This is a post I've been wanting to write since July 2008. Word broke late last night that the Maloofs, owners of the Sacramento Kings, sold their majority ownership interest to Chris Hansen and his group. With this sale, it begin the process of the return of the Seattle SuperSonics.
People who know me know my connection to that city. I wrote back in 2008 when Clay Bennett and his group moved the franchise to Oklahoma City and ripped the heart out of the city. The producers of Sonicsgate did a great job of telling the story. And they made sure the mantra was said "No city is safe."
Unfortunately Sacramento is one of those cities. I feel bad for Kings fans. They had bad ownership (like the Sonics had with Starbucks founder Howard Schultz) which led to bad management of the team. However, there are differences this time around. Chris Hansen's intentions were straightforward from the start. He and his group hasn't lied to the city of Sacramento, hasn't tried to make things difficult for the team by trying to get them to tank. They've been upfront, something that Clay Bennett and his group never were.
On the one hand, it's sad that what Clay Bennett and his group did inevitably cost Sacramento their franchise and gives another reason why I don't like that ownership group.
On the other hand, it'll be so great to see the green and gold, to hear Kevin Calabro doing play by play commentary, to see Squatch courtside. The Sonics are coming back, they're not just a regular team:
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2013
Monday, August 13, 2012
Reflections on the 2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London have come to a close. Here are some reflections looking back at the XXX Summer Olympics.
*Like I said before, Michael Phelps was dominant. He will go down probably as the best Olympian of this generation. It will be a long time (if ever) that someone will match his medal total.
*Along the lines of dominant, Usain Bolt would qualify as well. To repeat gold in sprinting is very impressive. Definitely when you think speed, Bolt comes to mind. It will be interesting to see if he will compete in Rio in 4 years. I haven't heard otherwise. So we could have the first man to three-peat winning the gold in the 100m....which would put him in line for best Olympian of this generation with Phelps.
*It was great to see an All-American final in women's beach volleyball. Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings won their 3rd gold in a row. They were impressive in that they only lost 1 set in their Olympic career together. I admit that I was rooting for Jennifer Kessy and April Ross to win but in the end was happy for Misty and Kerri. What's interesting is that Misty is retiring but Kerri is continuing on to Rio. So she could be going for her 4th gold medal in 4 Olympics. Something to watch for...
*The women's basketball team won their 5th consecutive Gold medal dating back to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. It is the longest Gold medal streak in any women's sport in the Olympics. It seemed that in this Olympics a lot of talk went to the women's soccer team and not so much to the basketball team. But regardless, what the basketball team did was impressive and they will strive for a 6th straight Gold medal in Rio.
*On the men's side, they did their job in winning another Gold medal. They had a tough finals against Spain and won by only 7. A lot was made about this year's team in comparison to the '92 Dream Team but in an of themselves they were a good team. I still don't think this year's team could beat the '08 Redeem Team, but they did win the Gold so props to them. I hope that the pros continue to play in the Olympics because it makes it mean more. I don't think there will be changes in 4 years but after that who knows.
*This Olympics was definitely the "Social Media" Olympics. Twitter was still in it's infancy in '08 and was picking up steam in '10 in Vancouver but this year it was everywhere. Coupled that with smart phones and online coverage and it seemed that everyone was talking about the Olympics in those mediums. That coupled with the disdain for tape delay (a tradition in Olympic coverage) made for a lot of frustrating times when it came to the "primetime" events. Part of that I said before was the '08 games had more of the "primetime" events live & not on tape delay given it was halfway around the world. With it only being about 5 hours from East Coast to London it was just rough. However, the next Winter & Summer games could be less of that. I do think NBC will tweak their coverage and improve it based on the "social media" response that was given.
*Overall, London did a great job and should be commended. It'll be interesting how Rio does in 4 years.
*Like I said before, Michael Phelps was dominant. He will go down probably as the best Olympian of this generation. It will be a long time (if ever) that someone will match his medal total.
*Along the lines of dominant, Usain Bolt would qualify as well. To repeat gold in sprinting is very impressive. Definitely when you think speed, Bolt comes to mind. It will be interesting to see if he will compete in Rio in 4 years. I haven't heard otherwise. So we could have the first man to three-peat winning the gold in the 100m....which would put him in line for best Olympian of this generation with Phelps.
*It was great to see an All-American final in women's beach volleyball. Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings won their 3rd gold in a row. They were impressive in that they only lost 1 set in their Olympic career together. I admit that I was rooting for Jennifer Kessy and April Ross to win but in the end was happy for Misty and Kerri. What's interesting is that Misty is retiring but Kerri is continuing on to Rio. So she could be going for her 4th gold medal in 4 Olympics. Something to watch for...
*The women's basketball team won their 5th consecutive Gold medal dating back to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. It is the longest Gold medal streak in any women's sport in the Olympics. It seemed that in this Olympics a lot of talk went to the women's soccer team and not so much to the basketball team. But regardless, what the basketball team did was impressive and they will strive for a 6th straight Gold medal in Rio.
*On the men's side, they did their job in winning another Gold medal. They had a tough finals against Spain and won by only 7. A lot was made about this year's team in comparison to the '92 Dream Team but in an of themselves they were a good team. I still don't think this year's team could beat the '08 Redeem Team, but they did win the Gold so props to them. I hope that the pros continue to play in the Olympics because it makes it mean more. I don't think there will be changes in 4 years but after that who knows.
*This Olympics was definitely the "Social Media" Olympics. Twitter was still in it's infancy in '08 and was picking up steam in '10 in Vancouver but this year it was everywhere. Coupled that with smart phones and online coverage and it seemed that everyone was talking about the Olympics in those mediums. That coupled with the disdain for tape delay (a tradition in Olympic coverage) made for a lot of frustrating times when it came to the "primetime" events. Part of that I said before was the '08 games had more of the "primetime" events live & not on tape delay given it was halfway around the world. With it only being about 5 hours from East Coast to London it was just rough. However, the next Winter & Summer games could be less of that. I do think NBC will tweak their coverage and improve it based on the "social media" response that was given.
*Overall, London did a great job and should be commended. It'll be interesting how Rio does in 4 years.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Random Sports Reflections
Reflections during the middle of summer...
*Didn't write about it last week but briefly wanted to address the Robinson Cano/Home Run Derby event. (Full disclosure, I'm a Royals fan). A lot was made of the booing (especially by the national media) for Cano and personally I think it was okay. Ultimately, Cano should understand that words matter. When he said a month before that he would pick a hometown guy for the Home Run derby, that people held him to that. If he had never said that, I don't believe that he would've been booed as loud or even at all. Words are important and what you say matters.
*Speaking of words and actions, Dwight Howard. I don't think I've seen an athlete go from being so well liked to being so disliked over the course of a year like him. I'm kind of dumbfounded how a seemingly bright and talented young man has made that transition to being a guy that people want on their team to a guy that they don't. The way he has conducted himself the past year in Orlando is a great example of how not to act. I definitely think he needs a good, mature mentor to speak into his life. I believe that he's a talented player and can be a part of a championship team. But his attitude definitely needs working on for sure.
*The Linsanity is gone in New York. Jeremy Lin is going back to Houston. Couple of things on this development. One, it is interesting that Tebow comes to NY and then Lin leaves (just a funny coincidence). Second, I think this was a bad play for the Knicks. They could've had Lin back if they wanted him. And to be honest, they should've. He's a young, up and coming player who energized a city like no Knicks player in a decade or more. I think they will be hard pressed to capture that magic again with this squad. As for the Rockets, it'll be interesting how they will go. But if he can energize that team and fan base, it will make for an interesting situation in the Lone Star State.
*Didn't write about it last week but briefly wanted to address the Robinson Cano/Home Run Derby event. (Full disclosure, I'm a Royals fan). A lot was made of the booing (especially by the national media) for Cano and personally I think it was okay. Ultimately, Cano should understand that words matter. When he said a month before that he would pick a hometown guy for the Home Run derby, that people held him to that. If he had never said that, I don't believe that he would've been booed as loud or even at all. Words are important and what you say matters.
*Speaking of words and actions, Dwight Howard. I don't think I've seen an athlete go from being so well liked to being so disliked over the course of a year like him. I'm kind of dumbfounded how a seemingly bright and talented young man has made that transition to being a guy that people want on their team to a guy that they don't. The way he has conducted himself the past year in Orlando is a great example of how not to act. I definitely think he needs a good, mature mentor to speak into his life. I believe that he's a talented player and can be a part of a championship team. But his attitude definitely needs working on for sure.
*The Linsanity is gone in New York. Jeremy Lin is going back to Houston. Couple of things on this development. One, it is interesting that Tebow comes to NY and then Lin leaves (just a funny coincidence). Second, I think this was a bad play for the Knicks. They could've had Lin back if they wanted him. And to be honest, they should've. He's a young, up and coming player who energized a city like no Knicks player in a decade or more. I think they will be hard pressed to capture that magic again with this squad. As for the Rockets, it'll be interesting how they will go. But if he can energize that team and fan base, it will make for an interesting situation in the Lone Star State.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Reflections on "The Dream Team" & Their 20 Year Anniversary
Twenty years ago this month is the anniversary of one of the greatest teams assembled in the history of basketball. The Dream Team. A team that was comprised of players who were Hall of Famers and arguably some of the greatest of all time on one team, playing for Team USA in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
The history of the Dream Team goes back to the previous Summer Olympics in 1988. In those Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Team USA finished 3rd. At the time, that was the worst showing for a USA men's basketball team in the Olympics. Previously they had won gold in every Olympics that had basketball as a medal sport (aside from the controversial 1972 Munich games). That coupled with the rule passed by FIBA (the international governing body) that allowed NBA players to play in international tournaments set the stage for the Dream Team.
Growing up during this time, I was a huge NBA fan. And why not? The players I got to see in their prime was a who's who of Hall of Famers. So when hearing about they were going to allow NBA stars to play in the Olympics, I was super excited. The roster was stacked to say the least: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner. I remember that aside from Laettner, I was happy with the guys that made it (I personally thought that Shaquille O'Neal should've been the college representative).
I remember the buildup was huge. There were Team USA merchendise everywhere. I think somewhere I still have the Starting Lineup figures of the entire Dream Team roster along with the cups from McDonalds that they gave away with Extra Value Meals.
The team itself did not disappoint. They steamrolled through the competition on the way to a gold medal. Not only that, they made a cultural imprint on the game of basketball. Their impact played a role in more internationals getting involved in basketball and eventually playing in the NBA.
The numbers speak for themselves. 11 of the 12 players (the lone exception being Laettner) and 3 of the 4 coaches (Chuck Daly, Lenny Wilkens & Mike Krzyzewski) are in the Basketball Hall of Fame as individuals and the team itself was enshrined in 2010. Every Olympic team since has been compared to that team. I don't think there will be another "Dream Team". They were a one of a kind team.
The history of the Dream Team goes back to the previous Summer Olympics in 1988. In those Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Team USA finished 3rd. At the time, that was the worst showing for a USA men's basketball team in the Olympics. Previously they had won gold in every Olympics that had basketball as a medal sport (aside from the controversial 1972 Munich games). That coupled with the rule passed by FIBA (the international governing body) that allowed NBA players to play in international tournaments set the stage for the Dream Team.
Growing up during this time, I was a huge NBA fan. And why not? The players I got to see in their prime was a who's who of Hall of Famers. So when hearing about they were going to allow NBA stars to play in the Olympics, I was super excited. The roster was stacked to say the least: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner. I remember that aside from Laettner, I was happy with the guys that made it (I personally thought that Shaquille O'Neal should've been the college representative).
I remember the buildup was huge. There were Team USA merchendise everywhere. I think somewhere I still have the Starting Lineup figures of the entire Dream Team roster along with the cups from McDonalds that they gave away with Extra Value Meals.
The team itself did not disappoint. They steamrolled through the competition on the way to a gold medal. Not only that, they made a cultural imprint on the game of basketball. Their impact played a role in more internationals getting involved in basketball and eventually playing in the NBA.
The numbers speak for themselves. 11 of the 12 players (the lone exception being Laettner) and 3 of the 4 coaches (Chuck Daly, Lenny Wilkens & Mike Krzyzewski) are in the Basketball Hall of Fame as individuals and the team itself was enshrined in 2010. Every Olympic team since has been compared to that team. I don't think there will be another "Dream Team". They were a one of a kind team.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Random Sports Reflections
Some random sports reflections...
*I'm not really a big golf guy (that and tennis are probably the two sports that I enjoy the least watching) but this year has been interesting to say the least. So far in the two major tournaments (the Masters & the US Open) that have been played, the two winners (Bubba Watson & Webb Simpson) are strong & vocal followers of Jesus. Simpson's twitter profile describes himself as this: " *sinner* loved by a Savior". I really am encouraged that more and more athletes are vocal about their faith in Christ, and that they are using the platform that God is giving them to point back to Him. Very cool indeed.
*After my last post about Manny Ramirez, he recently asked for his release from the A's. It didn't seem like they were going to promote him from AAA and so he wanted to see if he can get back into the big leagues another way. I don't know if he will find another team but I do wish him the best.
*The NBA finals are going on and for the first time in my life I've not watched one game of the Finals, even though I am able to (I wasn't able to watch any back in '09 because I was in Poland and it's like a 7 hour time difference). The reason? Simply put Oklahoma City is in the finals. Anyone that knows me, knows that I lived in Seattle and did ministry work there for 3 years. I was there the final years that the Sonics were in town before they moved. So I know better than a lot of people how people in Seattle feel right now about the Thunder, because I saw a lot of what went down firsthand. I can't bring myself to root for the Thunder let alone watch the games. Because I remember what the ownership did. To me, they brought to light the ugly side of sports. As much as I didn't like LeBron James and how he handed "The Decision", that wasn't as bad as what the Thunder ownership group and David Stern did to the city of Seattle. Growing up I was a huge NBA fan. But now, the NBA is like 4th or 5th (behind NFL, MLB, NHL & soccer). I hope that someday Seattle gets a franchise back. But the consequences of what happened with the Thunder still continue to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
*Speaking of soccer, right now in Europe there's a major tournament going on called Euro 2012. The top 16 European countries are competing in a tournament to decide the top team in all of Europe. The tourney is held every four years and this year it's being held in Poland & the Ukraine. I'm happy that Poland is getting to co-host the tourney (sad that they got knocked out of the tourney a few days ago). I loved going over there a few years ago and spending the summer as an intern doing ministry work. I continue to pray for the people of Poland (specifically those in the city of Krakow) and major international tournaments like this are a great reminder to pray for countries.
*I'm not really a big golf guy (that and tennis are probably the two sports that I enjoy the least watching) but this year has been interesting to say the least. So far in the two major tournaments (the Masters & the US Open) that have been played, the two winners (Bubba Watson & Webb Simpson) are strong & vocal followers of Jesus. Simpson's twitter profile describes himself as this: " *sinner* loved by a Savior". I really am encouraged that more and more athletes are vocal about their faith in Christ, and that they are using the platform that God is giving them to point back to Him. Very cool indeed.
*After my last post about Manny Ramirez, he recently asked for his release from the A's. It didn't seem like they were going to promote him from AAA and so he wanted to see if he can get back into the big leagues another way. I don't know if he will find another team but I do wish him the best.
*The NBA finals are going on and for the first time in my life I've not watched one game of the Finals, even though I am able to (I wasn't able to watch any back in '09 because I was in Poland and it's like a 7 hour time difference). The reason? Simply put Oklahoma City is in the finals. Anyone that knows me, knows that I lived in Seattle and did ministry work there for 3 years. I was there the final years that the Sonics were in town before they moved. So I know better than a lot of people how people in Seattle feel right now about the Thunder, because I saw a lot of what went down firsthand. I can't bring myself to root for the Thunder let alone watch the games. Because I remember what the ownership did. To me, they brought to light the ugly side of sports. As much as I didn't like LeBron James and how he handed "The Decision", that wasn't as bad as what the Thunder ownership group and David Stern did to the city of Seattle. Growing up I was a huge NBA fan. But now, the NBA is like 4th or 5th (behind NFL, MLB, NHL & soccer). I hope that someday Seattle gets a franchise back. But the consequences of what happened with the Thunder still continue to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
*Speaking of soccer, right now in Europe there's a major tournament going on called Euro 2012. The top 16 European countries are competing in a tournament to decide the top team in all of Europe. The tourney is held every four years and this year it's being held in Poland & the Ukraine. I'm happy that Poland is getting to co-host the tourney (sad that they got knocked out of the tourney a few days ago). I loved going over there a few years ago and spending the summer as an intern doing ministry work. I continue to pray for the people of Poland (specifically those in the city of Krakow) and major international tournaments like this are a great reminder to pray for countries.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Random Sports Reflections
Some Random Sports Reflections as the month of May winds down...
*The playoffs in both the NBA & NHL are kinda eh to me. The NHL because the Predators got knocked out in the 2nd round by Phoenix (who subsequently lost to the L.A. Kings). The NBA...well because I still haven't really got into it much since Clay Bennett moved the Sonics to OKC. I was happy to hear that there is movement to build a new arena in Seattle down near Safeco & CenturyLink Fields. If Stern wants to get on my good side again, he'll get a team back there & make sure the history is returned there as well. It is really annoying when like ESPN and such state history that doesn't really belong to OKC. That would've been like the Ravens claiming the Browns history still. Anyway, I'm sure I'll watch some of the Stanley Cup Finals and the NBA Finals. Then again, if it ends up Miami & OKC, I'll more than likely not watch.
*It's been about a quarter of the season into the MLB regular season and both the Royals & Mariners are under .500. The Royals had high expectations (for them) going into the season and did well on the road to start (and still have a winning record on the road) but their record at the K is abysmal. They might want to recruit me to come back to K.C. so they can win some more home games. The Mariners got off to a fairly hot start but cooled down as well. They have leveled off some. If both teams can pick up the pace in June & July, it might make for an interesting stretch run. Otherwise, it'll be looking forward to the start of football season.
*Speaking of football, one of the big stories this offseason for the NFL has been the bounty scandal with the New Orleans Saints. This problem, which cost Saints coach Sean Payton the season along with several other coaches and players various suspensions. It was sad to hear when it came out and disappointing. I know that football is a tough sport and injuries happen because of it. But there is a difference between players getting hurt unintentionally and trying to go out and injure players on purpose. Where's the respect in that? I'm sure there are players out there at other players don't like but at the very least they should respect the person not to intentionally try and take them out. I hope that this type of program finds its way out of the sport.
*The playoffs in both the NBA & NHL are kinda eh to me. The NHL because the Predators got knocked out in the 2nd round by Phoenix (who subsequently lost to the L.A. Kings). The NBA...well because I still haven't really got into it much since Clay Bennett moved the Sonics to OKC. I was happy to hear that there is movement to build a new arena in Seattle down near Safeco & CenturyLink Fields. If Stern wants to get on my good side again, he'll get a team back there & make sure the history is returned there as well. It is really annoying when like ESPN and such state history that doesn't really belong to OKC. That would've been like the Ravens claiming the Browns history still. Anyway, I'm sure I'll watch some of the Stanley Cup Finals and the NBA Finals. Then again, if it ends up Miami & OKC, I'll more than likely not watch.
*It's been about a quarter of the season into the MLB regular season and both the Royals & Mariners are under .500. The Royals had high expectations (for them) going into the season and did well on the road to start (and still have a winning record on the road) but their record at the K is abysmal. They might want to recruit me to come back to K.C. so they can win some more home games. The Mariners got off to a fairly hot start but cooled down as well. They have leveled off some. If both teams can pick up the pace in June & July, it might make for an interesting stretch run. Otherwise, it'll be looking forward to the start of football season.
*Speaking of football, one of the big stories this offseason for the NFL has been the bounty scandal with the New Orleans Saints. This problem, which cost Saints coach Sean Payton the season along with several other coaches and players various suspensions. It was sad to hear when it came out and disappointing. I know that football is a tough sport and injuries happen because of it. But there is a difference between players getting hurt unintentionally and trying to go out and injure players on purpose. Where's the respect in that? I'm sure there are players out there at other players don't like but at the very least they should respect the person not to intentionally try and take them out. I hope that this type of program finds its way out of the sport.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
If I Were in Charge of.....College Basketball
This is part two of a series of posts on if I was the Director of the Department of Sports and what all I would do if I was in charge. Last time was about the NBA, this time it's college basketball. Last week was the end to another run of March Madness and partly from that run came the idea for this series. This entry will tie in well to last one as there will be some ideas that will be helpful in both arenas. So, if I were in charge of college basketball...
*No more one and done athletes. Like I mentioned with the NBA post, if a high schooler wants to jump straight to the pros fine but if he signs with a university he stays a minimum of three years and puts himself on track to graduate if he leaves early. Give a real emphasis to "student athlete" and not just "barely a student just so they're able to play one year and then leave".
*Scholarships are a 4 year commitment not a 1 year commitment renewed 4 times. I will probably use this instance as well when I talk about college football but the argument is good here as well. If a university is signing a student to a scholarship it should be for the length of the time that the student will be there. That student can be assured that their scholarship won't be yanked away and given to somebody else on a whim.
*With regard to automatic bids, power conferences can give them to regular season champs, mid-majors to tourney champs. Power conferences can still have tourney champions and get some bonus (better seeding in NCAA tourney) if they win but don't have to worry about a regular season power conference champion being an at-large bid in the NCAA tourney. For the mid-majors, their conference tournaments can be highlighted because of keeping the tourney champ as the automatic bids.
*Have the automatic qualifiers ranked as the higher seeds (1-8) and at large bids as the lower seeds (9-16). This is probably the most out there one but I think it make things interesting. It would assure mid majors that are really good that they will not be ranked no lower than an 8 seed and at large teams that were so so would be ranked no higher than a 9 seed. On top of that, the last 8 at large teams would be the ones playing in the "First Four". Automatic qualifiers from mid major schools shouldn't be the majority in the "First Four". It should be teams that were on the bubble that should be playing in Dayton. Make them earn their way into the tourney.
*Gus Johnson should call March Madness games again. This year, Gus wasn't calling games because he doesn't work for CBS. There should be a contract that allows him to work March Madness games. I know that Jay Bilas for a time worked March Madness games while working also at ESPN. They could do the same for Gus. March Madness isn't the same without Gus. That should be fixed.
That is part two of "If I Were in Charge of". Feel free to go back and check out other posts in this series and leave a comment on how you would change things if you were "in charge".
*No more one and done athletes. Like I mentioned with the NBA post, if a high schooler wants to jump straight to the pros fine but if he signs with a university he stays a minimum of three years and puts himself on track to graduate if he leaves early. Give a real emphasis to "student athlete" and not just "barely a student just so they're able to play one year and then leave".
*Scholarships are a 4 year commitment not a 1 year commitment renewed 4 times. I will probably use this instance as well when I talk about college football but the argument is good here as well. If a university is signing a student to a scholarship it should be for the length of the time that the student will be there. That student can be assured that their scholarship won't be yanked away and given to somebody else on a whim.
*With regard to automatic bids, power conferences can give them to regular season champs, mid-majors to tourney champs. Power conferences can still have tourney champions and get some bonus (better seeding in NCAA tourney) if they win but don't have to worry about a regular season power conference champion being an at-large bid in the NCAA tourney. For the mid-majors, their conference tournaments can be highlighted because of keeping the tourney champ as the automatic bids.
*Have the automatic qualifiers ranked as the higher seeds (1-8) and at large bids as the lower seeds (9-16). This is probably the most out there one but I think it make things interesting. It would assure mid majors that are really good that they will not be ranked no lower than an 8 seed and at large teams that were so so would be ranked no higher than a 9 seed. On top of that, the last 8 at large teams would be the ones playing in the "First Four". Automatic qualifiers from mid major schools shouldn't be the majority in the "First Four". It should be teams that were on the bubble that should be playing in Dayton. Make them earn their way into the tourney.
*Gus Johnson should call March Madness games again. This year, Gus wasn't calling games because he doesn't work for CBS. There should be a contract that allows him to work March Madness games. I know that Jay Bilas for a time worked March Madness games while working also at ESPN. They could do the same for Gus. March Madness isn't the same without Gus. That should be fixed.
That is part two of "If I Were in Charge of". Feel free to go back and check out other posts in this series and leave a comment on how you would change things if you were "in charge".
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
If I Were in Charge Of.....the NBA
I was thinking yesterday about starting a new series on this blog (and hopefully sticking with it). This is the first post in a series on "If I were in charge of....". The basis for this series came from some thoughts I had about changes I would make in different sports organizations and leagues. So if there was a Department of Sports position in government (or in England a Ministry of Sports position, which I would prefer better, sounds cooler & is a nod to the Monty Python skit the Ministry of Silly Walks) and I was named the director and had the authority to make changes, in this series I would list some of those changes I would make.
The first league I would look at would be the National Baskeball Association, otherwise known as the NBA. Growing up, I was a big NBA fan but in recent years my fandom has diminished significantly. I think there can be some things the NBA can do to fix that. So with that in mind, if I were in charge of the NBA.
*Put an NBA team back in Seattle. My first priority would be to get a team back in Seattle. I would make David Stern publicly apologize for the way he and the NBA treated the fans in Seattle in allowing the franchise to leave and go to Oklahoma City. I would take the Hornets (which really should have stayed in Oklahoma City in the first place) and move that team to Seattle. I would essentially make it a three way deal. Deal 1) The Sonics name, championship and records would fully be Seattle's and not shared in any way shape or form with the Thunder. 2) The Thunder in essence would be like the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL when they moved from Cleveland, their own franchise with their own records not connected with Seattle. 3) The Hornets name & records would then be sent back to Charlotte and they can drop the Bobcats name and be the Charlotte Hornets again. I would also give exceptions to the salary cap to any member of the Thunder who was on the Sonics team before they moved if they sign with Seattle (i.e. Kevin Durant could come back to Seattle).
*Drop the one and done rule. In partnership with the NCAA in regards to college basketball (which I'll address in another post how I would change things there), I would get rid of the rule for basketball players to have to wait a year before they can declare for the draft. If guys want to declare right out of high school let them do it. Now those that know me know that this is a change in stance from probably a decade ago when I was all against guys going straight from high school to the pros. But after seeing the last few years of college basketball and the ridiculousness of the one and done players, something needs to change and so I am okay with dropping the rule. If NBA teams want to draft high school players, fine. But that leads me into my next change.
*Develop the baseball system. What do I mean by that? In baseball a player can declare for the draft out of high school or he can choose to go to college. If he chooses to go to college, he has to stay there at least three years. I would implement that system for basketball. No more John Walls or Derrick Roses or Kyrie Irvings. If you want to go to college, you go for three years minimum. At least try to get a degree. If you want to go straight to the pros fine. That also means a more developed minor league system. I would fully develop and fund the NBA D-League and expand it to 30 teams. That way each NBA franchise would have one team that could funnel players to and from. Those drafted out of high school would have to spend a minimum of one year in the D-League. If they're good enough to be a one and done in the D-League great. Otherwise, they're getting developed and not taking a roster spot from a veteran and just sitting on the bench (like a lot of guys drafted out of HS were like towards the end of that era of drafting HS players). If it works for MLB and college for baseball, I think it can work for the NBA and college for basketball.
*Have 4 nights each month called "family nights". That would mean prices from seats to concessions would be set at affordable prices so that a family of 4 could sit in really good seats and watch a game and not stuck in the nosebleed sections. The franchises can make more than enough money the rest of the season that it wouldn't hurt them to have these kind of nights and would help develop the fanbase so that everyone could enjoy the games.
*Have stars competing in the Slam Dunk contest at All-Star Weekend again. The fact that LeBron James has never competed in an All-Star game is ridiculous. He would compete at least once. If you're considered a superstar, you should compete in the Slam Dunk contest. All the greats back in the day did, it should be the same for today.
Well that's the first (in hopefully a continued) series on "If I were in charge of...". If you have changes that you would make if you were in charge of the NBA, feel free to leave a comment below.
The first league I would look at would be the National Baskeball Association, otherwise known as the NBA. Growing up, I was a big NBA fan but in recent years my fandom has diminished significantly. I think there can be some things the NBA can do to fix that. So with that in mind, if I were in charge of the NBA.
*Put an NBA team back in Seattle. My first priority would be to get a team back in Seattle. I would make David Stern publicly apologize for the way he and the NBA treated the fans in Seattle in allowing the franchise to leave and go to Oklahoma City. I would take the Hornets (which really should have stayed in Oklahoma City in the first place) and move that team to Seattle. I would essentially make it a three way deal. Deal 1) The Sonics name, championship and records would fully be Seattle's and not shared in any way shape or form with the Thunder. 2) The Thunder in essence would be like the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL when they moved from Cleveland, their own franchise with their own records not connected with Seattle. 3) The Hornets name & records would then be sent back to Charlotte and they can drop the Bobcats name and be the Charlotte Hornets again. I would also give exceptions to the salary cap to any member of the Thunder who was on the Sonics team before they moved if they sign with Seattle (i.e. Kevin Durant could come back to Seattle).
*Drop the one and done rule. In partnership with the NCAA in regards to college basketball (which I'll address in another post how I would change things there), I would get rid of the rule for basketball players to have to wait a year before they can declare for the draft. If guys want to declare right out of high school let them do it. Now those that know me know that this is a change in stance from probably a decade ago when I was all against guys going straight from high school to the pros. But after seeing the last few years of college basketball and the ridiculousness of the one and done players, something needs to change and so I am okay with dropping the rule. If NBA teams want to draft high school players, fine. But that leads me into my next change.
*Develop the baseball system. What do I mean by that? In baseball a player can declare for the draft out of high school or he can choose to go to college. If he chooses to go to college, he has to stay there at least three years. I would implement that system for basketball. No more John Walls or Derrick Roses or Kyrie Irvings. If you want to go to college, you go for three years minimum. At least try to get a degree. If you want to go straight to the pros fine. That also means a more developed minor league system. I would fully develop and fund the NBA D-League and expand it to 30 teams. That way each NBA franchise would have one team that could funnel players to and from. Those drafted out of high school would have to spend a minimum of one year in the D-League. If they're good enough to be a one and done in the D-League great. Otherwise, they're getting developed and not taking a roster spot from a veteran and just sitting on the bench (like a lot of guys drafted out of HS were like towards the end of that era of drafting HS players). If it works for MLB and college for baseball, I think it can work for the NBA and college for basketball.
*Have 4 nights each month called "family nights". That would mean prices from seats to concessions would be set at affordable prices so that a family of 4 could sit in really good seats and watch a game and not stuck in the nosebleed sections. The franchises can make more than enough money the rest of the season that it wouldn't hurt them to have these kind of nights and would help develop the fanbase so that everyone could enjoy the games.
*Have stars competing in the Slam Dunk contest at All-Star Weekend again. The fact that LeBron James has never competed in an All-Star game is ridiculous. He would compete at least once. If you're considered a superstar, you should compete in the Slam Dunk contest. All the greats back in the day did, it should be the same for today.
Well that's the first (in hopefully a continued) series on "If I were in charge of...". If you have changes that you would make if you were in charge of the NBA, feel free to leave a comment below.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Random Sports Reflections
*It seems that even with the NFL in the off-season, it is still dominiating headlines. The main thing being Peyton Manning going to Denver. After a couple of weeks of meetings with different teams, Peyton decided to go with Denver. In some ways it wasn't surprising but in some ways it was given that the other two teams in the running was San Francisco (which was in the NFC Title game last year) and Tennessee (the state where he went to college). The domino effect was that Tim Tebow was then traded from Denver to the New York Jets, which in and of itself was kind of a shocker given they already have a starting QB in Mark Sanchez & there was a team in Jacksonville which seemed like a great fit (not far from where Tebow went to college, could step right in and be the starter). It will be interesting how Tebow will fit in with the Jets. I know he'll want to be the starter but it'll be hard to supplant Sanchez unless he gets hurt or plays really really bad. It'll also be interesting how the faith aspect will come into play given the Jeremy Lin phenomenon that took place for a few months before dying out. Will Tebow garner as much or more than Lin did? Will it be for a sustained period? It's only March but there's enough stories that'll probably last until training camps start.
*I've been keeping up with March Madness and my brackets have been decent to poor. One of these days I'll have a bracket that's like top notch. The final four is Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas & Ohio State (out of which I consensusly picked 3, missed out with Louisville). I do get the feeling this is shaping up to be another 2008. That year of course Kansas beat UNC on it's way to the title game. Kansas also faced off against a team coached by John Calipari. Kansas wasn't thought of to win the title. John Calipari's team had the best player in the country. See what I mean? Don't be surprised come Tuesday morning if it's Rock Chalk Jayhawk being bantered about. What would be even more eerie is if Calipari then decided to take the NY Knicks job and then it's found out that Anthony Davis had some kind of academic issues and then Kentucky was put on probation like Memphis was with Derrick Rose. Food for thought...
*The MLB regular season started today in Japan with the Mariners and the A's. I caught the game from about the 6th inning on. A couple of things: 1) I love watching live sports in the morning. It's nice to be able to tune in and see sports live while eating breakfast or getting ready for work. 2.) I am getting old. There was a statistic given during the game that Ichiro was the first M's player to get 4 hits in an opening day game since Ken Griffey Jr. did it in 1990. 1990 as in 22 years ago. Yes I am getting old. 3.) For what it's worth, the M's are in 1st place. 161 games to go but it's a good start.
*I've been keeping up with March Madness and my brackets have been decent to poor. One of these days I'll have a bracket that's like top notch. The final four is Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas & Ohio State (out of which I consensusly picked 3, missed out with Louisville). I do get the feeling this is shaping up to be another 2008. That year of course Kansas beat UNC on it's way to the title game. Kansas also faced off against a team coached by John Calipari. Kansas wasn't thought of to win the title. John Calipari's team had the best player in the country. See what I mean? Don't be surprised come Tuesday morning if it's Rock Chalk Jayhawk being bantered about. What would be even more eerie is if Calipari then decided to take the NY Knicks job and then it's found out that Anthony Davis had some kind of academic issues and then Kentucky was put on probation like Memphis was with Derrick Rose. Food for thought...
*The MLB regular season started today in Japan with the Mariners and the A's. I caught the game from about the 6th inning on. A couple of things: 1) I love watching live sports in the morning. It's nice to be able to tune in and see sports live while eating breakfast or getting ready for work. 2.) I am getting old. There was a statistic given during the game that Ichiro was the first M's player to get 4 hits in an opening day game since Ken Griffey Jr. did it in 1990. 1990 as in 22 years ago. Yes I am getting old. 3.) For what it's worth, the M's are in 1st place. 161 games to go but it's a good start.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Random Sports Reflections on Leap Day
Today is Leap Day, otherwise known as my birthday. Hope all of you celebrate Leap Day accordingly and responsibly.
*I'm getting excited for March Madness. Even though the first part of the college baskeball season I really didn't keep up with things, I have in the last month or so. Living in a city with pretty decent mid-major schools (USC Upstate, Wofford), I've got to watch some pretty good basketball. I'm hoping both teams win their conference tourneys and make the Big Dance. They have the ability to if things fall the right way. Emphasis on the "fall the right way".
*Baseball season is about to get going as well. It's weird not living in an MLB city for the first time since 2004 (Although Atlanta is only a few hours away). I'm excited to see how the Royals will do. They might actually do something this year hopefully.
*It's cool that in pro sports there are guys at the highest level that are living out their faith for Jesus and it's protrayed (mostly) in a positive manner in the media. From Tim Tebow, to Jeremy Lin, to Clayton Kershaw, there are lots of examples. I hope that trend will continue. It's good to hear positive stories about athletes than negative ones.
*I'm getting excited for March Madness. Even though the first part of the college baskeball season I really didn't keep up with things, I have in the last month or so. Living in a city with pretty decent mid-major schools (USC Upstate, Wofford), I've got to watch some pretty good basketball. I'm hoping both teams win their conference tourneys and make the Big Dance. They have the ability to if things fall the right way. Emphasis on the "fall the right way".
*Baseball season is about to get going as well. It's weird not living in an MLB city for the first time since 2004 (Although Atlanta is only a few hours away). I'm excited to see how the Royals will do. They might actually do something this year hopefully.
*It's cool that in pro sports there are guys at the highest level that are living out their faith for Jesus and it's protrayed (mostly) in a positive manner in the media. From Tim Tebow, to Jeremy Lin, to Clayton Kershaw, there are lots of examples. I hope that trend will continue. It's good to hear positive stories about athletes than negative ones.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Jumping on the Jeremy Lin Bandwagon
Let me preface this by saying two things. One, I'm not as big of an NBA fan since the debacle that was David Stern & Clay Bennett allowing the Sonics to leave Seattle in such a horrible way. Two, since moving to SC I have seen zero NBA games because I have no cable & internet access is minimal.
However, when there are good stories I tend to pay attention and this would be one of those stories. I always enjoy hearing a good underdog story. I also enjoy hearing athletes who are believers who share their faith both in action and in words. So when you have a story that involves both? As a friend would say "even gooder".
Jeremy Lin, the "it" player right now, is both those things. He is an underdog story in that he graduated from Harvard and went undrafted in 2010. He spent his rookie season mainly on the bench of the Golden State Warriors. He then was cut by them to start the year, then signed & cut by the Houston Rockets, then signed by the New York Knicks, rode the bench & even spent time in the D-League. But due to some injuries, he was brought back up and given the chance to play. And from that, the "Linsanity" began. He has had some Sportcenter worthy performances and has been on a tremendous roll.
He also is very honest and vocal about his faith in Jesus Christ. I love this quote that I came across a few years ago in an interview with InterVarsity:
"I think one of the most rewarding experiences in life is to see people come to Christ and make lifestyle changes. When that happens, you definitely see God behind it. . . . I'm really thankful that God is changing somebody, or sometimes he's changing me. To see that transformation brings me a lot of satisfaction and fulfillment. I definitely want to do something in ministry down the road, maybe as a pastor if that's where God leads."
Kudos to Jeremy Lin and wish him the best in the rest of this season and for whatever God has in store for him. I might acutally keep up with the NBA a little more now....
However, when there are good stories I tend to pay attention and this would be one of those stories. I always enjoy hearing a good underdog story. I also enjoy hearing athletes who are believers who share their faith both in action and in words. So when you have a story that involves both? As a friend would say "even gooder".
Jeremy Lin, the "it" player right now, is both those things. He is an underdog story in that he graduated from Harvard and went undrafted in 2010. He spent his rookie season mainly on the bench of the Golden State Warriors. He then was cut by them to start the year, then signed & cut by the Houston Rockets, then signed by the New York Knicks, rode the bench & even spent time in the D-League. But due to some injuries, he was brought back up and given the chance to play. And from that, the "Linsanity" began. He has had some Sportcenter worthy performances and has been on a tremendous roll.
He also is very honest and vocal about his faith in Jesus Christ. I love this quote that I came across a few years ago in an interview with InterVarsity:
"I think one of the most rewarding experiences in life is to see people come to Christ and make lifestyle changes. When that happens, you definitely see God behind it. . . . I'm really thankful that God is changing somebody, or sometimes he's changing me. To see that transformation brings me a lot of satisfaction and fulfillment. I definitely want to do something in ministry down the road, maybe as a pastor if that's where God leads."
Kudos to Jeremy Lin and wish him the best in the rest of this season and for whatever God has in store for him. I might acutally keep up with the NBA a little more now....
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Syncretism and LeBron James: Mixing Karma and God
There are times when I should know to not be surprised. When it comes to LeBron James, I guess I still get surprised by some of the things he says. The latest thing he said was in a tweet Tuesday night that came out after his former team the Cleveland Cavaliers got blown out by the Los Angeles Lakers. James tweeted the following: "Crazy. Karma is a b****. Gets you every time. It's not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!"
When I first read the tweet (which was later retweeted by Michael Smith, ESPN columnist), I didn't know the context of the Cavs/Lakers game. I just read it straight up. My first thought was "You're mixing God and karma....they really don't go together." I wondered if he understood that or if to him they're the same thing or if he thinks God uses karma or whatever. When I found out the context, I thought "Well it seems he is still bitter and holding onto some hurt there."
The next day he then responds kind of backpedaling saying the following: "It's just how I was feeling at the time. It wasn't even a comment from me, it was someone who sent it to me and I sent it out It wasn't toward that team. It definitely wasn't a good showing by that team last night, I know they wish they would've played better." First off, if he retweeted it, probably would have been designated as a retweet. Second, he doesn't say where it comes from, he just says someone sent it to him. Aside from the twitter ettiqute of knowing what you're tweeting, it is interesting how he will say a controversial comment one day and then the next day try and defend or retract the statement.
But as much as that stood out, another comment that he gave stood out. He said when talking about karma, it is a word or concept that "I've kinda always used my whole life." You want to know something (or someone) LeBron that's better than karma? Jesus. Instead of getting what we deserve for the bad that we do, we can put our faith and trust in Jesus, who died for our sins and we don't have to worry about trying to do good to save ourselves (because we can never do enough good for that).
I hope that LeBron comes to know Jesus in a personal way as his Lord and Savior. Because right now it seems that he's trying to do his own thing to appease karma. And you can't really mix karma & God. Doesn't really work...
When I first read the tweet (which was later retweeted by Michael Smith, ESPN columnist), I didn't know the context of the Cavs/Lakers game. I just read it straight up. My first thought was "You're mixing God and karma....they really don't go together." I wondered if he understood that or if to him they're the same thing or if he thinks God uses karma or whatever. When I found out the context, I thought "Well it seems he is still bitter and holding onto some hurt there."
The next day he then responds kind of backpedaling saying the following: "It's just how I was feeling at the time. It wasn't even a comment from me, it was someone who sent it to me and I sent it out It wasn't toward that team. It definitely wasn't a good showing by that team last night, I know they wish they would've played better." First off, if he retweeted it, probably would have been designated as a retweet. Second, he doesn't say where it comes from, he just says someone sent it to him. Aside from the twitter ettiqute of knowing what you're tweeting, it is interesting how he will say a controversial comment one day and then the next day try and defend or retract the statement.
But as much as that stood out, another comment that he gave stood out. He said when talking about karma, it is a word or concept that "I've kinda always used my whole life." You want to know something (or someone) LeBron that's better than karma? Jesus. Instead of getting what we deserve for the bad that we do, we can put our faith and trust in Jesus, who died for our sins and we don't have to worry about trying to do good to save ourselves (because we can never do enough good for that).
I hope that LeBron comes to know Jesus in a personal way as his Lord and Savior. Because right now it seems that he's trying to do his own thing to appease karma. And you can't really mix karma & God. Doesn't really work...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Reflections on Phil Jackson and Christmas Games
I thought it was rather interesting when I heard the latest comments from Phil Jackson, head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He was addressing the media this week about playing on Christmas Day. He starts out rather innocently by saying "It used to be two teams. It used to be Phoenix and L.A. and New York and Boston or New York and Philly or somebody on the East coast. Now I see that they have like six games on Christmas." (it's actually five games this year)
He then goes onto say this: "I don't think anybody should play on Christmas Day. Soccer teams don't play this time of year, they take a break. I don't understand it. When I was in the CBA, we had a commissioner who had a Christmas Eve game. I had to call him up and say that's the holy time. ... You just have to keep reminding them that this is a special day."
The one quote that actually stood out was the following: "It's like Christian holidays don't mean anything to them anymore. We just go out and play and entertain the TV. It's really weird." This stood out for several reasons. One, this comes from a man who follows Zen Buddhism. Two, in the article, it mentions that he is the son of a minister (which I didn't know).
My thoughts on this: I don't necessarily have a problem with what he's saying per se. Growing up there was really only one NBA Christmas Day game. It was special. Now it's almost like any other slate of games for a day/night. There are actually more than double the games on Christmas Day than Thanksgiving Day (only two games). There are more people who will be working on Christmas than Thanksgiving this year in several NBA cities.
As a follower of Jesus, I am glad for Christmas. It is a reminder of the birth of Christ. We should not forget that importance. Even more so, we should not forget the importance of this death and resurrection. For those who are working on Christmas Day, including players, coaches, staff, arena workers, I hope that in the midst of working that the are reminded of for lack of a better phrase "The Reason for the Season". And I would love for Phil Jackson to not just recognize the time of the year but to also recognize Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
He then goes onto say this: "I don't think anybody should play on Christmas Day. Soccer teams don't play this time of year, they take a break. I don't understand it. When I was in the CBA, we had a commissioner who had a Christmas Eve game. I had to call him up and say that's the holy time. ... You just have to keep reminding them that this is a special day."
The one quote that actually stood out was the following: "It's like Christian holidays don't mean anything to them anymore. We just go out and play and entertain the TV. It's really weird." This stood out for several reasons. One, this comes from a man who follows Zen Buddhism. Two, in the article, it mentions that he is the son of a minister (which I didn't know).
My thoughts on this: I don't necessarily have a problem with what he's saying per se. Growing up there was really only one NBA Christmas Day game. It was special. Now it's almost like any other slate of games for a day/night. There are actually more than double the games on Christmas Day than Thanksgiving Day (only two games). There are more people who will be working on Christmas than Thanksgiving this year in several NBA cities.
As a follower of Jesus, I am glad for Christmas. It is a reminder of the birth of Christ. We should not forget that importance. Even more so, we should not forget the importance of this death and resurrection. For those who are working on Christmas Day, including players, coaches, staff, arena workers, I hope that in the midst of working that the are reminded of for lack of a better phrase "The Reason for the Season". And I would love for Phil Jackson to not just recognize the time of the year but to also recognize Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Reflections on Amare Stoudemire
Last week there was an interesting article on ESPN.com (the link to the article is right here). In the article, Amare Stoudemire, PF formerly of the Phoenix Suns and now of the New York Knicks, was interviewed about his visit to Israel and his search for his Jewish roots. His mother side of the family is Jewish and he is tracing his roots back on her side of the family to confirm this.
The interesting part of this article was a quote that Stoudemire said. When talking about his upbringing, he said this: "I grew up in a very spiritual home. It's not about religion, it's about spirituality for me." A very interesting quote, and I would venture to say quite common in this postmodern society we live in. Personally I think Amare is half right. It's not about religion. However, where I would disagree is what it's about. It's about relationship. In both the Old and New Testament, God has (and still does) wanted relationship between people and Himself. We see this throughout the Old Testament reflected in the relationship between God and the Israelites. We see this in the New Testament through Jesus Christ, who lived on this Earth and reflected the relationship God wants with His people and then died on the cross so that we can be able to have that relationship again without sin blocking our access.
I will say that I'm encouraged that Amare is looking. I hope that while he is looking, the Holy Spirit works on his heart and shows him that the Messiah has already come and that it can be more than just spirituality, but a relationship between him and the Father, through Jesus Christ.
The interesting part of this article was a quote that Stoudemire said. When talking about his upbringing, he said this: "I grew up in a very spiritual home. It's not about religion, it's about spirituality for me." A very interesting quote, and I would venture to say quite common in this postmodern society we live in. Personally I think Amare is half right. It's not about religion. However, where I would disagree is what it's about. It's about relationship. In both the Old and New Testament, God has (and still does) wanted relationship between people and Himself. We see this throughout the Old Testament reflected in the relationship between God and the Israelites. We see this in the New Testament through Jesus Christ, who lived on this Earth and reflected the relationship God wants with His people and then died on the cross so that we can be able to have that relationship again without sin blocking our access.
I will say that I'm encouraged that Amare is looking. I hope that while he is looking, the Holy Spirit works on his heart and shows him that the Messiah has already come and that it can be more than just spirituality, but a relationship between him and the Father, through Jesus Christ.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Reflections on "The Decision"
It has been several days since "The Decision" and I went back and forth about whether to write about it. There have been probably millions of people who have weighed in on it.
Let me preface by saying that I don't enjoy the NBA like I used to. One of the main reasons why I don't can be traced back to the team that now resides in Oklahoma City. David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, allowed the owner of the team to pull out of Seattle, an owner who never had any intention of staying and pretty much let a city get hung out to dry. From that point on, my respect for the NBA dropped tremendously. I will still watch from time to time but I don't enjoy watching it like I used to.
Fast forward to Thursday, LeBron James has a one hour televised event to decide where he is going. Speculation abounds as to where he was going. There was as much (if not more spectacle) than there should have been for someone deciding where they were going to sign. In the end, he decided to leave Cleveland and go to Miami.
There's so much that can be said but I'll just focus on two. The first is the allowance of an hour long special in the first place. I understand why ESPN did it (for the ratings) but really there was no need for it. In a lot of ways, it was just feeding the ego of someone who was seeking attention and approval. LeBron is the type of person who has been (and continues) to try and seek approval. He's not the type of player it seems that is competitive and wants to win and strives in that regard, he just wants people to like him and wants attention. That's not in and of itself a bad thing but when that's all you look out for, then that can be a problem.
The second was lack of foresight that he had with his decision. I think the nature of the whole thing lead to the backlash that is now present throughout not just Ohio but around the country. There are millions of people that really don't like him right now. I think there would have been people regardless who wouldn't have liked that decision. But it could have handled better. Forget the hour long special, have a press conference in Cleveland. Answer the tough questions. And above all else, go out on a high note. If that had happened, there probably wouldn't have been as much backlash as there is.
Kevin Durant, up and coming superstar, announced he was re-signing with (that team) in a twitter message. No circus, no hour long tv special. LeBron, take note and next time handle it a little better.
Let me preface by saying that I don't enjoy the NBA like I used to. One of the main reasons why I don't can be traced back to the team that now resides in Oklahoma City. David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, allowed the owner of the team to pull out of Seattle, an owner who never had any intention of staying and pretty much let a city get hung out to dry. From that point on, my respect for the NBA dropped tremendously. I will still watch from time to time but I don't enjoy watching it like I used to.
Fast forward to Thursday, LeBron James has a one hour televised event to decide where he is going. Speculation abounds as to where he was going. There was as much (if not more spectacle) than there should have been for someone deciding where they were going to sign. In the end, he decided to leave Cleveland and go to Miami.
There's so much that can be said but I'll just focus on two. The first is the allowance of an hour long special in the first place. I understand why ESPN did it (for the ratings) but really there was no need for it. In a lot of ways, it was just feeding the ego of someone who was seeking attention and approval. LeBron is the type of person who has been (and continues) to try and seek approval. He's not the type of player it seems that is competitive and wants to win and strives in that regard, he just wants people to like him and wants attention. That's not in and of itself a bad thing but when that's all you look out for, then that can be a problem.
The second was lack of foresight that he had with his decision. I think the nature of the whole thing lead to the backlash that is now present throughout not just Ohio but around the country. There are millions of people that really don't like him right now. I think there would have been people regardless who wouldn't have liked that decision. But it could have handled better. Forget the hour long special, have a press conference in Cleveland. Answer the tough questions. And above all else, go out on a high note. If that had happened, there probably wouldn't have been as much backlash as there is.
Kevin Durant, up and coming superstar, announced he was re-signing with (that team) in a twitter message. No circus, no hour long tv special. LeBron, take note and next time handle it a little better.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Reflecting on Video Games and College Basketball
Last Saturday, I participated in a video game tournament that made for a really good story and one I thought I would share with you. To preface, in January I started listening online to a sports radio show out of Nashville called 3 Hour Lunch. I spend my middays working on homework and listening to their show. Well, I found out that they were holding a video game tournament and it just so happened to take place while I was back in Tennessee for spring break from seminary. So I signed up and looked forward to it.
The tournament was held at The Score which is a video game store in Cool Springs. Not only do they buy, sell & trade games but they have places where you can play games including the "arena" which is in the middle of the store and has like stadium seating and two big screens projecting games. It was pretty cool. So I got there kinda early and just kinda hung out and looked around. It was to start around noon but didn't officially get going until around 12:15.
The rules were then laid out for the tourney. It was a single elimination tournament playing NCAA Basketball 10 on XBox360. The brackets were just like the real brackets. Each participant would draw the name of a school from a box in the order in which they signed up online. The team you drew was the team you played with. There weren't 64 participants so if there was a matchup and there weren't two participants then you got a bye. It was to be 5 minute halves on varsity and played on neutral courts.
So each person's name was called and drew a name. I was probably the 10th person or so to be called. I went up drew a name and got....East Tennessee State. Yup, a 16th seed from the Atlantic Sun Conference. I wasn't the only one who got bad draws. A lot of the ones who went early got bad draws. At the end 3 of the 4 #1 seeds finally got picked and I think only 1 of the #2 seeds. There were a lot of high seeds that were pulled.
When I first walked in, my goal was to make the Sweet 16. When I saw a lot of teenagers there, I adjusted my goal to not getting embarrassed. I found myself playing in the first round against a kid who was probably 8 or 9 years old. He was wearing a Kentucky jersey and was there with his dad who was also wearing a Kentucky shirt. Needless to say, there was irony in the kid drawing Kentucky.
So it was Kentucky vs. ETSU in round 1. And I met my first goal....I didn't get embarrassed. In fact, I ran the kid right out of the gym. Even with him having John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, me and my Bucs beat the Wildcats and advanced into the 2nd round. How do you ask? Well I did the only thing I could do with a team that wasn't that talented or had great 3 point shooting, I played an up-tempo game and ran, ran, ran. I would get a rebound and sprint down the court and get a layup. I'd inbound the ball and get it to my point guard, who happened to be my best player, and just went coast to coast with a layup. He couldn't ever stop it so I kept doing it. I was like, well if it works, keep doing it.
So, I got one win. I was happy and waited around until the next time I played. In the 2nd round I matched up against Texas. This was an interesting matchup as I was going against one of the hosts of the show, Brent. He had never played the game and so during the loading time, he asked me a few questions and I told him what to do (like what's the shoot button, what's the pass button, etc.). This was a tough game as he got ahead on some quick buckets. But I just went with the same gameplan as in the 1st round and it worked according to plan. I sped up the game and in the end pulled out another victory. 2-0 for ETSU and onto the Sweet 16.
So I made my original goal, at least make it to the Sweet 16 and I earned it with two victories. Now I had a matchup with Temple. This game was with one of those many teenagers that were running around. I was kinda worried but I was like, I'm playing with house money, I got nothing to lose. So again, played same up-tempo style...and it worked again. I got so far ahead that in the game the fans started chanting "Warm up the bus". 3-0 and onto the Elite 8
It was getting nervous time as I got ready to play in the Elite 8. I went up against a guy who had West Virginia. This was going to be hard because 1) he was a good player and 2) he had a talented team. So I had to buckle down and play well. In the first half I got ahead but then went cold and he was head by a point at half. In the second half I got down at one time by 6. I then switched up how I was playing defense and that coupled with him missing shots crawled back into the game. With 8 seconds left, I was down by two. I went the length of the court and tied it up with 3 seconds left. He then inbounded the ball went the length of the court and hit a shot at the buzzer to win the game. It was a tough way to lose but in gracious fashion I shook his hand and congratulated him on the victory. He later ended up winning the the whole thing so I lost to the champ.
In the end, I didn't do too bad. I took East Tennessee State, a 16th seed to the Elite 8. I was the highest seed to advance to the Elite 8 and did so winning 3 games with no byes. I was even complimented on two occasions including the guy who beat me as saying that I was "one of the best ones here". And though I didn't win a prize, I did a pretty good job and I have a great story to tell.
The tournament was held at The Score which is a video game store in Cool Springs. Not only do they buy, sell & trade games but they have places where you can play games including the "arena" which is in the middle of the store and has like stadium seating and two big screens projecting games. It was pretty cool. So I got there kinda early and just kinda hung out and looked around. It was to start around noon but didn't officially get going until around 12:15.
The rules were then laid out for the tourney. It was a single elimination tournament playing NCAA Basketball 10 on XBox360. The brackets were just like the real brackets. Each participant would draw the name of a school from a box in the order in which they signed up online. The team you drew was the team you played with. There weren't 64 participants so if there was a matchup and there weren't two participants then you got a bye. It was to be 5 minute halves on varsity and played on neutral courts.
So each person's name was called and drew a name. I was probably the 10th person or so to be called. I went up drew a name and got....East Tennessee State. Yup, a 16th seed from the Atlantic Sun Conference. I wasn't the only one who got bad draws. A lot of the ones who went early got bad draws. At the end 3 of the 4 #1 seeds finally got picked and I think only 1 of the #2 seeds. There were a lot of high seeds that were pulled.
When I first walked in, my goal was to make the Sweet 16. When I saw a lot of teenagers there, I adjusted my goal to not getting embarrassed. I found myself playing in the first round against a kid who was probably 8 or 9 years old. He was wearing a Kentucky jersey and was there with his dad who was also wearing a Kentucky shirt. Needless to say, there was irony in the kid drawing Kentucky.
So it was Kentucky vs. ETSU in round 1. And I met my first goal....I didn't get embarrassed. In fact, I ran the kid right out of the gym. Even with him having John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, me and my Bucs beat the Wildcats and advanced into the 2nd round. How do you ask? Well I did the only thing I could do with a team that wasn't that talented or had great 3 point shooting, I played an up-tempo game and ran, ran, ran. I would get a rebound and sprint down the court and get a layup. I'd inbound the ball and get it to my point guard, who happened to be my best player, and just went coast to coast with a layup. He couldn't ever stop it so I kept doing it. I was like, well if it works, keep doing it.
So, I got one win. I was happy and waited around until the next time I played. In the 2nd round I matched up against Texas. This was an interesting matchup as I was going against one of the hosts of the show, Brent. He had never played the game and so during the loading time, he asked me a few questions and I told him what to do (like what's the shoot button, what's the pass button, etc.). This was a tough game as he got ahead on some quick buckets. But I just went with the same gameplan as in the 1st round and it worked according to plan. I sped up the game and in the end pulled out another victory. 2-0 for ETSU and onto the Sweet 16.
So I made my original goal, at least make it to the Sweet 16 and I earned it with two victories. Now I had a matchup with Temple. This game was with one of those many teenagers that were running around. I was kinda worried but I was like, I'm playing with house money, I got nothing to lose. So again, played same up-tempo style...and it worked again. I got so far ahead that in the game the fans started chanting "Warm up the bus". 3-0 and onto the Elite 8
It was getting nervous time as I got ready to play in the Elite 8. I went up against a guy who had West Virginia. This was going to be hard because 1) he was a good player and 2) he had a talented team. So I had to buckle down and play well. In the first half I got ahead but then went cold and he was head by a point at half. In the second half I got down at one time by 6. I then switched up how I was playing defense and that coupled with him missing shots crawled back into the game. With 8 seconds left, I was down by two. I went the length of the court and tied it up with 3 seconds left. He then inbounded the ball went the length of the court and hit a shot at the buzzer to win the game. It was a tough way to lose but in gracious fashion I shook his hand and congratulated him on the victory. He later ended up winning the the whole thing so I lost to the champ.
In the end, I didn't do too bad. I took East Tennessee State, a 16th seed to the Elite 8. I was the highest seed to advance to the Elite 8 and did so winning 3 games with no byes. I was even complimented on two occasions including the guy who beat me as saying that I was "one of the best ones here". And though I didn't win a prize, I did a pretty good job and I have a great story to tell.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Reflecting After First Weekend of March Madness
I can safely say that this first weekend of March Madness is probably one of the craziest in my lifetime (30 years). The first day alone saw buzzer beaters, overtime, upsets galore and lots of excitement. Most of my brackets are busted (thanks to Northern Iowa's win), the only ones that aren't are homer brackets (meaning go UT and U-Dub!). Several things that stood out this weekend...
*The two teams I root for made it to the Sweet 16 and potentially could make the Final Four. Going into the tourney I thought only one had that chance (U-Dub) but Tennessee played well their first two games and were helped by upsets in the toughest region. Both will face the #2 seeds in the Sweet 16 but don't be surprised if these two underdogs make the Final 4
*A new phrase has joined the English language..."Going sharpie". This was coined by CBS analysits Greg Anthony and Seth Davis on their tweets. It means a team is pretty much going to win so they write in permanent marker on their brackets (Sharpie). I like the phrase. I will say this...my college roomates and I did something like this as a tradition starting back a decade or so ago (wow...can't believe it's been that long ago). Instead of a Sharpie, we used highlighters to mark our brackets we had posted on our living room wall. Orange or Yellow= correct pick, Green or Pink=incorrect pick. So if you hear me using the phrase "going sharpie" now you know the context.
Hopefully next weekend will live up to the standard that the first weekend set. If it does, then it should be a doozy of a weekend.
*The two teams I root for made it to the Sweet 16 and potentially could make the Final Four. Going into the tourney I thought only one had that chance (U-Dub) but Tennessee played well their first two games and were helped by upsets in the toughest region. Both will face the #2 seeds in the Sweet 16 but don't be surprised if these two underdogs make the Final 4
*A new phrase has joined the English language..."Going sharpie". This was coined by CBS analysits Greg Anthony and Seth Davis on their tweets. It means a team is pretty much going to win so they write in permanent marker on their brackets (Sharpie). I like the phrase. I will say this...my college roomates and I did something like this as a tradition starting back a decade or so ago (wow...can't believe it's been that long ago). Instead of a Sharpie, we used highlighters to mark our brackets we had posted on our living room wall. Orange or Yellow= correct pick, Green or Pink=incorrect pick. So if you hear me using the phrase "going sharpie" now you know the context.
Hopefully next weekend will live up to the standard that the first weekend set. If it does, then it should be a doozy of a weekend.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Reflections on March Madness 2010
It's Wednesday and it's the eve of March Madness. The next four days starting tomorrow is one of my four favorite days of the year, especially Thursday and Friday. I love watching the tournament and the excitement that comes with it. I have filled out brackets but before breaking down the brackets, here's some random reflections on college basketball.
*I'm not the first to say that the selections committee did a not great job and I won't be the last. It's a tough job but they could've done better than stacking the Midwest region with the overall #1 seed and the East with the #2 seed and making the South and West lighter. Also, Tennessee should've gotten higher than a 6th seed in the Midwest, you beat the #1 and #2 overall teams in the country and that gets you only a 6th seed in the toughest region?
*With all the talk about raising the amount of teams to 96 and such...I'm neither for nor against that yet. I will say this, if I was running the show this is what I would do. I would make the 31 automatic bids the top seeds (so roughly 1-7 or 8 seeds). That way A) it doesn't penalize the teams that won their way into the tournament like the mid-major schools and B) you still have the top teams in the top conferences as the 1 or 2 seeds because typically if they're that good they'll win their conference tournament. You then have your remaining 34 at large teams be the lower seed 8-16 with the last two "bubble" teams play in the play-in game. Of course that will never happen but it's a nice thing to think about.
*One thing that I have been reminded of in recent weeks is something that I talked about a while back in one of my video posts. I talked about how at least I am trying to talk positively about the teams I root for and not talk negatively about teams that are rivals or those I don't necessarily like. And for the most part, I've done a good job. If my team has won, I was excited and said great things about my team but I didn't denegrate the other team. If my team lost, I said they put up a good effort and gave the winning team their due. What has disappointed me is that I've seen, read and heard those friends of mine who haven't done that. They have made it a point to say bad things about the other team for no reason it seems like. Case in point. I have several friends who root for Kentucky. In the last few weeks when Tennessee played them in basketball, they made it a point to make snarky (a word I use sometimes that means like a sarcastic putdown) comments both when Kentucky lost and when they won. I don't know why they felt they had to say those things, maybe they're around Tennessee fans who make those kind of comments around them and they feel they need to respond in kind, I don't know. I know my tendency deep down is to respond like that if people are saying those kind of things and I kinda wanted to respond to them like they were responding but instead I thought about what good that would do and instead chose to say good things both about my team and theirs. I think definitely those who are pastors and ministers like myself need to be reminded that our words do mean something and they have an impact like our actions, and that includes being a sports fan. One cannot separate being a fan and being a follower of Jesus, because it's all wrapped into the person God has made you and called you to be. I'm not perfect in this but I'm trying and hopefully that will end up being edifying to God.
Now...onto the brackets. Just like last year I filled out 14 brackets (10 on ESPN, 3 on Facebook and 1 on Yahoo). I went with a variety of ways of filling out the brackets. Some were scientific (Strength of Schedule, Average of RPI and Strength of Schedule, Records vs. Top 25) and some were simply not scientific (Mascots, Numbers out of a Hat, Completely Random, First Impressions). Here are some thoughts on the brackets:
*I'm not buying some of the easy upset picks that a lot of the "experts" are going with, and not just because I'm a Tennessee guy. I don't think Tennessee or Vanderbilt will be upset. In fact, I think Vandy will be a sweet 16 team. Some sleeper teams I'm picking are Utah St., Washington, Minnesota and Cornell.
*I have seen a lot of Big 12 games living in Kansas City. It is a tough conference and Kansas is a very tough team. They have talent + experience which to me is a deadly combination. I think a lot of people think that Kentucky is the top team like a lot of other people think Kansas is the top team. I've seen both teams and there's no question, Kansas is better. Kentucky does have talent but Wall is too much of a kamakaze point guard who has a propensity to turn the ball over and have a Kobe Bryant mentality of shooting shots. Cousins is a player who could just as easily take his team out of a game as well as keep them in it with his attitude. Their best player to be honest is Bledsoe. When you're top three players are all freshmen, I do think that's not a formula for tournament success (see Michigan in 1993 with Fab 5). Kansas has the depth and talent with Collins, Aldrich, and the Henry twins. Along with that talent they have experience with Collins and Aldrich being seniors. That will play a factor to me as the tourney goes on.
I have two brackets in which I'm thinking are my best. In my first bracket I have in my final four: Kansas, Kansas State, West Virginia and Villanova and in my second bracket I have the same with the exception being Baylor instead of Villanova. I have in the championship game in both brackets Kansas and West Virginia with Kansas taking the title.
Good luck to everyone filling out the brackets and hope you enjoy watching some basketball!
*I'm not the first to say that the selections committee did a not great job and I won't be the last. It's a tough job but they could've done better than stacking the Midwest region with the overall #1 seed and the East with the #2 seed and making the South and West lighter. Also, Tennessee should've gotten higher than a 6th seed in the Midwest, you beat the #1 and #2 overall teams in the country and that gets you only a 6th seed in the toughest region?
*With all the talk about raising the amount of teams to 96 and such...I'm neither for nor against that yet. I will say this, if I was running the show this is what I would do. I would make the 31 automatic bids the top seeds (so roughly 1-7 or 8 seeds). That way A) it doesn't penalize the teams that won their way into the tournament like the mid-major schools and B) you still have the top teams in the top conferences as the 1 or 2 seeds because typically if they're that good they'll win their conference tournament. You then have your remaining 34 at large teams be the lower seed 8-16 with the last two "bubble" teams play in the play-in game. Of course that will never happen but it's a nice thing to think about.
*One thing that I have been reminded of in recent weeks is something that I talked about a while back in one of my video posts. I talked about how at least I am trying to talk positively about the teams I root for and not talk negatively about teams that are rivals or those I don't necessarily like. And for the most part, I've done a good job. If my team has won, I was excited and said great things about my team but I didn't denegrate the other team. If my team lost, I said they put up a good effort and gave the winning team their due. What has disappointed me is that I've seen, read and heard those friends of mine who haven't done that. They have made it a point to say bad things about the other team for no reason it seems like. Case in point. I have several friends who root for Kentucky. In the last few weeks when Tennessee played them in basketball, they made it a point to make snarky (a word I use sometimes that means like a sarcastic putdown) comments both when Kentucky lost and when they won. I don't know why they felt they had to say those things, maybe they're around Tennessee fans who make those kind of comments around them and they feel they need to respond in kind, I don't know. I know my tendency deep down is to respond like that if people are saying those kind of things and I kinda wanted to respond to them like they were responding but instead I thought about what good that would do and instead chose to say good things both about my team and theirs. I think definitely those who are pastors and ministers like myself need to be reminded that our words do mean something and they have an impact like our actions, and that includes being a sports fan. One cannot separate being a fan and being a follower of Jesus, because it's all wrapped into the person God has made you and called you to be. I'm not perfect in this but I'm trying and hopefully that will end up being edifying to God.
Now...onto the brackets. Just like last year I filled out 14 brackets (10 on ESPN, 3 on Facebook and 1 on Yahoo). I went with a variety of ways of filling out the brackets. Some were scientific (Strength of Schedule, Average of RPI and Strength of Schedule, Records vs. Top 25) and some were simply not scientific (Mascots, Numbers out of a Hat, Completely Random, First Impressions). Here are some thoughts on the brackets:
*I'm not buying some of the easy upset picks that a lot of the "experts" are going with, and not just because I'm a Tennessee guy. I don't think Tennessee or Vanderbilt will be upset. In fact, I think Vandy will be a sweet 16 team. Some sleeper teams I'm picking are Utah St., Washington, Minnesota and Cornell.
*I have seen a lot of Big 12 games living in Kansas City. It is a tough conference and Kansas is a very tough team. They have talent + experience which to me is a deadly combination. I think a lot of people think that Kentucky is the top team like a lot of other people think Kansas is the top team. I've seen both teams and there's no question, Kansas is better. Kentucky does have talent but Wall is too much of a kamakaze point guard who has a propensity to turn the ball over and have a Kobe Bryant mentality of shooting shots. Cousins is a player who could just as easily take his team out of a game as well as keep them in it with his attitude. Their best player to be honest is Bledsoe. When you're top three players are all freshmen, I do think that's not a formula for tournament success (see Michigan in 1993 with Fab 5). Kansas has the depth and talent with Collins, Aldrich, and the Henry twins. Along with that talent they have experience with Collins and Aldrich being seniors. That will play a factor to me as the tourney goes on.
I have two brackets in which I'm thinking are my best. In my first bracket I have in my final four: Kansas, Kansas State, West Virginia and Villanova and in my second bracket I have the same with the exception being Baylor instead of Villanova. I have in the championship game in both brackets Kansas and West Virginia with Kansas taking the title.
Good luck to everyone filling out the brackets and hope you enjoy watching some basketball!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
100th Post...Buzzer Beater Special
In honor of my 100th post, I thought I'd share with you this clip of a game that took place yesterday. It was the NCAA Division II Championship Game between Findlay (from Ohio) and Cal Poly Pomona. Findlay came in undefeated, the game went into overtime. And then this is how it ended up:
This is yet another reason why I love this time of the year...
This is yet another reason why I love this time of the year...
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Aftermath of Week 1 of March Madness
The first weekend of March Madness has come and gone and with it a lot of cheering, booing, excitement and marking on brackets. After the first weekend of the tourney, I have only one team that I'm rooting for still in it (Gonzaga). My other two teams were elimated in the first and second rounds (Tennessee and Washington).
There weren't that many upsets. As far as "Cinderella" teams remaining in the Sweet 16 there is only Arizona (12 seed) and I don't know if I would call them a Cinderella team. In some ways, it's starting to shape up like last year with four #1 seeds in the Final Four with so many favorites winning.
As far as my brackets go, several bit the dust early and some are still doing pretty good. My best overall bracket is one that saw me pick 14 out of 16 for the second round and still has it perfect all the way to the championship game. It'll be interesting after next weekend how my brackets will look.
There weren't that many upsets. As far as "Cinderella" teams remaining in the Sweet 16 there is only Arizona (12 seed) and I don't know if I would call them a Cinderella team. In some ways, it's starting to shape up like last year with four #1 seeds in the Final Four with so many favorites winning.
As far as my brackets go, several bit the dust early and some are still doing pretty good. My best overall bracket is one that saw me pick 14 out of 16 for the second round and still has it perfect all the way to the championship game. It'll be interesting after next weekend how my brackets will look.
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