Like to Skip Lecture? Easiest Classes This Semester, Part III
(The semester is now closer than ever, and you’re probably scrambling around Telebears these last few weeks, filling up holes in your schedules with classes you probably will end up hating. Well, no worries. We’ll be happy to provide you with teachers who will be pushover…push you to your limits. Of your alarm clocks. If you’re just looking for classes to end your time at Berkeley on the right note or start it off without a damper, this might be your list. You’ll be sleeping every night comfortably taking this schedule. Your dreams will be endless. And you will be dousing yourself in alcohol every Saturday night. Ain’t that the life?
There are obvious courses you can cruise-control through (Physics 10, Astro 10, anything with a 10), so let’s find some more unlikely candidates. This is a five part series in no particular order. Classes for your snooze button after the jump. All ratings from Rate My Professors…)
Bill Berry, Earth Science 8 (Geologic Record of Climate Change),
Earth Science 185 (Marine Geobiology),
Environmental Sciences 10 (Intro to Enviro. Sciences)
(Easiness: 4.7): “very easy class, your grade’s basically dependent on a group project and take-home tests, plus it’s important to know about global warming and climate change… great lecturer and makes everything really clear and can answer any question on the material you have…No textbook, no reader, no online notes, only a few line on the board at every lecture, but he could really talk for the entire time with great enthusiasm!”
The Sixth Man Can Sure Lay Up
[youtube K3ldfaqzMOM]
Monta Ellis’s aggression might have disappeared as the playoff run progressed this past June, but it seems just like Mikael Pietrus, he too knows what it means to get down, get low, get hyphy. At least that’s what I think he was doing.
Monta Ellis Dancing [YouTube]
Want to Feel As Stress-Free As Possible? Easiest Classes This Semester, Part II
The semester is now closer than ever, and you’re probably scrambling around Telebears these last few weeks, filling up holes in your schedules with classes you probably will end up hating. Well, no worries. We’ll be happy to provide you with teachers who will be pushover…push you to your limits. Of your alarm clocks. If you’re just looking for classes to end your time at Berkeley on the right note or start it off without a damper, this might be your list. You’ll be sleeping every night comfortably taking this schedule. Your dreams will be endless. And you will be dousing yourself in alcohol every Saturday night. Ain’t that the life?
There are obvious courses you can cruise-control through (Physics 10, Astro 10, anything with a 10), so let’s mix in some more unlikely candidates. This is a five part series in no particular order. Classes for your snooze button after the jump. All ratings from Rate My Professors…available discounted textbooks for classes pictured or linked)
Joshua Bloom, Astro 10 (the other Astro 10), Intro to General Astronomy
(Easiness 4.4): “Very nice professor.. pay attention in lectures.. read a bit.. easy tests.. pretty easy A…The tests were not too hard, but you were allowed a notecard…his lectures are not boring because he is funny and does silly things to keep you awake in the morning.”
Running Out of Options? Easiest Classes This Semester, Part I
(The semester is now closer than ever, and you’re probably scrambling around Telebears these last few weeks, filling up holes in your schedules with classes you probably will end up hating. Well, no worries. We’ll be happy to provide you with teachers who will be pushover…push you to your limits. Of your alarm clocks. If you’re just looking for classes to end your time at Berkeley on the right note or start it off without a damper, this might be your list. You’ll be sleeping every night comfortably taking this schedule. Your dreams will be endless. And you will be dousing yourself in alcohol every Saturday night. Ain’t that the life?
There are obvious courses you can cruise-control through (Physics 10, Astro 10, anything with a 10), so let’s find some more unlikely candidates. This is a five part series in no particular order. Classes for your snooze button after the jump. All ratings from Rate My Professors…)
Ugo Nwokeji, African American Studies 4A, Africa: History and Culture
(Easiness: 4.2 out of 5.0): “His tests are straightforward and easy, and he tells you everything he expects you to know…once he started making outlines on the board his lectures got a little easier to follow…very easy as long as you do the work and reading. not much studying needed for the exams.”
No Breaks for the Rich–Golden State’s Summer, Part II
While the Warriors didn’t land Garnett, they were busy making other moves.
[youtube 3LY3E6tSDUg]
Clearly with this punctuation mark from last year’s playoffs, Jason Richardson didn’t seem to be ready to leave Golden State anytime soon. As most Warriors fans know by now, Chris Mullin thought otherwise. On Draft Night, the GM dealt Richardson for the Bobcats #8 pick, which turned out to be North Carolina’s Brendan Wright.
Some old-time Warriors fans feel as raw as Richardson did about the trade. He had been with the club all throughout its struggling years. Davis and Richardson had emerged in the late regular season as a lethal one-two combo. So why give him away for a draft pick with braces that won’t be developed until Nelson is gone? Read on for our mind-blowing analysis of the situation, along with some excellent analysis of Mickael Pietrus’s moves. (From the Blowtorch)
Destiny Was Just A Dropped Call Away–Golden State’s Summer, Part I
It’s been a pretty quiet summer in the offseason–you know, other than that referee taking away Game 3 from the Suns, and fixing about a thousand other games as far as we know. But there’s also been some hullabaloo over at NBA Nation’s favorite story in the Bay Area. The Warriors have been busy trying to make some noise to push their upside even higher. Once in awhile they succeed. And other times…
Although nothing is concrete, a deal was in place to land KG and his fantastic suits. In fact, it’s likely Garnett would already be here if there hadn’t been complications. And by complications, I mean “bad cell phone carriers”. We wish this was a joke. It would make this story less sad. You can find that story on the other side. (Image from Wagonized)
Get Off the Bandwagon, America (Utah 100, Golden State 87)
Well, we figured it’d happen tonight. It’s kind of strange how close the Warriors came–Golden State still had a chance to win this game, but the same thing that got them through Dallas doomed them against Utah–bad looking 3s in the final few minutes, combined with fatigued turnovers and a much fresher Jazz team, and Utah was able to pull away in the final minutes. Led by the veteran Derek Fisher (who seriously looks like the star of these playoffs now that Davis is gone), Utah will be a very difficult foe for either Phoenix or San Antonio; we expect a tough slugfest to decide the Western champion.
Massive hats off to the Golden State Warriors for a wild ride, but rebounding and 2nd chance opportunities doomed them–the inability to hustle for the loose balls cost them deeply, as Paul Millsap, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, and Mehmet Okur combined for 51 boards in the deciding game. Baron Davis finished with a 21-8-6, but Fisher hounded him on several key possessions down the stretch; on the other side, the experienced Fisher took over the ball handling reins from the struggling Deron Williams (almost a non-factor in Game 5) and guided them on the crucial plays to help pull Utah away.
We’ll write a more detailed summary of the Utah-Golden State series on your editor’s sports blog, but if you want the layman’s description, it was a bad matchup for the Warriors. The physical style of Utah inevitably wore down Golden State, forcing them to take more jumpers instead of relying more on the smooth passing to open shots that helped them take four from Dallas. There are plenty of other factors to consider, but that’s the big one. Davis’s inability to cut into the lanes late kept the Warriors from running their usual offense, and everyone suffered as a result.
So the NBA Playoffs again return to a place for basketball purists, as many of the general American sports fans return to baseball or their insatiable wait for football. Sigh. What can you do.
Jazz Close Out Warriors, Advance to Western Conference Finals [NBA]
(Image from Yahoo/AP)
Backs Against the Wall
Barring an amazing scoring outburst by the fatigued Warriors, the run ends tonight for this amazing Golden State team. Stephen Jackson has been playing on auto-pilot for all but a quarter and a half of this series, and Davis looks worn down. Deron Williams on the other hand, is blossoming before our eyes and Carlos Boozer could probably throw down a 40-20 if he really threw his head into it. Throw in the veteran Derek Fisher and you have a team ready to give San Antonio or Phoenix fits in the Western Conference Finals.
If the Warriors pulled off a miracle and won this series, they’ll be swept in the next round. Even if they do manage to squeak out a win, we’re not optimistic about a victory in Game 6 with that disturbingly now-average crowd at Oracle. But on the bright side, our fans are not ignorant boors.
 Jackson and Richardson both said Thursday that they had been subjected to racial slurs from the predominantly white crowd of 19,911 during Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Neither player would repeat what specific insults were used, but Jackson said they included a six-letter word.
“That was something new,” Richardson said. “It shocked all of us. We weren’t expecting that. I mean, (Jazz fans) were trying to get into our heads any way they can, but I couldn’t believe anybody would stoop that low. It’s nonsense.”
No Warriors mentioned any such problems after the game on Wednesday. The topic came out only when Jackson was asked Thursday about the difference between playing at Oracle Arena versus Salt Lake City.
“Well, we’re not hearing racial slurs, we’re not hearing people wishing for me to go to jail,” Jackson said. “That’s the difference for me. I’m loved here in Oakland. I’m John Gotti in Utah.”
See what happens Chris Cohan? Raise the ticket prices, your rabid diehard fans who are generally lower/middle class can’t afford their money, you get less noise, less enthusiasm. There might be plenty of Mormon morons, but at least they can afford to get into the game. We can’t wait until you raise ticket prices for the regular season so trendy fans can start showing up. It’ll be great to go 30-52 again. Wooo.
Players shocked after ‘racial slurs’ [Inside Bay Area]
(Image from AOL Sports)
Carlos Boozer Doesn’t Believe (Utah 115, Golden State 101)
We all felt this collapse would be coming. Lots of missed, quick jumpers, only sporadic slashing to the hoop, plenty of great interior defense from Utah to contest every layup, a general tightness that we hadn’t seen from Golden State before with every jumper they took–the incoming barrage seemed inevitable. The Utah Jazz rolled past the Warriors with a 40 point 4th quarter to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals and will in all likelihood close matters in Game 5.
Why do we think Golden State is done? To be honest, the team looked gassed for the first time in the series, especially Davis and Richardson, who were quiet most of the night and really never found the point to pick it up, settling for plenty of long jumpers and 3s. Their frustration fouls against Fisher and Okur might end up costing them Game 5 with suspensions looming from the league office, most likely for Davis for his clear cheap shot in Fisher. The rest of the team seemed to follow their lackadaisical attitude, settling for the long quick jumper that immediately became a rebound, and then a layup at the other end.
On the flip side, no one has been able to stop Carlos Boozer. He could score 50 in the next game and we wouldn’t be surprised–Golden State’s weakness has always been defending the low post, and with the general centers buried in the bench and Nellie refusing to compromise the team’s playing style, they’re not likely to see action Tuesday night. Also more physical play by the Jazz sent the Warriors sprawling–they slowed the pace down, ran their set offense, then made Deron Williams drive to the hoop or pound the ball into Boozer, forcing a double team, kicking out to the open man, or running pick and roll sets. That’s fundamental Sloan basketball. Respectful and utterly boring. How does Jazz-Spurs sound to you?
Perhaps the bigger thing is for the first time, the Warriors played as if this was a must-win. That never was the case earlier in this playoffs–for their first nine games the Bay Area darlings just romped through Dallas and Utah playing their exciting Nellie-ball. But it’s a symptom of Nellie-ball that when the jumpers don’t fall, the team goes down. And that’s what happened last night. And we expect it to happen at least once in the next three games, which will be the end. The odds are very long for them.
That hasn’t stopped them before though. Game 5 is Tuesday night.
Edit: One thing I noticed was how quiet the crowd was in Game 4. Bill Simmons did too and found out the reason why from one of his emailers:Â
“Heard conflicting reports on the Oakland crowd last night, but just from watching Game 4 on TV, the crowd paled in comparison to the crowds from the Dallas series, which made me wonder if the “renaissance” of Warriors basketball had inevitably caused the stands to be filled by bandwagon fans and rich a-holes who always end up ruining these sorts of things because they don’t care who wins or know how to affect the games … they just want to be there because it’s the place to be. I hate when this happens. Anyway, Will from Oakland sent me an interesting e-mail:
“I have been a Warriors fan since age 3 and attended every home playoff game this year at different locations — Warrior fans in the first round were worthy of the praise bestowed upon them by the media (you included). Last night, I was disgusted to be at the Oracle. The Dallas series was packed with REAL fans, a raucous arena full of people who had really been waiting 15 years. Once we upset the Mavericks though, we became obscenely trendy. Now, rich suburban families who couldn’t name half our roster decided it would be fun to take the family to a game, and prices went up to $250 a seat for the lower bowl. Goodbye real fans, hello normal NBA crowd. The arena was subpar in the Game 3 win, but was absolutely SILENT in Game 4. I got in fights with fans around me after screaming at them to make noise. It’s a sad day for Bay Area basketball. The fans get credit for the wins, we deserve the blame for this loss.””
Boozer Lifts Jazz to Game 4 Victory [NBA]
(Image from Yahoo/AP)
Stand and Fight (Game 4, Utah at Golden State)
Forty-eight minutes are all that stand between the Golden State Warriors making this series a best-of-3. Forty-eight more minutes of long, grueling basketball. We don’t believe that this will be domination like Game 3 was. Deron Williams isn’t going to pick up too many fouls early, Andrei Kirilenko will not back down after getting posterized, and Carlos Boozer should pick up his game. It’s going to be a much closer affair, and we’re fairly certain Stephen Jackson has to stop clanking outside shots for the Warriors to pull through. The role players should be solid
If it stays close at the end though, Baron Davis needs to pull them home. He’s been playing great all playoffs long, and we’re worried that the wheels might fall off at some point. However, he got plenty of rest in the Game 3 blowout, so we think he should be fine tonight. We’ll see if Davis can maintain the brilliance tonight…and make this 2-2. Basketball fans are rooting for you B-Diddy!
(Image from Yahoo/AP)
