Forget guns, Stern needs to address gambling

Let’s put aside, for a moment, the fact that Gilbert Arenas’ contract is the only reason anyone ever found out about his brainless decision to bring his unloaded guns to the Verizon Center. This is obvious. As I wrote on Wednesday, if Arenas were leading the league in scoring and not an injury plagued $100 million disaster, this story never leaks.

Now let’s focus on the real issue brought to light by Arenas’ situation: gambling. Oh, guns are a problem too. But they aren’t going anywhere. NBA Commissioner David Stern can ban them from the locker room (he probably assumed his players weren’t foolish enough to be packin’ at the arena already) and he can enforce stricter punishments for those caught in illegal possession of a gun. But he can’t stop players from legally owning any kind of weapon.

Guns are constitutional.

Gambling is cultural. And it’s more popular than ever.

It’s not just taking place among rich athletes on charter planes late at night either. It’s happening at your dining room table, where you think you like the idea of your kids staying in on a Friday night, but you don’t realize that they’re developing a habit that will make you wish they were playing pong instead of poker.

At some point, right around 2003, gambling became the new pickup basketball. I saw it firsthand. I was a junior in high school and you would very rarely find my group of friends hovering around a keg in some open field on a given weekend. Nope, we were hovering around a table in some older guy’s basement trying to make a quick buck. It started with a game called Acey-Deucey --which was probably rigged – and then morphed into various forms of Black Jack and poker until we all settled on no-limit hold ‘em.

We had a regular game for years. Were we addicted? That depends. None of us, at least, none that I know of, were stealing from our friends or families. We weren’t skipping school to play online. We didn’t quit the baseball team. But we definitely played pickup basketball a lot less, we always had a bad beat story to whine about and I think we would all agree that it was easier to find eight guys to play cards than it was for most of us to find a girlfriend.

And over the course of four years, we saw a number of friends exhibit one of the first signs of problem gambling: a bruised ego. That’s what comes long before fists or guns ever enter the equation. But arguments and fights and yes, in Arenas and Javaris Crittenton’s case, even guns can be the end result to a person feeling cheated or angry over losing a little too much.

That’s what people are missing when they’re comparing the NBA to The Wire. Should uneducated, naïve kids from any background, but particularly one that promotes violence, be allowed to own a gun? I say no. But the laws of the land say yes and not even Stern can change that.

What he can do is ban any kind of gambling from anything team-related. No poker or dice on the plane or in the locker room or even in the hotel rooms. He can let that dream of ever having a team play in Las Vegas go(can you imagine what would happen?). And he can make sure that if players don’t follow through, they’ll run the risk of having their contract voided. Believe me, given the currently economic state of the NBA, teams will strictly enforce Stern’s new rule.

And the league and its players will be better for it.

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Bad guys with bad contracts beware

He was a media darling. Someone even the most cynical writers in America couldn’t help but root for. He was different. He was a breath of fresh air. Behind the natural athletic ability there was a compelling story of hard work and sacrifice that made him a fan favorite, not just locally, but throughout the country.

Now he’s no different than the rest of ‘em. The same people who got a kick out of his style, the ones who called him good for the game, are saying he’s a thug. Now he’s just another rich, coddled superstar who thinks he can get away with anything because of who he is.

No, not Tiger.

Gilbert.

Gilbert Arenas’ fall from grace is different from Tiger Woods’ because it has been gradual, not all of a sudden. But other athletes should be paying a lot closer attention to what happens with Arenas because his situation is a lot more likely to happen to them. And it has nothing to do with guns in the locker room either.

It’s about bad contracts, and there are plenty out there in every major sport.

The decline of Arenas began long before he ever thought about bringing his guns to work to either A) hide from his children, B) play a joke on teammate Javaris Crittenton, C) intimidate Crittenton, or D) some combination of the three. It started as soon as he signed a six year, $111 million contract with the Washington Wizards in the summer of 2008. The deal was heavily criticized because of his persistent injury problems, which cost him the end of the 2006/07 season, virtually all of the following season, and most of his first year with the new contract.

It didn’t help that shortly after Arenas signed, our country began to feel the wrath of a financial meltdown that is still hurting us today. Suddenly just being the most loved athlete in the blogosphere wasn’t enough for the Wizards. Arenas was quickly labeled as having one of the worst contracts in the league, with many writers comparing it to the similarly disastrous deal the team gave Juwan Howard a little over a decade ago.

So when the team officials learned that Arenas stored unloaded guns in his locker at the Verizon Center, they saw this as the perfect opportunity to get out of a contract that would haunt them for the next five years.

That’s the part of the story that has been underreported. But it’s also the most relevant to all athletes who have signed huge contracts and are either not producing or playing for a franchise that happens to be losing money. The Wizards immediately reported Arenas’ indiscretions to the league not because they thought it was the right thing to do, but because they want to be able to invoke the morality clause which appears in all NBA contracts. Do you think this ever makes the news if the Wizards were in first place and Arenas was the league’s leading scorer?

How do you think rumors of a card game gone awry leaked anyway? It was no mistake that the New York Post had the most scandalous --and incorrect-- version of the story, claiming that Arenas and Crittenton actually drew guns on each other. The Wizards knew the Post would have no problem running a story with no facts behind it.

They also knew there was no way the public would side with Arenas if they tried to void his contract. Gilbert Arenas with three guns in the locker room in Washington D.C. might sound more like some sports version of Clue, but the people of Washington know guns are no game. That’s why the region has the strictest gun laws in the country.

Arenas is far from innocent here. But it’s also wrong to label him a typical NBA thug. The truth is, he’s guilty mainly of being an idiot, which some might argue is enough to cancel the remainder of his contact. I would disagree, but I guarantee this won’t be the last time you hear about a team attempting to invoke the morality clause.

If the Wizards are allowed the sever ties with Arenas, you can bet that every team in sports will try to do the same with their problematic players.

Just the rich ones, of course.

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Jordan disappoints during crowning achievement

This past weekend taught us once and for all that if we’re going to expect celebrities to be more than they are, we better be prepared to be disappointed. Kanye West, a man convinced he’s the voice of a generation, proved that Sunday night when he decided to embarrass Taylor Swift at the VMAs. Serena Williams proved it when she made a fool of herself at the U.S. Open, acting like the spoiled country club brat she was never supposed to be. And worst of all, there was Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player in history, proving that’s all he’ll ever be.

On the surface, what Jordan did at his Hall of Fame induction doesn’t compare to Kanye humiliating a wide-eyed teenager in front of the world or Serena’s childish antics on her sport’s biggest stage. But then you have to remember that West and Williams don’t ever belong in the same sentence with Jordan. Kanye is a successful musician. Jordan is the Beatles. Serena is a world-class champion. Jordan is Sampras and Federer combined.

We expected the most from Jordan. We got the worst.

I couldn’t wait to watch MJ’s induction speech Friday night for one reason: Of all the great memories I had of him, the one thing I didn’t remember was his voice. By the time I became a big sports fan, Jordan had already turned his back on most of the media. He didn’t need ‘em. He had established a brand bigger than any newspaper, much less some reporter or columnist. So, like Babe Ruth did 70 years before, he hand-selected the people he was willing to talk to and they pledged their allegiance to him.

What we were left with was Jordan in cuts. 30 seconds here, some commercial there. But never any substance. His motto became, “never piss off someone who might write you a check,” something that has become commonplace in sports today.

That wasn’t the case in Springfield, where Jordan decided to deliver a resentful, bitter-sounding speech that would have left a lot of people embarrassed had it been someone else speaking. Instead, most in attendance, including Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post, summed it up in two words: “That’s Michael.”

Jordan uncensored took shots at the high school coach who didn’t pick him for varsity and the player who was selected over him. He blasted Jerry Krause and Bryon Russell and suggested that he still hasn’t gotten over Dean Smith not allowing him to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated his freshman year at North Carolina.

If that was Michael, we’ve all been duped.

If that rant was fueled by anything but a few too many drinks, then we should all be disappointed in the man we made our hero.

More than anything, it proved that basketball is all Jordan will ever be defined by. We remember Ruth for more. We remember Ali for more. But Jordan is the epitome of what William C. Rhoden calls the $40 Million Dollar Slave, though he made much more than that in his career. He was controlled by the people at Nike and Gatorade every step of the way, no matter how often it appeared otherwise.

On Friday night, he finally got the chance to send a message. And he did. Just not the one we were looking for.

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Iverson should be remembered for whole career

So this is the thank you Allen Iverson gets. This is what it has come to for the most influential athlete of my generation, the guy who proved you didn’t have to be named Jordan to be immensely marketable. He’ll end his career with the Memphis Grizzlies, but that’s not the story here. It’s about the complete lack of respect being given to one of the most exciting players in the history of basketball.

It’s ironic, really, that Iverson would receive this kind of treatment. He was once the face of the new NBA, the controversial, outspoken, incredibly talented and wildly popular player who bridged the gap between Michael Jordan and today’s league. Yet the same people who grew up watching basketball simply because they worshipped A.I. are the ones comparing him to Brett Favre today, ridiculing him for not wanting to give it up just yet.

They’re mostly 20-somethings (like me), just finishing college and entering the workforce, more likely to have blogs and tweet regularly, and also more likely to focus on the present with little regard for the past.

That’s what knocks Iverson from his pedestal. You could argue that he entered the league at the perfect time, an outlier of sorts, when the fans needed a new hero, David Stern needed a superstar and franchises were willing to dish out insane contracts to anyone who could put up 20 points a night. But now he’s on the downside of his career in the 24/7 media era, when more people have the ability to witness his eroding abilities than ever before. Makes you wonder how Ali would have been treated if he were fighting today. Or Willie Mays. Even Jordan got a pass.

No one has had a more difficult time stepping away than Iverson, whose fall from grace has been uglier than any off-the-court incident he’s ever been involved in. He’s probably the first superstar athlete of this generation to have the entire world watch his game deteriorate. At least Favre had a playoff team interested in him. Iverson had the Clippers and Knicks and ended up in Memphis.

This isn’t how we should remember The Answer.

If you became a sports fan in the mid-late ‘90s, you’ve watched Iverson closer than any other athlete. You’ve criticized him for acting a fool. You’ve been amazed by his ability. You’ve realized that while Shaq might get hacked, AI gets decapitated. Yet he continues to get up. You respect him for that. ESPN’s Rick Reilly once wrote that if there was one player he’d pay twice the ticket price to watch, it would be Iverson, who really makes you think twice about cheering for someone like Manny Ramirez.

But for all he’s one done in the game, his impact off the court might be what truly defines him. He’s been called a thug for always speaking his mind at a time when you can’t buy a quote from a great athlete – see LeBron, ARod and Tiger. Seemingly cut from the same cliché, those three will never reach people quite the way Iverson did. If you think about it, he and Eminem probably did more to bring two completely different cultures together than any celebrities in history. For awhile, his sneakers, jersey and crossover gave every sports fan something in common.

Iverson’s legacy stretches well-beyond basketball, which he was as good at as almost anyone at any time. It’s about his place in popular culture. It’s about his impact on fans of the NBA and even today’s players, like his new teammate, Mike Conley.

“I'm excited," Conley told the Associated Press. "He’s a guy I always watched growing up.”

We all did. Let’s not forget that.

(Full disclosure: Some of this was copied from a piece I wrote about Iverson last season)

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A sign of things to come for the NBA

David Stern is a lawyer at heart, so he knows how to pick and choose his words carefully. When things are going well, they are historic and record-breaking and when things are looking down, he always delivers an optimistic outlook. Spin is Stern’s best friend, which is why he refuses to call the $200 million loan his league received this week a bailout. It’s the same way Alex Rodriguez refuses to call the stuff he was taking steroids.

But make no mistake about, the cash injection JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America has provided for the NBA isn’t just some budget enhancer; it’s a temporary life preserver for about a dozen franchises. Teams will at least be able to make payroll for the rest of this season, while they attempt to implement more cost-cutting measures for next year.

"It's exactly the opposite" (of a bailout), Stern said yesterday. "This was a show of strength in the creditworthiness of the NBA's teams. It's a great sign of confidence in us.”

No Commissioner, it’s actually a red flag that shows almost half the teams in your league are in danger of going belly up. Give credit to ESPN’s Bill Simmons because he has been all over this mess for two weeks, both on his podcasts and now in a column. The Sports Guy points to the league losing major sponsors, teams practically giving away tickets and the number of dark suites in arenas across the country as signs the NBA is on the verge of a full-fledged crisis.

For the foreseeable future, many franchises are going to focus solely on breaking even, so much so that producing a quality product on the court will become an afterthought. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what you call, Major League Baseball.

Only baseball has the advantage of having the entire season to itself, so even as Americans are staring at a Depression, they still might be willing to take in a ball game this summer in attempt to bring back some form of normalcy to their lives. The NBA isn’t so lucky. It competes head on with the NFL for the first half of its season and then March Madness and baseball are right there during the stretch run.

The average fan barely had the budget for NBA tickets before the recession, so now attending games becomes even less of an option. And when the league can no longer turn to suits to fill the seats and corporations to fill the seats, trouble ensues.

And it’s only going to get worse. What happened this week wasn’t just a bailout for 12 teams.

It was just the first bailout for the NBA.

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David Stern should lift NBA age requirement

Getting an opinion out of LeBron James can sometimes be more difficult than stopping him as he takes off on one of his patented blasts through the lane, but on Friday night, the MVP candidate made one thing clear: He is against the NBA’s minimum-age requirement.

While providing color-commentary for the NBA Rookie Challenge, a game which featured seven one-and-done players and just two who played college basketball for four seasons, James suggested that guys who plan on only being in school for one year are wasting both the university’s and their own time.

“What’s the point if you don’t want to be in school?” James asked.

It certainly won’t help you become an All Star. That much was clear on Sunday night at the official NBA All Star game, which had six Americans who made the jump straight to the league from high school. The top players from the game only strengthen the argument against Commissioner David Stern’s mandatory minimum rule. The leading scorers were Kobe Bryant (27 pts), James (20 pts) and Amare Stoudemire (19 pts) and none of them needed a year off before going pro.

In fact, you could argue that for the best players in the world, college might actually hinder their development. College athletes are only allowed to spend 20 hours a week working on their skills with their head coaches as opposed to the unlimited amount time they could practice in the NBA. There’s also that whole student part of the student-athlete, which forces players to attend class. And while I’m as big a fan of Western Civ as anyone, if your major is basketball, most of your time ought to be spent in the gym.

The lack of talent that surrounds an elite player is another problem. Think about it. These kids spend their entire lives playing in AAU tournaments with the best players in the country, but how many times per season does the top player in college basketball face any type of decent competition? Maybe a handful? A future lottery pick on some college campus is more likely to end up in a picture partying with Michael Phelps than he is to face a challenge on the court.

When it comes down to it, the NBA’s mandatory-minimum age requirement feels more like a punishment to future pros than anything else. And they aren’t that far off. After all, there are very few things that we can absolutely force upon any American. I can think of two: Jail, if they commit a crime, and college basketball, if they want to play in the NBA.

So when James asks what the point is, he’s actually making the best point of all. Going to college is a dream for millions of people all over the world. So is playing in the NBA.

But one shouldn’t have to happen to make the other a reality.

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Not a bust yet, but Oden is not what we thought he was

When the number one pick went to the Portland Trail Blazers two seasons ago, it was supposed to be the start of a new era. The crime spree masked as a basketball team was over and Greg Oden, who was coined as Patrick Ewing with personality, was expected to lead a formerly proud franchise back to prominence.

But the question everyone failed to ask was this: How would Oden, a true throwback, handle a league that was quickly embracing the seven seconds or less idea and just as rapidly, abolishing half-court sets that called for a true center? The answer is not very well.

I watched Oden twice last week as he struggled against a really awful Knicks team just as much as he did against the defending World Champions. But it wasn’t the missed dunks or poor positioning that really made me cringe; it was watching just how slow he truly is. Forget a sore thumb, Oden is the beer gut of the Blazers. He essentially forces the rest of his team to stop in its tracks as they wait for him to catch up, and before you know it, the opposing is team is pushing the ball back the other way.

Oden has the tools to be a great defender, just not in a LeBron, Kobe, Wade and Paul-led league. Everyone on the floor -the other players, the referees, hell, even the photographers - easily beat him down the floor. And if they don’t it’s because he’s not in position, which obviously limits his ability.

It’s too bad, because he seems like a nice kid. And his likeability will definitely buy him some time. But as ESPN’s Bill Simmons so accurately pointed out earlier this season, you know when a big man has what it takes to be a star in the NBA right away. David Robinson and Shaq were instant stars. Oden has had one great game and it was against a Golden State, who looks a lot more like an undersized mid-major team than an NBA franchise.

Luckily, the Blazers are on their way up no matter what their center’s numbers are. Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez are talented enough that all Oden has to do is fill space. But how long does a number one pick have before just being the fourth option becomes unacceptable?

Because at this point, the kid looks a lot more like Kwame Brown than Patrick Ewing.

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Forget the future, Detroit should appreciate greatness now

The Pistons traded for the most influential athlete of my generation on Monday, but all anyone seems to care about is the fact that he has an expiring contract. Imagine that. The most entertaining basketball player this side of Michael Jordan joins a championship contender, yet somehow LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are the focal points.

It’s sad. The summer of 2010 means more than Allen Iverson’s last chance at a title, even in such a proud basketball city. But fans in Detroit and across the country better slow down, because no matter what happens two summers from now, the league will never see another player quite like The Answer.

If you became a sports fan in the mid-late ‘90s, you’ve watched Iverson closer than any other athlete. You’ve criticized him for acting a fool. You’ve been amazed by his ability. You’ve realized that while Shaq might get hacked, AI gets decapitated. Yet he continues to get up. You respect him for that. ESPN’s Rick Reilly once wrote that if there was one player he’d pay twice the ticket price to watch, it would be Iverson, who really makes you think twice about cheering for Manny Ramirez. When he retires, you’ll remember his dismal rap career and his infamous practice rant, but not the way you’ll remember his crossover, a move that staggered more men than Mike Tyson ever did. Even gave MJ jelly legs once.

But for all AI has done on the court, his impact off the court might be what truly defines him. He’s been called a thug for always speaking his mind at a time when you can’t buy a quote from a great athlete – see LeBron, ARod and Tiger. Seemingly cut from the same cliché, those three will never reach people quite the way Iverson did. If you think about it, he and Eminem probably did more to bring two completely different cultures together than any celebrity in history. For awhile, his sneakers, jersey and crossover gave every sports fan something in common.

Iverson will make his Pistons debut tomorrow night in New Jersey, against another franchise already thinking well into the future. The difference is that while the Nets are hopeless, Detroit should be hopeful. They’re a better a team than they were a week ago. Even on his last legs, Iverson can change games.

Now we’ll see if he can win a title.

Must reads on Iverson:
The Impact of Iverson – Need For Sheed
The Iverson Effect: Net gains all around – True Blue Pistons
Allen Iverson, “The Answer”

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For the record, my NBA predictions

I'm not all that into writing in-depth previews about leagues with unwatchable regular seasons, but just in case I predict everything right, I'd like to have it in writing so I can brag about being an NBA expert.

Excellent previews can be found here, here, here and here.

NBA Finals
Lakers over Cavs

MVP
Kobe Bryant

ROY
Derrick Rose

D-Player
Ron Artest

6th Man
Lamar Odom

Coach of the Year
Terry Porter

Surprise Team
Chicago Bulls

Overrated Team
Detroit Pistons

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Random Rumblings: 10/15

• I was at Fenway for game four last night and will have more on that later... Not that there's much to say.
  
  
• He's as good a businessman as any commissioner in professional sports, but that doesn't make David Stern the best human today. With the country facing as bad an economic crisis as it has ever seen, the head of the NBA has decided to cut 9 percent of the league's US Staff, meaning about 80 people will be laid off.
  
  The announcement came Monday, just after wire reports that said the NBA is looking to play regular season games in London leading up to the 2012 Olympics and will partner with the Anschutz Entertainment Group to design around a dozen arenas in China with the first expected to be finished in 2010.
  
  Stern said the league would continue to hire in other countries.
  
  Of course it will. Stern clearly believes, and has for a while now, that the NBA has milked this country for all it is worth and needs to further its international reach in order to maintain basketball's status as the second most popular sport in world. The league will continue to spend millions to promote itself in China every year and even more in an attempt to gain relevance in the UK.
  
  It's a savvy, cost-cutting move to layoff people in this country, the one that has helped the league go mainstream, but Stern is sending a message that will undoubtedly be sent by many businesses in the coming months:
  
  In a recession, the first thing that goes is decency.
  
  
• It's amazing how popular it has become to trash Penn State because its coach is older than me and the four people who read this site combined.
  
  But the main difference between the Nittany Lions and so many other programs this year is the age of the actual players. Joe Paterno's squad seems to put a lot more juniors and seniors on the field than anyone else, and that will make a difference late in the season.
  
  
• Look, nobody wants to forget about the Isiah Thomas era in New York more than I do, but anyone who thinks Chris Duhon is a better point guard than Stephon Marbury is out of their mind.
  
  Let's make this clear: When healthy, and he apparently is, Marbury is the best basketball player the Knicks have.
  
  
• You know who has figured out its place on the internet? WEEI.com. New England's top sports radio station's website realizes that people aren't going there to see scores or updates, so it has hired all kinds of writers to provide excellent daily columns, as opposed to game stories.
  
  
• For some reason, I thought New Haven's Chad Dawson might finally get some respect in the sports world (he already had it in the boxing world) if he could beat a big-name opponent for a title. Well, he absolutely thrashed Antonio Tarver to remain unbeaten, and probably didn't gain a single new fan.
  
  That's how said a state boxing is currently in. When more people care about MMA, a sport that has more one hit wonders than the pop music industry, than they do about a dominate boxer that actually wins the fights he is expected to win, something is clearly wrong.
  
  Too much parity can be a bad thing, just ask the NFL...
  
  
• Maybe it's just because my fantasy football team is winless, but pro football just doesn't seem as fun this year. There seems to be more big-name injuries than in the past which is causing a lot of teams to underachieve.
  
  And I'm sorry, a Tennessee/Tampa Bay Super Bowl doesn't seem too exciting. In fact, the way it looks now, there is only one team that could make the Super Bowl as exciting as it should be:
  
  The Saints, led by Reggie Bush, who looks every bit as good as he was in college.

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Random Rumblings: Time for the Rays to get serious

• Maybe, as SI’s John Heyman suggested on WFAN yesterday, the Tampa Bay Rays didn’t actually believe this would be their year. Maybe the team wasn’t prepared to negotiate deadline deals because it thought a .500 record was the ultimate goal in 2008.
  
  But now, everything has changed and the Rays need to make a move. The team is still in first place, two games ahead of the Red Sox and four in front of the Yankees, but it is in desperate need of a bat. The Rays have scored more than four runs in a game just three times since it completed a sweep of Kansas City on July 6.
  
  Jason Bay, a player I love, might be the guy the team is trying to trade for, but he isn’t the best player available. That honor goes to none other than Barry Bonds, the guy whose OBP last season was almost 100 points higher than anyone in the Rays lineup today.
  
  Even if Bonds has regressed, he is still going to be on base 40 percent of the time and will undoubtedly put butts in seats. And if you’re telling me he isn’t more valuable than any of the players the Rays currently stick at DH, you’re out of your mind.
  
  The Rays considered Bonds an option before the season; now it’s time to make the Home Run King a priority.
  
  
• The Angels had a perfect night in Boston, acquiring Mark Teixeira before its game and then watching John Lackey no-hit the Sox for 8 1/3 innings. Already a World Series favorite, the trade puts the Angels in a league of its own, far ahead of the Red Sox, who they seem to dominate every time they meet.
  
  
• ESPN ranked UConn Men’s Basketball the sixth best program of the last 20 years, which is a testament to how Coach Jim Calhoun transformed a regional program into a national brand. But you have to wonder if he is proud of the current state of the program.
  
  His players have had off the court problems dating back to the laptop incidents, which have resulted in a couple arrests and even more transfers. Most recently, he brought in Nate Miles, a red flag guy who took the spot of the academically ineligible Stanley Robinson.
  
  Calhoun is an old school guy and it seems like he has figured out in a hurry that you have to be willing to compromise integrity in order to remain sustainable as a big time basketball program. It will be interesting to see how much more of this he can take.
  
  
• I’m always amazed by the people who complain about the length of the baseball and basketball seasons. They’re almost always the same ones who get all jazzed up about who is going to report to football camp in July.

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Random Rumblings

• As nice as it has been to see the Tampa Bay Rays finally put a winning season together, any realist has proceeded with caution when it comes to talking about the team’s chances of winning the American League East. The consensus seems to be that we can start considering the Rays a realistic contender on Aug. 1, but wins in their next three games might help that label appear a month early.
  
  The team has won five of six to move into first place in the AL East and will host the second place Red Sox for a three game set starting tonight. For the Rays, you could make the argument that this is the most important series the franchise has ever played, as it will undoubtedly set the tone for the second half of the season.
  
  The interesting storyline that could emerge from this season is that if the Rays can take two of three or sweep, they’ll be a couple games up on both the Yankees and Red Sox, who begin a four game series on Friday. That would force both New York and Boston into the unlikely position of needing to tread water in a tough division just to remain in contention.
  
  No it’s not August yet, but the next eight days will tell us a lot about Tampa and the rest of AL East for that matter.
  
  
• By no means do I consider myself a traditionalist when it comes to sports, but thank god interleague play is over.
  
  
• SportsCenter should start showing more highlights from all the top European soccer leagues. There might be very few things as boring to watch as 90 minutes of soccer, but there is nothing more exciting than the one or two goals scored in that span.
  
  
• Is anyone else shocked about the lack of coverage surrounding Javon Walker’s situation?
  
  
• When Kevin Love is a top five pick, you have an extremely weak NBA draft.
  
  
• The two may have nothing to do with each other but the question needs to be posed anyway: If an 18 year old can’t achieve a qualifying SAT score to play college basketball, what makes anyone think he’s got the head on his shoulders to move to a foreign country for a year to play basketball?
  
  And how well will Brandon Jennings be treated if he comes in and treats every game like an AAU showcase?

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Random Rumblings

• If you have ever been in a relationship where you have put off breaking up with a girl and then just when you have finally made the decision to go through with it, she comes through with amazing plans or a nice gift, then you know exactly what Omar Minaya is going through with Willie Randolph right now.
  
  Every time it seems like Randolph is in his last day as manager of the Mets, his team seems to come through with a victory that keeps him clinging to the job. That trend may continue today if the team can sweep a double header from Texas. If not, Minaya may have to part ways with the guy he selected for the job on Father’s Day, of all days.
  
  Looks like the end of this relationship is going be even harder than he thought.
  
  
• I understand that it has become harder than ever to win big consistently in college basketball, but it’s sad to see Jim Calhoun lower his standards so much in an attempt to get the University of Connecticut back to where it was during my senior year in high school. His latest recruit, Nate Miles played at five different high schools and it took the NCAA six months of investigating his transcripts just to clear him.
  
  The guy he’ll replace is Stanley Robinson, who, coincidentally, is expected to be academically ineligible.
  
  Both Calhoun and football coach Randy Edsall have complained in the past that UConn’s admission standards are too high and that it has an effect on recruiting. Clearly, the top ranked public school in New England is now meeting their needs.
  
  
• LeBron James once said his goal is to become a global icon. He might as well have said he wants to be Tiger Woods. There is nothing like the coverage Tiger demands during a major, not even a Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals.
  
  
• Even if they win a championship this year and finish their respective careers in Boston, it’s going to be difficult to remember Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen as Celtics.
  
  Paul Pierce, on the other hand, might end up getting his jersey retired.
  
  
• Give me the Little League World Series over the College World Series any day.

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The NBA might have a new image problem

Not too long ago, it was the players who were ruining the league. The tattoo having, drug using, fan beating, Hip Hop listening NBA thugs with their crossover dribbles and selfish play were changing the game for the worse. Allen Iverson’s Sports Illustrated cover was considered ‘disgusting.’ The memo was out: Basketball had become too-black for white America.

And whether this was a problem or not, the NBA addressed it as such. In came a dress code along with stiffer fines and suspensions for players who acted out. The officials called more fouls and set out to put an end to the blatant violations that were all too common in this streetball-minded league. The league even stepped it up philanthropically with its NBA Cares initiative - Would a thug really build a house with Habitat for Humanity? This was the NBA’s response to its image problem.

Now it’s the players who should be asking questions and deserve to see action taken, starting with an outside investigation of referees and league officials, both current and former, to see if Tim Donaghy’s recent allegations regarding the altering of playoff games have any validity. And they might. Long before Donaghy ever opened his mouth, the running joke in all sports has been that the leagues would rather see big market teams playing in the most important games. The ratings for a Pistons/Spurs NBA Finals or a Giants/Angels World Series only seemed to back that theory up.

But if Donaghy’s allegations become revelations and the laughing matter becomes fact, serious repercussions need to be taken. People should be fired and David Stern should be pressured to step down.

It all starts with an investigation that better happen soon. Because if it doesn’t, the league will have a whole new image problem. One that you can’t cover up with a dress code.

Tim Donaghy has more credibility than David Stern. – Clubhouse Cancer
The NBA is Fixed? - Tampa Bay Rays and Orlando Magic Blog

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Despite second title, Noah's stock dropped

Congratulations to the Joakim Noah and the Florida Gators. Not too many teams set the bar so high yet still live up to expectations.

Still, people need to slow down before praising Noah for staying in Gainesville an extra year.

Fact is he made a poor business decision.

Noah could have been the top pick in the 2006 NBA Draft following the Gators storybook national championship run. His flaws disappeared instantly. Nobody seemed to care that he couldn’t shoot the ball from outside of three feet and his intensity did a nice job masking his lack of strength.

But now, after the second title, Noah finds himself looking at two freshmen that almost everyone thinks could become all-time players. He has to face comparisons to Brendan Wright, whose ceiling is considerably higher than his. Then there’s the two studs at Georgetown that could pass him by come draft day.

Wait wait, there’s more.

It’s inevitable that some team will roll the dice on Yi Jianlian from China. The only question is will it be before or after Noah is selected? Most people agree that he’ll be the second Gator taken, following Al Horford. But it wouldn’t be a stretch for a team to take Corey Brewer before Noah either.

My point is that Noah’s stock has dropped significantly. Maybe he doesn’t need the money. But the boy has a huge ego and being the number one pick means a whole lot more than the cash.

It means hype.

It means being on the cover of all the magazines next fall.

It means shoe deals and instant creditability.

Noah took a pass on all of that to make history. Now he’ll wait and see how many NBA teams take a pass on him.

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Denver gets gully; Philly prays for Oden

I normally hate throwing the NBA and hip hop together because of the negative stereotype it generates, but when Allen Iverson gets traded, exceptions must be made.

Has there ever been three players on the same team more hood than Carmelo, J.R. Smith and now Iverson? Grab a big man from Cali and sign Master P to a 10 day and you’re talking about uniting a whole culture. These boys are going to break some records – namely most players on one team to sleep with Carmen Bryan. It’s just too bad they’re stuck in Denver, where ghetto is considered having just one NorthFace.

Anyway, it would be absurd to think the Nuggets didn’t improve immensely, and it’s hard to believe they won’t eventually pass the Phoenix Suns as the highest scoring team in the league. The question of how Iverson will react to having to share the ball is fair, but a bit skewed. Yes, he’s a gunner, but having barely average players around him (even on the best 76ers teams) played a large role into his propensity for shooting.

In Philly, the Sixers managed to get the three quarters for dollar they were seeking. Acquiring Andre Miller probably signifies the end of former UConn guard Kevin Ollie’s days playing 35 minutes a game. Miller is a talented player, but I think his point guard skills will be featured more if the team can win the lottery and draft Greg Oden. In the meantime, he’ll begin to understand more and more why Iverson enjoyed spending most of his time in Atlantic City. At least he had a chance to win down the shore.

The deal becomes a heist for Denver’s if the Sixers don’t get Oden however. If ever a team could fuck up having three first round picks, it’s Philly, who will probably end up with two tweeners and an offensively-challenged big man. Here’s a crazy stat that really means very little, but proves they can’t even get lucky in the draft: Of all their second selections in the Iverson era up until Kyle Korver (who they traded for), not one player is on an NBA roster today.

As for Iverson, I hope he gets to play for another championship. He’s too great a player to not win one. His leaving Philly is kind of upsetting. The Answer was in a class with the Jeter’s, Favre’s and Elmo’s of the world as stars who never switched teams in an era when moving around became commonplace.

For more:
NBA Roundtable on the Iverson Trade – NBA Fanhouse
Billy King: No Level of Incompetence that won't be tolerated – Complete Sports

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Thomas shouldn't be blamed for brawl

I’m not opposed to holding Isiah Thomas accountable for everything wrong with the Knicks, and maybe the world for that matter, but making him the fall guy for the fight at the Garden Saturday night is simply ridiculous. To continue playing the “if this was baseball” card, Thomas would be Lou Piniella – just following the unwritten rules of the game. When a player takes an extra base or pimps his homerun up a lot late, the next hitter gets drilled, almost always with the manager’s full endorsement.

Hard fouls are the exact same thing. J.R. Smith was trying to show up his opponents and he got drilled. It should have ended right there. Smith and Collins could have exchanged mama jokes and we’d be finished. The only reason anything got out of hand is because Nate Robinson wanted to prove he could have won the Golden Gloves in the midget division.

In baseball, Smith would be the one who disrespected the game while Thomas and Collins would just be honoring the code.

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Nate Robinson, forgetting he's 4'8, says bring it bitch

Let me begin by saying I could care less about what last night’s brawl at the Garden will do to the NBA’s already questionable image. You know? Fuck it. The fight had nothing to do with the league being too black, too hip hop or too ghetto, as it will almost definitely be perceived. It came out of frustration – the same thing that labels Roger Clemens a rattlesnake when he knocks a hitter down following a homerun.

The corporate sponsors aren’t going anywhere, the league’s not folding and I’m certainly not going to stop watching because a bunch of players couldn’t hold their tempers in check. They are human. If you’re actually contemplating giving up on basketball because of some brawl, then fuck you. You’re probably the same person who condemned baseball to hell after the strike and then came running back when McGwire and Sosa made the game enjoyable to watch again. Yeah, that worked out you stupid bitch.

There is more talent in the NBA right now than at anytime in the last 15 years and people don’t appreciate it because they can’t identify with the players? Because Peyton Manning really gives a shit that he’s on your fantasy team, right?



On to analyzing the brawl.

Mardy Collins becomes the aforementioned rattlesnake. After the game, some Knicks said they felt the Nuggets were running up the score and obviously Collins was intending to send a message. He knew he was wrong. He clearly wasn’t looking to fight, but J.R. Smith wanted someone to pay for the hard foul – and rightfully so.

Enter Nate Robinson, who was still trying to redeem himself from that dunk he tried two weeks ago. He jawed with Carmelo Anthony and then proceeded to go at with Smith. The two ended up in the crowd with Robinson on top of Smith. Let me take the time to question just how tough New Jersey is. A 6’6 guy from Newark is not supposed to be on the receiving end of punches thrown by 5’9 kid from Seattle.

Once that part ended, Anthony saw the perfect chance to gain back some street cred after the whole snitching ordeal. He pushed Channing Frye, who wanted nothing to do with the situation, to the floor. Then he decided to sucker punch Collins, who deserved to be hit, but not like that. I’m still debating on whether or not it was an open handed bitch smack that Anthony threw.

Then Anthony, being a lot more of a pussy than I thought, started to back up waiting for people to get in the middle so he didn’t have to actually square up with anyone. Meanwhile, Robinson was looking for round two with anyone, except ‘Melo. Notice that he ran at him, threw his fists in the air, and turned his back to go find a tag team partner. After, we see Jared Jeffries getting held back by everyone in the Garden followed by a shot of an out of breath Robinson, and just like that, the highlight is over.

In all, ten players were ejected and we now await the inevitable “This is bad for the NBA” column, while we hope for the “Man, Nate Robinson can really throw down” column.

The one column I can guarantee we don’t see? “Maybe the brawl will help rejuvenate the Knicks.”

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Philly braces itself for Red Sox-type problems

Over the next few days, the Philadelphia 76ers will begin to understand what the Boston Red Sox have been going through for three years with Manny Ramirez.

How do you trade your best player knowing that it’s going to be impossible to get face value back?

ESPN reports the Sixers are going to make good on Allen Iverson’s trade request after sending its star home Friday night and ruling him out for at least the next two games. All the annalists at the worldwide leader are saying he’s as good as gone, though their baseball people did the same with Manny last week.

It’s just not that easy. I understand the need to rebuild, but unless the team comes right out and tells the fans they’ve decided to tank the season and pray for Greg Oden, I don’t see how anyone is going to handle trading 31 points per game away for Randy Foye and Ricky Davis, as one article mentioned.

By the way, the Celtics tanked a season once in hopes of getting Tim Duncan. They wound up with Chauncey Billups for half of a season.

Maybe it just because I’ve lived through the Manny-era, but my gut tells me Iverson is going to stay in Philly for awhile, maybe even the rest of the season. Whether they’ll play him or not is a whole other question.

Say Your Good-byes to AI - Phrustrated Philly phan
Iverson Wants Out of Philly…Thank God! – Philly Sports Net
Arenas at 24, or AI at 24? - Though this doesn’t have much to do with AI being traded, Bullets Fever poses a great question.

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If you didn’t bang Carmen, you probably aren’t that famous

It’s always amusing to watch NBA players fail at living a rapper’s lifestyle. Their albums flop…Their chains get snatched…A white guy fines them when they sag their pants.

Leave it to Allen Iverson to score one for the ballers.

As first bought to my attention by The Big Lead and SOHH, world famous groupie ho Carmen Bryan is releasing an autobiography detailing her relationships with hip hop stars Jay Z and NAS (she has a child with each) and admitting that she was sleeping with Iverson while dating NAS.

While many blogs and Page Six in the New York Post are talking about AI being a “sexual warrior,” -something I can only hope someone writes about me one day- I find the way she treated NAS to be far interesting.

“In the middle of our session, Allen asked ‘Why Nas ain't marry you yet?’ I
wasn't sure how to respond so I said what came to mind naturally, ‘Well if he
did, I wouldn't be here with you right now.’ ‘True.’ He replied with a
smile.”

“When I arrived Nas got in my car and we talked for a long
while. After our conversation, we went upstairs to Rennette's apartment and
picked up Destiny (their child), who was wearing one of Allen's T-shirts as a
nightgown”

One can only hope this leads to a diss track to or from the Answer.

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