I liked Dennis Rodman. I devoured his antics, hairsyles, and tireless effort as a refreshing novelty. He was a one-of-a-kind rebel never to be duplicated. Today, he serves as the American personification of the repositioning of morality in sports that threatens to undo generations of the fabric of sports. Perhaps I'm being overdramatic, like a whiny Terrance Mann, but there is no disputing that my enjoyment of sports has become increasingly diminished on the basis of what is now being considered acceptable behavior.
Sports has long served as the backdrop against which many lessons could be taught by parents to their sons and daughters. With the abandonment of decency and sportsmanship in favor of gamesmanship and winning trumping all, where does one gleen these lessons? Is it reprehensible that we demand stories of sportsmanship not be reserved for the final segment of Sunday's Sportscenter? Sports serve as a mirror to society and it's hard to imagine a less attractive image starting back. CEO's have said screw the working man, our company will do whatever it can to make the most money. Beholden to no one but the almighty dollar these companies were viewed as wildly succesful and stood as examples of what other companies should aspire to be. This attitude lead to the crumbling of the American economy and had devastating effects the world over. Many Americans would rather suck on the teet of governmental handouts than make a life for themselves. It's not difficult to draw the comparison between these two mindsets and the de-evolution of sports."Rock," he said -"sometime, when the team is up against it -- and the
Today, Knute Rockne's 'Win one for the Gipper' speech seems archaic, overly romantic and cynics might even call it cheesey, but the idea of triumphing through hard work and effort alone would likewise be described in the same manner. Even Al Davis's "Just Win Baby" has even be replaced by "Win at all Costs." It's no longer acceptable to try and fail. Players now view attempting to gain a competitive advantage through less scrupulous means as not only acceptable, but as requisite.
breaks are beating the boys -- tell them to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper...
In the World Cup the world has watched as countless players have taken dives with hopes of inducing a referee's whislte. These players are often mocked by their opponents, but those cat calls turn to cheers as the mockers enjoy a free kick based on their own player's flopping and flailing. The cheers grow deafening if the antics lead to a 2nd yellow card or red. Uruguay's Luis Suarez may be villified in some countries for his goal saving handball against Ghana, but there's also a large contingent that will decry his infraction as a smart play and if Uruguay were fortunate enough to win the World Cup he'll be deified in his home country as the legend who made it possible. The idea that winning justifies poor sportsmanship erodes the fabric of what makes sports great, just as many American workers have been victimized by insatiable greed.
This pandemic is not limited to the "Beautiful Game" by any means. Baseball players pretending to be struck by pitchs hoping to gain the free base. Wide receivers acting as though they were knocked down when they know the pass is uncatchable. The NBA Finals were marked by undeserved foul trouble, based often on overdramatized contact, verbal flopping and players seeking to draw the foul rather than attempting to make a play. One sequence from Game Six that sticks out was the sensational tip-in by Rajon Rondo, a championship play, that was immediately followed by Derek Fisher hurling his body into Rondo with the desperate hope of drawing a foul on the young guard who was standing on the ground with his hands straight up. In crunch time of the most important game in their series, Fisher determines that trying to get a handout was a better option than actually trying to make a play.
This culture has given birth to a generation of fathers that inject their children with steroids, sharpen their football helmet clips to cut their opponents, get thrown out of Little League games and have for all intents and purposes sucked the enjoyment out of their offspring's childhood. These parents are ridiculed when their stories becomely known, but few can deny that as a society we're at the very least inching closer to these parents being more the norm than not. There will always be the extreme, but how many have argued balls and strikes at a 10-year olds baseball game? How many have booed an official at a 12-year olds basketball game? This lack of sportsmanship and awareness of the big picture has become an increasingly ugly part of the American sports culture at the youth level.
I love sports. I love competition. I love seeing the underdog win, but based on heightened execution, a little luck or just a team playing above their head, but not based on getting a opponent removed from a game without cause. I love seeing the better team win, not on the basis of drawing undo calls, but on hard work and execution. I love seeing someone give it their all and failing, getting off the mat and trying again. I love seeing someone making a big play in a big moment, not seeing someone hope an official will blow their whistle to make the play for them. Many of these despicable acts are justified as being 'smart plays', but they wouldn't be if they were seen as disrespecting the game or if they called in to question the integrity of those who participated in them. Maybe I'm being too romantic, too idealistic, but sports shift in philosophy to winning trumping all is not a lesson I look forward to passing on.
/Puts official ASD soap box back in it's resting place
Wednesday, July 7
The Regrettable Shift from Sportsmanship to Gamesmanship
Sunday, June 20
NBA Finals Game 7: Where Refs Controlling Legacies Happens
With 1:23 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Joey Crawford called Big Baby Glen Davis for a push in the back away from the ball. The foul appeared largely innocuous at the time, no foul shots were taken, Davis, a rserve was not in foul trouble and you won't see it on any highlight reels. With one simple call, however, Joey indicated a shift in officiating that would largely rob the players to write the latest chapter in NBA history. The NBA Finals had a game 7 for only the second time in the last 25 years, but other than Ron Ron's post game press conference, this one will be remembered for the player being robbed of a chance to write history.
After 82 regular season games and 23 playoff games, the Celtics were leading by four little points heading into their final game of the season and potentially their final game as a team for this particular collection of players. 105 games and three quarters, as well as knocking out the likes of Wade, LeBron, and Dwight Howard should have entitled this team an opportunity to write their own final chapter, but that opportunity was swiped from them. Don't be confused, this is not anti-Lakers, while they won and probably wouldn't change anything, they were likewise not afforded the opportunity to cement their legacies, either. Except for Pau Gasol, who once again proved he'd rather get a call than make a play, unless it involves discarding a point guard on a rebound.
Through the better part of three quarters the refs were stellar, allowing the players to determine who was going to be most deserving. Here you can see how many free throws were being attempted per minute through each quarter. The first three quarters are very similar, but the 4th takes a dramatic turn. In a quarter where the Lakers scored 30 points, they made just six field goals.
In a game that was 57-53 entering the fourth, with scoring at a premium, granting one team nearly two free throws per minute was bound to have a dramatic effect on the game. Watching the game it did not feel that it was being played dramatically different, but suddenly it was being called dramatically different.
21 free throws attempted in the fourth and while the Lakers did not shoot particularly well from the stripe, it was the only reason that a game that had been nip and tuck remained close down the stretch. At halftime ABC highlighted Boston's ability in transition as a key to the second half. This ability was virtually nullified in the fourth quarter as the FTs allowed the Lakers to be set on defense nearly every occasion. Only six times were the Celtics not pulling the ball out of the hoop or rebounding a free throw. On four of those, they scored or were fouled. A 66% success rate that had there been more opportunities, could have made a huge difference.
While Celtics Lakers remains the most storied rivalries in the NBA and maybe all sports, the final chapter of this series was written by three officials who either got nervous or couldn't help wanting to be a part of the story. It should be noted that while one team was attempting more free throws in one quarter than had been attempted by both teams through three quarters the ESPN announcing crew completely failed to acknowledge this revelation. Perhaps if we don't talk about it, we can pretend like the players did decide the game. Unfortunately, Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the greatest gift an NBA season can give was altered dramatically by three referees, a story line that has become all too common in recent years.
Monday, June 15
The NBA Finals: What We Learned
Hello? Is this thing on? The trophy has barely touched down in LA and already Kobe fans are clamoring that this proves Kobe's better than LeBron and even His Airness. Phil Jackson is being discussed as the best coach ever, Trevor Ariza's contract demands are on the rise, and somehow people forgot that Pau Gasol's good. All this and more after the break...
Kobe v. LeBron
It's easy to point and say Kobe's better than LeBron right now. Kobe's brand new ring serves to mute any and all debate, but not for long. It wasn't that long ago (think Sasha Vujacic bricking threes in last year's Finals) that Kobe apologists were saying, "He can't do it alone, he has to have help." A statement that they conveniently forgotten now that LeBron is the one lacking help from his teammates. With Phil likely to retire after this championship, Kobe fans may need to recognize that this could be Kobe's last trip to the promised land. While Kobe has four rings, he only has one as the Alpha Dog. Is there anyone alive that thinks the King won't get more than one ring in his playing career? Comparing the seasons the two had at age 24, LeBron leads in FG%, 3PFG%, Rebounds, Assists, and Blocks. Kobe leads in FT% and Steals. Stats can be misleading, but it's hard to deny the dominant performance that was LeBron this past season. While the window is beginning to slide shut for Kobe, it's only getting bigger for the Chosen One.
Also, this notion that the Lakers grew from a lottery team to champions due to Kobe's maturation is absurd. The Lakers team that was in the lottery had Chucky Atkins and Chris Mihm starting and the only starter remaining from that team is Kobe, himself. Two of the starters (Atkins and Caron Butler) were traded for Kwame Brown and Laron Profit! That team featured Jumaine Jones, Tierre Brown, and Brian Cook playing significant minutes and Rudy T at the helm shortly after surviving a bout with bladder cancer. Rudy's a great coach, but it was clear he no longer had the drive by the time he landed on the bench of the Lakers. That lottery was five seasons ago and the only two holdovers other than Kobe are Luke Walton and Sasha.
Kobe v. MJ
Oh Kobe fans, you only serve to embarrass yourselves when you dare try to put Kobe's name in the discussion with Jordan. Some fans come armed with the argument that Kobe has more rings at 30 than MJ did. Let's take a more accurate look at how many each after 13 years in the league. Kobe has four and MJ... six! How about the Kobe didn't have a Hall of Famer playing next to him each time argument? How many Hall of Famers did Kobe beat in this series, Dwight Howard certainly has the potential to be one, but at only 23, he's far from the player he can become. He's the only legitimate shot at the Hall that the Magic have and he didn't attempt more than a dozen shots in any of the five Finals games, hardly worthy of Cooperstown Springfield. When MJ won his first title he went through Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Isiah Thomas and the Bad Boys and finally Magic and James Worthy. This Laker team won in the most bogus year in the NBA since the Spurs won their first title in lockout season in 1999. I already compared LeBron and Kobe's stats, so let's take a look at MJ too. For their careers (this includes the Johnny Kilroy and the Wiz seasons for Michael) Kobe leads in only two statistical categories: FT% and 3P%, but only by a combined .19. Jordan, however, leads in scoring average, FG%, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. Jordan was a better scorer, defender, and was better at distributing than Kobe... oh, I found something else Kobe does more of... turn the ball over. So Jordan takes care of the ball better too. I understand the euphoria of winning a championship, but the facts simply do not support the Kobe argument.
Phil as the greatest coach of all-time
He's undoubtedly a great coach, but having horses is a big part of successful coaching and he's had 4 of the NBA's 50 best in the last twenty years. No one else in the league can say that. Could he have won with the Lakers had he not won in Chicago? I don't know, because it was those six rings that gave him the credibility that his predecessors lacked. He'd been where Shaq and Kobe wanted to go and they respected him for that. It's not important, but with the egos of both players, it's hard to imagine them respecting the bad suit-wearing, goofy mustache-having Phil that first won in Chicago. I digress, I love basketball, but it's not the hardest sport to coach. Football has far more moving parts and egos and with an actual salary cap and so many injuries, it's much more difficult to navigate to the Super Bowl multiple times. Phil may have surpassed Red Auerbach for the most titles, but he's not the greatest coach of all-time, it's one of the coaches with multiple Super Bowl rings.
People forgot about Pau
When Pau got to the Lakers he was supposed to be the missing piece, but somewhere along the line people viewed him as a softie, instead of one of the top five big men in the league. When the Grizzlies traded him, everyone scoffed at how little they got... because he was damn good then. If I had to bet money on who would get another ring Pau or Kobe, I would take Pau.
The Lakers will regret re-signing Trevor Ariza
So this is a What I think instead of a what we learned, but it needs to be said. Ariza's benefited from playing with a veteran point guard, one of the top two players in the league, and two adept passing big men. He's been so far down on the opponent's priority list that he's had countless open looks and favorable matchups that his value has become artificially inflated. Add in the post-Finals loosening of the purse strings and if the Lakers aren't careful they end up with $115 million locked up in the tandem of Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza. He's a very good player and fun to watch, but he's an energy guy not someone that's going to take the mantle from Kobe. Overpaying here and with the departure of Phil possibly spelling the end of the triangle offense in LA, the team may find themselves with two albatrosses around their neck. Note: I would re-sign Ariza if I was the GM, but not at the price tag that so many believe he will command on the market.
Stan van Gundy screwed up
Just want everyone to know I'm onboard with every other writer out there on this topic. The irony is, however, that Phil could've faced the exact same criticisms if the series had swung the other way.
