Society and Sports....

Right or wrong, race has always been an issue in sports.  There are more white people who play baseball and hockey and we accept this.  Most of that athletes in football and basketball are black and we accept that.  It is just a reality of our society.  It does seem that society is very fickle and hypocritical about this.

NBA fans have looked at Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as this eras "Jordan" but when Kobe had his legal issues, he was torn down.  Kobe was looked at as black guy who committed a crime.  When the LeBron James "decision" went down, LeBron was looked at as an over-privileged black guy being selfish and attention grabbing moron.  Why were neither of them looked at as men who made mistakes?  Ryan Braun, who recently became the first baseball player to win an appeal of a 50 game suspension for a positive test for PEDs.  He was looked at as a man who possibly cheated and not a white man who possibly cheated.  This is the issue at hand in sports.

At first, I thought this was a case of over sensitivity in society.  If you really look at it, this is really a case of "all eyes on me" and an abuse of 1st amendment.  Jeremy Lin is doing something unexpected and its is great for the NBA and all of sports.  This young man has taken the opportunity of playing for the Knicks and made the best of it.  Isn't that what all athletes aspire to do?  As Americans, aren't we allowed to give our opinions without the threat of reprisals or retributions.  Isn't this country founded on the right for each citizen to express his or her thoughts on a matter?

Before anyone knew who Jeremey Lin was, the phrase "chink in the armor" was used to describe a weakness in something that is considered strong and unbreakable.  Until all of the blow back by so called "offended" Asians and Asian-Americans, this phrase was never looked at as offensive.  Enter Jeremy Lin and all of a sudden the Asian community is upset and calling for the head of those who used this phrase.  So I can't think or feel how I want to for fear of offending people.  No matter what anyone says, there will always be someone who will say they are offended.  In reality, these people are in disagreement with what has been said and nothing more.  Had Jeremy Lin not come along, would anyone think different about this "armor" phrase?  The answer is NO!

I can see how this phrase could be offensive but in reading the story, there was no malice intended at all.  This is not a case of a sports anchor using his platform to offend a race of people so don't treat it as such.  We need to stop looking at people and trying to characterize them and just take them as they are.  Jeremy Lin, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are professional basketball players in the NBA.  That is the extent of my characterizing them.  I don't see race, just the jersey of the team they play for.  I don't like Kobe Bryant as a player because he doesn't play for the Bulls.  I do give Kobe his props on what he has accomplished in his career.  He is a great player and a future Hall of Famer.  I'm a fan and I'm allowed to like or not like whoever I want just like everyone else.

Let's all of us calm down and take a breath.  Keep sports in its correct perspective.  Sports is entertainment.  Sports is a nice break from our lives at 2-3 hours at a time.  When I was deployed in Iraq, most of the soldiers with me, lived for Sundays during football season as a way to not think about where we were or what we were doing.  I can't make this any more clearer.  This world is filled with many different races and ethnicities so get over it and move forward.  What bothers me the most is here in 2012, there are still too many people who let other think for them.  There are too many people who take what they hear as fact and not research for yourself.  We all have brains, USE IT!  Here's some homework for you all: Actively seek out COMMON SENSE!  I promise that if you do this, your life will make a change for the better.  Yeah, I Said It!

D!

Ok, NBA, What You Got?

As the Giants are accepting their keys to the city and celebrating their Super Bowl win, the attention in the sports world turns to basketball.  For the next seven weeks, the NBA will be center stage and right out of the gate, there are games that are must watch.  Well, as much watch as can be for mid-February anyway.

The Lakers visit Boston (Feb 9) and New York (Feb 10).  Chicago at Boston on February 12th and the Clippers at Dallas on February 13th.  All of this, in the first week after the NFL season ends?  How did we get so lucky?  I know that the play hasn't been what we are used to but this season has been as entertaining as ever so far.  Kevin Durant hit a couple of game winners, because Durant hits game winners.  Derrick Rose, the reigning MVP, picked up right where he left off and Kobe Bryant is still Kobe Bryant.  You're welcome!

Slowly creeping up on the mid-point of the season, there have been some familiar faces atop the league but also some surprises.  Obviously, the Clippers are the biggest surprise.  If the season started today, the Clippers would be the 2nd seed in the West and would play the Rockets in the first round.  Yeah, I said it.  The Clippers have a better record then the Lakers.  Right now, the Lakers would be one loss from being out of the playoffs altogether being tied with Portland, Dallas and Houston at 14-11.  Four teams can not occupy 3 spots.  I'm not saying its time to panic.  It is, after all, only mid-February.  I am saying that teams can not afford to waste time watching and waiting.  With this compacted 66-game season, teams need to strike now to set their teams up for a playoff run.  Remember when the Spurs got hot and won the championship in 1999, another lockout shortened season.  They went on to win 3 more titles and challenge the Lakers for team of that decade.  Denver is still playing well having gotten the better of the Melo trade and Minnesota is starting to put a nice team around Kevin Love.  Can Rubio be the answer for Minnesota?  That all depends on if he can adjust his game for the NBA.  They aren't championship level but the Wolves are no longer an easy win out west.  Houston should be thanking the NBA for vetoing the trade that would have sent CP3 to the Lakers.   Samuel Dalembert would not have signed in Houston had that trade happened.  There is no way the Rockets would be above .500 with just Pau Gasol and a bunch of "whoevers". Only the teams from Golden State, New Orleans and Sacramento are not in the playoff chase out west, at the moment.

In the East, there have been surprises as well.  The 76ers, Pacers and the Knicks are making a case for themselves.  New York looks good on paper but the product so far this season has been lacking to say the least.  The PG is the least of the Knicks issues right now.  Amare and Melo still have not found a way to co-exist and Tyson Chandler's arrival doesn't seem to make it better.  Harvard grad Jeremy Lin has provided a boost for the Knicks, who have won 2 straight with Lin leading them from the PG position.  It is way too early to anoint Lin with the "PG of the Future" tag but he has been more effective then anyone else on that team.  As for Baron Davis, his resume got him in the door but he will find out quickly that New York doesn't appreciate poor play any better then Los Angeles does.  If he makes it back, then he will have to produce or he will find himself in a worse place than Cleveland.  The Pacers and 76ers are looking for respect.  Both teams feel they are better then they are.  These teams are much improved but still not quite ready to go deep in the playoffs.  Yes the 76ers have beaten the Bulls but does that mean they are championship ready?  The Heat have lost twice to the Bucks, does that mean the Heat are done?  The answer to both is no.  The Pacers have 10 left over 15 days before the All-Star break but the first 5 games are against teams that are over .500 while the last 5 include two against the Bobcats. Its gut check time for the Pacers.  Its fine to say your a contender but only the winners have shown it.

This season will be and has been filled with "head scratching" moments and great plays.  Remember LeBron jumping over John Lucas III and Blake Griffen posterizing Kendrick Perkins?  We will see losses that don't make sense and wins that are unexplainable.  Teams have and will play multiple back-to-back games and all teams have or will play three games in three nights.  As long as the injury bug stays away, the Heat and Bulls will finish at the top of the eastern conference, without a doubt.  For every other team, their place is yet to be determined.  There are still so many questions left that will be answered and it all will start with what Orlando does.  This decision could possibly affect both the East and the West, depending on where Dwight Howard ends up.  Sometime over the next 5 weeks, the shape of the 2012 Playoffs will begin to take shape.  All I can say is enjoy the ride!!

D!

Super Bowl XLVI: Sequel Just As Good As Original

The build up to Super Bowl XLVI was reminiscent of Super Bowl XLII and so was the game.  Once again, Eli Manning put on a show on the NFL's biggest stage, against one of the best QBs in Tom Brady.  Much like 4 years ago, Eli outplayed Brady.  I already here the excuses of dropped passes but like all of us know, if the ball hits your hands, then you are supposed to catch it.  Wes Welker's drop in the 4th quarter wasn't the only reason that Patriots lost.  The Patriots forced 2 fumbles that were recovered by the Giants.  Brady cost his team 2 points by throwing the ball to no one in the middle of the field for a safety and under through a deep pass that was intercepted.  The Patriots cost themselves by having 12 men on the field when they did recover a fumble.  The Patriots looked more like the Raiders by shooting themselves in the foot than the Patriots who are always favored to win.  The Giants made plays when they needed to and the Patriots didn't.

The Giants and Patriots had their own mindset throughout the game.  The Giants played like they wanted to win and it seemed the Patriots played to not lose and hope the Giants would hurt themselves.  Basically, the Patriots tried to play "not to lose" instead of playing to win.  Even win the Patriots had the momentum at the end of the first half and into the 3rd quarter, the Giants never panicked.  The tightened up and went back to playing Giants football.  Whether a run play was called or a pass play, the Giants seemed to want to prove they were the best on every play. The Patriots seemed to be waiting for the Giants to make a mistake that never came. There was no "killer instinct" shown for anyone in a Patriot uniform. The Giants kept the Patriots within striking distance and took advantage.  The Patriots didn't score in the 4th quarter but Eli, once again, led the Giants to another 4th quarter comeback win.  How anyone can fix their mouth to say Eli Manning isn't an elite QB still blows my mind.  Eli has quietly been a top 5 QB in the NFL at the very least.  Eli now has 2 rings.  That's more then Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Payton Manning.  It ties him with Ben Rothlesburger and leaves Eli one short of Tom Brady.  How is that not elite?  The answer is: Eli is very elite and deserves his due.

We didn't get to see a miracle helmet catch this time but Mario Manningham did make a game changing catch to start the drive that ultimately won the game for the Giants.  A beautifully thrown ball from Eli, and Manningham made an over the shoulder grab and got both feet down.  Manningham made a big time catch on the NFL's biggest stage.  You got the feeling at that point that the Giants were going to win.  The Giants showed how to go and win a championship and not sit back and wait for it to come to them.  Very good teams make the playoffs, good teams that get "hot" win championships.  The Giants got hot, just like in 2007, and won the Super Bowl, just like in 2007.  The Giants showed that if it aint broke, don't fix it.

You can talk about dropped passes and missed opportunities but the Giants went into Lucas Oil Stadium and played their game.  Effectively saying that they were not there by accident and here's why.  The Giants played like they were 13-3 and not the 9-7 team they were at the end of the regular season.  The Giants won their way to the NFC East title.  They beat on the Falcons in a very convincing win where Eli out played Matt Ryan.  They beat the defending champion Packers in Green Bay, where Eli outplayed Aaron Rodgers.   The Giants then won a "dog fight" in San Francisco.  When their backs were against the wall, the New York Giants proved, once again, that determination and execution wins championships.  Congrats to the New York Giants!  Champions of the NFL for the 2nd time in four years!  Congrats to Eli Manning for saying he was elite before the season and making everyone else realize they he is, at the end of the season.

D!