I've graded your test papers from the quiz yesterday. Some of you did not realize that Darko, Rasho and Zarko were all NBA basketball players. That is probably because I used the nickname “Rasho”; had I used his real name, Radoslav Nesterovic, that would have given it away. I asked what the difference was between them; actually there are two significant differences and they are shown in this chart:
Player
|
Heritage
|
Salary ($M)
|
Zarko Cabarkapa (Suns)
|
Serbia/Montenegro; Montenegrin Player of the Year 2002 |
1.221
|
Darko Milicic (Pistons)
|
Serbia/Montenegro; MVP European Cadet Tournament 2001 |
3.596
|
Rasho Nesterovic (Spurs)
|
Serbia/Montenegro, then Slovenia now with a Greek passport; played for Timberwolves last season. |
5.60
|
As always, I'll grade the quizzes on a curve.
I watched most of the Blazers/Kings game last night and it started out as a brick-fest until both teams decided it would be a lot more fun to run and shoot than to play defense. Maurice Cheeks got a contract extension in Portland; if they don't turn over about four players on that team, he ought to get the Nobel Peace Prize for not opening fire on them during a practice sometime this year.
During the bad shooting and tedious phase of that Blazers/Kings game called to mind the complaints that many people have voiced about the zone defense in the NBA and how the zone defense is ruining the game. These people have no attention span or memory. Until the zone was allowed just a couple of years ago, we often spent large portions of an NBA game watching teams play the dreaded “two-man game” where 6 players stood over by the scorers' table readjusting their athletic supporters while the other four played two-on-two. What the zone demands is a bunch of players who can pass and shoot and – perish the thought – play fundamental basketball. If this really catches on in the NBA and a real premium gets attached to those kinds of players, that will be the impetus to prevent kids from jumping directly from high school to the NBA. They won't have the skills because “the skills” will include more than creative dunking and chest thumping.
Of course the pendulum can't be allowed to swing too far in either direction in the NBA. I remember a game about 15 years ago – I'm not going to go and look this up so give me some latitude on the exact details here – where the Phoenix Suns scored over 100 points in the first half of a game (I recall it was 107 points, but it was a LONG time ago.) Obviously they won the game and scored about 180 points in doing so. That is what I mean by taking things to an extreme; there was NO defense in that game at all and that is not a good thing either. To show you want I mean, assume for a minute that my estimate of 180 points by the Suns in that game is exactly correct. Today, you can find more than a few games where the over/under line for the game (scoring by both teams) is less than 180. Scoring is lower today than it has been in previous times, but we don't need to go all the way back to the ABA days when teams averaged over 110 points per game for the season.
Speaking of brick-fests, I also caught some of the Marquette/St. John's game last night. These are two teams that can politely be described as “works in progress”; I had the sound muted so that I cannot tell you the name of the center for St. John's but let me just tell you that he puts his pants on one tent at a time. Often you hear that a player has “quicks” or “ups”. This guy has “waves”; when he runs, he generates seismic waves that are recorded miles from the arena.
Here is a public service announcement for everyone. Go and check your local papers to see the weekend schedule and channel assignments in your area because you will want to set your VCRs to record an MSNBC program this weekend. I read that Jesse Ventura will have as his guest on his Saturday interview program none other than Robert Montgomery Knight. That interview could be nothing but a bunch of softball questions and platitudinous responses. However, the blowhard content of these two guys and the potential of either one to take offense at something said by the other party is off the charts. There is a small chance that this program could go nuclear; just in case it does, you will want to have your own copy of it so you can see how it all happened. According to Governor Ventura, they plan to talk about ethics and the NCAA. Let the fun begin.
The Colts' game against the Jets on Sunday could produce a historic result. Should the Colts win – and they are favored to do so by 6.5 points – that would give Tony Dungy a victory over all 32 teams in the NFL in the regular season. He would be the first coach in NFL history to have beaten all 32 teams. Before you get carried away with that, realize that there have been 32 teams in the league now for precisely the last 2 years. Only one other coach has beaten 31 teams in the league and that is Bill Parcells. He has not beaten the Houston Texans because he has not had a team play them yet and will not get a shot at them until the 2006 regular season.
It is looking less and less as if Dick Jauron will get many more seasons of opportunity to beat other league franchises as the head coach in Chicago. Chicago Tribune columnist, Steve Rosenbloom, all but has Jauron and the rest of the coaching staff packed and ready to leave town. He does not want Rex Grossman to play any this year lest he learn bad habits from this coaching staff. Here is a line from a recent column:
-
“If Death Spiral Dick [Jauron] gives Grossman to SpongeJohnSquarePants [offensive coordinator John Shoop], someone call DCFS [Department of Child and Family Services].”
I told you about ESPN televising a Scrabble Championship and how they might be televising the card game, War, one of these days. Well, they aren't quite to that level yet, but they are televising a series of four chess matches between Gary Kasparov and a computer. We are getting down to some bedrock programming here; there is not much lower to go in terms of viewing interest/excitement. I'm not looking forward to the National Nose-Hair Braiding Championships or the World Invitational Yoga Meditation Festival.
This is the time of year when baseball trade rumors and free agent courting produces interesting story lines. I'm sure you have heard the major ones making the rounds because they have been in every paper and on every sportscast for the last week. Here is a minor one you may have missed. I read where the agent for free agent pitcher, Robert Person, contacted the Colorado Rockies to say that Person would be interested in pitching there. Why? This is a guy who had one – count them, one – good season in his whole career; now he wants to go to the Pitchers' Graveyard in Denver?
Of all the free agents, the guy who could be the best bargain available is Shannon Stewart. Ever since he started playing regularly, he has never had a season with an OBP less than .363 and he is a heady player who hustles. He made $6M last year but the market could be very much a buyers' market this year and he might even go for that same figure. Compared to lots of guys who make 50% more than $6M, Stewart might be a platinum plated prize.
Finally, Bluefield College athletic teams are known as the Ramblin' Rams. Just a guess here, but maybe they call their cheerleaders the Embraceable Ewes?
But don't get me wrong, I love sports...
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