One Quick Thought On Lebron James and Handshake/Press Conference Gate

June 2nd, 2009

Michael Wilbon pretty much sums up my thoughts on this matter (below), but wanted to chime in briefly as well.

Lebron James is as perfect a representative of the NBA as David Stern could hope to have. You could argue, for now, his image is far cleaner than that of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. He works hard on the court, and by and large, contributes to his community and NBA fans off the court.

Lebron does right 99% of the time. That said, he deserves much of the criticism directed his way for failing to shake the Magic players hands and bypass the post-game press conference.

Nothing pissed me off more than when Isiah Thomas and the bad boys failed to shake the Chicago Bulls hands after they finally knocked off the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. Granted, it brought the rivalry up another notch which was good for the NBA, it was unsportsmanlike and a poor example for the millions of young kids watching.

The same goes for Lebron on Saturday night. While its unlikely that any young kids were watching the end of the game — thanks to the late start times (nice work, Mr. Stern) — the example is not to be follow, but likely will be as kids are forced to face the difficult talk of a tough sports defeat.

Losing is a integral to sports as is winning, and regardless of how competitive and upset you are, one must always accept defeat graciously and shake the opposing teams hand.

As for the post-game press conference. I don’t really care too much about that. The media makes up stories most of the time anyway, so Lebron was just giving them the go ahead to do it again. Should he have at least offered some sort of statement and stood in front of the media? Absolutely. But I’ll forgive him for that.

Forgiving him on not handling the toughest loss of his career? Sure. He does things right 99% of the time. He just better handle it better the next time around.

Michael Wilbon - Before LeBron James Is Truly a ‘Winner,’ He’s Got to Be a Good Sport - washingtonpost.com.

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Gael Monfils Won’t Quit On You, Yellow Tennis Ball

June 1st, 2009

Gael Monfils just dropped Andy Roddick out of the 2009 French Open, and it’s effort like this that has clearly helped him advance to Quarterfinals.

The 11th seeded Monfils beat Roddick 6-4,6-2.6-3.

In the third round against Jurgen Melzer, Gael Monfils won the point of the tournament do date. Enjoy the clay goodness above.

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Lebron James Firmly Establishes Himself As The Best With Triple Double, Game 5 Win

May 29th, 2009

The 37 points and 14 rebounds were nice, but I enjoyed the 12 assists more than anything else. That’s what continues to separate Lebron James for the other greats in today’s NBA.

Lebron James also played some outstanding deny the ball defense late on Hedo Turkoglu — even though he ended up with 29 — to help seal the victory, and extend the series to Game 6 in Orlando on Saturday night.

I’m one of the many that is rooting for a Lakers- Cavs NBA Finals, but it’s not for the Kobe-Lebron matchup as much as it is that I just want to keep watching Lebron James play basketball this postseason. He’s averaging a mere 36 points per game during these playoffs, over 41 in the Eastern Conference Finals and I don’t even think we’ve seen the best he has to offer.

Think about that.

In the meantime, enjoy these Game 5 Lebron highlights as much as you need to.

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Carlos Zambrano Ejected, Tossed Ump Out For Good Measure [Yes, I'm Back]

May 28th, 2009

After a two week reprieve from blogging, I’m back… but probably not better than ever. Partially a result of the man holding me down and partially a result of becoming completely engrossed in twitter. Yep, it’s true.

Mostly I was waiting for something to really get my attention, and well, Carlos Zambrano did that yesterday.

I continue to hope that someday Zambrano will grow up, at least to 18-19 years old, and become a true leader of the Cubs. He has all the talent in the world, which has carried not only himself but the Cubs fairly far. Not far enough, however.

Composure.

I’m not saying that’s the cure for 101 years of Cubs losing, but even the slightest hint of it coming from Big Z could go a long way to bring a World Series to the Northside of Chicago.

In the meantime, Zambrano does provide us with some epic comedy. Watch of Zambrano argues with the ump over a play at the plate, decides to toss the ump out himself and the beat the living shit out of a Gatorade machine.

Hey, if we can’t win, at least we better keep it entertaining and classy.

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Rockets, Magic Force Game 7’s — Will NBA Let Them Win and Advance?

May 15th, 2009

It’s pretty obvious, Lakers vs Cavaliers is what the NBA wants and needs to happen most for ratings in the NBA finals. And as far as the Conference Finals are concerned, the Rockets and Magic would provide very little spice.

So here we go with two Game 7s over the week and the fans will be zeroed in on the officiating, because David Stern and his crew have given us no indication that they’re merely calling the games as they see it.

We’ll be tracking…

As far as the actual games, the Western Conference has begun increasingly intriguing. No longer can we be so sure the Los Angeles Lakers will advance. Even without Yao Ming (oh, and Tracy McGrady I guess), the Rockets have shown they are more than capable of overcoming adversity with an aggressive Aaron Brooks, scrappy Luis Scola and the defensive genius of Shane Battier.

So how many free throws do we think Kobe Bryant will see on Sunday. I’ll say 18 with a Ron Artest ejection just for kicks.

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Kenyon Martin Takes The High Road With Mark Cuban… Or Not

May 12th, 2009

Good to see Kenyon Martin was able to take the high road in this war or words with Mark Cuban and his mother.

Mark Cuban was wrong to call Kenyon Martin a “thug” to his mother… but turns out he was also right.

Proving Cuban’s comment accurate, Martin unleashed a profanity filled tirade back at Cuban last night:

“You better walk that way. You better walk that way you faggot motherfucker. You gotta come to Denver bitch.”

Nice.

I look forward to watch the TNT Crew tonight to see if Chris Webber and Charles Barkley are equally critical of Martin calling Cuban a “faggot” as they were of Cuban  calling Martin a “thug.”

Doubtful.

Kenyon Martin Should Be Suspended After Making Profanity-Filled Homophobic Slur Towards Mark Cuban: Video | Sports Rubbish.

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Juan Pierre WOOD: Cubs Fans Could Probably Learn From Dodgers Fans Support

May 12th, 2009

I am a proud Chicago Cubs fan, but not always proud of my fellow fandom.

Cubs fans have a unique ability to jump all over a player who is struggling, which is counterproductive to reaching the end goal they desire. So not only are they impatient, they are also not very smart (and yes, likely drunk).

Professional athletes are not exempt from being booed and harassed. There’s a time and a place for that. But fans should also acknowledge that most players when struggling would benefit from the support of their home fans. They know they’re letting the team down. They know they are disappointing the fans. They do not need to here your boos to try harder to reverse their performance.

Yet Cubs fans continue to boo more than ever before and not even for extended slumps… but simply being off for a day.

On the flip side, Los Angeles Dodgers fans are making the most of a bad situation caused by Manny Ramirez. By all accounts, Juan Pierre has failed to reach the expectations set for him upon his arrival in LA. He’s been critized, called out by the local media, you name it.

But now, with a great deal of pressure resting on Juan Pierre’s shoulders, asked to fill the void left by Ramirez, Dodgers fans have immediately devoted their energy to fully supporting Pierre.

They’ve actually begun selling JuanPierreWOOD t-shirts, mimmicking the MannyWOOD marketing efforts that have been a huge success in the city.

The result?

In the last 4 games Juan Pierre is batting .563, driven in 4 runs, scored 4 himself, and stolen 2 bases. Not exactly making up for Manny Ramirez, but Dodgers fans will gladly take this from Juan Pierre.

Booing is knee jerk stupidity. Support is effective.

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Patrick Kane Hat Trick: Time To Commit To The Indian, Blackhawks Advance

May 12th, 2009

Yep, it’s come to this. I’m writing about hockey, actually expressing some genuine interest in the NHL Playoffs.

There’s nothing I hate more in sports than a fair-weather fan. The type that routes for the Cowboys, Celtics and Red Sox… a combination that makes little to no sense. Or then there’s the Michigan football fan, but Duke basketball fan. What spineless bastards.

While I’m still going to rip myself for this, I am now committed to the Indian. As a fan of every other Chicago team not named the White Sox, I feel that while still very much fair-weather, it’s only natural that I join the thousands of other first-time Blackhawks fans in the city.

The Chicago Blackhawks are headed to the Western Conference Finals, likely to face another member of the original six, rival Detroit Red Wings.

It’s true, I’ll probably be watching hockey next week. Weird.

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Video: Glen Big Baby Davis Hits Buzzer Beater, Pushes Down Fat Kid In Celebration

May 11th, 2009

You’d think Glen “Big Baby” Davis would have a soft spot (pun intended) for little fat kids. One can only imagine how rotund Davis must have been as a child.

That’s why it wasn’t the buzzer beating 21-foot shot that was so surprising (and stunning, it was), but his stiff arm to the poor (ok, rich), fat kid in the first row before Davis unleashed a Happy Mother’s F-*%*(#( Day rampage back down the court.

Got to about the :55 spot in the video to see the child abuse. Karma’s a bitch, Big Baby.

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Good Story Alex Cejka Paired With Tiger Woods — Players Championship Final Round

May 10th, 2009

Nice little Sunday of golf ahead… if you have the time. I usually find myself pulling for Tiger Woods when he’s in contention, but today I’ll be rooting for Alex Cejka in the final round of The Players Championship.

You’re probably wondering ‘who the hell is Alex Cejka, and are you sure you’re not getting him confused with the NHL playoffs?’ I see your point.

Bob Harig of ESPN had a nice feature story on Cejka yesterday and despite all the pressure of the Players lead, Cejka kept his composure throughout round three and drilled a perfect approach shot on the 18th to ensure he’d take a five shot advantage into the final round.

Only one problem ahead. A guy named Tiger Woods. He tends to have an impact in final pairings. But Cejka seems capable of not only beating Tiger up, literally, but handling whatever pressure comes his way.

Either way, a nice little Sunday of golf ahead. Better than watching the Cubs bullpen.

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