NFL Swampcrash 2014 WEEK SIXTEEN (SLIGHTLY EARLY DEADLINE)

[degenerasian]

GG Pruitt! Beat me like you were supposed to.

Need to improve my 65 average next season to have any hope of contending. Time to work on my mock draft.

[tennbengal]

Goddamn it.

[rass]

Goddamn it.

Hit the showers kid.

[tennbengal]

Capper to a shitty week.

[travzilla]

Notre Dame a 1? I give up.

The only reason I didn't go with it was because I wasn't 100% sure if they joined a conference or not. Thought it was going to be a low score if correct.

Same here, I thought they joined a conference, and figured if they did, it would be a good conference.

Good game Syb.
Notre Dame was literally the only school I could name that I was sure wasn't in a conference, let alone add in a superbowl QB qualifier.
Totally mixed up Portgual and Belgium in my head on the world cup question.

[BSF21]

Q4 - Name any laundry detergent brand with more than $50 million of product sold in the U.S. in 2014 (10)
NOTE: Different versions of the same brand (i.e. Woolite and Woolite Plus) will be grouped into one answer

CORRECT ANSWERS
Dreft (1) - Rass
Era (1) - Diamond
Wisk (1) - Jerloma
All (4) - AB, Carwash, DC, TT
Purex (4) - Bronto, Pruitt, Rush, Wlulax
Gain (5) - Bengal, Bensell, Cerrano, Giff, Ljam
Tide (8) - BFJ, Cheddah, Degen, Junkyard, Keg, Shirley, SL, Sybian

INCORRECT ANSWERS (13)
Cheer - Alex, Brian, BSF, Trav
Clorox - PDX
Bold - Sabo
Ecos - Sancarlos

LEFTOVERS
Arm & Hammer
Xtra
Sun

I fucking hate this game. I put down arm and hammer. Then thought "nah, too obscure, it'll be wrong." So I switched to Purex (because it's typically what I buy), and thought "eh, it's kinda bargain brand, I've never seen it advertised.". So I switched again. To Cheer.

[DC47]

This was a fun one Ryan. Cheddah, you had me on the ropes.

I'm still baffled as to how more people would answer Olowokandi than Abdul-Jabbar or Walton. I suppose this is my punishment for completely whiffing on Cazzie Russell, despite living near his shrine. Fortunately my worship of another crush -- the elegant Evonne Goolagong -- was rewarded today, as it so sadly was not in my teen years.

[Rush2112]

I fucking hate this game. I put down arm and hammer. Then thought "nah, too obscure, it'll be wrong." So I switched to Purex (because it's typically what I buy), and thought "eh, it's kinda bargain brand, I've never seen it advertised.". So I switched again. To Cheer.

I've never heard of "Dreft" and thought I was the only Purex guy **fist bump**

[The Sybian]

This was a fun one Ryan. Cheddah, you had me on the ropes.

I'm still baffled as to how more people would answer Olowokandi than Abdul-Jabbar or Walton. I suppose this is my punishment for completely whiffing on Cazzie Russell, despite living near his shrine. Fortunately my worship of another crush -- the elegant Evonne Goolagong -- was rewarded today, as it so sadly was not in my teen years.

If it makes you feel better, the years have not been kind.

[Pruitt]

GG Pruitt! Beat me like you were supposed to.

Need to improve my 65 average next season to have any hope of contending. Time to work on my mock draft.

The division is mine!!!

Proud of saying Scream 2.

[TT2.0]

after week 11 i was 2-8 & almost mathmatically eliminated. now im 7-8 & live for a wildcard berth if things break right. crazy game and season. every game has been a playoff game. you dont wanna play me right now. im on fire! if i finish .500 im going to be very proud of this season. anybody want to look at the schedule and figure out the plqyoff scenarios?

[A_B]

How did I miss Staubach?

Did he not win a Super Bowl?

Or is Navy now in one of the big five conference?

Last I checked, no QB from Staubach State ever won a Super Bowl.

Speaking of Staubach, what happened to that guy?

I believe he's made millions. Like hundreds of millions in Real estate.

[DC47]

This was a fun one Ryan. Cheddah, you had me on the ropes.

I'm still baffled as to how more people would answer Olowokandi than Abdul-Jabbar or Walton. I suppose this is my punishment for completely whiffing on Cazzie Russell, despite living near his shrine. Fortunately my worship of another crush -- the elegant Evonne Goolagong -- was rewarded today, as it so sadly was not in my teen years.

If it makes you feel better, the years have not been kind.

They never are from a conventional looks perspective. And when you look like she did, there is no way to look better. So too with health.

Evonne Goolagong played tennis with grace and verve. Not to mention a one-handed backhand. I hope that age has brought her only more of the same, throughout her life.

[EdRomero]

Q7 - FROM ROMERO - Name any NBA #1 overall pick from the last 50 drafts who played for the Lakers or the Celtics at any point in their career (12)

LEFTOVERS
Jim Barnes
Fred Hetzel
Cazzie Russell

Damn. When I was submitting this question, I was looking forward to DC getting a one pointer with one of these guys and then telling us how he remembers how the player had a wonderful set shot.

[sancarlos]

As usual, I overthought a few of them. Kareem? James Worthy? Naw... I'll get a 1-pointer with Kwame Brown! Or not. And, The Longest Yard wasn't enough of a box office hit? And, especially, fuck Martina Hingis. She is 12 points and Maria Sharapova is 1? Good game, SL.

[Jerloma]

Red letter week for me. I knew I liked these questions. Re: Magic...I'm guessing like me that most people weren't sure which one (Bird,Magic) was drafted 1. I feel like I should know that but just couldn't be positive.

[Shirley]

Good game, TT. I really shit the bed this week. For some reason, I pictured Olajuwon in a Celtics jersey at the end of his career. It was the Raptors.

That doesn't explain why I missed a bunch of other questions though. Or why the ones I got right were invariably the most popular.

Why did you all choose Hingis?

This game can be maddening.

But it's still damn fun. Thanks, Ryan!

[DC47]

Q7 - FROM ROMERO - Name any NBA #1 overall pick from the last 50 drafts who played for the Lakers or the Celtics at any point in their career (12)
LEFTOVERS
Jim Barnes
Fred Hetzel
Cazzie Russell

Damn. When I was submitting this question, I was looking forward to DC getting a one pointer with one of these guys and then telling us how he remembers how the player had a wonderful set shot.

Oh man, I certainly shot a Josh Smith-ian air ball on a wide-open one pointer.

As penance, last night I lit a candle and prostrated myself in apology on the concrete outside The House That Cazzie Built. There was a flutter of light, kind of like a sleek wing man slashing to the hoop, and then some heavenly music played on instruments no human hand has yet touched. I felt a strong, ineffable sense of forgiveness. Also, cold. Thank you, Cazzie.

It is always and everywhere a mistake for me to think about Swampcrash questions from the present backwards. My sole competitive advantage is age. I should instinctively start with the oldest possible time frame for an answer. It should be obvious to me by now that no one here listened on a transistor radio tucked under the pillow as the brilliant artist known as Cazzie poured in 35 seemingly effortless points to crush Purdue one cold winter night before they even had smartphones. But apparently many here recall the eminently forgettable, not to mention unspellable, Michael Olokawondi. I have no idea how this is possible, but it is a fact that I should engrain in what is left of my fragile memory.

[howard]

I was a big Cazzie Russell fan. But I dug this up, and let it tickle a very dim memory of watching this game on tv when I was 8yo. video link:
http://player.mashpedia.com/player.php?q=4EZDm5Y6ZzY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[DC47]

Ah, that was a black moment in history. Cazzie was great, as usual, but goddamn Gail Goodrich played the game of his life.

Perhaps you can clear something up for me. Why did Cazzie fail to become an NBA superstar?

When he came out of Michigan he seemed -- to my pre-pubescent basketball expert eyes -- to have everything it took to become the next Elgin Baylor. As I recall, he was an instant hit on the Knicks. And then went downhill from there. He was good. But never great.

I know he broke an ankle early in his pro career. And he had to compete with Bill Bradley for playing time at small forward. And that Red Holzman was a defensive coach -- not Cazzie's specialty. And that he was traded to a mediocre Warriors team. Is some combination of these things the reason why Cazzie didn't ever break through? Or is there something I'm missing?

[howard]

Yeah, I pretty much became a Gail Goodrich fan for life that day. I don't know why Russell wasn't more successful. I remember him being very streaky on those Warriors teams, and on the Lakers. Didn't rebound, didn't play D, I guess. But his last year in Oakland he averaged 20 (to Rick Barry's 25) and they were decent, I'll ask my SF boys if they remember why the Dubs let him go.

The compensation for his leaving via free agency was the draft pick that became Robert Parrish.

(Whom later was sent with a #1 to Boston, for a pair of #1s. Warriors turned their picks into Rickey Brown (who? is the proper response) and Joe Baby Carroll; the Celts theirs into Kevin McHale. It don't get worse than that transaction.)

[DC47]

Could be that Rick Barry, the ultimate small forward, made Cazzie Russell expendable in SF.

I think the Knicks got Jerry Lucas for Russell. Lucas was past his prime and Parrish was an unknown rookie from some obscure Louisiana college (per fading memory). But that means Russell was moved for two Hall of Fame players. Not many are in that category.

[howard]

Could be that Rick Barry, the ultimate small forward, made Cazzie Russell expendable in SF.

Could be, but I wouldn't bet on that. Barry handled the ball a lot, was the ultimate point-forward (until Bron-Bron I guess) despite Butch Beard and Jeff Mullins to run the point. Russell played 31mpg his last season in Oakland, probably at guard, but who knows, maybe Barry complained to Attles that Russell was taking too many shots? Question submitted to my message board of homies.

Centenary College, Shreveport, LA. And I only know that from Parish. Currently 501 undergraduates, according to the wiki. My small town middle school was bigger than that.

[DC47]

Between Barry and Russell, that's a lot of balls launched from the wing. Apart from a certain play-off game, Barry was an unstoppable (by his own coach) gunner. As I recall, Jeff Mullins was more of an outside shooter than playmaker as well. Nate Thurmond was probably the old, gimpy version by then. So nobody was giving him the ball, he was just rebounding it and leaning on Kareem, Unseld, Lanier, The Big E and the like.

The Pistons couldn't win a thing back then, even with Bing and Lanier over-lapping for awhile. But I sure loved the late 60s through early 70s NBA. I was just a kid, so a lot of the venal stuff about pro sports went right past me. And of course, so much more was hidden back then. So it was kind of a pure experience -- just great players playing great ball. Or so it seemed, because the national networks didn't put the crappy teams on TV on the weekend.

[DC47]

I searched for video of Cazzie Russell playing ball, and found nothing interesting. But I did find this. Cazzie, Connie Hawkins, Walt Bellamy, Nate Thurmond, Pete Maravich. A great blast from the past.

And at the very end, a cameo appearance from my favorite player of the 70s: guard John 'Crash' Mengelt of the Pistons and later the Bulls. He didn't start many games, but he must have been the perennial league-leader in collisions and floor burns.

[EdRomero]

This is what I was looking for. Thanks DC and Howard.

Also, the 30 for 30 on the Knicks had a little bit about Cazzie and Bill Bradley. I don't remember the details well, but Bradley was the highly touted star and Russell wasn't happy when he was benched for him.

[howard]

I'll ask my SF boys if they remember why the Dubs let him go.

here's a response:

marvfl2009
Today at 12:10 PM

Not enough basketball's to go around & likely not enough $$$. Warriors had Rick Barry, Jeff Mullins & drafted Keith Wilkes ( I think he was still Keith then) and Phil Smith. Cazzie could fill it up but that was about it. He was a great shooter, he made his living with jumpers from the top of the key and the baseline; I don't think he slashed to the basket and drew fouls and pretty his sure his next assist will be his first.

Met him once and he was good guy, happy to be recognized on the streets of SF but probably in retrospect not exactly thrilled that it was in line with us as we were going to see "Fritz the Cat" at a theater on Market Street. 2nd best NBA sighting in that era--best was Wes Unseld at pizza place on Geary out in the avenues (no way and NBA player ends up out there these days) during NBA finals. Good thing there was no social media then.

I'm sleep to Brooklyn

[DC47]

Drafting Keith/Jamal/but mostly Silk Wilkes plus Phil Smith has to be one of the best drafts in NBA history. And they played the same position as Cazzie Russell and Rick Barry. As I recall, it was an old team that had hit its peak and couldn't get over the top. So letting Cazzie go was an obvious move. Nate and Clyde Lee were also out the door. The next year they won it all with a much younger, deeper team. And of course, peak Rick Being Rick.

This was probably the year I watched the most NBA games, and since the Pistons were predictably mediocre, the Warriors became my team. They were something to see. Bad things followed, but this was an amazing season.

The Cazzie sighting in SF is a funny story. I wonder if he discusses 'Fritz the Cat' from the pulpit of his ministry in Georgia (last I heard).

[DC47]

Also, the 30 for 30 on the Knicks had a little bit about Cazzie and Bill Bradley. I don't remember the details well, but Bradley was the highly touted star and Russell wasn't happy when he was benched for him.

I'll look for that show. No one likes to get benched; for the first time in Cazzie's case. And certainly not for the new guy. But there were also the issues of Bradley making more money and being more white. There was probably never a better candidate for a Great White Hope in basketball than a superstar shooter who had been at Princeton and Oxford. There must have been a lot of tension over this in NYC in the late 60s. There would have been more, but the Knicks started winning. And Bradley easily changed from the dominant shooter he was in college to a team-first passing wing man. Hard to hate a guy who does that.

My take on how it went down was that Russell had been slowed by a broken ankle at some point and Bradley was a perfect fit to the style that Red Holzman was creating with the Knicks. Bradley was never a high scorer in the NBA. But something must have been working right for him, because great team success followed; the Pistons foolishly handing over Dave DeBusschere helped a bit too. And after he moved on from the Knicks Cazzie Russell never became a big star. So perhaps making him the sixth man was not really suppressing the Next Elgin Baylor (as I saw him).

[Shirley]

There was probably never a better candidate for a Great White Hope in basketball than a superstar shooter who had been at Princeton and Oxford.

I don't know. A mulleted redneck from small town Indiana fits pretty nicely there.

[DC47]

He's got to be high on the list. I'd go with the guy with the Princeton/Oxford pedigree as better representing the elite of Anglo-Saxon culture, and thus more pleasing to those who were unhappy with the ascendance of black players and their degenerate 'street' culture in the NBA. At least in Manhattan in the late 60s, Bradley was a big deal for a lot more than what he could do on the court.

And when Bradley came into the NBA, many expected all-star play. He was the former college player of the year. He lit up top competition in NCAA post-season tourneys -- including Cazzie Russell's Michigan team. But of course, as good as Bradley was, Bird was much better.