KObe vs. the NBA

Since I last posted an article, many issues and topics in sports have arose, yet I haven't quite had the time to write anything... until today (even though I really don't have time to be doing this right now either).

Aside from the many pages I could write about the NCAA Tournament, one other pressing issue in basketball is the absolute absurdity that Kobe Bryant has been suspended twice within the last month. Now, I used to be a Kobe fan before his image began to tarnish, beginning with the rape allegations. When all of his troubles began to unfold, I felt he was deserving of the criticism he was taking for being very ego maniacal and self centered. However, with Phil Jackson back at the Laker helm, I think he has been more team-oriented and hungry to prove he can win without The Big Sewer owning the paint.

Let's get this straight. Kobe has been suspended twice for flailing his arms and striking players in the face after being blocked by Manu Ginobili on a jump shot and missing a jump shot that was defended by Marko Jaric. Both times he was doing nothing more than trying to create contact and overdramatize what little contact there probably was in an attempt to draw a foul and ended up making contact with the players. According to ESPN.com, Jaric stated,"As players, we know during a game when someone is trying to hurt you or be mean, and I never thought that was what was happening. So I'm really surprised by [the suspension]. I haven't seen the replay, but if you ask me what I thought about the play when it happened, I don't think he did it intentionally, and I don't think players should be suspended for things that happen unintentionally. I think he was trying to draw a foul, and he swung his hand out to make it look dramatic, and he hit me by accident. He apologized right after."

On top of these garbage-worthy decisions, the league decided to give Kobe a "retroactive flagrant foul" for an elbow delivered to Kyle Korver while again on offense, this time driving to the basket (for the record, the actions didn't even merit an offensive foul during the game). Korver is quoted on ESPN.com as saying, "I didn't think it was that big a deal. I thought it was an offensive foul. After I saw it on replay, it looked a lot worse than I thought it was during the game. It all happens fast. It's no big deal. It's just part of the game."

Basically what Stu Jackson and the NBA are saying is that what Reggie Miller did best - flailing his body everywhere, trying to draw contact so he could go to the line and sink 90% of his free throws - now is worthy of a suspension. This makes zero sense. Reggie, more often than not, was flailing his legs, too. With the legs typically being stronger than the arms, therefore being more of a danger, I would think the league should "retroactively" take away half of his three-point shots. Sounds pretty ridiculous, huh? While the league is at it, they should probably take away the Heat's Championship last year since D-Wade was apparently flopping his body around with reckless abandon and no care if he struck a Maverick with an outstretched appendage. Actually, it's feasible for the league to take away all four of Shaq's rings for the amount of lethal elbows he's delivered in his career. Honestly, who would you rather take an elbow from, Shaq or the relatively scrawny Kobe? That's what I thought.

The league has stated that what Kobe has done is considered to be an "unnatural basketball move." What a bunch of bull! (Here is a link that shows many plays in Kobe's career displaying this "unnatural move" that was never an issue before). Shawn Marion's jump shot is about the most ugly, unnatural basketball move you'll see in the NBA, and he's yet to be suspended. Flailing in search of contact and the foul has been going on since I've been watching basketball. Elbows are a part of the game that frequently catch defenders unintentionally. In fact, many coaches teach rebounders to grab the ball, clutch it at their chin, and spread their elbows out in order to create space.

Not that hockey and basketball are extremely comparable (I hate hockey), but check out these two hits that didn't warrant any kind penalty, much less a suspension (1 and 2). In the ensuing Sabres brawl after the hit from clip 1, both goalies were ejected. That's it. The Sabres coach Lindy Ruff also got in the face of Ottawa's coach and was only fined $10,000 after he sent his goons in the game to start a fight. Afterwards, the man with the mullet, Barry Melrose, said that this was the best thing to happen to the Sabres so far in the season. I'd like him to explain that one to me. This is just an example of the disparity between the two leagues and the tight threshold that the NBA keeps on it's players.

If the NBA is worried about the safety of their players, they might as well create a rule making players wear the Rip Hamilton face shield. I mean if they switched back to the old ball because the new ball was making players fingers bleed, I can only imagine how worried they were when Ginobili's nose bled.

From Spectacular Plays to 'Slippery' Balls, What an Exciting Stretch in Sports

There seems to be many things that I could spread out and post through various topics regarding the past few weeks in sports, but instead, I am going to give you some random short thoughts about these various happenings in just one article. This way it should be fun for everyone.

OK, Here we go... My favorite play recently came from none other than the "ever-quirky" Gilbert Arenas. Against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 3, the Wizards were tied with 6 seconds left. Arenas promptly dribbled up the court, froze the defender Charlie Bell, rose up and drained the game-winning three-point bucket from 32 feet away. Absolutely nothing but net. Although the shot was remarkable, it wasn't even the best part of the play. The best part was that Arenas shot the ball, then started walking to the bench immediately with a confidence and swagger that was amazing to witness. After the game, Arenas told reporters, "Once I let it go, I'm like, 'That's in. I don't even need to look at this one.'" I get excited every time I even think about what transpired during those 6 seconds. I don't even need to rewatch the scenario.

(On a side note, I was so impressed with Arenas, I decided to try and emulate that shot in front of my teammates before conditioning on Sunday, showing them exactly what happened. Sure enough, a little hesitation dribble and a 32-foot jumper that left my hand hit NOTHING but the bottom of the net. The only difference was I just walked away without looking at the shot, so I just heard the swoosh at the net. But hey, don't believe me. Ask the crowd.)

Staying with basketball and superstar players, is there anything else I can say about my boy D-Wade? He gets hurt and they play dismal, falling to 13-19. He comes back, and they win three in a row. There is not a player like him in the NBA. Luckily the East is pitiful, and the Heat should not have a problem making the playoffs. Not that I expect them to repeat as champions, but if they get Shaq back sooner than later and can start playing good basketball, the Heat could make a serious run by peaking at the right time.

Switching over to the NBA Finals losers, the Dallas Mavericks, I was lucky enough to catch a game in Dallas over Christmas break. If I didn't despise Dirk "The Big Overrated, especially in meaningful playoff games" Nowitzki, I could easily have been sucked into becoming a huge Mavs fan. The atmosphere in that arena is like nothing I had been a part of prior. Also, seeing Mark Cuban in action, although I'm not a huge fan of his either, is quite impressive, and I can definitely respect what he has done for the Mavs and the whole Dallas area as well as the NBA as a whole. He has really set the bar high as far as how an organization should be run. Any player in the league should immediately accept an offer to play in Dallas if they ever get the opportunity (But if they want to win championships, I'd wait until Dirk leaves).

The last NBA-related topic for the time being deals with the Suns manhandling of the Cavs. Basically, it was a championship performance from the Suns, even though they were playing a mediocre Cavs team who has a good record because, as mentioned before, the East is atrocious. One writer for ESPN put it best when commenting on Steve Nash's game saying it was the most dominant performance by a player who only scored four points. Just four points. To make up for it though, Nash made sure the rest of the starting-5 plus Barbosa were in double figures scoring by dishing out 21 dimes. Incredible.

THE Ohio State University provided me with some major disappointment and some major jubilation on back-to-back evenings. The first night, they apparently had decided that their season was finished with the Michigan game and did not feel like participating in the National Championship. However, even though the Buckeyes did not have a solid performance, Florida was easily the better team and deserved to win the game, no question about it. Congratulations to Chris Leak for finally shutting up all of his critics. I've been a fan of his for the past four years, and even though I am disappointed, I am still happy for the senior quarterback. The jubilation occurred when the Wisconsin Badgers dominated the Bucks on the basketball court. Yes, it was only a 3-point victory, but that was only because of a last minute charge, which was almost capped off with a potential game tying shot from Jamar Butler. Again, OSU relied too much on streaky outside shooting, and Mr. Oden was not a factor thanks to an array of Badger big men. Alando Tucker and Chris Rock, errr, I mean Kammron Taylor led the 'Sconsin charge in the victory.

Not much to say about this, but congratulations to Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn for making the Hall of Fame (as if it were ever in question).

The only thing I have to say about Tony Romo is I sincerely hope that the only time he sees during the Pro Bowl (how the hell did Tony Romo make the Pro Bowl) is to hold snaps. That would probably be one of the funniest sports moments in history for me if it were to occur. Please, NFC coaching staff, answer my wishes!

Ending on a positive note for the evening, Trey and I split 55 bucks by combining our superior college football knowledge to win the office pool. Maybe our method of randomly picking the importance of each game (1-32 points depending on your confidence in the pick) helped us. But as the pool manager stated, "When you pick all of the games right, it doesn't matter what number you put on each game." We ended with a 25-7 record.

An Early Christmas Treat

Saturday was a great day of college basketball. I felt as if the entire college basketball community was giving me an early Christmas present.

Here are just a couple of things that helped make my day:

1.) 86-60. Not only did the defending champion Florida Gators defeat the possibly overrated Buckeyes (a title only deserving after last night's loss), but they completely and utterly controlled them, especially during the second half. And for all of you who are still wanting to crown Oden (7 pts, 6 reb, 4 blocks) the king of college basketball, does that mean you are willing to dub Al Horford (11 pts, 11 reb, 3 blocks) and Joakim Noah (7 pts, 8 reb, 3 blocks) Greek Gods? Yes, Oden will only get better offensively once his wrist is healed, and yes, he did create many problems on defense. However, Horford used his body to absolutely man-handle the man-child, not allowing him to catch the ball close to the basket. I don't care if Oden's wrist is healthy, he's not going to be consistently making 15 foot jump shots after catching the ball that far out of the paint. Oh yea, Horford recorded a double-double against the nation's premier big man ON ONE LEG. Until the day before, he still wasn't supposed to play. The Bucks are also supposed to be an elite shooting team, but that didn't quite pan out for them in the humiliating loss either (OSU - 36.5 FG%, 30.4 3PT%. FLA - 60.3 FG%, 50 3PT%). Even with the loss, OSU is not a team that I would want to face at the end of the year. But on Saturday, in the words of Noah, "Dem Gator boyz was HOTT." Them Buckeye boyz was not.

2.) The UCLA Bruins did not have quite the hype coming into their game with Michigan, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they were the most impressive team that I have seen thus far. Since they ran the table at the Maui Invitational, I have felt that they deserved the number one seed. Now that they are number one, it is clear that no one else is deserving at this point. The way they play defense is astonishing, forcing 23 turnovers in the victory, 12 of which were steals. Their ball pressure is tremendous, and they utilized the post double team beautifully, immediately running at any post player who caught the ball on the block, often times forcing an errant pass. To add to that, four of their starters were in double figures while the fifth had nine points, and, as a team, the Bruins shot 11-20 from beyond the arc. This Bruin team is poised to make it back at least to the Final Four in 2007.

3.) The night cap was the most exciting for me. I was able to cheer on my old high school team, the Middletown Middies, against the Lima Senior Spartans. I showed up early for the JV game and was not disappointed as a talented Middie freshman canned a 15-footer at the buzzer to capture the one point victory. If that wasn't exciting enough, the varsity game provided more late game heroics as sophomore Bill Edwards scored his only two points of the game with 5 seconds left to put the Middies up one for the eventual win. My favorite player and little brother of one of my best friends, Phillip Barnett, scored 20 to lead the team. Hopefully this can propel the young guys to great things for the rest of the year.

Everyone, have a Merry Christmas, and look for more after the holiday season.

Thoughts about the NBA

Over the past few weeks, the sports world has been awaiting to see where the best pound-for-pound player in the NBA will be traded.

Allen Iverson demanded a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers after spending his entire career there. After all that he has done for the franchise and the city of Philadelphia, the least they can do is give him this final request.

Throughout a career in which A.I. has never played with an adequate supporting cast, the constant mediocrity from teammates and especially the front office has finally frustrated The Answer beyond repair.

Now, although Iverson would be a great addition to basically any mediocre team, he would not be a player who I pick in my Top 10. Basically my Top 10 is who I would use to form Team USA. For an NBA team, Iverson is without a doubt a player I would want on my team until he is finished, but the players I'd rather have are as follows:

Guards: Gilbert Arenas, Chris Paul, Michael Redd, Dwyane Wade
Forwards: Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion
Centers: Marcus Camby, Dwight Howard

Honorable mention: Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Emeka Okafor, Amare Stoudemire, Jason Terry, Deron Williams

Here's why:

Arenas: 60. That should be all I need to say. Like my boy Stipe said earlier today, "Gil is one of two players who, as a fan, you always feel can put up a game like he did against the Lakers." The other player being Kobe. Yea BronBron and D-Wade are better all-around players, but we expect them to do so much more than score. Gil can straight up light it up (By the way, so Stipe doesn't sue me for plagiarism, this analysis is basically a combo of his ideas with mine. YEA NAWTEE).

Paul: He is a completely opposite player and point guard than Arenas. Whereas GA needs to score to have a significant impact on the game, Paul can be held to single digits and still control the flow with his passing and defense. Although he went to Wake Forest, I think I even secretly rooted for him then. As a bonus, who doesn't want a GQ cover boy on their team? I mean, if they Dream Team won't win, at least they can look good, right?

Redd: Ok, so it seems as if I'm being generous with dishin' out props tonight, but I'll give my teammate, we'll call him the Psychologist, credit for calling this a while ago. Maybe it's because he's the biggest Buckeye fan I know, or maybe its because Redd can shoot with the best in the world, but either way, the Psychologist has been trying to get me to see Redd as a premier player for the past few years. Well Doctor, I think you have finally succeded. Not only can he shoot, but he's driving to the basket and scoring in other ways now. I believe he dropped 57 the opening week of the season. He makes the team.

Wade: The other day I realized that I have seen Wade play. Then I was upset I didn't pay closer attention when I was at the Marquette/Cinci Conference USA Championsip his junior year. I don't know that I cared about the outcome then, but I'm pretty sure I was cheering for UC in fear of getting shot in the 'Nati. Anyways, Wade's the best player of his draft class to this point for the same reason Brady is better than Manning at this point. They win championships. 'Nuff said.

Carmelo: In the Wade/Bron/Melo draft, I was rooting for Carmelo to have the best career. Like I said, Wade was almost unknown to me then, so Melo was my protagonist to silence all the LeBron fans. Finally, he seems to be embracing his talents as the leagues leading scorer. The best news of all is, if this whole basketball thing doesn't work out, he can try out for the next season of the Contender with that nice right hook he delivered to Mardy Collins (I can hear the lame ring announcer now... "...and in the red corner, coming in at 6-8, 230 pounds, "The Syracusa Bruisa" Carmelo Anthony).

Boozer: Excellent post player. Great hands around the basket. Quick enough to defense. Decent jumper from 15 ft. and in. Duke "almost" graduate. Basically, the epitome of solid play. Now, let's stay healthy.

Brand: See Above.

Marion: The Matrix is the best All-Around player in the game. He should be taken first in every fantasy draft. He scores inside. He scores outside, even with the "sweetest" jumped I have ever seen. He is repeatedly the game-high rebounder. He can pass. He can play defense on a variety of players. He always plays hard. I love Shawn Marion.

Camby: I never liked him at UMass. Again, my Fantasy league connections with Camby have brought me to appreciate his game. Another player plagued by injuries, Camby will get you a double-double more often than not (at least it seems that way), and then he'll go out and block a handful of shots and alter even more.

Howard: D-Ho is the best center in the game at this time. He has about 3 20-20 games this year. When he wants to get a rebound, he does. I have not seen much regarding his offensive game, but his athleticism probably makes up for some of what is probably unpolished scoring skills at this point. He'll do nothing but improve for the next 15 years. Prediction: D-Ho = hall-of-fame career (No more D-Ho remarks. It sounds too dirty... my bad).

I'll be looking forward to what my loyal readers have to say. Especially since LeBron is not on my list (mostly for personal reasons). And before anybody criticizes Dirk not being on this list, he's UN-American and probably writing songs with David Hasselhoff.

Let's Take a Trip Back to Grammar School Boys and Girls

One thing that I fully expect is criticism and comments from those of you who take time out of your day to read my articles. If there weren't people to read my stuff and give me feedback, it would be pointless to waste my time having fun by combining words with the sports world.

However, there is one thing that I ask when insulting me:

Please do it with even one iota of intelligence so you aren't perceived as having a complete lack of knowledge.

Let's look at the most recent comments/insults/laughs for me that people posted about my G**g O**n article:

Anonymous said...

Oden would swat your shit.

Here are the facts:

Me: 6' (most would say i'm 5'11", I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt), 160 pounds, above average athleticism.
G**g O**n: 7'1" (if not taller), 255 pounds, uber-human athleticism.

I guess my readers must have some intelligence for pointing out the blatantly obvious. Kudos for that. But if that is supposed to be an insult to me or a threat that now I should be scared that O**n can block my shot, you failed miserably. I would expect him to block one of my 3-point shots at the peak of its arc while he jumps from the baseline. Again, thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Here is the other, and funnier, remark:

Anonymous said...

I don't think no one has awarded him the Naismith Award quite yet but once he plays I'm sure he would solidify that. It is prolly tough watching a "football" school take over the basketball world as quick as they did. Now only if Duke could build their football program- my god I cant believe I bought finished that sentence. It's pretty funny how you are jumping on a guy for having a broken wrist and not being able to play, and for a school being smart with not pushing him too quickly. I would think the basketball world is just anxious to see how good he will be and they have the right talk good about him when he has put himself in company like Lebron, and I'm sure your a bandwagon Cavs fan just like everyone else is. Yes, as of now it is hype but from what we've seen from him we can assume he will be a dominate player. I bet if they were talking about someone from Duke like that, which is basically every year Dicky V is all over one of them, you wouldn't have no problem. And yes, Oden would swat your shit.

This one is so much fun, I'm going to break this down almost sentence-by-sentence.

I don't think no one has awarded him the Naismith Award quite yet but once he plays I'm sure he would solidify that.

I don't think ANYONE has awarded him the trophy yet either, (comma) but once he plays he may very well earn the award. I agree. Now that he has played, recording 14 points, 10 boards and 5 blocked shots (man I hope the players who got blocked don't shoot themselves now, like I feel I would if blocked by O**n), he could finally be on his way to winning the award. At least now people have a collegiate game of experience in which to judge him.

It is prolly tough watching a "football" school take over the basketball world as quick as they did. Now only if Duke could build their football program- my god I cant believe I bought finished that sentence.

The whole "football" school taking over the basketball world has already been done as recently as, ummm, LAST YEAR. Does anyone remember Florida's dominance in the NCAA tournament last year? For some reason it is still fresh in my mind. So, I guess since I enjoyed watching them play well last year, even though they beat my Bruins, that scenario won't bother as much as you think it will.

Who cares if Duke has a good football team? They can continue to lose basically every game and it will not take away from me cheering for their basketball game. Until Coach K takes over the football program or Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts create a lethal QB to WR connection for the Blue Devils, I will continue to not pay any attention to that program. Since when did the success of one sport team have an effect on another program anyways? I don't think there is any correlation.

Oh, I almost forgot. You can't believe you "bought" finished that sentence? Are you trying to purchase the sentence, or did you mean "bout," as in ebonics for the word "about?" Just curious.

It's pretty funny how you are jumping on a guy for having a broken wrist and not being able to play, (you should take this preceding comma and use it a few sentences earlier) and for a school being smart with not pushing him too quickly.

I am glad you think I find humor in the situation because I really do. However, it is not because he has a broken wrist. The problem for me is not that he has a broken wrist or that Thad Matta (who is a genius recruiter by the way) has wisely kept him out early in the year. The problem lies with the people who are ready to replace their respective religious idol with G**g O**n. I have said all along that he is definitely a remarkable talent, but why not let him suit up first before changing religions to O**nism. The Valpo game was a good indicator that he will be phenomenal, but would it have been unbearable to wait until that game to shower him with collegiate praise?

The next sentence is my favorite.

I would think the basketball world is just anxious to see how good he will be and they have the right talk good about him when he has put himself in company like Lebron, and I'm sure your a bandwagon Cavs fan just like everyone else is.

Yes, it is obvious that the basketball world, and Buckeye fans in particular, are excited to watch O**n play because of the company in which he now holds. Here, my friend, is where your arguement goes tragically wrong (as if it made much sense before). LEBRON JAMES IS ONE OF MY LEAST FAVORITE PLAYERS IN THE NBA. The hype that has centered around the Bucks new center is what LeBron faced in 2003. I felt the same way about LeBron as I do O**n. Is LeBron an amazing NBA player? UM, DUH. That is not even questionable. It, however, does not mean I like him. I was a much bigger fan of Carmelo Anthony during that draft as I continue to be today. Now, I am also a huge fan of Dwyane Wade from the '03 draft class, who already has a championship ring (I wish I would have paid more attention to Wade when I saw him play in the Conference USA Finals for Marquette against Cincinnati. Who knew he would be my favorite player a few years later).

Thus, I am not a bandwagon Cavs fan as you so smartly stated. It was a nice try at an assumption, though.

Yes, as of now it is hype but from what we've seen from him we can assume he will be a dominate player.

So, you bash me for what I say, then basically agree with what I say. Interesting. Although I don't think we can assume for sure, it is highly likely we will be a superstar.

I bet if they were talking about someone from Duke like that, which is basically every year Dicky V is all over one of them, you wouldn't have no problem.

Aside from the lack of displaying any grammar skills in this sentence, you seem to view me as showing a complete bias towards Duke basketball. Yes, Duke is my favorite team. However, I am able to view sports in the big picture and not only realize, but respect, good teams. Ohio State and O**n will be an excellent team this year. Duke will likely struggle to win the ACC.

There is a reason that OSU will be good. It is because they will play a style that resembles the play in the ACC, not the typical Big Ten brawling basketball. Rather than games in the 50s and 60s, the Buckeyes will score 80-85 points a game. The last team to be successful from the Big Ten was Illinois, which also played a faster, finesse game with talented guards and agile big men. Although I will not cheer for the Buckeyes (obviously), they will be a fun team to watch play (and root against) because of their transformation to an ACC-style of play.

Also, Dicky V is always on Duke's side because they are constantly a powerhouse. He also is very enthusiastic for every team who plays well. That will never change with that man.

I'm glad that you decided to agree with the previous comment that O**n would swat me. Nice touch and originality.

The moral of this article is this:
When you decide to attempt to insult someone, the least you can do is pretend to be intelligent rather than portray yourself as the last two people did on my comment wall.

P.S. Please don't be afraid to leave your name rather than posting anonymously. It is nice for me to put a face with the words so I can decide if you hold any credibility with me.