Blogger appears to be a little jacked up. I haven’t been getting the automatic e-mails when people post comments for the past couple days. The two posts I added this morning didn’t show up for nearly an hour. I highly doubt Christie took the time to type her comments up five times (at last count) either! Oh the price I pay for using a free application. Hopefully things will work out soon and none of you are having trouble accessing the site or posting.
A few quick thoughts on the NBA draft, of which I only saw and hour or so. Based on what I read today, I’m in a tiny minority on this, but I just don’t get the whole Ben Gordon thing. Great college player, absolutely no question about that. But the dude is listed as 6’2”, which means he’s 6’1” at best. That makes him undersized to play the two spot in the NBA. He doesn’t have a pure point mentality, so I don’t see a smooth transition there. And then the Bulls, who already have Kirk Hinrich and Jamal Crawford in their backcourt, take him? There were rumors the Pacers wanted to trade for him, which I don’t get either. I may be way off here, but I just don’t look at him and see NBA star. Also, I don’t understand how the league can be so high on him, yet so low on Jameer Nelson. Nelson might be small, but he’s a proven point who can punish defenses with his outside shot. He’s not going to be a star, but I can see him being a high quality role player or backup for a long time.
I buy into the backlash against all the high school picks about 75%. I’ve lamented the rash of high schoolers thinking they belong in the Association for several years. I think it hurts the NBA, college hoops, and the players themselves. For every LeBron that’s clearly ready, there are three Kwame Browns who aren’t ready physically, mentally, or ability-wise and will never live up to the hype they arrived in the league with. Is it just me, though, or does ESPN orchestrate a backlash du jour (since I don’t know how to say “year” in French) for each year’s draft? Last year, we heard four hours of xenophobic rantings against foreign players. This year, it’s pile on the high school kids. Sure seems pre-planned to me.
Dick Vitale still knows nothing about the NBA.
Apparently ESPN poured most of their budget for June into the marketing for SportsCenter in HDTV. Memo to Bristol: You might want to get some decent audio equipment and test it before next year’s draft so we’re not forced to listen to reverb and feedback, not to mention entirely too much crowd noise, all night. It was like someone talking to you from the end of a long hallway. Then again, with Mike Tirico and Stuart Scott serving as hosts, maybe less is better.
Tom Tolbert’s magic suit must have been at the cleaners.
I’m always torn on Stephen A. Smith. Anyone who can get into full rant mode and still make complete points deserves respect. But not every opinion requires a rant to back it up. However, a nice counterpunch to David Alrdrige’s smooth personality.
In other sports news, the Royals Revival of the early 00’s is officially over with Carlos Beltran’s trade to Houston last night. When I was a kid, the Royals just didn’t lose homegrown talent. Here’s to hoping David DeJesus develops as everyone says he will, the young pitchers currently playing stay healthy, the young pitchers on the DL come back next year, and the prospects in the minor leagues develop quickly. Oh, and a new economic structure for baseball and/or an ownership group willing to spend money in order to win.
I received my Livestrong wristbands in the mail today. If you’ve not heard about these, it’s the marketing tool the Lance Armstrong Foundation is using to raise awareness and money for supporting those who live with cancer. $10 buys you ten bands. I’m married to the daughter of a woman who lost her battle with cancer ten years ago, and am the step-son of a man who beat cancer 15 years ago. $10 plus a donation to the foundation seems like a small price to pay to support a cause that touches my life so closely.