Holiday Hoops

by Mikey Favis

6 months have passed since we last saw the Dallas Mavericks, lead by superstar and future hall of famer Dirk Nowitzki, with his team of aging, hungry veterans, beat the Miami in Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals. That was mid- June, the first week of classes had just begun and now it is almost Christmas and yet the NBA 2011-2012 regular season has yet to begin. Thanks to the lockout that commenced a few days right after the NBA draft and a few days before the opening of free-agency, the whole basketball world has been in a standstill.

Since July 1, up until the start of December, there was no NBA. There were no off-season acquisitions or transactions, nor were there any teams practicing or getting ready for the upcoming season. There was just stillness and that echoing silence that nothing NBA related was going on. Our only glimpses of NBA were the tweets and status messages about certain NBA players getting together and playing for charity and those reruns of old classic NBA games on BTV and ESPN. For a basketball-hungry country such as ours, this deprivation of the NBA was almost nightmarish. True, we had the UAAP and the NCAA and the FIBA-Asian games and the PBA but come October, and not being able to start up a fantasy league, all these other leagues could not mask that it is NBA time and yet there was no NBA. What made it worse was that the UAAP, NCAA and FIBA-Asia games finished early and there was a gap before the PBA started. To add insult to injury, there were so many close calls to reinstating the NBA when the players and officials would constantly meet and fail.

However, as if God just wanted to make it dramatic, we catch wind that the NBA is back on track and, fittingly, it will tip-off on the 25^th of December, Christmas Day. After all our waiting (I can’t say patiently because we all through fits here and there about the lockout), Santa Claus decided to give everyone the gift of NBA on Christmas. As some sort of appetizers to the much awaited NBA tip-off, capped off by the rematch of last year’s NBA finals, the NBA technically started on December 9 with the opening of free agency, and actual games begun on the 16^th with the opening of the pre-Season. Now that our appetites are all wet, we have waited long enough, let the games begin! The NBA will start on the 26^th of December (25^th in the United States) with 5 games scheduled to bring in the holidays.

            Here’s a quick summary and guide of the 5 games that open up the NBA:

Game1: “Big Apple Showdown”

            With the Celtics sweeping Carmelo Anthony and Amare almost 8 months ago, you know the Knicks, and the entire city of New York, is ready for some payback. With a new look and a new defensive mindset, the Knicks are looking to beat the aging Celtics in their rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference First round. The C’s however will try to start off, what everyone seems to be their final year to contend for the title, with a W. Can the Boston’s Big 4 match New York’s Dynamic Duo (and Spike Lee)?

Game2: Finals rematch.

            It’s the rematch of last year’s finals, with Miami squaring up against Dallas in Texas. This is sure to be a nail-biter of a game with Miami ready to comeback and prove to everyone their lost last year was a fluke by spoiling the Mavs’ Christmas and championship ring celebration. With a better cast of role players surrounding them, all eyes will be on King James, Dwade, and CB1 to see if they can finally win a championship together. On the other hand, the Mavs, toting a new lineup, are ready to defend their title with a home opener against “The 3 Kings of South Beach”.  Can Dallas and their new pieces start out 1-0 or will the trio of superstars in South Beach come in and steal Christmas?

Game3: Blockbuster Match-up!

            Last Year, the Lakers were swept by the Mavs in the Western Conference Semis and have just lost last year’s 6^th Man of the Year, Lamar Odom. Now, with some new faces mixing in with Pau and Kobe (don’t forget about Metta World Peace), the Lakers are out to show that last year was a once in a life time thing. However, they open up their season with an even more focused MVP in Derrick Rose and his Chicago Bulls, who owned the NBA’s best record last year. The Bulls are looking to regain top spot after an East Conference Finals exit in 5 games to the hands of the Heat. Can the MVP will his team against the Black Mamba?

Game4: Superman against Durantula.

            The Magic start the season with Dwight Howard as the man in the middle, but will he end the season in Florida? Despite all the trade buzz, the Orlando Magic, with a pretty much intact lineup, open up the season on the road when they face the OKC Thunder, who surprised everyone last year by making it to the Western Conference Finals. Led, by 2-time scoring champ, Kevin Durant, and wildly athletic star guard, Russel Westbrook, the Thunder open the season with high hopes and expectations. Will Russ West and Durantula be able power the Thunder against Superman?

Game5: Blake in the Bay Area.

            Christmas can’t be complete without the last year’s Rookie of the Year and Sprite Slam Dunk Champion, Blake Griffin. Blake and his new look Clippers are looking to surprise the NBA by proving to everyone they are a force to be reckoned with. With Chris Paul joining the fray, you can expect a whole lot of highlights in Clip City throughout the season but can they start off by winning the first of sixty six? They visit division rival, Golden State, led by the fantastic backcourt combo of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. With their high octane, 100mph offense, new head coach Mark Jackson is looking to lead his team against what could be, the new powerhouse in Los Angeles. Can the Blake and CP3 combo knock out the Warriors, or will the partnership of Monta and Stephen be too much to handle?

Now that all the games set, all we have to do is countdown to December 26 and finally watch the NBA season. With all the trades, rumors and rivalries, this will surely be one the most exciting seasons the NBA will ever have too bad it will only last for 66 games.

Also, if your basketball fix still is not satisfied, enjoy our own local league, the PBA. Catch Talk N Text, Powerade, as they clash as the Final Four of the PBA.

Are you DTF?

            D.T.F is a slang acronym which literally means “Down to Fun” or “Are you ready to have fun?” or simply put, “Are you dtf?” And the DTF magazine and corporation is about fun and having no matter what age you are. Though technically the magazine targets young adults (more specifically male, but we do try to reach out to the female demographic) who are still in college (ranging from 17 to 21 years old), the group firmly believes that everyone, no matter how old or young, loves to have fun and is always “dtf”. We put the label of the age and gender range on the magazine for practical reasons, we are all males who are part of that age range, and however we try to make the magazine and its contents for everyone.  This goes in line with our group’s name: Verstehen, which is German for putting one’s self in another’s shoes, which is the mission of the group. We try to put ourselves in people who do not fit the demographic when we write articles so that people outside our target audience, can have fun and relate to the magazine. So, in all honesty, dtf? has no target audience. We try to make it for everyone so that everyone can feel welcome here.

            As mentioned, this magazine is run by young male college students so most of the content you get here are what we think is cool, hip and popular nowadays but at the same time paying homage to the past. Weekly, we will be uploading articles about sports, gadgets, hangout places, upcoming movies/music, our peers/ schoolmates whom we have deemed worthy of being a good representation of our generation.
            Let’s face it, we’re in college, and aside from studies and academics, all we want to do is have fun. College students, quite frankly, work so hard 5 days a week (sometimes 6) that they do not have time to just kick-it and relax. And this magazine is our medium of spreading the fun and joy, helping out our fellow college students (and others who are dtf) know what’s hip, fun and exciting nowadays. We cater to those who are so busy in the weekdays and have no time to plan what to do on the weekends. All they have to do is go here, look at our latest articles and features about what’s trending right now and make a schedule based on it.
            We ask our readers, “Are you dtf?” and we show them just what to do to have fun. It does not matter if you are alone or with a special someone or with a group of friends, as long as you are dtf but don’t know what to do, just checkout our magazine for the latest and hippest happenings in the metro!