IN THE YEAR, 25-25

Manu

One of my favorite things about San Antonio's extended run in the playoffs is watching to see how much Manu Ginobili's bald spot expands between games. If the Spurs make it all the way to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, I imagine Manu will bear an uncommon resemblance to St. Francis of Assisi.

Manu has emerged as perhaps the most intriguing player of the postseason, which is why it's so bizarre that we know so little about him. I mean, most people are aware that Tim Duncan actually started out as a swimmer and was born and raised in the Virgin Islands. And everyone knows that Tony Parker is married to Tampa Bay 3rd baseman Evan Longoria.

But what about Manu, outside of the fact that he's from Argentina? Well, here are three fun facts:

1) He is of Italian descent and has dual Argentinian-Italian citizenship. His parents are Italian immigrants.

2) He was a two-time Lega A (the Italian League) MVP as a member of Kinder Bologna, which is not to be confused with the flatulence-inducing Meaner Olive Loaf.

3) He is married to Marianela Orono, who is probably a babe.

Today's Featured Video

The discovery of the Randy Meisner video in the previous blog entry led me to thinking about how Meisner, Glenn Frey and Don Henley actually started out as Linda Ronstadt's back-up band. And that led me to thinking about my favorite Ronstadt song, "I Can't Let Go" which, as I soon discovered, was actually written by the Hollies.

And then I did some research on the Hollies, who had the great misfortune of being from Manchester, England (about 40 miles southeast of Liverpool) and recording their greatest hits in the mid-Sixties. So they were utterly and completely overshadowed by the Beatles. The Hollies were the Dom DiMaggios of pop music. Is that the correct analogy?

Anyway, here they are in 1969 singing Carrie Anne. Don't you just love how vintage this performance is? All it's lacking is Kim Carnes on back-up vocals. I believe Tony Hicks was about eleven years old, by the way. And check out just how skinny lead singer Allan Clarke's legs are.

If you bothered to watch the video, tell me, how much did the Hollies inspire the The Way Outs, the band who appeared on The Flintstones, the one whom Fred and Barney couldn't decide whether they were British or space aliens?  

At The Corner of George and Clooney?

Almost forgot about this. I was out for a run in Los Angeles last week and ventured into the bad part of Beverly Hills (only one B'Mer in the driveways). Anyway, I'm running along a leafy, quiet street named Gregory Avenue when I come to an intersection. And that's when I notice that the perpendicular street is Peck. So, yes, you look up at the street sign and one reads "Gregory" over the other, "Peck".

Is this just a wild coincidence? Or are there a number of intersecting roads in Tinseltown that conform to movie star's names? Is there an "Isabella" that meets a "Rossellini"? A "Lauren" that meets a "Graham"? And if you were an up and coming actor with huge ambition, would you change your name to Olympic Sepulveda? Just asking.

He Said It

Bill Simmons in a recent "The Ramblings" entry: "All right, I'll ask: How come it took three seconds to euthanize Eight Belles, but the WNBA is starting Year 12?"

You Have To Be Kidding

Joakim Noah arrested for marijuana possession? I, for one, am shocked. Actually, with that 'do wouldn't you be disappointed if he wasn't smoking the herb? Ronny Turiaf, I'd be very careful to drive the speed limit if I were you.