Ron-Ron, Peja, Kobe and rantings of other various sorts
So I've taken a lot of shit for not writing anything about Kobe's 81 point performance. First off, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm in law school and work two jobs so you all have to wait an extra day for me to post something that might make you chuckle for 3 to 4 seconds (at a maximum). I'm sorry that I'm lazy and that none of the above mentioned excuses had anything to do with me not blogging in the last 48 hours. But here's why I waited...
I didn't know what to think when Kobe scored 81. I detest the bastard and hope that he never wins another basketball game in his life. He is a selfish prick with no concern for anyone but himself. And while it is acceptable for us to crucify him in print and in the 3 to 4 NBA conversations that occur every year because he sabotaged a dynasty that had a good 3 years left on it (Aside: I don't require a team to win 8 out of 8 championships to be considered a dynasty, only to be in the Conference Finals or better every year and win 50% of the chamionships in a given time span). It is acceptable for us to hate him for being a rapist and a liar. It is alright for us not to like him for cheating on his wife.
But what it is not alright to do is to ignore the brilliance of his 80+ point outburst. First off, as I explained to a buddy today, he plays on a team that only has one other legitimate starter (Lamar Odom). The rest of his teammates are role players AT BEST and at worst should be playing in the NBDL. So it's understandable why Kobe shoots it 40+ times a game. Odom isn't a scorer and nobody else on the Lakers even has a career high that equals what Kobe AVERAGES PER GAME.
Secondly, the greatest player to ever play the game, Michael Jordan (some would argue Wilt was better, which is wrong, but few would argue that MJ was the greatest guard to ever play the game, so we can leave it at that) never scored more than 69 points in a game. Kobe has done it once this year and would've done it twice if he had played the fourth quarter against the Mavericks a month ago. You can't ignore stats like this. You can't disrespect stats like this. Kobe scored 55 points IN THE SECOND HALF. I don't think there is a team in the NBA that averages 55 points per half. So here's to Kobe. Congratulations, you are a special talent.
Third, I realized that I've changed since the days of MJ. When I really followed Jordan, I was between the ages of 11 and 17. I didn't get the nature of professional athletes at that point in my life. Having watched Jordan later in life, I realize he was a prick too. He and Kobe are essentially the same person, driven by their will to be the best, willing to stomp on anyone who gets in their way. Yet when I was 13, I didn't realize that, all I cared about was watching Michael outplay anyone and everyone that he played against. I was untainted by the world of professional sports and I'd give a lot to go back to that innocence. So next time I begin to think about how big of an ass Kobe is, I'm going to try to sit back and enjoy the show, like I did as a 12 year old.
(Aside: Can any of you imagine shooting the ball over 40 times in a game? I think my arm would fall off. One time in college, I played on a church league team in a league comprised of mostly 35-45 year olds. My team was all college guys. We beat everyone by 25+ and scored over 100 in all but one game. In one of those games, I scored 38 points (mostly on layups by outrunning my man down the floor) and I felt like I shot the ball everytime down the court, when I really took only 20 shots. Just something to think about.)
Peja for Ron-Ron:
I don't know what I think about this. Obviously it's better for the Pacers to have Peja than to have Artest on the inactive roster but I'm not sure how Stojakovic fits in with Indiana. Obviously he's one of the better shooters in the league and he'll help open up the inside for Jermaine O'Neal but he doesn't play defense (which will drive Pacers' coach Rick Carlisle insane after about 3 games) and he's more used to a flowing offense with passing and cutting. The Pacers have quite possibly the most stagnant offense of any team over .500. Either they throw it in to O'Neal and everyone stands around and watches, or they let one of their guards penetrate while everyone watches. Either way, there's 1 guy moving, 4 guys standing.
As for the Kings, they've basically dropped a turd for the season so they might as well try something different. I thought that they would be better this season but they've pretty much sucked it up in 90% of their games and then blown up on 4 or 5 teams. I think Artest will fit well with them. He'll play more defense than Peja and he's a more versatile scorer. Of course, this will only last for 25-30 games before he bites someone's ear off.
The NFL Play-(YAWN)-offs
Who freaking cares? Seattle and Pittsburgh? Great, Bettis's fat ass can finally play in a Super Bowl and he gets to do it in his hometown. I'm sure we'll get to watch 80 or 90 tribute videos about his career over the next two weeks. Too bad they'll only show 4 or 5 clips from the last 3 years. (Aside: Some of you may be wondering why I hate Bettis so much. There's actually two reasons: #1. I hate any athlete who is past his prime who doesn't realize he's past his prime (for another example, watch Gary Payton gripe at the refs during a Heat game like he still deserves to get every call that he got when he played in Seattle). Bettis is the prime example. For the better part of three seasons, he has allowed other running backs to take a beating in between the 20s for the first half of the season, while he racks up one yard touchdown runs (seriously, has there ever been a player with more statlines that look like this: 3 rushes, 2 yards, 3 touchdowns?), then he magically runs out on to the field and dances around after every carry. If he'd quit shaking his fat ass after every play, he could get a few more carries early in the season and help his teammates (see Duce Staley and Willie Parker) from getting worn down. #2. During the 2004 Fantasy Football season, I had Duce Staley, who was averaging 110 yards per game before he got worn down in the middle of the season from, you guessed it, too many carries. While Staley was playing, I watched my player run all over everyone, then watched Bill Cowher help Bettis pad his Hall of Fame resume by letting the Bus have 10-15 one yard touchdown runs. This killed Staley's fantasy value and overvalued Bettis's contribution to the Steelers. And I'll never forgive him for it)
And who cares if the Seahawks win? They play in the NFC West. That means they were practically given 6 wins (in those 6 games against the 49ers, Cardinals and Rams, the total score was Seahawks: 206, Opponents: 106). Granted, they did beat the Colts, Giants, Panthers and Redskins (all playoff teams) so maybe I should shut my trap. I don't know if it's because Seattle is so far away from every other NFL city or what, I just don't think many people care about the Seahawks, of course, I've never been to the Pacific Northwest so what do I know.
But as far as I'm concerned, this year's Super Bowl Sunday will be more about drinking beer, eating snacks, hanging out with friends and watching the commercials. Wait a minute, isn't that what it's always about?
I didn't know what to think when Kobe scored 81. I detest the bastard and hope that he never wins another basketball game in his life. He is a selfish prick with no concern for anyone but himself. And while it is acceptable for us to crucify him in print and in the 3 to 4 NBA conversations that occur every year because he sabotaged a dynasty that had a good 3 years left on it (Aside: I don't require a team to win 8 out of 8 championships to be considered a dynasty, only to be in the Conference Finals or better every year and win 50% of the chamionships in a given time span). It is acceptable for us to hate him for being a rapist and a liar. It is alright for us not to like him for cheating on his wife.
But what it is not alright to do is to ignore the brilliance of his 80+ point outburst. First off, as I explained to a buddy today, he plays on a team that only has one other legitimate starter (Lamar Odom). The rest of his teammates are role players AT BEST and at worst should be playing in the NBDL. So it's understandable why Kobe shoots it 40+ times a game. Odom isn't a scorer and nobody else on the Lakers even has a career high that equals what Kobe AVERAGES PER GAME.
Secondly, the greatest player to ever play the game, Michael Jordan (some would argue Wilt was better, which is wrong, but few would argue that MJ was the greatest guard to ever play the game, so we can leave it at that) never scored more than 69 points in a game. Kobe has done it once this year and would've done it twice if he had played the fourth quarter against the Mavericks a month ago. You can't ignore stats like this. You can't disrespect stats like this. Kobe scored 55 points IN THE SECOND HALF. I don't think there is a team in the NBA that averages 55 points per half. So here's to Kobe. Congratulations, you are a special talent.
Third, I realized that I've changed since the days of MJ. When I really followed Jordan, I was between the ages of 11 and 17. I didn't get the nature of professional athletes at that point in my life. Having watched Jordan later in life, I realize he was a prick too. He and Kobe are essentially the same person, driven by their will to be the best, willing to stomp on anyone who gets in their way. Yet when I was 13, I didn't realize that, all I cared about was watching Michael outplay anyone and everyone that he played against. I was untainted by the world of professional sports and I'd give a lot to go back to that innocence. So next time I begin to think about how big of an ass Kobe is, I'm going to try to sit back and enjoy the show, like I did as a 12 year old.
(Aside: Can any of you imagine shooting the ball over 40 times in a game? I think my arm would fall off. One time in college, I played on a church league team in a league comprised of mostly 35-45 year olds. My team was all college guys. We beat everyone by 25+ and scored over 100 in all but one game. In one of those games, I scored 38 points (mostly on layups by outrunning my man down the floor) and I felt like I shot the ball everytime down the court, when I really took only 20 shots. Just something to think about.)
Peja for Ron-Ron:
I don't know what I think about this. Obviously it's better for the Pacers to have Peja than to have Artest on the inactive roster but I'm not sure how Stojakovic fits in with Indiana. Obviously he's one of the better shooters in the league and he'll help open up the inside for Jermaine O'Neal but he doesn't play defense (which will drive Pacers' coach Rick Carlisle insane after about 3 games) and he's more used to a flowing offense with passing and cutting. The Pacers have quite possibly the most stagnant offense of any team over .500. Either they throw it in to O'Neal and everyone stands around and watches, or they let one of their guards penetrate while everyone watches. Either way, there's 1 guy moving, 4 guys standing.
As for the Kings, they've basically dropped a turd for the season so they might as well try something different. I thought that they would be better this season but they've pretty much sucked it up in 90% of their games and then blown up on 4 or 5 teams. I think Artest will fit well with them. He'll play more defense than Peja and he's a more versatile scorer. Of course, this will only last for 25-30 games before he bites someone's ear off.
The NFL Play-(YAWN)-offs
Who freaking cares? Seattle and Pittsburgh? Great, Bettis's fat ass can finally play in a Super Bowl and he gets to do it in his hometown. I'm sure we'll get to watch 80 or 90 tribute videos about his career over the next two weeks. Too bad they'll only show 4 or 5 clips from the last 3 years. (Aside: Some of you may be wondering why I hate Bettis so much. There's actually two reasons: #1. I hate any athlete who is past his prime who doesn't realize he's past his prime (for another example, watch Gary Payton gripe at the refs during a Heat game like he still deserves to get every call that he got when he played in Seattle). Bettis is the prime example. For the better part of three seasons, he has allowed other running backs to take a beating in between the 20s for the first half of the season, while he racks up one yard touchdown runs (seriously, has there ever been a player with more statlines that look like this: 3 rushes, 2 yards, 3 touchdowns?), then he magically runs out on to the field and dances around after every carry. If he'd quit shaking his fat ass after every play, he could get a few more carries early in the season and help his teammates (see Duce Staley and Willie Parker) from getting worn down. #2. During the 2004 Fantasy Football season, I had Duce Staley, who was averaging 110 yards per game before he got worn down in the middle of the season from, you guessed it, too many carries. While Staley was playing, I watched my player run all over everyone, then watched Bill Cowher help Bettis pad his Hall of Fame resume by letting the Bus have 10-15 one yard touchdown runs. This killed Staley's fantasy value and overvalued Bettis's contribution to the Steelers. And I'll never forgive him for it)
And who cares if the Seahawks win? They play in the NFC West. That means they were practically given 6 wins (in those 6 games against the 49ers, Cardinals and Rams, the total score was Seahawks: 206, Opponents: 106). Granted, they did beat the Colts, Giants, Panthers and Redskins (all playoff teams) so maybe I should shut my trap. I don't know if it's because Seattle is so far away from every other NFL city or what, I just don't think many people care about the Seahawks, of course, I've never been to the Pacific Northwest so what do I know.
But as far as I'm concerned, this year's Super Bowl Sunday will be more about drinking beer, eating snacks, hanging out with friends and watching the commercials. Wait a minute, isn't that what it's always about?
posted by belville at 5:59 PM
2 Comments:
Seahawks by 10. You heard it here first.
I'd like to see Kobe left for dead on an island in the middle of no where with nothing but stacks and stacks of the cash he's made. He doesn't deserve all the hype he receives, 81 points or otherwise.
Blake
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