting touch was terrible. Childress was the biggest contributors off the bench, and got the big steal at the end of regulation. Looks like Johnson and Harrington have stepped it up, as they did in the Friday night game. A big white guy named John Edwards checked into the game. Every time they called his name, all I could think about was the VP candidate. Noticed both Mike Gearons sitting courtside. Junior was casually dressed, and I thought nothing of it, until that evening I read the bit in the AJC, how he'd been wearing the same lucky outfit to every game. In the 3rd quarter as the Nuggets were about to attempt a foul shot, a small child trotted down about a quarter of the front row seats, until Gearon Jr reached out and grabbed him. Exciting game. When it went to overtime, I thought the Hawks might've blown their best opportunity, but they controlled the period. Denver missed on several straight possessions, and Atlanta won. My weekend was so busy that I only saw two games...that Hawks game and part of the Falcons. I felt the same way about the play-calling, as the Bears were stuffing the run. Vick must've been hurting, he wasn't sharp. You'd think that after four or five years he's know he can't throw deep, off-balance into the wind, without it being intercepted. That when you make an interception on the one-yard line and fall down, perhaps that's not the best time to 'make something happen'. Nothing went the Falcon's way last night, and that's the mark of a playoff team. Friday night the Bobcats play at home. Don't know if I could get Ceil's gang to go. It's Okafer bobblehead night.

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