LOTD: Video of Deron Williams’ Game-Winning Shot to Beat Lakers; Plus the Zack Greinke Story

by Jerod @ 2009-04-24 No Comments Email Post

When I woke up this morning, there were two thoughts on my mind that I had to get answers to immediately:

How is Carlos Quentin after being removed from the game in Baltimore last night?
How much did LA end up beating Utah by?

With respect to Quentin, I feared the worst but was hoping for the best. Luckily, it appears like Quenti Video Deron Williams game-winning shot beats Lakers in Game 3 n only has a bruised hand. With respect to the LA-Utah game last night, I was obviously very surprised to learn upon waking up that the Jazz had won the game — and done so in dramatic, thrilling, Kobe-like fashion.

Deron Williams, who only took 7 shots from the field all night and finished with 13 points, drained a fadeaway jumper in the final seconds to complete Utah’s Game 2 comeback and give them life in the best-of-seven first round series.

Williams, who has always been a player I’ve admired since he was at (ugh) Illinois, also had 9 assists. Carlos Boozer stepped it up last night as well, grabbing 22 rebounds and scoring 23 points as the Jazz overcame an 8-point deficit to star the 4th quarter. Kobe Bryant finished 5-24 from the field for the Lakers, who only shot 36.8% from the field as a team.

And here is the footage that will make KVB cringe, but that gave Jazz fans everywhere hope that the Lakers’ advancement to the Finals my not yet be quite the foregone conclusion everyone thinks it is:

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Video: Deron Williams Shot to Beat Lakers in Game 3

Well done Jazz, although I still think the series ends in 5 games.

Since that was a video, it doesn’t really count as a link, which means that we need to find another story for our official Link of the Day. And it wasn’t too hard because the guys over at Sharapova’s Thigh always have an interesting take on things.

Today they discuss Royals pitcher Zack Greinke who, along with White Sox lefty John Danks, is among the most underrated handful of players in the Major Leagues. In the article we will link you too, Matt looks at the attention and admiration showered upon Josh Hamilton after coming back from his drug issues and wonders why Zack Greinke does not get the same level of attention.

I think everyone knows the story of Greinke. He was a phenom prospect that made Peter G Zack Greinke | Video of Deron Williams game-winning shot beats Lakers in Game 3 ammons and many other analysts, as well as anyone associated with the Royals, drool. He was named Gatorade National Player of the Year in high school and Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year a year after being drafted by KC. Then he came up in 2004 and scored a 3.97 ERA in 24 starts, prompting many to anoint him as one of the great young pitchers for the future.

But then problems began, and this where we link you over to Sharapova’s Thigh so you can read more for yourself after a tasty little excerpt:

LOTD: Zack Greinke Has the Admirable Story, Not Josh Hamilton — (Sharapova’s Thigh)

However, in 2005 he struggled mightily. He won just 5 games, led the American League in losses with 17, and had an ERA of 5.80. He gave up a whopping 233 hits in 183 innings, and struck out just 114.

Something clearly wasn’t right. He was too talented to be getting hit this hard and it certainly hadn’t been a problem in his first season in the majors. The Royals couldn’t figure out what exactly was going on. There had to be more to this that wasn’t just showing up on the radar gun readings or in his mechanics.

It turned out Greinke had been battling depression and dealing with social anxiety disorder.

This is point where, according to Matt, the situations of Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke diverge: “The difference between the situations of Greinke and Hamilton is that Greinke didn’t choose for this to happen.” Hop on over to ST and read the story. I don’t want to give it all away. It’s a good read.

I think both Hamilton and Greinke have great stories that are inspriational in their own way. Their struggles have humanized them, while their incredibly unique baseball talents have allowed them to be positive examples for people struggling with similar problems. I have no problem with all of the attention being showered upon Josh Hamilton because his story can hopefully help younger athletes avoid similar mistakes. I agree that Greinke’s story deserves more attention, as it can similarly help athletes deal with issues that many times are not understood in clubhouses and locker rooms, but that are not less severe or debilitating.

And now some more links from around the sports blogosphere before I get to “real” work:

Why I hate Derrick Rose — (Josh Q. Public)

As Rondo Goes, so Go the Celtics — (Josh Q. Public)

A chart proving which baseball teams suck — (Sparty and Friends)

FOX thinks A-Rod is a liar — (Sparty and Friends)

Movie Review: Tyson — (Hugging Harold Reynolds)

NBA’s Top 10 Franchise Players — (The Scores Report)

Anyone Ready For Aaron Poreda? — (Zoner Sports)

Campbell will ask for trade if Redskins draft QB — (NFL.com)

Your blog didn’t get buzzed by ESPN? Don’t sweat it — (The World According to MoonDog)

Crabtree: Boom or Bust? — (Matt Bowen at NationalFootballPost.com)

Indiana gets commitment from 2010 recruit – (Herald Times Blog)