Just Another Day in the Life

Brett Myers has taken much in stride during his few years as a pitcher in Philadelphia - the harsh booing from the notoriously brutal Philly crowd, year after year of 'almost but not quite' in the playoff race, allegedly beating his wife publically in midtown Boston - wait, what?

If you were as shocked by the last statement as I was, you can join the thousands of others sans, of course, Brett Myers. Hours after Myers was arrested for an alleged domestic assault against his wife openly in the city of Boston and soon after Myers was released from prison on 200 dollars bail posted by his wife, he was out in the open, talking to the press. How did he handle it? What remorse, if any, was shown? For Myers - none.

"I'm sorry it had to get public. Of course it's embarassing." That's all the Phillies ace had to say on the topic. No apology. No remorse. Not even an inkling of regret. Myers is sorry he got caught not for what happened, plain and simple - that much is clear from his ice cold responses.

So what did the Phillies, as an organization, do following the incident? Why, they trotted him out there to pitch his next start, a day and a half after the alleged incident. Sounds like swift justice to me.

"I think getting back on the mound will be good for him and I think he's ready," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "I don't think this is going to be a big distraction at all for him." Nevermind how having a domestic assault case fresh off your hands couldn't be distracting to Myers, what about the rest of his teammates? How do they feel about going to war with a man who allegedly put welts on his wife and mother of two in public?

The Phillies complete failure to act aside, the question now that begs to be asked is - is this an isolated incident? This being purely speculation, but Myers' cold, remorseless and manufactured response makes one think if this is run of the mill, routine or simply a happening in his life. Secondly, that very same aforementioned response has almost villified him up with the likes of John Rocker or OJ, at least in the hearts of baseball fans.

So where does this circus lead us to next? Perhaps I'm wrong about all of this, maybe it was one grand ole' misunderstanding and I'll be shown the err of my ways, but I doubt it. The only thing I can guarentee, at this stage of the game, is that the fans won't be as forgiving of the situation as he seems to be.

So The Yankees Play Who Next Week?

The much-hyped, much bally-hooed United States soccer team has just been eliminated from the World Cup in the group stage. That's right, the same team that 'officially announced' they've arrived on the international scene lost in a blow out to the Czech Republic, a game they barely showed up in, and showed zero consistency in a 2-1 loss to Ghana.

A phantom call by the referee resulting in a penalty kick and a goal for Ghana didn't help, but the U.S. ultimately shot themselves in the foot - I watched as they blew chance after chance to tie the match up. Out of all three matches, the U.S. showed up for one, playing incredible football against perennial world power Italy, but overall, this will go down in history as a terribly managed American team, led none other than by American football trailblazer, Bruce Arena. But hey, 1-3 ain't bad, right?


Landon Donovan was doing plenty of this in the 2006 World Cup

As the U.S. is eliminated from the World Cup, America can go back to what we do best - no, not policing the world with our policies - being completely apathetic about soccer as a sport. Ghana, a country with the combined population of Illinois and Iowa, defeated a nation with limitless resources and 300 million citizens - we're supposed to care about soccer again, why? You don't think if we devoted all our resources and citizens, if we abolished all other sports and cared as much about soccer as those European hooligans, that we couldn't dominate the world scene? Of course we could. We just don't care.

Unfortunately for its fans, soccer will never take off in the United States. We have an overabundance of major sports as is (looking at you hockey fans - all four of you), you think there's room for another? The Playstation Generation demands instant gratification, fast paced, fury-driven madness, and flashy shows of dominance. The major 4 American sports already provide all that and, most importantly, in a more convincing, culturally embedded and readily available fashion than soccer.

So soccer fans, prepare yourselves for another four years of relative quiet, only gaining a mention on Sports Center because of the MLS championship game - maybe - and another patriotic burst of attention in 2010. Until then, what do you think the Yankees chances are of another AL East title?

Sixers Endgame

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That’s one way you could describe the Philadelphia 76ers season, but not even I was ready for this. This, of course, being the absolutely meteoric fall from playoff contention over the last two months of the season, dropping 14 out of 24 games, and catastrophically dropping from the potential 5 seed to a bottom feeder in the Adam Morrison draft day sweepstakes.

What went wrong? Hindsight is 20/20, but anybody who knows the game and watches the Sixers could’ve told you this was going to happen along time ago (in fact, I did just that before the trading deadline).

First things first – this off season the Sixers, as much as it kills me to say this, have to unload Iverson. Now, in the NBA you often don’t get equal value when you trade superstars, but not only can Philly get an influx of youth and potential draft picks to compliment the young core group of Iguoudala, Korver and Dalembert, but Iverson’s max contract would be off the books, opening much needed cap space for the Sixers to make moves.

Unfortunately for Philly, they have Billy King, a GM so atrocious and prone to overpay and overvalue talent that he attends Isiah Thomas’ school for management and fiscal responsibility. Because of Mr. Wizard over here, the Sixers are still paying the salaries of Todd MacCulloch, Jamal Mashburn and Aaron McKie, which total over $18 million for this season alone – more than Iverson’s 05-06 base salary.

If they unload Iverson, the Sixers would then have some flexibility in free agency. Despite this class being particularly weak, there are some players that could help Philly, like Rasual Butler and Speedy Claxton, both of which could sure up the weak Philadelphia bench depending on their price tags.

Even if the right players with the right prices aren’t there this off season, and they rarely are with King penchant for overpaying, the free agent class of 07 will be the strongest in recent memory and the Sixers would be in better shape, at least, for that.

Falling out of the playoffs means, at least, one good thing for Philly – a lottery pick in the always exciting NBA Draft. Despite the pick, though, the Sixers have two things going against them; their chance of grabbing the number one spot is .6% and a draft class weaker than the College’s crew team’s drinking stomachs.

Probability would pit us at number 12, which, at that point, it’s likely Duke’s Sheldon Williams will fall to us. Williams, while not by any means an NBA all-star, is a banger that plays good defense and can block shots with the best of them. While he isn’t an offensive stud, his low post game has improved leaps and bounds over his senior year and, given that improvement, can likely do much more. Think of him as a Carlos Boozer type – before the injuries and without the asinine lawsuit against Prince.

The final thing the Sixers could do now to become a better club is to surround head coach Mo Cheeks with a fiery and intense assistant coaching staff for this young and sometimes lethargic squad.

The laid back Cheeks is a players’ coach – something suited about as well for this leaderless team as Barry Bonds is for the home run record – oh, wait.. Seriously though, Philly can’t fire Cheeks. The players like him, the city likes him and the organization needs some stability – with four coaches in four years, the Sixers are the like NBA’s coaching version of the girl who gets around. You don’t build a team around a coach; you hire a coach fit well for your team – and the Sixers need a coaching staff fit for this squad.

Will doing all of these things will by no means make the 76ers automatically a real contender of a team (to be fair, nothing will), this, I believe, is the best plan of action to put a strong young squad on the floor with the highest ceiling for improvement while, at the same time, keeping their options open with flexible salaries to make moves if need be.

Tragically though, this is Philadelphia, land of eternal sports suffering, so the sports gods aren’t exactly in their favor. If the Sixers don’t make these or some moves anytime soon, they’re going to continue be a very average team for a very long time.

The Olympic Tragedy

In 2004 the NBA, under the graceful and all-knowing eye of Commissioner David Stern and his crony odd-couple of Stu Jackson and Russ Granik, put together an Olympic basketball team that ranks up there with “Steven Segal continually getting work” on the all-time tragedy scale.
Out of 300 plus American NBA players, the greatest players in the world, mind you, the Comish threw together a poor man’s NBA All-Star team to go to Athens and play for Olympic Gold.

In theory, why would this be flawed? These guys are the best players in the world, right? Two obvious reasons jump off the page at me almost immediately.

First off, this is real competition, not just an event for pure entertainment as is the NBA All-Star Game or, as it has been called before, the Black Super Bowl. To win in an Olympic competition with international rules you have to assemble a team that plays team basketball, not just throw together a bunch of me-first stars.

Team basketball will beat individual talent every single time. That’s really the bottom line in all of this. Just watching a team like the ’77 Blazers beat the infinitely more talented 76ers squad in the Finals proves that. This happens time and time again, and yet nobody on the Olympic selection committee has picked up on it.

Secondly, a multitude of these all-stars refused to play for their country – this includes “patriots” such as Tracy McGrady, who quit the team at the last second. I guess he had others things to attend to, like getting personal massages and hanging out by the spa with the Queer Eye guys sipping Zima.

So, what ended up happening? Could they pull together as a team and cast aside their egos? Please. These are NBA players we’re talking about here, the same guys who ‘one-up’ each other by seeing who can rock the biggest mink coat and spiral into debt the quickest. Strangely, this is why I love them.

What happened, though, was exactly what anyone who follows basketball and has half a brain thought – they failed miserably - placing in third and earning a bronze after getting destroyed by Italy. What a shocker.

What this travesty was, in all honesty, was another marketing endeavor for the NBA. Ship off the most marketable (i.e. biggest) names to the Games, sell jerseys, merchandise and tickets, make a big return and everybody’s happy - everybody except American basketball fans.
Fortunately, it seems the NBA and Team USA has finally learned from its mistakes. Long-time Phoenix Suns executive Jerry Colangelo has been hired to put together another Dream Team – a squad of players who aren’t the most talented individually, but will fit together well as a team and regain Olympic Gold for the United States.

Colangelo decreed that a three year commitment with training camps every summer and an appearance in this summer’s World Championships in Japan is the course of action. This time around, playing for Team USA will require a firm commitment, one some players, no doubt, will see as too much to sacrifice to be on the team.

I couldn’t agree more. So we lose a few players. Playing time together is more important, as even if you have a team that would mesh favorably together, you still need time to gel as a team and to become a cohesive unit.

So what does Team USA need? We have a basis in playing time and commitment as well as an NBA executive with basketball know-how overseeing it all. The following are what I see as must-haves for Team USA to win Gold in ’08:

1: A true point guard who doesn’t commit turnovers, can shoot the three, can haunt the passing lanes on defense, and can create solid scoring opportunities for teammates.

2: A head coach who isn’t a burden to play for and doesn’t cause conflict like Larry Brown did. (Coach K., the ordained Olympic coach, fulfills these requirements.)

3: Big men who can run, grab boards, and, most importantly, play the perimeter. International rules (collapsing zone defense) can cripple big guys who rely solely on post moves and the inside game, as it almost did to Tim Duncan in ’04.

4: Shooter, shooters, shooters.

So we’ve got the guide lines in place, but let’s see who Colangelo decided to go with.

Fear and Loathing in Philadelphia

(Written January of 2006)

It kills me to watch the Philadelphia 76ers play the type of basketball they’re playing. It seriously kills me. As a self-proclaimed NBA junkie, I can’t tell you the amount of nights I’ve been given ulcers due to losses in close games, been threatened with documentations for furious spats of swearing or the countless self inflicted suicide wounds after watching Samuel Dalembert shoot a jump shot.

It seems now that every time I tune in to watch a Sixers’ game, I make a check list of the things I can almost guarantee happening:

1: Mo Cheeks hopping and shuffling along the sidelines, clapping his hands and trying to pump up his team circa a 1970’s version of Larry Brown. The classic 70’s power mustache only backs up my theory that Cheeks has either watched Boogie Nights too many times or likes Burt Reynolds much differently than in just a manly appreciation.

2: Samuel Dalembert getting in foul trouble. Again. Is it just me or does Dalembert look like a beaten dog every time Cheeks pulls him because of foul trouble? What really gets me is the “stunned” look he shoots the referees every time he rips another man’s arm off. Seriously, why even bother? Dalembert fouls out of 20% of his games and he continually appeals to the refs as if they just read O.J.’s court verdict for the first time. Sammy, it isn’t exactly the ending of “The Crying Game” every time you foul out of a game, sorry, don’t look so shocked.

3: Watch as Chris Webber limps down the court like a crippled gazelle. I understand that Webber isn’t the player he used to be. I know that injuries happen and that you’re never quite 100% again. Knowing all that though, it’s absolutely painful to watch him move around the court. Is this a geriatric home or an NBA game?

Here’s the tragedy within the 76ers organization – they’re a team too good to get a lottery draft pick, and therein build for their future, but they’re not nearly good enough to be contenders in the Eastern Conference. Right now it’s almost a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ type of scenario. If the Sixers play great basketball for the rest of the season, win the weak Atlantic Division and secure a 3 seed in the playoffs, they still won’t go far. They’ll probably take the first round, but drop the second, because they’re not as consistent as the probable number 4 seed, the Cleveland Cavaliers – and that’s saying something. The Cavs have “Mr. Clutch” himself, LeBron James, and as long as he doesn’t have to make a potential game-winning basket (which, we know by now, he’ll miss) he’ll lead his team, which is better all-around, to a victory. (About LeBron for a second, did anyone see the game against Denver where he missed the game-tying free throw? Poor guy looked like a little girl with a skinned knee after just finding out she was adopted.)

Defensively, the Sixers have more holes than Shawn Kemp has illegitimate children. Lord knows the 76ers don’t play defense (they allow 102 points per game, third worst in the NBA) and against team that rebounds as well as the Cavs do, they’d most likely be torched nightly on second chance points. Speaking of which, rebounding is a lost art in Philadelphia, as they consistently get beaten on the boards. Kyle Korver, who can shoot the three with the best of them, can’t defend worth a lick and makes even the simplest things, like boxing out, seem like he’s figuring out where Jimmy Hoffa’s body is buried.

On the other hand, they could, possibly, continue down their miserable path of inconsistency, miss the playoffs entirely and qualify for a lottery pick, although it’s not likely. This can help them build for the future, but, seriously, what fan wants to watch his team drop game after game? This is probably the worst of all the scenarios, as not only do Sixers fans lose out, but Allen Iverson and Chris Webber get another year older. Iverson may be able to hold up for a few more years playing at the level he is, but Webber is losing his wrestling match with Father Time and he’ll quickly become even less mobile than he is now. He already looks like a wounded animal trying desperately to get away from a predator when he’s driving into the lane, what’s going to happen when he adds on another few years of abuse and strain on his bum knee?

So far, both scenarios seem less inviting than Kobe Bryant at a day care center, so what’s left? There is a third option and with the trade deadline slowly creeping up on us, this is a perfect time for them to start evaluating their assets. What I’m about to suggest, from a fan point of view, I hate. I’m disgusted that I’ve even allowed myself to come to this conclusion, but I really don’t see any other way. The Sixers have to trade Allen Iverson.

Blasphemy? Nearly. Disloyalty at its finest? Absolutely. Beneficial? Definitely. Before you crucify me and sentence me to a fate worse than that of Ben Affleck’s career post-Gigli, hear me out. I love Iverson. I love watching him, I love how he gives it his all every night on the hardwood and I love how he values winning above all else. He’s the only Philly athlete fans have never booed and there’s a reason for it – he’s unbelievable loyal. The problem is, Iverson’s style of play, as dominating as it can be, just does not fit well with the rest of the Sixers team.

Think about it. When the Sixers made the NBA Finals in 2001, they did it with Iverson as their star and scorer and Larry Brown as their head coach, but what about the rest of the squad? They were role players. George Lynch, Eric Snow, Tyrone Hill, just to name a few. The 2001 76ers were filled to the brim with role players, because that’s the best way to compliment Iverson’s game. Let him do the majority of the scoring, take as many shots as he wants, and let all the other players do the dirty work. Iverson isn’t selfish, that’s just his style of play and how he performs the best. The role players never grumbled or complained about not getting shots, because they didn’t have star egos.

Look at the current Sixers roster – Korver, Iguodala, Webber, Dalembert. Which one of these doesn’t belong? Not only is Webber past his prime and ridiculously overpaid (20 million a year, which is, by the way, more than Iverson makes), but he’s already whining in the club house like a pregnant woman in her third trimester. After the 76ers got blown out by the Wizards a few weeks ago, Webber reportedly went off in the club house afterwards, yelling at the coaches and players alike about him, essentially, not getting the ball enough. Shortly after, Iverson sat in front of the media questioning his role on the team, clearly demoralized by Webber’s antics. A.I. has already said this is the most frustrating season of his career, but questioning his role on the team? I can’t ever remember that happening. Webber and Iverson aren’t winning consistently as is (a perfectly mediocre 21-21 as of the writing of this article), so what happens when you sprinkle in a further break down of team chemistry between the squad’s two star players? I think Eagles’ fans got plenty of that this season. Well, what about money? The argument used to be that Iverson sold tickets and put butts in the seats. I’m sure he still does, but so does winning. Also, have you seen a home Sixers’ game as of late? The place isn’t exactly as packed as an open bar at a Kennedy family wedding. People are losing interest and something needs to be done about it. Mediocrity does not sell tickets.

This is kind of like a bad high school science class – we’ve identified the problem, found the error in the formula, but how do we correct it? Why not just unload Webber if he’s causing problems with the team’s champion? Yeah, have a good time with that. You’ll have as much trouble trying to unload Webber for something valuable as Isiah Thomas would have being somewhat competent as an NBA GM. Like I said earlier, not only is Webber well past his prime, but he has a monster contract that won’t expire until 2008, where he’ll be making 22 million. If 76ers GM Billy King managed to somehow pull the wool over the eyes and get rid of Webber and his contract (you never know, the Knicks and Hawks didn’t get this bad purely by chance), they’d still have to get someone equally valuable or more so to be a true contender and even then it’d be a stretch. If, in that unlikely scenario, that were to happen, you’d still have the problem of Iverson playing with other scorers such as Kyle Korver and John Salmons, the former of which couldn’t guard an NBA forward well with a crowbar. The defensive problems would still go unsolved and Iverson’s play would still not be maximized for efficiency.

This is where I came to the dead end. This is where you have to trade Philadelphia icon Allen Iverson in order to be competitive not only now, but especially down the stretch. Iverson carries an incredible reputation around the NBA and could get great market value in return, as well as freeing up a lot of cap space. If you trade Iverson now, while you could get something great in return, you could grab a high profile, young point guard in return, as well as a real solid additional player or two.

First, you’d need to find a team capable of taking on Iverson’s contract before even looking at personnel. When coming to the dead end, the team that stuck out most to me was the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, a team with veteran role players (George Lynch, PJ Brown) and a few stunning young talents. PG Chris Paul and PF David West are the two names that stuck out to me the most and for good reason: This is Paul’s rookie season and he’s already lighting it up, averaging 16 points a game, 7 assists and nearly 6 boards a game, and 2.2 steals a game, all rookie highs except for rebounding, where he’s third. He’s only 20 years old. Paul is a great court leader, has a high basketball I.Q. and is a great defender off the ball. At 6’0’’, he may be a bit small for a point guard, but we’ve dealt with Iverson’s height issues for years, so it’s neither an upgrade nor a downgrade. Despite being vertically challenged, Paul has got a bright, bright career ahead of him. New York Knicks coach and NBA legend Larry Brown spoke of Paul after he single handedly demolished his New York Knicks a few weeks ago, saying “He’s one of the best to come into this league in a long, long time…he reminds me so much of Isiah.” Isiah, obviously, being Isiah Thomas, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history (in my opinion second only to Magic).

David West is a totally different case altogether. West had a strong rookie year in 2003-2004, but was injured for half of last season. When he did come back, he wasn’t the same player. He hung around the perimeter, hurting his offensive rebounding which is one of the best points in his game, and took jump shots out of his range. This, ultimately, dropped his market value. However, based on his rookie season and this year’s performance thus far (17 points and 8 boards a game), he still comes across as a solid pick up. If these two were picked up in a package deal for Iverson, Paul could take over duties from the point and develop along with the rest of the young Sixers line up and West could be groomed as Webber’s heir apparent at the power forward position.

The Sixers would then be in position to build your team for the future around Andre Iguodala, as well as the other young players on the team in Dalembert, Salmons and Korver and have a great shot in the future for something really special. Iguodala, at 21 years old, is an absolute physical freak. He’s fantastic defensively and has tremendous potential. If he furthers develops his mid-range jump shot as he gets older, he could be a devastatingly special player. Iguodala really reminds me of a top-tier player, almost like a Tracy McGrady, before he put it all together and figured it out, minus the ego problem and stupid Adidas commercials. If you don’t trade A.I. and ride the season out, he gets another year older, Webber gets more frustrated, and the team wastes another year of retooling possibilities.

Obviously, this trade would only fly if the Hornets were interested, which I think they would be. The Hornets are absolutely desperate for ticket sales and few things will boost sales like trading for Allen Iverson. Grabbing AI also instantaneously makes them a better team in the now. Surrounded by role players and guys willing to grab the tough boards and do the dirty work, AI and the Hornets could do very well for a few seasons.

As a fan, I don’t want to get rid of Iverson. I think he’s the heart and soul of the team, leaves it all out on the floor every night, and is one of the few players in NBA history I don’t think we’ll ever quite see another one like again. Unfortunately, the heart and soul can’t function without the body doing all the other things, something he just doesn’t have right now.