April 2012 Archive

I long for the days when we all understood (or at least didn’t pretend not to understand) the fact that shit happens in sports and wins and losses aren’t always involve circumstances that aren’t ideal. What am I getting at? I’m getting at the crowd, crop, people, folks whatever who are already saying that if the Heat win a championship this year it will have an asterisk cause Derrick Rose was knocked out in the first round.

The whole asterisk thing isn’t necessarily new. There are always people seeking to diminish a team or person’s accomplishments because they didn’t “beat the best” or because “the competition fell apart” or “the star got injured” or “so and so was out coached.”  The problem with that is that almost every circumstance that contributes to the outcome of a game or season involves one of those scenarios. So I’m ready to stop the qualifying. I totally understand explaining the dynamics or contributing factors in wins and losses but dismissing champions? I can’t do it.

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Just like to note that Shaq hasn’t gotten any better on Inside the NBA and I love that Bill Simmons brought this fact up again in his preview of NBA playoff story lines:

Hate to keep belaboring this … but can TNT trade Shaq before the playoffs so we can enjoyInside the NBA in peace? Can they send him to the NBC Sports Network for Mike Milbury? What about Shaq to ESPN along with two no. 1 picks, $2 million, and the rights to Season 4 of Franklin & Bash for Stephen A. Smith? Can they just amnesty him? Did TNT get an amnesty clause in the new labor agreement? Why isn’t this a bigger deal? IT’S THE PLAYOFFS! I NEED ME SOME CHUCK AND I NEED ME SOME KENNY! WE WERE DOING FINE! WE WERE DOING FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here’s the thing, Shaq admitted he’s not good months ago. He has promised to try to get better. But I don’t know that he can. Think about all the many things Shaq has tried to do that he hasn’t gotten noticeably better at — rapping, acting, staying faithful to his wife…I don’t even think he had a huge jump in ability in basketball. He was pretty much elite from day 1 up until he got old, fat and hobbled. I just have no proof that he has the ability to go from zero to 60. It seems to me that either Shaq is good at something or he’s not. And he’s not good at broadcast television.

Bigger point: It’s a shame that media execs don’t understand that broadcasting is about more than just being a “fun person.” This was the mistake that they made with Shaq. Over the years he’s had lots of fun moments and showed that he has a sense of humor. But he’s not engaging and I have no idea what he’s saying half the time.

When Shaq talks this is what I hear: *ogre voice* superman…superman…I’m superman…

I was VERY happy with the Eagles’ draft choices this year. That’s not something I can normally say. Usually, I just end up confused. Not necessarily disappointed but just unsure. This year I feel really comfortable with everyone they chose and I’m excited to see what these guys will bring to the table (more on that later). But by far the most touching story for me of any Eagles draftee was Vinny Curry and his history as an Eagle’s fan. This dude is die hard and will definitely understand those of us who make up the Eagles fan base unlike some of the current crop *scowls*:

“Most people, the draft is the best day of their life, but growing up an Eagle fan, being blessed with the opportunity of seeing Brian Dawkins retire and give a speech here, this has got to be the best day of my life here,” Curry said, eyes gleaming under a flat-brimmed Eagles hat. “To see his teammates come back, the way they embraced him, and the way they embraced me was really something special. It’s a moment I’ll never forget in my life.”

It’s a moment Curry said he dreamed of growing up in a Shore area town heavy with Giants fans. He couldn’t afford tickets to watch in person, but would rush home from Pop Warner games to catch the Eagles on TV, and spent the week trash-talking his friends.

“The Eagle defense at one point in time was sickening, you know, with Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor, Brian Dawkins, right there, Trot, d-line had Big Hugh (Douglas), it was crazy and I just used to picture myself on Sundays – that’s going to be me one day,” Curry said. “To see everything come through and fall through like this is, it’s so mind blowing.”

*screams*

When he started talking about Eagles D I felt all types of close to this guy.

This was an emotional weekend for all Eagles fans with future Hall of Famer and safety Brian Dawkins retiring. His presser was Saturday (which I unfortunately didn’t get to see live!) and he signed for one day so that he could retire an Eagle.

I have so many memories of Dawkins and that awesome Eagles D. They made me so proud to be an Eagles fan through all the ups and downs they played their hearts out. The team hasn’t had the kind of leadership on the field (on either side of the ball) since Dawk left. Football was better with that man in it. I hope he enjoys his retirement, he deserves it.

Whenever there are Allen Iverson photos floating around I refuse to click because all the stories of him having hard times and sitting in bars alone make me afraid to take a look. Apparently Iverson has a new twitter account (not sure what was wrong with the old verified one or what exactly is going on here) but photos were tweeted out from it of him and Dennis Rodman and Stephon Marbury (with Iverson in the 3rd photo down) playing ball in China. The photos show only slight evidence of Iverson’s aging. I think it’s amazing that he mostly still looks like a skinny kid. Not like a hard partying father of 5 whose going through a strange divorce.

More photos here.

Speaking of the strange divorce…drama looks good on Iverson…he doesn’t exactly look like someone whose wife just asked for a restraining order against him according to TMZ. I was about to type out a whole recap of their relationship drama for those who may be behind but I just don’t see the point. Anyway, it appears that Iverson’s wife says he’s been harassing her.

Is it too late to kidnap Cam Newton and raise him as my own? What’s the cut off age for something like that?

I wondered this as I watched Cam’s “Campaign” video for the cover of Madden football. He really, really really wants to beat out Calvin “Megatron” Johnson. Newton’s argument? That Madden needs a REAL LIVE gamer on its cover. Someone who actually loves to play Madden football. To illustrate this point, Cam hands out his xbox and ps3 gamer tags and his email so that fans can play him online and send him their number so he can call them.

For those who don’t know, lots of athletes do play fans online and give out their tags on twitter, for example. This was something that was largely started by Ochocinco (surprise, surprise). Still, I think it’s really cool what he’s doing and it’s a great way to promote his desire to be on the cover. I kept thinking this dude is seriously competitive. He’s making videos and going all out to win. Oh if you watch past the 2 minute mark he talks about the Madden curse and why you shouldn’t worry about that when you vote for him.

I can sooooo see this young man doing movies and television. He’s got more charisma than any one person should be allowed to possess.