Flagrant Fouls

February 23, 2007

Anna Nicole and Britany

What an NBA All-Star weekend it proved to be in Las Vegas. I thought attending ComputerWorld in Vegas would never be topped, but All-Star weekend proved to be even bigger than my trip to even a Star Trek convention. Nobody can now put the NBA All-Star game in the same worthless lump as the NFL and MLB All-Star games, if soccer has a game, include soccer. The NBA continues to be Vegas, as the game becomes less important than the antics that surround the game and personalities. The antics that happened before and after the game, continues to dominate the sporting news, something that happens with no other All-Star game. You can imagine the NHL must be holed up in some ice cave hoping to emulate the NBA.

Dirk and Wade Nice job on Dwayne Wades part criticizing Dirk and his toughness. Maybe if Dirk would stop pretending to be the next big Euro flopper on every shot and non-touch, the Mavs might have beaten the Heat last season. The Mavs are the new Colts, the best team not to win a championship. Unless Dirk shows the toughness and leads the Mavs, the Mavs will continue to be soft and beatable.

Trade Deadline Comes and goes and once again there no stars, near stars, scrubs or even mascots were traded. Just as the NBA All-Star game has more glitz and fun than any other All-Star game, the salary cap issues that make trading almost impossible, ensures nobody cares about the trading deadline. The NBA needs to remedy the fact that trades do not occur, and hence keeps the league stagnant and what should be a fun part of the season instead becomes just another federal holiday and nobody observes the date.

Larry Brown You have to give Isaiah Thomas credit as he has the Knicks competing with the same players that Brown could not coach. Brown appears to have a fetish against young talent and allowing personal feelings to prevent him from playing the best five players. Brown had the same problem in Detroit and any team that hires Brown will need to worry about this tendency. You have to worry about the next team that hires Brown.

Indiana Pacers We can only hope the current Pacer players will have their court hearings televised and one can only imagine they will be even more salacious than the current Anna Nicole proceedings. The Pacers continue to compete with the Cincinnati Bengals as the most criminal team. Granted the Bengals have more players, but that has no stopped the Pacers from competing for most police reports. Indiana may become the next Las Vegas.

Slam Dunk Talk about droning on how the slam dunk contest should be dropped from All-Star weekend borders on the silliness of shutting down the patent office because everything has been invented. And shooting from the 3 point area somehow remains fresh. When watching ESPN count the number of 3 point shots vs dunks. The masses wants dunks and the elite wants to believe that there is some NBA purity by removing the dunk. Keep the dunk and the slam.

D-League Even the D-League had an All-Star game, amazing but true. The NFL should consider the same for its Euro league and the MLB also during their All-Star game preliminary event. The NBA continues to be the most creative league in promoting not only the main event but also the supporting cast.