Dearest Flipside,

After months of reading material on your site (the Bob Sanders article
is possibly the greatest piece of journalism since Jim Rome's interview
of Jim Everett), I feel obligated to inform you of the most overlooked story this season in the NBA.  You may have heard of Phoenix Suns' reserve
Pat Burke (who, on a side note, is a shoe in for the NBA's inaugural Jud Buechler 9th man award). 

With every minute Pat plays this season, he is making history.  Pat is the first Irish player in the NBA.  How did a gangly, 7 footer from across the pond make his way into the league?, you may ask.  Well, it is because of my 8th grade basketball team.  Seriously.  If you don't believe me, look at his NBA.com profile.  Here is an excerpt:



















I went to a small private school in Nashville that was, how should I put it, very vanilla.  It was at this school that one day before a game, we were watching Auburn take on Georgia on television.  Auburn was losing by at least 20 in the final minutes of the game, and in comes a freshman by the name of Patrick Burke.  He was 6'11", maybe 225, with the coordination of Mark Eaton on meth.  First thing Pat does, he gets the ball in the post, dropsteps under the basket, and goes up with the ball.  Pretty routine, except instead of shooting over the rim, Pat decided to shoot under the rim,
causing the ball to bank off the bottom, come down in his face, and for
Pat to end up on his Pot O Gold.

Needless to say, the "Pat Burke Fan Club" was started then and there.  He
had the two qualities every white, American middle school boy in his right
mind loves: (1) He was from the land of Leprechauns and Lushes; and (2) He was easy to make fun of. 

We looked at Auburn's schedule and, sure enough, Auburn came to
Vanderbilt—in our hometown—in two weeks.  We recruited enough guys to
spell out "PAT_BURKE_#31" (of course, we made the fat kids the spaces)
and got tickets for the game.  This was our first encounter with Pat and, although we shouted all game for Auburn to put Pat in, it was to no avail.  We did make our presence known, though.  Especially to Pat.

Three years went by and Pat grew in mass and confidence, until during his senior year, Pat was Preseason All-SEC.  We couldn't believe it.  This was going to be Pat's year, and we were going to be there in full force.

It was when Auburn's PR department called us that things got downright
strange.  They had run stories about us in the local paper and when they interviewed Pat about us, he said that we had given him the confidence
to take his game to the next level.  We were making fun of him for Christ's sake, and this guy attributes his success to us!!!  They also invited us down to Auburn to go to a game, all expenses paid, and to have dinner after the game with The Almighty PB himself!

All this is pretty cool, but not amazing in any way.  The amazing thing is what
happened at this game.  We were not only treated by Auburn to see our "hero" in action, but we were also able to witness the King of the Leprechauns make the single greatest play in basketball history.

Pat had a solid first half: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks.  While the teams were warming up at halftime to begin the second half, Pat was waving to us, shooting j's, etc., maybe even appearing a bit cocky.   That didn't last long.  About three minutes into the second half, Pat caught the ball in the corner, behind the 3 point arc, his man giving him a comfortable gap as Pat was usually no threat to shoot.  Well, usually. 

That particular night, Pat was feeling the vibe from the fan club.  As he jacked the 3, time seemed to stand still...the gym went silent, and as the
ball was in mid-flight, we heard Pat yell towards the heavens, "WEDGE!" 

Then play stopped, no one moved, and all eyes were locked on the ball wedged between the rim and the backboard.  Needless to say, all in attendance were astonished.  (Dramatic pause inserted here) 

Pat Burke had called his own "wedge. "

The rest of the story is an afterthought (Pat battled through various Euro leagues until he got his shot in the NBA, etc.) but what is amazing is that the NBA, ESPN, no one has done a special interest story on this guy's history, the fan club, or the "Wedge Heard 'Round the World."

Flipside...this email became longer than intended, but please, do the
greatest play known to man justice as only Flipside can.  The world
must know.  The Irish don't just drink, blow up cars, drink, and herd/hump sheep.  

They play a little ball too.
_____________________________________________________________

Whether this is true or not is completely  irrelevant.  The mere story of an Irish power forward "calling his wedge" is far more significant than any factual liberties the author might have taken.   It's kind of like a parable in that resepct.  Or Creationism.

Regardless, the three ramifications of this email are as follows: (1) The bar is now set for the 2006 Email-of-the-Year Contest; (2) Heather Williams is now out of the running for Email of the Decade (in a Creed/Balboa II-type upset); and (3) Pat Burke just became the official Irishman of Flipside.
                  
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
"Phoenix Suns" NBA "Pat Burke"
TO:        
FROM:   
RE:        
admin@flipsidesports.net
David L.
I.R.A meets N.B.A
Contestant #1
Contestant #2
Contestant# 3
Dearest Flipside,

After months of reading material on your site (the Bob Sanders article
is possibly the greatest piece of journalism since Jim Rome's interview
of Jim Everett), I feel obligated to inform you of the most overlooked story this season in the NBA.  You may have heard of Phoenix Suns' reserve
Pat Burke (who, on a side note, is a shoe in for the NBA's inaugural Jud Buechler 9th man award). 

With every minute Pat plays this season, he is making history.  Pat is the first Irish player in the NBA.  How did a gangly, 7 footer from across the pond make his way into the league?, you may ask.  Well, it is because of my 8th grade basketball team.  Seriously.  If you don't believe me, look at his NBA.com profile.  Here is an excerpt:



















I went to a small private school in Nashville that was, how should I put it, very vanilla.  It was at this school that one day before a game, we were watching Auburn take on Georgia on television.  Auburn was losing by at least 20 in the final minutes of the game, and in comes a freshman by the name of Patrick Burke.  He was 6'11", maybe 225, with the coordination of Mark Eaton on meth.  First thing Pat does, he gets the ball in the post, dropsteps under the basket, and goes up with the ball.  Pretty routine, except instead of shooting over the rim, Pat decided to shoot under the rim,
causing the ball to bank off the bottom, come down in his face, and for
Pat to end up on his Pot O Gold.

Needless to say, the "Pat Burke Fan Club" was started then and there.  He
had the two qualities every white, American middle school boy in his right
mind loves: (1) He was from the land of Leprechauns and Lushes; and (2) He was easy to make fun of. 

We looked at Auburn's schedule and, sure enough, Auburn came to
Vanderbilt—in our hometown—in two weeks.  We recruited enough guys to
spell out "PAT_BURKE_#31" (of course, we made the fat kids the spaces)
and got tickets for the game.  This was our first encounter with Pat and, although we shouted all game for Auburn to put Pat in, it was to no avail.  We did make our presence known, though.  Especially to Pat.

Three years went by and Pat grew in mass and confidence, until during his senior year, Pat was Preseason All-SEC.  We couldn't believe it.  This was going to be Pat's year, and we were going to be there in full force.

It was when Auburn's PR department called us that things got downright
strange.  They had run stories about us in the local paper and when they interviewed Pat about us, he said that we had given him the confidence
to take his game to the next level.  We were making fun of him for Christ's sake, and this guy attributes his success to us!!!  They also invited us down to Auburn to go to a game, all expenses paid, and to have dinner after the game with The Almighty PB himself!

All this is pretty cool, but not amazing in any way.  The amazing thing is what
happened at this game.  We were not only treated by Auburn to see our "hero" in action, but we were also able to witness the King of the Leprechauns make the single greatest play in basketball history.

Pat had a solid first half: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks.  While the teams were warming up at halftime to begin the second half, Pat was waving to us, shooting j's, etc., maybe even appearing a bit cocky.   That didn't last long.  About three minutes into the second half, Pat caught the ball in the corner, behind the 3 point arc, his man giving him a comfortable gap as Pat was usually no threat to shoot.  Well, usually. 

That particular night, Pat was feeling the vibe from the fan club.  As he jacked the 3, time seemed to stand still...the gym went silent, and as the
ball was in mid-flight, we heard Pat yell towards the heavens, "WEDGE!" 

Then play stopped, no one moved, and all eyes were locked on the ball wedged between the rim and the backboard.  Needless to say, all in attendance were astonished.  (Dramatic pause inserted here) 

Pat Burke had called his own "wedge. "

The rest of the story is an afterthought (Pat battled through various Euro leagues until he got his shot in the NBA, etc.) but what is amazing is that the NBA, ESPN, no one has done a special interest story on this guy's history, the fan club, or the "Wedge Heard 'Round the World."

Flipside...this email became longer than intended, but please, do the
greatest play known to man justice as only Flipside can.  The world
must know.  The Irish don't just drink, blow up cars, drink, and herd/hump sheep.  

They play a little ball too.
_____________________________________________________________

Whether this is true or not is completely  irrelevant.  The mere story of an Irish power forward "calling his wedge" is far more significant than any factual liberties the author might have taken.   It's kind of like a parable in that resepct.  Or Creationism.

Regardless, the three ramifications of this email are as follows: (1) The bar is now set for the 2006 Email-of-the-Year Contest; (2) Heather Williams is now out of the running for Email of the Decade (in a Creed/Balboa II-type upset); and (3) Pat Burke just became the official Irishman of Flipside.
                  
Full name is Patrick John Burke ... Born in Dublin, Ireland and becomes the first Irish-born player ever to play in the NBA ... Went to high school at Mariner High School in Cape Coral, Florida ... Resides in nearby Mount Dora ... He and his wife, Peyton, have seven-month old twin sons, Graceson and Sadler ... Was a communications major at Auburn ... Didn't begin playing organized basketball until the age of 16 ... Earned one letter in track as a high jumper in high school ... Also played organized hockey for seven years as a defenseman ... Youngest of six children ... In 1995-96, the Franklin Road Academy Junior High eighth grade basketball team in Nashville, Tennessee, created the "Pat Burke Fan Club" in his honor, after meeting him while Auburn was playing Vanderbilt ... The team, which was in awe of Burke, went to such extremes as its teachers going from #1 to #30, skipping #31, then resuming with #32 on tests ... The team wore t-shirts with Burke's name on it the 31st of every month and it tried to win all of its games by 31 points.