Sign of the Twine: The Blue View, Day 15

The Semi-Final: Sky high vs. Regulators. Both teams know what this game means and its evident by a tightly contested 1st half in which every shot was challenged and the tension was thick. Sky High dominated the boards early, led by King Cobra (9 points, 16 rebounds, 1 steal and 4 blocks) whose transcendent energy dominates games no stat sheet will ever reflect. Silk Money (12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block) hit back to back treys and the Regulators went on a late 8-2 run, however, the silky one would be held largely in check the rest of the way, Regulators by 5 at the half, 27-22. The leading scorers for both teams happened to be role players making solid contributors. J-Dub of the Regulators (11 points) and Runny Ray of Sky High (7 points).

The Regulators opened the 2nd half by pushing the lead to 10, 33-23 at the 11:40 mark. E-Smoove (19 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) responds, attacking inside and out. Frost (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals), the little giant steps up and halves the lead to 35-30 in 90 seconds. And with Billy Ho (4 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals) crushing the boards. Sky High goes on a 1 1-0 run. The Regulators could not recover and Sky High pounced. They did it with tenacious team D., limiting Silk Money to just 12 points and holding the Bigg Dogg scoreless! Frost, icy from the line down the stretch, and Sky High wins going away 56-44 setting up the final showdowns with the number one seed Runnin’ Rebels.

If you’ll recall, there was a quote from the King Cobra (week 6 Rap Session), after a regular season Sky High loss to the Runnin’ Rebels, “that experience taught us a valuable lesson that will be implemented to make up official contenders for that chip. Retaliation is a must!” Sky High has knocked off the #2 and #3 seeds to get to the final. Both teams are playing the best ball they’ve played all season. It promises to be a wildly entertaining spectacle.

Tempers flared today at the end of the game, which sometimes happens when competitors compete at a high level. Responding to this pressure in a negative way only proves you are incapable of dealing with it, which is really no pressure at all considering the republican-led N.C. legislature is dismantling the Racial Justice Act as we speak, which may in turn cost some of us our lives. This is [GMB], not the sandlot; grow the f__ck up.

This is my final column of the season and it’s been a blast. I admit I began some days in a funk and left the yard exhilarated. Big ups to the ballers, coaches; and to the refs – outstanding job in their first season, you’re all on my team, ya dig? The rec staff. The Rec-Man; we could not have done this without the aid of the “Rose,” word! The Bull Frog, El-Indio and the MannofStat running the point; what a team!

Much love to my friends and family residing in the DMV: Moms, Auntie, Boo, Pam, Tara and my pretty little ones, Makayla and Mariah. And Alice of London, who remind me constantly that life like b-ball is a team sport.

Honors to Earl Richmond “The Blueprint,” gone but not forgotten. We ball under the whistle today on the strength of his integrity, and we hold each other accountable to his high standard.
Mr. Blue,

Copyright © 2012 by Paul Smith