Welcome back, angry Vince

Am I the only person who has noticed the return of the legendary angry Vince Carter? The one that stormed through the Olympics with a slight fro, dunked over Frederic Weis, and made one of the all-time cocky hand gestures after arguably the greatest slam dunk contest showing EVER?

It may just be coincidence, but in the midst of what has been his best basketball since the Eastern Conference Finals of 2001 (where, by the way, he screamed once or twice in the throes of bucket-dropping ecstasy), we've got two of the most most definitive angry Vince sightings ever: going after the reprehensible Bruce Bowen with neck veins flaring, and supposedly body slamming Sam Mitchell (easily one of the weirdest head coaching reigns in recent memory). Now all he needs to do is win the All-Star game MVP and tell the media, who perenially question his right to be there, to fuck off. Then back to the smooth jazz.

Sidenote: Once, I claimed that I hated Wally so much that I would praise even Bruce Bowen for kicking him in the face (not a hypothetical). Now, I think I might be going the other way. Those are two of the most dislikable players in the NBA, for entirely different reasons. A few years ago I would have picked Bowen, as objectionable but fairly low-key and harmless. I was wrong--he's a rat. Wally's a gross pet that deserves to be thrown out in the forest, but that's better than vermin.