It’s Friday and I don’t feel like writing a long exposition on my ruminations regarding sports today, so I will bombard you with Bits, hoping a few of these notes sink in for the weekend.
Bit #1: Speechless about LeBron
I watched up until the middle of the fourth quarter of Game 6 last night before turning it off. LeBron James certainly has none of my affection, but his play on Thursday night could become one of the best performances we see in the playoffs for the next few years. 45 points, 15 rebounds, and an unconscionable 19-for-26 from the field elevated James’ game and rendered much of his teammates irrelevant. Dwayne Wade added 17, but admitted later all he needed to do was feed LeBron and score when possible. James played on not just a higher level, but a different stratosphere than any player on the floor.
Whether we like it or not, many of us expect this kind of game from him every night. On the ESPN telecast, Jeff van Gundy pointed out the nightly pressure LeBron feels playing for this team, without a championship of his own. He’s the best player in the game, almost without question, even more so after Game 6. Rick Reilly wrote an article this past week begging the public to stop hating LeBron, to stop pigeonholing him as a villain for making the business decision to move to Miami, especially when James has no public off-court miscues, plays very nice with media and oh by the way, he’s a great hoops player.
The article certainly made me re-think my feelings toward him as a star player and while I will always hold against him the manner in which he left Cleveland, he will be an all-time great. Last night reminded us why.
Bit #2: A Dynasty in the Making?
The Oklahoma City Thunder will play in the NBA Finals. If you’re unaware of such matters, it’s time to pay more attention to the actual programming on TV than to the newest travesty of commercial from Progressive Insurance.
I feel very good about the Thunder, mainly because they bring so much youth to the table. Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden can all make shots to win or tie the game, and the team is willing to give any of them that chance. A three-headed monster seems to be the norm for top teams in the NBA, as franchises begin to build around a Big Three. Seriously, there’s a Big Three in Boston, Miami, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and New York. Another great aspect of this team: youthful coaching and management. Head coach Scott Brooks is under 50 and Sam Presti, aged only 33, has put together this team mainly using the draft. His pick of Harden with the third pick in 2009 looked dubious at the time, but has since paid off well.
The only thing preventing the Thunder from becoming dominant for years will be the chemistry and contract demands of those three players. Too many teams can be broken up due to a lack of chemistry between stars, even after multiple championship runs (Shaq-Kobe Lakers), and eventually those guys will probably ask to be paid their due. But the stars are aligning for this team, figuratively and literally. The camaraderie displayed in the Westbrook-Durant postgame press conferences, fake glasses and all, bodes well for how this team interacts behind closed doors. They poke fun at each other and clearly have a friendship brewing.
Should the Heat advance Saturday night, I expect it will not be the last time we see a LeBron-Durant matchup in the Finals. They are the two best players in the game right now and have been heads above the rest the last two seasons. OKC beat three teams this postseason which accounted for 10 of the previous 13 NBA championships. They have the credentials, they just need to win.
Bit #3: Be Careful Slamming Brees or the Saints
Reports over the last few days indicate the negotiations between the New Orleans Saints and record-setting QB Drew Brees are now down to the nitpicking “I want granite not crown marble” stages. By that I mean to say that their salary numbers are not too far apart in football terms (about $2 million) but the contract will not be done until everything’s hammered out.
I admit, in times of economic disturbance it looks bad for a pro athlete to demand $2 million more when he’s slated to make about $20 million or so each season. But, I don’t think the salary numbers matter as the details of the contract. Most NFL contracts don’t just fix a set salary each year, contracts are “loaded” in the sense that a substantial portion of the contract’s worth will come at different points over the life of the contract. For instance, Brees might make $20 million but $13 million of that will come in the first 2 years, with the remainder spread out over the last two, assuming a four year contract. Those kinds of details matter, especially to older players who want to make sure they will not be unceremoniously dumped without proper compensation. He’s very good at his job and deserves to make the contract best for him.
The deal will get done. The Saints need Brees to run the offense and he must know that his legacy will look best in the unique high-powered scheme in New Orleans. He shattered the single season record for passing yards last year and the Saints made the postseason, so clearly it’s working for both sides. Personally, I feel the Saints could have paid him eons ago, but at least now they can know due diligence was achieved.
Bit #4: Boxing world contracting a little
Boxing needs a rejuvenation. A sport that once enjoyed primetime network billings now withers in relative obscurity to the greater public, being shown largely on pay-per-view. But, as many of you know, the two biggest names in boxing, Pacquiao and Mayweather, can increase the spotlight on boxing if they would agree to fight, for what would likely be one of the largest cash payouts in history. Whether it be cowardice or arrogance, however, the two fighters avoid each other, choosing instead to beat the same guys every six months or so.
That opportunity might not be around much longer. Two notable welterweights, Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito, retired this week, eliminating two punching bags between Mayweather and Pac-man as they move slowly, but inexorably towards a fight.
It’s rare to say this, but the retirement of two former champions will be good for the sport in the public eye. While boxing enthusiasts undoubtedly care about other fighters like Miguel Cotto or Timothy Bradley (the next likely poser in Pacquiao’s way), the wider audience cares only about the top two. A Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would bring a huge amount of publicity to boxing, in ways reminiscent of the old days. So, I thank Mosley and Margarito for taking one for the team here, because it hastens a date that boxing needs to have with sports fans.
Bit #5: Celtics need some magic
Let me be clear: after watching last night I think the Heat, by which I mean LeBron, would have won Game 6 under any circumstances. He was playing that well. But, let’s not lose sight of the Celtics who lost pivotal Game 6 at home to poor decision-making.
The one thing teams cannot do when playing the Heat is commit turnovers. The Heat, with their ability to run and gun, will victimize those opportunities with reckless abandon. Boston, up to last night, had done well to limit turnovers, score baskets, and set their world-class defense on their side of the court. In Game 6, however, they coughed the ball up 11 times in the first 15 minutes of play, contributing to a Heat first quarter lead that never disappeared.
It needs to be said: Boston wilted in this game. At home, one win away…most teams relish such environments and win, especially with the raucous Boston crowd behind them. But, Paul Pierce shot 4-for-18 from the field, Garnett played 31 minutes and scored 12 points, and Rondo committed 7 turnovers. Bad shooting, fatigue, and poor decisions hampered this team immensely. In addition, they continued to funnel the ball to Pierce, despite his woeful abilities in this game to make any kind of open shot.
For the team to win Game 7, all these aspects must change. Most importantly, the turnovers need to stop. The Celtics beat a LeBron team in 2009 in the playoffs after he scored almost 50 points, so they can flaunt his scoring abilities. But without a better effort, nothing looks promising.
Bit #6: I’ll Have Another out for Belmont
I hate this story, absolutely hate it. The Triple Crown stands as one of those accomplishments you want to see. Thirty-four years after Affirmed in 1978, we thought we had a potential winner.
No more. Trainer Doug O’Neill confirmed I’ll Have Another, the shocking winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, tore a tendon Friday and will not run in the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. Many may remember Barbaro pulling up lame at the Preakness after breaking his hind leg in 20 places, and this feel similar. Due to tradition (and gambling), horse racing occupies a unique place in sports culture. I had hoped to see the Triple Crown, but sometimes things happen. While I didn’t see him winning the third race, I’ll Have Another at the very least gave us two thrilling victories in Kentucky and Maryland, even to instill some hope that we might yet see a Triple Crown winner soon.
Bit #7: June 8, 1969 – Single Schedule for NFL and AFL
This might be one of the more interesting sports historical occurrences, but around 1970 the NFL and the AFL hammered out a merger agreement. While we may think of many teams from the NFL as being there forever, many current NFL franchises started in the AFL, a rival league that competed with the NFL for popularity and prospects in the 1960s. This helps explain why some large media markets, like New York and the Bay Area, have two football franchises. Both the Raiders and Jets came in the AFL merger, the terms of which made clear that no AFL team would need to uproot. In return, teams like the Jets and Raiders had to pay “indemnities” (same term used to end World War I, I should add) to the NFL teams in their markets, a deal that I’m sure ruffled AFL feathers back then and probably would be illegal in some cases now.
And how did the Super Bowl start? The first agreement for merger was the creation of the AFL-NFL Championship game, ostensibly to prove the goodwill between the two leagues and determine the best team (also for TV ratings of course). That game, and all its cultural heritage, became the Super Bowl.
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