Michael Mandlin is

Free Ballin’

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Luis Scola, Larry Hughes, and the Summer of ‘05 – Part I

January 12th, 2010 · No Comments · Basketball Commentary

Most Rockets fans I chat with these days take it as a given that the Rockets will make every effort to re-sign Luis Scola this summer.  Now, as much as I like Scola, I don’t see why the Rockets would commit significant money or years to Scola when Carl Landry is going into the last [...]

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NBA VIEW: Eastern Conference, Central Division

November 16th, 2009 · No Comments · Basketball Commentary

Indiana: The Pacers chased me all over America last year.  It seemed that everywhere I went, they were the visiting team.  So I got to see them a lot.  Mostly, I learned that if you only looked at Danny Granger for all 48 minutes of game play, even especially when he’s on the bench, the [...]

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In Milwaukee, WI – My Interview with Bucks.com

March 23rd, 2009 · 2 Comments · Road Writing, couchsurfing, hitchhiking and ridesharing

The Milwaukee Bucks (wonderfully hospitable) took an interest in Free Ballin’.  Along with making me the Extreme Fan of the Game, giving me some groovy team goods, and putting me up on the jumbotron—my bald “spot” 6 feet across—they did a little interview with me before the game.  For my first time on camera, not [...]

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In Milwaukee, WI – 2064 Miles Later: Part I

March 20th, 2009 · No Comments · Road Writing, couchsurfing, hitchhiking and ridesharing

Oh, did I mention I arrived in Milwaukee?  Those of you smarties following me on Twitter know the score, of course, as I kept people pretty up to date that way, when I didn’t have an internet connection.  For the rest of you, I’ll update you, a post for each day on the road.
3/15 – [...]

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In Portland, OR – Portland to Milwaukee: 2064 Miles of Hitchhiking Fun

March 12th, 2009 · No Comments · Road Writing

Tomorrow, I’m setting off for Milwaukee, bright and early—actually, dark and early.  I’ll be out the door around 5AM, to take public transportation to Troutdale, which is right on I-84 and (I’m told) chock full of truckstops.  Hopefully, I’ll catch a ride with an eastbound trucker.
Google maps says it’s 2,064 miles from Portland to Milwaukee, [...]

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Nets/Bucks Have Reconstructive Surgery

June 26th, 2008 · No Comments · Basketball Commentary, Trades

NJ and Milwaukee mixin’ it up! This is a fun deal, because there are significant talent and financial elements involved, and both teams are radically changed. That’s fun, no?
NJ Gets: a huge roundhouse to the chin in losing Richard Jefferson; huge cap-relief for the all-important free-agent class of 2010; two interesting players with [...]

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