Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome John Strickland!

With the addition of the 36-year-old former Harlem Globetrotter, the Rainmen now have a new play: the Strick and Roll.

John Strickland is definitely an asset to the Rainmen.
1) His showmanship: his no-look passes (including making binoculars out of his hands on the way back down the court), his speech to the fans after the game, and how he reacted to our cheering for him by cheering himself on with a pat on his behind;
2 His outspokenness: during one shift, he didn’t stop talking on his way past the timekeeper table, to the referee, to the opposing coach, and finally to himself in mid-court — he talked to more people during the game than Lewis did;
3) His apparent spirituality (he crosses himself twice every time he is defending);
4) His obvious high basketball IQ and leadership on the floor, directing players to where they should be to score — and they did last night, thanks to his coaching during the game.

Welcome to Halifax, Strick!

In other news:
I saw a couple of possible reasons why SirVal has moved around so much during his career: (at least one) airball 3-point attempt that was an unnecessary shot and an instance where he lost his cool, complete with shouting expletives, at being called for a foul in the paint. Greed and Anger are two sins that no athlete can show on the playing field and survive. SirVal, please use your head and just show us your talent, not your temper.

EC Suspension Watch:
I stuck around for a bit after the game to see the start of the high school game. By the way, the Rainmen should really have promoted that there was a local high school game immediately after theirs last night. More people might have stuck around. Anyway, I observed Eric greet Lewis with a big brohug and there were smiles all around. They chatted for a couple of minutes, then Eric moved on to greet some Rainmen. It struck me as a bit odd to see them so chummy, considering Lewis ended Eric’s season and must have hurt Eric’s reputation around basketball circles. Anyway, just thought I would post it.

Free Big Mac? Yeah right!:
McDonald’s will never have to make good on their 15 three-pointer Big Mac offer. Never. We were 4 for 26 last night. At that rate, the Rainmen will have to attempt 98three-pointers to score 15 of them! McDonald’s is getting great free advertising from this one. As Chris902 said last night, maybe if the Rainmen score 15 three-pointers, each of the fans should get a car.