by Brian P. Foley, The College Baseball Blog
Since ESPN decided to do Titletown, Epic Carnival will be doing their own countdown looking at the worst cities in Sports. The first city we check out is Cleveland Ohio which is home to the Browns, Indians, and the Cavaliers.
The last championship by a Cleveland sports team was in 1964 by the Browns when they defeated the Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the NFL Championship game. The Browns have not made an appearance in the Super Bowl with six division titles but zero conference championships. They even lost the team for three season when Art Moddell packed up the team and moved them to Baltimore. The NFL decided to award the city another franchise which started playing in Cleveland in 1999 at the new stadium that was built where Municipal stadium stood. The Browns since coming back in the league have not appeared in the playoffs barely missing out of the playoffs in 2007 as they lost some tiebreakers. It was the best season for the franchise since 1994.
How about the NBA team which the best player in the league plays on you say? Yea, those Cleveland Cavaliers who have one NBA finals appearance in 2007 and only one division title in 1976 since their inception in 1970. The biggest moment in Cavaliers history is when Michael Jordan hit a jump shot over Craig Ehlo to win Game 5 (deciding game) of the first round playoff series. Now the Cavaliers have local legend Lebron James leading the team but have not been able to get the big prize of an NBA title. There are rumors floating that once James is done with his current contract that he will jump the ship and head to New York to be a part of the Knicks or Nets. This would devastate the Cleveland area as Lebron is from Akron OH.
The final team in the Cleveland market is the most pathetic in the Indians. They were founded in 1901 and have won two titles in 1920 and 1948. They have won the AL Pennant in only three other seasons in 1954, 1995, and 1997. They ended up losing the 1954 World Series to the where they were swept by the New York Giants. In 1995, they made it back to the World Series after a 41 year absence. They lost the series in six games to the Atlanta Braves while in 1997 they made it to the World Series and lost to the Marlins in the seventh game after blowing a lead in the bottom of the 9th. Since then, the Indians have not been able to get back to the World Series including in 2007 where they had a 3 games to 2 lead on the Boston Red Sox but ended up losing in seven games.
Epic Carnival would like to welcome Cleveland to Loserville and maybe someday they can get out of being perennial losers.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
WELCOME TO LOSERVILLE, CLEVELAND
Monday, June 30, 2008
THE AFTER PARTY
LeBron James and the Great Lie. (Waiting For Next Year)
The middle finger in sports: A picture essay. (Next Round)
Interleague is over, so is June. (Crashburn Alley)
Slider, Indians mascot, celebrates 18th birthday. (The Dave Burba Revolution)
Star-studded lineup gets boost from "Scrubs". (The World of Isaac)
It's time for Omar to hang 'em up. (SimonOnSports)
Helping mainstreamers with their analogies. (Tirico Suave)
Just in: Floyd Landis loses 2006 Tour de France. (Steroid Nation)
Best US TV play-by-play announcer tourney, round 1. (Stupid Sideline Reporters)
TNA's Christy Hemme is rather attractive. (Wrestling News Desk)
Golf just keeps getting sexier. (on 205th magazine)
The best night of my month. (Five Tool Tool)
Friday, June 27, 2008
733 DAYS AND COUNTING...
by E. Spencer Kyte, Bugs and Cranks
It's a great day to be a New Jersey Nets fan.
Yeah, we dropped Richard Jefferson to the Bucks for on overpaid, injury-prone defensive specialist and the Chinese Andrea Bargiani, but still, it's a great, great day.
In moving RJ, we moved Cap Money. Now, 733 days from now, on July 1, 2010, we'll have somewhere in the neighborhood of $22M in open cap space to spend on free agents.
See that picture to the left? Get used to it.
For the six people who have been sleeping under a rock for the last few years, those two gentlemen are exceptionally close friends Jay-Z and LeBron James. One is a minority owner of the New Jersey Nets. The other is the greatest basketball player on the planet and a free agent in 2010. Do the math...
New Jersey already has more talent to surround LeBron with than Cleveland has had throughout the course of his career and they still have two more seasons to add to mix of Devin Harris, Robin Lopez, Chinese Andrea, Nenad and Chris Douglas-Roberts. Yes, I'm counting CDR in this mix because I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to end up being one of those guys in three years that makes everyone say, "How did this guy go in the second round?"
I know King James has hometown ties to Cleveland, but let's be honest - where is a better situation to further his off-court career, playing in close proximity to Akron or playing within spitting distance of The Big Apple? Advantage: Nets.
I've spent the last twenty minutes online at The NBA Store trying to generate a James #23 Nets jersey and it won't let it happen.
Even the NBA Store doesn't want to admit this is a foregone conclusion.
That's fine - deny, deny, deny...
I know it's a great day to be a Nets fan.
See you in 2010 LeBron.
Friday, June 20, 2008
WHAT THESE NBA PLAYOFFS TAUGHT US
by WCT, The Ship of Fools
This year's NBA postseason was quite a learning experience for basketball fans. We learned that NBA refs fix games (well, this postseason let us further know that NBA refs fix games), and we learned that Boston has some douche-y sports fans. Hmm, maybe these playoffs didn't teach us that much new stuff after all. In any case, even if we knew most of the ancillary stuff that goes along with the NBA, we did learn a lot of actual basketball information. Lets take a quick recap of the on-the-court stuff we learned since the first-round series tipped off way back in February (it was February right? Or does it only seem like it has been that long?)
We can stop with the whole "Kobe=Michael" nonsense - Kobe deserved the MVP award, because it was a regular season award, and Kobe lifted the play of his teammates during the year in a way that no one thought he could. But if you think that Michael Jordan would ever, ever allow his team to be embarrassed by almost 40 points in a close-out game, you're crazy. If you think that Michael would ever, ever allow his team to blow a 20+ point lead in a pivotal Finals game (at home!) you're nuts. Kobe allowed both to take place. In the same series. These playoffs taught us that Kobe probably doesn't even compare to LeBron James. James, with an equally garbage supporting cast (if not worse) pushed the Celtics to 7 games in a hard-fought series. In fact, in the Cavs-Celts series, it took a missed gimme in the final seconds for the Celtics to win game 1, and an other-worldly performance by Paul Pierce for the Celtics to win game 7. Otherwise, that was a very close series. The Lakers, on the other hand, got their doors blown off in the Finals.
Kobe is a great, great player, and there is no shame in not being as good as Michael Jordan. In fact, it is probably unfair that MJ is the measuring stick for Kobe just because they play the same position, and have won a lot of titles under Phil Jackson. But the fact is, those comparisons should stop.
A lot of people were wrong in picking the winner in this series - The ease with which the Celts disposed of the Lakers was a surprise, but the actual outcome should not be. What should be surprising is the number of people that picked the Lakers before the Finals began. The Celtics were the best team in the NBA record-wise for the entire season, and beat LA in their only regular season meetings. Why is everyone so surprised? Most thought that the Celtics record was inflated due to a weak Eastern Conference, which segues perfectly into the next thing we learned...
The Eastern Conference is AT LEAST as good as the West, if not better - For years, conventional NBA wisdom has been, the West is better, the East is weak. All record and accomplishments in the East should come with a disclaimer, blah blah blah. No more my friends. The Lakers series was by far the easiest series the Celtics had to win this postseason. The goddamn Hawks provided more resistance than the Lakers did.
The eventual champs were pushed to 7 games against Atlanta, 7 games against Cleveland, and the 6 game series with Detroit included three single-digit Celtic wins. The Lakers waltzed through a pathetic Denver team, a very good Utah team, and an old-looking group of San Antonio Spurs. The Finals were never in doubt. The Lakers had a historic collapse in game 4, were very lucky to win games 3 & 5, and were absolutely destroyed in game 6. I'm sorry, you can no longer make the argument that the West is better.
The Lakers are soft - First of all, congratulations to the Celtics. They deserve all of the accolades for winning the championship this year, their 17th in the 62 years of their existence (27% of all championships awarded in that time. Not even the Yankees can claim that kind of dominance) and I do not want this rant to take anything away from them.
That said, the way the Celtics pushed the Lakers around inside was laughable. Pau Gasol's scoring went from 22 points per game against Denver, to 14 against Boston (including 11 in game 6), Vladimir Radmanovic is 6-10 and averaged fewer that 5 rebounds per game, Lamar Odom seemed to disappear in the fourth quarters of games, and the "defense" that Sasha Vujacic played on Ray Allen, in the closing seconds of game 4, when the Lakers absolutely positively needed a stop, was a disgrace. Without so much as a crossover dribble, Allen blew by Vujacic like he was nailed to the floor. The Celtics embarrassed the Lakers for the better part of the entire 6 game series.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
I CAN'T EXPLAIN ANY OF THIS
by Tracer Bullet, Staff Writer
This was my dream last night:
It started off at some kind of evening mass at King's College in London. I have never been to King's College in London. I've never even been to King's College in Pennsylvania and I've been inside a church voluntarily maybe once in the past 15 years. I'm there with a bunch of doughy white guys I know, but can't place.
I get up from the pew to go to the bathroom before the service and on the way, there is a television. Why? Who the hell knows. I don't know what program was on, but there is a crawl suggesting something about my brother, a Dora the Explorer stuffed doll belonging to LeBron James and the possibility that my brother has knocked up a pastor's daughter.
The scene switches to an NBA game and for some reason, my brother is guarding James. My brother is a pretty good basketballer, but he was never NBA-good and even if he was, Bron has at least eight inches and 50 pounds on him so that would be a bad matchup anyway.
James, inexplicably, has a Dora the Explorer doll behind the three point line. He drives and my brother swats it away. As the doll slides out of bounds, my brother dives after it. When interviewed later, he says something goofy but I never learn anything about him banging a pastor's daughter or what roll Dora might have played in that exchange. Perhaps it was a threesome, perhaps Dora ran the camera.
On the inbounds, what had been an NBA game has morphed into an extremely disorganized pickup game involving far too many people. James is saying he's "Unstoppable."
He is now being guarded by either Derrick Jeter or this asshole linebacker I used to play with -- they both have that light brown coloring that makes it impossible to tell if they're black, biracial, Indian, Latin or Pakastani.
Jeter/asshole replies that, because James has achieved "amateur driver" status from NASCAR, he can be fouled with impunity. I have no idea what anything in that sentence means.
James takes the inbounds, drives the lane and Jeter/asshole tackles him from behind and slams him on the pavement.
They roll around for a few minutes and when they get up, Lebron has become Spider-Man. They swing at each other a few times until Jeter/asshole absolutely clocks Spider-Man, who drops likes he's been shot.
(This was likely influenced by a show I watched on ESPN Classic this week called "Boxing's 20 Greatest Knockouts." Kermit Washington was cruelly omitted, but in fairness, it was the wrong sport.)
Of course, the crowd goes ballistic and I'm screaming, "You got KNOCKED DA' F--- OUT."
I woke up shortly thereafter. Man, I need football season to start again.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
TOP 10 SIGNS THAT LEBRON JAMES WASN'T GETTING ENOUGH HELP TO WIN GAME 7
by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool
10. The Cavaliers started Wally Szczerbiak, who contributed all of 1 rebound more than a dead man in 15 minutes to the cause
9. He was able to get a luxuriant one minute and twelve seconds of rest in Game 7
8. His coach is so dumb (to give just one example, LeBron and his 73% FT percentage shoots the technicals, rather than Delonte West's 86%, Szczerbiak's 93%, Aleksandar Pavlovic's 80%, or Sydrunas Ilgauskas's 80%), he made Doc Rivers a tactical advantage
7. The Cavs' only offensive play seemed to be "run away from LeBron and hope he scores"
6. The next best Cavalier (West) had less than a third of his points and three times his turnovers
5. He had the only Cavalier uniform that didn't smell of flop sweat, nervous wetting and failure
4. By the second quarter, Celtics Fan was already calling him "Dominique"
3. Any time he didn't take the shot felt like a Celtics win
2. The only thing that kept James from leading his team in every positive offensive category was a single rebound and blocked shot
1. He plays for Cleveland
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
GLORIA JAMES JOINS A SELECT GROUP
by Isaac, The World of Isaac
Gloria James is the talk of the town today. Every mom sitting at home today is wondering how the hell her son got away with swearing at her on National TV.
God knows my mom would have run on the court, took off her shoe and beat me over the head.
Then again, I'd never say anything like that to her, I mean, I am a blogger and I live in her basement afterall.
Anyways, let's look at a couple of more recognizable moms...
Wilma McNabb
Probably one of the most recognizable mom's in the history of Sports. Her Chunky Soup commercials alone make her a celebrity but her complaining on her own personal blog about the fans not treating Donovan right was classic.
Ann Iverson
She will always be remembered for the interview she did after her son supposedly beat up his girlfriend Tawana. Calling out reporters and telling them it was none of their business. On par with AI's "practice rant".
Kutilda Woods
I'm absolutely convinced that if she didn't wear those ridiculous hats, no one would have a clue who she is.
Cécilia Rhode
Maybe not as popular as she was a couple of years ago but her mug was plastered on TV for two straight Marches in a row. I'm not complaining or anything, I mean, she was a Swedish Model and is as hittable a MILF as you can find
Thursday, April 24, 2008
THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER TO THE MVP QUESTION
by E. Spencer Kyte, Bugs and Cranks
And that answer is LeBron James.
With all due respect to CP3, The Big Ticket and The Black Mamba, this has been the year where King James ruled the NBA and his performance deserves to be acknowledged.
Chances are LeBron's dominant season will go unrewarded, as the voting community seems to be split on the aforementioned three who had equally impressive seasons. The strange thing, however, is that when all the talking heads and vote casters discuss the candidacy of the consensus candidates, they usually make the correct point in asserting LeBron's qualifications. But still they side with someone else.
Cleveland is a 20 win team without LeBron James. Period. End of discussion. The fact that they won 45 games and earned the four seed in the East speaks volumes to the impact of the St. Vincent - St. Marys superstar.
Since I know - and you know - MVP isn't strictly about numbers, spending a lot of time on stats isn't going to happen. All that I will say is that LBJ went for 30/8/7 per this season. You have to figure that if Larry Hughes could have knocked down an open 15 footer or two before getting sent to Chi-town, the line would have read 30/8/8. Still...
The main criteria for MVP is how valuable that player is to their team. No one, myself included, would argue that these four cats aren't all vitally important to the success of their franchises, but take a look at the rosters and tell me how LeBron doesn't trump the competition?
KG had a huge impact on the Celtics, there is no denying that. But that team also has two multi-time All-Star selections as Options B and C in Paul Pierce and Jesus Shuttlesworth.
Kobe gets all the credit for the improbable season the Lakers had, but shouldn't some of that credit go to the bench guys that he so desperately wanted to get away from at the start of the year? And Andrew Bynum's performance pre-injury? And the Pau Gasol theft from Memphis? And The Zen Master?
Chris Paul is on a similar level as LeBron in terms of impact to his team, but even the Hornets managed to play well in the absence of their floor general. David West was an All-Star this season and Tyson Chandler has been a difference maker on the defensive end for a couple seasons now.
Which leaves us with LeBron.
Will he win the award? No, probably not.
Should he? You know my answer.
All hail King James.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
DESHAWN STEVENSON - RATED OVER?
by Cuzzy, Cuzoogle
Now that the Cavs are two games up on the Wizards it might be time for DeShawn Stevenson to take back his "overrated" statement towards King James. Sure we can all assume it was meant to fire up the Wiz and maybe get the Cavs to lose their focus but neither has happened.
If Washington does not play better soon they will be rated over and the Cavs will be marching on to Round 2.
Just to show you that DeShawn does not have the best track record for calling out what or who may not be all that and a bag of chips, here is a list of seven things Stevenson has termed overrated. As you will see the guy does not have a clue.
1. Blogging - It will never catch and nobody will read them, hence OVERRATED.
2. Starbucks coffee - Nobody will continue to pay five bucks for a cup of coffee. The whole industry is OVERRATED.
3. Tiger Woods - How can the guy be called the best when he does not win every tournament? So what if there is a video game named after him, he is very OVERRATED.
4. What Michael Vick did - The negative publicity and harsh punishment for the dog fighting mess was a joke. Dogs fight all the time, so what? The time did not fit the crime and therefore is very OVERRATED.
5. Global warming - So what if it is hot out and there is snow in California. What are we all moaning about? Winter in Washington sucks ass. Global warming is OVERRATED.
6. The weak U.S. dollar - I still got my money, why can't everyone else make more? Who cares if the dollar is weak as long as I can buy all my crazy shit. The story is OVERRATED.
7. Paris Hilton - That chick has no talent, no skills and is just a rich girl who loves the spotlight. Who the hell cares unless she is naked. She is very OVERRATED.
Okay so maybe DeShawn got one right. You throw enough darts you are going to hit the board eventually.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
TOP 10 SIGNS THAT LEBRON JAMES AND THE CAVS ARE GETTING SOME CALLS
by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool
10. Robert Horry told by league officials to report to Cleveland to "guard" Antwan Jamison
9. Name on the back of his jersey changed to WADE
8. Opposing coaches, instead of watching the game, are reading books and working on their golf swing
7. Rather than a point spread, Vegas now has an over/under on "Number of Questionable Calls" for Cavs' games
6. NBA has already announced Eastern Conference Finals schedule as "Cleveland vs. TBD"
5. The "Special Guest Referee" for every Cavs playoff game is Tim Donaghy
4. James to receive MVP award over Kobe Bryant, just because he's a better player, hasn't lobbied for a trade, and didn't allegedly rape someone (Gosh, when will we just get over that alleged rape? It's such a, you know, minor offense)
3. They are winning games with any old Boobie and Joe Smith getting minutes
2. David Stern has been seen working on his overhead steel chair swing
1. Cavs now winning games after the buzzer
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
KOBE BRYANT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HE IS VALUABLE
by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm
In my opinion, LeBron James has been the most valuable player in the NBA this season. He's been more valuable than Kobe Bryant this season. (I hate that I'm forced into qualifying that statement with "In my opinion" but at this point, that's pretty much the difference between the two.)
James scores more points, grabs more rebounds, dishes more assists, and blocks more shots. He is able to score in a variety of ways that resembles transcendence more and more each day. He keeps his wretched micturation of a team in the playoffs, and manages to do all of this while defenses are completely centered on him.
But I say all this in order to preface this.
Kobe Bryant is the most important player in the NBA.
First, take a second and recognize the depth of this statement coming from someone that equates Kobe Bryant the basketball player with influenza, wasps, the second Bush album, and Artificial Intelligence. The world would simply be better without them. However, not even my own undeniable disgust towards Mr. Bean is enough to overcome the truth of the matter.
I've rattled it around my brain what the new look Lakers would look like without Bryant. With Gasol, Fisher, Farmar, Vujacic, Bynum (when healthy) and Odom, that sounds like a pretty damn good team. But it's only in the context of surrounding Kobe. He's so far beyond the concept of the most important player on his team that he embodies the team at this point. Everything good that the Lakers accomplish can be attributed to Bryant once again rising his game to another level, even if it's not in the boxscore but in the clutch or in the huddle. And every time the Lakers fail, it's when Kobe's weaknesses rise to the surface. He'll shoot 30 to 4o shots and press too much. The Lakers live and die by how Kobe Bryant breathes in and out.
No other player carries as much weight as Bryant does. Even more so than LeBron, all eyes are on Kobe when he's in a room or on the court. He's transcendent in the concept of being famous. He's come to embody something that is wholly his own. He's not beloved. He's not despised. He's simultaneously both. He bears such a huge weight in the balance of the NBA. Bryant can single handedly end someone's season, can shift playoff standings, can affect contract negotiations. He has more impact on the league than anyone.
Kobe's not only the most valuable team on the Lakers, not only is he the most important player in the league, he's the most important player to the league. Kobe is must-watch-basketball on a nightly basis especially because he's so divisive. No one is ambivalent towards Kobe. He's either a hero or a demon. He's never the source of apathy. Everyone cares. And that's all the front office cares about. You can despise Kobe with all the passion of a Baptist revival, and it 's fine because that just means you're watching. And as long as you're watching, he's making them money. LeBron may be the most valuable, but he doesn't inspire, doesn't intrigue, doesn't force us to obsess over him the same way. He's an icon in the purest sense. He's not an icon of good, nor of evil. He doesn't represent the best things about the game, nor the worst. He isn't a pillar of grace nor a despicable waste of human space. He's so painfully human he manages to encompass something we all identify with, even as we tend to revolt against the worse parts of the character he chooses to show.
I think what I've learned most about Bryant this season is how human he is. MJ, and now LeBron, have sculpted in this new media age an implacable public force. Every interview, every commercial, every poster dunk is carefully designed to sculpt the global icon their PR crews have designed. Non-controversial. Clean-cut. Friendly. And I think Kobe and his crew would love it if they could market him in this way. But they can't. His arrogance and his insecurity bleeds through the television and into our minds. It's entirely possible that Kobe is a humble, yet politely confident guy in real life. But that's not how he comes off. He comes off as a smug punk that is constantly seeking approval from the very subsect of humanity that vilifies him and doubts him as a rightful heir to the throne of best player on Earth. And that both intrigues and irritates us. And that's what makes him so important. He's this bizarre new age embodiment of the populace. Smug and neurotic, obsessed and dedicated.
Kobe Bryant is the most important player in the NBA.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
NBA MVP: SPLIT THE VOTE!
by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm
It's becoming more and more clear that Kobe Bryant is going to win the MVP, whether he deserves it or not. This is not to say that he doesn't deserve it. He very much does. Were he not playing in the same league with one Mr. LeBron James. But even then, I'm willing to consider a compromise to make everyone happy.
James has more rebounds, more assists, more blocks, the same number of steals, and oh yeah, more points. He's performing in all aspects of the game in a way we've never really seen before. He's a monster in the clutch and completely unstoppable once he gets going. He schooled Bryant in a heads-up matchup, draining the game winning jumper. He definitely has a worse supporting cast, and thereby definitely more important to his team. All this while redefining our common conceptions of a superstar. What James' combination of size, speed, and skill achieves is something we've never seen before.
But, no. "Kobe's never won an MVP!" they cry. Like it matters in a regular season award what's happened in the past. "Statistics don't matter!" they protest, unless Kobe were to overtake Bryant in scoring. "Kobe plays better defense!" they beg me to admit, even though James plays in a team-oriented defensive system that doesn't ask him to do the same things Kobe does, and even though he's got the same number of steals and more blocks. These are all supposed to impress upon me the idea that Kobe is superior. The problem is that he's not. He wasn't better than Steve Nash three or two years ago, he wasn't better than Dirk Nowitski last year, he's not better than LeBron James this year. When asked for reasons why he is better than James this year, most people, outside of the brilliant RespectKobe (which puts together a fantastic argument for his MVP candidacy), will stammer and come up with a "Come on. It's Kobe. He's the best player in the world." Ask them to qualify that statement, and you get something along the lines of best case, "shooting percentage, clutch ability (even though the numbers don't support this), killer instinct, and defensive aptitude" to worst (and more often) case: "Because he is!"
I also don't understand the widespread feeling that Bryant has been dismissed in these discussions. If you ask me who the average ESPN, TNT, or SI pundit thinks is the greatest basketball player in the game today, I would tell you Kobe Bryant. The man is adored. The fact that he's so unlikable? That makes him more attractive to pundits, because they all want to look like heroes for the poor, misunderstood superstar. Does LeBron James get the media stroke? Absolutely. But he's still new kid on the block. Kobe Bryant is THE GREATEST BASKETBALL PLAYER ALIVE! If you want to talk about disrespected and overlooked, tell it to Chris Paul or Tim Duncan.
Recently HoopsAddict posted a terrific breakdown of the argument. It was going so well, until..."In the end, an MVP does what all the legends do best, take the game over with little or no time left to play. An MVP takes their game to another level when their team needs them most. They do whatever is asked of them from tip-off until the final buzzer. An MVP gives their team the swagger that all championship teams seize, probably one of the most valuable assets to have on and off the court. They keep their team going and show leadership in the process, traits all three of these players, albeit at different points in their careers, possess. However, in the end there can only be one MVP and his name is Kobe Bryant."
I have a couple of serious issues with this. If you want to talk about taking their game to another level, it's widely accepted that LeBron's ceiling is remarkably higher than Kobe's. You need a soul killing drive to the basket and a foul because the perimeter defense is stout? LeBron is getting it. With Kobe, you're more than likely looking at that gorgeous fadeaway jumper of his. I'm not saying that it's not going in, because it is. But LeBron's arsenal in the clutch is wider, simply by virtue of his diverse range of physical traits and skills. Also, doing whatever is asked of them from tip-off to final buzzer? Kobe dictates that. Not Jackson, notKupchak, and certainly not Derek Fisher. Kobe does what Kobe wants to do. James is infinitely more likely to get his teammates involved if he needs to (as reflected by the wide gap in assists). Leadership is the one that really bugs me, though. James knew his current squad wasn't going to provide the push to get over the top 2 in the East. So he politely affirmed when asked if he would support a trade for Kidd. Bryant? Demanded a trade before the season because he had such little faith in his teammates. Kobe is a ferocious killer on the court. Off? You think it's just some sort of bizarre conspiracy that he's one of the least liked superstars in the NBA, despite his timid demeanor off court?
But this example illuminates the tragic truth. Kobe Bryant is going to win the MVP. When I argued with my co-author over at Hardwood Paroxysm about this matter, I told him there was no way the voters would be done enough to actually fall for some sort of media contrived push for his candidacy based on his previous failure to finish high. I told him that the voters would recognize how superior his teammates are compared to James'. Then the Gasol trade happened, and seemingly this is what pushed him over the edge. Now I read more and more the same argument.
"While it's true that LeBron is better for X,Y, and Z reasons, Kobe Bryant is the MVP. That's just how it is."
I hear this, and I want to vomit. There are plenty of reasons for Kobe to be named MVP. The only issue is that they are easily rebuked when compared with LeBron's case. However, I've come to accept it. But I do want to make a plea.
Split the vote. In this, the perfect season to document it, split the MVP between the two. This is a season that represents transition from the old to the new. The Lakers and Celtics are new superpowers, as Shaq toils away in an overblown contract, the final nail in the Suns' coffin. The Hornets and Jazz represent the future, along with Portland, while San Antonio looks for it's first ever repeat in what may be it's last solid chance for a while with the age of it's starters increasing (Parker and Ginobili aside). Let this be a season to recognize them both, to reward Bryant for what he's done over the past four years, carrying his team to the playoffs year in and year out and never getting the "credit" he "deserves." And to reward James, for entering into another level of superstardom, and his first season to clearly make his case for the best player in basketball. Think of the ramifications if the two were to meet in the Finals, Mr. Stern. I beg of you! C0-MVP versus co-MVP. It would be epic, the likes of which we haven't seen in two decades.
If we're going to reward Bryant for all the amazing, intangible things he is (and make no mistake, his intangibles are off the charts), let's recognize it in a way that doesn't squander the superior season LeBron has had without a 7' superstar Euro PF/C, one of the best young big men in the league, a wily veteran shooter point guard, and a bench that is arguably the deepest in the NBA. Yes, LeBron will win more. But it doesn't change the fact that he's earned it this season. If you want to do the right thing, let's answer this in a way that's fair. Well, okay, close to fair.
2008 NBA MVP: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
PS: If you think I'm a "hater" and want to see what we're doing to celebrate Kobe over HP, click here. Join us, for Kobe Bryant Blog Day.
Monday, March 3, 2008
48 HOURS OF HARDWOOD 3.2.08
by HP, Hardwood ParoxysmHere's what you missed over the weekend in the NBA...
That's Your MVP, Folks.: Kobe had 52, the Lakers shot 25 more free throws, and the Mavs still found a way to drive it to overtime. Which, of course, inevitably ended when Dirk Nowitski, after a fantastic fourth quarter and beginning of overtime, AIRBALLED a game-tying three pointer at the buzzer. That's the Mavericks for you. Also, after getting reamed by media for taking Kidd out in the crunch, Avery Johnson left Kidd in. And he managed to make a layup and draw the foul that would tie the game late. And then he missed the free throw. Damned if you do, Avery. Damned if you don't.
We'll Keep What We Got, Thanks: LeBron had 37, including a dunk that will make your balls shrink to the size of raisins, and the Cavs polished off the Bulls on Sunday. The Cavs came back from 8 down in the fourth to pull away late. Tyrus Thomas still did not play a lot. Pack your bags, Boylan. Pack 'em.
You Can't Keep A Doomed-To-Be-Swept-In-The-First-Round-Team Down: The Rockets apparently hate the idea of a better draft pick. Instead of surrendering (like they always tend to do when they actually HAVE a shot at a championship), the Rockets have decided to keep the win streak going, this time a 103-89 win over the Denver Nuggets. First round elimination, here we come (again)!
Elsewhere: The Suns now suck. That is all.
Friday, February 22, 2008
FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH: "LeBron? It's Danny Ferry..."
by E. Spencer Kyte, Bugs and Cranks
LeBron: What up Dan?
Ferry: Well, I made a couple moves today and I wanted to let you know.
LeBron: Is that right?
Ferry: Yeah. I got you...
LeBron: Oh, I know what you got me. I got ESPN.
Ferry: What'dya think?
LeBron: S'okay I guess.
Ferry: Okay? You said you wanted some talent around you. I got you some talent.
LeBron: You traded three of our five starters. I know Ira don't really count, but shit Dan. All that's left is me and Z.
Ferry: I know but...
LeBron: C'mon Danny. Do we have to do this?
Ferry: Do what LeBron? I just wanted to know what you thought of...
LeBron: (Holding phone away from face and talking to someone in the background) This fool wanna know what I think of his trades! A'ight Dan. Here's what I think of your trades.
You couldn't have got me Wally Szczerbiak at the start of the year? He was one of those "available for a limited time" kinda guys? Just became available so you had to swoop in and get him. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have a guy who can knock down the open 3 that the crowd don't hate, but if a guy who can knock down the open 3 was the missing piece, couldn't you have gotten me Kyle Korver earlier in the year?
Ferry: Bron, it's just...
LeBron: Oh, I done yet Dan. You wanted my thoughts. You got my thoughts. On all them moves. How am I supposed to be excited about Ben Wallace? I mean, yeah, he's a better defended than Drew and I won't be throwing any "The Fuck Did You Do That?" stares at him, but what's he average, 6 points? At least Drew could drop ten-plus. And it's not like I get away from dudes with messed up hair either.
Ferry: Yeah, but think...
LeBron: What did I tell you? Have I covered everybody yet?
Ferry: No.
LeBron: That's right. So why don't you just let me finish then Dan.
What does Joe Smith give me, huh? Energy off the bench? I got that with Andy. Although you almost fucked that up too, didn't you Dan?
Ferry: We knew Charlotte wasn't...
LeBron: Yeah, right. Anyway. Why'd you have to get rid of Donyell?
Ferry: Well he wasn't really con...
LeBron: Yeah but he was good for a laugh every once in a while. 'Member when he couldn't find his jersey?
And Delonte West. Delonte West? This guy couldn't get minutes over Earl Watson and you want me to be excited? Earl Watson can't hit a 15-foot jumper and you want me to be excited about the guy who couldn't steal minutes away from him?
Ferry: You said you wanted help and...
LeBron: How the fuck did Atlanta get Mike Bibby? Whens the last time they made the playoffs? Bringing me Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak expecting me to be excited. All these other teams adding All-Stars and you're giving me Delonte West.
Ferry: Well last year...
LeBron: Last year? Last year? My back is still tight from carrying this team to the Finals by my self last year. I been asking for help for two years. You bring in Delonte West and I'm supposed to be excited?
Ferry: Bron it's...
LeBron: Listen Dan. I got some things I need to do. Ira's been texting me since he heard the deal, wondering who the hell plays for Seattle that can make him look like an NBA player the way I have the last couple years. I need to go say goodbye.
Ferry: Okay. Are we...
LeBron: You know how bad I want this championship right?
Ferry: Yeah.
LeBron: So then you know I'm gonna carry this team just like last year right?
Ferry: Yeah.
LeBron: So then what's the problem?
Ferry: Could you just tell the media that you liked the trades?
LeBron: I'll see what I can do.
Ferry: Delonte West is actually a...
LeBron: Goodbye Dan.
Ferry: Oh. Uh, see ya LeBron.
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