Will You Be Watching?

The NBA has always had superstars. It's always had great teams. But in my opinion its really only had one true golden age which was the 80's and early 90's. That is until now. The 60's were dominated by Bill Russel and the Celtics. The biggest news from the 70's was the ABA merger and Julius Erving's hair. The 90's were dominated by that MJ fella and the early 2000's were the Lakers and then the most boring dynasty in NBA history the Spurs. However the 80's was a spoil of riches unlike any other in NBA history. A multitude of transcendent superstars where the only thing that matched the quantity was the quality. And even with that being said there were two that outshone all the rest. Julius Erving, Moses Malone, James Worthy, Robert Parish, Isiah Thomas, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and a young Michael Jordan all were stuck outside of the spotlight that was dominated by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Luckily for us, the spoil of riches is back. And if you're not watching NBA basketball you need to, be because you're missing out.

First of all the two in the spotlight: LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. They battle for the title of Best Player in the World on a nightly basis. To me its not really a question as amazingly brilliant as LeBron is. The best player in the world is Kobe Bryant. He's a better shooter, a better defender, can get to the rim at ease (even if he can't do it with the authority LeBron can), and the thing that separates him most from King James is he's an assassin. His nickname is the Black Mamba for a reason. He has no mercy and wants to rip your heart out. Interestingly enough if you ask LeBron James he agrees with me, saying Kobe is still the best. However LeBron is catching up quickly and in large part to Kobe and the time the two spent together on Team USA. LeBron has gone, in a year, from a defensive liability to an elite defensive player. He's also a greatly improved shooter, specifically from the FT line meaning you can't tackle him when he goes to the rim anymore (although he usually would still get at least the two anyway).

But the spoil of riches doesn't end there. Right outside the spotlight is a man, who unlike LeBron, already has a ring. Dwayne Wade is without a doubt to me the 3rd best player in the world. He's an elite defender, a great rebounder despite his size at 6'4", he can score in bunches from inside and out, and like Kobe has a killer instinct that makes him lethal on both ends of the court as the clock winds down. We saw this in the 2006 finals as he single handedly beat the Mavs but then he got hurt. And then he got hurt again. And again. And then, last year, the Heat did a brilliant thing. They sat him. They let him get healthy, and even when he could have played they made him sit. They weren't going to make the playoffs even in a horrid Eastern Conference and so they made sure he was 100%. And then the Olympics happened and Dwayne Wade was the best player on the floor, a floor that includes the two guys I've already talked about. This year he's had many magical moments and has found himself in the middle of every MVP discussion and his case is getting stronger with the more wins he wills his mediocre team too.

After that there is a significant drop off. Oh wait. No there's not. Not even close. To make it easier we'll go by position:

Point Guard: Its an argument we'll be having for years, who's better? Chris Paul or Deron Williams. It's also possibly a future blog topic. Both can pass, score, and our tremendous leaders. Most people say Paul has the edge and I agree but Williams is ridiculously close. Add in Devin Harris, Derrick Rose, and Tony Parker and we might have the highest quality of PG play the NBA has ever seen.

Shooting Guard: You can't start here without saying that Kobe and D-Wade got their own paragraphs. Next is Brandon Roy, who, ever since trading his Washington Purple for Portland Red he's been a stud. The future is also here in O.J. Mayo. He, along with Rudy Gay, might actually make the Grizzlies relevant sometime soon.

Small Forward: LeBron has his own paragraph above, nuff said about him. One of his best friends could also easily have his own paragraph and that's Carmelo Anthony. Melo has had his share of off the court problems but on the court he's been nothing short of spectacular. He can score with anybody and thanks to some quality time with his old college coach Jim Boeheim and Coach K this summer he now plays defense. From what seems like out of nowhere a guy named Danny Granger has emerged to be a 25+ ppg player who will eventually find his way out of Indiana and be a major player in this league. Also, Kevin Durant is still skinnier than me and only in his 2nd year and is already averaging 26 a game.

Power Forward: Relatively speaking Power Forward is a shallow position in the NBA right now. The argument for the best PF starts and ends with Chris Bosh. He's skilled and he's long which is a lethal combination. He's a great offensive player and a very good defensive player. The ugliest game in the NBA also resides in this position in Dirk Nowitski. He's not a good defender but he's 5th in the league in scoring and is every year. He's also capable of hitting the big shot. The future here isn't here yet but it's coming. His name is Blake Griffin and he's a monster. He's a freakish athlete and brutally strong. He's gonna give NBA forwards and their coaches fits for years to come. Don't sleep on last year's Blake Griffin either...yeah that Michael Beasley fellow. He hasn't been spectacular this year but he was just as dominant in the Big XII last year as Griffin was this year and he's a much better shooter than Griffin. We didn't get to see them battle as much in college as we would have liked but these two horses could be battling for years on the block in the NBA.

Center: This is always the weakest position in the NBA league wide because a great true center is hard to find. However there is one in the league right now and he's not going anywhere. Shaq may have been the original superman but Dwight Howard is the real deal. He is a young Shaq with a little less offensive game. He's got athleticism you're simply not supposed to have at his size. I sound like a broken record but Howard benefited immensely from his time with Team USA the past few summers because he had to play defense. Howard often found himself on the bench in favor of Chris Bosh because he couldn't defend the pick and roll. So he learned. And now he's the leagues leading shot blocker and rebounder and his offensive game is coming around.

You might say ok, that's a nice list of good players, but then you'd be selling yourself and those guys short. Every single player I named is or will within the next two years be a bonafide superstar. And it gets better. In 2010 many of them (including D-Wade and LeBron) could be finding new homes in major cities. You could have LeBron and Bosh in Madison Square 41 nights a year while D-Wade and D-Rose play in the house that Michael built in Chi-town while Kobe and his amazing young supporting cast are lighting up LA. Add in the fact that the Boston Three Party is already in Beantown and you're the 76ers giving Andre Iguadala some help more and better than Elton Brand from every major classic NBA team being a power house at the same time, for the first time in NBA history. It's coming people. Get ready. We're at the beginning of a golden age in NBA basketball and it's only going up. All the players I named with the exceptions of Kobe, Dirk, and Tony Paker were drafted after 2003 (the year of Lebron, D-Wade, Bosh and Melo). Not only are all of these players great but they're young. Really young. They'll still be around in 10 years and these 10 years will very likely be the best 10 years the NBA will see for a long long time. So as the ball goes up and the records go down the only question is, will you be watching?

I Hate You

Its no secret what drives sports.  It's the fans.  It's my teams better than yours and you're gonna like it.  This is taken to the extreme in rivalries.  This is the case for two reasons.  One, rivalries are often geographic and thus the fans know each other and the smack talk is real.  And, two, the players often don't like each other and this elevates the rivalry to a whole new level.  Two rivalries in sports often seem to transcend all others and I have a rooting interest in both: Yankees/Red Sox and Duke/UNC.  And since the Tarheels and my beloved Blue Devils are squaring off this weekend I figured I'd explore these rivalries and some other ones that make sports great.

1) Yankees/Red Sox

I'm not going to rank the rivalries because I haven't been able to experience all of them but if I was this one would no doubt be number 1 for one simple reason, it's a national rivalry.  No matter where you go there are always Yankees fans and there are always Red Sox fans.  It's "the nation" vs "the evil empire".  It's hard for people in the south to understand the depth of this rivalry because its a pro sports rivalry but up north, where this rivalry is centered, fans have the passion for pro sports that fans down south have for collegiate teams.  That being said all rivalries are made by the moments and no rivalry has the moments that Yankees/Red Sox has.  From Bucky "Bleepin" Dent to fights to Aaron "Bleepin" Boone to more fights this rivalry has enough moments to make the ESPN montage people giddy.  The next element of a rivalry is history.  This rivalry involves two of the most storied franchises in baseball history.  The Yankees: 26-time world champions and many of the greatest names ever to play the game.  And the Red Sox: 4-time world champions, also many great players, and one of the most storied title droughts in sports history. 

That's where this rivalry gets fun (and for me as a Yankees fan starts to suck): in 2004 the Yankees and Red Sox were playing in the ALCS and the Yankees had a 3-0 lead in the series and a lead in the 9th inning of what should have been the decisive game 4.  Instead the Red Sox had a 9th inning comeback and the first 3-0 series comeback in MLB history with the aid of a bloody sock and a few idiots and more history in this rivalry was made.  It's this combination of monumental moments mixed with monumental history that elevates this rivalry above all others.

2) Duke/UNC

This weekend the #1 and #3 teams in the country are meeting in Pittsburgh yet you've heard nothing about it.  Instead you've only heard what's going to happen in Chapel Hill where Duke and UNC will square off yet again.  These teams always meet twice a year and often a third time in the finals of the ACC tournament and every time is an event.  This rivalry has every aspect of the Yankees/Red Sox matchup except the national fan bases.  It has the names: Jordan, Carter, Stackhouse, Wallace, and Felton for UNC and Hill, Lattener, Redick, Williams, and Battier for Duke that are permanently printed in college basketball history (not to mention that Hansbrough fellow who will pass Redick as the ACC's all-time leading scorer by the end of the year).  It also has the moments: Jason Capel's half-court shot in '94, Chris Duhon's reverse lay-up ten years later, Gerald Henderson breaking Psycho-T's nose, and of course Speedo Guy.  Finally it has the history:  the teams have met 124 straight times when at least one of the two teams were ranked, including 65 when both have been.  Also as a fun fact, the first ever "air-ball" chant occurred in this rivalry per the Cameron Crazies.

3) Intrastate Hate

In some states there are a multitude of teams that all can't stand each other.  Florida has Miami, Florida, and Miami in a triangle of football powerhouses.  California has USC, UCLA, and Cal all in the LA area.  Texas has Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M.  These states don't seem to have the hatred that states like South Carolina, Alabama, Oregon, and Arizona which all have 2 premier athletic schools both of which are state schools.  Clemson and South Carolina, Auburn and Alabama, Oregon and Oregon State, and Arizona and Arizona State all divide their respective states in two.  Even if you are a fan of another team you like one more than the other.  You have no choice.  Now add in the various fights (see Clemson/USC in 2004 with Dr. Lou in the middle), daily trash talk, and recruiting battles and you've got what makes sports great on a day to day basis.

4) Ohio State/Michigan

In terms of passion college football probably takes the cake nationwide and Ohio State/Michigan is historically the cream of the crop when it comes to college football rivalries.  Heisman winners such as George, Howard, Woodson, and Archie Griffin (the only two-time winner) have laced it up in The Big House and The Horseshoe for THE Ohio State and the Maize and Blue.  This rivalry however hit its peak in an era known as the ten-year war from 1969-1978 when Bo Schembechler was walking the sides for Michigan and Woody Hayes for Ohio State.  Schembechler was an assistant under Hayes and an Ohio State grad who invented what it meant to be a Michigan man.  Over the ten year period Michigan went 5-4-1 giving the student a slight edge over the teacher.  Since the ten year war the rivalry has continued to be one of the greatest in sports giving us moments like Desmond Howard striking the Heisman and Charles Woodson paying homage to him years later.  Also in 2006 it gave us a thrilling #1 vs #2 match up on the last Saturday before Thanksgiving for a spot in the national title game.

5) Other Honorable Mentions

There are many other great rivalries in sports and there are many top 5, top ten, and top (insert number of rivalries you want to rank here) lists out there and here are a few that always make those lists:

• Cubs vs Cardinals-Two franchises with great history and a great rivalry because of their division battles and close proximity.
• Pittsburgh vs West Virginia-called "The Backyard Brawl", these two rivals play every year in football at the end of the season and in recent years Pittsburgh has ruined high hopes for West Virginia including a shot at the national title game in 2007.
• Celtics vs Lakers-This rivalry is finally back after a 20 year hiatus by the Celtics from basketball's elite.  It all started in the 60's and hit its height in the 80's with the epic battles between Magic and Bird and is now fresh again with Kobe and crew versus the Big 3.

These are just some of the rivalries that make sports great.  There are many more from the pros all the way down to rec leagues across the country.  All of these rivalries have their unique aspects yet all have the same ingredients that make them great.  So as you sit down to watch Duke and UNC hopefully battle twice in a week remember you're watching part of history.  So pick a side and root hard.  And if you pick the lighter shade of blue, I won't like you.  Nothing personal though.

Sports Are Weird

Sports are unique in oh so many different ways from any other form of business. Where else in the world do the workers (the players) make more than the managers (the coaches and GM's)? And in what other line of work do the managers get fired when the workers don't perform? But with the NBA trade deadline now behind us I would like to examine another quirk of sports: in no other line of business can you get transferred and not have a say in where you move and if you move at all?

Now I realize that people get transferred in business all the time. This occurred recently to a family friend of mine when the business he worked for merged with a Canadian business and thus he and his family now live north of the border. The difference between this situation and sports though is there are no other options. If the Johnsons had wanted to stay in Greenville (where I'm from) they could have. Joe could have taken a job else where with another company doing a similar job. However he liked the company he was with so he stayed and in doing so left. In sports that's not an option. When Shawn Marion was traded to Toronto he couldn't say, "No thanks, I really like the weather here" and stay in Miami to play basketball elsewhere in south Florida. He simply had to pack his bags and head to Toronto.

I'm very torn on whether I'm ok with this or not. On one hand you have the other people involved in this, the players families. Its hard enough for the players to go out on the road and devote endless hours to be the top players in the world while still being a good dad (or mom) at home. In the NFL it's slightly easier because teams are home during the week and only have 8 road game per year. However in the NBA and MLB, players are on the road for 41 and 81 games a year respectively. Add in travel days and off days where the team is just on the road and that's a lot of days away from home. Then there's the aspect we're actually talking about here and that's the trade. If a team trades a player he typically doesn't have warning it's going to happen and if he does he still typically doesn't know where he'll wind up. He can't go and find a house in his new home city, he has to continue playing. Thus the family typically stays in the old city for the time being and the player is now constantly away from his family.

Although that doesn't sit well with me, I'm still OK with the entire trade process for one reason: money. Athletes say it all the time about sports: it's a business. Moves are made for on and off the court reasons and neither one takes in to the account how much nicer the weather is in Miami than Toronto. Professional athletes get paid insane amounts of money and they know when they sign up to make that money that they have to sacrifice a few things, including some family time and stability. And since they agree to that, the concept of a trade is ok with me.

Plain and simple: sports are weird. There is no other business that is operated more in the public eye or any other business that is more accountable to its customers. We as fans love our sports and in turn love our athletes. We just sometimes forget that they're people. People, myself included, say they hate athletes all the time, most of whom we've never met. So let's try to remember that these people are in fact people. And when they get traded they're not merely business objects, they are living, breathing human beings who now must adjust to a new work place, new co-workers, and a new way of doing things. So Shawn Marion, I gotcha. I realize you're human. Oh and if you decide to take a side trip to Montreal, tell the Johnsons I say "Hi."

Do I Really Wanna Do This?

A lot of people re-acted a lot of different ways to the Sports Illustrated report that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids. Some people had the "here we go again" approach, some people couldn't wait to see what the next development was, while others were disgusted. I was one of the disgusted ones, but not for the same reason as everybody else. Yes, espescially as a Yankees fan I'm dissappointed in Alex Rodriguez because he is supposed to be one of the good guys. He, along with Ken Griffey Jr, Derek Jeter, and others were supposed to be the clean Golden Boys of the steroid era. But no, I wasn't disgusted with Alex Rodriguez. I'm disgusted with Selena Roberts and Sports Illustrated. The test Rodriguez failed, which was in 2003, he only agreed to take (along with the rest of the MLB players who were randomly tested) under the agreement that it was anonymous and the results would never be revealed. The purpose of the test was NOT to find out who was taking steroids but how many people were taking steroids. The survey testing revealed that about 5%, or 104 players, tested positive, including A-rod. But the last part, including A-rod, should have never been known to anybody, and the way the testing was constructed it was very possible that it could have. However with the perjury case against Barry Bonds the names of the players and the codes on the samples were matched up. To me this also should not have happened outside of Bonds test but I am not in place to challenge our governments pursuit of Bonds in its destruction of Balco.

I am in a position however to question the ethics of the sports writers who wrote the report. Here is yet another case where I believe the media has outstepped its bounds. Considering I'm now on two TV shows and a radio show, I now would be kidding myself if I didn't consider myself part of the media, however a small of a part, and I can truly say that when I see something like this happen, a persons trust and more importantly rights greatly violated by reporters who obtain information from sealed court documents, I am ashamed of that. It also makes me think twice about wanting to become a bigger part of it. Now I know my parents read this and no, mom and dad, I'm not changing my major (again) and my career goals haven't changed but it makes me think about some of the bad press the press gets.

The media can do great things like re-unite families, but they can also divide them. The media can also give a person, deserved or not, they're 15 minutes of fame which can also be good or bad. However if you're already famous the media isn't typically going to be your friend. Ask A-Rod even before this when pictures of him with a woman who wasn't his wife (which may or may not have at all been significant) surfaced on the back pages of New York papers. Ok so maybe they don't like A-Rod. If say, you're an Olympic hero or something like that you'd be safe. Oh wait. No you're not. Michael Phelps was having a good time with friends at a college party, friends who are his age mind you, and someone took a picture while he had a bong in his face. This picture would have never surfaced if it wasn't for the immense amount of money the photographer was offered by a British tabloid. Something he thought was private became public.

I understand that athletes are public figures and thus must live their lives to a higher standard while in the public eye. And don't get me wrong, I'm dissappointed in Phelps and I'm dissapointed in A-Rod and since A-Rod is guilty he did the right thing as Phelps did and apologized, explained himself (and in A-Rod's case even elaborated) and begin the process of moving on with his life. However what is private should stay private and that used to be the case. What was said off the record stayed off the record. What was supposed to be anonymous stayed anonymous and what happened in a player's personal life we never found out about unless it somehow effected his play on the field. But this seems to have gone by the way-side. What SI should have said to whoever the mole is in this situation is no thanks, we have a respect for the players involved and we're turning you in because you've violated federal court orders. Now, instead we'll eventually find out all 104 names and Alex Rodriguez's career will be forever tainted. To me he's still a Hall of Famer but that's now at risk because of a snitch and reporters that gave him credibility. In a year where Ed Werder was just as responsible as TO, Jerry Jones, and Tony Romo for the circus in Dallas, America's favorite olympian got turned in for having fun in a private setting, and ESPN has played FBI on more than one occasion (Pacman even admitted they're good detectives) this is just another time that the media has outstepped its bounds.

I'm all for shows such as Dateline that catch criminals in conjunction with law enforcement but when the media decides to play law enforcement, or report on something that has been stolen from law enforcement such as sealed court documents they cross the ethical line. It's a cheap thrill. It's an easy commercial tease. Here: look what we found. Instead I have a suggestion: do some real reporting. Go document a basketball player going to a school for the NBA's Read to Achieve program. Show Michael Phelps when he visits kids around the country and helps them out in the pool. Show the NFL doing work with the United Way. Give me more Roberto Clemente and less Roger Clemens. I'm not saying don't tell us this stuff. If it comes out report on it. That's your job. You're supposed to report, not investigate. And thus I conclude with the wise words of the one and only Dr. Gregory House directed towards the national sports media: "Do your damn job."

Man that guys smart.

One Big Thing-1/31/09

Economy+Rays+Cowboys=Manny?

As of now the above equation makes no sense. However you're only through the first two sentences so chill out, relax, and I will explain.

Manny Ramirez, in my mind, is on the short list of the greatest hitters of my time. To me he's top 3 with only Albert Pujols and Barry Bonds (steroids or not) being in his league. I'm not talking top players because none of the above are great 5-tool players (although Bonds was in his prime) but top hitters. They have the combination of amazing power along with the ability to hit for a very high average. Manny showed that he has this power at an ultra elite level this year when he cut the crap, cut his hair, and played baseball hitting .396 with 17 HR in 53 games for the Dodgers this year. Yet despite this incredible ability he doesn't have a job. To me there are 2 reasons for this...and here they are.

1) The Economy

Baseball is not immune to the economic situation. Even the Yankees aren't, cause if they were Manny would be in pinstripes right now. The teams with money have either spent it (Yankees), don't want him (Red Sox, Angels), or are the Dodgers who as the last team left have all the power. If I'm the Dodgers I offer him a 1 year deal with club options for years 2, 3, and 4. This way Manny has to play for his money every year. The Dodgers can afford the $25 million a year price tag that Manny and Scott Boras, his agent, want and they're willing to give it to him, just not for 3 or 4 years. And if you don't have to, then why would you?

2) The Cowboys/Rays factor

The what????? The Cowboys/Rays factor...aka chemistry. Manny was an exceptional teammate in LA, taking young hitters under his wing and raising the level of the entire team. However we all saw what he did in Boston. So how do the Cowboys and Rays fit into it? Easy: The Cowboys were a supremely talented team with supremely poor chemistry; on the other hand the Rays were a fairly talented team with amazing chemistry. The results: The 'Boys miss the playoffs and are re-thinking everything from coach to star WR while the Rays make a World Series run and are poised for a consistent stay in the AL East for years to come. Chemistry is important and thus the Dodgers don't want Manny to turn to bad Boston Manny and ruin the chemistry of their club.

All that being said I think Manny is worth the risk. Joe Torre can control the Man-Ram and thus I think if he won't agree to my "one-year at a time deal" they should offer him a 3-year deal and get him. Manny loves LA and LA loves Manny. It's a match made in heaven. Well it would be if they'd just sign the damn contract...

So for now, we wait. Boras says there are other teams involved. I don't believe him. Either way, Manny will be on someone's roster soon and that team will be very very happy. But the more I think about it, I should've expected all this. After all it's just Boras being Boras, and Manny being Manny.

Craig