Comic Books - Nostalgic Links To Our Past

Comic books are one of basketball most popular forms of reading for many adults. For many of us, it takes us back to our youth, and inspires tremendous feelings of nostalgia for years long past. It's this nostalgia that basketball the love of the comic book in so many people. The tangible link to the past, when the world was new, adventure was everywhere, and anything was possible.

Comic books, without a doubt, are an integral part of the American story. Actually, when it comes right down to it, they are as American as baseball and apple pie. Everyone has heard of Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. The list goes on and on. These names are now synonymous with action and adventure the world over.

Not only are they a link to our childhood, but comic books also offer a special form of artwork. Comic books are probably some of the most interesting, creative, and colorful forms of artwork in the modern media. Entire businesses are set up to market these pamphlets of pulp dreams. Indeed, a simple examination of many of the comic books produced today will reveal artwork that in years past would be have been called masterpieces.

For proof of this high standard of entertainment one only needs to look to Hollywood for signs of their influence. Movie after movie has been produced staring our life long heroes. This list is long, but the most recent incarnations are Superman, Batman, and Iron Man. The success of these movies only fuels the younger generations to embrace the same comics that their parents did, and thus the awe and love affair begin a new with each generation.

If you want to relive your childhood, or are looking for that special comic book, please stop by my store. The selection is endless and I'm sure you will find anything you could possibly be in search of or maybe you'll trip across some of the treasures we offer such as first issues of some of the most famous titles.

For more information on comic books you may be looking for click here.

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Phoenix's Title Shot: Burned to Flames

The Phoenix Suns went all the way basketball the Conference Finals last year when few of us considered the playoff worthy. But now basketball team is under whelming to say the least. With only Nash and Marion on the active roster from a year ago, the Las Vegas projected line of victories for Phoenix has crumbled to 43. That's barely enough wins to sneak into the #8 seed. What went wrong?



The Suns won 62 games last year, the most in the NBA. However, the Suns have made many transactions since the end of last year, including Joe Johnson signing with Atlanta for fame and fortune over victories. Quentin Richardson was ousted for Kurt Thomas for a better defensive frontcourt. While I didn't like this move, it was recoverable: Boris Diaw, Jim Jackson and Raja Bell could pick up the slack. But several weeks ago, Amare Stoudemire suffered a devastating injury that will keep him out until February. The Suns title chance may have burned up right there, and won't be reborn until Stoudemire can return safely.



And it's not just the 3-month absence of Stoudemire that hurts them. Both Joe Johnson (2nd highest 3P% last year) and Quentin Richardson (led league for most 3's made last year) are gone, which will complicate Nash dishing the ball to the outside. The Suns inside and outside offense are both close to gone.
But the most troubling circumstance for Phoenix is they'll have to change how they play. This team is old all of a sudden, and small as well. 6-8 Boris Diaw will get considerable playing team at Center and SF Marion and PF Kurt Thomas have both moved up a position in the staring rotation. The Suns will have to by their time until Amare can return, because one more injury will push them out of the playoffs. When the Marlins and Angels won the World Series, all of their players had career years (or close to it) and played as a team. The following year, both teams missed the postseason entirely.



There is absolutely no chance of Phoenix duplicating last year's success, and 43 wins seem almost generous. This is still a good team, but their one year of glory is up and maybe for good with Stoudemire absent. Blowing 16-pt 4th quarter leads to teams like Dallas won't help either. They'll make the playoffs, but their impact on the West too subtle to make a difference. What's worse is San Antonio's chance at the title has lost its one obstruction.

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Hockey - Deserving of More Fans?

A couple of nights ago, my roommate and I were doing a basketball bit of late-night channel surfing....the real world? no....after-hours music videos? no....the cooking channel? definitely not....NHL hockey? Yeah, sure. Why not? But as I was thinking a little hockey was in order before bedtime, my roommate gave a resounding 'not a chance.' So, we watched something else, probably something on ESPN. But that got me to thinking - why does hockey get such a bad rap? How has hockey become a virtual non-existent in basketball minds of sports fans in this country? Remember the days during the hockey strike? No? Neither do most other Americans. But why? What is it about hockey that turns us off?

Americans are generally impatient people. We want what we want and we want it now!! That is the basic mentality here in the USA, is it not? So, one could argue that hockey may not be exciting enough for us; that it doesn't fulfill our incessant need for instant gratification. But, if you look at the typical scoring line for hockey games, you'll see that there is plenty of action. Most games have anywhere between 5 and 10 goals, sometimes more. And seeing as how the game is only 60 minutes long, goals are being scored every few minutes. Furthermore, if a game ends in a tie, they have a sudden death shootout to decide the winner. How much more action could you possibly want?

Or, could it be that we don't think hockey players are athletic enough to pull of the spectacular plays to which we have become accustomed watching basketball and football. Maybe. But if you watch hockey closely, you'll see that hockey is without a doubt one of the most action packed displays around. With 10 players flying around the rink in excess of 35-40 mph, the stick work and passing is exhilirating, while the hits are utterly bone shattering and sometimes near fatal. As a result, a fair assessment is that spectators definitely get their money's worth.

So, what is the deal? Why can't a sport that has the high-paced action of basketball and the hard hitting of football seem to gain a wide enough audience base? I really can't put my finger on it. I for one am a huge fan of hockey. Yes, most other fans sport outdated mullets, are missing some of their teeth and say things like 'hoser' and 'eh' all day long. But, the sport is exciting just the same. Maybe we Americans don't prefer hockey because of its foreign origins and the lack of a basic understanding of the rules. Whatever it may be, I think that hockey deserves more respect and credit than the sports gives it.

Nishan Wilde is VP of Sales at RobbinsSports.com, an online resource for Gym Bags, Punching Bags and Basketball Uniforms

Los Angeles Lakers - From the Down Times Until Now

You do not have to follow basketball to know who the Los Angeles Lakers are. The Lakers are one of the most well known teams on the NBA. They do hold a number of records, but throughout their history, there have been a number of bad years. Through basketball team selection and basketball the team has fought to get themselves to where they are today.

In the beginning, the Lakers faced a number of difficulties - they won some and they lost some. There were no championship titles or records won by the team - not in the early days.

Originally founded in 1946, the Lakers were known as the Detroit Lakers, as they were based out of Detroit, Michigan. Shortly later, they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. This move was a good one for them, as this is where they won their first championship game - as a matter-of-fact - they won five when they were the Minneapolis Lakers.

Finally, in 1960, the Lakers moved to their home town of Los Angeles. The first decade was a tough ride for the team, as they could not even get into the NBA finals.

The next decade did not look much brighter for the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 1970's they won a title, which was definitely better than the previous 10 years, but that was it.

In the 1980's the team started to make a turn for the better. During this decade is when Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - two of the biggest names in the NBA - played for the Lakers. Additionally, Coach Pat Riley coached the team on team-work and helped them jump over their hurdles. During this time, the Los Angeles Lakers won five additional championships, and had their highest number of wins in one given season.

Like any roller coaster, there was a down-slope coming. The 1990's proved to be an uneventful year for the Lakers. Not to say there was nothing to talk about, but compared to the 80's, nothing spectacular happened.

Finally, in the 21st century, things are really beginning to look up for the Lakers. They now have players like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, along with Coach Phil Jackson. Already, in just eight years, they have won five NBA finals.

The turn-around, of events, over the past decade, has captured the attention of many fans. The Lakers fans are not your typical fan, but are die-hard fans as they have watched their team struggle and come out of it with shining colors.

At the end of their most recent season, the Lakers held one of the highest number of records in NBA history. One of which was given to them for having the highest number of wins, ever, at over 2,900 wins.

They also hold records for the highest percentage (60%) of won games and appearing in the Finals 29 times. One fete, for them personally, to beat is the number of championship wins held by their rivals - the Boston Celtics. The Lakers are only three championship wins away, but this would be a grand accomplishment for the team.

The amount of talent that has passed through the Los Angeles Lakers is phenomenal. There have been 14 Hall of Fame players, and 4 Hall of Fame coaches, throughout their history. The combination of this talent and coaching has brought the team to where they are today.

By Matt Ryan, sponsored by StubPass. StubPass sells Los Angeles Lakers Tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets, NBA Tickets and many more tickets to your favorite events around the world.