The Drubbing

We have a number of hoops-heads at The Drubbing.  We believe that the NBA season can be saved.  We believe that Dwayne Wade’s shouting match with Commissioner Stern will not lead us any closer to a new collective bargaining agreement.  We believe that one player has the capability to thwart basketball Armageddon.

That player said that he would fly to New York for future negotiations if the negotiations were at a point that warranted his attendance.  That player could save the NBA.  That player’s name is Kobe Bryant.  This is the story of how Kobe Bryant taking over the role of lead negotiator on behalf of the Union will save the NBA season.
Continue reading “Alternative Ending for the NBA lockout of 2011″ →

You can debate whether or not Joe Paterno “did enough” by passing reports of child abuse up the chain of command, and you can debate whether or not going after him is worthwhile because of his age. But what is not up for debate is that this is just the most recent occurrence of a long string of avoidable mis-steps by major collegiate athletic programs. Almost all of which have been attempted to be covered up. I hate to think about how many others are still successfully being covered up.
Continue reading “King Football” →

Ten years ago, on September 11th, 2001, one of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil took place physically in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.  As you can see I mentioned the word physically because to me it took place in every American emotionally. We saw the fear in the eyes of those watching the towers collapse. We heard screams and tones of disbelief.  We saw our flag tattered. We saw our land of the free slowly being bulldozed away.  But in this moment we heard a voice stir in each one of us and remind us not to forget the other statement in our Star Spangled Banner: We are the home of the brave.  This was capsulated to Americans and the world in one moment.  In one pitch.

Continue reading “The pitch of a nation. The pitch for 2,977.” →

Our 2011 NBA Mock Draft concludes with picks 21 through 30. If you missed it make sure to check out the first 10 picks in Part 1 and picks 11 through 20 in Part 2.

21. Portland Trail Blazers

Jeremy Tyler (PF) – Tokyo Apache (Japan)

If Portland could trade the 21st pick in the draft for new knees for Brandon Roy they would, but they can’t.  Given that Andre Miller is the starting point guard and that his back-up is Patty Mills (really?), Portland decides that it needs to select size and goes with Jeremy Tyler who averaged 9.9 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game while playing for Tokyo Apache in Japan.  This pick should work out for Portland about as well as Greg Oden, but at least they didn’t pass on Durant to draft Tyler.  This seems to bring us back to the Jailblazers days as write-ups on Tyler say that he needs to work on “maturity.”  I’d also guess that he needs to work on rebounding since he couldn’t average six and a half in the Japanese league.
Continue reading “2011 NBA Mock Draft: Part 3″ →

Our 2011 NBA Mock Draft continues with picks 11 through 20. If you missed it make sure to check out the first 10 picks in Part 1.

11. Golden State Warriors

Tristan Thompson (PF) – Texas

Mark Jackson’s first draft should be interesting. He brings a lot to the table. Jackson has zero years of experience as a coach, but he is a grown man. With that said, mama there goes that man, Tristan Thompson. Think of Thompson as a Taj Gibson like player, adding depth and rebounding to the Warriors’ front court. The Warriors need help with their depth everywhere and Thompson is the best player left on the board of a woefully weak draft. Jackson himself could re-enter his name in this draft and get picked in the 1st round.
Continue reading “2011 NBA Mock Draft: Part 2″ →

The order is set, the players have done their workouts, the teams have had their meetings. The only thing left for us to do is have a mock draft. With the help of Ryan and Rodney we’ve tried to get into the head of NBA GM’s to predict their moves and lay out a roadmap for what they should do. We’ll post the full round one mock draft over the next few days, but here are the first 10 picks.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

With the first pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Dan Gilbert, Nick Gilbert, the Cleveland Cavaliers, John Kasich, the State of Ohio, Joshua Cribbs, Joe Haden, Bernie Kosar  and Vincent Connare select… Derrick Williams (PF) – Arizona.

While this pick does nothing to settle Cleveland’s point guard battle between the ghost of Baron Davis and Under-Performing 1st Team selection Ramon Sessions, Williams is the safest pick in this weak and PG heavy draft. He’ll immediately compete with the aging Antawn Jamison for minutes and will surely shoot a higher field goal percentage. Williams’ biggest plus will be providing the easy buckets that the Cavs have so dearly missed since a certain someone took his “talents” to South Beach.

Added bonus, everyone knows Khan can’t resist drafting point guards so he’ll have no choice but to field a roster with Johny Flynn, Luke Ridnour, Ricky Rubio and Kyrie Irving.
Continue reading “2011 NBA Mock Draft: Part 1″ →

We love our athletes.  I know I do.  I had posters on my wall growing up of Michael Jordan, Frank Thomas, Pavel Bure and of course Kathy Ireland.  The latter is another story for another time, but I digress.  We idolize them and even put together our own little game of “American Idol” together to select our favorite.   We even go back and forth between teams because we may follow a particular player or buy new jerseys when they change their number.  With every generation there are players we look up to as kids and even as we grow into adults with a kids heart, we continue to follow them even though they are not what they were in their prime.  But as I look around at yesterdays and todays athletes, I believe there is a vast hole of this “Idle” winner in the world today… if you’re looking in the wrong place.

Continue reading “America’s Idle” →

Illinois College senior Jacob Tucker has some serious hops. But he’s not getting any looks from the college dunk contest. That should change pretty quickly.

via BI

One Ring to Rule Them All

Super Bowl XLV
Sunday, February 6th, 2011.
Dallas, Texas.
Approximately 10:52 PM EST.

Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger meet at the middle of the field in Cowboy Stadium to shake hands in front of 80,000+ fans and 100+ million worldwide.

Who has the “One Ring to Rule Them All?”

Who is immortal?

What were the Black Eyed Peas singing about?  That was singing right?

How much did those frickin’ seats cost???
Continue reading “One Ring to Rule Them All” →

In case you’re not a football fan, you may have missed it yesterday when Pittsburgh Steelers DE James Harrison single-handedly concussed two Cleveland Browns. On a day filled with objectionable hits, Harrison’s hit on Joshua Cribbs was arguably the worst.
Continue reading “James Harrison is a heartless monster” →