The beer in question is New England Brewing Company's Gandhi-Bot Double India Pale Ale. Wow, it is a hoppy beer. The can (I love beer in cans) states that it comes in at 85 IBU, but it's a world-class hop bomb to be sure. Lots of piney notes in the nose and it smacks you with dry bitterness in the mouth (who doesn't like getting smacked with bitterness in the mouth). The smell is dank, but the bitterness isn't exactly my bag. I tend to prefer sweeter DIPAs like DogFish Head's 90-minute IPA. At 8.8% ABV, it packs a punch as well, although there is really no noticeable alcohol burn.
There was oodles of hype for this beer on BeerAdvocate, and discussions abounded like this one . So I had to go out and get myself a four-pack when I had the chance. It's good, and worth the buy, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to get it again. However, it does pair real nicely with some NBA, as you can savor one for a long time - at least one half. And that's the real point of this post - THE PLAYOFFS
As I say in the title, this post is long overdue. I was too caught up in the first round to even write about it, but now that it's over I've got some thoughts.
Thought 1:
As always I'll start with the Lakers. They proved to be as schizophrenic as they had been all season, and struggled with the Thunder's athleticism. However, ultimately there's just too much talent on that squad and on the bench (mostly the elevated chair close to the scorer's table) to lose in the first round.
I think the moment that best exemplified the Lakers' true depth was Pau Gasol's tip-in of Kobe's last-second shot in Game 6. Everyone expected that shot to be the last of the game, but Pau - who has superstar talent on his own - was the only one wide awake and he deftly tipped it back in. That bucket caused a sigh of relief across Lakerland, and sent Los Angeles back home to deal with a familiar foe - The Utah Jazz.
Thought 2:
Jerry Sloan is the best coach in the playoffs. The Jazz are rolling even without two of their best players (Memo Okur and AK47), and Deron Williams is proving why he's the best point guard in the playoffs (leading the postseason in assists). Yet for some reason, I'm not afraid as a Lakers fan.
Perhaps it's because Phil Jackson is the second best coach in the playoffs, perhaps its because Derek Fisher has owned D-Will defensively in the playoffs, or perhaps its because LA has home-court advantage and the Jazz only do well with home-court calls (nobody abuses bodies down low like Carlos Boozer, and nobody gets away with it more often). Lakers in 6.
Thought 3:
I hate LeBron James. Seriously. I hate him. I think I may submit a posting to my friends over at The Puppy Kicker about this clown. I've never seen a player milk an injury like LeBron does. Give me a break, I'm not saying he didn't hurt it in Game 5 against the Bulls, but there's no way he was still bothered. The list goes on why he's miserable, but I'll save that rant for later.
Thought 4:
The Spurs are better than we all thought (except Skip Bayless, who picks them every year), and the Hawks are as bad as we thought. The Spurs are self-explanatory, and well, so are the Hawks. This Game 7 (which at the time of this post Atlanta is leading by 20 with 4:27 left in the game) should just be called "The Game to Determine Who Will Lose to the Orlando Magic in Round 2." Seriously, if the ATL can't put away the Bucks without their best center, how will they stop Dwight Howard and his co-stars in Orlando? They won't. No way.
Thought 5:
The East still sucks. The Celtics, Magic and Cavaliers all have a great advantage playing in the East. Not only do they benefit from the regular-season gift of playing the Nets four times (although not exactly a gift for the Celtics, who lost to them in Boston), but they start the first round with essentially a warm-up against the likes of the Dwayne Wades, the Larry Browns, and the Derrick Roses. Stop one player (or coach) and advance. Out of all the teams to benefit from this soft-toss opening round, I expect the Magic to make the most of it, as they had the most time off thanks to this embarrassingly bad Hawks-Bucks series. Health is key to the playoffs, and Orlando has had plenty of time to rest and heal up any bumps or bruises.
Final Thought
The Celtics will beat the Cavaliers. Shockingly enough, they are better coached - although my retarded cat could outcoach Mike Brown. But I bet that the deciding factor will be when the series gets tight, the Cavs will turn into the LeBron Jameses, with every player in red turning to their star to bail them out. Nobody is better at locking down a single player than the Celts in the playoffs (see: 2008 NBA Finals), and it's going to cost them. Celtics in 6.
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