New “MACHINE” Video! Kobe = BFF
Published by booge on July 28th, 2008 | Tagged Uncategorized
Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic & Kobe Bryant = BFF
The Machine expresses his love to his favorite Lakers mate of team, the one and only, Kobe Bryant. Machine & Kobe are BFF!
1 Comment »Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic Responds to Lakers-Fan.com Videos!
Published by booge on July 3rd, 2008 | Tagged lakers
Garrett Lynn & Nick Spears always joked around about how classic it would be if Sasha actually saw these videos, but being asked about them during an interview… even more classic! We love you Machine!
“Machine” Videos Created by Garrett Lynn & Narrated by Comedian, Nick Spears
4 Comments »The Machine videos featured on KTLA!
Published by booge on June 24th, 2008 | Tagged lakers
KTLA News featured our “Machine” videos on their show.
Check it out!
1 Comment »The Jello’s Jigglin…For The Lakers – Game 4 2008 NBA Finals
Published by booge on June 13th, 2008 | Tagged lakers vs celtics
If Chick Hearn was still alive, I am sure he would agree that last night was one of the worst, most embarrassing losses in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise. Even this morning there are still sharp pains echoing in my stomach.
In Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals, within three minutes of the first quarter, it seemed as if the Lakers were unstoppable. Everything was working for them. Lamar Odom started 5 for 5 and Boston seemed unable to put the ball in the hoop. The Lakers defense was tight, the fans were on their feet, and everyone thought that this series was on its way to being tied up. To put the nail on the coffin for the Celtics, Jordan Farmar even made a buzzer three-pointer to end the half, just as the Celtics showed signs of a comeback
Then came the 3rd quarter…
Since game 1 of the finals, The Lakers have shown their weak side in the 3rd quarters. This game was no exception. The Lakers were demolished in the 3rd quarter and Laker fans were stunned to be going into the 4th quarter as a close game. It seemed as if a whole different team came out to play in the 2nd half.
Kobe started the 1st half in single digits for scoring, but his team picked up the slack. What happened to the Kobe we saw in Game 3, driving to the hoop and going to foul line? Every play seemed to be the same one after another, Lakers come down, Kobe burns 20 seconds, trying to juke Pierce, and then gets caught and either misses a tough jumps shot, or tries to pass it off to a teammate, who is then suppose to make a prayer with 2 seconds left on the shot clock. As Kobe tried to take over, the rest of the Lakers team sat around and watched.
But even with the 3rd quarter slump, everyone still felt the Lakers had control of the game, even Phil Jackson, who confidently declared that The Lakers would regain momentum and win the game during a timeout. But when under the 4 minute mark in the 4th quarter came and Boston took their first lead, the air was sucked out of The Staples Center. Phil Jackson’s teams have always had a struggle with rotation on defense and last night was no exception, with having James Posey and Eddie House drain 3 pointer after 3 pointer from the corner on them. In the end, the Celtics prevailed to be the stronger, more mature team beating the Lakers in their home court for one of the most critical games in the series.
Is it the end of road for the Lakers? History says so with having no team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in NBA Finals History. If there is going to be a miracle, these are MUSTS for the Los Angeles Lakers.
1. Kobe Bryant must remain reliable. He needs to always be ready to take over the game when his team struggles. Something Michael Jordan was always good at. Sure, he had his bad games, but it seemed that during big games, when his team needed him, he came through. Kobe cannot have another game like he did last night!
2. Lamar Odom needs to play like he did in the first half ALL GAME. Last night, Lamar showed that he can be one of the toughest players to guard in the NBA, when he wants to be. He needs to play that kind of basketball the entire game to spread out the Celtics defense and create open shots for the Lakers.
3. Paul Gasol needs to show up to The Finals. As of now, Pau Gasol has been NAF (Not a Factor) in the NBA Finals. He is playing good defense on Garnett, but needs to become aggressive on offense for The Lakers to win. Ever since game 1, he has looked nervous, timid, and scared to do anything offensively, and quite frankly is not living up to the status the Lakers bargained for.
4. Bench Support. It seems as if Phil Jackson always likes to play a player that doesn’t belong in the game. Whether it’s Luke Longley from the Bulls, or in this case, Vlade Radmanovic. Yes, Vlade has been known to hit a few three pointers in the first half, but makes up for it by his almost non-existent defense. Trevor Ariza came in the first half and showed Phil Jackson that he deserved to be in the game, scoring 6 quick points (one three pointer), a block, and a couple steals. However, Phil barely played him in the second half. He needs to go where the energy is on his team.
As a Laker fan, I’ve got to be with them to the end, but last night sure took its toll. The Lakers will have to play 3 flawless games if they are to beat the Celtics, especially if and when they return to Boston. Hey, history was made last night, maybe it will be made again. Only time will tell.
Comment now »Lakers vs Celtics Game 3 NBA Finals – Lakers’ Embarrassing Win
Published by booge on June 12th, 2008 | Tagged lakers vs celtics
Do you recall going to the bowling alley and seeing the little fat spastic kid to the lane next to you run up and chuck his ball down the bumper lane, barely being able to hold his ball? And you see the ball go back and forth off the bumpers until it just barely hits the top pin and all the other pins come falling down for the strike? That is what I was reminded of when I watched Game 3 of the 2008 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.
This was a must win for The Lakers where they lost the first two games in Boston. The Lakers came out of the first quarter fired up, sparked by Kobe Bryant’s aggressive driving and getting to the foul line early. However, quickly into the middle of the first quarter, The Lakers went COLD. Aside from Kobe Bryant and “The Machine” Sasha, nobody could find the basket. Lamar Odom had one of the worst games I’ve seen him play and Pau Gasol looked like Luke Skywalker before he was about to fight Jaba’s pet monster. Neither could find scoring opportunities and also were getting beat hard on the rebounds.
Despite the Lakers foul play, Boston was playing even worse. Kevin Garnett started out the half with no field goals and Paul Pierce was not far behind him. Ray Allen and Rondo were the only Celtics that looked comfortable in the Staples Center.
Towards the end of the third quarter, Kevin Garnett began to pick it up while the Lakers were playing even worse. Lamar Odom continued to stay in foul trouble and frankly didn’t deserve to be in the game. And as for Vlade Radmanovic, well, he played about as good as Eric Montross with a sore leg. The Lakers finished the third quarter trailing the Celtics.
Mid fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant began to take matters into his own hands as the Lakers fought back to regain the lead. Lamar Odom and Pau finally contributed offensively, but you can mostly credit the comeback to The Lakers defense. Boston continued to struggle offensively and turn over the ball. Game 3 ended as a Los Angeles Lakers victory.
We will always take the win, but it was a disgusting one. The Lakers will need to step it up tonight if they plan on tying up the series. Lamar and Pau will have to get involved early to help Kobe save energy for the end of the game. If the Lakers continue to play tough defense and frustrate Garnett and Pierce, we should see a tied up series. The game 3 win was also a big win for The Lakers mentally, being the first win against “The New” Celtics this year.
Comment now »Too Little, Too Late for the Lakers
Published by booge on June 9th, 2008 | Tagged lakers vs celtics
Watching the first ten minutes of Game 2 I was very excited. I mean, I was like a monkey in a jamba juice excited. The Lakers looked tough. Gasol throws down a huge spin move and slam on KG, Kobe’s hittin’ shots, it was pretty. Then it all went to the birds.
There were 3 factors that lost the 2nd and 3rd quarters for the Lakers: Lack of defensive, lack of help from the bench, and obviously, lack of fouls called by the refs. It was terrible. When I say terrible, I mean like a scoop of donkey poo with whip cream on top. The refs should have truly been wearing Celtic jerseys as they nodded to NBA Commissioner Stern. Shady. Very shady I say.
All in all, we should’ve played the whole game like we did the 1st and 4th quarters. The Lakers need to figure things out and stop pointing fingers. Kobe and Gasol seemed to be the only ones on the court that had any kind of fire. That won’t make the Lakers champs. Neither will The Machine getting blocked on 3pt buzzer attempts. Who is that guy? NO Business Sasha.
3 Comments »Lakers vs Celtics - Let’s Get Game 2!
Published by booge on June 7th, 2008 | Tagged lakers vs celtics
After a highly disappointing evening losing game 1 against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, Lakers-fan.com has released the third installment of “The Machine” video blogs to hopefully cheer up some fans. Machine never stop! After all, it is just one game and as much as everyone is doubting the Lakers chances, Boston barely beat us at home and the Lakers even played a horrible game. Hopefully, Machine steps up next game and hits game winner.
Camp and shoot Machine. Camp and shoot. That’s the key.
I can’t help but laugh at Pierce and his ridiculously-overly dramatic-Willis Reed wannabe type injury. For a guy to get CARRIED off the court by his teammates and placed in a wheelchair, and back on the court in 5 minutes made you think if he was maybe faking the whole thing to bring some life to his team. This guy did grow up in LA, he understands the acting thing. I like Pierce overall and never wanted to see him out for the series so we could win by default (although I’ll take a ring anyway I can get it), but the injury seemed particularly fishy to me. Phil Jackson even brought out his witty and sarcastic humor regarding the situation.
“Was Oral Roberts back there in their locker room?” Jackson said.
The Lakers need to play more aggressive and don’t let the big stump Perkins or veteran fogie P.J. Brown snatch up any precious rebounds. Gasol needs to body up Garnett every once in a while - anyone see him daydreaming while Garnett dunked in an offensive rebound? Don’t let Alien (Cassell) score at all. The guy shoots jumpers and that’s it. Get someone bigger, play up on him and don’t let him have an open look, because he sure ain’t going around his defender at his age.
Bryant needs to take over in the fourth in a game like that, and may need to every game if they come this close. He commented on his outside shot not going in. If that’s the case, go to the hole! He seemed desperately uncomfortable, apprehensive and almost scared to penetrate. I thought the keys going into the series is 1. Odom and 2. Bryants ability to get to the foul line, which means more penetrating resulting in free throws and or kick outs to Radman, Fisher or the Machine.
I have confidence we can steal game 2 if we wake up from our breezy western conference playoff route (12-3) and realize there is an actual challenge in front of us. Hopefully Jackson teases the players again for being weak babies and encourages them to get out and become much more physical.
We beat Boston the last two times we played them in the finals, ‘87 and ‘85, so lets make this a three-peat.
1 Comment »A Look Back… Before The Lakers Won the Western Conference
Published by booge on May 30th, 2008 | Tagged lakers
“I want to be traded”.
Five little words uttered by hundreds of disgruntled athletes to even more disgruntled owners, none of which took capture of our attention more than Kobe Bryant’s off-season request for relocation that nearly destroyed this year’s dominant run through the Western Conference Playoffs before it even began.
Exactly one year ago to today’s date, Kobe told ESPN’s Steven A. Smith on his radio program, that he desired a trade and that any future NBA title aspirations would come in colors other than the Lakers purple and gold, almost dooming Los Angeles fans to suffer through a rebuilding year instead of now waiting on the cusp of the Lakers‘ record-setting 29th appearance in the Finals.
“There’s obviously a better way I could have said it,” said Kobe. “I was dead serious about being traded and would have still gone through with it, but I just wanted to be in a place where I could win. It just happened to work out, but if you would have told me that we would be here [the Finals] a year ago, honestly, I would have laughed at you.”
No one was laughing last year, especially head coach Phil Jackson who is just one championship ring away from one for each finger, breathed a collective sigh of relief along with Jack Nicholson and all other loyal Lakers fans, as the 26-year old veteran would retract the statement the following day, but,unfortunately for Bryant, the damage was done.
Being a superstar in a town littered in the remains of the fallen and once beloved, Kobe followed the local L.A. fad and went into rehab.
No, not rehab for drugs and alcohol like the majority of his neighboring Hollywood elite/skanks, but to repair a shattered public image due to dismissed rape charges and single-handily being blamed for the demise of the early Shaq/Kobe Lakers team that earned him his first three titles.
While his trial was an off-court personal matter and damaging in its own right, his supposed inability to coexist with others of those championship Lakers teams had a much more damning effect on the court, tagging Bryant as an egotistical superstar, unable to work with other teammates.
The 10-time All Star, however, has done all he can this season to refute that rumor.
While the supporting cast is closer in age to Bryant than the championship teams where Kobe played sidekick to Shaq’s MVP seasons, the obvious camaraderie amongst this year’s team has shown that he can be just as good a teammate as he is at driving to the hoop and making solid defenders look silly.
Kobe, who grew up in Italy and speaks the language fluently, seems to be in a more comfortable situation amongst the international make up of a Lakers roster that looks more like a United Nations meeting, boasting players from Yugoslavia, France, Spain and even the Congo, than a championship title contender.
Going from overall pre-season crankiness, calling out the Lakers front office, and demanding trades to now jumping moving vehicles in commercials, joking with teammates on the bench, and hoisting MVP hardware for the first time in his 10 year tenure in the NBA, the “new” Kobe swears nothing has changed but does place most of this year’s success on their close-nit interaction among teammates.
“You know that’s just who i am; the joking, smiling happy guy you see is me,” said Bryant. “If you saw anything different it’s because we weren’t winning.”
While the Lakers are 3-1 in NBA Finals with Kobe, they have yet to win it without the ominous shadow of the O’Neal which many have stated is fuel for Bryant are just four wins away from proving that the Lakers brass knew what they were doing when they let the Big Diesel hit the beaches of South Beach and giving Kobe the lead part on the L.A stage.
For Kobe Bryant, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
- Eric May
Comment now »LA Lakers Squeak By Elderly San Antonio Spurs in Game 4
Published by booge on May 28th, 2008 | Tagged lakers vs spurs
The younger team barely beat the old guys. After a late collapse, the Lakers held on to beat the Spurs to go up 3-1 and put a stranglehold on the series. Any hopes of a repeat for the Spurs were thwarted by the determined Lakers, who never trailed in the game. A late rally, some bad free throw shooting by Poo Gasol and clock management by the MVP, put the Lakers in an unlikely situation with 2 seconds left. Barry caught the ball and threw up a desperation three pointer after Fisher jumped into him. Luckily Barry brushed him aside hoping to gain a better look. Best no call I have seen all year. Game. Series. Match. Finals here we come! Boston or Detroit, whichever, its Purple and Gold all the way!
Of course I wanted the Lakers to win Game 4, but even more so because I will be attending game 5. I knew if we won tonight that I would be able to witness the Lakers close the Spurs out, win the conference championship and celebrate a trip to the NBA finals for the first time since 2004.
On a side note, Lakers-fan.com has only been around for about two weeks now, and has gained some popular recognition in thanks to all you Machine Fans. Lakers-fan.com so far has produced two video blogs of Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic, and everyone seems to love them, including an NBA blogger on Yahoo Sports, J.E. Skeets. There will be more to come and hoping to make Machine videos mixed with other players on a consistent basis.
The Machine sure looked bad tonight except for the unlikely three-pointer with a foul. But hey, Machine always come back strong, lots of gas. So I’m not worried. I am hoping he hits the game winner next game and can actually live up to the wicked nick name Stu Lantz accidentally and jokingly blurted out one game and never again, but continued to live on through his partner Joel Meyers and … the Machine of course.
See ya June 1st at the NBA Finals. Crowd will be PUMP IT UP!
- Garrett Lynn (garrettlynn@yahoo.com)
2 Comments »Lakers vs Spurs Game 4 - Did Refs Call It Right?
Published by booge on May 28th, 2008 | Tagged lakers vs spurs
To answer the question…YES! For those that missed the drama in Game 4 in the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs, a 7 point lead for the Lakers with under a minute left ended with only a 2 point victory for the Lakers, with a questionable call.
With 2 seconds left, The Spurs inbounded the ball from half-court to find Brent Barry (who had been the hot hand all game with a career playoff high of 23 points), who went on to pump fake the three to get Derek Fisher in the air. Barry then went on to dribble around Fish and try to find the open shot while being “bumped” by Derek Fisher. Barry then went on to throw up a prayer, but came nowhere near the rim to end the game.
Although the initial reaction from The Spurs and commentators was that there was a big controversial “no call” to end the game that would be the cause for much discussion for the next couple of days; however the “no call” was the right call. Even The Spurs themselves admit that the call was the right call, and that you can’t have the refs make that call to determine the game.
The entire game, The Spurs had been getting their home court calls putting both Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom in early foul trouble. The Lakers were getting no calls and were fighting through the frustration to continue leading in scoring throughout the entire game.
There was in fact a real “no call” with 4 seconds left in the game, when Derek Fisher missed a shot with 2 seconds left on the shot clock and the ball ended up going out off the Spurs. The refs said that the ball did not touch the rim, when indeed the replay shows that it does, which would have given The Lakers a full shot clock with 4 seconds left. So in the end, karma played out.
With a 3-1 lead in the series and heading back to LA for Game 5, The Lakers are in prime position to return to the NBA Finals with one more win. You can be sure that The Spurs will come out fighting, but if The Lakers keep their composure, focus on their strengths, and play the classic Lakers basketball we saw at the end of the regular season, we should have no problem closing out this series.
1 Comment »