The Drubbing

What if there is life on other planets?
What if we found out who the Babushka lady was?
What if women didn’t ask men if they looked fat…ever?
What if Ricky Martin really isn’t gay?
What if LeBron doesn’t win a ring in Miami?

All age-old questions but only one seems to have our attention this summer.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to downplay extraterrestrials, just in case they’re reading this and want to probe me on their next trip zippin around the galaxy or Ricky Martins Menudoesqe rise and fall to fame, again, due to his zombie-like 15-year stroll out of the closet.  LeBron James’s signing in Miami for 6 years in the summer of 2010 will go down as both the greatest signing and pairing in professional sports history or…I’ll say it:

The biggest bust ever.In any sport.
Ever.
Bigger than Ryan Leaf and Sam Bowie.  Combined. Times infinity. Plus one.
Continue reading “What if…” →

Dan Gilbert got to write his letter to LeBron. Now it’s my turn. But this one isn’t just for LeBron. I’ve got something for everyone involved.

To Cleveland Fans

I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve this. Your city has endured enough. While LeBron was in Cleveland you were nothing but supportive and loyal. There’s nothing that can be said that will take away the sting of this, but let me offer you a few pieces of advice. Don’t follow Dan Gilbert’s lead. You’re better than that. Try not to blame LeBron for leaving. The Cavs management had plenty of chances to do what was necessary to keep him around but they didn’t. That’s not LeBron’s fault.
Continue reading “My LeBron Letter” →

While The Drubbing was conspicuously silent over “The Decision” and has been so far during The Summer of LeBron, one individual has not been so quiet. Here’s what “Multiple Sources” had to say during a recent sit-down with TBJ.
Continue reading “Multiple Sources” →

One of the greatest sports quotes of all time. It’s old, but it never gets old. In an exchange with a sports reporter during his time on the New York Knicks, the following occurred with Michael “Sugar” Ray Richardson.

Reporter: What do you think is happening to the team?
Richardson: The ship be sinking.
Reporter: How far can it sink?
Richardson: Sky’s the limit.

The sky is the limit indeed.

Life on the road for NBA players is hard. You spend days or weeks away from your home and your families. You spend night after night in hotel beds. Each day is spent mostly in transit from plane to bus to hotel to bus to stadium to bus to plane and so on. But every team has to do it. Some teams even have notoriously tough annual pilgrimages like the Chicago Bulls and their “Circus Road Trip” that they endure each year while The Ringling Brothers Circus takes over the United Center.We know it’s not all rainbows and unicorns, so most teams just play through it. But the New York Knicks aren’t most teams.
Continue reading “A weak excuse from the New York Knicks” →

Oh how far the mighty have fallen. Are the Pistons not the saddest team in the NBA right now? I know they’re not the worst at 11-22. All the teams with worse records like New Jersey, Minnesota and Philadelphia have been wrecked by injuries. And even the Pistons have had their own fair share of health problems, with Rip Hamilton only playing in six games so far this season.

But consider this. In 2004 the Pistons were NBA Champions. And in 2005 they were runners up to San Antonio. And they still won division titles in 2005-2008. That wasn’t that long ago. That was then, this is now (I feel like I’m channelling Denny Green).
Continue reading “What happened to the Detroit Pistons?” →

Today is a great day for NBA fans around the world. On a slow news day where one of the biggest developments is that Michael Redd is injured, again, there is one fantastic piece of news that has come out today. Our ears will be spared from further damage. Bill Walton will no longer be commentating on NBA broadcasts.

On behalf of NBA fans everywhere, I would like to thank Bill Walton for sparing our hearing for the foreseeable future. We wish him well on his continued recovery from the recent back problems he’s been suffering from and sincerely hope he can remain healthy enough to dedicate his time to the life of “service” he has intended to.

Thank you Bill, and best of luck to you.

Officiating in the NBA has gone through an intentional, systematic, year-by-year shift. The advantage tipping further and further in favor of the defensive side of the ball. The amount of offensive foul calls, all over the court, with or without the assistance of a defensive “flop” is officially outrageous. But his is nothing new.

Then there is the “clearing” foul, when an offensive player going up for a layup is whistled for a foul when they push away the arm of a defensive player that is trying to block their shot. However if an offensive player is dribbling the ball outside of the arc, they’re allowed to “block” an attacking defender’s advancing arms with their arm. This inconsistency came to light over and over again in the Orlando vs. Celtics series.
Continue reading “The NBA hates scoring, that’s why they’re ruining the game with offensive fouls” →

Rogue my ass

Sports lockouts are typically never a good thing, however in the case of the NBA, i think this may be a blessing.  Far too often, i have watched some horribly officiated games in the NBA over the past 5 years.  Add in the “rogue” official impacting games and i am ecstatic by this possible lockout with the Officials.  David Stern has far too long sided with the officials, never holding them accountable for their god awful, completely horrible calls.  We have been watching Joey Crawford and Dick Bevetta ref way past their prime (if they ever had one) and added in a female official that might as well make calls blind folded.

I want a officiating training camp, sponsored by the NBA.  I want young ref’s in their athletic prime, who can run up and down the court in a 3 person formation and be in position to make calls.  I am sick and tired of ref’s anticipating a foul or solely calling something based on the superstar that last complained.  You can’t honestly tell me Dick Bevetta can run down the court with Ty Lawson on a fast break and be in position to see the contact.  Maybe this lockout will allow a young, new breed of ref’s to get into the NBA and help make a great product and sport, even better.

…but I don’t see why Ricky Rubio would. Last week it was reported (we know how these things go after the Brett Favre saga) that Ricky Rubio has agreed to a six-year deal with FC Barcelona B
àsquet. The deal won’t allow him to be eligible for play in the NBA until the 2011-2012 season. The Minnesota Timberwolves will retain his rights but clearly he doesn’t want to play for them.

Continue reading “I would love to play for FC Barcelona” →