King James and other sports shorts
Baffled...that is how I feel having read espn.com's Bill Simmons' article last week on the crowning of King James (Lebron).
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons&entryDate=20070601
As I read his thoughts, I felt he was writing it at gun-point. His arguments were not his normal thought processes. His praise seemed misplaced or at a minimum over done.
While the game that brought about all this praise was a tremendous effort by Lebron I cannot put him on the pedastal (yet). Scoring 29 out of the last 30 points the Cavs scored was tremendous...tremendous affirmation that his teammates SUCK. This was not Michael Jordan scoring 63 on the Celtics in the playoffs (in a loss).
"If you care about basketball, this game immediately joined the Bird-Dominique Duel, The Flu Game, MJ's Last Shot, Magic's Sky Hook, McHale's Clothesline, the Sleepy Floyd Game, MJ's 63-Point Game, the Bernard-Isiah Duel, the '87 All-Star Game, the Suns-Celts Game, Bird's Steal, Havlicek's Steal, West's Half-Court Shot, the Miller/Spike Lee Game and every other classic over the years that can be described/remembered/rehashed in three or four words. We'll call this "LeBron's 48-Point Game" someday. 'Nuff said."
The defense was pathetic that Detroit threw at Lebron at the end of regulation and in the two OT periods. Simmons often writes about his conspiracy theories with regards to the Ewing draft lottery, perhaps he should be writting about this. It is as if somebody in the league office sent word down to Detroit to single guard Lebron down the stretch. Absolutely no double teams, and if he gets by his man (point guard Billups) nobody will step in to help.
The dunk towards the end of regulation and then the game winner in the 2nd OT were jokes. Now, I am not saying I'd like to step in front of Lebron as he is charging towards the hoop, but uncontested layups in the confrence finals? Give me a break...see the quote above, see where he includes the McHale clothesline (of Kurt Rambis), that was playoff basketball, not the run and hide defense Detroit put forth.
The state of the game is horrible. The level of competition is miserable and likely won't be getting better anytime soon.
Unfortunately Lebron James and other contemporaries might not ever stack up for me. The competition factor really makes it difficult for me to compare players of this generation. Now, that makes me sound bitter and old, but so be it.
On to Billy Donavan, ok, so you quite your job, accept another that will pay you $27.5M over 5 years and you want to go back? When did quiting and leaving not mean anything anymore? I know University of Florida holds him high and will take him back but c'mon...say no and stand up for a change. The guy left you at the alter, have a backbone and say NO. He might leave again next year, or the year after. It's harsh but sometimes you need to play hardball. As a boss, I have a rule that if somebody quits, no matter who it is, I will not take them back in. How can you move forward with confidence they will be there when you need them? I know it will be a tough life in Orlando Billy, but you should take the job (don't get me going - Orlando should boot him out too) and suffer with your millions doing what you love...now if Orlando was bitter and let him go, and U of Florida was bitter and didn't take him back, perhaps the Celtics could dump Doc and get him? You know, irish kid in Boston. Maybe he could give a speech about "Larry Bird isn't walking through those doors..." , oh well, maybe not...
Roger Clemens 2007 debut has been pushed out from today to possibly this Saturday. With the Yankees 12.5 games back, there still is plenty of time to catch the Sox. The beauty of baseball is in the 162 game season. Until September you really are never out of the race. After the Yankees took 2 out of 3 this weekend from the Sox, lots of questions still linger for both teams. Here is the Yankee box score from last night:
Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
J Damon DH 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 .251
D Jeter SS 5 1 0 0 0 0 3 .333
B Abreu RF 4 1 2 0 1 1 0 .244
A Rodriguez 3B 5 1 2 2 0 1 3 .293
J Posada C 5 1 2 1 0 1 2 .363
H Matsui LF 4 1 2 0 0 1 2 .284
R Cano 2B 3 0 1 1 1 1 2 .265
J Phelps 1B 4 0 2 1 0 1 2 .281
M Cabrera CF 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 .248
Damon, Abreu and Cano are performing below expectations. Posada is overperforming. Giambi is out. Not quite the murderer's row envisioned during spring training.
As for the Sox, the winning has been primarily a result of the pitching. Here is the box score from last night:
Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
J Lugo SS 3 0 1 0 2 1 3 .226
D Pedroia 2B 5 1 2 3 0 0 3 .336
D Ortiz DH 5 1 1 1 0 1 0 .325
M Ramirez LF 4 0 2 0 1 2 0 .288
K Youkilis 1B 3 0 1 1 0 0 2 .350
M Lowell 3B 5 0 1 0 0 2 4 .333
J Varitek C 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 .275
W Pena RF 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .229
C Crisp CF 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .238
Lugo and Crisp are the biggest disappointments. Pedroia, Youkilis and Lowell are performing better than expected. Manny is up to .288 and is coming on strong. Ortiz has not started hitting for power yet so there is upside there.
Both teams have underperforming players and overperforming players. Both teams will continue to score runs as players perform back towards their norms. Pitching will be the key and the nod has to still go to the Sox and their pitching.
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