While We’re Waiting… Christmas-Related Readings

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

Giving thanks on Christmas Eve: “With the holiday’s upon us, and the turn of the decade near, I felt it only right that we as Cavs’ fans take a moment to reflect, and be thankful. While we sometimes find ourselves wishing this team had a stretch four, or a back-up PG, or a better play to run at the end of the game, the truth is, its not really all that bad. And by all that bad, I mean its not ten years ago bad. If the last four seasons – which have included an NBA Championship appearance, an Eastern Conference finals run, a Cavalier winning the league’s MVP, and an average of 52 regular season wins per year – have made us forget just how bad it was, I’ll remind you. But before I get into specifics, I’ll just say this: we didn’t even know what a ‘stretch-four’ was when this decade started, we just hoped four was where the losing streaks would stop.” [Stepien Rules]

—

Your NBA Annoucing schedule for the holiday weekend including the LeBron/Kobe matchup on Friday… [Awful Announcing]

—

The Top 10 Sports-related gifts of yesteryear [Cecilio Guante]

—

“This year, at least in today’s column — the last one before Christmas — I am more concerned with the “nice” topics that are offsetting the “naughty” storyline that has dominated the last month.  I love the NBA on Xmas. I love that Suh was the first defensive player ever to win the AP’s college football player of the year award. I love that Tyreke Evans is already an NBA stud. I love that Little Caesars isn’t just a bowl sponsor, but they named the bowl after themselves. I love that USC could not care less about the Emerald Bowl. I love that the Broncos are imploding just in time to give fans of the six 7-7 teams in the AFC a little extra hope. I love that Northwestern basketball is in the process of its best season ever.  It’s easy to get cynical, when you are bombarded with stories like Tiger.” [Dan Shanoff]

—

Drunken snowmen for $200, Alex [The 700 Level]

—

I used to pay Kobe, now I pay Lebron: “This is the crux of why this game is so relevant: Magic vs. Celtics, which precedes it, may well be the ECF this year; the Cavs might not even get out of the second round. But never have so many transcendent NBA stars shared one court — on a day where your full attention can be focused on that game (check some recent ratings as proof) — at such pivotal moments in their careers. LeBron is weighing allegiances, everyone is questioning whether LeBron/Shaq will work, Kobe won’t let himself lose the individual or the team title, Shaq and Kobe are tied in terms of jewelry and desperately — despite claims of friendship, which may be true — always want to one-up the other, and we’ve been waiting for this game to be the Finals for two years. It may never be, but the drama on the court around 5pm EST Friday should be pretty epic.” [The Big Lead]

—

And finally, The Basketball Jones goes Christmas Caroling – Pure Gold [TBJ]