Concrete Soul: Chorus, Day 4

Just another day and death row b-ball is what’s up. Check all attitudes at the gate and bring your game. It’s (G.M.B) Grown Men Ballin,’ ya heard?


Game 1 action saw the Silverbacks vs. team Hustle. High energy and good ball movement early for the Silverbacks. Tone ( 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals) pushed the tempo in a tightly contested 1st quarter. The pace picked up in the 2nd with Runny Ray leading team Hustle not only with (4) 2nd quarter points, but also with effort and heart; things that cannot be measured on a stat sheet, but are the foundation of a champion. And the Silverbacks take a 6 point lead at the half – 27-21.

Team Hustle kept the pressure on with J-Rock, Scoop and Bigg Dogg combining for (33 points, 14 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks). Sunchild ratcheted up the defensive intensity keeping team Hustle at bay and changing the game by swinging the momentum back to the Silverbacks. The savvy veteran Diesel would take it from there. His leadership down the stretch; along with the customary double/double from Bucktown (12 points, 12 rebounds and 2 steals), a balanced scoring attack and solid team D. got the Silverbacks their first win in a thriller 49-47.

Game 2 featured the Quiet Storn vs. Chaos in what is shaping up to be a major rivalry. It was the Heart-N-Soul shaw early (15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 steals) turning steals into easy fast-break points and an early 8-2 run. Enter The Phenom with atrey-put back and a presence on defense to close the gap 15-11. He would finish with (26 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals), but it was ferocious team D. that would sustain the Quiet Storm led by E-Smoove (17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks) and Billy Ho (4 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals) to take a 33-28 lead into the half.

The intensity level peaked in the 2nd half with bodies hitting the ground with no regard for the concrete. Something had to give and it was team Chaos seeming to wilt under the pressure, playing erratic and getting beat to almost every loose ball. The Quiet Storm take it 65-62 in an epic battle in what promises to be a war of a season.

Player of the Week honors go to: Sunchild who tallied (11 points, 20 boards, 8 assists, 6 steals and 5 swats) for the week. However, the stats don’t tell the whole story. This man goes 100 on every single play; an impact player- no complaining – grown man basketball, ya dig?

Mr. Blue,
Copyright © 2011 by Paul Brown

Concrete Soul: Bassline, Day 3

B-ballers,


What’s poppin?

Another day of death row basketball is an added rhythm to the heartbeat of your MannofStat. Real talk. Today’s match-ups could easily be interpreted as early season statements.

Quiet Storm (0-2) vs. Silverbacks (0-2)

The 1st half of this contest was no indication of the game’s final outcome. The Silverbacks led 28-23 at the half. Outscoring team Quiet Storm 16-6 in the 2nd quarter, but the Quiet Storm found their groove in the opening minutes of the 2nd half. The precipitation of team Quiet Storm was evident when they accomplished a 13-2 run in just under 3 minutes that gave them a 36-30 lead, with 5:09 to play in the 3rd quarter. There was nothing quiet about this storm when they closed out the 3rd quarter leading 52-36. They outscored the Silverbacks 29-8 in that monsoon of a 3rd quarter.

Scrappy scored 10 of his 14 points in the 3rd quarter for team Quiet Storm. Second team All-World selection, E-Smoove led all scorers with 21 points (13 in the 2nd half). He also tallied 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. The Phenom produced his 3rd double/double in as many games (17 points, 12 boards, 8 feeds and 6 thefts). The big man for team Quiet Storm, Nasty Nas, tallied 12 point and 7 rebounds to complement his team’s 2nd half onslaught of the Silverbacks. The Quiet Storm outscored the Silverbacks 54-22 in the 2nd half. Bucktown and Slick Rick collaborated for 17 point, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals to lead the Silverbacks. The Quiet Storm “rained” supreme 77-50. Na mean?

The premiere contest of the day was a battle of the undefeated. Both team Chaos and team Hustle were virgin to the agony of defeat. That is until today. This game lived up to the hype and for the second straight game, team Hustle forced an extended period.

Scoop led team Hustle with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Runny Ray took 3 charges and contributed 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block, including a clutch basket with under a minute in regulation to tie the game at 56. Without question, Runny Ray left it all on the court for team Hustle. That’s what’s up!

The suspense was heighted when J-Rock went to the stripe for the front end of a 1 and 1 with 25 seconds to play in regulation. His free throw went half way down then came back out. What should’ve been money in the bank for team Hustle, turned out to be a major withdraw for team Chaos. Ya heard?

Heart-N-Soul scored 12 of his 14points, in the 2nd half, including the decisive 4 points needed in the overtime period, to give team Chaos a 60-56 victory, improving their record to 3-0. Team Hustle falls to 2-1.

Team Chaos was led by 1st team All-World selection, Silk Money. He tallied 23 points (5 treys), 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Second year baller, Frost, generated 10 points (8 in the 2nd quarter) for team Chaos. The man in the middle, The Carpenter added 5 points, 14 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block to the chaos of their overtime victory. Feel me?

I’ll see you at the table on Wednesday B-ballers, until then, holla if ya hear me.

Nuff Said,

MannofStat
Copyright © 2011 by Leroy Elwood Mann

Concrete Soul: Chorus, Day 2

B-ballers,

What it do?

It’s no secret that our annual b-ball tournament is in full effect.  Four games are in the books.  Two teams stand at 2-0.  The other two are scraping for their first thrill of victory in this 2011 season.  The temperature reached the mid 90’s today, but today’s exhilarating finale was 500 degrees and no less.  Word is bond!

Team Chaos (2-0) faced the potential ridden Silverbacks (0-2).  There was a high degree of energy coming from both teams’ benches.  The rookie big man for the Silverbacks, SunChild, accumulated 4 blocks today.  His defensive presence was felt, but the explosive combo of Silk Money (21 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block) and Heart-N-Soul (23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 thefts) proved to be much too much for the Silverbacks.

Heart-N-Soul scored 12 of his game high 23 points in the 2^nd quarter.  The Carpenter (10 rebounds) and J-Dubb (11 rebounds) rules the boards, tipping the rebounding scale in favor of team Chaos, 56-31.  Chaos led at the half 29-21.

The Silverbacks were led by their rookie swingman, Tone.  He tallied 15 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block.  His teammate and former defensive player of the year, Bucktown, stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks, but the 18 points by team Chaos eventually caged the Silverbacks, taming them with a 66-42 drubbing.  Na mean?

Game 2 featured last season’s M.V.P, The Phenom.  His Quiet Storm squad was confident that their 1^st win of the 2011 season was in today’s forecast, but J-Rock and team Hustle would weather the optimism of team Quiet Storm in epic fashion.

The first half ended with the Quiet Storm leading 33-28, but team Hustle responded with a 16 point third quarter that would keep things interested down the stretch.  The teams were deadlocked at 44 at the end of the third quarter. 

Team Hustle’s top ballers were J-Rock, who finished with 19 points (5/9 from the stripe), 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.  And, Scoop, a.k.a The Human Eraser, produced a heavy 19 points (5/9 from the stripe), 15 boards and 4 swats.  The man in the middle for team Hustle, Pitt Bull, contributed 8 points (2/3 from the stripe) including 2 clutch free throws in the 4^th quarter.

The Quiet Storm was led by the bench production of 2^nd team All-World selection, E-Smoove.  He finished with 19 points (10 in the 2^nd half), 8 rebounds, 8 feeds, and 1 steal.  The Phenom was held to 5 first half points.  He finished with 14 points, 10 boards, 2 assists and 4 thefts.  It’s the lowest point total for the reigning scoring champ, since his regular season finale in 2009.  He sat out the 2^nd half of that game in which he scored 9 points.  Nasty Nas contributed some thunder to the Quiet Storm’s cause.  He registered 9 points and grabbed 13 boards.  Scrappy had 12 points and 5 rebounds.

Just when it looked like Quiet Storm would get their first victory of the 2011 season, the front door flew off the hinges and the Bigg Dogg leaped off the porch.  He finished the day with 9 points, 11 boards, 4 dimes, 3 steals and 2 blocks.  With his team Hustle trailing 65-64, and 5 seconds remaining in overtime, Bigg Dogg drained a 12 foot jumper, with a hand in his face.  The sound of the buzzer brought the rec yard to it’s feet.  The Quiet Storm would remain winless and team Hustle would close out the 1^st week of the season at 2-0.  Hustle!  Hustle!  Hustle! Hard!

In 2 games this week, Bigg dogg tallied 20 points, 21 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks.  His game winning shot at the buzzer, sealed the deal for Player of the Week.  Stay off the yard if you can’t handle the Bigg Dogg.  Ya heard?

Stay Up,

MannofStat

Copyright © 2011 by Leroy Elwood Mann

Concrete Soul: Mid-Week Special, Day 1

It’s in the air.  Bron-Bron and D-Wade take game 4 of the NBA Finals and it’s on and poppin’ on the row; feel the heat!

Concrete Soul jumps off with team Chaos vs. Quiet Storm.  Silk Money (15points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block) opened the show with a dazzling inside-out exhibition that immediately put Quiet Storm on its heels.  The new substitution rule-requiring all players to play at least a quarter seemed to handcuff the Quiet Storm with the defending scoring champ, The Phenom (17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal) and teammate and fellow 1^st Team All-world selection E-Smoove (10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 3steals) both going scoreless in the first half.  However, the Quiet Storm bench outscored Chaos bench 11-6 to keep it close 20-13 at the half.

But the initial onslaught would prove to be too much to overcome.  With Heart-N-Soul (15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist) doing his thing, Eye-G (11 points 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) making a solid contribution, the Chubsta (5points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists 1 steal) with a surprisingly quiet yet perfectly complementary performance – and Frost (7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block) providing dynamic energy at both ends of the court – Team Chaos was a well-oiled machine and won comfortably 59-44.  A great start for Chaos.  For Quiet Storm, not so much, but make no mistake, this team is loaded and will contend for the chip.

Game 2 featured the Silverbacks vs. Team Hustle in an old-fashion slug-fest.  The Bigg Dogg (11 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assist, 1 steal, 1 block) barks and bites in another one of his signature all-around performances.  It was 12-11 at the end of one.  J-Rock (19 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals) goes hard.  Pit Bull (7 points, 3 rebounds) steps up and Team Hustle surges to go up 29-22 at the half.  The 2^nd half is all Bucktown (20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block) all the time.  But the next highest scorer for the Silverbacks was Sunchild (5 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals) turning in a gritty performance, but there was not enough scoring balance overall for the Silverbacks.

While Team Hustle was solid all around with Scoop (9points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 5 blocks)  The General (5 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals) and Runny Ray (4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 blocks) putting in work.  But the Silverbacks gave a game effort and it was a 3-point game, 48-45 with under 2 minutes to play.

Then J-Rock closed it out like Mariano Rivera for the NY Yankees, dropping the hammer and closing the lid down the stretch and turn a close game into a 10-point win, 57-47 “Hustle – Hard.”  And we’re just getting started.  And it’s already hot.  Can you withstand the heat?  Be there Friday.  Out

Mr. Blue

Copyright © 2011 by Paul Brown