New Kids on the Block

Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings have taken the game by storm. They have been getting buckets and dropping dimes at will from day one. Win, lose, or draw they are bringing it every night. Another thing that they have in common is the fact that they have so many haters. That's probably because Evans was a "one-and-doner" and Jennings skipped college to play pro in Europe for a year. Despite the lack of experience both players have been ridiculously productive in the young season. It became evident that the two guards were destined for stardom in the 2008 McDonald's All-American game. Jennings sporting a hightop fade showed off a plethora of highlight reel worthy moves in the game. Wether it was a funky no look pass, And 1 like dribble moves, or a rim rocking jam, Jennings was impressive all night. Evans was equally impressive. He scored the ball like his life depended on it. Nobody in the gym could check him and he knew that too. It appears that people are having difficulties guarding him in the NBA as well. The same can be said for Jennings. It was showcased when he dropped a double nickel earlier this year. As of right now they're putting up twenty a night and making it look easy. They're both the centerpieces of teams filled with young talent and will be giving defenders nightmares for years to come.

Things That Grind My Gears Vol. 1

This entire rant is about something that burn me up inside at sporting events. In the sports world there are a lot of people who know what they're talking about and are very philosophical about sports. They just watch the game and comment on something every now and then. Then there are the people who do more talking than watching. The people that would yell at a coach for holding the ball for one shot at the end of the half without taking into account the fact that the team is only down seven despite playing horribly with their best player on the bench in foul trouble. But all they see is that the team is losing so they urge the players to take quick shots, not realizing that quick shots will probably widen the gap even farther. That's just one example. At every sporting event there is an ignorant person talking just to make themselves look important. In actuality they end up looking like morons because what they're saying makes no sense at all. If you don't know what you're talking about then shut up. It's that simple.

When Penny Was King

The mid-nineties were a great time. Back when Nickelodeon was still worth watching, Biggie and Pac were on top of the rap game, and Penny Hardaway was on a collision course with superstardom. He was Lebron James before Lebron James. Hardawy was a lanky 6'7 guard with a gumby cut on a Magic team that was ready to take the Eastern Conference by storm. He also had classic Nikes on the market in the midddle of an era packed with ugly sneakers. His commercials were some of the best Nike ads that have ever come out. He had Tyra Banks in many of the commercials and this is when Tyra Banks was TYRA BANKS. He earned cool points just for that. And Lil Penny was the man. He headlined Hardaway's commercials, had an opening scene for NBA on NBC for the 96 Playoffs, and was even in Blackstreet's No Digity video. Penny just flat out had the game on lock and it looked like he'd be the guy to step into an aging Michael Jordan's role as the face of the NBA. Unfortunately for us all, that never happened. Injuries brought Penny's quickly rising star to a hault. Hardaway would never get his swagger back after the surgeries. He stuck around for a while, but he just wasn't the same. Despite the unfortunate events that ended Penny's career, he will always be remembered as the kid from Memphis State who changed the game.

Die Hard

As a Knicks fan the summer of 2010 is making me more and more paranoid as it gets closer. It's supposed to be our time to regain supremacy, but I'm not so sure that will happen. I have a weird feeling that basically everyone's going to stay put and all of this fuss is going to be for nothing. That would be a heartbreak. I have been waiting three long years for this summer and if I don't get results I'd be crushed. Us Knicks fans have suffered through Isiah Thomas, Starbury, Eddy Curry, Jerome James, and a bunch of other people who we should've never even considered picking up. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only fan who said "What the hell?" when we picked up Zach Randolph. You can't try to build your frontcourt around two fat dudes with attitudes. So we better get somebody this summer. If not me, Spike Lee, and all the other die hards will have a convention and sob together for weeks. Even though I will be extremely dissapointed if we are still at the bottom of the barrell come the start of next season, I will stay loyal. I refuse to be a bandwagon jockjumper like 70% of other "fans". Anybody can like the Lakers, but it takes some character to be a Knicks fan. So people can keep on joking now, but when we're back don't try to come along for the ride.

Posterized!!!

Thursday night’s matchup between the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers was one for the ages. It had a playoff atmosphere just two weeks into the season. With Michael Jordan sitting courtside in a tailor made suit the stage was set for two of the game’s best to put on a show. Dwayne Wade and Lebron James are the future of the NBA and they showed why on Thursday night. The showdown between the two was one of the best that I’ve seen in the regular season. They went bucket for bucket all night. One basket that probably won’t be matched by anyone all season is D-Wade’s jam over Anderson Varejao. As soon as Wade crossed half court he made a b-line for Varejao. I’m assuming that the Cavs big man was expecting to see Wade’s infamous “Euro Two Step” but that is not what he got at all. Instead he got posterized with a chest to chest tomahawk slam that will probably be the most viewed basketball clip on YouTube for the next week. What made it bad is Wade’s reaction. He immediately stepped over him, walked away, and looked at the crowd to let them know what he had just done. That dunk got me thinking. Where does that dunk rank among the best in-game “posterizations.” It had everything needed for a great dunk. There was a size mismatch. It was unexpected. He celebrated afterwards. The crowd went nuts. What more could you ask for? People get dunked on all of the time in the NBA. It’s a part of the game. But some stand out more than others. The first that comes to mind is Shawn Kemp on Alton Lister. The Reignman charged down the lane, cocked it to the side, and dropped the hammer on Lister. Adding insult to injury, when Lister fell down Kemp pointed at him while he was on the ground. I can’t even begin to imagine the embarrassment he felt. It’s always nasty when a little guy takes off on a big man. The most famous example is when Kevin Johnson of the Phoenix Suns went baseline and elevated over the seven foot Hakeem Olajuwon. Two other instances are AI’s tip slam on Marcus Camby and when Baron Davis went up on AK-47. Kobe isn't exactly little, but compared to Dwight Howard he's tiny. Which made it so surprising when he teabagged Superman. It is equally hilarious when the roles are reversed and a big guy takes advantage of a guard. When Lebron jammed on Damon Jones I felt bad for D.Jones, but it didn’t stop me from watching the replay over and over again. He set him self up for failure. Rather than getting out of the way like any logical person would, he decided to jump and take a forearm to the back of the neck. The best part about it was Jones’ reaction. He just covered his face and walked away. Priceless. I have four favorites. The first is when T-Mac sat on Shawn Bradley’s back in the 06 Playoffs. It takes a lot to get McGrady to show emotion, but that dunk definitely did that. Then you have MJ’s dunk over Pat Ewing on the baseline. You can’t talk about dunks without bringing up Vince Carter. His dunk on Alonzo Mourning was ridiculous. It felt like he was hanging in the air for an eternity. And when he jumped over that seven footer in the Olympics the whole world was in awe. I don’t know where D-Wade’s dunk is on the list, but it deserves to be in the conversation. That is a play that will be in his highlight reel twenty years from now.

Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth

The Answer has been the subject of a lot of questions recently. Is he worth the trouble? Can he co-exist with other good players (besides in the All-Star Game)? Is he the same player that he once was? Will he ever get a ring? The answer to those questions is still unknown, but it’s starting to look like it will be a no for all four of them. On AI’s past two stops on his road to becoming a bonafide journeyman, he has openly expressed his unwillingness to come off of the bench. Teams were willing to put up with foolishness from the young, tough, lightning quick, cold blooded, thirty a night Iverson. He was irreplaceable so Philly had no choice but to put up with his crap and he knew that. Everyone has seen that infamous press conference. “We’re sitting in here, I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we’re talking about practice. Not the game. Practice!” There are only a select few guys in the past decade who could’ve gotten away with that. But AI is not that guy anymore. He can’t do whatever he wants. He has to realize that at thirty four years old he’s not going to carry a successful team on his back. He is now in the House Party 3 stage of his career as opposed to his House Party 1 and 2 days in Philly and Denver. House Party 3 wasn’t awful, but mediocre at best compared to the first two installments which were amazing. He was spiraling toward HP3 at the end of his stay in Denver. The trade to Detroit ( which was probably one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory) pushed him over the edge. He is drifting dangerously close to House Party 4 status which will indubitably force him into retirement. Either he will accept being a role player and try to get on a championship caliber team, or both he and his ginormous ego will fade into obscurity.

There's No Crying in Basketball

There has been a catastrophic outbreak of bitch assness in the NBA over the past few years. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, it is essentially when a person whines or throws a fit like a little girl. This is not a characteristic that would be expected in a group of six foot six grown men. Well that is not the case. In the past ten years arguing over calls has become a huge part of the game. After every call (or "missed call") there is someone in the ref's face holding their palms to the sky with a facial expression similar to that of a person who smells four day old cabbage. Players have gotten increasingly creative over the years with their reactions to what they deem to be bad calls. Some take spontaneous jogs down the court to blow off steam. Some say, "Good call ref," when they really mean, "If we weren't on national TV right now I would punch you in the face." Some even laugh. My personal favorite is the sarcastic head nod. It's the most suddle way of saying F You without getting T'd up. Why is it that no one ever thinks that they committed a foul. You get six of them. It's okay to get one. On the flip side of that, practically every time a player drives they want a foul. Basketball is meant to be a physical game. If you don't want to get hit, play golf. That's the craziest thing. Players act like they've never fouled anyone in their lives, but feel like they get hacked every time down the court. What I'm basically trying to say is that these guys need to stop all of the crying and just play ball.