Both Teams Played Hard
Both Teams Played Hard

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Joe Maloof: Ummm-mmmm…God damn, Daryl. This some serious gourmet shit. Me and Gavin here woulda been satisfied with some freeze-dried Taster’s Choice, right? And he springs this serious gourmet shit on us. What flavor is this?

Daryl Morey: Knock it off, Joseph.

Joe: What?

Daryl: I don’t need you to tell me how fucking good my coffee is, okay? I’m the one who buys it—I know how good it is. When Van Gundy used to go shopping, he bought shit. I buy the gourmet expensive stuff because when I drink it, I wanna taste it. But you know what’s on my mind right now? It aint the coffee in my office. It’s the bipolar mothafucka in my gym.

Joe: Oh, Daryl…don’t even worry about—

Daryl: Oh, no, no, no, no. Don’t tell me not to think about anything. I wanna ask you a question: When you came pulling in here, did you notice sign outside the Toyota Center that said “Bipolar Muthafucka Storage”?

Joe: Daryl, you know I aint see no sign that said—

Daryl: DID YOU notice a sign outside the Toyota Center that said “Bipolar Muthafucka Storage”?

Joe: No. I didn’t.

Daryl: Do you know why you didn’t see that sign? Cause it aint there ‘cause storing bipolar muthafuckas aint my fucking business…That’s why.

Joe: Daryl, we’re not gonna store—

Daryl: No, no, no, no. Don’t you fucking realize, man, that if Leslie Alexander gets back and finds out that I gave up a rotation player for a guy who was accused of dog abuse, I’m gonna get fired? No meetings, no demoted to Vice President of Basketball Operations—I’m gonna get fucking fired. And I don’t wanna get fucking fired. Now man, fuck, I wanna help you—but I don’t wanna lose my job doing it, alright?

Joe: Daryl, he aint gonna fire—

Daryl: Don’t fucking “Daryl” me, Joe. Okay. Don’t fucking “Daryl” me. There’s nothing you’re gonna say that’s gonna make me forget I love getting paid millions of dollars for a ridiculously easy job with no accountability. Is THERE? … Look, he comes back from the French Riviera in a day-and-a-half. You gotta make some phone calls? You gotta call some people? Well then do it. And then get the fuck outta my office before he finds out you were here.

Joe: That’s Kool and the Gang. You know, we don’t wanna fuck your shit up. All I wanna do is call my people and get Ron off our roster.

Daryl: You don’t wanna fuck my shit up? You’re fucking my shit up right now. And you’re gonna fuck my shit up big time if my owner finds out. So just do me that favor, alright? The phone is in the over there. I suggest you get going.

David Stern tends to notice shit like you’re driving a car drenched in blood.

[cut to a Manhattan skyscraper rooftop with David Stern sitting at a table and talking on a mobile phone]

David Stern: Say Leslie comes back, what do you think he’ll do.? … No fucking shit he’ll freak—that aint no kinda answer. I mean, you know. I don’t. How much? A lot or a little?

[cut to Joe Maloof back in Daryl Morey’s office talking on the phone]

Joe: You gotta appreciate what an explosive element this Ronnie Situation is. Leslie comes back from a two-month vacation and finds a bunch of sleazy Vegas casino owners in his GM’s office doing a bunch of sleazy-Vegas-casino-owner-shit, aint no telling what he’s liable to do.

Stern: [on phone] I grasp that, Joe. All I’m doing is contemplating the ifs.

Joe: [on phone] I don’t wanna hear about no muthafuckin’ ifs. All I wanna hear from yo ass is “You aint got no problem, Joe. I’m on the muthafucka. Go back in there, chill them niggas out and wait for the cavalry, which should be coming directly.”

Stern: [on phone] You aint got no problem, Joe. I’m on the muthafucka. Go back in there, chill them niggas out and wait for The Logo, who should be coming directly.

Joe: [on phone] You sending The Logo?

Stern: [on phone] You feel better muthafucka?

Joe: [on phone] Shiiiiit, nee-gro. That’s all you had to say.

[cut to a residential bedroom with The Logo sitting on a bed talking on the phone]

The Logo: He the hysterical type? … When is he due … Uh-huh … Give me the principals’ names again. Joe [writes “GREASY DOUCHEBAG”] … Gavin [writes “GREASIER DOUCHEBAG WITH MOUTH SORES”] … Darryl [writes “DESPERATE GM”]… Ronnie [writes “ONE-YEAR CONTRACT”… “NO SANITY”] … It’s three hours away. I’ll be there in 10 minutes.

[Nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, The Logo’s helicopter lands at the Toyota Center]

You can call me Mr. West.

The Logo: You’re … Daryl? Right? This is your team?

Daryl: Sure is.

The Logo: I’m Jerry West. I solve problems.

Daryl: Good. We got one.

The Logo: So I heard. May I come in?

Daryl: Yeah. Please do.

The Logo: You must be Joe. Which would make you Gavin. Let’s get down to brass tacks, gentlemen. If I was informed correctly the clock is ticking. Is that right, Daryl?

Daryl: One hundred percent.

The Logo: Your owner, Leslie Alexander, gets back on August 1, is that correct?

Daryl: Uh-huh.

The Logo: I was led to believe that if he gets back and finds out you traded a worthwhile player for a dog abuser, he wouldn’t appreciate it none too much?

Daryl: He won’t at that.

The Logo: That gives us forty hours to make this happen and get the fuck out of Dodge, which if you do what I say, when I say it should be plenty. Now, you’ve got a clinically psychotic, fan-punching, dog-abuser on a one-year contract, minus an opt-out clause – let me see him.

[cut to the basketball court where Ron Artest is pretending to shoot jumpers and dribble around sans ball like that weirdo from Above the Rim]

The Logo: Daryl, do me a favor would ya? I thought I smelled some coffee back there, would you make me a cup.

Daryl: Yeah sure … Um, how do you take it?

The Logo: Lots of cream. Lots of sugar … About this crazy fuck: Is there anything I need to know? Is he injured? Did Stern catch him smoking weed? Does he have any upcoming court dates? Anything?

Joe: Aside from having done flown over the cuckoo’s nest, Ronnie is cool.

The Logo: Positive? Don’t get me to the paperwork and I find out he can’t pass a physical.

Joe: Far as I know, the muthafucka’s tip-top.

The Logo: Okay. Let’s go back to the office.

[cut back to the office. The Logo sips his coffee and nods to Daryl approvingly]

The Logo: Okay. First thing. You two call Ronnie’s agent and his wife to make sure he isn’t about to take six months off to record another rap album, found an organic pumpkin patch or get his masters degree in ice sculpture … Now, Daryl, this looks to be a pretty well-run franchise. So that would lead to be to believe you’re under the luxury tax and you gotta bunch of future draft picks, mid-level exceptions and contract rights to random Europeans who will never make the NBA? Shit like that?

Daryl: Yeah, yeah, Mr. West. We’re right under the tax.

The Logo: Good. What I need you two fellas to do is start putting together a package that your GM and the public can live with. I’m talking fast, fast, fast. You need to look at your roster and find a quality young player that no one will care about and plan to get em outta there. When it comes to how this will look to the public, it don’t need to be Spic and Span. They don’t gotta be ecstatic about it. Just give ‘em a good headline …

Now Daryl, we need to raid your shitty assets. I need late First Round draft picks and washed up veterans—the more fan-friendly the better, the more overpaid the better. No Second Rounders—can’t use em. We need to camouflage this deal so it looks like both teams are getting a steal. We’re gonna line one side with picks that won’t amount to anything and we’re gonna line the other one with pie-in-the-sky hope that will never pan out. If a hardcore NBA fan breaks this thing down and starts sniffing his nose around, the subterfuge won’t last. But at a glance the trade will look mutually beneficial …

Daryl, lead the way. Maloofs, get to work.

Gavin Maloof: A “please” would be nice.

The Logo: Come again?

Gavin: I said “a ‘please’ would be nice.

The Logo: Get it straight, buster. I’m not here to say “please.” I’m here to tell you what to do. And if self-preservation is an instinct you possess than you better fucking do it—and do it quick. I’m here to help. If my help’s not appreciated—lots of luck, gentlemen.

Joe: No, no, no, no, no. Mr. West, it aint like that. Your help is definitely appreciated.

Gavin: Mr. West, listen. I don’t mean any disrespect, okay. I respect you. I just don’t like people barking orders at me, that’s all.

The Logo: If I’m curt with you, it’s because time is a factor. I think fast, I talk fast and I need you guys to act fast if you wanna get this nut-job out of Sacramento. So, pretty please—with sugar on top—find a quality young player know one’s fucking heard of.

[The Logo and Daryl walk out of the office.]

Gavin: [to Joe] Don’t be looking at me like that. I can feel your look.

-

So…What’s with the outfits? You guys going to a volleyball game or something?

Much is being made of all the Euro League teams throwing big money offers at middling NBA players. The incentive seems obvious for those team owners and given the weak dollar and enticing tax-free salary structure often in place yonder, now seems a logical time for clubs try to lure the restricted free agents that most NBA GMs are trying to retain on the cheap.

But if a bunch of Josh Childress/Nenad Krstic players bounce from the League, who really cares? Since that is about as much time as I plan to spend on this, I leave you with this here quote from The Machine, which is so far the best thing to come out of the entire trend.

“‘I was a nervous wreck,’ Vujacic said. ‘Well, nervous might not be the word. I think what I learned last year from P. J. [Phil Jackson] is equanimity. That’s one thing that just helped me in a tough situation—being calm.’”

Equanimity? Look at the big brain on Sasha (who ended up re-signing with the Lakers for three years/$15 million). On the other hand, let’s hope he didn’t also learn the meaning of “alliteration” from the Zen Master (who, while I appreciate the passive-aggressive refusal to apologize for a pretty innocuous joke, I can only assume meant “allusion”).

via TrueHoop

The leather suits play, but you might wanna try Sasha’s hair dresser.

Most Indiana Pacer fans were ecstatic with the JO for TJ Ford/Rasho Nesterovic/Roy Hibbert trade — and with good reason. For the most part, the joy was more so about finally severing ties with the last holdover from the Malice at the Palace Era Pacers (Jamaal Tinsley, who isn’t expected to ever wear a Pacer jersey again, notwithstanding).

The return pieces, however, are also pretty nice. TJ will be the team’s best PG since Mark Jackson and although his contract is maybe slightly high and, oh yeah, his career could end on any given play due to his congenital spine disorder, the upgrade from Travis Diener is worth celebrating. And Rasho and Hibbert, while unspectacular, should each help clog up the middle.

But a lot of people haven’t seen much TJ Ford of late since he’s missed a lot of time and Calderon. Fortunately, the Toronto Raptors do a pretty sweat recap of (I think) all their games in a thing called “Game in 6 Minutes.” Since it’s YouTube, the quality is obviously not ideal, but they’re well-edited and you can find dozens of them, but it is a good way to get a look at him in situations that aren’t just highlights. Unfortunately, there is generally more Jose than TJ in these
six minute clips, but you can still get a more nuanced look at his game/abilities than other TJ YouTube vids, which tends to be only his sickest assists, ankle-breakers or dunks set to bad music. And regardless, the Raps are a pretty fun team to watch anyway (unless you’re Lou Dobbs).

Here are a few I just watched.

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November 2, 2007
Boston 98 - Toronto 95

TJ’s highest point total of the season (32 pts) comes in his fifth game of the year. Pretty good game by him overall and the tape does a good job showing some of his positives and negatives.The first play is TJ drilling a mid-range pull-up J, something he’s pretty good at in space and does lightning quick. At 0:35 he begins his overdribbling show, however, which is probably the biggest criticism of him from Toronto’s Jose Calderon. After an offensive board, he does manage a nice little scoop finger roll though. He’s crafty on the interior for a midget.

More dribbling antics at 1:18. It again ends well when TJ drops a sweet dime to Rasho who finishes with an up and under, but he did dribble 11 times in the front-court and had the ball in his hands for the first 13 seconds of the possession.

At 1:52, Rasho looks absolutely lost playing helpside D and more resembles Kevin McHale trying to count the screws in the parquet floor until he feels the breeze of Paul Pierce racing by.Great rotation by TJ at 2:42 to react to a very nice cross-court skip pass from Pierce enough to disrupt Ray Allen’s jumper. Not so great is at 3:18 when he has a sloppy, telegraphed, one-handed entry pass just snatched away from him by Rajon. Good pass at 3:37 to get out of (self-imposed) trouble.

Later, at 4:50 (and it OT), TJ shows why he’s arguably the quickest guy in the League. Then he turns into Mr. Clutch and gets to the rim again at 5:11 to finish with a crafty lay-up. Next play, “Onions, baby…Onions,” according to the Raps play-by-play man as TJ drills a triple to tie the game with 0:04 to play. Too bad they leave Ray Ray wide open to drill a three of his own on the ensuing in-bounds play. Wow…nice D, Sam Mitchell.

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November 8, 2007
Lakers 117 - Toronto 108

Great post sequence by Rasho at 0:40. Strong screen on Fish, decent show with Gasol behind him, nice pass to the cutter, and fantastic mismatch recognition by going right to the hoop and man-handling Fish. Later, he shows his range nicely at 4:30ish and chases down an O board at 5:15.No TJ sightings until 3:04, when he makes a great pass. More size-related D issues at 3:45 on Farmar, but then he makes a nice steal and has a ballsy, sick dunk attempt in Kobe’s grill (although it doesn’t work out so well). More bad D at 4:50. Creates his own shot nicely on the next play (though misses the J).

More sloppy D at 5:45…There’s really no reason to collapse that far when Kobe’s going to the other side of the lane (especially when you’re too little to possibly affect his shot), although it does take a great pass from Mamba for him to get burnt on it. Nine times out of ten, TJ won’t get bitten by that cause few people can make that pass. Unfortunately, that’s also the reason people develop bad habits.

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November 18, 2007
G-State 106 - Toronto 100

We see TJ get abused in the paint twice to start things off. Then also see him push the ball up the floor, smoke The Beard off the dribble (though he misses the J) and make a creative cross-court pass to Bosh.Later he makes a nice transition lob to Maceo. At 3:30, you’ll see what people don’t like about his defense. People make him out to be a real ball-hawk, which he can be at times, but he also falls asleep or gets muscled out of position quite a bit (or just sags off guys he’s quicker than for no real reason). Honestly, you really can’t guard a screen/roll any worse than he does right there. The next play, however, shows his best asset — his ability to beat the D up the floor. And it’s not just with his feet…it’s a mindset. Here, he makes a sweet lead pass to Kapono.

Around 4:00, you see him also not put much pressure on Monta and then be unable to disrupt Baron even remotely on a reach-in hedge. Then, at 5:05, you see something we will see a lot of next year. This drive-and-dish game is going to get us an absurd amount of open threes.

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March 17, 2008
Raptors 100 - Sacto 106

Rasho shows one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses early. On the first, Rap possesion, he sets a solid screen at 0:23 and then after Parker gets the ball in the post on the other block, he makes sure to drift all the way down to the baseline to open up as much space as possible in the middle. That also makes it tough for his guy to recover if he goes for the double. It’s a minor thing, but few players pay that much attention to spacing — something that is absolutely vital to Jim O’Brien’s offense.On the next play, however, he lumbers down the court and sort of oafs his way around the paint. He doesn’t really clog anything up and he’s not really guarding anybody or committing to anything. He tends to do that and the result is him “playing smaller” than he is at times. If he would just take up more space, he could at least be a better deterrent. In general, he does a lot of this undecided, hopping around on both ends. It makes him slow and off-balance often.

At 2:27 is more subtle, good offense though. He shows hard in the post, gets the ball, kicks it back out nicely and then again pulls his Mikki Moore 15 feet from the hoop. Moore has to respect his jumper on Parker’s ball fake, and is unable to close the gap to prevent him from penetrating.

At 2:56, you see him execute a great screen/roll. Not only does his wide body pick prevent Udrih from getting through quick, he also times his release well and should have gotten a dunk if Calderon hadn’t pulled up for the jumper so quickly. (It’s worth noting that this was pretty horrible D as well…but still shows his acumen for ball-screening.)Sick dunk for Jamario at 3:30. And…nothing else happens.

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April 28, 2008
(Playoffs - First Round, Game 4)
Magic 106 - Raptors 94

TJ starts the game with a great pass to Andrea that hits him in the perfect location to shoot. (A PG’s ability to do that is, IMO, the most underrated aspect of the position…and just passing in general. As a shooter myself, that really is the difference between me making it and missing it like half the time. If it hits you square in the pocket in rhythm, the ball may as well already be in the hoop.)He abuses Jameer at 0:45, but tries to do too much on the next trip down and forces a bad shot (another one of his flaws.)

Not about TJ, but Bosh looks exactly like 2004 JO at 3:15.

Shows his quickness at 3:40. Then shows horrible screen/roll D at 3:55. Great drive-and-dump at 4:03. At 4:28 and again at 4:58, you get to see more another of his lazy defensive habits — ball-staring while standing still. IMO, a guy with his size and quickness should just be more active, and no one should just stand in the paint with their back to their man and watching the dribbler like he’s 1987 MJ or something.

Well, not really.

Tru Warier isn’t going anywhere. Neither is Shawn Marion.

But, in a surprise move, Baron Davis opted out today.

So did Elton Brand and Corey Maggette, but those were more expected. Brand is (publicly) still trying to re-sign long-term with the Clips, while Maggette will now be the biggest name free agent other than The Beard (I know…hard to believe).

There’s only one reason to remain a Clipper: Boat loads of greenbacks.

Antawn Jamison already re-signed with DC for 4-years/$50 million (though SI is reporting it as $44 million) after opting out earlier this Summer. So now that Gilbert’s hostage demands have theoretically been met, Wiz President Ernie Grunfield can move on to inking Hibachi. The current reported offer is 6 years/$100 million, which would be about a $20 million discount over 6 years from the max. Jamison expects that Gil may take a little less now that his partner-in-crime has been taken care of.

“I just signed. We got it out of the way,” Jamison told The Associated Press.

“He said he’d take less money if they got me, and they got me,” Jamison said. “So I think everything will get worked out with Gilbert.”

$11–12.5 million per is quite a price-tag for the 32-year-old, creaky kneed Jamison, but he is coming off a 79-game All Star season and I guess you gotta do what you gotta do to keep fan-favorite and franchise reinvigorater Agent Zero on the roster — even if Arenas’ own knees have become questions marks themselves (not literally, jackass).

So maybe Baron saw Arenas-sized dollar signs in his head and rethought his strategy?

Either way, it will be interesting to see what happens now that he turned down his final year at $17 million. No one on the open market can give him that much aside from a sign-and-trade. Does he go to Detroit for the Chauncey Billups/Sheed package? Does he end up in South Beach for Marion? Or just re-sign long-term back with Mully, Nellie and Co. in Golden State? The rumor mill is claiming that Baron opted out because they couldn’t reach an agreement on an long-term extension, so going back to GState might be less likely now. Other rumors point to the Lakers, although all of these could just be complete shenanigans.

Who knows really?

Regardless, the free agent market just went from complete trash to “Hey, wait a minute.” It will at least be interesting to see where the next domino falls. Also, it should be good to see what Bulls GM John Paxson and new Coach Vinny of the Black decide to do with Deng, Gordon, et al. I mean, you know they’re gonna screw it up…But how?

“There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless — boys and women — and I am neither one.” – traditional Greek saying

Sports Illustrated just released its 2008 “Fortunate 50” list of the highest earning U.S. athletes, and once again (this is the fifth annual), NBA players monopolize the list. In all, a crazy 26 ballers and shot-callers are featured, including two more (Yao and Dirk) on the “International 20.” (For team sport athletes, the figures are for each guy’s most recently completed season and for winnings-based guys, it is the 2007 calendar year.)

The total sums combine the athletes salary (or winnings) with his estimated endorsements. Here’s how the sports stack up by number of athletes represented followed by the list of the top NBA guys:

NBA - 26
MLB - 10
NFL - 7
PGA - 3
NASCAR - 3
Boxing - 1

3. LeBron - $40.5 million
5. Kobe - $35.5 million
6. Shaq - $35.0 million
8. KG - $31.0 million
12. AI - $27.1 million
13. Kevin Durant - $26.0 million
16. DWade - $25.0 million
17. TMac - $25.0 million
18. Melo - $22.6 million
19. Tim Duncan - $22.5 million
21. Michael Finley - $22.2 million
22. Dwight Howard- $21.6 million
24. JKIdd - $21.0 million
25. Starbury - $21.0 million
27. JO - $20.5 million
29. Baron Davis - $18.9 million
31. Stevie “Franchise” - $18.2 million
32. Vince Carter - $18.0 million
33. Paul Pierce - $17.9 million
36. Matrix - $17.0 million
38. Ray Allen - $16.8 million
39. Rashard Lewis - $16.7 million
40. Antawn Jamison - $16.6 million
45. Big Ben - $16.2 million
47. Elton Brand - $15.8 million
48. Amare - $15.8 million

Writing out that list, my first thought was that teams/ad execs sure are paying a helluva lot of money to people that require me to type their full name for identification purposes. My second thought was that I got all the way to number 36 on the list before a single NBA guy had a decent enough nickname to use that wasn’t just a play of their actual name (okay…The Truth at 33 should count but even after the Finals MVP, I’m still not sure it’s ubiquitous enough. Even counting Pierce, him, Marion and Flash are really the only three. Quick, someone make Tough Juice your spokesman.).

For some better analysis, head over to the post on the SI list by Jones On The NBA’s, who, in looking at how much each player is making in just endorsements, hopes to come up with an NBA player marketing database.

Because all else I’ve got on this is a few Fun Facts:

• The entire Boston Three Party made the list.
• Steve Francis made $330,909.09 per point this season.
• Mark Cuban paid Michael Finley $18.6 million to not play for the Mavs this year.
• CP3, Brandon Roy, Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley all made the “Future Fortunates,” which is a list of the athletes SI thinks will be there next year or soon thereafter.

And some non-NBA-related Fun Facts:

• The combined earnings of Tiger and Phil (#1 and #2 overall with $127.9 million and $62.4 million, respectively) is more than the combined earnings of LeBron, Kobe, Shaq, KG, AI and Jason Kidd.
• No U.S. females made the list, but Maria Sharapova is 13th on the International 20 with $21.8 million.
• Four of the ten MLB players featured play for the Yankees (Hideki Matsui, who was on the International 20, makes five).
• The Red Sox have won two of the last four World Series trophies.

But don’t fret just because guys like Steve Francis and JO earned more cash this year that you will in your entire sad, sad existence on this planet.Cause you know what they say:

The most rewarding part of the Celtics title run for me was watching the rest of the world acknowledge Paul Pierce’s greatness. Having grown up in New England, I watched him destroy defenses nightly in his younger days and, trust me, he was just as good in 2000 as he is now. As a scorer, he actually used to be better given that he’s lost a step or two from the days when he had one of the best spins moves the game has ever seen.

People like to talk about his vast defensive improvements, which are substantial and can be attributed to (A) the natural improvement all good veterans have as they learn the game better, (B) KG’s drill sergeant motivation techniques, and (C) Tom Thibodeau’s system. But most of all, he’s always been a capable defender and now, instead of having to carry the entire 1996 Kentucky Wildcats on his back while taking 24 shots every night, he’s actually able to exert some energy on the defensive side of the ball without worrying about if he’ll have enough in the tank to be the entire offense for the final five minutes of the game.

I’ve also always wondered why people questioned his Hall of Fame credentials. It’s been a no-brainer for years as far as I’m concerned and, regardless of this ring, he’s still going to finish second only to John Havlicek as the teams all time leading scorer. I was supposed to believe this guy wasn’t better than Sam Jones and KC Jones put together?

Paul hams it up at his 30th birthday party. He’s been a pretty funny guy for years. You’re just only seeing it now. (Photo by Photo by Lisa Hornak)

Another little known fact is that Pierce actually has a personality too. I never understood why, but — if anything — most people have always had a negative impression of The Truth. People seem to like thinking athletes are assholes, so it’s not that surprising, I suppose. But, still, I always wondered why he never got any “I got stabbed in the back and neck like nine times” sympathy. Maybe people think he brought it on himself? Or maybe they just didn’t know about it since it came before ESPN turned into TMZ (and even seemed fairly underreported even at the time). If that had happened to Chad Johnson, how many times would we hear about it each season?

I think mostly, however, people think he has no personality just because he is just quiet. Even in his national TV spots, and post-game interviews he rarely says much. But when he does speak, he’s actually always been pretty clever and even outright funny at times. He sort of has the Tim Duncan understated wit going.

On Jimmy Kimmel the other night, he certainly showed his lighter side in full effect, poking fun at Wheel-Chairgate, talking about puking during the parade and openly mocking the Clippers.

Professional funny man Jimmy Kimmell gets in on the humor as well comparing The Truth (who grew up in LA) to classic traitors including Judas, Fredo and American Taliban John Walker Lindh.