Mason Upsets Northeastern For Homecoming Win

Northeastern came into the Patriot Center in first place in the CAA conference and a recent victory against George Mason late in January. After being down in the first half the George Mason Patriots walked away with a big win sweeten GMU's homecoming. Stop by OffWing Photo for the story and more photos from last night's victory of the George Mason University Patriots over the Northeastern Huskies in NCAA basketball action.

FAIRFAX, VA - FEBRUARY 14: Ryan Pearson #24 of the George Mason Patriots brings the ball up against the Northeastern Huskies during a conference game at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA on February 14, 2009. (Photo by Allen Clark/www.OffWingPhoto.com)

www.flickr.com Off Wing Opinion's 2009.02.14 George Mason vs. Northeastern, Allen Clark/OffWingPhoto.com photoset

Mason Remains Unbeaten In Conference Play

FAIRFAX, VA - JANUARY 5: Cam Long #20 of the George Mason Patriots shoots against the Georgia State Panthers during a conference men's basketball game at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA on January 5, 2009. (Photo by Allen Clark/www.OffWingPhoto.com)

The George Mason Patriots are now 3-0 in conference play after tonight's victory over the Georgia State. Stop by OffWing Photo for the story and more photos from tonight's victory of the George Mason University Patriots over the Georgia State Panthers in NCAA basketball action.

www.flickr.com Off Wing Opinion's 2009-01-05 GMU Patriots vs. Georgia State Panthers (Allen Clark/www.offwingphoto.com) photoset

George Mason Goes Home For The Holidays With Win Over Tulane

FAIRFAX, VA - DECEMBER 22: Andre Cornelius #2 of the George Mason Patriots keeps Kevin Sims #1 of the Tulane Green Wave in check during a non-conference basketball game at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA on December 22, 2008. (Photo by Allen Clark/www.OffWingPhoto.com)

The George Mason Patriots go home for the holidays with another win, tonight's victory was over visiting Tulane University. Stop by OffWing Photo for the story and more photos from tonight's victory of the George Mason University Patriots over the Tulane Green Wave in NCAA basketball action.

www.flickr.com Off Wing Opinion's 2008-12-22 GMU Patriots vs. Tulane Green Wave (Allen Clark/www.offwing.com) photoset

Patriots Send Radford Home Packing

FAIRFAX, VA - DECEMBER 19: Daryl Monroe #32 of the George Mason Patriots drives to the basket against members of the Radford Highlanders during a non-conference game at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA on December 19, 2008. (Photo by Allen Clark/www.OffWingPhoto.com)

George Mason remains unbeaten at home, keeping a 4-0 record at the Patriot Center intact as they beat Radford University.Mason celebrated 67-55 win over the Highlanders. Stop by OffWing Photo for the story and more photos from Friday night's victory of the George Mason University Patriots over the Radford Highlanders in NCAA basketball action.

www.flickr.com Off Wing Opinion's 2008-12-19 GMU Patriots vs. Radford Highlanders (Allen Clark/www.offwing.com) photoset

GMU: Now Batting A Lifetime .500

George Mason is off to a strong start this season with a record coming into the game at 4-1. They took on Ohio's Bobcats from the MAC conference who have only played two games, both of which were victorious. Mason held the lead throughout the game to win 74-65.

Stop by OffWing Photo for additional details and photos from Saturday afternoon's victory of the George Mason University Patriots over the Ohio Bobcats in NCAA basketball action.

Story by Brian Collins

FAIRFAX, VA - NOVEMBER 29: Louis Birdsong #33 of the George Mason Patriots drives on several players of the Ohio Bobcats during a non-conference game at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA on November 29, 2008. (Photo by Allen Clark/www.OffWingPhoto.com)

www.flickr.com Off Wing Opinion's 2008-11-29 GMU Patriots vs. Ohio Bobcats (Allen Clark/www.offwing.com) photoset

Patriots Topple Mountaineers

Stop by OffWing Photo for the details of tonight's victory of the George Mason University Patriots over the Mount St. Mary Mountaineers in NCAA basketball action.

FAIRFAX, VA - NOVEMBER 25: Ryan Pearson #24 of the George Mason Patriots goes up against Mount Saint Mary Mountaineers defenders during a non-conference game at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA on November 25, 2008. (Photo by Allen Clark/www.OffWingPhoto.com)

Hey, I Know That Guy

Sunday night after the Capitals game I played at the Verizon for Catholic U. against American U. Around 5 pm we had to bring our gear downstairs so it'd be ready for us when it came time to play. As several of us were making our second trip down, this big guy walked by in basketball shorts and a t-shirt.

AS I we passed in the corridor and exchanged "hey"s, I was pretty sure I knew the guy. Believe it or not I had just passed within mere feet of Gilbert Arenas.

If I hadn't known who he was, I would have never known I was passing a star athlete. We traded nothing more than a casual greeting with him, yet we still found ourselves amazed that we just walked by an NBA star.

Needless to say it was a pretty cool moment.

Tim Floyd Whistles Past The Graveyard

Over in the LA Times this morning, USC head basketball coach Tim Floyd gave his take on the downside of opting to play in Europe for a few years instead of playing NCAA basketball:

Asked if he could understand the allure of playing in Europe for a year, Floyd said, "Not necessarily, no. Being away from your family, speaking another language, playing against 30-year-old men versus 18- to 22-year-old players. . . . Until this doesn't work for the young people who have come in, I can't see the appeal of wanting my child to go over there unless we were in dire financial straits or I couldn't get in [to college].

Excuse me, but I thought the purpose of college was to educate young people, not to serve as some sort of 4-year holding tank to cosset them from the demands of the real world. And if I recall correctly, America traditionally sends literally thousands of its college students overseas every year in order for them to experience a semester abroad in another culture, claiming that it's a "learning experience" that broadens one's perspective on the world and America's place in it.

I know one thing: Holding a job in a foreign country and learning to interact with adults as a professional while playing basketball for FC Barcelona is probably a superior learning experience to spending a junior year abroad in the same city, partying and pretending to attend class. That's especially the case for elite basketball recruits who normally don't spend a whole lot of time in the classroom anyway. And as I recall, one of the reasons we see increasing numbers of Euros coming to the NBA, is because they seem to possess better fundamental skills than their stateside counterparts. If that's the case, then what could be better than spending a year in Europe where coaches will spend the time and effort drilling their charges in just those same fundamentals.

Welcome to global competition. It's a good thing, unless of course all you want to do is grouse about it.

Who Doesn't "Love" A Big Man Who Can Hit From Downtown?

Anyone who has a tv has probably seen the commercials of LeBron James hitting jumpers from the other end of the court. They looked amazing, and were possible with a little digital wizardry. Well it just so happens that there's a guy with NBA-level skills that can do that for real (click for video).

During warmups UCLA's Kevin Love hit a halfcourt shot, a 3/4 court shot, and a full court shot, all of which was caught on tape. LeBron better watch his back...

Arkansas Bends Under Pressure Of Photo Policy

Drop by OffWing Photo to get the latest news on Arkansas Activities Association's (AAA) rule that they own the copyright to all media (photo, video, audio) taken at state championships and to charge fees ranging from $35-$50 for press credentials to events. This policy as written would also apply to parents and fans taking pictures in the stands.The AAA is the sponsoring organization of championship games for public and private schools in Arkansas.

Check out the latest photos from OffWing photographers by visiting our Photoshelter gallery.

Also stop by our new sister website OffWing Photo where we focus on photography, especially sports photography.

LeBron's Feat

There are moments that help define a player's career, such as Curt Shilling and his bloody sock, Bobby's Orr's "The Goal", or Bobby Baun scoring the overtime goal in Game 6 of the '64 Cup after leaving the game earlier with a broken ankle. With these epic, clutch moments in mind, LeBron James has joined in with his 25 point finish to lead the Cavs back over the Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Finals.

Said Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel,

One on five, and the one willed the win. Through the last minutes of regulation and all of two playoff overtimes, in the loneliest of basketball moments on the road amid the roar of the crowd against veteran defenders, and with the series about to swing, LeBron James willed all right – willed it like maybe no one else ever has.

This point is echoed by the AP's Tom Withers, who noted that;

The 48 points were spectacular, but hardly tell the whole story. He scored them in the biggest game of his four-year career. He scored them in the most important game in Cleveland's 37-year history. He scored them on the road, against the Pistons, one of the league's toughest defensive teams.

So there you have it, LeBron stepped up in a hostile arena against the toughest defense there is, while still being only 22. It only adds to the wonder when you stop and realize how the game of basketball is played, and how it differs from other sports. While most sports can have a key player, the whole team must be involved to come out with the win. In no other sport, with the exception of home runs in baseball, can a team back off and let one player dominate on offense. But that's precisely what happened last night. The Cavs got LeBron the ball and spread out, letting him go up against the Pistons on his own. And where most other heroes are known for single, clutch plays, James hit shot after shot after shot, regardless of where he was on the floor or who was guarding him.

Brian Windhorst was at the game, and said that;

Never have [I] seen a performance like that from him and never have I seen him be so calm. He wasn't demonstrative and making all those primal faces, he was just coldly killing the Pistons. It isn't often you know you are experiencing history at the moment it is happening. It doesn't matter which team you cover as a journalist or which team you root for as a fan, there was no way you could watch LeBron score 25 straight points and think you weren't being given a gift of an experience.

The deadly accuracy and consistency combined with the cold, calculating intensity that LeBron exibited makes him a dangerous player, even more so than he was before. He's carried the Cavs on his shoulders, and shows no signs of stumbling.

For a recap of LeBron's final 25 points, click here.

Maybe We're More Alike Than We'd Like To Admit

I'm sure this passage that ran on ESPN.com earlier today will have a lot of hockey fans nodding in agreement:

Once upon a time, these guys had a code of honor. They played hard, respected the game, defended their teammates, and if anyone stepped out of line, there was always someone that would take care of them -- whether it was another player, a referee, a coach or whatever. When fights or altercations happened, they were considered natural side effects of a physical sport. When two players talked smack, it was considered a good thing, a sign that the game was heating up, that we were potentially headed for a more competitive place.

Too bad that was Bill Simmons talking about the NBA.

A Brief Defense Of David Stern

Over at Battle of Alberta -- was it only a year ago that I was there seemingly every day of the week -- Matt Fenwick has a very thought-provoking post on why he believes that the NHL's system of supplementary discipline is superior to the NBA's.

In the main, Matt is entirely correct. He notes that while plenty of folks might take issue with Colin Campbell's decisions...

I think Colin Campbell could be better at his job, but I wouldn't want it myself, and don't envy him. If there's two things I hope readers take away, these are them:

1. It is just and proper that NHL supplementary discipline is evaluated case-by-case and takes everything into account: the act, the injury (if any), the situation. While the NHL VP's best judgement seems crappy sometimes, the alternatives are worse.

2. Next time you're reacting to a light suspension for a dangerous hit, and are tempted to say, "It shouldn't matter that the guy wasn't injured", ask yourself if you honestly believe that (say) paralyzing someone isn't grounds for more severe punishment.

Which leads us to NBA Commissioner David Stern, who handed out a pair of one game suspensions to Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns because they left the bench in the wake of a body check that Robert Horry laid on Steve Nash during Game Four of the NBA Playoff series between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs. Horry, nothing more than a role player who can still hit an open three at this point in his career, will sit for two games.

This isn't the first time Stern has laid down the law like this, as I can remember feeling a lot of the same righteous indignation 10 years ago when he suspended seemingly half of the New York Knicks during a similar playoff incident involving the Miami Heat.

But if Stern seems inflexible, hewing so closely to the letter of the law that it seems the concept of justice in this case has been bent like a pretzel, it's only because justice for the players isn't an end in itself when it comes to the NBA.

What is paramount, however, is the best interest of the league as a whole. Don't forget, Stern has been around the game for a very long while, and can easily recall the bad old days of rampant drug public drug abuse and on-court violence -- factors that combined to exile the NBA Finals to late night tape delay on CBS until as late as 1981.

Stern knows what that world looks like, knows what the NBA has become, and he's not going to let it go one step backward. My guess is that in his mind, administering some rough and unforgiving justice to players who merely dare to leave the bench will make it that much more less likely that a bench clearing brawl of the type that nearly killed Rudy Tomjanovich in 1977 will ever happen again.

So yes, the decision is unfair to Stoudemire, Diaw and their teammates. It's unfair to the Suns, their fans, and every fan of the game of basketball who was hoping to be able to watch an exciting and competitive series. But whether or not the Spurs go on to win the series, the NBA will go on being the massive international cash machine that it is, and this incident will go down in history as nothing more than another footnote in Stern's tenure, justice be damned.

One thing Stern knows for sure: Any video zipping around the world of a group of predominantly African-American men brawling on a basketball court will be judged harshly and unjustly by the league's sponsors.

So, in a way, Stern is committing a minor injustice today in order to avoid seeing the league's sponsors and advertisers inflict a greater injustice upon the NBA and all of its players tomorrow.

When you look at it that way, it's a little easier to see why Stern is probably sleeping easy tonight.

Thanks to J.P. for the pointer to Matt's BOA post.

Bill Simmons vs. Chris Lynch

Bill Simmons doesn't like the fact that his alma mater, Holy Cross, hasn't won an NCAA tournament game in 40 years. He wants to change things.

Chris Lynch tells him to stuff it.

NCAA Men's Basketball Salary Survey

Thanks to Jason Anastasopoulos for passing along this salary comparison of Division I coaches.

The highlights:

Highest Paid: Tubby Smith, Kentucky, $2,193,150/year

Lowest Paid: Mike McConathy, Northwestern State, $104,300/year

Most Overpaid: Jim Calhoun, Connecticut (17W 14L, Annual Pay: $1,500,000)

Most Underpaid: Villy Kennedy, Nevada (28W 2L, Annual Pay: $170,000)

Most $/Game: Tubby Smith, Kentucky, $68,535.94/game

Least $/Game: Mike McConathy, Northwestern State, $3259.38/game

Most $/Win: Jeff Ruland, Iona, $176,497/win (2W 28L, Annual Pay: $352,994)

Least $/Win: Scott Sutton , Oral Roberts, $5037.83/win (23W 10L, Annual Pay: $115,870)

I don't know how you could call a coach who's won two NCAA titles overpaid, but there it is.

Welcome Back, Rob Visconti

After a break of less than two months, my old podcasting buddy Rob Visconti has returned to blogging in time for the NCAA Tournament. Be sure to stop by and say hello.

News Blackout Over NBA All-Star Weekend?

Can somebody tell me why I needed to read Bill Simmons to find this out about NBA All-Star Weekend?

So many gangbangers and troublemakers flooded the Strip that late-night gamblers willingly chose 75-minute cab lines over a 15-minute walk to their next casino. So many wild stories floated around about shootings, robberies and everything else that we never knew what to believe; still, every tale seemed reasonable because there were no cops to be seen. On Saturday night, one of my friends even joked that the city might have to declare martial law, only none of us laughed because we didn't realize he was joking.

Whoever at AOL lured Jason Whitlock out of ESPN deserves some kind of medal today. His account of the weekend isn't different at all:

Plus, the NBA's business partner ESPN didn't have time to dirty its hands and report on the carnage. I'm sure ESPN's reporters were embedded in the rear ends of the troops -- Shaq, Kobe, King James, D-Wade, AI and Melo.

As many of you know, I watch PTI with Michael Wilbon pretty religiously. And on Monday's program, when you would usually expect him and Tony Kornheiser to open with the events in Las Vegas, the focus at the front of the show was on the Daytona 500. As I recall, Wilbon was apparently sick all weekend long, and didn't get to see much of what went on in Las Vegas.

Interesting and all too convenient. Even Deadspin has bought into the meme that it was a safe weekend to be in Las Vegas.

Here's Whitlock on what he saw in Vegas in 2007 and what 2008 in New Orleans could be like:

There were so many fights and so many gangbangers and one parking-lot shootout at the MGM Grand that people literally fled the hotel in fear for their safety. I talked with a woman who moved from the MGM to the Luxor because "I couldn't take it. I'll never come back to another All-Star Game."

There are reports of a brawl between rappers and police at the Wynn Hotel.

Vegas police were simply overwhelmed along The Strip. They were there solely for decoration and to discourage major crimes. Beyond that, they minded their own business.

I was there. Walking The Strip this weekend must be what it feels like to walk the yard at a maximum security prison. You couldn't relax. You avoided eye contact. The heavy police presence only reminded you of the danger.

Without a full-scale military occupation, New Orleans will not survive All-Star Weekend 2008.

Seems like Matt Drudge is the only person covering all this.

UPDATE: Another local story from via Drudge:

Visitors also felt the different kind of Las Vegas atmosphere. "There was a problem with the people trying walking in front of cars and things like that," said David Hart, visitor from Houston.

"It was very crowded but we did get to where we were going," said Gwen Hart, visitor from Houston.

Gwen and David Hart flew into town on Friday and when they saw the large groups of younger NBA fans, they say they avoided them to avoid problems.

That's the same technique David Botero and his wife used. "It was definitely a Las Vegas we had not seen in the past. It was not vintage Vegas at all," David Botero said. He moved from Las Vegas to New York three years ago. His wife surprised him with a 30th birthday trip back to the city they both love. It turned out to be bad timing.

Although many Las Vegans, including Teresa Frey, support an NBA team in Las Vegas, she doesn't want to see another All-Star game anytime soon.

"I know that any amount of revenue I made does not justify me being assaulted," she said.

More thoughts on Whitlock's piece from Redhawk Review and Macker's World.

UPDATE: Now I'm really confused. What the heck happened in between the time Whitlock posted this column in the Kansas City Star and his AOL column that I linked above?:

All-Star weekend a perfect party

For black men and women below the age of 45, NBA All-Star Weekend in Vegas was a calling you felt deep in the pit of your stomach.

You just had to be there, even if you no longer love the NBA the way you did when Magic, Bird, Michael and Isiah ruled the game, even if you had zero interest in the actual game.

Granted, later in the column Whitlock comes off as mildly critical, but not anywhere near as shrill as he was in his AOL piece.

What gives? Is the Kansas City Star muzzling Whitlock? I wouldn't be surprised, as I know personally just how much leeway AOL gives to its contributors.

Or is he trying to play both sides of the street? And what's the truth?

Thanks to Signal2Noise for pointing this out.

UPDATE: CSTB has some interesting thoughts on Whitlock, what I'd like to read is what he'd write after reading Whitlock's previous version of the weekend's events.

Sam Smith Rips Off Some Bloggers

Details from D.C. Sports Bog. Somewhere, I'm sure Mark Cuban is having a good laugh.

And guys, we've gotten used to it over here.

George Takei on Tim Hardaway

I don't have much to say about Tim Hardaway's comments from over the weekend, but I think this clip from last night's Jimmy Kimmel is appropriate to share:

Humor is always the best medicine. Hat tip.

R.I.P. Red Auerbach

Perhaps the greatest coach and front office executive in the history of the game. He died of a heart attack near his home in the District yesterday. He was 89. My condolences to his family and friends.

Sure, this is a hockey blog, but this is a Washington blog too. And though Auerbach's name will be forever tied to Boston, more folks need to know that Washington never ceased being his home, even during the glory years with the Celtics.

He loved D.C. and it loved him back. And on this Sunday, the whole town misses him like Hell. Vaya con dios, Red. And thanks for everything.

Shaq Participates In Botched SWAT Operation

A story that's hard to believe: Shaquille O'Neal riding along on a SWAT raid that hit the wrong house.

Even better, he was actually armed. Dear God.

Ralph Sampson Goes To Jail

I'm not so young that I don't remember when the whole sports world was focused on a college basketball game between UVA and Georgetown that pitted Patrick Ewing against Ralph Sampson.

While I don't know what Ewing is up to these days, something tells me he's doing better than Ralph.

Where Do They Find Men Such As These?

Here's a note that just came across my desk:

Recently, COL Brown, former Commander of 1-/25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and a few wounded soldiers formerly under his command, participated in a team building exercise with the U.S. Olympic Men's basketball team. Attached at the end of this string is a link to a short collection of excerpts from that event. As time permits, please review the clip. It speaks volumes about valor, leadership, duty, commitment, stewardship...and why the contribution you make to Army readiness remains critically important.

Coach K was COL Bob Brown's coach at West Point prior to moving to Duke, hence the relationship that is still in place. When you see the tears on the cheeks of the NBA players, it's got to be good.

Click here to launch the clip. Be sure to get out the hankies first.

For more on Capt. Scott Smiley, click here.

Jordan Prevails Over Knafel

After years in the courts, Michael Jordan has finally prevailed over his former girlfriend, Karla Knafel:

A judge ruled Friday for Michael Jordan in a legal battle between the former NBA star and a woman who claimed Jordan reneged on a promise to pay her $5 million in hush money when she claimed she was pregnant with his child.

Judge Stuart E. Palmer ruled in Cook County Circuit Court that any alleged agreement between Jordan and Karla Knafel would be invalid, pointing to definitive tests that showed Jordan is not the child’s father.

Palmer writes that “as a result of Snaffle's fraudulent misrepresentation to Jordan that he was the child’s father or, alternatively, as a result of a mutual mistake of fact, the alleged settlement contract is voidable and ... unenforceable.”

Say goodbye to Knafel, we won't be hearing much from her again.

For more, check out Google News.

The Brown "Error" Ends In New York

Well, Knicks owner James Dolan finally fired Larry Brown this morning after letting him twist in the wind for weeks, and has apparently turned the coaching duties over to uber-GM Isiah Thomas.

I'd say more, but I think this comment from the message boards at Newsday sort of sums up my feelings about this news:

With the great GM Isiah moving to the bench, James Dolan needs to hire a new GM...May I suggest Mike Milbury? He can do no worse!!!

This is a team with no draft picks and over a complete barrel when it comes to the salary cap. The Knicks are going to stink for somewhere around a decade thanks to Thomas and his brain dead dealing. As for Dolan, well, he's well on his way to becoming the Ted Stepien of the 21st century.

If anything, Brown ought to be thankful his stint in New York -- what he had described only a year ago as a dream job -- was so blessedly short.

Is The Timeout Killing Basketball?

Josh Levin of Slate thinks so. Then again, John Buccigross mentioned it a couple of weeks back too. Maybe this is a trend.

All I know is that it drives me nuts.

Never Jump The Gun With El Deano

Political endorsements from celebrities are a tricky thing. There's lots of behind the scenes dealing before anybody makes an endorsement, something one candidate for the North Carolina state Supreme Court just learned the hard way:

It had the makings of quite the endorsement: former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith cheering lawyer Rachel Lea Hunter on to victory in her race for a seat on the state Supreme Court.

"As a loyal Democrat to another loyal Democrat. Win Rachel! Win!'" read the quote from Smith on Hunter's Web site, posted above a picture of the pair at last week's North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame banquet.

But there's a problem: Smith doesn't remember saying it. "I never really met her," he said Monday. "They just took our picture."

The campaign has since apologized, and has promised to remove the endorsement from its Web site. Fair enough, mistakes happen. But then comes this quote from the tail end of the piece:

"The statement said that I had met Dean Smith. I did. ... I did not say that he endorsed me," she said.

The state Board of Elections in February ruled against Hunter's request to appear on the ballot with the nickname "Madame Justice," a moniker Hunter has said she adopted in 1998.

Oh, I bet she did.

Nothing Beats Getting Booed

Here's Mark Cuban:

Im looking up there, and Im listening, and it dawned on me. Im getting booed by 18k people, how cool is that ! I didnt know these people. It didnt matter what they thought or why they were booing. It worked for the home team. It got the crowd going, it made it more fun for everyone who came to the game. Someone from the Spurs came over like it was a big deal and apologized for it. I was absolutely fine with it.

Though it wasn't in front of quite as large of a crowd, my experience was similar.

Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire

So the New York Knicks are thinking of buying out head coach Larry Brown's contract -- one that has four years and $40 million remaining.

Who would take over? If the reports are to be believed, it would be the master of disaster himself, GM Isiah Thomas.

Sure, and I think Captain Hazelwood deserves another chance too.

Is there anybody outside of the Knicks executive suite who actually thinks that Brown is the problem in New York? I'm sure as Brown read this story this morning, he was down on his knees praying to the Almighty that it was true. What better way would there be for Brown to do a Snake Pliskin and get away without his reputation being any more sullied than it already has been?

UPDATE: Share your thoughts with the people at Sportsfilter.

As Per Usual...

...Mark Cuban posits a common sense idea in plain language.

And David Stern fines him for it.

You know, it must be hard to be Stern, and have the burden of being the smartest guy in the room all the time.

Death To The Basketball Timeout

Off the AP Wire:

The rule allowing a player to call timeout while airborne or falling out of bounds might be eliminated for both men's and women's college teams this season.

The Basketball Rules Committees agreed that a change needs to be made and a proposal will be sent to the Playing Rules Oversight Panel for final approval on May 30.

Larry Keating, men's basketball rules committee chairman, said Friday that the timeout proposal stemmed from concerns about the difficulty officials have determining whether timeouts were called, the potential for injury and the unfair advantage it creates when players use timeouts to avoid turnovers.

Here's an idea, and I completely admit I'm riffing off of John Buccigross: Why not cut the number of timeouts allowed per game in half? It might just make basketball a better game, and put the spotlight on where it should be, on the court with the players and not with the coaches on the sidelines.

Remember Frederic Weis

In 1999, the New York Knicks made one of the most puzzling draft picks in their history when they wasted a selection on 7'2" Frederic Weis of France. Though he never played in the NBA, Weis did achieve fame of a sort during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney when he got "posterized" by Vince Carter:

Why show that clip now? Well, back in the dark ages before YouTube and the easy availability of video capture, the dolts at NBC Sports refused to put footage of the games on the Web for fear folks wouldn't want to watch on tape delay. So, while I've heard of this dunk, and seen photos of the dunk, I've never seen the video until now.

WNBA ISO Basketbloggers

Can't get the coverage you crave, turn the coverage over to the folks who care about you the most -- at least when you're the WNBA.

More details here. Thanks to Ted at Women's Hoops for the pointer.

NBA To Seattle: Drop Dead

Well, the city of Seattle has been a little slow on the draw when it comes to tax breaks and a new arena for the SuperSonics, so NBA Commissioner David Stern is making threats:

"I would say that the city is making it pretty clear of what they want us to do, and we'll accommodate them," Stern said.

Now, I've heard jokes saying that Stern acts like a mafia don, but I always laughed them off. I'm not laughing now.

BTW -- the Sonics are owned by Howard Schultz, the chairman of Starbucks. Is Stern trying to tell the world that Schultz can't afford to build his own arena? As of last May, USA Today reported that his net worth was $700 million. And he's only first among equals in a group of 58 partners who own a piece of the team. According to the Seattle Times, the ownership group (which includes a Nordstrom heir) is claiming poverty because they've lost $60 million over the last five years. That's a little over $1 million total per owner, or a shade over $200,000 a piece, and that's if everyone owns an equal share, which probably isn't the case.

Here's something to think about: If a group like this one can't or won't raise enough money on their own to build an arena, how in the world can they make the case that it's a good deal for the city of Seattle?

The Ballad Of Isiah

I've never been much of a Knicks fan -- thank having Dr. J playing for the Nets about ten minutes from my parents' home on Long Island for that -- but that doesn't mean I don't empathize with the pain that the faithful are feeling these days. Like this guy:

Wonder why Bill Simmons hasn't linked to this yet?

All the credit in the world to Sportszilla and the Jabber Jocks.

And thanks to reader Michael A. Ball for putting me on the trail...

New WNBA Video

Via pilight and Women's Hoops, here's the video at the center of the league's new branding campaign.

Tell you one thing: It better than that NHL branding video with the fake hockey players.

And for those who missed it, congrats to Brenda Frese and Maryland on their first Women's NCAA title in basketball. The WNBA Draft is today as well, and while I'm not sure who the #1 pick will be, I'm betting she won't be holding out.

Something Of A Milestone...

Off Wing may just have brokered an international basketball signing.

Stay tuned, this may make an interesting story.

Wow. I Mean, Wow.

If the Texas buzzer beater that took down West Virginia wasn't enough, how about UCLA coming back from 17 down to tear the heart out of Gonzaga?

Whew.

Carlos Boozer vs. Prince

Carlos Boozer isn't happy with the way Prince is renovating Boozer's mansion. Maybe they can settle it with a game of hoops.

Sweet Sixteen Warranty Card

To The Wichita State Men's Basketball Team:

Congratulations! Thanks to your consecutive victories in the first and second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, you've earned a trip to Washington, D.C. for the "Sweet Sixteen". Your next opponent is George Mason University, and you'll be playing them at the Verizon Center, a mere 20-minute drive from the George Mason University campus.

While this might not be as bad as having to play Duke in Durham, or even Illinois at the United Center in Chicago, it's liable to be rather unfriendly. Hope you packed your "A" game.

Enjoy your stay!

POSTSCRIPT: Bandwagon jumping can be fun!

Exactly What Happened To Allen Ray?

Thanks to some other duties, I missed the scary injury Allen Ray suffered last week during Villanova's loss to Pitt in the Big East Tournament. Here's the video:

For those of you who are asking, "Did that dude's eye just pop out of his head?" the answer is an emphatic yes. The good news is that it appears that Ray is ok, and should be ready in time to return to the court to play in the NCAA tournament.

The even better news is that has horrific as the injury might look, a complete and full recovery seems to be the norm. Once my podcasting partner Rob Visconti explained what had happened, I immediately remembered an episode of ER from last season where the injury was depicted.

Thankfully, the intrepid Cecil Adams has examined this before:

In Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine (1897), George Gould and Walter Pyle report several cases of what they call exophthalmos, protrusion of the eye from the orbit, or socket:

* One man, upon getting up in the morning, blew his nose so violently that "to his horror his left eye extruded from the orbit. With the assistance of his wife it was immediately replaced and a bandage placed over it." Afterward the eyelid was swollen but apparently there was no permanent damage.

* In some other cases, eyes popped out following vomiting or excessive coughing.

* One fellow, "during a fire, was struck in the right eye by a stream of water from a hose, violently thrusting the eye backward. Contracting under the double influence of shock and cold, the surrounding tissues forced the eyeball from the orbit, and an hour later [the doctor] saw the patient with the eye hanging by the optic nerve and muscles. Its reduction was easy, and after some minor treatment vision was perfectly restored in the injured organ. Thirty months after the accident the patient had perfect vision, and the eye had never in the slightest way discommoded him."

In short, a scary injury, but one without permanent disability. Thanks to Sports Column for the video pointer.

UC-Berkeley Inducted Into Sports Prank Hall Of Fame

When USC traveled to Berkeley on Saturday, the hometown fans had a nasty surprise for one of the visitors. Here's the incandescent Eric Myerson:

When USC guard Gabe Pruitt took his first trip to the free throw line early in the game, the Cal student section hollered in unison: "VIC-TOR-IA, VIC-TOR-IA," and then yelled out a telephone number. Pruitt glanced back at the crowd in horror and bewilderment before clanking his free throws.

It turns out that a couple of mischeivous little bastards from the Cal student section had been IM'ing with Pruitt all week under the identity of "Victoria," a fictional UCLA hottie, and Pruitt was eagerly anticipating a date with this nubile co-ed back in Westwood after the game. In preparation for the date, Pruitt had handed over his digits, which the Cal student section recited back to him in unison.

Talk about a quantum leap -- even over and above some of the more creative covert ops we've seen in recent years. For more, click here and here.

Indicative Of Perhaps Nothing At All

Sure, President Bush's approval rating may have cratered at 34%, an all-time low for his presidency, but that's still better than New York Knicks head coach Larry Brown, who enjoys an anemic 21% rating in ESPN's latest poll.

Thank God for Isiah Thomas.

Running The Comets

My old college budddy Marc Masferrer just posted a Q&A with his cousin, Andréa Bouchey Young, the new president and CEO of the Houston Comets. Here's a sample:

How is the WNBA better than the NBA?

I don’t know that we are better. We love our friends at the NBA. We are simply different. On the court, our style of play is different and a lot of people find that refreshing. Oftentimes, people remark to me that our game emphasizes the fundamentals. In the community, our players, coaches and staff are incredibly active and constantly trying to give back. Our players are very connected to the fans and the fans are very connected to the team, and it shows in the arena at any given home game. Our fans are the loudest in pro sports because they are so vested in our our team. We are also inexpensive when compared to other sports leagues and entertainment properties. Bottom line, we provide the best value to our customers.

Interesting stuff.

Sports Guy's Readers On The Stevie Francis Trade

Instead of writing an actual column about the monumental stupidity of Isiah Thomas that manifested itself with his trade for serial malcontent Stevie Francis, Bill Simmons is just letting his readers do the writing for him.

I can't argue with the results:

"Does traffic in New York slow down as it passes Madison Square Garden so people can get a better look at the car wreck?"

Excepting any more would be a spiritual abuse of the doctrine of fair use. Needless to say, it's not the only howler. I'm guessing Thomas puts a contract on Simmons' life sometime over the weekend.

Today's Bill Simmons Moment

The spiritual father of sports blogging spent the weekend at the NBA All-Star Game in Houston, and finished it up by watching Michael Jordan and Charles Oakley trash talking and playing cards at the Four Seasons.

Which set up this classic moment:

And MJ kept getting louder and louder, and he and Oakley were cleaning up, and we're all watching them while pretending not to watch, and then suddenly ...

MJ's wife shows up.

Uh-oh.

Uh-oh indeed. Somehow I don't think the reaction is the same when Janet Gretzky shows up at the bar.

Charles Being Charles

Here's a newsflash: Charles Barkley just got somebody really angry:

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry blasted Charles Barkley on Friday after the former NBA star said the state was "no place for black people."

"Obviously, Charles Barkley doesn't know what he's talking about," Henry said in a statement. "Anyone who follows Barkley knows he's notorious for saying ridiculous things that have no basis in fact, and this case is a perfect example."

Barkley, now a TNT analyst, made his comments during a discussion about New Orleans Hornets rookie Chris Paul on the network's All-Star selection show.

"The Oklahoma Sooners and the Hornets are the only brothers in town," Barkley said.

Barkley also teased Paul, asking if he had chickens and cows in his yard.

Any day you can get a rise out of the governor has got to be a good day.

New York Girl Scores 113 In Prep Basketball Game

And another basketball scoring record falls:

Hey Kobe, top this. Epiphanny Prince of Murry Bergtraum High School scored 113 points in a game Wednesday, breaking a girls' national prep record previously held by Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller.

Prince, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, led her team to a 137-32 victory over Brandeis High School.

There's one number that's consistently missing from the accounts that I've been reading, and that's the score at halftime, which had to be just as ugly (Prince already had 58 points by then). And with that being the case, why in the world would the coach of Brandeis High School put his girls back on the court so they could get their brain beat in for another half?

Over at Newsday, in-house blogger Mark LaMonica has already stolen a march on folks who would play up the sportmanship angle on the story:

Surely, the Brandeis players probably weren’t happy about giving up 113 points to one girl. But they can tell their families they were a part of sports history. Ten years from now, that will sound pretty cool.

In Hateration America, we’re trained to knock people down a peg. So when one girl accomplishes something no one else in history did, the public demands a negative outcry. That’s just plain silly.

So stop crying about poor sportsmanship and start repeating 54-for-60, 54-for-60, 54-for-60. That’s 90 percent from the field. When majesty is bestowed upon us, we must open our eyes and enjoy the view.

LaMonica is right about one thing: Put me on a basketball court and ask me to take 60 layups, and something tells me I wouldn't go 54-for-60. And he'd be even more in the right if the final score of the game had been 137-132.

But it wasn't. This game wasn't a legitimate test of athletic skill, and it wasn't played by professionals. I'm not blaming Prince, who clearly has an incredible future ahead of her in college and maybe beyond, and I'm not blaming her coach either. 113 points is unreal under any circumstances.

But while I applaud, forgive me if I sound a tad muted.

Andersen Kicked Out Of NBA For Two Years On Drug Violation

I'd never heard of Chris Andersen before, and it looks like he may very well be forgotten completely by the time he can play in the NBA ever again.

Focusing Laser On LeBron

Somebody down in Atlanta got away with it last night:

LeBron James didn't appreciate a fan's attempt to disrupt his concentration with a laser pointer. So he took out his frustration on the bumbling Atlanta Hawks.

"Those things can damage your eyes something bad," James said. "I was standing at the foul line in the fourth quarter when the ref noticed a red dot near my forehead. That's pretty serious."

James had 38 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their third straight game, 106-97 on Wednesday night.

An Atlanta police officer, who declined to give his name, said law enforcement was unable to find or identify anyone shining a laser pointer from the end zone near the Hawks' bench.

In an era when we worry so much about violence between players and fans, an incident like this is the last thing we need.

Bill Simmons And Kobe Bryant

I'm not nearly the NBA fan that Bill Simmons is, but I can't help but notice that no matter what Kobe Bryant does, he can't ever win:

Just three weeks ago, I wrote that Kobe was a fool for passing up an 80-point game against Dallas. I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. That sports were about the little challenges along the way. That you can't pass up a chance to go down in history, not when the Non-Wilt Scoring Record was at stake. That the game symbolized his entire career -- memorable, incredible, ultimately a little disappointing -- and he would regret the decision some day.

Then he dropped 81 against Toronto on Sunday night.

And in the process, he indirectly proved my point.

Don't get me wrong, as I'm no fan of Kobe Bryant either. But what we really have here is a columnist that wants to have it both ways.

Why is it right now that I'm recalling that the press hated Ted Williams too?

POSTSCRIPT: Bill's newest nemesis is being sued for sexual harrasment.

Kobe Drops 81 On Raptors

One of the decided drawbacks about being an East Coast sports fan is that you always run the risk of missing something incredible so you can get to bed at a reasonable time, and get to work the next morning not looking like a zombie.

Well, after stumbling out of bed in the middle of the night, I've discovered that Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors a few hours ago in Los Angeles -- the most ever for an NBA player outside of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game against the Knicks back in 1962.

Here's the Sportsz Assasin:

Since there is no video footage anywhere of Wilt's 100 point game....this will become the definitive scoring game your eyes will feast on for a long time.

Well, that is until Kobe goes after that 100 mark. Hey, don't laugh that off!

By the way, Kobe only had 26 points at halftime. I'm guessing his two assists wasn't a career high. Oh, and if you didn't already know, Michael Jordan's career high was 69.

Think he's a little annoyed this morning? Something tells me he is.

A couple of weeks ago on PTI, Michael Wilbon jumped ugly with Bryant when he let Phil Jackson remove him from a game against the Mavericks after scoring 62. I wonder what Wilbon will have to say this evening?

Over at Fox Blogs, the Motor City Madman (I'm guessing it isn't Ted Nugent) is dissing Kobe:

I mean, after all, the guy did manage to score the second most points in NBA history for one game. That, in itself, deserves props. But a further look inside the numbers reveals what most knew already... today's Kobe Bryant is all about the man, and not the team.

(snip)

So for the present, I say congratulations Kobe! You proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are truly one of the game's most gifted players. But for the forseeable future, I say shame on you Mr. Bryant! Because your propensity to ball-hog shows what many of us already knew -- that you're one of the most selfish individuals to ever lace up the sneakers. And while you're image as a media mogul will continue to soar, you're team will suffer the consequences in the long run.

So, even after the second greatest offensive performance in league history, Bryant can't please everybody.

The Los Angeles Times Lakers Blog says it's time to start touting Bryant for MVP. Then again, maybe we should wait until we see what Flea has to say.

For more Kobe koverage from around the world, click here.

POSTSCRIPT: The Sonics and Suns set a new NBA record for three-point baskets in a game during a 152-149 Seattle win in double OT. The combined 301 points was the most in an NBA game in almost 11 years. Not that anyone outside of the Elias Sports Bureau is going to remember. Still, I thought you should know.

UPDATE: Maybe it might be a good time to check in with Michael McCann about Mr. Bryant's educational background. It seems a little pertinent right now.

Pat At The Summit

Don't look now, but Pat Summit, head coach of the Lady Vols, just recorded career win #900. Congrats to Summit, who's done as much for women's basketball as George Halas did for pro football.

For more, check out Women's Hoops.

Davis Dives Into Crowd To Protect Family

Some disturbing news out of Chicago last night:

The anticipated homecoming for the Knicks' Eddy Curry and Antonio Davis turned into a bizarre and chilling scene Wednesday night at the United Center when Davis charged into the fans' seating area during a timeout in overtime to confront a fan apparently having an altercation with some of Davis' family members.

(Snip)

"I witnessed my wife [Kendra] being threatened by a man I later learned was intoxicated," Davis said in a statement after the game. "I saw him touch her. I know I should not have acted the way I did but I would have felt terrible if I did not react. There was no time to call security. It happened too quickly."

Can somebody tell me why stuff like this keeps happening in Chicago? I'm wondering what NBA Commissioner David Stern is going to do in response. Here's hoping he treats Davis fairly.

For more, see The Manifesto, section 8.

UPDATE: Here's ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan with his version of justice:

An eight-game suspension would cost Davis, who makes $13.8 million, a little over a million bucks in lost salary. It could go down in history as Davis' Million-Dollar Mistake, and if he makes a sincere public statement of contrition it'll allow everyone to put this episode behind them.

The last thing the commissioner needs is another extended debate tied in some way to the Palace brawl. He needs this one to go away, and the best way for that to happen is for Stern to issue a suspension that's fair.

In this case, eight is enough.

Wrong. In this case, it would be an absolute travesty. If Davis gets anything more than one game, it would be a disgrace.

UPDATE: Hold on a second there, things are looking decidedly different now, courtesy of Deadspin.

And ESPN is filling in some more details about Davis' wife, and how she's responsible for the whole mess.

Whew! Talk about a story doing a complete 180. Thanks to Peter Puck for the pointer.

Bill Simmons On Zeke's Hit List

Bill Simmons has just reached a new level of fame:

Well, now I have a new career highlight: During a New York radio interview Monday, Isiah Thomas threatened to make trouble for me. Talking to Stephen A. Smith he said, "I'm gonna tell ya ... if I see this guy Bill Simmons, oh, it's gonna be a problem with me and him ..." I thought it was ironic he threatened me on Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- I'm sure MLK would have been proud.

Wow. I mean, wow. What a moment, and I'm wishing I had an audio clip.

Then again, maybe Mike Milbury is gunning for me. I may need to go barefoot for a few weeks.

When Real History Isn't Good Enough

Thanks to longtime reader Bijan Bayne for cluing me in on a story that I had completely missed recently -- the news that a Eric Williams of the Toronto Raptors is selling a jacket emblazoned with the logos of an African-American basketball league that never actually existed:

First, Williams said he was turning Republican. Then he said he’s coming out with a line of clothing based on a black basketball league he claims existed from 1920-40. The only problem was historians now have reported no such league ever existed. “That league was not one of those leagues that was sanctioned,” the former Celtic said last night, backing off some earlier talk that implied it was an actual entity. “It didn’t have no real organization, but it existed. It wasn’t something that had probably a commissioner and a set schedule and things of that nature, but there was some Newark Eagles out there. That’s where it spurred from. The rest of the stuff came to me from a friend of mine who’s in the clothing business.”

I'd like to say I'm puzzled why someone would feel the need to concoct history when the real story of African-American athletes is so rich already. But when money is involved, we really shouldn't be surprised at anything at all.

For more, stop by Catch, the Museum of Hoaxes, The Den Mother Speaks and The Toronto Star.

Carnival Of The NBA #19

Ryan @ Hoops Addict is hosting Carnival of the NBA #19. If you've got any Hoops-related stuff, send it his way.

Dennis Rodman Sighting In Finland

Thanks to my pal in Finland, Samuli Laukka, for passing along the follwing story on how Dennis Rodman was paid 50,000 EUR for a one-game appearance in the Finnish basketball league.

Rodman's team lost, but he had an excuse:

Nobody will ever know whether the end result might have been different, had Rodman not partied until 5 a.m. in a Helsinki nightclub the night before.

The star even showed up at the Helsinki Ice Hall, the venue of the game, at the wrong time, three hours before the game was due to start.

"F*ck. Sh*t", was Rodman's comment, before he sat down in the Ice Hall café to enjoy a portion of meatballs and mashed potatoes.

Probably the first time Rodman showed up early for anything.

Sheryl Swoopes Comes Out

ESPN: The Magazine (as opposed to ESPN: The Empire, oh please...) got today's big scoop in the form of an interview with WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes where she announces her exit from the closet:

"My reason for coming out isn't to be some sort of hero," Swoopes, a forward with the Houston Comets, says in the article. "I'm just at a point in my life where I'm tired of having to pretend to be somebody I'm not. I'm tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about. About the person I love.

"Male athletes of my caliber probably feel like they have a lot more to lose than gain [by coming out]. I don't agree with that. To me, the most important thing is happiness."

First of all, good for Swoopes. It's ridiculous that she had to hide in the first place, and I'm glad she's happy.

My friend Robert George has a question though:

I will be interested to hear what my friend Eric McErlain has to say about this from the various marketing perspectives: The WNBA has always tried to balance its marketing between its recognized lesbian audience and the "traditional" American-pie family; will the news make league executives nervous?

First of all, I want to make it clear that I don't make it a habit to talk to WNBA executives, and I doubt that I'll ever make it to their speed dial either. So what follows is just conjecture.

In short, I think this is a one-day story. The WNBA season is over, and even inside the Women's Hoops community, the focus these days is getting ready for the 2005-06 NCAA season. After all, this isn't the mid-1970s, and Swoopes isn't Martina Navratilova.

But while that's the short-term look, the league still has a longer-term problem that's only tangentially related to today's news -- and that's the fact that they are, at least in part, marketing to the wrong people.

Say what you want about Bill Simmons and Jay Mohr. Call them ignorant and bigoted if you like (though on this issue, I think the word juvenille is probably more appropriate), but the broadsides they've unloaded on the WNBA are the predictable result of trying to sell a product to a target audience that's not buying the sales job.

In short, they feel they're being assaulted (for whatever reason), and they don't want to be bothered anymore. We shouldn't exactly be surprised, after all, time and time again we talk about how feedback loops are more open and immediate than ever before. What Simmons and Mohr have done is heard the league's sales pitch, and instead of buying tickets and watching games, have told the league to leave them alone.

The league ought to listen, feel free to ignore folks like them, and look for ticket sales and television viewers in more hospitable climes. I think they'd be better off.

UPDATE: For more visit Deadspin and Women's Hoops.

Paul Westhead, Meet The WNBA

Well, the WNBA did something yesterday that made me sit up and notice -- and that was the hiring of former NBA and college head coach Paul Westhead as the new head coach of the Phoenix Mercury.

Westhead, who coached the Lakers to their first title in the 1980s before annoying Magic Johnson, and then led Loyola Marymount to the Elite Eight in the wake of the on-court death of Hank Gathers, is best known for his devotion to up tempo offense.

I admit I've got a soft spot for Westhead by dint of the fact that we worked for the same company back when he was head coach of the Denver Nuggets and I worked for COMSAT, the team's parent company.

To be quite honest, I'm interested to see just how "Paul Ball" -- last seen in action at George Mason University in Northern Virginia -- translates to the women's game. Check out Women's Hoops for more details.

The WNBA Finals

ESPN is clearing the decks for Game One of the WNBA Finals tonight, and if you're so inclined, check out Women's Hoops for all the skinny.

Concurrent with the start of the finals comes a piece from Jay Mohr over at SI.com, where he, surprise, bashes the WNBA:

I went to a New York Liberty game a couple of years ago and found myself, for the first time, in the minority at a sporting event. As my buddy and I sat courtside with other celebrities like, uh, um, well, I'm sure there was somebody else, we realized what a bizarre collection of souls made up the lower tier of the arena. Little girls and lumberjacks seemed to be the primary ticket holders. The little girls looked at the court in admiration of their heroes, and the lumberjacks looked at the court in a completely different type of admiration.

The rest is a lot like something ESPN.com's Bill Simmons wrote a couple of weeks back (though Simmons, to his credit, let his readers fire back), and Ted from Women's Hoops isn't taking kindly to this line of reasoning:

The WNBA, like any other league, is open to criticism, even ridicule. Sports columnists are paid to express an opinion, and they are encouraged to be provocative and controversial. Yet I'm always surprised that major media outlets like SI are willing to print homophobic...

Ted uses a naughty word that I won't print in my pursuit of larger ad revenues, but I'm sure you get the drift. What I disagree with is Ted's characterization of Mohr as a "columnist" because he's anything but. He's simply a comedian (at times an incredibly talented one, at others, not so much), and really doesn't deserve to be taken seriously.

Besides, we all know nobody ever makes jokes about Breeders, excuse me, heterosexuals.

His column reminds me a lot of Justin Gimelstob's U.S. Open blog. He, like Mohr, was brought on board to do one thing: drive traffic. And it appears he's succeeding.

POSTSCRIPT: For those of you with a financial interest, take the Sun in four games.

The Las Vegas Hornets?

Looks like a possibility.

Stuart Scott Takes Road From Bristol Crown

Congratulations to Stuart Scott for winning the inaugural "Road From Bristol" title, as he polished off Tony Reali in the national semifinal and defeated Skip Bayless for the title.

Indeed, he has earned the sobriquet of ESPN's most loathsome sports personality. Here's a sampling of comments from the critics:

"Scott is pretty much ESPN's mascot and represents everything that is wrong with the network's direction. The ultimate triumph of style over substance. He deserves his place in the Final." -- Adam

"Every new anchor on Sportscenter wants to be him, and that's damning enough to get him to the next round." -- Mike O.

"Stuart Scott is the devil. It offends me as someone with a journalism degree that he is considered part of the media." -- David

"The only way he'd look good is if ESPN went to a three man desk and his partners were SAS [Stephen A. Smith] and Bayless. Of course, if that ever happened I'd have to blow up the ESPN studio secure in the knowledge that no jury in the world would ever convict me after watching five minutes of these guys." -- Andy

But wait, there's more. Not wanting the fun to end so soon, they've just kicked off the "Tim McCarver Invitational" to determine who the worst non-ESPN announcer might be. Bravo, bravo!

Red Auerbach Hospitalized

Here's some troubling news out of Washington:

Boston Celtics president Red Auerbach has been hospitalized in Washington with an undisclosed problem.

The 87-year-old coaching great has been in and out of the hospital the past month for tests and a successful surgical procedure, Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Thursday. Twiss would not identify the procedure and said Auerbach was readmitted for an unspecified problem within the last 10 days.

He would not disclose the name of the hospital and said Auerbach's family requested that no information be released about his condition.

One note about Auerbach: even though he's been with the Celtics since 1950, he's always maintained a home here in the Washington area, and basketball insiders around town adore him -- as well they should. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Does The WNBA Get Shafted In Houston?

James Campbell, reader rep at the Houston Chronicle is defending his paper's coverage of the WNBA's Houston Comets.

Some of the comments make for interesting reading. Give it a shot.

Thanks to Jessie and Steve from Women's Hoops for the pointer.

Larry Brown's Crystal Ball

Well, Larry Brown is finally heading to New York. And as soon as I heard the news, I was struck by a vision of things to come:

"Brown-Out" In New York

by Marc Berman

July 8, 2007 -- Somehow we all knew it would come to this. From Charles Dolan to Isiah Thomas to Spike Lee, all the way on down to the lowliest beer man on the MSG totem poll, everyone had a sneaking suspicion that the tenure of nearly departed New York Knicks head coach Larry Brown would end badly.

But could we have imagined anything as bizzare as this?

But with only a few weeks gone since the Knicks' second consecutive playoff exit in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, it's Long Beach native Brown who finds himself on the road again, while the much improved Knicks franchise he leaves behind seems as directionless as it has ever been in its storied history.

Sure, if Brown were to have waltzed into a well deserved retirement, we still would have cursed our foolishness, but to see him hop a subway train under the river and into the arms of Bruce Ratner and the Brooklyn Nets is just too much to take.

But we drank the Kool-Aid, every last one of us, all in the hopes that before he left town, Brown might leave behind at least one NBA title.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me nine times, shame on the whole damn' city. Unless you're from Brooklyn.

Real scary, eh kids? Now tell me that there's absolutely no chance it could actually happen.

I didn't think so.

Can Women's Basketball Be A Success Off The Court Too?

Via Women's Hoops, I found this article on the business success of the Connecticut Sun, the first WNBA team not owned by an NBA franchise. In the case of the Sun, they're owned by the Uncas Indian tribe, owners and operators of the Mohegan Sun Casino:

The WNBA is poised for a big payoff this weekend on the long shot it played two years ago. The league will hold its All-Star Game on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, ABC) at the Mohegan Sun Casino, which it awarded to the first non-NBA-owned franchise in 2003.

The WNBA's gamble is working. The Connecticut Sun are a league-best 12-2, and their coach, Mike Thibault, will lead the East. And the All-Star Game, the seventh sellout at the arena, is being played about 30 minutes from the campus of five-time NCAA women's basketball champion Connecticut.

"We're doing well at the gate, and we're doing well in the standings," says Mitchell Etess, the team's chief executive officer. "If I were a person out there wondering whether I should do this, we're a good reason why they should."

USA Today's Oscar Dixon never got around to asking whether or not the Sun are actually turning a profit (I'm sure if they were, they would have said so), but I don't doubt that the folks running the casino have been able to quantify the benefit from having the team playing at their arena.

Which leads to the next question: If the WNBA can survive and thrive as an appendage of a casino, is there any reason why the NBA can't expand to Las Vegas?

Carnival Of The NBA, #12

It's just been posted over at Motoring, the Detroit Pistons blog. Check it out.

Larry Brown's Wanderlust

Via TMFTML, I found this hysterical take on Larry Brown's propensity to change jobs.

Sure it's a few days old, but it's still funny.

NBA Completes Labor Deal

Ah, labor peace reigns in the Association.

In other news, the NHL lockout continues and Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

Carnival Of The NBA #11

Hosted this week at End Of The Bench.

Are NBA Critics Getting What They Asked For?

Just found this rant about the NBA Finals in my inbox, and decided it was too good not to share:

I'm going down to the Post to punch Mike Wise and Mike Wilbon in the face if I hear any more talk about how boring the finals are. Everyone talks about lazy players who only care about stats and offense. Then when you see amazing streaks of viscious defense like Wallace and the Pistons played last night and both teams have on-and-off throughout, it's "boring." Can't win for losin. And those guys reinforce it in their articles. It's the same about football. Why don't we put no defense on field and just let an offense run up and down scoring?

Here's what he's talking about from Mike Wise:

And the No. 1 reason Why It's Good to Have Phil Back in L.A.: Spurs-Pistons.

Enough said.

Actually, we take that last one back. It is howling inside this building. The Palace of Auburn Hills is going berserk over its team amazingly cracking the 80-point barrier! Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Eminem are in the house. It's loud. It's crazy.

The Pistons are about to finally win a game and make it a series. About the only thing that could upstage this grand Motown moment?

Another Phil Jackson news conference.

And here's Mike Wilbon:

The entire NBA was in need of a good Game 3 of the NBA Finals, not just the Spurs and Pistons. Between the open discussion of a possible lockout come July 1, a huge drop in TV ratings from last year's Lakers-Pistons series, two lopsided and raggedly played games to start this series, and an epic level of whining from the Pistons about the calls, the league is in dire need of a spirit lifter. The biggest news of the day for a whole lot of pro basketball fans had nothing to do with Spurs-Pistons and everything to do with Phil Jackson's return to the Lakers as head coach. In a prolonged shot of David Stern during the first half Tuesday night, the commissioner looked somewhere between contemplative and worried.

I just don't know. I watched Game One, and it took all of my strength to stay awake for plenty of stretches.

The NBA Finalzzzzz

Here's J.A. Adande on the NBA Finals:

You have logged your complaints about the NBA for years: too much one-on-one play, no respect for the fundamentals, too blingy.

In response, these NBA Finals are like a letter from the vice president of customer relations. The San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons are two teams, not a pair of 12-man rosters. They will play hard, they will play together, they will play smart and they won't bicker over who gets the ball.

And you won't watch.

Thanks to Ted at Women's Hoops for the pointer.

Passed Along Without Comment

TMFTML on Stan Van Gundy's alter ego.

Carnival Of The NBA, #10

Welcome to Carnival of the NBA #10. First off, I'd like to thank Matt from Bulls Blog for letting me borrow his baby for a week, it's a real honor, and I feel lucky to have the chance to meet so many new friends inside of Hoops Blogdom.

And Matt, I know things look dark right now, but take a deep breath and count to ten, ok?

Next, it's important to know that the only qualification for inclusion in the Carnival is that you write about the NBA. Many of the links here will lead you to some fine mutli-sport blogs that deserve your time and attention.

With that, let's get it started, so to speak:

It looks like Larry Brown is getting restless again, but before Game Four of the series with the Heat, my old pal Rob Visconti reminded everyone that we should have known better when it came to the NBA's most famous nomad:

Do me a favor, if you will. Raise your hand if, two years ago, when you heard that Joe Dumars had hired Larry Brown to become the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, you honestly believed that Brown would occupy the coach’s office at the Palace of Auburn Hills for the full five-year term of his contract.

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?

I didn’t think so.

Don't forget that the multi-talented Mr. Visconti is also podcasting (feed subscription).

And speaking of Larry Brown, he'll never get anywhere in life with his Cavalier Attitude. And the Pistons Blog is sitting out the Brown situation, though he does think Marc Stein is an idiot.

What will the Knicks need in the offseason? Knickerblogger has got it covered. Click here for the froncourt, and here for the backcourt.

If the city isn't too your liking, why not slide over to the Pacific Northwest, and check out the draft preview at Supersonicssoul (Part I, II, III)? Better still, I've been promised there's more to come.

And if you're not in the mood for Soul, check out Booth52, where the numbers are being crunched to solve the enigma of Manu Ginobli. Still not enough? Then re-visit the pain at Sports and Bremertonians.

And while you're in town, stop by the Pyramid Ale House. You'll be glad you did.

My old friend Tim Kraus might have taken a powder, but the new sheriff in town at End of the Bench is awfully prolific.

CelticsBlog is contemplating the salary cap situation in Boston. And he's got some issues with Mark Blount too.

I'm worried about Spurs fan Give Me The Rock:

And I have to say, it felt good to watch them lose. It’s reminded me of why I chose them as My Team in first place. Sometimes you have to give in to the Dark Side.

Having to endure the first season in recent memory out of the playoffs, Forum Blue and Gold is wondering whether or not the Heat should re-sign Shaq:

The bottom line, I think O'Neal will get overpaid for what he produces on the court, but for what he makes the Heat (or any second-tier team) off the court I would do it.

The taste of defeat is bitter my friends.

A few weeks back, I wondered out loud why in the world Orlando Magic GM John Weisbrod would jump ship just when things were turning around in Central Florida.

Turns out TJ Sylvester at Orlando Magic Fan (known to his friends as Sly) has an idea:

So, why did John Weisbrod quit? Plain and simple. The man worked his ass off making moves to better this team. When the tough came knocking, the pocket book closed up. Some of his decisions were popular, some were not. The team as a whole, and the Magic as a franchise, are better today than they were last summer. In all honesty, they are better now than they have been in 2-3 years. Weisbrod asked for the coach he thought could do the job and the Magic would not pay.

And out the door he went -- perhaps to the NHL (head shaking).

Wizznutzz, that bastion of Bullets pride and Wizards worship, has a brief phrenological study (as in whether the shape of a human head and skull can tell us every thing we need to know about a man’s personality and intelligence) of Michael Ruffin, Steve Blake and John Peter Ramos. And don’t forget to pick up your Jahidi White thong while you’re there.

Over on SportsFanMagazine.com, columnist Greg Wyshynski (no, it's not a blog, but I'm the one running this here Carnival, and you know better than to mess with a Carny!) feels TNT’s NBA studio show is America’s own hoops version of Hockey Night in Canada: A must-see part of the fan viewing ritual that’s frequently more entertaining than the games it’s featured on. In particular, he’s impressed with how brilliantly the show is staged:

One of the things I love about this show is the way it's shot. The set seems larger than most studio shows, and the mise-en-scene creates an interesting dynamic: Bitter old baller Barkley to the right, slightly less bitter Smith to the right center, the decidedly non-partisan Johnson in the middle and the decidedly sunny and pro-player Magic on the left. It's like "Crossfire," with Charles Barkley as Pat Buchanan. (I hope I just gave someone a heart attack.)

Bill Laimbeer -- ex-player, WNBA head coach, part-time Sleestak?

Raised in the Chicago suburb of Clarendon Hills, Illinois, Laimbeer attended the University of Notre Dame, and in 1974 he played one of the Sleestak during the first season of the television series Land of the Lost.

Props to Bob Sturm for the crazy no-look.

After a late February trade for Baron Davis, the Warriors were hot down the stretch with an 20-10 streak to finish the season. The MVN Golden State blog "the City" highlights the top 10 Warriors moments for 2004-05. From Mike Dunleavy's shirtless ejection against Dallas, to Jason Richardson dropping 40 on Sacramento, to the 126-99 drubbing of the once mighty Lakers, Dave Issacs counts them down Dave Letterman style.

With Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, Derek Fisher, and Mike Dunleavy, the Golden State Warriors have a young crop of players who can run the floor with shades of Run TMC. Chris Mullin is now the Warriors GM, Mitch Richmond is a Warriors assistant, Tim Hardaway is part-owner of the ABA Florida Pit Bulls, Tom Tolbert is the King of all Basketball media, could it be only a matter of time before Manute Bol re-enters the NBA scene? Commissioner Bol?

And here is a shout out to the two new Bay Area ABA franchises, the ABA San Francisco Pilots, and the ABA San Jose Skyrockets.

Ok, ok, who's hiding the link to the video of this:

The NBA premieres a TV ad that got an assist from TNT analyst Doug Collins. In it, Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria is in bed with, and kissing, the NBA championship trophy as she wears San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker's jersey.

The only thing better would have to be if she was wearing my hockey jersey. A man can dream can't he?

One last note: If you have any other posts that are worth my time, send them along, and I'll include them in an update.

Once again, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you come back tomorrow for the inaugural Carnival of the NHL, where we'll be taking a look at a league that only exists on paper, and in the minds of its dwindling fan base. Until then, later.

UPDATE: Larry Fleisher remembers Patrick Ewing. And take a second look at True Hoop from sportswriter Henry Abbot.

ANOTHER UPDATE: From Can't Stop The Bleeding comes news that NBA great George Mikan has died. My condolences to his family and friends.

Is AI The Genuine Article?

Henry Abbot says yes.

Nash Silencing Critics

After Steve Nash won the NBA's MVP award, plenty of folks started to chime in that he didn't deserve it, with some suggesting his victory over second place finisher Shaquille O'Neal could be attributed to simple racism.

Since then, Shaq, who I'm an absolute fan of, has been missing in action during most of the playoffs with a thigh contusion. As for his teammates, they don't seem to be suffering, as they've swept their first two playoff series.

Meanwhile, Nash has been nothing less than unbelievable, and last night's game where he tied the score with a three-pointer to force OT was just the latest of his heroics.

So who's the MVP now?

Passed Along Without Comment

Here's Chris Rock:

"It's always fun to be around a white park knowing you're going to get picked to play basketball. The looks on the white guys' faces when you can't play basketball is priceless. It's like you're the Loch Ness Monster. 'We've heard you existed, but we never thought we'd see you.'"

Hat tip to Sports By Brooks.

Basketball In Black And White (Again)

In a discussion about Steve Nash's selection as NBA MVP, University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos wonders if something larger isn't going on:

The NBA is dominated by black players: roughly speaking, perhaps 90 percent of the league's stars are black. This has been the case for decades now; but what's particularly intriguing is how, over the last ten years or so, the other 10 percent has come to consist almost exclusively of non-Americans.

I checked my own impressions by canvassing the views of several knowledgeable NBA fans, asking them to list the league's best nonblack players. Their consensus picks were a Canadian (Nash), a German, a Serb, a Spaniard, an Argentine, a Chinese, a Lithuanian, and a Russian. In their view, no white American currently ranks among the league's 50 best players.

This situation raises all sorts of questions. Could it be that a kind of reverse racism is keeping white American players from becoming NBA stars? Perhaps the concept of basketball as a "black" sport has a damaging effect on white American players, but not on nonblack foreigners, who grow up playing the game in a different cultural context.

The implications of such conclusions for arguments regarding the effects of race and racism are worth considering.

As far as I'm concerned, the fight for talent is so fierce around the world that I can't imagine any source being ignored for any reason. But instead of exploring that, I'd rather just throw out this thought: What do you think Bill Cosby might say about this?

Thanks to Rhode Island's Joe Tasca for the link.

POSTSCRIPT: Here's an interesting coincidence: Over the past two weeks, I've been getting email from a teenager in Turkey who is looking for guidance on how to get involved with a high school exchange program in the States. Apparently, he's committed to getting here so he can pursue his dream of playing in the NBA.

A Convenient Talking Point

Over the next few months as NBA Commissioner David Stern makes his push to institute a minimum age requirement to play in the NBA, expect Washington Wizards bust Kwame Brown to be used as Exhibit A in the case for the prosecution.

Here's Sally Jenkins from Saturday:

When the Wizards begin their series against the Miami Heat and Shaquille O'Neal, they will again be without Brown, suspended for the rest of the season for a juvenile lack of professionalism. The Wizards are still waiting for Brown to grow up, and wondering if he ever will. But the larger question is what NBA teams expect when they go into the business of child-rearing. The Wizards' difficult job with Brown can be summed up in a single phrase. "It's parenting," says NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Parenting? Ask yourself this question: why isn't anyone worried about a pixieish 15-year old girl on the verge of becoming a millionaire in figure skating or gymnastics?

Once again, I feel the need to quote from Illegal Defense: The Irrational Economics of Banning High School Players From the NBA Draft, by Michael McCann:

[F]rom 1995 to 2003, over 80 percent of drafted high school players became, or will become multi-millionaires by the age of 21, or how they have maximized their earning potential by gaining the ability to become unrestricted free agents -- when as many as 30 teams bid for their services -- by the tender age of 22, when, coincidentally, some of their counterparts will graduate from college and become bound by the nearly non-negotiable rookie salary scale for three to five years.

[M]ost players who skip college may earn as much as $100 million more over the course of their careers than if they had done the "smart thing" and earned a college diploma . . . [H]igh school players who enter the NBA Draft are a small, self-selected group, comprised almost entirely of exceptionally talented players. Simply put, for every Korleone Young, there are two or three Kobe Bryants.

Just follow the money.

What Is David Stern Really Up To?

NBA Commissioner David Stern wants to raise the minimum draft eligible age for NBA players to be raised to 20, or two years after high school graduation. Jermaine O'Neal of the Indiana Pacers, who went straight to the Association from high school in the 1996 NBA Draft, thinks the idea is racist:

"As a black guy, you kind of think [race is] the reason why it's coming up.

"You don't hear about it in baseball or hockey. To say you have to be 20, 21 to get in the league, it's unconstitutional. If I can go to the U.S. Army and fight the war at 18 why can't you play basketball for 48 minutes?" O'Neal said.

The Sports Prof is inclined to agree that there at least seems to be a little paternalism in the proposal -- something I intimated back in 2002:

18. If it was ok for female athletes like Jennifer Capriati, Mary Lou Retton and Sara Hughes to become multi-millionaires before their 18th birthday, there isn't any reason why male athletes under 18 shouldn't be able to do the same.

And when it comes to academic study, my friend Michael McCann blew the top off Stern's scheme with Illegal Defense: The Irrational Economics of Banning High School Players From the NBA Draft, an article that appeared in 2004 in Sports Law Review (NB: Michael, now at the Mississippi College of Law, was part of Maurice Clarett's legal team in his failed effort to crash the NFL Draft.):

[F]rom 1995 to 2003, over 80 percent of drafted high school players became, or will become multi-millionaires by the age of 21, or how they have maximized their earning potential by gaining the ability to become unrestricted free agents -- when as many as 30 teams bid for their services -- by the tender age of 22, when, coincidentally, some of their counterparts will graduate from college and become bound by the nearly non-negotiable rookie salary scale for three to five years.

[M]ost players who skip college may earn as much as $100 million more over the course of their careers than if they had done the "smart thing" and earned a college diploma . . . [H]igh school players who enter the NBA Draft are a small, self-selected group, comprised almost entirely of exceptionally talented players. Simply put, for every Korleone Young, there are two or three Kobe Bryants.

In other words, folks, Stern isn't out to help anyone but NBA owners as he creates an artifical ceiling on lifetime earnings for players who are ready to go pro after graduating from high school.

Who else benefits? Why NCAA member institutions, that's who. If Stern gets his way, former high school age draftees will have no choice but to go to American colleges -- as sports agent Dan Tobin said in an interview with me last year, going to Europe to turn pro isn't a serious option for virtually all American high school kids.

And when they go to college, they'll play for free, where the NCAA will leverage this talent in order to make even more money on the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

It's a nice racket, and one that ought to be broken up.

Born To Blog

The NBA is letting Phoenix Suns benchwarmer Paul Shirley blog his way through the season. The results are pretty hilarious. Here's his entry from early yesterday morning after a game with the Charlotte Bobcats:

We started off like a ball of fire, making up for our errant shots in Atlanta several fold. The Bobcats, on the other hand, were flailing away at the exact opposite end of the spectrum. They looked like a CBA team—fitting, since their arena and fans fit that mold. In the early going, Charlotte was nearly as inept as the Hawks were the night before. Jason Kapono started off on about a 1 for 10 tear and it appeared that the rout was on. I began considering the possibility that there could very well be a bit of playing time in the offing and started paying at least cursory attention to what was going on in timeouts, in case Coach D’Antoni said something like, “From now on tonight, everyone will be shooting with his left hand. Deviation from this plan of attack will result in castration immediately following the game.”

Hmmm. Perhaps letting the Hornets blow town wasn't a bad idea after all? For Shirley's sake, I hope one of his teammates isn't following his blog:

Jake Voskuhl and I did get to watch our fellow end-of-the-bench mate, Bo Outlaw, get into the game. He managed to fire up one of his patented “I can’t believe a professional basketball player shoots the ball that way” jump shots, but with limited success. He did get in the box score though.

Whew! Bookmark this one my friends! Thanks to Bryant Durrell for the brilliant no-look.

Dominating Duncan

From today's New York Times:

Malik Rose is not one to brag, but press him and he will tell you he has dominated Tim Duncan.

Duncan is an All-Star, a 7-foot forward with splendid moves and shooting range, and Rose is merely a hard-nosed journeyman of much shorter stature. But cyberspace is the great equalizer, and there are nights in the virtual battlefield when Duncan stands no chance.

The game is Socom II, a Navy Seals simulation played out over the Internet. It is where Duncan and Rose, close friends for seven-plus years, continue their friendship - and their competitive rivalry.

When I read stories like thiis one, I can't help but wonder how my life might have turned out if the Internet and all of its associated technologies had been in full swing back in 1985 when I showed up at college. Might I have stayed in closer touch with friends I no longer see, and are beginning to fade from memory?

Exit Chamique . . .

And the Washington Mystics just traded the player who was once the biggest talent in Women's Basketball.

For the rest of Off Wing's Holdsclaw file, click here.

And In Case You Were Wondering . . .

Yes, all of my brackets are in a shambles. UW-Milwaukee I actually saw coming in one of my brackets, but Vermont, Bucknell (credit to Digger Phelps, he called it on Selection Sunday on ESPN) and West Virginia have all done considerable damage, as well as a host of others.

Checking In On The Globetrotters

Jim Henley offers his take on the current edition of the Harlem Globetrotters:

What you get plays to just about every racial stereotype you could name. The all-black Globetrotters shuck, so also do they jive. The Nationals are (five eighths) white stiffs. They can’t jump. Showtime steals passes, purses, kisses and the referee’s whistle. Weirdly, one’s discomfort with this (if “one” is me) is attenuated to the most vaporous unease.

What I couldn’t help noticing is that the Patriot Center was less than half full for the show. There’s a handy list of excuses: Friday night, just after rush hour, the first weekend of the NCAA tournament with real basketball on TV, another show at the same venue tomorrow night. Still, I think they could help themselves by improving the act. The stunts were impressive. (Just as pro wrestlers must be, the Globetrotters are highly-trained athletes.) The score was lopsided. The skits were amusing, particularly for kids, but as an evening, it doesn’t go anywhere . . .

Of course, this is an adult talking. Offering Boy and the other kids enjoyed it a lot. For the price of discounted tickets, it was worth the evening. But if the Globetrotter organization wants to recover the prominence it enjoyed in the 60s and 70s, it needs more stars, foils and drama.

Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon were long gone by the time I first saw the Trotters, back in 1988 at the Rosemont Horizon. I tagged along with the father and younger brother of the woman I was dating at the time, and I did my best to express my gratitude at being invited even though I'd been bored out of my skull at the time. And judging by Jim's review, things haven't gotten much better. And something tells me if the folks running the Trotters don't pay attention, their fate is already sealed.

Quit Whining And Pick Up Your Mouse

Here's a letter to the editor in today's Washington Post I thought I should share:

I was sorely disappointed with the March 14 NCAA Tournament special section.

Of 16 pages, the first 13 were devoted solely to the men's tournament. These pages featured stories about every aspect of the men's tournament seeding, "team-by-team capsules," and an entire page about the local men's teams that are not even playing in the tournament. The women's coverage consisted of two stories and a bracket. The fact that the Washington region is sending five women's teams to the tournament isn't mentioned until Page G14.

The women deserve more complete and more prominent coverage than this, especially with area teams doing so well. As a fan of women's basketball, I would like to see more stories, highlights, analysis and pictures. But I also hope that in the future Post editors will consider the message they are sending to budding female athletes by keeping coverage of women's basketball minimal and relegating it to the back pages.

-- Megan Hanson

I've got some advice for Megan. Although it might not be as morally satisfying as publicly harranging the Post, why not stroll over to Women's Hoops? There you'll find links to all of the Women's College Basketball coverage you could possibly want.

I bet that many of the young women interested in the sport whose fragile psyches she seems to be concerned with are probably already there.

Trust me, if you stop relying on the Post for any part of your daily information needs, they'll notice. Let the market for information work, and you'll be surprised at what might happen.

Heck, I never watch Women's Basketball, and I still read it every day because of a number of the issues it covers. And it doesn't hurt that despite the fact that I don't watch the sport, I can still respect the passion and expertise Ted brings to the subject.

And if that isn't good enough for Megan, I suppose she could still try to hook up with Susan Estrich to talk things over. Just remember you'll have to grab a ticket back to the 20th century in order to do it.

Not Quite So Mad About March

Ever get invited to a party where you don't know the host too well -- but one you never miss when it comes around because it's just too much fun?

Well, if you have, you've got a vague idea what it's like for me every year around the end of March when the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament comes around.

Don't get me wrong, I love the tournament. Every year I watch, and every year, I dutifully join at least one bracket pool. Heck, I even managed to win when Duke won the national title back in 2001 -- which more than made up for losing to some 8-year old kid by a point the year before.

And back in 1998, the first time the NCAA Tournament was held at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., I put my name in the lottery with all the other Washington Caps season ticket holders, and was elated when I found out I had won the chance to buy four seats to all the games.

I even ditched work to go watch that first daytime session -- I think I saw Washington upset Xavier.

Is there any better kind of hooky than taking the day off work to watch the NCAA Tournament? I still remember looking at my boss and telling him I was going to be gone for the next two afternoons. He looked a little perplexed.

I wonder what kind of hit the GDP takes the first day of the tournament?

But then again, March is really the only time I bother (with the exception of the year Wisconsin made it to the Final Four and my roomate at the time was an alumni. I must have seen the Badgers 15 times on ESPN that year). How my old buddy Yoni Cohen manages to get it done all year long, I'll never know. But as far as I'm concerned, there really isn't any reason to pay attention until there's about 2 minutes to go in the finals of the ACC Tournament.

Why is it this way? Well, get an education at a Division III school, and the whole college game loses a lot of heat and light (though the Michigan-Seton Hall final in 1989 was huge at a school where about 35 percent of the student body hailed from Northern New Jersey). And the last time I really cared about regular season college basketball was back in the mid-80s when the Big East was at its height, and I went to high school only about a 10-minute ride away from St. John's University in Queens.

And as the Big East slowly deflated, so did my interest in the regular season. And with the program at St. John's imploding earlier this year, I just tuned out about completely.

But here we are again in the middle of March, and I'm filling out my brackets and paying my entry fees. No, I won't be playing hooky this year, but I will have an eye on the scoreboard just like millions of others around the country.

So thanks for inviting me back. even though I've been out of touch for the last year or so. It's always great to show up just when the party is warming up.

And College Park Won't Burn

There's always an upside when the Terps lose. Enjoy the trip to the N.I.T.

Time For A New Lawyer

This is too funny:

A lawyer for the man charged with throwing a chair during the Nov. 19 brawl at the game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons must testify for the prosecution, a judge has ruled.

Kenneth Karasick had sought a court order to keep prosecutors from calling him to testify against his client, Bryant Jackson.

Charges were filed against five Pacers players and seven Pistons fans, including the 35-year-old Jackson.

Prosecutors say that when Karasick met with Auburn Hills police to review a videotape of the fight, he told a detective, "That's our boy," when the chair thrower appeared on the screen.

I think it's best to let the report speak for itself.

Ouch!

Courtesy of Ted at Women's Hoops, comes video footage of Detroit Shock guard Elaine Powell attacking an opposing player during a league game in Poland. Click here for more details.

It has to be the most disturbing video footage I've seen ever come from women's sports.

Summit Stalking History

Adolph Rupp Down, and Dean Smith to go.

And In The Dark Corners . . .

Ted at Women's Hoops has a nice roundup of misogynist spittle that you really shouldn't miss.

Marginalized as this thinking might be, it's still a nice service to be reminded that it's still alive and kicking.

Happy Birthday Allen Fieldhouse

Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas University is turning 50. The Lawrence Journal-World lists their choices for the top 50 moments in the arena's storied history.

POSTSCRIPT: And in an unusual twist for a school nowhere near a major body of water, KU has a swimsuit calendar,

Not that I'm complaining.

Bill Simmons At The NBA All-Star Game

Somebody had a good time in Denver:

The Jim Gray Award for "Strangest moment that involved Jim Gray"

Gray and I were introduced for the first time on Saturday afternoon ... he walked away ... and then returned 30 seconds later to ask me, "Are you the Bill Simmons from Page 2?" He proceeded to tell me that I was wrong about his performance after the Artest Melee, when I wrote about his voice "inexplicably quivering." According to Gray, many people on the floor were sprayed with pepper spray -- including him -- which explained his general demeanor after the incident. Fair enough. Although I think this should be another event on All-Star Saturday -- "Spray Jim Gray with Pepper Spray."

There's plenty more, including a great digression on Star Jones. Read it now.

More On The Shoes

Mars Blackman would be proud:

Some people collect baseball cards, some collect cars. Ruben Santamaria collects shoes -- Air Jordans, to be specific. He spends about $2,000 a month adding to a collection that already takes up three-fourths of his bedroom. There's just enough room left for the bed and path to it.

"Sometimes I go without eating or toilet paper. Even my girlfriend, she wants to kick me out of the apartment," said Santamaria, 27. "It's kind of ridiculous, I know."

Kudos to the AP's Catherine Tsai for putting together a great little story.

The Shoes At UConn

At UConn, the head coaches of both the Men's and Women's Basketball teams might be running afoul of state government ethics laws. Women's Hoops has the skinny.

From my perspective, the real problem here is that UConn, like many Division I athletic programs, is running defacto professional franchises that ought to be treated as such. And oh, by the way, the other real scandal is that both Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma can pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in shoe contract endorsements, while the athletes on the floor get nothing.

Granted, I can't blame either coach for taking advantage of the system as it exists today, but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be changed.

The Why Of The Tiger

Today's victim: Missouri head basketball coach Quin Snyder.

Wow, what a voice.

And, not surprisingly, someone is out to get him too.

Thanks to a buddy from the old days, John Branch, for the link.

New Looks For Women's Hoops . . .

Women's Hoops has a slick new look, and some news about the new commissioner of the WNBA, Donna Orender:

When LPGA commish Ty Votaw announced his resignation earlier this year, Orender was seen as a leading candidate to replace him. Golf Digest listed her TV background as a strength and her "hard-edged personality" as a weakness.

Now I know what you're all thinking, but I'm sure as heck not going to write it. For more, click here.

All Eyes On Columbia

Something isn't right inside the Women's Basketball program at Columbia University. Women's Hoops is on the case.

ACC 101

I guess it was inevitable -- somebody has put together a college course of sorts on the history of ACC Basketball.

Note to academic slackers: It's a non-credit course, so don't get your hopes up.

Hakeem Olajuwon's Mosque Implicated In Terror Probe

Just off the wire from the AP:

A mosque established and funded by basketball star Hakeem Olajuwon gave more than $80,000 to charities the government later determined to be fronts for the terror groups al-Qaida and Hamas, according to financial records obtained by The Associated Press.

Olajuwon told the AP he had not known of any links to terrorism when the donations were made, prior to the government's crackdown on the groups, and would not have given the money if he had known.

And I, for one, believe him. For an interview with Olajuwon that took place in the immediate aftermath of 9-11, click here.

A Federal spokseman pointedly commented the Olajuwon, who became a U.S. citizen in 1993 and helped Team USA win a gold medal in basketball at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, is not a target of the investigation.

Is The WNBA Worth More Than A Laugh?

I think everyone knew some kid while they were growing up who managed to have perfect attendance in elementary school. A lot of times, this kid managed to get an award. And in that moment, what did you think of that kid?

Radley Balko was at the MCI Center Monday night for the Pacers/Wizards game:

I can't ever visit the MCI Center without giggling at those "Washington Mystics, WNBA Attendance Champions" banners. There are five of them now . . .

I don't have anything against women's professional sports, so long as it's a sport there's a market for. The WNBA has been crammed down our throats from its inception. It's never made any money, and networks, advertisers, and sports media have essentially been guilted into promoting and supporting it.

I've been to MCI Center more times than I can count, and on each and every visit, someone in my group of friends always points out those banners with a snicker or worse. Color me guilty too, because I laugh every time.

But to Radley's larger point: Indeed, this league needs to be able to stand on its own, and be a business success in its own right in order to be taken seriously. That means a radical improvement in the quality of play, while at the same time attempting to appeal to a larger fan base and continuing to offer a night out at a reasonable price.

Can they do it? I don't know, but some of the league's most loyal fans are also its harshest critics.

Big Time Basketball Means Big Time Money

As the popularity of Women's college basketball increases, so do the commercial opportunities. In turn, we're beginning to see many of the norms of big-time Men's college basketball creep into the Women's game.

Click here for more details.

The Title IX Crowd Shows Its True Colors

A little less than a year ago, I linked to a Bill Pennington piece in the New York Times about how many of the elite teams in Women's college basketball practice against male college students in order to find a level of competition that can challenge them to excel.

As it turns out, some folks inside the NCAA are launching a study into the practice with the possible aim of banning it -- this despite the fact that all the top schools, including Tennessee and UConn, swear by it.

My buddy Ted at Women's Hoops is distressed by this, but I don't think he's nearly as distressed as he should be:

The idea would be to increase the opportunity for women in college athletics, though I don't understand how such a measure would accomplish that goal.

Which, after all, has been the point many critics of Title IX and the strict gender quotas used to enforce it have been making for years now.

What we have here is not an NCAA committee looking to increase opportunities for young women, but rather a number of individuals simply offended by the presence of men -- even if that presence has a salutary effect on the level of play those women ultimately achieve.

This is a lesson we shouldn't forget. Know this: The world of college athletics is a better place now that the participation of women has skyrocketed, and there is simply no going back. But make no mistake -- many colleges and universities are filled with folks seething with resentment, and all too ready to take it out on male college students. We need basic reform of Title IX enforcement to take this potent, and patently discriminatory weapon, out of their hands.

Amateur Basketbrawl

Sometimes, finding content for you folks is too easy:

A fight broke out in the stands of a girls' high school basketball game, prompting police to fire Tasers to stop it and clear the gym, authorities said. Eleven people face charges.

Follow the above link for the video. Glad to see the example set by the NBA is being observed in the amateur game.

Thanks to Drudge for the links.

The Return Of Karla Knafel

Looks like Michael Jordan is going back to court and one of the most popular search terms that drive folks to Off Wing is the reason.

I don't have a whole lot to say about this, other than simply point you folks in the right direction for what you're looking for.

Stop by again soon.

POSTSCRIPT: Blogging from location #4, my parents' house on Long Island. New Off Wing record!

Rudy T. Calls It Quits In L.A.

After only 42 games as head coach, Rudy Tomjanovich is stepping down as head coach of the L.A. Lakers.

Tomjanovich will be replaced on an interim basis by current Assistant Coach Frank Hamblen.

With Rudy T. bailing, even factoring questions about his health, it looks like the collapse of the Lakers is nearly complete.

I wonder what Kobe Bryant is thinking right now. Phil Jackson and Shaq too.

Carmelo Does His Penance

Remember "Stop Snitching," the Baltimore-produced documentary starring Denver Nuggets guard and Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony? Looks like Carmelo finally decided to do some damage control.

Steinbrenner Has Nothing On Her . . .

This story is weird. And then, it gets weirder.

What's Inside The Numbers?

Mark Cuban publishes some interesting stats about 3-point efficiency -- while omitting the data about his own team, the Dallas Mavericks.

It's an interesting tactic to say the least. I wonder if anyone else in the league is picking up on it?

How Duke Got Punk'd

Somebody got inside Cameron Indoor and turned the tables on the Dookies the other night.

Granted, it doesn't rise to the level of this prank, but it's still worth a chuckle nonetheless.

Thanks to my friend, and Maryland alum, Scott Frank for the pointer.

Steve Nash For MVP?

After watching the Suns hang 133 on New York last night, Jamie Mottram is convinced:

[T]hese are the simple facts:

1. Phoenix was 31-4 (an absurd 73-win pace) when Nash went down two weeks ago. Then they went 0-4 w/out him.

2. The Suns were 29-53 last year, and, aside from Q. Richardson, Nash was their only major addition. Well, Nash and Amare Stoudemire's newfound greatness.

3. He leads the league in assists (10.8 per game -- 16% more than anyone else) and is the only player in the league in the top-14 in field goal, 3-point and free throw-shooting percentages (52%, 41% and 91%, respectively).

4. He has dated a Spice Girl and partied hard w/ Dirk.

That's good enough for me.

Calling Chad Ford On The Carpet

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban doesn't hesitate to take reporters to task when he thinks they just make stuff up. And the current object of his ire is ESPN.com's Chad Ford:

The irony of it all, is that he writes for the ESPN Insider section of the website.The sad part is that ESPN.com charges for access to what he writes. This guy is so far from the inside of whats going on , that ESPN should be embarrased to take subscription money from its members.

That's pretty rough, so I asked Cuban to elaborate:

Im not mad. He just does something that I think needs to be corrected. He writes what he thinks I am thinking/feeling, or what I or the mavs are doing without ever asking

You know how easy it is to get aholdof me and ask me a question and so does he.

A reporter gets facts. Chad makes things up. When he makes things up about the mavs or about me, I will make a point to call him out. Just as i have done for Vescey and Sam Smith.

I can vouch for one thing: No matter when I've sent Cuban an email, it's only been a few hours before he got back to me. By contrast, I sent a note to Ford yesterday to give him a chance to respond, and I never heard anything.

And if he's reading this, the floor is still open.

But Cuban doesn't only talk about folks he thinks are mailing it in, he also takes time to praise folks who do a good job -- in this case, former ESPN and Washington Post reporter David Aldridge -- a sentiment I heartily agree with, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who feels that way.

The Hoops Lowdown

Here's a source I'm going to start to rely on: Inside Hoops: NBA Rumors.

Updated every morning by 10:00 a.m. Ch-check it out.

And don't forget, everyone involved in the "Basketbrawl" at the Palace a few months back is due in court this afternoon.

Who Do You Trust?

Thanks to the Sports Prof, I found Ken Pomeroy's blog on college basketball stats -- which got me to thinking of this passage I read recently on the Sports Grinder:

A friend email recently to ask if I've ever considered handicapping college sports. My answer was no for several reasons. First, the fact that the season is relatively short (40 games max) and the pool of teams so large, statisical analysis is difficult (IMHO). Teams play each other at most twice, and even the number of common opponents can be small since there are so many non-conference teams out there. The NBA has a longer season, and each teams plays all others several times.

The second reason has to do with the fact that I just don't trust amateur sports . . .

Read the rest right now to find out why. And then take a look back at my archives, where we've dealt with this issue before.

A Wolf In The Fold

There are times when I wish I could somehow combine everything I like about ESPN: The Magazine and Sports Illustrated. And with Eric Adelson's piece about Colorado youth basketball coach Rick Lopez, it looks like ESPN is making a real move to get there.

When you're finished with the piece, go to Sports Writing and Editing, and answer his question about what you just read.

Thanks to Ted at Women's Hoops (who has been all over this story for a while) for the pointer.

More On Coaching Misconduct

Ted at Women's Hoops has an excellent roundup of a series from the Albuquerque Tribune on sexual misconduct in amateur athletics -- in particular concerning the relationships between male coaches and female players:

[W]hen it comes to relationships between adult male coaches and girl athletes, there are gray areas and borderline cases. It is therefore imperative that schools and summer programs alike develop clear, bright-line rules defining what is acceptable and what is not. Of course, we can't write a rule in advance to cover every situation. But we can do more. AAU's current sexual misconduct policies, for example, appear to be hopelessly vague and woefully insufficient.

After following the stuff Ted has written over the past few weeks, I'm convinced there's a problem here. But instead of developing policies regulating behavior once coaches are on the job, might it make more sense for teams to do exhaustive background checks on coaching applicants before they ever get hired?

Hard Times For The Bonnies

One year after a recruiting scandal roared through the campus in tiny Olean, New York, things are looking pretty grim.

Grant Hill Returns To Detroit

Rob Visconti has some thoughts.

New Meaning To "Stall Ball"

I'm watching the north Carolina-Wake Forest game at the suggestion of Ben Wright, who also passed along word of perhaps the most stultifying basketball game in the history of the sport:

Hard to imagine a 3-pointer in the second quarter of a high school boy's basketball game would turn out to be the winning basket -- unless it's one of only three made in the entire game.

That basket, along with an earlier field goal, was all Bellows Free Academy-Fairfax needed to beat Milton on Wednesday night. The final score: 5-2.

Can somebody say "shot clock"?

Still Under The Radar

Over at Women's Hoops, Ted continues to cover a story that still hasn't broken in the national media -- namely, sexual misconduct by male coaches in female amateur sports.

Now, when we follow stories like this, there is always a danger that a story can be overhyped -- and in some cases the media can create a crisis where there really isn't one (just ask Dorothy Rabinowitz). But Ted is linking and thinking about too many of these stories now. Here's hoping somebody takes a harder look and soon.

Target: Michael Jordan

Over on the pages of Slate, Charles Pierce is angry at Michael Jordan for . . . well, as near as I can tell, being successful, rich and famous:

The last couple of months have been a triumph of banality, even by Jordan's standards, which always have been considerable. He's lent his name to a motorcycle racing team; Michael Jordan Motorsports began testing at Daytona on Jan. 3. He's turned up at his son's basketball games, complete with an entourage to shoo away the curious. He appeared on My Wife and Kids, a truly godawful ABC sitcom on which his fellow guest stars included Al Sharpton and Wayne Newton, who at least share a similar taste in pompadours and amulets. And now, he will bring to Las Vegas yet another banging, clanging neon corral, with a fitness center, a spa, and a rooftop nightclub. The surprise is not that Michael Jordan has become such an unremarkable, boring old suit. The surprise is that we ever saw him any other way.

There's more -- including an accusation that Jordan didn't have any lasting effect on the NBA past his retirement, and that he wasn't a special player at all, but rather just another in a long line of hoopsters who made their living above the rim.

As for the accusation that Jordan had no lasting effect on the game, just ask the folks who sell the league's international television rights and see what they have to say:

MOST OF THE FANS WHO mourned Michael Jordan's retirement last Wednesday had only seen him soar on TV. But distance had never dimmed their enthusiasm for the world's most beloved athlete. In the Philippines, for example, voter turnout for nationwide local elections in 1996 reached a record low during the airing of game six of the NBA playoffs (the Bulls won). Last week Jordan's farewell got top billing in newspapers there, and practically everywhere else. Taiwan's leading news channel carried Jordan's press conference live with simultaneous interpretation. Spanish papers pleaded: JORDAN, DON'T GO.

Folks, they don't shut down the Phillipines for just anybody. The only other athletes, never mind basketball players, who could make the world stop like this were Pele and Muhammad Ali.

And when it comes to his performance on the court, was there any other player in the history of the NBA who won more championships with less supporting talent than Jordan?

Don't believe me? Then take a look at the benches of the great Celtics and Sixers teams of the 1980s.

If you could surgically remove Larry Bird and Julius Erving from either lineup, how do you think they'd matchup with the Bulls, sans Jordan?

Don't forget folks, those Celtics won two championships. The Sixers, only one. The Bulls and Jordan won six the last time I counted.

I thought really hard about fisking the rest, but the piece is so full of holes, hatred and simple envy, that I feel guilty even giving it this much attention.

I'll let Kevin Holtsberry get the last word here:

Charlie Pierce may think he is some sort of clever iconoclast, but he is really just an arrogant prick.

Heh. Indeed.

Counting Down On LeBron In Cleveland?

Things are looking up in Cleveland with LeBron James transforming the franchise. But behind the scenes, the folks in Cleveland are worried.

ESPN.com's Chad Ford explains (subscription required):

The whispers around the league are that the Cavs already are sweating whether LeBron will re-sign with the Cavs when he becomes a free agent.

The concern is twofold. One, the Cavs know that by the time LeBron hits restricted free agency in the summer of 2007 they have to be fielding a team that has a legit shot at the title. If they don't, LeBron might decide against signing an extension, sign a one-year tender with the club and become an unrestricted free agent in 2008.

No top player has ever done it before. Why would LeBron take the risk? Because sources claim that he has clause in his endorsement contracts that substantially increase their worth if he's playing in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. With the Nets heading to Brooklyn in 2008, LeBron could have as many as five teams to choose from to make it happen.

Sounds a lot like when Shaq left Orlando, now doesn't it? Sad for Cavs fans, but, ultimately, probably better for the NBA.

Bob Karstens, R.I.P.

Here's a story I missed over the Holidays: Bob Karstens, the third White players in the history of the Harlem Globetrotters, died December 31 in Redlands, California. He was 89.

Karstens, an Iowa native who played with the team during WWII, stuck with the team for a season and a half, and had some interesting memories that were worth sharing:

He said that integrating the all-black team eight years before Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton became the first black in the NBA in 1950 posed no problem, but provided some interesting situations. He was once housed with teammates in all-black barracks while playing on an Army base, and ousted from the team's all-black railroad car by a conductor in Texas while talking with track star Jesse Owens.

"Being the only white guy was never a problem. Hardly anybody even asked about it," he told The Times in 1979. "I had the skills to fit in and do the tricks. Everybody respected that and that's all there was to it."

Some of other pertinent facts: Karstens joined the team a full eight years before Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton became the first African-American in the NBA, and is credited with helping develop some of the team's signature routines.

Thanks for the no-look bounce pass to Delicious Pundit.

The Kobe Bryant Implosion

With sales of his jersey dropping through the floor, can it be any surprise that Kobe Bryant has decided to lend a hand with tsunami relief?

Here's an excerpt from the interview he gave Larry King on CNN last night:

KING: Does it [the tsunami] make your own adversity seem small?

BRYANT: Oh, absolutely.

KING: It dwarfs it, right?

BRYANT: Absolutely. You know, we all have crosses to bear. We all have crosses to bear. And you know, the cross that you are blessed to carry, may feel like a huge burden to you, but there's somebody out there who has a cross five times bigger than yours...

KING: You're not kidding.

BRYANT: ...that's carrying that cross. And then there's another person who has a cross bigger than his. And so we're all blessed in our own way, to be able to just wake up in the morning and to be able to receive the Lord's blessing, and to carry that cross and carry that burden, because it's a blessing, and that's how it should be looked. Because in the process of going through adversity, you're learning something. It brings you closer to God.

Interesting. It takes real guts to compare one's own self-inflicted wounds with the suffering of Jesus Christ and the pain inflicted by one of the most massive disasters in all of human history.

If I were giving Bryant PR advice these days it would consist of two elements: Apologize, and then shut up and play.

Basketball Sabermetrics

Mark Cuban publishes some stats, and tells his readers to figure them out.

That Masked Man

Following on a great feature from NHL.com on the history of the goalie mask, comes another feature from NBA.com on the history of protective face shields.

Needless to say, I think this one from Brandon Williams is the best of the lot.

And again, an assist to Sportsfilter.

For Hoops Stars, The Ivies Are No Longer An Option

There was a time when basketball players who combined that rare mix of atheltic talent and academic aptitutde had a good shot at ending up in the Ivy League.

But that time, as the Sports Prof explains, is long past.

Bettman's Blind Spot

The New York Times ran a long piece on the history of Gary Bettman's tenure with the NHL earlier this week, and Steve Ovadia had some pertinent observations:

Bettman also never seen to understand hockey as a game. He let the goalies get bigger, the clutching get ridiculous, and the defenses get stifling. He sat by and let the sport get (at times) absurdly slow. A more hockey-minded commissioner would have had a better sense of what makes the game fun and what makes it dull. Bettman never seemed mildly interested in that.

Let's rewind to last October, when Mark Cuban uncorked a warning inside a post about scoring in the NBA that the NHL should be paying attention to:

I want to make the game a better entertainment product for our customers. If I have to suffer the fools who have nothing better to do, so be it. I suggest they read a favorite book of mine, The Innovators Dillema.

Track and Field used to be the number 1 sport in America. So did Boxing. There are tons of examples of entertainment products that took for granted that they would always be in demand and never adjusted to their customers. I don’t want the NBA to be one more example in a textbook or business class 25 years from now.

Something tells me that when it comes to the NHL, the chapter of that future textbook may have already been written. Meanwhile, Tom Benjamin isn't all that enthused at the financial structure that Bettman wants to put in place for the future -- if there is one.

Exit Bzdelik, Enter Cooper

The Denver Nuggests have hired Michael Cooper to replace Jeff Bzdelik as head coach, something that has Ted & Sara excited over at Women's Hoops. Why? Because Cooper was once head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, and his hiring is helping to legitimize the league as a source for coaching talent in the NBA.

Also, while you're visiting Ted & Sara, be sure to read about the end to a very sordid and troubling story involving youth sports -- and one that deserved more nationwide attention.

Arbitrator Reduces O'Neal Suspension

I'm going to need help from the Off Wing legal team on this story:

Jermaine O'Neal won a 10-game reduction Wednesday in his suspension for fighting with fans during the Nov. 19 Pacers-Pistons brawl, but an arbitrator upheld NBA commissioner David Stern's bans on Ron Artest and two other Indiana players.

Arbitrator Roger Kaplan's decision makes O'Neal eligible to return Saturday, when the Pacers host the Pistons in the teams' first matchup since one of the most violent melees in NBA history.

It was unclear whether the NBA would recognize Kaplan's authority to intervene. The league refused to participate in the arbitration hearing Kaplan conducted Dec. 9.

Ok, here's my amateur legal explanation (DANGER, DANGER). Apparently, Kaplan had been appointed by the league and the union as the league's official greviance arbitrator. In turn, a number of months ago, Kaplan was terminated, but according to the collective bargaining agreement currently in force, he has to remain in the position until a successor is found.

However, because it is the NBA's position that Commissioner David Stern is the sole arbiter of on-court disciplinary actions, the league maintains that Stern's actions in this case cannot be subject to arbitration (in fact, the league didn't even show up for the hearing, something that reportedly isn't all that out of the ordinary in actions like these).

Apparently, this means that the union will need to go to federal court in order to get the reduction enforced. Click here for more details.

As for the decision itself, more than a few folks though O'Neal's actions on the night of the brawl weren't nearly as reprehensible as that of teammates Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson -- something I thought was more than adequately reflected in Stern's original suspension. I think that decision ought to stand.

Thanks to Sports Law Blog for filling in many of the details.

UPDATE: As expected, the NBA is challenging the ruling.

Letter To Kobe

I haven't said anything about the silliness in LA between Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone in LA, but I think Tony Pierce has a pretty good take.

Arrest Warrants Issued In Basketbrawl Incident

Auburn Hills police have filed arrest warrants on five players and seven fans involved in last month's brawl at the Palace during a Pistons-Pacers game:

Sources familiar with the investigation said the Pacers expected to face charges are Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest, David Harrison, Anthony Johnson and Stephen Jackson. O'Neal is expected to be charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery, and the others each are expected to face one count of assault and battery.

John Green, the West Bloomfield season ticket holder accused of throwing the cup at Artest that sparked the brawl, is expected to be charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery.

Bryant Jackson, the 35-year-old season-ticket holder from Mundy Township near Flint who is accused of throwing a chair into the crowd, will likely be charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and battery and one count of felonious assault, a four-year felony.

David Wallace, the brother of Detroit Piston Ben Wallace, is expected to be charged with a count of misdemeanor assault and battery, as are two other fans who haven't been publicly identified.

The names of those being charged will be read publicly at a press conference sometime this afternoon. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Here's the New York Times account of the press conference conducted by Oakland County prosecutor David Gorcyca. Video is on the way. Stick around.

VIDEO UPDATE: Here's the video of the press conference from NBC4 Detroit.

And Under The National Sports Radar . . .

In these days when on-court violence and off-field doping dominate the headlines, there may be an equally disturbing story developing in girl's amateur athletics. Check in with Ted at Women's Hoops for the details.

Carmelo On The Wire

In an occurrence that's sure to delight the producers of the HBO series, The Wire, it appears Baltimore native and Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony got taken advantage of by a few old friends from the neighborhood:

In a city struggling with drug violence, some activists are worried about a homemade DVD showing Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony standing with a man who warns that people who tip Baltimore police about drug deals will "get a hole in their head."

The DVD's cover bears the title: "Stop Snitching" and a photocopied image and name for the apparent artist: "Skinny Suge." The cover also has photocopied images of what appear to be dead shooting victims . . .

The DVD showed up for sale for $10 within the last week on Baltimore's streets. The production includes music, dancing and spoken messages, with clips showing men stuffing wads of cash into their pockets, driving in convertibles, smoking marijuana and flashing diamond-encrusted watches.

In one segment, Anthony stands on a street, wearing a red shirt and baseball hat and laughing while another man talks about life on the street, snitches and the National Basketball Association. Anthony, 20, doesn't respond to any of the comments about violence, except to laugh. The credits of the DVD include a special thanks to "Melo," Anthony's nickname.

A few episodes ago on The Wire, Baltimore drug kingpins Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale arranged to watch a workout of one of the city's top basketball stars in order to get him to play in an annual neighborhood grudge match. Further, one of the minor plot points in this season's set of episodes concerned problems with Baltimore's witness protection program.

Life imitating art, or art imitating life?

New Address For EOTB

Tim Kraus has moved, and End of the Bench has joined the Most Valuable Network. Update your bookmarks accordingly.

Prosecutorial Overreach?

Nathan Novak at Slow Play says Oakland County prosecutor David Gorcyca should think twice before indicting any member of the Indiana Pacers who dove into the crowd in Detroit a few weeks back:

I have no doubt that the prosecution has a chance of prevailing on some of these charges (especially with some home cooking from a local jury), but a prosecutor does not have to bring any charge he believes he can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. There are a number of reasons why this prosecution should not go forward.

Read it all to see exactly why, though as far as I'm concerned, criminal prosecutiion for behavior that crosses the line on the field of play and into the stands seems perfectly acceptable to me -- as long as the same standard is applied to fans who cross that line as well.

BANNED FROM THE PALACE: This is what I'm talking about.

Pacer Players To Be Charged

Tell the folks at CourtTV to get ready:

Indiana Pacers players will be charged for fighting with fans during the Nov. 19 brawl at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons, Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca told The Detroit News.

"Whoever was involved in fisticuffs will be charged, regardless if they were wearing a jersey. It's obvious there were several Pacer players and fans that dealt blows," Gorcyca said, the newspaper reported Tuesday.

The prosecutor declined to say which players would be charged or what the charges might be.

More later.

Detroit Chair-Thrower Caught On Video

Click here for the completely over the top report where NBC's local affiliate in Detroit essentially fingers the suspect who threw the chair in Friday's melee.

What to do for Ron Artest - or does anger management work?

I originally posted this on my own web site - db's Medical Rants. I hope you enjoy this discussion.

db

================

The recent Ron Artest outburst had many pundits discussing how he needed help. Some explicitly endorsed anger management. But, like everything else in medicine, we must hold anger management classes to explicit criteria. Do these classes decrease anger outbursts.

This NY Times article suggests that the classes may not help at all - Anger Management May Not Help at All

"Anger-management classes, I think, are a Band-Aid; they allow people to feel they've done something, but they haven't had any kind of real treatment," said Dr. Ray DiGiuseppe, a psychologist at St. John's University, where Artest played college basketball. "We have no organized treatment, no idea whether counselors doing the teaching have training in mental health. We're operating under this delusion that we're helping people when we may be just continuing the violence."

Until we understand better the physiology of anger outbursts, I doubt that we will consistently help sufferers. I did choose the word sufferers carefully. Most people with this problem have great regret afterwards. They do not choose to react so violently.

I suspect that there is some genetic predisposition here. Certainly men are more prone to anger outbursts than women. First, we need to have researchers explicitly study the problem.

Anger training is often mandated by courts for spouse abusers, violent criminals, bullying adolescents and aggressive drivers. The classes are based on a loosely defined set of principles and techniques thought to help some people settle or contain outbursts.

A pattern of hostile behavior is not considered a specific diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, something that limits research that could lead to effective treatment.

State and county programs have generally been set up without consulting research, experts say, and the result is an unregulated system without any agreed-on standards of what should be taught, when, and to whom. Recent studies suggest that the techniques can be helpful for some people, but that in many cases the classes have little or no measurable effect, and can potentially make the problems worse.

Until we define and study this syndrome we will depend on "feel good" programs. Sending someone for anger management classes absolves the courts (or employer) from responsibility. Anger management classes just seem like they should work. I fear they are junk psychology. We need data. But more importantly, Ron Artest and those like him need data, research and real hope.

Let Cooler Heads Prevail

Both Ted and Colby linked to Ben Mathis-Liley's piece in in Slate deflating all the doomsaying over last Friday's edition of "Basketbrawl" in Detroit:

Immediately after the brawl, the talking heads on ESPN's NBA Shootaround all said that disgusted fans would stop watching NBA games in droves. At this exact moment, millions of people were talking, probably for the first time in history, about a regular season NBA game.

Which after all, is pretty similar to what Mark Cuban said a couple of months back when he was asked what he thought the effect of the Kobe Bryant trial would be on the NBA. Heck, even I'll admit my traffic has essentially tripled over the past week due to Friday's fight and that MNF teaser last week. But I should let the man finish.

The biggest lesson that we can take away from this mega-fight is that Ron Artest is really, really loony, just like Dennis Rodman was loony, and Vernon Maxwell was loony. This is a guy who, after becoming a national villain, appeared on the Today Show to explain himself while decked out in gear promoting his rap album. Rather than herald a plague of sports-related violence, the Pacers-Pistons brawl has just reinforced how rare this kind of behavior is. Now it'll be even rarer because the mental and physical boundaries that keep fans and players apart will be far stronger. I bet you'll think twice about tossing a beer the next time you go to a basketball game.

There's one sentiment I wholeheartedly endorse that Ted mentioned: If I hear one more person whine about "the children" my head is going to explode.

POSTSCRIPT: I should have linked to this yesterday, but sometimes I forget Slate publishes on a West Coast deadline. Gee, I wish I could publish on a West Coast deadline. . .

UPDATE: Some other viewpoints from our friends in the MSM: Robert George and Tom Boswell.

Odds And Ends On Artest

NBA Commissioner David Stern in an interview with the AP on what the league can realistically accomplish when it comes to fan misbehavior:

"The reality is that our society and our arenas exist based upon a social contract," Stern said. "Everyone knows that if 20,000 fans decided to go on a rampage, we'd have a serious problem on our hands, no matter what we did."

Then again, it's not all 20,000 fans we need to worry about -- just the fraction of one percent that make life miserable for all the rest.

Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Juan Non-Volokh is being pretty hard on Stern, taking him to task for not condemning the fans involved with more vigor. Start here, then go here, and here.

Here in Washington, the name of Robin Ficker is well-known for his once-constant jabbering behind the visitor's bench at Washington Wizards (formerly Bullets) games.

Yesterday, he showed up in the New York Times to give a lesson in fan ettiquette:

Fans who don't know the bounds of their own conduct should be held responsible for whatever happens - and should also be barred from future games.

In all my years as one of the most vociferous fans of the Bullets (the team changed its name to the Wizards in 1997), I never resorted to anything stronger than the English language. Although some people thought I knew no bounds, my rules were simple and effective: no drinking, no swearing, no racial or sexual comments, and no comments about children.

To be filed next to your "Free Tyson" and "Free Kobe" t-shirts: "Free Artest."

Thanks to Women's Hoops, and