Thursday, March 5, 2009

A Few Random Thoughts

Just a few things I've been thinking about over the past few days:

  1. I love the new rivalries that are developing in the NBA. Lebron vs. Kobe, Lebron vs. D-Wade, or Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams are developing into some of the leagues most interesting and appealing rivalries that we see today. Much like the rivalries of the 80's and 90's, these sub-plots to each game or playoff race are making the NBA even more interesting to watch on a nightly basis.
  2. That being said - I wish the officiating in the NBA was more consistent. More specifically, I wish the officials would call the NBA's top stars for travelling violations more. I will be the first to admit that watching Lebron, Kobe, D-Wade, etc. pull-off dazzling moves on a nightly basis is one of the best parts of the NBA. But every night they get away with some of the most basic violations of the leagues rules - and I think that the officials have so much respect for these stars that they just turn a blind eye. Disappointing. Q: How many bench players could benefit from taking 3 or 4 steps in the lane like today's stars do? A: All of them.
  3. T.O. was released today - good for the Dallas Cowboys. Maybe with a little consistent leadership and less distraction on this team, they can finally get the most out of the immense talent they seem to have (on paper at least). No doubt that Dallas will still be a circus of some sort, but maybe this year it will be a little more controlled.
  4. What is next for T.O.? I can't imagine a serious contender in the NFL will be willing to take a chance on a man who no doubt has talent, but is a plague to the locker room of every team he has been with. A man with who has played himself into some big contracts with good contending teams, has also found a way to talk and act himself out of these situations. What serious contender would be interested in taking the chance on a guy who is almost guaranteed to turn on you once he doesn't get exactly what he wants. I believe T.O. will spend the rest of his career on a mediocre team willing to spend the money on him to put butts in seats. A team that knows it wont contend, is content on having a certain amount of disparity in the locker room. Oakland Raiders ring a bell anyone?
  5. I wish that hockey was back on ESPN again. The coverage on VS and once a week on NBC is just terrible. Furthermore, ESPN isn't in the habit of promoting games that aren't carried on their family of networks. Therefore, we get approximately a minute a night on SportsCenter devoted to hockey coverage. Maybe America doesn't care about hockey as much as it used to, and maybe because I am in "Hockeytown", I am eager to keep up with the goings on of the NHL. But good coverage beats bad coverage any day, and ESPN is, on some levels, still the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
  6. Finally, Chauncey Billups returned to Detroit this week, and was greeted with open arms. In a sense it was touching to see the Detroit fan base welcome back their hero, and a man who led their team to 5 consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. I can't remember a time when the home team dimmed the lights for a returning player and gave him an introduction bigger than that of the home team. On top of it all, Chauncey publicly thanked the fans and media of Detroit for his time here and the way in which he was treated. Class-acts all around.
Holler back with all comments.

2 comments:

GregGoBlue said...

Good riddance to T.O.

now all dallas needs to do is get a QB who doesn't choke in the playoffs! Drew Henson again?

Unknown said...

Gotta agree with the NBA officiating comments. The players get away with too much these days... and even though it leads to some amazing plays... it just doesn't seem fair.

Love the comment about Chauncey. He was a great asset to Detroit and should be given the welcome back he deserved