Ramando's Blog

First Thoughts

2010-03-13T13:25:00.004+01:00

Red Bull dispone del coche más rápido en calificación (dudo que lo sea en carrera).
Ferrari dispone del coche más competitivo (a muy poca distancia del Red Bull en calificación).
No tengo claro que Mcclaren (o mejor dicho, LH) disponga de coche para plantar cara a Ferrari (decepcionante calificación, a más de un segundo de FM).
SV re-confirma que es uno de los grandes (pedazo de vuelta, sin errores). Él, junto con Adrian Newey, son los claros responsables del exito de esta escuderia. Con el permiso de Mateschitz, of course.
JB confirma que el año pasado tenia el más-mejor coche y punto. No esta a la altura del equipo (al igual que MW).
FA vuelve a demostrar su gran capacidad de adaptación, haciendo volar el Ferrari (segundo mejor tiempo, a solo 71 milesimas del mejor tiempo de SV).
FM ha vuelto con plenitud de facultades (pedazo de última vuelta).
LH es muy bueno. Ya veremos si el coche acompaña en carrera.
MS va a tener que trabajar muchisimo, y encima para nada (el Mercedes no esta para ganar carreras, de momento). Es una lastima.
Cuatro grandisimos pilotos con buenos o muy buenos coches y MS. Vamos, que la cosa promete.

Please Remove the Protective Film

2010-02-27T16:58:00.007+01:00

Finally, a few words of common sense about the plastic film that protects every display. How many people never remove the aforementioned film?

* Found it at Gigaset SL370 User guide.

Lewis Hamilton Worst Enemy

2008-10-21T16:15:00.001+02:00

Apparently, Lewis Hamilton has everything on his own to win the World Championship on the second of October at the Interlagos circuit (Brasil). Neither Felipe Massa, nor Kimi Raikonnen, nor the F2008 look to be enough to stop the Brit. Seven points are too may points with just one race remaining, specially if you drive the MP4-23 which "should" guarantee a place among the top 4 in every race, that means a minimum of 5 points, which added to the seven they would be 12, 2 more than FM can get at Interlagos.

However... LH, quick and aggressive driver, has more enemies than the Ferrari duo. The more dangerous, without any doubt, is Lewis himself. His excessive aggressivity and his habitual tendency to lose his temper in some situations, can take its toll to this bighead and frequently overrated racer.

Clicks and Clacks

2008-10-12T10:36:00.006+02:00

Almost everybody knows that Playmobil figures were licensed in Spain by Famosa from 1976 to 1982/83 and were marketed as "los clicks de Famobil". However, I didn't know that clicks refers only to male dolls whereas clacks refers to females, mini-clicks to boys and mini-clacks to girls.

It Seems Grabiel Visited My Home

2008-10-12T01:11:00.004+02:00

Undoubtedly, Grabiel Gray (aka Sylar) visited my home today. Or perhaps my daughter was playing with her Playmobil figures again.

The Last Five Races

2008-10-06T23:45:00.001+02:00

Fernando Alonso has scored 25 points in the last five races. One point less than Lewis Hamilton (26) and two more than Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovalainen (23). Kimi Raikkonen ONLY scored 6 points in five races (0 points in the last four races). TOO POOR for the defending World Champion.

The thing is that FA drives a poor R28, whereas the other four guys drive a brilliant MP4-23 or a splendid F2008. And I ask you dear friends:

How many points would FA have if he drove one of these cars?
What must Luca Cordero di Montezemolo be thinking about having FA instead of KR or FM?
Where are BMW's duo now?
How can anyone think that FA could sign with Honda?
Why BMW announced today that it'll keep Heifeld in 2009?

And my answers are:

Enough points to lead the championship.
2010, 2010, 2010, 2010, ...
Missing?
Silly boooys
Because FA will switch to Ferrari in 2010.

The Importance of Having Teammates

2008-09-12T23:07:00.003+02:00

Lewis Hamilton is currently the bookies' favorite to win the 2008 F1 World Championship. According to the UK principal bookmakers, LH has the probability of about 62% to win, while Felipe Massa has about 41% and Kimi Raikkonen about 6% (Wow!!!). Twenty-one percentage points difference between LH and FM, and fifty-six between LH and KR. hmmm... I think that's too many points.

First of all, Hamilton has only two-point championship lead over Massa with five races to go. Second of all, Felipe has something that Lewis doesn't have. He has a teammate, Kimi Raikkonen (the current world champion), who can help Felipe to win the championship. I'm sorry, but I don't think Heikki can do the same for LH. I don't see Heikki (26-year-old sophomore) stopping Felipe, or making him nervous. To be honest, I don't see Heikki finishing among first four places in remaining races. Finally, the five remaining races: Monza, Singapore, Fuji, Shangai and Brasil. Brasil is ten points for Massa, and probably eigth for Kimi. Massa has shown that at his favorite tracks (such as Bahrain, Turkey, ... Brasil) he never fails. Shanghai could pretty be a Ferrari 1-2 (FM-KR). Singapore and Fuji are a mystery (we don't have stats from previous seasons). And Monza... who knows?

Gentlemen, I bet on Ferrari's duo. Last year, they showed how to win a World Championship in today's F1.

PS: Don't blame Lewis, blame Ron Denis, who again made the mistake of hiring the wrong teammate.

Maybe the Worst President Ever

2008-09-12T13:45:00.007+02:00

I think you know that I'm from Barcelona. And it couldn't be any other way, I am FC Barcelona supporter. Well, surely you don't know Joan Gaspart (former FCB's president between July 2000 and February 2003, maybe the worst president in FCB's history). He is one of my preferred FCB characters, a mad FCB supporter with a really unique personality.

I was reading El Mundo Deportiv o online yesterday and found the comic strip above, a caricature of JG wearing a straitjacket. I think that KAP (pseudonim of Jaume Capdevila), the author of the caricature, is who has the better grasp of the JG's personality.

Translation of the text:

"A clinical case: Gaspart, the only FCB supporter happy with the defeat against Sant Andreu, and the only Sant Andreu's president that would prefer a FCB win..."

"¡Sometimes even I think FCB is ok!"

"Crazy he is..."

What Would Have Happened If...

2008-09-04T01:00:00.003+02:00

Did you watch Beijing 2008 Men's Basketball final? I hope you did, because it was one of the best games ever seen. Believe me!! If you didn't watch it and "You Love This Game", then hurry up and do it!!

Immediately after the game ends, I asked myself some "What if...?" type questions:

What would have happened if Jose Calderon would have played?
What would have happened if Kobe Bryant wouldn't have played?
What would have happened if all traveling violations would have been penalized?
What would have happened if every three-second violation would have been penalized?
What would have happened if Rudy Fernandez would have played the last three minutes?
What would have happened if Jorge Garbajosa wouldn't have played below his level?

In any case, it was a spectacular game with two great teams. The Spaniards played without any inferiority complex against the Americans who played at an amazing high level in turn, showing that they are unbeatable... or maybe... almost unbeatable.

Two Different Pictures

2008-09-03T00:25:00.012+02:00

Have you seen any difference between the two pictures of JCN in my last post on this blog (Not Pleasantly Surprised)? I didn't notice before, but re-reading the post, I couldn't believe it. The picture located at the right side of the photo-composition looks really bad in comparison with the one located at the other side. But, why?

I obtained the picture from the FC Barcelona official website. Could not FCB hire a good photographer? I wanna remind you that FCB is the club with the budget of 380M € for the 2008-09 season. And this picture looks as if it would have been shooting by an amateur. Maybe, the one located at the left side is too good. However, there is no excuse for that.

By the way, a silly question. Where did JCN play for, according to the picture located at the right side? Answer. He played for FC Barcelona. You can see a VERY LITTLE crest of FCB on the left upper corner of the picture. Of course.

Not Pleasantly Surprised

2008-09-02T08:48:00.016+02:00

Recipe for a dissapointing surprise:

Take a look at Juan Carlos Navarro ACB Career Season averages
(see last row in table, "Promedios")
Take a look at Juan Carlos Navarro 2007-08 NBA Season average
(see SEASON AVERAGES table)
Compare both

Yes, they are SOOO SIMILAR. Even if we only consider the last 8 ACB Seasons (the two first ones are not significant), they are still so similar. Well, not really. Certainly ACB stats are better than NBA ones (specially in points per game, 25 vs. 20 points per 48 minutes, and field-goal percentage, 45% vs 40%). However, the other stats (rebounds, assists, steals, fouls, turnovers, etc.) look practically identical. What I mean is that I thought that JCN had space to grow in the League. But, 5 points in 48 minutes and a 5% is a very little space, and it's really hard to believe that JCN will be able to improve his ACB stats playing in the NBA at age 28. Drazen Petrovic is the perfect example to illustrate what I mean. You can compare his ACB stats with his NBA stats, and see how he grew in 5 seasons in the League (Amazing!!) without reaching his ACB numbers.

I don't want to demerit JCN. Honestly, I think what he did in the League is very difficult and commendable. However, it's not worthwhile to spend time and loose money to be there.

What a Race

2008-03-29T15:11:00.014+01:00

Jorge Lorenzo took his second pole position in his second MotoGP race at Jerez, smashing the lap record with an impressive time of 1'38.189 (the previous record was 1'39.064 in 2006 by Loris Capirossi with the 990cc bike)

Then, amazing start for this arrogant guy in his first season in MotoGP. I don't want to demerit him. Of course, JL is a double World Champion 250cc, and he won convincingly the two championships. Honestly, I think he is a big racer. However, there are other reasons, in my opinion, which explain this start.

First of all, his unquestionable talent to drive a bike. Of course.

Second of all, the 2008 YZR-M1. Yamaha has four riders in MotoGP, three of them are in the Jerez Qualifying Practice Top 5. They might have been four, but Toseland was suffering the flu for days. In the last grand prix, three of them were in the QP Top 3, and all were in the Race Top 7. Apparently, the electronic in the current YZR-M1 has improved a lot during the winter.

Finally, his teammate is "Il Dottore", the seven-times world champion Valentino Rossi. I know... you could say that the doctor is finished (I don't think so, maybe choosing Bridgestone was a mistake). But, be in the same team as VR gives you great benefits, for instance, you can take a deep look at Rossi telemetry data. JL did it to fix some problems (i.e. he braked ten meters late).

Anyway, what I want to say is that tomorrow we are going to have a big race. I totally sure about. A big fight against two irreconcilable enemies: Jorge Lorenzo vs Dani Pedrosa.

A Monty Python's Funeral

2008-02-04T20:04:00.000+01:00

Graham Chapman, one of the members of the Monty Python, died on October 4th, 1989, aged forty-eight. He wasn't one of my favorite Monty Pythons, however, in my opinion, Graham, together with Cleese, was the most Monty Pythonist of this comedy troupe. He always tried to find for something completely different.

Yesterday, I found the video below (the Graham Chapman's funeral), where you can see Cleese delivering Chapman's eulogy, and it couldn't have been any other way, Cleese took this opportunity to scandalize the audience, in a great example of consistence.

British Classic Comedy

2008-02-03T18:11:00.000+01:00

Everyone who really knows me knows that I love British Comedy, in particular British Classic Comedy.

Brit Sitcoms like Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, or Yes Minister, and the sketch comedy Monty Python's Flying Circus are among my favorite television series.

Today, I have found the Beekeeping sketch with John Cleese as a beekeeping expert and Rowan Atkinson as a terrible television show host. This is a post-version of the original sketch, that was aired for the first time in 1967 as part of At Last the 1948 Show. It has been a surprise for me to find JC and RA working together. Enjoy it.

Rudy Gay's Slam Dunk Promotion

2008-01-30T08:30:00.000+01:00

Rudy Gay is waiting for new ideas. He counts on people to think of new ways, different ways, different DUNKS. On February 16th, he will be competing in the 2008 Slam Dunk contest in the All-Star Weekend, and in a creative and ingenious promotion he has asked for your best dunk. If you want to help him, just upload a video response on the promotion page.

Ok, Rudy. This is my proposal. I don't have any doubts about this dunk. If you can do that, you WIN. Now, say hello to Mr.720.

By the way, Navarro recorded his first career block against Dallas Mavericks.

Navarro in the NBA Daily Top 10

2008-01-27T11:00:00.000+01:00

A wonderful lay-up shot and a three-pointer with 10 seconds left from JCN, were included in the NBA Daily Top 10 plays of January 15th, 2008. In fact, they were included in the top five (positions 5th and 3rd, respectively).

The game against Cleveland (January 15th) was the first of three straight games scoring 20 or more points for Navarro.

Dani Pedrosa Injured

2008-01-27T08:57:00.000+01:00

Very bad luck for Dani, he broke the second metacarpal bone of his right hand after crashing his Honda RC212V in pre-season testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia on Tuesday, 22 of January. This finger is crucial to ride the MotoGP bikes, it's the one that does the throttle and the majority of the braking.

Usually, Dani would need a minimum of six weeks before he could return to action. But, apparently, the docs think that Dani could do it in three weeks. That means, he would return for the MotoGP Official Test in Jerez on February 17th. I HOPE SO.

Good luck Dani. The Force will be with you. Always.

In the Middle of... the Regular Season

2008-01-23T23:00:00.000+01:00

Juan Carlos Navarro has played 41 of the 82 NBA regular-season games (by the way, only JCN and Kyle Lowry have played all 41 games!!, eleven of them as starter!!). Maybe, it's a good time to summarize JCN's first NBA half-season.

Right now, he leads the League in Three-Point Field Goals Per 48 Minutes (4.12) , ranks 11th in Three-Point Field Goals Made (85.0) and 16th in Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (0.419). He averaged 10,9 PPG, 2,2 APG and 2,2 RPG in 24,1 MPG with an efficiency of +9. It sounds good, doesn't it?

Additionally, Navarro ranks 5th in the NBA Rookie Ranking - Week 12, and 8th in the NBA Rookie Class: Top 50 at ESPN. Of course, he will play in the 2008 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge (I guess :-P), an event that pits nine rookies against nine sophomores in the All-Star Weekend.

Finally, what we see below, in the extract, is an interesting example of what Navarro is capable of doing:

" Navarro had four 20-plus point scoring games in a recent eight-day stretch. He made 23-of-38 3s in that span and shot over 50 percent from the field."

(January 23th, 2008 - David Thorpe's Analysis, NBA Rookie Top 50)

Venit, vidit, vicit

2008-01-15T23:06:00.000+01:00

Venit, vidit, vicit...That's it. He came, he saw and he conquered. Fernando Alonso made an impressive perfect start to his return to Renault with the fastest time (1:19.503) at the second day of testing in Jerez. Pedro de la Rosa was second on the time sheets (1:19.650) and Kimi Raikkonen was third (1:19.708), both with the 2008 car.

“The result of my first day in the car is encouraging,” said Alonso.

I totally agree with him. The result is really encouraging. I hope, we can see another competitive season with Alonso on top.

Va de Secuelas

2008-01-13T16:00:00.000+01:00

Koalillo me propone un segundo enfrentamiento. Me pide, que escoja, que me moje, con las cinco mejores secuelas cinematográficas. No hay problema. Aquí las teneis.

The Empire Strikes Back. Sin lugar a dudas, el mejor episodio de Star Wars. La extraordinaria Batalla de Hoth justificaría por si sola su aparición en esta lista. Pero la película contiene más momentos memorables como: el primer encuentro de Luke con Yoda, y su posterior instrucción, o la pelea entre Luke y Darth Vader finalizada con la famosa frase "Yo soy tu padre".
Terminator 2. Dejando a un lado a los más que impresionantes efectos especiales, la evolución de los personajes, respecto de la primera parte, es fantástica (incluida la del Terminator).
The Godfather: Part II. Aunque en mi opinión resulta excesivamente larga, hay que reconocer que se trata de una obra maestra, y que no incluirla en esta lista debe ser pecado. Digo yo.
Aliens. Representó la consolidación de la teniente Ellen Ripley, elemento INDISPENSABLE (casi más que el bicho) en esta serie.
Toy Story 2. La mejor película de Pixar (con el permiso de The Incredibles) es una secuela. A la saca.

Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, dado que es consecuencia de otras anteriores, podria ser considerada una secuela, pero ante la duda, he decidido no ponerla. También se me escapa, si Kill Bill 2 puede ser considerada una secuela. Por si a caso, tampoco la pongo.

Cinco Películas de Tom Cruise

2008-01-12T11:00:00.000+01:00

El pasado viernes, decidimos (Alex y yo) jugar a hacer listas de 5 mejores, como en la película Alta Fidelidad. El juego consiste en plantear el motivo de la lista (por ejemplo, las 5 mejores canciones de todos los tiempos) y hacerla. Así de fácil. En nuestro caso, el motivo son las 5 mejores películas en las que aparece Tom Cruise :-p. Pues bien, aquí está la mía.

Magnolia. Sin lugar a dudas su mejor película. Tom no tiene problema en ridiculizar lo que él representa (o representaba en aquel momento, un "guaperas" con éxito, ahora está más cerca de la Cienciología).
Mission: Impossible. Increíble BSO, solo éso ya justifica este segundo puesto.
Jerry Maguire. Show me the moneeeeeyy. Inmenso Cuba Gooding Jr.
Interview with the Vampire. Hasta Antonio Banderas me gusta en está película.
Cocktail. Digo Cocktail, y podría decir Top Gun, Days of Thunder, o similares. Dejarse una de estas mierdas (lease con cariño), sería como no poner una "peli" de James Bond en una lista de Sean Connery.

Rain Man (compartiendo cartel con el siempre-inmenso Dustin Hoffman), The Color of Money (Fast Paul Newman!!!), Eyes wide shut (clink, clink, clink, ... que ambiente!!), The Firm (Gene Hackman... no hace falta decir más) o Minority Report ("thriller" espectacular, original, con acción, con ritmo), son algunas de las que me gustan, de las que podrían estar en la lista, pero no me parece que sean "tan" Tom Cruise como las que he listado arriba.

Alea iacta est (la suerte esta hechada).

The Importance of Being Fernando Alonso

2008-01-06T10:27:00.000+01:00

If you ask me for the F1 World Champion 2008, I will answer: I don't know. However, I think that it's very, very possible that will be one of the Scuderia Ferrari or McLaren-Mercedes drivers, specially Kimi Raikkonen or Lewis Hamilton. Call me silly :-p.

I'm not sure about Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovalainen. Massa is a good driver but he is also too weak, and Heikki... well he is a 26-year-old sophomore, and driving the 4th-best car in the field he only had 4 top 6's in 18 races (Fisico, his teammate, had 5 top 6's with the same car).

In my opinion, Kimi was in the appropriate place at the appropriate moment, driving a Ferrari, of course, and Lewis... Lewis showed that he knows how to lose a F1 World Championship that he had it in his pocket.

And what about Fernando Alonso... well, well, well. We know he is going to drive the 4th-2007-best car, theoretically, a seventh place finish at the 2008 F1 World Championship should be logical. However, I think, Fernando can fight for the fifth place against the BMW Sauber drivers. Fight for the championship is very complicated, he would need more than 120 points, and Heikki last year got only 30 points!! 90 extra-points is too much to recover in only one season.

And the people who know about this, what do they say? I mean... What do the bookmakers say? Well, the bookmakers made Alonso FOURTH favorite to win the drivers championship, just ahead of Kovalainen, and just behind of Massa. The favorite to win the championship is Kimi followed by Lewis, of course.

The average relative probabilities, according to the UK principal bookmakers, are:

40% - Kimi Raikonnen
35% - Lewis Hamilton
17% - Felippe Massa
13% - Fernando Alonso
11% - Heikki Kovalainen

Terrific 4th Quarter for Navarro

2008-01-05T11:46:00.000+01:00

The Memphis Grizzlies (9-23) lost to the 2008 NBA Champions Boston Celtics (28-3), 96 to 100. Navarro scored 20 points (7-9 from the floor, 3-3 from 3-pt range and 3-4 from the free throw line), grabbed two rebounds and dished-out two assists in JUST 17 minutes. The final quarter was terrific for "La Bomba", he scored 13 of 26 Grizzlies fourth-quarter points, and made two assists.

In my opinion, Navarro only needs more minutes and a little bit more confidence to show what he can do, and believe me, it's more than 10 points-per-game and two assists.

By the way, Mike Conley made his first NBA starts in the last two games, replacing Damon Stoudamire (a 13-year veteran who is seeking a trade or contract buy out). Conley's stats look very good, he leads all rookies in assists (4.1 per game in 20 minutes per game) but he hasn't played in enough contests to qualify. His maturity and poise are already impressive attributes to go along with his speed and court vision. We will see.

The NBA's Salary Cap

2007-12-31T01:00:00.000+01:00

Everybody knows that the NBA's salary cap is a very complicated concept. Theoretically, if the League did not have a salary cap, the teams in larger markets with more revenue streams would have an even larger advantage over the smaller market clubs. Ok, that sounds good. However, if you take a look at the 2008 team payrolls, you can find 27 of the 30 teams exceeding the salary cap. What? What happens there? Is the NBA's salary cap a joke? No, it's just that there are several significant exceptions that allow teams to exceed the salary cap to sign players.

By the way, Navarro has got one of the lowest salaries (at $538,090) in the League. Currently, after Grizzlies waive Tarence Kinsey, he has got the lowest salary on his team. Mike Conley, the other rookie on Grizzlies, earns a mere $3,337,160, more than six times Navarro's salary. And Pau Gasol, who has got the biggest salary on Memphis, is earning $13,709,375 this year (a quarter of the team's payroll). Wow!!

The salary cap for the 2007-08 NBA season was set at $55,630,000, and the minimum salary for an NBA rookie for this season was fixed at $427,163. Some other funny numbers are:

$2,003,000,000 - Player salaries
$93,628,178 - Dallas Mavericks payroll (the top team payroll)
$23,750,000 - Kevin Garnet's salary (the top NBA salary)
$4,650,000 - The average salary

Merry Xmas and Happy 2008

2007-12-24T10:28:00.000+01:00

I want to wish to everybody, and specially to my faithful readers, a merry xmas and happy 2008. See you on 2008.

Watching the Game

2007-12-23T22:52:00.000+01:00

As you well know, I am a long-distance Grizz. Usually I follow the games just reading the stats. However, stats are not enough to accurately reflect a player's contribution to the game. For example, after watching Wednesday's game against San Antonio, I discovered that Navarro plays as a Combo Guard. I know that Navarro is not enough big to be a NBA shooting guard, he is considered a short shooting guard. But, it was really surprising to me to see him handling and passing the ball like a point guard. I never saw him do that before. Maybe, he will evolve into a good combo guard in the league. I honestly think it's a very good idea.

By the way, I was very interested in watching this game, because Navarro's stats were not specially good (4-13 from the floor), but on the other hand, he played for 43 minutes. I needed to know why. The answer is because the player's contribution to the game is more complex than a handful of numbers.

Be a NBA League Leader

2007-12-18T00:26:00.000+01:00

Navarro ranks 9th in free-throw percentage (0.909). However, if you take a look at the
2007-08 Free-Throw Shooting Leaders, you won't see him.

Why does he not appear between the leaders? You will find the answer at the Minimum Stats for Leaders page. Where a chart shows the statistical minimums a player needs to achieve to be listed among the league leaders at any given point in the season.

Navarro, in order to be eligible as a Free-Throw League Leader after 23 games, needs at least 35 free-throw attempts. At this moment, he has only attempted 33 free-throws. This explains why he does not appear in the list. However, I said he ranks 9th in free-throw percentage. How is that possible? It's because he is a rookie, and the minimums for NBA rookie leaders are half of the overall-requirement.

By the way, on Saturday Memphis (7-16) won to Orlando (17-8) 123-119. Navarro played as starter again and LED Memphis again, this time with 27 points (5-11 from 3-pt range and 8-8 from the free-throw line) in 40 minutes and a marvelous 4th quarter. He also dished-out four assists.

PS: I know that Rudy Gay scored a career-high 32 points on Saturday night, but it was Navarro who decided the game with his fourth and fifth 3-pointers, with 2:58 and 0:45,6 left to the end of the game, respectively.

Ghosts of the Past

2007-12-15T08:54:00.000+01:00

There are some people who say that Heikken Kovalainen (26!!) was fired from Renault by Fernando Alonso (26). They say that Fernando doesn't want another Lewis Hamilton (22) by his side. I don't think so.

First of all, I think that Flavio Briatore decided to promote rookie Nelsinho Piquet (22) to take Fisichella's drive some time ago, even before the McLaren-Alonso's (Ron Dennis-Alonso's?) affair . Fisico is thirty-four years old, and Briatore already said in Sept. 2006 that he prefers new blood.

"With Fernando leaving we looked away and felt we needed new blood (meaning Heikki Kovalainen) to beat what exists in Formula One"

Second of all, if you have the chance of hiring the best driver/racer (Fernando) now, go for it. Of course, someone (Heikki?) should be fired.

Third, is not Nelsinho Piquet more like to Lewis Hamilton than Heikki Kovalainen? Nelsinho is a 22 years-old rookie who comes from GP2. Heikki is a 26 years-old sophomore.

Finally, why fire Heikki? Why promote Nelsinho? Maybe, the salary. Maybe, the age. Maybe, the agreements between Briatore and Nelson Piquet (father).

Anyway, Heikki or Nelsinho is the same for Flavio, because he will never do what Ron Dennis did. He will never loose a championship because a rookie (or sophomore) thinks that he is equal to a double F1 world champion.

PS: Why Ron Dennis hired FA? I though to win the championship after 8 years. Well done Ron.

Anxiety

2007-12-11T22:56:00.000+01:00

Anxious to see the R28 in action
Anxious to see Fernando Alonso in action driving the R28
Anxious for the twenty-second of January, for the three-day test at the Spanish circuit of Valencia
Anxious to know about the competitiveness of the R28
Anxious to check the FA's capacity to make a good car, to see how good he can be
Anxious to eat chips and drink beer while watching the first race
Anxious for the sixteenth of March in Melbourne, for the first race of the 2008 F1 season

Praiseworthy

2007-12-10T00:09:00.000+01:00

Someone could think what Navarro is doing in his first season in NBA it is not praiseworthy. In my opinion, that someone is totally wrong, because he does not take into account several things. For example:

Navarro come from other country, from different culture, with his wife and his two daughters. They need to get used to their new surroundings, to a new language (they do not speak English yet).
He is not used to playing four games in just one week, sometimes two games on two consecutive days, sometimes the second one is located 800 miles far from the first one.
At 6' 3" and170 lbs., he has not got the prototypical size and athleticism for an NBA shooting guard (6' 6",195 lbs).
He is not used to playing as a substitute, to playing 20 minutes per game.
Not to mention, the distance of the three-point line; between 22 feet (6.71 m) and 23 feet, 9 inches (7.23 m) from the basket, instead of the classic 20 feet, 6 inches (6.25 meters). Well, maybe this is not a good example (currently, he ranks 2nd in the NBA in Three-Point Field Goals Per 48 Minutes).

I believe strongly that what Navarro is doing is excellent. Even after the two last games, where he has scored only two points per game, and he has played only 13 and 12 minutes respectively.

By the way, Navarro currently ranks 4th in the NBA Rookie Ranking - Week 5 and 5th in the Sports Illustrated one. I'm happy and sad at the same time. Happy, because many people like to watch Juan Carlos Navarro playing basketball, independently of his stats. Sad, because after playing seven very good games in a row, Navarro has played two very bad games.

Pocoyo

2007-12-09T13:22:00.000+01:00

If you have kids, Pocoyo TV series should be in your in DVD library. We have a 16 months old daughter, a pre-schooler who LOVES Pocoyo. Well, she loves Pocoyo, and his best friends: Pato -the shy yellow duck-, Elly -the large graceful pink elephant- and Loula -the Pocoyo's puppy-. You can see all of them in the picture above.

To be honest, I love Pocoyo as well. When I saw Pocoyo for the first time I fell in love with him. It was not only its amazing high quality 3D graphics, or its nice and funny characters, or its catchy melodies, or the simply wonderful white backgrounds, or the way how my daughter says PATOOO or how she imitates Pocoyo's laughing ... well, the truth is that everything is fantastic in this animated series, even the episode length, 7 minutes.

The Pocoyo TV series were created by the Spanish producer Zinkia Entertainment. These guys have done, and are doing, a great job. They not only make an excellent TV show, they also make an exquisite website and a very interesting blog.

The Zinkia guys have produced two series each of 52 episodes, and they are not planning doing Pocoyo´s 3rd season by the moment. They believe that it's time to develop different contents as, for instance the Pocoyo's movie. We wait anxiously for it.

Articles

2007-12-03T20:24:00.000+01:00

You know I read everything I can about Juan Carlos Navarro. Here there are some nice articles about him (please, read carefully the comments as well).

Rookie Rankings -- Week 4 by Dave McMenamin (nba.com)
Verne Troyer in the land of giants by Michael Grange (The Globe and Mail)
Rookie race takes shape by Peter May (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
When he plays, Navarro scores by Marlon W. Morgan (The Commercial Appeal)

It looks as if they're starting to know JC very well.

Roller Stoner

2007-12-02T23:16:00.001+01:00

Casey Stoner won the 2007 MotoGP World Championship scoring 367pts (81,55%) and 10 wins. Obviously, the season was amazing for him. Congratulations Casey. However, how was it possible? How was it possible for Roller Stoner not to crash during this season?

I remember when Stoner crashed six times (33,33%) in the MotoGP 2006 season. Of course, I know, he rode on the prodigious 800cc Desmosedici GP07. Of course, I know, he rode on the incredible Bridgestone tires. But (until now), I didn't understand why he didn't crash.

On Saturday, I read something on the news about the 2007 MotoGP bikes. It was a comment from the seven-times world champion Valentino Rossi.

"Now, to get the pole, to win, you have to believe blindly in these bikes, you have to trust them. You drive the bike into the bend at 150 km/h, twist your wrist, keep the throttle open wide and trust that the bike drive you out of the bend. If you don't trust her, you don't get the pole. It's not very natural, it's true, but it works"

Well, then that's it, that's the answer. Stoner is the same guy, he hasn't change his driving. The difference is the bike. The engine capacity of MotoGP bikes was reduced from 990cc to 800cc, and the traction control was improved. And this was perfect for Casey, it was he needed to win.

Stoner and his unnatural way to ride win championships with the current traction control, without it they crash.

Estadísticas y Grandes Jugadores

2007-11-29T23:30:00.000+01:00

Cuan importantes son las estadísticas? Podemos conocer a un jugador simplemente observando su estadística? Es mejor jugador aquel que encesta 9-10 del que encesta 4-12? A mi modo de ver, no tiene porque.

Las estadísticas, solo son estadísticas. Conjuntos de datos recogidos durante un partido. Pueden darte una idea aproximada de la aportación de un jugador, de su eficacia. Pero, solo eso. Una idea aproximada.

La aportación real de un jugador en un encuentro, es mas compleja. Esta formada por diversos elementos. Uno de ellos, por supuesto, es la misma estadística. Pero existen otros. El más importante, en mi opinión, es el carácter. Me explicaré.

La estadística, puede decirnos, por ejemplo, que un jugador encesto 10 canastas sin fallo. Pero, no puede decirnos, ni como ni cuando las encesto. Y son ese como y ese cuando, los que, a mi entender, marcan la diferencia entre los grandes jugadores y los no tan grandes.

Los grandes jugadores son los que no tienen miedo a ganar, los que ante la adversidad se crecen, los que no se esconden, los que faltando pocos segundos para finalizar un partido en el que su equipo pierde de dos, piden el balón para jugarse un triple. Ellos, no tienen miedo a fallar, si fallan no importa. Ellos, no piensan en la estadística, piensan en ganar el partido.

Los no tan grandes, no arriesgan, están más preocupados por su estadística, por el que dirán, son cobardes, son de los que no se atreven a lanzar por miedo a fallar. Incluso, no les importa perder si su estadística dice que jugaron un gran partido. Lo que no dice su estadística, es que durante los dos últimos minutos del último cuarto, cuando se decidía el ser o no ser del partido, ellos se borraron, decidieron que por hoy ya habían lanzado bastante, que ésto ya no iba con ellos.

Navarro reemplazo a Miller ante los Nets a 8 minutos de la finalización del partido, con un marcador a favor por 85 a 83. Su mala estadística hasta ese momento, no le impidió asumir su responsabilidad en la victoria, anotando 8 de sus 16 puntos en este último cuarto. Navarro es uno de esos grandes jugadores.

What They Think About Him?

2007-11-27T23:01:00.000+01:00

What Americans think about Juan Carlos Navarro? How do they see him? Do they like him or dislike him? Why or why not? ... Well, I have read quite a lot about him these days, and what I have seen is, that they don't know him very well enough. It seems like if they have never seen him playing basketball before ... but the things are changing very quickly. Just take a look at Pete Pranica's blog.

"I love watching Juan Carlos Navarro. He’s an active player who can create plays for himself and for his teammates on the spot. He plays with a certain type of joy that you don’t find every day. I’m thrilled he’s found a comfort level with the Grizzlies and I hope he keeps it up. And I also love the fandom exhibited by the Spanish fans toward Pau and Juan Carlos."

I am completely agree with you, Pete. I think, is obvious, that Navarro can score and can create play. He just needs to have the ball more often. I am sure, that he will end-up with 15 PPG.

By the way, Memphis (4-9) won to Washington (6-7) 118-124. Navarro played as starter again and led Memphis again, this time with 28 points (5-8 from 3-pt range) in 38 minutes. He also dished-out four assists.

The Last Three and Half Minutes

2007-11-24T12:15:00.000+01:00

Last night Memphis (3-9) lost to San Antonio (11-2) 101-88, who remain undefeated in Houston. Juan Carlos Navarro played as starter and led Memphis with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes, while Pau Gasol added 12 and six boards. This is the second game where Navarro leads in points Memphis. The first one was against New Orleans

The last three and half minutes of the 4th quarter were pretty, pretty good for Navarro. He scored 10 points (4-4 from the floor, 1-1 from 3-pt range and 1-1 from the free throw line) and dished-out two assists.

By the way, Navarro has returned to the top 10 rookie ranking. Currently, he ranks as the 8th rookie at si.com and as the 9th at nba.com, where he is mentioned as the Line of the Week player. Good news for him.

Be a long-distance Grizz

2007-11-22T08:15:00.000+01:00

Barcelona is a wonderful place to live and enjoy. However, Barcelona is far, far away from Memphis. You can check it by trying to watch, or listen, any Memphis Grizzlies game.

By the moment, I have watched three Memphis games on TV, and it has been impossible to me to listen any game. Theoretically, you can catch all Grizzlies Radio broadcasts on WRBO-103.5 FM in Memphis, they also broadcast on Internet at soulclassics.com, but Grizzlies games are exclusively broadcasting locally. Bad luck for me.

Last nigth Memphis (3-8) lost to Toronto (6-6) 95-89. Memphis was led by Pau Gasol and Mike Miller with 16 points and 10 boards each. Navarro played 10 minutes to score 2 points (1-5, 0-3 from 3pt range) and dish-out one assist :(. Luckily for me, the game was broadcasted on TV (Canal+, 02:00 AM Barcelona local time). God bless them!!!

PS: Never try to catch live play-by-play game coverage with Courtside LIVE at nba.com. It's a huge nightmare.

Navarro Started the Game

2007-11-18T03:07:00.000+01:00

Tonight, after his 28 points against New Orleans, Navarro has started the game vs. Dallas, and at the end of the first quarter (MEM 29-27) he has scored 10 points (2-3 from 3-pt range) and dished out 2 assists.

Memphis trailing 53-54 at the halftime break. Navarro leads the Grizzlies with 10 points.

28, The Second Perfect Number

2007-11-17T23:45:00.000+01:00

Navarro made history last night by tying the rookie record for three-point field goals made (8) in a game set by Jason Kidd in 1995 and Chris Duhon in 2005. He scored 28 points, going an almost-perfect 8-for-9 from the three-point line, grabbed two rebounds, and dished-out four assists in 34 minutes.

It was a really good game for him, from the beginning (he connected on his first seven shots from the field, the first five from 3-point range) to the end (he made the first one of three three-pointers in the final 13 seconds of regulation to force overtime), but unfortunately Memphis lost the game 120-118 against New Orleans.

By the way, Navarro leads the NBA in Three-Point Field Goals Per 48 Minutes (6.15), and he is the 9th in the NBA in Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (51.6%), where the second best rookie, the enormous Kevin Durant (19,7 PPG), is the100th one!!! (29.3%). Apparently, Navarro is not a player for today's NBA (he looks as a shooting guard in a point guard's body). However, he has got something special, something that makes him very valuable as a player, as today's NBA player. We will see.

NBA 101

2007-11-14T13:09:00.000+01:00

According to Wikipedia, the 101 is at universities in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, often the course number of basic or entry-level courses. By extension, it is informally used elsewhere to indicate things that are meant for beginners.

Well, I discovered that NBA has its own place for beginners. It's the NBA 101, a good place for us to learn some curious things about NBA. My preferred one is the Official Referee Hand Signals Illustrated. It's so kitsch,... it's priceless!!.

By the way, Memphis (2-4) won (99-105) their second game of the season last night, against Houston (6-2). Navarro scored 8 points and grabbed one rebound in 11 minutes, and Michael Conley did not play. Tonight Grizzlies vs. Bucks. We will see.

Tonight's Game

2007-11-13T23:59:00.000+01:00

I read in the Grizzlies vs. Houston Rockets game preview the following:

"So what does Grizzlies head coach Marc Iavaroni do now? After posting 10 points, nine assists and just two turnovers Saturday in Utah, rookie point guard Michael Conley made a pretty good case for playing time."

Of course, he did. Of course, I'm totally agree. The three 3-point shots scored by Navarro were assists from Michael Conley.

Conley was drafted by Memphis with the 4th pick, coming from the Ohio State college
where he started all 39 games and finished third on team in scoring (11.3 ppg) and first in assists (6.1 apg) and steals (2.2 spg), during the 2006-07 season.

So what will happen tonight? I don't know, but I hope that Marc Iavaroni will give minutes to the rookies. It's very difficult to demonstrate your real value, if you are sitting on the bench.

The NBA Shooting Glossary

2007-11-13T06:32:00.000+01:00

Shot. An attempt to score in a game.

It is amazing the number of different shots that a player can do in a NBA game. You just have to take a look at the game Play-by-Play analysis to see that. Anyway, the shots are described as follows:

3pt Shot. A three-point field goal, three-pointer, three-point shot, or simply three is a field goal made from beyond the three point line
Alley oop. An alley oop is an offensive play in which one player throws the ball up near the basket to a teammate (or, much more rarely, to himself) who jumps, catches the ball in mid air and immediately scores a basket, usually with a slam dunk.
Bank Shot. A shot that relies on the ball bouncing off backboard and into the basket. Other terms for a bankshot are "off the glass".
Driving Layup Shot. A forceful layup shot. It comes from Drive (an aggressive move toward the basket with the ball)
Dunk Shot. A shot made by jumping and slamming the ball down through the basket. Also called stuff shot.
Field Goal. A score made by throwing the ball through the basket in regulation play, worth two points or, if attempted from beyond a specified distance, three points.
Free Throw. A free throw is the privilege given a player to score one point by an unhindered attempt for the goal from a position directly behind the free throw line. This attempt must be made within 10 seconds
Hook Shot. A shot made by arcing the far hand upward while being positioned or moving sideways to the basket.
Jump Bank Shot. A bank shot done in a jump shot manner.
Jump Hook Shot. A hook shot done in a jump shot manner.
Jump Shot. A shot made by a player at the highest point of a jump. Also called jumper.
Layup Shot. A lay-up shot is a field goal attempt made by leaping from below, laying the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to tip the ball over the rim and into the basket (layin) or to bank it off the backboard and into the basket (layup).
Running Jump Shot. A jump shot taken by a player while running. Also called running jumper
Set shot. A two-handed basketball shot from a stationary position. It's the basic basketball shot
Slam Dunk Shot. A slam dunk (or simply a dunk) is a shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball through the basket with one or both of his hands, then often grabs the rim shortly after the ball passes through the hoop (a dunk is still being performed if the rim is not grabbed, as long as the athlete powers the ball through the hoop manually).
Stuff shot. See dunk shot.
Tip Shot. The ball is tapped or deflected into the basket by a player.

Navarro: Back Scoring Again

2007-11-11T06:33:00.000+01:00

Navarro scored 10 points in 22 minutes in the Grizzlies' 118-94 loss in Utah on Saturday night, after not having scored in the previous game against Trailblazers (where he played just 3 and half minutes, and Memphis lost by 12, 110-98). Tonight he scored three 3-point shots (3-6), two of them on two consecutive possessions at the end of the third quarter, and he played 22 minutes. These numbers are very good news, specially the 22 minutes.

The game was the third in four nights on this road trip for the Grizzlies, who have won just once this season in five contests. I hope Memphis wins the next game. We will see.

Road Victory and Bad Numbers

2007-11-08T12:56:00.001+01:00

Memphis outscored Seattle by 14 in the third quarter to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit as it held on for a 105-98 road victory on Wednesday. Rudy Gay tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Mike Miller added 20 and eight. In the other side, Navarro didn't score (0-5 from the floor), grabbed 2 rebounds, dished-up 2 assists and lost one ball in 10 minutes, for a +/- rating of -10.

In my opinion, Navarro's numbers, in particular the +/- rating, are not as bad as they seem. If you take a look at PlayByPlay's analysis, you can see how Navarro's contribution wasn't so bad as the +/- rating suggests. Navarro replaced Miller with 41 seconds remaining until the second quarter (MEM 25-22), and was replaced 9 minutes and 52 seconds later by Jacobsen, with a negative balance of -8 points. On the bright side, Navarro was very active in the court. Of course, I know, he missed 5 shots, but he worked hard in aspects of the game that he never usually worries about. I'm not worried about the missed shots, I'm sure that he is going to score very soon. I can't believe that he has forgotten shooting. We will see.

Rookies and Turnovers

2007-11-07T23:35:00.000+01:00

Tonight Memphis (0-2) plays against Seattle (0-4) at the KeyArena. One Grizz and one Sonic are on the NBA top 10 rookie ranking, they're Juan Carlos Navarro (27 years-old) and Kevin Durant (19 years-old) . Kevin Durant is sure going to be the 2007-08 rookie of the year, at least this is what NBA General Managers say. However, Navarro will have to work very hard to be an important player in NBA, just his talent won't be enough.

Last game against Indiana was a bad game for Navarro. He scored 3 points (1-5 from 3-pt range) , grabbed 2 rebounds and stole one ball with 3 turnovers in 19 minutes. Navarro has committed 7 turnovers in 2 games (36 minutes), currently he leads the turnovers per 48 minutes ranking. We will see.

Good for Dani

2007-11-04T23:06:00.000+01:00

Good for Dani, he took his fourth pole position in a row on Saturday, and he won the race to finish second in the championship (Rossi was forced to retire) on Sunday. Without question they are very good news for Dani's fans (I am one of them). More, if we take into account that Casey Stoner battled for almost the entire race, and the next best Michelin rider was just eighth!!.

The Game Box Score's Survival Guide

2007-11-03T00:44:00.000+01:00

I don't understand how they expect people to be able to comprehend the meaning of the column headings. Anyway, the meanings are as follow:

POS. Basketball player position. There are three tactical basketball positions: guard (G), forward (F), and center (C). However, since the 1980s, more specific positions have evolved.

MIN. Minutes played in the game.

FGM-A. Field goals made versus attempted.

3PM-A. 3-point field goals made versus attempted.

FTM-A. Free throws made versus attempted.

+/-. The plus/minus rating. It measures the team goal differential when a specific player is on the court versus when he is not.

+ / - Rating = On court Points - Off court Points

On Court Points= Team's net points ( Pts scored by team - Pts scored by opponent ) with the particular player on the floor.

Off Court Points= Team's net points ( Pts scored by team - Pts scored by opponent ) with the particular player off the floor.

OFF. Offensive rebounds.
DEF. Deffensive rebounds.

TOT. Total rebounds.

AST. Assists.
PF. Personal fouls.

ST. Steals.
TO. Turnovers.

BS. Blocked shots.
BA. Blocks allowed.

PTS. Points.

Note: DNP, when it's located next to the player's name, means "Did Not Play"

Darth Vader and Friends in Barcelona

2007-11-02T11:49:00.000+01:00

This Sunday, Nov. 4th, if you are in Barcelona, you can visit two wonderful examples of catalan modernisme (Hospital de Sant Pau and Sagrada familia), with Darth Vader and friends. It's the Star Wars 30th Anniversary parade. The barnasquad.com guys, in order to celebrate the 30th anniversary, have planned this Star Wars parade.

The line-up is at 11am on Cartagena street, corner of Sant Antoni Maria Claret street.

"The Force will be with you, always"

Casualidades Periodísticas

2007-11-01T22:58:00.000+01:00

A nadie se le escapa, que entre mis actuales obsesiones se encuentra Juan Carlos "La Bomba" Navarro (mis dos únicos posts hasta el momento hacen referencia a él). Pues bien, siendo consecuente con mi obsesión, escucho, miro y leo todo lo que puedo acerca de su nueva experiencia como "profesional" (lease: el que juega en la NBA). Y precisamente leyendo, me encuentro que El Mundo Deportivo asegura:

Navarro salió por primera vez al campo cuando faltaban 3:10 minutos para que concluyese el primer cuarto y lo hizo en lugar de Miller cuando el marcador parcial estaba empatado a 16-16.

y el Sport sostiene:

Navarro salió por primera vez al campo cuando faltaban 3:10 minutos para que concluyese el primer cuarto y lo hizo en lugar de Miller cuando el marcador parcial estaba empatado a 16-16

e incluso La Vanguardia matiza:

El español Juan Carlos Navarro salió por primera vez al campo cuando faltaban 3:10 minutos para que concluyese el primer cuarto y lo hizo en lugar de Miller cuando el marcador parcial estaba empatado a 16-16.

No he tenido narices de acercarme a El Periódico, una nueva casualidad podría haber afectado seriamente mi salud mental.

Sabiendo que la probabilidad de que coincidan tres secuencias de 185 caracteres alfanuméricos es bajíííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííísima, la explicación tenía que ser otra. Efectivamente, el texto proviene de una agencia de noticias, concretamente de la Agencia EFE. Lo que no alcanzo a comprender es por que los dos primeros diarios arriba citados no lo indican (ambos firman como Redacción). Muy correctamente, La Vanguardia indica que la procedencia del artículo es EFE.

Juan Carlos Navarro - First Round

2007-11-01T12:40:00.000+01:00

Last Halloween Night in the FedExForum, JC played his first game in the regular season in front of 17,583 attendance. His stats were really good. He scored 9 points (3-4 from 3-pt range) and dished out 2 assists with 4 turnovers (2 travelings) in 17 minutes. We will see.

Juan Carlos Navarro - Season One

2007-10-28T11:41:00.000+01:00

This week begins the NBA 2007-08 season. I'm very excited about that, because it's the first season for one of my favorite players, Juan Carlos Navarro (aka La Bomba, and more recently Instant Grids) . Memphis Grizzlies acquired him from FCB Basketball last summer. He is not the best player I've ever seen (even between FIBA players), and I know that he's got several weakness, specially in defense. But, his quickness, his excellent ball-handling and shot, and of course, his famous long layups... make him a delightful player to me.

Instant Grids is currently the third player in minutes in Memphis, he plays 24.1 MPG (0.5 less minutes than Mike Miller and 5.6 less than Rudy Gay), and the second player in PPG with 11.8 points (after RG with 15.1 points). He has played in all 8 pre-season games, in which he's shot 33-80 (41.25%) from the floor, 18-43 (41.9%) from 3-pt range and 10-12 (83.3%) from the free throw line, and he has never started a game. Of course, this is the preseason.

In my opinion, his numbers are really good, even more if you think he is a rookie, and I honestly think he can improve them. For example, I'm sure he is going to get fouled more (only 12 free-throws in 8 games is too few).

I am impatient for the first game of the 2007-08 season this Wednesday, Oct. 31against San Antonio. I can't wait. I want to see what he can do in the regular season.