TOP 10 REASONS WHY TINS TOOK ALL THE SHOTS IN OT

by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool

In last week's Pacers-Suns game, "point guard" Jamaal Tinsley took ten of his team's eleven shots in overtime -- after missing all of his shots in the second half. (Did we also mention that he was being guarded by the Suns best / potentially only defensive player in Shawn Marion? No? Well, now we have.) In all, fourteen of the last 15 heaves were from Tins (the other was a Mike Dunleavy tip-in). Not surprisingly, the Pacers lost, 129-122.

What got into Tinfins? Any and all of the following...

10. Couldn't quite understand that a Suns player was actually allowed to be good at defense

9. On each and every shot, sincerely believe he was open, with all his heart

8. After missing all of his shots in the second half, just knew he was due

7. When you're a career 39.6% shooter who's shooting 38.5% this year, you need to shoot more than other people to get your numbers

6. Wanted to make Reggie Miller and Mark Jackson cry... a lot

5. Taking out his frustration from his bar fight trial being delayed for the third time -- Tins needs to clear his name!

4. The only way to get 8.5 assists a game is to make sure that people respect your, um, shot

3. Hasn't been in a story involving the word "gunfire" in over a month, so just doing what he can to compensate

2. Knows he'll be on the disabled list any minute now, so is bombing away while he still can

1. When your teammates are Dunleavy, Foster, Granger and Kareem Rush (Jermaine O'Neal missed the game), you'd probably want to go one on five, too

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FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH: WARRICK DUNN, ROLE MODEL

by E. Spencer Kyte, Bugs and Cranks

Welcome to the next stage of my continuing exploration of athletes, the choices they make and the unfortunate lack of stories we find in the media about those who actually deserve our attention. Originally, I was going to call this the end of my run in this area, but instead, I am extending a challenge and an invitation.

Instead of packing this up and in a way defeating my own thoughts, I am challenging those of you who cruise through the blogosphere and find this piece to add comments and lobby in a way for more stories like this, as they really are the type of stories that need to be told. Show that instead of wanting to spend hours discussing the latest violent incident or irresponsible athlete, you want to read more about the athletes who are making a difference with the fame and fortune their athletic prowess has afforded them.

The invitation is to The Powers That Be here at Epic Carnival, to give me a platform to continue this segment. Some may call it self-serving, lobbying for another weekly spot to publish my thoughts, but this isn't about my writing; it's about showcasing those athletes who are worthy of our admiration not only for their performances on the field, but off the field as well. This is about giving respect to the athletes who are role models that the youth of today can look up to. Athletes like Warrick Dunn.

Name: Warrick De'Mon Dunn
Born: January 5, 1975 in Baton Rouge, LA
Running Back, Atlanta Falcons

Betty Smothers was a long-time member of the Baton Rouge Police Force, who worked tireless hours including off-duty jobs to provide for her family. Her dream was to own her own house.

On January 7, 1993 while working off-duty escorting a businesswoman to the bank, Betty Smothers was ambushed and killed. Her son Warrick was a high school senior at the time. Two days removed from his 18th birthday he became the head of the house.

After an impressive career at Florida State - Single Season Rushing Record (1,242 yards), Career Rushing Leader (3,959 yards), retired #28 jersey - the skeptics started picking apart Warrick Dunn.

He was too small. He couldn't take the pounding of the NFL on a weekly basis. He wouldn't be a feature back. What they didn't look at was his heart and his motivation. Had they looked there, they would have seen that failure wasn't an option.

Dunn started proving people wrong right off the bat, winning the 1997 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and becoming the "Lightning" to Mike Alstott's "Thunder" in the Tampa Bay backfield. Ten years later, Dunn is still proving people wrong.

Earlier this season he eclipsed the 10,000 yard mark in career rushing yards, making him only the third player 5'9" or under to do so. All those pundits who predicted his body wouldn't stand up have been proven wrong too, as Dunn has missed only 10 games over the course of his career.

Right now, Warrick Dunn is 23rd on the All-Time Rushing List and 25th on the All-Purpose Yards List. But I would wager that those achievements aren't the ones that mean the most to Warrick Dunn.

As soon as he was drafted, Dunn began the Warrick Dunn Foundation and began the Homes for the Holidays program, which honours his mother's unrealized dream of homeownership for single mother families.

To date, Homes for the Holidays has provided 69 single mothers and 181 children with first-time homeownership, which Dunn sees as "the foundation for establishing a stable and productive family environment, an environment in which children can thrive educationally, socially and economically." I couldn't agree more.

For his efforts, Dunn was awarded the 2005 NFL Walter Payton Award, named after the late Bears great and honouring the player who excels both on the field and in their community. But it doesn't stop there with Dunn.

Following Hurricane Katrina, the Baton Rouge native challenged every NFL player, except the members of the New Orleans Saints, to donate $5,000 to help in the relief effort. So far, Dunn has received over $5,000,000 in contributions.

On the field, Warrick Dunn is an inspiration to anyone who has been told they will never make it. He's excelled where many athletes expected to fair far better have failed. Off the field, he is making his mother's dream come true for families in Baton Rouge, Tampa and Atlanta, and using his fame and fortune to affect positive change.

These are the stories we should be telling. These are the athletes we should be discussing. This is just the first of many... hopefully.

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FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, PART 2

by E. Spencer Kyte, Bugs and Cranks

This one is going to be a little different from what you might expect to find either here at Epic Carnival or even within the confines of my little segment of the Great White North. There isn't going to be any sarcastic comments about Danny Ferry's skills as a General Manager or Bringin' Rexy Back. Today, if I may, I'm going to get a little serious.

Earlier in the week, the incidents of last weekend involving Indiana Pacer Jamaal Tinsley prompted me to write Enough is Enough, questioning when our athletes are going to realize that they are in danger whenever they set foot outside of their homes and, to an extent, chastising Tinsley for what I believe was a lack of good judgment on his part.

Over the course of the next couple days, I engaged in an ongoing dispute with some folks over at The Starting Five over this specific incident, the growing list of other incidents and general beliefs on all things stemming from this incident such as drug dealing and dealers, Mainstream Media and much much more.

During said dispute, my girlfriend, who often acts as my sounding board and the calming influence in my life, asked a simple question:

"Why don't more of these athletes act as better role models?"

Instantly I laughed and said, "Because Charles Barkley said he didn't want to be anyone's role model" remembering the famous quote from The Round Mound of Rebound years ago during his playing days. As Sarah had no idea who I was talking about or the quote we got into it further and in doing so, this post was born.

Let me start by saying that I don't think athletes in general are the best role models for our youth. There are thousands of other options, hopefully starting with parents, but extending to doctors, teachers, authors, humanitarians, philanthropists and numerous others who are deserving of and willing to accept the admiration of our youth.

That being said, athletes, much like celebrities are often the focus of attention for our youth, just as they were when I was a member of that demographic and as they have been for generations long before me and will continue to be in years to come. Whether they like it or not (Sorry Charles), they are role models. At the highest levels, their every move is projected for all to see, good or bad. The problem now, in today's media climate, is that more and more often we're projecting and discussing the negative and that is dangerous.

SportsCenter leads with the news of Michael Vick's prison sentence, yet there is rarely news of the incredible charitable work his teammate Warrick Dunn, a Walter Payton Award Honoree, does on an ongoing basis.

While the media - from television to print, talk radio and those of us who inhabit the blogosphere - are very much a part of the problem for continuing to focus on these negative actions, situations and stories, we're not the sole culprits. The athletes themselves are responsible as well. More to the point, many times the athletes are irresponsible and that sends the wrong message to those watching their every move. The teams that employ them share some of the blame too, so lemme address that first.

When do the actions of a player trump their potential value on the field and at the box office? Is there a point where owners will unilaterally decline to offer a second chance to a player because of their off-field problems? Sadly, it doesn't seem as if their is, because in every league there are examples of players who have showed up in Police Lineups finding their way back into the Starting Lineups.

The Tennessee Titans will welcome Adam "Pacman" Jones back when the NFL decides he is able to return to the game. The Dallas Cowboys signed Tank Johnson. Someone will give Michael Vick another chance. Jamal Lewis is a Cleveland Brown. None of these guys had minor incidents.

Marty McSorley was banished from the NHL for a violent stick incident a number of years ago, but Todd Bertuzzi has had a chance with three more teams since his much more calculated, equally violent attack on Steve Moore that ended his career. McSorley's victim, Donald Brashear, missed about a week. But McSorley was at the tail end of his career anyway, while "Big Bert" is the type of Power Forward teams covet that doesn't come around every day...

I believe in second chances, but to me, they are not limitless. You don't earn an automatic second chance by being contrite and the league telling me that you're allowed to play again. You're in the small fraction of society who is able to make a living - a very well-paying living at that - playing a game that the other 99% of society would do for free. Just because you're allowed to play again doesn't mean you should.

The fact that some teams have started to adopt a "Good Person" approach to the players they draft and sign is encouraging to me, as maybe this will eventually trickle down to the teams who have yet to adopt this formula. While players without previous skeletons and "character issues" don't guarantee future incidents will not occur, at the very least teams will be starting from scratch.

As much as ownership and we in the MSM deserve a share of the responsibility for providing second (and sometimes third, fourth and fifth) chances and displaying primarily the negative, the bulk of the onus falls to the athletes themselves.

While I understood Sir Charles' stance all those years ago, then and I now I realized that it wasn't wholly plausible. It's just not the way our society works. We don't have television networks dedicated to the outstanding teachers in our countries or newspaper sections that detail the actions of the activists in our areas fighting for social change and a better way of life for everyone. We have ESPN and the sports page.

Getting to be a professional athlete is a privilege. Yes, it takes dedication, hard work and years of training, perseverance and a smattering of luck, but it should also come with a realization that the eyes of thousands even millions of people are going to be trained on you and your actions on the court aren't the only actions that are going to be replicated.

The truth is that there are actually more positive role models and athletes who don't make poor decisions in all the professional league than there are the few who end up garnering the majority of media attention. But leading a scandal-free life doesn't make for compelling and intriguing media. For what it is worth, I'm going to start doing my very small little part to counter that.

Starting next week, instead of sitting here bitching at length about the piss-poor decision making of Jamaal Tinsley or the latest athlete to make negative headlines, I'm going to profile one athlete worthy of admiration, for both their actions on the field and off the field. First up will be Warrick Dunn, just in case you were wondering.

In closing, I will leave you with this:

Employment applications have a check box asking if the applicant has "ever been convicted of a criminal offense for which they haven't been pardoned?"

Why is it that if McDonald's won't hire someone with a criminal record for a job that pays minimum wage, we don't bat an eye when a professional sports team throws millions of dollars to athletes with the same answer to that simple question?

If I was to be arrested for anything tomorrow, all the sites and all the people I write for wouldn't hesitate to politely apologize and tell me my services are no longer required. Why should athletic prowess be any different than the ability to string a couple of words together?

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FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

by E. Spencer Kyte, Bugs and Cranks

Due to a miscommunication and some stupidity on my part this post was published prematurely earlier today. It was still a work in progress at the time. What you see below is the complete version. Please give it a new look and accept my apologies for the error. -- The Editor

When in the hell are these athletes going to figure out that they are targets and running around until all hours of the morning is only going to bring adverse attention and problems?

I woke up Sunday morning to read on ESPN about Indiana Pacers Point Guard Jamaal Tinsley's cars getting shot up after leaving a club in the wee hours of the morning. No one was seriously injured and there was no indication that anything took place to provoke this attack. Tinsley was a victim.

That being said, what the hell is Jamaal Tinsley doing out at the club at 3:40 AM? The Pacers announced Monday that Tinsley will suffer no punishments from the team, but if I'm Larry Bird, I might suggest to Coach Jim O'Brien that he "rest" Jamaal for the next three games or so and see if he gets the message.

Think that's harsh and uncalled for? Hardly; this is a player who is set to appear in court any time soon on charges stemming from a previous nightclub altercation and his third such incident in the span of 14 months. Add to that that one of the members of Tinsley's group this past weekend was arrested for outstanding warrants and you see why a little "time to think on the bench" wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Jamaal Tinsley isn't the sole athlete in need of a slap upside his head. There are many others, not to mention the likes of Michael Vick and Pacman Jones who needed such a slap years ago apparently.

The Staal Brothers - Eric, Mark and Jordan - of NHL fame also need a good smack, as their antics this past summer at Eric's Bachelor Party landed them in the tank overnight with fines to pay the next morning. I'm sure I've done the same, if not worse things in any number of establishments without Police Incident. The difference is that I'm a nobody and people aren't overly jealous of my success...

If you're an athlete, just like if you're a movie star or rock star, people know who you are, what you're worth and some are inherently jealous. Jealously can make people do horrible things. It's time for our athletes to wise up and put themselves in better situations.

But here is where it becomes an even bigger issue to me. This is also where I might get myself into a little trouble, so I'll let it be known that the views expressed in this piece do not reflect those of Epic Carnival and it's operators in any way.

At the time of Sean Taylor's tragic shooting, many criticized the media types who were quick to jump to conclusions about Taylor's previous lifestyle "catching up with him" and failing to fully acknowledge he was a victim. While those media types owe Taylor and his family a massive apology, incidents such as this show where the cynicism comes from.

SLAM Magazine recently ran an article about ex-Pacer Stephen Jackson, where they detailed the life he has led and more or less say he's not the bad guy he is portrayed to be. I don't know Jackson from Adam and we have come from very different circumstances in life, but regardless of what SLAM Magazine tries to tell me, I have a hard time accepting someone who (a) went into the crowd at The Palace and fought fans (b) carries a loaded handgun in his car everywhere he goes and (c) has a tattoo of praying hands clutching a handgun on his abdomen as wholly misunderstood because of a couple transgressions.

That applies to Tinsley, Pacman, Rafer Alston and anyone else who has been in a series of violent altercations that grown men should know better than to be involved in, especially rich grown men. Money brings attention, often times negative attention, especially when people know who you are.

As such, the cynicism I spoke to earlier forms in some, myself included, whenever we hear or read of a situation like this, which I will say is unfortunate. More unfortunate is that in too many cases the cynicism is validated.

I'm not, nor should anyone be saying that Jamal Tinsley got what he deserved or was at fault for getting shot at. What I am saying is that Tinsley put himself in a situation that didn't need to happen in the first place and it happens all too often with athletes these days. What possible good can come from being out on the town at 3:40 AM?

At The Starting Five, commenter Imhotep stated:

If someone had shot at Steve Nash under similar circumstances, we would be talking about how many criminals are running lose, and that there is no respect for the law. And how a decent person like Nash cannot go out and enjoy himself. Let’s extend the same courtesy to Tinsley.

I agree completely that we would be talking about different things if this incident was to have involved Steve Nash. The reason that is, in my view, is that Steve Nash doesn't have a history of violent incidents late at night coming out of the bar, while Tinsley does.

Tinsley, and all athletes for that matter, should look at the fact that their peers like Eddy Curry, Antoine Walker and Philip Buchanon were all assaulted and robbed in their own homes simply because they are millionaires, not to mention that we are barely two weeks removed from the tragic shooting that resulted in the death of Sean Taylor in his own home during a robbery. Couple that with Tinsley's prior incidents - one of which he will be going to trial for January 14 - and to me that should be enough to make Jamal Tinsley think twice about being out around Indianapolis during the early morning hours. Tinsley acknowledged this himself Monday.

Let me throw this analogy out there:

When I was growing up in Southern Ontario, I was a huge Red Wings fan (still am) and Bob Probert had a series of incidents involving bars, booze and cocaine. As such, if Bob Probert was to be involved in an incident leaving a bar at, say, 3:40 AM where he was completely free of blame, I would still ask the question "Why the hell was Bob Probert in a bar at 3:40 AM? He should know better than that." So too should Jamaal Tinsley.

Here is the other thing that I can't get out of my head: sadly, incidents like this seem to more often than not involve Black athletes. I'm not saying that as an "Us white folks don't get into shit like this" statement, but as a "Why the hell do these things keep happening to young, black athletes?"

My thoughts:

Some of these athletes try to maintain an impossible dichotomy - being true to the 'hood and still one of the boys from the block when they are 180 degrees away from that lifestyle. They are now the haves and more often than not, the have-nots don't look fondly on them, no matter where they are from.

Extending that further, yes, the life they lived and the circumstances they came from may have been varying degrees of adverse, but again, that is not the case now. They aren't broke, struggling and living in the ghetto; they are millionaires, getting paid copious amounts of money to play a game and live in luxury.

This brings to mind observations Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat made following the incident. Paraphrasing, it was something along the lines of why pull out a big roll of hundreds when you can pay with a credit card just as easily? And why go out with a $150K necklace dangling around your neck?

Sadly, the answer is to show off how rich they are and no one likes a show off. I learned that in Kindergarten.

These are my thoughts and they are far from the final word on this topic. In fact, I hope they aren't as this is a topic I think needs to be discussed. As such, I look forward to your comments.

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THE BEER TENT: LET'S TRY THIS BOUNCING AROUND THING AGAIN

by dswinder, Sons of Sam Malone

Here at Epic Carnival, we meet weekly under The Beer Tent to shoot the shit. I, dswinder, will be the ringleader, but you can join in on the discussion every Tuesday at 3ish!

You may recall that last week I switched up the format on The Beer Tent. It was meant to be a one-time thing, stemming largely from my tabula rasa of a brain. But after careful contemplation, manipulation, and tribulation, I have chosen to continue with this format, at least for the time being. We'll see where it goes. I really just felt the need to shake things up, you know? It was time to flip it and reverse it. The day was long overdue to turn it over and switch.

So... if you don't like the whole jumping around to different topics briefly and would rather I go back to rambling on about whatever tickles my fancy -- let me know in the comments. If you would prefer I just quit altogether -- well, your parents hate you. But, I do hope you have a holly jolly Christmas... Onto the crap.

Random Ramblings (w/links):

Quick Public Service Announcement: Do not lean over the railing at professional sporting events... You might wake up dead. Apparently, a fan at the Vikings - Niners game fell over a four foot wall, twenty feet to his death. The truth is, this story is tragic, so I'll make no more ill-advised attempts at humor.

Damn those bloody Brits... Booing the U.S. National Anthem in the United States is disrespectful, completely lacking in taste, and exactly what I would picture coming from a mouth containing the teeth of Britons. Hey, tit for tat. Here's an idea, chaps -- next time you have a boxer come to the states to be knocked on his ass in the tenth round, how about you guys just not show up. Learn some respect.

Pacman Jones should really hate Jamaal Tinsley right about now... If Pacman were to be shot at outside a night club in the early morning, he would be facing another year long suspension and the berating of Skip Brainless for weeks on end. Jamaal Tinsley must have used a get out of jail free card with the Pacers. How you fail to punish a guy for his third late-night altercation in just over a year is beyond me.

Floyd Mayweather isn't at all cocky... I mean, there is nothing at all arrogant about throwing around 10,000 dinero in a single night. And yes, I do mean throwing around.

Everyone has no doubt seen something concerning the poll on ESPN.com suggesting that KG blow out his knee... Well, no surprise to anyone, Garnett ain't happy. And when KG ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Or is that when one's mother is unhappy? Oh well, either way ESPN is sure to know of Kevin's displeasure.

New Jersey residents aren't happy with Mullet Man Melrose... What I don't understand is -- what's not to be happy about someone, who has never visited your city, calling your town "awful" and warning against walking around with your wallet on you?

Buuuut, maybe old Mullet Man was right... Security has had to be beefed up at Gate D of the Meadowlands, incidentally, located in Jersey. It has something to do with women be petitioned (if we're putting it nicely) to show their ta tas. Who woulda thunk it? Drunk Jets fans like boobs. Novel idea.

Time Waster of the Week:

I'm willing to bet that none of you can take down all of these frat guys in beer pong... On hard... Don't try me with that easy crap... Man Up!

Random YouTube of the Week:

I'm not a fan of Usher, but this performance in Movies Rock was pretty spot on... Thanks to Sooze for the tip.

Muzak of the Week:

Wyclef Jean -- Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant

I'm a huge Paul Simon fan, and thusly strongly suggest you take a listen to "Fast Car."

You can listen to the entire album here.






Public Service Announcement:

I'm not sure about any of you, but I cannot, I repeat cannot go without the Office. If you're starting to experience withdrawals from a particular show go here to send an email to the execs in charge at the studio. It's easy. Do it. And that's an order.

That's all this week... Happy Christmahanakwanzaka!

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