Witness

I'm not one for hyperbole (I think it's the most monumentally ridiculous thing anyone can do).  At minimum, it's short-sighted and naive (i.e., did Roger Goodell really issue the death penalty to the New Orleans Saints or did he just punish them harshly for breaking a few rules? The organization still exists; far from dead)

Not too long ago, though, I found myself debating myself and others about one hyperbolic question:

Is LeBron James the most transcendent athlete of my generation?

For those of you who didn't curse at the screen and/or flee to another site, allow me to explain.

First and foremost, I am aware of the other "transcendent" athletes contained within my generation. Tiger Woods primarily, but I'll also include Peyton Manning, Ray Lewis, Albert Pujols, and Floyd Mayweather to name a few.   For a point of reference, I'll even toss in Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, even though their playing days started before I was a zygote (look it up).

The only way to really grasp the significance of an athlete like James is look at it on a personal level.  I am a fan of his.  I make no secret about that, but hopefully the information I provide doesn't reflect any bias.

For me it started when James was 15 years old.  An important time in life when the most important things included doing your homework, whipping your friends in Playstation (the original if you were wondering) and girls.  How do I know?  Because I was 15, too.  I remember reading story after story about this kid in Ohio who they were saying was the hands-down number one pick in whatever NBA draft he decided to enter.  I even remember one scout saying (when James was 16) that he could play in the NBA right then if he wanted to.  I was hooked.  And it seemed like I wasn't the only one.

Years passed (including a couple of nationally televised high school games) and James eventually skipped college and went straight to the 2003 NBA Draft.  Sure enough, first pick to the hometown Cleveland Cavaliers.

I'll break for a moment to recap. So far, this kid, at the age of 15 is called "the next great professional basketball player", followed by hundreds, and playing on national television all before he went to prom.  That's pressure.  And for context,  no other person in the history of athletics ever had to deal with life under a microscope at such a young age.  I'll revisit that later.

Eighteen years old and in the NBA.  I remember watching that first game against the Sacramento Kings.  I remember the Nike commercial that made light of the ridiculous amount of pressure he was under (if you don't watch it here).  I remember him starting day one, game one (and all but three games that season) and finishing the year the hands-down Rookie of the Year. Most importantly, I remember being blown away at how easy the NBA transition seemed to be for him.  If you think it SHOULD be that easy, there is a loooooong list of NBA players that were picked number one and flaming out.  And again, for context, Kobe was picked 13th and traded on draft day in 1996, so there was no pressure to be a savior in Los Angeles.

Skip a few more years and the ascent continues.  Two MVP trophies, a trip to the Finals, six All-Star selections and a $100 million contract with Nike. I saw it all.  And as someone without a local team to call his own, I was invested.

LeBron had it all.

Then "The Decision" happened.

Now I don't need to revisit the events of the evening or the storm that followed, but it brought about much more reaction than I believe anybody would have anticipated.

That's where it all changed.  All of the sudden, the golden child became the villain, America's favorite became public enemy number one (honestly, try and find somebody who didn't like LeBron before the Decision).  It changed for me too, because I was left to defend the actions of my pseudo-hero.

LeBron 2.0

This "new" version of LeBron came, not only with a chip on his shoulder, but the weight of the world to accompany it.  He wore black (new Miami Heat colors) and stopped showing up as the funny, carefree kid in commercials.  He became cold and, in my opinion, boring.

The fans, especially the "haters", changed him.  Who are the haters?  I designate them as anyone (outside of Cleveland) who, overnight, decided that James was the worst thing to happen to the NBA since the Malice at the Palace.  Keep in mind, a multitude of NBA players had been battling very public problems from everything from run-ins with the law to baby-mama drama.

So why all of the hate?  I don't know, I can only guess.

"He's not as good as Kobe"

That's a rough argument to make.  Trust me, I know Kobe is one of the best ever, but it's an unfair comparison.  We have the luxury (as we do with all major comparisons) of looking at another player's full career.  Does he have less rings than Kobe? Of course, but he has also played seven less seasons.  We've seen Kobe's career at length and know exactly what he is capable of.  In basketball standards, James is just entering basketball puberty, which is scary when you think about it.

I heard an interesting comment from Reggie Miller while watching the Heat-Knicks game a few nights ago.  He said of LeBron, "he could never play another minute of basketball and he would be a Hall-of Famer".  I trust that Miller, who played his share of NBA minutes before he made the Hall of Fame, knows what he's talking about.

"He isn't a clutch performer, he fades away in the fourth quarter."

That's the more recent trend.  James withdrew in the Finals last year and fanned the flames with his juvenile "storming off the court".  It was bad.  But hardly a "legacy-defining moment".  There is no excuse for it.  I contend, though, that I would rather have a guy who could put my team in a position to win more times than not than a guy who could potentially hit the game-winning shot.  Keep in mind, the game has to be pretty tight for a game-winning/sealing shot.  If I'm a coach, then I'd prefer for the win to be sealed before the last moments (note: that last sentence was created before Game 4 of the Heat-Knicks series wherein Dwyane Wade had the ball in the final moments, lost control of his dribble, and ended up taking a fadeaway three-pointer from the corner; somehow it was still LeBron's fault, go figure)

"Would Jordan do that (in reference to 'The Decision')?  I don't think so."

That's the one that bothers me the most.  By all accounts, Jordan was the most arrogant (read: competitive) player/person on the face of the Earth.  He turned his Hall of Fame induction speech into a personal roast of his former opponents for goodness sake (which was admittedly cool and funny) Do you REALLY think that he would have been above making a spectacle out of his achievements?

Wait a minute, he kinda did already.  One of the stories that adds to the mystique of Jordan is the infamous fax to the NBA office that simply read "I'm back" to announce his return from retirement.  Yeah that sounds smooth now, but imagine if James had announced his free agency by way of fax just saying "I'm gone".  He would have been roasted (not only for being arrogant, but for using a fax machine.  Who still faxes stuff?)  I'll say this, we give Jordan a pass on a ton of stuff and assume that because there wasn't Twitter in 1990, Jordan wouldn't have used it.

"I just don't like him."

My favorite response. Saying you don't like an athlete (who I assume you don't know personally) is throwing up the white flag.  It's usually said because someone can't find a reasonable response to dislike someone and, therefore, don't want to be forced to explain or justify their opinion.  Honestly, what isn't there to like?   This guy, from a black athlete standpoint (yeah, I went there) is pretty much everything you can ask for.  No criminal record (that we know of), no infidelities (ahem, Kobe), no addictions or suspect behavior (Jordan + Vegas=disaster), mainstream appeal and the list goes on.  If somehow "The Decision", which donated the proceeds to the Boys and Girls Club, somehow took food out of your mouth or caused harm to your family then you are due an apology.  If not, then I'm just curious what qualities do you like (maybe I'm afraid to know)?

"He's not a killer. He doesn't have that killer instinct.

Maybe that's the quality "we" like.

Somewhere along the line, we, as a society decided that we will only accept you if you eat, sleep, and breathe winning.  You must be a maniac when it comes to getting a "W".  You have to be able to neglect your family, your body, and overall well-being in the pursuit of a ring.  Kobe's famous under-bite isn't a dental deficiency, it's an outward sign that he would sacrifice his lower jaw to win the game.

Somewhere along the line, we forgot that these are men (sometimes kids) that are paid millions of dollars to play a sport that many middle-aged accountants and insurance salesmen play on the weekends.  This is their job, but before the checks came, it was just a game.  Long gone are the days of Magic Johnson, when you could smile and play basketball without fans thinking you didn't want to win.

One of the other problems with James that I have heard people utter (even though I don't have a quote for it) is that he's self-absorbed.  Are you surprised?  Like I said, he has been called "The King" since high school.  He was signing autographs before he could vote.

This is the generation in which we live.  Even the NFL needed to institute a rule to keep players from going overboard with touchdown celebrations.  How often do you think somebody had to tell Johnny Unitas to settle down after a big score (granted, there was no discount double-check back in those days).

It's all about the self these days.  If you don't like showboating, then you probably just watch bass fishing (except this guy).  It's the generational gap, I mentioned before that James is a product of his environment.  In a time where Twitter and Facebook rule, it's hard to find anyone who doesn't have a bit of narcissism.  Even I have a few hundred pictures on Facebook at the moment (many of them keeping me from ever running for public office).  It may have been how the old-schoolers did it, but things change.  People evolve.  Generations turn over.  If we didn't, then we would all still be living in caves and hunting for our food.  Maybe we should be looking at James as a higher being (in the basketball sense, of course)

Even if there is some sort of personal disdain you have for James (even though I'm not sure why), you have to respect the man's game.  He is, more than likely, going to be the MVP this season, giving him three before hits the big three-O (in case you were curious, Jordan had five MVPs total, but only one when he was James's age).  Even if you think the NBA is watered down, which is an argument I can understand, it still doesn't take away that we are now at a time in the NBA where the MVP trophy is his to lose.  If you ask me, he should have won it last year, but Derrick Rose got the nod because it would be boring to just keep giving it to LeBron (look up their stats, James's performance exceeds that of Rose).  As a matter of fact, I argued my case for 2011 already.

We all have our personal favorites.  The guys we grew up watching, checked the box scores for, and bought their jerseys.  I may be blinded by my favoritism.

But trust me, 20 years from now, there will be no doubt, we were all a witness to something incredible.
  

Quick Question


I'm far from the smartest guy in the room, so sports, in and of itself, raises some question Hope you enjoy what I have to say.

And if you don't, then say something. I'm all ears.

1. What happened to Dwight Howard? We may call out LeBron James because of "The Decision", but that was just an hour. Howard dragged out his soap opera for an entire season. And the sad part is nothing got resolved. He is still under contract, his coach is still on the hot seat (for no good reason might I add), and the team didn't add one piece to try and compete for an NBA title. The only thing that changed is his perception; moving from a guy who was once a out-in-front Christian, famously saying he once hoped to have a crucifix on the NBA logo to public enemy number one who has alienated an entire organization. It's sad to say because his type of behavior shouldn't be rewarded, but the Defensive Player of the Year is his to lose.

2. Does the NFL hate the Ravens? This year it seems like they do. Read this carefully; the Ravens have 4 games in 17 days to start the season and finish the season with the last 5 of 6 games against playoff teams from 2011. Now we all know that every NFL schedule is tough, but this has a case for being the toughest considering the layout.

3. Speaking of NFL schedule, when did Thursday games become so popular? I know that it's a way to make more TV revenue (since it's the only game on that day), but those are only for the select few who have the NFL network. Not many people are subscribing to pay additional money so they can watch one extra game. The gain doesn't seem to be that much in my mind. All it seems to do is potentially shorten the week of two teams to broadcast a second-tier game.

4. I've been a Albert Pujols fan since he first broke into the league, but what is causing his sluggish start? Karma is a dangerous thing to mess with and his unsavory departure from St. Louis is wreaking havoc on his season. I could understand if he was mistreated or mishandled in St. Louis, but they guy was idolized. He had two championships and was on pace to shatter challenge the all-time home run record. If it ain't broke...

5. The hockey playoffs started. Am I supposed to be rooting for the Caps?  I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to cheer for a D.C. team. So stop asking me to.

6. Today, April 22nd, the Orioles stand at 8-7. Could this be the last day they sit above .500 for the season? If anyone can keep the winning momentum going, it's Wei-Yin Chen.

(Please tell me you caught the sarcasm in that, even though weirder things have happened)

Abbreviated MVP

So the NBA season was cut due to a lockout (in case you didn't know), but somehow the writers and fans alike have managed to pack in the regular season's amount of hate toward LeBron James. I'm not even mad...that's amazing.

To put things in perspective, James is having one of the best statistical seasons ever. He has been stupidly efficient and productive on one of the top four teams in the league while only missing a single game. I'll simplify it into three numbers; 27, 8, and 6. Before James arrived, that line seemed incredible. Nowadays, though, it seems as if that all of the sudden that isn't good enough to garner an MVP lock.

Who is his competition? One Kevin Durant from Oklahoma City. I want to clarify that I do think that KD is a great player. I'll even go as far to say that if his numbers for this season were put up in 2001 or something, he would be hands-down MVP. But it's just not good enough to compare at the moment. Sorry.

And if you are still on the "Kobe is the best player in the league" bandwagon, then I'm sorry, that argument has no legs (no pun intended).

Condensed schedule or not, the MVP is still the MVP; designated for the most valuable player and/or productive player in the league. At this point, if you try to make the case that James doesn't deserve it because he can't come through in crunch time, then you are missing the point of the award. The talent of a player isn't compressed in the last 2 minutes of a game; especially if they gave their team the best chance to win the game in the first 46 minutes.

To sum it up, if you vote against LeBron (figuratively or literally) then it has to be out of disdain.

No other reason.

Wait Is Over...

So, it took much longer than I anticipated, , but I'm back.

Which is more than I can say for one New Orleans Saints coach.

I won't use this space this talk about how this move may have "crippled" the Saints 2012 season or how Bill Parcells may or may not end up coaching. It's too early to tell and honestly, not nearly as interesting.

As i always preach, taking time to let the facts come out usually ends up clearing some of the misconceptions. For instance, when the punishment first came down that Sean Payton (the coach) was suspended for the season, the whole situation seemed off the wall. I mean why would a "bounty program" run by the defense cost the head coach his job? There is no way he could watch these guys 24/7 and know the intimate details of their meetings.

Oh, so he did know.

Okay, well either way, it's something that happens all over the NFL. Realistically, there is no way to track who does what and when it's done. Let alone stop it. You would have to continuously monitor every NFL locker room to make sure things like this weren't going on. If one team is caught then the rest of league has to be reprimanded.

Oh, so not only were they caught, they lied and continued the program after numerous warnings from the NFL.

Okay, well it's not like the coaches had any control over what the players did.

Oh, so recently audio has surfaced that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was begging his players to injure the opposition.

Alright, I give up. Why exactly should we be protesting the NFL and rallying around Payton? He knew that this was going on, lied about it, and then kept it up.

Let's put this in real world terms. I have a job as we speak and they have a rule that I can't drink and drive (crazy right?). One day, I throw caution to the wind and go out to throw back a few and hop in my car (oops). I get pulled over and arrested for DUI. I broke the rules and i get in trouble.

No smoke and mirrors; pretty clear cut.

Now, let's say, I'm back in the same situation only this time, my supervisor is at the bar with me passing shots and beers my way. Then tosses me the keys.

Should my supervisor be punished (If you say anything other than "definitely" then maybe we should take your keys, too). While they didn't specifically break the drink-and-drive rule, they encouraged it and didn't make any effort to stop it.

Not my best analogy, I know, but the principle remains the same: you can't knowingly break a rule (or encourage it) and expect not to be punished.

Sean Payton is one of the smartest, gutsiest coaches in the NFL. No one can take that away from him. He just got caught up in one of the dumbest situations his team has faced and now he has to pay the price.

Gregg Williams probably won't be able to coach in the NFL ever again. With all that said, I think Payton made off pretty easily.

I Know, I Know

Two weeks is an eternity now, but just wait. The Saints controversy and Tebow-mania trade is still very fresh. By the time the weekend rolls around, trust me, the dust will settle and I'll be glad I waited.

Hopefully, you will too.

Last Shot

Don't know if you noticed, but I didn't post anything last week. And in the span of two weeks, LeBron James has renewed his title as "Most Hated Talent in the NBA" (even if he is having arguably the greatest statistical season in the history of the league.

What did he do?

He passed the ball. Twice.

First, in a meaningless All-Star game where he made an (admittedly stupid) inexcusable play where he launched a cross-court pass in the final seconds that was intercepted by Blake Griffin. Of course, he should have taken the shot.

Or at least, that's what they say.

I don't see the big deal. I could understand if this was a game that, I don't know, counted. But it's an exhibition. And playing on a team comprised of players who aren't his teammates. Seems like nothing to me.

Secondly, two night ago, the Heat were playing the Jazz and, down by one with seconds remaining, James made a pinpoint, perfect pass to Udonis Haslem for a wide open 15-footer at the buzzer.

Heat lose, James' fault.

James should have taken the shot. I could understand if this was a game that, I don't know, meant something. But it's a regular season game against a Western Conference bottom-feeder with Miami holding a comfortable lead in the East. It was a good basketball play and it didn't go down. Seems like nothing to me.

Sound familiar?

I'll wait to unleash about LeBron eventually (I keep saying that), but I couldn't keep my mouth shut about these. The overreaction was palpable.

I think all of us need to sit back and appreciate the season to which we are all "witnesses".

(Sorry, Cleveland).

Life Span of a Cinderella

That didn't take long. Since my last post, the meteoric rise (and subsequent plateau) of Jeremy Lin has come full circle. I'll spare the details of rehashing the entire story so I'll limit it to simple bullets;

1. Unknown basketball player comes from out of nowhere to lead a team in the country's biggest media market to an improbable seven game winning streak.
2. Player and team loses.

Seems simple, right? And that's ignoring the details of analysts anxiously waiting for him to fall back to Earth, thousands of Taiwanese people all of the sudden becoming NBA fans, Lin being elected to participate in the All-star festivities, and Lin trying to trademark the term "Linsanity".

That's alot to happen to a guy in a week. Still, it's the reflection of how antsy sports fans are sometimes. Granted, Lin had the best first seven starts of anyone in NBA history, but it's still only a span of a few games. I think we should all relax on molding the bust for the Hall of Fame.

Sound familiar?

I'm not saying his story isn't a great one, it definitely is reminiscent of the (Tim) Tebow-mania the NFL saw. All I'm saying is remember how that mania ended; Tebow and the Broncos were absolutely crushed by the Patriots. The meteor crashed to Earth...hard. I wouldn't be surprised if there was still a smoldering crater in Denver to this day.

I can't say for sure that this is the future for Lin, but...I wouldn't be surprised if he disappears just as quickly as he appeared. He came strong out the gate and gave us all a huge thrill, but his game isn't sustainable. Numbers never lie and Lin has turned the ball over WAY too much. And I'll leave my analysis there because if you consume sports media, you will hear about every nook and cranny of his game for the next few weeks.

They say that if you can make it in New York then you can make it anywhere. Let's see if this kid can stay afloat.