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New Rule: Washington D.C. residents need to know the names of the local NBA, NHL, and MLB teams (Wizards, Caps, Nats)

January 13, 2010

I’m making a new rule.  If you live in the Washington, D.C. metro area, you need to know that the Wizards are the area’s pro basketball team, the Capitals are the hockey team, and the Nationals are the baseball team.  (Everybody knows that the Redskins are the football team, and unfortunately, it’s too much to ask for people to know that the soccer team is D.C. United).

Last night I met a woman who didn’t know who the Wizards were.  When I told her they were Washington’s NBA team, she laughed and said, “Oh yeah, but they’re new – they’re an expansion team.”  Then I told her that, no, the Wizards were the Bullets before that, and they won the NBA championship in 1978 and appeared in the finals three other times in the 70s.  Both the Wizards and the Caps franchises have been in D.C. for nearly 40 years, and the Bullets were in Baltimore before that.

(The current state of the Wizards is irrelevant.  I predicted disaster for this team in my blogs before the season began).

This has happened now almost 10 times to my estimation – someone doesn’t know who the Wizards are, doesn’t know who the Caps are, or mixes them both up.  This isn’t like the 140-question test on football that one of the characters in the movie “Diner” gave to his fiancé.  Just know the basics.  The names of the teams.  If you don’t, it’s disrespectful.  Disrespectful to yourself, to Washington, to your country, and disrespectful to God.

It’s like with the news.  I may not be an expert, but I can at least tell you the very basics.  I also think people who live here should know the very basics about area geography.

One time I mentioned to a lifelong area resident something about the Caps.  “Oh, they’re the basketball team, right?”  “No, they’re the hockey team,” I said.

A month later, I mentioned something about the Wizards and Caps.  “Which one is the basketball team?” she said.

About another month later, she still didn’t know the difference between the Wizards and the Caps.

Is it too much to ask that you know who the local sports teams are?  I’d never expect anyone to know that D.C. United is the pro soccer team, though it’d be nice.  The Nationals have only been around for five seasons so not knowing them might be slightly less egregious.

The Bullets had two of the NBA’s all-time greatest players – Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld.  Hayes was known as the “Big E.”  The crowd at the Capital Centre used to say, “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…” when he went up for one of his patented fadeaway jumpers.  He was also a great rebounder and shot blocker.  Unseld was a center who played great defense and was an excellent rebounder.  He won the Rookie of the Year award and the MVP award in the same season.  His specialty was the outlet pass over his head all the way down the court.  I know, nobody cares.  I’ll probably save this stuff for another blog post.

The Caps made the Stanley Cup finals in 1998 and the semifinals twice, in 1990 and last year.  They have the greatest player in the world in Alex Ovechkin.

Just like local residents should know about the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the museums, you should also at least know who the local sports teams are.

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Wizards Games – The People You See

December 17, 2009

I got stood up last week.  I was supposed to meet a date at Clyde’s near the Verizon Center.  I left a message to say I’d be 15 minute late but when I got there she was gone.  Oh well, she was 40.  A little too young anyway.

So I decided to go to the Wizards-Celtics game.  That worked out better anyway.  It’s always interesting to see who you see at a Wizards game.  First I saw ESPN Legal Analyst Roger Cossack, who also used to work for CNN.

Then I saw the guy who is probably the greatest Bullets fan ever.  I told him I recognized him from games going back 30 years.  Back in the 80s, when the crowds were a little sparse and quiet, he could be seen jumping up and yelling his lungs out.  He’s a tall black guy, probably in his mid-50s.  I told him the Wizards should change their name back to Bullets and go back to the red, white and blue uniforms.  He said that’s what his father used to say.

Me with Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers

Then I thought about Robin Ficker, a controversial Bethesda lawyer who used to heckle the opposing team so badly that they would move their seats onto the court during timeouts.  I don’t know what Ficker does as a lawyer, but the heckling was great.

Then I saw Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers and got a picture with him using my phone.  I told him the Skins would have a good year next year.  He was cool.

Then I recognized Rod Davis, a guy who played basketball for Gaithersburg High School in the 80s.  I thought of how I tried out but didn’t make the team, and how nobody can understand that I didn’t play since I I’m 6-5, but I grew late.  Then I thought about how people must not respect basketball players, because they think the only thing a player needs is height.  There were 1000 boys in that school, so I would have had to be in the top 1.5% in order to make the team – the best or second best player out of every 100 boys.  But I was in the top five tennis players out of 1000 there.

Then I saw CNN’s Wolf Blitzer at his usual spot.  He’s a big Wizards fan.  Then I thought of a story I heard about CNN’s John King.  About five years ago he was playing for CNN in a softball game against AOL.  The word was, the game got kind of contentious.  So when King scored the winning run, he (reportedly) said, “You’ve got mail, bitch!”  I always thought that was kind of funny.

It also made me think of the late Tim Russert, who was a big Wizards fan.  I thought of how he was a really great reporter, but was very unfairly biased against Hillary Clinton and for Barack Obama.  Along with many other members of the media, he swayed the election from Hillary to Obama.  Anyway, then I thought of Russert’s son Luke, who got a job as a reporter for MSNBC and was pretty bad when he first started, but is actually an extremely knowledgeable reporter about Congressional issues now.

Then I wondered what was new with CNN’s Lisa Sylvester, my ex from 5 years ago, now that the Lou Dobbs show is gone. Hopefully it’s a move up, but I don’t know because I don’t watch CNN.

Then I snuck down to the expensive seats.  I thought of how during the two years Michael Jordan played for the Wizards, I successfully snuck down to the lower level 12 out of 13 attempts, and I almost always had another person with me.

I made it to the 9th row near the corner of the court.  I looked over about 10 seats to my left, and in the 10th row was Sportsradio 980’s Andy Pollin.  I thought of the time in the early 90s when I worked for the station and I did some live reports from Bullets games.

Then I thought of how Wizards owner Abe Pollin (a distant relative of Andy) died recently.  He did a lot of great things for the city including building the Verizon Center with his own money.  I thought about how the area around the Verizon Center is packed with restaurants and bars, and how people new to the city probably think it has always been that way, but that ten years ago many of the buildings around the arena were abandoned and there wasn’t much activity there.  I thought of how amazing it is that the Caps are now the toughest ticket in town, and that’s partly because of the Verizon Center.

As for the Wizards – Celtics game itself, the Wizards lost 104-102.  The Wizards don’t deserve much ink.  I thought about how I’ve been a huge Bullets/Wizards fan for 30 years, but I actually want them to lose this year.  Why?  They didn’t try their hardest last year.  The tone was set when Gilbert Arenas, out for the year with an injury, said it might be good if the Wiz had a bad record so they could get a top draft pick.  The Wizards also hired an interim head coach last year, Ed Tapscott, who had never been a head coach except for a stint at American University in the 1980s.  So by not going all out, by not trying 100% all the time, the Wizards didn’t try to win.  You can’t just turn it on and off like that, and the effort isn’t there this year.  95% isn’t good enough.  The Wizards need to make some moves and get some players who will give a better effort, especially on defense.

Then I thought about the blog I wrote last year about the Wizards not giving 100%: 2009/02/15/tell-it-like-it-is-stephen-a-smith/.  You should read it.  It’s pretty good.  This one too – it was about hiring Jeff Van Gundy to coach the Wizards so they could start playing some defense. 2008/12/03/hire-jeff-van-gundy-to-coach-the-washington-wizards/.

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Using Disrespect for Motivation

December 2, 2009

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog called “Using Disrespect to Motivate Yourself and Prove People Wrong.”

I decided to reprint some of it now.  You see it in sports all the time.  When you’re disrespected it gives you extra incentive to not only prove your doubters wrong, but to beat them if it’s in the sports world, or if outside of the sports world then at least to show them that they made the wrong decision.

You see, you take a personal slight, get upset about it, make it bigger than it is, and then actually relish the fact that someone disrespected you.  It takes on a life of its own – you never, ever forget – and then you do some truly great – even transcendent – things afterwards, partly because of the extra motivation.  You may say that you shouldn’t need that extra motivation, but it is what it is, and you should do whatever works for you.

I was reminded of this lately because of the recent situations involving Michael Jordan and Brett Favre, not to mention countless games in which underdogs beat favorites, and I’ve even had a few situations myself for which the concept applies.

I’ll start with me and then get to the more interesting stuff.

Three years ago I wrote about why I like working with kids with autism under my first FAQ at http://www.coachmike.net/autism-faq.php:

“I’ve always loved sports, and I root for the underdog. Anybody who has played sports or been a sports fan knows that when someone says you can’t do something, you love to prove them wrong. I prefer working with the kids who have the most severe disabilities because I love the challenge. One of the things I like most about working with kids with autism is the amount of progress that they have the potential to make.”

In the past five years, I’ve worked with a lot of children and several adults with autism.  I have never had a situation that didn’t work out well.  But sometimes schedules change. I was working on sports skills with a five-year old child once.  When he started kindergarten he had less free time so I had to stop after about eight months.  Sports was the first thing to get cut because of the “schedule.”  I could have (perhaps should have?) – said that that made sense.  But I took it personally.

I use things like that for extra motivation and can honestly say that the kids who I work with make great progress in all areas.  I believe that with all my heart, and I will do anything to make it so.  I can assure you that any kids who I work with will end up being more successful in all areas (and I usually break the areas down into 1) academics, cognitive skills and communication skills; 2) social skills, playdates, and emotional awareness and management; and 3) sports, exercise, and motors skills).

Anyway, now onto Michael Jordan.  His speech at the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in September was considered controversial because he mentioned several times during which he felt slighted and he used those incidents for extra motivation.  Jordan was famous for that.

In 1993, LaBradford Smith of the Washington Bullets (yes, the Bullets – here’s hoping new owner Ted Leonsis will change the name back and change back to the old red white and blue uniforms too) scored 37 points against Jordan and the Bulls and supposedly said, “Nice game, Mike.”  Jordan vowed to score 37 points against the Bullets the next game by halftime and he scored 36 by the half, 47 in all in just 31 minutes.

Great story, but it never happened.  At least the part about Smith taunting Jordan.

The funny thing is that Jordan admitted later that Smith never taunted him, but he just made the story up to give him extra motivation.  Here are some highlights from the game in which Jordan got his revenge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdDb32m2EsM.

Jordan didn’t mention that incident during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but he did mention the following, and I borrow from Brian Mahoney’s article from the Associated Press:

  • The coach who cut him from the varsity as a North Carolina schoolboy.

“I wanted to make sure you understood: You made a mistake, dude.”

  • Isiah Thomas, who allegedly orchestrated a “freezeout” of Jordan in his first All-Star game.

“I wanted to prove to you, Magic (Johnson), Larry (Bird), George (Gervin), everybody that I deserved (to be there) just as much as anybody else, and I hope over the period of my career I’ve done that without a doubt.”

  • Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy – Jordan called him Pat Riley’s “little guy” – who accused Jordan of “conning” players by acting friendly toward them, then attacking them in games.

“I just so happen to be a friendly guy. I get along with everybody, but at the same time, when the light comes on, I’m as competitive as anybody you know.”

  • The media who said Jordan, though a great player, would never win like Bird or Johnson.

“I had to listen to all that, and that put so much wood on that fire that it kept me each and every day trying to get better as a basketball player.”

  • Lastly, Utah’s Bryon Russell. Jordan recalled meeting Russell while he was retired and playing minor league baseball in 1994 – and with Sloan looking on in horror – told of how Russell insisted he could have covered him if Jordan was still playing. Russell later got two cracks at Jordan in the NBA finals, and he was the defender when Jordan hit the clinching shot to win the 1998 title.

“From this day forward, if I ever see him in shorts, I’m coming at him.”

Brett Favre is another example of someone who tries to prove somebody wrong.  Now let me first say that I’m not a Brett Favre fan.  I think he’s been overrated throughout his career because his tendency to throw too many interceptions hurt his team almost as much as his abilities helped him.  Also, he was very wishy-washy the last several years about whether to retire or continue to play quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.

In fact, a couple of years ago he said his heart wasn’t in the game.  I still think the Packers made the right choice by keeping Aaron Rodgers instead of Favre.  By the time Favre wanted to come back, Green Bay had made other plans.  But having said all that, Favre is having an unbelievable season.  True, he has a great running back and an excellent defense, but Favre has 24 touchdown passes and just three inteceptions, and the Vikings are 11-1.

The thing is, Favre wanted to play for the Vikings, one of the Packers’ most hated rivals last year but he had to go to the New York Jets instead.  This year he got his wish, and you have to give him credit – the Vikings beat the Packers twice this year.  Part of Favre’s motivation is to say, “I told you so,” to the Packers and to make the Packers regret their decision.  I don’t think it’s healthy to use revenge as a motivational tool, but maybe a little bit of “I told you so” or “I’ve proven you wrong” is healthy.

Now, this isn’t the stuff of MJ legend, but when I tried out for the junior high school tennis team in ninth grade, I was cut from the team.  I made the team the next year in high school, and during my junior and senior seasons I had a combined record of 23 wins and eight losses playing at number one doubles.  Then I lettered for four years at Division III Ohio Wesleyan University, albeit a small university.  I never forgot that the “coach” wrongly cut me in ninth grade and put other players on the team ahead of me whom I was much better than.

Then in 2000, after not playing competitively for a decade, I signed up to play in a 4.0-level tennis league.  They told me I would play the first match and then I showed up and they said I wasn’t going to play the first match – I would have to watch.  So I went home, cancelled the check, and looked for a 4.5-level (higher level) league.  I found one and won six of the eight matches I played in doubles.  The local tennis board had to rule on whether to let me play after cancelling the check and writing a new one.  Luckily, they let me play.

Anytime somebody tells you you can’t do something or doubts you, you hate it.  You hate it so much, but then you savor it.  Because it gives you extra motivation.  You never, ever forget it, and then you use it to achieve something great.

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Posted in Autism, Disabilities, Michael, Magic, Larry, and Dr. J, NBA, NFL, other stuff, Quarterbacks | Leave a Comment »

Steve Blake is better than Andre Miller

October 29, 2009

I’m a little bit tired already of members of the media being surprised that Steve Blake is starting ahead of Andre Miller in Portland. There is a reason for this.  Blake is better.  He doesn’t finish as well but you don’t need to with all the players on the Blazers.  Blake is quicker than Miller and four years younger too.  Blake started for the Blazers last year and they won 56 games.  Argument over.

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Using Disrespect to Motivate Yourself and Prove People Wrong

October 5, 2009

In sports, as in life, sometimes when you feel slighted and disrespected, it can give you extra motivation to do well to prove people wrong.

Michael Jordan was famous for it, Brett Favre is going through it now, and I’ve even used it myself for extra incentive.

“It” happens when people underestimate you.

A lot of people were put off by Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame induction speech last month, when he recounted many instances when people said he wasn’t good enough.  Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he never forgot it, so he became the greatest player of all time.  Writers said he’d never win a championship, so he won six.

In 1993, LaBradford Smith of the Washington Bullets scored 37 points against Jordan and the Bulls and supposedly said, “Nice game, Mike.”  Jordan vowed to score 37 points against the Bullets the next game by halftime and he scored 36 by halftime, 47 in all in just 31 minutes.  The funny thing is that Jordan admitted later that Smith never taunted him, but he just made the story up to give him extra motivation.

Now, just hours before Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings takes on his former team, the Green Bay Packers, there’s a lot of talk of revenge.  This is different than the Jordan situation, though.  While the Packers decided to let Favre go a couple of years ago in favor of Aaron Rodgers, it was partly because Favre kept going back and forth and wouldn’t give Green Bay a decision about whether he wanted to come back instead of retire.  When the deadline had passed with Favre deciding to remain retired, the Pack decided to go with Rogers.

Last summer before Favre signed with the New York Jets, it was clear his first choice was to go to Minnesota because they were one of Green Bay’s major rivals.  Favre wanted revenge.  He would like nothing better than to prove the Packers wrong.  But the Packers made the right decision.  Favre broke down at the end of last season, and though he’s having success this year, it’s mainly because he’s on a very good team.  And most football insiders know that Favre takes away as much as he gives, as he has more interceptions than any QB in NFL history (Click on “Quarterbacks” on the right side of the blog to see what I wrote about Favre a year ago).

Still, the idea of proving someone wrong can be very strong, and if you can use it as motivation, more power to you.

You see this most often in sports when an underdog uses disrespect as extra motivation to win.

Three years ago I wrote about why I like working with kids with autism under my first FAQ at http://www.coachmike.net/autism-faq.php:

I’ve always loved sports, and I root for the underdog. Anybody who has played sports or been a sports fan knows that when someone says you can’t do something, you love to prove them wrong. I prefer working with the kids who have the most severe disabilities because I love the challenge. One of the things I like most about working with kids with autism is the amount of progress that they have the potential to make.

I remember a time when an autism therapist asked why multiplication should be taught to a child who would never have a reason to use it.  About a year after that, the child mastered triple digit multiplication.

When I tried out for the junior high school tennis team in ninth grade, I was cut from the team.  I made the team the next year in high school, and during my junior and senior seasons I had a combined record of 23 wins and eight losses in doubles.  Then I lettered for four years at Division III Ohio Wesleyan University, albeit a small university.  I never forgot that the coach wrongly cut me in ninth grade and put other players on the team ahead of me whom I was better than.

Then in 2000, I signed up to play in a 4.0-level tennis league.  They told me I would play the first match and then I showed up and they said I wasn’t going to play the first match – I would have to watch.  So I went home, cancelled the check, and looked for a 4.5-level (higher level) league.  I found one and won six of the eight matches I played in doubles.  Some tennis board had to decide whether to let me play or not after cancelling the check and writing a new one.  Luckily, they did.

I’m not trying to compare Michael Jordan to me, I’m just saying that proving people wrong can be a powerful motivational tool.

How many times has the media counted someone out?  John Elway can’t win a Super Bowl (he won two).  Peyton Manning can’t win the big one (he won a Super Bowl).  Kobe Bryant can’t win an NBA title without Shaq (he did it last year).

Keep giving people motivation.  Keep saying they can’t do something.  But don’t put limitations on anyone.  I just searched on the word “limit” from the “Autism” category of my blog.  It came up three times:

I quoted from the book “Engaging Autism” by Stanley Greenspan:  “Schools tend to be very structured and to put a high priority on compliance and limit setting, rather than on engaging, interacting, problem-solving, and thinking creatively and logically.”

Then, from “Sports for Children with Autism,” which I wrote last summer:

“I never would have thought hockey would be a great sport for kids with autism because of the need to skate and handle a stick simultaneously, but it turns out that it can be great, and it just goes to show that we shouldn’t put limitations on anyone.”

And finally, this:  “A lot of people are familiar with the amazing story of Jason McElwain, an autistic teenager who scored 6 three-point baskets in a game for his high school team a few years ago. This type of success doesn’t happen a lot, but it would never happen if too many limitations are put on children who have autism and other disabilities who want to play sports.”

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A Reason to Root Against Cleveland

June 25, 2009

I’m so sick of Shaquille O’Neal.  He is the most overrated NBA player of the last 15 years.  He has never won an NBA championship without an all-time great alongside him.  He got to play with Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Steve Nash, and now LeBron James (not to mention Penny Hardaway in his prime). Last year Shaq went to a very good Suns team and led them to the lottery.  He wasn’t as good as Hakeem Olajuwon, who won two titles with a much worse supporting cast. If Shaq had had Patrick Ewing’s supporting cast, Shaq never would have won an NBA championship.  At least Ewing won an NCAA title.  Shaq never developed many offensive moves and he’s one of the worst free throw shooters in NBA history.

This is a panic move by Cleveland.  Shaq doesn’t work very hard, is often overweight, and like Brett Favre, his name is much bigger than his game. It’s so great that everyone thinks that 18 points and 11 rebound a game is so awesome.  Shaq did that last year for a running team that finished well above .500.  That’s really amazing – slightly better than an average NBA center.

Shaq benefitted from his size and athleticism for that size but has never been an overly skilled player.  The refs always allowed him to get away with too much.  The Cavs have put too much pressure on themselves to win it next year because Shaq is near the end.  They will certainly talk a big game and will be hyped up by the media.  Now the Suns can move on and they get a good young player in Sasha Pavlovic.

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Mitch Kupchak and the 1978 Washington Bullets: NBA Champions

June 17, 2009

Monday on his ESPN show, Jim Rome pronounced L.A. Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak’s name wrong five times.  Rome pronounced it “Kupcheck” instead of “Kupchak.”  Rome should know better.  The worst thing about it is that Rome is based in L.A and Kupchak has been the GM of the Lakers for 9 seasons now. 

This is also Kupchak’s third NBA championship, winning the first two as a player, first with the Washington Bullets in 1978, and then with the Lakers in 1985.  (Kupchak was also on the 1982 Lakers who went on to win the title but only played in 27 games due to injuries).  

I know it’s easy to pick on sportscasters for individual mistakes, but this is a bad one.  Either Rome didn’t know how to pronounce Kupchak’s name or he read it off the teleprompter and didn’t correct the mistake of the writer.  And either way, it’s not too good. 

Kupchak averaged 16 points a game for the 1978 Bullets in just 26 minutes per game.  Kupchak was also an All-American in college, and won a gold medal for the U.S. in 1976.  He was a solid all-around player who worked hard and dove on the floor for loose balls.  

How about some respect for those Bullets, who had two of the greatest 50 players of all-time – Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld, plus Bobby Dandridge, a great small forward? 

Continuing on the subject of mistakes, the same day Sage Steele of ESPN said that the Lakers’ win was the first time an NBA team won the title after losing it the previous year.  Not true – in 1979, Seattle beat the Bullets after losing to them the previous season.  Part of the blame has to go to the writers on that one, though, if she didn’t write it.  

Contrary to popular belief, the NBA didn’t begin with Michael, Magic, and Larry.  Let’s get things right and also have some respect for the 1978 NBA champion Washington Bullets. 

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Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber: the Three Blind Mice

May 6, 2009

I’ve been watching the NBA on TNT for many years now and the crew of Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson are usually entertaining, and sometimes even correct about what they say.  Last night, Barkley, Smith, and Chris Webber made fools of themselves.  They took what Dirk Nowitzki said totally out of context and criticized him mercilessly for no reason.  

In Game 1 of the Denver Nuggets-Dallas Mavericks series, Kenyon Martin shoved Dirk Nowitzki to the ground hard and got a flagrant foul.  Then Barkley, Smith, and Webber – the Three Blind Mice – criticized Nowitzki for not doing anything.  However, if Dirk had punched Martin he would have been thrown out of the game and they would have criticized him for that. 

Less skilled players have always tried to provoke stars in hockey to get them to retaliate but thankfully the NHL has cracked down on that.  It doesn’t happen as much in the NBA but there is still a big danger that retaliating will get you thrown out.  During Game 4 of a playoff series in 2007, Robert Horry of the Spurs made a flagrant foul on Steve Nash of the Suns, which got Horry ejected from games 5 and 6, but the Suns’ Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw got ejected for Game 5 for leaving the bench, and the Spurs won the final two games of the series.  So it would have been stupid for Dirk to react to the incident.  Just last week the Magic’s Dwight Howard got ejected for a game for throwing an elbow.

Then they showed a clip of Nowitzki talking about three of the Nuggets defenders.  “I think Birdman does a good job because he’s so long.  He contests my shot.  Martin and Nene are stronger and they try to body me more and Birdman’s just long and when I shoot he can still jump up there and contest the shot.  So, yeah, they’ve got three very good defenders.” 

The Three Blind Mice went off about how terrible it was for Nowitzki to say that, misquoting him and implying that the quote meant that they could stop him, and criticizing him for not trash talking.  

First of all, what Dirk said was no different than what any player on any team in any sport says all the time.  He is complementing the other team because to do the opposite would result in bulletin board material that could potentially fire up the opponents.  If he had done what the Three Blind Mice wanted him to do, he would have been criticized for saying something stupid. 

Second, Nene, Kenyon Martin, and Chris Andersen are a very good trio of big men.  The Three Blind Mice are right that they can’t guard Dirk but Nowitzki was just factually describing that they are good players.  Take a look at Dirk’s quote again and now look at how the three former players interpreted it.  

Chris Webber:  “Dirk is scared of a defender.  I’ll tell you why I could stop him.  I can stop him because he got that push.”  Really?  Because someone pushed Nowitzki and got a flagrant foul that means that you could stop him, Chris?  CWebb, there is no way you could stop Dirk.  If he reacted then he would have risked being kicked out of the game.  “I’ve never heard a scorer, I’ve never heard a true warrior, a dog, say ‘this guy can check me.’  First of all, Nowitzki didn’t say, ‘this guy can check me.’  He said they were good defenders.  This quote is no different than any other quote ever.  “I’m saying that he doesn’t want to get pushed anymore so he’s conceding and being very nice and saying they are the best ever.  I’m just shocked.”  The best ever?  Look at Nowitzki’s quote again.  What you say is a crock.  Get rid of your alligator shoes and practice your commentary.

Chris, you say some intelligent things, but this time you sounded idiotic.  Dirk’s quote was probably a reply to a question like this: “Can you talk about the big men that are defending you – Birdman, Nene, and Martin?  What makes them hard to play against?” 

Kenny Smith:  “It feeds the stereotype that this guy is playing a little soft.”  On what Dirk said:  “I’ve never heard that before.  So then Charles chimed in and he’s never heard that from a great MVP.  I’ve never heard a great scorer say that guys can guard me.  This is the most I’ve ever heard.  I’ve heard a guy go, ‘they do a great job of trying to guard me but I can hit the shot that I want every time.’  Look at the quote again, Kenny.  

Charles Barkley:  “That pisses me off every time I hear that.  If a guy even thought he could guard me I’d tell him, ‘I’m going to kick your ass tonight.’  Grandma Barkley would say, ‘You can’t let people tell you they can stop you.’  Then he started to bring up “Grandma Nowitzki” before E.J. stopped him.  First of all, the Nuggets defenders never said they could stop Dirk and Dirk never said they could stop him.  Barkley went on:  “One of the keys to being a great player is having so much confidence in yourself…for Dirk to say that guys can stop him, that’s just not cool…There might be one guy who can stop you or slow you down, but three can’t.”  Nowitzki never said guys could stop him.  Look at the quote again.    

Webber went on, “You can’t guard me!”  Smith replied, “And that’s what you’re supposed to say.”  Webber said he’s played with a lot of great players and “never heard one of them say you can check me.”  Wrong, Webber.  This quote is no different than millions that have been said throughout the years.  Dirk did NOT say, “you can check me.”  He said Birdman’s length poses a problem while the other two are more power players.  They are good defenders.  That’s it.  Nothing more, nothing less.  

Shame on Ernie Johnson for not offering up a different opinion until much later in the show.  

Part of the problem with sports as entertainment is that productivity, or winning doesn’t matter.  It just matters how you do something – what kind of style you have.  It’s why Shaquille O’Neil is considered a better player than Hakeem Olajuwon, when Hakeem was much better.  Shaq never won a title without all-time greats alongside him.  Does Shaq have ANY offensive moves?  He loves to talk, though.  It’s why Dwight Howard is considered a better player than Yao Ming when Ming is a much better center.  Howard is more gregarious and Yao is more humble.  Respect other cultures and understand that players from Europe and Asia can still be great players without shouting it from the mountaintop.  

David Robinson was called “soft” because he didn’t trash talk and didn’t have tons of tattoos. How could one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in NBA history be soft?  All Robinson did was win the Rookie of the Year, win a gold medal as part of the Dream Team, win two NBA titles, win the NBA MVP, was named Defensive Player of the Year and in 1994 scored 71 points in the final game to win the scoring title.  Robinson was named one of the top 50 players in NBA history. 

It’s why Art Monk, one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history, took 8 years to make it to the NFL Hall of Fame (see http://www.coachmike.net/artmonk.php and www.myredskinsblog.com).  He was modest and didn’t trash talk, and for that reason, many didn’t like him.  

Webber:  You helped dismantle the Washington Bullets franchise and your antics were part of the reason they changed their name to the Wizards.  Abe traded you away, young for old, big for small, just to get rid of you to have solid citizens.  Who are you to criticize Dirk?  At least he made it to the finals.  You were known as a talented player who was afraid to take big shots during crunch time and when you did take those shots they were jumpers.  You pretend that you are tough but you grew up privileged, going to a cushy private school in a nice area. 

Smith:  You were an NBA bust until you got on the Rockets, and then it was Hakeem’s team.  You were a 3-point shooter, not a point guard.  Rookie Sam Cassell was brought in during crunch time during the NBA finals in ’94 and then again in ’95 while you were on the bench.  You’re a good commentator now but for many years you were painful to listen to on TNT and the way you talk doesn’t seem 100% real or authentic. 

Barkley:  You recently said that your DWI last year was the best thing that could have happened to you because you did it countless times and would have kept doing it until you got caught.  Really?  You’re almost 50 and you didn’t realize you should be drinking and driving? You admit that you would have continued to do it if you hadn’t gotten caught?  Maybe if you had played more defense you would have won an NBA title.  Late in your career you relied on the 3-point shot too much.  Yes, you’re entertaining but half the stuff you say is wrong.  But you say it with authority and that’s enough for most people.  

For the record, Dirk had 28 points and 10 rebounds against Denver in Game 1 and 35 points in Game 2.   The Mavs will probably lose the series to the Nuggets after being down 2-0 but not because of Dirk.  The Nuggets have the better team.  

***

Now that I’ve had a day to think about it, I stand by everything I wrote. What Barkley, Smith, and Webber said was much worse than ridiculous and inaccurate.  

However, overall these guys are usually good commentators and entertaining.  Also, I feel sorry for anyone under 25 because they didn’t get to see Barkley in his prime and he was unbelievable the way he ran the floor, coast to coast, dribbling the ball for dunks. Smith was a good player and a great three-point shooter.  Webber was a great player though he could have been better.  He should have had an NBA title but didn’t get one through no fault of his own.  The refs robbed the Kings of that series vs. the Lakers in 2002 and the Kings would have beaten the Nets in the finals.

As for Dirk, he has won 9 playoff series.  Compare the number of playoff series Nowitzki has won compared with other superstars:

Nowitzki  – 9

Yao Ming – 1

Carmelo Anthony – 1

Tracy McGrady – 0

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Tell it like it is, Stephen A. Smith

February 15, 2009

The Washington Wizards have accepted losing.  I applaud Stephen A. Smith of ESPN who today said of the Wizards:

“Simply pathetic…it’s because of two players.  Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison… they are supposed to be all-stars.  I understand you being mediocre because you don’t have Gilbert Arenas.  But 11-42?  That’s pretty pathetic…I don’t care if they’re both averaging 20 points a game.  If you have two all-stars in the starting lineup, you are not supposed to be 31 games under .500 at the all-star break.  That is an atrocity.  And you have to look at those two because clearly, they are not the all-stars we thought they were.”

This brings up two points.  You should always try your best.  Second, the media in DC allows an atmosphere of mediocrity to flourish by not criticizing teams enough.

The Wizards also took a cue from their leader, Arenas, who said, early in the season, “If this is one of those years we don’t make the playoffs, we’re one of those teams that’s in last place the whole year — you know that’s what happened to San Antonio and that’s how they got Tim Duncan. If that happens with us, it’s for the better.”

That’s a losing attitude.  Sometimes, playing badly on purpose (and it’s the same thing as not trying 100%) can help, like it did for the Miami Heat, who gave up last year, finishing 15-67 two years after winning the NBA finals.  That netted them Michael Beasley, the 2nd pick in the draft last year, who has helped the Heat to a 28-24 record so far.

Usually, though, when you don’t give 100%, or you try to be bad on purpose to get a high pick in the next draft, it doesn’t work out.  The Bulls tried that after Jordan retired and it took them 5 years to get respectable, and even after 10 years they’re still just an average team.  The L.A. Clippers franchise has had two winning seasons in the past 29 years.

There is something admirable about trying your best.  Some people would say, “What difference does it make if the Wizards win 20 games or 40 games?  If they don’t make the playoffs it will be better if they lose more to get a better draft pick.”  That leads to an attitude that losing is acceptable, though.

Too often, the sports media in DC looks the other way.  When someone criticizes an organization, a lot of people interpret that as being against that organization (take the example of a whistle blower), when it actually may mean that the person is helping the organization by pointing out areas that need to be improved.   The sports media in DC is soft.  That’s why Wes Unseld remained the Bullets coach for 7 years with a .369 winning percentage.  It’s why Norv Turner made one playoff appearance for the Redskins but lasted 7 years.

Sure, Tom Boswell ripped the Nationals for not signing any free agents until the recent acquisition of Adam Dunn.  Boswell also ripped into the Redskins a few years ago for being too cheery after losses.  But for the most part, the poor play of the Nationals and the mediocrity of the Wizards, Redskins, University of Maryland in both basketball and football is tolerated by the media.  (Maryland has been mediocre in basketball the last five years, and don’t tell me that a college football team that finishes two games above .500 each year is good when three of their early games are against teams that are from much smaller programs).  The Redskins finished .500 this year.  The Cardinals were one game better and made it to the Super Bowl.  What if there was an attitude that being average isn’t good enough?

Most people don’t like honesty.  They avoid the truth.  They want to be politically correct and diplomatic.  Thanks, Stephen A. Smith, for your honesty.

Washington Wizards:  Try your best for the rest of the season.

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Michael, Magic, Larry…and Dr. J

December 4, 2008

It always bothers me when people talk about Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan as the three players who revitalized the NBA in the 1980s, and Dr. J doesn’t get as much respect.  Of course, Julius Erving played some of his best years in the ABA in the mid 70s and then in the NBA in the late 70s.  Erving had already peaked by the early 80s but was still a great player.  I believe that Dr. J was just as great a player as Bird overall. 

 

Both were great scorers – Dr. J created his own shot while Bird was more of a jump shooter.  Both were good rebounders.  Bird was a better passer, but Dr. J was a better defender.  But this idea that Magic, Bird and Jordan should be mentioned as a triumvirate without including Dr. J is not right.  Dr. J changed the way the game was played.  Bird did too, as a great passing forward, but Dr. J was Michael Jordan before MJ. 

 

Jordan was clearly the best of the four, Magic was second, also changing the way the game was played as a tall point guard who could make great no-look passes and run the floor.  While Bird won three NBA championships to Erving’s one, Erving’s teams made three other appearances in the NBA finals and won two ABA championships.  I maintain that Dr. J should be considered on the same level as Bird, and was even more influential than Bird in the acrobatic way he played the game above the rim. 

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