Back to Sports

Now that 2 of my remaining 3 active sports teams have been vanquished (with an admirable resistance), I have decided to vent my frustration. I know only a handful of the Epicenter would ever read things about sports posted here but that is ok with me!

I just read a bunch of different articles and want to share some highlights

Sports to Music:
We had lunch a few weeks ago and discussed the parallels between music and basketball. The structure is fundamentally the same: You have a lead singer (the NBA alpha dog, like LeBron or Kobe), the lead guitarist (the sidekick, like Pippen or McHale), the drummer (an unsung third wheel, like Parish or Worthy), the bassist (a solid, reliable and ultimately disposable role player: like Byron Scott or Anderson Varejao); and then everyone else (the other rotation guys). Bands can go different ways just like successful basketball teams. McCartney and Lennon were two geniuses who ultimately needed one another (like Young Magic and Older Kareem, or Shaq and Young Kobe), whereas MJ and LeBron were more like Sting or Springsteen (someone who could carry the band by themselves). And if you want to drag hip-hop or rap into it, the best parallel would obviously be Jordan's post-baseball Bulls: MJ was Chuck D, Pippen was Terminator X, and there is no effing doubt that Rodman was Flavor Flav.
-Simmons

Why Lebron James (if he wins), and Animal Collective (undoubtedly) will no longer be good:
"The biggest obstacle to success is success. "

Reaffirmation that Sports aren't completely moronic and are equally as important as other cultural phenomena:

Malcolm Gladwell awknoledges their importance! Check out his critism, "The bigger point here is that what consistently drives me crazy about big-time sports is the assumption that sports occupy their own special universe, in which the normal rules of the marketplace and human psychology don't apply."

Philosopher Propz:
The man loves danger and sport. That is why he loves woman, the most dangerous of all sports.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

For those of you who have put up with my conspiracy theories about NBA officiating:

Back to your point about arrogance and sports leagues: Please tell me you're following the current officiating debacle. The two most-watched regular-season games (both Celtics-Lakers games) were ruined by officials. Game 7 of a classic Boston-Chicago series was ruined by officials. The Mavs' season was ruined by officials. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to flagrant fouls and how they are called, just that the ongoing indecision has compromised the quality of the games. Bill Kennedy had such a heated incident with Doc Rivers in March that both were fined; somehow, Kennedy worked two Boston playoff games (both must-wins on the road). Dallas went 1-14 in its past 15 playoffs games that Danny Crawford officiated; somehow he worked one of their 2009 playoff games (inevitably, a loss for Dallas). Joey Crawford got suspended two years ago for baiting Tim Duncan, then blew last season's season-ending Spurs call … and somehow, he worked a must-win San Antonio playoff game in 2009. And the number of competent refs is so bad that Violet Palmer worked a Round 2 game last week. For a league that vowed to clean things up post-Donaghy, why haven't we seen any real results yet?

And how can you explain a system that relies on officials in their 50s and 60s -- well past their physical peak, with undeniable deterioration (however slight) in motor reactions and eyesight -- to successfully perform in a profession that hinges solely on motor reactions and eyesight? Shouldn't this job be performed by people in their 20s, 30s and 40s? You're telling me Dick Bavetta (69), Bennett Salvatore (59) or Joey Crawford (57) can run around for 150 minutes, then remain at peak physical capacity to make a game-changing call on a split-second reaction? My father is two years older than Salvatore and we won't let him push a baby stroller for three blocks. I don't get it. How would you revamp this moronic system? A little birdie told me the NBA's crew chiefs (the lead official for each game) consist of referees who were hired at least 10 years ago. In other words, the league hasn't hired an official competent enough to run a game in more than a decade. How is this possible? You grew up in a country that figured out health care; figure out the NBA's officiating crisis for us.

Condescension:

Baseball is like church. Many attend few understand.
-Leo Durocher