Today's Best - 12.11.07

5. joel przybilla - with lamarcus aldridge shelved for at least a week with planar fasciitis, joel przybilla saw a season high 38 minutes and the blazers defeated the jazz 97-89. przybilla grabbed 10 boards and blocked 5 shots, while taking only 3 shots. this jordan-esqaue attempt to get his teammates involved didn't go unnoticed, as the other trailblazers overwhelmed their jazz opponents. when the game ended, portland had secured their 4th consecutive win while utah had dropped its 4th consecutive game. and if przybilla continues making his teammates better and playing at this high a level, i expect both streaks to continue.

4. kosuke fukudome - according to preliminary reports, the latest japanese import has agreed to a 4-year deal with the cubs that will pay him $12 million annually. if things go to plan the cubs will not only add another decent bat to the potent derrek lee, aramis ramirez, and alfonso soriano trio, but also a superhuman samurai centerfielder. anyways, the most interesting thing regarding this acquisition to me is trying to figure out how to correctly pronounce "kosuke fukudome". kose-k foo-q-dome ? kice-k few-koo-doe-may? a-ok fice-k-doom? kosta koufos? costco free q'doba? bazooka joe? if i never learn how to correctly pronounce this name i'll be pretty pleased with myself.

3. warriors' defense - in a game where both teams shot under 40% from the field, the warriors edged the duncan-less spurs 96-84. it was the first game that golden state has won all year when scoring fewer than 100 points. this was obviously due to their stifling defense that kept ginobili to 13 points on 4 of 14 shooting, after back-to-back 37 point games, and tony parker to 11 points on 5 of 14 shooting. even matt bonner was kept in check as the warriors held him to only 25 points and 17 rebounds. had bonner not been facing such a defensive juggernaut, he assuredly would have went off for 81 points last night.

2. cavs' bench - while lebron missed cleveland's last five games with a finger sprain, the cavs averaged a docile 82 points per game while losing each contest. thankfully for the cavs lebron returned last night and was brought off the bench as the cavs beat the pacers 118-105. it was the first time he didn't start a game in his career. his career as a human being. regardless, lebron sparked the cavs and the bench outscored the starters by 30 points. larry hughes scored 36 points while anderson varejao, in his first action of the season, finished with 6 points and 9 rebounds and a lot less money than he was expecting after holding out.

1. the tough - just as expected, since the going got tough, the bobby petrinos got going. because not one calendar year since he accepted the falcons head coaching job and just the night after he coached the falcons to a predictable loss on monday night football, petrino accepted the vacant head coaching job at arkansas. so kids, let this be a lesson, if you're ever obviously in over your head with anything, just quit. during the press conference, petrino claimed that "it was dificult to leave atlanta, the staff, players, fans." i assume petrino misspoke and actually meant to say "it was difficult to leave atlanta, the staff, players, fan." either way, petrino has less than a month to learn about arkansas football before trying to coach them to a bowl victory. hopefully, petrino's gameplan includes limiting darren mcfadden to three carries. then when they get blown out, bobby petrino will quit a job for the third time this year.