Tweet Tweet

For those of you that don't know a Tweet is a micro-blog post on the Twitter social network site. Twitter allows its users to send short, text-message style notes to a mass audience and is rising in popularity among athletes, politicians and celebrities. It seems as if everyone has one now, including ME. This week two players made news with their half-time Tweets. Last Sunday, Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva became an overnight Web celebrity after he posted a note, called a "tweet", to his Twitter feed during halftime of his game against Boston.

"I stirred something up," Villanueva said after Milwaukee's 96-84 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. "I'm a trend setter, I guess."

Villanueva wrote that he had to step it up in the second half. He did, and the Bucks won. But coach Scott Skiles was annoyed, saying it gave the impression that Villanueva wasn't focused. Skiles said Villanueva would not be fined for the incident but said it was a "no-brainer" that players shouldn't be doing such things from the locker room any more.

Suns center Shaquille O'Neal posted a note on his Twitter feed before a home game against Washington on Saturday night, suggesting he planned to post to the popular social networking Web site during halftime.

And sure enough, a brief message was posted on Shaq's feed before the third quarter. So my next question is where is all this Twitter going? Will people just use it for silly stuff, or will coaches and players get smart and receive half-time adjustments courtesy of a friendly Tweet or

"Shhhhhhh," it read.

It was the same message O'Neal delivered when asked about his Twitter plans before the game. When told Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry already knew about it, O'Neal bent over, leaned against the locker-room wall and groaned loudly, saying his plans were blown.

"I was going to do it and not get in trouble, then brag about not getting in trouble," O'Neal said.

Gentry, when asked about O'Neal's plans before the game, said he didn't care.

"As long as he gets 25 (points) and 11 (rebounds), he can do whatever he wants. He can Twitter, Facebook, MySpace," said Gentry, who also has a Twitter account set up by his daughter. So now here is my question...will this new technology be embraced or abused? I think it would be great to get in game adjustments from Twitter to help your team win games. On the other hand I think it would be silly to ask where the party is during half-time or send silly I love you notes to your girlfriend when you should be focused on the game. Tweet Tweet!

The Best 2 Athletes in NJ

It seems like it was just yesterday when I was going around from school to school and team to team conducting Nike SPARQ Testing in search of NJ's best athletes and basketball players. In my travels and searches I must have tested close to 250 athletes between September and November. If you were paying attention at home I told you the two best athletes were Dexter Strickland of St. Patrick High School and Kenneth Ortiz of Science Park High School. In case you missed it here is the tale of the tape:

Dexter Strickland St. Patrick's H.S. 6'3 172
Vertical Jump 34
3/4 Court 3.15
Lane Agility 10.75
Multi-Stage 85

Kenneth Ortiz Science Park H.S. 5'11 173
Vertical Jump 33.6
3/4 Court 2.88
Lane Agility 10.41
Multi-Stage 87

Is it ironic or fate that the two best athletes will square off Monday in the State Championship for NJ? I don't think so.  We all know Dexter is headed to North Carolina next year, but as far as I know Kenneth Ortiz is still unsigned so if you're one of the hundreds of college coaches reading this you might want to step up your recruiting efforts.

Return To Mediocrity

No matter what level you play on there are only  few teams whose seasons actually matter at this point. If you're in the NBA you have a pretty good idea about your playoff chances, we are almost down to 16 teams left in the NCAA's and by now most states have already decided their State Champions. My question is this, what makes so many people think that when their season is over it's time to return to mediocrity? I understand the need for a couple of weeks of downtime, some mental escape and rest. What I don't understand is the mentality that says I'm going to repeat everything that contributed to my shortcomings this past season. I'm physically weak and everyone says I need to weight train, but I'm relaxing before AAU Practice. I'm a great shooter but my handle is suspect, so what do I do...join a league where they play no defense and brag about how I scored a bunch of points. Yes, great but what about improving your ball-handling? As a coach my team was constantly wearing down in the second half so I am going to put them in a couple of leagues this spring and summer and hope for the best. Another coach had trouble scoring in tight games because the other team scouted him well and shut down his or her offensive sets. Do you think said coach will work on some new things for next year or will they be running the flex for the 20th year in a row only to be stifled by and athletic team that switches and helps well? College Coaches what are you going to do different to improve your tournament chances? You did that last year, your job is on the line... Why do we return to what's comfortable? Parents you dropped your kids off at camp hoping that they would either get better, or just get out of your hair. Neither strategy worked now what....I'm not telling you what to do, all I'm saying is don't return to mediocrity.