RPK posted a query as to whether bloggers need "express written consent" before live-blogging. Short answer is, as with all things in the law, its not so clear. But it is a legal question and I am a lawyer, so I'll take a crack at it.
The question revolves around the nexus two areas of law, copyright law and First Amendment law. All professional sports leagues own the copyrights to the broadcast of their sporting event; be it radio, TV, Internet, or other medium not yet invented. This copyright includes, among other things the visual images and the sounds from the game. (This is why Sportscenter can't show highlights of a game until it is given clearance by the network that broadcast the game.) Leagues have the right to control the means and the method in which their games are rebroadcast.
However, the copyright does not include a recounting of the game. Unfortunately for the leagues, sporting events are considered news. I mean there is an entire section in the newspaper devoted to sports. And no one, not even the NFL can copyright the news. Well almost.
Where things get fuzzy for the live-blogger is the distinction between "hot-news" and "cold-news". Hot-news is news as it exists when it is first reported after it first occurs. Hot-News is protected under copyright law, as it is the way newspapers make their money. If a newspaper, or news organization couldn't protect their reporting when it was hot, no one would buy any one paper. The news would be the same all over the place. Everyone would be stealing stories, and no one would be doing reporting. There would be no incentive to cover the news when you could steal it from someone else.
Cold-news, is hot-news after some time has passed and it no longer has any economic value. Cold-news is not protected and is part of the public domain.
So how does all of this relate to the professional sports? Well live broadcasts are the leagues' hot-news. All the economic value of a game lies in that there is only one place to watch it, or a handful of places to hear it. So bloggers are screwed? No, not really. The line between hot-news and cold news is a fuzzy one at best. Live blogging isn't all that live when you consider all the delays and even the days that go by before someone reads it. Even so, the description of a single play loses almost all economic value soon after the play is over. (Or at least that's what i would tell the court)
Even outside the realm of copyright law, bloggers can find safe haven in the First Amendment. Copyright law always takes a back seat to the First Amendment. The only question that needs to be answered where copyright material meets the first amendment, is whether the blogger has contributed enough "transformative elements" to bring the work under the protection of the
First amendment.
Put in the context of this question, did Will Leitch (Deadspin editor and CBS glogger?) bring enough of himself to the live-blog to protect the material under the First Amendment. Sure he did. No one really reads a live blog to get a play by play recap, they read it for the commentary. Which isn't copyrighted by the league.
So there, take solace bloggers. You have at least a colorable claim that what you are going is protected under the law.
But beware courts are fickle, and I'm not a copyright attorney. So be careful.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Chain Reaction
My partner has picked up the slack recently, so now it my turn to turn it up a notch and go off topic for just one post.
I recently joined the myspace revolution, and my buddy sent me this chain letter that detailed his life soundtrack, and I found it somewhat interesting. Usually I’ll delete a chain letter (they call them bulletin’s on myspace, though they serve a slightly different purpose) the second I get it, but this one stood out.
The general premise was, you put your ipod on shuffle, and you hit the skip button to go that next song, which determines the soundtrack for the movie made on your life. For example, the first time you press the skip button, the next song that comes on is the song that plays during your opening credits. Hit skip again, the next song that comes on is the song for you waking up and getting ready for school, hit skip, the next song that comes on is the one that plays for your first day of school, you get the idea.
I thought this was a very interesting concept, so I decided to try it. Hey, I had nothing to lose, I’ve got very little besides gangster rap on my ipod anyways, so I thought the results would be somewhat humorous. Lets take a look at the soundtrack of the Life of Bull.
Opening Credits: Dre and Snoop, Next Episode. How great is that beat? I love that song, and it would make sense to open up the movie with the credits rolling and that song playing with the different characters being introduced with still shots.
Here is an even greater question, who plays me? Richard Mull? Vin Diesel? (I’m giving myself a lot of credit there) Or how about this, who plays Ed and Hace? Earthquake and Typhoon?
Waking Up: Dem Ghetto Boys, Lean Wit It Rock Wit It. Great song, its up-beat though, which I certainly am not when I’m waking up. Nobody is as angry as I am when I wake up. It’s a good thing I live a lone and normally don’t wake up next to anyone else, because I’m miserable when I wake up. Good song, but its kind of like Rosie O’Fat trying to jump into a size 6 dress, it just doesn’t fit.
First Day of School: Motorhead, HHH Theme (The Game). I wont get much agreement here, but that song f’n rules. I remember the WV Power ran out onto the field to that song last year. This song gets you fired up, and while I NEVER got fired up for school, if I were watching the movie on my life, this song would get me fired up to see what happens at school.
Falling in Love: Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys, Whatchyou Gon’Do Instrumental. Talk about a great song that doesn’t fit. I love this instrumental, but my lack of variety in the ipod kind of hurts the chances of finding a song for this scene. Not that I give a shit, because I’d rather skip this part of the movie anyways. Whatever the song for this moment, it must be composed by the Legendary Buster Gonads.
Fight Song: Bonecrusher, Never Scared. This is the best song I have on my ipod, and I don’t know that there is a rap song that gets me as fired up as this one. This is the PERFECT song for this scene, enough said.
Breaking Up: Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys, Put Ya Hood Up. See Falling In Love, the same rules apply here, lets move on.
Prom: Juelz Santana, Murda Murda. Out-F’n-Standing. I love this song, as hardcore as it is, everytime I’m angry, I hear this song and it makes me smile. Prom is overrated anyways so this kind of song with me and a bunch of white, suburban, wanna be gangsters wearing tuxes while getting out of limos would be clutch, good pick.
Life: Ice Cube, Friday. Another classic, the way this song plays, it almost seems like you’ve got a great handle on life, and its coming at you in slow motion. It still has a great beat and it fits perfectly.
Mental Breakdown: Yung Dro, Shoulder Lean. Great song, bad fit, I’d like to think I wont go through a big mental breakdown, but you never know. Either way, this probably wouldn’t be an appropriate fit in this situation.
Driving: Biggie, Big Poppa. You know you’ve been rolling down the street with the windows down and the rearview mirrors vibrating with this song playing. It makes you feel like a pimp because the ladies love it and the guys love playing it.
Flashback: D12, my band. I don’t totally understand this one, it doenst make much sense.
Getting Back Together: Archie Eversole, We Ready. Perhaps the most under appreciated rap song of all time. Rap songs don’t normally apply in these situations, but this one fits. We Ready……..to get back together right? Or not.
Wedding: Jay Z, Dirt Off Ya Shoulda. Something tells me there are plenty of other options that would fit this situation a little better. Remember, the play list is on shuffle for a reason.
Birth of Child: Lil Jon, Ludacris, Usher, Yeah! Perfect, just the right song and the right amount of excitement without getting too sappy.
Final Battle: Chamillionaire, Ridin Dirty. When you’re riding into your final battle, you are most certainly ridin’dirty, good fit.
Death Scene: Eminem, Without Me. Well, its fitting, maybe a little too loud, but Life Goes On……….Without Me.
Funeral Song: Eminem, I Got Five On It. For a funeral song its not bad. We all cant have the Scottish Bagpipes. Since all I have is gangster rap, this fits.
Closing Credits: Ruff Ryders Anthem. This song is straight gangster. If I ever wanted a song to play that summarized or capped my life, this would be it. You can ride off into the sunset with the Ruff Ryders, there is no other way. Classic.
BLOGGIN' is cheap muthuf****!!!!
I recently joined the myspace revolution, and my buddy sent me this chain letter that detailed his life soundtrack, and I found it somewhat interesting. Usually I’ll delete a chain letter (they call them bulletin’s on myspace, though they serve a slightly different purpose) the second I get it, but this one stood out.
The general premise was, you put your ipod on shuffle, and you hit the skip button to go that next song, which determines the soundtrack for the movie made on your life. For example, the first time you press the skip button, the next song that comes on is the song that plays during your opening credits. Hit skip again, the next song that comes on is the song for you waking up and getting ready for school, hit skip, the next song that comes on is the one that plays for your first day of school, you get the idea.
I thought this was a very interesting concept, so I decided to try it. Hey, I had nothing to lose, I’ve got very little besides gangster rap on my ipod anyways, so I thought the results would be somewhat humorous. Lets take a look at the soundtrack of the Life of Bull.
Opening Credits: Dre and Snoop, Next Episode. How great is that beat? I love that song, and it would make sense to open up the movie with the credits rolling and that song playing with the different characters being introduced with still shots.
Here is an even greater question, who plays me? Richard Mull? Vin Diesel? (I’m giving myself a lot of credit there) Or how about this, who plays Ed and Hace? Earthquake and Typhoon?
Waking Up: Dem Ghetto Boys, Lean Wit It Rock Wit It. Great song, its up-beat though, which I certainly am not when I’m waking up. Nobody is as angry as I am when I wake up. It’s a good thing I live a lone and normally don’t wake up next to anyone else, because I’m miserable when I wake up. Good song, but its kind of like Rosie O’Fat trying to jump into a size 6 dress, it just doesn’t fit.
First Day of School: Motorhead, HHH Theme (The Game). I wont get much agreement here, but that song f’n rules. I remember the WV Power ran out onto the field to that song last year. This song gets you fired up, and while I NEVER got fired up for school, if I were watching the movie on my life, this song would get me fired up to see what happens at school.
Falling in Love: Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys, Whatchyou Gon’Do Instrumental. Talk about a great song that doesn’t fit. I love this instrumental, but my lack of variety in the ipod kind of hurts the chances of finding a song for this scene. Not that I give a shit, because I’d rather skip this part of the movie anyways. Whatever the song for this moment, it must be composed by the Legendary Buster Gonads.
Fight Song: Bonecrusher, Never Scared. This is the best song I have on my ipod, and I don’t know that there is a rap song that gets me as fired up as this one. This is the PERFECT song for this scene, enough said.
Breaking Up: Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys, Put Ya Hood Up. See Falling In Love, the same rules apply here, lets move on.
Prom: Juelz Santana, Murda Murda. Out-F’n-Standing. I love this song, as hardcore as it is, everytime I’m angry, I hear this song and it makes me smile. Prom is overrated anyways so this kind of song with me and a bunch of white, suburban, wanna be gangsters wearing tuxes while getting out of limos would be clutch, good pick.
Life: Ice Cube, Friday. Another classic, the way this song plays, it almost seems like you’ve got a great handle on life, and its coming at you in slow motion. It still has a great beat and it fits perfectly.
Mental Breakdown: Yung Dro, Shoulder Lean. Great song, bad fit, I’d like to think I wont go through a big mental breakdown, but you never know. Either way, this probably wouldn’t be an appropriate fit in this situation.
Driving: Biggie, Big Poppa. You know you’ve been rolling down the street with the windows down and the rearview mirrors vibrating with this song playing. It makes you feel like a pimp because the ladies love it and the guys love playing it.
Flashback: D12, my band. I don’t totally understand this one, it doenst make much sense.
Getting Back Together: Archie Eversole, We Ready. Perhaps the most under appreciated rap song of all time. Rap songs don’t normally apply in these situations, but this one fits. We Ready……..to get back together right? Or not.
Wedding: Jay Z, Dirt Off Ya Shoulda. Something tells me there are plenty of other options that would fit this situation a little better. Remember, the play list is on shuffle for a reason.
Birth of Child: Lil Jon, Ludacris, Usher, Yeah! Perfect, just the right song and the right amount of excitement without getting too sappy.
Final Battle: Chamillionaire, Ridin Dirty. When you’re riding into your final battle, you are most certainly ridin’dirty, good fit.
Death Scene: Eminem, Without Me. Well, its fitting, maybe a little too loud, but Life Goes On……….Without Me.
Funeral Song: Eminem, I Got Five On It. For a funeral song its not bad. We all cant have the Scottish Bagpipes. Since all I have is gangster rap, this fits.
Closing Credits: Ruff Ryders Anthem. This song is straight gangster. If I ever wanted a song to play that summarized or capped my life, this would be it. You can ride off into the sunset with the Ruff Ryders, there is no other way. Classic.
BLOGGIN' is cheap muthuf****!!!!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Live blogs and "expressed written consent"
I've never heard this discussed, so I'm not sure what precedent is for this (someone in this basement has to know).
Anyone who has watched a game on TV has heard the legal statement forbidding the "Reproduction of pictures, descriptions and accounts without expressed written consent of (insert league)..." At some point, will leagues clamp down on this strangely interpreted rule? They'd sure have plenty to go on here on the interwebs.
The recent Super Bowl showcased just how popular running diaries and live blogs of games are becoming. Some writers have been doing these for years and their successes have inspired more to give it a shot. Expect the increasing live accounts (and thorough recaps) to continue, but as they are more widely read, won't someone say, "Wait, this is exactly what we're trying to control here!"? It's no secret that the 4 major sports leagues don't always act in the best interests of their fans.
With Major League Baseball limiting television access to their games, and trying to own their stats, it will come to be that people will be share the "product" with others in some manner. If, all-around-good-guy-who's-totally-deserving-of-his-position-and-has-thrived-in-it, Bud Selig wants to see what lengths he can go to screw his fans, he could just wait until the World Series and crackdown on those doing the blogs. To be honest, it seems like something straight out of his playbook, but I could actually see it happening with the NFL first. With the success of the blogs a couple weeks ago, imagine how many could be produced next year.
So how is it that "bloggers" can legally share a live blog of a game? Do they all get the "expressed written consent" that they appear to need? Doubtful. I'd bet that some people cover their bases, but how many? For the Super Bowl, CBSportline invited Deadspin editor Will Leitch in on the fun at their site. Sites like CBSportline, ESPN, AOL Sports and Yahoo probably know how to handle this, but would Deadspin & Co.? Was CBS just protecting Leitch in case something does happen, giving him an approved place to do his thing?
Have I missed where someone has covered this or am I looking at it the wrong way? Is the league's statement actually supported in a court of law or are they just asking you as strongly as they can no to do it?
Anyone who has watched a game on TV has heard the legal statement forbidding the "Reproduction of pictures, descriptions and accounts without expressed written consent of (insert league)..." At some point, will leagues clamp down on this strangely interpreted rule? They'd sure have plenty to go on here on the interwebs.
The recent Super Bowl showcased just how popular running diaries and live blogs of games are becoming. Some writers have been doing these for years and their successes have inspired more to give it a shot. Expect the increasing live accounts (and thorough recaps) to continue, but as they are more widely read, won't someone say, "Wait, this is exactly what we're trying to control here!"? It's no secret that the 4 major sports leagues don't always act in the best interests of their fans.
With Major League Baseball limiting television access to their games, and trying to own their stats, it will come to be that people will be share the "product" with others in some manner. If, all-around-good-guy-who's-totally-deserving-of-his-position-and-has-thrived-in-it, Bud Selig wants to see what lengths he can go to screw his fans, he could just wait until the World Series and crackdown on those doing the blogs. To be honest, it seems like something straight out of his playbook, but I could actually see it happening with the NFL first. With the success of the blogs a couple weeks ago, imagine how many could be produced next year.
So how is it that "bloggers" can legally share a live blog of a game? Do they all get the "expressed written consent" that they appear to need? Doubtful. I'd bet that some people cover their bases, but how many? For the Super Bowl, CBSportline invited Deadspin editor Will Leitch in on the fun at their site. Sites like CBSportline, ESPN, AOL Sports and Yahoo probably know how to handle this, but would Deadspin & Co.? Was CBS just protecting Leitch in case something does happen, giving him an approved place to do his thing?
Have I missed where someone has covered this or am I looking at it the wrong way? Is the league's statement actually supported in a court of law or are they just asking you as strongly as they can no to do it?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Didn't we go to school with him? Oh, MARK Price
Continuing with the theme of recognizing birthdays long after they've passed, I bring you my favorite Cav of all time.
Born February 15th, 1964, Mark Price was a standout at Georgia Tech though whether he could make it as a pro was in doubt due to his short stature, tendency to telegraph his moves, complete lack of defense and overall mobility deficencies. Standing 6 feet tall (right...), Price was less of a leaper than even me. He had the right handed layups down pat, but seriously, he probably went his entire playing career without ever touching the rim. I've seen Carlton from the Fresh Prince dunk in person, and Mark Price couldn't do it.
Regardless of his shortcomings, Price was successful in his niche as a professional player. He was among the league leaders in assists, twice won the 3-point shootout, was a 4 time All Star and retired as the best free throw shooter in NBA history. The draft day trade that brought him to the Cavs also introduced an era of success in Cleveland basketball, with the team making the playoffs 7 of the nine 9 years he was around.
Thinking he was old and washed up, on September 27th, 1995 the Cavs traded Price to the Washington Bullets, and in the process made Cleveland basketball irrelevant for almost a decade. I can still remember the radio breaking the news... "We all knew this day would come someday..." We did? Trading the face of the franchise and fan favorite during a playoff bound season? No sir, I did not know that day was coming.
Not even 2 years after the kick in the balls that was the Bernie Kosar release, the franchise hadn't learned anything about how Cleveland fans apparently react to being fucked without even getting dinner first. (On the plus side, the Cavs got a 1996 draft pick in return and chose Vitaly Potapenko. Who's Vitaly Potapenko? He's the guy who was drafted one spot ahead of Kobe Bryant. Wise move.) Way to be blind, asshole.
Well, that day in September was probably the last day of me being a Cavs fan. I was 14 at the time. I'd been lucky enough to go to probably 100 or so games by that point. I, um, collected all kinds of Cavs crap. I mean, I even had the Mark Price Dream Team jersey (#5) hanging on my wall! Since that trade, I don't think I've been to 3 games. Go ahead and move the team now, save us the months and months of stories about LeBron not being able to bring a championship to his "home town". Sorry Cavs fans, but I can't get behind them and I've tried.
Trade Mark Price? How's that make sense on any level? What's next, Bobby Phils dying and the team signing someone who may have been responsible for his death? Well now that I've gone and sufficiently pissed myself off, I'm outta here.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK PRICE!
Born February 15th, 1964, Mark Price was a standout at Georgia Tech though whether he could make it as a pro was in doubt due to his short stature, tendency to telegraph his moves, complete lack of defense and overall mobility deficencies. Standing 6 feet tall (right...), Price was less of a leaper than even me. He had the right handed layups down pat, but seriously, he probably went his entire playing career without ever touching the rim. I've seen Carlton from the Fresh Prince dunk in person, and Mark Price couldn't do it.
Regardless of his shortcomings, Price was successful in his niche as a professional player. He was among the league leaders in assists, twice won the 3-point shootout, was a 4 time All Star and retired as the best free throw shooter in NBA history. The draft day trade that brought him to the Cavs also introduced an era of success in Cleveland basketball, with the team making the playoffs 7 of the nine 9 years he was around.
Thinking he was old and washed up, on September 27th, 1995 the Cavs traded Price to the Washington Bullets, and in the process made Cleveland basketball irrelevant for almost a decade. I can still remember the radio breaking the news... "We all knew this day would come someday..." We did? Trading the face of the franchise and fan favorite during a playoff bound season? No sir, I did not know that day was coming.
Not even 2 years after the kick in the balls that was the Bernie Kosar release, the franchise hadn't learned anything about how Cleveland fans apparently react to being fucked without even getting dinner first. (On the plus side, the Cavs got a 1996 draft pick in return and chose Vitaly Potapenko. Who's Vitaly Potapenko? He's the guy who was drafted one spot ahead of Kobe Bryant. Wise move.) Way to be blind, asshole.
Well, that day in September was probably the last day of me being a Cavs fan. I was 14 at the time. I'd been lucky enough to go to probably 100 or so games by that point. I, um, collected all kinds of Cavs crap. I mean, I even had the Mark Price Dream Team jersey (#5) hanging on my wall! Since that trade, I don't think I've been to 3 games. Go ahead and move the team now, save us the months and months of stories about LeBron not being able to bring a championship to his "home town". Sorry Cavs fans, but I can't get behind them and I've tried.
Trade Mark Price? How's that make sense on any level? What's next, Bobby Phils dying and the team signing someone who may have been responsible for his death? Well now that I've gone and sufficiently pissed myself off, I'm outta here.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK PRICE!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Wait, who?
Who's the new coach of the San Diego Chargers?
Norv, who? No, not that Norv. Norv Turner?
Not the same Norv Turner who was fired by the Oakland Raiders two years ago and replaced by Art Shell. In can conclude this whole article by saying that there is someone, albeit Al Davis, who thinks Art Shell is an improvement over Norv Turner. But I won't stop.
Turner, best known for piloting the offense of the best team of the 1990's and rivaling Otis Nixon for worst complexion in sports, is now the head coach of the best team in the league. He has a career record of, oh 58-82-1 and a 1-1 playoff record. That's right, nearly 30 games below .500. Given enough time, flaming midgets can coach a team to 30 games under .500.
What would posses the Chargers to hand the reins over to Norv? Is he really an improvement over Marty Schottenheimer? Marty won football games, might have yaked in big games, but at least he got there. I know Marty got fired because he wanted his brother as his Defensive coordinator (which also caused him to get fired from the Browns) and his inability to co-exist with GM A.J. Smith. But couldn't two grown ass men keep it together for one more year. At least to make a run at future Browns coach Bill Cowher.
So you replace Marty Schottenheimer with Norv Turner, for what? Winning despite Norv, making the playoffs and losing when you are out coached by Bill Belichick or Tony Dungy. Coaching matters a little bit in the NFL, and especially in the playoffs.
This isn't about how good or bad Norv Turner is as a coach. Its about pro teams pulling out retreads because they don't want to take a chance on a new guy. Why not go after a guy like Rex Ryan, who took what is really an aging defense and made it one of the best in the league.
No, lets get Norv Turner because that's a known commodity. A crappy one but a known one. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't. That's what makes good teams crappy ones.
Countless times in sports old, tired, unsuccessful coaches get jobs over younger (or Older) unproven ones. Doesn't really makes sense to me. How many times can you polish a turd?
Norv, who? No, not that Norv. Norv Turner?
Not the same Norv Turner who was fired by the Oakland Raiders two years ago and replaced by Art Shell. In can conclude this whole article by saying that there is someone, albeit Al Davis, who thinks Art Shell is an improvement over Norv Turner. But I won't stop.
Turner, best known for piloting the offense of the best team of the 1990's and rivaling Otis Nixon for worst complexion in sports, is now the head coach of the best team in the league. He has a career record of, oh 58-82-1 and a 1-1 playoff record. That's right, nearly 30 games below .500. Given enough time, flaming midgets can coach a team to 30 games under .500.
What would posses the Chargers to hand the reins over to Norv? Is he really an improvement over Marty Schottenheimer? Marty won football games, might have yaked in big games, but at least he got there. I know Marty got fired because he wanted his brother as his Defensive coordinator (which also caused him to get fired from the Browns) and his inability to co-exist with GM A.J. Smith. But couldn't two grown ass men keep it together for one more year. At least to make a run at future Browns coach Bill Cowher.
So you replace Marty Schottenheimer with Norv Turner, for what? Winning despite Norv, making the playoffs and losing when you are out coached by Bill Belichick or Tony Dungy. Coaching matters a little bit in the NFL, and especially in the playoffs.
This isn't about how good or bad Norv Turner is as a coach. Its about pro teams pulling out retreads because they don't want to take a chance on a new guy. Why not go after a guy like Rex Ryan, who took what is really an aging defense and made it one of the best in the league.
No, lets get Norv Turner because that's a known commodity. A crappy one but a known one. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't. That's what makes good teams crappy ones.
Countless times in sports old, tired, unsuccessful coaches get jobs over younger (or Older) unproven ones. Doesn't really makes sense to me. How many times can you polish a turd?
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Overwhelming Optimism
Have faith, you loyal fans of sport. These next few weeks are amongst the worst of all time. This weekend, excluding the two and a half hours I watched bowling on Sunday, was the worst sports weekend I can remember.
The NBA All Star game is about as exciting as watching my colleague light his socks on fire or suffering through poker on television. Speaking of which, why the hell do they put that crap on TV??
I can understand some of these other pseudo sports, but poker?? Why is that on ESPN?? How is it interesting to watch some guy give us his “poker face” for five minutes?? Its like a glorified starring contest, I’d rather see an “o-face”. That sounds bad, oh well.
It was mildly interesting to see Vandy upset Florida, but in the grand scheme of things, what does it matter? Florida will be a top seed in the tournament, and this loss will mean nothing when selection Sunday hits in three weeks.
So what do you have to look forward to until the conference tournaments?
Well, not much really. If you are like me, you understand that there aren’t many baseball storylines that you haven’t heard about 84,000 times already, surfacing again in Spring Training.
The NFL Draft is kicking into high gear with the combine, 40-times, bench press reps, and other useless bits of information that will slightly increase draft status, but ultimately are as useless as the Betty Butterface in a group of hotties.
If you are like me, you look forward to Sunday afternoons, because Sundays are for bowling. I know I’m kind of in the minority there, because few people get as fired up for bowling as I do. Speaking of which, I rolled 14 games this weekend. On Friday I rolled a 630 series, and hit 1012 pins through five games that night. (Insert Barry Horowitz pat on the back, fully understanding that nobody cares, and move on)
What has been interesting is that Michael Irvin is no longer with ESPN, and Bill Cowher has joined the CBS pre-game show. I never liked the playmaker as a player, but as a studio host, he has been mildly entertaining. However, I can see why ESPN decided to part ways with the playmaker. If Parcells is coming in to take his place like they say he is, can you blame ESPN?
Everyone loves to hate the CBS pre-game show, for whatever reason. I like Cowher a lot, but I have no idea how he’ll do as a studio analyst. Sure he can handle personalities, X’s and O’s, but can he be opinionated and present this information to you in a way that you’ll respect and understand? We’ll find out in about six months.
Personally, I think they need to give Charley Casserly more air-time. While he’ll forever be remembered as the guy that didn’t draft Reggie Bush (which could get him looked at in Texas the way Buckner is looked at in Boston) he does a hell of a job on the pre-game show of breaking down personel decisions, which are very interesting.
Those of us in the northeast must remember, the little gopher saw his shadow (didn’t he?) and the life of Old Man Winter is nearing its end. Before you know it, the snow will melt, Cindarella will go to the dance with her pretty slippers in late March and we can all tear our brackets in half when the naughty little girl in accounting who knows nothing about sports takes her extra two weeks paid vacation after she boasts the winning bracket in the office pool.
Shortly thereafter, the first pitch will be thrown, the days will get longer, the beer will taste better, the ladies will display their summer wardrobes, and all will be right with the world. Three more weeks my friends, three more weeks.
The NBA All Star game is about as exciting as watching my colleague light his socks on fire or suffering through poker on television. Speaking of which, why the hell do they put that crap on TV??
I can understand some of these other pseudo sports, but poker?? Why is that on ESPN?? How is it interesting to watch some guy give us his “poker face” for five minutes?? Its like a glorified starring contest, I’d rather see an “o-face”. That sounds bad, oh well.
It was mildly interesting to see Vandy upset Florida, but in the grand scheme of things, what does it matter? Florida will be a top seed in the tournament, and this loss will mean nothing when selection Sunday hits in three weeks.
So what do you have to look forward to until the conference tournaments?
Well, not much really. If you are like me, you understand that there aren’t many baseball storylines that you haven’t heard about 84,000 times already, surfacing again in Spring Training.
The NFL Draft is kicking into high gear with the combine, 40-times, bench press reps, and other useless bits of information that will slightly increase draft status, but ultimately are as useless as the Betty Butterface in a group of hotties.
If you are like me, you look forward to Sunday afternoons, because Sundays are for bowling. I know I’m kind of in the minority there, because few people get as fired up for bowling as I do. Speaking of which, I rolled 14 games this weekend. On Friday I rolled a 630 series, and hit 1012 pins through five games that night. (Insert Barry Horowitz pat on the back, fully understanding that nobody cares, and move on)
What has been interesting is that Michael Irvin is no longer with ESPN, and Bill Cowher has joined the CBS pre-game show. I never liked the playmaker as a player, but as a studio host, he has been mildly entertaining. However, I can see why ESPN decided to part ways with the playmaker. If Parcells is coming in to take his place like they say he is, can you blame ESPN?
Everyone loves to hate the CBS pre-game show, for whatever reason. I like Cowher a lot, but I have no idea how he’ll do as a studio analyst. Sure he can handle personalities, X’s and O’s, but can he be opinionated and present this information to you in a way that you’ll respect and understand? We’ll find out in about six months.
Personally, I think they need to give Charley Casserly more air-time. While he’ll forever be remembered as the guy that didn’t draft Reggie Bush (which could get him looked at in Texas the way Buckner is looked at in Boston) he does a hell of a job on the pre-game show of breaking down personel decisions, which are very interesting.
Those of us in the northeast must remember, the little gopher saw his shadow (didn’t he?) and the life of Old Man Winter is nearing its end. Before you know it, the snow will melt, Cindarella will go to the dance with her pretty slippers in late March and we can all tear our brackets in half when the naughty little girl in accounting who knows nothing about sports takes her extra two weeks paid vacation after she boasts the winning bracket in the office pool.
Shortly thereafter, the first pitch will be thrown, the days will get longer, the beer will taste better, the ladies will display their summer wardrobes, and all will be right with the world. Three more weeks my friends, three more weeks.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Juvenile, Justification and.......Jet Fuel?
Sometimes, you’re gone a little too long, and you lose whatever rhythm you had. That’s about where I’m at right now. So its time to get back on the right track.
There are a few things worthy of discussion today. I don’t usually discuss Nascar, but I’ll throw it a bone today. I don’t normally defend DirecTV or the MLB, but I’ll give them their due dillegence today, and the San Diego Chargers will be my whipping boys on this glorious day in sports.
Lets start with this whole DirecTV deal and Major League Baseball. Bud Selig was on Mike n Mike this morning, and he said that no official announcement has been made just yet. The rumor is, the MLB Extra Innings package, which was available on cable networks, is being taken away because DirecTV has stepped in to up the ante and fill MLB’s “dish” haha get it??
Every fan in America has a HUGE problem with this, including my buddy Zach (http://www.vitaminz.blogspot.com/). They believe baseball has undersold them and thrown them under the bus at the expense of the almighty dollar which drives our capitalistic society.
I for one have NO problem with MLB doing this. You know how this works, in our economy today, its all about supply and demand. Their was a very good response to the MLB Extra Innings package on cable, and DirecTV noticed that, therefore, they decided to step up to the plate and offer MLB some serious cash to get the rights to air their games.
If you don’t want this to work, then don’t buy the package on DirecTV, its that simple. Major League Baseball will find out that its not beneficial to the sport if their fans do not follow, sponsors will not receive enough return on their investment, and DirecTV will not make that gamble again. Besides, you have other options, like listening to the games on XM radio for a much cheaper price, and you can see all of the friggin’ highlights on one of the 18 “Baseball Tonight” shows aired on ESPN each day throughout the summer.
The National Football League has gone through a strange set of coaching changes this year. A guy gets fired after one year, a guy leaves for a college gig after constantly denying his departure, and now a guy gets fired after a 14-2 season.
What was strange about the Chargers telling Marty “14-2, pretty impressive, but not good enough, thanks for coming, see ya later” was that they waited until mid-February to do it. They waited until after both coordinators were gone, and now the coaching cupboard is a little bare.
It was puzzling at first until it was announced that the two sides not only didn’t like each other, but didn’t talk to each other. How juvenile is that? These are two grown men who work in the same place, and achieved success together, yet they don’t communicate?
The head coach becomes the scapegoat because he and the GM don’t get along? That’s pretty pathetic, you’d think these guys learned their lesson when the organization went through the exact same thing with Bobby Bethard and Bobby Ross about 10 years ago. Grow up.
These guys are acting like the drama queens in sixth grade who wont talk to each other because one dated the other’s ex-boyfriend of three years ago who knew she had a crush on even after they had broken up. You have to put your ego aside in that business, otherwise, you aren’t going to make it.
Finally, I’ll spend a few seconds on Nascar. I don’t know much about this garbage, primarily because I really don’t care. I did find it interesting how Michael Waltrip’s crew chief got suspended because a “jet fuel like substance” was found in his manifold.
I think I share the same opinion as EVERYONE else, suspend the f’n driver, and not the crew chief. Again, I don’t know much about it, but I’ve been told suspending the crew chief is like suspending the offensive coordinator, and not the quarterback for loading up on illegal substances.
Not to mention, if you are using jet fuel in a race car, doesn’t that go far beyond crossing the line? Its not like you slightly improved your fuel grade, or tweaked your engine a bit or removed restrictor plates. The guy injected jet fuel into a friggin’ race car.
Whats next? Are they going to find rocket fuel and use Nitrus Oxide Boosters like the police car that Farley used in Black Sheep? I don’t get it, doesn’t this go above and beyond the call of cheating? The penalty, as I understand it, seems a little light.
I'm done for now.
There are a few things worthy of discussion today. I don’t usually discuss Nascar, but I’ll throw it a bone today. I don’t normally defend DirecTV or the MLB, but I’ll give them their due dillegence today, and the San Diego Chargers will be my whipping boys on this glorious day in sports.
Lets start with this whole DirecTV deal and Major League Baseball. Bud Selig was on Mike n Mike this morning, and he said that no official announcement has been made just yet. The rumor is, the MLB Extra Innings package, which was available on cable networks, is being taken away because DirecTV has stepped in to up the ante and fill MLB’s “dish” haha get it??
Every fan in America has a HUGE problem with this, including my buddy Zach (http://www.vitaminz.blogspot.com/). They believe baseball has undersold them and thrown them under the bus at the expense of the almighty dollar which drives our capitalistic society.
I for one have NO problem with MLB doing this. You know how this works, in our economy today, its all about supply and demand. Their was a very good response to the MLB Extra Innings package on cable, and DirecTV noticed that, therefore, they decided to step up to the plate and offer MLB some serious cash to get the rights to air their games.
If you don’t want this to work, then don’t buy the package on DirecTV, its that simple. Major League Baseball will find out that its not beneficial to the sport if their fans do not follow, sponsors will not receive enough return on their investment, and DirecTV will not make that gamble again. Besides, you have other options, like listening to the games on XM radio for a much cheaper price, and you can see all of the friggin’ highlights on one of the 18 “Baseball Tonight” shows aired on ESPN each day throughout the summer.
The National Football League has gone through a strange set of coaching changes this year. A guy gets fired after one year, a guy leaves for a college gig after constantly denying his departure, and now a guy gets fired after a 14-2 season.
What was strange about the Chargers telling Marty “14-2, pretty impressive, but not good enough, thanks for coming, see ya later” was that they waited until mid-February to do it. They waited until after both coordinators were gone, and now the coaching cupboard is a little bare.
It was puzzling at first until it was announced that the two sides not only didn’t like each other, but didn’t talk to each other. How juvenile is that? These are two grown men who work in the same place, and achieved success together, yet they don’t communicate?
The head coach becomes the scapegoat because he and the GM don’t get along? That’s pretty pathetic, you’d think these guys learned their lesson when the organization went through the exact same thing with Bobby Bethard and Bobby Ross about 10 years ago. Grow up.
These guys are acting like the drama queens in sixth grade who wont talk to each other because one dated the other’s ex-boyfriend of three years ago who knew she had a crush on even after they had broken up. You have to put your ego aside in that business, otherwise, you aren’t going to make it.
Finally, I’ll spend a few seconds on Nascar. I don’t know much about this garbage, primarily because I really don’t care. I did find it interesting how Michael Waltrip’s crew chief got suspended because a “jet fuel like substance” was found in his manifold.
I think I share the same opinion as EVERYONE else, suspend the f’n driver, and not the crew chief. Again, I don’t know much about it, but I’ve been told suspending the crew chief is like suspending the offensive coordinator, and not the quarterback for loading up on illegal substances.
Not to mention, if you are using jet fuel in a race car, doesn’t that go far beyond crossing the line? Its not like you slightly improved your fuel grade, or tweaked your engine a bit or removed restrictor plates. The guy injected jet fuel into a friggin’ race car.
Whats next? Are they going to find rocket fuel and use Nitrus Oxide Boosters like the police car that Farley used in Black Sheep? I don’t get it, doesn’t this go above and beyond the call of cheating? The penalty, as I understand it, seems a little light.
I'm done for now.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
A Super Crap-up?
Everyone has already talked about the game, so I'm not going to belabor any of that here. Not come really late to the party, but damn that was a lackluster super bowl. After Devin Hester's return it was pretty much a dull game. Even the weather was dull. No one, loves a football game in shitty weather conditions more than me, but should the Super Bowl really be decided by the weather. I know its under no one's control, but shouldn't a game of that magnitude be decided by who is the better team not by who is a better "mudder".
Taking a wider view of this year's game, even the last couple of years, what does it say about the state of the NFL. No one would say that this Colts team is one of the all-time greats. Its not even the best Colts team of the last three years. Last year's Steelers team turned out to be a fraud, that caught all of the lucky breaks last year. Even the Patriots, who have won three out of the last six aren't that impressive of a team. ( not to say that what they accomplished wasn't great, it was maybe more impressive than anything any other team accomplished. But that has more to do with the state of the league than the quality of the team. Lets just say, that the Patriots would have lost 55-10 against the '89 49ers.)
What i'm getting at is, what was the last great Super Bowl team? The Rams in 2000 had a great offense but no Defense. The Broncos teams that won back to back have the best claim, but outside of John Elway's horseface and chain smoking, were they really that memorable or good? Maybe the Green Bay team in '97 which had a really good offense and a really good defense was the last great team. But that was 10 years ago. There hasn't been a GREAT NFL team in the last decade. Go through the eighty seven odd years of the NFL (no the NFL didn't start in 1966) and try to find ten years of football without a really great team.
You can count them down by Decade. Cowboys, 49ers, Steelers, Packers, Browns, Bears. And most of those decades had other great teams to compete with and occasionally beat the really great ones. I don't want to sound like an old man who pines for the "good old days", but where have all the great teams gone.
I understand that this is a product of free agency, and the salary cap. And that all those teams had a huge advantage over today's teams. (It is hard to overestimate how much easier it was to build a championship prior to free agency and the cap.) Don't get me wrong, i think both the cap and free agency are good things, for both the players and the league. But its not always so good for the fans. You have to decide if you like parity or dominance. The idea that your team may have a chance to win every couple of years, or that your team can be great for a while every 30 years. Its really up to the fan.
Maybe its because my team doesn't seem like they ever have a shot, but maybe just maybe i'd rather take dominance over parity.
Taking a wider view of this year's game, even the last couple of years, what does it say about the state of the NFL. No one would say that this Colts team is one of the all-time greats. Its not even the best Colts team of the last three years. Last year's Steelers team turned out to be a fraud, that caught all of the lucky breaks last year. Even the Patriots, who have won three out of the last six aren't that impressive of a team. ( not to say that what they accomplished wasn't great, it was maybe more impressive than anything any other team accomplished. But that has more to do with the state of the league than the quality of the team. Lets just say, that the Patriots would have lost 55-10 against the '89 49ers.)
What i'm getting at is, what was the last great Super Bowl team? The Rams in 2000 had a great offense but no Defense. The Broncos teams that won back to back have the best claim, but outside of John Elway's horseface and chain smoking, were they really that memorable or good? Maybe the Green Bay team in '97 which had a really good offense and a really good defense was the last great team. But that was 10 years ago. There hasn't been a GREAT NFL team in the last decade. Go through the eighty seven odd years of the NFL (no the NFL didn't start in 1966) and try to find ten years of football without a really great team.
You can count them down by Decade. Cowboys, 49ers, Steelers, Packers, Browns, Bears. And most of those decades had other great teams to compete with and occasionally beat the really great ones. I don't want to sound like an old man who pines for the "good old days", but where have all the great teams gone.
I understand that this is a product of free agency, and the salary cap. And that all those teams had a huge advantage over today's teams. (It is hard to overestimate how much easier it was to build a championship prior to free agency and the cap.) Don't get me wrong, i think both the cap and free agency are good things, for both the players and the league. But its not always so good for the fans. You have to decide if you like parity or dominance. The idea that your team may have a chance to win every couple of years, or that your team can be great for a while every 30 years. Its really up to the fan.
Maybe its because my team doesn't seem like they ever have a shot, but maybe just maybe i'd rather take dominance over parity.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Bull's Super Blog
Greetings and Salutations from freezing cold Cleveland, Ohio. Every year I like to do a little something called, a Super Blog.
Let me begin by saying I hate hype weeks, and I dont start watching until 6:20. The reason? If I wanted to see a fucking circus, then I'd call Barnum and Bailey, hire a fucking clown to make bears and dogs out of balloons or pay a bunch of flexible fuckers to jump through flaming triangles and walk tight ropes 50 feet above my house.
I have no desire whatsoever to hear about the pop culture crap and the political aspects of this game. It hit me hard in 2002 when they tried to market the game around the county's patriotism, and its left a bitter taste in my mouth ever since. Therefore, since I want to watch the game, and only the game, I wait until 6:20 to turn it on, and tomorrow I'll watch the Cavs, AND THE PBA TOUR WHICH IS ON ESPN AT 2 BABY!!!!!!!
Onto the game itself. The haters can shove it, I love reading Gil Brandt's articles where he discusses trends and gives interesting factoids. http://www.superbowl.com/news/story/9966134 He put together a nice table of information for the big game, and what I found interesting was that both teams have scored the same amount of points this year, yet the Colts have surrendered 105 more points. He also mentions that the Bears have held the ball for 1:02 longer on average during a game, and I believe both time of possession and field position will be the deciding factors in this game. Its real simple, if the Colts have the ball, they have the firepower on offense to beat the Bears defense and wear them down. The Bears dont stand a chance in a shootout. I've noted this before, in the first 12 weeks, the Bears defense had only allowed just over 12 points a game, but in their last 6 (4 regular season, 2 playoffs) they have allowed almost 24 points a game. Clearly you can see that the defense is not the same without Mike Brown and Tommie Harris.
On the other side, if the Bears can find a way to establish the run (which has been VERY tough in the post season) and do what the Chiefs, Patriots and Ravens could not do against the Colts this post season, then they'll force that Colts offense to panic, and press, which is what they did down the stretch in second half of the season. Not to mention, they'll control the clock, and wear down that Colts defense. The Special Teams play will be HUGE. Better field position will allow the Bears to be a little more conservative here and rely on the running game, but if Indy shuts the run down early, the Bears will have to put the game in Rex Grossman's hands, and with Dwight Freeney going against John Tait, that could get ugly. They'll have to double him with a tight end or a running back, and that will eliminate a check down option for Grossman. His secondary options will be a big factor as he wont be able to go deep vs. the Cover 2.
I've looked at this game from every angle just like everyone else, and its hard to find a reason to pick the Bears. Kharma is a bitch, and I think these teams are fairly evenly matched. The Colts are getting the nod across the board which isnt a good thing. When everyone picks you, it gives the other team that much more motivation to shock the world. However, if you are Peyton Manning, the jury is still out on you until you win the big game, so there is PLENTY of motivation there.
I dont see how the Bears will run on the Colts, I dont see how Rex will have a big game if they cant run the ball, I dont see how the Colts will struggle against the Bears defense and I dont see how Peyton Manning will not dominate the Bears.
The only way I see the Bears winning this thing, is if Devin Hester has a huge game and Chicago's special teams unit completely outplays Indy's. Call me crazy, but I'm going against the grain and picking the Bears. I think it will be a low scoring contest, and the Bears will win it 20-13. Enjoy the show.
Greetings and Salutations from freezing cold Cleveland, Ohio. Every year I like to do a little something called, a Super Blog.
Let me begin by saying I hate hype weeks, and I dont start watching until 6:20. The reason? If I wanted to see a fucking circus, then I'd call Barnum and Bailey, hire a fucking clown to make bears and dogs out of balloons or pay a bunch of flexible fuckers to jump through flaming triangles and walk tight ropes 50 feet above my house.
I have no desire whatsoever to hear about the pop culture crap and the political aspects of this game. It hit me hard in 2002 when they tried to market the game around the county's patriotism, and its left a bitter taste in my mouth ever since. Therefore, since I want to watch the game, and only the game, I wait until 6:20 to turn it on, and tomorrow I'll watch the Cavs, AND THE PBA TOUR WHICH IS ON ESPN AT 2 BABY!!!!!!!
Onto the game itself. The haters can shove it, I love reading Gil Brandt's articles where he discusses trends and gives interesting factoids. http://www.superbowl.com/news/story/9966134 He put together a nice table of information for the big game, and what I found interesting was that both teams have scored the same amount of points this year, yet the Colts have surrendered 105 more points. He also mentions that the Bears have held the ball for 1:02 longer on average during a game, and I believe both time of possession and field position will be the deciding factors in this game. Its real simple, if the Colts have the ball, they have the firepower on offense to beat the Bears defense and wear them down. The Bears dont stand a chance in a shootout. I've noted this before, in the first 12 weeks, the Bears defense had only allowed just over 12 points a game, but in their last 6 (4 regular season, 2 playoffs) they have allowed almost 24 points a game. Clearly you can see that the defense is not the same without Mike Brown and Tommie Harris.
On the other side, if the Bears can find a way to establish the run (which has been VERY tough in the post season) and do what the Chiefs, Patriots and Ravens could not do against the Colts this post season, then they'll force that Colts offense to panic, and press, which is what they did down the stretch in second half of the season. Not to mention, they'll control the clock, and wear down that Colts defense. The Special Teams play will be HUGE. Better field position will allow the Bears to be a little more conservative here and rely on the running game, but if Indy shuts the run down early, the Bears will have to put the game in Rex Grossman's hands, and with Dwight Freeney going against John Tait, that could get ugly. They'll have to double him with a tight end or a running back, and that will eliminate a check down option for Grossman. His secondary options will be a big factor as he wont be able to go deep vs. the Cover 2.
I've looked at this game from every angle just like everyone else, and its hard to find a reason to pick the Bears. Kharma is a bitch, and I think these teams are fairly evenly matched. The Colts are getting the nod across the board which isnt a good thing. When everyone picks you, it gives the other team that much more motivation to shock the world. However, if you are Peyton Manning, the jury is still out on you until you win the big game, so there is PLENTY of motivation there.
I dont see how the Bears will run on the Colts, I dont see how Rex will have a big game if they cant run the ball, I dont see how the Colts will struggle against the Bears defense and I dont see how Peyton Manning will not dominate the Bears.
The only way I see the Bears winning this thing, is if Devin Hester has a huge game and Chicago's special teams unit completely outplays Indy's. Call me crazy, but I'm going against the grain and picking the Bears. I think it will be a low scoring contest, and the Bears will win it 20-13. Enjoy the show.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
The Round Mound of Letdown
Here goes and anger filled rant after watching a shitty team blow a 12 point fourth quarter lead to a really shitty team. Take the whole thing with a grain of salt, this is going to be way out there and contrarian (because i want to be way out there and contrartian at the moment) but don't disregard the whole thing.
Something is off this season with the Cavs and with LeBron. Maybe LeBron is tired. He did play a hell of a lot of ball this summer, with the equally disappointing U.S. National team. He may just be keeping it in cruise control until the playoffs, I mean they are going to be no worse than the 4 seed. Which gives them home court in the first round. Of course he may be too busy making commercials to really give a crap about the success of this team. Or maybe, just maybe he's not the second coming.
When LeBron is in the game, the offense is run through him. ( As it should be) What tends to happen is that LeBron dribbles around for 8 seconds, make a half hearted drive at the basket, pulls it back and takes a jumper from 18 feet with a hand in his face. Just because he makes this shot more than occasionally, doesn't mean its a good idea. He's got to be going hard to the hole, and hitting the open man if its not there. And he's got to be backing down players like Jason Kapono.
Even more importantly he's got to hit his fucking free throws. 3 of 8 from the line tonight isn't cutting it for Shaq, it sure as hell isn't cutting it for LeBron. He is shooting only 69% from the line this season, down from about 73% last year. Even worse he tends to miss important foul shots late in games. Truth be told, he misses a lot of shots late in games.
What has to happen for James to be great, if that's what he wants to be, is he's got to drive get fouled and make his free throws. Maybe that's not gonna happen, ever. Maybe all he wants is to be the richest athlete of all times. Maybe the answer is the unthinkable. Maybe its time to move LeBron. I mean most people think he's out of here after his contract is up anyways so why not.
Now, I know that the likelihood of the Cavs moving LeBron are slim and none. But lets say a very good deal comes along. Like say moving LeBron, Eric Snow and either Z or Larry Hughes to the Timberwolves for Garnett, Randy Foye and Eddie Griffen.
Run out a starting lineup of Garnett, Gooden, Pavlovic, Hughes and Gibson, with Foye coming off the bench. I'd take that.
Maybe there are simpler answers than trading LeBron, playing Sasha more, and Hughes less. Letting the point guard, and not LeBron initiate the offense. Hell having an actually offense. Maybe firing the coach is the answer. I'm not really sure if Mike Brown is the answer to anything. All i'm saying is that i'd buy a wine and gold Garnett jersey.
Something is off this season with the Cavs and with LeBron. Maybe LeBron is tired. He did play a hell of a lot of ball this summer, with the equally disappointing U.S. National team. He may just be keeping it in cruise control until the playoffs, I mean they are going to be no worse than the 4 seed. Which gives them home court in the first round. Of course he may be too busy making commercials to really give a crap about the success of this team. Or maybe, just maybe he's not the second coming.
When LeBron is in the game, the offense is run through him. ( As it should be) What tends to happen is that LeBron dribbles around for 8 seconds, make a half hearted drive at the basket, pulls it back and takes a jumper from 18 feet with a hand in his face. Just because he makes this shot more than occasionally, doesn't mean its a good idea. He's got to be going hard to the hole, and hitting the open man if its not there. And he's got to be backing down players like Jason Kapono.
Even more importantly he's got to hit his fucking free throws. 3 of 8 from the line tonight isn't cutting it for Shaq, it sure as hell isn't cutting it for LeBron. He is shooting only 69% from the line this season, down from about 73% last year. Even worse he tends to miss important foul shots late in games. Truth be told, he misses a lot of shots late in games.
What has to happen for James to be great, if that's what he wants to be, is he's got to drive get fouled and make his free throws. Maybe that's not gonna happen, ever. Maybe all he wants is to be the richest athlete of all times. Maybe the answer is the unthinkable. Maybe its time to move LeBron. I mean most people think he's out of here after his contract is up anyways so why not.
Now, I know that the likelihood of the Cavs moving LeBron are slim and none. But lets say a very good deal comes along. Like say moving LeBron, Eric Snow and either Z or Larry Hughes to the Timberwolves for Garnett, Randy Foye and Eddie Griffen.
Run out a starting lineup of Garnett, Gooden, Pavlovic, Hughes and Gibson, with Foye coming off the bench. I'd take that.
Maybe there are simpler answers than trading LeBron, playing Sasha more, and Hughes less. Letting the point guard, and not LeBron initiate the offense. Hell having an actually offense. Maybe firing the coach is the answer. I'm not really sure if Mike Brown is the answer to anything. All i'm saying is that i'd buy a wine and gold Garnett jersey.
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