What's REALLY Killing the NBA

Stop blaming the high school kids. Stop blaming the “thugs”. Stop blaming lack of fundamentals. Here is a partial list of the true problems in the NBA, in no particular order.

Isiah Thomas
Chris Mullin
Billy King
Donnie Nelson
Larry Bird
Elgin Baylor
Kiki Vandeweghe
Billy Knight
Bryan Colangelo
John Nash
John Weisbrod
Randy Pfund
Jerry West
Mitch Kupchack
Joe Dumars
Danny Ainge


Who are these guys? This is a partial list of men who thought it was a good idea to give the likes of Adonal Foyle a 5 year, $41.6 million contract extension. Or Allan Houston a 6 year, $100 million contract extension before his current contract was even up. Or Austin Croshere a 7 year, $51 million contract after a couple of good playoff games. Or Chris Webber a 7 year, $123 million contract when everyone knew he only had one good leg.

To further illustrate the point, let’s take a look at the list of top 25 salaries in the NBA for 2005-2006. Look at how many of these guys are role players or out of the league completely.

Shaquille O’Neal $20,000,000
Chris Webber $19,130,000
Michael Finley $18,612,000
Kevin Garnett $18,000,000
Allen Iverson $16,450,000
Stephon Marbury $16,450,000
Jason Kidd $16,440,000
Jermaine O’Neal $16,430,000
Kobe Bryant $15,950,000
Tim Duncan $15,850,000
Keith Van Horn $15,700,000
Jalen Rose $15,694,000
Grant Hill $15,690,000
Tracy McGrady $15,690,000
Eddie Jones $14,560,000
Tim Thomas $13,975,000
Paul Pierce $13,843,157
Vince Carter $13,840,000
Antawn Jamison $13,840,000
Dirk Nowitzki $13,840,000
Baron Davis $13,770,000
Steve Francis $13,770,000
Shawn Marion $13,770,000
Ray Allen $13,220,000
Elton Brand $13,150,000


So the next time you want to complain about the NBA, thank all the NBA general managers that have paralyzed their teams due to these multi-year guaranteed contracts. After all, how do you give young men millions of dollars guaranteed and then tell them they are doing everything wrong?

BCS: Why is this so difficult?

I know this horse has already died three times it has been beaten so much, but here is my two cents to fix the BCS. Only six schools "miss class time" and the five current major bowls are still used. I know six is an odd number for a tournament, but it best utilizes the current bowl system. Currently, the BCS Championship game floats between Phoenix, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New Orleans a week after the other major bowl in that city. This system could still be used under this format. The final BCS standings determine seedings. One qualifier I would add is if any team is undefeated and in the top 10 of the final BCS standings, they automatically qualify for the #6 seed. Call this the Boise State rule to give the little guys a chance. This also gets the college football season completed before the second semester as well as before the NFL playoffs begin. Depending on the calendar, the final game could easily be moved to New Year's Day as well.

December 16
Fiesta Bowl
#4 LSU
vs
#5 USC

Orange Bowl
#3 Michigan
vs
#6 Louisville

December 23
Rose Bowl
#1 Ohio State
vs
Fiesta Bowl winner

Sugar Bowl
#2 Florida
vs
Orange Bowl winner

December 30 or January 1
BCS Championship
Rose Bowl winner
vs
Sugar Bowl winner

I know...I know....it's too easy

I know that everyone today will be talking about the BCS and that it's too easy to just simply complain about the "system" anymore. But I want to specifically talk about the latest bunch of crap I keep hearing from the BCS apologists. They want you to believe that it's GOOD for college football that people are even having this debate and dealing with the controversy.

Now maybe I'm just too far set in my ways to see this any other way, but seriously, can someone remind me again why it's good that just about everyone in the country is complaining about this (outside of Columbus and Gainesville)? This isn't E! or Access Hollywood where "even bad press is good press".

Are people really going to try and convince me that if we had a playoff system that no one would care? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Right now we would be looking at this format (assuming top 8 from BCS standings only, meaning no automatic conference champs and no Notre Dame unless they crack the top 8):

Ohio State vs. Boise State
Florida vs. Wisconsin
Michigan vs. Louisville
LSU vs. USC

Then
OSU/BSU vs. LSU/USC
Florida/Wisconsin vs. Michigan/Lousiville

and then the winners face off. So OSU/Florida OR OSU/Michigan could still happen. And at that time there would be nothing to be said other than how the teams got there and how there really was no debate on whether they DESERVED to be there.

Talk about a really nice lineup. And for those of you wanting controversy and bad press, I'm sure there are a whole bunch of delusional Domers out there thinking they deserve to be in this group. And maybe OU does deserve to be there also, but again...we are talking about teams fighting for a chance to be one of the last teams in...not the team to be in the national championship game.

I just can't take college football seriously until this happens.

A BCS Debate

Duderino

While I agree long-term the only way the BCS agrees to a playoff system is utter chaos, I cannot find it in me to root for a team to get screwed in the short-term. I am still trying to figure out how the undefeated Penn State squad from 1994 featuring Kerry Collins, Ki-Jana Carter, Bobby Engram, and Kyle Brady got nothing more than a pat on the back for going 12-0 because the media played the sympathy card to give Tom Osborne a national championship before he retired. Much like Ron Dayne's Heisman Trophy, these titles and awards should not be a lifetime achievement award.

B(C)S

So the BCS wants to give us a rematch of Ohio State and Michigan. I say BS. What happened to the regular season meaning something? I thought that was why college football was so much better than college basketball. If Ohio State had beaten Michigan in September or October and the prevailing thought was Michigan is a “different” team since then, I would have no problem with the Big Ten schools squaring off again. I am a firm believer that teams grow and mature as a season progresses. But if Michigan does in fact get a rematch, these two teams will play each other in back-to-back games. So what if Michigan is the second best team in the nation, they just proved they are not better than Ohio State. Give someone else an opportunity, and put a rule in the BCS that the title game cannot be a rematch of a game played after a certain date, say October 15.

Those in favor of a rematch will make the argument that Kansas in 1988 or Villanova in 1985 didn’t win their conference in college basketball, what is the difference? The difference is there were games in between. Kansas didn’t lose to Oklahoma in the Big 8 Tournament and two weeks later play them again for the National Championship without earning their way into the title game by winning five games in a row over three weekends, and even then it was no certainty they would face Oklahoma.

And to all the idiots that make the argument that the BCS is doing exactly what it wants to do, creating attention for college football. To that I say not all publicity is good publicity, ask Rupert Murdoch and Michael Richards.

My new BCS Deathwish

Let me preface this with a little background. I hate the BCS. I know that is a trendy thing to say, but actually, I hate the bowl system in general. When Florida State started making BCS games due to winning the ACC when they were in no way deserving, I began to abhor a system that decides that the AP is too uninformed to be used as a polling weight, so instead they have decided to use the Coaches poll which is so highly thought of (thanks Steve Spurrier...Go Blue Devils Football!!). Add this to the fact that there is still a general likelihood for not TRULY knowing who your national champion is, and again...I hate you BCS.

So after an epic battle between Ohio State and Michigan and the ensuing BCS standings, I have decided on a new way for my hatred to strike against both the stupid sports media and the BCS. You see...stupid sports media (read 4-letter networks especially their moronic "analysts" and their radio hosts) is now clamoring that a re-match would, in fact, be an acceptable notion. Ahhh yes, the same people who were once drilling the idea of a rematch are now saying they are ok with it after huge ratings came in on (SURPRISE) their own network! So to bash both of them, I too want to see a rematch. I want Michigan to play Ohio State and to win a close game. That way Michigan becomes National Champion...with the same record as Ohio State and the same record "head-to-head" against Ohio State. How ludicrous would that be? Seriously....how can Michigan be considered National Champion if they do in fact beat OSU in the title game after losing to them 6 weeks earlier? Oh yeah...I know how they would be...BCS.

On a side note to Bob Davie who is possibly a worse analyst than he was coach at ND, who called out the playoff idea by saying how OSU and Michigan would have rested their starters in the game on Saturday since they would have had a playoff spot in the bag. YOU, SIR, ARE A MORON! Why on Earth would they rest their starters? In any sort of rational playoff, they would be playing for their seeding in the playoff bracket. Thus, they would rather play the likes of Wisconsin or Louisville in the first round vs. playing Florida or USC in the first round. You only sit your starters if you have the top spot LOCKED UP. Not to mention that it is a freaking huge rivalry. That would be like Coach K resting starters against North Carolina after having won 18-19 games. Sure they will make the NCAA tournament..but everyone wants to be a #1 seed. And of course, Mike Greenberg chimed in this morning on his debacle of a radio show, agreeing with Bob Davie because Greenberg is 100% corporate shill and has 0% integrity/consistent thought. I really don't even think Greenberg actually agrees (because I just can't see how a moderately intelligent sports fan can) he's just doing what the other 4-letter idiots do...and that is strike up controversy/hype. Don't give me an informed opinion and thought-out arguments...just spew hype and then contradict yourself in order to add more hype. Yeah journalism!!

Rupert Murdoch’s New Low

Corporate synergy has officially gone too far.

Rupert Murdoch, the media honcho that brought us such beauties as “Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire?”, “Man vs. Beast”, and “Who’s Your Daddy?”, gives us “OJ Simpson: If I Did It, Here’s How It Happened”, airing on November 27 and November 29 during sweeps. Apparently Rupert believes this is his answer to his major ratings problems.

But it gets better.

The interviewer and publisher of the book, Judith Regan, who has been given an unrestricted interview with the former running back, is part of Harper Collins. Harper Collins is part of News Corp., which owns Fox. Coincidentally, the book goes on sale November 30.

So to recap, Fox fired Steve Lyons on October 13 for his “edgy” comments during the MLB playoffs that most people didn’t notice or understand, and ten weeks later has no problems putting OJ on the air for two nights.

I only have one last request from Rupert. Please make Joe Buck plug this show during his NFL broadcast. That would make my year. You remember Joe Buck, don’t you? He of the moral high ground that responded to Randy Moss’ fake mooning of the Lambeau faithful by saying, “That's a DISGUSTING act by Randy Moss, and it's unfortunate we had it on our air live!"

Maybe since OJ’s interview will be taped, he won’t mind.

Concentrated OJ

The Dukes may have tried to corner the Frozen Concentrated OJ market, but OJ Simpson himself has officially cornered the market of bad PR and now he has stooped to Mike Tyson-like levels with the announcement that he will be in a two part interview titled "OJ Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened". Are you kidding me? Is this really happening? The only thing that is NOT astonishing about this is that FOX is the network that will air this interview. And the only thing that's worse than this TV show, is that he has a book coming out about the same thing.

I know, I know....everyone in this country thinks OJ killed his wife and Ron Goldman. It's become such an assumed truth, that we only really joke about it anymore. It truly has become humorous in an overly sarcastic way. I was too young to see OJ as a great running back. I remember him first and foremost as Detective Nordberg and remember him in the back of AC's white Bronco on every channel of television at the time. I remember how crazy this country got even in my suburban midwestern school at the time of his acquittal.

And now after all of this he's giving us the finger again with his upcoming TV interview and book. Here's how it happened, IF I did it? What type of concept is this? Who came up with this idea and how broke is he to do this? I have expected a book deal to make money for him. I expected, however, a book more along the lines of "Why I Didn't Do It" or some other reflection on these past several years and how difficult they have been. But now...he's going to shock us just like we were when we heard he was originally charged with the murders. I'm normally about the most cynical person I know...normally not surprised by the constant stream of man's stupidity that floods our news channels, but even I was amazed at this idea being given the proverbial green light. He's seriously going to break down and analyze for us how he WOULD have killed his ex-wife and Ron Goldman. Why? So we can stop and think to ourselves how he obviously didn't kill them since he would have done it differently....he told us so in his book! Bravo Juice....you and Iron Mike must have put your heads together on this one!

So thanks OJ....thank you for making me feel better about hating you. Because I definitely do hate you now for this book. All sarcasm and jokes aside, you are a truly sick person. I don't know what I was possibly thinking during those brief moments of obvious insanity in which I gave consideration to your innocence. I'm back to reality now and better than ever. You deserve every bit of hatred that people feel towards you. I can't say I've ever wanted to burn a book, but yours would be the top of my list now. Thank you also to FOX for reminding me that if it wasn't for The Family Guy and the NFL in HD, I would really never watch your broadcasting since it is riddled with trash like this.

Bob Knight

I have mixed emotions when it comes to all the air time being wasted on Bob Knight the last two days. By itself, I think the incident on Monday night was much ado about nothing. Having said that, anything that reminds us how big an a--hole and hyprocrite in regards to discipline Bob Knight is I'm all for. So thanks for the reminder Bob. It really adds a nice touch on the eve of you becoming the all time winningest coach in college hoops history.

Hello World

Good evening to all. It is my pleasure to compose the first post to Midwest bloggers. Midwest bloggers is a collection of friends scattered throughout the country that all grew up in the Midwest and got tired of the over-hyped hypocrisy coming from the four letter network and its major competitors. Instead of continually listening to the horrible opinions of Sean Salisbury, Stephen A. Smith, Mike Lupica, Peter Vecsey, etc., we decided to share our own opinions with the world since they cannot be any worse than these "experts". One final note, our current residences are St Louis, Indianapolis, and Washington D.C. in case we refer to local media that you are unfamiliar.