Well I really only have one thing I want to talk about today so I will just jump right in. Lebron James thoroughly confuses me. There is not a lot of question that Lebron is a freak of nature, you know, the good kind. He is a 6'8'', 240 lbs man-child who can run with the guards and handle himself down low with the big men. You see him on the Nike and Sprite commercials, and you just want to like the guy, you want him to win a fistful of NBA titles and in 15 years you want to look back and say that this is the kid that made people care about the NBA after Michael Jordan. The guy that made people care about the NBA again for good reasons again. Not the way people care about Ron Artest or Stephen Jackson, the guys people watch just to see when they will explode next; the Dennis Rodman version 2.0's if you will. And not the way people care about Kobe Bryant, the guy they watch to see how many points he has to score to earn acceptance again. No, Lebron is the guy who has a shot to make the NBA relevant to people who wouldn't recognize Kyle Korver if he walked by them on the street. Lebron is the guy who is supposed to have the game and the personality to make people care again; to make people watch basketball and actually root for someone to succeed; to make people care the way Michael made people care.
This is where the situation gets tricky though. Usually when a player has these kind of massive expectations piled on their shoulders, they either crumple like a paper sack, or they rise up and not only meet but also surpass the expectations laid upon them. Lebron James however, has done both. If you look at the stats alone, Lebron has already put himself in some lofty company. His name is uttered in the same breath as Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, and Michael Jordan on a regular basis. The stats alone say that people like myself who believe Mr. James will some day average a triple double over the course of the regular season are not necessarily out of their minds. But have you watched a Cavs game lately? I am going to be completely honest, if I am rooting for Cleveland and they're down late and Lebron has the ball in his hands . . . I'm nervous. Not anxious, as in anxious to see how Lebron is going to win the game this time and not excited, as in excited because I feel like I'm about to witness history. Nervous, as in deep down I don't think Lebron is going to come through. I know he's had his moments, against the Wizards in the playoffs last year and against the Pistons in Game 5 this year, but the bottom line is if you are the Cavs and you need a jumper to win a game, you aren't completely sure who you want taking the shot. Lebron's jumper is a work in progress and when he has to force himself to get a shot off, often the result is awkward at best.
On the other hand Lebron James is only 22 years old. Cleveland without Lebron would have been more excited about the draft lottery a couple weeks ago than it would be for the NBA Finals. He has put up great numbers every year, and for the most part, those numbers have improved each of his four years in the league. Lebron has handled the media scrutiny like a seasoned veteran from the first day he arrived on the scene. He can pretty much get to the basket and finish at will . . . even with two or three defenders hanging on to his arms for dear life. He has put his team in a position to win it all faster than MJ did and without the assistance of a trusty sidekick like Scottie Pippen. So clearly, there is a lot to like about the boy they call King.
But what does all this mean? Well when you look at the negatives, such as a jumper that is spotty at best, you have to remember that at the age of 22 Michael Jordan's jumper wasn't exactly the stuff of legends. And it is in fact hard to make a legitimate case that Lebron has a tendency to choke in big games when the guy has led his team to the NBA Finals when the rest of the Cavs roster could be mistaken for a good Division II team. I mean even though he is only in the Finals because he managed to navigate Cleveland to being the champions of literally the weakest conference in NBA history, his most reliable target to pass to is a guy they call "Boobie" (Daniel Gibson), so I am going to go ahead and call that one a wash. What it all comes down to is this; Lebron James is a great basketball player. He may not be the next Michael Jordan, but he is the face of the league and he will win multiple championships . . . that is as soon as the Cavs management puts a couple guys on the floor that can make wide open shots. That being said, wait 10 years. MJ didn't start winning championships until he was pushing 30, so Lebron is still ahead of the curve. Just give the kid a break and watch baseball and football for a couple years until Lebron James is ready to make the NBA matter again.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Here Goes Nothin'
Welcome to the debut of Big O Sports Blog. Hopefully one day I will have developed a cult-like following and this post will pop up on Google searches worldwide as readers try to find how the greatest thing on the web got started. And when that day comes anyone reading this right now officially has my permission to claim that they knew about me before I got big and became a sellout to ESPN. But for now, here are just a few things on my mind today. Today's lineup includes, what's wrong with college baseball, Kevin Durant bench presses less than some girls I know, and me shamefully admitting to having watched the Women's College World Series (they will appear in that order).
The Problem With College Baseball
First of all, I just have to say that something is seriously wrong with the way the NCAA men's baseball tournament is set up. Four of the tournaments top eight seeds (Vanderbilt, Texas, Florida State, San Diego) were eliminated in regional play this past weekend. Now I am all for parity and competitive balance but when half of the supposedly eight best teams in the country get knocked out in the first round, thats an issue. I suppose you could argue that the top eight national seeds were simply overrated, but you would certainly be wrong in this case. All four of the teams eliminated had fantastic regular seasons and were loaded with talent. It just seems as though the current system is not very good at rewarding teams for how well they played for the duration of the long season. I believe where the problem comes in is the fact that each individual regional is made just about as good as possible to create a more competitive atmosphere, and as a result the top eight nationals seeds don't have that much easier a road than anyone else. The regional rounds should be set up in the same fashion the basketball tournament pairings are made, the best teams during the regular season are rewarded by being given the easiest path to get to the College World Series. Sure it makes for less competitive regional competition, but to be frank, that really doesn't matter. College baseball games for the most part are not televised on a large scale until the super regional round. Basically what would happen is there would be some pretty serious heavyweight matchups in the super regionals and the winner of those knockdown-drag outs would be worthy of getting to Omaha. This would create, drama, excitement, and of course, good television. It would be a win for college baseball fans, a win for the teams who were most successful during the regular season, and a win for the networks carrying the games. Instead this year we get to watch overmatched teams who squeaked through their regionals, give the second tier of baseball programs a free pass to the College World Series. It is just a shame.
Kevin Durant, Prodigy on the Court, Wee Girl in the Weight Room
Well if you follow the NBA at all, by now you have surely heard that Kevin Durant failed to bench press 185 lbs at a recent pre-draft workout. In reality this story could not matter less, it just makes me feel good about myself, seeing as I can bench press 185 lbs (and then some actually, several times in fact, I'll show you). Truth be told, Durant will still go number two overall in the draft, he still scores more or less at will and when he feels like it can rebound and defend with the best of them. But let it be said that I, of similar age as Kevin Durant, and of superior strength while playing for a small Christian college basketball team, would like to be considered by the Celtics at the number five selection. Everyone knows they really wanted Durant, just ask Bill Simmons aka The Sports Guy (ESPN.com's page 2 section), but why select Durant when they could have me; a sharp shooter who out benches the player briefly known as a Texas Longhorn by at least 70 lbs . . . that's right, 70. There are two important things lost in the fact that Durant benches less than several girls I went to high school with; 1. Whoever was getting paid to get Durant ready for the draft and these workouts should be fired immediately. What, someone forgot to tell Durant's trainer that teams pinning their future on a guy might be interested in how strong he is? The guy has had three months since Durant stopped being a college student (don't kid yourself, Durant didn't attend a single class second semester, even if his transcript says differently) to work with this kid, and he couldn't get the future number two pick to bench his own weight? I have one word the for that trainer, BOOT! This is the biggest predraft workout blunder since Vince Young's posse forgot to tell him to study for the Wonderlic test, leading to Young misspelling his own name to receive the lowest test score in the history of mankind (OK I made up the part about misspelling his name, but would it surprise you? Maybe it is just a U of Texas thing). this reminds me, is there anyway we can get the monkey that got a 13 on the ACT to take the Wonderlic to see if he can outscore Vince? And finally the second important thing being missed due to Durant's noodle arms is the fact that Greg Oden is a certifiable freak. Oden outperformed Durant (who is by all accounts a great overall athlete) in speed, agility, and strength (duh) drills. Durant is going to be a great ball player but Oden is just a once in a generation talent.
Yes, I Watched the WCWS, Quit Judging Me
Alright, I admit it, I watched the NCAA softball championship. Not just the final game, but several games. There, I acknowledged the elephant in the room. Now let's try and get past that. Here are some of my thoughts on the whole thing. First, you just have to feel bad for Tennessee's pitcher Monica Abbott. She pretty much shattered every NCAA pitching mark out there while putting Lady Vols softball on the national scene (however small that scene may be). Abbott was absolutely dominant throughout the WCWS, not allowing a run until the second game of the championship series, and allowing her team with their anemic offense to come within a myriad of missed opportunities of becoming national champions. Anyway, mad props to Monica Abbott, even not giving a rip about softball, you have to appreciate dominance when you see it. Second, ladies, if you want people to take you seriously as athletes, play on a field designed for adults please. I played on a field with bases 60 feet apart when I was somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 years old. Every two-hopper to the left side of the infield is a base hit, seriously, there needs to be some adjustments made. And finally last but not least, the strike zone in softball is an absolute joke. Pitches a foot outside are called a strike but when you paint the corner on the inner half of the plate its a ball. No wonder half the players on every team flirt with the Mendoza Line. I don't care if it is just one of those accepted things in the sport, it needs to be changed. Just have one of those meetings that college basketball has every year to tell refs that carrying the ball is going to be a point of emphasis, and tell your umps to call a legit strike zone. Maybe then two teams in a three game championship series could combine to crack double digits in runs and someone besides Skip Bayless might actually care about women's softball. Just for the record, I watched it, but did not care. I just want to make that clear.
I hope you enjoyed the first ever edition of Big O Sports Blog, leave some comments and check back for new posts.
The Problem With College Baseball
First of all, I just have to say that something is seriously wrong with the way the NCAA men's baseball tournament is set up. Four of the tournaments top eight seeds (Vanderbilt, Texas, Florida State, San Diego) were eliminated in regional play this past weekend. Now I am all for parity and competitive balance but when half of the supposedly eight best teams in the country get knocked out in the first round, thats an issue. I suppose you could argue that the top eight national seeds were simply overrated, but you would certainly be wrong in this case. All four of the teams eliminated had fantastic regular seasons and were loaded with talent. It just seems as though the current system is not very good at rewarding teams for how well they played for the duration of the long season. I believe where the problem comes in is the fact that each individual regional is made just about as good as possible to create a more competitive atmosphere, and as a result the top eight nationals seeds don't have that much easier a road than anyone else. The regional rounds should be set up in the same fashion the basketball tournament pairings are made, the best teams during the regular season are rewarded by being given the easiest path to get to the College World Series. Sure it makes for less competitive regional competition, but to be frank, that really doesn't matter. College baseball games for the most part are not televised on a large scale until the super regional round. Basically what would happen is there would be some pretty serious heavyweight matchups in the super regionals and the winner of those knockdown-drag outs would be worthy of getting to Omaha. This would create, drama, excitement, and of course, good television. It would be a win for college baseball fans, a win for the teams who were most successful during the regular season, and a win for the networks carrying the games. Instead this year we get to watch overmatched teams who squeaked through their regionals, give the second tier of baseball programs a free pass to the College World Series. It is just a shame.
Kevin Durant, Prodigy on the Court, Wee Girl in the Weight Room
Well if you follow the NBA at all, by now you have surely heard that Kevin Durant failed to bench press 185 lbs at a recent pre-draft workout. In reality this story could not matter less, it just makes me feel good about myself, seeing as I can bench press 185 lbs (and then some actually, several times in fact, I'll show you). Truth be told, Durant will still go number two overall in the draft, he still scores more or less at will and when he feels like it can rebound and defend with the best of them. But let it be said that I, of similar age as Kevin Durant, and of superior strength while playing for a small Christian college basketball team, would like to be considered by the Celtics at the number five selection. Everyone knows they really wanted Durant, just ask Bill Simmons aka The Sports Guy (ESPN.com's page 2 section), but why select Durant when they could have me; a sharp shooter who out benches the player briefly known as a Texas Longhorn by at least 70 lbs . . . that's right, 70. There are two important things lost in the fact that Durant benches less than several girls I went to high school with; 1. Whoever was getting paid to get Durant ready for the draft and these workouts should be fired immediately. What, someone forgot to tell Durant's trainer that teams pinning their future on a guy might be interested in how strong he is? The guy has had three months since Durant stopped being a college student (don't kid yourself, Durant didn't attend a single class second semester, even if his transcript says differently) to work with this kid, and he couldn't get the future number two pick to bench his own weight? I have one word the for that trainer, BOOT! This is the biggest predraft workout blunder since Vince Young's posse forgot to tell him to study for the Wonderlic test, leading to Young misspelling his own name to receive the lowest test score in the history of mankind (OK I made up the part about misspelling his name, but would it surprise you? Maybe it is just a U of Texas thing). this reminds me, is there anyway we can get the monkey that got a 13 on the ACT to take the Wonderlic to see if he can outscore Vince? And finally the second important thing being missed due to Durant's noodle arms is the fact that Greg Oden is a certifiable freak. Oden outperformed Durant (who is by all accounts a great overall athlete) in speed, agility, and strength (duh) drills. Durant is going to be a great ball player but Oden is just a once in a generation talent.
Yes, I Watched the WCWS, Quit Judging Me
Alright, I admit it, I watched the NCAA softball championship. Not just the final game, but several games. There, I acknowledged the elephant in the room. Now let's try and get past that. Here are some of my thoughts on the whole thing. First, you just have to feel bad for Tennessee's pitcher Monica Abbott. She pretty much shattered every NCAA pitching mark out there while putting Lady Vols softball on the national scene (however small that scene may be). Abbott was absolutely dominant throughout the WCWS, not allowing a run until the second game of the championship series, and allowing her team with their anemic offense to come within a myriad of missed opportunities of becoming national champions. Anyway, mad props to Monica Abbott, even not giving a rip about softball, you have to appreciate dominance when you see it. Second, ladies, if you want people to take you seriously as athletes, play on a field designed for adults please. I played on a field with bases 60 feet apart when I was somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 years old. Every two-hopper to the left side of the infield is a base hit, seriously, there needs to be some adjustments made. And finally last but not least, the strike zone in softball is an absolute joke. Pitches a foot outside are called a strike but when you paint the corner on the inner half of the plate its a ball. No wonder half the players on every team flirt with the Mendoza Line. I don't care if it is just one of those accepted things in the sport, it needs to be changed. Just have one of those meetings that college basketball has every year to tell refs that carrying the ball is going to be a point of emphasis, and tell your umps to call a legit strike zone. Maybe then two teams in a three game championship series could combine to crack double digits in runs and someone besides Skip Bayless might actually care about women's softball. Just for the record, I watched it, but did not care. I just want to make that clear.
I hope you enjoyed the first ever edition of Big O Sports Blog, leave some comments and check back for new posts.
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