Category Archives: Sports

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Fight Time!

Once again it’s on! 

I have not quite gotten the MMA bug as of yet.   I hear names of fighters like Silva

But there’s nothing like the ‘sweet science of boxing.’  I love the sport especially when we get to see the best of the best.  This will be the case tomorrow night in Las Vegas when Floyd “Money May” Mayweather Jr. takes on Juan Manuel Marquez.

The fight we REALLY want to see is Money May vs. Manny Pacquiao.  But thats part of the aura of boxing.  Sometimes we have to wait and the build up and ancitipation makes the showdown even more exciting.

  As a Mayweather guy though, I know he needs to win this one and he’s been out of the game for a minute.  He is a great fighter that’s for sure.

Floyd Mayweather, left, and Juan...

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Wierd Weekend In Sports

Hall of Shame Fame Induction Speech

 Basketball Hall of Fame Opens Its Door to the Legends

I got to see most of the NBA Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.  Congrats to some deserving new members.  John Stockton, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer are definitely worthy of their honors.  I thought Stringer’s speech was quite moving and heartfelt.  But I’ll be damn if Michael Jordan’s speech wasn’t the most unusual that I have ever heard in any sport.

On one hand as he sat there before being introduced and the video tribute played for him preceeding his introduction, the man seemed so humbled and out of his comfort zone.   He knew this was the pinnacle of any player’s career and he was about the be crowned.   When he got to the mic he was in tears as he tried to muddle through his first few words.  But boy oh boy did he warm up with the rants regarding his competetors throughout the years such as Isaiah Thomas, Byron Russell, John Starks, and coaches Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy.  He covered just about every controversy on the court too.  Well just about. 

He talked about Thomas for instance freezing him out of that first All Star game in the mid 80s, but not how he in turn froze Thomas out of the 92 Dream Team.  He talked about how then Knick coach Riley wouldn’t allow good friend Charles Oakley have dinner with Jordan during Oakley’s years with the Knicks, and how Van Gundy said Jordan befriended opposing players only to try to embarrass them on the court.  He even talked about how Russell challenged him during Jordan’s baseball days saying that Jordan should come back to the NBA so Russell could guard him.  Of course it was Russell who is immortaly posterized as the cat falling back as Jordan shoots jumpers on two separate occasions to win games over him in the NBA Finals. 

Unlike some Hall of Famers who speak about family and friends who helped them get there, Jordan hit that only briefly.  He used most of the speech to brag about his exploits.  I thought it was funny.  True to form.  The only thing he said about his kids was that he didn’t want to be them.  And he, the master of the Jordan brand that has paid him hundreds of millions of dollars even found time to bitch about all the thousand dollar apiece tickets he had to purchase for family and his lil trophy girlfriend to gain entrance into the ceremony. 

I’m thinking to myself, ‘Damn MJ!  You should have told the boys to watch it on TV!  You blows a thousand dollars within the first 10 minutes of a casino visit.  Your kidding right? ‘

 Serena blows a gasket!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what did y’all think of Serena Williams going off Saturday night?  First off it seems to me that Kim Clijsters is on an amazing role as a new mother and she is truly shining at this years US Open.  She not only beat Venus the other day, she had Serena all over the place too as the younger of the Williams sisters hit shot after shot into the net or out-of-bounds.  It was obvious that Serena wanted some get-back for what happened to her sister the other night and it showed as she tried to out power Clijsters to her own demise.  I knew it was a wrap when Serena slammed her racquet into pieces after losing a critical point.  Kim was all in her head and that’s just the way it is.

In terms of the foot fault; well that was a bad call and I don’t think a foot fault is something that a judge ought to get wrong considering where she was positioned.  Especially at such an important stage in the match.

That being said I am not going to pile on Serena for flipping her lid about it.  Don’t get me wrong.  It looked bad and I cringed as she kept going after the judge throwing on ‘F’ bomb after another.  But on the strength of her overall resume’ and good that she’s been to the sport, I think she deserves a Mulligan because this is the first time I can recall this happening.  If it doesn’t become a habit, it’s not a problem.  Besides that, as I recall when I first started watching tennis back in the day, a certain fellow was notorious for throwing such fits on the regular.  He is not only still revered in the tennis world, he happens to be the main broadcasting host of the tournament on both the men’s and women’s matches.

USC Does The Buckeyes

This just in from former USC fullback LenDale White.   “Ohio State still suckes!

Yes the Trojans went into ‘The Big House’ and rolled the Luckeyes for like the 25th time.  Whenever you get through with it, the Big Ten does not and will not be able to stand against the likes of the PAC 10 and the SEC.  We see it every year in bowl games. 

And big ups to Michigan too whooping up on Notre ShameDame!  You see all that extra work does pay off!  I was pulling for you HARD as I sat watching part of the game.  The Wolverines were the most important team in the world to me at that time.  Now that you have done The Domers, I care not what you do with the rest of your year.  Your season is now complete!

Next week!  My favorite team is…. 

wait for it……… that’s right!  MICHIGAN ST.   GO SPARTANS!

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US Open, Opens with a Bang!

Venus Williams celebrated after winning her match against Vera Dushevina at the U.S. Open on Monday.

After watching the first half of pre-season football, I tuned in to the US Open, probably my favorite tennis tournament.  Venus played a Russian girl, Vera Dushevina who almost took her clean out the tournament in two sets.  The way Venus was playing making mistake after mistake, I thought she was a goner! 

But she flipped the script and just dominated Dushevina as if she were an amateur.  It was clear after consecutive aces and wins off the serve that Venus was all in her head.

Venus also has tendinitis in one of her knees.  That doesn’t get better over a tournament, only with weeks of rest.  Will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple weeks.  Regardless I know there is some exciting tennis on the horizon on both the men’s and women’s sides.

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Congratulations Jim Rice & Rickey Henderson

 
I am very happy for two of my baseball guys in making the Hall of Fame.  I was a Big Red Machine guy in that the mid to late 70’s  and that was my team.  But I certainly loved to see Jim Rice smack that ball all over the place in his Red Sox uniform.  I thought Rice was dignified, and a straight up baller.   At times the baseball writers can be a fickle bunch,  but as he said in so many words, it’s good that he just made it in.
 
Now Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson was my favorite baseball player of all time.  This man personified everything I loved about the game; power, speed, fundamentals, aggressiveness, grit, style, and a whole lot of fun.  Rickey had the proverbial “it”!  He made catching a fly ball spectacular with his trademark “snatch.”  He stole bases like they were candy with unbelievable smarts and speed.  He has the most home runs of any lead off hitter in the history of the majors. 
 
One can just read about his stats here but that is still not enough.  Rickey played for several different teams and of all the times I saw him play he never took a day off.  He loved the game so much and it showed. 
Equally amusing to me is the way Rickey would talk about himself in the third person.   Few can get away with this without coming off as a jerk.  Rickey did though because he never took himself too seriously.  But the game… the game he played seriously and yet with a child’s heart.
 
I truly believe Rickey is one of the top 10 baseball players of all time.  And in spite of his first ballot induction, he’s greatly underrated and underappreciated by sports writers. 
Baseball would do well to keep him in the game in a pivotal fashion whether it’s with a baseball team or working for MLB to promote the game, specifically to young African-American boys. 
 
Congratulations Rickey and Jim.  Two deserving Hall of Famers!
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Redeem Team: Lakers Return to Greatness

 Kobe and family

***Memo to The Godfather: this is my last NBA Finals post. 

As I sat thinking about my view of the Lakers return to The Promised Land hours after their deciding Game 5 victory, I realized that I enjoyed the Lakers most recent success for different reasons.  Normally I am just fan.  The Lake Show has been my favorite for 30 years: win or lose.  

I enjoyed Magic’s five championships, and the return of Laker greatness with Shaq and Kobe.  There was something about this championship that got to me on a more human level though.  I connected with some of the players and coaches that I have watched over the years and felt good for their success.  I can tell by listening to them between games, in interviews etc. how much it meant to be at the top when the dust of the season settles.  

This is especially compelling when I consider the fact that most of our sports heroes make a tremendous amount of money and enjoy a level of fame that gives them privileges that most of us couldn’t imagine.  It makes me appreciate their commitment to excellence that much more. 

Then there is the defense against “hateration.”  In a way, the Lakers are compared to the Yankees for a societal theme that many people hate Goliath and cheer for the underdog.  I never agreed with the premise of, “I’m tired of seeing the Atlanta  Braves in the playoffs every year.  Why don’t they let someone else in it.”  In my opinion as long as no one is cheating dynasties are good for sports.  Excellence is something to be modeled.  Personally I don’t think the Yankees always spend their money wisely, but I respect that George Steinbrenner wants to win the World Series every freaggin year.

In my years as a Laker man, I’ve noticed that like many other dynasties people either love or hate them.  There is no middle ground.  When it comes to the more recent players, guys like Shaquille O’Neal were accepted because he was sort of a goof ball.  But cats like Kobe Bryant are horrifically crucified by Laker haters as a man who doesn’t have so much as a soul.  Part of that I think was his fault because he had a bit of a swag that people didn’t understand.  He came from a different country and became a superstar in a beloved American sport.  He had to compete with the likes of guys like Allen Iverson who sold more shoes than he did and Kobe tried to get street cred by not being himself.  He wasn’t a thug like A.I.  He was a sophisticated phenom who lived in Italy and traveled the world when kids like Iverson had barely left Hampton VA before going to Georgetown.  But he grew impatient and tried to be someone he wasn’t.  He didn’t come across well and youth was a part of that.  I think he wanted to do the right things.  But, but he didn’t have the maturity level and ability to bring people with him.  He isolated himself and when he caught that case in Colorado, it didn’t resonate with people to offer much empathy.

When you look at him now, I think he has come full circle in understanding the balance one has to have with being a mega star athlete driven beyond the level of most top level athletes, and being a person who can give and receive love and trust from others.  It seems like ages ago when Phil Jackson wrote that book about Kobe being uncoachable.  But over the last few seasons he has really grown up and I am happy to see that.  I love seeing redemptive qualities in people.  So I will put him as one of the people I am truly happy for in winning this championship. 

Kobe Bryant– for all the reasons I mentioned above.  Kobe is not just a basketball player anymore.  He is a man.  A respectable man with a beautiful family.  He teammates love him and I think he loves them back.  No more talk about him not winning without Shaq – which was ridiculous in itself cause it ain’t like Shaq led the Heat to the championship though he did run Stan Van Gundy in the middle of the season.  No,  that was pretty much Dwayne Wade killing the Dallas Mavericks in 2006.  Shaq was along for the ride.  Kobe was the man already, the best player in the league regardless of what “The Logo” Jerry West said.  This really puts his legacy in place regardless of whatever happens in his career from this day forward.  This team was horrible just a few years ago.  They were smashed in Game 6 against the Celtics last year.  And they redeemed themselves on the shoulders of their most talented player.  Kobe was the leader of the team in every sense of the word – including leading by example everyday.  I am sure he will remain classy during the offseason and we won’t be hearing any free style raps at local LA clubs where Kobe goes with a “Yo Shaq, tell me how my ass taste!” blast.

Derek Fisher– What can you say about D-Fish?  When I visited Staples in February to see the Lakers play the Hornets on my birthday, Kobe had his 39 but it was Fisher who hit the game tying three pointer to send the game into overtime as regulation expired. This guy has been through a lot since he left the Lakers years ago after their first three championships.  He played up north with the Golden State Warriors, then the Utah Jazz before his daughter became seriously ill.  Eventually the Jazz released him so that he could re-sign with the Lakers and be in a city where they had the medical facilities to treat his child.  Big ups to the late Jazz owner Larry Miller for that classy move.  Fisher is a business man, a hard core example of professionalism.  He’s a players rep with the NBA players association and has represented nothing but class during his entire NBA career.  This cat is so serious he put Luis Scola, a man almost twice his size on his ass and missed a playoff game just to send a message.  Remember that? How can you NOT be happy for this guy. 

Trophy

 Phil Jackson– This guy is hated on more than any other coach in basketball history.  The first thing people say is that he coached Jordan, then Kobe and Shaq.  Well I got three things to say about that.  For one, Jordan, Kobe and Shaq didn’t win a damn thing before he started coaching them.   Two, I have never seen a team with average players win any NBA championships.  I do remember after Jordan retired the first time, Jackson took the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals and was one Hugh Hollins phantom call that put Hubert Davis of the Knicks on the free throw line away from going to the Finals without MJ.  Three, when you look at a guy like Red Auerbach, hell he coached more Hall of Fame players than any other coach in the history of the game toward his 9 championship wins.  But you never hear anyone say, “Red had that damn Russell, Cousy, Jo Jo White, Sam Jones, and Havlicek – So how was he going to lose?”  No one said Doc Rivers couldn’t coach when his teams weren’t winning crap in Boston before they got Allen and Garnett to help Paul Pierce.  Think about this, in 10 NBA Finals victories Jackson’s teams have never gone to a Game 7 and have won deciding games on the courts of my Lakers, the Jazz, 76ers, Nets, and now the Magic.  To me that sounds like there is a lot of good coaching and preparation going on before the games.

Why is Phil criticized so much?  Because he is just smooth with his game.  He doesn’t scream at his players like Stan Van Gundy.  It’s not sexy television.  He has this anti-establishment tone to him.  It’s like he loves the game of basketball, is hyper competitive to be the best, but understands that it’s still a game and that there is more to life.  This is the same guy who after the Lakers won their third championship rode his motorcycle from Los Angeles to his ranch in Montana as a way to come down from the grind.  But look at the results.  He is his own man and that is why he left Chicago after their 6th championship.  Jerry Krause didn’t like the attention Phil got.  Phil didn’t give a flip anymore.  He gets it.  His players don’t tune him out, and his assistant coaches have remained loyal and stayed with him throuought his career.  And dammit he passed Red Auerbach.  Ten championships is ten championships.  Period.

I could go on talking about how I am happy too that Pau Gasol redeemed himself after having his manhood taken against the Celtics last year.  I called him Pau Gasoft.  Not anymore!  Or how Lamar Odom stepped it up when it counted and earned himself a ring.  I know they appreciate this.  Guys like Trevor Ariza don’t quite understand how hard it is to get to this place year in and year out.  He’s only 24.  But he played his ass off too and is about to get paid!

Mitch Kupchak got from underneath Jerry West’s shadow.  And his trade for Gasol was the reason why.  That is geting it done. 

So its for these reasons, the human factor to borrow a phrase as to why this championship for me means a little more.  Players are human too.  And though I don’t know these guys personally, I can still see some of the history, the background, the hard work, commitment and most of all the soul of the men who show that in spite of the multi-million dollar salaries, winning and winning the right way still means something.  It’s a great example for our youth.  It’s a great example for the nation.  It’s part of why I love sports.  Not merely for the sake of the sport.  But for the way sports brings people together, give of their talents, and sacrifice selfish motivation in order to accomplish a goal together

Congratulations 2008-2009 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers!  You earned it!

Phil Jackson pregame

 

 

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NBA Finals, Conspiracies, Legends, and Has Been Bitches

Derek Fisher, Jameer Nelson

Last night’s game was memorable to say the least.  D-Fish gets all the credit in the world for hitting those two big threes.  Trevor Ariza really stepped his game up in the third quarter.  Kobe missed a lot of shots but the ones he hit kept the team from getting blown out when the rest of the guys were struggling.  But there were some other things that really bothered me that I have to say.  I say these things because others in the media won’t.  They are afraid to.  I’m not.  I have no stake in this thing other than being a devoted fan of the Lakers and an even bigger fan of the game of basketball. 

I tell people all the time.  “Yea LA has been my team since 1979.  Whether they were up or down.  If they play great they play great.  If they suck they suck.  I don’t say they are great or got cheated when they sucked.”  I am as hard on them as anybody.  The point being that I am no fair weather guy.  Even in the midst of this series part of my fan apprehension of the team is wondering what team would show up on a given night.  Would it be the inept team that showed up in the first half of last night’s game missing assignments and making mental mistakes?  Or that third quarter team that showed a level of hunger that matches their talent?  Either way I don’t deceive myself about what is before me.

I say all of that to say this.  If I wasn’t sure before, now I know without question that on occasions the NBA officiating is either corrupted by instruction of the league or of the gamblers.  Let me explain. 

While everyone is caught up in Fisher’s heroics and rightfully so, the Lakers were in a situation where the game was almost impossible to win.  Consider this: 

While the Magic went to the free throw line time after time in the fourth quarter, the Magic were not called for a single foul in the fourth quarter until the last two minutes.  This was not a situation where the Lakers were only shooting jump shots.  To the contrary Kobe himself went to the rack several times and got plenty of contact with no whistle. Eventually he just went with the fade away shots.  Meanwhile, Hedo,  and Howard went to the line with regularly and Pietrus got an “And 1”  opportunity (a good call) on a drive against Bryant. 

Let’s add it up on this level.  Of the last 17 minutes of the game, including overtime, the Magic had a total of three fouls called on them, and the only Laker to see the free throw line was Pau Gasol after a flagrant foul at the end of the game.  Meanwhile, during the first two periods, Gasol, Bynum (or Lord Bynum) and Odom quickly got into foul trouble.  The Lakers were sporting a front line of Mbenga and Powell in the second quarter for god-sake.   The first foul on Bynum in the first quarter was a play where Kobe clearly made contact with Howard, but Andrew got the foul.  OK no biggie.  But the foul Bynum got in the second half when he and Howard were tipping a lose ball was flat out ridiculous.  Not only was there no contact between the players, Bynum had the inside position.  The only reason the Lakers were in a position to tie the game was because Orlando turned the ball over 19 times and missed most of their crucial free throws.  The officials did everything they could to hand them the game.  The Magic just couldn’t take it. 

Lamar Odom foul call

Now look, I am an official and I know that we all miss calls.  So maybe Kobe goes to the hole and doesn’t get the call.  There are times when I don’t make a call and say to myself afterwards, “I missed that one. ” But the thing is, as an official you don’t keep missing them.  I also understand that at time teams get calls on their home court.  But for the Magic to be in the penalty five minutes into the final period and the Lakers not to get a call their way until the clock was under 2 minutes was shameful. 

I honstly felt sick to my stomach watching that game.  Because my love for NBA basketball took a hard fall while sitting in front of that TV.  Even as the Lakers climbed back in the game and eventually won it, as much as I have celebrated and cried for my team even as a youngster, I could only think that in spite of the NBA wanting to extend the series, justice was served as the Lakers fought their way to victory.  There was no smile on my face, only contempt. 

I get that there is an entertainment level to the game.  No one wants to see superstar players leave the game in foul trouble.  I get that.  Still for me win or lose, there has to be a purity to the game.  Players should decide the outcome.  Calls will be missed, mistakes made by players, coaches and officials.  The Lakers have benefited from such mistakes too in times past.  Last night it was so blatant it was just ugly.  I thought to myself  that I may not even watch the rest of the series.  I would like to see the Lakers take it home.  But I know this for sure.  I won’t look at the NBA the same anymore after last night. 

The Lakers won’t say anything because miraculously they won the game.  But don’t think they don’t understand what went down. I don’t know that Orlando will get the help they just got though they have another home game on Sunday.  It wouldn’t surprise me either way.  But I’m just saying.

BB&G’s Random Rants

We know that coach Phil Jackson is trying to win his 10th NBA title as a coach.  But for some reason NBA has-been Alonzo Mourning thought it his place to say that Phil doesn’t do anything but show up while Kobe does the coaching.  This from a man who played 15 years in the NBA and didn’t win nothing until he rode the coattail of Dwayne Wade in 2006.  He seems to point to Kobe talking to players and showing them things on the diagram to make points during timeouts.  But as I recall every great team has facilitators and leaders who are coaches on the floor.  I remember Magic and Michael doing it back in the day.  Isaiah did it with the Pistons.  Chauncey Billups is the ultimate example of that.  But just because he was an extension of the coach I didn’t hear anybody saying that Larry Brown just showed up and called timeouts.  Or that George Karl doesn’t have anything to offer.   Phil is surely secure with himself so he makes fun of Zo’s being a bitch.  I guess that little play Phil drew up taking the ball out past half court so the Magic wouldn’t foul right away before Fisher’s three was Kobe’s idea too. Whatever.

Random Rants 2

I love me some Bill Russell.  Greatest NBA winner ever and a true statesman.  But WTF is up with him showing up at the last couple NBA Finals sucking up to the Lakers opponents big men.  Last year it was KG, which is understandable because it was the Celtics.  But this little feature with Dwight Howard was just ridiculous.  I mean what relationship does he have to the Magic?  Just that they are trying to beat the Lakers and if they were to beat the Lakers it would prevent Phil Jackson from surpassing Russell’s coach Red Auerbach in championship trophies?  I mean if the Cavs were in it would he be schmoozing with Anderson Varejao or Big Z?  I thought that was kinda whack.  Red’s place is cemented in history.  But these haters can’t take nothing away from Phil.  Talk about Jordan, Kobe and Shaq all you want.  But take one look at all of the hall of famers that Red coached and then get back at me on that.  A coach has to know how to work what he has.

Speaking of coaches.  What is up with Cleveland jerking Mike Brown around?  If this guy’s job isn’t safe this year, that shows that LeBron really has their management team shook.  I know ya’ll have to sign “The King” and all… but don’t be so fickle.  Have some balls at least and show some freaggin loyalty.  With this talk of Pat Riley Dan Gilbert is starting to remind me of Dan Snyder.