If you haven't seen the new NBA Live 07 commercials, many of them feature Adam Morrison, former Gonzaga standout and NBA draft prospect. Many expect him to go within the top 5 of the NBA draft.
The one commercial that stands out in my mind the most is the one that has Adam talking about the game in which he cried on the court. In the commercial Adam is saying, "So what, I cried, so what." He goes on to say that it just shows his love for the game. Honestly, I couldn't agree with him more. Crying is no big deal. It does show your dedication to the game. Emotions always show how you feel about something, especially in sports. However, with that said, the same commercial has Adam going on to say that when he reaches the NBA that he'll make people cry. Now hold it right there. He's going to make people cry? That's a pretty big claim before not even being drafted yet. Sure you will probably go within the first 5, but you'll probably go to one of the worst teams and your impact will be minimal to say the least. That's how the draft works. The worst teams always get the top picks because, well, they just plain suck. Now it's not that way all of the time but the majority of the time it is. Back to what I was saying, it's my opinion that Adam shouldn't be making those type of claims this early in his career. Because you never know, he may have been good at Gonzaga, but Gonzaga isn't the NBA and until he makes that transition and he really does make people cry then I think that he should stop making claims that he's going to be great while he's ahead.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Having Doubts?
In a recent interview with Knicks owner, James Dolan, and new head coach, Isiah Thomas, James Dolan said that if Isiah didn't make significant changes in the next year that he would be gone along with Larry Brown. It amazes me that James Dolan expects almost a complete turn around of his team within the next year. It didn't happen this past year and I don't expect it to happen this year. They may get a few more wins but I don't expect them to be over .500 this season and I'll keep then in the worst 7 teams.
Another funny thing about this whole thing is that in that same interview, Isiah Thomas said that he was a little bit "ticked" at James Dolan for putting him under tremendous pressure to change his team within one year. That tells me that Isiah Thomas has doubts that it can be done within one year. That also makes me wonder if Thomas stood up for Larry Brown when he didn't make the Knicks better in one year. Maybe we'll never know. What I do know is that if I was Isiah Thomas, I would start looking for another job, especially when you have doubts in your own mind.
Another funny thing about this whole thing is that in that same interview, Isiah Thomas said that he was a little bit "ticked" at James Dolan for putting him under tremendous pressure to change his team within one year. That tells me that Isiah Thomas has doubts that it can be done within one year. That also makes me wonder if Thomas stood up for Larry Brown when he didn't make the Knicks better in one year. Maybe we'll never know. What I do know is that if I was Isiah Thomas, I would start looking for another job, especially when you have doubts in your own mind.
Friday, June 23, 2006
What were they thinking???
On Thursday, the New York Knicks announced that Head Coach Larry Brown had been fired from the organization. My question is, "Why?" What were they thinking? The New York Knicks hired Larry Brown to improve their organization, yet only after 1 year he has been let go. What sense does that make?
In the NBA, Larry Brown has been dubbed, "Mr. Fix-it" because he's so good at taking horrid teams and making them all stars. He's the only coach ever to have both a NBA Championship and an NCAA Championship. He's in the Hall of Fame. That right there should say something. I guess that wasn't enough though. Apparently, James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks, expected a complete turnaround of his team within one season and when he didn't get it he just got ticked and fired the hall of fame coach.
The thing that I find so ironic is that Larry Brown had a 5 year contract. Why not let Larry fofill his contract. The Draft is a week away and traded are going to be made throughout the postseason. Why not let Larry Brown make some trades and try to improve the Knicks. After all, it's not his fault that the Knicks just plain suck and their best player, Stephon Marbury, averages less points per game (16.3) than some 6th men. I think not. Brown tried more than 40 different starting lineups this season and almost nothing seemed to work the way he wanted it to but it shows that he was going to work on the team to try to improve it.
In a statement to the New York Post, Larry Brown states that he didn't do his job and let the team down. That couldn't be further from the truth. Brown did and an excellent job with the Knicks. His players are the ones that let him down by not playing their best. The organization let HIM down by not letting him do his job to the full extent and in the amount of time that they gave him to do it in. That would be 5 years.
Isiah Thomas has become the new Head Coach of the Knicks. With that said, should he be worried about his job? I would be. If Isiah doesn't make some major changes within the league the the Knicks are going to be in the same predicament as last year. Even James Dolan should realize that. He's got to be a fool not to. If I were Isiah Thomas, I think that I'd be looking for another job.
In the NBA, Larry Brown has been dubbed, "Mr. Fix-it" because he's so good at taking horrid teams and making them all stars. He's the only coach ever to have both a NBA Championship and an NCAA Championship. He's in the Hall of Fame. That right there should say something. I guess that wasn't enough though. Apparently, James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks, expected a complete turnaround of his team within one season and when he didn't get it he just got ticked and fired the hall of fame coach.
The thing that I find so ironic is that Larry Brown had a 5 year contract. Why not let Larry fofill his contract. The Draft is a week away and traded are going to be made throughout the postseason. Why not let Larry Brown make some trades and try to improve the Knicks. After all, it's not his fault that the Knicks just plain suck and their best player, Stephon Marbury, averages less points per game (16.3) than some 6th men. I think not. Brown tried more than 40 different starting lineups this season and almost nothing seemed to work the way he wanted it to but it shows that he was going to work on the team to try to improve it.
In a statement to the New York Post, Larry Brown states that he didn't do his job and let the team down. That couldn't be further from the truth. Brown did and an excellent job with the Knicks. His players are the ones that let him down by not playing their best. The organization let HIM down by not letting him do his job to the full extent and in the amount of time that they gave him to do it in. That would be 5 years.
Isiah Thomas has become the new Head Coach of the Knicks. With that said, should he be worried about his job? I would be. If Isiah doesn't make some major changes within the league the the Knicks are going to be in the same predicament as last year. Even James Dolan should realize that. He's got to be a fool not to. If I were Isiah Thomas, I think that I'd be looking for another job.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Flip Flops
The more and more I think about this, the more and more I laugh. With the NBA Finals now over, the sale of Miami Heat memorabilia is sure to rocket sky high. Same for the Stanley Cup winners the Carolina Hurricanes. This goes for any sport. It's just funny to me how many people are wearing champions Jersey or now have the champions logo on their car. You can see it all around and within the next week or two it is sure to spread like wildfire. I just et a kick out of things like that. It makes me wonder if they are true fans or just trying to fit in.
Now if you live in a Hugh city like Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, or any number of other cities, I don't mean you. I live in a small town not even 100,000 people strong. We have no professional sports so when someone like the Spurs win the NBA Finals, everyone has something that has to do with that team. Same thing for the Heat this year. It's going to happen. Always does.
I remember when The Texas longhorns beat LSU this past year. Sales of Longhorn stuff was everywhere. Everyone wore orange for weeks. It almost drove me crazy. I mean, I know that we live in Texas but come on. If you expect me to believe that there are that many Texas longhorns fans here in my little town then your poorly mistaken. Nobody ever talked about the Longhorns. It was always A&M and Texas Tech, Baylor, Duke, Florida Gators, and many others. Maybe a few but not as many as there were after the longhorns won. I just get a kick out of how many people follow the trend of others and claim that they are fans of the teams that have just won.
I don't watch many sports, however I do watch Basketball and I watch a lot of it. As for me, I'll always be a Mavericks fan. Go Mavs.
Now if you live in a Hugh city like Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, or any number of other cities, I don't mean you. I live in a small town not even 100,000 people strong. We have no professional sports so when someone like the Spurs win the NBA Finals, everyone has something that has to do with that team. Same thing for the Heat this year. It's going to happen. Always does.
I remember when The Texas longhorns beat LSU this past year. Sales of Longhorn stuff was everywhere. Everyone wore orange for weeks. It almost drove me crazy. I mean, I know that we live in Texas but come on. If you expect me to believe that there are that many Texas longhorns fans here in my little town then your poorly mistaken. Nobody ever talked about the Longhorns. It was always A&M and Texas Tech, Baylor, Duke, Florida Gators, and many others. Maybe a few but not as many as there were after the longhorns won. I just get a kick out of how many people follow the trend of others and claim that they are fans of the teams that have just won.
I don't watch many sports, however I do watch Basketball and I watch a lot of it. As for me, I'll always be a Mavericks fan. Go Mavs.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Check This Out!
I was roaming around on the internet looking for sports stories to research and stuff when I came across the Palace Brawl video. I clicked on it which led me to another site with about a billion crappy videos. There was one that stood up above the rest. Cute and funny to say the least. Click here to view the video.
Well, Well...
I can't believe it. The Miami Heat. World Champions. I guess I should say it. I was wrong in my game 6 prediction...Or was I? Sure the Mavericks lost like I said they wouldn't, however that's not what I'm talking about. As most of you could have figured out by the title of this Blog, I'm a die hard Dallas Mavericks fan. With that said let me say that I'm not a prick either. I like the game of basketball with a passion. When I say I'm not a prick I mean that I care about the way that the game is played. I'm upset, not that the Mavericks lost. Honestly. What bothers me the most about this years NBA finals...That would be...hmmm, well I guess several things.
First of all I guess that the overdoing of foul calls. This is, or was, the Finals. The Officials should expect some intense playing from both sides. Was it me or was there a whistle on every other play? Calm down DeRosa. Don't be so whistle happy Crawford. I mean, come on. Enough is enough. Let people earn the title not shoot for it.
The Suspensions that the Mavericks took this post season were just plain outrageous. Jason Terry's suspension was weird. Not because he didn't punch Michael Finley, but the fact that he wasn't ejected from the game right then and there. Under the Official NBA Rulebook, Section 9:b says and I quote, "Any player who throws a punch, whether it connects or not, has committed an unsportsmanlike act. He will be ejected immediately and be suspended for a minimum of one game." Now Jason Terry was suspended for the one game but never ejected from the game that this happened. Michael Finley was almost screaming at the officials that Terry had punched him but apparently that didn't think that the throw was a punch. Later it was ruled that it was a punch and he was suspended. How does that work? I don't like it when things are ruled one way and then changed the next. The final decision made at the game should be the one that stands. You can compare this situation with Indian giving.
DJ Mbenga went into the stands during Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns and was suspended 6 games. If you saw the video, DJ was just standing there not saying a word. Mark Cuban was doing all the talking. I know that The Rulebook says in Section 5:l that a player must be ejected for entering the stands. But not suspended. But so what. So he was suspended. But 6 games. Come on. Not even New Your Knicks Center Antonio Davis got that much and when he went into the stands to confront someone that he claims was swinging at his wife and grabbing her. When you look at the Antonio Davis Video vs. The DJ Mbenga video, you tell me which one is worse and who should have been suspended more games. All I want is a level of consistency among all of these "punishments".
The most recent for the Mavericks was Jerry Stackhouse. Suspended for a hard foul on Shaq, Stackhouse got suspended one game. Stackhouse was called for a flagrant foul(1) when his elbow collided with Shaq's face during a shot block attempt. This is going to sound like the Terry suspension but it's just my own opinion. Like I said, this was only a flagrant foul(1), not a flagrant foul(2) which earns you the right to be ejected from the game. My view is if it's not bad enough to be ejected right then and there, then it doesn't warrant a suspension. I'm tired of this, "It's ok now, but tomorrow it will become unacceptable and we'll suspend you for it" type of attitude. That's a bunch of (fill in the blank). If you turn back time and go to game one you'll notice that the Stack/Shaq foul happened in that game also only Stackhouse took the elbow in the face. Right in the nose rather. Shaq fouled Stackhouse so hard that it literally looked as if Stackhouse had hit a brick wall running as fast as he could. Shaq elbowed Stackhouse so hard that he busted open his nose. Not just a bloody nose, but an open nose that required stiches to repair. What did Shaq get for that. A personal foul. No flagrant. Just a personal. Figure that one out.
In the end I guess that I should just stop complaining about what could have been or what should have been. The Finals are over and Miami is the new Champions. However with that said there is one thing that I NEVER EVER want to hear Shaq say but I'm sure that he will...
Two years ago when Shaq came to Miami he promised that he would bring them a ring. I don't want him to go back to Miami and say, "See Miami, I told you that I would bring you a ring." That's a bunch of bull ca-ca. Shaq's performance in this series was terrible. He never made an impact in any game. Congrats Shaq. You have 4 rings. Without Kobe and Dwyane, you'd have none. Why people think that your one of the best I'll never know. Sorry Tim, same thing goes for you.
First of all I guess that the overdoing of foul calls. This is, or was, the Finals. The Officials should expect some intense playing from both sides. Was it me or was there a whistle on every other play? Calm down DeRosa. Don't be so whistle happy Crawford. I mean, come on. Enough is enough. Let people earn the title not shoot for it.
The Suspensions that the Mavericks took this post season were just plain outrageous. Jason Terry's suspension was weird. Not because he didn't punch Michael Finley, but the fact that he wasn't ejected from the game right then and there. Under the Official NBA Rulebook, Section 9:b says and I quote, "Any player who throws a punch, whether it connects or not, has committed an unsportsmanlike act. He will be ejected immediately and be suspended for a minimum of one game." Now Jason Terry was suspended for the one game but never ejected from the game that this happened. Michael Finley was almost screaming at the officials that Terry had punched him but apparently that didn't think that the throw was a punch. Later it was ruled that it was a punch and he was suspended. How does that work? I don't like it when things are ruled one way and then changed the next. The final decision made at the game should be the one that stands. You can compare this situation with Indian giving.
DJ Mbenga went into the stands during Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns and was suspended 6 games. If you saw the video, DJ was just standing there not saying a word. Mark Cuban was doing all the talking. I know that The Rulebook says in Section 5:l that a player must be ejected for entering the stands. But not suspended. But so what. So he was suspended. But 6 games. Come on. Not even New Your Knicks Center Antonio Davis got that much and when he went into the stands to confront someone that he claims was swinging at his wife and grabbing her. When you look at the Antonio Davis Video vs. The DJ Mbenga video, you tell me which one is worse and who should have been suspended more games. All I want is a level of consistency among all of these "punishments".
The most recent for the Mavericks was Jerry Stackhouse. Suspended for a hard foul on Shaq, Stackhouse got suspended one game. Stackhouse was called for a flagrant foul(1) when his elbow collided with Shaq's face during a shot block attempt. This is going to sound like the Terry suspension but it's just my own opinion. Like I said, this was only a flagrant foul(1), not a flagrant foul(2) which earns you the right to be ejected from the game. My view is if it's not bad enough to be ejected right then and there, then it doesn't warrant a suspension. I'm tired of this, "It's ok now, but tomorrow it will become unacceptable and we'll suspend you for it" type of attitude. That's a bunch of (fill in the blank). If you turn back time and go to game one you'll notice that the Stack/Shaq foul happened in that game also only Stackhouse took the elbow in the face. Right in the nose rather. Shaq fouled Stackhouse so hard that it literally looked as if Stackhouse had hit a brick wall running as fast as he could. Shaq elbowed Stackhouse so hard that he busted open his nose. Not just a bloody nose, but an open nose that required stiches to repair. What did Shaq get for that. A personal foul. No flagrant. Just a personal. Figure that one out.
In the end I guess that I should just stop complaining about what could have been or what should have been. The Finals are over and Miami is the new Champions. However with that said there is one thing that I NEVER EVER want to hear Shaq say but I'm sure that he will...
Two years ago when Shaq came to Miami he promised that he would bring them a ring. I don't want him to go back to Miami and say, "See Miami, I told you that I would bring you a ring." That's a bunch of bull ca-ca. Shaq's performance in this series was terrible. He never made an impact in any game. Congrats Shaq. You have 4 rings. Without Kobe and Dwyane, you'd have none. Why people think that your one of the best I'll never know. Sorry Tim, same thing goes for you.
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