According to this fascinating and terrifying article, in 1997, researcher Se-Jin Lee published work showing that inactivating a certain gene in mice led to insane muscle growth (twice the muscle mass!) in a very short amount of time. A year later, another researcher found another route to similar results. Both say they were instantly inundated with requests from athletes, and in one case even a high school wrestling coach offering an entire team wrestlers as experiment subjects. Blood and urine tests (I wonder about biomarkers?) won't catch this kind of performance enhancement. It's not a supplement -- it's an alteration of your genes. Now it's a decade later, and you have to wonder: how many labs on this planet can perform these tricks? And is there any chance no top athletes are partaking?
Does the Rockets' winning streak, under Daryl Morey, Stat Geek GM, vindicate the "Moneyball" approach to basketball? I think making the Western Conference Finals would do a lot more to convince other teams to listen to their stat geeks, but even without that you can't argue with the process that resulted in incredibly effective role players like Shane Battier and Carl Landry.
Jan Hubbard of the Star-Telegram on a Charles Barkley public appearance: "'We've been giving Michael a hard time,' Barkley told a crowd at the SMU Athletic Forum lunch at the Hilton Anatole on Wednesday. 'He just got a divorce [and it was like] damn, bro, you wrote a check for $175 million? Are you kidding me? You must have some damn money. If you can write a check for $175 million, you're damn loaded.' Barkley went on to say that 'sports is definitely not the place to be sensitive, no matter what it is. We're going to ride you unmercifully and we told him, 'It's probably bad to write a check for $175 million, but it's going to get worse. When you go visit your kids, there's going to be a guy sitting in your chair, wearing your robe, smoking a cigar.' The crowd erupted in laughter, but Barkley still had one more zinger for Jordan, saying: 'You better hope it ain't one of us. You better hope it ain't one of your boys. We're all looking for a woman with $175 million.'"
Jason Quick of the Oregonian: "When coach Nate McMillan announced the players he wanted on the court to run through offensive plays, he named Raef LaFrentz, Sergio Rodriguez, Josh McRoberts, Von Wafer . . . and Oden. 'There was somewhat of an uproar by the team,' McMillan said. 'Some of them said 'Greg?', and I was like, 'Yeah, Greg.' I think everyone was just excited to see him on the floor, just moving with the team.' Even though Oden said he went through the drills at about half speed, he looked much like the fluid, agile and coordinated big man from before his September surgery, when he was considered a can't-miss prospect as the No. 1 overall selection in the 2007 NBA draft."
Jason Friedman of the Houston Press: "Teammates standing as one; desperately urging, willing and imploring their comrades to victory. It's quite possible they were the only ones standing last night within the desolate domain known as Phillips Arena. But the dreary atmosphere did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of a group reenacting its college years. Is it a coincidence that the two hottest teams in the NBA -- Houston and Boston -- also possess the best bench vibe? Probably not. Does it mean anything? Only that their teams are playing well and have great chemistry. And at the end of the day, what more could a fan want?"
Dwight Howard leaves a game with a sore quad. You should really check out the site BasketballValue.com, which is the frequently updated new bible of adusted plus/minus. With some allowance for "noisy" stats, Howard is shown by this system to be the most effective player in the NBA. Also, check out Thaddeus Young in these rankings!
Ron Hitley of Hornets247 on New Orleans' fantastic win over San Antonio: "Of course, the Spurs decided to try a little of Bruce Bowen defending Chris after he scored on three consecutive trips against Parker early in the third quarter. As you'd expect, Bowen started out playing CP close and physical, then resorted to playing him dirty. 5:15 left in the third and Chris almost loses his handle, dives on the floor to recover the ball, and tries to get a pass off. He finally throws it away with Bowen standing over him, and as he scrambles to get back up Bruce puts a knee in his chest. I'm sure some Spurs fans will call it an accident, but from what I saw then and in the replays -- and taking into account Bowen's reputation for doling out cheap shots -- it looked like an intentional hit. But the call went against Chris Paul. Apparently the officials didn't appreciate the vicious way he attacked Bowen's knee with his chest ."
Jeff McDonald of the Express-News: "Asked before Wednesday's game if [Chris] Paul deserves to be mentioned in the MVP argument, Popovich didn't hesitate. 'Absolutely,' Popovich said. 'He's right up there with guys like Kobe and LeBron.'"
Brian McCormick: "The Heat's season would be far more interesting if they faced the potential demotion to the NBDL next season if they finished in the bottom three."
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