Utah Fans are Classless

I'm watching the NBA playoff game pitting the Los Angeles Lakers against the Utah Jazz. In the crowd there are two Utah fans that have shirts that read "Fisher Lied".

Some background. About 3 years ago Fisher's then ten month old daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer. This required her to get immediate surgery and chemotherapy at a New York City hospital. Fisher accompanied his family to New York City to be with his daughter. He flew back to Salt Lake afterwards to try and be there for his team. In one of the most memorable playoff games, Derek Fisher helped the Utah Jazz defeat the warriors that evening with several crucial plays including a steal and a clutch three pointer.

After the end of the season, Derek Fisher asked the Utah Jazz to be released from his contract so that he could hopefully sign with a team that had specialist nearby that would be able to help his daughter. With no guarantees that anybody would sign him, Derek Fisher left $22 Million on the table. Read that last sentence again. He gave up a guaranteed $22 million to do what was best for his family. He could have very easily not been signed by any other team and made $0. The Jazz also had the option to make Derek Fisher honor the contract but they chose to let him off the hook. It was a mutually agreed upon solution.

The Lakers would eventually sign him but at $8 million less than what he would have made at Utah.

I am not a Derek Fisher fan. Despite the success the Lakers have had while he has been on the team, you will often here me complain about his lack of defense or his inability to consistently shoot the three. But I have no doubt that he did not make up the situation with his daughter. If there is one thing everyone who knows him agrees with is that Derek Fisher has class. I hate his ability but I don't question his character. For the Utah Jazz fans to suggest he would use his daughter's life threatening illness for some nefarious purpose disgusts me.

We often debate on this blog if athletes are overpaid. People argue about the greed that athletes exhibit and they are unworthy of making that money. Yet here you have a very clear instance of an athlete taking LESS money to do the right thing and a bunch of jackass fans decide it would be funny to make fun of the situation.

Stay classy Utah. Stay classy.

Boxing is Dead. Long Live MMA

Does anyone realize how big boxing used to be? There is a reason that Muhammad Ali is considered one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. He was the biggest name in the biggest sport of his era. Now I'm a sports fan. I regularly watch all of the three major US sports and I watch SportsCenter when there is nothing else to turn to. But I can't honestly think of the name of a single boxer who is still currently fighting. I think there is a Russian boxer named Klitchko, they may be two of them who are brothers, but that's about it. Heck, do a Google search on the word "boxers" and you don't get anything of relevance. It goes to show you how out of mind that sport is.

But to make matters worse there is a sport now called MMA that is really gaining traction and it is everything that boxing is not. I was flipping through the channels this weekend and stopped on a fight that was being shown on CBS. Now, I'm not a boxing fan. I'm not a fan of watching people get beat up, but I have to admit I was actually interested in the fight that was happening. There was action. It was fast. Guys were actually getting hit. And the match was over relatively quickly. The last fight, Fedor vs. Rogers, was over about 7 minutes into the fight. Just the right chunk of time in our ADD culture.

Contrast this to boxing. Most of the time fights go the full amount of rounds. Guys are throwing punches but nothing is really landing. You can go the full match and not really watch anyone get in any trouble. And of course, you end up getting some sort of split decision. How boring is that. I don't think I've ever been able to watch a boxing match end to end because it just takes too long and it is too boring.

If boxing can't capture the attention of a mainstream sports fan like myself yet there is an alternative like MMA available that can, what chance does boxing have to survive?

NFL Rookie Contracts

The Detroit Lions came to an agreement with Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford. The deal is a reported six-year, $72 million. The deal can actually be worth up to $78 million if he achieves all his incentives.

Now those that read this blog know that I do not really care what athletes get paid. I am all for people making as much money as possible. Nobody is forcing the Detroit Lions, or any other NFL team, to give athletes this money. I think it is stupid to do, but at the end of the day the free markets should dictate how much money athletes can make and how much money teams should keep for themselves.

What is of particular interest to me is how on earth the NFL got to a place where NFL rookies are paid such crazy contracts. In the other major sports, rookies have to "make good". That is, the big contract does not actually come until a few years after they have been in the league and have proven that they are worth the money.

This is not the case in the NFL. The big contracts are usually given right out of college, before any of these athletes play one down on an NFL field. This seems a little odd to me and I am not sure how this sport got here. As an owner, I would be hesitant to throw this kind of money on an unproven athlete. Worse yet, these contracts use a significant portion of a team's salary cap. More than any other sport, Football is ruled by its salary cap. A team's success is very much correlated by how well they are able to manage their cap. Yet teams are willing to throw that out the window on unproven rookies.

Further, I am not sure how the NFL veterans let this happen. Do they really have so little bargaining power? Why would they allow rookies to get these types of contracts when it directly affects how much they themselves can receive. You would expect it to be like other unions. Those who are already part of the union receive the better benefits and higher salaries. They are the ones who are voting on the rules of the contract and labor agreements. You would think they would create rules that favor those already part of the union rather than those that are coming in.

How would you feel if you are a NFL player making $3 million per year. You are busting your ass and doing great. You may even be on the cusp of a pro bowl selection. Your next contract might net you $4 million if you are lucky. And then you see a player like Matt Stafford, who by his own admission admits he may be a crap shot, get something like $12 million/year. Would you not think this is a little bit unfair?

Gymastics and Diving are not Sports

After watching the Olympics the last few days, I can say without hesitation that neither Gymnastics or Diving are sports. They are great and entertaining competitions, but neither of them are sports. How can I say this.

I define a sport to be the following

• There must a a physical activity involved which requires strength, speed, or endurance and which would quickly lead to exhaustion
  
• There must be a competition between two or more individuals or teams
• There must be a clear and OBJECTIVE winner

The last part is what dooms Gymastics and Diving as not a sport. It just is not objective enough. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt this Olympics. I tried to believe that the judges used objective measures in order to deduct points from each of these events, but it simply is not true.

I watched as China's Fei Cheng landed on her knees and yet somehow ends up with a bronze medal. I don't know a lot about Gymnastics, but I know you shouldn't be able to land on your knees and still be considered one of the three best in the world.

I watched diving and saw one dive which recieved a 4.5 from one judge and a 8.0 from another. How objective can an event be when two people, supposedly looking at the exact same thing, come up with such radically different results?

To be fair, other sports have their subjective elements. Baseball has an umpire call balls and strikes, and basketball has refs who blow calls all the time (whether for money or just being plain blind). But this is not the main focus of the game. You winning or losing is not, in general, dependent on someone else's subjective call.

So sorry fans of Gymastics and Diving. I know you love your competition. I agree, it can be fun to watch. But it just isn't a sport.

Phelps Phan

The story of the Olympics thus far has to be Michael Phelps. The guy just won eight gold medals and in the process set seven world records. It's a feat I'm sure won't be surpassed in at least a generation if not longer.

I could go on and on about how awesome he is as an athlete, but others could do a better job than I. This is especially true given the fact that I can barely swim as is. I blame my Asian genes for not being able to swim, I didn't see that many Asian people in the water. It is most likely due to just how my body is. I try to explain to people how my feet just sink in the water. I tell people this and they try to give me tips on how to float. I tell them, "I just sink, you don't understand", but people who can float just don't understand how someone who doesn't float can't.

Interesting enough, following Michael Phelps throughout the game, they had a piece on why Michael Phelps was born to swim. They described how he had short legs but a long torso. I probably have the exact opposite problem. My legs are long for my body and my torso is short. As almost everybody's legs naturally sink, and you use your torso as a buoy to float the rest of your body, this very much explains why I have more trouble swimming than the average person. Guess I won't be winning any gold medals in swimming any time soon.

But how awesome would it be to have "Greatest Olympic Athlete" on your resume? I mean, what employer isn't going to want to talk about that? What employer isn't going to at least grant you an interview? The hardest part of getting any job is just getting in the door to get an interview but having something like this would just be crazy. it probably would be of bigger benefit outside the swimming world than in it.

An Epic Tennis Battle

I don't normally watch Tennis, I'm definitely not a fan of it, but I love watching compelling sports events. I was flipping through the channels today and stumbled upon the Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I don't know much about tennis but I do know that Roger Federer is unbeatable at Wimbledon. The guy might seriously be the most dominant athlete of his generation, yes even more so than Tiger Woods.

But when I got there, he was down two sets to one and looking like he might lose the fourth. So I watched just to see what would happen next. Sure enough, Federer rebounded and forced a fifth set. He eventually succumbed to Nadal who just looked stronger the entire match. Even though I was rooting for Federer (something about Nadal just bugs me. I think he just looks arrogant) I was happy for Nadal. It clearly was a very emotional win for him and he just deserved it today.

This is one of the things I love about sports. It's so exciting even to people who aren't really fans. Events like this are great. You don't have to know anything about the sport, but you just know two people (or teams) are facing off. In the end, there will be a winner, and it will be the culmination of one of the two combantants whole life. It's a fantastic action and drama movie rolled up in a 2 hour (in this case 4.5 hour) event. But it's even better because its real life!

The Dominance of Tiger Woods

Yesterday, Tiger Woods was "struggling" in the third round of the US Open. I put quotations around the word "struggling", because in reality he really wasn't. This morning ESPN wrote an article about Tiger Woods fantastic performance to close the round. An ending which saw Tiger sink two eagles and a birdie.

Yet the article ESPN wrote on Tiger's fantastic ending made it seem like Tiger was out of contention before the fantastic run started. In the article, the author writes:

Tiger just didn't have it. After 48 jaw-clenching holes of this 108th U.S. Open, that was the dispiriting realization sinking into the raucous Torrey Pines gallery, as well as the nation at large. The world's greatest competitor was trying like hell to stay in contention, but his aching left knee wouldn't permit Tiger to be Tiger.

Tiger is a victim of his own success. He is so good, he is expected to dominate each and every time. Golf is a hard sport. Most pro golfers are lucky to win a tournament once in their life. You need to be good for four straight days to have a chance to win, and for most, it's too hard to do consistently. Here is the kicker. Tiger was in third place before he made his run. THIRD!

It wasn't like he was in the middle of the pack or a dozen shots behind. The man was in third place. For any other golfer, being in third place at the US Open is a pretty good day. Yet people speak as if Tiger's tournament was a complete failure up until that point. That's how good I want to be. I want to be so good that anything less than perfection would be considered failure. I also wouldn't mind earning what Tiger earns.

Athletes and Drugs

The other day, Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls was charged with possession of marijuana. Yet another story of an athlete doing something absolutely stupid. I could devote an entire blog on this subject. Whenever I read stories like this I have to think, "Really?"

I mean seriously, if you are a professional athlete why would you ever smoke pot? Is it really worth it? As an athlete, you have the ability to get paid several million dollars over the course of your lifetime. Are a few puffs of Mary Jane really worth that? Here are my big problems.

• Just don't do It - If I offered you a million dollars or some weed, which would you choose? Most rational people are going to take the million dollars. Some would argue that athletes don't deserve to be paid that much in the first place. Do you really need to give them another reason to be right?
• At least do the right drugs - If you have to do an illegal substance, at least do something that will help your career. I mean, at least if you do steroids, you will be improving your chances as an athlete. But a drug like pot? What possible reason would you do this? I could maybe even understand a drug like heroin, which would give you an intense high and is highly addictive. But Marijuana?
• Be smart about it - Noah was an idiot on several other levels as well. If you are going to do pot, at least do it in private. I mean really. You are going to get caught with it in your pocket while you are in public? He was caught because he was drinking a beer in public, another no no. How about when you have something on you that could end your NBA career, you don't do another illegal thing? Finally, is it really necessary for YOU to be holding it while in public? How about if you find it absolutely necessary to transport the pot from a private place you ask one of your friends to carry it. Offer him $1,000 to do it. Hell, offer him $10,000 to do it. It's much better than you being caught with it and your friend gets $10,000. It's a win win.
  

As much as I believe athletes get paid what they deserve, its times like this I think they deserve anything they get.

MVP Race 2008

This is a tough year in the NBA. It saw the most hotly contested Western Playoff race in history, with the #8 seed winning 50 games. But an even tighter race is shaping up over who is MVP.

Let me go on the record as saying I think the MVP is a stupid award. It is an award without any clear criteria and whose meaning has changed over time. But a winner must be chosen, and this year it seems to come down to two players. Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul.

Now, like I said, I don't really care about this award. But since they give it out, I wish they would just be consistent with the criteria. I have had no problem with Kobe Bryant not winning the award before. I often agreed with the reasoning. In the past it has been one of three things. Kobe wasn't the best player on his own team (when he had Shaq), he didn't make his teammates better, or he just wasn't on winning teams.


Few people would argue that Kobe Bryant isn't the best player in the league. But ever since the Colorado incident, Kobe has become someone people love to hate. They will come up with any reason to degrade Kobe's accomplishments.

I actually think if Kobe deserved MVP, it should have happened in one of the previous two seasons. Two season's ago, he was unbelievable. He had his 81 point game, averaged 40 for a month, and put together a string of 50+ point games. Last year, he carried a team consisting of Kwame Brown and Smush Parker into the playoffs. Kwame Brown and Smush Parker. Seriously folks, these are people who shouldn't even be in the NBA.

But Kobe's team was never one of the elite teams. I don't agree with that as a criteria, you can't always help who you play with, but if that was the criteria, I have no problem with it. This year however, Kobe had the best team in the aforementioned brutal Western Conference. So what reason can people possibly come up with now?

• Chris Paul led a Hornets team to the 2nd best record when nobody thought they would do anything. What did Kobe do? Show me one person, just one, who had the Lakers finishing any better than 8th in the conference. I dare you to do it. Most had them finishing at the very bottom.
  
• Chris Paul has less help. Really? Peja, Chandler, and West are all-star players. None of them were hurt this year. How many all-stars does Kobe play with? One, Pau, and he wasn't there for half the season. Key players like Ariza, Bynum, Gasol, Mihm, all hurt this year. Most of the players that are doing great this year were on the Laker's teams in year's past. When they sucked, it was Kobe's fault. Now that they are doing great, Kobe doesn't get any credit for that. it's a joke.
  
• But just look at all those assist. Chris Paul makes his teammates better - If this is the criteria, you might as well give it to a point guard every year, because it won't be a fair contest. Point Guards have the ball in their hands more than anybody else. They are, by design, going to get the most assist and make their teammates "better" than anyone else.
  

If they give it to Chris Paul, I won't be mad. He is fantastic and probably deserves it in any other year. If Lebron gets close though, then I have a problem. If Kobe couldn't win it the previous two years, no way in hell Lebron deserves it.

Who Says Athletes are Greedy?

Tim Buss, strength coach for the Chicago Cubs, had a practical joke played on him. A group of players decided they were going to attack his car with a bunch of bats. They smashed it to bits and then left the bats by the car just so he knew what happened.

Of course Buss was dismayed to find his 1995 Nissan Sentra (the cubs clearly aren't paying this guy enough) in a complete mess. Imagine having a crappy car and then finding that car made even crappier by a bunch of vandals.

Of course, it was his players that had played the joke on him and, after letting him stew for a while, they handed him the keys to a new Nissan Xterra. A car which goes for somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000. A big improvement over his Sentra that was probably worth $25

I wish I could afford to play jokes like this. Clearly it shows that Athletes are (not) Overpaid. I'm sure for my friends, I could come up with all sorts of crazy things to smash and break. My first thought would be to smash someone like Jenny's computer and then buy here a new Mac, but I think she beat me to it.

Anti-Gravity Treadmill

Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers hurt his knew a few months ago. He is on his way to recovery, and one of the things that they have him doing is running on an anti-gravity treadmill. I didn't know what the heck it was so I looked it up and found the preceding link.

This thing is not cheap. It cost about $75,000. For an organization like the Lakers, it is chump change to protect a player like Andrew Bynum who will eventually be paid by them in excess of $100 million. A couple of things crossed my mind though.

How the heck does Andrew Bynum fit in that thing? The guy is 7' 1" and 280 lbs. They must have to retrofit something on this machine for him because I don't see how something could be designed to fit a man of his size.

Why haven't I heard of this thing before? Supposedly it is fast becoming something that is used by a lot of athletes to not only rehabilitate but to train as you can run for longer periods of time without putting additional strain on ones knees and joints.

Where can I try one? I'm assuming I'm not going to find this thing at my regular 24 hour fitness but I would love to hop on this thing just to give it a whirl.

Brian Cook Trade Just Keeps Getting Better

Last night, the Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns on Chirstmas Day in front of a National TV audience. This was in no small part to thanks to Trevor Ariza who was the player sent over when Brian Cook was traded to the Orlando Magic. Trevor Ariza made his first start as a Laker and scored 14 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 3 assist, and one of the sickest dunks I've seen in a very long time. He got the past on a fast break and basically jumped over Grant Hill (who actually looked to have good position, but no way should a ref negate that play)



Of course, I've stated I would have taken a bag of chips to get rid of Brian Cook and I meant it. Getting someone as good as Trevor Ariza is just icing on the cake. Or should I say salt on the chip?

Most overpaid athletes in professional sports

As this is the most popular search on my blog, I figured I would actually compile a list of the most overpaid athletes in professional sports. Now I really don't think these athletes are overpaid, as I don't think anyone is overpaid. These athletes signed contracts, and their employers were willing and often eager to give them these huge paydays. This is a list of athletes who, in my opinion, give their teams the least bang for their buck.

Shaquille O'Neal - I've written before how I feel about Shaq, how he is not the most dominant ever. He did get Miami one NBA ring, but he recently signed a contract extension worth $100 Million over 5 years. That buys you 16pts and 7 Rebounds a game. That is until he gets injured, which is inevitable. The last two years he has averaged 50 games a season.

Stephon Marbury - Guy walked out on his team but is under contract for a little more than $14.5 million. I should actually include the entire New York Knicks team and the idiot Isiah Thomas, but this one is good enough. That's all I have to say about that.

David Beckham - He signed a 5 year $250 Million contract to play in a league few people know about. At half that salary, it would be too much. I don't know a single person who follows MLS, so how on earth can you make him one of the highest paid players in all of professional sports? He isn't even close to the best player in the world anymore. It just doesn't make any sense.

Jason Giambi - Highest paid player last year in MLB earning $23,5 Million. For all that money, the Yankees got a player who only played in half the games and hit a pretty bad .236 with 14 homeruns. Guess he isn't quite the same player without the juice. I am tempted to add Alex Rodriguez onto the list, but while he can't win a championship, he at least is the league MVP.

Honorable Mention - Michael Vick. Should be on the list, since he had a ton of guaranteed money that the Falcons haven't recovered, but considering he isn't actually playing, I left him off the list.

I don't know Hockey well enough to pick one from that sport so that is my list. Did I leave anyone obvious off? What are your thoughts

Marion Jones' Teammates - No Fair Outcome

Today, the IAFF announced that all results for Marion Jones would be annulled dating back to September 2000. Not only were all the results voided, she has been asked to return all of her prize money (I somehow doubt that will happen)

To exacerbate the situation, they have recommended that her teammates who won a medal along with her in the Olympics, also return their medals.

Now I 100% agree that all Jones' individual result be voided, but what is the fair thing to do for her relay teammates? In all likelihood, they did not know of her drug use, so should they be punished as well?

In the end, I think the only fair thing is to strip them of the medals. Relays are team sports, and the unfortunate reality of team sports is that you either win as a team or you lose as a team. There is no concept of "half the team wins, the other half loses". While that may seem harsh, it is equally unfair to let it stand. What if you were the 2nd place team? Wouldn't you feel cheated out of your gold medal? What if you were the 4th place team and didn't even get a medal?

So what is the fairest thing to do?

Brian Cook Traded

Today is one of the happiest days on earth if you are a Laker fan. Today, the Lakers traded Brian Cook and Mo Evans for Trevor Ariza. Brian Cook was by far my least favorite Laker. He was horrible. The picture I put next to the post says it all. It is of Brian Cook "defending" another guy. I put "defending" in quotes because the next time Brian Cook defends someone, it will be his first time. You notice how the other player is going right by Cook and he seems to be jumping out of the way. You aren't imagining it, it is what he is doing.

The guy is horrible, and completely one dimensional, and he isn't even great in that one dimension. If the Lakers really wanted someone to just stand outside the three point line and occasionally hit one, I'm available. I may even be headed back to LA so it would be an easy transition.

They got back a Player in Trevor Ariza that is young, athletic, and a pretty decent defender. Not much of a scorer, but with Kobe Bryant (for now) do you really need someone who is a scorer. No, you need someone who can defend the other teams wing player, which is something I hope Ariza will bring. But for me, it really isn't the point. The Lakers could have traded Brian Cook for a bag of chips, yes a bag of chips, and I still think the Lakers would have gotten the better end of that deal. Talk about overpaid athletes, Cook is just stealing money from whichever team he is playing for.

Kobe Bryant Scores 81 Points!

It was one of those games you talk about where you were when it happened. I happened to be in the car with my girlfriend after having a great dinner at Houstons. I had missed the previous two Laker games traveling and I didn't want to miss this one, but it was a special occasion so I made an exception.

On the way back from the restaurant I tuned in to see if the Laker game was over. I had caught the first quarter of the game and the Lakers were down by double digits and playing really bad. I wasn't expecting much.

Much to my surprise, I heard the announcer say that Kobe had scored a career high 67 points. I thought I must have misheard. There was no way he could have gone off for 67. Then I thought, the game must be almost over. But there was still five minutes left in the game!

I started to drive quicker, in an attempt to get home to see the end of an historic night. Kobe didn't disappoint. He would go on to score 81 points. 81 POINTS!!!! Do people realize how insane that is? It's the second most points scored in an NBA game ever, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game. (which will never be beat. Then again, why bet against Kobe?)

Some people will say Kobe shoots to much, and needs to pass more. But I play a lot of basketball. I've played in games where I thought guys are shooting the ball way too much. But I also have played in games where a guy is just on fire. And if a guy is on his way to score 81 points in a game, you shut up and you pass him the ball. You do everything you possibly can to make sure that he gets as many looks as possible. It's not often you get to witness history.

Should The Lakers Go After Ron Artest?

The Indiana Pacers are trying to trade Ron Artest. For those who don't follow basketball closely, Ron Artest is Indiana's very volatile but very talented forward. In my opinion, Ron Artest is a top 15 player in the league. He is an absolute beast on the defensive end and he has a pretty decent offensive game as well. He has won a Defensive Player of the Year award which is extremely difficult from any perimeter position.

But Ron Artest has his issues. He makes Dennis Rodman look almost sane. He was the main player in the whole Detroit fiasco where he went into the stands to fight the fans. He was the player who asked for some more time off so he could work on his rap album (which by the way flopped). But like in all sports, the more talented you are the more people are willing to forgive you. In fact, it isn't just like that in sports, its like that in all aspects of life.

The question becomes, should the Lakers go after a player like Ron Artest and what should they give up for him if they do pursue him. There is no denying is on-court performance. But is a potential time bomb worth it. If I'm the Los Angeles Lakers, I have to think it is. I say that only because the Lakers have the best coach in the history of the game, Phil Jackson. Players like Ron Artest are few and far between. I greatly value defensive ability and few can bring it to the table like Artest.

But what is he worth? In my mind there are only two untouchable players Kobe (duh) and Lamar Odom. Many pundits however think the Lakers should part with Odom to get Artest. I am not one of those people. Lakers have gone one a decent little run as of late, going 5-1 on a recent 6 game road trip. The team looked horrible at the beginning of the season but seems to have turned it on as of late. If Artest didn't have his head problems, I do the trade in a second. But the fact remains that he does have mental issues which means you just can't depend on him. You can depend on Odom. He is inconsistent scorer but he is by far the Lakers best rebounder and playmaker. He is a matchup nightmare for the opposing team.

Is Artest worth some of the Lakers young players, namely Andrew Bynum? I think Bynum is going to be a great player. For an 18 year old kid, he has shown tremendous ability. But I think this is one instance where the gamble might pay off. There is no doubt that Artest is a top-tier player when his head is on straight (the problem is it is so rarely on straight). Andrew Bynum may never be as good as Artest is right now, so it may be worth the gamble.

Terrel Owens is an Idiot

Yesterday, Terrell Owens apologized for being a jerk. For those that don't know, Terrell Owens has been complaining since the beginning of the season about his contract situation. He was in the SECOND year of his SEVEN year contract. A contract that was set to pay him over $49 Million. Yes, you can start crying for him and how awful the contract is. He then made comments deriding the Eagle's quarterback, Donnovan McNabb, and reportedly got into a fight with Hugh Douglas. Late last week, the Eagles had enough and suspended him for the rest of the season. He won't wear an Eagles uniform again.

The Eagles gave T.O. a chance to apologize but he decided that his pride was more important and snubbed the chance. And please, all the T.O supporters. Don't tell me he deserves a second chance. He got his second chance. That's why he is on the Eagles and not the 49ers. And did you see the apology? Both of them? Was there ever a more insincere apology than that?

I hate this guy. I hated him when he played for my team, the 49ers. I hated him when he was traded to the Eagles and demonstrated what an ass he is by calling Jeff Garcia a homosexual. There is no doubt he is a great athlete, and performs on the field. But he causes way too many headaches for his teammates. He just isn't worth it.

You know who he needs to blame? The worst agent in the world, Drew Rosenhaus? It is very clear that he has a conflict of interest with his client. Drew Rosenhaus got T.O. as a client this year. That means, he does not get paid unless TO signs a new contract. Don't you think he is going to push his client to get a new contract?

Women Are Too Sensitive

Pete Newell runs a Big Man's camp. It is a camp designed to teach basketball players who play in the front court about foot work, post position, etc. Many famous NBA big men from Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, James Worthy, etc have gone to his camp at one time or another.

Pete also runs a "Tall" Women's camp. I'm assuming they call it "Tall" because they don't want to offend some women by calling them "Big". Come on, isn't that just being a little sensitive? Do women who play either collegiately or play professional basketball for a living really get offended by being called "big"? Look at Margo Dydek, the tallest WNBA player. She is 7'2" for heaven's sake. Let me tell you something, if you are 7'2" you are big whether you are male or female.

Maybe its because I'm a guy and I just don't get why its derogatory to be called "big".

Yes, all my female readers may now tell me how insensitive I am.

The NBA Dress Code

This upcoming year, the NBA is instituting a dress code for its players. Players will be required to wear a suit for all team events which includes travelling with the team. Many NBA players have come out against the dress code. Some of the choicest quotes include:

"It sends a bad message to kids. If you don't have a suit when you go to school, is your teacher going to think you're a bad kid because you don't have a suit on?" - Allen Iverson

"I don't see it happening unless every NBA player is given a stipend to buy clothes," - Marcus Camby

I usually support NBA players and sports athletes in general. Remember, I'm the one who thinks athletes are not overpaid. But the NBA players make it very hard to defend them.

If Allen Iverson thinks that it sends a bad message to a kid because he WEARS a suit he has to get a clue. It's a fact of life. People judge you by the way you look but what kid is going to think to himself, "Gee I don't wear a suit to school. I suck." What? This kid doesn't see other people wearing suits on TV all the time? What is to prevent the kid from feeling bad because Iverson wears $100,000 earings. What about that huge diamond studded necklace he sports? Are kids going to feel bad because they don't wear THAT to school?

But Marcus Camby just takes the cake. This guy is going to make $7 Million this year and about $40 Million over the next 5 years. He thinks the NBA should give him more money to buy clothes? Hello! Get a real job and ask them to give you a stipend to buy some clothes.

Imagine not being able to wear whatever you want to work! In almost every place of work there is a dress code. I can't come to work in tattered clothes or open-toed shoes. I am required to look presentable. My company doesn't compensate me for these clothes. If you really don't like the new NBA policy I suggest you go find another job.