Good to see the Bucks finally signed Yi Jianlian. I have this weird affinity for Milwaukee, I team I’ve never avidly followed situated in a city I’ve never been to, the only tactile connection I can currently cognosticate a childhood fascination with Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. I wish them well, as long as their not playing the clips.

Speaking of LA’s bastard stepchildren, anyone reading this has probably already heard about the mild blowout in re: someone in clips management insinuating or asking whether Elton may have exacerbated the likelihood of his Achilles injury by partaking in performance enhancing drugs. There was reference to it both on clipperblog and Elton’s own web domicile (apparently originally tapped from an LA Times TJ Simers column, follow the links, danielsan).

Anyway, not sure if this is typical clippers, but it’s definitely not against form. Don Sterling et al have never gone more than a step out of their way to make any player feel like an actual human being, let alone a trusted non steroid intaker. But I guess in the modern world, whatever. But actually, these days, you’d think the team would be just as hesitant to even whisper steroids than the player, unless the old skool cheap clips are rearing their ugly heads and are supremely stupid enough to float the idea just for the sake of maybe getting some money back out of EB’s contract? Ugh, in any event, let’s hope it’s the last of such hijinks for a spell.

As far as the upcoming season is concerned. I’m not of the opinion that we’re supremely screwed, only extravagantly. Any extravagant screwjob can be salvaged with spunk and good intentions and hustle and flow, a supreme, like its pizza cousin, is too powerful to overcome and you just have to hide in the bathroom popping tums until the major quakes have passed.

And now I suddenly discover that the clips signed Ruben Patterson. Hmmm. I really have no idea how to digest that. Let me discover the skill and get back to you. I guess he could help out with scoring and on the boards, but isn’t he more of a wing (scorer, slasher) than a pounder down on the blocks? And aren’t we stacked with wing players (Maggette, Ross, Mobley, et al)? Although he is known for defense (was he not the infamous “kobe stopper”?) This could be meat, it could be cake.

One certainty, we’re looking at such a different clipper team than what we perused last year, but so much still the same. That’s good and bad, maybe the stagnancy of the hangover from the watershed 05-06 season wasn’t the salve clippernation needed, after filling our tank on that wellknown modicum of mediocrity, is it possibly we’re looking at some kind of underdog now you see it now you don’t renaissance? Thank Allah we didn’t chase Maggette away, although that ship is nigh loaded and honking for clearance at the docks. Confusion reigns, Confucius cries. What can be said? It’s a living, even when it’s not.