THE DREAM LEAGUE
Asian American / Open Basketball Leagues
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2006_Summer/Fall NL (NYC) |
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Time to Make History | |
| Felipe Lopez Foundation Event!!! - This Saturday is the Felipe Lopez Foundation All-Star Celebrity Charity Basketball Game. Dream League is going and won't you join us? General admission is $20 and proceeds go to benefit the foundation which is aimed at assisting youth with improving educational resources and physical and social welfare. Felipe was on NY1 last night promoting the event and talking about his current whereabouts (including his upcoming shot at joining the Houston Rockets team with Yao) when Steve Nash called right in the middle and confirmed that he'll be in attendance at the game. If getting to see a bald NBA MVP doesn't spur you on to join us, you have no pulse. Game is at 5:00PM at St. John's University in Queens. If you have high school aged brothers, sisters, or cousins, ask us how they can go for free! Editor’s Note: Mike Owh is off on sabbatical as he attempts to solve the world’s greatest problem: ill-positioned toilet paper. With a grant from the Ford Foundation, as well as a Fulbright Fellowship, he will tour homes across the globe to make sure that the end of the roll hangs from the “over” side, and not the “under” side. In his absence, we at Dream League welcome our newest columnist and correspondent, Khom Wie.
By Khom Wie I wasn’t there. I wanted to be, but I missed it. History was made, wasn’t it? I’m told it was. But I wasn’t there. I can tell you where I was, though. I was at home. In a small apartment overlooking a rustic French bistro, breathing in the culinary delights and listening to the joyous clamoring of summer diners. But I wasn’t where History was made. Were you? Some say that History is inevitable, a surging flow of time and space hurtling the earth’s inhabitants through a litany of travails and triumphs. To these, it doesn’t matter who’s there to witness or participate because History just happens. Others believe in great men who in turn create or prevent great events. To these people, History happens just the same, but it is the Hero who wills it so. If you are a Dream Leaguer, then I think you believe in heroes. The League is full of them; those who’s games are so transcendent it invites the necessary hyperbole; to those who never lose hope, never give less than 100%, never fail to suit up. But really, in a sense, we trivialize the word by using it too often. Really, in a sense, in a purely basketball, purely League-specific, NL-specific, sense, there was only one Hero last season. And the thing is, we didn’t even know his name until the final second of the final game ticked away into oblivion. There could have been many ways, History could have unfolded. The Homecrest Cruisers facing elimination held off Ghee Unit to earn equal footing in the championship match. With three seconds remaining, the game tied, Tony Hu, was fouled, given the chance to put the Cruisers in the lead. So with three seconds left, Hu had the chance to be the Hero. Imagine the scene: a crowded gymnasium, hot and muggy from the summer heat; the second of two games for the chance to repeat as champs; teammate George Chan overcome with emotion, shouting, “He don’t miss these! He don’t miss these!” The sort of arrogance that has the unmistakable whiff of doubt mixed in. Would you be able to make it? Would you grasp that chance to be the Hero? Tony Hu did. He didn’t miss those. He gave his team the lead. With three seconds. The game may as well have been over. THREE SECONDS. Say the word “unbelievable.” That’s how much time was left. So, you say, Hu was the Hero. Homecrest won the championship to repeat. Anything else would be preposterous. And no timeouts, you say?! Why go further; Ghee was toast. Ahh, “preposterous,” “unbelievable,” those kinds of words are not the kind that Heroes utter. Because to them, all is possible. Because THREE SECONDS is not ZERO seconds. Because for Nik Nayak, three seconds is all that is needed for a catch, aim, and shoot. Because what Nayak saw is the image of the ball making a perfect arc into the center of the orange eighteen-inch cylinder. Because that’s what everyone saw. Because that’s how games are won. Because that’s how Heroes make History. So it’s the seventh season of Dream League NY. There are more teams than ever; more divisions than before. The perennial powerhouses are joined by new challengers. Familiar faces and spectacular games await. So will you be there? Will you be there when History is made? Will you be there when a new Hero rises? Will it be you? Game on. Prognostications of the Week For those of you new to Dream League, every week I’ll be laying my bet down on a straight win or lose proposition for each game. Since I’m the new columnist on the block, my record is clean as Suri Cruise’s diapers (because she doesn’t exist- get it?). The NL has three new teams this season, the Renegades, M&A 101 and Philosokicks. The Renegades have the goods to make a run for the money. M&A is a combo of a few teams from last season so they’re really veterans. Philosokicks have a bye this week, but I can’t wait to see them in action because I love their moniker. Wouldn’t it be great if they had a player named Sock-rates and ran the Pythagoras offense? Alright, enough, onto the predictions. Wednesday, August 9, 2006 Renegades at Homecrest Cruisers: Former California Lover Myong Choi brings his band of brothers into hostile territory against one of the best teams in the League. How will Choi’s lawless bandits fare against the organized precision of the Cruisers attack? My guess is they’ll hold their own as the Renegades are known far and wide for their ballin’ ways. However, no less an expert on the Renegades than Choi confided to this reporter that he hopes “that the chemistry will come back.” Hmmm, questions about chemistry on the eve of a big game? That means I have to pick the Cruisers. Thursday, August 10, 2006 Da Bien at Gen X: Word is that Gen X is gonna have a tough time fielding a full squad this week. That is bad news against perennial powerhouse Da Bien. Jeff Tu’s ankle is still aching and Kevin Park is off to globetrotting, but Shawn De Los Reyes remains. And that means that Da Bien will always have a chance to take the crown. Gen X is former League champ itself, but without the bodies, they’ll have a hard time keeping up with Da Bien. M&A 101 at Ghee Unit: M&A is a spare parts teams made up of the old Derelicte, Cali Love, and Oh Holla! Collective records of those three teams last season? 12-24. And the name, you ask? Mergers and Acquisitions. 101? No, not for a course, but for the freeway, which runs up the coast of California (and also through Hollywood). Make sense to you? Me neither. What does make sense is Ghee Unit. Although they’re losing a few players, most significantly, Mo Ghumman to residency and Usama Nausrudeen to a JUCO in Texas, among other things, they’ll still be on top, battling for the crown. As for this game? Until I see M&A in action, I’m going to assume that the results are gonna be similar to that of the AOL/Time Warner fiasco. Sunday, August 13, 2006 Funkytown Ballers at Tri-State InvAsian: Arigato, Mr. Roboto! Funkytown is BACK! And “back” is the operative word here as it applies to their captain, the General, Jon Guilfoile and his balky lumbar system. Will he be sufficiently rested to play his usual game of controlled recklessness? Or will he be somewhat subdued and tentative? And how will the legendary chemistry of this nippontastic group fare after a season away? As for Tri-State, it was a summer of extreme makeovers. League-leading scorer Dave Wong has a nifty scar under his left eye to add a menacing glare to his arsenal. And captain Andre Liu jettisoned a few Tri-State stalwarts to add bulk and speed to the lineup. Will these changes make for a leap in the standings? That’s why we play the games, fellas! This one’s the tough pick, but I’m gonna go with Tri-State on the theory that Funkytown will need a couple of games to get back to their old selves. |
