Anyone who knows me personally can attest to my dislike for LeBron James as a person. While misplaced Decisions and numberings of championships will always color my judgment against him, as a basketball player he remains one of the best and will undoubtedly go down as an all-time great (not the greatest though).
Recently, however, I realized that we as a sports culture are never satisfied with LeBron’s effort. And I mean never. When he played for Cleveland, many thought his performance in the NBA Finals to be lackluster, despite having carried the team to that success, winning two MVPs during his career there. He hit big shots, beat big opponents, and cemented himself as a “big” player. But, he was unable to win a championship, moving to Miami for various reasons but, above all, to try and win it all.
Fast forward to the NBA Finals last year…LeBron disappeared in the fourth quarter, literally passing on shots that normally he stands a good chance of draining. The Heat lost a Finals that they should have won.
Situations like Cleveland and Miami require high expectations. The MVP of the league and one of the best should be able to make a shot at the highest stakes. Any sports fan would agree. While pundits often discuss team collapses in the playoffs of any league, those collapses often center around the best players that, for one reason or another, disappear, like Tretiak in the 1980 Olympics or Jordan Jefferson in the 2012 snoozer of football’s national championship. For players to be great, they should play great at the biggest moments.
The point above takes on added weight when a player announces to a stadium crowd that his team will win “not one, not two, not three, not four…not seven” championships under his tenure. Like it or not, viewers will judge athletes by a consensus standard, until those athletes put a different standard out for themselves as LeBron did that night. While Joe Namath’s victory in Super Bowl III would have shocked everyone, his guarantee of victory beforehand put the game on a higher level in the minds of viewers. No longer would fans focus on “Who will win?” but rather on “Will Broadway Joe (LeBron) live up to his own public standard?” I maintain that while LeBron’s quote from all those months ago implying his team would be one of the best ever put perhaps impossible pressure on him, he brought that pressure on himself.
On the other hand, we should be careful to expect championships, not unsullied perfection. In Sunday’s All-Star Game, LeBron passed up the potentially tying shot to pass cross court. The pass being intercepted, the game ended. Immediately critics emerged, like Hayden Kim of Bleacher Report who headlined his column with “All-Star Game shows LeBron Will Never Be Clutch.” If he were to make a similar assertion on the NBA Finals or playoffs, that’s fine and well within the boundaries of expectations. But, to judge based on an exhibition game with little defense and almost no season value strikes me as ridiculous. It’s true that of all the great players now, LeBron has fewer game-winning shots in big moments, but whether the All-Star game counts as a “big” moment remains infinitely suspect.
Historically, LeBron has not made his presence felt when needed, and I can see the argument put forward by Hayden Kim. Yet, when we are looking to LeBron to win an exhibition game single-handedly, I cannot help but wonder if our expectations of him are too high.
Bit #1: Wade contact with Kobe; literally foul
In the third quarter of the All-Star Game, Kobe Bryant of the Lakers drove past Dwayne Wade to the basket, only to be mugged by Wade from behind. Kobe suffered a broken nose and mild concussion as a result of the foul. Wade has no portfolio or history to suggest he is a dirty player and no evidence presents itself for any kind of feud between the two players. On one hand, fans like me who don’t appreciate the lack of defense in the NBA do like when a player shows some fire to prevent a basket. But, more importantly, the All-Star Game requires a lack of defense to allow for all those dunks. Players clear out the lane to give easy access to the basket. Wade’s hard foul (bordering on flagrant) does not jive with that tradition in the All-Star Game. I don’t have an issue with fouling in the game, but when someone easily gets by you in the lane, there’s no need to foul hard, especially when you are highly likely to dunk at the other end.
Bit #2: Drama across The Pond
Don’t look now Americans, but the English Premiereship may provide the closest title race of any sport this season. With 26 games played the city of Manchester is rapidly approaching a war zone between soccer fans. The city’s two clubs, Manchester City and Manchester United, are first and second in the EPL respectively, separated by two points. Next closest team, Tottenham, looks up at them from eight points behind. I could go into detail about the proficiency of the Manchester teams, but I will merely suggest you all pay attention. Man City has not won in a long time and has dealt with staggering expectations for the last two seasons. Man U, with all the tradition of Beckham and Ronaldo, creates the added intrigue of big brother-little brother to this race.
Bit #3: Trade deadline come and gone
May be news to most of you, but the NHL trade deadline passed at 3 PM yesterday with little more than a snore. No big names changed hands, so I have very little to say on it all. I will say, however, if you want to follow the NHL for the rest of the season keep an eye on the Nashville Predators. Yes, everyone will tell you this so I’m not being original, but they added depth in their defensive corps with Hal Gill and gained a top-six forward in Andrei Kostitsyn, all without giving away Ryan Suter, a cornerstone of their team. I would not be surprised to see Nashville playing hard in the conference semifinals, maybe making the Western Conference finals.
Bit #4: What to do about RGIII
According to reports released Tuesday, the Rams are set on trading the second pick in the NFL draft, already having Sam Bradford at quarterback. The most likely candidate for this pick will be my Washington Redskins, mainly due to the good relationship between GMs and coaches on the respective teams. And, I should make clear, I would not complain with RGIII as quarterback if the Skins picked him at number six.
I will, however, complain if the Redskins trade up for Griffin, at least given current information. While I understand the 40 yard dash time wowed many in the NFL, the Skins need a quarterback not a Michael Vick equivalent. Obviously similar players, like Cam Newton, play well at points but have yet to lead their teams to championships. Every champion in the NFL relied on a traditional pocket passer, meaning I will be skeptical of RGIII until he throws for scouts at some point next week. At the very least, since the Rams may want three 1st-2nd round picks, I don’t think it’s worth it if Washington can pick someone like Ryan Tannehill in the second round.
Bit #5: February 27, 1987 – NCAA cancels whole SMU football program
Yes, I continue to remind Dallas residents of past misfortune, but the cancellation of SMU’s program should be noted because it has never happened in any other college sport before or since. Southern Methodist’s Pony Express relied heavily on recruiting big, bludgeoning running backs like Craig James and Eric Dickerson while competing with powerhouses like Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M in the Southwest Conference.
But, SMU broke the rules, giving players money, cars, and other improper benefits. To be clear, subsequent research shows almost all colleges in Texas engaged in this practice but SMU remains special because after receiving NCAA sanctions, boosters continued to give players lavish gifts until one player spoke out. The scandal went all the way up the chain to the Board and school president.
Why is this important? The “death penalty,” the cancellation of a whole program, is the largest possible sanction from the NCAA. Interestingly, however, SMU’s program disappeared for almost 20 years, so much so that many find it doubtful the NCAA will ever resort to such a strong penalty unless under outrageous and extraordinary circumstances. So why is this relevant? Mainly because last season marked the most scandal-filled college football season ever, so maybe we will see a resurgence of the “death penalty.”
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